Ann:$25 PCB to help novices/protect Arduino. Schools. Parents?

I'm not sure I fully understand the concept.

The approach sounds much like the ruggeduino: Rugged Circuits

They mention 10 ways to destroy an arduino and then discuss preventive measures: https://andrew-sterian.squarespace.com/10-ways-to-destroy-an-arduino

It would seem from your design that an over voltage could be applied to Pin 3 of P-T4, and that over voltage would be applied directly to the Arduino pin.

Thank you! And yes, there is a clash of names. I can only protest that I was using "Rugguino" quite innocently for a time (started years ago) before becoming aware of Ruggeduino. (I have a note on my Rugguino pages, pointing out the similar domain to my readers.)

Similar: Perhaps... certainly, from my limited knowledge of their aims and products, we have some common sources of inspiration, common objectives.

Yes! If you connect NoviceGuard to unauthorized sources of voltage it will not survive! I don't think any USABLE Arduino based "toy" could survive ANY abuse....

The parents, teachers supervising the novices' learning would have to provide guidance. Within....

Thou shalt not connect things which aren't on "the menu", and

Thou shalt not mess with the pinMode statements you've been told to include in setup()

.... there is a LOT the users can do.

(By the way... while my hope is to get Arduinos into the hands of kids, I believe that NoviceGuard can be a benefit to novices of any age. Not only does it protect the Arduino, but it spares the novice having to learn electronics at the same time as learning programming. And even if they know some electronics, it spares them the fiddly... and often fumbled... "hooking up" stuff.)

Thanks for raising the question... and I look forward to checking out the "ways to kill an Arduino" page you cited. Tom

Thanks sheepdog.tk

That page certainly makes for interesting reading.

Thank you, element14 members for at least looking at the page! (Ah, the joys of page tracking. Don't worry... just the referring site reported to me, not "who you are".)

But I'm puzzled. Do people feel there's no point in bringing Arduinos to kids? No way to? (NoviceGuard is supposed to get rid of two of the biggest probems of starting kids on Arduinos!) Do you feel NoviceGuard won't do what I was trying to get done?

(Private messages welcome, if you feel that what you have to say would be of no interest to the wider community. If you find you can't PM me for some reason, my email details are at the NoviceGuard page.

While writing: While of course I CAN connect an Arduino to  few LEDs and pushbuttons with a breadboard and wires, I recently created software to control a loom... using just an Arduino Pro plugged into a NoviceGuard to do the development work. (The loom is 500 miles from where I am. It was a collaboration.)

(Loom project: http://sheepdogguides.com/arduino/LoomA.htm

... ironic... any introductory computer course talks about looms as the first "programmable" machines, and here we are, 2015, bringing things full circle, and putting a computer in charge of a loom.)

sheepdog.tk

Like Paul I'm not sure what you trying to achieve with this project.

If you want to build something that will 'protect' most pins from silly wiring mistakes, then I would have thought a shield with 100 or 220 ohm resistors in series might have been sufficient.

I did a similar thing years ago with some Picaxe kits, since they had no protection.

If you're trying to make a shield that makes it easy to connect to, then there are some 'brick' or 'Grove' based boards around already.

I support bringing Arduino to kids, and am involved in a programme here in Christchurch, NZ where we do just that.

We also provide the school with information to allow them to continue it as an after school program.

I've done some classroom stuff with Arduino and the breadboard style is a problem as you need to have very clear instructions (and pupils who read ).

For the latest series I used product from here (sorry element14 your kits are just too expensive)

Electronic Brick

If you wanted to stop the wrong voltage being sent back into the Arduino, then don't extend that pin or use a diode to make it an output only.

I tend to use USB power for all the stuff we do as it limits the voltage, saves on power packs and provides some current limiting.

It does limit you to LEDs, displays, switches, I2C, One Wire, etc, but apart from motors and large loads it covers most and its a great introduction.

NoviceGuard is supposed to get rid of two of the biggest probems of starting kids on Arduinos!

Your statement has me curious ... what do you see as the two biggest problems.?

Mark

I hope you'll take this in the constructive spirit in which it's offered.

I followed your link to the Parents/Teachers page and I've read some of the other stuff on your web site - and I'm still struggling to work out what you are offering here.

To get people interested in using the board to help kids play with Arduinos you need to completely change the website:

Show us in pictures in easy steps how kids can do something using your board. Put a comprehensive technical description and schematics in other pages with a link. Avoid using jargon.

