general-chat

[terse lion]

got it

[terse lava]

My best guess is a JST PA series connector. Perhaps this one? https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/jst-sales-america-inc/PAP-02V-S/759974

[velvet pelican]

Possibly the high box type shown in the data sheet

This is the other end and it what i am looking for. So not directly tied a board but a pigtail type or something i can pin into

I looked for 4 hours and didnt find an exact match tho

[terse lava]

If you have easy access to both sides of that cable connection (which seems to be the case since you are able to photograph them in your hand) but need to replace one side, you simply cut them BOTH off and put whatever paired connectors you have?

[velvet pelican]

I had already thought of that. The reason i dont like the idea is then if the light goes out again i have to redo the light side of the connector. Might just put in a couple jumper cables for my arduino and plug them in individually. Not like i am driving it down the road or something so i dont think they will come out if they arent clipped in

[velvet pelican]

Yep that method of using jumpers and patching them in worked. About 10 cents of materials as opposed to buying the 3 light harness at 120$ was worth it. Thanks @terse lava for pulling that connector up tho its much appreciated. Just wish they would stamp the connector id into it so it could take out the guesswork

[fallen vector]

Hey fellas! New around here so dont know what channels is best suited but Im looking for a little tutoring on BLE Mesh on my Adafruit Feather Sense board (NRF52840) so if anyone has any experience of this let me know :;D

[cloud wind]

Anyone having troubles with shipping?

Website states shipped.

[umbral phoenix]

holiday weekend; also USPS status is not always up to date

[cloud wind]

Oh well... I guess I'll keep reloading the page every two minutes.

[whole jacinth]

it's a pretty common state when a retailer has applied the postage but hasn't brought the package to the post office (or had a pickup) yet

[night crescent]

Desk of Ladyada! Post-Turkey updates from Ladyada! We tested new boards (minor FPC tweak, no respin needed) and started designing a sleek WLED board with help from firepixie & the community. Plus, check out The Great Search for high-power diodes and Day 1 of Retrocomputing Advent: Apple II nostalgia! https://youtu.be/JL_V4hA1TZE

[cloud wind]

Just the website says shipped... so I wonder what Adafruit's up to.

[little dust]

I inadvertently bought an Adafruit Feather 328P for a project. It is now sitting waiting for its place in the world. Does anyone have any ideas that I could use it for?

[thick wind]

That is a question I ask every time I look at my growing collection of unutilized development boards.

I’ve had many an answer, but rarely ever followed through

[whole jacinth]

probably more useful (because smaller) than a 328P Arduino Uno, unless you specifically need to use an Arduino shield

[thick wind]

The 5v UNO probably does better specifically for neopixels, and has the benefit of being able to use a wider range of power supplies. The feather has its advantages in portable battery powered projects for sure.

[little dust]

Well, that settles it will go in the box of Things till it comes up that I need this board! Oh poo.

[pearl olive]

I'm looking to use the Adafruit LTR390 UV Sensor for my son's science project. The idea is to measure the amount of UV protection of sunscreens and spf's applied to glass microscope slides. How granular or sensitive can the sensor be calibrated for? Anyone have a any ideas for sensor settings that would work better than the example sketch?

Thanks in advance.

[ocean terrace]

In this scenario, the glass microscope slide might block some of the UV light itself, so I'd experiment on different substrates. Maybe it will work though!

[pearl olive]

I was thinking we may try Saran wrap to see if there is any difference in transmission without anything applied to the surfaces.

[cloud wind]

still. waiting.

adafruit why must you bamboozle me

if it doesnt ship by today im opening a support ticket

[umbral phoenix]

Nov 30 was a Saturday. I had a recent order that was in that status for several days.

I wouldn't be surprised that in addition to the vaugaries of shipping statuses, the holiday sales have put an atypical load on the shipping department.

I have received responses to shipping inquiries quickly.

[cloud wind]

Yeah, that's true, but the website states shipped. Just wondering why Adafruit would display that if it didn't actually ship yet.

[thick wind]

With USPS, Adafruit's "shipped" could be a package in a drop box, yet to actually be picked up by the post office.

[clear stone]

Yeah i have that often in MANY thing, pi parts, my 3d printer parts...etc etc..sigh.usually i have to wait until the shipping company creates a tracking number and even then it is funny watching it bounce around. i use a shipping tracking app to track my shipments on the phone. funny but irritating when you see it get close then suddenly say it is going back to source to then say it is being delivered tomorrow. The app i have i allow it to scan my e-mails. it will auto pick up fedex, ups, an usps. amazon ones i have to use amazon tracking or put it in manually (or give it my amazon password which i shall nottt do. [ it tracks the emails by phone notifications])

[ruby pasture]

Hey everyone! I'm curious to hear your thoughts on whether an Electronics Engineering student would find an Apple MacBook useful. Are there any electronic engineering-related software options that work well in a Mac environment?

🤔

[thick wind]

Yes and no. A lot of the main tools used are available across multiple platforms, though there may be some quirks that make development on a Mac a bit more of a hassle.

That being said, I’ve essentially begun transitioning a majority of my development work to an Ubuntu Linux VM, so unless you’re constrained to specific coursework-defined software, I don’t see OS as a major restriction for electronics development these days.

It should be forewarned that a lot of electronics engineering courses do have some restrictions for development software, so definitely look into that before buying a MacBook for school.

I know a lot of university FPGA courses use intel/altera software and hardware, and that development suite is not natively supported on Mac.

[ruby pasture]

Thank you very much for your advice ❤️🔥

[vestal pier]

You can get fused quartz microscope slides which pass UV, they're not that expensive

[cloud wind]

Maybe it's adafruit's scanner scanning the code, updating it, throwing the package in the bin, then staying there before usps gets it.

[urban arrow]

Pico 2 W in stock - going fast... BTW, only 1 for me, funds tight, and I have Ada stuff all over the place already... hardy har har

[night crescent]

ASK AN ENGINEER returns next week, the talent (ladyada) and her assistant (me) need to take care of some important upgrades, we'll be able to share them on the show(s) soon!, so tonight there is still a Show and Tell, thank you Liz for hosting, and we'll get back to ASK an ENGINEER next week!

[haughty solstice]

I need to apply about 4 pounds of force to an object. What kind of module/object should I use to do this?

My current ideas are a motor or a solenoid, but IDK if there's any better options

[haughty solstice]

I guess I should specify that I really just need to hold an object in place at relatively high pressure, so if there's some other option beyond just "applying force" then I'll take it

[late fulcrum]

If it's a ferrous object, you could use an electromagnet, or one of those "switchable" magnets that you can deactivate by turning a handle.

[haughty solstice]

Unfortunately, it is not

It's a plastic magazine for an airsoft gun that has a broken release mechanism that I want to rig a system to so I can push the magazine in and out (and create manual misfires) on command

[tidal bison]

I'm trying to convert a BLE sniffer to a LE UART bridge - it's the BLEFRIEND32. I'm looking at this repo: https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_BluefruitLE_Firmware. I'm quite confused which hex files should I flash. Seems the UART bridge requires the bootloader to be flashed first? but there are multiple files there. Sorry if it's not the correct channel.

> nrfjprog --program 0.8.1/blefriend32/blefriend32_s110_xxac_0_8_1_190410_blefriend32.hex --sectorerase
Parsing image file.
Erasing page at address 0x18000.
Erasing page at address 0x18400.
...

you can see that the actual blefriend32 firmware starts from 0x18000, so that tells me I need the bootloader. I tried to flash the bootloaders from that repo but that didn't help much.

Only filres from softdevice actually flash from 0x0. bootloaders start way later in the memory

• bootloader/bootloader_0000.hex flashes the same memory space as bootloader/bootloader_0002.hex
• I have managed to flash make it work with commit dd593df8220f1d10c71141b7423f2f133c4a1e02 flashing

nrfjprog --program s110_nrf51822_7.1.0_softdevice.hex --sectorerase
nrfjprog --program bootloader/bootloader_0001.hex --sectorerase
nrfjprog --program 0.5.0/blefriend/blefriend_s110_xxaa_0_5_0_150211_blefriend_release.hex --sectorerase

I have managed to put it in a DFU mode running this:

nrfjprog --recover
nrfjprog --program ./softdevice/s110_nrf51_8.0.0_softdevice.hex --sectorerase
nrfjprog --program ./bootloader/bootloader_0002.hex --sectorerase
nrfjprog --program 0.8.1/blefriend32/blefriend32_s110_xxac_0_8_1_190410_blefriend32.hex --sectorerase
nrfjprog --run

Then I have DFU'ed the firmware I wanted to. Seems to respond to AT commands now. This is still very confusing and I'm not sure what I'm doing here...

[novel gulch]

where to get socket for 2006 dell inspiron b130 laptop screen staggered 2lane, 40 pin display connector to DSI or hdmi driver board, want to run a raspberry pi

[late fulcrum]

I tend to get them on eBay, but you can also find them on Ali and such places

That's how I hooked this old Macbook screen to a Pi

[astral valve]

Yo does anyone have some expierence with pcbs that can help me real quick with my engineering project

[late fulcrum]

Experience doing what? Designing them? Etching them? Drilling them? Cutting them? Making them into earrings?

[astral valve]

Just how they work

Im supposed to be making a functional model for a this little fan

So i need to know in what order all the currents are flowing

With the different parts on the circuit board

[late fulcrum]

The PCB isn't really important for that: it's just a different way of wiring things up than using individual wires.

But you mentioned a fan and the order of currents, so I'm guessing the real question is how to sequence things to get a brushless fan motor to turn?

[astral valve]

Basically but my teacher told me i need to have to show how the energy flows through the resistor diode and capacitor

And im needing to know the order

I just need to know the order of from where the electricty flows from the battery through the board and all the parts

[late fulcrum]

Ah, a little reverse engineering. Is it battery powered or some sort of wall unit. I ask because a battery is already DC and I'm unsure what use a diode would be in a DC circuit.

Do you know what the switch positions are? Like low, medium, and high or something?

[astral valve]

It uses either 4 AA batteries or you can plug it into the wall

There are 2 different speeds

So 3 switch positions

And yes it is reverse engineering

[late fulcrum]

So, off, low, and high?

[astral valve]

Yes

[late fulcrum]

I see two wires go to the fan, where do the other two wires go?

[astral valve]

For the battery

AA

[late fulcrum]

Okay, as far as I can tell, the battery wires go to the power connector and supply power when nothing is plugged in, otherwise the power comes from whatever is plugged into the connector.

The diode and capacitor appear to be in parallel with the fan, so I'm guessing the capacitor is for noise suppression and the diode is a protection diode to absorb the spike when the fan is turned off (it doesn't conduct most of the time).

The switch presumably either disconnects the power (off), runs it through the resistor (low), or straight to the fan (high).

[astral valve]

Theres also a resistor in there i think

The blue

[late fulcrum]

Yes, I mentioned that

[astral valve]

I see

So when turned on the electricity from the batteries goes to the diode and capacitor first and then depending on the mode the fan is in the resistor is the last thing the electricity goes through before going to the actual motor

My functional model starts with electrical energy (from the batteries)

[late fulcrum]

You're better off to ignore the diode and capacitor to start with: they have little effect during normal operation.

[astral valve]

My teacher told me im have to include it

[late fulcrum]

That's why I said to start with

The simplest case is off: no current flows anywhere

The second simplest case is high: the current flows from the power supply through the fan

The third case is low, the current flows through the resistor and through the fan (or, looking at it the other way, through the fan and through the resistor: the direction you choose depends on how you want to look at current flow)

[astral valve]

Understood but this project is due tommrow at 8am so i dont have much time

[late fulcrum]

Okay...

[astral valve]

So im going to have to include the capacitor and diodes eventually in it

[late fulcrum]

Those are more guesswork on my part. I'm guessing the capacitor is for noise suppression. Since the motor doesn't draw power completely smoothly, it creates variations in the current that can cause interference to other electronics. So the capacitor absorbs those variations, thereby reducing any interference. In many devices, the capacitor is attached directly to the fan motor to reduce the distance the noise-producing current flows, but in this case it seems they mounted it on the board instead.

The diode is a curious one. Its function is not obvious to me. My thinking is the fan is what's known as an inductive load, and inductors have the property that they build up a magnetic field when current flows through them, and when the current flow is suddenly cut off (the fan is switched off), that magnetic field collapses and produces a voltage spike. So I'm guessing the diode's function is to absorb the spike when the fan is switched off.

But that's kind of advanced thinking and I'm not sure if that's what the teacher had in mind

This is how I often see noise suppression capacitors mounted https://europe1.discourse-cdn.com/arduino/optimized/4X/0/b/2/0b2438acff29540af6798191d623e1ac72ce2821_2_690x388.jpeg

[astral valve]

Ok so the diode is basically where the electricty goes after the fan is turned off and the capacitor absorbs variations of the electricity on the way to the motor

That makes more sense

[late fulcrum]

That's my guess

[astral valve]

Okay so its not necesarily possible to put the diode on the functional model as the final result is supposed to be rotational energy coming from the fan spinning and the diode comes after that

[late fulcrum]

Not really on the way to the motor, you can think of the noise as being an AC signal generated by the motor and absorbed by the capacitor

[astral valve]

So its not necesarily connected to the other functions on the circuit board?

[late fulcrum]

It could be the inertia of the fan runs the motor as a generator while the fan spins down

It's electrically connected (of course), but only comes into action in certain circumstances, it's inert the rest of the time.

Like the resistor, which is only in use when the fan is on low (if I understand it right)

[astral valve]

So there isnt really a way to put it on the functional model unless the functional model is for one specific mode such as low power

Because from my understanding in the functional model you cant necesarily put variations

[late fulcrum]

I don't know what a functional model is, but the fan circuit itself has variations (on, low, and high). I don't know if you'd use a separate model for each mode or what

[astral valve]

Okay everything is making sense now

Im gonna search up if theres ways to put variations in what im doing

But thank you very much for explaining this all to me because i have to make a write up of how this all works and my idea of how it worked before was totaly wrong

[late fulcrum]

Keep in mind that I'm somewhat guessing here

[astral valve]

Well your guess is definitley better than mine as the first time i worked with trying to understand circuit boards was on tuesday

And dont know anything

[fleet rampart]

hi everyone I wanted to get some opinions on this feather-type board I'm working on

I'm planning to use the Nordic Semiconductor nRF54H20. It only has a few 3.3V IO and the majority of the rest of the IO will have to operate at 1.8V. What's the proper thing to do here? Level shifters for most of the IO or should I consider disclaimers about the IO voltage? Just wondering what makes sense. Thanks!

