sfx's Content

#60126 Mayhew Labs Mux Shield II

Posted by sfx on 16 September 2014 - 12:12 PM in Beta Firmware and Drivers

Hi All,

I�ve been wanting to expand the number of analog inputs in my N2+ so I purchased a Mux Shield II (Mayhew Labs), but have been unable to get the thing working. All I�ve had to go on is the Arduino user guide and code samples which I�ve attempted to port to NETMF, unsuccessfully it seems. Has anyone else had any experience using this multiplexing shield? I noticed that a forum member, Eric Falsken, created a code sample for the previous Mux Shield but I�m unable to get that working with the new board. His post can be found here:

http://forums.netduino.com/index.php?/topic/2975-mayhew-labs-muxshield-and-ti-74hc4067/?hl=74hc4067

I would definitely appreciate some help on this since accessing more analog inputs without having to design my own circuit was something I was really hoping for with this shield.

The user guide for the shield can be found here:

http://mayhewlabs.com/media/Mux_Shield_II_User_Guide.pdf

Along with Arduino code samples:

http://mayhewlabs.com/code/MuxShield.zip

Take care,

Nathan

#59958 Netduino Analog Ports

Posted by sfx on 31 August 2014 - 12:28 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Hi All,

The Netduino has 6 analog ports (A0-A5). Can anyone tell me an easy way to extend the number of analog ports so that more can be addressed?

Take care,

Nathan

#58323 Netduino with inbuilt Wi-Fi?

Posted by sfx on 21 May 2014 - 01:10 PM in General Discussion

Hi Folks,

Are there any plans to create a Netduino with inbuilt Wi-Fi? I noticed that Arduino has the Yun and it seems to me that a Netduino with similar functionality would be a tremendous boon for the product.

Best regards,

Nathan

#58335 Netduino with inbuilt Wi-Fi?

Posted by sfx on 21 May 2014 - 09:25 PM in General Discussion

Hi Chris,

Thanks for the update. I was almost certain that this was something that you guys had considered already, so it is great to hear that it is on your radar.

I look forward to hearing about any updates concerning this in the future.

Best regards,

Nathan

#58322 Sensor Cable Length

Posted by sfx on 21 May 2014 - 12:56 PM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Hi Folks,

How long can the cables/wiring be when connecting a sensor (say 3/4 pin) to the Netduino Plus 2's digital or analog ports?

The reason I ask is that most suppliers seem to offer cables up to around 30cm, but I was hoping to be able to purchase something 2 meters or longer in length.

Best regards,

Nathan

#59010 Netduino Plus 2 slow response (debugging)

Posted by sfx on 04 July 2014 - 11:14 PM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Hi Fred007,

I have the same issues as you when using the 4.3 firmware and VS 2013. Sometimes the debugger drops just before starting a new session and when it does start it seems to be unusually slow while stepping through code.

Nathan

#58921 convert data types to byte[] and back for streaming

Posted by sfx on 27 June 2014 - 02:35 AM in General Discussion

Hi nb63,

The .NET Micro Framework is only a subset of its much larger parent (a highly abridged version, if you will). As such, much of the BCL is not included in order to keep the on-device memory footprint appreciably smaller.

I have had a similar issue to you when dealing with custom objects, but have managed to cross process boundaries by using interfaces along with my own Xml messaging/command transport. In essence, this meant that I had to devolve my objects into a meaningful string representation (e.g. an Xml or JSON payload containing state, type and command data) that could then be later restored via a shared parser with interfaces. The NETMF has the facility to convert UTF8 strings to and from byte arrays, so making something similar to old-school .NET Remoting is one way of handling your problem, albeit without the same degree of flexibility.

Of course, all of this depends on whether you're using NETMF on each of your edge devices. If you're not, then these other devices will need a way to parse the content and then instantiate the state of your message within the context of its own environment.

