wraggster
March 23rd, 2013, 22:17
http://hackadaycom.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/analog-input-rpi-add-on.jpg?w=503&h=450
[Ken Olsen] needed a bunch of analog inputs for his model railroad project. He wanted to use the Raspberry Pi board, but alas there are no analog inputs available on the GPIO header. But there is SPI. So he used an online service to design his on Analog input expansion boards (http://makersbox.blogspot.com/2013/01/using-circuitsio-to-cooks-up-something.html).
He mentions that Eagle can be a bit of a pain to work with. For this project he decided to give circuits.io a try. This is an in-browser PCB layout tool which we looked at in a links post (http://hackaday.com/2012/10/18/hackaday-links-october-18-2012/)some time ago. The service lets you order directly from your in-browser design without the need to run gerber files or the like (boards are made using the OSH Park service). He’s very happy with the boards he got back. They feature a footprint for a connector to interface with the RPi.
The design uses MCP3008 Analog to SPI chips. Each has eight channels but [Ken] needed more than that. Since the service provides three copies of the board he made them modular by adding end connectors which chain the SPI and power rails from one board to the next. Don’t miss his full demo in the video after the break.
http://hackaday.com/2013/03/22/analog-input-expansion-boards-for-raspberry-pi/
[Ken Olsen] needed a bunch of analog inputs for his model railroad project. He wanted to use the Raspberry Pi board, but alas there are no analog inputs available on the GPIO header. But there is SPI. So he used an online service to design his on Analog input expansion boards (http://makersbox.blogspot.com/2013/01/using-circuitsio-to-cooks-up-something.html).
He mentions that Eagle can be a bit of a pain to work with. For this project he decided to give circuits.io a try. This is an in-browser PCB layout tool which we looked at in a links post (http://hackaday.com/2012/10/18/hackaday-links-october-18-2012/)some time ago. The service lets you order directly from your in-browser design without the need to run gerber files or the like (boards are made using the OSH Park service). He’s very happy with the boards he got back. They feature a footprint for a connector to interface with the RPi.
The design uses MCP3008 Analog to SPI chips. Each has eight channels but [Ken] needed more than that. Since the service provides three copies of the board he made them modular by adding end connectors which chain the SPI and power rails from one board to the next. Don’t miss his full demo in the video after the break.
http://hackaday.com/2013/03/22/analog-input-expansion-boards-for-raspberry-pi/