Using TinyCLR OS with Gadgeteer - Tech Talk 042

There are thousands of Gadgeteer boards out there, especially the popular FEZ Spider. These are discontinued products by GHI Electronics, but why? And how can we still use them with the latest technologies from GHI Electronics? … Since I am a huge fan of Gadgeteer, let’s do something about that!

The documentation is still being made but essentially there will be a page for each main board, FEZ Spider II for example, and then a page covering modules


Here is an example code:

// simple example (no module driver yet)
// LED module plugged into socket 1
// and that module's LED is found on pin4 (the button module)
var LED = GpioController.GetDefault().OpenPin(FEZSpiderII.GpioPin.Socket1.Pin4);
LED.SetDriveMode(GpioPinDriveMode.Output);

// This is the onboard LED (Debug LED) found right onto the mainboard itself
var OnboardLED = GpioController.GetDefault().OpenPin(FEZSpiderII.GpioPin.DebugLed);
OnboardLED.SetDriveMode(GpioPinDriveMode.Output);

while (true) {
    LED.Write(GpioPinValue.High);
    OnboardLED.Write(GpioPinValue.High);
    Thread.Sleep(200);
    LED.Write(GpioPinValue.Low);
    OnboardLED.Write(GpioPinValue.Low);
    Thread.Sleep(200);
}
9 Likes

Thanks GUS!

Nice talk…

2 Likes

A whole bunch of my dusty gadgeteer hardware now has a future! Great news!

1 Like

Will TinyCLROS work on other Gadgeteer boards, or just Spider II?

Yes :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

awesome! I have been hoping for this. I am glad you guys are addressing the fatal flaws with gadgeteer (productization) and now going back to support those old boards so they can be used for rapid prototyping or hobby projects still.

I love my Gadgeteer pile-o-modules. Great news. @Gus_Issa you said you need our help, how do we help?

1 Like

Good question. This is how Want to help with Gadgeteer?

1 Like

YES!!, fantastic, was sad when I lost all those boards because Gadgeteer was no longer supported It rubbed the salt in after seeing Microsoft yet again start something (MicroFrame Work) and then drop it.
But I totally understand why, and thanks Gus for explaining why in the video, I had a hunch that was why, but thanks for explaining it to us straight!

I have all my Gadgeteer boards and devices sitting in a box right next to me for years, and when I started into using Tiny CLR (which I’m really excited about) I often wondered what should I do with all this stuff, as I really want to use them again!
Bringing these boards to Tiny CLR makes perfect sense and demonstrates how portable/flexible TinyCLR can be.
It will also make all those people that bought into G feel embraced again!

Im very excited by this, so YES PLEASE!

3 Likes

I am very happy that I can continue using my CerbuinoBees! I have other boards but the CerbuinoBee seemed to offer all the features I wanted. Thank you Gus.

1 Like

Gus,

Using TinyCLR OS with Gadgeteer per your video seems to offer great improvements from what
the Microsoft approach. I will be looking forward to future releases of the software and documentation to use it. I’m assuming that C# will be supported as well as the Visual Basic used in the code example posted.

1 Like