I can understand that this would be a real bugbear for you, but hang in there. Given the electric (pun intended) pace of the IoT, I'm sure something like this would be on the NETMF team's radar.

Take care,

Nathan

#58361 Sensor Cable Length

Posted by sfx on 23 May 2014 - 07:13 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Hi Guys,

I haven't been able to find out how long the recommended practical limit for a sensor cable is, but I did find that Pololu offer pre-crimped terminal cables up to 5ft in length.

Take care,

Nathan

#59012 Simple Sensor Interface - SSI protocol?

Posted by sfx on 04 July 2014 - 11:37 PM in General Discussion

Hi Frode,

Having a standard communication protocol is a great idea. However, without manufacturer compliance implementing this type of protocol (SSI) would require quite a bit of work in order to cover all of the command types (not to mention having to potentially map a host of pre-existing proprietary commands).

One idea might be to hide all of the commands behind an SSI interface or break the commands up into multiple SSI interfaces (e.g. ISsiConfiguration, ISsiReader, ISsiStream). That way you aren�t forced to implement functionality that is ill-suited to your sensor, and you also provide all callers with an immediate understanding of what aspects of the SSI protocol have been implemented.

Nathan

#58981 Sending break over serial port

Posted by sfx on 03 July 2014 - 02:57 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Hi Chris,

Just found this post and was wondering if you had any updates concerning it? This is an important requirement for me too. I'm having a similar issue with serial port BreakState and would also like to see a framework solution to this problem.

See my recent post here:

http://forums.netdui...and-breakstate/

Nathan

#60330 SD Card Write issue

Posted by sfx on 03 October 2014 - 12:08 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Hi Dizel,

The full .NET Framework will ensure that a FileStream object is disposed of by any wrapper objects that get created (e.g. StreamWriter etc). Because of this, it isn't necessary to call dispose (via a using statement) on a wrapped FileStream since the wrapper will do it for you. Of course, in the interests of readability and consistency it is good practice to always explicitly declare your intentions on a FileStream with either a using statement or a try/finally block. However, I'm not sure if NETMF behaves the same way as its big brother on this.

At any rate, it appears that instead of your StreamWriter instance wrapping your FileStream object both are wrapping the shared file path. This indicates to me you have two Stream derived objects competing for the same resource at the same time.

Try this:

using (FileStream file = new FileStream(fileWrite, FileMode.OpenOrCreate, FileAccess.ReadWrite))
using (StreamWriter wr = new StreamWriter(file))
{
    wr.WriteLine("Hello");
    wr.WriteLine("StreamWriter");
}

Take care,

Nathan

#59038 Is Netduino (or Gadgeteer) still viable?

Posted by sfx on 06 July 2014 - 08:13 AM in General Discussion

Hi Thomas,

I'm an experienced software developer on the Microsoft stack, but am only relatively new to the devices scene. Having said that, however, I have poured a great deal of my time recently (and a little money) into learning about the IoT, as well as some of those devices that will likely comprise the movement. Of course, no one can be sure how the IoT will mature, but the .NET Micro Framework appears to have developed a renewed focus in recent times - both by folks inside Microsoft as well as by the broader open source community. In my opinion, provided that SecretLabs can continue to innovate, Netduino seems to be well positioned to capitalise on the momentum that is moving the IoT forward.

As developers, what we care about most are the languages and frameworks that will be used to engage the hardware that supports our vision. The nascent IoT reminds me of how Cloud technology nearly a decade ago was being positioned to envelop everything. Indeed, it seems to be still touted as a software panacea of sorts. Whether you have bought into the Cloud punch-line or not, there is one thing that is undeniable; the improvements in tooling support to make Cloud technology a viable offering have been astounding.

If IoT is anything like the early days of Cloud computing, then you're likely not even going to be able to keep up with all the improvements that will start to occur within the devices you use, as well as the ones that you haven't even thought of yet.

