Unused Voyager Tricorder build... Tis FINISHED!<<< Or is it!?

This is outstanding. Fantastic work Mangydog!
I'm sending you a pm about your work. Just want to ask you a few questions about your set up on the electronics
 
np, Thought i should mention, the projects not dead. just paused as ive been really busy with work... Iv also been waiting for a few parts to turn up to fix the arduino fuses... Which i accidentally set wrong and bricked it again...

Also feel free to ask here, no trade secrets here or anything :p
 
Okay I need some opinions......
Yesterday I went back to the prop having a couple of days spare to do a few things. I decided to try and unbrick the arduino with a hv pump programmer to try and reset the programming fuse...
Well that didn't work... Something about the way the projects wired up blocked it...

So I desoldered the chip and replaced it with another spare... I found optiboot, it's meant to be a replacement boot loader with a 60ms startup time.... Mangaged to install that but for some reason I now can't program the chip through serial. And uploading via programmer removes boot loader and project won't start..........

This is of course starting to turn into a nightmare.

Also the led behind the gel pack window has now developed a loose connection.

These problems are starting to mount up and made me start to debate abandoning this current build.... Go back to the electronics design make all the changed I previously wanted to do on a v2, take out the arduino, replace it with either a pic or a stm32, stm32 being far easier to program and easier to get fast booting without having to fiddle with bricking fuses.... Or incorporate a controller direct to the pcb to save valuable space...

But doing all this means scrapping my current build. I can recover parts from the old pcb, but this means literally destroying the build to get to them.

The trouble is, if I carry on with this build. The best I'm going to get is a prop that doesn't start the moment I open the door but a second and a half later. So delayed ratchet effect. And it will have a loose led connection on the led behind the gel pack. And the led scanner on the front light bleeds led to led...

What shall I do?
 
What about just going the simpler route and going for a PCB with either through hole and SMT components and go the traditional 4017 and 555 boards to sequence the LEDs and then connect some of the pins non-sequentially to LEDs you want to have a "random" flash pattern?
 
The LEDs being driven by a controller and host mcu is really simple. And give me complete control on the sequence and brightness...

So im deffo sticking with that.
My problem is with the arduino itsself being an arse...

Because I want this interactive effect, i have to use some kind of host mcu... And im thinking its time to do the stm32
 
I might be able to help out with the Arduino stuff..

you DONT HAVE to use the bootload.. and in fact NOT doing so.. allows it to boot faster. (I did this for my TASM web shooter PCB's/kits)...

When there is a boot loader present.. it 'hangs' for a bit.. to check for and allow new code to be uploaded.. (you dont care about that)

I dont know what chips you are using (footprint/format wise)..... but you can use an Arduino UNO to program another 328 chip using SPI pins and NOT have a bootloader.

Serial is Arduino native and the bootloader is needed for serial programming.
ISP is used just to upload the bootloader into raw chip.


Many tutorials on this over at the Arduino forums too!

Without a bootloader.. you'll also gain a little more space!


And my opinion is to NOT (ever) scrap anything..

If in the end you want to re-do/make another one from the beginning, you can.

Parts are so cheap now-a-days.. I would bother salvaging parts that are already soldered..etc... (unless they are expensive like displays..etc)
 
Yeah ive been programming with arduino as isp as well as now using a tinyusbisp These work for programming without a boot loader but once i program the chip, it runs once but if i restart the tricorder it wont start at all... That i have no idea why. I can only guess that the first byte in the hex file is zero which would mean the startup doesnt see anything and wont read the next byte... r more likely its some kind ofbug in the arduino ide when uploading through programmer... I have also tried uploading direct in avrdude using the ide compiled hexes with the same problems...

The parts I would salvage would be some of the through hole leds, the tlc5947s They cost roughly 1 quid per chip... And using 3, Sure wont break the bank, but theyre relatively easy to recover.

The TFT for sure... and a couple of other small components, Oh and all the modules like sound and touch sensor modules...

one thing I would like to do though would be reverse engineer the display, So i could integrate some of the circuit design to the pcb, This would save tons of space. But nextion in all there bull**** wisdom are arseholes with there circuit diagrams (they dont give any) and refuse to give out the firmware the display runs on. They also bitlocked the stm32f103 chip the displays use So i cant even get a raw hex dump to clone it...(I had tried before with my stlink)

One option would be to try and clone the circuit layout by hand following traces and double checking with a continuity tester. Then take the stm32f103 off the display as a doner part and fit that on my circuit board... But its a huge amount of effort though it might be worth it...

But most annoying of all...ill have to print out another case and put it together and sand it down fill it and so on....
 
Hi all, I'm just coming to the end of my project now, and I'm nearly ready to come back to making this thing...

But wanted opinions. My biggest headache has been that I couldn't get the Arduino to instant boot. So I've come up with an idea...

