Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Ethernet Arduinos (and Compatibles)

Also on the spreadsheet, three boards with built-in ethernet:
  • There's finally an official Arduino Ethernet ($60), complete with RJ45 port. It has an FTDI cable header for programming (no USB), a microSD card slot for storage, and there's an optional PoE daughter card.
  • SparkFun also released an Arduino-compatible board with ethernet, the Ethernet Pro ($55), but without the SD card slot. It's less cluttered than the official board, hopefully the price will come down as more people build projects around them.
  • Additionally, the Freetronics EtherTen ($70) includes a microSD slot and (mini) USB interface.
All of these are compatible with an Arduino (or Arduino-compatible) board with the ethernet shield ($40) on top, but I wonder: will shields fit on any of these without hitting the magjack? Or do they use taller female pin sockets? They're also equivalent to an Arduino hooked up to a Wiznet W5100, eg. with a WIZ811MJ module ($20!). Too bad Adafruit doesn't sell the ethernet module breakout shield anymore, but at least the design files are still available.

Call me cheap, but these all seem overpriced, being based around a $4 microcontroller! With a basic Arduino board at $20 and WIZ811MJ module at $20, why isn't the SparkFun Ethernet Pro $40 or $45?

3 comments:

  1. Hi, So the arduino ethernet is basically one of these? Arduino Uno but with a built in ethernet shield? I've heard that the bootloader is a bit flakey when using an ftdi cable.

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  2. Hi, May i know the dimension of this board? From the photo above it seem like same size as Arduino Uno. Am I right?

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    1. It appears to be the same size as an Uno/Diecimila/Duemilanove/etc., yes. As I mentioned though, I wonder how shields fit on top, since the RJ45 socket is taller than a USB socket.

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