teachop's Content

#12515 zigbee, zwave, X10 which one for what ?

Posted by teachop on 26 April 2011 - 11:52 PM in General Discussion

A little input on the radio side... In my case, I wanted remotes that were not on the AC power, but rather on batteries outside, a little ways from the house. So the powerline communication products are of no interest in that situation. It is pretty easy to get the Digi XBee zigbee models working on a serial port. I used RXD0/TXD0 ('duino D2 and D3) at 9600 baud. I hooked up the handshakes too but don't use them much. For the "master" coordinator, I used the Netduino Plus. For the remotes, I used XBee stand-alone (which is cool) and also the Arduino Fio, depending on the application. The Netduino is great for the coordinator because of the Ethernet - I can get at it all via a browser. Netduino isn't the right fit for the remotes due to power consumption. Each has its place. All in all, this setup works pretty nice and was fun to get going. I used the 3.3V from the Netduino header to run the coordinator XBee, and the fact that the Netduino is 3V I/O works out great. It is built on a shield protoboard - watch the module pin spacing however, it isn't 0.1" for unknown reasons, Sparkfun has a transition breakout board for fixing this. I don't use the .NET stuff on Netduino Plus! I put FreeRTOS on and just program in C mostly (out in left field as always). I hacked an open source program in Qt called cuteComm to make a custom programmer because I use Linux for my dev host. Digi has a configuration/programmer that runs on Windows.

#12536 zigbee, zwave, X10 which one for what ?

Posted by teachop on 27 April 2011 - 04:18 PM in General Discussion

What component are you using to control XBEE ?

Can you tell why you do not use .NET stuff ? can you recommend resources on FreeRTOS ? (To learn how to program and install it)

I'm new in electronic, forgive me if my question seems obvious. Why do you use an Ardiuno FIO instead of a Netduino Mini ?
Given the technical specs they have same power consumption to me.

It can be configured to wake up and report an input, so for the simple case, XBee is all by itself with a battery pack that is just 2 AA cells (it sleeps almost all the time)! For the Arduino Fio case, the mega328p gives 100% control, and is designed to run right off a LiPo battery pack.

The Arduino Fio is very much lower power consumption than the Netduino. Plus a mega328p will sleep very well. The CPU on the Netduino is not designed for low power sleeping, and the board is not designed to be particularly low power either. The Fio is. Each has a place.

I don't use the .NET stuff after I found out what the interrupt routines were actually doing (s-l-o-w) and that the development tools were a bit flakey in VirtualBox (I use Linux). For me it was easier to experiment without a .net and that has been fun. Just c language, and direct control of everything. I *DONT* recommend this for just starting out, there is no roadmap or tutorial. The .NET will be much more friendly. Once again, each has a place.

For me it has been a lot of fun to get FreeRTOS running on the board, eventually I ended up building my own support utilities, building the compiler from source, making my own hacked programmer from a Python project called "SAM-I-AM" to replace the Atmel SAM-BA, etc. This is all fun to me but obviously not the way to go if you actually have a goal other than avoiding cutting the grass!

#6120 What is the Netduino Mini?

Posted by teachop on 15 December 2010 - 12:59 PM in Netduino Mini

Any particular power regulators you'd like us to investigate?

Not that I know of in the price range of the MC33269. The LT1965 is great, but too expensive! LP3871 instead of U5 would work in both applications, might be < $1, and is very LDO. Merry Christmas to you and yours too.

#6084 What is the Netduino Mini?

Posted by teachop on 14 December 2010 - 04:51 PM in Netduino Mini

Just ordered one to gift myself on the 25th! Looking over the schematic... If you ever plan to tweak the PCB at all, would you consider using a lower drop regulator (300mV) instead of U5? That would help in a stand-alone project designed to operate off a single Li-Ion or LiPo cell.

#6603 Visual Studio dies after deploy

Posted by teachop on 28 December 2010 - 10:49 AM in Visual Studio

I did experiments with restarting XP. In my case the bug is more random, and occurs at other times, not just the first deploy after booting. The message "not in an initialized state" timing predicts the impending crash. It hangs on for a while (seconds) in the cases where a crash will happen. When it is quick, it doesn't. Is that a hint to tracking it down or just an effect?

#6568 Visual Studio dies after deploy

Posted by teachop on 27 December 2010 - 12:50 PM in Visual Studio

Often, right after a deploy, Visual Studio "has encountered a problem" and dies. The build/deploy work, the board starts up executing the new program. The crash box pops up at the moment of reset: Box comes up, normal boot delay for Netduino, program is running. Sometimes it doesn't crash. My environment is UbuntuLucid + VirtualBox + WindowsXPSP3 + VSC#2010Express + NetduinoMini on RS232. Is this seen by others? Any hints? Thanks. PS: Hope the Mono implementation is coming along...

