Introduction

Welcome back and thank you for reading our next review! Today we bring to you the Seeedstudio SeeedStalker board. This is an Arduino compatible board chock full of some nifty features that will help get your project off the ground with ease! This particular board comes with a some components built in that make it perfect for autonomous navigation projects.

In a nutshell, it has a RTC, RTC Battery, Micro SD card slot and an XBee connector to boot. This means that you can easily couple this board with the GPS XBee module for Seeedstudio and enable your project with the ability to navigate and log its paths over time!

Overview

To start out, this is an Arduino compatible board. Therefore, you can simply download the open source Arduino IDE and start coding away with this board. It's simple and easy. For those of you familiar with Arduino this will be a piece of cake. For those of you that aren't familiar with Arduino - check out the Arduino Website. It has a wealth of knowledge and software and forums for you to use.

Also don't forget to check out our tutorials on Arduino. The code in those tutorials can be used for just about any board out there provided it has the hardware connected as stated in the code.

Seeedstudio Seeedstalker Features

• Arduino compatible, based on Seeeduino
• Native RTC, On board CR2032 battery holder
• Native micro SD card socket
• Easy stackable I2C pin header
• Dual voltage (5V/3.3V) I2C hub
• Standalone and shield mode
• User defined button and LED
• B” series socket (2*10 pin 2.0mm pitch, same as Xbee)
• Interrupt evoking ready
• Serial interface with DTR for auto reset during programming

Seeedstudio Seeedstalker Technical Specifications

• Microprocessor : ATMega 168
• PCB size : 6.8cm x 5.5cm x 0.16cm
• Indicators : Reset, Power, Pin 13LED
• Power supply : 5V or 7-12V
• Power Connector : 2 pin JST/ USB
• IO counts : 20
• ADC input : Dedicated 2 channel 10bit resolution
• Connectivity : I2C, Uart, SPI
• Communication Protocol : I2C, Uart
• RHOS Compliant

Highlights

The following image is the board up close. Without any illustrations or highlights. Take a look for yourself to see what the board is all about!



The following image is the board up close highlighting the primary components of the Seeedstudio Seeedstalker.



The following image is the board up close highlighting the primary ports on the Seeedstudio Seeedstalker board.



The following image is the board up close from the bottom.

Pro's & Con's

Here we will attempt to narrow in on some key points that make or break this controller.

Pro'ss

• Built in XBee Connector
• Micro SD Card Slot
• Arduino Compatible
• Small Footprint
• Shield Ready
• RTC - Real Time Clock
• Ideal for GPS drive projects

Con's

• No built in USB port
• Limited port's
• RTC Battery is not included

Compatibility

There are no complaints here in this department. The board is fully compatible with all Arduino open source software. Including libraries, IDE and many of the publicly available sketches found online!

Support

Seeedstudio always makes sure to put all the information you need right at your fingertips. Complete with sketches, schematics, data sheets sample code and much more. Everything is freely available on the Seeedstudio Website. If you can't find what you are looking for there - trust you me - you will find it in the forums either on their website or on Arduino's Website.

Conclusion

To sum this up. This board is a great choice if your project requires GPS driven navigation in a tiny package. Don't fret if you are new to the game of Arduino. You can easily start out with this board and build your knowledge up little by little. No need to purchase the GPS module right away nor do you need to purchase the Micro SD.

Where to Buy?

SeeedStudio Website
DIYbin.com

Additional Information

Using an LCD with Arduino
Arduino Push Buttons
Buzzer on the Arduino
Rotaton/Pentometer with the Arduino
Measuring Temperature with an Arduino
Ambient Light readings with Arduino
Orientation detection with Arduino