Hi, i saw the NXT lego set and it does looks cool, but i think the arduino can do a better job, and cheaper. I areally know C/C++ and i want to buy an arduino soon enough i hope.
There some questions i have firsts.
Since we both, me and my friend, gonna be using one (avr) , can we just buy 1 arduino + 1 extra chip, program the chip, remove it from the socket and but on a custom made prototyping board?(and run the program) i think it requires me to use a 20mhz oscillator and some other fews parts right? were can i get the schematic?
another question is, is wireless easy? let’s assume the arduino is on my robot, how can i remote controll it ?(switch input)
What you suggest with using one Arduino board and multiple chips, swapping them as needed is possible, but if you are still developing a project, you’ll be re-programming heaps of times, and ICs aren’t built for a lot of insertions / removals. Arduino is cheap in the long run - buy a programming board each.
The other alternative is to get and Arduino mini - the downside is that it would be more expesive by the time you bought a USB-TTL converter.
The schematic and instructions to use a pre-programmed Arduino IC in a standalone circuit is given on the Arduino site.
For projects where the AVR-based thing moves, I download to an AVR using the AVR’s serial port which is connected to a MaxStream XBee. Thus, I can download wirelessly and pretty fast. I tend to re-load my modified or “improved” applications very, very many times during development, after the first long session of design then coding. I find this to be the fastest way to do things, and since this is all hobby stuff, not a development team, the process used is whatever I enjoy.
I also have a scheme to download via any LAN or wireless WiFi, using ethernet-to-serial converters which can be had inexpensively now from sources like WizNet’s US distributor. For serial port or TCP or UDP, I’m using freeware “BLIPS” available on avrfreaks.net.
If you’re tight on money I’d google the Freedunio. Same thing but you save a lot without buying multiple USB chips. If you don’t have a serial port on your PC, you can buy one USB-to-serial cable and several cheap Freedunio boards for you and your friend.
Wireless is more expensive than you think. The Arduino people make a ZigBee shield for XBee devices, and that should also work in Freedunio. But it’s a little pricy. MAke sure it comes with an XBee or else you have to add that on. I don’t think Sparkfun sells these shields yet but they will soon. Or you can order from the (Italian?) company that makes them.
The TI MSP430-RF2500 is a much cheaper wireless solution. It’s not really ZigBee but it uses less power and also allows configured relays (not autodiscovered). It uses the MSP430 16-bit MCU instead of an AVR.
The actual name of the msp430 kit is “ez430-rf2500”. You can buy it from TI’s online store. It comes with one USB main device and several remotes. It’s a terrific deal for the money!