blog@SchmartBoard

Through Hole Arduino is Coming and With It a Plethora of Surface Mount

Schmartboard has been shipping our .5, .6 and 1.27mm SOIC prototyping shields now for a year.  We have done very well with them.  At, $15 including the headers and other hardware it is a true bargain.  We had planned on releasing many different SMT Arduino Prototyping Shields for SOIC, QFP, QFN and DFN.

Logic took a hold of us and we have a better plan.  We already have SMT to DIP adapters for many of the above mentioned component types..why reinvent the wheel?  We will therefore release 2 Through Hole Arduino Shields(1 regular and the other Mega).  We will also offer Surface Mount Kits which come with the Through Hole Shield of your choice, bundled with the SMT to DIP of your choice for an aggressive price.  We will release these product in June..Get Ready!

We will have more information on the two Through Hole Shields soon.  I can tell you this, Schmartboard does not release "me-too" products though.  These will have our signature offset through hole grid and some other improvements.  More to come soon!

Schmartboard PSoC Cometh

We are almost ready to release our Cypress PSoC development board.

Schmartboard’s patented “EZ” technology allows you to add PSoC processors and also a I2C EEPROM (package type TSSOP8)

The board will support any Cypress PSoC 68-pin QFN from the High-performance 8-bit 8051 based PSoC3 and the ARM® Cortex™ - M3 based PSoC5 or PSoC5LP

 

• The board's DIP packaging layout plugs into a breadboard, or a prototyping board such as the 201-0302-01 to easily develop proof of concept systems or utilize in prototypes.
• The PSoC chips operate from 0.5 V to 5.5V utilizing the on board  boost converter that will operate from 0.5 V and 3.6 V, an LDO with up to 35 Vin or an external DC source.
• It has 30 I/O that can be used for digital or analog signals as well as 2 CapSense® modules.
• Configure your hardware resources as well as develop, download and debug your software with the free PSoC Creator IDE tool selecting library modules or create your own.
• Full Speed USB 2.0 connector for use with the bootloader to program your design.
• Debug your USB designs with SnoopyPro free USB sniffer.
• MiniProg3 header to download and debug your design.
• Join the Cypress Developer Community^TM   or watch the PSoC Today video series

 

Be sure to enter our monthly contest to win your Schmartboard PSoC module today.

Schmartboard Jumpers-Not Everything is Apples to Apples

When buying jumpers from Schmartboard or any other source, consider the following:

• What gauge is it?  There may be a reason it is not published.  Ours are 28 gauge.
• Is there a UL approval? Temperature rating?  Ours have them.
• Are the male or female ends of the jumper gold immersion?  Many will try to save money by forgoing this process.  Ours are all gold immersion which means better connectivity and less corrosion.

• Is the sheathing too thick to use in tight spaces?  We use a process in the manufacture of ours to give you great insulation without adding great thickness which may impair your project when working in tight spaces.

Schmartboard sells male, female, male to female and daisy chained jumpers in lengths ranging from 2" to 24".

Texas Instruments MSP430F5172 Development SchmartModule

Schmartboard has just released a new product.   The  Texas Instruments MSP430F5172 Development SchmartModule. This board is an easily to use platform featuring the MSP430F5172 from Texas Instruments. This 4th generation MSP430 includes a 25 MHz core, a 10 bit Analog to digital converter, a 32 bit hardware multiplier, and a precision Timer D PWM capable of 4 ns resolution. It is the perfect device to build servo, control, or other PWM applications.  This module is fully populated including the T.I.  MSP430F5172 microcontroller.

"The Texas Instruments MSP430 family of ultralow-power microcontrollers consists of several devices featuring different sets of peripherals targeted for various applications. The architecture, combined with five low-power modes, is optimized to achieve extended battery life in portable measurement applications. The device features a powerful 16-bit RISC CPU, 16-bit registers, and constant generators that contribute to maximum code efficiency. The digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) allows wake up from low-power modes to active mode in less than 5 µs.

