The goal of the PIX-6T4 kit and its companion book (coming soon) is to teach you how to use 'Electronic and Software Building Blocks' to become a Skilled Maker and, optionally, a Mad Scientist.
This little console can be programmed in C# and is a perfect learning tool for an initiation to both microelectronics and game programming. It is also a development board, with easily accessible pins.
The kit comprises the following parts:
•Netduino Mini: this is the heart of the system, a micro-controller running the .NET Micro Framework
•AS1100PL LED Driver: this little chip receives the data to display from the Netduino and uses it to turn the LEDs on and off.
•LED Matrix (8x8, red): this little and cost effective display may not have color or high definition, but the great thing about it is that you can actually understand exactly how it works.
•SD Card Socket: the PIX-6T4 console uses standard SD card as mass storage. SD cards are game cartridges, with each card containing many games. The SD card itself is not provided.
•2 x Analog Joysticks with built-in switch: when we designed the console, we thought a lot about minimalism. This is why we did away with buttons entirely, replacing them with two clickable sticks.
•Speaker
•2 x 24 PIN DIP Socket: each integrated circuit is mounted on sockets so that you can replace them should anything bad happen.
•Power LED (any color)
•Voltage Regulator (3.3v)
•Power Barrel Jack, Inline DC Power Plug & 9V Battery Connector
•Printed Circuit Board
•Acrylic Case Bottom
•4 x Stand-Offs & 8 Screws
•Power Switch
•Break Away Header: gives easy access to all the Neduino pins for easy testing and extensibility. This makes it possible to use the PIX-6T4 as a development board.
•2N4403 PNP Transistor
•6 x 10K Resistors
•1K resistor
•2.1K resistor
•54.9K resistor
•100µF Electrolytic Capacitor
•0.1µF Ceramic capacitor
We chose the Netduino over other types of microcontrollers simply because the programming skills that you will learn on the .Net Micro Framework, as you discover the Netduino, will also be applicable to the full-featured .Net Framework used to build professional applications, large scale web services, mobile applications running on phones and web applications. Our hope is to empower you with life skills that can help you build a career or just build anything you can think of.
We strive to provide RoHS / Pb-free products. However, on occasions, due to temporary supply chain constraints and component availability, it may be that some parts aren't RoHS compliant. In this release, the 54.9K and 2.1K resistors aren't RoHS compliant.
The Netduino community and the .Net Micro Framework, like us, embrace the open-source / open-hardware philosophy.
More information on PIX-6T4 can be found on http://www.pix6t4.com.