general-chat

[thick wind]

In fact, fpga development used to be a means of designing and testing asic designs. If you already have experience developing on fpgas, you’re likely closer to asic design than you realize.

Of course, ASICs are only cost effective at volume, so as a hobbyist you’ll have to settle for tinytapeout or FPGAs until something better comes along.

[raw jasper]

Still, it's really cool to know that it's even possible. Seriously, I really appreciate it

[lusty fossil]

Anyone know what font this is?

[crystal ore]

I'd tend to assume at first glance that it's not a font but a custom line drawing, but maybe it's just got a lot of special ligatures.

[acoustic pawn]

@tardy badger how much will an icyblue feather cost?

Maybe you should sell a "kit" option that is cheaper. Just includes all parts and the board and the end user has to assemble.

[tardy badger]

Lol.. this isn’t a board you would buy for a kit. The kit would be more expensive than buying the assembled board because of the time to trim, sort, double check parts, package, develop instructions, include a stencil, solder paste, sanity.

I’ll release the price when the campaign launches

[acoustic pawn]

hmm. Didn't consider all that

[tardy badger]

My short preorder period before I started the CrowdSupply process was selling an early backer discount price of $69.95, it will be a bit more than that is all I’ll say right now

There will though, probably after the campaign completes, be lots of feather wings for it that will range in price from like.. $69.95 for a kit with few wings and open source instructions, to like a $300 kit with an advanced set of wings/projects

[ebon dew]

Looks like "Still Valentine" font. Definitely font based as the two capital B's are identical.

With font searches you can type in characters to help you match fonts better. 😉

Even with highly customized rasterized fonts you'll usually get close as most designers are too lazy to create an entire font from scratch. You'll at least find one they based their font on. Creating an entire font is very time consuming and labor intensive. Font design is an art form.

I would only create a custom font if I had a really high profile client where I didn't want any question about the font legality because fonts are kind of a mine field sometimes. They can be necessary in the commercial space but for the most part just modifying a font with kerning, spacing, etc.. is enough.

Unless you're making a movie named Avatar then straight up Papyrus is fine.

[glossy knoll]

Obligatory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ

[spice moss]

happy Mar10 day

[late fulcrum]

It's amazing what you can do with a handful of not exactly widely known fonts (I'm fond of "Plaza Ultra" for art deco looking signage, for example)

[tardy badger]

https://tenor.com/view/mario-mario-kart-mario-world-nintendo-nintendo-switch-gif-21153397

[late fulcrum]

Yeah, after X Files, Trixie was everywhere...

[steady dove]

90s era xfiles was such a great series. Kinda miss it!

[sand frigate]

I have been using mainly RP2040 boards to learn CirPy, am I missing out on anything by not using a SAMD board?

[tardy badger]

DACs on samd that are not on the RP2040

I’m not sure if it makes much of a difference when you can achieve the same things with a little finagling and a breakout

[tardy badger]

Wow, one institution that I thought was fairly resilient against changing markets, Silicon Valley Bank.. is being shut down by the FDIC 😳

Apparently inflation and rising interest rates caused them to take a $1.8b loss on bonds and mortgage securities

[glossy knoll]

Yep, then they tried to get some cash and spooked.... literally everyone

[tardy badger]

Yeah, 1920’s bank run anyone?

[glossy knoll]

I read on a Twitter thread that less than 3% of the money in SVB is FDIC insured. Gonna be a lot of people that work at startups not getting paid this month/next month

[tardy badger]

FDIC will pay dividends on uninsured deposits according to TechCrunch

But 3% insured.. that’s wild

[glossy knoll]

FDIC insurance generally tops out at $250K

Yeah, it's nuts

[tardy badger]

They can cover more with proof but it’s a ton of paperwork

It’ll be probably months before trusts and nonprofits get their money back

[glossy knoll]

I wonder how much "mass exodus" we'll see from startup employees

[tardy badger]

I bet we are going to see a huge collapse of startups

[glossy knoll]

Seems likely

[tardy badger]

Which is unfortunate for the people working at them to support themselves and families

[glossy knoll]

Oh yeah, the day-to-day workers are always the ones who suffer for the incompetence of techbros

[tardy badger]

Yup

Tech bros and finance execs

[elfin bridge]

Adafruit Blog Bot is drunk.

[dusty citrus]

Nope my washing machine doesn't stop jumping
Don't exist like special foots made out of fluid or magnets to amortize vibrations/movements?

I level the thing, uses some nut to not let the foots move
But it still jumps around being really loud

[elfin bridge]

Top or side load?

[tardy badger]

If you want a CM4 8GB pishop Us has some for now https://www.pishop.us/product/raspberry-pi-compute-module-4-wireless-8gb-lite-cm4108000/

And their gone now

[raw jasper]

That was surprisingly fast

OTOH, it's pi stuff, so I shouldn't be surprised at all, should I?

[tardy badger]

Probably not 🙂

12 minutes to get through 210 units

[raw jasper]

That's quite the strong brand...

[tardy badger]

Yeah, Adafruit sells the pi 4, 100 units in like 2 minutes

I’m surprised the CM4 lasted so long

[calm kraken]

<@&327289013561982976> Just a question. I like trying out code found in the Learn System Guide in github, since retired, I get a little bored around the house. Today I found an issue in the resent release of of ESP32 mini weather station. The code does not match up with the supplied *.bmp files. I would like to reach out to someone but not sure what the proper procedures are for letting someone know there is a learn system guide error. Thanks.

[ebon dew]

At the bottom of every learn guide there is a link to provide suggestions or feedback.

If you believe something to be in error it's ok to use it.

[tardy badger]

Yeah, the feedback link is your best bet for getting that information to the learn guide team.

Just for future reference though, the community moderators tag is generally reserved for moderation issues. A discord user usually will respond to your questions (including mods) without needing to tag anyone

We’re pretty helpful here 🙂

[ebon dew]

tagging moderators is usually to report discord spam or issues within discord itself 😉

[tardy badger]

Correct 🙂

[raw jasper]

I have a pi 3-something? 4? -- Don't remember anymore.. -- In a drawer somewhere. I should probably get it out of there and check if it works, and maybe do something with it

[tardy badger]

I need to swap octoprint to the A I got

[raw jasper]

I don't have a 3D printer! :D

And even if I did, my 3D modeling skills are.. .essentially non-existent

Coming from a programming background, I should probably learn openSCAD

[glossy knoll]

This is exactly what I do since I also have zero modeling skills. I'm good at making parts and ripping off rebuilding existing stuff in OpenSCAD

[raw jasper]

Hmm.. There's a book... Tempting...

https://programmingwithopenscad.github.io

[glossy knoll]

It's pretty straightforward! The only real "catch" I've found is how you assign & scope variables isn't exactly like imperative programming like you'd expect

I guess scoping works like you'd expect, but you can't do stuff like:
x = 5; if (condition) { x = 6; }
because "x=6" is scoped inside the if

[raw jasper]

Figures..

[glossy knoll]

You can do ternaries though

So you can do x = condition ? 6 : 5;

[tawny forge]

hey does anyone know if adafruit sells a side switch with 4 pins?

i need it for one of my new pcbs

[olive dome]

got two new CM4

[ebon dew]

Define 4 pins? Dual pole dual throw?

or 4 selector positions?

Looks like Adafruit only sells single pole single throw.

Search Digikey for DPDT switches.

[feral rain]

I’ve had CM4s on back order forever. Where did you find them?

[raw jasper]

Congrats, enjoy!

[olive dome]

Interestingly it is slightly different from the CM4 I got a year ago

[spark egret]

Anyone possibly got some free time? Just got my M7 and I want to attach the PN532 shield on top of it but I have no idea what I am doing. I know I need circuit python or nxp espresso for the M7, not sure on which one is better or their differences. Also probably most importantly if I power the m7 via type C does it matter if the wall adapter is 5 watts or 20 watts?

[olive dome]

I was surprised when I see there are CM4 in stock on some Taobao store and the price are about the same as retail price so I order some with the help of my friend just to see.

The best way to find these are the places not at pilocator

with risk though

[tardy badger]

Reading about the shear magnitude of the SVB collapse is just mind boggling

$42b withdrawn yesterday leaving SVB nearly a billion in the hole.

Holy moly

That’s what I call a bank run.

[crystal ore]

Normally it doesn't make a lot of sense to have a run on the bank due to FDIC insurance. But lots of depositors were businesses or people with more than the $250k limit, so in that case you definitely want to beat the crowd to the door...

[tardy badger]

I think this probably could have been averted if VCs didn’t cause their founders to panic

I don’t think this will be the only collapse this year given there’s over half a trillion of unrealized loses related to treasuries and government backed mortgage bonds

I am curious how big of a collapse things have to be before things turn bad

If there was $150b in deposits managed at the time of the run, that means $110b in assets are just gone

[lapis dirge]

Did you get them for regular price? If so, Where?

[tardy badger]

Not sure what their balance sheet looked like though so that’s a bit hard to speculate

[lapis dirge]

VCs have been dumping money into unprofitable Silicon Valley startups for over a decade. And Their investors are starting to ask questions.

[tardy badger]

“What money?”

“I’ve never got that terms sheet”

[olive dome]

I just checked the price .... it is 20USD higher 🤦‍♂️

[lapis dirge]

I'd call that a win

[olive dome]

Yeah not that bad though

I'm running out of CM4

[lapis dirge]

Pi Foundation said they should be back to shipping enough units to meet demand by Q3 2023. So I can hang in there a bit longer. There is a lot of pent-up demand and it may take a few months to normalize. Then I'm stocking up.

