The FetaDuino

Let's Make Robots Robots
1

 


Ah yes, the FetaDuino.

It's the best gosh-darn Arduino-based LCD controller, named after cheese, that you will see today.

It goes with everything!

 
The FetaDuino is the brainchild of Mr. Patrick McCabe of patrickmccabemakes.com. Originally, it was designed for use in stationary control panels and handheld transmitters. It contained a “full size” atmega 328 and through-hole components. I personally have a couple of these original designs and they are simply fantastic. Building on that original design, Pat, with input from me, redesigned the whole board to use SMD parts which allowed the addition of voltage regulators, extras like on-board EEPROMS and of course, room for an X-bee. As it stands now, the FetaDuino is an incredible stand-alone unit capable of not only running the attached LCD but could be the main microcontroller for almost any project.
 

 


The FetaDuino Features:

  • Atmega 328

  • External 256k EEPROM

  • X-bee headers

  • No need to unplug X-bee for programming

  • 5v Regulator

  • 3.3v Regulator

  • On-board battery monitoring

  • Bright blue back-mounted LED

  • Dedicated i2c lines with 3.3v and 5v available

  • Access to SPI lines

  • Access to interrupt lines

  • LCD backlight brightness control via PWM

  • Did I mention an X-BEE!?!

  • A PCB footprint no larger than that of a 16x2 LCD

  • Low profile design

 
Applications:

  • A standard serial or i2c LCD

  • Control Panels

  • Transmitters

  • Receiver and LCD for robots

  • Data Logging

 
Contained in the kit:

Here is the Instruction Manual

Here is a zip file with some super-simple example code

 


Here are just some of the projects that have already been built around the FetaDuino:

 

Designed by Mr. Patrick McCabe of patrickmccabemakes.com

 

Pat's original transmitter design

 

Rocket Brand Studios transmitter prototypes

 

da Vinci (CNC-style Etch-A-Sketch control via a FetaDuino)

 

Walter the Robot's motor controller display

 

Stand-alone extruder control for 3D printing via CNC

 

The ReFloaster:
The best gosh-darn custom-made toaster-based reflowing system ever created. This is actually the workhorse of the FetaDuino assembly process. Each and every FetaDuino is handcrafted, populated and reflowed right here in America using good ol' Yankee ingenuity.

 

 

A full-on Arduino board, LCD controller and X-Bee Support

  • Actuators / output devices: 16x2 or 20x4 LCD
  • CPU: ATmega 328 Surface Mount
  • Power source: 4.5 - 11.5 v
  • Programming language: Arudino
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/the-fetaduino
2

awesome

good stuff my friend… how are you?

3

That video…

You really went berserk in it :smiley:

4

Curious

Im really curious to know from where did you get the inspiration for the name .(Feta its a greek cheese by the way, dont know if that has to do witth this )

5

Very cheesy

I don’t know who’s more cheesy, the fetaduino or the joker doing the video. It’s been a little quiet here with you slaving over that cnc project. Good to see you posting something new. And it looks great.

6

very very very cool

very very very cool !!!

7

Awesomeness!

I must look into getting this someday. Loads of uses with this. And i must say…the price isn’t bad at all.

8

I must say I really like the

I must say I really like the layout/features for the price.  I’m really interested in that transmitter prototype, you ever plan on selling that?  I could make one sure, but a kit with that would be worth it to me, and based upon your other prices i’m guessing it would be well worth it.

9

As you can see in the video,

As you can see in the video, the FetaDuino is analogous to cheese in so many ways. So it is only natural that it is named after a cheese.

We are paving the way for cheese inspired electronics. 

10

Hey Klick

Yes. Yes. Yes. 

The transmitter is just around the corner. I am just putting the finishing touches on the instruction manual and assembly instructions. At the same time, we just sold out of the FetaDuino. We are racing to finish the 2nd batch of units as we speak. When they are ready to go, I will post the transmitter.

Again, just around the corner --keep you eyes peeled.

11

Picaxe,

Are you going to make this with picaxe, or somthing else with picaxe??

Would be really cool…

12

Would this work…

Would this work with an XRF module instead of an Xbee? Only I’m considering using an XRF module for a DIY RC controller, and this looks like it would be good for the transmitter end of things.

PS: Does anyone have any experience with XRF modules?

PPS: I’m used to programming picaxe chips. How hard is it to move on to arduino?

13

Yes and not too bad…

Yes, this LCD will work with just about any transmitter unit. The serial RX and TX lines are broken out and available. There is no need to be tied to an X-bee. The Feta also has 3.3v and 5v regulators on it so it should be easy to work with 3.3v devices if need be.

In terms of Picaxe and Arduino. Yup, there is going to be a learning curve switching to Arduino. In fact, it took me personally a little while to make the switch. I can assure you that the switch is worth the time. The Arduino is quite a bit more powerful than a picaxe, gives you things like bigger variables and more of them, and the ability to work with negitive numbers. Not to mention, there are just a ton of libraries out there for the Arduino that end up doing a lot of the work for you.

As with everything, learning a new chip and/or language is going to be some work. You can handle it though.

14

Thanks

Thanks