#flex-dev Logs
Jun 19 2025
#flex-dev Calendar
04:45 AM Tom_L: morning
04:52 AM Tom_L: back to hot.. sunny & 91, 95 tomorrow
04:56 AM Tom_L: PR #326
05:17 AM JT-Cave: morning
07:33 AM Tom_L: grinder finding a new home today?
07:36 AM JT-Cave: taking the C8 to the dealer this morning
07:36 AM JT-Cave: I've not even unwired the grinder yet... I did look at it yesterday
07:36 AM Tom_L: hmm
08:11 AM JT-Shop: gotta move a bunch of stuff to get a ladder under the junction box on the ceiling to unwire the grinder
09:23 AM rdtsc-w: how's empire? they all up and running, no hiccups, no emergency 3am calls because the operator couldn't find the start button? :)
09:32 AM JT-Shop: they finally got the broken gearbox replaced with a better one so all 4 mixers are working
09:33 AM JT-Shop: I still don't have a valid email account information so the control can send emails when something happens
09:38 AM rdtsc-w: wonder if you can set it up to use gmail...
09:39 AM rdtsc-w: https://developers.google.com/workspace/gmail/imap/imap-smtp
10:17 AM Tom_L: it would probably go to the spam folder anyway :)
10:20 AM lcnc-relay: <roguish> good morning.........hit 93 yesterday, forecast 76 today
10:34 AM lcnc-relay: <roguish> JT-Shop: hey, that new Corvette ZR1X is all wheel drive..... that'l get ya through the corners....
10:40 AM lcnc-relay: <voiditswarranty@> good morning! Is there a way to create a button that works like the e-stop button does? The docs are clear on how to make an output button that controls a hal pin, but I need one that's bi-directional. Like a checkbox, if the pin is toggled from something other than the ui, the ui state updates. If the UI toggles instead, it toggles the pin. HAL_IO style. Previously I managed it by hand using the python import and polling...
10:40 AM lcnc-relay: ... state instead, rather than using a hal button, just wondering if there's an easier way, since I clearly was confused about how hal pins were connected before 🙂
10:41 AM lcnc-relay: <roguish> there are some youtubes on Flex too
10:53 AM lcnc-relay: <voiditswarranty@> yeah, they mostly just show single direction controls. button -> HAL_OUT, label <- HAL_IN, but nothing that can be done like HAL_IO. A use case is a pendant, if I have a button on the pendant that toggles a hal pin, I would like the checked/unchecked state of the checkbox or button to follow. And still be able to optionally use the checkbox or button instead of the pendant.
11:02 AM JT-Mobile: Gmail is almost impossible to use now
11:03 AM Tom_L: voiditswarrany, there is but it would have to be a special case button i think
11:04 AM JT-Mobile: What's that
11:04 AM Tom_L: bidirectional button
11:04 AM Tom_L: in essence
11:04 AM Tom_L: Like a checkbox, if the pin is toggled from something other than the ui, the ui state updates
11:05 AM Tom_L: ^^
11:05 AM lcnc-relay: <roguish> JT-Mobile: what's your problem with gmail ???
11:05 AM Tom_L: part of what he posted
11:05 AM lcnc-relay: <roguish> i have not issues with it at all
11:06 AM Tom_L: 10:40 AM lcnc-relay: <voiditswarranty
11:07 AM JT-Mobile: Hmm
11:07 AM Tom_L: voiditswarranty we have one for probe enable but it's also a special case
11:08 AM Tom_L: JT-Mobile, i dunno if a hal bit in could be directed to that or not?
11:08 AM JT-Mobile: I'm not sure
11:09 AM Tom_L: might make it more generic but could also open a can o worms
11:09 AM Tom_L: or similar to a multi state label... multi state button???
