The most worrying statement I know.

"I've had an idea..........................."

The switch system I built is intended for my low power mains tools, soldering iron, small drill and chargers. Today, I was looking at a piece of kit - expensive kit - that ran a timer on mains operated equipment and switched it off after a pre-set time. And I thought, "I can do that". So, what about a switch that you hit which immediately switches on your soldering iron, for example, and then counts down for 30 minutes and switches it off unless you switch it off yourself. Then, what about a similar system that flashes the led and beeps at you for 30 seconds before auto switch off and if you push the button in that time period it switches the circuit back on for another 30 minutes. Then what about if you add a dual seven segment LED to that with the countdown in minutes. Then how about a short period after the first push where you can increment the timer, on the display, to whatever time you like up to 99 minutes. This is beginning to sound very sophisticated eh? Might do it one day though.

Now you can understand why I'm worried.

Not only

have I finished the ISP (In system programmer) shield, I have also tested it and....................................it works. This was certainly not the most complicated build I have attempted with the Arduino, but it is very satisfying as I now have a home built tool for further learning and designing. I can recommend the one I bought, from Evil Mad Science. My next project will be the 'Slice of Pi' board and then it will be back to the DIY cloneduino for a bit of knockabout fun. In the meantime, I will be looking at the FM radio board and interfacing that with an Arduino.

Three down,

one to go.

The five volt LED was faulty and the replacement works fine so only the 'working' LED now needs checking. I also assembled the ISP shield from 'Evil Mad Science' yesterday and that's almost ready for testing now.

I hope it's only

a small problem. The new board is working fine apart, it seems, from a couple of minor details. The power leds are supposed to reflect whether all the various voltages are working correctly. The twelve volt one does and the 3.3 volt does. The other two are not, however. This could be for any number of reasons so I will have to investigate thoroughly when I next get the time. Oh bother! (Or words to that effect!)

A new direction?

Sort of.

I have been building the new Arduino 'work alike' from R K Online Store. It's an interesting board, with a lot of thought having gone into it. The build was fairly straightforward although it would have been easier if my eyesight was better. I didn't get around to a proper test when I had finished but I hope to do some quick testing this evening. As you may have gathered, I am now able to use the new bench and I have cleared yet more space in the attic as well. I have been a busy boy and things are beginning to go in my favour at long last. Once I have this board working, I will be hoping to use it for a somewhat larger project than I have so far attempted. The playing and testing will, of course, continue.