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mbed NXP LPC11U24 Review

06/02/2012
- Arduino
- ARM
- Cortex-M
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Display & Lighting
- Ethernet
- FLASH
- Mbed
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Robots
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
There can’t be many people who don't know about the ARM mbed. This has been right up there with the Arduino as the standard for development boards for some time now. However over the last year we ha
My First mbed

13/10/2010
A few weeks back I a received the mbed dev kit from RS (Part No.703-9238), but it was only today that I got a gap in my work schedule to play with it.
BoardX Review - from Upgrade Industries

12/02/2012
Many of us sit and complain about how well products work, point out there issues and bad point but few spend time doing something about it. In this review I look at just such a product, designed by en
Treading the Boards in the entry-level open-source community

24/02/2012
- 802.11b
- Arduino
- ARM
- Beagle
- Cortex-M
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Ethernet
- Freescale
- Functional Test
- Interconnect
- LCD
- Manufacture
- Mbed
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Research Phase
- RS232
- SERIAL
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
- WiFi
An extract from an article in Etech issue 9 by Dr William Marshal, Twiiter @WilliamMarshal1The competition for hearts and minds in the opensource embedded development community continues apace with mi
The Birth of the Engineering Renaissance

15/07/2011
- Analogue
- Arduino
- Communication
- Designspark PCB
- Display & Lighting
- FLASH
- GAL
- LASER
- Manufacture
- Mbed
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Research Phase
- Safety Testing
- Solder
- Standards
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
Developments in recent years suggest that we may be on the cusp of an engineering renaissance. Significant advances are being made in key areas such as tools, technology, principles and methodologies,
FRAM Dev Kit MSP-EXP430FR5739 Review

04/10/2011
There has been a lot of buzz and stories going around about the first micro to have FRAM (Ferroelectric memory). FRAM has been talk about it not only here on DesignSpark but on element14 and was comme
The Arduino Effect

09/11/2011
- Arduino
- ARM
- AVR
- Beagle
- Chipkit
- Cortex-A
- Cortex-M
- Development Kits - Electronics
- DSP
- FRAM
- Freescale
- Manufacture
- Mbed
- Microcontrollers
- MSP430
- PIC
- PIC32
- Power
- Programming
- Research Phase
- Robots
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
I’ve noticed an interesting trend recently. Forgive my lack of awareness if this has all been said before, but here it is: microcontroller chip manufacturers are making/supporting some very cheap development kits nowadays.
FTDI Morph-IC-II FPGA Development Module - Review

09/08/2011
Among the low cost FPGA development tools sits one name that we are all familiar with. FTDI who are well known for their range of interface chips, from USB to just about anything they are true a leade
Old and New at Sci-Fi London 2012

10/05/2012
- Analogue
- Arduino
- ARM
- ARM11
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Display & Lighting
- FLASH
- H8
- Human Machine Interface
- Interconnect
- Manufacture
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- Raspberry Pi
- Research Phase
- Robots
- Sensors
- SERIAL
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
A major highlight of a week of activity at the Sci-Fi London festival was the Horizon Spectrum event at the BFI Southbank celebrating 30 years of the Sinclair Spectrum 'home' computer. I attended the
You talkin' to me?

01/06/2011
- Arduino
- ARM
- Capacitors
- Display & Lighting
- Enclosures
- Ethernet
- Interconnect
- Manufacture
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Research Phase
- RS232
- RX
- SERIAL
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
So, connectivity... Where would we be without it? Well, obviously some place else. But as luck would have it, we are able to communicate and we can communicate with our ICs. In fact we're having loa
terasic DE2 Development and Education Board - Review

01/04/2012
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Display & Lighting
- DRAM
- Enclosures
- Ethernet
- FLASH
- FPGA
- Human Machine Interface
- Interconnect
- LCD
- Manufacture
- Mbed
- PIC
- Power
- RS232
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- SRAM
- Switches
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
- Verilog
- VHDL
I was very excited some time back when I got my hand on the new DE2 Development and Education Board from Terasic. Following my review of the DE0-nano back in July last year I have been playing with lo
ChipKIT Ethernet and Basic IO board Review - Microchip