[olive dome]

The SoC and the PCB date code on my new CM4 is 2206 and 2216

So I guess it is something else blocking them

[tardy badger]

My mouser back order says oct 2nd ship date

[lapis dirge]

That's q4 but at least you have your back order in!

[olive dome]

vs 2028 and 2046 on the older one

[feral rain]

One of my backorders says Summer 2024. I'm hoping they're undercommitting and hoping to overdeliver. 😀

[tardy badger]

It’s said they’ll get them end of sept, so late q3 lol

[lapis dirge]

What are those numbers .... year and week??

[tardy badger]

I didn’t go big, just the $30 modules

[lapis dirge]

That is depressing!

Lady Ada has been talking about shortages easing and the company getting orders in.

[olive dome]

yes

[lapis dirge]

I was shocked I got a Giga on launch day.

[raw jasper]

There's still a shortage on FPGAs right?

[tardy badger]

Kind of

[raw jasper]

nvm the giga is not the fpga

[tardy badger]

Lattice are in stock lol

[lapis dirge]

I just bought an IceStice from DigiKey a few month back. No wait.

[olive dome]

I think FPGAs are fine now....?

the price for giga is also slightly on the higher side

[raw jasper]

IceStick Lead time is high. No idea if that's normal though

[olive dome]

27 Weeks aren't that bad

comparing to +100 Weeks for some Ti parts

[raw jasper]

btw. Silly xilinx question. I remember xilinx ISE showing a timing report after synthesis with maximum frequency etc w/o explicitly specifying a timing constraint...? The closest thing I've been able to get in vivado is the slack from my specified clock period timing constraint (which, since this report also gives me the critical path, is satisfactory, but I'm curious whether there's a way to replicate the ISE behavior)

[olive dome]

I only got to use vivado

[raw jasper]

I used ISE in the past, didn't use FPGAs for years, and got back into them recently for a potential work-related project

[tardy badger]

IceStorm gives you a timing report

Which is nice

The Xilinx port of yosys would probably do the same, at least for what’s buildable

[crystal ore]

No, the deficit is less than $1B, I think. Most of the assets are still there, just not enough for everyone they owe.

[tardy badger]

It was less than $1b for the withdrawals made

Not everyone thought it would collapse

See the image I shared of the filing

I’m talking about to talk assets they held, vs the amount withdrawn, the deficit reflected underserved liabilities from that $42B withdrawal

They certainly were managing more than $42B in deposits at the time of the run.

But the fed requires they hold a minimum percentage of deposits to try and prevent a bank run. In this case their deposits were over leveraged and had unrealized loses that limited their immediate liquidity

[crystal ore]

I'm just saying that they probably have a lot of assets left still, just not "cash".

[tardy badger]

Right, I’m suggesting that a majority of their assets at this point likely have high unrealized losses

Any sale to another bank will mean that probably billions won’t be returned

[crystal ore]

Likely, yeah, unless there's a special deal made to try to avoid further contagion. The FDIC would very much like to maintain a line of "no depositor lost a penny" if they can.

[tardy badger]

They really only have a legal responsibility to protect insured deposits, and those of trusts and nonprofits

They mentioned they will attempt to get some liquidity for those who were not able to withdraw but obviously they haven’t made guarantees

I worry for people who had loans through SVB, either home loans, small business loans..

[crystal ore]

Why? I don't think they could just suddenly call the loan in.

[tardy badger]

No, just the process of loans getting shifted around can be a nightmare

Plus the payment limbo between the loan changing institutions

[whole jacinth]

stuff like mortgages probably no big deal… but people who were depending on having lines of credit available might be in trouble

[tardy badger]

This interview is pretty levelheaded https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/10/investor-mark-suster-says-a-handful-of-bad-actors-in-vc-destroyed-silicon-valley-bank/?tpcc=tcplustwitter

Mark Suster expects SVB to be bought by Monday by a top 4 bank

[spark egret]

to confirm I understand. I need to use Mu as a text editor with a device like the m7 using circuitpython? I was under the impression that Circuitpython was the IDE.

[whole jacinth]

CircuitPython isn't itself an IDE. the CircuitPython web workflow, on boards that support it, might count as a web IDE, though

[tardy badger]

You can also use visual studio

[whole jacinth]

yeah you're not limited to Mu as a text editor; most CircuitPython boards look like disk drives to a computer, so you can use any text editor you like (Mu just happens to have some features that make it easier to work with CircuitPython)

[spark egret]

I am new to working with hardware like this. I have the M7 , pico 2040, KB2040, LoRa. I am just trying to make sure I am going about this the easiest way since I am a beginner.

The guide I found mentions Mu but I have never heard of it before

[thick wind]

It’s worth mentioning that some text editors aren’t recommended due to their auto saving function resetting the boards unexpectedly.

[spark egret]

woof that does not sound good. Does Mu reset boards unexpectedly?

[thick wind]

No, Mu is designed for circuitpython and has none of those issues.

Some text editors will write temp files to the directory of the original file, but that write sometimes triggers a reboot of the board.

[spark egret]

Well that good to know that Mu shouldn't have those problems. Is this the best guide to follow to use Circuitpython and Mu?

https://learn.adafruit.com/installing-the-uf2-bootloader-on-nxp-imx-rt10xx-microcontrollers

[thick wind]

No idea haha

Metro M7 is so new I haven’t explored it at all

[spark egret]

gotcha, Well if you see any news on it or using it with the NFC shield please DM me so I dont miss it. Gotta complete this project and program an NFC tag by June.

[ebon dew]

It's brand new. I'm one of the first to get one, from the first day it launched. It's cutting edge new. Yes that's the only learn guide so far but I'm sure they'll be working on an expanded one very soon.

and I just got it yesterday.. so new as new can possibly be.

[spark egret]

Dam lol I didnt know they were that new.

[ebon dew]

pretty sure the NFC shield has circuit python support, pretty sure there's a library. however it's so old that chances are it's outdated.

there are plenty of people in the help-with-circuitpython channel that can help you get it working. 😉

it uses SPI and I2C protocol, someone can definitely help you get it sorted using one of those 2 protocols i'm sure.

ditch the ftdi idea.

go with SPI instead, SPI is like 100x faster, better.

However you don't need an iMX for your project. For something designed to work with FTDI using a 500mhz MCU with SPI is so overkill. Like using a firehose instead of a squirtgun.

The problem with using super new boards is that library support might not be there for everything and there will bugs... lots of bugs.

[spark egret]

I am not even sure of the purpose of FTDI is that just another protocol like SPI and I2C?

[ebon dew]

Well FTDI is a serial to USB converter. Now we have native USB built into boards so FTDI is unecessary.

You can directly use I2C or SPI straight from circuit python via USB.

FTDI is now less relevant.

[spark egret]

I was talking to someone and they recommended I2C. Good to know FTDI is out the window and one less variable for me to learn haha. Is Mu not needed in this case?

Or are the cases different when dealing with the LoRa and RP2040 chips vs the M7?

[ebon dew]

Mu is probably needed unless you have some other way of coding via serial USB.

I do all my coding with Mu. It's definitely the way to go for a beginner.

[spark egret]

gotcha need Mu and CP and I2C. Finally getting this all narrowed down :D

[ebon dew]

I code stuff for LORA, RP2040, ESP32, any board that uses circuit python can be coded through Mu.

Think of Mu as the Arduino IDE, it's a code editor that talks directly to your microcontroller board.

[spark egret]

I do have a device called Elegoo Uno R3 that looks like an arduino. Would that be better to use the shield on since it is much older?

[ebon dew]

Honestly I have no idea it's been so long since I've used an Arduino Uno that I've forgotten how to use it.

that question would be best asked in the help-with-arduino channel 😉

that's where are the Arduino enthusiasts hang out

some people tend to specialize and only hang out in certain channels. that's why it's best to ask questions in the right forum/channel to give yourself the best chance at good advice. 😉

just don't go down to the circuitpython-dev channel Simba, that's a dark place where mere mortals should not tread.

it's filled with bugs... lot of bugs

https://tenor.com/view/starship-troopers-traitor-of-mars-starship-troopers-gifs-arachnids-bugs-gif-9385242

[spark egret]

I do appreciate you helping me narrow it down. Now I know which places are applicable. I am assuming the dev channel is for low level logic or something?

[ebon dew]

yes and we try not to disturb them so they can stay focused in all seriousness.

[thick wind]

Don’t say obsolete, I prefer “less relevant.”

[tardy badger]

I mean.. FTDI is probably not really relevant for circuitpython but it is still very much a household name so to speak.

They are still one of the top USB bridge manufacturers out there

Ladyada even mentioned that she preferred to use an FT232H friend for testing i2c driver code

FT232R is less relevant these days because there are much cheaper alternatives like the CH340

[thick wind]

It would depend on what you’re trying to accomplish. For proof of concept or simple applications, it would be quick to pull out the arduino IDE and start working right away. However, the lack of circuitpython could be a dealbreaker for some, and the limited memory and storage could restrict the things you could do with it.

[tardy badger]

But there isn’t really a solid replacement (yet) for the FT232H and similar variants, as well as FTDI’s USB3.0 controllers

[stable vapor]

How do you make your hobbies with tech social? Something I'm struggling with is I'm finding anything tech is very anti-social and I like being with people, and meeting new ones.

