I've used that on my blog (wordpress).   Works nice.

You can't really compare based on the cheapest CHIP versus the Carrier Board approach used by Arduino.

A better comparison would be something like comparing the Arduino (Specifically LADYADA "Boarduino")  to Picaxe SM 28X2 Module.

http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=19&products_id=91&zenid=b9e9b026df452ae0f97216a7da0ba349

http://www.robotshop.com/picaxe-sm-28x2-module-3.html

Episode 423

USA perspective

I've known more than one person who called one of their animals "SPAZ" and I'm sure they meant it in a most comical, loving and positive way.

Of course, then there are words I have no clue what they mean initially.  A coworker, originally from the UK,  says his cousins are all "chav"... I'm thinking WHAT is Chav?  Like "little shavers"?  I have no clue.  

Then he says: Go to HULU.com and watch a show called "Little Britain"... he says Vickey Pollard is "chav"  I'm like... oh... we have those in the US too with a different name.

I pity the Etymologists...

... and anyone trying to learn English... I mean... "which English are you learning?"

haha... good one...  

They are commonly mounted laying on their side with the can tacked down to a copper land with solder.

This is exactly why I like the Boarduino from AdaFruit.

Ok, so let me open up and just start tossing my opinions out there again.

I've said it in other threads... Eclipse... while infinitely better than what the processing legacy IDE gives us... is still not a great idea for Arduino...well, Ok...  to me it isn't.

What I LIKE about the general layout of the Arduino IDE...  is that it gets right to the point.  With few extraneous features or steps,  it a model of simplicity.  On the other hand... the built in code EDITOR should never have been held to the same simplicity standard with regards to code writing features.

We literally toss the new ARDUINO coder to the wolves when they have a bug in their code, for example.

We need a middle ground between the completely capable/customizable but complex code environment tools available and the barely functional editor we have now.

The question is: What do we really need as a new standard for the CORE editor in Arduino IDE?  Is this actually something we can agree on as a USER community?

The fact that there were no significant changes with the editor in the move to UNO support is both a blessing to legacy work (Meaning: Documentation)  and a completely missed opportunity by the DEV's.


But, to only touch 1 feature...  do we need the extra Project Management multi-file concepts of Eclipse or is that wasted on Arduino?  For example,  there are 10 discreet steps when starting a project in Eclipse that you go through before you even start writing code.  Clearly this could be disturbing to some.

Really, for those who are curious... I have no love for the state of the current editor.  Knowing that there is a HUGE list of JAVA code based editing tools available... it's clear that the expertise needed for some improvements is out there... somewhere in GUI land.

So I guess what I'm hearing is that there is a core group that cannot "grok" the need for the legacy connection to Processing and it's limp interface standards and would prefer it if we had something like AVRSTUDIO with Arduino compatibility?

(note: My attitude about processing is that both Arduino and Processing are essentially simplified Java... that's why I see so much similarty.)

To do that you'd move it to emacs

 Sooooooo true.

@ OSGELD... to my silly eyes... I see WAY more commonality between Processing and Arduino than differences... so, while I understand that you do not...  it leaves me confused that you feel that way.

Arduino's language heritage stands out clear to me.

And here's the crazy thought.   Eclipse still won't make a majority of people happy... since editing environments are like candy...  it seems everyone has a different favorite.  

With small projects... the IDE doesn't bother me...  maybe I'm unique in that.

When I'm working on a complex PDE file (or files), I just pull it all into my favorite customizable syntax highlighter editor app, I work on there... and then  pass it back to the Arduino IDE and let it do the rest.

I can't say that ECLIPSE will be a welcome change for me.  I've used it... and when decisions were being made for a JAVA editor... I selected NETBEANS instead of Eclipse... so maybe I'm just a little nutty.

While it does give the IDE crowd some joy... at first glance it does seem to remove some of the "ease of use" that is essentially the Arduino "way" in favor of making hard core "coders" happy.

The additional dependencies say to me that it should possibly remain... optional.

You are possibly talking about  in excess of 1 AMP of current through a Potentiometer.   When current like that is involved, you are talking about a WIRE-WOUND Potentioemeters (sometimes called rheostats...) Even though a rheostat is technically a 2 terminal device... it has sort of become the defacto name for the wirewound variety of a potentiometer too.

These use a resistance WIRE instead of a carbonized coating is the way to create the higher current variable resistance element.  A normal "audio" POT would literally vaporize the carbon material in this application.

Here's a problem:  Looking at WIRE-WOUND devices, the current you are talking exceeds all but the rarest of units available and therefore... it would be a costly device... I'm guessing on the order of $30-$50 or even more.

At that price, you could easily afford to build an active driver circuit that could employ a very simple PWM solution for intensity control.

The simplest circuit would employ say a LM555, some passive devices and a power transistor as the active device.  A quick Google search using the following "LED PWM 555 " should give you plenty of reading material.

Code:

i just want one that will last

F L U K E

Find a USED one... Mine from 1980 is still working great!

I would rather guess that once SMDs have hit the market that DIL packages are always obsolete

Luckily SMD's have actually been around quite a while and we can still get some things in DIP form.

There is no denying that we probably ONLY still see DIP Microcontrollers because the companies that make them realize that there is a reasonably big enough R&D as well as School Electronics courses to at least fund a few runs in the format.

UNO... Buggy?  Not to me.  I had no issue getting mine working.

Messing with the USB?  Maybe later.

Regarding not using the FTDI CHIP...  I Love this idea.

That fact that I have some freedom to change how the USB behaves... Love that even more.