Introduction

For some strange reason I have a fascination with various types of electronic clocks (which explains this article). Therefore this project will be the start of an irregular series of clock projects whose goal will be easy to follow and produce interesting results. Our “Clock One” will use a Freetronics Dot Matrix Display board as reviewed previously. Here is an example of an operating Clock One:

As you can see, on the left half of the board we have a representation of an analogue clock. Considering we only have sixteen rows of sixteen LEDs, it isn’t too bad at all. The seconds are illuminated by sixty pixels that circumnavigate the square clock throughout the minute. On the right we display the first two letters of the day of the week, and below this the date. In the example image above, the time is 6:08. We omitted the month – if you don’t know what month it is you have larger problems.

Hardware

To make this happen you will need:

• A Freetronics Dot Matrix Display board;
• If you want the run the display at full brightness (ouch!) you will need a 5V 2.8A power supply – however our example is running without the external supply and is pretty strong
• An Arduino board of some sort, an Uno or Eleven is a good start
• A Maxim DS1307 real-time clock IC circuit. How to build this is explained here. If you have a Freetronics board, you can add this circuit directly onto the board!

Software

Planning the clock was quite simple. As we can only draw lines, individual pixels, and strings of text or individual characters, some planning was required in order to control the display board. A simple method is to use some graph paper and note down where you want things and the coordinates for each pixel of interest, for example:

Using the plan you can determine where you want things to go, and then the coordinates for pixels, positions of lines and so on. The operation for this clock is as follows:

The sketch uses the popular method of reading and writing time data to the DS1307 using functions setDateDs1307and getDateDs1307. You can initally set the time within void setup() – after uploading the sketch, comment out thesetDateDs1307 line and upload the sketch again, otherwise every time the board resets or has a power outage the time will revert to the originally-set point.

Each display function is individual and uses many switch…case statements to determine which line or pixel to draw. This was done again to draw the characters on the right due to function limitations with the display library. But again it works, so I’m satisfied with it. You are always free to download and modify the code yourself.  Moving forward, here is a short video clip of the Clock One in action:

So there you have it, the first of many clocks I plan to describe in the future. For more information about the display used, please visit the Freetronics product page. Otherwise if you have any comments or suggestions, please leave them below or in ourGoogle Group.

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Welcome readers

In this article we examine a new range of eleven electronic modules from Freetronics. When experimenting with electronics or working on a prototype of a design, the use of electronic components in module form can make construction easier, and also reduce the time between thoughts and actually making something   So let’s have a look at each module in more detail…

PoE Power Regulator – 28V

This is a tiny switchmode voltage regulator with two uses – the first being regulation of higher voltage up to 28V carried via an Ethernet cable to a Freetronics Ethernet shield or EtherTen to power the board itself. The PCB is designed to drop into the shield or EtherTen as such:

… and converts the incoming voltage down to 7V which can be regulated by the EtherTen’s inbuilt regulator. The second use of this board is a very handy power supply for breadboarding or other experimentation. By bridging the solder pads on the rear of the board, the output is set to 5V DC, as such:

Note the addition of the header pins, which make insertion into a breadboard very easy – so now you have a 5V 1A DC power supply.

N-MOSFET Driver/Output Module

This module contains an On Semi NTD5867NL MOSFET which allows the switching of a high current and voltage line – 60V at up to 20A – with a simple Arduino or other MCU digital output pin. The package is small and also contains enlarged holes for direct connection of high-current capability wire:

The onboard circuitry includes a pull-down resistor to ensure the MOSFET is off by default. 

Logic Level Converter Module

This is a very simple and inexpensive method to interface 3.3V sensors to 5V microcontrollers in either direction.The module contains four independent channels, as shown in the image below:

However you can interface any low or higher voltage, as long as you connect the low and high voltages to the correct sides (marked on the PCB’s silk screen). 

RGBLED Module

Surprisingly this module contains a RGB LED module (red, green and blue LEDs) which is controlled by a WS2801 constant-current LED driver IC. This module is only uses two digital output pins, and can be daisy-chained to control many modules with the same two pins. The connections are shown clearly on the module:

The WS2801 controller IC is on the rear:

There are several ways to control the LEDs. One way is using the sketch from the product home page, which results with the following demonstration output:

Or there is a unique Arduino WS2801 library available for download from here. Using the strandtest example included with the library results with the following:

During operation the module used less than 24 mA of current and therefore can happily run from a standard Arduino-type board without any issues. 

TEMP Temperature Sensor Module

This module allows the simple measurement of temperature using the popular DS18B20 temperature sensor. You can measure temperatures between -55° and 125°C with an accuracy of +/- 0.5°C. Furthermore as the sensor uses the 1-wire bus, you can daisy-chain more than one sensor for multiple readings in the one application. The board is simple to use, and also contains a power-on LED:

Using the demonstation Arduino sketch from the product page results in the following output via the serial monitor:

Using this module is preferable to the popular Analog Devices TMP36, as it has an analogue output which can be interfered with, and requires an analogue input pin for each sensor, whereas this module has a digital output and as mentioned previously can be daisy-chained. 

Humidity and Temperature Sensor Module

For the weather-measuring folk here is a module with temperatures and humidity. Using the popular DHT22 sensor module the temperature range is -4°C to +125°C with an accuracy of +/- 0.5°C, and humidity with an accuracy of between two and five percent. Only one digital input pin is required, and the board is clearly labelled:

There is also a blue power-on LED towards the top-right of the sensor. Using the module is quite simple with Arduino – download and use the example sketch included in the sensor library you can download from here. For the demonstration connect the centre data pin to Arduino digital two. Here is an example of the demonstration output:

Although the update speed is not lightning-fast, this should not be an issue unless you’re measuring real-time external temperature of your jet or rocket. 

Shift Register/Expansion Module

This board uses a 74HC595 serial-in parallel-out shift register which enables you to control eight digital outputs with only three digital pins, for example:

You can daisy-chain these modules to increase the number of digital outputs in multiples of eight, all while only using the three digital output pins on your Arduino or other microcontroller.

Hall Effect Magnetic and Proximity Sensor Module

This module contains a sensor which changes output from HIGH to LOW when a magnetic presence is detected, for example a magnet. The board also has an LED which indicates the presence of the magnet to aid in troubleshooting:

Using this module and a small magnet would be an easy way to create a speedometer for a bicycle, the module is mounted to the fork, and the magnet on the rim of the front wheel. 

