I'm in the planning stages of a project right now and always like to get a briefing from the forums before I start.
My desired finished product is as follows:
-Arduino or Similar MCU that can emulate keyboard commands/typing
-Color LCD/TFT display for timers/text (Preferably touch)
-I'll also have some switches/LEDs/rotary encoders, but these can get jammed wherever
Currently I would like to use a Pro Micro, because it can emulate a keyboard and is nice and compact. I've also got a 3.5" touch MCUfriend. The issue I'm running into, is getting the MCUFriend TFT library to work with the Pro Micro. I've looked at the special file, but I can't quite understand how to get my ports configured for this MCU.
My preference is to get the hardware I already have working, so let's try that first.
Otherwise if anyone has suggestions as to another controller/screen combo that would work well and meet my criteria, please let me know!
Simple solution: buy only components which come with data sheets and Arduino libraries and examples.
The smaller Arduinos have no full (8 bit) ports available for general purpose use, some bits don't exist, and all pins can have special functions. A Mega has several 8 bit ports for general purpose use, but no easily programmable USB port.
DrDiettrich:
Simple solution: buy only components which come with data sheets and Arduino libraries and examples.
The smaller Arduinos have no full (8 bit) ports available for general purpose use, some bits don't exist, and all pins can have special functions. A Mega has several 8 bit ports for general purpose use, but no easily programmable USB port.
Both of these components do have documentation, thanks! I'm just a mid level programmer, so I don't understand how the port configuration/bit shifting or the 8 bit parallel in 8080 works. Interesting thought about the smaller arduinos, the nano seems to have a full pin set and extra pins. I just need an arduino that can output keyboard data. So what do you think I should purchase?
Robin2:
Is this a situation where a pair of Arduinos might be the solution? A Mega for most of the work and a Pro-Micro for the keyboard functions.
...R
I was worried about that solution, and that might be what I have to do. I would just hope that I could bypass having to program both every time. So to do that I would have to just make the Pro-micro a dumb passthrough keyboard emulator, which would mean no pre-stored messages, everything would have to written from the Mega.
ColdShoulderMedia:
So to do that I would have to just make the Pro-micro a dumb passthrough keyboard emulator, which would mean no pre-stored messages, everything would have to written from the Mega.
I think that's how I would do it.
While the details are very different I have an Arduino that controls a small lathe based on instructions sent from my PC and while I have made many changes to the control program in the PC I have not had to update the Arduino code for many months.
While the details are very different I have an Arduino that controls a small lathe based on instructions sent from my PC and while I have made many changes to the control program in the PC I have not had to update the Arduino code for many months.
...R
I understand fully, it just seems like such a waste of that much processing power. Maybe I'll use a Digi-stump or similar, then I'm only tying up a $1 MCU for the keyboard emulation.
Modern microcontrollers have on board periphery, like UART, SPI and I2C, which most probably can do what the 8080 did with bit shifting. A look into the TFT data sheet should reveal the usable interfaces.