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Connecting 2 Tinusaur Boards Gen:4 mk-I

How to connect 2 Tinusaur boards with Shield boards on them using 2 wires?

This tutorial is written specifically for Tinusaur Boards, generation 4, but for the earlier versions of the Shield EDUx3IO and Shield LEDx2 boards (a.k.a. mk-I), manufactured and sold in 2022 and 2023. To make sure you have the same ones – check the images.

Hardware

We will need 2 pcs Tinusaur Boards, obviously.

We will also need 2 additional boards – Shield EDUx3IO and Shield LEDx2.

The setup will be similar if we substitute Shield LEDx2 with Shield LEDx3.

We will need 2 jump wires (also sometimes called Dupont cables) of a male-to-male type.

NOTE: The color of the cables does not define their purpose or the function of the wires.

Also, for clarity, the pair of Tinusaur main board with Shield EDUx3IO we will name K1. The pair of Tinusaur main board with Shield LEDx2 we will name K2.

Software

The software part, or how to program them, is covered in another tutorial.

Setup for K1

When we put the Shield EDUx3IO board on top of the Tinusaur main board, we can see that there is an uncovered part of one of the main board female headers. More specifically, there are 4 holes that are uncovered by the shield board. We will use 2 of those holes to connect the 2 wires.

This is IMPORTANT. We have to locate the correct holes to use for the connection.

The inner hole is for the signal wire; it is marked as SIG on the diagram.

The outer hole is for the ground wire; it is marked as GND on the diagram.

Setup for K2

The setup is identical to the other board.

When we put the Shield LEDx2 (or LEDx3) board on top of the Tinusaur main board, we can see that there is an uncovered part of one of the main board female headers. More specifically, there are 4 holes that are uncovered by the shield board. We will use 2 of those holes to connect the 2 wires.

This is IMPORTANT. We have to locate the correct holes to use for the connection.

The inner hole is for the signal wire; it is marked as SIG on the diagram.

The outer hole is for the ground wire; it is marked as GND on the diagram.

Connecting the 2 Boards

This is IMPORTANT. We MUST connect the signal (SIG) wires together and the ground (GND) wires together.

Power Supply

In this particular setup, which is conditioned by the type of shield boards we use, each of the main boards needs to be supplied with an electric power source. The reason is that the 2 boards are connected through ground (GND) and signal (SIG) wires, and power (Vcc) is not provided.

Conclusion

Connecting 2 Tinusaur Boards is easy and straightforward. It allows boards to exchange signals, which is the subject of another tutorial.

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