Microphone Sound Input Module

This module performs two functions – it can return the sound pressure level (SPL) or the amplified audio waveform from the electret microphone. The LED (labelled “DETECT”) on the board visually displays an approximation of the SPL – for example:

… however the value can be returned by using an analogue input pin on an Arduino (etc). to return a numerical value. To do this connect the SPL pin to the analogue input. The MIC pin is used to take the amplified output from the microphone, to be processed by an ADC or used in an audio project.

Light Sensor Module

This module uses the TEMT6000 light sensor which returns more consistent values than can be possible using a light-dependent resistor. It outputs a voltage from the OUT pin that is proportional to the light level. The module is very small:

Use is simple – just measure the value returned from the OUT pin using an analogue input pin on your Arduino (etc). And finally, the:

Sound and Buzzer Module

This module contains a piezoelectric element that can be used to generate sounds (in the form of musical buzzes…):

Driving the buzzer is simple, just use pulse-width modulation. Furthermore, as piezoelectric elements can also generate a small electrical current when vibrated, they can be used as “shock” detectors by measuring the voltage across the terminals of the element. 

One final note I would like to make is that the design and construction quality of each module is first rate. The PCBs are strong, and the silk-screening is useful and descriptive. If you find the need for some or all of the functions made available in this range, you could do worse by not considering a Freetronics unit. 

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In this review we consider a Digilent chipKIT Uno32 development board made available by element-14.

Introduction

This is a development board that is based on the Arduino Uno, however uses a Microchip PIC32MX320F128 microcontroller instead of the Atmel ATmega328 we are used to:

Digilent’s decision to use the PIC32 introduces some interesting changes to the Uno format, and the largest change to take note of is the clock speed – 80 MHz instead of the Uno’s 16 MHz. That certainly took my attention, and we can see this demonstrated shortly.

When shipped the board arrives alone in a cardboard box, without a USB cable:

All documentation is found on the Digilent website. There is also a support forum to discuss libraries, IDE updates and so on. The board itself is quite familiar upon initial inspection:

You can see that Arduino shield will physically fit onto the board, and the extra I/O pins are accessed through the second rows of jumpers inside the board. With some crafty PCB creation skills you could make your own Uno32 shields, or consider one of the boards available from element-14 or Digilent.

As for the other specifications of the Uno32:

• Clock speed – 80 MHz
• 128K flash program memory
• 16K SRAM data memory
• I/O pins – 42 (12 used as analogue inputs or digital I/O)
• Five PWM pins
• FTDI chip for USB interface
• Two user LEDs
• Same form factor as Arduino Uno boards, which allows physical shield compatibility
• Five interrupt pins
• On board real-time clock (external crystal required)

You will need a new IDE, and you can download Uno32-modified versions of the Arduino v22 and v23 IDE from here for Windows, MacOS and 32-bit Linux (no 64-bit…). The bootloader is preinstalled on the Uno32 and after installing the special IDE it works just as our normal Arduinos do in terms of editing and uploading sketches. The board also is compatible with the Microchip MPLAB IDE and PICkit3 in-circuit debugger if you want to use the Uno32 as a normal PIC32 development board. There is a row of holes between the USB socket and the DC socket that will need header pins soldered in for PICkit3 use.

Naturally you want to see the speed test. The following sketch was run on an Arduino Uno and the Uno32 boards using IDE v1.0 for the Uno and the MPIDE v23 for the Uno32:

void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); }

unsigned long a,b,c,d,e;

void loop() { a=millis(); for (c=1; c<1000000; c++) { d=sq(c); } b=millis(); e=b-a; Serial.print("Duration: "); Serial.print(e); Serial.println("ms"); do {} while (1>0); }

And here are the results of running the sketch four times on each board (click image to enlarge):

Well that’s pretty impressive – over sixty times faster than the Arduino Uno. Therein lies the major reason to use this board over the Uno. The eagle-eyed among you may have also noticed the difference in the compiled binary sketch size – 6432 bytes for the Uno32 vs. 2540 bytes for the Arduino Uno. That’s interesting.

Nevertheless there are many things to take note of when moving from Arduino to Uno32, or in other words – you can’t just swap out an Arduino Uno for an Uno32, recompile and run your sketch at the faster speed. The Microchip PIC32 is very much a different beast to the Atmel AVRs we’re used to, so it is important that you understand the differences in hardware and software to take advantage of the Uno32. So let’s run through those  now.

Power Differences

The Uno32 is a 3.3V board due to the PIC32. You can still power it via USB, or connect between 7~15 VDC to the power socket on the board. You can change a jumper and feed 5V directly into the board bypassing the 5V regulator. External power is regulated to 5V then to 3.3V. From a total of 1A current, the PIC32 uses 75mA, so you can draw up to 925mA from the 5V bus or 425mA from the 3.3V bus (or a mixture from both). It would pay to determine your current load before testing to avoid damaging the board, however  the  manual notes that the regulators will become hot at high current loads but do have thermal protection. Finally there is also a jumper that chooses between a 5V or 3.3V voltage feed to the shields. As always, consult themanual first.

I/O Differences

Although the PIC32 being a 3.3V part, the manual states that the digital I/O pins are 5V tolerant, so applying 5V to a digital input won’t damage the PIC32. Logic on the other hand is a different kettle of fish. According to the manual a digital ‘high’ when sourcing 12mA of current will only reach close to 3.3V. This may be too low in some situations so check your threshold voltages when choosing external parts. Furthermore, the analogue reference voltage (AREF) is restricted to 3.3V.

One stand-out difference is that you can only source 18mA from a digital pin, which is OK if you’re blinking some LEDs. However for logic output to keep the voltage range below 0.4V for ‘low’ and above 2.4V for ‘high’ the current must be restricted to -12~+7mA – another different limitaion. Finally, the maximum current you can source over all the I/O pins at once is 200mA.

There are two UARTs, number one where we expect it (D0/D1) and another on pins 39 and 40. I2C is on A4/A5 but needs to be activated with a jumper. Note that unlike an Arduino there aren’t any inbuilt pull-up resistors for the I2C bus, so add your own. There is also an SPI bus at the usual position (D10~13) and interestingly you can change the board between SPI master and slave via another set of jumpers. There are five pulse-width modulation outputs, however one is on D10 which is also part of the SPI bus. Finally there are five hardware interrupt pins.

Question – What type of processor core does the PIC32 use?

