Steve of Big Mess o’ Wires shares his impressions of the Bus Pirate as a prototyping and test tool:
I finally got curious enough that I decided to just buy one, and get the sense of the Bus Pirate through hands-on experimentation.
My conclusion is: it’s great! Imagine every hardware programmer, debugger, serial cable, and interface tool you’ve ever used, rolled into one. That’s the Bus Pirate. But it’s even better than that, because the Bus Pirate also offers interactive diagnostic features those other tools never dreamed of. If you like to tinker with digital electronics, the Bus Pirate is the tool you’ve always needed, without realizing how much you needed it.
Thanks for the feedback. It’s always great to read about your experience with the Bus Pirate, good or bad. We’ve had so much fun designing it, and it’s awesome when other people find it useful too.
Get your own handy Bus Pirate for $30, including world-wide shipping. Also available from our friendly distributors.