First WiFi Loco-Nodes, ready for fabrication/assembly

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Here is a demo of our active gain and amplifier.

They are standard in Loco-Nodes 0001S and 0002S.

[video=youtube_share;UKAZeF-EorQ]http://youtu.be/UKAZeF-EorQ[/video]
​
 
Loco-Node 0001S-V1.4 and the Generic Node meant for OEM use has been updated, LN0001S is going into fabrication/assembly based on our testing
 


The stereo amplifier on our Loco-Node is inside the blue circle

LN_STEREO_AMPLIFIER_zps1259985c.png
 
Some updates:

Hi,

I've been busy with a number of items on this project.

LN0001S-V1.4 is in production now, it will be shipped later this month.

FX_LED had three potential contacts with the ground plane which caused shorts so a new layout was needed.

LN0002S-V1.4 is also in production, it will be coming shortly after LN0001S. This Node does not have the Li-PO support, therefore it needs continuous track power.

I also have the Generic-Node in production, which uses the same WiFi CPU but uses a 60 pin header to connect to a board where this module can be mounted. This is intended for OEM applications.

The WiFi Nodes all have 4 Gb of flash except the Generic Node which has 4 GB eMMC memory.

Juan got a sound application file working. We're now building it into several components. One will be sounds that are automaticly played with locomotive start sequences. One will be user input like the bell, and one will be tied into the motor control for prime mover sounds. We are also doing an "Off-Board" feature where you can use the WiFi to stream the sound to WiFi speakers. Thus, you can connect to a home entertainment system for locomotive sound playback in real time.

The last big change with V1.4 is that stepper motors can now also be used. Stepper motors enable more compact drives.

Here is a video of the WiFi/CPU, our Stereo Amplifier, and Speakers as offered in the final kits.

The speakers are currently in stock.

The video starts at the lowest bit sample rate and goes to the highest.

[video=youtube_share;4V0jZQUgxsM]http://youtu.be/4V0jZQUgxsM[/video]

Most of this month will be spent compiling all of the software fragments into the final product.

Thank You,

Christopher Howard, Phoenix-Micron Inc.
www.layout-IoE.com
 
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Here is another update.

Our supplier is reopening from the Chinese New Year on March 10th, LN0001S and LN0002S are being assembled/fabricated next week. This is revision #4 and incorporates design changes from testing and updated motor control.

This is the initial sound tests triggered through the WiFi application. Since this video we can now play multiple sounds (32 channels in the sound processor) and are working on a sound engine. The sounds in this video are not sampled or set up like a real locomotive application but you can see it works.

[video=youtube_share;JKcDqoXqWEg]http://youtu.be/JKcDqoXqWEg[/video]
 
We filmed the next four videos last night.

I set up an HBRIDGE using the 7.4V Li-PO as a power source for the motor. There are two USB cables being used. One is powering the development board (5V) and giving us data from the Node to ensure communication is being processed correctly. There is another USB wire providing 5V to the HBRIDGE logic.

The locomotive is being run on dead track. The Android application is controlling the motor speed. Due to damage on the development board, we lacked the extra pin needed to reverse direction.

LN0001S and LN0002S will be here shortly. The wires pulled on the audio connection, they took the solder pads with them so we're unable to test the sound further with this board.

All in all though, this is an extremely smooth running system and the sound is excellent.

