You always want a better life for you kids.
And getting them the toys you always wanted when you were a kid goes with that right?

-

Exhibit A.
64L x 45W x 43H
My story starts with a $25 purchase from trademe.
Your standard 6v Small quad.
Rated up to 25kg.
1 wheel drive.

My son is 4 Yrs old, 10.4kg, 100cm tall.

This quad was bit small for him.
Our section is on a slight slope, 5 degrees?
It had trouble doing the up hill part.
Worked ok when fully charge.
Got a new battery for it.
So after 2 laps, 100m, it stopped going up hill.

If the grass was even slightly damp, it would slip.
1 wheel drive fail.



Exhibit B.
90L x 62W x 55H
New from trademe, also 1 wheel drive.
I had higher hopes for this as it looked like it had more traction.
Not so.
There are 3 positions for the seat.
Due to having the seat so far back the center of gravity is also quite far back.
Leading to reduced grip on the front tyres.
Moving the battery to the front might help a bit.
When this happens, it just turns on the spot.
See video below.



A note on the product from TM.
It is listed at 80kg max but the sticker on the body says 30kg
You need to add washers to the seat screws or it just goes through the plastic.


Exhibit C.
A used one from TM.
Two wheel drive, big size.
100L x 70W x 65H

Battery was bad so had to get a new one.
We have a winner :)
A little on the big side but just enough power.
It handles the up hill just fine.
Being 2 wheel drive it has all the traction required.

I needed to replace my aging drill.
Picked up a used 2410-20 from Trademe for $70
InternalPics

Battery from Hobbyking.
nz$15 landed

Soldered some connectors and tested.


No go.
After a bit of reading. the third terminal was for a thermistor.
Phew, I was worried it was a smbus or something fancier.
http://forum.drc.su/review-milwaukee-2420-22-m12-hackzall-sub-compact-reciprocating-saw-vt4584.html

Soldered a 10k reisitor across the GND and SENs terminal.
Sorted :)

I only used it intermittently so not too fussed with battery life or looks.
Although I could connect a bigger one if required.

At some point in your electronic hobby you will want one.
Probably after your oscilloscope.

While I did use my scope to do the initial troubleshooting it only had two channels and small window to watch the signals.

After some searching I settled on this unit.
http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/424724271-Free-Shipping-2-in-1-Aluminum-case-SALEAE-USBEE-AX-PRO-clone-logic-analyzer-Oscilloscope-wholesalers.html


While I could have saved $20 and gotten this
http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/381777866-Free-Shipping-Big-promotion-Saleae-24MHz-8Channel-Logic-Analyzer-mini-simple-easy-to-use-wholesalers.html

I wanted the probes that came with the more expensive one.
And the warm fuzzy feeling of buffered inputs.


This was my first purchase from via aliexpress.
I would have preferred to use paypal but had to enter my CC details into the site.
My usual point of call is eBay.

8 Days later it was at my door.
No documentation or sw supplied.
After a quick chat to the supplier he sent me a link to download the sw.
It failed to install for some reason so I downloaded the latest version from the original mfg site.
1.1.9 (x64)
http://www.saleae.com/downloads/
Worked fine on Win7 x64.

This unit is a clone of
http://www.saleae.com/logic/
$us149
and
http://usbee.com/usbeeax-protestpod.aspx
us$545

I have not tested the USBee software as the saleae is doing the job so far.


Connected to project board using SPI at 2mhz, nRF24L01+

You have a few options.
In the old days (pre 2005?) you didn't have much choice.

If you wanted more than just a buzzer you had to use a sound chip, ChipCorder.
eg ISD2560 would give you a massive 60 seconds at 8khz

A bit of history here
http://www.scary-terry.com/dsr/dsr.htm


With micros (AVR/Pics etc) now quite powerful you can synthesise speech without too much trouble.


If you need more than 8khz of fidelity, mp3 players were the only to go.
I had worked with mp3 players before by 'pushing' they buttons from a micro to get the desired result.
But this was clumsey.

