Group Assignment
1- send a message between two projects

Individual Assignment
1- design and build a wired and/or wireless network connecting at least two processors

Software Used

        

Tutorial Used

Fab Academy Week 13- Networking and Communications
Networking and Communications Assessment

Files used:

.C FILE                             Download
.MAKE FILE                      Download

Walkthrough

For this week I chose to build the Hello Network board with two nodes and a bridge. The goal was to demonstrate microcontroller communication using hardware level protocols and lighting a lEDs on each board as designed.

This means that devices will be inter-connected and can exchange data through interlinking circuits. From my understanding it involves building physical boards and programming them in a network with shared communication protocols.

I downloaded the schematic design for the three boards I would be building, a bridge/master and two nodes/slaves. I opened them in Eagle and laid out a board design that worked.



I selected the components from our inventory and laid them out.




I used ArtCAM to prepare the gcode and used GRBL controller to mill the boards and soldered the components in place.



Once completed I connected to our AVRISP mkll to make sure the boards were correct and touched up any solders.



PROGRAM

I connected the bridge to one side of the FTDI and the other to the AVRISP. Next, in Terminal I opened the files I downloaded for the assignment and found the line of code for their node value. Using ID Arduino, I set the node values separately for each board 0 in this case. This means the microcontroller will be assigned a value that allows it to communicate through the TX port and RX port (UART communication protocol).

Then I ran the make file:

make -f hello.bus.45.make program-usbtiny.

Next I did the same for the nodes, but applied an external power source through a 5v power supply since they don't have an FTDI pin. I assigned values to each of the nodes 1 and 2 and ran the make file to set each node one by one.

Using this type of network, the bridge/master sends one character using its TX port and the nodes/slaves receive it using its RX port. With the boards programmed I connected them physically.



Next, to test that they were working, I opened Arduino ID and opened a random file and opened the serial monitor. By writing one of the numbers assigned to each node and bridge, the corresponding LED would respond to the signal to blink.

Conclusion

This week I read and understood schematic designs and was able to modify and produce 3 boards that I connected via an embedded network programmed with functions.