Showing posts with label ACEduino 328. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ACEduino 328. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Getting Started with ACEduino 328 in Ubuntu & Debian based Linux Distros

Arduino Clone

I decided to write a tutorial on how to start off with your programming adventure in ACEduino 328 (Arduino clone from Alexan Commercial) under Debian and Ubuntu based Linux distributions because I met some people who  are having a hard time working this Arduino clone under Linux. Most of their problems is running the customized Arduino IDE for ACEduino (ACEduino IDE) because it only works on Windows even though you run it under wine.

The truth is, whether you are a Windows or a Linux user, you don't need to download the ACEduino IDE and that you can just use the original and official Arduino IDE from arduino.cc. Now type or copy the commands below in order to download and untar the file using your terminal:

wget http://arduino.googlecode.com/files/arduino-1.0.1-linux.tgz
tar -xvf arduino-1.0.1-linux.tgz

Before running the IDE, make sure were able to install the openjdk-7-jre package in your distribution (openjdk-6-jre, sun's java 6 runtime, the sun-java6-jre package or the oracle JRE 7, should work too), if not type this in your terminal:

sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre

Then navigate through its directory and run the IDE:

cd arduino-1.0.1
./arduino


Now plug in your ACEduino 328 to your computer with a USB cable (USB A / B).

Arduino USB connection

The next thing you should do is to setup your board preference. Click on Tools > Board then choose Arduino Dueminalove w/ ATmega328 because ACEduino 328 is compatible with this hardware and the clone of  Arduino Dueminalove.

Now you can start writing your own sketch.

Sample Project: 3 Sequencing Lights

Requirements:
- 3 LEDs
- Arduino Board

The first thing that you need to do is to attach the long leg of the 1st LED (the positive leg which is the anode) to pin 13 and the short leg (the negative leg which is the cathode) to the GND Pin of your Arduino board. Second, attach the long leg of the 2nd LED to pin 12 and its short leg to GND Pin. Third, attach the long leg of the 3rd LED to pin 11 and its short leg to GND Pin. You can also use a breadboard for attaching the legs of the LED just like the image below.

breadboard


Here is the sample code for the 3 sequencing lights:

int led1 = 13; // 1st LED connected to pin 13
int led2 = 12; // 2nd LED connected to pin 12
int led3 = 11; // 3rd LED connected to pin 11

void setup() 
{                
  // setting the  three digital pins as outputs
  pinMode(led1, OUTPUT);  
  pinMode(led2, OUTPUT);  
  pinMode(led3, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() 
{
  digitalWrite(led1, HIGH); // turns the led ON
  delay(100);              // waiting time = 100 milliseconds    
  digitalWrite(led1, LOW);  // turns the led OFF
  delay(100);               
  
  digitalWrite(led2, HIGH); 
  delay(100);                 
  digitalWrite(led2, LOW);  
  delay(100);     
  
  digitalWrite(led3, HIGH); 
  delay(100);                  
  digitalWrite(led3, LOW);
  delay(100);     
}

Now upload the code above to your board and the result should be something like the video below.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

MSP-EXP430G2 - MSP430 LaunchPad Value Line Development kit V.S. ACEduino 328 (Arduino Clone)

Hardware-Hacking

Hey guys, this is jjt and this is my first post for gerthy's blog which is maximu. Well, this blog is about random stuffs so I decided to share my two new micro-controllers at home which is one of my toys for now including my PS3 :p.

The red micro-controller from the image above is a MSP430 LaunchPad Value Line Development kit of Texas Instruments and the black one is an ACEduino 328 which is an Arduino Clone from Alexan Commercial. And so lemme present the descriptions for each hardware:

About MSP430 LaunchPad Value Line Development Tool 

The MSP-EXP430G2 LaunchPad is a low cost flash programmer and debugging tool from Texas Instruments wherein you can drop in any 14 or 20-pin DIP MSP430 Value line device and start coding your applications. You can download the free compilers and debuggers for flashing this tool including Code Composer Studio and IAR Embedded Workbench Kickstart from their official website. The board itself has a built-in Flash emulation for debugging and programming, 2xUser LEDs, power LED, user button, reset button, and a 10-pin header for external circuit connection.

All in all, the package that ships with the box includes; 
- Launchpad Value Line development tool (MSP-EXP430G2)
- MSP430G2452IN20 - 8kB Flash, 256B RAM, 16GPIO, 1x 16 bit timer, WDT, BOR, 1xUSI(12C/SPI), 8ch 10-bit ADC, 8ch Comparator, Capacitive Touch I/O Module
- MSP430G2553IN20 - 16kB Flash, 512 RAM, 16 GPIO, 2x 16 bit timers, WDT, BOR, 1x USCI (12C/SPI/UART), 8ch 10-bit ADC, 8ch Comparator, Capacitive Touch I/O Module
- Mini USB Cable
- Quick Start Guide
- 10-pin PCB connectors - 2 male headers (populated) and 2 female headers
- Micro Crystal 32.768 kHz Oscillator.



This micro-controller costs 4.38$ and includes a free shipping if you but it online from their e-store.

About ACEduino 328

ACEduino 328

ACEduino 328 is an Arduino Clone from Alexan which is a good micro-controller for beginners especially for those who don't have little knowledge on electronics because there are a lot of Arduino C language learning references in arduino.cc. ACEduino 328 is compatible with the Arduino IDE (Integrated Development Environment) as long as you set your board options to Arduino ATMega 328.

The features for this board includes:
- 14 Digital Input/Output pins (6 of which are PWM outputs)
- 6 Analog Input pins (with pin for Analog reference)
- Different communication lines available - UART (Rx, Tx), I2C (SDA, SCL) and ISP (MISO, MOSI, SCL)
- On-board solderable prototyping nodes
- 32KB Flash Memory (ATmega328) and automatic power selector between USB and DC power

I bought this micro-controller in a local electronic shop here in Cebu for just 900+ pesos.

Which is better?

As a neutral enthusiast, I cannot say that the MSP-EXP430G2 - MSP430 LaunchPad Value Line Development kit is better than ACEduino 328 or vice versa. They have their own pros and cons but MSP-EXP430G2 has no full support for flashing or working under Linux unlike ACEduino 328 and that's why ACEduino 328 is the winner in terms of cross platform support. We all have our preferences but for now I'm focusing on enhancing my knowledge on Arduino which is a good open source hardware for me to start. I'm also starting to tinker my MSP430 LaunchPad Value Line Development kit and waiting for the shipment of my Stellaris Launchpad from Texas Instrument.


References: