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| By Nathan Chantrell, on December 4th, 2011  The original Nanode has proved to be a great success with a growing community of people building many interesting networked devices and this month, Ken Boak, the creator of the Nanode has launched several new additions to the line. The new Nanode RF is essentially an upgrade to the original Nanode 5 with an on board RFM12B wireless transceiver and options for several extras such as a real time clock (RTC), 32KB SRAM and a Micro SD socket.
The second new member of the Nanode family is the WiNode, a low cost wireless node that is available in several different configurations, all using the same PCB with just the installed components differentiating between them. As with the Nanode and Nanode RF, the WiNode can be fitted with the standard Arduino headers for compatibility with Arduino shields as well as the RTC (SOIC or DIP), 32KB SRAM and Micro SD options as with the Nanode RF. The WiNode also features four 16V tolerant analogue inputs and when fitted with a dual H-bridge driver chip it can provide 2A digital outputs for driving relays or motors (although you can’t use the SRAM/SD if the H-bridge is used). Due to a nifty bit of design the WiNode can also be built for use as a shield for the original Nanode to add RFM12B wireless capability and more. Prices are very good, with WiNode kits starting at £17.50 (or £15 if you buy a pair) for the basic stand alone wireless node or only £10 if you want to use one to expand an existing Nanode 5. The Nanode RF kits start at £30 and for the first time a fully assembled unit with all the options is available for £40.  Pictured above is my first WiNode build, decked out with the SRAM and SOIC RTC options. I’ve fitted all the optional bits on this one, headers, screw terminals and even the socket for the H-bridge driver as I will keep this one aside for experimentation and prototyping, subsequent builds will just include whatever is required for the particular use. That’s the Nanode RF on the left.
As with the original Nanode, both the Nanode RF and WiNode are supplied as a kit for you to build yourself and anyone with basic soldering skills should find it very straightforward. Ian Chilton has already created a very comprehensive guide to building the Nanode RF which is available here and I suspect a WiNode version won’t be far behind (update: WiNode build guide is now almost complete). Ken says he will have an online shop available shortly but for now you can order by sending a Paypal payment, for further details and prices of the various options see this blog post. By Nathan Chantrell, on December 3rd, 2011  Hard to believe that another one of the computers that had such an impact on my life is now thirty years old, I don’t feel old enough for anything I remember so well to be 30 years ago. After the Sinclair ZX81 and the Spectrum that followed it our next family computer was the BBC Micro Model B, it was an amazing computer for its time and remained in use for many years, I still have the same one today (that’s it on the right).
Made by Acorn Computers for the BBC as part of the BBC Computer Literacy Project it won out over the competition, including Sinclair, to build a computer for the BBC to use as part of its series to educate people about computers. The story behind the battle to win the contract was dramatised in the very enjoyable Micro Men programme that was shown as part of the Electric Revolution season on BBC Four in 2009. If you didn’t see it at the time it is well worth a watch. Affectionately known as the Beeb, the BBC Micro was a 6502 based 8-bit micro with 16k or 32k RAM depending on the model, it ran at a relatively fast (for the time) 2MHz and it had a proper, robust keyboard, a plethora of connectivity options and a key factor in its success was the comparitively sophisticated BBC BASIC. Unlike most computers that followed it the Beeb also came with a proper manual, a thick ring bound affair that was actually a proper guide to BASIC programming. The Advanced User Guide available separately covered things in more detail including 6502 machine code and even contained a full circuit diagram. Along with the accompanying television programmes and thanks to most schools choosing the BBC Micro it went on to become the corner stone of computing education throughout the 80s, together with the time then given to computing in the school curriculum it gave kids of my generation a grounding in computers that hasn’t really been seen since.  I spent many happy hours with the Beeb and learnt a lot both in and out of school. These were the days when you were taught how to program a computer at school rather than just operate one as sadly seems to be the case in these days of ICT classes that just teach kids how to use programs such as Word and Powerpoint.
The BBC Micro also gave me my first experience of networked computers, something that would become so important in later life. After one summer holiday we were excited to return to school to find we now had a dedicated computer room full of BBC Micros all networked with econet, much fun ensued and a little good natured mischief (netmess anyone?). A year or so later myself and several friends ran a teletext type information system (using the little known Mikefax software) that was used at open nights and sports days and eventually had a dedicated screen in the school entrance hall. My first experience of publishing information electronically. The BBC Micro also brought my first exposure to computer communications, first using a 1200/75 baud modem and later a Watford LeModem to connect to local bulletin board systems and services such as Micronet800, Telecom Gold and Prestel (often using dodgy logins aquired from a BBS) and look where that ended up. As with many of my generation I owe a lot to the BBC Micro and what it taught me and as many others have commented recently, this sort of thing is missing from the lives of most kids these days. Projects such as Coding For Kids, Raspberry Pi and the recently launched Goto Foundation can hopefully do something to help turn this around. By Nathan Chantrell, on November 28th, 2011  A few weeks ago I needed an Arduino compatible Micro SD adapter but didn’t want to wait for one to arrive in the post so inspired by the breadboard ghetto Micro SD socket I knocked up a mini shield using a bit of left over stripboard and a SD to Micro SD adapter.
Interfacing with an SD or Micro SD using an Arduino is very simple as it can be controlled directly over SPI so it’s just a case of connecting to the Arduino’s SPI pins (11-13) and a pin for select. I used the hardware SS pin (10) for select as keeping all the pins together made for a small shield, you can use a different pin if 10 is already used but note that pin 10 must still be set as an output regardless or the library won’t function. Some resistors are required to drop the Arduino’s 5V to 3.3V for the SD card but other than the Micro SD adapter, some headers, a bit of stripboard, and a few pieces of wire that’s it. The Arduino SD library is very easy to use with easy to follow examples and it supports FAT16 and FAT32 file systems but note that it only supports one open file at a time and can only use short 8.3 file names. Here is the stripboard layout, to mount the SD adapter I’ve just soldered a right angle header to the contacts on it. There is also a badly drawn schematic here. Continue reading DIY Micro SD Shield for Arduino By Nathan Chantrell, on November 2nd, 2011 
UPDATE: There is a new improved version of this here: TempTX V2 Wireless Temperature Sensor Module As I mentioned in my last post I wanted to get the GLCD display that I built for my OpenEnergyMonitor system to transmit the reading from its internal temperature sensor so that the Nanode could upload it to the emoncms web interface. Once that was working it gave me the idea of building wireless temperature sensor modules for other areas of the house, the first of these is now complete and is sensing the outside temperature which is being displayed on the GLCD as well as being uploaded to emoncms by the Nanode. This has now allowed me to retire the old one wire temperature sensor system that I had connected to my MisterHouse server. The board for the wireless temperature sensor module is basically the same as my minimal Arduino build with an RFM12B transceiver and a DS18B20 temperature sensor added. As it’s running directly from 2 x AA batteries no voltage regulation was added. As I only have a 5V FTDI cable for programming and the RFM12B isn’t 5V tolerant I soldered it to a small carrier board so that it can be removed during programming, this also has the benefit of making the footprint for the main board smaller while still keeping things neat as the space under the RFM12B can be used for some of the links. The idea of soldering the RFM12B in this manner came from a picture that Andrew Lindsay posted on Twitter showing how he uses them with breadboard, simple but very effective. Continue reading Wireless Temperature Sensor Module By Nathan Chantrell, on October 15th, 2011  As a followup to my post on building an OpenEnergyMonitor system here is a description of two different remote displays I have made, one using a 128×64 pixel graphical LCD and one using a 4×20 line LCD.
The GLCD Version The OpenEnergyMonitor project is working on a graphical display and I’ve based the code on their examples. For the emonGLCD they are using a serially connected JeeLabs based graphic LCD that uses the GLCD_ST7565 library, for the parallel SparkFun GLCD that I’m using I needed to use the KS0108 compatible GLCD library (formerly the KS0108 library) so modifications in both hardware and software were required. To use a KS0108 based display you will need to download the GLCD library and copy it to your Arduino IDE library directory. The first problem is that the KS0108 based screens use a lot of pins, 8 data pins and 5 command pins in addition to the power connections and the standard pinout uses several of the pins we will need for the RFM12B wireless module so the pin assignments must be changed. Continue reading Building a graphical display for OpenEnergyMonitor By Nathan Chantrell, on October 8th, 2011  OpenEnergyMonitor is a project to implement an open source whole house energy monitoring system built on the Arduino platform. This guide will show you how to make a complete system that will monitor your mains power usage and transmit it over a wireless link to a base station which will upload the data to a web server where you can view graphs of your power usage over time. The image to the right shows one example of the output from the web interface.
There are many options when it comes to building an OpenEnergyMonitor system and you can have systems with multiple current sensors, pulse count sensors and temperature sensors. The OpenEnergyMonitor website is a mine of information but it is very spread out and there isn’t really a simple description of how to build a complete wireless system from end to end so I thought I would document how I made my single sensor system for use on single phase electricity systems such as that used in the UK. First of all you are going to need some parts. I used a Nanode as the base station which receives the data from the transmitter and uploads it to a web app running on your server. For the transmitter I used a Xino Basic for Atmel which is a no frills Arduino compatible with a handy prototyping area which allows everything to be made on the one board. Here is my full parts list: Continue reading Building an OpenEnergyMonitor system By Nathan Chantrell, on September 12th, 2011  Nearly a year on from its initial launch the Advent Vega is still one of the best value Android tablets on the market, especially when deals such as this come up, but the stock install of Android 2.2 (FroYo) is getting a bit dated now, even with the sterling work done by Paul and others at MoDaCo.com who made some huge improvements to the stock Android image within days of the tablet being launched.