[tardy badger]

What do you mean?

[ebon dew]

@thick wind fixed 🙂

You're hanging around in the wrong circles if you find your electronics projects people cultivate an aura of anti-social stuff. We have the internet now... anything can be social. Paper airplane enthusiasts even have their own clubs...

One of the reasons I really enjoy hanging out here. You're all my kind of people.

Try going to a pool party and talking FPGA's or ball grid arrays to resistor packs... there's a right crowd for everyone and for electronics... this is the right crowd. 😉

[whole plover]

Anyone know what happened to the 3d printing Chanel?

[crystal ore]

#help-with-3dprinting

[whole plover]

@crystal ore did this move?

[crystal ore]

I'm not sure, sorry... I don't monitor that one closely myself.

[tardy badger]

Tap the arrow next to “help with”

[whole plover]

Ah cool thanks

Missed that

🤣

[tardy badger]

It’s easy to miss lol

[whole plover]

Haha yeh

[fresh cloak]

I'm stuck in read only on an Xiao RP2040. CIRCUITPY mounts, but is read only, and I can get into REPL, but any file operations give OSError: [Errno 30] Read-only filesystem Any suggestions?

I tried import storage, storage.erase_filesystem() and reinstall the uf2 file, but once it's finished installing it's still read only.

must have been momentary usb weirdness. connected it to another computer and that resolved it

[urban arrow]

On the FTDI subject: for us old folks (started w/ Arduino 11 years ago) the "only" board I had was the UNO which did not need the separate FTDI to program, however on all the other stuff I built and still have (ATMega328 on breadboards, Diavolino, Sparkfun Pro Mini, etc.) they all need the 6 pin FTDI, which of course I bought from LadyAda. Still use' em practically daily when not programming Feathers and Picos... https://www.adafruit.com/product/284

[tardy badger]

Yeah, I think they are very much embedded in the Arduino world. That’s for sure.

And the embedded world too.

Though Silabs stuff is pretty pervasive too

[brittle condor]

would disabling the raspberry pi gui or the display output completely help to reduce power consumption and make it faster? i have a pi original model b+ that i use as a scan server and need to reduce power usage as much as possible

[tardy badger]

Display output should only be there if it’s plugged in

I wouldn’t think it would be active with the display making the request

[edgy apex]

The x environment eats ram just by existing

[tardy badger]

Yeah

How low of current are you trying to get?

My octopi server uses like 2.5W even when active

[brittle condor]

well it's plugged into the wall so it's not like i have battery issues

but i don't want to make my power bill jump to the moon

[tardy badger]

0.5ish A on average

[brittle condor]

after taxes a 1kwh is 1€ in italy

[tardy badger]

2.5W would take 400hrs to consume 1kW

Or something like that

[brittle condor]

that would be 20€/year

i have a power meter, let me test one sec

[tardy badger]

Even running at 5W, you’d still take 200hrs to use 1kWh

$44 a year

[brittle condor]

ok i just tested it, with the console at boot, it consumes 3w with screen plugged in and 1.7w with no screen plugged in

i guess that's acceptable

tho i wouldn't mind it being lower

🤣

[edgy apex]

Turn off the HDMI port?

[brittle condor]

how do i do that?

[tardy badger]

You could probably configure it to turn off services that aren’t being used

[brittle condor]

examples?

[edgy apex]

There are a few ways
.https://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/79728/keep-hdmi-off-on-boot

[brittle condor]

thanks

[edgy apex]

I finally found a way to do things I've always wanted to do with my wearable computer, the solution is OpenAI APIs. I'm using whisper, gpt and dalle. Now I can dictate tweets, have a verbal conversation with gpt and generate images with my voice.

[spark egret]

is there no longer a way to create a job posting to get help with projects?

[dusty citrus]

I see camera modules that often have a limited flex PCB length, making it longer by an extender would introduce issues?

[tardy badger]

I guess so 🤔

Maybe go to the contact page and ask about it?

[tardy badger]

Probably not? The cameras used in the raspberry pi use long ribbon cables

[sinful karma]

can the QTPY ESP32-S3 connect to multiple bluetooth devices at the same time?

can it do wifi and Bluetooth at the same time?

[ebon dew]

Sometimes there is a limit on how long you want some wires. No idea what it is for the camera's. Generally in electronics the shorter the path the better.

those ribbon cables are too easy to yank out and accidentally catch if they're too long. it might not be a limitation thing but just a better idea to avoid accidentally ripping it out.

[frigid tiger]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CeCxkFVCdM thoughts? I normally think of EDM as cost prohibitive for a DIYer

[lapis dirge]

UPS paid me a visit today ......

[tardy badger]

Traffic lights with a car waiting input 🤓

And baby K in the background playing

[lapis dirge]

Very nerdy! I like it!

[tardy badger]

Thanks! I’m developing learning materials for an FPGA dev board I’m working on launching with crowd supply 🙂

This is the Traffic Wing which will be used for teaching state machines and combinational + sequential logic

[lapis dirge]

I know. I haven't signed up for updates but I'll probably buy one just to support you.

[tardy badger]

Couldn’t remember if I mentioned it to you lol

I appreciate the support

[lapis dirge]

No problem ..... we need more STEM

[tardy badger]

I’m hoping to deliver a easier road to being able to learn and also visualize FPGA development

So people want to actually dig deeper

[lapis dirge]

That is the barrier to entry for FPGA .... the tool chain is just a pain.

[tardy badger]

Yeah, I’m working on making that bit easier. I’m a pretty experienced person and getting setup following the yosys instructions was a bit awkward

I’m documenting my process in my build examples to hopefully make sure people don’t get confused like I did lol

Though, to be fair.. I can be the dumb kind of smart at times 😬

[lapis dirge]

YouTube videos ..... And something like Bill at DroneBot Workshop would be ideal. I struggled setting up my first IceStick program for about a week before I got it right.

[tardy badger]

Yeah, I nearly broke my macOS installation

I need to make videos

[blissful roost]

Why would you make a video about nearly breaking MacOS!??!
It's only interesting when it really breaks. 😄

[tardy badger]

😝

[raw jasper]

Nice use of orange LEDs! Only place I've ever seen them otherwise is in ethernet ports

[tardy badger]

Yeah, these tend to look more orange than the amber they were listed to be 🤔

But it’s a great place to put them

[raw jasper]

They render orange on my screen 😅

[tardy badger]

They look orange in real life too

I also use them for charge status

[raw jasper]

I guess you have the honor of making the first FPGA devboard that charges, then

:P

[tardy badger]

Actually Orange Crab has LiPo Charging too

[raw jasper]

Aww it's a cute little devboard!

[tardy badger]

Orange crab is kind of wild

I want to pick one up one of these days

[late fulcrum]

I had a similar problem when trying to find some red LEDs but I wanted high brightness (50-100mA) ones, and most of them were too orange. I was eventually able to find some 660nm red ones rated for 1A that look great

[raw jasper]

Does the Lattice ECP5-25F have a built-in DDR3 controller IP? I should google that...

[tardy badger]

I think it does, if not it at least has a soft core

I believe it has a risc-v core running on it

[raw jasper]

I googled the datasheet, it looks like it has some sort of memory interface

"Dedicated DDR2/DDR3 and LPDDR2/LPDDR3 memory support with DQS logic, up to 800 Mb/s data-rate"

[tardy badger]

It’s pretty cool

[raw jasper]

It's just.. completely wild. It also has a crab logo on the bottom. That's a bonus too :P

[tardy badger]

Yeah lol

[tardy badger]

Green and blue tend to be the only ones that are easy to get true to what you want

[frigid tiger]

making videos makes sense since you get to monetize your creative process and market your products at the same time

[raw jasper]

Videos are less fun to go through when you have a problem you need to solve and are looking for something specific though...

[tardy badger]

I need to work on my narration voice

[blissful roost]

You need an amazing voice, like mine. 😄

... which is helped along by the fact that I have the perfect face for radio.

[raw jasper]

Currently came across and watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2SdSLCMKEA

Since people may find it interesting, I'm linking it here

[rapid geode]

who knows about mechanical keyboard pcb's?

[thick wind]

#keyboards

[rapid geode]

aha

thanks

[half plank]

Does anybody know of a good repository or something with a great esp32 ble the Xcode app

[dusty citrus]

I have no idea of what I am doing: I am using googlesites for doing a website(free hosting), register.it for domains (free domains), and cloudflare for getting a free ssl certificate; now the problem that I have is that mywebsite.org does not work, meanwhile www.mywebsite.org does work; online I saw someone using cloudflare's page rules, to make so that mywebsite.org forwards to the url www.mywebsite.org, but in my end it is not working ; asking chatgpt, I am not sure if it's just pasting random stuff or not, given my limited knowledge

[dusty citrus]

nvm fixed

I should've insert all of those values in point 4 AND enable the page forwarding https://support.google.com/a/answer/2579934?hl=en

or so I though I have again issues uff

[undone birch]

Which help channel is for circuit/logic design questions?

[late fulcrum]

Probably either #general-tech or #help-with-projects for general logic type questions or #help-with-hw-design for circuit-specific questions

[half plank]

What channel can help with Xcode app

[raw jasper]

I'm trying yosys tonight

There appears to be a bundle called the "oss cad suite" that includes everything I need to get started on my mac. If there's a better way, lemme know

[keen arrow]

I finally got the autofocus module working on the OpenMV camera with a firmware change and it works great. The only issue is that it doesn't seem to autofocus using any resolution higher than HD so if you need higher res than that I recommend you focus with HD then switch to your resolution.

