I started this post a month or two ago but life got in the way and it didn't get finished so I've finally got the time to get back to it, I have been working on a few projects but I had to tell you about a recent find of mine with the development boards that I have become obsessed about. So lets go;
I took delivery of one of these PyBoards V1.0 the other day and was totally won over by the product, so what is a Micropython PyBoard V1.0 and what can it do or more to the point what can't it do and it's biggest limitation is your imagination or at least it's mine, you will be a very bright person with a million ideas for it. On the Micropython site it describes it as;
"The pyboard is a compact and powerful electronics development board that runs Micropython. It connects to your PC over USB, giving you a USB flash drive to save your Python scripts, and a serial Python prompt (a REPL) for instant programming. Requires a micro USB cable. Works with Windows, Mac and Linux."
They are right, it works with any OS and the Micropython OS that it operates on is fantastic, I am still in the early stages of learning it and what the board is capable of but wow, it's a fantastic little board, cheap and easy to use.
Micropython Board V1.0
It's a small board but it has amazing features
Left is the USB Connector, Right is the Micro SD Card Slot
As you can see from the images the board is small but it packs some great features and is well worth looking at and using in some of your projects, search it on Google and or eBay and you will find all the info you would ever need on it. I got mine from Core Electronics in Australia but they would be available most places that sell Arduino, Raspberry Pi's and the like.
The next on the list of projects were my Electronic Kits, I have been building Kits from Dick Smith's, (Now Gone) Jaycar, Altronics and Heath kits and I have a love of time, watches, clocks and some new Kit Clocks from Banggood in China, they were cheap BUT excellent quality with some good fun features like alarms, chimes and temperature.
One of the clock kits was mostly surface mount and it really tested my ageing eyes and shaky hands but I got it working after some extra soldering and repair work but it taught me a lot and I love the finish product. Actually I enjoyed it so much that I have ordered two more Clock kits. The dearest kit was $18.9AUD delivered and all the others were under $10.00AUD plus delivery and they are a mixture of SMD and through hole components. I now have a soldering iron better suited to SMD components and I have learnt some new tricks to hold and place components before soldering that makes the job easier and more professional looking so they should be easier and more fun to build. My love of clocks and time is now married to my love of kit building and I end up with very handy time pieces to add to my collection.
This on Stands 41mm high with 33mm digits
All Through Hole Components
The above clock displays Time naturally, Date, Temperature (Adjustable), and Day of the week but as a number, ie. 1 through 7. it has a backup battery and the instructions were brilliant and as you can see it's mounted in a plastic box so your handy work is visible, great looking bit of kit and Very Easy to build. Bit of learning re adjustments but you will master it after 2 or 3 goes, well it took me that many goes anyway, you young ones will master it in 1.
The second Clock, components not a visible thankfully
The digits are 25mm tall and you can select different Fonts
The above clock was the Surface Mount Components clock and it wasn't as easy to put together and I had to do a bit of tidying up and re soldering but it taught me a lot about working with SMD components and I now feel very confident that I will do my nest clocks, all SMD, much better and they will look much neater when finished, the components will be very visible in them so they better look much neater. This clock tells the time naturally, day of the week, ie. Mon etc, Date in the format Month/Day, Temperature (adjustable) but affected by the heat generated in the IC's, plus it has alarms and chimes. The instructions are in Chinglish and very hard to decipher, you need to be able to read a schematic and ID components very well to be able to build this kit but when finished looks great and works well, it also has backup battery and took me a few goes to get the adjustments sorted but I was well pleased with the finished components.
I am looking forward to building the two new kits when they arrive from China, Banggood is a great company to deal with, excellent products but be careful what you buy as some of it is very cheap but for the most part I have been very pleased with the finished product. The thing I like is the options they give you with delivery, yes it costs more but if you spend a bit of money you can insure it etc which is great in my books, They also have great follow up and refund when they can't supply the components, they have great contact procedures and do exactly what they say they will do. they get a 10/10 score from me. Mind you I don't buy big ticket items from them, I deal locally for 99% of my big ticket items, mostly from Core Electronics, Wiltronics, Jaycar and Altronics as they are the best hobby suppliers in Australia in my book and Element14 are the best pro supplier I deal with but not the only one's, I do have other suppliers but don't deal with them as often as I do with the others, eBay is often visited and purchased from as well.
Anyway, enjoy your hobby, build a few kits, it's greet fun and you will learn lots as you go, it also hones your soldering skills and you end up with a very handy unit, test tool or just fun product at the end of it. If it doesn't work first go, you also learn diagnostic skills as you get it going, what better way to learn than by doing. 73's and have fun.
TJ. VK2MTJ
