Skip to content

This page is archived material from a previous course. Please check for updated material.

    TINAH

    tinahmedium

    TINAH is the micocontroller-based board designed and built for the Physics 253 course.  The board is based on two key elements:

    1.) Wiring, an open-source electronics I/O board and open-source programming environment based on the Atmel ATMega128 chip.

    wiring

    2.) the TINAH board, a printed circuit-board shield designed and built for Phys253 by Engphys students and staff.  The shield acts as a “buffer” for protecting the  the digital and analog inputs and outputs of the Wiring board, and allowing for built-in functions, including:

    • 4 DC motors (max 9V, 1A each with on-board h-bridge driver)
    • 3 RC Servo motors
    • buffered digital and analog inputs  (i.e. protecting the ATMega128 with op-amps and digital buffer ICs)
    • 2 switches and 2 knobs for on-board control
    • 16×2 backlit LCD screen
    • access to the enable/direction pins for external motor control


    Many of the design considerations for the board were inspired by the HandyBoard, a Motorola 68hc11=based controller system designed by Fred Martin at MIT in the mid-1990’s.  The board was used from 2001-2008 as the basis for the Physics 253 course and used by hundreds of Engphys students.

    Many thanks to the funding sources which made the development of the TINAH boards possible: