That SAM microcontroller is interesting. The 32-bit ARM core is basically oriented toward computer use and not controller use, so the instruction set isn’t really quite right for the job. Frankly the whole chip is overly complicated. Some years ago I used a 32-bit ARM core microcontroller from another vendor on the job. I’m not …
Very pleased to look on Amazon and see this: It is the number one new release in Digital Design, like Far Inside The Arduino got two years ago. Doesn’t really mean much though, just like the last time. What I really need are purchasers of my Arduino books to write reviews, especially if you like …
Looking at 3.3v microcontrollers like the SAMD in the newer Arduino boards, it is frequently necessary to do level conversions between 3.3v and 5v logic. Sometimes you can get away with not using a level converter, but certainly far from always! I looked at a couple of inexpensive commercial adapter boards. These are bidirectional which …
So I just finished the Still Far Inside The Arduino book and am starting to consider a new project. The Arduino Nano 33 IoT caught my eye. While still a bit more expensive than clone Uno or Nano boards, it is the second lowest cost genuine Arduino board, second only to the Arduino Nano Every. …
Finally I finished the first draft of my next book Son of Far Inside The Arduino* along with writing and testing about 35 example programs, almost all of which had to be tested on Arduino boards using the four different AVR microcontrollers the book covers. I think I spent more time on the example programs …
While writing a chapter on packet data transfer over the USARTs I realized that I could easily aim it more toward a future chapter on MODBUS with a little rewrite, so I did so. It now has timeouts and still works using callback functions, if desired. It makes for really slick demonstration programs! And while …
I haven’t been writing as much as I should (if I want to finish up the next book!). But in these interesting times it’s not easy to concentrate. However I did do some tidying up. My desk/worktable has been all strewn with parts since I started writing the Arduino books. Some of them are nicely …
In Far Inside The Arduino: Nano Every Supplement I made a late improvement to “A Better Timer Setup” that was not reflected back to the text description. The statement (page 69 of the printed book): This means with a 16MHz clock and the /8 prescaler we need 2000 counts per interrupt. With a 20MHz clock …
This book will be a catch-all for a number of topics on my mind. The family of Arduino boards. As basically revealed in previous posts, I want to address all of the AVR-based boards that are general purpose. Example programs will work on all boards (328P, 2560, 4809, or 32U4 based) even though programmed at …
This post was intended to compare the different general purpose Arduino boards. However I’ve been slowed down by the week of fires and hazardous air here in Oregon. I haven’t completed my investigation of the ATmega32U4 yet, and, in fact, my sample Arduino Micro, which uses this microcontroller, was delayed over a week in arrival. …