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Q: Is this project summarized in a single Elektor magazine?
A: Yes, in the December 2014 edition.
Q: Can I buy the kits/built boards via Element 14?
A: No, they are sold by Elektor (www.elektor.com)
Q: Which controller is being used, please?
A: LPC812M101JDH20FP (TSSOP20)
Q: is the rotary encoder optical?
A: No, it has sliding contacts.
Q: 16K bits or bytes of flash?
A: 16 KB i.e. bytes
Q: Hi Clemens! Does the mcu can provides PWM outputs to drive a full bridge for motor control?
A: The MCU contains a (complicated) State Configurable Timer (SCT) peripheral that can be used for PWM. I don't know how many channels it can do.
Q: As browsing through the article in Elektor I already fall in love with this concept! I think it can replace a serial terminal in many cases. - Is a version with a (OLED)-Display planned for the future?
A: Not planned, but why not? Actually the concept is to not use a display but only LEDs.
Q: Could the shop supply these partly assembled so we do not have to solder surface mount components, but can still chose what through-hole components to fit?
A: That is exactly how we will do it.
Q: Can the source be modified/changed?
A: Yes, it is open source and the tools are free.
Q: How do you program the different uC when joying different modules ? Are all programmed for themselves ?
A: Every module can have an address for instance; I recommend I²C in this case because it has addressing built-in. A CoCo-ri-Co module can choose from three I²C addresses with the preprogrammed firmware so you can wire three modules on one bus.
Q: Do you already have an idea about the price, and will it be ready for use (no soldering)?
A: We aim for € 20,- with through hole parts to be mounted by the user.
Q: It has a serial loader useful with a terminal program?
A: The boot loader uses the serial port and can be used with a terminal program. For programming the chip I recommend to use the special free tool Flash Magic.
Q: What are the advantages of this controller compared to other controllers in the market?
A: Hard to say as I did not do a comparison. It is cheap (sub-dollar), flexible and has many communication peripherals. Low power too.
Q: Is there enough i/o's available to drive an text or graphic LCD?
A: You must sacrifice CoCo-ri-Co LEDs to drive displays with a parallel port, but displays with I²C interfaces can be used easily.
Q: Is there any platform of programming these chips in any kind of BASIC? Thanks!
A: Not that I am aware of.
Q: Hi Clemens and Jan, intriguing piece of work, look forward to the print mag in my mailbox soon! Is it meaningful to think of a "minimum complexity level" for one's project in order to make it worthwhile to use the CoCoCoCoEtc rather than a custom control?
A: If you don't mount the LEDs you can use it as an LPC812 break-out board.
Q: Can i Stack the Modules vertical and fix them / are there Holes for Screws?
A: Yes. Every corner of the board has a mounting hole.
Q: Will different pre-fabricated configurations be available?
A: Probably not as that would make it too expensive.
Q: I would need to study the schematic a little more closely, but I imagine it would be easy to make it display output on seven segments instead of just the led's, say just two digits ? if so , could you suggest how to do this?
A: It is more or less against the concept, but it can be done of course. It will be difficult to mount the 7-segment displays, though.
Q: Could you say a little about current drain?
A: Power consumption depends mainly on how many LEDs are on at a time. An LED is on for about 60 ms and consumes about 10 mA, so count about 600 microamps per LED. In case of orange (red + green) you should count the double. With 16 red LEDs on the current consumption is about 15 mA.