#6574 Visual Studio dies after deploy

Posted by teachop on 27 December 2010 - 03:20 PM in Visual Studio

Are you up-to-date on your firmware?

MFDeploy SolutionReleaseInfo.SolutionVersion = 4.1.0.5 which I think is up to date. The program is tiny, a variation on the example LED blinker.

#13314 Solution deploy failures for VM users

Posted by teachop on 15 May 2011 - 05:58 PM in General Discussion

Have you tried this technique to reset ?

Well, I have netduinos that have been 100% erased, including sometimes the bootloader being replaced, many times. I have one hooked up right now that is "factory fresh" with no messing about at all. And I have tried lots of things in between, including most all the pre-release software images. The first one I got has the little erase pad about worn out!

I am uncertain exactly what that linked procedure is trying to do. I am suspecting the board doesn't need reflashed or erased, it is working fine. The problem is Visual Studio under VirtualBox hangs between the deploy and entering the debugger, apparently due to some kind of failed handshake with the Netduino, but that is a guess. Jacking the board allows it to go into the debugger and things proceed from there.

To date, most of my Netduino time has been running FreeRTOS on the little things. But I wanted to get back to trying the C#/.NET stuff and maybe learn something. So far, using VS in VirtualBox has resulted in a less than reliable development cycle. I am sure there are very few of us, wanting to use VirtualBox under Linux...

EDIT: I should also point out that this is functioning well enough to do development, it is just an additional step is needed to jack the board.

#13301 Solution deploy failures for VM users

Posted by teachop on 15 May 2011 - 01:27 PM in General Discussion

I don't have much success with deploy / debug using VirtualBox. I have several possible problems crop up, and then sometimes it does manage to work. The intermittent problems are: 1) The very first deploy after starting Visual C# cause it to crash and terminate. 2) "Preparing to deploy assemblies to the device" gets stuck. Have to jack the Netduino. 3) "The debugging target is not in an initialized state, rebooting..." gets stuck. Have to jack the Netduino. My setup is Netduino Plus 4.1.0.6, Visual C# 2010 Express, Windows XPsp3, VirtualBox 4.0.6, all on Ubuntu 11.04 host. I have tried two Netduino Plus boards, they do the same thing, I have tried different software versions on the Netduino also. Are these problems only VirtualBox? Does anybody have workable development in VirtualBox?

#13311 Solution deploy failures for VM users

Posted by teachop on 15 May 2011 - 05:32 PM in General Discussion

If you press the reset button on your Netduino Plus when "rebooting..." gets stuck, does that fix the VM deployment problem for you?

Not really. I tried 4 times just now, each stuck at the rebooting... message, and then I pressed the reset button.

The reset button caused the new version of the program to start after a few seconds, but Visual Studio was still stuck at rebooting... message.

After the reset button test, I then jacked the USB, and each time it went into the debugger from there.

#10892 SAM-BA Alternative

Posted by teachop on 14 March 2011 - 09:53 AM in General Discussion

With kernel 2.6.37+, the SAM-BA tool can work smoothly again in Linux to re-flash Netduino, due to the inclusion of the sam-ba.ko driver. This driver can be built for earlier kernels - I am using it with Ubuntu 10.10 now.

An alternative to SAM-BA that is open source python code located here:
Sam_I_Am
This can work with the same sam-ba.ko driver.

In order to use it to burn the Netduino, add the following line to the device table in flash.py:

# AT91SAM7X512
  ('512K', '128K'): ("AT91SAM7X512", 64, 256),

To get the GPNVM boot bit re-set after erase/program, the flashif.py needs tweaked. Add something like this to flashif.c, rebuild it, and include the hex data in flashif.py. Call this in the Exit case (after programming).

static void doRemap(void)
{
  (void) waitForFRDY();
  *MC_FCR = 0x0b | (2 << 8) | 0x5A000000U;
  (void) waitForFRDY();
}

There is further to go, but that will get Netduino re-flash working. The python has a lot of other features that are set up for an at91sam7s, and I have not looked at them for at91sam7x at all.

My reason for using this is that for an interval, my linux machine is a powerpc Apple eMac, and the Atmel SAM-BA isn't available for powerpc or in source code form. I suppose there are not many experimenting on Netduino without a .NET, and even fewer on Linux. But, if you are tempted, it works and is fun.