11:10 AM lcnc-relay: <voiditswarranty@> ok I can probably just continue with a normal button and poll state manually
11:10 AM JT-Mobile: I'd have to do some sperimiting
11:11 AM lcnc-relay: <voiditswarranty@> it's possible to set pins without requiring a hal component to be created, that's what I was doing before. polling/setting a different component's hal pin
11:11 AM Tom_L: voiditswarranty, use some user defined python modules
11:11 AM lcnc-relay: <voiditswarranty@> python is bad at threading though so I've been trying to work away from that
11:11 AM lcnc-relay: <voiditswarranty@> @tom yeah that's what I did in the past, trying to consolidate and align more with flexgui's style
11:12 AM Tom_L: i'm not sure where that's documented
11:12 AM Tom_L: he's got hooks to do that
11:13 AM lcnc-relay: <voiditswarranty@> yes, that's what I've been using, but it required redoing a bunch of the status checks that flex is already doing
11:13 AM Tom_L: oh ok
11:14 AM JT-Mobile: Flex has a user timer you can use
11:16 AM Tom_L: i did something similar i think in my hal for my pendant buttons
11:17 AM Tom_L: bunch of gooped up logic but it worked
11:18 AM JT-Mobile: If it works that's the important part
11:18 AM Tom_L: i'd have to study what i did to figure out what i did now
11:19 AM JT-Mobile: I know how that goes
11:20 AM JT-Mobile: I had the tech show me where the battery was hidden at
11:20 AM Tom_L: heh did he discover the problem yet?
11:21 AM JT-Mobile: Not yet
11:21 AM JT-Mobile: You have to remove 3 covers to get to it
11:21 AM Tom_L: his new '25, you walk up to it and it knows you're there
11:22 AM Tom_L: lights come on as you approach etc etc
11:22 AM rdtsc-w: "Night Rider"
11:22 AM Tom_L: if you're not careful the back hatch opens if you stand there long enough
11:22 AM JT-Mobile: Cool
11:22 AM Tom_L: ^^ that has a certain sequence trigger i think
11:23 AM JT-Mobile: Like if your arms are full it opens?
11:23 AM Tom_L: car door open, walk to the rear and stand a sec and it opens
11:23 AM Tom_L: yup
11:23 AM JT-Mobile: Cool
11:23 AM Tom_L: both side monitors show in the side mirrors if somebody is in the blind spot
11:24 AM Tom_L: it buzzed the driver seat but he had that disabled :)
11:24 AM JT-Mobile: That could be annoying
11:25 AM Tom_L: it has options fortunately
11:26 AM Tom_L: scared the crap outta him the first time
11:26 AM JT-Mobile: I bet
11:26 AM Tom_L: now the side mirrors just light a small indicator
11:26 AM JT-Mobile: Did he get the motorcycle thing done
11:26 AM Tom_L: yeah
11:27 AM Tom_L: he got his paperwork yesterday. they forgot to mail it
11:27 AM Tom_L: got 100% on written and oral test
11:27 AM JT-Mobile: Cool
11:28 AM JT-Mobile: What about the wheelee test
11:28 AM Tom_L: i think he may have more sense on that thing
11:28 AM JT-Mobile: That's good
11:29 AM Tom_L: he does wanna get another gopro helmet
11:29 AM Tom_L: the one he got has bt etc with a split face
11:30 AM Tom_L: i guess that's what they're called....
11:30 AM Tom_L: front opens up
11:30 AM JT-Mobile: Fancy
11:30 AM JT-Mobile: Full face helmet?
11:30 AM Tom_L: he made it part of the sale.. go big or go home :)
11:30 AM Tom_L: yes
11:30 AM JT-Mobile: Hmm they are making fresh popcorn
11:30 AM Tom_L: pop up visor with a sun shield inside that
11:31 AM Tom_L: i think.. i've never tried it on
11:31 AM Tom_L: it may not fit
11:32 AM Tom_L: check out the equinox while you're waiting
11:32 AM JT-Mobile: Mine has a bt thing and I listen to music on it
11:32 AM Tom_L: he does too
11:35 AM JT-Mobile: Specks for lunch
11:35 AM Tom_L: i should find some updated saleae software for this thing
11:36 AM Tom_L: wonder if there's a linux version
11:36 AM JT-Mobile: For the rpi5?
11:37 AM Tom_L: yeah i still haven't gotten back to it
11:37 AM JT-Mobile: I did disconnect the grinder
11:38 AM Tom_L: i was trying to figure out a server connection that shows up in gui
11:38 AM Tom_L: i can get sftp to work in a terminal but not the gui yet
11:38 AM Tom_L: i hate xfce...
