#garfield Logs
Apr 11 2021
#garfield Calendar
12:15 PM aandrew: heh
12:33 PM polprog: nearly cleared up the task list
12:33 PM polprog: im still a bit sick which sucks...
12:34 PM polprog: but at least the room is somewhat clean
12:39 PM Tom_L: got da covid?
12:39 PM Tom_L: seems if you sneeze around here it's covid
12:40 PM polprog: some light version yes
12:40 PM polprog: im nearly over it
01:07 PM rue_mohr: sun? today?
01:08 PM rue_mohr: aandrew, I added a bunch of bypass caps, I think there is a loose wire, it IS wire wrapped
01:26 PM Tom_L: better than breadbord
01:26 PM Tom_L: worse than perfboard
02:14 PM rue_mohr: acg, 12:00 and I'v not even had a shower yet
02:15 PM rue_mohr: I need to go shopping
02:26 PM * Tom_L thinks rue_mohr is nocturnal
02:33 PM rue_mohr: we call it "night owl"
02:36 PM rue_mohr: so
02:36 PM rue_mohr: serial port
02:37 PM rue_mohr: the 8251 is small, but the 8250 has a baud divider in it
02:54 PM rue_mohr: software wise
02:54 PM rue_mohr: I'm not sure where to start
02:56 PM aandrew: I remember with teh 16450/550 were really big things to have because of the tiny built-in FIFO
02:56 PM rue_mohr: sure, but did a system ever need the fifo
02:57 PM rue_mohr: intel made lots of chips that could put off their interupt handlers for a LONG time
02:57 PM rue_mohr: should I spend $33 on genuine vero pin header (100 pins) or spend $33 on 20mm long pin header from china?
02:59 PM rue_mohr: so, 100 vero pins, or 3600 header pins
03:00 PM aandrew: rue_mohr: seems like a no-brainer
03:01 PM aandrew: rue_mohr: this is going off of VERY hazy memories and a lot of rose coloured glass looking at the past, but I think the FIFO did help
03:05 PM rue_mohr: the vero pins lock into the verobaord really tight
03:05 PM rue_mohr: I dont know if the plastic strip on the header pins competes
03:08 PM aandrew: printed this yesterday/today and assembled it: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4572996
03:08 PM aandrew: kind of fun, needs considerable tweaking to get the alignment right so the bullets don't lose all their momentum and the DC motors need a lot of adjusting too
03:08 PM aandrew: but when you hit it right holy crap
03:09 PM aandrew: 3.5VDC, let it take all the current it wants and I'm genuinely concerned it'd crack an LCD if the bullet hit it head-on
03:09 PM rue_mohr: 504 Gateway Time-out
03:09 PM aandrew: the motor mount is partiucarly nice because it's flexible
03:09 PM rue_mohr: cloudflare down again?
03:09 PM aandrew: yeah thingiverse is struggling today
03:10 PM rue_mohr: oh good their not using cloudflare
03:11 PM rue_mohr: 1pm, I wonder how fast I can do my shopping
03:13 PM aandrew: the grocer doesn't have the curbside thing in your town?
