The Expansion Dock provides an easy way to power your Omega with any microUSB cable while breaking out all of the Omega’s GPIO pins. Simply put, this dock allows you to control external circuits or connect Expansion Boards to extend the functionality of your Omega. Each Expansion Dock also comes with an onboard USB-to-serial chip that allows you to access the terminal directly from your computer. The Expansion Dock makes your Omega incredibly convenient and easy to use!
Power can be provided to the Omega and the Expansion Dock with any microUSB cable. The dock includes a regulator circuit that ensures the Omega always receives the stable 3.3V it needs to operate optimally.
The Onion Omega boards we carry are separated into three different categories: Mainboard, Dock and Expansion Board. This board falls into the Dock category, meaning you can plug an Onion Omega directly into the board. The Expansion Dock is also compatible with Omega Expansion Boards, making it one of the most straightforward docks produced by Onion.
If a board needs code or communicates somehow, you're going to need to know how to program or interface with it. The programming skill is all about communication and code.
Skill Level: Rookie - You will need a better fundamental understand of what code is, and how it works. You will be using beginner-level software and development tools like Arduino. You will be dealing directly with code, but numerous examples and libraries are available. Sensors or shields will communicate with serial or TTL.
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If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.
Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
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We welcome your comments and suggestions below. However, if you are looking for solutions to technical questions please see our Technical Assistance page.
Based on 5 ratings:
Used this along with Omega2+ to make WIFI webcam using an old USB webcam. Works great.
Wired it up no problem, it booted fine and worked just fine.
I would say, I would much rather have screw terminals (real ones) to wire up the Onion or Raspberry Pi. You can only do so much real work if all you have are headers and certainly nothing robust.
I wanted to start developing on the omega platform and heard some very cool things about it. I decided to buy one and get the expansion board. The expansion board worked as advertised and didn’t require anything additionally in order to get it working.