The MSP430F51x2 series are microcontroller configurations with two 16-bit high-resolution timers, universal serial communication interfaces (USCI_A0 and USCI_B0), 32-bit hardware multiplier, a high performance 10-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) converter, on-chip comparator, three-channel DMA, 5-V tolerant I/Os, and up to 29 I/O pins.

The MSP430F51x1 series are microcontroller configurations with two 16-bit high-resolution timers, universal serial communication interfaces (USCI_A0 and USCI_B0), 32-bit hardware multiplier, on-chip comparator, three-channel DMA, 5-V tolerant I/Os, and up to 29 I/O pins.

Typical applications for these devices include analog and digital sensor systems, LED lighting, digital power supply, motor control, remote controls, thermostats, digital timers, hand-held meters, etc."

The board was co-designed by the University of Colorado EE department to address some educational needs and also Texas Instruments.

We have priced it at only $35.00, fully populated and ready to go.

2 New Microcontroller Products to be Released this Month.

This month we plan to release 2 new products.  The first is a product for the Cypress PSoC.  We have been working for a long time with Cypress personnel to bring this to market.  It will be a low cost solution for utilizing this exceptional Microcontroller.

We are also going to release a development board for a particular microcontroller from Texas Instruments.  This board was developed with the EE dept of the U of Colorado and also T.I.  “This board is an easily to use platform featuring the MSP430F5172 from Texas Instruments.  This 4^th generation MSP430 includes a 25 MHz core, a 10 bit Analog to digital converter, a 32 bit hardware multiplier, and a precision Timer D PWM capable of 4 ns resolution.  It is the perfect device to build servo, control, or other PWM applications.

Both products should be released at the end of January.

New SMT to DIP Adapter

Schmartboard has released our latest entry into our SMT to DIP family.  It is for 0.5mm Pitch 40 Pin QFP/QFN ICs.  As with all members of this family, it allows you to use today's advanced components on a bread board.

This product is an QFP/QFN to DIP adapter with a twist. These have our patented "ez" technology which means that soldering the surface mount component is simple, and as with all of our "ez" boards, we are the only company with a patented solution for easily soldering surface mount parts. Included in the package is 0.5mm pitch adapter board for 40 Lead QFP or QFN and a row of headers to use the boards with a breadboard. This board also includes room for 0805 SMT discrete components such as a bypass capacitor and pads for easy access to a ground. Additionally a plated hole in the center of the device area, allows for the addition of solder to utilize ground pads on the bottom of the IC.

At $6.00 you can go wrong.  It is the only solution on the market that allows you to use these parts on a breadboard.

October 2 2012 Electronics News

Schmartboard Now In Switzerland

Schmartboard products are now available to our Swiss users, locally.

Boxtec was founded 2003 and is specialized in providing open source hardware to private, educational and business customers. Boxtec empowers makers, electronic DIY microcontroller and robotics enthusiasts with the prototyping parts and tools they need to realize their projects the quickest possible.

Christoph Schneeberger who is responsible for new products and tech support at Boxtec says:"Schmartboard is a great addition to our product portfolio as it opens a lot of opportunities in prototyping which were before only accessible to professional users. The same holds true for the EZ soldering technology which opens prototyping with SMD components to users with practically no experience in soldering."

A Story About John The Engineer.

Our new commercial.  The story of an electrical engineer named John

 

Arduino...Schmartboard Style

We are finally shipping our Arduino SMT Prototyping shields. The biggest holdup, believe it or not was sourcing the female headers. You'd be surprised how much some suppliers wanted to charge us for these. We wanted to keep the suggested retail, with all of the components(and even some optional components included) to be $15. The header people were not cooperating..but we did it and I believe for those, who have recently received the boards, the wait was worth it.

We do have a special running through the end of this week. You can save 33% through Friday. We plan to release many more Arduino SMT prototyping boards and a through hole board before the end of this year.