Shield Compatibility

Arduino shields will physically fit onto the Uno32 – but you need to be aware of the I/O differences listed above, the voltage and current specification and also the software side of things. Again – do your research before making the commitment to the hardware.

Software Compatibility

The Uno32 is compatible with a variety of Arduino sketches, but not all. This in a large part is due to the libraries which will need to be sourced from the community or rewritten yourself if not provided with the MPIDE software. There is a community on the support forum which is contributing their own, such as the real-time clock library – but again, research needs to be done before use. When trying to use an existing Arduino sketch and hardware, you will need to spend some time checking for compatibility. Again – it’s much easier to design a new project around the Uno32 than rejig an existing one.

Open Source? 

One of the things many people love about the Arduino ecosystem is that the entire system is open source hardware and software. Without causing a pro/con argument about software licensing you should note that not all of the software toolchain for the Uno32 is open, nor the USB or TCP/IP stack. There is some interesting discourse about this here.

Conclusion

A lot of work needs to be done to ensure compatibility with existing Arduino applications. The Uno32 is tempting due to the raw clock-speed increase, however the sketch/library and hardware differences may introduce a few road blocks. However, when designing a project from scratch and understand the licensing limitations, the Uno32 would be great as you know what you have to work with – a much faster board with much more I/O. And it is very inexpensive, less than ~$35.

Finally, if you’re looking for a very inexpensive PIC32 development board to use with Microchip MPLAB, the Uno32 is a great deal that can possibly interface with a wide variety of shields from the Arduino world.

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Hello Readers

Time once more to have some fun, and this time by examining the new Freetronics DMD “Dot Matrix Display”. We will look at the setup and operation of the display. In a nutshell the DMD comprises of a board measuring approximately 320mm across by 160mm which contains 16 rows of 32 high-intensity red LEDs. For example, in the off state:

Connection of the DMD to your Arduino-compatible board is quite simple. Included with each DMD is a 2×8 IDC cable of around 220mm in length, and a PCB to allow direct connection to the Arduino digital pins D6~13:

Finally the cable connects to the left-hand socket on the rear of the DMD:

You can also daisy-chain more than one display, so a matching output socket is also provided. Finally, an external power supply is recommended in order to drive the LEDs as maximum brightness – 5V at ~2.8 A per DMD. This is connected to a seperate terminal on the rear of the board:

Do not connect these terminals to the 5V/GND of your Arduino board!

A power cable with lugs is also included so you can daisy chain the high-intensity power feeds as well. When using this method, ensure your power supply can deliver 5V at 2.8A  for each DMD used – so for two DMDs, you will need 5A, etc. For testing (and our demonstration) purposes you can simply connect the DMD to your Arduino via the IDC cable, however the LEDs will not light at their full potential.

Using the display with your Arduino sketches is quite simple. There is an enthusiastic group of people working on the library which you will need, and you can download it from and follow the progress at the DMD Github page and forks. Furthermore, there is always the Freetronics forum for help, advice and conversation. Finally you will also need the TimerOne library – available from here.

However for now let’s run through the use of the DMD and get things moving. We will be using Arduino IDE v23. Starting with scrolling text – download the demonstration sketch from here. All the code in the sketch outside of void loop() is necessary. Replace the text within the quotes with what you would like to scroll across the display, and enter the number of characters (including spaces) in the next parameter. Finally, if you have more than one display change the 1 to your number of displays in #define DISPLAYS_ACROSS 1.

Here is a quick video of our example sketch:

Now for some more static display functions – starting with clearing the display. You can use

dmd.clearScreen( true );

to turn off all the pixels, or

dmd.clearScreen( true );

to turn on all the pixels.

Note: turning on more pixels at once increases the current draw. Always keep this in mind and measure with an ammeter if unsure. 

Question – How many LEDs are contained in the Freetronics DMD?

Next some text. First you need to choose the font, at the time of writing there were two to choose from. Use

dmd.selectFont(System5x7);

for a smaller font or

dmd.selectFont(Arial_Black_16);

for a larger font. To position a single character on the DMD, use:

dmd.drawChar(  x,  y, 'x', GRAPHICS_NORMAL );

which will display the character ‘x’ at location x,y (in pixels – starting from zero). For example, using

dmd.drawChar(  10,  5, 'A', GRAPHICS_NORMAL );

results with:

Note if you have the pixels on ‘behind’ the character, the unused pixels in the character are not ‘transparent’. For example:

However if you change the last parameter to GRAPHICS_NOR, the unused pixels will become ‘transparent’. For example:

You can also use the parameter GRAPHICS_OR to overlay a character on the display. This is done with the blinking colon in the example sketch provided with the library.

Next, to draw a string (group of characters). This is simple, just select your font type and then use (for example):

dmd.drawString( 0,0, "Hello,", 5, GRAPHICS_NORMAL ); dmd.drawString( 2,9, "world,", 5, GRAPHICS_NORMAL );

Again, the 5 is a parameter for the length of the string to display. This results in the following:

Next up we look at the graphic commands. To control an individual pixel, use

dmd.writePixel(  x,y, GRAPHICS_NORMAL,1); // turn on a pixel at location x,y

And changing the 1 to a 0 turns off the pixel. To draw a circle with the centre at x,y and a radius r, use

   dmd.drawCircle( x,  y,  r, GRAPHICS_NORMAL );

To draw a line from x1, y2 to x2, y2, use:

   dmd.drawLine(  x1, y1, x2, y2, GRAPHICS_NORMAL );

To draw a rectangle from x1, y2 to x2, y, use:

dmd.drawBox(x1, y1, x2, y2, GRAPHICS_NORMAL );

And to draw a filled rectangle use:

dmd.drawFilledBox(x1, y1, x2, y2, GRAPHICS_NORMAL );

Now let’s put those functions to work. You can download the demonstration sketch from here, and watch the following results:

So there you have it, an inexpensive and easy to use display board with all sorts of applications. Although the demonstrations contained within this article were rather simple, you now have the knowledge to apply your imagination to the DMD and display what you like. For more information, support and conversation visit the Freetronics product page and support forum.

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Hello readers

In this article we examine one of those products that are really simple yet can solve some really annoying problems. It is the “Go Between” Arduino shield from Mayhew Labs. What does the GBS do? You use it to solve a common problem that some prolific Arduino users can often face – how do I use two shields that require the same pins?