I can see you are disappointed that no one is noticing - its like going to the ball and no one asks you to dance - hide the tears and wear a nicer dress

MK

THANK YOU for feedback above!

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Forgive me, if I am just saying the same things again. I'm trying not to, or at least to say them differently. I don't mean to repeat myself, but "what are you trying to achieve" seems to come up a lot.

----

Let me start with what isn't, I would quess, exactly what people were asking, but it is, I hope, relevant, and as other things I'd tried to explain didn't get across, maybe this didn't, either.

*** I'm trying to find people who try to help novices get started, people who would be interested in trying something I've made, see if it does what I hope it does.

-----

Turning to what I think was meant by the "What are you trying to do. (And to answer the "What are the two design goals?" question....

*** What I hope NoviceGuard does:

** 1) Make using an Arduino easier for a beginner

** 2) Protect the Arduino from some of the mistakes beginners make which damage Arduinos.

(And both of those without much expense, so people aren't excluded simply because of costs. (About $25 on top of an Arduino Pro and the stuff you'd always need to use one of them.))

-- Why I think NoviceGuard Makes Using Easier...

The beginner has NO "hooking up" to do for a long time. There is LOTS you can do with "just"... a NoviceGuard, an Arduino Pro Mini, a programming cable, and a "big" PC (Windows or Mac or Linux.)

The "second stage" beginner can do lots more, just by plugging in inexpensive "daughter boards".

-- Why I think NoviceGuard protects the Arduino...

The novice isn't connecting things... with the danger of MIS-connecting things.

The novice has enough useful inputs and outputs to learn a lot, without the responsibility of knowing all that a more advanced user needs to know to keep the Arduino "alive".

Caveat: The product is not "idiot (or malefactor) proof". There is a small "rule" that should be easy enough to explain and obey that users must be made aware of. (Explained elsewhere)

-- Why I like my answer over some others that are out there...

i) It is the cheapest I've seen that saves users having to do breadboard hookups. $5 saved for a home user isn't a big deal. $5 per station in an educational setting is a bigger consideration.

ii) It doesn't entirely "tie down" what you can do with the Arduino. There are more robust protective schemes available... but for the extra protection, extra restictions have to be accepted.

iii) It provides a multi-stage learning environment. Users can start very limited, but very safe, and with "stuff" entirely taken care of. From there, they can do more, and more... when they are ready for more and more "things" to contend with in order to open those new possibilities. Ultimately, they can discard the NoviceGuard entirely, use a "naked" Arduino Pro Mini and 100% of what an Arduino Pro Mini can do. With 0% of the help and protection NoviceGuard provides during different stages of the learner's progress. But using NoviceGuard does not, ultimately, impose any limits.

===================================

Ah well. To every question there is a simple answer. And it is wrong.

Hope the above was helpful, not just me "going on" again.

Will try to address some of the other helpful points in a separate reply another time.

A few more thoughts:

I had a quick look on Alibaba - I can buy Arduino Pro Mini clones for £0.972 each (lot of 10, free shipping to UK) - so if I were teaching  a class (Health Warning: I'm not  a teacher but an electronic design engineer) I'm not that sure that there would be enough benefit in saving the Arduinos from accidents.

The way I would see value in your board is if you were to support it with lot's of good quality tutorial stuff and that would be a lot of work, with no guarantee that people won't just use it without buying boards.

It saves users from soldering (assuming it arrives built) and breadboards which might be appealing in school type environments.

MK

Here are my thoughts....

A PCB is not suitable for a 10 year old kid. They will only work with something in a big plastic box with large knobs and switches.  loose parts like jumpers and LEDs will get immediately lost or swallowed by a younger sibling or pet.

Why make a board for a micro or mini to make it bigger than an Uno? Just use an Uno.

I think my son enjoyed burning up all my LEDs putting them on a 9V battery when he was about 10.

10 year old kids have no interest in programming.  They like to push buttons and watch things happen immediately.

Even 18-25 year olds in my classes have difficulty with programming, concepts like pull-up resistors, and current limiting.

Good luck with your project, I would suggest going to a school and talking to teachers about what would be appropriate for the age group you are targeting.

I AM following the very helpful stream of comments! Will do an "omnibus" reply later. Am at the moment taking action inspired by earlier feedback.