Arduino’s know how to multiply
So, I just counted… I now have 5 Arduino boards. These little toys are just so useful.
By far the coolest add-on I picked up so far is the Arduino Ethernet shield. This device is based on the Wiznet W5100 and it makes connecting to the wire a breeze with low Arduino overhead. You see, I made the mistake of trying to use the ENC28J60 Ethernet chip. A nice chip and Guido Socher did a great write up about it at TUX GRAPHICS… (http://tuxgraphics.org/electronics/200606/article06061.shtml) but you need to create the TCP/IP stack in software… that’s surely flexible… but not a very nice way to leave you some ram in your Arduino for what you ant it to do. I got frustrated with the ENC28J60 (I’d built a break out board) and just ordered the ETHERNET shield from NKC electronics. (Nice purchasing experience from NKC, and a real fine supporter of the Arduino community by the way)
Wow. This board is well made, well designed and simple to use. This opens up all sorts of neat possibilities. I just need to figure out which one gets priority.
