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About the Versalino Nano

Get your Versalino Nano today

The Versalino Nano is designed as a follow on to the Versalino Uno (the first of our line of Prototype to Production platforms). It takes all the stuff you loved about the Versalino Uno, and adds some awesome features that you all requested.

The first big change in the Versalino Nano is it’s impressively diminutive size it is only 1 inch by 2.1 inches, and has an much lower profile than the Versalino Uno. Additionally the button size and performance has been greatly improved on the Versalino Nano, making it much easier to reset when needed. Finally we added a power LED, and a general purpose LED which is attached to BUSA.D1 (which is pin 2 on the original Arduino 1.0 pinout).

The Versalino Nano was the first product to undergo our rapid release program, and as such it has seen much more progress than it’s predecessor with 2 revisions so far from it’s initial release. The feedback you all have provided has been instrumental to these continued improvements, so thank you!

Versalino Nano Pinout

This is a layout view of the Versalino Nano 1.2

Have you ever had to re-solder pins on an Arduino Shield just so that you could get it working with another shield? Have you ever had an Arduino Shield that didn’t bother to let you stack another shield on-top of it? Well with the Versalino Uno and Versalino Nano those are problems of the past.

Listed above are the Arduino equivalent pins to each of the Buses in case you wanted to forego the use of the Versalino library.

The Versalino Nano is not just another Arduino clone. The Versalino Nano is based on the Versalino Uno and is part of a line that has been completely re-engineered from the ground up to address real design problems that folks face every day on other systems. The key advantage of the Versalino line over other Arduino and Arduino compatible clones is that we developed a standardized BUS system that makes it possible to design a load board to take less than half of the available pins without sacrificing the ability to do tons of stuff with it.

The Versalino BUS structure also allows the shape and size of your Versalino board to change without losing the compatibility with your loadboards. That is why every board that has been designed for the Versalino Nano is 100% compatible with the Versalino Uno (even though the Versalino Uno is twice it’s size).

Finally with the Versalino Nano you get an extra COM port! The COM port on the Versalino is designed to provide you with plug and play Bluetooth compatibility with the Virtuabotix BT2S Slave and Virtuabotix BT2S Master, this is an extremely useful, and cost effective way to convert your project from a wired to a wireless solution. This additional port structure allows for the design of many serial communication devices that can be added to your system without interfering with other boards.

The Versalino Nano’s second COM can either be used as a serial port using Software Serial libraries, or as general purpose IO’s (GPIO for short), it also has Analog to Digital capability which makes it perfect for taking sensor readings without messing with your projects BUS’s.

 Getting started guide:

You will need the following things to follow this guide all the way through:

A computer with a USB port, the Versalino Nano, and the Versalino FTDI.

Now for your very first Versalino project!

Make sure you have your Versalino Nano, and Versalino FTDI before proceeding.

Connect FTDI Upload Sketch Test

Connect the Versalino FTDI

This is a picture of the Versalino FTDI connected correctly to the Versalino Nano.

WARNING: DISCONNECT ANY EXTERNAL POWER ADAPTER WALL OR BATTERY TO PREVENT OVER-CURRENT (BETWEEN EXTERNAL AND USB SOURCES). FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN EXTREMELY HOT VOLTAGE REGULATOR AND POSSIBLE SYSTEM DEGRADATION.

WARNING: DO NOT CONNECT THE VERSALINO FTDI TO THE VERSALINO BACKWARDS, OR SADNESS AND MAGIC BLUE SMOKE MAY RESULT. IF YOU CONNECTED IT THE WRONG WAY QUICKLY DISCONNECT THE USB AND TRY AGAIN THE CORRECT WAY.

Now that you have installed the Arduino IDE and Versalino FTDI drivers you are finally ready to connect it all together and get started with your first project

First connnect the Versalino FTDI to your computer with your USB Mini B cable and make sure that a new COM port is available on your computer like you did in earlier setup steps.

Once you are satisfied with the setup you can plug it into the Versalino Nano. Make sure that the pins of the Versalino FTDI match up with the pins on the Versalino Nano PGM port (I.E. match G pin to G pin, V pin to V pin and so forth). If you have it lined up correctly the voltage selector will be facing toward the outside of the Versalino board.

Open the Arduino IDE

When you open the Arduino IDE it should conveniently create an empty sketch for you. A sketch is just the name Arduino gave to their .ino files which are the files you save your simplified C++ code for the Arduino and Versalino platforms with.

Your code should look something like this once you have it copied properly into the Arduino IDE. Also note the menu at the top of the window which you will be using to configure and upload in the next part of this step.

Copy the following lines of code into the empty sketch:

#include <Versalino.h> //this loads the Versalino library

// we will be connecting the LED to BUSA pin D1
// so we declare it as a variable to use later
// just in case we decide to change the pin or BUS
int led = BUSA.D1;


// the setup routine runs once when you press reset:
void setup() {
// initialize the digital pin as an output.
pinMode(led, OUTPUT);
}

// the loop routine runs over and over again forever:
void loop() {
digitalWrite(led, HIGH); // turn the LED on (HIGH is the voltage level)
delay(1000); // wait for a second
digitalWrite(led, LOW); // turn the LED off by making the voltage LOW
delay(1000); // wait for a second
}

Check compiler settings

If you are programming the Versalino Nano ensure that
"Arduino Nano W/ ATmega328" is selected from the "Tools -> Boards" menu.

If you happen to be programming the Versalino Uno ensure that
"Arduino Uno" is selected from the "Tools -> Boards" menu.

Also check to make sure that the COM port of your Versalino FTDI
is selected from the "Tools -> Serial Port" menu.

Upload the Arduino Sketch to your Versalino

Now you should be ready to program your Versalino with your newly created sketch.

Select "File -> Upload" and wait while your sketch is compiled, and uploaded to the Versalino. If you have set up everything correctly up to this point you should see a short series of blink red and green lights on the Versalino FTDI indicating that the program is being loading through the transmit and receive lines of the serial port.

Once you see "Successfully Uploaded" at the bottom of the screen you are good to move onto the next step.

Isn't having a built in LED Glorious?

Why yes, yes it is! Since you are using the Versalino Nano this step should be pretty darn easy, just watch as the built in LED blinks, and if desired make a series of woop woop sounds as you watch your LED begins to blink just as you told it to.

Feel free to bask in the mysterious glow as long as you see fit, and congratulations on finishing your first project!

Congratulations, now you know how to load a sketch onto the Versalino Nano. You will be amazed by the world of devices and projects that you have just opened up. We can’t wait to see what you can achieve with the Versalino in your toolbox!

Below are just a few of the projects that other nerdly heroes like yourself have already done with the Versalino, be sure to share your projects with us if you want them added to the list.