A new open source hardware project every month
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The uIP TCP/IP stack for the web platform now lists and reads files from an SD card.
You can now read files and list directories from the SD card.
There’s also a ’sddump’ command that will dump sectors from the sd card in the same way that memdump dumps memory, for troubleshooting.
The latest uIP port source is in the SVN. Previous updates here.
Seeed is making a small second batch of web platforms. You can probably backorder one at Seeed, they should be available in a few weeks.
There’s some new features in Bonybrown’s uIP TCP/IP stack project for the web platform. Some notable changes are:
We’ll be using the open source uIP stack port in all our future networked projects, it solves the licensing issues with Microchip’s non-distributable code. The uIP port doesn’t have as many features as the Microchip stack, yet, but it’s already a viable alternative for us. Most of our projects, like the #twatch and @tweet_tree, just use a simple TCPIP client.
The latest uIP port source is in the SVN. Previous updates here.
Seeed is making a small second batch of web platforms. You can probably backorder one at Seeed, they should be available in a few weeks.
Another update on the uIP TCP/IP stack port for the web platform. Bonybrown has added even more features:
Periodic uIP processing now works, driven from RTCC alarm interrupt (500mS). Added start for simple round-robin co-operative task switcher.
Here’s another update on the uIP TCP/IP stack port for the web platform. Bonybrown got the uIP stack to work with interrupts from the ENC28J60, and used DMA to transfer buffers to PIC memory.
Performance wise – no real difference I can see from the ping times; theoretically, the biggest improvement will be in “responsiveness” of other tasks on the dsPIC, especially when sending or receiving larger packets.
Bonybrown’s previous work is in the web platform folder of the SVN. We’ll try to release the newer code as a complete project archive in a few days.
There is one more web platform in the Seeed shop, ready for immediate dispatch. We’re pretty sure this will be the last one, when it’s gone we don’t plan to make more. The web platform is $40 including worldwide shipping.
Tags: lone survivor
Trev got the Microchip telnet server demo working on the web platform. Then, he took it further and hacked it to work with telnet clients on multiple systems. There’s a lot of great info about the Microchip TCPIP stack and telnet services in his writeup.
We covered Trev’s earlier work with the Microchip TCP/IP stack last week.
The web platform is $40 including worldwide shipping. There are still web platforms available, but when they’re gone we don’t plan to make more.
A few months ago we started a port of the uIP TCP/IP stack for the dsPIC33-based web platform. Bonybrown picked up the source and got it working. The current version can accept 10 simultaneous telnet connections, and has ping times of 0.68ms:
Next steps I’d like to try are to replace the polling loop with an interrupt from the ENC28J60 when packets arrive, and to try using DMA to get the packets into and out of the ENC28J60.
Get details and download the firmware in the forum. We’ve also moved the latest source to the project SVN.
There are still a couple web platforms available for immediate delivery at Seeed Studio, when they’re gone we don’t plan to make more. The web platform is $40, including worldwide shipping.
Trev spent a lot of time hacking and documenting the Microchip TCP/IP stack for the web platform. Trev’s extensive write-up shows how he got these features working:
More in the forum post.
There are still a couple web platforms available for immediate delivery at Seeed Studio, when they’re gone we don’t plan to make more. The web platform is $40, including worldwide shipping.
Tags: code and conquer, microchip, TCP/IP stack
Hidden away in SparkFun’s AD5330 demo is an open source FAT SD card read/write library from Roland Riegel. The MMC/SD/SDHC card library is intended for AVR microcontrollers, and it supports FAT16 and FAT32, partition tables, and low-level read/write operations. The source download includes an example application. This project should be pretty easy to port to any microcontroller, such as the PIC on our web platform.
The web platform EEPROM and SD card server firmwares have stability problems at full speed, we encountered this bug with the @tweet_tree. Markus Gritsch posted test firmwares that have now been running for over 72hours without interruption. They even work when the PIC and SPI interface are overclocked beyond the datasheet specifications.
A single edit to the Microchip TCPIP stack seems to have fixed stability issues, but it’s not quite clear why as the SPI settings should now be incorrect. We’ll post an update after we run the current and updated firmware under debug.
There is also a partial port of the open source uIP TCPIP stack in the SVN. It’s still a work in progress.
Tags: enc28j60, Microchip TCPIP stack, PIC, spi, uIP
See the latest version on the documentation wiki.
Markus Gritsch added a USB power supply jumper to his web platform:
I found it convenient to be able to power the Web Platform using my iPhone USB charger and a normal USB cable. It is also convenient when presenting the board to friends and powering it using their computer. Therefore I soldered a pluggable (via two DIL socket pins) connection from the USB power to the 3.3 volts regulator (picture attached). I measured the consumed current which is about 200 mA, so when powering no additional hardware with the Web Platform it should be ok for most USB ports.