Using a clever matrix of solder pads, you can change the wiring between the analogue and digital pins. For example, here is the bare shield:

Now for an example problem. You have two shields that need access to digital pins 3, 4 and 5 as also analogue pins 4 and 5. We call one shield the “top shield” which will sit above the GBS, and the second shield the “bottom” shield which will sit between the Arduino and the GBS. To solve the problem we will redirect the top shield’s D3~5 to D6~8, and A4~5 to A0~1.

To redirect a pin (for example D3 to D6), we first locate the number along the “top digital pins” horizontal of the matrix (3). Then find the destination “bottom” pin row (6). Finally, bridge that pad on the matrix with solder. Our D3 to D6 conversion is shown with the green dot in the following:

Now for the rest, diverting D4 and D5 to D7 and D8 respectively, as well as analogue pins 4 and 5 to 0 and 1:

The next task is to connect the rest of the non-redirected pins. For example, D13 to D13. We do this by again bridging the matching pads:

Finally the sketch needs to be rewritten to understand that the top shield now uses D6~8 and A0~1. And we’re done!

Try not to use too much solder, as you could accidentally bridge more pads than necessary. And you can always use some solder wick to remove the solder and reuse the shield again (and again…). Now the genius of the shield becomes more apparent.

The only downside to this shield is the PCB design – the days of square corners should be over now:

It is a small problem, but one nonetheless. Hopefully this is rectified in the next build run. Otherwise the “Go Between” Shield is a solution to a problem you may have one day, so perhaps keep one tucked away for “just in case”.

While we’re on the subject of Arduino shield pinouts, don’t forget to check out Jon Oxer’s shieldlist.org when researching your next Arduino shield – it is the largest and most comprehensive catalogue of submitted Arduino shields in existence.

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Hello readers

In this article we examine one of those products that are really simple yet can solve some really annoying problems. It is the “Go Between” Arduino shield from Mayhew Labs. What does the GBS do? You use it to solve a common problem that some prolific Arduino users can often face - how do I use two shields that require the same pins?

Using a clever matrix of solder pads, you can change the wiring between the analogue and digital pins. For example, here is the bare shield:

Now for an example problem. You two shields that need access to digital pins 3, 4 and 5 as also analogue pins 4 and 5. We call one shield the “top shield” which will sit above the GBS, and the second shield the “bottom” shield which will sit between the Arduino and the GBS. To solve the problem we will redirect the top shield’s D3~5 to D6~8, and A4~5 to A0~1.

To redirect a pin (for example D3 to D6), we first locate the number along the “top digital pins” horizontal of the matrix (3). Then find the destination “bottom” pin row (6). Finally, bridge that pad on the matrix with solder. Our D3 to D6 conversion is shown with the green dot in the following:

Now for the rest, diverting D4 and D5 to D7 and D8 respectively, as well as analogue pins 4 and 5 to 0 and 1:

The next task is to connect the rest of the non-redirected pins. For example, D13 to D13. We do this by again bridging the matching pads:

Finally the sketch needs to be rewritten to understand that the top shield now uses D6~8 and A0~1. And we’re done!

Try not to use too much solder, as you could accidentally bridge more pads than necessary. And you can always use some solder wick to remove the solder and reuse the shield again (and again…). Now the genius of the shield becomes more apparent.

The only downside to this shield is the PCB design - the days of square corners should be over now:

It is a small problem, but one nonetheless. Hopefully this is rectified in the next build run. Otherwise the “Go Between” Shield is a solution to a problem you may have one day, so perhaps keep one tucked away for “just in case”.

The “Go Between Shield“ and many other electronic goodies are available from Little Bird Electronics. 

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Hello readers

In this article we examine one of those products that are really simple yet can solve some really annoying problems. It is the “Go Between” Arduino shield from Mayhew Labs. What does the GBS do? You use it to solve a common problem that some prolific Arduino users can often face - how do I use two shields that require the same pins?

Using a clever matrix of solder pads, you can change the wiring between the analogue and digital pins. For example, here is the bare shield:

Now for an example problem. You two shields that need access to digital pins 3, 4 and 5 as also analogue pins 4 and 5. We call one shield the “top shield” which will sit above the GBS, and the second shield the “bottom” shield which will sit between the Arduino and the GBS. To solve the problem we will redirect the top shield’s D3~5 to D6~8, and A4~5 to A0~1.

To redirect a pin (for example D3 to D6), we first locate the number along the “top digital pins” horizontal of the matrix (3). Then find the destination “bottom” pin row (6). Finally, bridge that pad on the matrix with solder. Our D3 to D6 conversion is shown with the green dot in the following:

Now for the rest, diverting D4 and D5 to D7 and D8 respectively, as well as analogue pins 4 and 5 to 0 and 1:

The next task is to connect the rest of the non-redirected pins. For example, D13 to D13. We do this by again bridging the matching pads:

Finally the sketch needs to be rewritten to understand that the top shield now uses D6~8 and A0~1. And we’re done!

Try not to use too much solder, as you could accidentally bridge more pads than necessary. And you can always use some solder wick to remove the solder and reuse the shield again (and again…). Now the genius of the shield becomes more apparent.

The only downside to this shield is the PCB design - the days of square corners should be over now:

It is a small problem, but one nonetheless. Hopefully this is rectified in the next build run. Otherwise the “Go Between” Shield is a solution to a problem you may have one day, so perhaps keep one tucked away for “just in case”.

The “Go Between Shield“ and many other electronic goodies are available from Little Bird Electronics. 

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Hello Readers

Time to get back to work for 2012 and in doing so we review another interesting product from a new company based in Japan – akafugu. From their website:

Akafugu Corporation is a small electronics company that operates out of Tokyo, Japan. We specialize in fun and easy to use electronic gadgets. Our goal is to provide products that not only make prototyping faster and easier, but are also perfect for incorporation in finalized products.

And with this in mind we examine the Akafuino-X microcontroller board:

The observant among you will notice the similarity to our usual Arduino Uno and compatible boards. However there are some differences which bring changes and improvements over the original Arduino design. The biggest point of difference is the microcontroller, the Akafuino uses an Atmel XMega32A4. The benefit of this over the normal ATmega328 is:

• Speed! 32 MHz – twice as fast as the ATmega328;
• Two-channel DAC (digital to analogue) converter – output analogue signals between 0V and Vcc straight from the board. A library is included with the new IDE to control them. The DAC uses digital pins seven and eight;
• Not one, two or even four, but five UARTs;
• Two I2C buses;
• Sixteen PWM pins – great for LED effects…

Thankfully the designers have detailed the extra I/O pins and other useful information on the rear of the board:

Other changes include:

• It’s a 3.3V board – so no 5V supply for you. However the inputs are tolerant to 5V;
• On-board real time clock. You can also add an optional 32.768 kHz crystal to increase accuracy – see the space on the board near the reset pin;
• A very refreshing red colour (note that ‘aka(i)’ ** is red in Japanese) and a happy puffer fish (‘fugu’) on the silk-screening 
• And libraries for other Akafugu products such as the TWI Display module are available.

