Development Boards, SBCs & Microcontrollers

[Slime_Punk]

I figured maybe it would be a cool idea to have a thread dedicated to single-board computers, development boards & microcontrollers. I originally started a chat for this, but abandoned the idea when I realized that importing multi-line code blocks wasn't possible, and I figured it could get frustrating if anyone was sharing the 'gory' details of their project (aka lengthy code) or trying to get help, but the forums allow code blocks, so we're good here!

Many threads (not specifically-related to the aforementioned) lead to a discussion involving these, so I figured a little 'master thread' of sorts could really spark some good conversation around personal projects or even things we've found to be inspiring elsewhere.

Ideally, here would be a few great ways to utilize this thread:

1. Show us your collection!
2. Show us (or discuss) your latest project!
3. Ask for (and receive!) help with your project!
4. Brainstorm unique ideas for future projects!
5. Share videos and other inspirations along the way!
6. Anything else related to the topic goes!

Also, every skill-level is welcomed, as high-level or as low-level as you want to get!

 

[Jumpinbare]

I like.
I can't easily show my collection, as many of my Raspberry Pis and arduinos are imbedded in other things and geographically scattered around 3 locations in Central Florida.
I program them in Arduino C++, python, and generic C++
I try to keep a new Pi and several arduinos on hand for spur-of-the moment projects

 

[Angular Chap]

Some of my collection:

Arduinos, the top right is a shield I built to more easily use the Arduino to program other microcontrollers. I got an Uno many years ago and just stuck with it. I like to use the board itself, jumper wires and breadboard to prototype things, then transfer the code to another chip and build a custom PCB, rather than put the whole Arduino itself into a project. Saves space and having to buy multiple Arduinos. The Leonardo I bought to do USB mouse/keyboard stuff.

Below the Arduinos are bare microcontrollers, ATMega328s, (same chip as most Arduinos) ATTiny13s and 85, capable of running Arduino code.

Then we have the Raspberry Pis, or course. The Zero, original model, Pi B+ and 2 Pi 4 8GB models.

The bottom row are nano router boards. They used to be my favourite toys before later OpenWrt/LEDE firmwares introduced issues and I switched to using the Raspberry Pi Zero for most networking based projects.

 

[Misery]

I have this thing:

A Pi of some sort.

Honestly I know so little about stuff like this. This is the only such device that I have, and it is used as an emulator box. Retroarch, I think is the specific frontend used, though I use Launchbox on the PC.

Basically this is every NES/SNES/Gameboy/2600 game ever made, some random other console stuffs, and then every arcade game there ever was prior to... about 2003, is the cutoff date for the archive. I mostly like "golden age" arcade games. You name it, it's on there. You dont name it, it's still on there.

I do recall that setting this up was a giant pain.

I dont use it all that often. It is meant for use when travelling. When at home here, I just use the main archive on the PC.

I just noticed that a screw fell out, so that's great.

 

[Slime_Punk]

Wow, I love the collection pictures, @Misery and @Angular Chap!

Unfortunately these are mostly counterfeits and clones with varying degrees of reliability, but they seem to work most of the time. Out of all of them, the Pi Picos are probably the only legitimate ones, and those cool little shields free up breadboard space which is fun.

Also, that drawer full of boards with unsoldered headers needs some love, but I don't have even a basic magnifier yet and I suck at soldering, so that's a work in progress for sure. Even though they were really cheap, I don't want to accidentally fry them with my weak skills just yet

This is a relatively new domain for me (maybe going on a year and a half now?), so there's still a lot of unknowns. I mostly just build MIDI controllers with the HID-capable boards, but now I'm looking into using the non-HIDs over serial and loopbacks to generate MIDI signals for modular synth VSTs and even make art projects with Processing weirder!

Also, if anyone has cool ideas for projects, I'd love some suggestions!

 

[Angular Chap]

Also, if anyone has cool ideas for projects, I'd love some suggestions!

Alright, here are a few gaming related ones!

Use the Pico as a modchip for the Gamecube and to hack the 360!

Use the 360 controller to control a servo (or anything else for that matter!)

I've used the Leonardo to "cheat" in games (not multiplayer, though, that would be unfair) and just for general convenience. Rather than set up keyboard macros via software, I've used the Leo to code hardware macros.

Moving away from gaming, It was building custom alarm systems that got me started using Arduinos. I started with a basic infrared sensor and piezo buzzer. Then I added a keypad to disarm it. Then it became an RFID system which used a card to disarm it. The last method is to use a wireless key fob to arm/disarm it like a vehicle. Maybe add an even louder siren, maybe drive a small 12V air compressor hooked up to a 150DB truck or boat horn.