[stuck moth]

Do you have the H20 already? I'm waiting to get one

[fleet rampart]

im cheating in that i work for nordic haha

some module manufacturers will let u purchase modules if you are in the limited sampling program

[stuck moth]

I hadn't heard it was 1.8v mostly. (I work for adafruit and we haven't been able to get module afaik.)

I got the L15 DK but was disappointed it didn't have native USB.

I'm working to move CircuitPython onto Zephyr so we can support the 54s though

I'd say level shift to 3.3 for now

ladyada will want to weigh in on 1.8v

[fair summit]

it won't be compatible with FeatherWings if most of the pins are 1.8v

[magic osprey]

https://www.mouser.com/section-301-tariff-updates/

Effective January 1, 2025, the tariff rate for semiconductors classified in HTS headings 8541 and 8542 will increase from 25% to 50%. While we have done our best to avoid passing tariff charges onto our customers, we will need to charge a percentage of the imposed tariffs on some of the products shipped within the United States and US territories.

First'ish hard data / explanation I've seen on the tariff matter.

[fleet rampart]

was this one of the existing ones or a new one?

[fair summit]

This increase was announced in May. It is not due to the incoming administration. which has not taken office yet (that happens on Jan 20). https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/14/fact-sheet-president-biden-takes-action-to-protect-american-workers-and-businesses-from-chinas-unfair-trade-practices/

Many articles here: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=section+301+tariff+increase+semiconductors&ia=web

[winged tangle]

RPi Zero W's GPIO header connects directly to the ARM chip the same way the RPi Model B did right? I'm trying to find non SEO-hell documentation about whether I need to have the same voltage, current, and power protections that I did when futzing around with that stuff directly back in the day.
looking at:
https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/rpizero/raspberry-pi-zero-reduced-schematics.pdf

It seems to be the case.

Please let me know if my conclusion is misguided or inaccurate.

[fair summit]

that should be correct. You can find schematics in the board datasheets.

[winged tangle]

I couldn't find a full pcb schematic under https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/ but the reduced one seems to work for the purposes of the notes for what I'm working on right now (and documenting things for others, heh)

[fair summit]

yeah, it is kind of annoying about the schematics

[winged tangle]

https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/raspberry-pi.html#voltage-specifications also this is useful as a citation, though it doesn't have the big bold letter DO NOT FRY THE PINS I kinda want

[winged tangle]

Sorry, forgot to say,

Thank you so much for your help!!

[quasi cedar]

Can anyone recommend a good (and cheap) neopixel strip that could be used in a jar with a pico w to make a wifi enabled rgb lamp

[terse lava]

If you are going to put it in a jar, especially if you are going to line the jar wall with something opaque, you might consider some of the smaller string light neopixels where you can literally crumple up the astrong and stuff them in the jar for a mostly randomly evenly lit jar. If you had something else in mind, like pasting the strip around the insider circumference of the jar, or some other configuration entirely it would be helpful if you have us some better "specs" so we aren't all doing the [suggestion], you: no that't too long. [suggestion], you: no, that's too wide... back and forth. How about giving us those specs right now?

[quasi cedar]

The only current specs are that it will be in a jar with cotton balls to act as a diffuser, I can get new jars as needed so they don’t matter much

But I do like the idea of an opaque coating, should I do it with paint or is there a better way?

[terse lava]

I am thinking just some sort of paper (crepe, tissue, rice paper, etc.). You would put it in the jar lining the inside surface which you can tape in place or simply cram in your cotton balls or the light strand to hold the paper in place. I would think some rice paper shaped into a tubes and taped would hold its shape fine inside the jar. Some of those papers have very nice patterns as well which you might like for your light. Think of the paper you might see as part of the shade on a Japaense lantern kind of thing. Then as I said rather than fuss with strips and trying to arround them inside the jar evenly and random ball of a string light with the diffusion of the paper may give an over all even light out. With Adafruit products something like https://www.adafruit.com/product/4560

[quasi cedar]

Thank you!

[terse lava]

Here is sort of that idea although this one they used "vase filler material" whatever that is. https://learn.adafruit.com/techno-tiki-rgb-led-torch

[quasi cedar]

Thanks! Now I just gotta figure out how to use adafruit up to keep two in sink without eating the entire rate limit

[terse lava]

Do you mean the IO service and the rate limit for feeds and such?

[quasi cedar]

Yes, I need a way to keep two in sink, I think I could use the Mqtt to receive updates simultaneously but I haven’t figured it out yet in the scope of a pi picow

[late fulcrum]

You can get stick-on diffusing material (sold for signage and making privacy glass), and there's LED diffusing plastic available (such as Lee Filters "Zircon" line)

[thick wind]

How precise does the synchronization need to be? Just scheduling start time based on internet time is probably the easiest way for a pico W, assuming there’s wifi available.

[quasi cedar]

The timing doesn’t matter that much, a 10 sec margin of error is fine, but I need two of them to match each others coloration regardless of network and distance from eachother

[slim shard]

I was going to say bluetooth until that last bit.

[verbal forge]

I really hope the Adafruit FONA makes a comeback for 5G integrations.

[late fulcrum]

SIMCom offers some 4G modules, I haven't looked for 5G

[spice moss]

there is 5G modules on SIMCom site

[verbal forge]

But no breakout boards.

[late fulcrum]

It wouldn't be hard to make a breakout board. I expected Mikroe to offer one, but I just see 4G ones like https://www.mikroe.com/4g-lte-2-click-data-for-north-america

There is this, but it's pretty expensive and you still need the 5G modem. https://www.modalai.com/products/mdk-m0090?variant=40594936463411

Ah, found a complete one (marked down to $525) https://www.aliexpress.com/i/2255801174540820.html

The modules themselves are fairly expensive, but presumably you could use one with a generic M.2 breakout https://techship.com/products/cellular-modules/5g-redcap/?page=1

[vital eagle]

'ello all. Just want to say hi. I'm getting back interested in electronics projects and raspberry shenanigans.

I have a background of device prototyping and dev in the IoT biotech space (mainly crop research) but I'm these days a full time blacksmith

[late fulcrum]

Awesome! Prototyping has become easier over time, and blacksmith experience comes handy when you need to "Widlarize" something (A reference to analog designer Bob Widlar's practice of utterly destroying a faulty component so it wouldn't sneak into another breadboard and cause further consternation)

[vital eagle]

I'm completely sure that there is a really cool overlap where hobbyist electronics/robotics meets hand-forged ironwork. I just can't quite see it yet. Part of the reason Ive been looking for a "maker" community 😛

[hollow flint]

For the times where 3D printed plastic doesn't give the material properties you need, that could be an alternative option.

[late fulcrum]

I would also love to see that overlap. There have been a few close ones, like the fire breathing steam organ (lots of threaded iron pipe in that one), but threaded iron pipe is generally not hand forged.

[vital eagle]

I can imagine some kinetic sculpture type stuff. General moving and swinging bits of iron. But I'm sure there's a more purposeful overlap in there somewhere. Another interesting thing is that my forge is hot enough to melt lower temp metals (i.e. copper, brass, bronze). So for things where more precision is needed than I can get with a hammer, I can 3D print something and then cast it in something cool. An Iron/Brass combo looks amazing

[thick wind]

Just being able to cast metal is pretty sweet. If you really want something more purposeful, hmmm….

What about a knife with a strain gauge in the handle? It’ll tell you how much force you used to cut something, which could be a visual indicator for needing to sharpen it idk

[vital eagle]

lol. that could be interesting. Not sure how id manage that and have a good solid handle connection.

It the moment I'm going through my usual annual routine of watching 'Klaus' on Netflix and deciding I'm destined to be a toymaker .... that usually wears off around mid Jan

I have a couple of workshop projects lined up to get me started. An ATX bench power supply obviously (I got rid of my electronics gear years ago 😦 ). And a smart parts tumbler nad a few codebased projects

[vital eagle]

Mainly I've been on youtube trying to figure out whats been happening in the maker and 3D printer space while I've been hunched over an anvil. And now I'm trying to work out how I can stuff Gridfinity into every millimeter of my workshop

[lapis anchor]

I saw somebody post these 5G modules the other day - no experience personally but may work for what you're after:

https://www.gl-inet.com/products/gl-m2/

Edit... Disregard. Thought it was an actual dev kit.

[quaint marsh]

This is what first came to my mind: https://www.elpulpomecanico.com

[late fulcrum]

There's also The Hand of Man, this giant hydraulically controlled hand that can pick up cars. I've seen it in person, it's quite impressive. http://kontejner.org/en/projekti/rijeka2020/ruka-covjeka

[somber spindle]

If you've never heard of the kinetic sculpture race, it's something to behold

https://kineticgrandchampionship.com/

[vital eagle]

That is incredibly epic

[hasty laurel]

Good evening fellas!

How can I be honest with you all? I have an exam tomorrow about Python (using Thonny) and MySQL. MySQL isn't too hard, but Python... How do I explain this? It's understandable my IQ is high enough to pass math exams, but I've never dealt with Python before. Is there anyone willing to help me? May Jesus bless your hearts.

[thick wind]

I mean, Python is a pretty broad language to cover, so unless you have specific questions regarding Python, it may be difficult to help…

[hasty laurel]

hmmm lemme show u what i can and try to conclude what my teacher expect from me

def Calculate():

umm how do i skip a chat line without sending a message

[terse lava]

Shift-
Enter
works for me.

And if you are trying to enter actual code, please see the #welcome topic on how to enter bit of code so they show up as code and not plain text.

[fair summit]

formatting code: #welcome message

[north cipher]

where to buy https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDYbTZHAqDO/?igsh=MW9kYno1NjJvYXdseQ==

adafruit

Likes

235

Instagram

[hard estuary]

I don't believe they're in the shop yet, the video says Ladyada is testing them

[north cipher]

ok

[terse lava]

in #newproducts today...

https://tenor.com/view/angry-annoyed-annoying-frustrated-throw-gif-12444156074227225516

[fair summit]

It is in #newproducts because there was a change. In the Revision History:

As of Dec 10th, 2024 - We're using the version of the sensor with a PTFE filter.

[terse lava]

Cheaters! 😆

[terse lava]

Perhaps this person could use the updated sensor... https://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?t=215330

[midnight willow]

not sure if this is the right channel but does anyone have good recommendations for a high accuracy multimeter?

[hollow flint]

What level of "high accuracy" are you referring to?

[late fulcrum]

An HP3403C could be considered "high accuracy" (especially if you want the true RMS value of high frequency waveforms with a high crest factor)

[mint silo]

Is there a plan, when the software library for LPS28 pressure sensor will be available for Arduino/C++ ?

[fair summit]

A guide and related libraries are in process.

[fair summit]

In process: https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_LPS28. Not sure why it's separate from https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_LPS2X

maybe it's sufficiently different

[night crescent]

WE ARE LIVE in BROOKLYN! SHOW AND TELL! https://youtu.be/unq1CpLhIvs

[night crescent]

WE ARE LIVE in BROOKLYN! ASK AN ENGINEER! https://youtu.be/M0zju77YW8o

Glitch your gift list! Use code gibson15 for 15% off the 2024 Adafruit Holiday Gift Guide! https://www.adafruit.com/explore/holiday-gift-guide-2024

[prisma parcel]

Wondering when Adafruit expects to have the new RP 500 & monitor?

[plush echo]

is there someone here i could pay to review my pcb and schematic design?

[late fulcrum]

Are you looking for a once-over, or a design review, DFM analysis, or what?

[plush echo]

First time completing both and I want someone to see if i connected a couple things properly and maybe some easy to see design problems.

its an esp32 with 3 peripherals

[late fulcrum]

Ah yes, some variants of ESP32 have some specialty pins that need to be switched in various ways

[frozen spruce]

@plush echoWhat program did you use, just curious?

[plush echo]

kicad

[fathom flicker]

Looking for reccomendations to tell which way a person is facing? Happy to have the sensor on the person as long as it's able to update while they rotate.

[umbral phoenix]

compass direction? perhaps a magnetomoter (with compensation for true north vs. magnetic north, if the precision is important)

[tight zinc]

Hi All, New here so i apologise if i'm in the wrong location, I have been recommended to ask here from guys & gals at the ESPHome server.

I have a couple dozen EFR32MG21 chips, Id like to pair them with an ESP32 & create my own custom zigbee controllers to attach IOT to my existing zigbee network. Since ESPHome dosen't support zigbee protocol i was wondering if i could be pointed in the right direction for software to use ?.

[fair summit]

I don't have an answer but you might look for a "bridge", e.g. https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=esphome+zigbee+bridge&ia=web

[tight zinc]

Ive already got 8x SMLIGHT SLZB-06M Zigbee LAN POE Coordinator on my network. 1 as a coordinator & 7 as bridges..... i was hoping i could use the chips as endpoints instead of coordinators / bridges. What i'm trying to achieve is make custom zigbee endpoints that can connect to my existing zigbee network. E.G, door switches, temp sensors .etc.etc.

[fair summit]

i thought it if you had a bridge it would then talk to the zigbee chips (as endpoints) and translate the ESPHome traffic to/from them. But maybe I am misunderstanding.

[round obsidian]

MACROPAD QUESTION: Does anybody know if the SCROLL commands are implemented? If so, under which name? I've tried various combinations of ConsumerControlCode.SCROLL_FORWARD and that fails to load the macro file (modified media.py in my case). Thank you.

[fair summit]

The ConsumerControlCode values are just convenience names for integers. You can look up the actual integer values and send those.

I"ll find the table...

[fair summit]

https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/documents/hut1_12v2.pdf#page=75 (page 75 onward)

I see AC Scroll Up and Down as (hex!) 233 and 234.

[tight zinc]

Apologies i'm not making myself clear "I Suck at getting ideas out of my head :D"......

Speaking with the ESPHome peeps, they don't support Zigbee protocol [YET.... Its in the works]. i was wondering what programming language i could use to interact with the chips & transmit data back & forth to the Zigbee network / Home Assistant. Id like to create endpoints like for instance sonoff trv.