Getting started is easy, however due to the difference in hardware the Arduino IDE needs modification. But don’t panic – instead of modifying your existing v1.0 Arduino IDE – download and install the Akafuino-X version from here and run your usual and the Akauino-X IDE on the same machine (it’s ok to do this). You should also review the usage instructions here and note that this is a derivative of the v1.0 IDE. Furthermore at the time of writing the software side of things is still in beta, and can be monitored viaGithub - however don’t let this put you off, as the Akafuino-X has a lot of potential.

In the meanwhile we’ve conducted a quick speed test – by running the same sketch on an Arduino Uno and also the Akafuino-X. The test is a whole lot of multiplication, nothing too scientific. At the end the duration of the exercise is shown in milliseconds. Here’s the code:

// Arduino Uno test // void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); }

unsigned long a,b,c,d,e;

void loop() { a=millis(); for (c=1; c<1000000; c++) { d=sq(c); } b=millis(); e=b-a; Serial.print("Duration: "); Serial.print(e); Serial.println("ms"); do {} while (1>0); }

And here are the results of running the sketch four times on each board (click image to enlarge):

Our Akafuino-X beta only took 2704ms versus the Arduino Uno taking 4212ms. Very good so far.

So there you have it, another contender in the Arduino-compatible board stakes. Considering the extra  I/O, PWM and bus connectivity the Akafuino-X is a very capable board. I look forward to the evolution of the IDE and will return with the Akafuino-X in an upcoming project. And we also have one to give away. So stay tuned! In the meanwhile the Akafuino-X and other goodies are available directly from akafugu.jp. 

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Hello readers

Well December has well and truly passed on so it is time to announce the winners of our December 2011 competition. The lucky winner of the first prize, which consists of the eleven modules from the new Freetronics Module/Sensor range, as reviewed recently:

Is Stephanie F. from Melbourne, Australia. I hope you enjoy working with the new modules.

And the lucky winner of the second prize, the awesome and still the world’s best all-in-one Arduino Uno/ethernet/PoE/uSD card board solution – the Freetronics EtherTen:

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Hello readers

Published in the January 2012 issue of “Silicon Chip” magazine is an eight page feature article by Jonathan Oxer introducing the Arduino system and how the hardware and software work together to allow anyone to turn their technological ideas into reality. If you have read Jon’s article and were directed here – thanks for visiting! We have much more content than just Arduino tutorials, however to get started with them please click here or select from one of the chapters listed in the “Arduino Tutorials” section on the right-hand side of this web page.  Our site is a work in progress and if you have any feedback or questions please email john at tronixstuff dot com, or visit our moderated Google Group.

Be sure to take advantage of the discount code on page seventeen made available by Little Bird Electronics - Australia’s largest Arduino and related electronics distributor; and also check out the range of Arduino-compatible equipment atFreetronics.

For those not familiar with the magazine, here is the cover for the January 2012 issue:

So what is “Silicon Chip” magazine all about? It is Australia’s window to the wide world of electronics, backed by a team of engineers and enthusiasts with decades of experience and knowledge. Each month you can read about in-house projects by the team and also submitted by readers – covering basic circuits right through to digital and computer systems, quality hi-fi and audio projects, news, reviews, readers’ letters, the humorous columns and a wide variety of kits to assemble. There is also a wide range of advertising from related businesses that helps you find new products and suppliers that you may not have known about.

Silicon Chip is the only Australian electronics magazine and one of the few left in the world with a broad appeal to the beginner and expert alike, and the projects described are always good value and not priced or designed out of most peoples’ reach. I unashamedly recommend you pick up a copy from the newsagent or take out a subscription if possible, it’s a great read and there’s always lots to learn and laugh about.

In the meanwhile, here’s the last question for our monthly competition:

Question: Who is the editor of “Silicon Chip” magazine?

Finally, that’s it for 2011. A big thank you to all of our readers for your visits, feedback, compliments, criticism, donations, and the crazy emails received through the year. And of course to all the great suppliers who help out with promotional considerations and sponsor our monthly competitions. Keeping this site together has been interesting, educational and a whole lot of fun, and I hope you think so too. There is a lot coming up for 2012 – so stay tuned via twitter, Google+, or subscribe by email or RSS on the right-hand side of this page.

Have fun and Happy New Year 

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Hello Readers

If there’s one thing that I really like it’s a good clock kit. Once constructed, they can be many things, including:

• a point of differentiation from other items in the room;
• a reminder of the past (nixie tubes!) or possible visions of the future;
• the base of something to really annoy other people;
• a constant reminder to get back to work;
• a source of satisfaction from having made something yourself!

So just for fun I have attempted to find and list as many interesting and ‘out of the ordinary’ kits as possible, and ignored the simple or relatively mundane kits out there. If you are in the clock kit business and want a mention, let me know. So in no particular order, we have:

adafruit industries “ice tube” clock

Based around a vintage Soviet-era vacuum IV-18 type fluorescent display, the ice tube clock is a rare kit that includes a nice enclosure which keeps you safe from the high voltages as well as allowing the curious to observe your soldering skills. Ireviewed this kit almost a year ago and the clock is still working perfectly. Here is a video of the ice tube clock in action:

After some travelling meeting various people it seems that quite a few of us have an ice tube clock. There is something quite mesmerising about the display, perhaps helping to recall memories of our youth in the 1970s and 80s.

nootropic design Defusable Clock Kit

As recently reviewed, this kit allows you to build a simulated ‘countdown’ timer for a hypothetical explosive device that also doubles as a clock with an alarm. For example:

Whatever you do, don’t make a ‘fake bomb’ and leave it out in public! Only bad things could happen 

ogilumen nixie tube kits

Not a clock kit as such, however they have made doing it yourself very easy with their power supply and IN-12A nixie board kits. We made one ourselves in a previous review, as shown below:

