I am new to the forum and to the world of .NET Gadgeteer. So I must apologise if my questions start of very basic. But I do hope to grow in competence with increased use of the Fez Cerberus and lots of practice.
My question is re the stand-alone capability of the hardware. Is it possible for the mainboard and peripherals to function autonomously once the necessary system code has been developed and downloaded? I ask this because, for starters, I have noted that the mainboard/system is powered through the USB port.
For similar systems, such as the PIC microcontroller, the programmer is simply disconnected and the ‘system’ functions freely of the PC.
Any assistance that any one within the forum can provide would be most appreciated
Welcome to the forum. All of the GHI boards can be powered on their own. The DP power module also has a barrel jack. A USB cable does not need to be hooked to a computer to provide power either. You can plug it directly into a transformer made to accept a female A jack. Many cell phones charge this way. You can also power all of the boards by providing your own regulated power directly to the appropriate pins. This latter technique should only be done by advanced users however, as it bypasses the power protection circuitry found on the DP module.
I believe all boards are able to work stand alone. I don’t have Cerberus but I am having Cerb40 and able to work with external power source ( without pc host USB).
Cerb40 works fine standalone. GHI specify a 3.3 V power supply, but the Cerb40 can be powered from 1.8V to 3.6V with success, I tested it.
I have not soldered the 3.3V regulator on the card Cerb40.
It is easier to use a Cerb40 than an assembly with a PIC.
You use the USB port to download and debug the program but once you have disconnected the USB cable, downloaded program works standalone.
Thank you each and everyone for taking a look at my question and for providing very useful information.
Based on what ransomhall has told me, the best approach to start development work is to utilise the DP Module in conjunction with an appropriate power supply (app12V, 1A, 2.1mm jack).
Ramsomhall, Ive looked at the DP Module schematics, is it accurate to say that the adapter to be used is a positive centred unit?
Based on what ChristianJack, Nila and Skewworks have indicated. I can graduate to the Cerb40 once I have done my development work and I can power this board directly with the appropriate voltage levels.