New run of orbshields

[kenyee]

[quote="vputz"]
I haven't worked out if the 32u4 needs more to program... I've had some people tell me I just need the 6-pin header hooked up and some say that it needs a crystal as well. At any rate with the two prototypes I've gotten working, both needed a lot of fiddling[/quote]

Verify your caps, power layout, and crystals are similar to this?

https://raw.github.com/adafruit/Atmega32u4-Breakout-Board/master/atmega32u4bbsch.png



But if you got the other prototypes working, they should be ok...



p.s., and yes you get to have a social life...still can't believe you had time to make a reflow plate :o

[vputz]

Funny you should mention; that Adafruit 32u4 schematic was used as the starting point for this; I just moved things around and added the ADM232 chip for comm to the orb. And yep, turned out to be a solder bridge pinning one of the crystal lines to ground (I think I shouldn't even need the crystal for programming, but I'll test that on the next one). It's late so I'll stuff and populate the rest of this kit board tomorrow but it programmed successfully and I have high hopes that I can place the order for kit boards (and if I can find another 32u4 chip around here I'll try for an all-SMD board this weekend too, but I may have used all of mine). I'd REALLY like to get the kits out to testers before the 22nd as an, ah, old friend is visiting for two weeks and she would probably prefer that I not take time for this business.

[vputz]

Okay, we're live. Once I fixed that solder bridge, the rest of the build went fast (for those who tried the first kit, this has quite a few fewer steps) and worked the first try. I'll order a batch of boards and start work on getting a software/files website set up on github and maybe start finalizing the "company website" a bit. I still need to test the all-smd builds but the PTH kit works like a champ. Give me just a li'l more time to get this supply situation sorted and we'll be rolling.



It comes flashed with the "BasicJoystick" sketch, which is a great place to start as you can use third-party programs to emulate an XBox360 controller which will do much of what you want for Windows (MacOS is mostly untested I'm afraid and ACTUAL hardware-compatible X360 or PS3 emulation will be tricky). The old OrbShield stuff should still work (mouse/keyboard emulation) and I have an idea which may map the X/Y axes to mouse in a way which feels MUCH more accurate but that'll take a little more brainpower than I have to spare at the moment.

[kenyee]

[quote="vputz"]I think I shouldn't even need the crystal for programming[/quote]

Seems like you need the external crystal only if you need high-speed USB 2.0 mode (don't think you do as it's just serial port rates):

http://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=23796

And you probably don't need to keep track of time in deep sleep.



Glad to hear it was something as simple as a grounded crystal.



And have fun w/ your friend's visit :wink:

[vputz]

Yeah, I probably could have done without the crystal, in retrospect. I had so many cryptic errors with the 328p and V-USB failing without a precise crystal that I decided to Just Be Sure on this. But the difference between chips is only a few cents, so I'll try using RC versions with the internal crystal and leave the pads on the board for people to populate if they find a future need for USB2 compatibility. The difference either way isn't much, though.

[kenyee]

[quote="vputz"]I had so many cryptic errors with the 328p and V-USB failing without a precise crystal that I decided to Just Be Sure on this[/quote]

If you think it helped, just leave it in for a few cents :D

[vputz]

Yeah, that's what I'm doing. I'm ready to be done with the hardware side of this for a while, and when I ran the numbers the difference in chips with/without the internal oscillator was 0.63 GBP, while the crystal and two 33pf capacitors came to 0.35 GBP, so not only is it more accurate and more aligned with the Leonardo and Adafruit breakouts, it's also cheaper on the basis of cost... and when you add in the time it would take to implement and test the fix, it's just not worth it. So the order went out for boards and enough parts to build a good starting supply of these (I only ordered about 10 boards just in case I missed something horrible). And discovered that I didn't have enough screws for the cases (sigh) so had to order those (there's always one more thing).



But I did figure out a cleaner way to implement the Arduino side of the software and started getting going with Github. The bootloader works (just used the Leonardo Catalina bootloader and changed the VID/PID), the drivers work. I still need to do a lot of admin stuff before actually shipping (update webstore, make a wiki, clean up the example sketches, register the VID/PID, make labels, blah blah), but assuming no weird delays on the parts delivery (it's happened!) I don't see why I can't get a few PTH kits to testers after this weekend and hopefully try out the all-SMD version here.

[VDX]

Hi Vic,



can you post/sell me one or two of the boards?



It can be as preassembled (not soldered) kit without housing, if it's easier - can populate and shell it on my own :wink:



In the next days/weeks I'm testing/selecting some HID's for manipulating+aligning the separate parts after 3D-scanning, so a working SpaceOrb as 6DOF-HID on Win7 would be of high interest :mrgreen:



Viktor

[vputz]

Sweet. If you do any 3d work with Blender or Google Sketchup, I'd LOVE for someone to write guides/plugins, but even if it's your own program that sounds interesting. I registered VID/PID as open source and got them into the bootloader and got the "BasicJoystick" sketch up and running; the GitHub business is starting to move and things are slooooowly coming together. I haven't quite figured out how to deal with website documentation yet (having the wiki-vs-website conversation with myself).



The first round of beta boards were free since it was the absolute first try; I think this round of 10 boards I may charge "parts + shipping" to help defray expenses and to test the "online store". Give me a few more days to get those ducks in a row (I'm anticipating a really annoying weekend) and I'll send information. If you're interested in this round, try to send me a PM (it may be acting odd--I tried to send one to Rayz and it didn't work) in the next few days.

[VDX]

... sent you a PN ...

[kenyee]

[quote="vputz"]
If you're interested in this round, try to send me a PM (it may be acting odd--I tried to send one to Rayz and it didn't work) in the next few days.[/quote]

Planning on doing an all-SMD version at all? Shipping cost to the US might be painful though :-(

[vputz]

Yes I am--I have two prototype boards and enough parts to test them. They aren't part of the original order, but if the prototypes work well, I'm going to make a larger batch order of both. I'll test those probably later this week, maybe this weekend. The parts came in for the PTH kit boards, but the boards themselves... well, they'll be shipped on the 17th. I still think I can get the kits out on the weekend after that, and I'll keep plugging ahead at the website and such. Whew! Busy times.

[vputz]

and shipping costs to the US are noticeable but not excruciating (most of my testers are in the US), so we can definitely manage something.

[kenyee]

[quote="vputz"]Yes I am--I have two prototype boards and enough parts to test them. They aren't part of the original order, but if the prototypes work well, I'm going to make a larger batch order of both. I'll test those probably later this week, maybe this weekend.[/quote]

Nice. I'll plan to guinea pig an SMD board later then. I can solder stuff to it to (if you have a conical tipped soldering iron, you can even do the Atmega decently by hand) and might have the components already (that's why I was wondering if you had a schematic of what's on it).

[rayz007]

Hi Vic, I did receive your PM. Did you get mine? If so, let me know if paypal is

ok and let me know how much you need to cover shipping and parts and whatever

else you need. I'm looking forward to testing. I can do soldering if needed but would

prefer finished board to eliminate any errors on my part. haven't soldered since

my Navy days. I was an electronics technician/reactor operator in another life.



rayz007