Take care,

Nathan

#59099 InterruptPort/Events slow the first time

Posted by sfx on 08 July 2014 - 01:14 PM in General Discussion

Hi Frode,

I'm running VS 2013 with NETMF 4.3 QFE1, but I didn't find the interrupt port to respond slowly during debugging. I ran your code a handful of times and each time found the actuating latency to be largely uninhibited.

Hope that helps.

Nathan

#58135 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

Posted by sfx on 14 May 2014 - 05:41 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Hi Chris,

Thanks so much for your swift reply - and thanks for the welcome! It's good to be here.

The sensor that I'm looking at is the SRF01, the details of which are here:

http://www.robot-ele...m/srf01tech.htm

The site mentions that the sensor supports a standard TTL level UART format, however there is a table outlining I2C actions as commands as well. Now I'm even more confused. Do you know of any resources that might help clarify these questions?

Thanks again.

Nathan

#58147 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

Posted by sfx on 14 May 2014 - 10:09 PM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Hi Chris,

This is fantastic! Especially for a newbie like me, this type of explanation really helps me to understand what connections go where and why. Very much appreciated!

If I may, can I trouble you for one more explanation? I�d like to know how I might go about wiring up multiple of the aforementioned sensors to pin D1 (COM1 TX) on the Netduino? Would this need to be done through some type of extender module, bread board, soldering, or something else? I�m just not sure how �many� serial I/O pins on a sensor should fit into a �single� Netduino serial port.

Best regards,

Nathan

#59102 InterruptPort/Events slow the first time

Posted by sfx on 08 July 2014 - 01:23 PM in General Discussion

Hi Frode,

Yes, that's right. I just tested it again and found that the initial press after deploy was trapped by the debugger almost immediately.

Nathan

#58167 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

Posted by sfx on 16 May 2014 - 10:43 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Hi Chris,

I just received a reply from the manufacturer who had this to say in relation to my inquiry concerning the range finder in question:

"The SRF01�s are just connected in parallel. But before you do that you need to change the addresses to give each one a unique address." (underline mine)

Unfortunately, this doesn't help me much. Do you know of any resources that you could point me toward that show how to connect multiple serial I/O pins in parallel on a Netduino?

Thanks again,

Nathan

#58132 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

Posted by sfx on 14 May 2014 - 04:19 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Hello,

In reading the fact sheets for certain sensors, I�ve found that some of them claim to be able to link multiple sensors through a single serial port as long as each sensor has a different address. This raises some confusing questions for me and so I am wondering if I may pose the following further questions to people here who are more experienced and knowledgeable than I am:

If the sensor has a 3 or 4 Pin JST connection, how do I link multiple cables to a Netduino Plus 2 serial port?
Is there some type of intermediary shield that can be used to join multiple cables to a single serial port?
How do I go about assigning different addresses to multiple sensors if they are all connected to a single serial port?

I�m sorry if these questions appear to be annoyingly trivial, but I�m only new at all of this and was hoping that someone could either assist me in answering these questions or point me to relevant resources that do or both.

Any help you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Nathan

#58193 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

Posted by sfx on 17 May 2014 - 08:58 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

CW2,

Wow! I�m blown away. Thanks so much for taking your own time to diagram that for me. It definitely helped me to understand the connections much better than when I was simply reading about them using the vendor�s documentation.

Mario,

Thank you also for explaining how these types of connections can work. I�m still a little puzzled, however. The documentation for the range finder has this to say:

Communication with the SRF01 is with both serial input and serial output on a single pin. The SRF01 will be listening at all times except when it is actually sending data, and will go back to listening as soon as its finished. To communicate with the SRF01, you simply need to send a "break", followed by two bytes, the address of the SRF01 (factory default is 1) and the command.

What I find confusing is the statement above that specifies that serial input and output is on a single pin. Additionally, the device appears to be listening for commands as opposed to continuously attempting to stream data. Have I got this wrong? If so, does this mean that I would need to connect the range finder up to a second pin in order to receive data?

Thanks guys. All of you have been extremely helpful.

