About Us
Passionate About Embedded System Design
!Crash-Bang Prototyping was started out of my enthusiasm for the world of electronics, automation, robotics. I’m one of “those” enthusiasts who started out in software development – a light-bulb moment saw me realise that software can actually make real-life objects move around. I haven’t looked back!
I’m completely self-taught in the world of embedded electronics and microcontroller development, and believe that it allows me to see things with fresh eyes. These fresh eyes help me to share experiences and develop tools geared to enthusiasts and hobbyists.
Sharing really is Caring
A large part of this website is about sharing. Sharing my experiences, the pitfalls I’ve encountered, and also the successes. I hope that by sharing these moments, you’ll be able to take something away that adds to your life working with embedded systems.
In addition to sharing on this site, I’ve had a number of articles and projects published in Elektor and Nuts and Volts magazines.
Still Growing
Crash-Bang Prototyping is still in its infancy, and I have a host of ideas and dreams that I want to attain. I’m pleased that you could join us for the ride!
Cheers
Andrew
I just read your article in the Nuts and Volts mag and am very excited to learn more from you. I too am self taught but have always enjoyed building with electronics. I enjoy making unique projects …or at least “proof of concept” . I started with PIC and PIC basic , but found there was so much support with Arduino. I found that using available information from on line tutorials that I could bring an Arduino project to life , while PIC projects I would run into errors that required too much time trying to understand data sheets .
I definitely want to at least follow along with you at Nuts and Volts and who knows…maybe I can take the leap as well . I have used the ATTiny in a few projects and think they are excellent in small projects. They remind me of when I first started playing around with the 555 timer and the possibilities…wow , great memories!
Thank you,
Bob D
Hi Bob
Thanks so much for the comments, and for sharing a little of your journey through electronics. I’m pleased that my article resonated with you, and would love to hear your thoughts as we explore the world of Microcontrollers in future articles. Here’s to the next few months!
Your N&V article on Interrupts was excellent . I am saving a printed copy of this to use as a reference.
Keep up the great work ! looking forward to the next installment + enjoying the info on your site.
I enjoy my N&V subscription more now than ever !
That’s such encouraging feedback Bob, thanks for taking the time to post it! Glad to have you on this exploration with me.
Your article on MSP430 was very very useful. Great explanation in simple words. It really helped me understand better. Thank you for posting it and keep up the great work 🙂
Awesome, thanks so much for the positive feedback! Really pleased it helped.
Cheers
Andrew
P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter 🙂
Your site is the much needed middle step for moving from an Arduino to AVR. I have read and successfully followed your “blink” example to program an Atmega 328p Xplained board. It had exactly the right level of detail for me. Are there library routines easily available for interacting with peripherals, such as RTC’s, Temperature sensors and displays?
I have many additional questions, since I want to understand more of the details, but will read more before asking.
Thank you
Hi Steven
Thanks for your kind words, and for taking the time to leave a comment – it’s great to interact with other enthusiasts. Atmel Studio does have a set of libraries/drivers under what they call “ASF” (Atmel Software Framework) – however have very basic support for the ATmega328P, and not the kind that you’re looking for.
The challenge is that each model of RTC, temp sensor, etc. is slightly different with different protocols and features – so you would need a wrapper for each model. If you’re really interested in getting stuck into these, then take a look at:
1. A series of articles I wrote for Nuts & Volts Magazine. Part 6 communicates with a RTC and part 4 uses a temp sensor (http://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/contributor/andrew_retallack)
2. My github example of communicating with an RTC: https://github.com/CrashBangProto/Toadstool-Example-Projects
I hope that helps – ad as for questions, please shout 🙂
Cheers from Sunny South Africa
Andrew
excellent…..nice explanation in very simple words, it’s very easy to learn. Thank you so much for this work.
Thanks so much – pleased you enjoyed it!