/protonema

Protonema Electronics Prototyping and Learning System

Primary LanguagePythonOtherNOASSERTION

Photo of three different Protonema baseboards with various modules

Left: A 2x2 baseboard with a stepper motor controller, a Raspberry Pi Pico and a breadboard.

Center: A 3x2 baseboard with a four-digit LED display, a Raspberry Pi Pico, a SD card adapter, and a temperature sensor on a breadboard, acting as a temperature logger.

Right: A 3x4 baseboard with a Raspberry Pi Pico, a perfboard stamp, a larger breadboarding area with a Pixie Chroma display, an ST discovery board, and a mikroBUS™ Click™ adapter.

Project Overview

Protonema is an low-cost electronics prototyping and learning system designed to combine the best of breadboarding, microprocessors and surface mount technologies into a single easy-to-use and easy-to-extend system for rapid electronics prototyping and development.

Protonema includes:

  • Baseboards that distribute power.
  • Stamps that provide modular building blocks and breadboarding areas.
  • Guides that provide assembly instructions and theory of operations.

Project Goals

  • Approachable: Combine the best of the classic "100-in-one" electronics kits with modern microcontrollers and digital logic.
  • Low cost: Target cost is less than $50, making it suitable for classroom use.
  • Open source: Available for use and extension with minimal restrictions. See the license for more details.
  • Extensible: Pluggable stamps implement functions not easily constructed on a breadboard. This allows the system to be used to teach and prototype a wide variety of different subject areas, including power electronics, computer organization, audio processing, etc.
  • Built-in 3V3 and 5V power distribution, with clear visual indication of power domains

Baseboards

Part # Name Status BOM Cost OSHWA Cert #
1510A v1.0 3x4 Baseboard Complete $17.57 CAD OSHWA Logo CA000015
1522A v1.0 2x2 Baseboard Draft $7.36 CAD OSHWA Logo CA000023
1532A v1.1 3x2 Baseboard Coming Soon Not OSHWA Certified

Stamps

Part # Name Status BOM Cost OSHWA Cert #
1011A v1.0 Horizontal Breadboard Stamp Complete $14.98 CAD OSHWA Logo CA000016
1012A v1.0 Vertical Breadboard Stamp Complete $19.84 CAD OSHWA Logo CA000022
1030A v0.4 PIC Stamp In Progress Not OSHWA Certified
1031A v1.1 Raspberry Pi Pico Stamp Complete $17.20 CAD OSHWA Logo CA000020
1032A v1.0 LED Matrix Stamp Complete $10.35 CAD OSHWA Logo CA000019
1033A v0.3 Decoder Stamp In Progress Not OSHWA Certified
1034A v1.0 Protoboard Stamp In Progress Not OSHWA Certified
1035A v0.2 ESP32 Stamp In Progress Not OSHWA Certified
1036A v0.1 Pi Pico Interface Stamp In Progress Not OSHWA Certified
1037A v1.1 LCD Display Stamp In Progress Not OSHWA Certified
1038A v1.0 LED Display Stamp Complete $9.19 CAD OSHWA Logo CA000018
1039A v1.0 Intersection Simulator Stamp In Progress Not OSHWA Certified
1040A v1.0 Smart LED Level Shifter Stamp In Progress Not OSHWA Certified
1041A v1.0 Train Simulator Stamp In Progress Not OSHWA Certified
1052A v1.0 3.5mm Jack I/O Coming Soon Not OSHWA Certified
1060A v1.0 Dual Potentiometer Stamp Complete $6.92 CAD OSHWA Logo CA000024
1065A v1.0 SD Card Stamp Coming Soon Not OSHWA Certified
1094A v1.0 Sliders Coming Soon Not OSHWA Certified