#7304 Problem with Analog Input

Posted by teachop on 09 January 2011 - 02:25 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

the schematics is for the latest Rev. B board

Where is the Rev. B schematic for Netduino Plus found, from the download page I get Rev.A. I can see a circuit for switching aref on the Netduino schematic, but not on the Netduino Plus one.

#12711 Power Management

Posted by teachop on 30 April 2011 - 09:33 PM in General Discussion

I basically need to wake every 5-10 seconds (7 sounds good), collect some data and if nothing new, go back to sleep. I figured since this is the mode of operation, power can be saved dramatically. I expect the collection of data to take no more than 10ms so think of 10mSec* 50mA + 7Sec*1mA (it should be even less). So no reason for keeping the ARM at full active mode all this time.

Yes, that is a good plan. That is what I do too. IRQs wake things up as needed, or timed sleeps. Everything is programmed in C, even the Netduino Plus, which I put FreeRTOS on instead of the .net stock firmware. It is running a simple webserver, some USB, and a serial interface to the Zigbee.

wouldn't that be missing the purpose?

Depends on the purpose I guess. I thought getting native on the Netduino Plus with C and FreeRTOS, building the tools and even a custom programmer was fun, and that was my purpose. Netduino Plus is a great deal for me. Of course, 99.9% of people buy Netduino because of Visual Studio, so I understand your point!

#12681 Power Management

Posted by teachop on 30 April 2011 - 11:30 AM in General Discussion

I am searching a code sample of controlling the Netduino power. My project needs to run on battery and the typical ~40mA consumption of the board is not realistic to feed out of battery.

I saw some hack like code (that still did not compile) for the Arduino but I understand the Netduino is slightly different in this respect anyway.

I went through this as well. You can read about the CPU options in the at91sam7x data sheet Power Management Controller section, but the Netduino Plus board design isn't really targeting lowest power. What I found is the Netduino Plus works very well for parts of the system that are mains powered, and the portions of the system that are battery powered work better with Arduino Fio. I keep all the main application logic of the system on the Netduino, and the satellite systems for data collection / output operation only have "spinal reflex" logic. They are linked with XBee modules. What is your application?

#7719 Netduino Plus Firmware v4.1.1 ALPHA 5

Posted by teachop on 15 January 2011 - 11:07 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

do you have the same experience while using the beta 1 release?

Yes pretty much. I also spent more time with the .5 version, and it isn't very reliable either, sometimes requiring usb cable pulling. Jacking the cable sometimes causes VS to terminate however. Here is a summary of the entire Plus experience (XP in VirtualBox on Ubuntu):

Initially installing the driver (first connect of Netduino to USB), the driver installed, but after the progress bar fully filled, it never concluded the driver wizard, and required a boot. The driver did install however, and the device enumerates every time.

Using MFDeploy to install software, often the Ping hangs, requiring usb jacking. Same things happens when checking version. Fool around enough and it works. This cable jacking sometimes causes MFDeploy to terminate, sometimes not. After Browse... and select, the Deploy often hangs. Same thing. I think the pattern that works is to connect the device after hitting deploy. Anyway it eventually works, but after it proceeds to executing Application it gets stuck until the device is unplugged.

In Visual Studio, debugging has never worked once, fooling with the cable here then terminates VS. Starting without debugging can normally be made to work, wait for it to finish building and get stuck, then jack the cable, and deploy completes (sometimes VS terminates).

Thats about it. None of them are reliable enough to allow a development work flow to proceed. The Netduino Mini seems to work a bit better, VS terminates sometimes, but most of the time it works (using the RS-232 port with a Prolific USB serial cable).

#7763 Netduino Plus Firmware v4.1.1 ALPHA 5

Posted by teachop on 16 January 2011 - 01:52 PM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

None of them are reliable enough

I put Vista back on an old PC and thing work, I will use that. If you need alpha/beta testing on Ubuntu/VirtualBox let me know, everything is still installed on my main machine (Linux).

#7689 Netduino Plus Firmware v4.1.1 ALPHA 5

Posted by teachop on 15 January 2011 - 01:12 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Some user experience using with VirtualBox on Ubuntu... Prior to installing this alpha version, I could deploy with varying reliability (Start Without Debugging == mostly works), but not debug (Start Debugging == never works). So I decided to try the Alpha. Since installing this version, I cannot deploy without messing around with the usb cable. The way I get it to work sometimes, is to click "Start Without Debugging", wait a few seconds, unplug the usb from the netduino plus, reconnect, and then wait. The program starts.

