The WhyIt all started with a thermostat. As in I wanted a new one (See here). Because I am super special little snowflake, none of the thousands of thermostats on the market suited my needs. The initial inspiration is well documented; I will not waste time repeating myself. So I needed a way for the control logic to interface with the physical world. This of course is done via an IO board and there seemed to be two options - the industrial-level stuff intended to be used with PLCs and the amateur "arduino"-level stuff that's available everywhere on the internet for less than $20. The cover for the first party is in the 5 digit range even if you manage to get an invitation. The other party is one guy with a funnel looking for someone with a keg. I wanted to be in the fancy party, but did not have the money nor the invitation to get in. So I decided to put my experience gained through being a bartender at the fancy party into an IO board of my own. That's enough analogy maceration. My goal was to have a robust IO board for my personal project(s). I wanted the board to:
Basically, I wanted a robust piece of gear and since I couldn't afford one I made my own. The WhatThe board, in its current V1.0 incarnation satisfies most of my requirements. Only thing lacking is support from the manufacturer. It's a hassle. They're real moody pricks. Board features and specs:
Bellow is a few pictures in the dual board configuration. Why dual board and not two, three, or four? Simple. Because I am the decider and I decided. Click on the pictures to expand them. Top view Another top view Dual stack - digital output terminals Dual stack - RS-232, analog input, analog power supply, and power supply terminals Back of the PCB Front of the PCB Text-based interface intended for testing/human use |