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[on:]

Hi all,

I have decided to start a monster project and need your help please.
This is my requirements:
Controller board.
LCD Screen.
Wi-Fi to get stats and controll board over internet.
12 PWM outputs to run LED drivers.
RTC.

This is what I had in mind:
Arduino Mega 2560 http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9949
Color LCD http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9363
WiFi http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10822
Real Time Clock Module http://www.sparkfun.com/products/99
Joystick for scrolling LCD http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9760

Would this combination work?

Thanks in advance!
Leon

[Reply #1 on:]

The wireless device you specified is Xbee, not "WiFi".  Xbee will not talk to WiFi.
Now there IS a WiFi module in the same form-factor: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10822
Both the joystick shield and the LCD shield want to be "on top". So you will need to rig up something to break that tie.

Thanks KE7GKP, I have updated my main thread with your link!
Do you think I should make use of another LCD shield and rather use push buttons?
The LCD screen should have at least 4 lines.

Appreciate your input!

[Reply #2 on:]

You have more options for the joystick, switches, rotary control, etc. than you do for a 4-line display.  I would find the display you like and then work on the controls.  IMHO, a rotary control would be a better choice to navigate screen menus than a joystick.

Here is a complete display and control unit in a single Arduino shield.  This would be my first choice for such a project...
http://liudr.wordpress.com/gadget/phi-panel/

Now that is exactly what I'm looking for!!!! Thanks KE7GKP!
Where can one buy one, or do you need a list of things and put it together yourself?
Sorry for all the questions, but I'm new to the Arduino way of life

[Reply #3 on:]

Liudr isn't very good about showing people where they can buy his products!  :-)
I would have expected him to at least have a link on his blog page there.
How about this: http://arduino.cc/forum/index.php?topic=58615.0

Thanks KE7GKP, I also found this site selling them http://www.inmojo.com/store/liudr-arduino-and-physics-gadgets/item/phi-2-interactive-arduino-shield-2004/

Going to place an order!!! 

So it will work with the Arduino Mega 2560 board?

[Reply #4 on:]

I am quite sure that Lidur's display shields will work with Arduino Mega.

Thanks, placing order

[Reply #5 on:]

Thanks all,

I have placed my order for the following:

Arduino Mega 2560 http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9949
LCD: http://www.inmojo.com/store/liudr-arduino-and-physics-gadgets/item/phi-2-interactive-arduino-shield-2004/
WiFi http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10822

Thanks for all the input and help!

Will aks 1000 other questions soon!

[Reply #6 on:]

KE7GKP,

Thanks again for mentioning my shield!

Lcornelius, Thanks for ordering. I got your order packed. Will ship in a day or two. Yes, the shield works with both UNO and MEGA. For mega, the I2C bus is located at different pins (for on board RTC and optional EEPROM). You will need to jump to the correct mega pins, detailed in the documentation (I think mega pins 20 and 21). I've bought my mega 1280 clone a while back but didn't have time to play with it much. Some members on the forum have already used the shield with 16*2 display with mega. The 20x4 display version is specifically designed to NOT cover any of the pins on MEGA. See the notch on the right side of the shield board



My shield can be stacked above a Xbee shield and the shield kit has RTC chip with battery so you don't have to buy an RTC separately. Let me know what exactly you want to do and maybe I can help. Just keep us posted.

[Reply #7 on:]

KE7GKP,

Thanks again for mentioning my shield!

Lcornelius, Thanks for ordering. I got your order packed. Will ship in a day or two. Yes, the shield works with both UNO and MEGA. For mega, the I2C bus is located at different pins (for on board RTC and optional EEPROM). You will need to jump to the correct mega pins, detailed in the documentation (I think mega pins 20 and 21). I've bought my mega 1280 clone a while back but didn't have time to play with it much. Some members on the forum have already used the shield with 16*2 display with mega. The 20x4 display version is specifically designed to NOT cover any of the pins on MEGA. See the notch on the right side of the shield board



My shield can be stacked above a Xbee shield and the shield kit has RTC chip with battery so you don't have to buy an RTC separately. Let me know what exactly you want to do and maybe I can help. Just keep us posted.

Hi Liudr,

Thanks for the reply! I'm super excited to get my new toys!!!
Thanks for pointing out the RTC, luckily my order has not been shipped yet, so I will remove the RTC.

So if I understand you correctly your Display Shield will fit on top of the Wi-Fi shield?
Not that this is a issue, since I'm building a custom housing for my entire controller.

I will start a new thread on my build once I receive my toys.
In a nutshell, I'm going to program a marine aquarium controller.
The first stage will be to control my LED lights and simulate sunset/sunrise/lightning and clouds.
The second stage will be to measure my temp and various water parameters.

Have a great day!
(Cape Town is cold and rainy today)

[Reply #8 on:]

Typically a wi-fi or Xbee shield or Bluetooth shield will have female headers on top of them so more shields can be stacked above them. That is what shields all do, they stack. You probably can't stack anything above my shield due to the large display but it makes sense to have the display shield on top. I'll be happy to help once you get your other forum thread up for your project!

[Reply #9 on:]

Typically a wi-fi or Xbee shield or Bluetooth shield will have female headers on top of them so more shields can be stacked above them. That is what shields all do, they stack. You probably can't stack anything above my shield due to the large display but it makes sense to have the display shield on top. I'll be happy to help once you get your other forum thread up for your project!

Thanks Liudr, I would appreciate all the help I can get!