Proposal universal connector for dev kit - Modulowo duoNECT - and RPI Adapter

RE: Proposal universal connector for dev kit - Modulowo duoNECT - and RPI Adapter

Robert Peter Oakes — Sun, 30 Aug 2015 04:52:49 GMT

My experiance so far with the varied connector systems out there (Booster packs, Arduinos, Raspberry PI etc) is they all limit you to one or at best two add ons at a time

In almost al cases I have worked on reciently I have wanted to do more

like an LCD, Touch, ADC, DAC and maybe a few digital I/O, this is rarely available and stacking up into a tower is not the answer either. A stack that allows the driver for an LCD, ADC, DAC etc is one thing but to get a working prototype you need to be able to spread out things a little and have connections to numerious boards / devices at once

I much prefer a set of I2C and SPI connections available through a set of 4 or 6 pin connectors and then a seperate set of Digital IO which could also be connected through I2C or SPI. This is what these buses where designed for SPI - "Serial Peripheral Interface" and I2C "Inter-Integrated Circuit"

If your prototype needs to be mounted into a demo case / enclosure the boards need to be mountable (ADD HOLES FOR THIS), for instance having an LCD stuck onto an Arduino or PI but no means to have the LCD on a panel has a limited use, having it mountable with a short lead to the controller is far more useful. same goes for the sensors, convertors etc, they need to be able to be placed in an appropriate place, not sandwiched in a multilayer stach where heat and other factors affect performance

RE: Proposal universal connector for dev kit - Modulowo duoNECT - and RPI Adapter

shabaz — Sat, 29 Aug 2015 21:31:35 GMT

Is it pin compatible with MikroBus modules? (since they look very similar). They too have an RPI adapter (and a BeagleBone Black one too).

Mikroelektronica probably have close to 100 modules in their ecosystem, so it would be nice if this is compatible, so people can select boards from both ranges.

RE: Proposal universal connector for dev kit - Modulowo duoNECT - and RPI Adapter

balearicdynamics — Sat, 29 Aug 2015 21:25:34 GMT

To be honest, I have looked at your idea and it seems me something almost useless. First of all, this sort of universal module is not "universal" by definition as there is not at the moment a breadboarding standard in the direction of the external components, while it is on the microcontroller or SBC side. There is a sort os "universal" accepted standard for the Raspberry PI or the Arduino form design but what it is not acceptable on your module for the commercial products (e.g. the very few samples it is possible to see in the images here and on your site) maybe not acceptable tomorrow. Just because without a previous universally accepted standardisation for the available devices is is also impossible to standardise the connector, i.e. the "receptacle" of the modules.

This is not only the actual state of the art but - fortunately - I see there is not a trend to change these things.

The second aspect that probably it is the worth, is that the universal connector you mention includes a redundant excess of unused contacts and area in all those cases that not all the available slots are used in a project.

But - frankly - I think it is not a "connector" (we all agree what does the word means?) but it is a small board with some hardware on it just as you mention in the site description:

power supply pins (+ 3.3V, + 5V and VIN – rarely used),
UART interface
I2C interface
SPI interface
1-Wire interface
4 Digital pins (including dedicated pin INT, RST reset, PWM and selection of IC CS)
1 Analog pin
Pin ID – shared with the 1-Wire interface, used to identify the connected modules.

This means that you are barely promoting a series of small boards that - obviously - should fit somewhere, that is, what you mention as the "connector".

What I should expect from a connector is that with the Object A (e.g. Raspberry PI 2) I want to connect the object B (e.g. an accelerometer) using an intermediate passive element that connects the two things.

Please consider this as my sole personal opinion that in no way reflect the common though and vision of the other Members of this community.

Regards. Enrico