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.

Bert tipped us to the Sigrok open source logic analyzer client. Sigrok is a multi-platform client that aims to support most common logic analyzer hardware. It currently only supports the Saleae Logic, but Open Logic Sniffer support is in progress.

Preorder an Open Logic Sniffer for $45, including worldwide shipping. The OLS should start shipping in April.

scj made a wiki about using the Bus Pirate with Arch Linux. It covers creating a udev rule to name the Bus Pirate /dev/buspirate, and communication with minicom, screen, and picocom.

Thanks for the tip!

In the summer of 2009 Ian Lesnet setup a Bus Pirate v2go preorder as a fundraiser for Hack a Day. It was a lot of fun, so he started Dangerous Prototypes. We’ve done one preorder project per month since September 2009. There might be readers who didn’t follow the Hack a Day preorder, so we wrote this post to explain the process. If you’ve participated in a preorder, there might still be some interesting behind-the-scenes info about how your hardware was made.

We’re open source hardware and software enthusiasts who like to make stuff. We don’t have our own pick and place machine, and we don’t assemble kits, but you can get a copy of our projects at Seeed Studio. When you buy a copy of our project at Seeed, they kick a few bucks back to us so we can make more open source stuff.

We’re proud to work with Seeed to make our open source projects available to everyone. When there are cheap rapid prototyping machines you’ll be able to print our projects at home, until then, there’s Seeed Studio. Seeed has inexpensive worldwide shipping starting from $2.85, most of our projects include shipping in the cost.

Lots more about the preorder process below.

The preorder process

When we publish a new open source hardware project it’s available immediately for preorder at Seeed Studio. You can reserve a copy of our project and Seeed will manufacture it for you. Hardware ships to preorder participants first, any extras go in the Seeed store and are available for immediate delivery.

Here’s an overview of the process, you can track individual preorder progress in the forum:

1.Project is published and preorder starts

Seeed’s preorder opens shortly before we publish our project because we need the link to their page. Keen observers will see the project pop up early on the Seeed new project page. You can reserve a copy of our project and Seeed will manufacture it for you.

2.PCBs and parts are ordered

Within about a week of accepting preorders, Seeed orders components for the project. This used to take up to two weeks, but we’re starting to estimate and order parts before publishing the project to decrease the total preorder timeframe.

This is a huge opportunity for delay. If a critical, non-substitutable part is in short supply the preorder could be delayed for a few weeks (or months!) while manufacturers to produce and deliver the needed parts. We have a distinct disadvantage over ‘big players’, when you ask Microchip for ten-thousand PICs they jump, but when you ask for 100 you’re at the bottom of the list. We’re getting better about ensuring part availability, so this is less of a problem that it was when we did the first few preorders.

Seeed also sends the PCBs to be manufactured at this time. They usually go out on a Friday and return on Monday. This is an easy, low-key part of the process.

3.PCBs and parts are sent for assembly

When the parts and PCBs are at Seeed, they’re ready to assemble. Small quantity projects are assembled in-house by hand, but large runs are sent to factories with pick and place machines.

Surface mount components are placed on panels of PCBs, and then soldered in an industrial reflow process.  Through-hole parts are soldered by hand for medium quantity projects (~100), and they’re wave soldered for larger quantity projects like the Bus Pirate (>200).

Assembled boards are returned to Seeed on large panels.

4.Assembled boards return to Seeed for inspection, programming, and testing

Seeed starts by breaking boards from large production panels. They inspect them visually for defects, and then program the microcontoller.

Many projects, like the Bus Pirate and USB IR Toy, have firmware with a self-test function. Seeed runs the self-test and holds defective boards for inspection and repair.

5.Orders ship via Hongkong post

Seeed will email a confirmation with a tracking number when your order ships. The default shipping method is Hongkong Post. On a good day Hongkong Post arrives in the US or EU in 4-5 business days, during holidays it can be painfully, miserably, aggravatingly slow.

Use the Hongkong Post tracking site to see when your package leaves China. Hongkong Post only tracks to the Chinese boarder, but they provide links to local mail services with further information in some countries.

6.Get your stuff and start hacking

The first orders usually start to arrive somewhere between 3 and 8 weeks after the preorder starts.