As you may be aware, Google has been working on a new 3.x branch of Android codenamed Honeycomb which is specifically designed for tablets. Unlike the older 1.x and 2.x series of Android the source code for Honeycomb is not yet available but naturally that hasn’t stopped the hacker community from bringing it to tablets other than the few that have so far been released with it and it wasn’t long after Honeycomb first launched on the Motorola Xoom earlier this year before the first unofficial versions for the Vega, known as VegaComb, started to appear. Without official support it has been a rocky road to get it to the point where it is now with pretty much everything is working as it should, there was even a problem recently that could cause permanent damage to the speakers but with that now solved and all the important things working it seems to have reached the stage where it is now ready for daily use, there are still a few issues but nothing that is a deal breaker for me. Installing VegaComb on the Vega is a doddle although it will mean a clean install. First you need to flash the ModdedStock firmware image, a procedure which is identical to flashing an official update, this installs a modified stock ROM that changes the partition sizes to those more suitable for Honeycomb and adds the ClockworkMod recovery system. Once the ModdedStock image has been installed reboot the Vega, connect it to your PC and copy the VegaComb zip file to the root of the Vega’s Micro SD card. Then run the “Recovery” app which will reboot the Vega into ClockworkMod where you can then install the VegaComb ROM using the normal recovery method. Having used the Vega for the best part of a year I was initially sceptical as to what benefits Honeycomb could bring, I didn’t feel that the FroYo experience on a tablet was bad at all but Honeycomb really is a huge improvement, little tweaks like the task switcher make all the difference and the new on screen navigation makes the Vega’s shortage of hardware buttons even less of an issue than before. There is also improved handling of widgets and notifications, improved copy and paste and a much better browser. Graphics performance seems to be very good and I’ve seen none of the video artifacting or tearing that was common on the MoDaCo modded ROMs and the handling of wi-fi is much better, you can leave it connected when the screen is turned off which was always something that bugged me about the stock based ROMS. Overall it’s definitely a slicker and more tablet oriented experience. VegaComb definitely gets the thumbs up from me, if you’ve got a Vega and haven’t already tried it, now is the time. By Nathan Chantrell, on September 10th, 2011  The XINO basic for Atmel from Cisesco is a low cost Arduino compatible board supplied as a kit. At only £3.49 (+£2 P&P for one and 50p for each thereafter) it really is unbeatable value and short of building your own it is the cheapest way I know of to get a functioning Arduino compatible board. The kit is supplied without an AVR MCU so you will need to supply a 28 pin ATmega chip of your choice and assuming you aren’t planning on using the internal oscillator you will also need a couple of 22pF capacitors and a 16MHz crystal. An ATmega 328 (as used in the Duemilanove, Uno etc) pre-loaded with the Arduino bootloader seems to go for around £4-£5 normally but Proto-PIC currently have them on special offer at £2.39 so now is a good time to get a few for stock, I have. Alternatively, if you have another Arduino available you can buy a blank ATmega and burn the Arduino bootloader yourself.
The XINO board is the standard Arduino size and uses the familiar Arduino header layout so it is fully compatible with regular Arduino shields. There is also a nice side mounted reset switch that won’t be hidden when a shield is attached, a power LED, a 6 Pin ICSP header, a 5 Pin programming header and a jumper to switch between 3.3V and 5V inputs. There is also a really useful prototyping section in one corner which has a grid of holes with standard 2.54mm spacing for through hole components as well as SMT pads for two SOT23 devices and one SOT235-6 device. There are no voltage regulators so this board will need to be supplied with regulated 3.3V or 5V depending on your requirements or you could always add regulators and capacitors in the prototyping section if needed. The board itself is well made and with so few components assembly is a breeze, no instructions are included but all you need is the picture of the completed board to see where everything goes, just make sure the LED is the right way round (short leg towards the edge of the board). Continue reading XINO Basic Arduino Clone By Nathan Chantrell, on August 26th, 2011  I’ve had my front door bell sending me text messages since 2004 using a combination of a hacked X10 wireless remote control and Misterhouse, initially through an email to SMS gateway (not ideal as it cost me every time someone pressed the door bell) and more recently using TTYtter. It worked well enough most of the time but the X10 (both the radio and mains components) was always the weak link in the chain. I first had the idea of changing this over to an Arduino based system some time ago when I bought a Duemilanove clone and ethernet shield but it seemed like a lot of money to have tied up in a doorbell, that all changed with the Nanode of course, £22 seems like a much more reasonable figure.