A hidden, maybe behind the base hatch, switch that prepowers the tricorder, and it boots into a low power state... And reacts when the door opens.

I will also have to set up something to put the LCD low power as well. Or maybe a transistor controlled power up for the display? I don't want this standby to drain the power too much. I'll need to do more research into low power modes and projected power draws.

My issue with this is it kinda kills the illusion a little, having to turn it on first, rather than it just power up when you open the door.

What's people's opinion here about this?
 
Can you tell what it is yet?
gdaTVAs.jpg


So was 2 things, a test print on the new resin, but also wanted to see how well the new parts print in it... The sensor clusters came out amazingly...

Im currently reworking the PCB, once I have that done ill place an order and start printing the rest of the case on the FDM...
 
The prints of the greebles look great! The detail is excellent. I'm glad to see you're back at this project. I think it's an incredible project, and look forward to seeing it work!
 
Im really sorry for the incredibly slow updates. The things thats really holding me back now is my new printer isnt finished being built... Its getting there but right now. Its about 80% done. Before i can print ABS I need to sort out a lid/top for it to trap the hot air in... Ive really been wanting to print the case on the new printer as my old one is not doing too well at the moment...

I could print the case on the old one but will need a lot more post work than usual...

However it is progressing... The PCBs for the revised design turned up a few weeks ago, ive been tweaking the cad design a little, all i need to do really is print it and start putting it together.

Ive also just destroyed the old tricorder to get the parts to salvage. Mostly the LCD screen and TLC5947 PWM drivers.
5Jb9VY2.jpg
3QgAhib.jpg
VbkqJh6.jpg
sT63tI4.jpg
XT23z0h.jpg
xxceJKE.jpg


There are far too many wires in this design too... The new PCB design also means less wires... And ill be using wrapping wire from now on too so thinner...

Also there was plenty of wires as I did a fair number of little fixes and hacks which obviously made it more messy...

Anyway

Things are happening its not dead :)
 
Just wanted to let you know that I'm out here watching this come together. A TNG era tricorder is one thing I've thought about doing, so I'll be cheering you on! Currently in Discovery Phaser mode (and have been for over a year).
 
:) Thanks :D Im assuming youre a kitty? *scritches........

Right yes so where am i... well ive actually been working on the printer again this last few days... Finally got the mains powered heat bed working and I think ive worked out how im going to do the lid... This printer could be less than a week away from being fully functional (give it 3 weeks :p ) But like i mentioned before I might not wait that long before I start printing some of the parts in my old printer.

VJJDNjj.jpg

z36IMVh.jpg
 
Status update on the new build....
click link to see little preview of it. Cant seem to get it to display on this post.
Imgur

Anyway so ive been putting the new board together. Its a lot more tidy and simple to make... However to save money ive salvaged most of the more costly components from the old board. Luckily they all seem to be working. I was mostly worried about the tlc5947 because they took A LOT of hot air to de-solder and then re-solder. They also cost about £1.50 each and really didnt fancy loosing them.

After some fiddling with code to get a simple test sequence, I discovered and then cleaned up a few little shorts and bad solder joins. I could really do with a micro tip. Anyway, got them all working and then discovered the side leds weren't flashing... After a while scratching my head and wondering if i had got the mosfets that run those clustered leds (they share the same PWM channel with a few other leds) I realised i put the wrong led in :( Im using mostly common anode rgb leds, but forgot that these side ones are common cathode. Anyway I have some somewhere so will install them later.

Well whats next do? Still need to wire up the other little led panels, and then sort out the door hinge. Need to print a new hollow hinge, but what is annoying. Ive ordered but have to wait a week or two for some enabled stranded wire to fit through the hinges.

Its the only type of wire thin enough but also high enough gauge to run power through (when doubled up)

Actually attach the Pro mini to the board, Its currently floating on wires in case it was dead...

Then install everything. Get power running wire up buttons... Do software and finish sanding and painting the actual unit...

Tbh a fair bit of work to do :D But it is coming together. Plan to have this finished within a month. Depending on when parts turn up. I kinda want to be done with this and move on to the next. So dont want this handing on any longer.
 
This thread is more than 3 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.

Similar threads

Knightmare
Rocketeer Helmet Comparison is it me ?
Replies
3
Views
211
Synz314
Synz314
Jastor00
Star Trek: TNG MkVII Science Tricorder Build
2
Replies
24
Views
2,224
Jastor00
Jastor00
JiminSTLouis
Factory Entertainment Tricorder
Replies
19
Views
728
Captain Dunsel
Captain Dunsel
13doctorwho
Mark VII Tricorder (Stunt)
Replies
0
Views
357
13doctorwho
13doctorwho
13doctorwho
Science Tricorder Mark VI (Season 1)
Replies
1
Views
354
13doctorwho
13doctorwho
Back
Top