I love the Arduino as a simple and accessible controller platform for many varied projects. A few months ago, a purchased an Ethernet shield for my Arduino controller to work on some projects with a mate of mine - it was a massive hit - for the first time, I could control my projects remotely using simple software.
That got me thinking - The Arduino costs about $30AUD, and the Ethernet board cost about $30AUD as well. That is a lot of money - Could I make a simple, dedicated remote controller for much cheaper? Why Yes I could. Could I make it the size of a credit card? Why Yes - I could!!
This project is my simple Arduino compatible controller that has embedded Ethernet, and the capacity to drive some extra I/O lines for projects, such as a Remote thermometer, a Remotely accessible Fridge controller, and a Remote Humidity sensor. I have to say from the start that I didn't write all of the software, my mate Mikal did that - but this instructable is about making your own controller board!
Lets start!
That got me thinking - The Arduino costs about $30AUD, and the Ethernet board cost about $30AUD as well. That is a lot of money - Could I make a simple, dedicated remote controller for much cheaper? Why Yes I could. Could I make it the size of a credit card? Why Yes - I could!!
This project is my simple Arduino compatible controller that has embedded Ethernet, and the capacity to drive some extra I/O lines for projects, such as a Remote thermometer, a Remotely accessible Fridge controller, and a Remote Humidity sensor. I have to say from the start that I didn't write all of the software, my mate Mikal did that - but this instructable is about making your own controller board!
Lets start!
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Signing UpStep 1: Here is the Schematic Diagram
For the curious, this is the schematic diagram of my simple Ethernet board.
As you can see, there are a number of exposed header connectors that can be used to connect peripheral devices to.
The board is powered with a supply of between 7 and 12v. It contains voltage regulators to provide +5v and +3.3v for the Ethernet controller.
There is also a 4 position DIP switch that can be used to allow programmed functions to be modified. A failing of the standard Arduino Ethernet library is that the IP address for the board has to be set in code. Using the DIP switch, a block of addresses can be selected from as required. You can make 16 boards, and have each board automatically select a different address based on the switch setting. This is *really* handy when you have deployed 10 sensors around the house. All you need to do is set a switch and then they are configured.
The pinouts of the I/O connectors are;
I/O1 - 1 - PD5 (Arduino Pin 5)
I/O1 - 2 - PD6 (Arduino Pin 6 +pullup to +5v) - Used to connect a DS1820 Temperature sensor.
I/O1 - 3 - PD7 (Arduino Pin 7)
I/O1 - 4 - PD8 (Arduino Pin 8)
I/O1 - 5 - GND
I/O2 - 1 - +5v
I/O2 - 2 - GND
I/O2 - 3 - PD4 (Arduino Pin 4)
I/O2 - 4 - PC0 (Arduino Analog 0)
I/O2 - 5 - PD3 (Arduino Pin 5)
I/O2 - 6 - PC1 (Arduino Analog 1)
I/O2 - 7 - PC2 (Arduino Analog 2)
I/O2 - 8 - PC3 (Arduino Analog 3)
I/O2 - 9 - PC4 (Arduino Analog 4)
I/O2 - 10 - PC5 (Arduino Analog 5)
As you can see, there are a number of exposed header connectors that can be used to connect peripheral devices to.
The board is powered with a supply of between 7 and 12v. It contains voltage regulators to provide +5v and +3.3v for the Ethernet controller.
There is also a 4 position DIP switch that can be used to allow programmed functions to be modified. A failing of the standard Arduino Ethernet library is that the IP address for the board has to be set in code. Using the DIP switch, a block of addresses can be selected from as required. You can make 16 boards, and have each board automatically select a different address based on the switch setting. This is *really* handy when you have deployed 10 sensors around the house. All you need to do is set a switch and then they are configured.
The pinouts of the I/O connectors are;
I/O1 - 1 - PD5 (Arduino Pin 5)
I/O1 - 2 - PD6 (Arduino Pin 6 +pullup to +5v) - Used to connect a DS1820 Temperature sensor.
I/O1 - 3 - PD7 (Arduino Pin 7)
I/O1 - 4 - PD8 (Arduino Pin 8)
I/O1 - 5 - GND
I/O2 - 1 - +5v
I/O2 - 2 - GND
I/O2 - 3 - PD4 (Arduino Pin 4)
I/O2 - 4 - PC0 (Arduino Analog 0)
I/O2 - 5 - PD3 (Arduino Pin 5)
I/O2 - 6 - PC1 (Arduino Analog 1)
I/O2 - 7 - PC2 (Arduino Analog 2)
I/O2 - 8 - PC3 (Arduino Analog 3)
I/O2 - 9 - PC4 (Arduino Analog 4)
I/O2 - 10 - PC5 (Arduino Analog 5)
Arduino-Ethernet-schematic.pdf(595x842) 59 KB
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What software is needed and how to place the cable ftdi
Great project btw! many thx!!
Thats cool - but frustrating that your project isn't working well.
The ferrite bead is used for suppression, so it is unlikely to be the problem.
The most likely issue is either (1) something else on the network with the same IP or MAC, or (2) the regulators overheating because the supply voltage is too high.
What supply are you using - I tested mine with a 9v power supply.
