Croduino miniNOVA documentation, programming, and component recommendations

TECHNICAL SUPPORT NULA Development Boards
1

Customer:

I need documentation for the Croduino miniNOVA and CP2102 USB UART.

Specifically, I’m looking for:

  • Pinout of the board (in any format)
  • Connection diagram for the CP2102 USB adapter to the board for programming
  • Any necessary changes to Arduino IDE settings before programming

I also need recommendations for:

  • A protected Li-ion charger
  • Uninterruptible power supply for miniNOVA (principle: can be kept powered and charging, and continues to work on battery when power is cut)
  • Battery that can keep miniNOVA alive for one or two days in WiFi client mode as an MQTT agent
  • An IP65 enclosure that could store the battery, charger, board power supply, and the board itself
  • Do you offer a load cell amplifier like the “SparkFun Load Cell Amplifier - HX711”?

We plan to use the miniNOVA board in a telemetry project for racing vehicles on track during races. The board will have no additional current loads besides the WiFi chip consumption for communication.

Original message (Croatian)

Možete li proslijediti nešto ili sve od dokumentacije za CRODUINO miniNOVA i CP2102 USB UART? Konkretno me zanima : - pinout pločice ( može u bilo kojem formatu ) - shema spajanja cp2102 usb adaptera na pločicu u svrhu programiranja iste. - eventualne izmjene u postavkama Arduino IDE prije programiranja ? Treba mi i preporuka za: - punjač li ion baterije sa zaštitom - besprekidno napajanje mininove ( princip da se može držati na izvoru napajanja i puniti, a po prekidu napajanja da nastavi raditi na bateriji ) - baterja koja miniNovu može održavati na životu dan dva u wifi client modu kao mqtt agenta… - preporuka za ip65 kućište koje bi moglo skladištiti bateriju, punjač, napajanja pločice i samu pločicu Amplifier - HX711" ? MiniNOVA pločicu planiramo koristiti u projektu za telemetriju trkaćih vozila na stazi tokom utrka. Pločica osim potrošnje samog WiFi čipa za komunikaciju neće imati dodatna strujna opterećenja.

Originally submitted via email support on 12 October 2017. Migrated to the forum for community visibility.

2

Soldered Support:

Programming is straightforward: connect the board via a USB to UART converter (for example, Croduino Basic2 or CP2102 breakout) in the standard way (TX-RX, RX-TX, 5V power) and the key step is putting the board into bootloader mode. You do this by:

  1. The board has two buttons: GPIO 0 and RESET. While the board is powered, press GPIO0 first and then RESET.
  2. Release the RESET button while still holding the GPIO0 button.
  3. Then release the GPIO0 button.
  4. Now the board is in bootloader mode. You can upload code via Arduino IDE.

Arduino IDE settings are identical to those for Croduino NOVA.

Pinout is still in preparation and will be available soon. The image shows how to connect the CP2102 to miniNOVA.

Recommendations:

Items 1 and 2 - You can use a protected Li-ion charger that can power the circuit in the way you described.

Item 3 - There is insufficient data to calculate this precisely. If miniNOVA is constantly connected to WiFi, you can expect consumption of 60mAh, which over one day equals 1440mA. A battery of around 2900mAh should last 2 days, but it’s better to leave a small buffer and take a slightly larger capacity battery.

If it only occasionally connects to WiFi and checks MQTT topics, you’ll have significant power savings.

Item 4 - We unfortunately do not carry waterproof enclosures at this time. We source ours from general electronics retailers (those who sell wires, plugs, switches, and similar items usually carry enclosures too).

Item 5 - We have an HX711 breakout that is tested and working. We still need to add it to the website and calculate its price. It will be available within a week or two.

Feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

Original message (Croatian)

isprike, nismo još objavili detalje u vezi pločice! Šaljem shemu u privitku. Stavit ćemo uskoro na GitHub. Programiranje je jednostavno: spojite neku pločicu s USB na UART konverterom(npr. Croduino Basic2, CP2102 breakout) na klasičan način(TX-RX, RX-TX, napajanje 5V) i ključan korak je staviti pločicu u bootloader mod. To radite tako da: 1. na pločici se nalaze dva tipkala, GPIO 0 i RESET. Dok je pločica pod napajanjem, stisnite prvo GPIO0 pa onda RESET. 2. Pustite tipku RESET, a još uvijek držite GPIO0 tipku. 3. Nakon toga pustite i GPIO0 tipku 4. Sada je pločica u bootloader mode-u. Možete uploadati kod preko Arduino IDE postavke u Arduino IDE identične kao i za Croduino NOVA PinOut nažalost još nemamo, ali je u pripremi, bit će uskoro. Na slici se vidi kako spojiti CP2102 s miniNOVA. Preporuke: stavka 1 i 2 - možete koristiti ovaj punjač: Soldered: Open-Source Electronics, Boards, Sensors & Modules – Soldered Electronics on ima zaštitu za bateriju(npr. samo 18650 ćeliju) te će moći napajati krug na način na kojega ste naveli stavka 3 - nema dovoljno podataka za izračunati. ako je miniNOVA stalno spojena na WiFi, možete računati da troši 60mAh, što u jednom danu iznosi 1440mA. Baterija od oko 2900mAh bi trebala držati 2 dana, ali bolje je ostaviti mali “buffer” pa uzeti bateriju malo većeg kapaciteta. ako se samo povremeno spaja na WiFi i provjerava MQTT topic-e, tu već imate značajne uštede.. stavka 4 - mi nažalost ne držimo vodootporne kutije u ovome trenutku. Svoje nabavljamo u trgovini generičkim elektromaterijalom(oni koji prodaju žice, utičnice, prekidače i slično, obično imaju i kutije) stavka 5 - imamo upravo HX711 breakout istestiran i radi, još ga trebamo staviti na stranicu i izračunati njegovu cijenu. Bit će dostupno kroz tjedan ili dva. Slobodno se javite ukoliko imate još pitanja. ​​​​​​

Attachment omitted in migration: Croduino MiniNova.pdf