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retrobsd - 2.11BSD for embedded systems
by Sevan / Venture37 10 Aug '11

10 Aug '11

Hiya, Saw this posted on twitter yesterday, a port of 2.11BSD for Microchip PIC32 microcontroller. http://code.google.com/p/retrobsd/ Sevan

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OSHUG #12 — Practical Approaches, Thursday 29th September.
by Andrew Back 28 Jul '11

28 Jul '11

Hello, Firstly, a date for the diary: on Thursday 27th October we will be hosting our first OSHcamp — a one day (likely 10:00 - 18:00, then pub) event to be held at the Centre for Creative Collaboration in Kings Cross. We're still working on the details but there will be four parallel workshops: building the Internet of Things using OSHW, practical 3D printing, electronics primer/documenting OSHW projects and prototyping accessories with the Google ADK. And before then, in September, it will be OSHUG #12: -- Practical Approaches (Double-sided PCB Design, Controlling Power, 3W RGB LED Controller) On the 29th September 2011, 18:00 - 20:00 at Centre for Creative Collaboration, 16 Acton Street, London, WC1X 9NG (51.529049, -0.116436) Registration: http://oshug.org/event/12 Developing a solution to a problem is not simply a matter of whether it is technically possible, but can involve all manner of challenging constraints. This is particularly the case in DIY and small-scale manufacture contexts, as there may be limited access to tools, test equipment and costly fabrication processes. At the twelfth OSHUG meeting we'll be hearing about practical approaches that were developed in tackling three different problems. One is concerned with designing a double-sided PCB to accommodate 0.5mm pitch surface mount devices, that can be reliably built using low cost DIY methods. Another with safely controlling mains powered devices from the Internet, and the third with building a 3W RGB LED controller using all open source design and development tools. - DIY Double-sided PCB Design and Development for embedded ARM Inspired by the success of the Arduino platform and driven by a recognition that to go from raw materials to a working system is both exciting and empowering, a project was born to develop a powerful microcontroller board that can be built from scratch. With this came the challenge of designing a double-sided PCB that will accommodate a 64-pin LQFP package on 0.5mm pitch, and that can be built using low cost DIY techniques. In this talk we will learn about the rules which needed to be applied in order to ensure that construction of such a PCB is practical, and discoveries that were made in its development. Garry Bulmer gained his degree in Computer Science in the early 1980s and developed software for companies including ICL, before going on to teach Computer Science and Software Engineering at degree level and beyond. During the 1990s he was a co-founder of Parallax Solutions, a software services company with customers that included Rover Group and Rolls Royce, and that partnered with Sun Microsystems and delivered their Enterprise Architecture Blueprints. He's since held the position of Chief Architect at Keane, Aspen Technology and Caritor. More recently he has become involved in education, running Arduino workshops for local schools and at events including Howduino, DEV8D and fizzPop. - A Simple Approach to Controlling Power from Internet Apps Working with mains power can be a daunting prospect and requires due care and attention. In this presentation we will hear about a simple and safe way to control mains-powered appliances from the Internet using cheap wireless links. This will include a live demo based on MBED and an explanation of this approach, and there will be opportunity to discuss its pros and cons. Paul Tanner is a consultant, developer and maker in wood, metal, plastic, electronics and software. His day job is IT-based business improvement for SMEs. By night he turns energy nut, creating tools to optimise energy use. Paul graduated in electronics and was responsible for hardware and software product development and customer services in several product and service start-ups, switching to consulting in 2000. - Using Open Source tools to design and build a 3W RGB LED Controller in a month of Sundays There are many Open Source and freely available hardware designs but almost all of them are currently hosted by proprietary tool chains. Whether it's the EDA suite used to design the boards, the compilers used to build the firmware or the dongles used to flash the firmware, the chances are that at least one, if not all, are under a non-free license of some kind. In this talk we will hear about the experience of using an entirely open toolchain to develop a 3W RGB LED controller. Specifically, the the trials and tribulations in using Kicad: the GPL PCB Suite; AVR-GCC: the GNU Compiler Collection build that targets the Atmel AVR line of microcontrollers and a parallel port programmer that can be built in 5 minutes with minimal components. Andy Bennett is an Engineer that likes to inhabit the void between hardware and the software that runs on it. After graduating from Imperial College with a degree in Electronic & Electrical Engineering he joined Access Devices Digital Limited where he designed software and FPGA cores for the UK's first Dual Tuner Personal Video Recorders. He continued working on Advanced Product Development at Pace Micro Technology before leaving to become employee number 2 at GenieDB where he applies his finely honed ability to produce software on a shoestring. In his spare time he likes to design ambitious projects from scratch. In between prototyping designs for his own PDA, digital watch and bluetooth headset, he's currently building a two wheeled, actively balanced, robot. Note: Please aim to arrive for 18:00 - 18:20 as the event will start at 18:30 prompt. -- Cheers, Andrew

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CERN Open hardware repository
by Al Wood 08 Jul '11

08 Jul '11

Just in Via Adafruit CERN has an opensource hardware effort http://www.ohwr.org/ It has its own Open hardware license, manifesto and project management portal as well as project repositories. Very interesting, check it out.. -- http://www.folknology.com

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Re: [oshug] sourcing ADK boards
by Dan Williams 02 Jul '11

02 Jul '11

On 25 Jun 2011, at 08:57, Paul Tanner <paul(a)virtual-techno.com> wrote: > I am thinking that a whole OSHUG session is needed for this, including input from someone who's created a ADK setup with alternative hardware at a reasonable cost. Do we know anyone? I know someone who experimented with putting android phones into USB host mode pre-ADK. He was using it for external keyboards with the intent to plug in USB sensor boards or arduinos. Not sure how far he got or how relevant that is now we have ADK Dan