I have no problem with IP or MAC address.
I think the supply voltage is the problem, I am using a 12v battery for supply, and the 5v regulator is overheating, so this might be the problem.
I'll give it a try later today by using a 5v supply.
as for the ferrite, will the project work with-out it?or are there any replacement for it? because i can't find ferrite in the local electronic store.
regards!
Reply from 192.168.1.15: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
I am getting reply since 1h 30 min!
btw I replaced the ferrite with a wire.
great project! many thx!!
The project was last used with the Arduino 0022 IDE version - I have not tested it with the latest - It probably needs a refresh to work, as it is over 12 months old.
Can I use some pins as Rx and Tx???
I need to transmit signal from Serial port.
Yes. Rx and Tx are brought out for the FTDI cable (connector P1, pins 2 and 3). Note that they are labelled the opposite of the names on the ATMega (which, coincidentally, are on pins 2 and 3 of the ATMega).
Rx and Tx have handy indicator LEDs D3 and D4, but you should raise the values for R13 and R14, especially if you need reliable serial communications.
I found that the ATMega chip was not programmable in situ with either of the FTDI cables I have (i.e., without removing the chip, programming it in an Arduino, and putting it back). Swapping the 270 Ω resistors (R13 and R14) for at least 330 Ω made it work, so I just went ahead with 470 Ω to be a little safer. The barely noticeable loss of brightness is well worth the increased programming reliability.
Choice of board type with Arduino 1.0.1 IDE
The kind of board you should tell Arduino you have depends on the ATMega chip and bootloader you choose. This board is similar to a Duemilanove, or a boarduino. I found http://www.ladyada.net/make/boarduino/use.html to be helpful in understanding this, and one way to burn a bootloader is this: http://www.ladyada.net/library/arduino/arduinoisp.html.
In order to get the most space for the '168 chips I have lying around, I went a different route, burned an optiboot bootloader onto my ATMega 168s, and then added an entry for a fake "Uno168" to "boards.txt" within the Arduino hardware directory (on the Mac, it's at /Applications/Arduino.app/Contents/Resources/Java/hardware/arduino/boards.txt). If you're using a '328, you can just choose "Uno". Anyway, here's my addition to boards.txt for a '168 with optiboot:
uno168.name=Arduino Uno w/ ATmega168
uno168.upload.protocol=arduino
uno168.upload.maximum_size=14336
uno168.upload.speed=115200
uno168.bootloader.low_fuses=0xff
uno168.bootloader.high_fuses=0xdd
uno168.bootloader.extended_fuses=0x00
uno168.bootloader.path=optiboot
uno168.bootloader.file=optiboot_atmega168.hex
uno168.bootloader.unlock_bits=0x3F
uno168.bootloader.lock_bits=0x0F
uno168.build.mcu=atmega168
uno168.build.f_cpu=16000000L
uno168.build.core=arduino
uno168.build.variant=standard
BTW, I just completely copied the upload maximum size from another entry -- it's probably too conservative but I haven't needed to bump it up yet.
Good Luck!
Thanks for the heads up with the resistor size on the TX/RX LEDs - I was confused about why the board would program fine with my Cable, but not with Mikals :-)
Doug
Another thing I figured out was that the silkscreen lettering for the 74HC08 is "upside down" relative to the Philips 74HC08s I had. (I "cheated" and had Laen/OSH Park make me three cool purple boards.) I couldn't figure out which was pin 1 on my HC08, so I just put it in with the lettering the same way as the silkscreen, and was sad when my board didn't work. I figured out what was wrong when I nearly burned myself on the backwards chip. :) I had bought a roll of a hundred for $0.09 each, so I didn't feel bad about blasting off the burned up one with a heat gun and trying again.
The other couple of glitches I found will also only affect fabbed boards (and I'm only guessing that these problems are in the gerbers, not fab errors).
1) The holes for the header pins and the polarity protection diode are a bit too small. It was easy to drill them out larger. Most hobbyist fabs drill a little oversize (and off-center) anyway, so this might not affect everyone.
2) And finally, the soldermask covers the pads for the LEDs on the bottom of the board. On different instances of the board, I did both of a) grind/scrape off the soldermask, and b) just solder the LEDs from the top (which only works if your fab plates the through-holes).
Oddly, the SMT soldering that I had the hardest time with was the 10uF caps, especially between the DIP switches and uC pins. Maybe the caps I got are on the fat side, plus I think I failed to install them before the through-hole parts.
If I get really ambitious, I'll do either a (nearly) all-SMT or all-through-hole or combo version, maybe with an SD card and some kind of PoE.
Again, totally great instructable -- I've learned a lot and am really happy with my results.
The Rj45 needs to have magnetics as well. Does yours?
I love this project, it has inspired me. 8-)
Feel free to let me know how you went.
Doug
V_OH on the ethernet chip looks like 3.1V
That is so close it's tempting.
R1 (or R3) is not necessary!
http://ab-log.ru/smart-house/ethernet
I built it and am very happy.
Uses EEPROM for storing IP address and pin configurations. Sends commands to server and listens, but if server is not responding can take actions itself.
There is commercial open source module too switching triacs.
http://ab-log.ru/smart-house/ethernet/megad-328