TechHOUNDS roboRIO Expansion Board

[Swiezy868]

Hello Everyone! Team 868 is proud to announce the release of our roboRIO MXP Expansion Board.

Our expansion board is designed around an Arduino chipset featuring the Atmega32u4. It not only breaks out 10 versatile Arduino pins, but also allows access to the additional 10 PWM ports on the MXP port. Communication between the Arduino and the roboRIO is achieved through UART, SPI, or I2C. The communication mode is selected via on board DIP switches. This board also features a prototyping area, a direct connection for a GYRO (this includes the power, ground, and signal connection as well as mounting holes), a 5V power connection to provide extra power for peripherals, fused power from the roboRIO, and a mini-USB port for programming the on board Arduino. This board was designed to be extremely versatile and is great for controlling LEDs, breaking out extra PWM ports, and easily connecting a GYRO.

The schematic, board design, and parts list for the expansion board are available here on the TechHOUNDS website. The board has also been uploaded to OSHPark and can be purchased through OSHPark here. The BOM has been uploaded to Digikey and can be directly purchased here. This board does contain a fair amount of SMT components, so be aware of this before attempting to build the board. Also be aware that this design is our second revision and has not yet been tested; however, its close predecessor has been extensively tested.

For those who are uncomfortable soldering SMT parts, I've been designing a through hole version of the above board with similar specs and features, and if there is any interest I will try to release that board with its schematic and parts list in the near future.

I hope that teams are able to benefit from this expansion board, and I wish everyone the best of luck in the 2015 season. If you have any questions about the board feel free to send me a message.