 

[Jumpinbare]

Sorry about blur. Apparently I wasn't that steady when I took this, These are what I could lay hands on (not inside something)

1 Hero (uno knockoff - got it free) -------
2 Mega |
3 8266 |
4 uHex (ultra low power consumption) |
5 Raspberry Pi Pico W (wifi) |
6 Raspberry Pi Pico | ------- Arduinos
7 STM32F401CCU6 |
8 Adafruit Trinket |
9 Adafruit Trinkey |
10 LILYGO (with tft display) |
11 TTGO T1 (with tft display) -------

12 1.54 inch e-paper display

13 Raspberry Pi Zero
14 Raspberry Pi Zero W (wifi) on expansion board
15 Raspberry Pi 2B
16 Raspberry Pi 3B+
17 Raspberry Pi 4 with PiMoroni e-paper display

 

[Jumpinbare]

Not my stuff, but thought y'all might like to see this Pi cluster.

 

[Slime_Punk]

Not my stuff, but thought y'all might like to see this Pi cluster.
View attachment 119191

That is truly a work of art. I wonder about all of the things they could automate together

 

[Slime_Punk]

Does anyone have one of these? I like the idea of branching out and going further down the rabbit hole since I know essentially nothing about bare-metal or the architecture at all. Seems like something fun to get tangled up with for a while!

 

[Jumpinbare]

I purchased several stm boards, but I haven't yet gotten any to work with the Arduino IDE, despite several articles and videos saying they will

 

[Slime_Punk]

I purchased several stm boards, but I haven't yet gotten any to work with the Arduino IDE, despite several articles and videos saying they will

Have you tried installing one of the packages from URL? I got these to show up:

I can't test them yet and it looks like I got an older package, but it seems promising.

https://github.com/stm32duino/BoardManagerFiles/raw/main/package_stmicroelectronics_index.json

 

[Jumpinbare]

Yes I have. The boads show up. But my computer doesn't communicate with the actual board

 

[Slime_Punk]

That's very strange and unfortunate . If I end up getting a Nucleo or something cool by the end of the year, I'm going to give it a go and definitely post the results if I got it working (I'm a little too stubborn when it comes to problems like this sometimes!). Does it work in Circuitpython / Micropython or does it just not seem to work with any IDE for you?

 

[Jumpinbare]

I haven't tried the Pythons. I guess I'm a bit biased toward arduino C++

 

[Angular Chap]

Got the Raspberry Pi 5 for Christmas!

I don't have the official cooler or the official "smart" PSU yet, but I'll get to those

Can't wait til the M.2 hat becomes available so I can use an SSD without a USB adapter and also the PCIe extensions so I can use a full size GPU with it!

 

[Ghostinthemachine]

Hello everyone,I am an absolute novice so please excuse my basic question.i am thinking about having a go at a raspberry pi and I can code python.can you tell me please if pi and the accessories use breadboard etc to connect or if I need to solder?I am pretty good at soldering but just wondered if there was any soldering required to work with pi physical boards & chips.

Thank you in advance

 

[Jumpinbare]

Pis have a 40 pin dual inline male header. You can use female bread board jumpers to connect to external breadboad. Also, there are accessory boards called pi hats that plug into the header. Some pi hats give you a bread board. I have this device on one of my pi zero Ws.

Here's a Pi 3b:

 

[Slime_Punk]

Got the Raspberry Pi 5 for Christmas!

View attachment 123319

I don't have the official cooler or the official "smart" PSU yet, but I'll get to those

Can't wait til the M.2 hat becomes available so I can use an SSD without a USB adapter and also the PCIe extensions so I can use a full size GPU with it!

Whoa, I haven't checked the specs on the 5 yet but I bet it's good! Is this the 8GB?

 

[Slime_Punk]

I got some goods for christmas as well:

Just flashed the Le Potato with Ubuntu (some of the other OSs wouldn't boot into desktop mode for some reason, although CLI-based ones were seemingly working fine), got the Metro to handle MIDI for a change (which saves me from using a bunch of loopback 'helper' apps with my AVR boards) and now I'm getting kind of curious about that Nucleo.

I guess the Le Potato is a bit underpowered since it's essentially a Pi 3 clone (not a 4, as I had originally thought) but being my first SBC, this might prove to be a lot of fun to build projects for at least! I have exactly zero in mind, but I always thought it would be cool to at least have GPIO control from within an OS for starters