11:38 AM Tom_L: with mate it was easy
11:39 AM JT-Mobile: Yup mate is the least annoying
11:39 AM Tom_L: if i get tired enough of it, i'll build from scratch and fix that
11:39 AM Tom_L: don't wanna go down that road just yet
11:40 AM Tom_L: and i tried changing user name per your site and that doesn't work here
11:40 AM Tom_L: too many processes running to change from cnc to me
11:41 AM Tom_L: even after logging cnc out
11:41 AM rdtsc-w: there should be a way to install mate, then should have a choice at log-on
11:42 AM JT-Mobile: It's a pia to change the user name
11:42 AM Tom_L: rdtsc-w, yeah i'd rather not have the choice every time i boot
11:42 AM Tom_L: i tried that once
11:43 AM JT-Mobile: It's been a while since I messed with a pi
11:43 AM rdtsc-w: the pi5 makes it fun again... very fast
11:43 AM Tom_L: yeah
11:43 AM Tom_L: i was pleasantly surprised
11:44 AM JT-Mobile: Might be worth getting a pi5 instead of a set of cup 2 r tires to go fast
11:44 AM Tom_L: the lcnc image could use a little help in that regard though
11:45 AM Tom_L: i got a kit for a buck fifty
11:45 AM Tom_L: 8gb
11:45 AM JT-Mobile: Can't you just use the stock debian
11:45 AM lcnc-relay: <roguish> hey you guys make lots of debs. is it very hard to make an iso ???
11:45 AM Tom_L: their os is debian 12 now
11:46 AM JT-Mobile: And install the rt kernel
11:46 AM Tom_L: roguish bootable?
11:46 AM Tom_L: maybe
11:46 AM Tom_L: thing about the kernel you need the exact name since it doesn't have package manager
11:46 AM lcnc-relay: <roguish> yeah. since there is no longer a live cd image for linuxcnc. i was thinking of trying to make one
11:47 AM JT-Mobile: But a set of cup 2 r tires on my spare wheels would be fun
11:47 AM Tom_L: best of luck with that venture
11:47 AM Tom_L: bike ?
11:47 AM JT-Mobile: C8
11:48 AM Tom_L: gotta keep up with Mr Jones
11:48 AM Tom_L: on the track
11:48 AM JT-Mobile: Not worried about him lol
11:49 AM Tom_L: i've always liked michelins
11:49 AM Tom_L: nascar uses goodyear
11:49 AM JT-Mobile: Me too
11:49 AM Tom_L: we used hooser for the late model
11:50 AM JT-Mobile: Drag tires?
11:50 AM Tom_L: dirt track
11:50 AM Tom_L: no the drag were goodyear i'm pretty sure
11:50 AM Tom_L: hoosier
11:50 AM Tom_L: i suppose they do make drag tires too
11:51 AM Tom_L: drag, dirt, circut
11:51 AM JT-Mobile: Ni Mikey Thompson?
11:51 AM JT-Mobile: No even
11:51 AM Tom_L: haven't heard that name in a while
11:53 AM Tom_L: roguish i'd get with andy on that project
11:55 AM JT-Mobile: Which rpi5 kit did you get
11:55 AM Tom_L: one sec
11:55 AM Tom_L: from amazon
11:56 AM Tom_L: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D2WYFS23
11:57 AM Tom_L: it's a cheap plastic case but it works
11:57 AM Tom_L: 3 piece
11:57 AM Tom_L: bottom middle and top
11:57 AM Tom_L: middle & top come off for port access
11:58 AM rdtsc-w: another source is https://www.pishop.us
11:58 AM Tom_L: 2 hdmi 27w psu blank sd & heatsink
11:58 AM JT-Mobile: No fan needed?
