bsom - butterfly-fueled robot loves you

XNDR from MachineCollective did a test engraving of my Arduinome64 logo on a scrap of acrylic.  It came out pretty well, except XNDR pointed out that the lines between the ‘arduinome’ and the ‘64′ are a might too thin to show up effectively.  He offered to increase their thickness, using his discretion, to ensure they show up a little better.  I’ve also considered adding a backlight of some type to the logo….possibly one of those pre-constructed SMD LED boards I see on eBay for a couple of bucks.  XNDR’s such a cool guy, he made the test engraving into a dongle-type thing and is going to throw it in with my enclosure when it ships.  I’m gonna wear it on a chain around my neck.

I wanted something original engraved on the bottom of my Arduinome.  So, after careful consideration, I decided to go with a classic motif based on the very computer that made me who I am today: the Commodore 64!  It was a perfect fit; the Arduinome has 64 buttons and the Commodore 64 has……well, 64 in it’s name.  So, I attempted to replicate the classic C64 case badge with an Arduinome flavor.  Xndr from MachineCollective is going to engrave it into the bottom panel of my Arduinome enclosure.  I’ve tried to make a mockup of what this will look like engraved into the white satin plastic, but it is hard to imagine what the finished product will look like…

Well, XNDR from MachineCollective emailed me today to tell me that my engraving artwork for the bottom of my enclosure was satisfactory.  He also informed me that there is a delay until mid-February on the shipment of the enclosure because he is waiting on a supplier to finish the outer aluminum surrounds. If I get around to it, I’ll try to make a mockup of what my engraving will look like when it is etched into the plastic bottom panel so I can show it off.  I’m not sure how it is going to turn out, but I thought I came up with a cool, retro logo for my Arduinome.  The total cost of the case, with priority shipping, came to €127.50, which after PayPal’s exchange rate came to $173.44.  I know what you are thinking, “That’s a lot of money for a silly DIY electronics project.”  Well, I really prefer to execute my projects completely using the best available resources and strive for a finished, well-manufactured look, if possible.  Also, I’m crazy.  (I purloined that photo from MachineCollective’s website and highlighted the Arduinome enclosure.)

I’m a stickler for neatness.  I can’t stand projects with lots of loose wires.  So, while I’m waiting for my enclosure to arrive, I’ve been on the hunt for a more elegant solution to the Sparkfun Button Board wiring problem.  I didn’t want to wire the boards together with a bunch of discreet wires because it looked sloppy and seemed like a lot of labor (cutting, stripping, holding in place while trying to solder them down, etc.)  So, I went on the hunt for a cost-effective ribbon cable system.  After a week or so of searching, I think I found the solution.  Digikey sells small, thin ribbon cables in preset lengths.  4″ lengths were available, but I thought it best to leave myself with some slack, so I acquired some 5″ ribbons with solder pins on both ends.  The are also available with 2.54mm header connectors on them, but were much more expensive and didn’t really seem to add anything I needed.  The Digikey part number for the cables I ordered is A9AAT-0405F-ND and cost $1.30/each in quantity 10+.  The pins are thin enough that I think I can get the ribbon pins and a second thin wire in the same hole.  This will allow me to make the connections from the edges of the button boards to the Unsped Shield.  I won’t know how well these will work out until my enclosure arrives since I refuse to finish my Arduinome without a case to put it in, but they look very promising so far.

I took it upon myself to create a Yahoo Group for the Arduinome.  I’m not sure if anyone is going to join or not, but I figured this would be an easier way to communicate with other Arduinome users and builders as well as a nice spot to dump files.  You can join here.

My Maxim sample order for the MAX7219CNG+ IC arrived on Friday.  The Maxim IC sample order program is awesome!  These chips are quite literally factory fresh as they shipped directly from the Maxim factory in China to me, for free!  Again, as I stated a few posts ago, please do not abuse this program.  I buy many Maxim products and will continue to do so, so I don’t feel guilty about the occational sample order.  Oddly enough, the sample order page would not let me request less than 2, so I have an extra one.  Once I get my Arduinome up and running, I think I will gift the 2nd one to someone out there who is sourcing parts for their Arduinome…a sort of pay-it-forward-karma-sample-order-thing…

My Unsped Arduinome Shield arrived in the mail on Monday.  What a classy piece of work!  So well done!  You can’t tell in my photo, but the board is a shade of blue that matches the Arduino board color. (I got a little artsy-fartsy with the photography…)  Between projects for work and my screaming 4 month old son, I’ll populate this board over the next few days, hopefully.  I also received a response from XNDR of MachineCollective about their brilliant Arduinome enclosure kit.  What I learned from his email: Full enclosure kits cost 95 euro, countersinking the exposed holes for you costs an extra 5 euro (worth it), there are five colors available for the top plate (white, black, transparent, white satin or black satin), he’s very flexible on adding custom engravings for a nominal fee (5 euro per panel “for now”), and that he was slow to respond to my email because they are moving their office to a new location.  I asked if it were possible to get a template for engraving the bottom, and he fired off one in both Photoshop and Illustrator formats.  Seems like a good guy, so once I finish my bottom panel engraving art, I’ll be placing an order.

Well, an oversized box with a Newark logo was waiting for me when I got home today.  Inside were my 64 diodes for the Sparkfun button boards and a collection of parts for the Unsped Arduinome Shield.  The keen-eyed Arduinome-head may notice the lack of a MAX7219CNG+ IC in the group.  That’s because I used the great Maxim Samples program.  (I said *used*, not *abused*!)  I use it quite often at work when I want to try an IC in a circuit but I’m either working on something that isn’t funded or a half-baked idea.  I use my work address and contact information, but I have also used my personal information in the past and always received my samples.  I only use the service about 3-4 times a year and never for more than a single line item at a time.  It can save you a lot of money and time, though, since the MAX7219CNG+ was $10.81/ea. at Digikey and not even in stock at Newark.  But Maxim sent me two of them completely free and shipped them within 24 hours of my request.  I use a few of their other products (and pay for them) so my guilt factor is low.  THIS IS NOT A PROGRAM TO BE ABUSED!  If too many people make too many requests, this program will evaporate and that would be sad…

My first batch of Arduinome parts arrived today, as you can see below. I received my SparkFun buttons and button boards in their nifty shipping box. I also ordered 100 beautiful blue LED’s from eBay. I wasn’t sure how good they would be, but they are nice and bright and should work great behind those SparkFun buttons. I held one inside of one of the buttons and lit the LED but I was unable to get a good picture of it. This is so exciting. In the next few days, I should be receiving a package from Newark (who are my vendor of choice; I don’t really like DigiKey which seems to be what most folks online are using to get their Arduinone parts.) I will post what I purchased from Newark, SparkFun, eBay, and elsewhere along with prices and links in the next few days.  Now, if only I could get a response from Machine Collective….

Unsped, the creator of the Aduinome Shield, posted on the Monome forum that he had a few spares from a previous Group Buy that I missed.  I immediately fired off a message offering to buy one.  He collected names and I made the list!  I sent him my payment late last night and the shield should be on its way soon.  Ha!  The final piece of the puzzle is within my reach.  Now, if only Machine Collective would return my emails about buying one of their beautiful enclosure kits… (That’s Unsped’s photo, by the way.  I snagged it off of his Flickr account.)