03:13 PM aandrew: when I stopped to get the iced tea it was a smallish store but a chain, so I suspect they'd have that option
03:14 PM rue_mohr: my shopping always gets complex
03:14 PM rue_mohr: I tried to do that once and the store I was trying to do it with was out of everything I wanted
03:14 PM rue_mohr: they take things off then page when they are out, you cant back order anything
03:15 PM rue_mohr: if they did that, they would find out their stocking system is crap
03:18 PM rue_mohr: 17mm is the veropin length
03:19 PM rue_mohr: I need to make stacks to organize my stuff
03:19 PM rue_mohr: hmm
03:19 PM rue_mohr: just push things
03:20 PM rue_mohr: $27 on long wire-wrap pins
03:20 PM rue_mohr: so for 2 weeks I work on software.. hmmm
03:20 PM rue_mohr: things have been fast from china latley
03:22 PM rue_mohr: so I needed to print a quick sign
03:22 PM rue_mohr: I go into the livingroom, feed the laser pritner paper, plug it in, it starts its loooong boot cycle
03:22 PM rue_mohr: I go to the windows laptop and open it, its logged out
03:23 PM rue_mohr: I log in and it like *UPDATE - this may take a while*
03:23 PM rue_mohr: I go into the shop, start up writer, compose and print the sign, going by the windows machine on my way to post it, the its still working on the update
03:24 PM rue_mohr: windows is NOT an OS for people that want to USE a computer
03:29 PM aandrew: rue_mohr: my "primary" grocery store is one of the loblaws chains (you have them there in BC too) - they have a decent curbside thing, the website and app are in sync, they let you modify the order until 24h before pickup, allow you to substitute or refuse substitutions, REMEMBER YOUR SETTINGS PER ITEM (!!) and even keep track of what you tend to order
03:29 PM rue_mohr: ok I just spent $27 on pin header
03:30 PM rue_mohr: they also didn't allow me to search by UPC code
03:30 PM aandrew: so I have a weekly order I put together, and my weekly run is going to 3 stores: one for good meat, one for good veggies (I don't online order those, they NEVER seem to work out right) and then pick up eveyrthing else at zehrs
03:31 PM aandrew: I usually try to schedule anything like canadian tire/princess auto/home depot on the same day for curbside as well, it's one thing this pandemic has done for me is got me organized in this sense
03:31 PM rue_mohr: well, I'm logged into aliexpress
03:31 PM rue_mohr: how much should I spend?
03:31 PM rue_mohr: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005001598639573.html
03:31 PM rue_mohr: only $4
03:32 PM rue_mohr: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000926627759.html
03:32 PM rue_mohr: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32959345075.html
03:32 PM rue_mohr: just $4
03:33 PM aandrew: then there's fastenal and as an absolute last resort, instacart (because it's expensive). instacart does however shop at costco for me which I happily pay a premium to stay the fuck out of. they also do walmart at no markup (just delivery fee) and staples too, which comes in handy
03:33 PM aandrew: wow that's a DAMN cheap brushless motor
03:33 PM aandrew: I got the same gear set :-)
03:33 PM polprog: that motor looks cute
03:33 PM aandrew: both of them
03:34 PM rue_mohr: high speed
03:34 PM aandrew: yeah I'm gonna toss a dozen in my cart for the next buy whenever that is
03:34 PM rue_mohr: tho I have a pile of hard drive motors right now
03:34 PM aandrew: wow good find rue
03:34 PM rue_mohr: haha
03:34 PM aandrew: it's sad that modern hard drives have the motors completely within the alu enclosure
03:34 PM rue_mohr: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000598534610.html
03:34 PM rue_mohr: there are those too
03:34 PM aandrew: got those yellow ones already
03:35 PM aandrew: got a bunch of N20 motors too at various gear ratios
03:35 PM rue_mohr: hmm, what should I get for my z80
03:35 PM aandrew: those are nice and small and can be respectably torquey
03:35 PM polprog: make a z80 drone
03:35 PM rue_mohr: I'd like one of those 1920x480 screens, but I dont know if I can do it yet
03:36 PM rue_mohr: I came up with a few new options for a gpu
03:36 PM aandrew: aww I can't order more than like 2 of those brushless motors
03:37 PM rue_mohr: including a ultrascsi hard drive controller (who said they wanted lots of lvdt?) and some printer boards
03:37 PM aandrew: ahh there we go, had to get them from another vendor
03:37 PM aandrew: he's got an x86 lawnmower, a z80 drone doesn't sound too far off the mark
03:38 PM rue_mohr: oh right, I found a possible x86 board I was going to ask about
03:38 PM rue_mohr: I hav to go shopping :(
03:38 PM polprog: what board?
03:39 PM rue_mohr: 1 min
03:40 PM rue_mohr: its got an atheos processor
03:40 PM rue_mohr: I think atheos is x86
03:41 PM polprog: link?
