Add-On Board for Raspberry Pi.

atomar — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 11:07:43 GMT

Current Revision posted to Documents by atomar on 10/13/2021 11:07:43 AM

Features

Ships With

Required Tools

FAQs

Accessories

Other Tools

Blog Posts

Discussions

Technical Docs

Data Sheet

Datasheet for ATmega48A/PA/88A/PA/168A/PA/328/P 8-bit Microcontroller (pdf)

Datasheet for ATmega48A/PA/88A/PA/168A/PA/328/P 8-bit Microcontroller (Summary ) (pdf)

User Manual/Guide

User Guide for the GertDuino board - add on Board for Raspberry Pi (pdf)

Overview

The Gertduino is a Raspberry-Pi add-on which offers the same functionality as an Arduino-Uno but with some extra features thrown in. The Gertduino board features an Atmega328 microcontroller, runs of 5V, has the 16MHz oscillator and has connectors which are 100 percent Arduino-Uno compatible. It also contains the reset switch, 2 user push buttons, and 6 LEDs. The Gerduino board also has a RS232 level converter which will convert the signals form a UART to the RS232 standard voltages (And invert them as per that same standard).

The Gertduino board also features an Atmega48 MCU, which is intended to be used as Real Time Clock (RTC) and/or as IRDA front end. However it is also freely programmable by the user and thus can be used for any other application, giving the user the power of not one but TWO Atmega devices to play with. The I2C interface of the Atmega-48 is connected permanently to the Raspberry-Pi I2C interface. The BCM2835 does not have a native IRDA interface. The protocol can be implemented using a standard GPIO pin but that puts a very heavy burden on the CPU. To support IRDA the Atmega-48 has a TSSOP4038 IRD device connected to pin D3. This device supports the most common IRDA protocol: 38 KHz IR signal.

You can program Atmega328 or Atmega48 from the Raspberry Pi. All connections between the board and the Raspberry-Pi are protected against 5V signals. The Atmega328 and the Atemege-48 have exactly the same pins with the same functionality. The devices only differ in the size of their various memories. So what was written about the Atmega328 also is valid for the Atmega48. But if you make programming errors with the Atmege328 the device can easily be replaced. However, this is not the case with the Atmega48. It is therefore strongly recommended that you are extra careful and not damage any of the I/O ports. Also you can remove the board from the Raspberry Pi and use it standalone.

Features

RS232 level converter can be used by:
- Raspberry-Pi
- Atmega-328
- Atmega-48
Atmega 328 (Arduino-Uno® compatible) with:
- Arduino-Uno® compatible connectors
- Reset button
- 2 user push buttons
- 6 LEDs.
Atmega 48 with:
- I/O connector with 20 pins.
- High precision RTC crystal
- Battery backup power supply
- IRDA interface

Ships With

The GertDuino board

FAQs

Does GertDuino board support RS232/UART level converter?

The Gerduino board has a RS232 level converter which will convert the signals form a UART to the RS232 standard voltages (And invert them as per that same standard). The RS232 signals come from J12. Pin 3 is the receive, Pin 2 is the transmit, Pin 1 is the ground.

Does both raspberry pi and gertduino needs separate 5 V input?

The Gertduino and the Raspberry Pi all feed from the same 5V supply. if we use two power supplies the stronger supply starts to 'back-feed' into the weaker supply and that energy will dissipate as Heat.

Can I make a Infra-red receiver/remote control receiver, with the help of Raspberry Pi board only?

The Raspberry board does not have a native IRDA interface and also the protocol implemention using a standard GPIO pin but that puts a very heavy burden on the CPU(BCM2835). Hence we can use Gertduino which has a second microcontroller (a surface mounted ATmega48) which gives an IrDA interface to the board (infrared receiver). To support IRDA the Atmega-48 has a TSSOP4038 IRD device connected to pin D3. This device supports the most common IRDA protocol: 38KHz IR signal.

Can IRDA Transmit occasional remote control signals on battery?

No, the IRDA power consumes too much current (~450μA), so you need the 5V present for it to operate.

What is the time deviation of the Real-Time-Clock (RTC) under normal conditions?

The Atmege-48 device has a 32768Hz crystal connected to operate as a Real-Time-Clock (RTC). The Crystal is a high quality type and under normal conditions a deviation is less than 1 sec/3 days.

Blog Posts

Discussions

Tags: gertduino, arduino-uno