[whole jacinth]

usually, vertical scrolling is with the Z axis of a mouse, right?

[fair summit]

Names like SCROLL_FORWARD are not in our list of constants: https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit_CircuitPython_HID/blob/main/adafruit_hid/consumer_control_code.py

there are a lot of different things that scroll: mouse, consumer control, "Alphanumeric Display Page", ...

[fair summit]

well, we have a lot of guides about Home Assistant: https://learn.adafruit.com/search?q=homeassistant

[tight zinc]

Home assistant i can deal with, it the programming language for the EFR32MG21. I have Home assistant OS setup on a vm running smoothy with a large zigbee network at the moment,

[fair summit]

silabs contributed a circuitpython port that covers some silabs chips, I'm looking ...

lookis like this is supporting EFR32MG24, not ...21. And the radio support right now is only BLE.

Otherwise we have no connection or experience with silabs chips.

sorry we could not be of more help. The solution otherwise is just to use their development tools and SDK to write something in C, I presume.

we are working on Matter (not Zigbee) support for Python and CIrcuitPython, but it's early days for that, and it's not going in the direction you want, I think.

[tight zinc]

@fair summit Thank you .... .Ill reach out to the peeps at SMLIGHT. & see if they can point me in the right direction 😄

[round obsidian]

Thank you. I'll look through that material this weekend (I'm near blind so it will take some time. LOL).
The scrolling I was looking for is to scroll forward or backward through an audil/video mp4 - via VLC.app

[plush echo]

has anyone ever seen an ipod like click wheel made for arduino booards?

[lapis anchor]

might be what you're after? looks like the encoder is separate, choose your pcb and encoder 🙂

encoder - https://www.adafruit.com/product/5001
breakout PCB - https://www.adafruit.com/product/5221
stemma QT breakout - https://www.adafruit.com/product/5740

[plush echo]

Thanks! Yeah this will work!

[ornate thistle]

hello...
i had a is31fl3743B
can i use this driver for python?
https://github.com/FrameworkComputer/CircuitPython_IS31FL3743
i'm asking because the B variant uses SPI and not I2C..

[lost cosmos]

well, that was a fun lesson in "pay attention to the details" but also a good excuse to carefully drill a hole in some acrylic. putting together a 4x4 NeoTrellis kit with a Feather RP2040 as a Christmas gift for my wife as a small form factor farm sim assistant. got the whole thing put together only to realize that BOOTSEL isn't accessible without opening the enclosure again. pretty glad that Feathers tend to share the same layout at least. now to hope I can get my Seesaw driver for GP2040-CE finished up in time for the holiday.

[glacial wigeon]

depending on the firmware, you can force it into BOOTSEL mode without the button

sometimes switching the uart to 1200 baud will do it
sometimes there will be an extra vendor interface and picotool can talk to that to do it

but that assumes the code isnt locked up, and can respond to commands

[lost cosmos]

For sure. In this case, it was purely PEBCAK that I didn't load something other than the default before I closed everything up. Just means I have to keep things open a little while longer while testing code. It's what I get for being cute and sneaky about a gift. At least it wasn't wrapped.

[velvet flower]

Hello I need help getting st7789 graphics test to run on adafruit esp32 s2. I am using 240x320 spi display with sda going to mo, Sck going to Sck & dc going to pin 8. I have rst and cd -1. Blink sketch works great, and when trying graphics test, I get serial output and black lit screen. I have edited the user_setup for proper pins and tried just adding them to the sketch. I have tested a second screen. My nano ble 33 runs the sketch fine. I am also having trouble getting the same sketch to run on adafruit rp2040 itsybitsy

[hexed talon]

Hoi, for you who solders with a digital microscope, i want recommendations for one to get started with for micro soldering. Will this one do?

[fair summit]

well, there's no screen. What are you going to use for that?

I searched for similar things on aliexpress and found more or less the same thing for about 1/3 the price. What is the URL for this one.

[hexed talon]

My 4th 1440p monitor hooked up with hdmi

Alternative would be using my phone, but then I'd need to find a camera app that has pro mode, and ability to cast to my PC to mirror it there.

Or actually no, don't need an app, if I can use Samsung camera app within desktop mode with Samsung Dex, I can just hook up my Mac usb C hub I still have to the phone, then connect that to the monitor instead

[fair summit]

@hexed talon that looks like an aliexpress screen shot, but as I mentioned my casual search turned up stuff much cheaper.

[hexed talon]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000134784425.html This one.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008165231470.html? I also found this, but can't tell why it's cheaper lol

[fair summit]

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256803304542195.html

table is different, color of bottom part is different 🤷

[hexed talon]

Yours is also more than double the price

oh, table size and lens zoom

[fair summit]

so $25 in US, but in Europe, what price are you seeing?

[hexed talon]

That selection is the 130x lens only

[hexed talon]

The kit.

[fair summit]

ooohhh...

I never buy anything from aliexpress

[hexed talon]

110 with 130x lens

[fair summit]

sorry

[hexed talon]

I can't buy from anywhere else as prices are usually complete dog elsewhere

Especially shipping at 15-30+

[fair summit]

what country are you in?

[hexed talon]

Norway

Actually, link a decent one you'd recommend

[fair summit]

I have no recommendations. I don't use a microscope, just an Opti-Visor

I have used https://www.adafruit.com/product/636 but I work for Adafruit so I didn't need to pay for it.

old product - out of stock

[hexed talon]

That's something i've been looking at as well.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001222171765.html?
Akin to this

Where they are like binoculars, but for close viewing, not far :P

[fair summit]

my dentist has similar (presumably much better) glasses

[hexed talon]

Found my solution :P samsung dex and open camera. Just need to send dev a queryto add 90 degree rotation as it can only do portrait, but thankfully 1080x1080 at least.

[fair summit]

what camera are you using already?I didn't realize you already have something.

[hexed talon]

My phone. Galaxy s21. As i chose samshite in the past because of it's ridiculously good macro capability. And realized first now i could just use samsung dex with a usb C dock/hdmi adapter lol

Now i just need a edge of table mount for my phone, and possibly with a hole for the cable sticking out

[soft kite]

Hello. I just got my DotStar 8x8 matrix and have some questions about soldering. Would anyone be willing to join me in VC?

[terse lava]

I just wanted to point out that sometimes optics work better for stuff like this, so a stereo microscope or the Opti-visor etc. mainly because you retain the 3D aspect that you lose when looking at a camera feed that may "flatten" the scene. I am not saying doing get the camera thing, but also having a cheap pair of magnifying glasses or opti-visor is worth having. Especially for quick looks at things (I use eye loupes for this stuff) where you won't want to drag over and turn on the camera system.

[terse lava]

Please don't post the same question to multiple channels as is pointed out in the #welcome channel.

[charred lintel]

It's best to write your questions, so multiple people can contribute and give you the best answer.

[soft kite]

Ok.

1. The 8x8 matrix came with a 220uF capacitor but the instructions recommend a 1000uF capacitor. Is the stock cap fine?

2. There is a positive and negative terminal on the back middle of the matrix, is this for placing the cap or can I also add power there?

3. How many matricies can I connect before I need to boost the data lines? I know the power is recommend every meter to prevent voltage drop.

4. What temp should I solder wires to the board? I use silver bearing rosin core (lead-free).

5. If I want to split 14 matricies into 6 banks, will I need a I2C duplexer or can I connect all the SDA and SDL lines in parallel?

[night crescent]

WE ARE LIVE! Desk of Ladyada - Simple Storage, Scope Stack, + Super Silent Steppers 📦🔬

https://youtu.be/RCdnVbmDHxY

Updates include CircuitPython goals for next year (video coming soon) and workspace upgrades. IKEA ALEX drawers replaced Gridfinity for storage, and a new scope cart was added. Progress on the silent Trinamic TMC2209 breakout and Metro RP2350.

[charred lintel]

if a 220uF cap was included, it's considered enough for one matrix, if you want to power multiple matrices from a higher current power supply, adding a higher cap is fine.
since the cap is connected over the power supply + and -, you can connect both the cap and inject power through the positive and negative terminal.

DotStars don't communicate over i2c, you can use any GPIO pins, so you can connect however many you want -- though they will work faster connected to hardware SPI pins SCK and MOSI, if your board has them.

solder them at whatever temperature your material requires.

as for powering, check out this guide, as it explains in more detail: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide/powering-neopixels power requirements are the same for both Neopixels and Dotstars

[late fulcrum]

220µF is fine for small panels like that. Yes, the separate pads on the back are for a capacitor. The signal is regenerated by the DotStars, so you don't need a booster. DotStars are more like SPI than I2C, normally they're connected in daisy chain series and the data just goes in at one end. However, if you want several panels to display the same thing, you could parallel them

[soft kite]

Thank you for the help everyone. I connected it to a ESP wroom 32. It did light up but was behaving a little odd. I later realized this could be a 3.3 vs 5 volt logic issue. Did I accidentally fry it or do I just need to buy the level shifter and I am good to go?

[thick wind]

Data undervoltage isn’t likely to fry anything. It should be fine with a level shifter.

[soft kite]

Cool. Thanks.

[terse lava]

My experience with Neopixel 8x8 panels is for one panel, if you don't have a level shifter handy then just run the matrix off 3.3V and then you don't need the level shifter. Just run the pixels at no more than half power (I usually run them at 10% which is plenty). This is for experimenting and learning. Once you get the hang of it and want to run lots of panels, then you will want 5V power, 3.3V to 5V level shifter, and bigger caps across the voltage.

[ornate thistle]

i broke my K65 mini, i burn down the microcontroller.
Sooooo.. PICO to the rescue!
I used KMK.. and now this is a "K65 Mini Reborn"

I had to re-wire some stuff to make the key matrix more "human frendly"
and maunaly select all the RGB LED into 3 lines..
can't find LIB or Driver to the LED matrix controller of this board.

[late fulcrum]

That's impressive. Do you know what chip the LEDs are using?

[ornate thistle]

yep is an IS31FL3743B
I found a CirquitPython driver but is for the IS31FL3743A variant.
The protocol is IC2, the B variant is SPI...
The pinout is identical on both..

[late fulcrum]

It might be easy to convert the driver (if the chip's commands are similar with both interfaces) or more complex (if they aren't), but it would involve digging into the datasheet and driver, which may or may not be worth the effort.

[ornate thistle]

yeah... when i read the datasheet, this was beyond my skills.
I have no idea on how this thing work.. or the diferente on the implementation I2C vs SPI on the code..

Maybe i on the future i try replacing the chip with the A variant..

[odd mesa]

https://www.adafruit.com/product/5712
I want to use this "Adafruit Feather RP2040 RFM69 Packet Radio" with loraWan (The Things Network). I couldn't find something similar on official website, can someone please direct me a bit?
Thanks a lot for your time 🙂

[ocean sigil]

You cannot use an RFM69 with LoRaWAN -- It is only for the RFM9x radios

The RFM69 does not support LoRa

[odd mesa]

Oh so that changes the situation all together, Thank you for your responses.

[ocean sigil]

Sorry for the bad news.

[odd mesa]

I still am trying to understand how it can transmit on same frequency of LoRa but it can't support LoRa. 868MHz (EU) I am interested in.

[ocean sigil]

LoRa describes the modulation and packet transmission details. The RFM69 support FSK on OOK modulation whil the RFM9x supports OOK,FSK and LoRa. LoRa requires different internal hardware.

[odd mesa]

Understood. Luckily I have RFM9x's breakout board as well. Your response will definitely help me decide better. Thank you very much!

[ocean sigil]

See section 4 of the RFM9x datasheet https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/learn_tutorials/8/0/4/RFM95_96_97_98W.pdf

Good luck -- If you have additional questions about using it you may want to post them in #help-with-radio.

[late fulcrum]

I see on the AdaFruit site that UPS next day orders must be placed by 11AM ET on Thursday, December 18. However, December 18 is today: a Wednesday.

[fair summit]

reported -- thanks

... and fixed!

[plush echo]

I was looking into gfx but cant find a good way to learn it online. anyone have any suggestions?

[night crescent]

WE ARE LIVE in BROOKLYN! SHOW AND TELL! https://youtu.be/D9GfRYsLl0E

[night crescent]

ASK AN ENGINEER 12/18/2024 LIVE! https://youtu.be/oIzkZeU0Y7s

Glitch your gift list! Use code gibson15 for 15% off the 2024 Adafruit Holiday Gift Guide! https://www.adafruit.com/explore/holiday-gift-guide-2024

[night crescent]

Live on tiktok (just got approved to broadcast via PC, huh) https://www.tiktok.com/@adafruit/live?enter_from_merge=pc_share&enter_method=pc_share&is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

[late fulcrum]

There's a learn guide: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-gfx-graphics-library

[plush echo]

@late fulcrum thanks, I was reading it but its a bit difficult for me

[dapper hatch]

Wow, makes me fixing a key switch on my favourite keyboard look trivial. Impressive work. I look forward to the day everyone (not just makers) have the confidence to attempt this kind of fix.

[fierce prawn]

I made a rookie mistake and almost had to dismantle my soldering

I was measuring voltage using a divider for a battery and was testing the divider using usb from the same pc

It worked

Then when I tried a battery it doesn't work

Was about to scrap it and redo but I came across a article that if needs to be connected to ground and vcc to measure

Suddenly I knew why
The USB ports, all have common ground

While the battery is on another ground plane not connected

That's why it failed

[void otter]

I ended up doing it myself. Pi ded.

[jagged citrus]

what an... archaic solution
but hey, if it werks, it werks

[void otter]

same energy as

[jagged citrus]

https://tenor.com/view/tkt-smart-gif-20642718

[barren perch]

Happy holidays 🙂 https://m.g3l.org/@mmu_man/113682208123816152

[tulip sage]

Hey guys, very new to maker scene but have played with an arduino in highschool as a senior project. I have seen a couple videos of guys making RC cars and thought it would be a fun hobby. I was wondering how yall got into this stuff and resources you may find helpful for beginners! Thanks !

