I did this remix for a few reasons:
- [1]Needed a reliable circuit for serial communications with RS232 port
[2]Bored at work and board/schematic layout is easy to pass of as "real work"
[3]Looking for an excuse to try out Seeedstudio's Propagandahttp://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/propag ... p-513.html service
- [1] Removed prototyping area - I prefer wires going to a breadboard than soldering
[2] Added 6-pin ISP port
[3] Added V+ and GND pins
[4] Changed switch to a stardard 4-pin pushbutton type
[5] Changed to thru-hole rather than edge connector for DB9 serial port
[6] Fit PCB to within Seeedstudio's 5x5cm limit
For quantity 3, open sourcing the board (which of course it already is), and skipping the e-test, the price would be $13 for 3 copies. Gets cheaper after that.
I know that most people are going away from RS232 now, but laying out and soldering a USB converter chip is a pain.
There is some significant work done by the Luminet guys and posted on the arduino forum to allow the Arduino IDE and language to be used with smaller chips - at the moment the AtTiny2313 and AtTiny85.
Thanks!