Any standard Arduino color codes?

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Simonetta
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Posted by Simonetta: Wed. Jul 27, 2016 - 11:52 PM
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I've started using a self-defined set of color codes for my Arduino projects and I thought that I should ask if there are already some color codes in general use.

I bought six spools (1000 ft/300 meters) of wire-wrap AWG30 in black, red, orange, green, blue, and gray. 

 

I have standardized on BLACK for ground/earth/0.0 volts and RED for Vcc (the main AVR voltage on the Vcc pins).   I've assigned blue to SCL and green to SDA lines on the I2C/TWI/wire.h connections.  ORANGE is for any power voltage that is not Vcc, i.e. the Vin +9V  (or +5V USB voltage if the AVR Vcc is +3.3V).

 

If there is a different standard in general use for these lines, then I'd like to know before getting too deep into my own color assignments.

 

The color codes are used for: 

 >  Schematics.   I do a simple cut_and_paste of old OrCAD symbols on a black/white image in PhotoShop/PaintShopPro/GIMP instead of using Eagle or a commercial schematic-capture program. Works for me.  After the Black/white diagram of the circuit, I overdraw the buses and important traces in color in software or with colored pencils on paper print-outs.

 

>  Wire-Wrapping and point-to-point soldering on the prototype board.  Black=gnd; red=Vcc; blue=SCL [I2C], SCK [SPI] ; green=SDA [I2C,SPI], reset; orange=ChipEnable (TFT); grey= RegisterSelect

 

>  Plastic test-clips for custom hardware tools (like I2C sniffers, MIDI, and RS232 monitors).

 

>  Lay-out and part-placement drawings.  Scans and photos of circuit-board prototypes under development.   When reverse-engineering a printed circuit board, I scan the board with 800 dots/per/inch resolution.  Most traces will be a slightly different shade of the (usually green) solder-mask color.  I use paint-fill with a tolerance setting that allows the image of the trace to be paint filled in a different color.  This lets me see at a glance the entire Gnd, Vcc, or other individual trace network on the scanned image of the PCB.

 

> fritzing.  Standardized Arduino parts-layout-wiring software.

 

> timing charts.

 

I know that the resistors have a color band code that (roughly) follows the rainbow: black/brown/red/orange/yellow/green/blue/violet/grey/white.  And there are old capacitor color codes that were sometimes followed on 20th-century electronic devices.

 

Are there any standard AVR/Arduino standard color coding systems that I might not be aware of?

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Tools, Arduino
Last Edited: Sat. Jul 30, 2016 - 02:09 PM
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westfw
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Posted by westfw: Thu. Jul 28, 2016 - 03:48 AM
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I'm not aware of any standardized colors for this sort of use.  I had a job doing wire wrapping one summer (40 years ago (!)) - they did everything in a single color :-(

(I take it back.  There's a "common" way of documenting Arduino and Arduino-like boards that has been using a pretty consistent color code.  The color varies depending on pin use, which is probably what you want (brown for "digital" pins 0/1, orange for uart0 on the same pins.  Example: https://camo.githubusercontent.com/0174ab1436903eb06dfea280a83c389460637054/68747470733a2f2f7261776769746875622e636f6d2f426f756e692f41726475696e6f2d50696e6f75742f6d61737465722f41726475696e6f253230556e6f253230523325323050696e6f75742e706e67 )

 

Wire-Wrapping and point-to-point soldering on the prototype board.  Black=gnd; red=Vcc; blue=SCL [I2C], SCK [SPI] ; green=SDA [I2C,SPI], reset; orange=ChipEnable (TFT); grey= RegisterSelect

Sounds lovely.  I do the same obvious colors for Vcc/Gnd, but haven't done enough to standardize on other colors.  Most of the stuff I've done recently has been connecting pin headers on eval boards to pin headers on peripheral breakout boards or modules.  You might want to resever a couple of colors for "other inputs" vs "other outputs."

 

I like the way you're using the colors consistantly in multiple places; I don't think that ever occured to me, and/or I'm not disciplined enough to stick with it, and/or I'm not organized enough to keep track of that many colored pencils/pens.

 

In theory, using Eagle you could assign a separate class to each signal type, and have a ULP that would automatically draw the color version for you.  that might be a neat hack.  (but again, it requires discipline.  I tend to be happy when I remember to use separate classes for power and signal...)

 

[resistor color code] (roughly) follows the rainbow

That's always how I've remembered it.   No offensive mnemonics required.

 

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Torby
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Posted by Torby: Thu. Jul 28, 2016 - 12:24 PM
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Don't think I've ever seen a rainbow that includes brown and black.

 

277,232,917 -1 The largest known Mersenne Prime

Measure twice, cry, go back to the hardware store

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Paulvdh
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Posted by Paulvdh: Sat. Jul 30, 2016 - 01:06 PM
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Simonetta wrote:
If there is a different standard in general use for these lines, then I'd like to know before getting too deep into my own color assignments.

Try to not re invent the wheel.

Use your colors as  the standarized pin numbers for the 6 or 10 pin insp connector.

 

Bit off topic:

I use the std. color codes for a lot of things.

For example the socket wrench for M6 bolts (10mm) is coded Blue and Green for M5 (8mm).

The non standard sockets (which I use rarely) are not color coded.

Color Coding is done by first roughing the surface by slight grinding, wrapping it with some thin yarn and glueing it into place.

 

Some time a go a girl asked me why I had all those colors on the end of some of my ropes.

Then I showed the end of the rope (Brown Green Red) to another visitor and asked him how long the rope was and he gave the correct answer.

 

 

 

Paul van der Hoeven.
Bunch of old projects with AVR's:
http://www.hoevendesign.com

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Torby
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Posted by Torby: Sat. Jul 30, 2016 - 01:19 PM
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Paulvdh wrote:

 

 

Some time a go a girl asked me why I had all those colors on the end of some of my ropes.

Then I showed the end of the rope (Brown Green Red) to another visitor and asked him how long the rope was and he gave the correct answer.

 

 

 

 

1500cm?

 

277,232,917 -1 The largest known Mersenne Prime

Measure twice, cry, go back to the hardware store

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jgmdesign
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Posted by jgmdesign: Sat. Jul 30, 2016 - 02:10 PM
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I'll move this to the Arduino forum.

 

Jim

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