Arduino Playpen or Microprocessor Development Environment

Using obsolete electronics as case and power supply.

This guide shows how an obsolete piece of electronics can be used to house and power your projects whilst keeping your bench tidy!

I had an Arduino that I kept meaning to use but did not want a pile of bits loosely connected i.e power supply, breadboard etc. In this case I had an old DVR that was otherwise scrap but any electronic item is at least an enclosure and power supply.

This is more than just a power supply.... what else is there?

Being a DVR means it has a Remote, Display and buttons. The Hard Drive is long gone to a PC elsewhere so I know that the PSU provides 12 volts and 5 volts but I was lucky in that the connections are clearly marked and there is also 3.3 volts available.

The Front panel contains a 4 digit common anode 7 segment display, 5 push buttons and an I.R Receiver and Indicator LEDs, again the connections all clearly marked.

Sadly, the main processor PCB gave up only a capacitor an S/PID emitter and audio connector and had to be scrapped.

Clearing the interior reveals the mounting points and a nice area for breadboards etc.

I can keep the front panel items as they are standard "shield" items for use as required.

The existing mount points could be used but fitting a base board gives isolation and flexibility.

I fitted a base board and mounted a piece of stripboard for the Arduino (or other, I recommend anything other than Arduino ;) ) and mounted my PIC Programmer to align with the back panel access and included an RS232 level shifter, also aligned with the back panel access. The front panel LEDS have been used to show the PSU voltages are active.

Now I have a convenient package that I can work with and keep every thing tidy.