I had heard of alternate firmware that would allow direct serial control of some players.
Unfortunately with the speed new hardware comes out I didn't fancy my chances there.
A bit of searching located this device.
SD Card MP3 Player Module RS232-TTL
http://www.mdfly.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_53&products_id=284

For only us$10, perfect :)
Limited to 199 files only.


I did come across some more expensive ones as well.

euro$90
http://www.techdesign.be/projects/080/080.htm
http://www.techdesign.be/shop/index.php?cPath=46_22

cad$100
http://www.roguerobotics.com/products/electronics/ump3

us$50
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9715


So what can a $10 mp3 player do for you?
Loaded some clips onto a sd card and plugged it in.

It does what it says on the box. :)
One thing to bear in mind, there is a small delay, 250ms? haven't measured, between sending the the play command and the clip starting to play.
I am guessing this is the seek time for the sd card.

There is also a pause function.
So you could start then pause.
Restarting is instant.
But the volume seemed to be lower than when you allow the clip to play continuously.
This would be one area a ChipCorder might be useful, faster time to start.

But the convenience of using SD memory for storage far outweighs anything else.

For comparision a 45 second ChipCorder from Jaycar locally. nz$30
http://jaycar.co.nz/productView.asp?ID=ZZ8200


The IC markings have been scratched off so I don't know what's under the hood.
Only that it uses a ATMLH044 rom for it's firmware.

Will update once I have used it a bit more.

The client calls saying they had a burning smell and the computer no longer works.

Yeah, I know PSU you say. Not this time.
I could smell it as soon as I walked in the door.
Not the usual blown caps.
Lookie what I found.
First time I have seen anything like it.




Anyone care to speculate on the cause?

I took the unit back to the workshop and left it overnight before putting the HDD into a replacement unit.
The whole place stunk in the morning, that thing was still letting off gases a day after the initial smoulder.


It was an old(4 yrs?) IBM Netvista A30 (6826).

edit:
The underside

Also known as BTM5 ,

As found all over the interweb
http://www.mdfly.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=63

Got mine from eBay
2x for us$18 shipped.
Preconfigured as a pair

So what don't you get compared to something like
Bluegiga WT32 at us$50
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8771

1. It's Class 2, so 10m range
2. Simplified firmware.
This limited it in one particular application where I wanted to scan for devices and show their RSSI.
A kind of digital easter egg hunt.
It has no command to scan for nearby devices.
Or to show RSSI of connection.

3. Might not be found by some devices.
Vodafone 845 found it ok but the Samsung i5700 did not.

4. Bug?
I wired up the slave one to test. Just happened to be the first one I grabbed.
I was configured to 115k.
I could not get into command mode.
After a bit of fiddling I got it.
A. Remotely connect to the device.
B. Disconnect.
C. Pull pin 34(PIO11) high to enter CM.
Pulling it high at power up did not get me into CM.

5. +++ Runs from 2.2-4.2v  Should be able to run straight off a Lithium battery.


So is it worth it?
Definitely if your device can find it :)

After almost bricking it by using the wrong firmware I got it going :)

Forgot to remove the Micro SD so didn't get far on the first attempt.

 

Followed the guide here, DO NOT USE THE FIRMWARE in the guide.

http://androidmodz.com/firmwares/2-how-upgrade-samsung-galaxy-spica-gt-i5700-mobile-phone-eclair-2-1-a.html

 

Got the firmware from here

http://www.samfirmware.com/WEBPROTECT-i5700.htm

 

Used I570EUXJG1     2010 July

Direct link if you don't want to register

http://www.multiupload.com/TU7S4QNHFM

 


Try not to brick your device ;)

i5700

Just a quick intro and reminder to myself for later.

Not the prettiest setup but it works.
The devboard (ez864) was for an GC864 module, ie one with a connector.
I am only using the regulated PSU and Sim holder on it.
The Sim has not been wired up yet in the picture.



