mbed development board recommendation for beginner  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2016, 10:22:35 pm
content: HiI am looking for a simple development board to learn on. I tried a Nucleo with the Mastering STM32 book and after 4 attempts of downloading 10 software programs with 2 boards, I failed.Read on this forum that since mbed is based on internet software, it might be easier to get started. So I thought I would give it a try and they list the boards that mbed supports (I assume):If possible I would like one that connects via USB like the Nucleo.https://developer.mbed.org/platforms/Can someone recommend one? I do not care about price nor features. I just need the easiest that would have good sample code and documentation. I have no career plans nor projects to think about. Someday I would like to control relays and motors.Somehow I came upon the Seeed Arch because it has Arduino Shield connection. I would like a shield connection but it is not necessary since I cannot even blink an LED.Perhaps cortex MCUs are not the way to learn thus no mbed ?thanks

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2016, 10:36:55 pm
content: Look for an NXP based boards. NXP has a free single packs install IDE and tool chain called lpcxpresso. It can also import mbed projects.

author: DavidMenting
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 25, 2016, 10:51:10 pm
content: How about using the Nucleo with mbed? You have the board already so it should be easy to try.If you want to control motors and relays, what is keeping you from using an Arduino? Installing the toolchain is super easy and the 5V logic levels of the AVR's can come in quite handy for relays and motors. It also lets you step up to ARM by switching to the Arduino Due, Teensy or any other supported ARM chip.

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2016, 12:51:41 am
content: Quote from: DavidMenting on November 25, 2016, 10:51:10 pmI feel so stupidI do not want to use the Arduino IDE but I need to study the 5v issue. thanks

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2016, 02:09:06 am
content: Quote from: zapta on November 25, 2016, 10:36:55 pmlpcxpresso sounds interesting that it can import mbed projects so I am going to look into itThere are a lot of NXP boards on mbedthanks

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2016, 03:36:19 am
content: Quote from: ez24 on November 26, 2016, 02:09:06 amDo you plan to eventually design your own PCB's with mbed compatible MCUs or just buy of the shelf boards?

author: ez24
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2016, 03:53:53 am
content: Quote from: zapta on November 26, 2016, 03:36:19 amNo to desgn own boards, just buy off the shelf boards.thanks for asking

author: janoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2016, 04:28:40 pm
content: If you want to use mBed, stick with the original NXP LPC-based boards.Everything else will give you grief because of missing drivers for the peripherals you need, bugs and generally the support being in name only, sufficient only to stick the "ARM mBed enabled" blue logo on the packaging. It usually can be made to work, but I am not sure it is worth the bother.

author: rstofer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2016, 05:12:30 pm
content: The definitive mbed board is the original based on the LPC1768https://developer.mbed.org/platforms/mbed-LPC1768/It is certainly the best understood board and projects abound. It has really good software libraries and a lot of example code. Yes, I have Nucleo boards with the mbed interface but they just aren't as easy to use.DO NOT try to install a toolchain until you have used the online tools. You will find that the web interface is PERFECT for developing code although it has NO debugging capability. So, what to do? Use printf() instead!I have only one major project based on the mbed and I have downloaded the code (and libraries) to compile using Rowley Crossworks. Yes, it works fine and I get the advantage of JTAG programming but, for some reason, I have done all the work on the web version. I like being able to get at my code from whatever computer I happen to have in front of me. No matter where I am. That's pretty powerful.https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9564When I built my major project, I just installed headers on the project PCB so I could plug the mbed in to the project board. In that particular case, all I wanted was SPI and Ethernet interfaces so the project board was minimal. I really like the 'stamp' form factor when it comes time to wrap things around the outside.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 26, 2016, 07:00:31 pm
content: Quote from: janoc on November 26, 2016, 04:28:40 pmI am using mbed LPC11U35 designs that are similar to this onehttps://developer.mbed.org/platforms/EA-LPC11U35/. Basically it has the MCU with a little bit of glue electronics so no much room for incompatibility. Works great for me, including with the mbed USB stack.