Alan Parekh’s Multimeter Clock Kit

This is certainly one from left field – using the analogue multimeters to display hours, minutes and seconds. See Alan describe his kit in this video:

Certainly something different and would look great on the wall of any electronics-themed area or would easily annoy those who dislike the status-quo of clock design.

akafugu VFD Modular Clock

The team at akafugu have created a modular baseboard/shield kit which holds a shield containing four IV-17 alphanumeric nixie tubes to create your own clock or display system:

Unlike some of the other nixie tube kits the firmware has been made public and can be modified at will. In the future different display shields will be available to extend the use of the kit.

tubeclock.com kits

This site has two kits available, one using either four or six Soviet-era IN-12 type nixie tubes:

… and another kit using the Soviet-era IN-14 nixie tubes:

You have to hand it to the former Soviet Union – they knew how to over-produce nixie tubes. One rare example where we can benefit from a command economy!

evil mad science clocks

The certainly not evil people have two clock kits, the first being the Bulbdial Clock Kit:

This uses a unique ring of LEDs around the circumference of the clock face to create shadows to mark the time. It is also available in a range of housing and face styles. Their other kit of interest is the Alpha Clock Five:

The photo of this clock doesn’t do it justice – the alphanumeric displays are 2.3″ tall, making this one huge clock. It also makes use of a Chronodot real-time clock board, which contains a temperature-controlled oscillator  which helps give it an accuracy of +-/ 2 minutes per year. Furthermore you can modify this easily using an FTDI cable and the Arduino IDE with some extra software. Would be great for model railways (or even a real railway station) or those insanely conscious about the time.

Question: Which Soviet leader allegedly banged his shoe in the United Nations?

Kabtronics Clock Kits

This organisation has several clock kits which span a range of technology from the later part of the twentieth century. These guys can only be true clock enthusiasts! Starting with the 1950s, they have their Nixie-Transistor Clock:

Look – no integrated circuits, leaving the kit true to the era. If you need to hide from someone for a weekend, building this would be a good start. Next we move onto the 1960s and the Transistor Clock:

The 1960s brought with it LEDs so they are now used in this kit, however the logic is still all analogue electronics. However next we can move to the 1970s, and finally save some board space with the TTL Clock:

This would still be fun to assemble but somewhat less punishing for those who don’t enjoy solder fumes that much. However you still have a nice kit and something to be proud of. Finally, the last in the line is the 1980s-themed Surface-Mount Technology Clock:

So here we have a microcontroller, SMT components, and a typical reduction in board size. Their range is an excellent way of demonstrating the advances in technology over the years.

The GPS FLW Display Clock

Wow – this clock makes use of huge Burroughs B7971 15-segment nixie tube displays and a GPS receiver to make a huge, old-style/new-tech clock. Check out the demonstration video:

This thing is amazing. And it is actually cheaper to buy a fully-assembled version (huh). The same organisation also offers another GPS-controlled clock using IN-18 nixie tubes:

Again, it isn’t inexpensive – however the true nixie tube enthusiasts will love it. This clock would look great next to a post-modern vintage hifi tube amplifier. Moving forward to something completely different now, we have the:

adafruit industries monochron®

Almost the polar opposite of the nixie-tube clocks, the monochron uses an ATmega328 microcontroller and a 128 x 64 LCD module to create some interesting clock effects. For example:

Many people have created a variety of displays, including space invaders and the pong game simulation. The clock also includes the laser-cut acrylic housing which provides a useful and solid base for the clock.

Spikenzie Labs Solder : Time™ watch kit

Technically this is a watch kit, however I don’t think that many people would want to walk around wearing one – but it could be used in more permanent or fixed locations. Correct me if I’m wrong people. However in its defence it is a very well designed kit that is easy to solder and produces a nice clock:

It uses a separate real-time controller IC to stay accurate, and the design However this would be a great suggestion as a gift for a younger person to help them become interesting in electronics and other related topics. The asm firmware is also available for you to modify using Microchip MPLAB software if that takes your fancy.

Velleman Kits

The Velleman company has a range of somewhat uninspiring clock kits, starting with the Scrolling/Rolling LED Clock:

… the 2¼” 7-Segment Digital Clock:

This clock includes the housing and also accepts an optional temperature sensor, and therefore can display this as well. There is also the aptly-named – Digital LED Clock:

It tells the time and would be useful in a 1980s-era idea of the future movie set. The final velleman clock kit is the Jumbo Single-Digit Clock:

In all fairness this one looks quite interesting – the LED display is 57mm tall and the time is display one digit at a time. It is powered by a PIC16F630 however the firmware is proprietary to velleman.

Nocrotec Nixie Clocks

This company has a range of kits using nixie tubes and numitrons (low voltage incadescent displays in tubes). One particularly lovely kit is their IN-8 Blue Dream kit:

The blue glow at the base of the nixie tubes is due to an LED mounted at the bottom of the tube. Another aesthetically-pleasing kit is their Little Blue Something nixie clock. Check out their demonstration video:

nixiekits.eu

More IN-12 nixie clocks from Germany, the first being the Manuela_HR. You can buy the kit without an enclosure, or choose from the ‘office’ style:

… or this funky number:

You can specify it with RGB LEDs which colour-cycle to provide the effect shown above. For those not too keen you can also buy the kits pre-assembled. Their other kit is the Sven:

It is available with IN-8 or IN-14 nixie tubes. The design quality of the enclosure is outstanding, a lot of effort has been made to produce a complete kit that “won’t look like a kit” when completed.

Minty Time

This is a small binary clock kit that fits in an Altoids tin:

This is a nice little kit as it is inexpensive, easy to make and very well documented. You could also mount this in a variety of flat surfaces, limited only by your imagination.

The Chronulator

Here we find a unique design that uses analogue panel meters in a similar method to the multimeter clock detailed previously. Here is an example of the completed kit:

The kit contains the electronics and meters (or you can delete the meters for a discount if you already have some) however the housing is up to you. Furthermore, this kit has some of the best instructions (.pdf) I have ever seen. They are a credit to the organisation. Our final clock kit is the …

Denkimono

This is another clock kit in the style of ‘suspicious bomb timer’-looking – and it pulls this off quite well. Consider the following video demonstration:

As well as a normal clock it can function as an alarm, stopwatch, countdown timer and lap counter. The instructions (.pdf) are well written and easy to follow. Furthermore the Denkimono is also well priced for the kit and delivery.

