I tend to avoid using an RTOS on smallish MCUs (<128KB worth of firmware) since they can create as many problems as they solve, but in the ‘just for the heck of it’ department, I was really impressed when I stumbled across this custom RTOS that can run on the itsy bitsy 4KB flash, 1KB SRAM DIP-8 LPC810 MCU from NXP. It’s a challenge to fit printf, UART and a bit of logic on this thing already, but if you want some real street cred, you can one up every other kid on the block by doing it with an RTOS! Great job on this. Interested in trying it out yourself? Adafruit has a small LPC810 kit with everything you need!
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
