 Notice. New forum software under development. It's going to miss a few functions and look a bit ugly for a while, but I'm working on it full time now as the old forum was too unstable. Couple days, all good. If you notice any issues, please contact me. |
Forum Index : Microcontroller and PC projects : Micro musings....
| Author | Message | ||||
Mixtel90 Guru  Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8911 |
I was going to post this in another thread but decided it was probably off-topic and I didn't want to cause thread clutter. Just some thoughts. This is what the computing hobby was about: Stage 1 : Find out what they are and design/build computing hardware Stage 2 : Write firmware / software for computers, almost all home built. Stage 3 : The "Golden Years" of home computing. Write and use software for commercially built computers. Now we are at Stage 4 : The "Maker stage"? Based on all three of the above, but with very low cost commercially available hardware and now with the addition of AI assistance, this is something different again. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
||||
| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8911 |
Someone said that there's some blokes kicking a ball around somewhere, not something that appeals to me. It might explain the reduction in posts from some though. ;) I've been a bit quiet myself recently. My work on Fish Tank Corner got interrupted by two epileptic seizures in about a month - very unusual for me - leaving me walking with a stick after the first and, just getting round to managing without it, with a collection of minor injuries after the second (messing my walking up again after ripping some of the skin off the big toe of my other foot). You learn to live with this sort of stuff after a few decades, it's just very annoying when it happens. :) This is what's led me back to messing with the CYD and Annexe RDS. I got another yesterday so I'll be having a go with Josh's port of MMBasic to it soon. It's been a diversion to exercise my brain a bit while the physical bits healed! I really must get back to working on Fish Tank Corner at some point though. I've got so far behind with the MMBasic stuff since V6 appeared that it's almost like starting again! I've been reading the forum but that's about all. I've hardly even touched SL6. I was inspired yesterday by a *very* cheap (£1.30) enclosure from AE that could accept a CYD or something similar, or maybe a display with a Pico on a board underneath it. I might be tempted to have another play. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
||||
| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 5931 |
Hi Mick, Fine to hear that you are recovering. Health is such an important issue. For your fish tank (pico zero based) the 2040 build have not changed very much. Added a filemanager, structures. If you are not interested in these, try PicoMiteMINV60300rc19. MIN version is tested and will be the basis for GameMite. Not sure if you use the "GUI controls".  Volhout Edited 2026-06-18 18:31 by Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
||||
| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8911 |
Thank you, Harm. :) I'm not certain what I'll do on the controls side yet. There will be two tanks, the existing one relocated and a new one. I'm seriously considering modifying the existing one to make it rimless like the new one. It makes it so much easier to fit and maintain the tank equipment. Both will be on sponge filters. The existing tank currently has an over-the-top multi-stage power filter system but it obstructs the lighting, making it virtually impossible to plant anything towards the back of the tank. It also leaves very little space for lighting so upgrading it is almost impossible (the light fitting is too close to the surface and there is no barrier so it has to be waterproof). If either, I suspect that only the existing tank will have clever lighting control. The new one is already sorted out (for the moment anyway). The new tank will have a Chinese heater, one of the traditional glass tube and bi-metal sort. Of course, water and electricity don't mix too well so steps are being taken to reduce the risk. :) An earthed titanium earthing rod in each tank (normally only used in marine tanks) and sensible fuses. Also an STC-1000 temperature controller for each (they were cheap) to take the load off the (probably dodgy) bi-metal contacts. I did consider using an AC current detector module with both L and N through the CT as an earth leakage detector. Maybe later. I admit though that on first inspection the heater looks ok even though it was cheap. It doesn't look any worse than some of the brand name ones. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
