A Sparkfunbench top power board kit let me take a 300 W power supply salvaged from a dead computer and use it as a bench power supply.
It’s a handy little kit that takes the power supply motherboard connection and breaks out the +12V, -12V, 5V and 3.3V DC to fused 5 way binding posts.
Sparkfun bench power supply kit
Computer power supply
According to the label on the power supply, it can source 17A at +12V, 0.2A at -12V, 19A at 3.3V, and 15A at 5V. That should be more than enough for any projects I’ll run off it.
I also picked up a few of these simple little 3-digit voltmeters that I’ll connect across the outputs to show the voltages.
Next will be to figure out an enclosure to contain everything.
The Adafruit RGB LCD shield and TMP36 temperature sensor were pretty easy to wire up to the Redboard. The LCD shield communicates using the I2C pins, so it just need those to connections plus 5V power and ground from the Redboard. The TMP36 was just as easy to wire using 3.3V power and ground from the Redboard and connection to one of the Redboard analog inputs.
(There was no Fritzing part for the LCD shield, so I just used an LCD display part instead)
A few hours of writing some code and fiddling around got me a working thermometer.
Thanks to the Adafruit RGB LCD library, the sketch for what I’ve done so far is pretty simple. Pressing the Select button on the shield makes the LCD turn on and display the current temperature as well as the range of temperatures measured since it was turned on. The temperature is displayed for 30 seconds, then the LCD and backlight are turned off. Pressing the Select button again makes it display the temperature again.
The next step will be to add some additional functions accessed via a menu. I’ll add a speaker or buzzer and have it alarm above a certain temperature. Once I have this prototype working nicely, I’ll repackage it and turn it into a thermometer to monitor the temperature in our freezer. I’ll have to figure out how to attach the thermometer to the power and analog pins, because the LCD shield doesn’t break them out. Shouldn’t be too hard to work out.
Inspired by the Sparkfun Arduino and Breadboard holder, I decided to build my own portable work station to use for building projects with my *duinos.
I cut a 27.7cm x 40.5 cm piece of 6mm thick (1/4″) plywood from stuff I had on hand to serve as the base, and started playing around with how I wanted things laid out. I eventually settled on a setup with three breadboards around the *duino board (in this case, a Sparkfun RedBoard) and a little parts bin on the side.
Sparkfun RedBoad workstation with breadboards
Scrounged up some nylon standoffs and screws to mount the board to the plywood and I ended up with this.
Sparkfun RedBoad workstation with breadboards
I can switch between the Netduinos and RedBoards pretty easily, and it gives me plenty of breadboard space to work on. The parts bin stays on the board thanks to the magic of Velcro™ and I used the adhesive backing on the breadboards to stick them to the plywood.
Still have plenty of room on the left side to put other things. Now I’ll be able to easily pick up my projects and move them somewhere else to work on.
With the two RedBoards, the Netduinos, and the Ham Radio for Arduino and PICAXE book I picked up a couple weeks ago, I should have a lot of fun exploring and playing. Now I’ll have to start accumulating shields…
I think I’m going to need a new project box to store these boards in now.