[night crescent]

10pm ET, tonight! Desk of Ladyada - First Bones Board Proto Assembled! DVI Output from RP2040 https://youtu.be/V4DwelANTGs

[night crescent]

TUNE IN NOW! Desk of Ladyada - First Bones Board Proto Assembled! DVI Output from RP2040 https://youtu.be/V4DwelANTGs

[bold hamlet]

Is adafruit gonna make a new MagTag with the ESP32-S3

[ebon dew]

It doesn't make sense to use the S3 over the S2 for the MagTag until the developers get bluetooth working on the S3.

[vale quest]

wow... out of can m4's already... I could only afford one... I'm glad I got it... was going to order another one... but nope!

[neat coral]

hi everyone
i have 24 hours to do a planning time of AGV project devided in 2 parts : hardware and software , this agv system moves carts
any help ?

[raw jasper]

Sounds like somebody left their homework for the last minute.....

[neat coral]

I need to colect data , i dont know what information i should get

[wanton thistle]

so Im going down a rabbit hole and found out there are STM32 "clones" made by GD semiconductor. Same foot print and what not as STM32's but double the clock speed. Anyone ever use them?

[tardy badger]

I’ve seen mixed reviews but they seem to work fairly well

https://hackaday.com/2020/10/22/stm32-clones-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

[wanton thistle]

yea, thats where I found them. LCSC has them for the same price as the STM32G0. I just wonder how compatible they would be with STM's software 🤔

On Giga's website they dont list any software lol

eg, GD32E230F4P6TR. The datasheet for this part is surprisingly in full english. Uses a M23 core

Theres also this:
https://www.cnx-software.com/2015/12/21/gigadevice-gd32-is-a-faster-software-and-pin-to-pin-stm32-compatible-cortex-m3-mcu/

[fervent rain]

MacroPad RP2040 looks awesome, I want to create a portable computer type device with the screen and board around the same size as the macropad.
Any sugestion besides Pi (due to the crazy prices) for a low cost setup. I don't really mind the OS, it's more of an artistic build
Macropad: https://www.adafruit.com/product/5128

Also could I use a bluetooth or something similar to make the macropad wireless?

[dusty citrus]

anything cheaper to battery power up an esp32cam than this random conversion board and random battery pack? https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005004177149903.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.3.427bhRvEhRvEzN&algo_pvid=3c15ff85-4077-481e-b850-f3a6c4a90599&aem_p4p_detail=202303140511415009166356518170000348574&algo_exp_id=3c15ff85-4077-481e-b850-f3a6c4a90599-1&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id"%3A"12000028291230386"}&pdp_npi=3%40dis!EUR!4.99!3.74!!!!!%402145279016787959012622125d0715!12000028291230386!sea!IT!2021904661&curPageLogUid=9gpHoAUnWE6L&ad_pvid=202303140511415009166356518170000348574_2&ad_pvid=202303140511415009166356518170000348574_2

[thick wind]

My first thought would be a super low-cost Linux SBC like pine 0x64 or Mango pi. They’re not as convenient in terms of peripherals as a Pi, but they’re surprisingly functional for their price. Bit harder to develop with, but it would be a great fit.

As for Bluetooth, you would probably need to design a coprocessor and battery circuit, but as the available ports on the macro pad are quite limited, your only outward connections available on the adafruit macro pad is usb and a stemmaQT port, neither of which is ideal. In theory, a UART connection is possible with the two gpio on the stemmaQT, but I don’t know of any documented builds that do this.

[tardy badger]

Happy Pi Day everyone 🙂

https://tenor.com/view/pi-day-pusheen-gif-5173654

[raw jasper]

This is a lovely GIF!

[urban arrow]

Hi all. Non programming Qs here... I've heard LadyAda talk "bones" in the latest Desk, and before, but no idea what she's referring to. Not BeagleBone I assume... Just the "space" on a Feather? And 2) in the vids B4 they were not in the factory, her desk was out on the factory floor - does she have an actual office? Just curious.

[raw jasper]

I really need to change my avatar 😅

[tardy badger]

The RP2040 Feather Bones that she’s using to make all these new feathers with the RP2040

She is working from home with the baby, Desk of Ladyada is usually shot from her desk at home

[urban arrow]

Cool. Well, I'm jumping on the new Feather RP2040 DVI whenever avail... (along with 1,000 other folks)

[thick wind]

A stationary magnet should have no effect on RFID reads, but a strong magnet moving too quickly near the board could induce unsafe currents in the antenna coil.

[keen arrow]

Does anyone know how to remove/reduce the glare from a neopixel ring on a plastic background?

[timid wave]

Hmm 🤔
I mean i wouldnt say its weak magnet , but no reading will be done when its moving, so ig its all good ?

[thick wind]

Well, overcurrent can damage your electronics regardless of whether or not it’s reading, so I can’t say 100%, but given the size of the board and the turns on the coil, you’re likely fine.

[timid wave]

ohh , so u r saying that the induced current in the coil may damage the IC ?

[acoustic pawn]

Also depends on how the magnet is aligned with the coil

And in what direction and how fast it is moving

[wanton thistle]

Does anyone have a good resource for STM32 programming with the STM32 IDE? Could be a website, PDF or book. Just looking to read up a bit

[shadow siren]

I thought the STM32 site had a ton of examples and instructions

[vocal eagle]

Do we use discord threads on this server?

I didn't never tried threads

[wanton thistle]

Sometimes. Ive seen people do it when they have a long question or want to discuss a project

[vocal eagle]

Ok

[wanton thistle]

They do, but I always like to have a lot of resources on hand (just in case). It does seem that there is a lot out there though

So, I was just hoping someone here had a favorite

[opal silo]

Hey hey, everyone! new here, working on a circuitry project using the RP2040, and thought i'd join adafruit's discord just because

[tardy badger]

It’s a great place to join just because 🙂

[opal silo]

https://tenor.com/view/dancing-voting-day-celebrate-dog-silly-dog-gif-15479937

[raw jasper]

I literally just haunt #general-chat and #general-tech and it's been nice so far 😅

[opal silo]

im trying to build a wifi adaptor for the sega dreamcast, and its my first time building a PCB board, so I thought this would be a great place if I need help while designing the board

i know a bit of digital circuitry, but im not a pro, trying to learn to get a lot better.

[tardy badger]

#help-with-hw-design will be your new home 🙂

[raw jasper]

I've never designed a PCB and actually had it built before! However, #help-with-hw-design probably is right up your alley.

How are you planning to interface with the dreamcast? IIRC it only has a modem port

[opal silo]

Ah I posted in #help-with-projects I'll try hardware design instead.

[raw jasper]

I fear the RP2040 may be a bit on the underpowered side -- Have you actually prototyped it before committing to a PCB?

[opal silo]

ive built basic circuitry, built my own radios and oscellators, but never had it printed, and this will be my first time printing for production

im working on the prototype now, the functionality already works, people are connecting to dreamcast's network using raspberry pis as modems, however for the average user to get connected, they need to build a 9v line inducer, get compatitible USB phone modems for their pis, and it ends up costing like $100

i did the math and research and I think I can get users back online in retro gaming with chips that cost from between 25-50$ a unit

im trying to build the prototype now

i have parts for it coming it

[raw jasper]

I know about have heard of the dreampi project, which is why I was concerned that the RP2040 may not be sufficient

[opal silo]

that is what im reproducing. I reviewed their code, and if I can reproduce it with a pico and a hardware modem, I think it can be done a lot cheaper

[raw jasper]

And where will you source a hw modem from? IIRC most these days are softmodems that only speak with windows

[opal silo]

ive coded software modems before, hardware modems work very similar, it's just converting an analog signal to a digital signal using limiters to convert information into an 8-bit byte.

It's really similar to converting analog sound into digital

i would assume I can just build the circuit out of limiters and a chip (or a few) to read a byte from

[raw jasper]

You are going to implement V.90 by yourself?!

Mad props!

[opal silo]

i'm going to try. If I can't on my own, im going to go see if there's one built I can source form

it's my first circuit, it's probably a hardone, but i think I have enough knowledge in how analog and digital conversions work that I should be able to figure out the project with research in time

and ill learn to make my own chips in the process ❤️ that's good value right there

[raw jasper]

I doubt you'll be building an ASIC for a hobby project 😅

[opal silo]

i wanna make something similar for the gameboy link cable eventually too so people can play gameboy multiplayer online

[opal silo]

i was originally planning on something more multi-purpose, maybe plug the phone modem into the pi as an external device

but the modem is still needed there

because the dreamcast communicates through an RJ11 port.

the ethernet adaptor it released only supported like 6 games

[raw jasper]

I was commenting on the "building my own chips" part

[opal silo]

Ah, well my industry is computer science, when I mentioned gaining value learning to build my own chips, I meant it was something to put on a resume.