[late fulcrum]

I got into it via two routes. One was that a friend of mine liked to go to thrift stores and buy inexpensive R/C cars and try to get them going. The other was the "remote trap vehicle" in Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which I wanted to replicate. There are lots of different facets to play with, the physical stuff (chasses, suspension, motors, gears, wheels, etc.), control (speed, steering, lights, etc.), and the remote control system itself: there are a few common protocols in use, each with finished transmitters and receivers available, as well as chip sets, parts, and the like. For the remote trap vehicle project, I found out which chassis the movie prop was built from and started with that, 3D printing the various parts for it and working out I wanted to control the effects (lights, trap opening, fog, etc.). The remote side was trickier, the one in the film was built out of a neat looking one from the 1970s that I was unable to find, so I ended up designing the housing using Fusion's sheet metal mode, having it laser cut, and bending it into shape, then shopping around for parts that looked correct and a transmitter module I could use.

[tulip sage]

Thank you for the feedback! Really excited to start this up and

[idle iron]

i bought a lavalier microphone that takes phantom power, ive never used one like that before just dynamic mics.... You think i could just wire it up to TRRS jack and add a coincell battery to it?

then from TRRS breakout wire that to TRS male?

[whole jacinth]

it depends on the specific model. "phantom power" usually means 48VDC over XLR, but lavalier mics often take "plug-in power" which can be around 5VDC

[idle iron]

i actaully cant find the info on the power requirment, here is link to mic i bought
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer/BC-Lav-Condenser-Lavalier-Microphone-for-Mobile-Devices-1500000420619.gc

ive been assuming it would be around 5vdc

[jagged citrus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxHybWaNev0

arduino nano matter

new arduino

[whole jacinth]

it's likely to be plug-in power. the TRRS plug is probably meant to go to a phone headphone/headset jack, which provides plug-in power. the provided TRS adapter probably goes to a PC sound card, which usually also provides plug-in power

if you're hooking it up to some other kind of device, you will probably need to figure out how to correctly inject the plug-in power (or obtain an existing power injector)

[topaz sentinel]

Would my only option be trying to O scope my power cords? I've got two Christmas houses that had their motors burn out. They're on power cords controlled by smart plugs. They're cheap 12V motors so it really may be coincidence but feels odd that they both burned out this year. I'm not totally sure what I should look for.

[late fulcrum]

I'm not sure what this is in reference to, but there would need to be something to convert the mains voltage to 12V, and that could be failing as well.

[night crescent]

Desk of Ladyada - It's a sparkly LED Christmas! 🤶🎄✨🎁⛄❄️
https://youtu.be/5EsVmlcKPqY

This week, Ladyada tests the Sparkle Motion WLED board with xLights for large-scale LED animations and began decorating. A smaller version of Sparkle Motion and a NeoPixel-inspired USB PCB, and In The Great Search, storage solutions for components and dev boards!

[cinder cloud]

so i'm gonna do a lil presentation on what's embedded c, and as far as i found out, it is basically just a terminology which means how c is used in embedded systems.
based on ISO/IEC TR 18037:2008, it specifies extensions to C to support embedded processors, and it talks about 3 points, fixed point arithmetics, some memory adresssin things like named address space and register key word etc, and use of I/O hardware using iohw.h
is there anything i could have forgor?

[fair summit]

these things are typical of embedded programming, but not a requirement. I'd say the maing things are:

1. embedded means "embedded in something", say a microcontroller in a toaster oven. The microcontroller is doing "physical computing": it's connected to things in the outside world, and it's controlling those and/or reading info from those things. Typically, the programming environment is simple (no OS or a very simple one).

Is it "embedded" programming if you are just using an Arduino to blink some LED's? Well, it's not part of a larger thing, like a toaster oven, but the programming is similar.

I did not mean to make a list with one thing in it 🙂

[cinder cloud]

so basically programming with the imperfections and control of the external physical world. because ussually on computers we take for granted the perfection of signals betweens processes, and the abstraction is different between the two
and there is the topic of embedded linux, which is not a simple os, so the typically can be more accurately described by it typically is on a restricted system somehow in terms of computing that is

[cinder cloud]

Thank you so much!

[cursive mural]

where would i put a "help with bootloader" question?

its not a bug just a question

[idle iron]

The paperwork the mic came with said 2VDC, it works fine with pc just plug and play

[fair summit]

#help-with-arduino or #help-with-circuitpython if it's more related to one or the other. Or #general-tech is OK too!

[cursive mural]

Thanks!

[late fulcrum]

In embedded systems, there are often limitations to RAM, power, etc., so discussions of keeping things small, sleep states, etc., can be relevant.

[hard halo]

Merry Christmas to everybody 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

[flat vessel]

Hi folks!
I‘m trying to run a TLV493D with my Raspberry P Pico via USB port. I use the SDK to flash the pico with a c++ code but afterwards when the code should be running it just doesn’t appear anymore. I‘m using a raspberry pi 5 to connect to the pico

[jagged citrus]

Merry christmas fellow adafolk
I got this sick nemesis prime
And my computer dying

[bright veldt]

anyone bought a universal testing machine before?

[late fulcrum]

I'm not sure what you mean by a universal testing machine. Like an integrated circuit exerciser, or more general automated testing equipment, or one of those component analyzers or something else?

[north cipher]

sup all

[dreamy furnace]

could you head to #general-tech

[dapper hatch]

Evening all (here in UK). I've had this itch for a few months. 🤔 Been thinking of writing a stupid web search. Now I could do though the nightmare of getting a list of all top level domains. But that is not cheap. A lot to download and process. So my naive idea is just to scan the internet for open https ports and then pull their index.html. 🤔 Ofcause I would exclude IP's that are not on the internet, like 192.168.X.X and 10.X.X.X etc. I did find a list once describing which IP's are valid internet addresses. What ya think? Will I get a knock on my door??? 😬 😆

[fair summit]

Legitimate search engines respect robots.txt, don't search in ISP address ranges, etc. Are you going to walk the whole website? If so you want to rate-limit.

Given how many websites there are, this is going to take forever. Your ISP may not like the amount of traffic. What is your end goal?

[umbral phoenix]

Scanning by IPv4 will miss a lot of websites on shared hosts, and will also miss anything IPv6-only. But it is cumbersome to get full data on valid domains (and subdomains).

You may be aware of https://www.shodan.io

This site is useful for exploring IP addresses, etc., though not in bulk https://bgp.he.net

[hollow flint]

There are APIs in which you can hook into existing search engines, and create a custom front-end. One such example: https://brave.com/search/api/

[icy wedge]

This might be a silly question, but has anyone here worked on hardware centric project, say a robot arm, with someone in a team remotely/asynchronously?

[late fulcrum]

I have, but it's been a while

[icy wedge]

What was your project about?

[late fulcrum]

It was dual function: finding lost objects, and verifying authenticity (or detecting counterfeits)

The head of the company was in the Bahamas, I was in Virginia, the housing developers were in New Jersey, one of the custom modules was made in California, and the person working with the customer was in the UK.

The breadboard and finished PCBs

[merry thunder]

Hello guys

[jagged citrus]

Oh this looks awesome
Id love to work on a team project like this

Sadly ive never been good at teamwork 😅

[icy wedge]

Yeah I find working on personal projects to be very difficult and easy to get side tracked and projects never get done lol.

So I want to try and do more projects with other people like my friends, but just not sure how it would work

[chrome oasis]

can anyone point me towards a compact esp32 board, made for driving WS2812 (or any similar led, i.e neopixels) LEDs? i'm trying to make some outdoor lights with WLED

[stuck coyote]

Does anyone know if the Gemma M0 support Bluetooth? I don’t think it does right?

[terse lava]

Yeah, nothing works better about NOT getting side tracked when you have a team member say "I need your part done by the end of the week".

[fair summit]

nope, not at all

and there's not enough room on the board to add an offboard BLE co-processor. There are a bunch of small boards that do BLE, including ItsyBitsy nRF52840 and QT PY ESP32-S3 8MB flash.

[fair summit]

Ladyada is developing a bunch of compact WLED-compatible boards right now, if you can wait a bit. Look at the "Sparkle Motion" boards mentioned in recent blog entries (there are videos too): https://blog.adafruit.com/tag/wled/

[thick wind]

https://www.adafruit.com/product/6100 for the store page, if you want to get an email notification for when it goes on sale

[chrome oasis]

actually perfect, thank you.
im actually just developing it as a prototype for next christmas so its fine as long as it comes out in 2025

[dapper hatch]

Thanks for the feedback people on DIY searching (indexing) the internet. I was thinking more about this earlier whilst walking the dog. The question I am thinking about now, is it now impossible to create any kind of searchable database (assuming I had infinite resources) of the internet??? So much of it needs a log-in or is generated on the fly by the server making any results instantly invalid. I looked at using the register of all domains but that is a big (impracticable) download just for playing with. Maybe this is in part responsible for the decline in search engines quality. As someone who was on the internet at the start, I do feel somewhat disappointed in how it's evolved. There are some corners that are still little jems, like the maker sphere. Maybe I am just getting old. 😆

[pliant loom]

hello guys!
Someone could help me to use my esp32 c6 feather? this is my first esp32 device.
I don't view serial data, i can't use circuitpython website with it, because my device is paired

[dreamy furnace]

What do you mean "i can't use circuitpython website with it, because my device is paired"?

[pliant loom]

when I confirm it, nothing

[dreamy furnace]

Is this the product?
https://www.adafruit.com/product/5933

[pliant loom]

exactly

[dreamy furnace]

Have you allowed the site for connectivities?

[pliant loom]

yes!, i think

[dreamy furnace]

not sure then

Try to connect with someone else who's really advanced and they can help you.

[pliant loom]

ok, thank you!

[hollow flint]

Have you tried installing CircuitPython (https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-esp32-c6-feather/install-circuitpython)?

[pliant loom]

I trying now but I have this error

I put my esp in bootloader mode

I'm on mac, maybe it not compatible with osx

[hollow flint]

It does say on the link I sent earlier that Safari is not supported.

[pliant loom]

I know, I'm using chrome

[pliant loom]

Maybe it works only on windows

[hollow flint]

Maybe… There is an alternative method, if you're comfortable with using the terminal (AKA command line).

[pliant loom]

Yeah, try to tell me something

[hollow flint]

Try following these instructions, but replace *-factory-reset.bin with the CircuitPython .bin file you downloaded during the previous guide: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-esp32-c6-feather/factory-reset#the-esptool-method-for-advanced-users-3112412

[pliant loom]

maybe I did it:

esptool.py --port /dev/tty.usbmodem1101 write_flash 0x0 adafruit-circuitpython-adafruit_feather_esp32c6_4mbflash_nopsram-it_IT-9.2.1.bin
esptool.py v4.8.1
Serial port /dev/tty.usbmodem1101
Connecting...
Detecting chip type... ESP32-C6
Chip is ESP32-C6FH4 (QFN32) (revision v0.1)
Features: WiFi 6, BT 5, IEEE802.15.4
Crystal is 40MHz
MAC: 40:4c:ca:ff:fe:59:7a:80
BASE MAC: 40:4c:ca:59:7a:80
MAC_EXT: ff:fe
Uploading stub...
Running stub...
Stub running...
Configuring flash size...
Flash will be erased from 0x00000000 to 0x001c2fff...
Compressed 1846608 bytes to 1152187...
Wrote 1846608 bytes (1152187 compressed) at 0x00000000 in 14.2 seconds (effective 1043.6 kbit/s)...
Hash of data verified.

Leaving...
Hard resetting via RTS pin...

[hollow flint]

Okay, now you should be able to go back to https://code.circuitpython.org/, and follow the remainder of this guide: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-esp32-c6-feather/connecting

[pliant loom]

nope, i don't view disconnect button after i click on my device

I continue to see the modal

https://www.adafruit.com/product/5933

"One thing to watch for is that, like the C3, the C6 does not have native USB. It does have a 'built in' USB Serial core that can be used for debugging, but it cannot act like a mouse, keyboard, or disk drive. That means if you are running CircuitPython you will need to use WiFi, Bluetooth or WebSerial for transferring files back and forth rather than drag-and-dropping to a drive. Ditto for the bootloader side, this chip cannot run UF2."

[hollow flint]

I think using Thonny might work as an alternative: https://thonny.org/

[pliant loom]

if I would like to use Arduino IDE?
the only thing is that i don't see data on serial monitor

[hollow flint]

Oh, Arduino is a very different way to program microcontrollers (such as the ESP32-C6). Are you familiar with the C programming language?

[pliant loom]

yeah, I'm trying a simple program, but serial doesn't works :/

is normal?

[hollow flint]

Is another program on your computer connected to the ESP32-C6? I think only one program can use the serial interface at a time.

[pliant loom]

nope, ony esp32

[hollow flint]

I meant having multiple pieces of software running on your computer that are trying to connect to the ESP32-C6, not multiple ESP32-C6 boards. 🙂

[pliant loom]

oh sorry, ok I got it, nope, i disconnected and connected board in bootloader mode close everything and nothing

[hollow flint]

I'm assuming you've already followed this guide to setup the Arduino IDE: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-esp32-c6-feather/arduino-ide-setup-2
If so, did you select the correct serial interface/device?

[pliant loom]

yeah :/

[hollow flint]

If you have any issues accessing the Serial Monitor, make sure that USB CDC On Boot is set to Enabled.
– https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-esp32-c6-feather/blink

[pliant loom]

OMFG!!!!
Thank you, I missed this info!!!!

[tropic cloud]

Nobody asked but my ipod shuffle has been playing continuously for 36 days

[night crescent]

Desk of Ladyada - festival of light-related PCB designs ✨💡🎨
https://youtu.be/2T8HyBvQX_Q

[bitter minnow]

i realized to late that i might need the sd card module for my qualia to store graphics 😂

[terse lava]

As someone who also still uses iPod shuffles (and some other old iPods), I appreciate this bit of information. The next question would be did you configure it so you can plug it into a USB source to charge the battery while still listening to the shuffle? One of the drawbacks to the shuffle has always been the earphone port is also the charging port, so you could either listen or charge but not both like other iPod models.

[terse lava]

Is it ok to be annoyed, talking to you moderators, that "OMFG" is allowed here but when I used the word of the structure that holds back lots of water in a reservoir with an extra "n" on the end of the word, my post got flagged and removed? 🤨

[tropic cloud]

No, I de-cased it and swapped the 50mah battery for 4500mah. Next step is to draw the rest of the owl (design a new case)

[terse lava]

Are you charging it through the headphone jack still or are you simply unplugging your lipo to charge and then putting it back on?