11:58 AM Tom_L: hs has a fan on it
11:58 AM xxcoder: it looks like it has nice heat sink with fan
11:59 AM Tom_L: about the size of your thumbnail :)
11:59 AM Tom_L: pile of papers i have yet to look at
11:59 AM Tom_L: and a cheezy screwdriver for mounting it to the case
12:00 PM Tom_L: i had to sand the plastic case reset button for clearance a bit but it works now
12:01 PM Tom_L: i did a readme on setting up the wifi
12:02 PM JT-Mobile: Cool
12:02 PM Tom_L: http://tom-itx.no-ip.biz:443/~webpage/cnc/Rpi5/rpi5_wifi_steps.txt
12:03 PM JT-Mobile: I use sudo apt dist-upgrade
12:03 PM Tom_L: i think that's what got rdtsc-w in trouble on his
12:04 PM Tom_L: screws up the kernel
12:04 PM JT-Mobile: Hmm
12:04 PM Tom_L: otherwise, yes :)
12:07 PM Tom_L: kudos to amazon.. i had it in less than a full day
12:07 PM Tom_L: it was probably sitting in one of the local warehouses here...
12:08 PM JT-Mobile: Hmm communication error in the body control module whatever that is
12:10 PM Tom_L: no hablar ingles
12:12 PM Tom_L: The Chevrolet Corvette C8 has 20 - 26 control modules depending on the configuration
12:13 PM Tom_L: more than the first few space shots i bet
12:15 PM JT-Mobile: More than the moon landing
12:15 PM JT-Mobile: Ain't looking good here
12:16 PM Tom_L: maybe they'll give you a ZR1X loaner
12:16 PM JT-Mobile: Maybe a pos buick
12:18 PM rdtsc-wk: yeah on the rpi5, only ever do an apt upgrade, never a dist-upgrade or full-upgrade... and avoid anything that will trigger a kernel rebuild like attempting to update the rpi firmware (only do that from a spare sd card)
12:18 PM xxcoder: cant use better drive than sd?
12:18 PM xxcoder: like nvme
12:18 PM rdtsc-wk: can, but more config
12:21 PM JT-Mobile: Interesting
12:23 PM JT-Mobile: Getting a loner
01:46 PM JT-Mobile: At Specks in a Buick of some kind
02:20 PM JT-Mobile: Stacks of flour from Italy and a wood fired oven
02:24 PM rdtsc-wk: sounds like the makings of an authentic pizza :)
02:26 PM JT-Mobile: Very authentic and very delicious
02:27 PM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> Nvme takes like 2 commands for a pi5
02:27 PM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> Just changing boot order, iirc
02:27 PM xxcoder: to enable it or something?
02:27 PM xxcoder: interesting, so it dont boot from nvme by default?
02:27 PM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> Yep
02:28 PM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> It will default to sd card first
02:28 PM lcnc-relay: <ccatlett1984@> https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2023/nvme-ssd-boot-raspberry-pi-5
02:32 PM xxcoder: interesting
03:24 PM Tom_L: what about m2 ssd?
03:36 PM rdtsc-wk: figured all these ancillaries would kinda be overkill for a cnc machining application
03:36 PM rdtsc-wk: but for general computing, sure M.2 SSD is possible, with fast speeds
03:36 PM xxcoder: what is m.2 life like
03:37 PM xxcoder: write read wear etc
03:38 PM rdtsc-wk: https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2024/pi-500-much-faster-lacks-m2 was much faster for rpi4
03:39 PM rdtsc-wk: but nvme is going to be faster than m.2 for rpi5
03:41 PM xxcoder: oh yeah forgot they didnt add m.2 connector. not sure why
03:42 PM rdtsc-wk: someone will make one, if not already
03:42 PM xxcoder: pi500 would need few stuff soldered on lol which sucks
03:44 PM xxcoder: but if nvme works easily then would do just fine.
04:53 PM JT-Shop: it takes all night to test all the control modules...
05:29 PM Tom_L: wow
05:32 PM Tom_L: must be some severe testing
05:34 PM JT-Shop: looks like the body control module controls locks, lights and stuff like that and a bad one can drain the battery down
05:34 PM Tom_L: ahh
05:38 PM Tom_L: do those tires you want have more 'slick' than tread?
