Techno Home
Welcome. This is not supposed to be a pretty site, more a repository of my technical fumblings just in case anyone else is interested. I am a well-aged techie (in my 70s) and have been involved with computers and software since around 1968 i.e. around the "Electro-saurus" age. I have learned much, forgotten most of it, but still find techno fumbling fun.
I am a magnet for defects. Everything I touch fails in some way. Other people download packages, push a few buttons and hey presto! all is working. Me, I try the "hey presto!" but it almost certainly results in "oh RATS!" as various bits fail to work. Perhaps it is because I am an engineer and cannot help tinkering. Perhaps in some things, whilst not knowing much, I know enough to destroy something. Well, this website records the details of some of my disasters and maybe the odd success.
January 2019, six months after starting with the nRF52 series of chips from Nordic, I was well on the way but still with the hardware development kits (HDK). I started with the HDK for the nRF52832 and had two communicating well with my logic operational within both. However, Nordic began producing a USB dongle based on an updated (and uprated) chip, the nRF52840. This has the advantage for me of being really easy mechanically to program since it simply involves plugging it into a USB slot rather than having to solder wires to a module. See nRF52 Developments for a chaotic and partially finished discourse of various random elements of my work.
(a bit of history):
In the summer of 2018 I began learning the the nRF series 2.4Ghz radio chips from Nordic. The first challenge was been mastering the software rather than the chips themselves. Nordic provide both hardware and software development kits (really a gigantic library and documentation). One of the development kits that I have is PCA10040 V1.1.1 chip driving the resident nRF52832 with a substantial number of chip pins brought out to headers. Plugging that into a PC via USB creates a "disk" device. Programming the chip is as simple as copying the HEX file of your program to the pseudo "disk" or using Segger Embedded Studio or other development environments such as ECLIPSE to make and load the software. Making the HEX file is another matter entirely.
My first hesitant steps were to use ECLIPSE but despite several weeks studying, I never even got it to compile and link an example successfully.
Desperate to actually do something with the target, I switched to the GNU toolchain directly on Linux and quickly got the first example compiled and running. Then I started to analyse the Make file(s) (that which compiles and links everything) so that I could change it to my software. WHOOAAA, that takes some comprehending and has to be mastered if you want to build your software. So I got stuck into the Make user manual - it is after all only around 180 pages. Between that and the many interlinked make files of the examples, I decided that I had descended into another rabbit hole. If you know this stuff already, I guess it would be OK, but I had to drain the swamp. Not only that, it is obviously possible to develop software using the GNU chain (people do), but you have to be very disciplined in your use of screen real estate. To handle the editing, compilation, linking, loading, finding stuff, comparing stuff and debugging of two chips simultaneously you need LOTS of windows open, mostly terminals. That is why I said "it is possible" - possible but needs a lot of skill and discipline.
In autumn 2018 I learned that Nordic had an arrangement with SEGGER to permit developers to use SES free of charge to develop for Nordic chips. Switching to that, lessened the learning curve and I was up and running fairly quickly albeit in the framework of the SDK file hierarchy. That is where I am at for the time being.
Older stuff:
December 2010 and once again I was tempted to fiddle. BT (I am some of the time in the UK) phoned me and offered a five (or more) times speed upgrade on my 5Mb/s ADSL on the grounds that we were close to a "fibre to the cabinet". All went well on the conversion in the sense that the engineer showed it working on the BT home hub. BUT, I wanted to use a vpn from France so I bought a Netgear ProSafe FVS 318G which has up to 5 vpn, does PPPOE and is an 8 way switch as well. Not everything went well; you can read the saga here.
I bought an Eee PC 900 running Linux in late 2008. I mainly use it on my travels (email, browsing) 'cause it is a bit slow. I screwed up the automatic updating in some way so the updater crashed on every invocation. In September 2009 I bit the bullet and replaced the Xandros linux with Ubuntu 9.04 netbook remix. Remarkably the conversion went just fine, at least until I copied my files from Xandros. Then, no menus appeared when I logged in. I fixed it by using the command line to create a new user which did not exhibit the fault. Then patiently moved files across one at a time. Then deleted original user. I have no evidence for what went wrong so no more details here. I eventually got tired of trying to second guess the user interface so replaced the netbook remix with a full install of 9.04. Works just fine. So far (December 2010) I have left it alone since it works.
I eventually got a BU353 usb gps module operating on my EeePC. Loaded the Java Open Streetmap Editor (JOSM) and the "GPS" Daemon (GPSD). GPSD did not work after install and neither did JOSM. I posted notes as I went along. I more or less got it working. There are still some unhandled exceptions probably caused by poor inter-thread protection between a plugin and the main Josm code. Might be fixed in later versions but I am unwilling to start again. I used the combination to record a 4000km driving holiday in France, Spain and Portugal.
Naturally I also have problems with my AJP D480W (actually a Clevo D480W) laptop which is now getting on a bit. If you turn it on and do nothing, it overheats and turns itself off pronto. After several attempts at stripping down and removing cat fur etc., it became apparent that the main fan was just not turning on. I did find a workaround, but it ain't too pretty.
I have always wanted a garden railway. Years ago I started an O gauge one in my garden in Glasgow. Work intervened and, although some siteworks (bridges, embankments etc.) were done, no track was laid. Now I am constructing a 71/4" gauge ride-on in my garden in France. I am a member of a model railway club in northern France http://www.cmcf-oignies.com which has ride-on 5" and 71/4" networks.