03:42 PM rue_shop2: "Routerboard 411U"
03:42 PM rue_shop2: "Routerboard 411U"
03:43 PM polprog: mikrotik?
03:43 PM rue_shop2: thats the one
03:43 PM rue_shop2: 300mhz ok
03:43 PM polprog: looks ok
03:44 PM polprog: slightly newer than the soekris kit
03:44 PM rue_shop2: can it run a 1920x480 screen somehow...
03:44 PM polprog: 300mHz only, i think the soekris was faster
03:44 PM rue_shop2: oh its mips
03:44 PM polprog: oh that explains ir
03:44 PM polprog: it*
03:44 PM polprog: hm mips
03:44 PM polprog: funky arch
03:45 PM polprog: i wonder if anyone ported bsd to it
03:45 PM rue_shop2: or linux?
03:45 PM polprog: yeah
03:45 PM rue_shop2: if I can test by using pygame as a graphics system between the serial port and a video system it'll be a good quick start
03:46 PM rue_shop2: quick google looks plausable
03:47 PM rue_shop2: I also have an AM29200 baord with lots of ram/rom
03:47 PM rue_shop2: might be able to generate vga
03:47 PM polprog: oo pics?
03:47 PM rue_shop2: cga anyhow
03:47 PM rue_shop2: ok, then I'm going shopping
03:47 PM aandrew: dammit rue you got me on ali
03:49 PM rue_mohr: hah
03:50 PM rue_mohr: ca you find me a serial -> hdmi path?
03:50 PM aandrew: a what?
03:50 PM rue_mohr: or something to that 1920x480 lcd
03:50 PM aandrew: you want RS232 to HDMI?
03:50 PM rue_mohr: bare goal serial -> 1920x480 pcd panel
03:50 PM rue_mohr: lcd
03:50 PM rue_mohr: obviously a smart thing in the middle "gpu"
03:50 PM rue_mohr: pygame, or raw code
03:51 PM polprog: sounds like a dumb terminal side project
03:51 PM polprog: >:)
03:51 PM rue_mohr: "draw line from 9,9 to 60,130"
03:51 PM aandrew: yeah
03:51 PM rue_mohr: set colour r3g3b2
03:51 PM aandrew: looks like you want to have an STM32 with attached SRAM spitting out to parallel LCD or DSI
03:51 PM rue_mohr: its procedural, so I cant pull that with an fpga
03:52 PM aandrew: nah but you can certainly accelerate it with an FPGA if you want at some point in the future
03:52 PM rue_mohr: check out the 1920x480 lcds 7"
03:52 PM rue_mohr: or .8.8"?
03:53 PM rue_mohr: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002312971679.html
03:53 PM rue_mohr: this type of screen
03:53 PM rue_mohr: I think there is a smaller version, but its the same difference
03:53 PM rue_mohr: serial -> that
03:53 PM rue_mohr: "draw rectangle 0,0 to 1920x480"
03:54 PM rue_mohr: "set video page 1"
03:54 PM rue_mohr: "set video page 2"
03:54 PM aandrew: rue_mohr: you could just cheat and get an rpi 7" display and write a listener that does that for you :-)
03:54 PM rue_mohr: I have a beaglebone black
03:55 PM rue_mohr: not sure its hdmi "can do" 1920
03:55 PM rue_mohr: but refresh rate is obviously not a factor
03:55 PM rue_mohr: possible GPU targets:
03:55 PM rue_mohr: http://ruemohr.org/~ircjunk/tempimage/p1190247.jpg
03:55 PM rue_mohr: http://ruemohr.org/~ircjunk/tempimage/p1190249.jpg
03:55 PM rue_mohr: http://ruemohr.org/~ircjunk/tempimage/p1190250.jpg
03:55 PM rue_mohr: http://ruemohr.org/~ircjunk/tempimage/p1190251.jpg
03:56 PM rue_mohr: I dont think the fiberchannel hard drive controller has enough io for the video
03:56 PM rue_mohr: but, the ultrascsi...