||||
| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 5931 |
Hi Mick, I used bi-metal controlled heaters for years, once set correct, they didn't fail on me. They also did not leak (they where at the bottom of the tank, fully immerged). I am not sure any electronics could be more reliable. Including a ground "rod" and checking leakage could be a good thing. Could save fish life (or yours). Volhout Edited 2026-06-18 20:08 by Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
||||
| PhenixRising Guru Joined: 07/11/2023 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1960 |
Not like it used to be. I feign a little bit of interest because my DIL is George Best's niece (when football was).  My youngest son in North Carolina is going to an England game but only because he's half English. More like his old man....motorsport  Holy moly  Ambulance job? Sounds scary. Couldn't get MMBasic running on my 7" CYD. It also has a capacitive TS so probably not compatible anyway. I suspected that it was a faulty unit so I loaded-up some Arduino stuff which ran fine. Then I loaded-up Annex32 RDS but I have forgotten how to actually drive it so I left it. Need to RTFM I guess. It's hard to keep up but the rate of development is super exciting. |
||||
| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8911 |
Oh, the seizures themselves don't bother me too much ("I'm" not there!), although others often find them somewhat alarming. :) The after-effects are something else though. Some short term memory loss for a while, a general "vagueness" with no real interest in things. And, of course, any injuries that might have occurred while "I" wasn't at home. :) Things sort themselves out over a day or two. As I said, you get used to these things. I have ended up in hospital a couple of times, that's because I now have a weak shoulder that's dislocated. Luckily it's not every time. Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
||||
| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3784 |
Sorry to hear about the physical setbacks, Mick. So far as I can tell, aging (after a certain point) means adjust, adjust, adjust (I turned 80 last month). I've always used the MicroMite/PicoMite for entertainment (and it's been great), with other stuff for "the real work"--monitoring and controlling things about my house--mostly ESP32-C3Supermini with Annex for the past several years--because of the wifi, which enabled not only remote monitoring, but also remote debugging and coding. But I've not been happy with the reliability of the ESP32-Supermini wifi in the more remote places. Two things have made me switch to Pico W and especially Pico 2 W with MMBasic despite the somewhat higher cost than the ESP32-C3Supermini--that wifi (which so far is proving more reliable), and the ability of Claude Code to communicate with MMBasic on the Pico W via telnet so I can "vibe-code". I haven't yet made any new PCBs for W--I've just cobbled together setups from my older designs--or one of yours. I have quite a collection. I do look forward to EasyEDA providing an AI mode so we can "vibe design" PCBs. I recently spent 5 hours putting together a design for a half H-bridge using the DIP-8 FAN7382N half gate driver (with Claude chat's assistance in designing)--$4 from JLCPCB. It was fun, but I'd have been happy to feed Claude's netmap into EasyEDA and just drag parts around until I was satisfied. PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on FOTS |
||||
| PhenixRising Guru Joined: 07/11/2023 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1960 |
I'd be telling friends that I fended-off a bunch of thugs  I thought I had an age-related ailment because I started to get what I thought was arthritis in my hands, couldn't even remove a bottle top. Not good news for a guitarist. Anyway, went back on my old "cure-all" which is the paleo diet. All the pain vanished and I'm bouncing around like a twenty-something. People here doing the "fat-jab" thing and they suspected that I was doing the same Nope, just good ol' paleo.Take it easy, man. Just imagine a seizure while driving...Yikes |
||||
| PhenixRising Guru Joined: 07/11/2023 Location: United KingdomPosts: 1960 |
I have a Pico 2 W but never tested it because it seemed like others were having issues. Is it rock-solid now? |
||||
| robert.rozee Guru Joined: 31/12/2012 Location: New ZealandPosts: 2528 |
