Panda Questions

NETMF & Gadgeteer
1

This is my first FEZ. It is freakin amazing how many pins Panda has!
With so many pins, labeling becomes quite a challenge, but I wonder if this is a production glitch or are all pandas are like this? Most pin labels are readable, but these pins… not so much. :frowning:

  1. Where can I find a board diagram (not schematic) to help me figure out which pins are what on the Panda board?

  2. Isn’t ICSP needed by the Arduino Ethernet shield? I do not see matching holes for ICSP pins on the Panda board.

  3. Obviously the onboard pushbutton switch is not a Light Dependent Resistor, so what does LDR stand for?

Thanks

2

Hari,

all your questions are answered here: [url]http://www.tinyclr.com/downloads/Panda/Broch_FEZ_Panda.pdf[/url]

3

LDR stands for LOADER which is the button used for getting into the bootloader (updating firmware)

The pin out is described in the brochure, which EriSan500 already pointed you at.

4

ICSP is not (usually) used on a Ethernet shield. I’ve seen them with it for Mega support. You only need SPI (MISO/MOSI/CLK) and CS, and INT can be advantageous.

5

I never seen that header needed so far

6

Thanks for the answers everyone!

I’m contemplating soldering:

  1. Female headers for the Secondary Features I/Os (parallel to the Arduino headers)
  2. Male header for UEXT
  3. I will leave JTAG and SD Interface pads alone for now.

In your experience, would those headers interfere with Shields? or should I wait for the Panda Base Board?

7

No shields use those extra headers. I suggest you do not solder anything until you need them since you will not know what you will need …maybe wires…maybe male…female…or base board…etc.

8

Yeah but using a shield would cover those pins, you could solder those connectors under the board : [url]Panda the movie - the great unboxing! - YouTube

9

Note that the green panda is a pre-production sample which had no headers. The production Panda is white and has header like showing in product page

10

Good point Randoom. I was only concerned about interfering with the shield above, but you are right, having headers top side means I won’t be able to simultaneously use those pins and a shield. Darn, I should’ve bought two Pandas while they were on sale. That way I can have it both ways. :slight_smile:

11

I’d like to use stackable header for the extra Panda I/O pins.
Does anyone know where I can get long breakaway version of this?

[url]http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9280[/url]

12

Female headers are not breakaway. You should be able to find similar headers on digikey or mouser - try samtec for parts, they usually make all the weird headers.

Failing that, try looking in taiwan for the manufacturer there are a number of companies over there that make similar products and will sell you whatever length you need.

13

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=115

14

hari do you want long pins or just regular length pins?

bstag, those are not really break away… those are ‘cut out a pin and try to make it look neat’ lol. Much cheaper in the long run though.

15

As close to break away as your gonna find with female headers. You can always order 1x2,1x4,1x6,1x8 and so on if you like too.

16

I want long pins. That way I can get best of both worlds.
a. I can use the top female headers to save breadboard space but not shields, or
b. use the bottom male headers taking up lots of breadboard space but with ability to use shields.

I will create a special foamcore stand to protect the bottom pins when not in use.