[raw jasper]

If you design and print a board, it will not be a chip (as in, an integrated circuit, IC), but rather a printed circuit board with a circuit connecting existing ICs

[opal silo]

oh I get what you're saying

lol sorry

[tardy badger]

You can definitely learn to build chips too lol

[raw jasper]

:this

But... it'd be best not to start with a V.90 modem in that case :P

[tardy badger]

https://tinyTapeout.com

[raw jasper]

I was about to link that -- Just doing a bit of preambling

[opal silo]

ooh this looks good

[tardy badger]

It’s good fun

I submitted to the first one 🙂

[raw jasper]

In any case, if you want to learn to build chips, you will have to learn a hardware design language first. I recommend verilog (because that's the one I know :P)

[tardy badger]

Verilog is considered “like C”

[opal silo]

I just opened easyEDA for the first time recently, i've never used PCB design software, but I have used circuit design software like LT Spice

[tardy badger]

So if you are familiar with C, it will probably easier to learn than VHDL

[opal silo]

I took digital electronics in high school but that was the length of circuitry to me

[tardy badger]

Amaranth is another HDL that’s growing in popularity

[opal silo]

im very familiar with C

[raw jasper]

If you want to learn verilog, https://hdlbits.01xz.net/wiki/Main_Page is a good resource

[opal silo]

awesome, thank you!

[tardy badger]

https://www.fpgakey.com/

Also a good resource

[raw jasper]

You will also probably want to buy an FPGA devboard.

[opal silo]

this is gonna be so much fun! I can't wait til my hardware comes in and I can start prototyping.

[raw jasper]

I have a bias towards recommending xilinx products, because that's what I'm familiar with, but lattice semiconductors has stuff that can be programmed using a fully open-source toolchain

[opal silo]

alright

[raw jasper]

I'll let skerr introduce you to them though if you want, because he is certainly more familiar with them than I am :P

[opal silo]

xilinx is amd?

[tardy badger]

It is now

[raw jasper]

And altera is intel

[opal silo]

FPGA boards are for designing circuits using gates?

[tardy badger]

They are for designing custom logic

Prototyping ASICS

[opal silo]

Dang, not badly priced, I was expecting to pay $800+ for one

im gonna do some research today of FPGA while im at my office

[tardy badger]

I’m working on a feather form factor smöl fpga dev board that uses a lattice semi chip

[opal silo]

nice

[tardy badger]

If you look in #crowd-supply there’s a link for the campaign there

[tardy badger]

I should tell you that I cut my teeth on Xilinx lol

That’s what I used for my digital systems design class and my digital logic class too

[raw jasper]

Yeah, I remember you uploading a video of you using the basys board from your uni days IIRC -- BTW, speaking of tinytapeout, since you submitted to the very first one, have you received your PCB at this point?

(Curious, since AFAIK the second one hasn't been produced yet , and would like to understand the timeline for these things)

[tardy badger]

No, I haven’t

[raw jasper]

Thanks for the info!

[timid anvil]

The headphone icon on my phone is on but no headphones plugged in

Ive tried cleaning the headphone jack

[dusty citrus]

Quick mechanical question
How can I put off this pulley without breaking it? It's stucked

[urban arrow]

Like somebody else said in the past, I have no idea what ya'll are talking about, but I love reading all this to learn if I can... I was a programmer my whole career, C, assembler, ASP..Net, HTML, Visual Basic, etc etc. And now CP. But never designed electronics. I'll leave that to ya'll and Lady Ada.😀 Oh yeah, COBOL CICS. Remember those? 😀

[whole jacinth]

that sort of thing isn't generally designed to be removed without damage. you might try something like a bearing puller (or maybe a plumbing stem puller?) but it will almost certainly cause at least superficial damage, and might break it

[opal silo]

If I taught myself to make integrated controllers and PCBs, how might it benefit my career already in a position of software architecture? I get the vibe that this is a skill that opens a lot of opportunities in comp sci.

[tardy badger]

It can help you get more embedded roles for sure

It might be hard to get purely hardware roles without an EE degree or founding your own company

[opal silo]

Feel it would make it a breeze to get through college if I take time to learn before I go. That's how I skipped college for software, haha. Started coding at 12 and picked up an internship at 19 without schooling and now I've been in the career for like 8years or so.

So even if I did need a degree. It wouldn't be hard to get one if I was already good at the skill

I'm not a fan of formal education, learn quicker and better on my own.

[tardy badger]

It tends to be hard to get into companies doing hardware without it unfortunately

Not impossible, just harder

[opal silo]

I getcha. Probably has to do with an industry quality thing.

[tardy badger]

Well, they sort of expect a good understanding of electrical and electronics fundamentals and good college level physics background

For a lot of places, the degree and interview process kind of secures this for them.

There are some people here like madbodger who have be working doing hardware and embedded type stuff for a good while without a formal degree.

[opal silo]

Wait wait wait. If I went to college for it I would be heavily involved in physics e.e

Maybe I should go back

[tardy badger]

Usually two levels of calculus based physics

And that gets more focused in your circuits and electronics classes

[opal silo]

Physics is one of my fave sciences. That sounds epic

I'm okay with calculus. I use it a bit in graphics rendering and data science.

Could probably get better tho

[tardy badger]

You’ll basically start with calc 1, engineering physics 1, probably some general education stuff like an intro to engineering course

[opal silo]

This sounds like a career with good money in it

[tardy badger]

Sure, you can make pretty good money

It’s exciting too

[opal silo]

Of course. I'm just like trying to make sure if I go back to school I'm not putting myself behind financially

[tardy badger]

The process of making something with your computer and machines making it, and it working is just.. mind blowingly awesome

[opal silo]

I'm already making a great salary off software so if I went back to pay for an ee degree id want to make sure I'm able to build on the career now and not career hopping cuz I feel career hopping would only hurt my value

It's something I want to learn but would only pay for college for if it contributed to my value in my field

More of a hands on make something kinda guy then a start a business one. Who knows

[tardy badger]

It would probably be a huge help for getting into embedded engineering that encompasses both the hardware and software stack

[opal silo]

I went through my software career pretty quick and tired of making rest services all the time, haha.

[thick wind]

It’s something that could be useful if you’re interested in developing physical devices, but whether it’s worth the money to go back to school is pretty subjective

[opal silo]

That's like driver development and stuff right?

[tardy badger]

It can be

[thick wind]

Do you currently have interest in diy electronics, like arduino or raspberry pi?

[tardy badger]

Firmware would probably be a more apt description

[opal silo]

I'm working on making a wifi chip for the Sega Dreamcast. I've made oscillators and radios at home and everytime I do I really enjoy myself.

[thick wind]

I think it’s worth playing with that kind of stuff to figure out whether or not this is something you would want to pursue professionally

[opal silo]

I think radio communication tech is amazing too

[thick wind]

Well, the interest sounds like it’s there.

[opal silo]

Word. Thanks for the information guys

[dusty citrus]

Generally the good things of schools, is that once done you're recommended by the school
The bad thing, it's lucrative

[thick wind]

Yeah, for professionals with experience on their resume, it’s not worth as much, but it helps a lot if you’re trying to enter a different technical space for the first time.

[tardy badger]

Yeah, the weird thing is degrees that are adjacent are not always taken seriously

Or adjacent experience too

[sleek crest]

Hello

Can I save data in a text file in the flash memory of MCU?

[tardy badger]

If it has USB MSC support, you should.

[sleek crest]

Ok, I just want put a text file in flash, and store data from a sensor

[raw jasper]

In that case, your MCU's toolchain should provide the relevant functions for writing to its flash

You can consult the manufacturer's docs, or, if it's a reasonably popular one, Dr. Google for a tutorial ;)

...Or you could tell us what your MCU is here. Perhaps somebody could be of assistance

[tardy badger]

If it’s a microchip or STM32, they have examples as part of their IDEs that show how this works.

[unkempt hearth]

The new CAN bus featherwing looks pretty cool, it even has provisions for a OBD connector for a vehicle. But I can't seem to find much in the way of how to use it to read PIDs etc. from a vehicle. There seems to be a MCP2515 library based on CANIO for circuitpython, but internet examples appear to be pretty sparse other than communications between MCUs. Which I guess would be useful over long distances in noisy environments.

[unkempt hearth]

and while I'm pondering it just came into stock apparently

[opal silo]

decided to post it in hw help

[glossy knoll]

You'll want to find an OBD-II library that can decode standard OBD-II PGNs

Usually the library will tell you the baud rate too, I can't remember what it is usually for OBD-II

[burnt tendon]

I mean, all it takes is a CAN do attitude and some code.

[ebon dew]

https://tenor.com/view/cat-support-moral-gif-23655409

[crystal ore]

Yep, and a little automotivation.

[unkempt hearth]

come for the helpful and great community, stay for the puns and dad jokes XD

[night crescent]

WE ARE LIVE! SHOW AND TELL! https://youtu.be/XWLtwaJF4Xg

[vivid turret]

Hi. Is there a name given to the technique where you use a GPIO for RF? (Like in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lGU7PjJM7k)

[raw jasper]

emission security violation? 😅

[vivid turret]

I'm trying to shrink a circuit. I could get an MCU with integrated RF, but my use case is very simple. Just wondering if I could pick even smaller MCUs and just do the RF myself.

[tardy badger]

You could

How small do you need?

[vivid turret]

Currently looking at PIC10F200

[tardy badger]

Have you looked at the ESP32 Pico D4 modules?

They are smöl

[vivid turret]

I'm trying to keep costs down too. I'm only transmitting. I might need like ~100 of them

[tardy badger]

What protocol?

Bluetooth?