when Geoff created the Micromite (MX150 and MX170) this marked the return to what you call 'stage 2', but with a much lower bar to entry. in many, it inspired a renewed interest in computer control applications, where one could take one's "home computer" and make it do and interact with physical things in the real world - except this time round the home computer was now just a single chip! for example see jman's analog meter clock: https://www.thebackshed.com/forum/ViewTopic.php?TID=6621#69225 and binary clock: https://www.thebackshed.com/forum/ViewTopic.php?TID=11550#137997. these sorts of projects were interesting, and generated forum discussion. since those days we have seen, i am afraid, a dearth of new and interesting things using mmbasic. instead, there has mostly just been development (quite impressive development) on the mmbasic firmware itself, with little new application. it is just a repeat cycle of 'new feature', 'new feature', 'new feature'; in such cycles there really isn't very much for anyone to discuss or comment about on the forums. alas, we have also lost many good forum members over the years. probably a reflection on our collective advancing age  cheers, rob :-) |
||||
| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3784 |
My experience is pretty limited, but so far so good for the one that I have "in production". "Others were having issues" is the reason I had stayed away--but that was 3- or 4-year-old information regarding the original Pico W. A lot has changed since then. PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on FOTS |
||||
| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 5931 |
Robert, you may have missed Some original projects…. - picoLA, a picomite VGA Logic analyseren - Circle,, an original game developped to demonstratie PIO use for a NES controller - MLX90641 thermal camera, for VGA and Game*Mite - Game*Mite itself - Curve Tracker, a curve tracker for fast debugging. - many game Ports (petscii robots, maxi trek, frogger, black-out, Gems&Rocks, etc…) - aquarium controller - file managers - development platforms - programmable calculator - plc’s - Retro radio - hub75 display controller (outdoor LED display) - Peters reference designs, and the many spinoffs - too much to name them all… But these may not have been de gadgets you where interested in ? Volhout It is not the season, but a Christmas tree with 50 WS2812… And I have Some projects that are half way: linear - switching bench power supply, frequency counter, modbus master, modbus analyseren, frog habitat controller. Give me time, and they Will became. But I have to aggree the picomite changes have consumed much of my time. That is why I settled on MIN now. Done with the changes. Peter promised final this week, if not, rc19 it is. Edited 2026-06-19 03:42 by Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
||||
| JohnS Guru Joined: 18/11/2011 Location: United KingdomPosts: 4335 |
IIRC Geoff did one/some, too :) John |
||||
| Volhout Guru Joined: 05/03/2018 Location: NetherlandsPosts: 5931 |
I am aware.. PicoGamer, Garden watering system, parking assistant, function generator. But these have been commercialized. So I did not mention them. I was under the opinion Robert did not refer to Silicon Chip articles. But also don't forget Bill (in Australia) who lightens up his garden around Christmas with MMBasic controlled stuff. Very impressive. And every year there is a new one. (although he does not publish details in TheBackShed). Volhout Volhout Edited 2026-06-19 16:08 by Volhout PicomiteVGA PETSCII ROBOTS |
||||
| Mixtel90 Guru Joined: 05/10/2019 Location: United KingdomPosts: 8911 |
Then there's my SMD hotplate project that partially works, never got completed software and may never fully work. But we probably all have at least one of that class, whether we admit to it or not. Those are the projects that tend to live in a box under the bench or in a drawer somewhere - "just waiting for the right moment". But the right moment for what? :) Mick Zilog Inside! nascom.info for Nascom & Gemini Preliminary MMBasic docs & my PCB designs |
||||
| Canada_Cold Regular Member  Joined: 11/01/2020 Location: CanadaPosts: 57 |
Hi lizby, Have you looked at PiShop, pishop.ca I generally pay $!3 CAD for shipping using Canada Post, however I am located in Ont. Don. |
||||
| lizby Guru Joined: 17/05/2016 Location: United StatesPosts: 3784 |
Thanks. Price not bad--$9.80 Canadian, which is about $7.35USD compared to $7 from AdaFruit, but shipping for three to Nova Scotia: $21.70. I'll keep it in mind if I need more than the few I have. Brings home what a bargain we get with free or low cost shipping from China. While it lasts. ~ Edited 2026-06-20 23:25 by lizby PicoMite, Armmite F4, SensorKits, MMBasic Hardware, Games, etc. on FOTS |
||||
 Print this page |
 |
The Back Shed's forum code is written, and hosted, in Australia. | © JAQ Software 2026 |