LN0001S uses the Li-PO for power. LN0002S needs powered AC or DC track.

www.layout-IoE.com

[video=youtube_share;a8150Csb_9c]http://youtu.be/a8150Csb_9c[/video]
 


1087027094657775_5909673503659047371_n_zpslbcmerh7.jpg


I got the above voltage regulator so we can remove the two USB cables from the demo locomotive - they are taking 5V from the notebook to provide power to the board and HBridge

Below is an update on the basic Android application, we have to hurry up and finish it but with the flying season in full swing and office moves for Juan, we're both strained for time

If the detail products we've already done sold, we'd be able to hire more outside help but it is what it is

layout-2015-03-01-174152_zpsvhwvvkqc.png
 
I added the 5V voltage regulator, the Li-PO is now powering the entire loco

Here is dead track, direct WiFi control

[video=youtube_share;H_tEZI3Dy6E]http://youtu.be/H_tEZI3Dy6E[/video]
 
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I got an update tonight and LN0001S left fabrication, its now in assembly

[video=youtube_share;8eOAkKX1Et0]http://youtu.be/8eOAkKX1Et0[/video]
 
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I do appreciate your progress, and I do know how much work it can be. I halfway agree with Stoker, and halfway not. I think you should (of course when you get it all wired up neat, perhaps with the engine cover off and not just sitting on top of the engine) show it working on a real layout, but there is a also a part of me that thinks you should explicitly show it on dead track as you have in your previous videos. The dead track really gets the point across that this loco is self powered. Just my $0.02.

Stoker said:
This is wonderful to see your progress with this. A marketing suggestion I have is to either have or gain use of use a full actual layout for your promotional videos.
Click to expand...
 
Hi,

There will be more coming after next week, the V1.4 update shipped today from our supplier.

This updates the assembly to latest values for the power supply. It clears out a short on FX_LED and updates it. It also moves over to the new motor driver.

The latter enables stepper motor and 6-12V brush, brushless, and core-less motors. So it's a big update.

I need to get a new development board for Juan, that's the green PCBA on top of the loco. We have a bunch of burned pins on the development kit, and the audio connections pulled, with them taking the solder pads needed to fix it. With a new kit we can add the sound and a reverser to this demo.

If there are no more faults with the new boards coming, we can actually put it inside the loco and do more real tests and video such as a layout video.

If this update is good to go, we can start shipping LN0001S, LN0002S and a Generic Node have parts already to go at our factory once V1.4 is cleared.

LN0001S has the full sound and Li-PO support. LN0002S has full sound but requires track power.

The Generic Node has been stripped down, it's intended to mate with a second board and be more for OEM jobs.

I have a new developer working on the UI with me. The next sets of videos will also show more of the control app.

If if there are no more hardware snags, things will move faster now.

Here is one last video from the other night.

[video=youtube_share;zRx1jl09ytQ]http://youtu.be/zRx1jl09ytQ[/video]
 
The new V1.4 update shipped last Thursday night, should be here later this week or early next

From what I can tell, unlike the previous versions, there are no missing components, everything seems to be properly placed and quality of fabrication/assembly is where it needs to be

This time I sourced all of the parts, packaged them with labels for placement to ensure everything was genuine and of the right values

1097133140313837_4456902366825741762_n_zpsgkk80j5y.jpg


The control app is also progressing again, we have a designer helping to move the Android Studio files to Xamarin which is a C# program with the ability to reuse the code in multiple software OS

Most of the main throttle is now coded

It will be a very busy April

www.layout-ioe.com
 
Hi,

The latest update arrived Tuesday. Based on inspection, they surpass my expectations.

_1104544956239322_346068440697906363_o_zpsw83wa8vk.jpg


_1104544996239318_144894675517693717_o_zpsrhrbael1.jpg


_1104544842906000_808586881714009044_o_zpsth881tvm.jpg


I had to leave for another trip early yesterday morning - carry on which only had to go 20 feet from the aircraft door to the baggage compartment (Gatecheck) at CYYZ lost my bag. It has a Node and my programming/voltmeter and some supplies in it. Trying to get United to do anything out of the box like look for this bag, it also contains my pilot license, company iPAD, a full uniform so its a security risk is like pulling teeth. So testing is delayed for a few days. I am in Costa Rica with literally the shirt on my back.

But I was able to do some tests Tuesday.

Here the 7.4V Li-PO is attached. The voltage regulator successfully puts out 3.3V and 1.8V supplies.

