Fred

I'm about to start using stepper motors with my Stellaris Launchpad via some Pololu A4988 stepper drivers for a balance bot. I know this has been done a thousand times before but the idea is to use steppers rather than DC motors as a stepping stone to a more worthwhile project.

For those in the UK: Online http://www.coolcomponents.co.uk http://uk.farnell.com/ http://www.hobbytronics.co.uk http://uk.rs-online.com/web/ http://www.skpang.co.uk High street store http://www.maplin.co.uk Shouldn't https://estore.ti.com/ be up in the main listing for Stellaris? (There's free international shipping so still cost-effective wherever you are.)

Olimex do a PIR based on the MSP430F2013. Ideal as you can extend or replace the code running on it to suit you.

And mine has arrived too. Things can take a while to get from the US to the UK it seems. It arrived on the same day as another prize - a 3D printer I won on Instructables about 4 months ago. Thanks Bluehash.

I once tried making a creme brulee whilst I was doing some hot air soldering. It didn't go that well as it blew the sugar off the top before it caramelized.

Mine arrived (via Utrecht according to the label) despite the tracking insisting it's still in Amsterdam. DHL are definitely not as slick as FedEx.

Whilst that looks like a nice board - especially for free - the last thing I need is another processor architecture to learn. I'll stick with MSP430, STM8 and ARM for now.

My 10,000 LaunchPads have now landed in Amsterdam. I had assumed that loads of other European Launchpad shipments would be in there, but if Oppa has got his already then maybe it's just loads of random TI deliveries.

Mine just shipped. However, tracking the shipment via DHL shows that it weighs 276.2kg and is on its way to the Netherlands! I guess this must be a container with loads of stuff going to a European distribution centre. Previous orders from TI were via Fedex and a little more sensible to track.

I was just checking whether CCS can be integrated into Eclipse 4.2 (it can't) and stumbled across CCS 5.3 beta 1 (based on Eclipse 3.8) I'm not sure I'll bother with it myself but I thought some of you might be interested. Apparently CCS 6 based on Eclipse 4.2 is planned for beta late this year and release next year.

Isn't there a fair degree of overlap with TI's own MSP430 Solar Energy Harvesting Kit? http://www.ti.com/tool/ez430-rf2500-seh

That seems a bit off that resellers already have them. It makes a bit of a joke of pre-registering your interest and getting a promo price. I decided to do the right thing and only ordered one so that other people could get one too.

If you want to get used to some C programming then the MSP430 isn't a bad start. The Launchpad is even cheaper at $4.30 (incl. international shipping). If you want to stick with ARM then ST have a nice cheap range of boards in a similar vein to the Stellaris Launchpad - take a look at the STM32F0 and STM32F4 discovery kits.

Wow! Very generous of you. Thanks. By the way, is the 43oh Project of the Month still going? I've not seen one for a while. I've got some MSP430 kits that I won't realistically get round to using now that I'm getting more into ARM. I feel I should share the love and donate a prize for that.

Some nice ideas. I've obviously got to up my game! My kitesurf van project stays for the standalone LM3S2110 CAN board, but I've also got a separate use for the Ethernet enabled board. My initial jump from desktop C# programming to microcontrollers was with a Netduino and my first project was a Netduino Plus based garage door and lighting controller. It hosts a very basic hand-written web server on the device. It uses some XML messages in and out to control the devices and report their state. The UI is either an Android app or a small website served from the micro SD card. All this has bee

ST certainly have a nice range at great prices. Also good to see that the range of peripherals is different too. I was tempted by a cheap IMU and an ARM board for a ball bot, but this may fit the bill perfectly. With TI also jumping into the cheap end of the ARM market with the Stellaris Launchpad it's great for the hobbyist.

Yeah - come on, guys. I thought I set the bar fairly low. I'd be more than happy to see someone beat me to it with a project that uses more of the Stellaris's capabilities than the CAN and decoding a simple but non-standard serial protocol.

There's a project I've been tempted to do for a while. When I go kitesurfing I can't take the keys to my VW Transporter into the ocean with me. I've got a small Paxton waterproof RFID tag and a matching reader. (My work pass in my wallet is a Paxton too.) Keyless entry to my van would be fun.

I think the booster pack is from Olimex. Check https://www.olimex.com/dev/index.html - they've got a frame based site so can't link directly, but it's in the MSP430 section under booster packs.

I'm posting this from Tapatalk, so it seems to work.

The link's now dead. Perhaps it wasn't supposed to be stumbled upon just yet.

A bit of a shame, as I was hoping this would become the place for decent STM32 info. However, I can see why you've decided on this. It's not really happening.

I managed to find a clearer picture. Not sure if this was meant to be shown or not... http://www.flickr.com/photos/laraswanland/7356344648/

In the UK it's brown for live, blue for neutral and green/yellow for earth. If you're switching fluorescent lighting you may need an appropriate varistor across the relay contacts to stop them fusing. It works a bit like a flyback diode on the relay input, but for AC.

What a coincidence. I studied electronic engineering at Southampton. Well I did for a term back in 1998. Then I found it got in the way of the women, drinking and taking drugs, so I switched to economics and accounting instead. Now doing software for a living and a bit of electronics for a hobby. To be honest I know nothing about accounting but I had a lot of fun. Er - anyway. Welcome to Arm-HQ. That looks like a very neat project.