Hopefully this catalogue of clock kits was of interest to you. If you have found some other kits to add to the list, or wish to disagree or generally comment about this article please do so via the comment section below. This article was not sponsored in any way.

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Hello Readers

In this review we examine an interesting, fun and possibly a prankster’s delight – the “Defusable Clock Kit” from nootropic design. The purpose of this kit is to construct a clock that counts down in a similar method to “movie-style” bombs, and it has terminals to connect four wires to the board. When the countdown timer is beeping away, you need to choose which wire to cut otherwise the “bomb” (alarm) goes off.

Furthermore, it also functions as a normal clock with an alarm, so you can use it daily normal activities. And finally it is based on the Arduino system which allows the kit to be reprogrammed at a later date. Now let’s move forward by examining kit construction.

Packaging

The kit arrives in a re-sealable antistatic pouch that can be reused without any effort:

Assembly

Detailed instructions can be found on the product website. The kit has a very clear and well-detailed silk screen on the PCB:

All the parts required are included, as well as an IC socket for the microcontroller:

 Moving forward, the first parts to solder in are the resistors:

… then to the other lower-profile components:

… and the rest:

Which leaves us with the final product:

The clock is designed around simple Arduino-compatible circuitry, so if you wish to alter the firware for the clock or upload your own sketch, you will need to fit the six-way header pins (in order to connect a USB-FTDI cable). As the pins are horizontal and tend to fall over, it’s easier to solder the first pin from the top of the PCB to hold it in place:

… then turn the PCB over and solder the rest.

Operation

Power is supplied via the DC socket on the PCB, and converted to 5V with a typical 7805 regulator. Therefore your input voltage can range between normal levels of 9~12VDC. Once the power is connected you can set the time for the clock and alarm for normal use. However if you feel like some sweat-inducing excitement, connect four wires each between the terminal blocks at the top of the PCB. Then press the red button to start the ten-second countdown. You can also increase or decrease the countdown time.

Your chances of defusing it in time can be quite low – by cutting one wire you can defuse it, by cutting two other wires nothing will happen and the clock keeps ticking – and by cutting the final wire… well, it’s all over. The wires are randomly chosen each time so you can’t predict which will be the correct wire. (Unless you change the firmware). Now let’s see the clock in action:

At this juncture it would be appropriate to warn the users of this kit not to … well, misuse the clock. To be honest I’m surprised such a kit originated from the US in the first place, but then again it never hurts to have a sense of humour. But seriously, to the untrained eye or casual security guard – this kit will look pretty damn real. So no making any mock explosive models with Play-Doh or metal cylinders and leaving them on the train or bus or under someone’s toilet seat. Then again, that would be good for a laugh – so please keep it at home, not in the railway station.

Further expansion

As mentioned earlier this kit is Arduino (Duemilanove) compatible, you can upload new sketches using a 5V FTDI cable or swapping the microcontroller over in another Arduino-style board. You have four LEDs, a 4-digit 7-segment LED module, a buzzer, and four digital I/O pins via the terminal block on the top-right of the PCB which could control external devices. Furthermore you can download and examine the clock sketch to modify or deconstruct it to determine the operation.

Conclusion

Apart from the laughs and possible mayhem you could cause with this, the kit is easy to assemble and works as described. It would make a great present to get someone interested in electronics, or help them with soldering practice. Furthermore it is certainly unique, and would be fun at parties and other events.

This kit and many other electronic goodies are available from Little Bird Electronics. 

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Hello Readers

In this review we examine an interesting, fun and possibly a prankster’s delight – the “Defusable Clock Kit” fromnootropic design. The purpose of this kit is to construct a clock that counts down in a similar method to “movie-style” bombs, and it has terminals to connect four wires to the board. When the countdown timer is beeping away, you need to choose which wire to cut otherwise the “bomb” (alarm) goes off.

Furthermore, it also functions as a normal clock with an alarm, so you can use it daily normal activities. And finally it is based on the Arduino system which allows the kit to be reprogrammed at a later date. Now let’s move forward by examining kit construction.

Packaging

The kit arrives in a re-sealable antistatic pouch that can be reused without any effort:

Assembly

Detailed instructions can be found on the product website. The kit has a very clear and well-detailed silk screen on the PCB:

All the parts required are included, as well as an IC socket for the microcontroller:

However it looks like someone in the kitting department was in a hurry, things like this are pretty inexcusable – but recoverable:

Nothing that can’t be fixed carefully with some needle-nose pliers, nevertheless it was somewhat inconvenient. Some beginners may not have the patience or finesse to fix this themselves, and end up with a useless microcontroller. Moving forward, the first parts to solder in are the resistors:

… then to the other lower-profile components:

… and the rest:

Which leaves us with the final product:

The clock is designed around simple Arduino-compatible circuitry, so if you wish to alter the firware for the clock or upload your own sketch, you will need to fit the six-way header pins (in order to connect a USB-FTDI cable). As the pins are horizontal and tend to fall over, it’s easier to solder the first pin from the top of the PCB to hold it in place:

… then turn the PCB over and solder the rest.

Operation

Power is supplied via the DC socket on the PCB, and converted to 5V with a typical 7805 regulator. Therefore your input voltage can range between normal levels of 9~12VDC. Once the power is connected you can set the time for the clock and alarm for normal use. However if you feel like some sweat-inducing excitement, connect four wires each between the terminal blocks at the top of the PCB. Then press the red button to start the ten-second countdown. You can also increase or decrease the countdown time.

Your chances of defusing it in time can be quite low – by cutting one wire you can defuse it, by cutting two other wires nothing will happen and the clock keeps ticking – and by cutting the final wire… well, it’s all over. The wires are randomly chosen each time so you can’t predict which will be the correct wire. (Unless you change the firmware). Now let’s see the clock in action:

At this juncture it would be appropriate to warn the users of this kit not to … well, misuse the clock. To be honest I’m surprised such a kit originated from the US in the first place, but then again it never hurts to have a sense of humour. But seriously, to the untrained eye or casual security guard – this kit will look pretty damn real. So no making any mock explosive models with Play-Doh or metal cylinders and leaving them on the train or bus or under someone’s toilet seat. Then again, that would be good for a laugh – so please keep it at home, not in the railway station.

Question – Who played alongside with Mel Gibson in the “Lethal Weapon” movies?