1104605872899897_8745706694558989642_o_zpsmxiiuiar.jpg


Nothing burned up or heated as happened with the previous update that had the short.

Here you can see some test connections on the bottom. I added four wires for motor outputs. Four will be used per stepper motor. If normal motors are to be used, then you just use A and B. You can have C and D go to automation like fan motors.

Will add images tonight and finish this, sorry gotta go to Nassau. Ran out of time...
 
Sorry, thought the check out was 9:30, turned out to be 9:00. The PAX (high value clients) thought it reassuring to them of the value of private aircraft when I showed up in jeans and borrowed casual shirt from my copilot this morning when I told them what happened. Luckily the lawyer who handles our 5th Freedom requests with United was able to locate my bag in Ontario, California and get it returned to me me tomorrow here in Nassua. Doing a trip to Hamilton and back tomorrow in the same attire.

So it looks like all might work out. Still boggles my mind how they can loose a gate checked bag on a half full aircraft. My wife tried for hours to get this resolved for me but it took the contact in upper management to get it done.

The second test I was able to do Tuesday, the last and final test on the power supply was to hook up the external power source. I read this at 19.6V and it put a solid 8.0V out at the BFG_VBATT which is the line between the charger and voltage regulator that the battery connects to. No heating outside of the charger inductor was found. So the power supplies will power the system from a Li-PO, take an external power source (track power) and use it to power the system and recharge the battery.

We are further than we got before.

The next step is to program the boards. I did some initial poking around and have it figured out how to set up the boards/software. Unfortunately everything is in Denver on its way back to me in Nassua so the earliest I can test is this weekend.

At this point the only potential point of issue is the CPU circuit but this has been verified by the engineers at the manufacturer so chances are very high we got good boards this time. The plan after flashing is to test the additional systems and get them programmed. If the CPU and WiFi radio are good, a board is going out for scanning next week. The other systems are basically copied from reference designs.

Once the test code is in place and everything is clear, we'll start shipments.

The application to run this in Xamarin is coming along very well. By Saturday, there will be enough ready to start threading the back and front end together on the new files.

This image below shows the system having 19.6V input at the IN_L and IN_R.

1104616489565502_6613150680246071978_o_zpslypqlga5.jpg


Here are the inputs showing the Li-PO VBATT (RED), NTC (GREEN), and GND (Black)

1104589992901485_4217615637655063059_o_zpsur8lpfyc.jpg


Here is an image showing the bottom with the IN_L and IN_R connections, and four motor outputs A B C and D.

_1104589959568155_969164490250196229_o_zpsokadvaxz.jpg


So that's about it until the weekend.

The programming connection requires a UART port. I have a USB/UART stick that is in my lost bag. This connects to the board through the two small round through solder pads. TX and RX. I am going to use the black breadboard seen in the images to connect the GND from the USB/UART to the board. This connection forms a console where we can see what the Linux CPU is doing through PuTTY. After this connection is up, we reset the board and apply another USB from the Notebook to the four round through hole programming pads and this should access the NAND Flash. If this all works, once the final program is made, it can be updated through the WiFi.

The next batch of boards will be programmed at the factory to save time.

Christopher Howard, Layout-IoE
www.layout-ioe.com
 
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Hi,

Just a quick update, I got my carry on Friday in Nassau.

I am able to communicate with the boards CPU through a USB-UART interface. Also the CPU is going into RECOVERY (USB) programming mode when 5V is applied to the 5V USB programming pin. So from a hardware standpoint, it appears the CPU is up and running.

All of the power supplies are cleared. They comprise 50% of the systems on the board.

The only hold up now is the USB flashing, trying to get Windows to recognize the COM port and the NAND FLASH device. So once this software is configured, we can flash the boards and go further.

Looks very good we have working hardware!

Christopher Howard, Layout-IoE
www.layout-ioe.com
 
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