Friday 8 April 2016
time to go for the full licence
Ok after having some time to think about it I’m going to go for my advanced licence in this as have never pushed myself to do anything and I feel the support I have had from the guys at the club has been brilliant.
Time to look into the advanced study work and get cracking!
Tuesday 5 April 2016
DV Mega firmware update via an arduino
Disclaimer: this update is done at your own risk as damage or failiure of the components canbe caused when doing this! if you are in any way unsure DONT flash the firmware!
how do you update the firmware:
There are two ways to do this nither is any easier than the other but just as rewarding when its done and works
option 1: arduino
you will need:
Install the arduino software and set it up if your not sure how to then watch a tutorial to use arduino
When removing the chips from the boards be very careful as you can bend the legs and damage them very easily! with a fine tip item i.e. a screwdriver lightly pry up the chip from its holder from both the narrow sides keeping it as level as possible so not to bend the pins
Installing the chip to be flashed into the uno, if it’s the original chip as long as you have not bent the pins it will push straight in, if it’s a new chip you will need to lightly bent the pins in a bit, the easiest way to do this is lay the legs of one side on the table supported by you, and bend the pins inwards by a few degrees, do the same for the other side and check against the socket to see if its seated if not repeat the process.
Tip: if you don’t intend to move the uno while flashing the chip try to seat it half way into the holder, this will make it easier to remove without damage after the update.
Flashing the chip:
Ok if flashing the chip from a laptop make sure the laptop is plugged in to the mains while doing this.
The flash should take about 30 seconds to carry out, sometimes it won’t flash right the 1st time
open the x loader program and find the hex in the program, plug in the Arduino and set the com port and press upload then look at the Arduino and the rx and tx lights should flash for a moment then a few seconds later you should have information of how many bytes have been uploaded under the x loader button.
that’s it, remove the usb and remove the chip and fit it back to the dv mega board the correct way then power it up and it should work fine! even on the raspberry pi before you update the software.
here is my video of how i did it
option two:
how do you update the firmware:
There are two ways to do this nither is any easier than the other but just as rewarding when its done and works
option 1: arduino
you will need:
- An arduino uno and correct usb cable if it dosent come with it, the board needs an atmega chip that can be removed from the board (boards can be found on ebay and dont need to be an official arduino as long as it has the removeable atmega chip just above the analougue in and power wrghting on the picture above)
- A fine screwdriver to temove the cips from the socket
- Download the arduino ide software from arduino.org on the software page, as it also has the drivers for the boards with it.
- Download the xloader and the hex file from dvmega downloads
- Download something like win rar or winzip if you dont have something like that yet
Install the arduino software and set it up if your not sure how to then watch a tutorial to use arduino
Install
your winrar or winzip extractor
Unpack or
extract the xloader and the hex file (i made a file on my desktop to save them
in and make it easy to find them)
Removal
and installing the chips:
Remember
to remove the power for a minute or two before removing a chip
OK !
would advise you purchase a few spare chips from the internet they look up
atmega328p-pu or Arduino bootloader chip, they aren’t expensive and that way
you wont damage the working chip when flashing it.
Before removing
the chip pay attention of the orientation of it as it only goes one way but it
can be fitted one of two ways! At one of the long ends there is a semicircle
stamped and a small dot next to one of the tiny legs, the small dot is pin
number one, the semicircle corresponds with a notch at one of the long ends of
the chip holder. If your not sure take a picture to remind you of its
orientation!
When removing the chips from the boards be very careful as you can bend the legs and damage them very easily! with a fine tip item i.e. a screwdriver lightly pry up the chip from its holder from both the narrow sides keeping it as level as possible so not to bend the pins
Installing the chip to be flashed into the uno, if it’s the original chip as long as you have not bent the pins it will push straight in, if it’s a new chip you will need to lightly bent the pins in a bit, the easiest way to do this is lay the legs of one side on the table supported by you, and bend the pins inwards by a few degrees, do the same for the other side and check against the socket to see if its seated if not repeat the process.
Tip: if you don’t intend to move the uno while flashing the chip try to seat it half way into the holder, this will make it easier to remove without damage after the update.
Flashing the chip:
Ok if flashing the chip from a laptop make sure the laptop is plugged in to the mains while doing this.
The flash should take about 30 seconds to carry out, sometimes it won’t flash right the 1st time
open the x loader program and find the hex in the program, plug in the Arduino and set the com port and press upload then look at the Arduino and the rx and tx lights should flash for a moment then a few seconds later you should have information of how many bytes have been uploaded under the x loader button.
that’s it, remove the usb and remove the chip and fit it back to the dv mega board the correct way then power it up and it should work fine! even on the raspberry pi before you update the software.
here is my video of how i did it
option two:
Sunday 3 April 2016
intermediate Exam
Well I sat my exam today and I won’t lie I hate exams I’m not the paperwork
kind of person, even at school I was never any good at exams. .
After the exam I was told I have provisionally passed my exam, I can’t tell you what a relief that was to pass it 1st time.
I was unsure as I could not sleep that night I sat up and studied and it didn’t seem to help. I tried the ham tests a few hours before my exam, I was getting a pass rate of 30% and less, this did not make me feel any better.
After the exam I was told I have provisionally passed my exam, I can’t tell you what a relief that was to pass it 1st time.
I was unsure as I could not sleep that night I sat up and studied and it didn’t seem to help. I tried the ham tests a few hours before my exam, I was getting a pass rate of 30% and less, this did not make me feel any better.
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