05:39 PM JT-Shop: yes, they have the minimum tread to be street legal
05:39 PM Tom_L: and enough to cool the tire some
05:39 PM Tom_L: we grooved our own on the late models depending where we were
05:41 PM Tom_L: on the fairground track, it was so abrasive we'd get a really hard tire, groove it and it would still be shot after a race
05:42 PM JT-Shop: oval dirt?
05:43 PM Tom_L: yeah
05:43 PM Tom_L: that was with 'big frank'. the other guys did quarter mile stuff
05:43 PM Tom_L: 500lb big :)
05:43 PM Tom_L: little frank drove
05:45 PM Tom_L: both burned alcohol
05:49 PM JT-Shop: I burn alcohol... sometimes
05:49 PM Tom_L: runs a bit cooler
05:50 PM JT-Shop: burning some red now
05:50 PM Tom_L: on a hot night, all the other gas burners would be out there with fans on the radiators between runs
05:51 PM Tom_L: get some 100 octane
05:52 PM JT-Shop: I only drink 100 octane in the depth of winter and one sip puts me to sleep
05:52 PM Tom_L: haha
05:58 PM JT-Shop: a bottle of Remy Martin V.S.O.P will last all winter
06:57 PM * JT-Shop calls it a night
07:37 PM rdtsc: found a local distiller (unheard-of for these parts) and tasted their rum... not normally a rum guy, but that @#$% is good... told the crafter that I think it gave me wood splinters... got a bottle
08:23 PM JT-Cave: nice
08:51 PM Tom_L: http://tom-itx.no-ip.biz:443/~webpage/cnc/Rpi5/SP1.jpg
08:52 PM Tom_L: not sure what it's telling me other than i have spi signals
08:52 PM Tom_L: looks like the slave(7i90) is talking back
08:54 PM rdtsc: i dunno... PCW likely know what to expect to see, but why is the first MOSI byte 0x00? there's data there
08:55 PM rdtsc: try doubling the capture frequency if possible
08:55 PM Tom_L: i can't
08:55 PM Tom_L: it's an old saleae
08:56 PM rdtsc: can it go faster if ya drop chan 3
08:56 PM Tom_L: 24mhz is it
08:57 PM rdtsc: does it change if sampled again?
08:59 PM Tom_L: there's 3 more captures there now
08:59 PM Tom_L: 3 & 4 is both packets from 2
09:01 PM rdtsc: i'm really confused how chan 1 isn't showing decoded data for the bits sampled
09:02 PM rdtsc: it sure seems like the 7i90 is responding though
09:02 PM Tom_L: yeah
09:03 PM Tom_L: just not the right speak
09:03 PM Tom_L: i should get a newer saleae but i'd probably never use it
09:04 PM rdtsc: https://www.saleae.com/pages/downloads
09:04 PM Tom_L: and i'd have to get ver2 which is 64bit only
09:04 PM Tom_L: and i'm not running 64bit
09:05 PM rdtsc: ahh gotcha
09:05 PM Tom_L: if this were something i _needed_ it might be different
09:07 PM rdtsc: trying to reburn the sd card... once again it acts like it burned ok, but the rootfs partition is messed up... why/how/onlyme...
09:07 PM Tom_L: format the disk or write xxx to it etc
09:07 PM Tom_L: then try it
09:08 PM Tom_L: dd FFF to it a while then run it
09:09 PM rdtsc: used gparted to blank it, take that you @#%^&*
09:13 PM rdtsc: wish I could fax you a 'scope
09:14 PM Tom_L: i have an old 2 channel but i'm not gonna dig it out
09:15 PM Tom_L: and i'm not gonna buy a rigol either
09:16 PM rdtsc: there's a website to unlock them, heheh riglol
09:16 PM Tom_L: yeah i'm sure
09:16 PM Tom_L: guys were converting 50Mhz to 100
09:17 PM rdtsc: sure, just a software key
09:17 PM Tom_L: i wonder if the saleae clones are any good
09:18 PM rdtsc: there are a bazillion "cheap" ones: https://sigrok.org/wiki/Supported_hardware#Logic_analyzers
09:19 PM rdtsc: i have one of these, but the more speed and channels cost more: https://sigrok.org/wiki/Kingst_LA2016