Arduino 2

It's easier to work on Arduino this year than last. Arduino is growing in popularity worldwide. Tons of good info on the web. In Taipei, there is an electronics store on the 4th floor of the big GuangHua building on Civic Boulevard.

They have a full rack of Arduino boards and accessories.

The Uno boards(Rev 3) are available for about $14 and a shield with a plug board is about $7. So this combo costs about $21. The prices are better than online in the States and without the hassle of ordering from web suppliers who rip you off on the postage.

I converted my Arduino project from a Mega that I brought to Taiwan, to this combo. The project is intended to control a xy stage like this one:

 The electronics all work, but it was getting a little hairy towards the end. Here it is with plug boards for the motors and the sensors modules.

There isn't much I can do to reduce the complexity of the peripherals but the combo of Uno and shield do help.

And on the flip side.(still using popsicle sticks, actually tongue depressors)

I brought a more complicated and expensive Arduino board to Taiwan, a Mega board. I was able to replace the Mega with the Uno because I serendipitedly found(accidentally decovered) a way of combining a sensor circuit with the limiting switch circuit. Probably every 1st year EE students knows this trick but finding it for myself was a real thrill.

I wrote up the description on my webpage.

https://sites.google.com/site/essmike/