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Choosing the hardware

A project log for Random Schedule Thermostat

A home thermostat that senses when you're home, and turns on the heat.

dangerpants-labsDangerpants Labs 07/03/2014 at 21:530 Comments

I found myself looking around at hardware in the last few days (this project has only existed as software up to this point), and find myself leaning toward the MSP430 line for the processor this time around.  I've played with AVRs in the past, and have always relied on the Arduino libraries because they're just so easy.  One of my goals this time around is to do "real" microcontroller development, and learn how to deal with the system from the ground up.  The MSP430 line looks pretty well supported, so I wouldn't be forging ahead entirely on my own.

So I've come up with a basic list of what I think I'm leaning towards at this point:

* MSP430F5529 (25 MHz, 10k RAM, 128k Flash)

* CC3000-based WiFi (another MSP430 product)

* PAN1315A Bluetooth module (yet another MSP430-based thing)

* TMP102 temperature sensor (apparently I'm suddenly a huge TI fanboy)

* HD44780-based 20x4 LCD display

* LEDs, buttons, switches, support components

I'd hardly call this a final list, more like the first dabblings, but I'll probably order up some parts and see what I can figure out.  I really enjoyed the process of laying out the board for my last project, so I'm excited to get this one to the point of doing routing.  It's so satisfying to hold something in your hand that only existed in your mind a short while before.

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