3-October-2009
Atmel Boards and Physical Computing Tools
Information on the Atmel based development boards, that started with the
dorkon-i, have been moved to the
wiblocks website.
11-March-2007
MSP430 Microcontroller Systems
These MSP430 microcontroller systems consist of a stack of three
boards --- a power supply board, a microcontroller board and an
interface board. The basic form-factor of each board is 1.3x2.4
inches. Different size boards are possible provided that the connector and
mounting hardware allign.
MSP430 Microcontroller Systems
MSP430F169 CPU Board
The microcontroller board (right) is based on the Texas Instruments
MSP430F169
16-bit Ultra-Low-Power MCU. The microcontroller has 60kB Flash, 2048B
RAM, 12-Bit ADC, Dual DAC, 2 USART, I2C, HW Mult and DMA. The
active-mode power consumption is 330uA at 1MHz (2.2V), 1.1uA in Standby Mode
and 0.2uA in Off Mode (RAM Retention).
The board contains a USB port(left), a JTAG header(right) and I/O
header(top). The I/O header brings out the majority of the I/O pins of
the MSP430F169. The form-factor of this board is 1.6 x 2.45 inches.
MSP430 Microcontroller Systems
MSP430F20x2 CPU Board
This CPU board is based on the Texas Instruments
MSP430F20x2
family of CPUs. IO pins P1.1-P1.7 are brought out to header connector
J3 (right). The onboard peripherals consist of two pushbuttons, a
photodiode and a buzzer. The header connector J4 is used to enable the
on board peripherals.
MSP430 Microcontroller Systems
Coincell Power Supply
The coincell power supply board contains a 3V to 5V DC-DC converter, a
CR2450 coincell holder and a current sink that trickle charges a flat
supercap that is on the back of the board. The header connector (J82)
brings out the supercap voltage, the 5V power supply output and 5V
enable line. The missing connector (J81) on the bottom is used to fast
charge the supercap.
MSP430 Microcontroller Systems
Wall Transformer Power Supply
This power supply consists of three DC-DC converters, an external
battery and a powerpath controller. The primary mode of operation of
this supply is from an external 3V battery. The connector (J82) on the
top of the board brings out 3.3V, the status line from the powerpath
controller, the 5V power supply output and 5V enable line.
MSP430 Microcontroller Systems
Parallel Port JTAG Adapter
This adapter is based on the TI JTAG application note
slau138e.
The parallel port is on the left, the standard 14-pin JTAG port and an
8-pin JTAG port are on the right. The 8-pin port is used on the
MSP430F169 and MSP430F20x2 microcontroller boards.
Synth-DIY
Organ Pedals Opto-Interrupter Board
This board is used to generate note-on and note-off midi commands for
a two octave organ pedal board. Vanes are attached to the end of each
pedal. Pressing a pedal forces the vane to break the beam of a slotted
opto-interrupter. There are five of these boards, in three different
sizes, mounted at the back of a set of pedals. The board can be cut at
either column of jumpers.
Synth-DIY
White Noise Source
This white noise source is similar to the ARP 4022 noise module and
the Minimoog noise generator. The noise module is 0.5 x 0.625 inches.
The pinout of the header is +V,GND,-V,Output.