FAQ

Should I just build it myself?

Absolutely, our work is open source and we encourage it! Send us a picture and we’ll post it on the blog.

We find that group orders with Seeed can be cheaper than making your own one-off though, especially if you need PCBs. If you don’t know how to source parts, or you don’t want to solder the SMD packages used on many of our projects, then Seeed might be a good option too.

Is every preorder delayed?

Always expect delays. Manufacturing very small quantities of hardware is tricky because we’re the lowest member of the food chain. Big companies plan, source, and manufacture products months in advance, and they have the pull of thousands of units to motivate their suppliers. We’re trying to produce 10’s or 100’s of units in a 2-3 week time frame, essentially on-demand. The logistics are very complex, and Seeed does a fantastic job, but there are always things that take longer than expected.

What’s the quality of the hardware?

The quality of PCBs is excellent, and the assembly work is fair to good. There are sometimes problems specific to a manufacturing run. One batch of Bus Pirates shipped with a poorly soldered LED, another shipped with the bootloader only.  These are minor problems that can be fixed quickly with a soldering iron or USB firmware upgrade, but problems happen. We’re open about the problems that crop up, and want you to be aware should something happen. Seeed will replace hardware with manufacturing defects if you can’t repair it yourself.

Please consider our projects to be prototypes, not consumer products, Seeed is an alternative to building it yourself. Keep in mind that you may need to break out a soldering iron and fix something. If this turns you off, please don’t buy our stuff, it’s not for you.

Edit: This section was harsh to manage expectations, gave it more concrete examples.

Can I cancel my preorder?

Absolutely, we don’t want to hold you hostage. It’s a bookkeeping nightmare for Seeed though, so please understand the preorder process before you order.

Can I make Returns?

Seeed accepts returns for manufacturing defects, but please ask for help solving your problem in the forum first.

Pick and place image by Peripitus CC-BY-SA. Bus Pirate v2go manufacturing image courtesy Seeed Studio.

Double sided home-etched PCBs require a lot of patience and luck. Both sides need to be aligned properly, and via wires have to be soldered between the layers so top and bottom are connected.

The usual process for connecting the layers is to insert a small wire in each via hole and solder it.  This is a tedious, time consuming process. YourITronics documents another way: thread a long wire through all the holes, solder it in place, and cut away the excess. The result, as seen above, is a very small, very clean via connection. There’s even a few under the TQFP chip! We’ll definitely use this tip the next time we make a double sided board at home.

nada demonstrates how to initialize, read, and write an SD card with the Bus Pirate SPI library. Don’t miss the GPS logger project that the SD card went into.

Get your own assembled Bus Pirate v3 for $30, including worldwide shipping.

Via Hack a Day

There is an unconfirmed report that the first USB IR Toys will ship today. We’ll update when we hear more.

The USB IR Toy is currently listed as sold-out at Seeed, we’re working on continuous stock.

We go through a lot of prototype PCBs, and end up with lots of extras that we’ll never use. Every Sunday we give away a few professionally-made PCBs from one of our past or future projects, or a related prototype.

This is a USB controlled RGB color changing light. Someone made some minor modifications to the design and had a bunch of boards produced, we ended up with a pile of the extras. This PCB is as-of-yet untested, you can discuss it in the forum.

We’re giving away two PCBs this week, just ask for one in the comments.

Some stuff:

• Yes, we’ll mail it anywhere in the world!
• Be sure to use a real e-mail in the address field so we can contact you for shipping info.
• First come, first serve. If we can’t contact the first commenters we move down the list, so you could consider making a request even if it looks like all the PCBs are gone.
• Limit one PCB per address per month please.
• Like everything else on this site, PCBs are offered without warranty.

We try to stagger free PCB Sunday posts so every time zone has a chance to participate, but the best way to see the post first is to subscribe to the RSS feed.

The OpenOCD project accepted Michal Demin’s patch that adds Bus Pirate support to the popular open source JTAG debugging client. Read the tutorial here. Congratulations Michal!

The Bus Pirate is a topic on Adafruit Industries’ “Ask an Engineer” chat tonight at 10pm ET. If you missed it, they keep previous chat videos in the Adafruit forums.