Robo-Tank 3rd Generation Hardware

[Rob F]

New hardware is finally up and running, I got the first set of controller boards but wasn't happy with them on the I2C port. Because I2C doesn't play well with cable I couldn't get it to work reliably with more than 3ft of cable. :( I knew cable was an issue but testing it was fine with 6ft but that extra USB connection really hurts it, the idea was if more ports were needed an expansion would be available with I2C buffers to increase number of ports and cable length.

Because it wasn't very good and users would require a mandatory buffer box plugged in I added the buffer on the controller board for the USB port which allows up to 15m of cable, yes I should have done that to begin with. At the same time I added a 2nd USB port and removed the 4 pin port that was for Atlas circuits. This now allows 15m between the 2 USB ports, extra buffers and expanders can be added. Now the user can change a pluggable jumper on the board behind the USB ports which will change power to 5v or 12v on the 2nd USB port, this port will be good for the Atlas circuits or any I2C sensor out there. As a side note, I mentioned earlier I believe, the I2C bus (SCL and SDA pins) are now 5v instead of 3.3v, this means no more I2C logic level converter board to connect the large Atlas shields as the logic level converter is now on the controller board, this simplifies connections for users.

So yeah had to wait for new boards again which I got about 10 days ago and now I wait for more. I only get 5 boards with a new design and those are gone so I won't have anything to ship for about 3 weeks. I updated the plug and play kit listings with new images but haven't updated the DIY kits because I didn't get pictures and have to wait for more boards. The prices will be the same and I'll have new listings as soon as I can.

I do have another commitment I'm currently working on as well, won't be much longer, but I have started the new software update but it'll still be a few months to complete. I hope to come up with a lot of nice changes and improvements so it'll take some time. Soon I'm going to start a thread with my ideas and hope you guys can give me better ideas.

Here's some pics of it assembled, the Arduino Due is on the bottom. As you can see assembly isn't too difficult and no wires that could cause a real issue. The user only needs to mount a USB-B extension for programming updates, that plugs into the Arduino, solder a DC jack extension to a DC socket for powering up controller, solder a LED to a 2 pin jumper for an external power indicator and plug in the mini w5100 which sits securely in place and won't move. (Note those female header pins where Arduino plugs in under board won't be there, I used those forgetting I wasn't mounting the large style w5100 Ethernet shield.)