In a future revision of the board maybe a switch could be added to choose the power source, similar to the solution on the Seeeduino.
You can buy an assembled web platform for $40, including worldwide shipping.
Markus Gritsch writes:
python-on-a-chip (p14p for short) recently got a branch to support PIC24 and dsPIC crontrollers. I got it to compile and the simulator in MPLAB shows it functioning. I mentioned the Web Platform in their mailing list and maybe both projects can share some synergy effects.
It would be nice to use Python on the Web Platform to talk to the peripherals. Bus-Pirate-feeling for the Web Platform.
Thanks for the tip, this sounds like a fun project.
Mikael Gustafsson, developer of the ds30 Loader we depend on for lots of projects, spent some time hacking the web platform bootloader. His insights are posted below, you can download his bootloader tests in an archive or from the project SVN.
Because of the “long” download times I tweaked the bootloader firmware a little. Changed operation to 40MIPS. Added auto baudrate detection which allows for mega baud rates+. The limit of the ftdi chip is 3 Mbps. I’ve successfully downloaded at 2Mbps. But it seems using baud rates above 256k doesn’t do much difference.
You can buy an assembled web platform for $40, including worldwide shipping. Seeed isn’t currently shipping due to the Chinese spring holiday, but your order will ship ASAP after they return on February 22.
Bootloader hacking continues below.
Tags: bootloader, ds30 Loader
coolnicks posted this picture of the assembled web platform hardware from Seeed. Our prototype was on plain green PCB, so this is the first time we’ve seen it in danger red. Thanks for the pics!
If you’ve just received your web platform, here’s some tutorials and links to get you started:
You can buy an assembled web platform for $40, including worldwide shipping. Seeed isn’t currently shipping due to the Chinese spring holiday, but your order will ship ASAP after they return on February 22.
Tags: #twatch, danger red, PCBs
See the latest version on the documentation wiki.
There are reports of web platform deliveries in the forum, so we thought this would be a good time for an introduction to dsPIC33 programming.
This introduction aims to help you start writing and compiling your own applications for the web platform. We cover lots of basics like toggling pins, configuration bits, clock settings, and peripheral setup.
The example application will allow you to control the web platform indicator LEDs from a serial terminal, but it can be expanded for lots of other uses too.
Assembled web platforms are available at Seeed Studio now for $40, including worldwide shipping.
Tags: dsPIC33, PIC programming
Seeed Studio shipped the web platform kits this week, assembled boards will ship on Monday.
We apologize for the delay. We’ll work with Seeed to stock the parts for future projects in advance so there’s less time between orders and delivery. Thank you for your support!
Via the Seeed Studio blog.
Tags: preorder updates
Seeed Studio just sent an update on the web platform. The kit version has been shipped, you should receive your tracking information shortly if you haven’t already. The assembled version will ship next week. Albert, Seeed’s lead engineer, is currently programming and testing the assembled boards. The good news is that airmail shipping times should return to normal, more on that in a second.
We apologize for the delay. We’re committed to reducing the preorder wait time as much as possible. We’ve begun coordinating with Seeed to add key parts to their monthly bill of materials so they’re ready when a preorder starts. We’ve also started designing projects with parts availability in mind, instead of using whatever is in our parts box.
Thank you for tolerating the delays as we get the kinks worked out of this system. Most importantly, we don’t want to hold you hostage, please contact Seeed for a refund if you’d like to cancel your order.
Tags: delays, preorders, shipping update
rvbcrs, a regular poster in the forum, received a preview web platform PCB. This is his build running the @tweet_tree firmware with a ShiftBrite LED. Here’s a list of all the web platform demos so far.
The web platform is available as a kit for $35, including worldwide shipping. Seeed Studio will assemble yours for $5 more. Orders should begin shipping in a few days.
Tags: @tweet_tree, ShiftBrite
@tweet_tree, our Twitter controlled Christmas tree, will be online and accepting your tweets for the rest of today. A performance and traffic report follow.
Tags: @tweet_tree, twitter, uptime
Live video of @tweet_tree on USTREAM (sorry, WordPress wouldn’t let us embed it). Send colors or color codes to @tweet_tree on Twitter, watch the tree change. The broadcast has ended, thanks to everyone who gave us a light show with Twitter!
@tweet_tree understands color names (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) and custom 24bit color codes (*ff0000=red, *00ff00=green, *0000ff=blue). You can send multiple colors in the same tweet, but they’ll be played backwards from last to first. New tweets are grabbed every 60 seconds.
@tweet_tree is a stand-alone network appliance based on our open source, business card size web platform. The web platform is available as a kit for $35, including worldwide shipping. Seeed Studio can assemble yours for $5 more.
Tags: @tweet_tree, live, twitter, USTREAM
