Hello Readers
In this article we will examine a variety of products received for review from Gravitech in the United States – the company that designed and build the Arduino Nano. We have a Nano and some very interesting additional modules to have a look at.
So let’s start out review with the Arduino Nano. What is a Nano? A very, very small version of our Arduino Duemilanove boards. It contains the same microcontroller (ATmega328) but in SMD form; has all the I/O pins (plus two extra analogue inputs); and still has a USB interface via the FT232 chip. But more on that later. Nanos arrive in reusable ESD packaging which is useful for storage when not in use:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Patriotic Americans should note that the Nano line is made in the USA. Furthermore, here is a video clip of Nanos being made:
For those who were unsure about the size of the Nano, consider the following images:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
You can easily see all the pin labels and compare them to your Duemilanove or Uno board. There is also a tiny reset button, the usual LEDs, and the in circuit software programmer pins. So you don’t miss out on anything by going to a Nano. When you flip the board over, the rest of the circuitry is revealed, including the FTDI USB>serial converter IC:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Those of you familiar with Arduino systems should immediately recognise the benefit of the Nano – especially for short-run prototype production. The reduction in size really is quite large. In the following image, I have traced the outline of an Arduino Uno and placed the Nano inside for comparison:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
So tiny… the board measures 43.1mm (1.7″) by 17.8mm (0.7″). The pins on this example were pre-soldered – and are spaced at standard 2.54mm (0.1″) intervals – perfect for breadboarding or designing into your own PCB - however you can purchase a Nano without the pins to suit your own mounting purposes. The Nano meets all the specifications of the standard Arduino Duemilanove-style boards, except naturally the physical dimensions.
Power can be supplied to the Nano via the USB cable; feeding 5V directly into the 5V pin, or 7~12 (20 max, not recommended) into the Vin pin. You can only draw 3.3V at up to 50 mA when the Nano is running on USB power, as the 3.3V is sourced from the FTDI USB>serial IC. And the digital I/O pins still allow a current draw up to 40 mA each. From a software perspective you will not have any problems, as the Nano falls under the same board classification as the (for example) Arduino Duemilanove:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Therefore one could take advantage of all the Arduino fun and games – except for the full-size shields. But as you will read soon, Gravitech have got us covered on that front. If the Arduino system is new to you, why not consider following my series of tutorials? They can be found here. In the meanwhile, to put the size into perspective – here is a short video of a Nano blinking some LEDs!
Now back to business. As the Nano does not use standard Arduino shields, the team at Gravitech have got us covered with a range of equivalent shields to enable all sorts of activities. The first of this is their Ethernet and microSD card add-on module:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
and the underside:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Again this is designed for breadboarding, or you could most likely remove the pins if necessary. The microSD socket is connected as expected via the SPI bus, and is fully compatible with the default Arduino SD library. As shown in the following image the Nano can slot directly into the ethernet add-in module:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Ethernet board requires an external power supply, from 7 to 12 volts DC. The controller chip is the usual Wiznet 5100 model, and therefore the Ethernet board is fully compatible with the default Ethernet Arduino library. We tested it with the example web server sketch provided with the Arduino IDE and it all just worked.
The next add-on module to examine is the 2MOTOR board:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
… and the bottom:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Using this module allows control of two DC motors with up to two amps of current each via pulse-width modulation. Furthermore, there is a current feedback circuit for each motor so you measure the motor load and adjust power output – interesting. So a motorised device could sense when it was working too hard and ease back a little (like me on a Saturday). All this is made possible by the use of the common L298 dual full-bridge motor driver IC. This is quite a common motor driver IC and is easy to implement in your sketches. The use of this module and the Nano will help reduce the size of any robotics or motorised project. Stay tuned for use of this board in future articles.
Next in this veritable cornucopia of add-on modules is the USBHOST board:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
turning it over …
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Using the Maxim MAX3421E host controller IC you can interface with all sorts of devices via USB, as well as work with the new Android ADK. The module will require an external power supply of between 7 and 12 volts DC, with enough current to deal with the board, a Nano and the USB device under control – one amp should be more than sufficient. I will be honest and note that USB and Arduino is completely new to me, however it is somewhat fascinating and I intend to write more about using this module in the near future. In the meanwhile, many examples can be found here.
For a change of scene there is also a group of Xbee wireless communication modules, starting with the Xbee add-on module:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Xbee itself is not included, only shown for a size comparison. Turning the module over:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
It is nice to see a clearly-labelled silk screen on the PCB. If you are unfamiliar with using the Xbee wireless modules for data communication, you may find my introductory tutorial of interest. Furthermore, all of the Gravitech Nano modules are fully software compatible with my tutorial examples, so getting started will be a breeze. Naturally Gravitech also produce an Xbee USB interface board, to enable PC communication over your wireless modules:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Again, note that the Xbee itself is not included, however they can be supplied by Gravitech. Turning the board over reveals another highly-detailed silk screen:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
All of the Gravitech Xbee modules support both series 1.0 and 2.5 Xbees, in both standard and professional variants. The USB module also supports the X-CTU configuration software from Digi.
Finally – leaving possibly the most interesting part until last, we have the MP3 Player add-on board:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
and on the B-side:
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The MP3 board is designed around the VS1053B MP3 decoder IC. It can also decode Ogg Vorbis, AAC, WMA and MID files. There is a 3.5mm stereo output socket to connect headphones and so on. As expected, the microSD card runs from the SPI pins, however SS is pin 4. Although it may be tempting to use this to make a home-brew MP3 player, other uses could include: recorded voice messages for PA systems such as fire alarm notices, adding sound effects to various projects or amusement machines, or whatever else you can come up with.
Update – We have examined the MP3 board in more detail with a beginner’s tutorial.
The Arduino Nano and related boards really are tiny, fully compatible with their larger brethren, and will prove very useful. Although this article was an introductory review, stay tuned for further projects and articles that will make use of the Nano and other boards. If you have any questions or enquiries please direct them to Gravitech via their contact page. Gravitech products including the Arduino Nano family are available directly from their website or these distributors.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
As always, thank you for reading and I look forward to your comments and so on. Furthermore, don’t be shy in pointing out errors or places that could use improvement. Please subscribe using one of the methods at the top-right of this web page to receive updates on new posts, follow on twitter, facebook, or join our Google Group.
[Disclaimer - the products reviewed in this article are promotional considerations made available by Gravitech]
High resolution photos are available on flickr.
Otherwise, have fun, be good to each other – and make something!
The post Review: The Gravitech Arduino Nano family appeared first on tronixstuff.