03:56 PM rue_mohr: thats 32 lvdt pairs
03:57 PM rue_mohr: shopping! bye
03:57 PM polprog: think you can reprogram these?
03:57 PM rue_mohr: back in 1 hr + shopping time
03:57 PM polprog: grab me a can of soda
03:57 PM rue_mohr: yea
03:57 PM rue_mohr: and I think I can reprogram them
03:57 PM rue_mohr: they use flash
03:58 PM rue_mohr: its a jtag excersize
03:58 PM polprog: that would be super cool
03:58 PM rue_mohr: so would reprogramming a hard drive controller!
03:58 PM polprog: thats what i said :p
04:23 PM aandrew: heh. spool of orange ran out and it's just spool cradles so I don't care about the actual colour, but the contrast is actually kind of nice: https://imgur.com/a/ciyIFZV
04:24 PM polprog: lala, nice
04:24 PM polprog: haha*
04:24 PM aandrew: rue_mohr: https://ibb.co/k4MT2N9 any better for you?
04:25 PM polprog: grr. All the hdds up here are working and contain important stuff, cant strip any
04:26 PM aandrew: any way to shuffle things around to free up one or two?
04:26 PM polprog: hard to say, id rather have something no
04:26 PM polprog: now*
04:26 PM polprog: and i dont really wanna mess with the data
04:26 PM aandrew: heh sounds like my dilemma as well
04:26 PM polprog: trying to see if the datasheets for any of the controller chips are out there
04:27 PM aandrew: I have like 20 drives, I went through and did a "I can access data / can't access data" on them, marked the bad ones with a big X which means my son can take those apart, and the ohters I'll "get around to"
04:27 PM aandrew: then I have another 10 or so from my friend that I have to go through but don't want to
04:27 PM polprog: yeah all the okay ones are up here
04:27 PM polprog: i wonder where did i put the bad ones then
04:28 PM polprog: lol i just noticed the numbers up there are probably a fax machine header
04:28 PM polprog: https://pdf1.alldatasheet.com/datasheet-pdf/view/150051/UMC/UMB3C001.html
04:28 PM polprog: on top of page
04:28 PM polprog: my fax also makes these
04:29 PM aandrew: that looks exactly what that is
04:37 PM polprog: crap i wonder where my ez hooks have gone
04:37 PM polprog: i only have two loose ones left
05:06 PM aandrew: rue_mohr: curious if direct links work for you: https://i.imgur.com/n5CPMXQ.jpg
05:32 PM Tom_L: better
05:32 PM Tom_L: doesn't fuck up my video card
05:33 PM Tom_L: something on their site does and it didn't used to
06:11 PM aandrew: https://i.imgur.com/HdkfIed.jpg getting all artsy-fartsy heh
07:07 PM rue_shop1: ah!
07:08 PM rue_shop1: the guy I found who did it completely did it via the jtag port
07:09 PM aandrew: rue_mohr: you're talking about sprite?
07:09 PM rue_shop1: https://i.imgur.com/n5CPMXQ.jpg <-- that link did work
07:10 PM aandrew: ok, so you can take direct links fine
07:10 PM aandrew: ok
07:57 PM rue_shop1: hey this is cool
07:57 PM rue_shop2: https://www.malwaretech.com/2015/04/hard-disk-firmware-hacking-part-1.html
07:57 PM rue_shop2: the jtag port for WD
07:57 PM rue_shop2: and I have 3 WD boards here
07:57 PM rue_shop2: pinned out the jtag, need to combine with other stuff
08:02 PM Tom_L: fun
08:05 PM aandrew: nope that's not hte one I was thinking about
08:05 PM aandrew: https://spritesmods.com/?art=hddhack&page=1 is what I was thinking about
08:10 PM rue_shop1: if this works, I'v seen this connector on other things
08:10 PM rue_shop1: thats a good one, I need it next
08:12 PM rue_shop2: same connector
08:15 PM rue_shop2: ok, where is my jtag thing
08:17 PM rue_shop2: one of these pages somewhere said what you dont need to conenct
08:17 PM rue_shop2: my programmer has
08:17 PM rue_shop2: tms
08:18 PM rue_shop2: tdi
08:18 PM rue_shop2: tck
08:18 PM rue_shop2: tdo
08:18 PM rue_shop2: is that all I need?