[tropic cloud]

Still charges through the headphone jack luckily.

[tropic cloud]

Before and after

[terse lava]

Does it take a month to recharge? 😆

[tropic cloud]

Less than a day!

I'll have an exact figure when it finally stops playing in ~2 months and I can charge it from empty

[terse lava]

Yeah I would be interested in that time as I wouldn't think the shuffle would have a charger capable of charging at much more than about 50-100mA considering its battery. I know the shuffles take a couple hours or so just to change their tiny battery so I would expect a battery 86x bigger to take about 86x as much charging time, so a week or so.

[tropic cloud]

Yeah my expectation was about the same so I was surprised when it hit 100%.

Googled around and got 75% as the expected charge of a new lipo

Very optimistic, but the the 2hr charge time might be due to tapering closer to 100% charge, so charge time may scale better with increased capacity (I don't really know anything about lipo battery charge rate)

[jagged citrus]

Finally got the MCU for my next board

[orchid abyss]

Pretty high end!

[north cipher]

how will u solder that

[jagged citrus]

reflow

with hot plate

[north cipher]

but how do u know which side has to go where

[thick wind]

The data sheet specifies a pin 1 relative to the labeling and corner dots.

[hasty wedge]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/936515318719840319/1323296039029178419/PXL_20241230_131544323-1.mp4?ex=6773fef9&is=6772ad79&hm=2bdca990f8fbf2bb9529becbdeb16b5d773c52761fbb04670a811f55728d6fc5&

ESFM FM synth on Windows 98

Pentium 4 512M

Using an old 478 mobo pulled from a vintage Lenovo computer

[lapis anchor]

lol reminded me of this meme.. couldn't help myself:

[jagged citrus]

I tried

[hasty wedge]

also, since there's no wavetable capability on the ES1868 chip, they just used it's FM to fake a General Midi synth

GM standard requires 24 voices polyphonic, this thing only got 18

[tardy badger]

Happy New Year's Eve everyone, and Happy New Year to those approaching 2025 soon

[late fulcrum]

I'm old, but I'm not THAT old! I'm still in my first millennium!

[rotund canopy]

has anyone used roombas to recover lost ICs & fasteners

only reason I am considering one

[late fulcrum]

I haven't tried that yet, but I might. I ended up getting an Eufy, as they're cost effective (nice sale for the next few days too) and you can get parts and advice easily.

[dapper hatch]

Morning all, happy new year. 🙂

I've written my goals for the year. Did it last year, worked out really well. Archived most of them. Having a list helped me for them low motivation moments. 🙂

This year, mostly DIY, seek an ASD check (keep getting told I am), de-google and kick my youTube brain rot habit. 😬

What's yours?

[atomic oyster]

I don't normally do them but since you asked I've got a hankering to restart my animatronic Professor Yaffle project. Not sure why but Bagpuss is really on my mind at the moment 🙂

[dapper hatch]

My X would call me Bagpuss as if I had a Sunday afternoon nap, the cats and dogs would all join my on the settee and nap too. 😆

[jagged citrus]

Happy new year fellow adafolk

[dusty citrus]

Some kind of cheap thing that can be found on lcsc, that holds close fittingly a cover? Just to not use gunk to glue

O like a smd thread

[thick wind]

https://www.lcsc.com/mobile/products/hardware-fasteners-sealing_11337.html

filter results by smd/smt

[sharp plover]

I want to replace a Raspberry Pi with an Adafruit single board product that will run at a high clock rate, without overclocking. I need a lot of trig math solved. Ability to communicate BLE data. Can run any of the following; Python/MicroPython/CircuitPython and use PyGame/PyOpenGL and can drive a small; 3.5" to 7" display.
Be nice if it could wash windows and clean my dishes too........

[late fulcrum]

How high a clock rate? A Pi is already in the GHz realm.

[sharp plover]

Same range would be good. The math is what concerns me. I have most of the project running on the RPi but want to start on the size enclosure/cooling I'd need and of course very mobile

I also figure I'll have to do some sort of translation to probably CircuitPython

[late fulcrum]

Your best bet may be to stay in the Pi world. AdaFruit does sell the Zero 2, which is fairly compact and doesn't require a lot of power or cooling, but can run full Python and perform demanding math, and it has an HDMI output for a display.

[sharp plover]

BLE?

[late fulcrum]

It does support BLE as well

https://www.adafruit.com/product/5291

[sharp plover]

BTW, I loved the teensy 4 but since I've had so many issues getting BLE to work, mainly receiving, I'd like to avoid having to add a board.

Thanks

[late fulcrum]

I personally have had a lot of trouble with BLE in general, so I regard it as "difficult". And full disclosure, I'm a fan of the original Pi Zero and built a lot of those little $5 boards into projects.

https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/028/774/original/raspberry_pi_zero_iso_demo_3A_ORIG.jpg?1448520517

[sharp plover]

Ahhh, a fellow BLE sufferer!
$5 board with $12 shipping......
Trying to keep costs down. Why do you prefer the original Pi Zero as opposed to the 2 W.
Also the SD card and micro HDMI are great features. Thought I might have to add the SD.
Thanks for the help! You're right up there with @danh who got me back into programming and sold me on CircuitPython. Much appreciate the feedback.
Got a room full of Xmas decorations calling out to be packed so I'll be aftk for a bit.
Happy New Year!

[late fulcrum]

When I started building these, the Zero was the only one available, so I used that, even though I had to recompile various Python libraries, as the original Zero used ARMv6 instead of the ARMv7 used in the fancier ones. MicroCenter had them as a loss leader, so you could pick one up for $5 each time you visited, so I did so, and ended up with a pile of Zeros. They're still a good deal, but these days I might splash out the $15 for a Zero 2.

[sharp plover]

Plus $12 shipping, arggggggg........

[late fulcrum]

There are ways to reduce shipping fees (since I was visiting Microcenter in person, shipping wasn't a factor)

[sharp plover]

I'm a little removed out here with the coyotes and scorpions. Where is the Micrcenter?

well raise my rent! look what I found:

https://www.amazon.com/sspa/click?ie=UTF8&spc=MToxODA0NTA0MzI0NDE2OTg5OjE3MzU3NTc4ODA6c3BfYXRmOjMwMDA0MDc0MjMyNDgwMjo6MDo6&url=%2FRaspberry-Quad-core-Bluetooth-onboard-Antenna%2Fdp%2FB0CCRP85TR%2Fref%3Dsr_1_2_sspa%3Fcrid%3D2TN984L5PA87Y%26dib%3DeyJ2IjoiMSJ9.3BENuF2Ktu1UHOlVshSOQf6bxwBq7jmPZ8r4egHwmQD4YWnC1cxI8k4aAVib31h4SQ9AVxwbOINlsdxp5mO9BUOX6UcAbRX0Wo4FGawXnKe4JJJqnM6DBV6nostuwOJEQOTpeFSYYOKALyPNEpTzrj8y8f2j3nmAPqa2ZMAR-kX2F-ovVRmMYk9WgF0IbriOCQuIZSRcD5Puk6DmXSFTeGXJ4vY3ygbvYozyuSr_Zz0.F6FtUAqARt0AARMkqQx8JUfp6nXqQrPA_QbwZ9IgEgA%26dib_tag%3Dse%26keywords%3Draspberry%2Bpi%2Bzero%2B2%2Bw%26qid%3D1735757879%26sprefix%3DRaspberry%2BPi%2BZero%2B2%2BW%252Caps%252C275%26sr%3D8-2-spons%26sp_csd%3Dd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY%26psc%3D1

$21 , "free" shipping

[late fulcrum]

Heh, I'll be out in Arizona later this month. But I live out in the Baltimore/Washington area. I don't buy stuff from spamazon, too sketchy

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/raspberry-pi/SC1176/15298147 $15 and you can get free shipping

[sharp plover]

Only had one bad board from them but I have returned 5 displays until I found the right one! Hosyond 7" touch screen. Glass surface but my old eyes need a magnifying glass once in a while 🤓

[sharp plover]

now THAT is way cool! I forgot I have a DigiKey account. I'm in N. Phoenix. Doesn't get QUITE as hot up here. DARN!!!! I gotta go pack! Later......

[shadow siren]

@sharp plover Amazon has the ability to make a shortened link for products so you do not need to paste the long link

[sharp plover]

WHOOPS! soory abot that!

[umbral phoenix]

OTOH shortened links are obfuscated and the reader has no idea where it will lead (not necessarily good for security and privacy). In general, Amazon links can be manually shortened by visiting the product page, then deleting everything starting with ref=, so: www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Quad-core-Bluetooth-onboard-Antenna/dp/B0CCRP85TR/

[hollow flint]

Don't forget to get a microSD card, if you don't already have a spare.

[sharp plover]

WOW, the fun part of the holidays......taking all the crap down and packing it away for next year!

[sharp plover]

right now I'm using a 256GB in my RPi now. I have. a few 32s and 16s. What's a good size to be using?

[raw jasper]

happy new year!

[raw jasper]

How data sharing-happy are the eufies?

(asking 'coz I'd love to get a robovac, but the fact that they probably phone home all the time keeps me from doing so)

[late fulcrum]

Looks reasonably clean, although the Anker/Eufy security cameras were previously not as encrypted as they said they were, but that was fixed when attention was drawn to it.

[raw jasper]

Can you operate them firewalled off the web internet?

[late fulcrum]

Looks that way (I'll verify soon when mine shows up)

[raw jasper]

Would it be ok for me to check back with you in a few weeks?

[late fulcrum]

Although some of the functionality (like "advanced mapping") requires internet connectivity, you can run without it.

Yes, that would be fine

[raw jasper]

Alright thanks!

BTW I recently came across this book I think you might be interested in:

https://www.human-robot-interaction.org/

[late fulcrum]

Huh, interesting

[raw jasper]

Interesting indeed!

[late fulcrum]

Looks like they offer some non-WiFi models as well https://support.eufy.com/s/article/Can-I-turn-off-the-WiFi-of-eufy-RoboVac

[umbral phoenix]

this should be a required answer on the label of every internet-connected device

[late fulcrum]

I'm not going to give my TV internet access. If I do decide I want to update the firmware (unlikely), I'd use a USB stick.

I inadvertently bought a NAS that was all to eager to phone home. It's still in the box.

I had a work laptop once that wouldn't connect to my protected network, so I reluctantly connected it to my real one. It instantly uploaded my WiFi password to the cloud. I changed my password and mailed the (thoroughly wiped) laptop back to my employer. They're lucky I left it in one piece.

I'll strongly resist buying any car made after 2025 unless I know I can disable its connectivity.

[raw jasper]

They'll have onboard eSIMs from now on, right?

[late fulcrum]

And "anti drunk driver" monitoring that sends audio and perhaps video to a "control center" somewhere. If I want to cuddle someone in my car, it's our business and nobody else's.

[tardy badger]

Wow 😵‍💫

[hollow flint]

Sorry for the late response, but given that Raspberry Pi's official microSD cards go down to 32 GB, that's probably a good minimum size.

[jagged axle]

16GB is usually pretty roomy if you're using RPi OS lite
i've yet to ever come close to reaching max capacity while using a zero

[sharp plover]

I tend to be a glutton. Also just getting into the Raspbian world so really not sure how much room I need. I've installed matplotlib, PyGame, PyOpenGL, glut, etc. so I made sure I had enough room for my explorations. I have a Pi Zero 2 W on the way so when it gets here i"ll see if I can really not bump my head on 16GB cards.

[hollow flint]

@sharp plover wants to use a display, so it likely wouldn't be the lite version of Raspberry Pi OS: #general-chat message

[jagged axle]

i use a display to see the command line on mine

[sharp plover]

Good point, again just learning this environment. I also noticed the RPi 4B runs a little hot, probably because I'm running 2 monitors (touchscreen) and running a lot of 3D stuff.

[jagged axle]

that would def do it lol

[sharp plover]

like I said, glutton. Used to be a Test Engineer so I'm always pushing stuff

[jagged axle]

price difference is so little between the two that you might as well

actually lol google is showing me higher prices for 16GB cards

[hushed umbra]

hey folks, extremely new learner here with no python or other pogramming experience beyond a few powershell scripts. Can someone direct me to a learning project for displaying static images and / or scrolling messages on a Matrixportal M4?

I've gotten through the tutorial far enough to succeed at connecting the M4 to my wifi but not actually displayed anything on the LEDs yet

[hollow flint]

I'd first recommend learning Python, resources for that can be found here: https://learn.adafruit.com/welcome-to-circuitpython/how-do-i-learn-python
Afterwards, you can repurpose the example code in this guide: https://learn.adafruit.com/rgb-led-matrices-matrix-panels-with-circuitpython/example-simple-two-line-text-scroller

[hushed umbra]

I have an important project for my disabled wife to pull off, so I unfortunately don't have the luxury to learn python first... I have some very very basic programming concept knowledge and some experience with REST API integrations scraped together over 30 years in tech so I'm not coming into this blind, but I also can't take a month to learn to code first. I'm putting up a sign by our bedroom door to let people know whether or not she's well enough for the rest of the household to come in.

Right now I'm just at "understand how to make it say anything", and then I'l move on to making it accessible for her somehow other than editing code.py.

[tardy badger]

https://learn.adafruit.com/iot-led-sign

This one code wise should give you a pretty good idea of how to do what you want to do

[pliant loom]

Hello guys!
I'm writing here because I would like to start a project, something of similar to smartwatch, using an esp32, where I can interact with the menus and different option using a knob, someone could help me to have a list of item that should I buy and libraries suggestions?
( please don't be rude with me, I'm just a beginner here 🥰)

[hollow flint]

@hushed umbra wanted to use a MatrixPortal M4, but that guide doesn't utilize it.

[tardy badger]

Doesn’t matter too much because the process to interact with the matrix is nearly identical

Just some minor differences

Alternatively S3 matrix portal learn guide does some nice scrolling text examples https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-matrixportal-s3

[hushed umbra]

I saw the S3 one but I stopped because it calls out that it won't work with the M4 due to a lack of memory on that one vs the S3 😦

[tardy badger]

Well, yes. Complex ones definitely would run out of memory

They don’t have the luxury of 8Mb of PSRAM

But simple scrolling text should be doable

[hollow flint]

Something like that does exist as a product (https://unexpectedmaker.com/shop.html#!/TinyWATCH-S3-P7/p/597047015). However, the firmware that's written for it is considered alpha-quality. Additionally, it doesn't include a battery, and there's a requirement of soldering for that.

