Important ordering information: There is no minimum order, but in order to provide parts for as many people as possible, there is a maximum order amount of $100. Orders that exceed that limit will be automatically refunded. Also, as of March 2011, international shipping is now available. Shipments to the United States, Canada, or Mexico are trackable and insured. Shipments to all other countries are not trackable, and are also not insured.
The AxMate Line of PICAXE® Programming Adapters
In the June 2010 issue of Nuts & Volts Magazine, the PICAXE Primer column introduced the first board in a new line of PC boards which further simplify the powering and programming of PICAXE projects. The article also included a photo of the first four AxMate boards that will be available. In order to fully understand the functioning of the AxMate boards, you may want to read the June installment of the PICAXE Primer column.
All the AxMate Programming Adapters provide the necessary power and programming connections in a single interface board. In other words, an AxMate Programming Adapter can replace both the power supply and the programming adapter, thereby simplifying the necessary connections, as well as freeing up addition breadboard space for your PICAXE circuitry.
Presently, there are four AxMate Programming Adapters:
The AxMate-FT
The AxMate-FT board is described in detail in the June PICAXE Primer column, in which we constructed a stripboard version of the board. Essentially, the AxMate-FT enables any FTDI FT232RL-based USB to serial adapter to provide the necessary power and programming connections for PICAXE breadboard projects. In order to do so, you will need to reconfigure the FT232RL chip contained in the FTDI USB-to-Serial adapter so that the polarity of the serial input and output lines is inverted, which is necessary to interface with all PICAXE processors. To accomplish this, you will need the free "FT_PROG" utility software available from FTDI. You can use the FTDI documentation, or read the June 2010 installment of the Nuts & Volts PICAXE Primer for details. The same reconfiguring process is necessary for any AxMate board except the AxMate-RE, which does not require an FTDI interface (see below).
In the following photo, the AxMate-FT is connected to a Mac or PC via an FTDI USB to 5V serial adapter cable. This was the first FTDI-based adapter that I was able to successfully interface with PICAXE processors. At this point, I have verified that the following interfaces function correctly with the AxMate-FT. However, any interface that is based on the FTDI FT232RL chip and that supports the standard FTDI six-pin pin-out should also work correctly.
- FTDI 5V Cable (Sparkfun.com, sku: DEV-09718)
- Sparkfun FTDI Basic Breakout Board (Sparkfun.com, sku:DEV-09115)
- Modern Device USB BUB Board (ModernDevice.com)
A Complete AxMate-FT Breadboard Circuit
In the photo, you can see that I have painted a red stripe on the FTDI cable and a red dot on the AxMate-FT's six-pin female header to avoid accidentally inserting the cable upside-down. You can also see how much the AxMate-FT simplifies the circuitry necessary to implement a complete PICAXE project on a breadboard. A single USB cable is all that's needed between your project and your Mac or PC. The AxMate-FT provides up to 90mA at 5V to power the project, as well as the necessary Serin and Serout lines to the PICAXE processor. In addition, the standard PICAXE programming interface is provided on the AxMate board. As a result, no additional interface circuitry is required.
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| Completed AxMate-FT | Bare AxMate-FT Board |
AxMate-FT bare PC boards are now available: $1.95 each
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The AxMate-SF
The AxMate-SF is functionally similar to the FT, except that it requires the Sparkfun Breakout Board for FT232RL USB to Serial (Sparkfun.com, sku: BOB-00718) as its interface to the computer. The main reason for providing this alternative is that, in addition to the 90mA 5V power line, this SparkFun interface board also provides the option of a 50mA 3.3V power line. The AxMate-SF includes a jumper that allows the user to select either 3.3V or 5V to power the breadboard project, depending on the requirements of the project. Of course, if you use this option, it's important to keep the following caution in mind: Accidentally applying 5V to components designed to operate at 3.3V may damage or destroy the components.
The following photograph shows how the AxMate-SF board is used in a breadboard-based project. Male headers have been soldered to the bottom of the SparkFun breakout board and inserted into mating female headers on the AxMate-SF board. In the photo, the supply jumper (near the top of the AxMate-SF board) is configured to supply +5.0V to the PICAXE-08M processor on the breadboard.
A Complete AxMate-SF Breadboard Circuit
An Important Note about Breadboards
If you look closely at the above photo of the AxMate-SF circuit, you can see that the holes in the power rails are "staggered" when compared with the holes in the main section of the breadboard. For some strange reason, this staggered arrangement is used on all the small (400-point) breadboards that I have ever seen. However, all the larger breadboards (830-point) do not use this staggered arrangement; the holes in their power rails are exactly in line with the holes in the main section of the breadboard. The following photo more clearly shows the difference between the small and large breadboards.
With the exception of the AxMate-FT, all the current AxMate boards make connections to both the main section and the power rails of a breadboard. Because I tend to use the smaller breadboards almost exclusively for my PICAXE project development, I decided to design the boards for use with the staggered hole arrangement. As a result, the AxMate-SF, -RE and -MS boards can only be used with breadboards that have the staggered hole arrangement. Make sure you have compatible breadboards before you decide to purchase any one of these three AxMate boards. The AxMate-FT, on the other hand, can be used with either type of breadboard because it only connects to the main section of the breadboard; it uses jumper wires to make the necessary power and ground connections to the power rails. (See the AxMate-FT photo above.)
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| Completed AxMate-SF | Bare AxMate-SF Board |
AxMate-SF bare PC boards are now available: $3.95 each
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The AxMate-RE
The AxMate-RE is designed for users who already have the AXE027 USB programming cable and prefer not to purchase a second interface device. Essentially, the AxMate-RE board combines a 1A, 5V supply and the standard PICAXE programming interface that is used with our other AXE027-compatible programming adapters. Because the AXE027 does not include a power connection, the AxMate-RE also requires a 9v to 12v "wall-wart" type AC-to-DC power adapter with a 2.1 mm I.D. and 5.5 mm O.D. (center positive) plug. (You may already have one that you have been using with our BBP-01 power supply board.) The AxMate-RE board includes a reverse power protection diode, a convenient power switch, a power-on LED indicator and ample filter capacitors to provide a regulated 5v output for your breadboard projects. The following photograph shows how the AxMate-RE board is used in a breadboard-based project.
A Complete AxMate-RE Breadboard Circuit
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| Completed AxMate-RE | Bare AxMate-RE Board |
AxMate-RE bare PC boards are now available: $3.95 each
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