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AlienCortex AV
by Eddie Chan 29 Jun '11

29 Jun '11

hi all, Following from last FPGA talk; I just want to bring to the attention that there a new Kickstarter project called "AlienCortex AV" which support the Open Core standards. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/794668827/aliencortex-av eddie

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Re: [oshug] [Open Manufacturing] Fwd: Open hardware anemometer
by John Griessen 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

> From: *christopher west* I've decided to design > my own PCB from scratch. I'm a electronic engineer by trade so this > shouldn't cause to many headaches but if this is too difficult I will > consider using an Arduino. Have you considered using pcb and gschem for the electronics? There's a supportive list and good ways to get library schematic symbols and pcb footprints besides making your own. if you have any pointers I would > be very great full. > > Regards, > Chris West great full. --> grateful. Have you done much market research on the commercial competition? There are plenty of weather stations proven and working, so all you can hope for is a cost reduction, and it might be tough to beat standard prices as they've been evolving for so long. But, if you think prices are easy to beat, that's a good reason for open hardware. The functions of a weather station barely make a microcontroller breathe hard, so I immediately think, "What else could you add in the microcontroller part to make a weather station better?", and it strikes me you should use a higher level language than C for the code, and so users can adapt their stations -- use them as development platforms. Then you have a wider market -- scientists start to be interested, tinkerers of course, and developers of instrumentation setups. Otherwise your market is just other EE/CS types, (if they like C). What I like is python-on-a-chip, running on micros like STM32 or MC13224v. See http://www.redwirellc.com/store/node/1 http://mc1322x.devl.org/ http://www.futurlec.com/ET-STM32_Stamp.shtml The STM32 stamp board can run elua, a version of lua: http://www.eluaproject.net/ That's another high level language that some say is good for rapid development. I've not tried it yet, but it looks like time. John Griessen

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Open hardware anemometer
by christopher west 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

All, I'm been mulling over the idea of making a no moving parts anemometer and releasing everything to the public. I thought that this would be the best place to start discussing the idea. My plans thus far; The main part of this project are the micro-controller and the ultrasonic sensors. For the micro-controller I'm going to use a Microchip PIC as I've have experience with these. I have thought about using an Arduino but this project will be as much about discovering if I can use open-source tools from start to finish as having a working system at the end. To that end I've decided to design my own PCB from scratch. I'm a electronic engineer by trade so this shouldn't cause to many headaches but if this is too difficult I will consider using an Arduino. The ultrasonic sensors can be used to calculate wind speed and direction. The basic idea is to use a set of sensors perpendicular to each and calculate the time delay or Doppler shift to find out where the wind is coming from. I haven't decided which is the best way to do yet so I'm going to incorporate both. The rest of it will use RS232 for communication. For power I'm hoping to incorporate a battery/solar power unit. The anemometer will have the following basic sensors; Pressure, Humidity, Temperature in shade and direct sun light. As for the open-source tools; Since I'm going to be using Microchips PICs there are in beta trials of there new open-source embedded IDE which is called MPlab X[1], which is based off netbeans so it aligns nicely with my needs. For the embedded C compiler my initial thinking will be to use SDCC[2] but that depends on what PIC I select or I might be able to use GCC but I'm not sure. For the electronic design I'm think KiCAD[3] as it I've played around with it in the past and I've quite liked it. Finally for the physical design I plan to use Freecad[4] it may not be very full featured but I'm hopeful it will be useful. I'm also trying to think of a project name at the moment and I'm very open to any ideas? Please let me know what you think and if you have any pointers I would be very great full. Regards, Chris West [1] MPlab X: http://microchip.wikidot.com/ [2] SDCC: http://sdcc.sourceforge.net/ [3] KiCAD: http://www.lis.inpg.fr/realise_au_lis/kicad/ [4] FreeCAD: http://free-cad.sourceforge.net/

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Re: [oshug] sourcing ADK boards
by Paul Downey 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

> Interesting question that caused me to Google around a bit. > Looks like the question should include "at a reasonable price" Indeed! We joked that there must be a silk-screen layer for each colour in the Google logo, but I don't think that's the case. Nigel's points about the unusual USB interface and the economics of a small number of Androids with the latest version sounds most likely. I'd imagine the size of market will change, so was puzzled why we're not seeing a flood of cheap clones. > I am thinking that a whole OSHUG session is needed for this, including input > from someone who's created a ADK setup with alternative hardware at a > reasonable cost. Do we know anyone? heh, I asked this question in preparation for talking to Android people at Google about the ADK on behalf of OSHUG, and our proposed OSHcamp in October. I'll report back on both as soon as I know more! -- Paul (psd) http://blog.whatfettle.com

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sourcing ADK boards
by Paul Downey 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

I wondered if anyone here knows where we can get our hands on Android ADK boards? Are they really still expensive and difficult to find? If so, does anyone know why? -- Paul (psd) http://blog.whatfettle.com

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Meego gathering at Skills Matter 5th of July
by Thibaut Rouffineau 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

Hi I was wondering if anyone was interested in a meetup in London around Meego? I am trying to put together a regular meetup on the subject, and we'll be starting on the 5th of July! The meetup will be talking Meego and Meego development... there are quite a few project committers and hackers coming to the event from across the UK. The event is sponsored and free to attend http://ce1.com/intel/2011/londonappuplab/ (it's on an Intel page as they're sponsoring the whole thing but this doesn't mean that ARM or Tegra ports are not discussions are not welcome :D). If you're available on the 5th feel free to register and come! I hope this can be useful, and look forward to seeing you soon! Cheers Thibaut

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