StempleLABS Projects

I have yet to have any of the problems I had prior to installing the new mobo.  Wondering when it will be SAFE to move the applications.  Last time I spent a lot of time getting things setup just right and running great… all to have it just crash and burn.  Being very careful  now.

I installed another 120mm fan in the case.  This fan blows over the hard drives, hoping this may better protect the drives.  The drives were never outside of operating temp per the spec, however they seemed very hot to touch.  With the fan I can touch without issue.

So far so good.  I have not built a serious file system yet, but all the testing seems to show no problems.

I placed the order for parts to populate the 3 Ledtricks control boards. Each board not including the chip ordered from King Electronics came in at $21. The MBI chip (from King’s) adds another $1 to it.

Also I ordered the PicKit2 USB Programmer. I have been looking at that for months as noted in a post to the projects blog last year. In addition to that I picked up some extra PIC16F688 chips to play with. This is the chip that is in most of the Renard designs. I would like to breadboard the Renard 8 to get an idea how it works and what I can do with it.

I still need to determine how to get the 2500 LEDs required to populate the matrix for 3 controllers.

I got the 3 PCB boards in the mail today from wjohn.  Very high quality.  I am excited to work with professional PCB this year rather then my method last year of point to point.  Not working with PCBs took HOURs and HOURs, so the extra cost will be well worth the time saved.

The PCBs are sharp!  Thanks wjohn.

I built an order list for my Mouser account.  Ready to order for this project, however I also need to order a PICKIT2 and parts to make several different size programmer boards.  Will be using a part Nuts and Volts article for a guide on creating the programmer sockets.  I will need it to get started with the Renard or Firegod style PIC controlled dimmers.  Still up in the air in regard to what technology will compliment or replace the Horning 32 channel Dimmer I built last year.

As noted in the document for the Ledtricks constructions, the Allegro A6279EA-T is hard to find in small order lots. Per the suggestion of the doc from wjohn I placed an order with King Electronics for the MBI (GN: P-DIP24-300-2.54) chip rather then Allegro. For 3 boards I only need 9, but the shipping was flat rate of $10 and the parts were $1 each so I picked up 12. I will order the rest of the parts from Mouser sometime this week. I like to source from Jameco, however the build of Materials list is setup for Mouser and the specific parts are known to work… So I am going to go with Mouser.

All parts except for the LEDs are in stock. Again per the doc it is suggested the LEDs come from a web site in Hong Kong in lots of 1000. The LEDs are $20/1000 but shipping is very $$. Hoping to split shipping costs with someone local to help off set. Currently the price can’t be beat and the specific LEDs suggested have been tested with the hardware.

Tired of dealing with the ECS I bought an ASUS M2A-VM motherboard. It has the AMD chip set rather the the Nvidia 403 or 430. I am hoping this new chip set may resolve the SATA issues that I appear to be having. Also this board supports more control over the SATA config and supports AHCI mode.

So far I have install Ubuntu 7.04 server and built several 200gb raids. I have filled these file systems, copied the same files at the same time multi times and tested it any other way I can. Also pulled the plug a couple times, no issue so far. Maybe all my problems were motherboard related? But then again it took a week of running before the other one crashed.

I my last 3 systems were ECS mobos with no problems. I like using the ASUS so far, its different and has more control options.

Before getting the ASUS I was able to exchange the ESC mobo as defective. I have plenty of evidence and testing to prove that… many hours worth.

The Ledtricks Project is a 16×48 pixel LED Matrix sign that is parallel port controlled by Vixen 2.0. I am not sure when this project started however I will be getting 3 control boards and enough supplies to build 3 panels. The current system will support 4 panels from a single parallel port.

Details: http://www.christmasinshirley.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=194

I have ordered 3 PCB Control boards from wjohn in Australia. He had a lot of 25 made up based on the V6.0 design. For 3 PCBs with shipping and Paypal costs I am in for $30. Parts to populated the boards are around $70. About 2500 LEDs will be $60-80. Per a dive club friend a similar size commercial board starts at $3500.

I have not yet figured out the total size of the sign. I may only build two of the panels and save the 3rd for later.

I am tired of dealing with this computer situation.  The power supply didn’t help.  I was still able to duplicate the issues.  I am starting to wonder about the Nvidia 403 chipset.  Maybe the answer is to ditch this combo Mobo and start with a new one.

Either way I am burned out and need a break.  This weekend will be spent 100% outdoors!  No computer work or thoughts…  Hope to hike around Tahoe area a bit.

I was again able to crash the hard drive.  It seems that maybe this is motherboard or OS related? I have upgraded to the latest kernel 2.6.20-16.  No luck.  I am going to get a new power supply and see if that makes a difference.  The current power supply is a no-name 550 watt.  Seems fine in the older computers…

I am going to pick up an Antec 550 TruePower.  Hope that helps!

It seems that that the two hard drives (both have become unstable and fell out of the raid after rebuilding) connected to the motherboard are having issues. I am able to exchange and attempt to duplicate the issues. There was a week or more of stable use. This just doesn’t make sense.

I am in for 40 PCBs that have 4 SSR channels.  These boards will be compatiable with either Renard or Firegod controllers.  Last year I built SSR boards from scratch using proto board and point to point wiring.  Looking forward to doing it the easy way.  Based on the number of boards being ordered, the cost may be as low as $1.30/ board.  The cost to populate each board is around $10 using Mouser parts.  I think I can source it cheaper with Jameco.  I will have to figure that out once the boards get here.

I hope to have 128 channels this year, so 32 boards will cover that, with an extra 8 for something else.  Also I still have my SSR boards from last year as well.  They were very stable.  The new boards are bigger so they won’t fit into my wire proof junction boxes.  Not sure yet how I will water proof the new ones.

Co-Op information Posting