08:22 PM rue_shop2: usb blaster, can I use that?
09:15 PM Tom_L: i think so
09:15 PM Tom_L: signals all you need
09:15 PM Tom_L: dunno about blaster
09:15 PM Tom_L: i was thinking there was 5 signals but maybe not
09:17 PM Tom_L: maybe rst
09:20 PM aandrew: mictor connectors are very common in high speed fpga stuff
09:20 PM aandrew: tdi, tdo, tms, tck are what you need, and MAYBE trst
09:21 PM aandrew: trst and srst are usualy optional but some cores need them
09:42 PM rue_mohr: :)
09:42 PM rue_mohr: now I know the pinout I can play lots
09:42 PM rue_mohr: there is a cable recoder box with 3 of those connectors
09:42 PM rue_mohr: mictor
09:46 PM aandrew: damn, another guy I knew (just as a distant friend) died of a heart attack a few days ago
09:46 PM aandrew: I think I might have to start taking my health more seriously
09:46 PM Tom_L: we all should
09:48 PM rue_mohr: I'd have if I was still in software
09:48 PM aandrew: interesting. the lighter colour filaments (but not white, surprisingly) seem to have a lot more zits on the vertical surfaces than the blue and black and white filament with the same settings
09:48 PM aandrew: all st-pla from the same company (cctree)
09:51 PM aandrew: I'm printing another smars v4 robot chassis
09:51 PM aandrew: 2 boys, gotta print two of everything
09:51 PM Tom_L: except bunny rabbits
09:51 PM aandrew: I'm hoping to give them enough to get hooked so they run with it themselves a bit
09:52 PM Tom_L: please don't teach them openscad and let them think they know cad
09:52 PM aandrew: I actually printed a BIG easter decoration this year. Thing's abotu 12" tall and 16" circumference: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4785323
09:53 PM aandrew: hahaha
09:53 PM Tom_L: if the like it, get them a good cad package
09:53 PM Tom_L: not acad either
09:53 PM aandrew: well *I* want ot learn openscad but am also looking at freecad
09:53 PM Tom_L: freecad is getting better but has quite a ways to go
09:54 PM aandrew: but I've also got my eye on shapr3d but it's pricey
09:54 PM Tom_L: my kid is currently taking mastercam in votech
09:54 PM aandrew: I like it because it's got osx and ipad versions but it's a direct modeller, not a parametric modeller
09:54 PM aandrew: and while I *really* like direct modelling, it seems that you cannot tweak a direct modelled part
09:54 PM Tom_L: i'm partial to catia
09:54 PM aandrew: you can constrain the shit out of it but if you want to change a gear model from say 20T to 22T, everything's fucked
09:55 PM aandrew: you gotta start over from almost the beginning
09:55 PM aandrew: matthew is getting REALLY good iwth tinkercad which I know is a toy
09:55 PM Tom_L: depends how you build the model
09:55 PM aandrew: but it's very approachable
09:56 PM aandrew: Tom_L: I can't argue with you, but I tried a few times to do it and at a certain point you can't change some core aspect of the model without messing everything up royally. perhaps I just lack the correct mental process
09:56 PM Tom_L: one of the instructors showed us a doll house he'd drawn in catia and by changing one dimension he could resize the whole doll house
09:56 PM aandrew: when I contracted at NDI I saw their mechanical guys do some absolute magic with ... windows program, shit...
09:57 PM aandrew: I want to say procreate but that's not right
09:58 PM aandrew: creo
09:58 PM aandrew: fusion/inventor/etc look pretty decent too to my naive eye
09:58 PM rue_mohr: creo?