Take care,

Nathan

#58171 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

Posted by sfx on 16 May 2014 - 11:21 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Hi CW2,

Thank you for the clarification and the diagram. I definitely appreciate it. I'm guessing that a breadboard would be the best option for prototyping then. If it's not too much trouble, would you be able to draw a diagram (similar to your first) that demonstrates this process on a breadboard instead? Otherwise, might you know of a resource that could visually show such a parallel configuration?

I'm sorry for sounding like such a novice, but it is because I am; and I'm not sure where else I should go to get help with Netduino questions.

Take care,

Nathan

#58748 obstacle detection

Posted by sfx on 17 June 2014 - 05:28 AM in General Discussion

John,

This is a great idea! I've thought about how to do this myself, but your idea of using headers sounds like the cheapest and simplest approach I've heard. Nice work!

However, can I ask what you mean by "shrink wrap"? Are you referring to electrical tape, or something else?

Nathan

#59327 New Robot Meetup Group, Seattle

Posted by sfx on 21 July 2014 - 09:52 AM in General Discussion

Hi Spiked,

So I guess that means I won't be getting any video recordings of your affronts (ahem... efforts)?

Sorry to hear that it did not go down so well. It sounded like many weren't there to grow, but to agro instead. I guess it doesn't come as a huge surprise, really, since I've seen my fair share of egoism and self-aggrandisement within the software community as well. Sadly, many of this type adroitly tout their cross-discipline expertise while at the same time being blissfully unaware that their behaviour satisfies the Dunning-Kruger effect.

Please don�t give up, though. Many here can still learn from your expertise and there are undoubtedly a plethora of matters where your contribution will be both substantive and welcome.

Nathan

#59274 New Robot Meetup Group, Seattle

Posted by sfx on 17 July 2014 - 04:29 AM in General Discussion

Hi Spiked,

Good to hear! Keep us all posted on any further developments regarding meeting access. I, for one, would really appreciate the benefit that this type of experience would bring.

Nathan

#59269 New Robot Meetup Group, Seattle

Posted by sfx on 16 July 2014 - 11:31 PM in General Discussion

Spiked,

What a fantastic idea! I would love to be able to attend this kind of setup, but unfortunately I live far, far away (and there aren't any facilities like this around where I live).

Would it be possible to video record the meetings and then make them available offline? Obviously there would be costs involved in this, but I'd be happy to pay for any expenses. If downloadable material is too cumbersome to setup, how about a no-frills mail order DVD?

Nathan

#60202 .NET Micro Framework V4.3 SDK-R2-Beta

Posted by sfx on 24 September 2014 - 07:43 AM in General Discussion

Thanks for the heads-up CW2!

For those of us who have already installed the experimental VS2013 tooling from SecretLabs, do we now need to uninstall it or can these distributions exist side by side?

Take care,

Nathan

sfx's Content

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#60126 Mayhew Labs Mux Shield II

#59958 Netduino Analog Ports

#58323 Netduino with inbuilt Wi-Fi?

#58335 Netduino with inbuilt Wi-Fi?

#58322 Sensor Cable Length

#59010 Netduino Plus 2 slow response (debugging)

#58921 convert data types to byte[] and back for streaming

#58361 Sensor Cable Length

#59012 Simple Sensor Interface - SSI protocol?

#58981 Sending break over serial port

#60330 SD Card Write issue

#59038 Is Netduino (or Gadgeteer) still viable?

#59099 InterruptPort/Events slow the first time

#58135 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

#58147 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

#59102 InterruptPort/Events slow the first time

#58167 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

#58132 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

#58193 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

#58171 Multiple Sensors To Single Serial Port

#58748 obstacle detection

#59327 New Robot Meetup Group, Seattle

#59274 New Robot Meetup Group, Seattle

#59269 New Robot Meetup Group, Seattle

#60202 .NET Micro Framework V4.3 SDK-R2-Beta

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