[pliant loom]

Mmh something similar but in different way, I would like to have touch screen and circular knob, rotate to raise volume or switch between menus

[tardy badger]

Like the Digital Crown on Apple Watch?

[pliant loom]

Yeah something like that

[tardy badger]

I’ve personally never ran across a similar part. And if you look up the Digital Crown patent, incredibly complex

If you used it from the top, you probably could use a low profile rotary encoder

[pliant loom]

But I have a project in my mind of the design, something like a spatial mouse

[tardy badger]

But a right angle one that would be small is probably not on the market.

I’ve not encountered one anyway. But if size isn’t a huge issue, there are a number of nice right angle mounted rotary encoders

[pliant loom]

The scope for encoders?

[tardy badger]

The Digital Crown on the Apple Watch is a very fancy rotary encoder, if you don’t need a tiny one, there are some good ones on the market

[pliant loom]

I would like to have a little 1.28” lcd on top, then not small

[tardy badger]

Hmm, okay

Maybe like this https://www.crowdsupply.com/xtech/roendi

[pliant loom]

Yes, I would like to have an interface that’s show me a preview of notifications from my iPhone, show date time, music etc

Maybe with UI more pretty 😅

I have 2 resin\fdm printer, then I don’t have problem with case or parts of the exterior aspect

I would like to project a pcb to have everything compress and fixed

[tardy badger]

Gotcha

[pliant loom]

Exactly this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZa-Vqu-_fU
but I don’t know the components to buy and libraries to use

A simple example, how can I customize UI?

[tardy badger]

Depending on the coding language, there will be built in libraries to help you build UI elements. Circuitpython and even Arduino have some libraries to do this

[hollow flint]

I can't tell if the button on this watch is actually a rotary encoder, or just a button that looks like one, but this watch might be one to consider trying: https://circuitpython.org/board/lilygo_twatch_s3/

[pliant loom]

I don’ know nothing about that, can you tell me some reference to study?

[hollow flint]

https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-display-support-using-displayio

[hollow flint]

and https://learn.adafruit.com/making-a-pyportal-user-interface-displayio

[pliant loom]

Ok thank you!
meanwhile for the pcb and component to use?

[hollow flint]

Maybe #general-chat message

[pliant loom]

Ok, thank you!!

[hollow flint]

If you're planning on getting that one, make sure to get the one with the (868/915) MHz that's legal to transmit on in your country.

[hollow flint]

However, that likely isn't a feature you're going to use anyways.

[pliant loom]

For what?

[tardy badger]

Looks like potentially a rotary encoder

There’s no rotary encoder on the schematic they posted

So, very interesting

[hollow flint]

It has a built-in peripheral that does the same thing as this product: https://www.adafruit.com/product/3072

[tardy badger]

It’s a button, the long thing is the USB C port

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0617/7190/7253/files/watch2020V3_S3_a0c58be7-8f5f-4f20-a1bc-775c1942a7f3_600x600.jpg?v=1685504665

[lament trout]

on the adafruit.com website, when viewing a category like "feather" ( https://www.adafruit.com/category/943 ) is there a way to sort by newest things first?

[tardy badger]

On the main search, you can sort by most recent

[lament trout]

Thanks .. that is good for searching, but what about browsing categories? as more things are added the categories are getting large. I typically don't know what to search for and spend more time browsing

[tardy badger]

You can also set categories in the sort/filter settings. I’m not sure how refined that will make it without using more specific keywords in your search

[lament trout]

hopefully sort feature is added to categories, should be a basic information architecture thing. search won't let me enter "" for "everything" and I have no idea what query to formulate returning all microcontroller boards across all size / MCU architecture types

[tardy badger]

https://www.adafruit.com/search?q=microcontroller dev board

Returns quite a list of boards, could be a good starting point

[lament trout]

looking for RP2350 with stemma-qt ... (among other things) thanks

[tardy badger]

Like the feather? https://www.adafruit.com/product/6000

It has a stemma qt connector next to the HSTX and debug connectors

There isn’t terribly many RP2350 boards yet, that should be changing over the coming year though.

I’m hoping to get my hands on some of the bare chips so I can make my own.

[lament trout]

i also need to choose 90640 IR sensor, adafruit has 110°x70° or 55°x35° ... i'm using it to measure thermals from a flashlight (project measures how light handles turbo, for how long, how hot it gets, etc). Can't seem to decide between the 110° or 55° ... can anyone sway me one way or the other? I expect the sensor to be within 12" of the flashlight. I'm wondering if there is some non-obvious trade-off

[tardy badger]

Smaller angled sensors tend to be a bit more sensitive so if you’re looking for more sensitive readings, it could be a good option

[lament trout]

that's great info, thanks

[thick wind]

Are you measuring the flashlight itself or the surface the light is shining on? For the former, I’d definitely use the narrow view, but the latter would depend on how large a surface you need to view, and from what distance.

[lament trout]

The flashlight itself thanks

so seems the 55° would be best for first attempt. thanks everyone

[terse lava]

It isn't perfect and of course it only covers the boards that have CircuitPython ports, but if you go to the download page https://circuitpython.org/downloads you can use the filter option to narrow down some chooses. Both RP2350 and Stemma connector are options. But again, it only shows those that have CP ports to install, but it is a start. Filtered list shows 9 boards with those two criteria.

[thick wind]

And the only one available on adafruit at the moment is the feather, unfortunately. The metro looks like a fun board, but it’s not available yet.

The pimoroni and sparkfun boards look promising though, if you’re open to alternate sources.

[fair summit]

The Metro RP2350B is on its way soon, but I can't say what "soon" means

[dusty citrus]

This is not reddit, but in the us do you really have such inflated salaries? like 50k for a clerk?

[thick wind]

Depends where in the us. In certain cities, you could have a salary of 100k and still be below the poverty line…

[dusty citrus]

where? I don't doubt that you may be a slave wage locally due to living costs, yet it seems a lot in comparison to my current salary (<20k)

[thick wind]

It might only be San Francisco California where that applies. It’s still a prime example of why salaries mean very little out of context, and why some making more money than you could technically still be poorer than you.

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/100k-a-year-is-low-income-in-the-bay-area-according-to-new-report/ is an article from June 2023, and it really highlights how much the area costed back then.

[dusty citrus]

Indeed but the neighboor grass is always greener, as they say...

[burnt tendon]

Well, also, what you end up with in the SF Bay area is that a clerk ought to make $100k minimum but instead they end up with $30-40k and then people wonder why things are so messed up, et al.

[sharp plover]

MetroRP2305B??? Preliminary specs??

[thick wind]

https://www.adafruit.com/product/6003

[ebon dew]

Happy New Year. My mexican neighbors invited me to their party. They were determined to get me so hammered I couldn't walk home. 20 shots of tequila and I walked home just fine. 2 days later and I'm still nauseated, everything tastes like tequila, heck of a party. I did a social thing. 🎉

[dusty citrus]

so 30k after taxes, or to live in you need 100k, but you get actually paid 30k?

[burnt tendon]

The second.

[candid star]

Hey does anyone know the sma connector size for a alafa AWUS03ACH wifi card?

[thick wind]

Not off the top of my head, but I thought SMA was a well-defined standard size…

[candid star]

Should just be rp-sma but I don’t really know

[thick wind]

Does it not fit?

[candid star]

I dont know I am going to order it today maybe tomorrow

[lapis anchor]

nearly all wifi gear uses RP-SMA, and can confirm that does too - edit, updated link.. but same answer 😉 https://www.alfa.com.tw/products/awus036ach_1?_pos=1&_sid=ca6a378a4&_ss=r&variant=40319795789896

[candid star]

Ah, thank you so much! I thought it would, but I had my doubts.

[terse lava]

https://tenor.com/view/otario-irmão-bill-paxton-movie-eggs-gif-14417578 Obscure reference you may or may not get

[late fulcrum]

Apparently the new spamazon basics TV won't work if you don't sign it into a spamazon account.

[tardy badger]

I resemble this remark. I made ~$125k this last year but cost of living in my area leaves very little with a wife and 4 kids

Not in poverty per se, we live fairly comfortably all things considered.

[jagged axle]

anyone know of any right angle brackets that go well with the swirly mounting grids (https://www.adafruit.com/product/5781)
in terms of screw hole size and spacing?

Or really just any angle brackets that would fit M2 - M2.5 screws/standoffs
Google just keeps giving me results for 2mm thick brackets regardless of how much i try to specify that i mean hole size, but i find it incredibly hard to believe that literally nobody has ever thought to make them before

[thick wind]

Can’t speak to how well they fit on swirly grids, but maybe these will help. https://hobbyking.com/rotorbits-20x20-right-angle-bracket-black-10pcs-bag.html

[sharp plover]

Will the Zero4U work with the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and does it still come with the ferrite ring?

[fair summit]

I don't think we can answer that authoritatively. It would be better to ask https://www.uugear.com/

[small tapir]

Hello chat!

:3

[sharp plover]

thanks!

[true urchin]

Thx for restocking those 19mm buttons!

[jagged axle]

uugear's official product page for it says

We confirmed that Zero4U can work with Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W.

the "Package Content" section also still lists the ferrite ring

[sharp plover]

Thanks, I couldn't find the product page so I signed up for the forum and asked there. But you beat them to it with an answer!

[bright veldt]

anything like falstad circuit sim thats potentially better?

[compact comet]

Anyone have suggestions for a hot air rework station? It would be used for general hobbyist electronics repair and would rather buy once/cry once. Quick 957DW seemed reasonable, but wanted other opinions.

[late fulcrum]

Define "better"... There are a bunch of Spice variants, or the truly accurate and quick approach of breadboarding things

[next condor]

Hey! I was looking into buying some components on adafruit and remember sometimes there was 10% off from them, does anyone know of any current promotions?

[terse lava]

When they are running a promotion it will appear right at the top of the page when you go the Adafruit web site. Since there is nothing showing right now, there are. no current promotions.

[next condor]

tyy

[hard estuary]

Discount codes are usually available during the livestreams on Wednesdays and Thursdays

[jagged citrus]

My dream transformer has finally been made

Idk how much it costs tho, probably a kidney

[bitter badge]

I recently bought a couple of QT Py CH552s. I've been unable to program them. Initially I used vnproch55x from the command line. In USB mode, it times out, even when I set the timeout to 16 seconds. In serial mode it says it can't open the port. I attempted to program it in Arduino, but due to a bug in ch55xduino or Arduino itself, I was unable to, because it can't handle spaces in the file path (put there by the Windows installer). Today I pulled out my Linux laptop, installed Arduino, and tried it on that, and I'm getting exactly the same results I got on Windows using the command line. Trying to program with USB times out. I even tried putting into bootloader mode between 5 and 10 times (because it's hard to hit the 2 second timeout, so I did it extra times just to be sure). In serial mode, it can't find the port (/dev/ttyACM0).

I ran a watch instance in another window, running ls every second on that specific file, and then I tried to upload. As soon as Arduino ran vnproch55x to try to upload, the device disappeared, and a few seconds after the upload failed it reappeared. This happened with serial and USB. Additionally, the default rainbow program appears to halt when this occurs. The NeoPixel remains lit, but the color cycle stops and the color no longer changes.

I mentioned that I bought two of these. I only tested one of them on Windows, but I've tried to upload to both of them on Linux, and it failed exactly the same way for both.

I should also mention that I tried this with two different USB cables. Both Windows and Linux recognize that a new device has been plugged in. Windows assigns a COM port, Linux assigns a device address. Both cables work perfectly fine as data cables when attached to my Android tablet, so I don't think the problem is the cables.

It appears that the devices halt and eventually reboot on any attempt to write.

Any ideas? I was really looking forward to playing with these!

[fair summit]

Is your user in the dialup group?

[bitter badge]

Yep. Has been for years, but I double checked when setting up.

It's not reporting a permissions issue either. The error says, "No such file or directory".

(It's actually dialout on my system, but both the device and my user are in that group.)

I'm wondering if maybe there's a spike in current draw from the chip that results in a brown out when the NeoPixel is powered...

[fair summit]

I meant dialout. plugdev is also a possibility. I have a CH board but haven't tried it at all.

DId you search in our forums to see if anyone else had an issue?

[bitter badge]

No worries!

Yes, last week I came across a post from several years ago. No solution was found, and a refund was offered. I'd rather avoid that outcome if possible though.

[late fulcrum]

Aha: #adafruit-blog-feed message

[jagged axle]

are these what are being sold currently or has this not happened yet?
https://youtu.be/HoksRx1jlZ8?si=LeY6Y-Q7_KgcV5jm&t=47

the way it was worded made it sound like the plan was to just start selling the square pin versions in place of the thin pin ones rather than list them as their own separate product

[burnt tendon]

In other words, have they gotten things all squared away yet?

[sage dagger]

https://tenor.com/view/steve-carell-the-office-yikes-this-is-the-worst-cringe-gif-21219465

[fair summit]

That would be a good question to ask for Ask an Engineer: https://discord.com/channels/327254708534116352/1325112196761522297

I don't know if there's backstock that needs to sell out or not.

[jagged axle]

thanks
will move over to that chat

[fair summit]

it will be answered on the show on Wednesday evening

[night crescent]

Desk of Ladyada - Festival of Lights PCB push ✨🎇
https://youtu.be/mNDc-7cu8LA

Wrapping up last year with display and LED PCB projects, including GC9A01A round display protos and Sparkle Motion boards. Solenoid driver testing underway, fixing WLED/mic interference. Great Search: Picking SOD-323 flyback diodes for solenoids, balancing specs and cost.

[dusty citrus]

so have you guys looked at the new esp32-c3 and s3 tft screen

https://www.makerfabs.cc/product/esp32-s3-parallel-tft-with-touch-4-3-inch.html

https://www.makerfabs.cc/product/3-5-inch-esp32-c3-risc-v-spi-tft-touch.html

these with circuit python would make for a good application

https://www.makerfabs.cc/product/esp32-s3-4-inch-display-demo-kit.html

so I am looking for someone who needs / wants a rpi2040 with the waveshare display hat for it

https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/Pico-ResTouch-LCD-3.5

[fair summit]

Are you asking a question? Not sure why you are posting these.

