Seven New Click Boards Released!

[anikolic]

Seven New Click Boards Released!

We are excited to announce seven new click boards in mikroBUS form factor.



All of you who own EasyPIC v7 development board, equipped with 2 mikroBUS sockets have a new
arsenal of click boards available:

- MP3 click
- BUZZ click
- RTC click
- RTC2 click
- DAC click
- SHT1x click
- EXPAND click

Click boards come with almost zero-hardware adjustments in order to work. Just click them into
mikroBUS socket and they are ready to go. We invite you to visit the Click Accessory Boards Group and
browse through provided information and image galleries of newly added boards.

Integrate mikroBUS in your custom design

mikroBUS is not made to be only a part of our development boards. We created it to make your life
easier, and we are preparing even more Click boards, so adding new functionality to your prototype
or final device will be easier than ever. You can freely create a mikroBUS host connector in your
final PCB design, as loog as you clearly mark it on the silkscreen with mikroBUS logo.
This is what mikroBUS is all about. It's a new standard for all of us.

mikroBUS host connector [view image]

Each mikroBUS host connector consists of two 1x8 female headers containing pins that are most likely
to be used in the target accessory board. There are three groups of communication pins: SPI, UART
and I2C communication. There are also single pins for PWM, Interrupt, Analog input, Reset and Chip Select.
Pinout contains two power groups: +5V and GND on one header and +3.3V and GND on the other 1x8 header.

Yours sincerely,
mikroElektronika

[octal]

These boards use mikroBus if I understand. Most of these boards are intended to be conrolled via a serial protocol (SPI, I2C, ...), and since EasyPIC-7 has only 2 connectors for such bus, this limits the usage of those boards to two simultaniously.

I think that it would be nice for future versions of such boards to think about designing them with stacking mechanism. Thus we would be able to stack one board on top of the other and to plug all of them in a single mikroBus connector (like arduino shields).

If vertical stacking is problematic, maybe mikroE can add a side connector to allow chaining of such boards. MikroBus have a lot of serial signals in it, it would be a shame to bloc user from using I2C or SPI while he plug a board that use only USART (I know he can use signals using wires from the other onboard connectors).

Second remark I may add, is that those boards are small and well designed, but I think, in the same logic as mikroE designed EasyPIC-7, these boards lack for test points and/or holes. It maybe fine to add some way to let user solder a parallel male/female header to be able to plug his own test/measurement tools or to connect his own designed board.

[anikolic]

Dear octal,

You must be somehow listening to our conversations here, because we already have such plans

Click boards are delivered with unsoldered male headers. We are about to launch mikroBUS female and stacking headers, so users can decide which of those they need in their design. Even when mikroBUS was only a theory, we already had an idea that stacking the boards is a good feature. Especially of you use several I2C boards, but you can also stack boards that use only UART, SPI, I2C and other boards upon each other, and have them all working on a single mikroBUS socket.

Also, if you want to integrate mikroBUS host connector in your PCB design, you can do it, and we will soon make available PROTEL and PDF files with mikroBUS logo, connector outline with soldering pads and silkscreen markings. Also, if you want to produce your version of the mikroBUS-compatible boards, you are allowed to do it, but you have to place mikroBUS logo on the board. Of course, you are not allowed to call it "click board" because "click" is the trademark of mikroBUS boards designed by mikroElektronika.

Best regards,
Aleksandar

[mLaki]

What is the spacing between rows where male headers should be soldered? Could this boards be plugged in solderless breadboard?

[anikolic]

Hello mLaki,

Spacing between rows in mikroBUS connector is 900 mil (22.86 millimeters). This fits into standard breadboards perfectly.

Best regards
Aleksandar

[anikolic]

Here's the photo of EasyGPS board in mikroBUS form factor, placed into solderless breadboard.