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The Arduino E-Z COMMS Shield - Our 30th Kickstarter Campaign

作者:淘博工业设计整理发布 日期:2019-03-16 人气:2853

Hi everyone!

This is a big one!  My 30th Kickstarter campaign!  I'd like to introduce you to the (Production Ready) Arduino E-Z COMMS Shield!

After my last campaign, I wanted to create a simple and fun project.  One that didn't have too many accessories, and one that was plug-and-play.  This shield has a build in LCD with controllable back-light, two on-board indicator LEDs (Green abd red), and an audio output jack function that borrows from my LITTLE BUDDY TALKER Kickstarter campaign.  You'll be able to choose between one of two audio chips that can be talked to easily with code.  Make your projects speak!

Choose between the original LITTLE BUDDY TALKER Library, which includes time, numbers, dates, months, math functions, units of measurement, and SO much more (256 words total).  See the full library right here:   Click Here To Download The Excel File! 

Hear the audio bites on the original LBT library chip:

OR... You can choose the multi-alphabet chip, which includes the complete alphabets in seven different languages: (English Man/Woman, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish), and even the NATO phonetic alphabet in English.  Here is the full alphabet library in full:   Click Here To Download The Excel File! 

Hear the audio bites on the alphabet chip:

There are wonderful LITTLE BUDDY TALKER libraries out there that were created by members of the Kickstartarter community.  One of the most popular is one created by the wonderful LeRoy Miller.  Here's a link (This library is completely compatible with this shield):   LBT Library 

Accessories:

Thankfully the only accessory offered with this campaign is a simple one.  Many reward tiers include a standard male-to-male stereo cable, which is used to interface the shield with an audio amplifier/stereo system audio input line.  Simply take one end of this stereo cable, and insert it into the audio output jack.  The other end of the cable connects to the stereo input of any stereo system.  You can use battery powered dollar store mini-stereos, or you can use a Bose player, or computer speakers, etc.  It's that simple!

The LCD Backlight!

The neat thing about this shield is that you can turn the LCD backlight off with ease.  You can turn it on and off with software, or you can force the backlight on by shorting a 2-pin header under the LCD with a jumper.  This frees up the GPIO that controls the backlight with software.  As you can see from the below diagram, if you unscrew and remove the LCD, you can place an included jumper over the 2-pin header to force the LCD on.  Remove this jumper to make the LCD backlight software controlled.

Commented Code Samples & Video Manual:

I always provide video manuals for my hardware.  I personally learn more quickly when watching someone else work with hardware directly.  This is why a detailed video manual will be provided by the end of this campaign.  Also, fully commented pieces of sample code will be provided.  Said sample code will show you how to easily make this shield talk, how to initialise the LCD, how to make the LCD display information, turn the backlight on and off, and of course, how to control the red and green LEDs.  All of this information will be available to you here on the custom project page!:   E-Z Shield Project Page! 

The Assembly Video:

Some reward tiers include DIY kit versions of this shield.  For those of you who are interested in soldering a shield up from scratch, I've created this assembly video for you.  It is detailed, and easy to follow along with!

ACCESSIBLE PINS:

All GPIO pins, analog pins, and power supply pins are accessible.  There are an additional 6x DC ground pins to connect to, along with 3x extra 3.3v and 3x 5v pins to connect to.  This is so that you can easily interface your shield and UN) with external hardware.  The below diagram shows you everything!

Reward Tiers:

I've kept rewards simple this time around.  That said, if you want to create your own specific reward tier - one that suits you specifically, please feel free to contact me.  I'll happily create a custom reward tier that accommodates your specific hardware needs.  Seriously.  Just drop me a line =D

Why Kickstarter?

As mentioned above, this is my 30th Kickstarter campaign, which is hard for me to believe. Time flies.  I've been so fortunate to have had the support that Kickstarter, and the Kickstarter community has provided me.  There have been people who have pledged towards every single campaign of mine since the beginning.  Without this community, most of my circuit ideas would never come to fruition.  I love being able to design and provide unique electronic projects to the DIY electronics community.  The funds from th is campaign will go towards creating a large amount of wave soldered shields, and component bundles, so that I can eventually put this shield up for sale on my website.  Thanks for 30x projects, Kickstarter!

Production Schedule:

This is a 30-day campaign, which means that all components and assemblies will be ordered two weeks after this campaign begins (assuming that it looks like the project will be funded).  At this time you will be updated with my progress.  With the assembly video completed already, I will then start on the video manual and commented code samples.  

It is expected that all hardware will be in house by the time this campaign ends, which is by the 30-day mark.  At this point in time, all code samples should be commented and available  in the project page linked above, along with the video manual and assembly video.

All rewards should be shipped out no later than two weeks after this campaign ends.  I pride myself on having been able to ship rewards early for the majority of my Kickstarter campaigns.  This is the goal for this shield campaign.  After all, this is my 30th Kickstarter campaign =D  If you have never pledged towards any of my past campaigns, then please know that I post many project updates, I care about your feedback, and I ALWAYS strive to ship on time or early.  Thank you for considering a pledge towards my 30th Kickstarter campaign.  I won't let you down!

Sincerely,

Patrick Mitchell

Risks and challenges

There are next to no risks with this campaign. All of my previous campaigns have seen reward shipments shipped on time or early, and this campaign is no different. There is only one shield and one accessory associated with this campaign. It is a relatively simple and small project. My relationships with my assembler and component sources are solid. I've used the same sources for all of my campaigns. If you have any worries, general concerns, or questions, I'm always happy to answer any questions that you might have directly. Just drop me a line, and I'll answer promptly. Thank you for considering this campaign! I sincerely appreciate it!