I tried to buy some sockets for the FriendlyArm today for the serial ports and the interface port, no success so I'll need to try and work out what they are then order online.

I have found a useful website http://andahammer.com/

I've picked up a FriendlyArm Mini2440 (http://www.friendlyarm.net/products/mini2440) via ebay to experiment with. It runs the same chip as my Skywatcher Synscan Tour controller (I think).

It arrived loaded with Qtopia 2.2 Linux (discontinued). The Synscan Tour runs Windows CE which I think is available on disk for this along with an Android OS. The OpenMoko group has taken the latest version and extended it (http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Qt_Extended_Improved), not sure what would be involved in compiling that for this device but it may be a useful learning exercise at some point.

First up a bit tricky to use, the icon names were in Chinese characters although the text once I opened apps was generally in English. Found an option by tapping on the bottom left corner and one of the items has an associated image that looks like a group of ballons which when tapped got me to what turned out to be the Friendly Arm config screen. One of the Icons there is the Chinese flag floating just above (and overlapping) a British flag. That gave an option to change the language from Chinese to English. Now all the Icon names are in English.

The device has a Network port, an RS232 serial port as well as a few TTL serial ports, an expansion port, audio out, a USB port and USB hub, I2C, SD card socket and a bus expander as well as a resistive colour touch screen so should form a good basis for a control device.

No battery and the power usage rating looked a bit heavier than I'd like but I suspect that will drop with the display dimmed.

I would not recommend using the sunflower image as a background, really hard to see the icon's against it.

So far I've not managed to get networking going nor to get the device to recognise a webcam nor work with an external keyboard.  I have been able to browse files on a micro SD in an SD carrier. No sign that it's recognised a bluetooth module plugged into the USB socket nor an Arduino Mega board.

Picaxe

I've started trying to learn the basics of the Picaxe. I've picked up a 20pin starter board, some 20M2 Picaxe chips and a USB programming cable.

A bit of a shift in thinking to pick up Basic again, I've not touched it for years.

Trinamic Stepper Driver, and Arduino and I2C

I'm trying to work my way through communicating with a Trinamic TMC223 stepper driver from an Arduino via the I2C interface. I've not managed to find a single source of info to get me going.

I've previously used I2C to talk to some SHT temp/humidity sensors but I've not managed to simplify that enough to convert to a more generic framework.

There is some sample C code for the chips on the Trinamic web site at http://www.trinamic.com/tmc/media/Downloads/integrated_circuits/Tmc222/Application_notes/TMC222_Lib_AVR.zip

An interesting intro to I2C on the Arduino at http://tronixstuff.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/tutorial-arduino-and-the-i2c-bus/

Some sample code for I2C which I've managed to compile on the Arduino platform at http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1265556313

I've also found alternatives to the wires library at http://www.adafruit.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=13722

I'm hoping to develop a library or sketch to do the basics with the chip.

Recent activity

No posts for a while. I've been getting an old desktop PC rebuilt for shed usage to replace the even older laptop I'd been using. I'd been trying to do it with Ubuntu and EMC2 but was unable to get all axis of the mill working under EMC2 and had a few other concerns so I'm running XP here and Mach3. I've got a couple of other old PC's around (donated by a friend) so I may set one of them up with Ubuntu and try again.

Tonight I've been having another go at surface mount soldering an TMC223 IC to a breakout board. Second attempt and I think it's worked this time. The next step will be to add some support components to a board then try and get the chip running of an Arduino. I2C interface to this stepper driver with built in stall detection etc so it's an interesting option  for positional control of stepper motors rather than the traditional step/dir signals.


I've also been playing a little more with trying to talk to an arduino via bluetooth, still no success there but I've not given up yet.

Bob

Ubuntu play

I've been setting up Ubuntu 10.04 (EMC2 version) on an old desktop PC to try out EMC2 for mill control and as a general shed PC. The PC was $5 at the tip and I picked up a 15" LCD monitor for $2 at the same time. The monitor does not have a stand so I'll need to fabricate something for that but otherwise works well and has a composite input so I could use it for other purposes.

The CD drive was not working correctly on the PC so I've done the install to the hard drive via a USB/hard drive adapter. That took some fiddling for some reason but it's all working nicely so far.  No attempt to connect it to the mill yet.

I've also fired up Ubuntu One which will let me synchronize nominated folders across any PC I have running Ubuntu 10.04 or higher with an Internet connection.

I've also got Ubuntu installed as a dual boot on my better laptop and one of the very old laptops (currently Debian on the Beagleboard). I'm still running Windows on the other partition of the main laptop and on the desktop PC.

I've not done well with Ubuntu and displaying Powerpoint 2010 files - Libra office will open them but can't get the format right and the Powerpoint Viewer running under WINE can't open them for some reason.

There are also a number of Astronomy app's which I want to use which I've not been able to find Linux equivalents for - EQMOD, telescope guiding software, remote control of a Canon EOS camera etc. There is an Arduino package available but I've not done well with port settings yet.

I've had a basic play with the EOS utility and WINE but have not got it working correctly yet.

Bob

Bluetooth as EQDIRECT for an EQ6 telescope mount

I've posted this on the EQMOD yahoo group and the IceInSpace forums.

I've managed to get a bluetooth connection running to control an EQ6 Pro.

I'll summarise what I've done here while it's fresh for the benefit of others
who are trying to do the same.

Equipment - a couple of ebay items and bit's and pieces from my workbench and the local Jaycar store.

- A bluetooth module
(http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Bluetooth-Wireless-TTL-Transceiver-Module-5V-GND-TX-RX-/\
380319761963?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0& hash=item588cd3062b) US$15
- An LM7508 voltage regulator
- DB9 male connector
- Micro Bluetooth adapter for the PC
(http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2004689 96304&ssPageName=S\
TRK:MEWNX:IT) AU$1
- A power diode (not essential)
- One small plastic jiffy box from the local electronics store
- Double sided heat trasfer tape (not essential)

All up parts were just over the AU$20.

To confirm pinout's looking at the back of the male DB9 plug connected to the mount with the row of 5 to the top - 1 is top right, 5 is top left, 6 is bottom right and 9 is bottom left.

DB-9
1 12Vdc - I've soldered a diode into the feed to the regulator. Not essential.
5 - Gnd (Left most of the row of 5 looking at the mount or back of the
connector)
6 to the TX pin of the bluetooth module
9 to the RX pin of the bluetooth module

I've stuck the voltage regulator onto the back of the bluetooth module with double sided heat transfer tape and brought the GND and output pins down to the back of the 5V and Gnd pins on the bluetooth module. I removed the 5V pin from the module and then had to replace it, at a guess the hole is not plated through.

Windows XP mapped 2 ports in the Device setup, an Incoming and an Outgoing. I still have not made sense of that but the outgoing one is the one which worked.

I had some problems trying to get EQMOD recognised in the Ascom driver selector, the EQMOD.Telescope driver didn't have any attributes in the profile Explorer. Adding a name seemed to make it visible to the selector. I need to read some more about that as I may now have that right.

I've now had it running from The Sky and also via a very cheap game controller (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1106477 06075&ssPageName=S\TRK:MEWNX:IT). That's not fully configured so don't take it as a recommendation for the controller but it does do the basics.

I want to explore some other bluetooth options, a smallish battery pack and a bluetooth module for the hand controller so I can run wireless without a PC for simple setup's. Bluetooth comm's to an Arduino controlling the focusser(s). I'm also wondering how hard it would be to get the output of a USB hub into a bluetooth transmitter so that camera(s) can be run through the link.

The image is from before the module went into the case.