[dusty citrus]

got it for a project and not using iit . I am asking if some one needs/wants as a donation. I can ship it to them

its going to waste over here not being use

it has a rpi2040 with it

figure someone could come up with a project fo rit

[hollow flint]

I'd recommend donating them to a local makerspace/hackerspace.

[bitter badge]

Would I be better off asking about this on the forum?

[fair summit]

So you've read the guide, including https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-ch552-qt-py/bootloader-mode (e.g., the warning about not being in bootloader mode for very long)?

[bitter badge]

I have. I gave it many tries, and on my Windows machine, I tried from the command line with a 16 second timeout, and even that didn't work.

Hmm, that would seem to disprove my suggestion about brown out, since the NeoPixel isn't on in bootloader mode...

[bitter badge]

I did try plugging into a USB multimeter and uploading while watching the voltage and current. I don't think the multimeter is fast enough that it would have caught anything though. The current drops to zero when the device halts (from 20mA when is running), but that's all it shows.

[tardy badger]

you might try using a nordic PPK2

it's pretty quick

[bitter badge]

Way out of my budget right now, but it looks nice!

[tardy badger]

Definitely worth the investment whenever you have the funds to get one

[bitter badge]

Looks like it. Quite nice.

[bitter badge]

Cannot perform port reset: 1200-bps touch: setting DTR to OFF: protocol error
It says that when I try Serial upload.

[bitter badge]

Also, I just tried uploading with a much shorter USB cable (the others I was using are 6 foot ones, and I wondered if voltage drop over that length could do it). I dont' have a short A to C cable, so I also used the USB C port on my machine. Still no luck.

[bitter badge]

Ok, a bit more information: I edited platform.txt for CH55xduino and set the upload timeout to 30 seconds. I got watch running on ls again, and I tried to upload putting the chip into bootloader mode. It didn't work. 30 seconds was long enough to put it into bootloader mode twice.

The one critical thing I observed was that the device never shows up on the filesystem until after the rainbow program it came with starts running. ls continues to report that there is no /dev/ttyACM0 file until after the NeoPixel turns on, every time. It doesn't matter if I'm trying to program it or not, the device does not mount while in bootloader mode.

I don't have the ability to measure timing with this kind of resolution in Windows (because Device Manager is quite slow to respond when new devices are added), but when I was trying to program the device in Windows, the COM port consistently didn't show up until well after it was out of bootloader mode.

[bitter badge]

I just tested with the other QT Py CH552 I got in the same order, and it behaves identically. The device is not mounted until after it exits the bootloader.

[bitter badge]

I don't know if this will help, but I isolated the dmesg events for plugging in the device with the boot button held down:

[ 2356.199026] usb 1-11: new full-speed USB device number 63 using xhci_hcd
[ 2356.348246] usb 1-11: New USB device found, idVendor=4348, idProduct=55e0, bcdDevice= 2.50
[ 2356.348252] usb 1-11: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
[ 2365.847968] usb 1-11: USB disconnect, device number 63
[ 2366.159180] usb 1-11: new full-speed USB device number 64 using xhci_hcd
[ 2366.309165] usb 1-11: New USB device found, idVendor=1209, idProduct=c550, bcdDevice= 1.01
[ 2366.309171] usb 1-11: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 2366.309175] usb 1-11: Product: CH55xduino
[ 2366.309178] usb 1-11: Manufacturer: Deqing
[ 2366.309180] usb 1-11: SerialNumber: CH55x
[ 2366.312638] cdc_acm 1-11:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device

Linux is recognizing it connecting, but the idVendor and such are different from when it connects outside of bootloader mode. I'm not sure if this is the intended behavior or not. It appears to disconnect when it leaves bootloader mode and reconnect with the normal values for the device. The gap between connecting in bootloader mode and disconnecting to go into regular mode is around 9 seconds, during which it does not seem to connect as a serial device, which prevents it from being programmed.

Maybe I'm misreading this. I'm not super familiar with the USB protocol. Maybe there is something useful in there?

[tardy badger]

I tell ya, seeing this on my Tindie shop dashboard makes me definitely consider building some more board..

[fair summit]

OK, I have a CH552 QT Py too. I too could not upload the "blink" program with the board out of the bag. But I made the udev addition as mentioned in the guide, rebooted my Ubuntu 24.04 system, and then held down the boot button, pressed the upload button in Arduino (2.3.4), and then plugged in the board. It uploaded and blink began to run.

[bitter badge]

Where in the guide does it mention the udev addition? I just went through the whole thing searching "udev", and I didn't find it. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong guide?

[fair summit]

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-ch552-qt-py/bootloader-mode#linux-troubleshooting-steps-3182208

[bitter badge]

Thanks. Not sure why browser search didn't find "udev", since it is clearly right there.

I missed that part, probably because when I read through all of that I was working in Windows, so it wasn't relevant. I've just done that and rebooted my Linux machine. Wish me luck!

No luck so far. I've tried USB, Serial, and both with bootloader mode, without any luck.

I'm trying one more thing...

[fair summit]

My Arduino settings are as given in the guide. I didn't change them.

[bitter badge]

Mine are the same. I just double checked them. I had another udev rule starting with 99, so when it failed, I tried changing it to 999, in hopes of ensuring the new one for the CH552 goes last. Not sure if that worked...

[fair summit]

I am using the button that is further from the edge of the board

[bitter badge]

Yep. Same here.

(I also tried again with the other one, and still does the same thing.)

[fair summit]

$ more /etc/udev/rules.d/99.ch55xbl.rules 
# CH55x bootloader
# copy to /etc/udev/rules.d/

SUBSYSTEM=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="4348", ATTRS{idProduct}=="55e0", MODE="0666"

[bitter badge]

Yep, that's exactly what I've got.

Never mind about the dmesg part. That's what it was reporting before. Something else was zeroes.

[fair summit]

Sketch uses 4838 bytes (33%) of program storage space. Maximum is 14336 bytes.
Global variables use 104 bytes (11%) of dynamic memory, leaving 772 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 876 bytes.
------------------------------------------------------------------
CH55x Programmer by Deqing
Updated on: 2023/10/10
------------------------------------------------------------------
usbRertySeconds 2
target: CH552
config bytes: 3
Load file as hex
   Loaded 4760 bytes between: 0000 to 12E5
DeviceVersion of CH55x: 2.50 
MCU ID: 52 11
Found Device CH552
Bootloader: 2.5.0
ID: FA AB C5 BC
XOR Mask: 26 26 26 26 26 26 26 78 
Write 4838 bytes from bin file.



.
.
..
..
...
[...omitted...]
erify complete!!!
------------------------------------------------------------------
Reset OK

I have to do the upload- click, then the plug-in, really fast.

It only worked one out of three times

[bitter badge]

I've tried that. I changed the timeout of the upload program to 16 seconds (I had it at 30 for a bit). The default is 2 seconds, which makes it really hard to hit.

[fair summit]

Actually, this is working now:
press and hold BOOT button
plug in
click upload

that worked three times in a row

I am not releasing the boot button

I can count to 10 before clicking upload and it still works

[bitter badge]

I've tried it both ways many times, plug in first, and click upload first.

Hmm, I'll try with not releasing the button. I've tried that once or twice in Windows but that's it.

Ok, that doesn't work, but the behavior is slightly different. When I do that it still fails to upload. The device still doesn't mount while in bootloader mode, but it also doesn't mount when it leaves bootloader mode and starts the rainbow program. In the time it took me to type this, it still hasn't mounted. If I reset though, it will mount again when the rainbow program starts.

[fair summit]

I would take "mount" to mean a USB drive appears. You just mean ACM0 appears, is that right?

[bitter badge]

Yes, I mean mounting the device in /dev, not as a drive.

[fair summit]

all I can say is I got it work. Maybe once I loaded blink, it's doing something else that makes it easier to use

you can open a forum post, which is the official support mechanism. This is not.

[bitter badge]

Maybe, I don't know. It seems very unlikely I would get two defective devices in one order, but...

I'll go open a post on the forum then. Thanks for trying to help me with this. I really appreciate it.

[fair summit]

I don't think they're defective. I think the upload procedure is ridiculously touchy.

I think I lucked out

[bitter badge]

Yeah, that seems pretty likely. Even people using this chip on other boards seem to have issues with it, but I haven't found any that just can't upload at all, and their solutions didn't work for me.

[pliant loom]

Hello!
Somebody could tell me the differences between an ESP32 C6 Feather and a classic ESP32?

[fair summit]

it uses a different chip. The ESP32 is the name of one chip. The ESP32-C6 is another. Yes, it's confusing. It's like "Honda" and "Honda Civic" being two different cars.

Neither has native USB support. ESP32-S2 and ESP32-S3 have native USB and can present a CircuitPython CIRCUITPY dirve.

[dusty citrus]

we dont have a local maker spcase hete in NE TENN .

[pliant loom]

Gotcha, thank you!

[hollow flint]

If you're referring to northeastern Tennessee, there is a makerspace in eastern Tennessee: https://knoxmakers.org/

[hollow flint]

However, there's also one in western North Carolina, which might be closer: http://ashevillemakers.org/

[dusty citrus]

Thats KNoxville thats 100 miles away from where I am

I am in the far NE in town called Elizabethton

its part of whats. called tri cities

Roan Mtn area

ashvill is 100 + miles to the south of me

there is nothing in my area local

they all closed when we had the CV19 thing going around

O well . I will contact KNoxville and see that they say

they have no email tocontact them thats stupid

their site seems to be very basic

o well I have 3 rp2040 and 3 diff displays

I need to find them homes

I am cleaning house and downsizing

[fair summit]

There is this makerspace https://theinventorcenter.com/ in Kingsport. ETSU looks like they just opened a makerspace: https://www.etsu.edu/etsu-news/2024/11-november/sparking-creativity-aim-of-etsus-innovation-commons.php. Also Happy Valley HS has a robotics club -- they might be interested.
(I am from Oak Ridge so I am familiar with the geography.)

[dusty citrus]

I will try to reach out to ETSU and KingsPort

tring to find the happy valley robotics

[fair summit]

I just saw it on the HS website club list. Probably you could call and ask who the faculty advisor is.

[dusty citrus]

will do

[fair summit]

there are also several local tech community colleges you probably know about, but they didn't look that promising

[dusty citrus]

yeah the 1 tech school here is more about computers and avionics

soas they are right by the airport here

but I will also reach out to the Hightschool here

[tight zinc]

Anyone know of a good circuit simulation software ?.

[fair summit]

if no answer here after a while, ask in #help-with-hw-design

[tight zinc]

Just come from there :D.. Wasn't sure it was a #help-with-hw-design question 😄

[fair summit]

I'd say so, yes, but what kind of circuits, etc., would be helpful to say.

how sophisticated? Is this for class?

[tight zinc]

For personal, Circuitry for power, charge manager & usb to uart.

More of a query if there is a sophisticated simulation software really

[fair summit]

most general simulation sw does not emulate sophisticated IC's like a charge manager or USB

[tight zinc]

From what i can se more simplistic circuits

[dusty citrus]

Pretty off topic, but how do FEM work? I am supposed to test each geometry manually and edit/select it manually?

There's none that allows me to either run threaded multiple simulations at once, and edit the model by a set of constraints and then pick the best?

I was navigating between the free stuff, and they all seem to be limited by an object at a time from what I've seen in the documentations, from stuff that's actually user friendly

[night crescent]

Rooooound display prototype testing 🌀✨

Okay, we've got our 1.3" round TFT prototype ready for testing - and here's a cute GIF of a dial turning back and forth. It's a great way to test the display, backlight, and SD card interface. We're using a QT Py ESP32 since we need quite a bit of oomph to decode GIFs and display them in real-time. With EYESPI, no wiring is required! This is good to go - it's time to book the PCB panel!

[little dust]

Hi everyone, could you direct me to the correct channel regarding a query about the Adafruit Micro Lipo w/MicroUSB Jack - USB LiIon/LiPoly charger and a 3.7v 1200 MAH battery please?

[hard estuary]

Without knowing the question, I would recommend #help-with-projects

[little dust]

Hi @hard estuary thankyou for that I'll head there now

[night crescent]

SHOW and TELL 1/8/2025 https://youtu.be/KCn5s-VjFcw

Link to join to show and share your project! https://streamyard.com/yrbmcp63jr

[serene pollen]

Hello. I am new to maker projects. Just wondering is there a dedicated channel here for circuits? Like circuit design?

[hard estuary]

Yes, check out #help-with-hw-design

[night crescent]

WE ARE LIVE in BROOKLYN! ASK AN ENGINEER! https://youtu.be/ICiE7Qd73r8

[serene pollen]

Thanks Paul

[night crescent]

10% off! Use code: stepper on checkout, expires 11:59PM ET go go go go!

[hollow flint]

(go)³⋅g⋅o! is the last four words mathematically simplified.

[jagged citrus]

Holy canoli it werked first try

[tardy badger]

Congrats!

[true ember]

i have designed my own microcontroller board with a custom ide and arduino core

[jagged citrus]

what MCU does it use?

[true ember]

pic16f1455

[true ember]

i do have a github for it https://github.com/AdamKirby07/Biscuit-MCU/tree/main

[thick wind]

A pic with arduino support? Very interesting…

[tardy badger]

Every once in a while my brain gets fixated on the construction and materials used to make windows for space craft and the ISS

They’re pretty thick, anywhere from around 0.5 inches (13mm or so) all the way up to over 26mm

Multiple layers of highly resistant glass

[late fulcrum]

Resistant to what? Heat? Cold? Light? X-rays? Micrometeorites? Magic spells?

[topaz bison]

I don’t see why you couldn’t. Maybe Elmer has a command-line interface that would facilitate scripting like that?

[fading hare]

Obviously has to be spell-resistant glass.

[round minnow]

Optional anti fog coating?

[tardy badger]

Sarcasm mostly 🙂

Resistant to pressure and micrometeorites

And other things I guess

[calm kraken]

I need some help. With MU being discontinue I am trying my best to install VS Code. I am having some issues. First question. Do I need to install Python 13? If not what do I select for an interpreter? Reason for the questions is I am getting Standard Library conflict with code.py. You know the squiggly lines under the code. I have a fresh install of VS CODE with no Python at the moment. I do have Circurity Python V2 install also. Help

[late fulcrum]

CircuitPython is the interpreter on your board. You can also install Python on your computer if you want to run Python code there.

