Electronic – arduino – Common digital “glue” chips used with Arduino/Netduino

arduinocomponentsmsp430netduino

I have a Netduino Plus and I am trying to put together a shopping list to one of my usual vendors for digital "glue" parts I can use with it. I am experienced in electronics but I haven't bought IC's (other than regulators) in a while.

This is a difficult question, but what digital chips are people using? I'm not referring to specialized chips, such as an RTC (that is on my shopping list for other reasons) but to the glue chips I need to make things work with a microcontroller. (I have several other boards, including some MSP430 boards so my question is applicable to these too.)

(I'm not considering analog or RF chips for the moment; I have plenty of 555's and 741's; they're like mice!)

As an example, I am looking at an 74LS595 shift register so I can use a few surplus Hitachi-based LCD's I have without the hassle of finding enough pins to directly drive it from the Netduino. Is the 595 tolerant in the modern 3.3V logic environment?

I know, too, that I will probably use chips like the 4066 switches, so those are on the list.

Another example: What is a good binary/BCD 7-segment driver for use these days?

It's been years since anyone could just run down the catalog of Mouser or Digi-Key and get 2 of everything with a 74/74LS or 4000 prefix and I don't expect to be able to do the same. I'd just hate unpacking my order and finding another neat project on the net that I must have but didn't order in the box.

Best Answer

OK, this is what I wound up ordering from two vendors. This isn't a plug; these are just two that I usually order from.

From SparkFun:

  • BOB-10402 EM-406 Connector Breakout
  • COM-00312 Darlington Driver 8-Channel ULN2803 DIP
  • DEV-07914 Arduino ProtoShield Kit
  • DEV-10059 Arduino and Breadboard Holder
  • GPS-09123 Interface Cable for EM401 and EM406
  • PRT-09279 Arduino Stackable Header - 8 Pin
  • PRT-09389 Jumper Wires Premium 12" F/F Pack of 10
  • PRT-10158 Break Away Headers - Long

From Mouser:

  • DS1822+PAR Board Mount Temperature Sensors 1-Wire Digital Thermometer
  • SA612AD Up-Down Converters DOUBLE BAL MIXER/OSCILLATOR
  • 74HCT4066N Analog Switch ICs QUAD BILATERAL SWITCH
  • MAX232ECNE4 RS-232 Interface IC RS232 Line Driver/Receiver
  • 122-0421-GR BAT HLDR 2XAAA 6 LDS NKL PLTD 6 LDS 26AWG
  • AB38T-32.768KHZ Crystals 32.768KHz
  • Desc.: Board to Board / Mezzanine Connectors HDR VT 1X09P .1 230/110 30AU
  • SN74LS247N Encoders, Decoders, Multiplexers & Demultiplexers BCD to 7 Segment
  • SN74LS595N Counter Shift Registers Serial-in shift Register
  • DS1307+ Real Time Clock 64x8 Serial I2C RTC

The SA612 seems like an odd choice for general tinkering; I'm a ham radio operator, though. I did decide to get the temperature sensor; we have a 600 dollar IT environment monitor at work and it is tempting to replicate that with a 59 dollar dev board for my personal server. The battery holders are related to the RTC I'm planning to use, and I've gotten an assortment of 74LS logic so I can interface an LCD (Hitachi-based) and some seven-segment displays I have. The GPS parts are for the specific module (EM406A) I got from SparkFun.

To broaden this for other experimenters, I'd also recommend the following things I have in my parts bins:

  • Small-signal NPN and PNP bipolar transistors--get bunches of each
  • small-signal diodes of the 1N4148 variety
  • for radio experimenting, 1N34 germanium diodes if they even still sell them
  • 1N4001 small switching diodes
  • Zener diodes of 5.1V, 7.1V etc.
  • LM7805, 7812 regulators.
  • LED's (naw really!)
  • breadboards, protoboards and jumper sets

The Maker Shed has a nice starter kit for $120 with an option to get it with your choice of Arduino, Netdunio or Netduino Plus, which covers many of the items on my list.