[vivid turret]

ESP32 would be overkill for what I'm doing... and Pico D4 has lots of pins and would just be harder for me to solder. (Consider that I need to do 100 of them)

Any protocol. Right now, I'm letting this part (the transmitter) dictate what the Rx would be

But yeah, probably not Bluetooth

[late fulcrum]

I'm still trying to imagine doing Bluetooth with a GPIO

[tardy badger]

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/IN100-Q1-R-RC1I/15652915

This is a Bluetooth Tx module that’s really cheap

Featured on Ask an Engineer

[vivid turret]

Thanks. this is pretty neat

[tardy badger]

You’d use a stencil to paste it, toss it in a toaster oven or on a hot plate

[vivid turret]

True. I've got a hot plate

Still haven't used it though lol

[raw jasper]

Probably a better choice than a literal toaster :P

[tardy badger]

Toaster oven lol

We’re all civilized here

[vivid turret]

Was also looking at some microchip MCUs. (PIC12F529T39A and that family)

[tardy badger]

I’ve never used PIC

[raw jasper]

I missed the "oven" part and was imagining somebody toasting the boards

[vivid turret]

But there's not much on the internet about them, so I'd be doing stuff somewhat solo.

[late fulcrum]

I'm not - now I'm tempted to reflow something in a toaster

[tardy badger]

Lol

[raw jasper]

Honestly, if you're gonna do bt, might as well go arm

[vivid turret]

It's only deemed a success if you toast bread in the other slot at the same time

[raw jasper]

Please don't

[tardy badger]

Forbidden toast

[late fulcrum]

Way to set the bar

[vivid turret]

don't need to eat it though

probably shouldn't use that toaster (for food) after you reflow anything in it... just to be sure

[late fulcrum]

Shouldn't use at all, or shouldn't use for food?

[vivid turret]

for food

[raw jasper]

yup, that's right, take-home lead/secondary lead exposure is a thing

[vivid turret]

I vaguely remember seeing that video where somebody modified an actual iron so they could reflow.
Lots of effort though. Much cheaper just to buy a hot plate.

I was sort of shocked by how cheap it was tbh

[raw jasper]

Depending on the price, you could just buy one to keep your coffee warm :P

[vivid turret]

too right

Although you could go one step further and get one of those magnetic stirrers that also heat up

not that expensive either..

~$100 AUD on ebay

that's like 20 coffees (bought out)

[raw jasper]

And a micropipette to precisely measure... cream? Dunno, that'd prolly jam it :P

[vivid turret]

I'm sure there's some baristas using chemistry equipment to make the perfect coffee

(for measurement)

[raw jasper]

I mean, molecular cooking is a thing

[night crescent]

WE ARE LIVE! ASK AN ENGINEER! https://youtu.be/VLiOhA-G6GE

[wanton thistle]

I did a thing

[lapis dirge]

Yep, I get that every week when the new stuff come out!

[rapid geode]

so im designing a keyboard and i thought of the most evil idea ever. on april 1st, have it pop up a message saying your keyboard subscription has expired and you need to pay $14.99 to continue using it.

[acoustic pawn]

Whenever you press a key, it just prints that message

[lusty fossil]

Thingy I'm working on

Non electronic

There are cad errors here but it works still

[rapid geode]

every day you dont pay one more key is disabled

[tardy badger]

https://tenor.com/view/shrek-you-are-a-monster-ginger-bread-man-gif-5848676

[rapid geode]

put a slot in the keyboard to accept a dollar coin. which shorts a circuit

haha

[tardy badger]

https://tenor.com/view/shrek-lord-farquad-monster-im-not-the-monster-here-gif-14053566

[rapid geode]

haha

[tardy badger]

Such a great movie

[ebon dew]

https://tenor.com/view/short-circuit-gif-11240806

[late fulcrum]

I did actually use a micropipette to meter out 13µl doses of epoxy (fancy optical grade stuff, sold in 4g packs) for a project once. Sure it was massive overkill, but that's fun sometimes.

[wanton thistle]

https://tenor.com/view/write-that-down-taking-notes-school-universities-university-gif-17937210
Microsoft be like:

[rapid geode]

hahqa

[raw jasper]

Well, you were certainly sure you mixed equal parts epoxy and plasticizer. really equal parts 😅

[raw jasper]

To be fair, microsoft actually makes some pretty decent peripherals

[tardy badger]

https://tenor.com/view/clippy-microsoft-office-word-publisher-gif-5630386

[raw jasper]

Ye Gods, I had forgotten Clippy would wink

[tardy badger]

Lol

Get over here you big ole word processing god, you.

Lemme show you so.. bites lip amazing tools to make your document better

Clippy was always so creepy to me

I didn’t like it

Freaked me out as a kid lol

[raw jasper]

I don't like virtual assistants of any kind. Interestingly, the various IDE popups before you set them to stop sometimes remind me of clippy

"It looks like you imported numpy. Would you like to switch to the scientific layout?"

[tardy badger]

It looks like you’re using Verilog, do you want me to install this sketchy package I found?

[raw jasper]

Ah yeah, good ol' VS Code

[glossy knoll]

"I found a package to deal with .hackMyPuter files, do you want to install it right this second?"

[tardy badger]

Basically

My big gripe with VS code is once you install something like nRF Connect plug-ins, it just assumes everything is an nRF project

Or insert whatever other platform specific plugin

[glossy knoll]

Yeah, I have the same issue with the C/C++ extension- I installed it then opened a big ol' JavaScript project which had a bunch of C/C++ stuff in node_modules and vscode decided that it should index all of them for Intellisense

[raw jasper]

Would it be possible to make different profiles, like firefox?

[tardy badger]

I never actually build within VS Code, I just use it for when I need to manage big files

[raw jasper]

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/profiles huh

[tardy badger]

I’m too lazy for that 😬

[glossy knoll]

Otherwise I'm a big fan of it- did full C++ development from it and needless to say it's loads better than Eclipse-based nonsense

[raw jasper]

Uhh... eclipse.... :(

[glossy knoll]

Yeah it's the worst. Until fairly recently it was the only supported IDE for doing CUDA debugging. Thankfully you can do it in vscode now

[tardy badger]

Not me over here vim’ing and using TextEdit

🫣

[raw jasper]

I use vim too! And install vim bindings to all my IDEs

[shadow siren]

Did you see the new extension for VS code for STM32 coding

Official from ST

[tall iron]

There is???

[steel moss]

https://newsroom.st.com/media-center/press-item.html/t4536.html

[glossy knoll]

"P.S. you still have to use CubeMX though lol gottem"

[wanton thistle]

https://www.st.com/content/ccc/fragment/product_related/rpn_information/product_circuit_diagram/group0/10/c5/6f/c5/e0/74/44/d0/bd_stm32l422/files/bd_stm32l422.jpg/jcr:content/translations/en.bd_stm32l422.jpg
"Conytoller"

😉 and dont worry, I submitted a ticket for correction lol

[kindred jasper]

Anyone have experience with this thing?: https://www.adafruit.com/product/4694

I just bought it to upgrade from my 128x64 display. Hopefully this one’s driver works better with zephyr and LVGL because my current display driver is a 24/7 headache

[ebon dew]

@kindred jasper https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-sharp-memory-display-breakout

If you intend on using it with Arduino or Circuit Python the drivers are available and work well.

[kindred jasper]

Not exactly what I was asking for, I know where to find the documentation. Planning on using with Zephyr, so standard C. More just looking for people’s personal experiences with it so I can justify having spent $50

[ebon dew]

@sick adder has a guide where he used one for a calculator: https://learn.adafruit.com/diy-rpn-desktop-calculator-with-circuitpython

I've heard they're high quality displays. I've never personally used one but from what I've heard they're pretty nice.

[glossy knoll]

No personal experience but Adafruit's Arduino library for it should give you enough to get it going in straight C: https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_SHARP_Memory_Display. It's SPI + a couple extra pins so nothing terribly exotic, though depending on your application you may need to maintain your own framebuffer

[kindred jasper]

Got it! Thank you both for the info, definitely sounds doable then

[kindred jasper]

Sweet, thanks!

[glossy knoll]

Seems that way! Sometimes the controllers used on the 128x64 displays are wonky- have a look at the u8g2 library sometime and check out all the weird one-offs that get dealt with in there!

[ebon dew]

So I registered on Steam today as "API Developer"... it wasn't taken. Score.

[blissful roost]

Oh dear

[rapid geode]

i registered as an apple developer because i have an apple tree

:x

[cyan salmon]

Atleast your not frontend

anyway

What would be best Bluetooth module be for a rc car

Im guessing Bluetooth 4.0 module

[ebon dew]

Anything with BLE really just keep in mind BLE is very short range.

For an RC car I'd expect it to use some type of RF scheme instead if you want it to go more than like 20 feet away.

[kindred jasper]

BLE can reach some pretty far distances with coded PHY and an open area but I agree that it's not ideal for an RC car

[kindred jasper]

Have you used u8g2? I've been on the fence about whether I want to use LVGL (it's probably overkill for a monochrome) or something like u8g2 or ugfx.

[glossy knoll]

Yep! I’ve used it off and on since it was u8glib and had good results with it/ even used it for some eInk displays

[vocal eagle]

Why does some names end with (he/him) (he/she/it). I see it the first time.

[raw jasper]

They're simply the user's preferred pronouns. In other words, they are the pronouns you should use should you refer to the person listing them in the third person

[dusty citrus]

I was seeing example resumes
And I noticed a portfolio section to showcase skills
Now I have the following problem, what if I am not willing to showcase my projects?
Should I just make up some quick low quality use case?