Further expansion

As mentioned earlier this kit is Arduino (Duemilanove) compatible, you can upload new sketches using a 5V FTDI cable or swapping the microcontroller over in another Arduino-style board. You have four LEDs, a 4-digit 7-segment LED module, a buzzer, and four digital I/O pins via the terminal block on the top-right of the PCB which could control external devices. Furthermore you can download and examine the clock sketch to modify or deconstruct it to determine the operation.

Conclusion

Apart from the laughs and possible mayhem you could cause with this, the kit is easy to assemble and works as described. It would make a great present to get someone interested in electronics, or help them with soldering practice. Furthermore it is certainly unique, and would be fun at parties and other events.

This kit and many other electronic goodies are available from Little Bird Electronics. High-resolution images available on flickr.

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Hello Readers

Time for a follow-up to the Single Button Combination Lock by creating another oddball type of switch/lock. To activate this switch we make use of a Parallax Ping))) Ultrasonic sensor, an Arduino-style board and some other hardware – to make a device that receives a four-number code which is made up of the distance between a hand and the sensor. If Arduino and ultrasonic sensors are new to you, please read this tutorial before moving on.

The required hardware for this project is minimal and shown below – a Freetronics Arduino-compatible board, the Ping))) sensor, and for display purposes we have an I2C-interface LCD module:

The combination for our ‘lock’ will consist of four integers. Each integer is the distance measured between the sensor and the user’s hand (etc.). For example, a combination may be 20, 15, 20, 15. So for the switch to be activated the user must place their hand 20cm away, then 15, then 20, then 15cm away. Our switch will have a delay between each measurement which can be modified in the sketch.

To keep things simple the overlord of the switch must insert the PIN into the switch sketch. Therefore we need a way to take measurements to generate a PIN. We do this with the following sketch, it simply displays the distance on the LCD (download sketch). And here is a demonstration of the sketch in action: 

Now for the switch itself. For our example the process of “unlocking” will be started by the user placing their hand at a distance of 10cm or less in front of the sensor. Doing so will trigger the function checkPIN(), where the display prompts the user for four “numbers” which are returned by placing their hand a certain distance away from the sensor four times, with a delay between each reading which is set by the variable adel. The values of the user’s distances are stored in the array attempt[4].

Once the four readings have been taken, they are compared against the values in the array PIN[]. Some tolerance has been built into the checking process, where the value entered can vary +/- a certain distance. This tolerance distance is stored in the variable t in this function. Each of the user’s entries are compared and the tolerance taken into account. If each entry is successful, one is added to the variable accept. If all entries are correct, accept will equal four – at which point the sketch will either “unlock” or display “*** DENIED ***” on the LCD.

Again, this is an example and you can modify the display or checking procedure yourself. Moving forward, here is our lock sketch (download). Here is our final product housed in a nice enclosure:

And for the final demonstration of the switch in action. Note that the delays between actions have been added for visual effect – you can always change them to suit yourself: 

So there you have it – the base example for a different type of combination switch. I hope someone out there found this interesting or slightly useful 

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Hello Readers

Today we review a product from a new company based in Japan – akafugu. From their website:

Akafugu Corporation is a small electronics company that operates out of Tokyo, Japan. We specialize in fun and easy to use electronic gadgets. Our goal is to provide products that not only make prototyping faster and easier, but are also perfect for incorporation in finalized products.

And with this in mind we examine their TWI 7-segment display board. It consists of a four digit, seven-segment LED module driven by an Atmel ATtiny microcontroller – and has an I2C (or called TWI for “two-wire interface”) interface. By using I2C you only need power, GND, SDA and CLK lines – which saves on I/O and physical space.

Packaging

The display arrives appropriately packaged in reusable bags, and the main board is sealed in an anti-static pouch:

Assembly

The display board arrives partly-assembled. The MCU is presoldered to the board, so all we need to solder are the external connections on each side of the board, and the LED module. It is quite small and of an excellent quality:

The reason for having the power and data lines on both side is that you can then daisy-chain the displays. Speaking of which, the review unit arrived with a common-anode white LED module (data sheet.pdf) – however you can also order it in red or blue. Although they are not included, I soldered in a line of socket pins to allow for changing the LED module later on:

The final product is neat and compact, the view from the rear:

Note the ISP header pin sockets which allow low-level programming of the ATtiny4313 MCU. And the front:

akafugu also sell an optional housing stand, manufactured from transparent acrylic, which turns the display module into a nice little desk stand model:

Using the display module

Now to put the display to use. As it is controlled via I2C/TWI a variety of microcontroller platforms will be able to use the display. For our examples we will be using an Arduino-compatible board. Before moving forward you need to download and install the Arduino library which is available (as well as an avr-gcc library) on Github. Note that the example sketches in the Arduino library are for IDE v1.0.

As the module uses its own microcontroller, you can change the I2C bus address with a simple sketch (which is provided with the library). This is a great idea, which removes any chance of clashing with other bus devices, and allows more modules to be on the same bus. The default address is 0X12h.

When using the module, the following lines need to be in your sketch:

#include #include <TWIDisplay.h> #define SLAVE_ADDR 0x12 TWIDisplay disp(0x12);

void setup() { Wire.begin(); disp.setRotateMode(); disp.clear(); disp.setBrightness(255); }

You can change the brightness mid-sketch using disp.setBrightness() with a parameter between zero and 255. To display an integer, use:

  disp.writeInt(8888); // displays '8888'

To turn on or off the decimal points, use:

  disp.setDot(x,boolean); // where x is the digit (0~3 from left to right) and boolean is true for on, false for off

To clear the display, use:

 disp.clear();

You can even display strings of text. Not every character can be displayed, however most can and the effect of scrolling looks good. For some example code:

char message[] = "This is a long message "; for (int i = 0; i < strlen(message); i++) { disp.print(message[i]); delay(250);

Now to put the display to work! Using this IDE v1.0 demonstration sketch (download), we have created the following display:

For the curious, the current drawn with all segments on at full brightness is just over  33 milliamps:

Conclusion

When you need to display some numerical or other fitting data with a greater clarity than an LCD, or just love LEDs then you could do very well with this display. The designers have made a quality board and backed it up with documentation and (unlike many much larger, more prominent companies) a mature library to ensure it works first time. Furthermore the use of the I2C/TWI bus removes the problem of wasting digital output pins on your MCU – and the ability to change the bus address is perfect. So give akafugu a go and you will not be disappointed. The display and other goodies are available directly from akafugu.jp. 

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