FEZ Cobra II Preview

Press Announcements
21

Can’t wait …

22

Hey all.
Gus and the GHI team, kudos with all this stuff. Now I know what I want for Christmas (though it’ll be a late Christmas present :frowning: )
I wanted to know: Can the LCD w/ touchscreen and the Ethernet module be used simultaneously on this board? Where would the ethernet module be plugged if the LCD w/ touchscreen was already plugged in?
And how do those connections affect the expansion headers? Are the gadgeteer sockets and expansion header pins both connected to a given signal or are the gadgeteer sockets connected separately from the expansion header pins? So I can understand whether using certain pins on the expansion header is a bad idea when using the gadgeteer sockets.
Sorry if the questions sound stupid. I’m a newbie afterall :slight_smile:

23

Yes, plug and play. Cobra us 6 sockets and you need 5 for the above.

We will try to get you your Christmas gift on time but no promises :slight_smile:

24

And I can use those without the gadeteer firmware? Plug-and-play, the usual GHI style :smiley: ?
Also, how about running stuff like Glide on the connected touchscreen? And raw socket support with the ethernet module?
It’ll be the bestest christmas ever if you guys could do that. But even if its a January 2013 release, it’ll still be freakin’ awesome!

25

@ Madara_x64 yes to all your questions :slight_smile:

26

@ Mike Whoa!!!

27

Looked thru here before asking and didn’t see this one (sorry if it is a repeat), but will it work with the original 4.3" touch screen I used on my original Cobra? Thanks Guys, can’t wait to order one of these!

28

I’m only seeing Gadgeteer connectors for the LCD so i’m guessing if you want to use the old one, you can but you’d need to create your own physical connection to it.

29

If you make an adapter then yes but it is not recommended.

30

@ Gus,

Why is this not recommended? I am planning on using a Newhaven 4.3" LCD capacitive touch screen module with my G120HDR board. I’ve already built an adapter board (see attached image) and am waiting on cables from GHI to connect it. Is there some technical reason why a 4.3" LCD won’t work well with the G120?

Regards,
Synpasys

31

Let me clarify please. Connecting any TFT display to cobra (G120) is okay and supported. What is not recommended is taking the old cobra display that has FPC connector then add another board to convert the FPC to gadgeteer sockets… connecting adapter to an adapter to another adapter will simply cause noise and possible cross-talk problems.

32

@ Gus,

Got it, thanks for the clarification :slight_smile:

Regards,
Synapsys

33

Typo!!! should be Cobra II not Conra II

34

If I wanted to replicate the FEZ Spider Starter Kit (SPDR1-SK-297), but instead use the new FEZ Cobra II Mainboard, would I purchase the following individual items:

FEZ Cobra II (WiFi) - COBRA2-SM-398 - $149.95
Camera Module - CMRAU-GM-283 - $34.95
Gadgeteer 10cm Cable Pack - IDC10-GP-279 - $24.95
Gadgeteer Assorted Cables - IDCAS-GP-310 - $19.95
Joystick Module - JYSTK-GM-299 - $6.95
Display T35 Module - DST35-GM-276 - $99.95
Smart Multicolor LED Module (DaisyLink) - RGBLD-GM-272 - $15.95 X2
Reusable Plastic Storage Box - ???

Are there incompatibilities between these items and the Cobra II? Should I wait for a FEZ Cobra II starter kit?

Dan

35

cobra2 and spider are different targets. Spider is a true Gadgeteer mainboard, cobra2 is not, although it has some Gadgeteer sockets. So personally I think the choice will come down to “are you really trying to use Gadgeteer fully or just a bit”…

36

@ danielshue - You should check the module socket requirements against the available Gadgeteer sockets. As @ Brett has mentioned the Cobra II is not a true Gadgeteer board. One example, the specific Camera module you have in the list requires a H socket which is not broken out to a Gadgeteer socket on the Cobra II.

37

Although the “Display T35 Module” will work with the Cobra II out of the box, you probably want the TE35, which is the same but newer - and somewhat cheaper.

38

Hello, do you know when the Cobra II Wifi will be back in stock?

Thanks,

Paul

39

Very soon. We want to ship all preorders first.

40

Any possibility of getting the file for laser cutting the side panel of the JB-55 for the Cobra? With a bit of experimentation I’m sure I could figure it out, but it sure would be nice to skip the trial and error :slight_smile:

Thanks again for another great board!

Louis