[hard estuary]

You have plenty of time - Mu has two more releases coming, which should help it last a while longer

[late fulcrum]

And Thonny is presumably still a thing

[rapid geode]

poke poke. and where have you been? i had inane questions to ask!

[tardy badger]

https://tenor.com/view/spongebob-squarepants-squidward-stressed-awake-tired-gif-5152026

Essentially that

[rapid geode]

ha

[tardy badger]

My cheese slid off the cracker and I kind of pushed away a lot of things

I am doing much better now

[rapid geode]

ah good good

thw whole world is sliding off the table it seems lately.

[tardy badger]

Yeahhh

[rapid geode]

i finally scrounged up some pennies to do a few things.

not many pennies.. like 6... but thats enough!

assuming adafruit takes pennies

[tardy badger]

Pennies are nice

[rapid geode]

so whats new? back to making boards?

[tardy badger]

Taking it slow and trying to ease back into it

Just doing some FPGA stuff right now, might try to sell a few boards later this year

[rapid geode]

cool

im trying to figure out how to make an IR transmitter

[tardy badger]

What about you? How’s the VFX world treating you?

[rapid geode]

i have a little bit of work, and things are looking promising to be back to "real work" soon. cross fingers

doing a little rebuild and enhancement of my small cnc

[tardy badger]

Last year was a bit of a rough world for media creatives for sure

Those look really nice

[rapid geode]

first picture is a probe. its just 3 wires. 5g, gnd, and signal. a switch. i want to make it wireless with a little dongle. a battery, a wide range IR led. and then i need a reciever. it sounds pretty simple in my head

i dont even think it needs any active chips in the dongle

[tardy badger]

IR stuff can be pretty simple to implement

[rapid geode]

the ones you can buy are all too tall for my machine, and there are literally tens of thousands of these little ones out there so i figure i could make a little diy kit of a board set assembled by JLC

people can print their own housing

[tardy badger]

Yeah, that would be doable

[rapid geode]

how do you recieve IR? i guess thats my first problem.

[tardy badger]

Photodiode

[rapid geode]

https://www.adafruit.com/product/157

like so?

[tardy badger]

That would probably work well

It has all the front end included in a single package

[rapid geode]

hm. maybe not. i need one thats totally passive. it needs to pass the signal through in 10 microseconds or less

[tardy badger]

10usec huh?

[rapid geode]

my device is super "dumb". it is just a switch. cant tolerate any lag.

[tardy badger]

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/OP999/498712

[rapid geode]

ah

[tardy badger]

You’ll want a TIA (Transimpedance amplifier) circuit to properly translate the current from it to a voltage level

[rapid geode]

it has to trip a 24V input on the cnc

(or 5v, but 24v preferred

[tardy badger]

You can use a voltage level translator to trigger a latch

[rapid geode]

thats what a pro level one looks like (with 2 way coms)

[tardy badger]

So you want to turn the machine on with IR?

[rapid geode]

no. a probe is a scanning tool. it bumps into the work with a ruby stylus and then that signal tells the machine where it is. so you can locate your work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Kw-QM__VLI

[tardy badger]

So you want to do optical communication to transmit the data to the controller?

[rapid geode]

like this, but not $7000

[rapid geode]

yes, except the data is literally a single on of switch

just has to be very lag free

[tardy badger]

Does the spinal generate the signal?

I see an led ring on that one which is why I’m asking

[rapid geode]

the probe goes in the spindle. the stylus sits on pins and ball bearings. when the stylus moves the pins lift and break the circuit

the led rind is the built in IR leds.

(plus some visual ones)

[tardy badger]

Gotcha

[rapid geode]

mine is an add on dongle, so it will probably just have 3 leds facing different directions

[tardy badger]

Probably doable for cheaper than $7000

[rapid geode]

hehe

yes

mine was $70

cdn

theirs is 7k cause its ultra precise with strain guages for deflection and a bunch of other fancy things. i dont need any of that.

[tardy badger]

Gotcha

[rapid geode]

i just need to replace the wire with an ir light

[tardy badger]

Yeah, IR is typically pretty easy to use

So definitely doable

[rapid geode]

yeah. tiny dongle with a battery, leds, and some accessory items like a power inicator, visual led

reciever doesnt need any real size constraints

[tardy badger]

I would think you can get it probably down to probably less than 20mm wide

[rapid geode]

the probe is.... 32mm diam? something like that.

so a little 20x20 dongle would be perfect

[tardy badger]

The LED would just be bent at a right angle over the edge of the board and you’d likely need to shrink wrap around the board itself for stability and protection from debris

[rapid geode]

i think id want multiple smt leds.

[tardy badger]

Doable as well

[rapid geode]

the reciever is most likely gonna rely on a lot of indirect bounced light

so i want the light to shine all directions. thats why the pro one has a ring

[tardy badger]

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/APA3010SF4C/1747468

[rapid geode]

ah yes. thats about right

2 or 3 of those

[tardy badger]

LEDs typically have a viewing angle, for those ones it’s 120° so you would effectively have reliably 80-100° of spread

If you can imagine, the intensity diminishes quite a bit in the outer angles

Do you expect the spinal side to be battery powered?

[late fulcrum]

Ordinary 1mm plastic optical fiber is cheap and easy to work with. You can literally heat shrink LEDs and photodiodes to it and have it work.

[rapid geode]

yes. the probe will need a coin cell of some kind.

[rapid geode]

that may be too advanced for users to do themselves. not sure.

but its a good thought

[tardy badger]

Maybe a small 150mAh LiPo to ensure you get the right current draw

Coin cell batteries only can deliver 15mA

There are some special varieties that will do like 25mA but they’re not as common

[rapid geode]

no lipo. the big ones use a little lion cell. stubby one. others use coin cells

let me see

[tardy badger]

https://www.adafruit.com/product/1570

[tardy badger]

This one is tiny

[rapid geode]

lipo is a possible fire risk in the amchine.

14250 is the battery.

like a stubby AA

[tardy badger]

Looks like LiSOCL2 batteries are also a fire risk

So, ya know pick your poison 🤷‍♂️

[rapid geode]

huh

i suppose they are all a fire risk

[tardy badger]

Yeah

[rapid geode]

cant find the mah rating

[tardy badger]

But LiSOCL2 definitely are great for long term use

[rapid geode]

1000

ok, those are in relative terms huge

(they last years)

[tardy badger]

1.2Ah for some I’m seeing

[rapid geode]

ir leds are about 20mah, for a fraction of a second. so i guess its really about the instantaneous draw.

ah no, those ones were 50ma

so lets say 150ma

hm. coin cells seem to be in the 100ma range

for 2 hours.

400,000 1 second probe activations

thats several years

yeah i think that will work. just need to to keep the led payload under say, 80ma

[calm kraken]

@late fulcrum so where on the board do you point the interpreter on the board. It looks like it's looking for an .exe file.

[tardy badger]

Coin cells usually can only provide a max current of 15mA even if they have a capacity of 100-150mAh. The discharge rate is pretty low

[rapid geode]

huh. i googles and it said 100ma draw

for a 2032

[late fulcrum]

The board basically runs the interpreter itself, and provides access via a serial port.

[sharp plover]

@late fulcrum got my Zero 2W. Have the Zero4U mounted. 64GB SD card......
DUH!!! Forgot the silly mini HDMI to HDMI cable. Thought I had one.

[sharp plover]

Wonder why I can't connect using SSH. When I setup the SD card Iturned on SSH and filled in all the fields and passwords. Doesn't the board try to connect if it has all the information?

[somber spindle]

try to connect to what?

[sharp plover]

connect to my RPi Zero 2W

I can connect to my RPi 4B no problems. Already have a key-pair in place

[late fulcrum]

You'd have to have a network connection too: did you set up the WiFi? Are you using ZeroConf/Bonjour?

[tight island]

I've got a pi5 with a adafruit rgb matrix bonnet and a 32x32 hub75 connected up but have no idea how to get it up and running any help appreciated!

[ocean sigil]

Currently the Matrix driving software library does not support the Pi 5 (and no ETA when it might be done) so best to use a Pi 4 until Pi 5 support is complete

[tight island]

Yeah it's the software side I'm struggling with

[ocean sigil]

from https://www.adafruit.com/product/3211

[tight island]

Oh ok thankyou

[ocean sigil]

Sorry...

More information here https://github.com/hzeller/rpi-rgb-led-matrix/issues/1603

[tight island]

Ok

[rotund canopy]

Does this look like a good price for this robot https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0D9W5NNGL

[radiant root]

Hello, I spent so much time on this one question already, and didn't find definitive answer.
What is the best way to power small boards with a battery?
Like with 3.7V Lipo. This should ideally allow to charge it with usb type-C, passthrough power share (charge and use at the same time), protections from overcharge, discharge, short etc.
Ping me if you have answer., I will be really really grateful for it.

[fair summit]

We have a whole product line that can take USB power or a 3.7 Lipo, and has a built-in battery charger.: <> For an example of one of the latest boards and how power works: https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-feather-rp2350/power-management

[tardy badger]

I really wish I could get my hands on some rp2350/rp2354b chips

[radiant root]

It looks good, but has some downsides for me:

1. kinda too big for some projects,
2. HSTX port is unnecessary,
3. Price.
   Some ESP-32 or RP2040 chip based boards cost down to €1.5 per one board, they also offer another boards with female pins to plug those cheap boards into, to get more pins and all battery stuff, so it's about €4-5 for all, but then it's kinda bulky.
   So I would like to have something with battery management capabilities at around €5.
   Maybe like standalone board that I have to solder few power wires to. (Like that TP4056, but I have read that it's not really safe and should not be used)

[tardy badger]

€4-5 is a big ask for the typical board maker

Maybe Aliexpress but you run the risk of getting subpar hardware

Or nonfunctional

But you could probably do a regular Raspberry Pi Pico with the battery stamp from Pimoroni

That would get you in the €7 range

[fair summit]

I was offering you a general design that you can adapt or buy, as you wish. I was pointing to that particular board as just the latest such board. In particular it has a CHG jumper you can cut if you don't want charging, which is a new addition. Our multiple over BOM cost is typical for a full-service manufacturer who provides support. The cost of an actual RPi Pico is atypically low due to pricing requirements by RPi.

[tardy badger]

Ah never mind, LiPo shim is £7.50

[fair summit]

In addition, the Feather design has a very large number of FeatherWing addon boards that match the pinout.

[radiant root]

Thank you @fair summit, will look more. Maybe will go study BMS'es in-depth and maybe make my own later

[fair summit]

We spec batteries that have charge protection circuitry on board, for safety. We also use a charging IC that safely charges the battery.

[tardy badger]

MCP73831 is the charging IC

[sharp plover]

When I installed the OS on the SD card I entered the network settings. When I setup the RPi 4B the first time I fired up the system it automatically connected. I thought the Zero would do the same thing. I also had SSH setup so I can't understand why it didn't show up on the network.

AH, I started to write the SD card all over as I hadn't done anything with it yet. I turned on "Show Password on the LAN setting and I guess the installer put an autogenerated password because it wasn't my network password. I'm reinstalling the SD right now and will see if that fixes it.

[fair summit]

also see https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/remote-access.html

you don't have to reinstall to set it up

[late fulcrum]

Meh, not really, and buying stuff from spamazon is fraught with risk

[rotund canopy]

Thanks, I was just trying to get a sense of the price-value

[sharp plover]

thanks @danh and @madboger. BTW the Zero and Zero4U are from DigiKey. After your advice about "spamazon" I switched to getting electronics from Adafruit or DigiKey

[sharp plover]

well that was it! @fair summit actually I did have to redo the SD card. Right now I am waiting for the monitor cable (from sweetwater, trying to do a lot less spamazon), so I couldn't get a monitor hooked up to the Zero. BUT when I reinstalled I put in the password I wanted to use so now I can connect in a headless mode because I can SSH in from either the Mac or the RPi 4B.

[lunar trench]

can i like put a hole in a like lithium ion battery and like make it so like that it like doesn'ty like move and like wobble around in like a case so that i like put a nail in it so like yea

[fair summit]

NO, it will catch on fire.

I have personally seen a punctured LiPo go up in flames

[lunar trench]

aw man 😔

[sharp plover]

Use velcro or clear double sided tape if you can get to the wires for the charger. And YES they will explode! I accidently caught one with a dremel and I got a very nasty burn.

[lunar trench]

oh uh if this wasn't clear it was supposed to be a joke

[terse lava]

Better luck next time.

[honest jolt]

If they were to jokingly respond yes to your joke then someone reading the chat may get ideas...can't be safe enough with lipos

[fair summit]

I thought maybe you were trollihng, but I looked up your history and you asked reasonable questions in the past. So I deleted my remark that you were trolling.

[radiant root]

@fair summit What do you think?
25 pins, possible to solder a battery on the bottom, RGB light, WiFi and BLE
Only €6,59 - https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005007219898210.html

[fair summit]

there is no battery circuitry, just some terminals. C6 as limited flash and RAM. How are you programming it? Are you going to buy a single board? How much is your time worth?

it's a simple breakout board with an RGB LED.

[radiant root]

I don't think that I need much flash and ram,
1 board to test, then probably 3-5 boards, more in the future if good
I am a student

[fair summit]

are you programming it in ESP-IDF, Arduino, CircuitPython, MicroPython?

[radiant root]

CircuitPython or MicroPython

I have tried a couple small boards like that, and have ESP32-C3 super mini, like in this post:
ESP32-C3 Super Mini - perfect for tiny projects

[fair summit]

The C6 does not have a full USB port. That is just a serial port. So CIRCUITPY will not be presented, you can't do HID, MIDI, etc.

[radiant root]

Yeah, that is kinda sad, but I have other boards for HID, and doing that you don't need to have a battery, since you still connect to PC or anything else, that provides power via USB

[fair summit]

This board seems like a variation on https://circuitpython.org/board/makergo_esp32c6_supermini/

[radiant root]

Wow, looks identical to me

[fair summit]

one mfr makes a board, many others clone it