04/03/2012
- 720
- Analogue
- Arduino
- Chipkit
- Display & Lighting
- EEPROM
- Enclosures
- Ethernet
- Interconnect
- LCD
- Mbed
- OLED
- PIC
- Sensors
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Switches
- Temperature Sensors
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
Some eight months ago I had a play with the chipKIT MAX32. At the time I was not over impressed by lack of full Arduino compatibility but since then Digilent have now released the Ethernet board. As w
Embedded development with EDP

01/02/2011
The RS Embedded Development Platform offers an alternative path to the engineering prototype stage of a project allowing quick and easy changes of processor at the time of initial design or for upgrad
Microchip - Microstick 16-bit MCU dsPIC33F, PIC24H Review

13/12/2010
With the likes of the Arduino and the mbed filling the hobbyist workbenches, Education and even into the work place what have Microchip got to offer as a competing product? Well in the summer of this
Learning how to be Smarter with Energy

08/12/2010
RS hosts Microchip seminars.
Arduino 101

31/03/2010
Electronics design - First steps are getting smaller

10/12/2010
For anyone wishing to take their first steps into electronics design, things have never been easier. Technologies such as Arduino, mbed and TI's LaunchPad have made serious engineering accessibl
Leaflabs Maple Dev Kit Review

31/10/2011
Sometimes you can get excited about a Dev Kit before you even switch it on, but can the Leaflabs Maple Board live up to my exportation's or will this just be another STM32 fail? So this last few weeks
Papilio Gives You Wings | Review of the Papilio One Dev Platform

24/10/2011
- Arduino
- Development Kits - Electronics
- EEPROM
- FLASH
- FPGA
- Human Machine Interface
- Interconnect
- Memory
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
- Verilog
- VHDL
Over the last few months I’ve been trying out a number of low cost FPGA development boards with the view to how easy new people can get involved. FPGAs and the languages like VHDL and Verilog are no
Featured Profile: John Boxall - Tronixstuff

29/07/2010
John Boxall (or tronixstuff as he is known on the community) is an Arduino specialist and blogger from Toowong, Australia with a passion for education and all things technical. John's blog is a
Fun, Forth and FIGnition

23/05/2012
- ARM
- Assembly
- Development Kits - Electronics
- FLASH
- Interconnect
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- Raspberry Pi
- Robots
- RX
- SERIAL
- Solder
- Test
This post is not about Raspberry Pi. Sorry about that; I thought I'd take a break from all that heady stuff about HD graphics and ARM processors to look at a similar sized and priced beginners' computer board, but located towards the Arduino end of the processor power spectrum. It comes as a kit of parts and you have to solder it together yourself.
PiGo Sneak Preview

22/03/2013
A first look at the upcoming modular expansion system for Raspberry Pi.
Arduino or Raspberry Pi?

19/10/2012
A comparison of the respective benefits of the low cost embedded development platforms that may help with making a decision as to which to use when.
Hacking the TP-Link TL-WR703N

02/08/2012
- Beagle
- Capacitors
- Display & Lighting
- Ethernet
- FLASH
- Human Machine Interface
- MIPS
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- Raspberry Pi
- RX
- SERIAL
- Solder
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
- Wired
- Wireless
The TL-WR703N is a 3G travel router that has become a hit with the hacking community due its low cost, compact size and the ease at which it can be re-purposed. This post covers initial experiences wi
LeoStick Dev Kit Review - The Tiny Arduino Clone

07/05/2012
- 740
- Analogue
- Arduino
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Interconnect
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- RX
- Solder
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
So there are lots of development boards out now. And since the introduction of the Arduino there are lots of clones around too which is good in my view. So this is what I have to say is the smallest d
A Practical intro to programming an open source SoC

30/03/2012
A post-event report from Open Source Hardware User Group meeting No. 17.At the seventeenth OSHUG meeting we were given an introduction to the practicalities of programming your own open source system-
Raspberry Pi and Custard - Engineers first hands on Review.