[wanton thistle]

I would make something that's useful, and document it as best you can on github. Then include that on your resume.

Can I ask why you aren't willing to show case your current projects?

[dusty citrus]

They have a market and I don't want xy person to make a knock off out some resume
I don't have enough money to make a good looking product and that's why I need first a job to get some money then trying to sell a product

I mean if it's some drawings like my user pick I don't really care, it's not a profitable market anyway

[thick wind]

The portfolio section is used to showcase the best of you, so best not to throw low quality work in there just for the sake of filling in a section. If you have anything, even if it’s incomplete, you should select projects that reflect the quality of your skills and work.

If you don’t want to share your GitHub or source files, that’s fine. You only need a description of your ongoing or completed projects on the resume. Just be prepared to talk about it when they ask about it, whether it’s about the successes you’ve achieved, or the challenges and failures you learned from.

Heck, I’m pretty sure my “projects” section is just a bunch of old college projects I’ve worked on, most of which I’ve long lost the source code for…

[tardy badger]

I try to update my projects section when I apply for new roles

[urban arrow]

Gee thanks... hadn't seen this before... your temptin' me just when I'm saving up for Feather DVI 😀

[lusty fossil]

RIP Lance Reddick

[ebon dew]

Didn't know him personally but he played the part of an exemplary gentlemen to perfection.

[blissful roost]

Indeed he did.

[fierce prawn]

If I give all my client a original and a payload and after they compute they need to submit it and if they match and the count used is same then they will get coins

What should I call this and will they all finish at the same time
Blockchain seems inappropriate cz I didn't use crypto hashes

Randomchain?

[blissful roost]

Zerochain ?

[vague smelt]

Does anyone use this library?

https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Python_Shell

It brags with "how to build documentation" on the bottom of the page. Not only does it fail to properly link its own documentation - it seems to be accessible only via the small docs widgets near the top of the README - those are also only API docs, and not showing any examples for casual use cases.

[ebon dew]

https://docs.circuitpython.org/projects/shell/en/latest/index.html

Here's a learn guide that uses it for the Raspberry Pi. You can probably extrapolate if you're running from a Linux PC instead of SBC. https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-on-raspberrypi-linux/installing-circuitpython-on-raspberry-pi

We have channels for #help-with-linux-sbcs and #help-with-circuitpython which are better places to get more specialized help from those who usually only hang out in those channels.

There's also this link https://pypi.org/project/adafruit-python-shell/ which is in the github repo you linked to.

https://pypi.org/

[ebon dew]

You're right, the python shell github repo fails to link to the ReadTheDocs which would have been more helpful.

[vague smelt]

Thanks a lot

(It does so in the widget)

[ebon dew]

Hope that gets you headed in the right direction.

[vague smelt]

Yeah. I still miss the simple information, how I can launch shell commands and receive their output

Thanks for your help!

[ebon dew]

At the bottom of every learn guide is a place where you can submit feedback.

https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-on-raspberrypi-linux/installing-circuitpython-on-raspberry-pi

You could also submit feedback directly to that Github repo too. That might be a better idea as the example it seems you really wanted doesn't exist in the repo itself.

@vague smelt Create an issue request in the repo https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_Python_Shell/issues

[brittle condor]

Hello, i'm trying to use micropython on my rp2040w but i get Traceback (most recent call last): File "<stdin>", line 43, in <module> OSError: [Errno 98] EADDRINUSE every time, any help?
code -> https://pastebin.com/rj0XGFf1

nvm turns out my router though it was still connected ...

[ebon dew]

these things happen

[thorn flax]

I finally got a 3D printer

I really happy with it

[raw jasper]

Enjoy!

[blissful roost]

About to go pick up one of these beasties. 😁

[ebon dew]

@thorn flax You’re welcome to join the #help-with-3dprinting channel. We do 3D design and printing in there. 😊

[thorn flax]

👌🏼 Ok

[fierce prawn]

I encrypted the drive i use to store ssl certs and ca certs

luks encryption

[blissful roost]

Sure luks like encryption to me....

.. sorry

[fierce prawn]

it is

you need password to unlock it

[slim vigil]

Where's the best place to ask about inventory/status of a particular product? Specifically, I'm wondering if production of the magtags (https://www.adafruit.com/product/4800) will continue (they've been out of stock for awhile) or if we should find other options. We use them in training and employee onboarding at the moment.

[tardy badger]

Online multiplayer games like Fortnite: conference calls will occasional shooting

[crystal ore]

I figure that's how the Metaverse will come into being. Some game that becomes so popular that it just becomes a default destination for random social gatherings and eventually serious business too.

[lapis dirge]

What happened to the Sony PS3 virtual social hangout place?

I tried it couple times ..... didn't really understand it too much. It was a place to gather and talk but no one talked. Until someone dressed as a female showed up.

[wooden schooner]

in my limited understanding, this is basically the story of WeChat in China

[tardy badger]

It would make meetings that much more interesting

[raw jasper]

Thanks, I prefer zoom

[tardy badger]

I prefer emails myself

[raw jasper]

I mean, if it has to be a meeting, I'd rather have it on a conference app than in a second life-esque virtual 3D environment thing

Imagine having to own a gaming PC to get on a meeting

[tardy badger]

Fortnite is a game, not really a second life thing

It’s temporary too so it would probably be better. Plus sessions are hosted on servers rather than your own computer. You could join from your phone

Plus most video conferencing apps have worse audio quality than online games to which is honestly pretty funny

I’m not advocating for games as meeting places, I just thought the description of online games like Fortnite was funny

[raw jasper]

I haven't gamed in .... some time. It shows. :P

[tardy badger]

“Let’s take a quick break from the agenda and play a round. Winner gets a personal pizza next in person meeting” lol

[rapid geode]

so, the sad part about this is if i want to sell them (not sure yet, right now just xmas presents), the cardboard box costs more than the keyboard case.

[tardy badger]

How much is the case?

[raw jasper]

Finally, a person with foresight. Preparing for Christmas presents before Easter time

:P

[rapid geode]

oh, i dont know the retail price yet if there is one. but, the wood (it will be wood) is like $6. the frp plate is $3, and the box is $25

you know, the part people throw in the garbage

sigh

hah

[raw jasper]

O_O

[rapid geode]

if you make a million units, im sure boxes are cheap, but a custom printed box in a run of 100 -500 is mental

totally non viable

[tardy badger]

Why is the box costly?

How big?

[rapid geode]

i assume cause the pressing die is most of the price in that volumne

[raw jasper]

Solution: Pack them in paper bags, like amazon has started doing for their packages

[rapid geode]

bit like cnc. one is $1000. 10 is $1000, 100 is $1001

hehe

[tardy badger]

Ah, yeah. You could go with a generic size

And just do custom foam which would be cheaper

[rapid geode]

i havent found a viable generic size, since keyboards are long and thin

foam is waaay more money

its tempting to just make an eva foam permanent case, and bubble pack it.

cause then at least the $25 package is kept and adds value

(i can make my own eva case too in low volume with mdf molds)

anyhow. 1st world problems hjaha

the first 10 for xmas dont really need a shipping box

[tardy badger]

https://www.fastpack.net/12-x-6-x-2-long-corrugated-cardboard-shipping-boxes-25-bundle/

Get a box like this a slap a sucker on it

Stickers are cheaper lol

[rapid geode]

too small

but, good link, thats a viable price

thanks

[tardy badger]

How big is your keyboard?

More than 30cm?

[rapid geode]

12.5"

[tardy badger]

Oof

[rapid geode]

yup

haha

[tardy badger]

Just ever so slightly to big

[rapid geode]

x 5"

yteah

so then you need tons of foam ofrr filler

[raw jasper]

Slap a sucker
😆

[rapid geode]

for trashj

[tardy badger]

Lol

Autocorrect strikes again

[rapid geode]

no, the suckers are the people that pay for mechical keyboards

did i dsay that out loud?

😛

nah

[raw jasper]

I guess it's a matter of preference.

[rapid geode]

yeah, most of it is purely an art thing. like buying nicer kitchen dishes.

BUT, some of it is... nonsense

ha

im steering clear of that

[raw jasper]

I mean, I guess some people want their keyboards to look nice if they're going to be being in the same room with them for 8+ hours straight

[raw jasper]

Personally, I prefer keyboards that do not require too much actuation force. That's... definitely not mechanical keyboards

[rapid geode]

i also understand the feel and sound aspect too

but theres some other oddball tech theories ive seen...

[rapid geode]

depends on the keys. thats kinda the point, you buy switches that fit the feel. they have a longer thrwo than some modern keyboards for sure

[raw jasper]

I dunno. I'm pretty satisfied with my macbook's built-in keyboard :P

[rapid geode]

you are lost

😛

[raw jasper]

It's not the butterfly keyboard

[rapid geode]

but yeah. my brother (a writer) was like... does it make a letter on the screen when youhit a key? if yess, good enough

we threw away like 50 mac pro keyboards cause noone in the office wanted to touch them

not a single person

[tardy badger]

Interesting

[raw jasper]

Perhaps the one that's built into the laptop is better..?

[rapid geode]

im not sure. the mac pro keyboard was the flat one with the aluminium frame

zero ergonomics

even by apples standard of poor ergonomics

ha

[raw jasper]

I dunno. This one's a standard laptop keyboard.