So here is the first Nanode version working, it’s very simple, just a few small changes to the ethershield Twitter demo code that sends a tweet using Supertweet.net’s API proxy when a pin is grounded. I have set it up to send a message via another Twitter account which I have told Twitter to send me a text message for, the tweet from the Nanode includes a link to the web feed for my front door camera so I am just one link away from seeing who is there. Twitter won’t send two identical messages in succession so I’ve added a changing number to the URL for the camera so that each message is always different from the last, it’s a bit hacky at the moment but it works. I’m now thinking of other things I can connect to in the vicinity of the front door, a snail mail alert is an obvious next step. The picture above shows the message coming into the Twitter client with the web interface in the background. There are another couple of pictures below, one showing the text message coming in and one showing the result of clicking on the link (yes my path needs weeding but where’s the fun in that?). I need another Nanode now.  
By Nathan Chantrell, on August 21st, 2011  The Nanode is a new low cost open source Arduino compatible controller with built in ethernet developed by Ken Boak and members of the London Hackspace which aims to be a platform for creative development of network or internet connected projects, aka The Internet of Things.
Supplied as a complete kit of parts to build yourself the Nanode is powered by the familiar ATmega328 microcontroller running at 16MHz and like the Arduino it has up to 14 digital I/O lines and 6 analogue inputs. All pretty standard stuff, but what really sets the Nanode aside from other Arduino clones is the built in 10BASE-T Ethernet, giving you an internet connected Arduino platform for at least half the cost of an Arduino and ethernet shield or even the new Arduino Ethernet. To keep the cost down the Nanode uses the ENC28J60 ethernet controller instead of the Wiznet controller used by most Arduino shields which does mean changes may need to be made to some existing code. In addition to the built in ethernet there is also a 2 wire serial interface allowing a 4 core cable to link and power multiple Nanodes plus a USB-B socket, support for SPI expansion memory (SRAM, FRAM, Flash or SDCard) and a dedicated port for connection of a JeeLabs RFM12B 433MHz or 868MHz wireless board. While the standard Arduino header layout means the Nanode is physically compatible with standard Arduino shields you need to bear in mind that digital pins 8,11,12 and 13 are used for the built in ethernet controller and 7,9,10 may also be used depending on the hardware options fitted so some things may require some modification. Programming is currently by way of the 6 pin FTDI header (requires a 5V USB FTDI cable or board) with programming via the USB-B socket (using V-USB) currently a work in progress – it works but needs polishing, advice is to stick to FTDI for now. The board is of very high quality and is well marked. All the standard parts are included, even some extra components to be soldered in at a later date to support the V-USB programming and some extra male headers. The online build instructions are very clear and it will take around an hour or so to build if you are well practised with a soldering iron, it’s all standard through hole stuff, nothing fancy except for the tiny MAC address chip which fortunately comes pre-soldered to the bottom of the board. Here is what the components of the kit look like and this is the completed board. Having used Arduinos with ethernet shields in the past the Nanode is a much needed addition to the market, the reduced cost, size and complexity are very welcome and having been developed around a Hackerspace community there is plenty of information online as you might imagine, the wiki here should be your first port of call and there is also a Google Group and an IRC channel. My first plan with this one is to replace the X10/Misterhouse based system that I currently use to send me a text message when the front door bell is pressed and will probably move my 1-wire temperature sensors on to it too. With so many possibilities I’ve got a feeling this will only be my first Nanode. You can buy the Nanode kit directly from the Nanode website or via Earthshine Electronics in the UK or from Wicked Device in the US. Finally, the obligatory tweet that is the “Hello World” of the modern internet connected device: 
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The original Nanode has proved to be a great success with a growing community of people building many interesting networked devices and this month, Ken Boak, the creator of the Nanode has launched several new additions to the line. The new Nanode RF is essentially an upgrade to the original Nanode 5 with an on board RFM12B wireless transceiver and options for several extras such as a real time clock (RTC), 32KB SRAM and a Micro SD socket.
Pictured above is my first WiNode build, decked out with the SRAM and SOIC RTC options. I’ve fitted all the optional bits on this one, headers, screw terminals and even the socket for the H-bridge driver as I will keep this one aside for experimentation and prototyping, subsequent builds will just include whatever is required for the particular use. That’s the Nanode RF on the left.
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