First WiFi Loco-Nodes, ready for fabrication/assembly


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eCSD is configured, the find last night solved it for us

we need to test sound and the motion, we can also try a boot test, not sure if we need a boot loader, the development board works without one
 
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I added Dupont Connectors to the Battery/UART/USB connections

The trucks are now reassembled, the truck pickups are able to power the system now, right now its connected to a 15V DC power source and its recharging the Li-PO

The Li-PO will be downsized in the final installation

Right now we're working on a boot file so we can Brick the board

I have a clip and some parts coming from Shapeways so I can add LED/Fiber Optic lighting

This drive runs a lot smoother than the previous OMI model

We could have the boot code by the week's end working, if so we'll be able to do a demo with our control app through WiFi

www.layout-ioe.com
 
another batch of samples are on the way, no changes except we're putting on a Kingston eMMC which is JDEC5.0 and has a lot better support.

I added some fiber optic to the loco class lights last night. When my Shapeways 0001S Clip arrives, I can put that in the loco and add the pots for the LED's then terminate the fibers into themIMG_20151105_100317.jpg
 
very huge victory today, we successfully created our own boot code

now we can expand this further

this code enables the board to boot without external connections, its critical to enabling the WiFi antenna and embedding this inside a locomotive

BOOT_HELLO_WORLD!.PNG
 
here is the clip I had printed on Shapeways, I wish this was ready a few weeks ago

it gives a nice mount to place the node inside of the shell but also removes handling issues as the connections for programming can be routed so stress on the connection points is minimized, would have save the previous boards in this batch as they failed after multiple re-soldering on these pads

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I will have all of the parts for V1.6 on hand next week to ship out for assembly

A few changes have been made based on testing, the board length will be shorter. We also have been able to trouble shoot hardware faults in the audio so they can be signed off with V1.6

Ilya has been progressing on the software. We have the prime mover finished. The sounds here are synthesized, later we can change it to edited sound files. Next up is adding the snits, this software works on our boards

[video=youtube;-4b9calEmuU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4b9calEmuU&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
New video from Ilya, showing some of the sound profiles of the Loco-Nodes


[video=youtube;fBfFcXzsoBA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBfFcXzsoBA&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
all of the parts for the next batch of samples is here, awaiting the new files for the board. some pins were moved around to remove driver issues with SPI0 which effected GPIO on the FX_LED when we went to the eMMC. this has been fixed. we changed the eCompass/6 axis motion sensor so its address is fixed. the voltage regulator is now a module which as the inductors and diodes embedded into its package, that should cut at least 10 mm of length from all boards

for software, its mostly finished, we're adding more features and content. today's addition was tying the motion sensor to the eStop so if the unit derails, it stops the motor
 
another update from our software guru Ilya, here is the analog and electric bells

[video=youtube;as_2U0mHH3M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as_2U0mHH3M&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
Here is another one from Ilya

What you are seeing is the random generator we built into the sound engine so we can emulate different user experiences with each session. Various sound FX will all employ this. Our FX LED also has it for the Rule 17 so it can simulate different time periods between when the engineer would turn the headlights to dim

We are emulating the real locomotive, not copying what a normal sound decoder does



[video=youtube;uCLGvVd-JkM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCLGvVd-JkM&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
board design for LN0001S-V1.6 will be finished today, I shipped the final parts out for assembly last night

the board length is the same with the power module addition but the surface components are significantly reduced and the change in layout, programming pads will give a more robust design without as many wired connections

that makes it possible to wrap the board and pre-wire it at the factory

16 mm x 55 mm

includes stereo sound outputs, Li-PO support, and of course WiFi control

all of the hardware has been tested and we're adding advanced features now to the motion control and sound

www.layout-ioe.com12311236_1254800694547080_7172421510162692892_n.jpg
 
Ilya has been clipping the sound recordings I made earlier this year of a non turbo 567C prime mover

the software side of this is done as seen with the video I posted where the prime mover was synthetic

these clips will be loaded into RAM and played in place of the previous tones when the Loco-Node file is run

a new development board left our supplier last night so we can wrap up the eMMC booting and work on the sound, aside from software that has to be set up with a moving locomotive, we'll be able to wrap up everything for the sound equipped units shortly. the no sound software is done

www.layout-ioe.com

[video=youtube;QN4iUFjtIsk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN4iUFjtIsk&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
Ilya has the prime mover sound integrated into the Loco-Node Software. Still some bugs but here is a video:

[video=youtube;G8MLYoxHirQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8MLYoxHirQ&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
a few updates:

the new development board, eMMC stick, are working happily together, we have include some missing content from the Linux source that was not included in our SDK to wrap up booting, this is in progress

our parts shipment should hit China any day now, V1.6 is ready to run when we have both the parts and money to do so

right now the development board is all we need to wrap up the software so we're not in a rush
 
MASSIVE hurdle passed today, we have Linux working on my PC and using the eMMC dev kit, we're able to directly modify the eMMC and clone the production software to it. This can then be plugged into our CPU dev kit for testing. This removes ALL file restrictions we had with the manufacturer flashing tool, and we can finish all testing before we run the next batch of boardsIMG_20151225_1513408.jpg
 
the assembly house just got the parts I shipped last month today, one more mod (adding the boot flash) is being done now and I should be able to start the new boards next week

the eMMC is going to be retained, its just not JEDEC compatible for booting. its working awesome though and we now have the Loco-Node file using it for memory storage

the hurdle this week is debugging the sound, and starting to weave the final program for the Android control app so instead of the console, we can control it through WiFi

the new MSRP on the LN0001S is $139 USD. you can place an order through Contact_us@layout-ioe.com. We also have numerous other designs ready that are based on this board for other control purposes. LN0001S is by far the most complex.
 
I split the design off into two branches, one with SPIFLASH/eMMC and the other with Micro SD Card. The Micro SD Card is being run now, due to the CNY, it will arrive at the end of February

Even though the SPIFLASH/eMMC would be about 99% sure in my mind, the Micro SD Card is 100%. The issue is booting, and whether the SoC is compatible with the flash for this

We've been working on the sound engine, its coming along. Will post some more video tonight of the current progress

The prime mover bug has been eliminated, it no longer has the hiccup. We're now bringing in more sounds such as the fuel pump and compressor today
 
Here is an update on the sound engine, we are setting the start sequence so it needs TLC but the software side is in very good shape other than cleaning up individual sound clips

[video=youtube_share;-2VILGBjnOs]https://youtu.be/-2VILGBjnOs[/video]
 
here is one from two weeks ago, a new batch of boards is being released this week

[video=youtube_share;qUU6qZDlVGE]https://youtu.be/qUU6qZDlVGE[/video]
 
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