Hello, I am new here.
Will these items work ok for students to build their own Arduboy?
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803889090351.html?channel=twinner
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803297703282.html?channel=twinner
Yes, I am going for the 7 pin SPI screen, and the kit including the UNO.
I know I do not have any speakers or switches, and I also need a 9v battery for each kit.
Thank you for your help!
The 7 pin SPI OLED will work. Make sure it’s an SSD1306 or you’ll have to use @Mr.Blinky 's homemade package if it’s an SH1106 or something else.
The Arduino UNO can work, but the Arduboy is designed for an ATmega32u4, so you may experience slowdowns and some other stuff. I think someone made a library to help with that, you can find it somewhere on the forums here. I’ll add it to my post if I can track it down.
Ideally, you want a board which has an ATmega32u4, so something along the lines of an Arduino Leonardo, a Sparkfun/Arduino Pro Micro, etc.
Edit: Here’s the library: GitHub - harbaum/Arduboy2: Arduino Nano port of the Arduboy miniature game system
An Uno probably wouldn’t cause slowdowns, its CPU - the ATmega328P - uses the same instruction set architecture (AVR) and runs at the same speed (16MHz).
What would be an issue is that the ATmega328P only has 2KB (2,048 bytes) of RAM compared to the ATmega32u4’s 2.5KB (2,560 bytes), meaning that games that use a larger amount of RAM are liable to crash or potentially not even load properly.
The uno isn’t code compatible there are some hacky ways to get specific code to work, but many games use more ram than the uno has and the timers are also different.
I recommend to get the Leonardo instead as that’s where Arduboy is based on.
The display probably has an SH1106 display controller. Games need to be recompiled though by using the Homemade package when using this display.
When you can find a 7 pin (SPI) OLED display with SSD1306 display controller then games can be played unmodified.
I read about the display. Chinese models typically don’t list the display controller, how could I tell which is which?
I was reading through some reviews, and they all said it’s an SH1106.
It will work, but you will need the homemade package like @Mr.Blinky mentioned above.
No mention in reviews, but what do you think about the 7 pin version here: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801675447576.html?channel=twinner
7 pin should work, potentially the 6 pin too but they don’t seem to list any pinouts for it.
Leonardo is good, I go pro micro because it’s cheaper and breadboard friendly. Of course there is also the micro. The pinouts on the schematic page make it easier to choose:
Would you recommend the Pro Micro over Leonardo for the students?
Eh. The Pro Micro isn’t really “complete,” and I think overall the Leonardo would be best. For price however, the Pro Micro wins.
Everything seems okay. The screen appears to be an SPI 4-pin one though. Something I’ve seen other companies do is put images of their other products (in this case, the 7-pin OLED). I think you need a passive buzzer as well, rather than an active one. It also has to be piezoelectric (IIRC).
Yes
No, you need pasive piezo buzzers (option 1407 pasive) Note that pasive piezo buzzers don’t have a polarity symbol.
as for the kit. you may want to look for the seperate parts. as the buttons in that kit ar 10-12mm tactile buttons which are quite large and the included breadboard is a half size one. You wouldn’t be able to put all the buttons on the breadboard.
with pro micros you have to solder the pinheaders and it takes up space on the breadboard. also it doesn’t have the 2nd speaker pin, RGB green pin and OLED CS broken out. If these things aren’t a problem you can go for the pro micro.
B-b-but my piezo buzzer has a polarity symbol (a ‘+’)
Then it’s most likely an electromagnetic one instead of a piezo. those are low impedance and consume more power.
I suppose you’re stuck on leonardo if kids aren’t able to solder.
