Hi,
I've been out of the Arduino loop for a few months now, and I've looked around to no avail. I'm hoping to buy a few Arduino boards for a little workshop I'm running for some high school kids. Though Uno will suffice fine, if there is a newer board coming out soon, I would look to get those instead.
Does anyone know if, and when a new one will be released?
Thanks.
Does anyone know if, and when a new one will be released?
So far they have seemed to make it a practice to NOT leak word out of new board releases. I actually prefer many of the 3rd party boards for their added/better features. The Uno and mega2650 boards have had more then normal share of bugs and corrections in my opinion.
Lefty
Yeah. There isn't usually too much difference between boards, but if they were going to do something interesting like LAN onboard or something else that might be helpful, I would try to get that.
On a side note, I'm liking the Parallax Propeller platform for a few reasons....But Arduino does have a larger user base among other things. Tough call.
Arduino also is a little cheaper but it does have a little bit less functionality IMO. However, I doubt we'll even need the added functionality in the workshops.
FenderBender11:
... but if they were going to do something interesting like LAN onboard or something else that might be helpful, I would try to get that.
Massimo Banzi's talk at the west coast Maker Faire gave some insight into the future.
New boards were mentioned from around 23 minutes into the talk.
Thanks for that link. Massimo is a cool guy.
I didn't even notice Arduino Ethernet and the Google ADK compatble board on the Hardware section of the Arduino website. I just assumed that Uno was still the latest.
Now...they don't seem to be for sale yet. But I have patience.
Very cool though. I have an Android device, so I'm tempted to get a ADK board myself.
Thanks.
I think Massimo said the the boards he showed would be available around September
I think Modern Device has boards for Android interfacing in stock.
In the video, he said June and July for the two boards, but it's open source, so date is really unimportant. The product is more important.
I mean that could have changed...
The MD board is nice, though it is nice to see an official board, for whatever reason...
It does look like the Ethernet board and the Mega ADK boards are now in the Arduino store: http://store.arduino.cc/eu/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=11&products_id=141
Hmmph. I do not think any US suppliers have hold of any boards so maybe that's why I didn't see any on Sparkfun/Jameco.
Well. it seems as if they just slipped in without anyone (me) noticing.
It seems that the Ethernet board is a "give a little, take a little" situation. While you do get Ethernet capability and PoE (with the little buck boost converter,[or whatever that is]), you loose the true USB output. Now we have to go back to the FTDI cable approach...
I do not know exactly how the Arduino hardware works, but perhaps more I/O pins are needed for that true USB capability...or perhaps not...
I would have like to seen some sort of native PC support, instead of being forced to use a FTDI cable. Perhaps a MAX232, and then a DB-9 serial port, or at least the headers for one...
I'm sure there was reason. Well I guess you can program over Ethernet, right? IF THAT IS THE CASE, why have any FTDI header at all? Man I've been out of it for a while...
Actually read the officlal specs. It cannot be programmed over Ethernet. You need to use the FTDI header or use an ISP.
If your workshop is not dedicated to Ethernet and you need USB connectivity to PCs then a Uno with Ethernet shield is probably a better choice for you.
I meant like passively native, without the need for additional adapters. I suppose most people have a FTDI cable by now, but youre more likely to be able to dig up a serial cable than to dig up a FTDI cable...though with modern computers, DB-9 serial ports aren't that common...
I don't want to start a war. I suppose we'll just be getting Unos and some Ethernet shields.
Your simplest solution might be to just obtain a RS-232 based arduino clone board. Here is the first 'Arduino' I obtained as my 3 year old PC still has two DB9 based comm ports via a PCI add-in board I added to purposely support some older stuff I have around.
http://www.nkcelectronics.com/freeduino-serial-v20-board-kit-arduino-diecimila-compatib20.html
It does support the Arduino IDE auto-reset function. It's been a very reliable board for me.
Lefty
Gah. Sorry guys. I'm probably confusing everyone. All I was trying to say is I wish it could connect to a PC without the use of the FTDI adapter cable, like the Uno and Mega do. They have built in USB converter chips.
The Arduino Ethernet can be hooked up via USB but it requires the FTDI cable or a breakout board of some type. (http://arduino.cc/en/Main/USBSerial).
I live in the US, and no, I do not want Serial, but I just had a quick thought that maybe incorporating native DB-9 serial out (in addition to the current ways) would be beneficial...I was just suggesting that because it seemed that they did not want to incorporate an actual USB port on the board.
But thanks for the idea for making the Arduino with a kit. Whether we use that kit or put them together on perfboard, I don't know...but that is a interesting idea, because they can make something functional and that they will use for the remainder of the workshop, and maybe in the future.
Thanks for the interest.
All I was trying to say is I wish it could connect to a PC without the use of the FTDI adapter cable, like the Uno and Mega do
There's always the Freetronics EtherTen, which has been out for quite a while now and has more features:
Jon