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Stray Technologies Forums » Bliptronome Kit

Bub FTDI board vs alternatives

(6 posts)

  1. Wil
    Key Master

    Hey all,
    I've received one or two emails asking if there was a way to move the FTDI breakout board into the Bliptronome case. for those who don't foresee alternative uses (like hooking the kit directly to a mini midi, osc, or microcontroller module and skipping the laptop completely) there are a few options.

    1: Internally mounting the FTDI board.
    A 6 wire ribbon cable could replace the 6-pin FTDI male pin-header and be routed to the top of the case. You would still need to mod the case to mount the board and allow for usb port access, but there is plenty of room for that change. My original prototype did just that, with the use of a LOT of hotglue.

    2: an alternative cable:
    http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=768-1028-ND
    has no exposed circuit, as the FTDI circuit is built into the USB jack within the cable. This is a very hardy, though somewhat expensive alternative, and I will be looking at creating an alternative FTDI option like this in the near future for slightly less.

    If you go this route, remember the FTDI chip in the new cable will need to be reprogrammed with a new ID so it is recognized by ArduinomeSerial.

    See a separate post called "Programming Your Own FTDI device"

    Posted 1 year ago #

  2. creekree
    Member

    I have placed the BUB board inside the battery compartment.
    It is still fully removable.
    I soldered a ribbon cable to the Bliptronome controller board. On the other end of this cable I used the header/pin combination that came with the kit. A little help from my friend Dremel was required to cut some plastic away.
    I didnt want to glue the BUB permanently into place but I also was not happy with it being exposed all the time.
    Now the USB cable is semi-permanently attached to the case, but I can take out the BUB whenever the need arises.
    Ultimately I plan to install a mini USB jack, I didnt yet simply because I dont have one.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  3. adamjohnwilliams
    Member

    I mounted my FTDI in the top of the blip case. I soldered some ribbon cable to the bliptronome board, then the pin/header combo on some stripboard, piggybacking on the FTDI board. Cut a series of little slots and with some trial and error and then a bit of gentle filing to smooth the edges, I was left with this
    http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs439.ash1/24235_10150141978435511_723140510_11680283_3727457_n.jpg
    Very neat and practical, and the FTDI board is held securely in place while the case is screwed shut, but is completely removable should I need to get at it in the future.

    Posted 1 year ago #

  4. ghd
    Member

    @adamjohnwilliams
    very nice solution

    Posted 1 year ago #

  5. ghd
    Member

    I would like to do what adam has done however I have already soldered the header onto the FTDI board and the pins on the main board as shown in the instructions. The question I have is can I install ribbon wire on the next set of holes on the FTDI board and disregard the header altogether? Shining a light through the board shows that it should work- or am I way off base?

    Posted 1 year ago #

  6. Wil
    Key Master

    @ghd,
    No problem with doing that!
    All of the inline solder spots are connected in the circuit (just not the 90 degree side set of holes).
    I've even cut off some with tin-snips, so you could remove the current solder pins this way, and resolder ribbon cable in the next row.

    Posted 1 year ago #

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