10/04/2012
The Raspberry Pi (aka Raspi) was released back at the end of February but here we are weeks later with no real hardware. We engineers are only interested in the guts of this product.
Learn electronics with an Arduino and Raspberry Pi on an old Philips TV

22/06/2012
- Arduino
- Circuit Design
- FLASH
- GPS
- LCD
- Microcontrollers
- Programming
- Raspberry Pi
- Research Phase
- Robots
- Solder
- Test
- WiFi
- Wireless
If you are not familiar with Arduino, it is an OpenSource hardware platform for electronics projects, tinkering, robotics, home automation etc etc etc. The blue board above is the heart of it.
Detecting Lightning with an Arduino

14/11/2012
This post takes a look at interfacing the novel AS3935 lightning sensor with an Arduino.
A Treacle Tin Radiation Detector

28/05/2012
- Arduino
- ARM
- Assembly
- Capacitors
- Circuit Design
- Enclosures
- Ethernet
- GSM
- Manufacture
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- Power
- Reliability Testing
- Resistors
- Sensors
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
- Wireless
The OpenRelief project is building “open, modular information solutions for disaster relief”, and as part of which they're developing a range of network-enabled sensors. I offered to help out by p
NetWorker - an advanced web server with a microcrontroller

13/04/2011
- Analogue
- Capacitors
- Circuit Design
- Communication
- Display & Lighting
- DSP
- dsPIC
- EEPROM
- Ethernet
- FLASH
- Functional Test
- GAL
- Human Machine Interface
- Interconnect
- Manufacture
- Mbed
- Memory
- Microcontrollers
- PIC
- PIC24
- PIC32
- Power
- Programming
- Research Phase
- Resistors
- RS232
- RX
- SERIAL
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Solder
- Test
- Trial & Evaluation
An Internet connection would be a valuable addition to many projects, but often designers are put off by the complexities involved. The ‘NetWorker’, which consists of a small printed circuit board
DE0-NANO FPGA Development Kit Review - Terasic

31/07/2011
- 740
- Accelerometers
- Circuit Design
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Display & Lighting
- DRAM
- EEPROM
- Enclosures
- FLASH
- FPGA
- Human Machine Interface
- Mbed
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- Switches
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
- VHDL
When it come to most Dev Kits people can normally find one that fits their needs. However when entering the world for FPGA’s people are always asking which kit to buy. Why? Well they have always
Femtoduino - the tiny Arduino

18/02/2011
- Arduino
- Development Kits - Electronics
- FLASH
- Mbed
- PIC
- Power
With the same computing power (Atmel ATmega 328) as the Duemilanove but a board smaller than my thumbnail, this tiny dev kit is sure to be a winner.
Pachube - making reliable connections with Arduino

26/05/2011
- Arduino
- Display & Lighting
- Ethernet
- FLASH
- Mbed
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- Resistors
- Sensors
- Solder
- Temperature Sensors
- Test
Arduino and MBED can act as clients to web services like Pachube giving them an online presence but making reliable connections over the internet is easier said than done. This article deals with some
EDP from RS

08/04/2010
- Analogue
- Communication
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Ethernet
- Mbed
- PCB Drilling
- PIC
- Power
- Programming
- RS232
- Sensors
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
Arduino Labs - Open for business

02/08/2011
Those clever people behind the Arduino have opened the door on their latest venture Arduino Labs .The purpose of the Lab is to allow the open Source community to contribute to the development of new p
Turning an £8 child's toy into a spectrum analyser