...And dragging around an external keyboard for a laptop, which is supposed to be a portable machine is... sub-optimal :P

[rapid geode]

i used on in my shop for a bit, but any dust that got under the keys would jam them

and eventually i dropped it and it bent in half

ha

[raw jasper]

If mine did that, I'd have been driven mad by now :P

https://i.pcmag.com/imagery/reviews/01LG7X66NKFgNRZSIDI1qsc-9..v1635091939.jpg

That's how mine looks

[rapid geode]

see, thats very similar, BUT, your palms res on the laptop body which helps a lot

[raw jasper]

Sounds about right

It also doesn't jam with the slightest speck of dust

[rapid geode]

the mac pro was to thik for a palm rest, too high for flat, no pitch angle. in addition to having no key profile and a 1mm throw

i dont think its well loved even by apple fan boys

[raw jasper]

Funny story: I'm not an apple fan boy, I was just shopping around for my next machine and was curious enough to want to get an ARM-based workstation that ran some sort of UNIX. Apple had the only viable solution

[rapid geode]

yeah not a lot of arm ":pcs"

some industrial ones

but even then mostly meant for windows ce

[raw jasper]

I'm planning to run asahi linux on it once apple ceases support. It will hopefully have matured by then

[rapid geode]

ive only ever run windows on a mac

haha

i think we sent the last dozen to the recycler 😦

they were shiny

[tardy badger]

I like macs/apple products, but there are certainly things that apple has done lately that just don't really fall in line with what made them a great company before

[rapid geode]

well, as a corporation they are being bad right now for sure.

i havent really looked at the products in a while though

but every corporation is kinda bad

some more than others

ha

speakingof, i need to order some guest bedroom things from amazon, cause that about the only place i can get them by tomorroe.

i think id have to sell the keyboard on amazon as well. most other routes would make the keyboard cost 20-40% more.

😦

mostly related to sshipping

[tardy badger]

I don't think there is really any way to avoid unethical consumption in our current world. sadly

[rapid geode]

(shipping from canada is horrible

yeah

you can pick one, say, tesla, but they you are hypocritical for buying and iphone, or shopping amazon, or just using google.

[tardy badger]

if we spend our time trying to avoid people who's products support bad people we'd probably be hungry, without clothing, homes, etc..

It's fine to have preferences for sure, like not wanting to shop with amazon.

[rapid geode]

reminds me of vegan. a truely non hypocritical vegan would starve

[tardy badger]

it's just a fine like to walk because there are every day people trying to support their families who don't really have many options.

though a handful of people avoiding Amazon probably isn't hurting their bottom line

[rapid geode]

well, thats a big thing for me. especially with countries. "dont buy from x". but who is that helping, not the poor people in that country.

its good to try and put pressure on the companies though in lots of ways.

twitter is actually good for that

if your company did something bad, the people will tell you about it

just a question of if you listen.

many companies do listen

ok, so here's a product i dont get. why would i want green tea in my mattress/

?

[tardy badger]

is it a therapeutic mattress?

[rapid geode]

no, just plain ol memory foam

nearest i can understand is it makes it smell less "rubber"

[tardy badger]

huh okay

i've never worried to much about the smell of mattresses

[rapid geode]

well i had a meory foam one before and they do smell out of the box for a while.

after a few days its gone

local store bought cloth/coil whatever matresses dont smell, but they also dont cost $299

trades

ha

[tardy badger]

hehe yeah

I have like a $300 one from Walmart that has a memory foam top and interspring under that

in other news, "I'm printing a box"

it's a little PCB holder that has slots for me to glue magnets in to stick to my PCB stencil jib thingy

[rapid geode]

neat

[tardy badger]

but basically a box

[rapid geode]

maybe i can 3d print packaging for the keyboard

hahaha

[tardy badger]

I've seen that in some commercial packaging

[rapid geode]

put some cavities in for spray foam

hm

i wonder

main downside is time. 1 hour or more to print a box

[tardy badger]

you could get a foam cutting thing and use a template or something

[rapid geode]

but its custom fitted and $5-$10

hm

[tardy badger]

then you would have a tool for down the road too, and who doesn't like more tools

[rapid geode]

toys

i could do a blister pack

haha

[tardy badger]

you could make a vacuum molder

[rapid geode]

vac molder is easy

[tardy badger]

just need a heat gun and like 15 minutes

[rapid geode]

the petg for the molding is still over $1 per keyboard

bah

plus printed card

man

haha

[tardy badger]

not terrible

custom keyboards on amazon regularly sell for $40+

so you've got some margin to play with

[rapid geode]

well its kinda terrible, cause it still then need foam, and bubble packing

mine will be about $99us for case and plate

which is on par with quality wood cases

[tardy badger]

yeah

[rapid geode]

but at this minute, im not sure if thats worth while. especially of packing will cost so much. takes away all the profit

(or you raise the price up)_

[tardy badger]

what are your material and assembly costs?

at say, producing 100 units

[rapid geode]

plate is jlcpcb, about $3 us a pop

wood is between $5 and $20, depending on type

sandinf, finsihing etc are another $1-$4

[tardy badger]

could you buy bulk scrap from a carpentry shop?

[rapid geode]

screws and o rings are $1

not really, wood is rather expensive, so even shorts are high priced

pandemic pricing in full effect, for no valid reason

[tardy badger]

start a service hauling scraps? lol

offer to get them for free?

[rapid geode]

like the maple literally comes from with 100km of me. no excuse

it doesnt really matter. to buy a 5" pre dressed board saves me time, and costs negligable vs the total retail price.

in usd maple is like $4 a foot, and some more fancy stuff is $8-$12

no biggie

[tardy badger]

not terrible

I pay like... $6 a foot for white pine and similar

[rapid geode]

they have some nice live edge apple slabs.

live edge keyboard. mmm

[tardy badger]

sounds fancy

[rapid geode]

theres a lot of room for limited batches which is nice. make 5 apple ones for $125, or whatever

pretty streamlined

so really hardest part right now is to find a way to pack them safely

being wood, they need to be much more protected than plastic

blister pack would be funny. but i dont think it would offer any safety

[tardy badger]

probably need some combination of bubble pack and molded packaging

[rapid geode]

osb

does math

$1ish cdn per square foot for 1" thick

machine a 2 sided crate.

screw together

haha

spray with lacquer and a decal

[tardy badger]

lol

[rapid geode]

you know that might be the best bet. $1ish per "crate" for osb. plain cut single layer foam lining. some screws, cheap poly finish, decal or screen print or sublimated logo. only a few mins work for each one.

and youll be "that one that sends keyboards out in a crate"

the price dfifference for amazon fulfilment is negligable, and their centre is only 10km from me so i can have a truick bring a pallet there

hmm

[raw jasper]

...you'll also have to consider how postage-friendly each type of packaging would be

[rapid geode]

yes

[raw jasper]

If push comes to shove, you could even send them in a padded envelope

:P

[rapid geode]

no they would get destroyed

actually, might vac seal the crate. to keep it dry and humidity stable

not rally vac sealed i guess, but tight fitting

[raw jasper]

Would your thing be affected by humidity?

[rapid geode]

its made of wood

soo yes

[raw jasper]

Ah.

[sharp nexus]

https://www.adafruit.com/product/2772

i connect this to IDE

how do you connect a pin to Bluetooth?

[tardy badger]

There ya go

[tardy badger]

If you’re using Arduino, probably best to ask in #help-with-arduino

[sharp nexus]

thank you.

@rapid geode WOW

I like it.

[rapid geode]

thanks

now i need to make some. im rearanging the house this week so i should have the cnc hooked up in a useful place soon. ill have to order the plates. i think i have everything else on hand

oh, some o rings and stainless screws from mcmaster

[sharp nexus]

you have cnc?

[rapid geode]

yes

[rapid geode]

goes back to installing floors

i flooded my kitchen by accident. sigh

haha

[tardy badger]

whoops lol

[rapid geode]

man, thats going to take a week to dry enough to lay the hardwood onto it

sigh

its only a small area

but, meh

[tardy badger]

get a large hot air blower?

spend about $10 in electricity drying it out

[rapid geode]

10.... hjahahhaha

you funny

cost more than $10 to cook dinner

i feel bad for countries that actually have expensive electricity. it must be horrible

[tardy badger]

I spend maybe $1.50 a night cooking dinner.

maybe $3 if I use the oven

[rapid geode]

i just made that number up. let me see. 2.5kw for 12 mins. for pasta and sauce. ha, ok, thats like 4.25 cents

then why is my power bill so high!?

oh, right, heating

[tardy badger]

lol..

my power bill in the winter is pretty cheap, $85-$95 a month

mostly driven by the fact that my wife likes to keep the air circulating at night and my electric cooktop and oven

summer time AC runs the bill up over $250 in the summer

[rapid geode]

in winter it gets up over $200cdn. summer with ac is more like $60

(small house)

[sharp nexus]

this month my heating bill ra over 400$ because tehy used me over at offie

[rapid geode]

it will go down when i finally get a heat pump

[tardy badger]

my gas bill is cheap in the summer, just $25

but it's nearly $100 a month over the winter

[rapid geode]

i have no gas to this house

[tardy badger]

the water heater and the heater for the hvac is gas

[rapid geode]

ah

yeah, everything is electric in this house

[tardy badger]

sometimes I'd prefer electric everything

no carbon monoxide alarms going off at 2am

[rapid geode]

electric is better in every way, except when you need high instant power.

like an instant water heater. electric ones need like 100 amps

which is silly

[tardy badger]

yeah, that's quite a bit