#12976 Netduino Plus 1 Firmware v4.1.1 BETA 1

Posted by teachop on 08 May 2011 - 10:42 PM in Beta Firmware and Drivers

Hi Chris. Virtual Machine feedback was requested: I am finding about the same reliability as with prior versions. I actually used the 42K RAM version, if that matters. The setup here is Virtualbox 4.04 with the USB extensions, running on Ubuntu 11.04, with the Windows OS being XP SP3 fully patched up. The USB operations are spotty, it would seem. Sometimes things just lock up, sometimes the Netduino gets programmed and then VS locks up. Sometimes things work. Is the USB operation rock solid on a "real" windows (non-virtualized)? I was hoping for a better go this time, because with this version of VirtualBox, USB has been operating fine with odd devices such as programmers. If you have any particular tests you would like to run let me know! For now I will put FreeRTOS back on this little guy... hope we can get things worked out though, it would be fun to join the rest of the users on .NET C# and learn some of that too now...

#13034 Netduino Plus 1 Firmware v4.1.1 BETA 1

Posted by teachop on 09 May 2011 - 10:44 PM in Beta Firmware and Drivers

If you reflash your device with the v4.1.0.6 production firmware do you see the same spotiness with USB connectivity?

V4.1.0.6 does work better, as does V4.1.1.0Beta1. VS terminated once on the first deploy with V4.1.0.6 and never saw that with V4.1.1.0Beta1, might have been coincidence. Jacking the USB is sometimes required to get deploy started, but with some fooling around it works.

The problems with VS locking tight seem specific to the 42KB_RAM version. Those crashes require sending the ol' CTL-ALT-DEL and killing VS. Didn't see that with the other versions. Does this make any sense?

For now I will use V4.1.1.0Beta1 for some .NET learning...

#10001 Netduino Plus / AT91SAM7X-EK compatibility

Posted by teachop on 22 February 2011 - 05:26 PM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

I tried to compile and load the IAR "basic-emac-uip-helloworld-project" example and... it works!

The FreeRTOS uIP example for the at91sam7x-ek also works with only a few tweaks (am using the GNU compiler). Was able to bring in parts of other examples and get what I needed for USB, ethernet, web server, and I/O. Have not worked on SD card yet because my current project doesn't need it.

#7911 Micro Framework

Posted by teachop on 19 January 2011 - 03:06 PM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Sorry if this is a dumb question. In going through the documentation for the 4.1 .net micro framework, how should I determine which features are actually implemented in the Netduino Plus?

#13150 MFDeploy: Deployment Status "Executing Application"

Posted by teachop on 12 May 2011 - 12:38 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

1) When deploying the new beta firmware, MFDeploy gets to the stage "Executing Application" and then hangs there. Is it finished? I try hitting "Cancel" but the only things that works is unplugging the USB.

2) Any hints on getting the MFDeploy menu "Target->Configuration->Network" to come up? I click that and then MFDeploy just hangs... If I unplug the USB at that point, I get a message "Device has old or unsupported configuration"

This is interesting, I have seen these same issues repeatedly, and assumed it was because I am running on XP in VirtualBox. Guess not related to the VM after all. Do you ever get hangs or crashes from a normal solution deploy from within Visual Studio?

#8198 FreeRTOS

Posted by teachop on 23 January 2011 - 07:14 PM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

Are you thinking of building anything else with FreeRTOS?

You asked, no laughing. Two current projects might fit: One is a midi solenoid-over-wind pipe organ (currently arduino), second is a physical email/gmail/snail notifier wall hanging. The second is what I bought the board for...

is FreeRTOS using lwIP or uIP?

The demo I built is uip. A few edits of the web server got it running, have not touched the stack.

#8282 FreeRTOS

Posted by teachop on 24 January 2011 - 10:51 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

What compiler are you using teacop? Codesourcery? Which version?

Yes, CodeSourcery lite. Used eclipse for the environment, but no debugging. Figured out a pattern so that SAM-BA works every time, at first it was a pain. I had to make some changes in the web server because it was crashing, other than that it was just stuff like LED defines, and it worked.

#8283 FreeRTOS

Posted by teachop on 24 January 2011 - 10:57 AM in Netduino Plus 2 (and Netduino Plus 1)

The demo you built on uIP...is the networking solid now or still flaky? We've been looking at ways to get uIP up and running on the Netduino Plus.

Chris

It is stable enough, in the short time I have had it running, once it is going, it doesn't hang up. There are dropped IP packets but I don't know if that is a problem or not yet. The flakes are in the connect/disconnect ethernet. I have to 1) power the Netduino Plus, 2) connect the ethernet. If the ethernet is connected already, then it sometimes isn't working, so I need to investigate that.