13/07/2012
- Batteries
- Display & Lighting
- DSP
- FLASH
- GSM
- Human Machine Interface
- LCD
- Microcontrollers
- MSP430
- PIC
- Power
- Research Phase
- Solder
- Test
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
- Wired
- Wireless
This posts looks at how a child's toy can be reprogrammed to provide a simple spectrum analyser that may be useful when working with licence-free wireless technologies.Like so many great open source h
Hands on with a 144 core processor

16/07/2012
The GA144 from GreenArrays is a highly novel 144 core processor that combines high performance with low power consumption. This post covers initial experiences with breadboarding the GA144 and using t
Xbee and mbed streaming live data

11/06/2012
I seen a few reviews now of devices like the Xbee and they never seem very exciting. So this is the first of a number of posts I'll be writing were you see me using the product. So let get started and
Microchip Motor Control Starter Kit Review - DM330015

16/01/2012
At ebm-papst are well known as a fan manufacture so I was keen to see the latest development kit from Microchip, the Motor Control Starter kit. So I was interested to see how easy it is to setup and u
TAUTIC - CPLD Development Board Review

14/04/2012
- Arduino
- Circuit Design
- Circuit Simulation
- Development Kits - Electronics
- FLASH
- FPGA
- Human Machine Interface
- Interconnect
- Mbed
- PIC
- PLD
- Power
- Programmable Logic
- Programming
- SERIAL
- Solder
- Test
- Verilog
- VHDL
There seems to be more and more people getting into FPGA design and development. There are some very cheap, sorry, low cost kits out there too. Right down in the low end starter kits is one new kit th
Google Groks Hardware

11/05/2011
Google's Android Open Accessory Development KitIt was only a matter of time before the mighty Google put a toe in the open source hardware waters, and this finally came about yesterday with the releas
The Android PC System -APC 8750

13/08/2012
- 720
- Beagle
- Communication
- Enclosures
- Ethernet
- FLASH
- Interconnect
- Memory
- PIC
- Power
- Raspberry Pi
- USB (Universal Serial Bus)
Priced between the Beagle Board and the Raspberry Pi, the new kid on the block is Via Technologies APC 8750. It runs on a preinstalled custom Android Operating System and includes a basic s
Microchips new MPLAB X and PIC32 Starter Kit running on Ubuntu

28/03/2011
This weekend I decided to push the limits of my own skills and Microchip and see if I could install MPLAB on Linux, then run and compile to a PIC32 Starter kit. I have never considered going along
Maker Faire Singapore 2012

04/08/2012
- Arduino
- Batteries
- Chipkit
- Development Kits - Electronics
- Display & Lighting
- FRAM
- Mbed
- MSP430
- PIC
- Power
- Raspberry Pi
- RENESAS
- Robots
- RX
- Serial Peripheral Interface
- Test
The DesignSpark team in Asia joined the Maker Faire this weekend in Singapore, first of the kind for the team. The Maker Faire was participated by a full room of enthusiatic art, craft, electronics,
STM8S-Discovery Kit Review

23/01/2011
“The STM8S-DISCOVERY helps you to discover the STM8S features and to develop and share your own application. Even though the STM8S-DISCOVERY is built around an STM8S105C6T6, it allows evaluation of
mbed and the WWW

10/05/2011
After getting a few LED’s to flash in a pattern, it was time to go all out and try what others had tried before. Something so complex that Windows crashed multiple times before I got it working… &
Will FRAM’s ultra low power, faster speed and better data Integrity see the demise of flash?

27/07/2011
What’s the difference between, FRAM, F-RAM and FeRAM?, Well it’s the same thing!, it's Ferroelectic RAM. Texas Instruments (TI) are among the first to offer a family of Microcontrollers with
NEW Microstick II Review - Microchip

05/12/2011
For some time now we have had the Microchip Microstick that I reviewed back in December 2010. Its a great little product and one I have used in anger over and over again when trying out new ideas. The
TI LaunchPad

28/10/2010
Welcome to the new blog theme on the TI Launchpad.I just received mine today and am looking forward to getting it fired up. I would like to invite all who get their hands on one of these boards to sha