OK guys,
Time to spell out the specs. No april fools this time:
1) MCU is a high density STM32. 512k of SRAM. Lotsa lotsa room. Lotsa IO's too. You will not outgrow this one. (Heck, there are LINUX versions that can run on that....
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
2) On board we have a MPU-6050 for gyro and accel. Once the 9050 with the magnetometer will be available I might make a version with that (if sufficiently prodded).
3) Also on board we have an altimeter. Useful for alt. hold.
4) There are 19(!) general purpose IO's on the board. You can have up to 11 of them be inputs, the rest are outputs. Outputs can be either standard servo (1..2ms), plain PWM(0..100 duty cycle) or binary (on,off).
5) Programming is via a dedicated USB port. You only need a standard USB cable with a micro usb plug on it. No more programmers.
6) There are 2 (yes 2) UART ports on the board. What they will be used for I don't know but I'm sure we'll find uses for them. (BT? GPS? BOTH?)
7) One SPI port and one I2C port. (You can add your GPS to this as well
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
8) 3v operation. I invested in a very good LDO so operation is possible down to 3v. This means that 1S micro crafts will be able to use this.
The MCU is 32 bit and runs @ 72MHz (really really fast). Better yet, the MPU takes care of the AHRS and the internal timers of the PWM so you can have high resolution PWM with no jitter! All this leaves time for the core to do the important stuff like making tea and going for a nap. Seriously, this will not be limited no matter what you try to do with it.
The big issue I learned from PIPO8 is to have the SW ready. I'm happy to report that I have! The initial release will be based on multiwii but as time progresses I'll add more and more of my touches. The even nicer thing about this is that I am able to port back some changes to PIPO8 for increased usability. Also, since I'm using a known platform, porting SW from MWI and Openpilot will be pretty easy for those who want to.
The size of the board is 45mmX45mm. The mounting holes are 3mm in diameter and are 30.5mm apart. I don't know what it will weigh yet but it won't be a lot.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif)
And the price. Yes, saved the best for last.
This isn't cheap to do, the big shiney components cost a lot. Since I do not have a large financial backing I can only do small batches and the cost, therefore will be significantly higher than I expected at first.
For those interested I am willing to take preorders @ $95 + S&H ($7-US, $18-INTL). I can promise to send them within 3 weeks - probably less.
To buy, please visit my webshop:
PIPO32
PIPO32 Expansion Board
I should say thanks to Groot for draging me kicking and screaming to 2012. He helped a lot with the specs. (so you can blame him if it's not to your liking)
Size of the board relative to the 9x: