Beginner needs help, gadgeteer, gps and more

HI guys,

just joined this forum, and hopefully I can make some friends in the community.

I am very to new to .NETMF, after reading through the “Beginner guide to NETMF”, I don’t understand the concept of .NET Gadgeteer.

I quote the codeplex page,
“Microsoft .NET Gadgeteer is an open-source toolkit for building small electronic devices using the .NET Micro Framework and Visual Studio or Visual C# Express. .NET Gadgeteer combines the advantages of object-oriented programming, solderless assembly of electronics with a kit of peripherals, and support for quick form-factor construction using computer-aided design.”

Isn’t .NETMF already allowed us debug program using VS and deploy application to electronic devices?? Sorry if this question is too noobish.

In the beginner guide, it suggested me to download GHI software package from http://www.ghielectronics.com/support/.net-micro-framework , but I can not find any download link.

The idea I have in mind, is a gps info system, record gps data, send to server(3g maybe?), and some web app process the data stored on server and display it through web UI. Pretty much like the one is this thread http://www.tinyclr.com/forum/topic?id=10990&page=1 , but no need for on board display.

Is it too hard for beginners? I don’t seem to be able to find any tutorials.

Welcome! For download you have to be logged in. You will see the links.

Thx for the tip, thought that might be the reason as well.

Anyone else want to help me with my beginner questions?

I wouldn’t say it’s too difficult for a beginner, but it will take you time.

You’ll need to look at examples for each step instead of trying to find one thing that has all the functionality you’re looking for.

There’s definitely examples out there for grabbing GPS data, sending to a server and creating web apps (though you won’t find web app examples here).

The concept:
Gadgeteer means you don’t need to understand hardware concepts and wiring/soldering for Gadgeteer modules. You just connect them up as directed by the designer, and that then also includes all the references and drivers you need for your project. That hugely accelerates the “from idea to prototype” stage of your proof-of-concept.

Gadgeteer is simply a layer built on top of NetMF that adds this abstraction, so yes NetMF provides the foundation (like debugging as you mention), and then simplifies the inter-connectivity of the other pieces of the puzzle

Is your project too hard for beginners? Possibly, but that should only last a week anyway :slight_smile: Web concepts and networking are the harder end of the spectrum, but Duke Nukem our resident video guy has some great examples and videos showing how easy it is to get data from a sensor to COSM or some of the other web data aggregation sites. Search is your friend !

1 Like

Thank you both for the reply, and special thx to Brett, I have to say that was exactly what I was looking to hear. Really appreciated.

I m not sure if I can use COSM. I use car as a basic scenario, the device is going to record where the car goes, like a tracker, but I get the idea, and

will get my hands down first, and report back when stuck. =D

Good luck - you’ve got plenty of people here to help if you get stuck!