Connected we have
.Power, GND, VBATT, VBATT_PA, VBATT_PA
.Serial, TXD, RXD
.RTS, shorted to ground as no flow control is being used.
.ON_OFF, shorted to ground , turns on as soon as power is applied.
.STAT_LED, a good indicator that the moduel is working properly
.GPIO_06, into a led, active high
.GPIO_04, into a switch, active low
.DTR, into a switch, active low. Controls script excution on power up.

The 2.54mm pitch is very generous compared to the 0.5mm on the connector based moduels.
Downside is the lack of an antenna coonnector and fewer GPIO's.
10 vs 22 on the GC864.

While it is not recommended to upload scripts without error checking enabled we will do without for now to save some soldering.

Since Hyperterm is not avaiable for Win 7, I download the successor from the same company.
http://www.hilgraeve.com/
My usual terminal program, Docklight, did not do file sending.

For a fuller step by step see this link
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/system/CellularDevTelitGSMPython.aspx


So, GPS/GSM cat tracker anyone?
Remote montitoring system?

Other links of interest.
http://www.telit.com/en/products.php?p_id=3&p_ac=show&p=47


Sample code below:--


 


#A quick intro to Python in relation to running in a Telit Module

# import the built-in modules
import SER    
#Uart0
import MDM
#Internal modem interface
 

var_response = MDM.send('AT#GPIO=6,1\r', 2)
#Set GPIO6 to output and high.
#Send this AT command to the modem, storing the result code in varible "var_response". ie. 1 or -1
#Same as if you were tying into the modem normally via a terminal program.
#Note this is not the modem response, "OK", but a indication of if the command was actually recieved by the modem
#Reading the modem response is done later in this example.
#For now we will ignore it.
#Note we could also use the inbuilt "GPIO" to work with the pins.

 
var_response = SER.set_speed('115200')
#Setup the serial port
var_response = SER.send('Type Something')
#Print to the uart
var_response = SER.sendbyte(0x0d)
#Line feed/New line

var_ser_input = SER.receive(100)
#Wait 10 secs for response. 100 x 1/10 secs
#Note the inter character timeout is very short.
#If manually typing it will most likely only catch the first character.
#If you paste into the terminal program it will show the whole string

var_response = SER.send(var_ser_input)
#print what was recieved
var_response = SER.sendbyte(0x0d)
var_response = SER.send('echoed\r')
#Print with line feed

var_response = MDM.send('AT#GPIO=6,0\r', 2)    
#Set GPIO6 to output and low.
 
#check pin status
var_response = SER.send('Checking pin status\r')
var_response = MDM.send('AT#GPIO=4,2\r', 2)    
#Set GPIO4 to input and read status.
#Internally pulled up by default.

var_ser_input = MDM.receive(10)
#Store modem response, which show the status of the GPIO/Button.
var_response = SER.send(var_ser_input)
var_response = SER.send('EOF\r')

 
#All this is covered in   Telit_Easy_Script_Python_rXX
#Note all comments are compiled and uploaded to the modue, so take up space.
#Remove them if you want to save some space.
#The GE865 only has 2,013,256 Bytes and this little example is 2,016b

I was looking for a wired interface into this Android device.

The gps was a logical choice if the serial lines were available.

I figured it was going to be tightly integrated but worth a shot.

 



Yup, it was pretty tight in there.

The only identifiable components in there were

1. Vreg. rf3196ms

2. Bluetooth. bts4025

3. WLan. ar6102g-bm2d

 

The gps may have been hiding under the metal shields but I wasn't game to try and take them off.

I couldn't even find the gps antenna :(

Back to using a Bluetooth serial module.

 

 

It might seem petty but, no sir I don't like it.

If I wanted frills I would use something else.

Put that extra side away google.

 

So how do you get back the old way?

 

After a bit of searching I found it.

http://www.gtricks.com/google-tricks/how-to-get-old-google-interface-or-layout-back/

 

Didn't quite work out of the box for me.

This did in opera's search preference

http://www.google.com/search?hl=all&q=%s