09:58 PM rue_mohr: like CREO vancouver printers?
09:59 PM aandrew: I'm most intersted in 3d models with moving parts and linkages and such
09:59 PM rue_mohr: sold to one of the photo companies
09:59 PM aandrew: no, https://www.ptc.com/en/products/creo/parametric
09:59 PM rue_mohr: oh
10:00 PM aandrew: watching a good draftsman work is mesmerizing, even in 2D
10:00 PM aandrew: I still want to get my kids hooked on 3D/mechanical stuff so I can pawn all my enclosure design off to them :-)
10:01 PM aandrew: too bad freecad didn't have an ios app, I really like the idea of tinkering around on the ipad but being able to do real work on the workstation
10:01 PM Tom_itx: ok that wasn't very cool
10:02 PM aandrew: I replaced all the dessicant in my PLA boxes, was at 34-35% now they're all coming down to 29-28%
10:03 PM aandrew: threw the old ones in the microwave for 5m on defrost, they're all back to blue colour which is good
10:03 PM rue_mohr: I'm going to assume that I can work on that hard drive controller without the 12V
10:05 PM aandrew: most likely
10:11 PM Tom_L: that last link not only froze the video but locked up the pc
10:13 PM aandrew: Tom_L: which, the creo one?
10:18 PM aandrew: Tom_L: any reccomendations for tutorials/etc. for learning "proper" parametric 3d modelling for things such as enclosures, mechanical movements, etc.?
10:23 PM Tom_L: it would be cad specific
10:24 PM Tom_L: http://tom-itx.no-ip.biz:81/~webpage/cnc/practice_drawings/
10:24 PM Tom_L: i did those and more in both solidworks and catia
10:26 PM Tom_L: there are yt on just about every cad out there
10:26 PM Tom_L: i took a few catia classes, my kids took more that i did
10:26 PM rue_mohr: ok, I have the FT232 jtag
10:26 PM Tom_L: i just wanted to get a feel for it
10:27 PM Tom_L: rue_mohr, that was that little board you got for the fpga ehh?
10:27 PM rue_mohr: yup
10:27 PM Tom_L: jtag is kinda like serial. it's standard but not really
10:28 PM rue_mohr: tdo-tdo
10:28 PM rue_mohr: tck - tck
10:28 PM Tom_L: i'm not sure but what you cross the data ones
10:28 PM rue_mohr: tms - tms
10:28 PM Tom_L: like spi
10:28 PM rue_mohr: not on the fpga
10:29 PM Tom_L: k
10:29 PM rue_mohr: tdi - tdi
10:29 PM rue_mohr: I dont have a reset
10:29 PM Tom_L: i'd have to check notes, memory has been erased on that topic
10:31 PM Tom_L: ok, i'm out. 4am comes pretty early
10:34 PM aandrew: Tom_L: how old are your kids?
10:34 PM aandrew: rue_mohr: FT232 or FT2232?
10:35 PM aandrew: the 2232 is way more performant and has the MPSSE mode
10:35 PM rue_mohr: 232
10:35 PM rue_mohr: hmm
10:36 PM rue_mohr: ok connected and plugged in
10:36 PM rue_mohr: openOCD
10:38 PM rue_mohr: http://forum.hddguru.com/viewtopic.php?t=20324&start=
10:38 PM rue_mohr: ?
10:39 PM aandrew: not sure what the question is?
10:39 PM rue_mohr: I got no idea what I'm doing
10:40 PM rue_mohr: you know openocd
10:40 PM rue_mohr: wait there is a channel
10:40 PM rue_mohr: brb
10:55 PM rue_mohr: it seems the ft232 isn't supported by openocd
10:55 PM rue_mohr: ok, the bit blaster is tho
10:56 PM rue_mohr: I need to trade up some hardware
11:31 PM rue_mohr: hmm, I may have to find a 3.3V supply for the usb_blaster