Windell Oskay

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Viewing 15 posts - 466 through 480 (of 1,520 total)
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  • in reply to: Pen starts down / Odd servo behavior #22979
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    No, there isn’t an official Arduino firmware for EggBot. You might see if the authors of that software have (for example) a github issues page that you can ask for help on.

    Alternately, if this is the standard extension (just with Arduino firmware on the receiving end), you could edit it to add an extra pen-up command before it starts the pen-up move to the start position.

    in reply to: Pen starts down / Odd servo behavior #22977
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    Really couldn’t say. The EggBot software doesn’t support RAMPS, so you’re probably not using the EggBot extension per se, but something else altogether.

    in reply to: is this stepper ok #22973
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    Great. If you’re using our board and software, you’ll want to open up the “eggbot_conf.py” file in your Inkscape Extensions folder– it contains a setting in there “STEP_SCALE” that you can alter for this configuration (400 steps/revolution — 6400 steps per revolution), so that you don’t have to make any other changes for the motor resolution.

    in reply to: Problems with setting up “pen down” height correctly #22976
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    Yes, that’s correct.

    in reply to: Problems with setting up “pen down” height correctly #22974
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    That is definitely not a calibration procedure that should be expected to work. We would recommend that you follow the procedure from the user guide instead — start with the pen up, and make sure that it has enough vertical range to touch the paper everywhere.

    The AxiDraw’s cantilevered geometry means that there is no guarantee of a consistent height between pen and paper over the entire plotting area. Even if your paper is perfectly level, the AxiDraw may not be, and it can even lean forward a bitThat’s one of the main reasons that we have the “floating” Z stage, which is tolerant of a variable Z height. The floating Z stage *does not* apply a different amount of pressure depending on the pen-down position. It applies exactly the same amount of pressure whether you have the pen-down height set at 55% or at 25%.

    in reply to: is this stepper ok #22971
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    Yes, they’ll likely work, depending on what driver hardware you’re using. If you’re using two different motors, pick the stronger one for the pen motor.

    in reply to: Increasing the number of LEDs #22969
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    Well, you’re probably not going to smoke it… These are straightforward modifications, and you wouldn’t be the first to do them.

    in reply to: LiPoly battery #22970
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    Yes, you should use a larger resistor value when switching to LiPo.

    in reply to: Increasing the number of LEDs #22967
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    On the IX board (for both the Menorah Kit and the Larson Scanner), there are 9 LED locations each of which is connected in series with a single resistor.

    If you’re using red or yellow LEDs, each takes about 1.7 V, so each location could potentially take two LEDs in series. This doesn’t cost any additional current, but you might want to lower the resistor value to permit a full ~20 mA through each LED.

    If you’re using other colors of LED (green, blue, white, UV, etc), then each takes ~3.6 V forward current, so you can’t run two in series.

    You can also potentially put two LEDs in parallel. If you do so, you’ll need an independent resistor in series with each LED. You can remove (short across) the resistors on the board, and then take wire out from the LED location, to two LEDs, each in series with a resistor. The absolute maximum output per ATtiny2313 pin is 40 mA, so make sure that you don’t exceed 20 mA in each parallel branch.

    (There’s a separate limit, of 200 mA, for total power on the microcontroller. If you’re using standard code, it doesn’t exceed 5 LEDs lit at a time; you’ll be OK.)

    If you’re using red or yellow LEDs, you can even put two LEDs in series, twice in parallel, for a maximum of 4 LEDs per output pin.

    See this article for additional information about resistors for LEDs in series and parallel: https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2012/resistors-for-leds/

    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    That’s surprising, but not completely unheard of– I’m glad that you were able to identify the issue. If you haven’t already, please verify that the IC really is the issue by swapping it into the other menorah.

    Yes, we do sell replacement components. Replacement ICs are here: https://emsl.us/132
    If there are other components that you end up needing, please use our contact form and let us know what you need.

    in reply to: Pen down is not working #22966
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    It sounds like your machine may have been bumped pretty hard during shipment. Please contact us directly (by e-mail or our contact form) so that we can ask some follow-up questions, and see how extensive the issue is. (There may be a simple adjustment that you can do yourself, or we may need to send you replacement parts.)

    For the moment, I’d recommend disconnecting your servo motor cable, so that you don’t stress the motor until the mechanical issue is resolved.

    in reply to: Octolively Kit #22955
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    Here is our 5 V, 3 A power supply: https://emsl.us/487

    Our pre-flashed microcontrollers are here; select your chip and program: https://emsl.us/132

    in reply to: Octolively Kit #22953
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    Hi Hugh,
    Yes, that certainly could explain it. As it says on both the product pages and in the documentation, Octolively requires a _regulated_ 5V power supply. A regulated power supply typically keeps the output voltage within about 1% of the nominal value. An unregulated power supply like the one that you have may give 6 V before being plugged in, but may droop as low as 3 V once under power. This is not a safe or reliable way to drive these modules.

    A value greater than 5.5 V can potentially (but does not usually– these are tough chips) permanently destroy the AVR microcontroller. It is also possible that the program was corrupted due to some unfortunate timing coincidence of the power dropout.

    You could certainly attempt to reflash the chips, or you could send them back to us for reflashing (no cost except postage), or order a set of pre-flashed replacement chips.

    If you’d like to reflash them yourself, you’ll need an AVR ISP programmer, or you can substitute (for example) an Arduino, using the ArduinoISP method. The source code is available here: https://github.com/evil-mad/Octolively

    in reply to: Alpha Clock Five buttons too tall? #22965
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    I’m glad that you were able to make that work. If you do change your mind and would like the replacement buttons anyway, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

    in reply to: Alpha Clock Five buttons too tall? #22963
    Windell Oskay
    Keymaster

    No, that doesn’t look right— that appears to be a kitting error. Please contact customer service directly and we can send you replacements. In the mean time, if you like, you should be able to trim the buttons down a little using clippers; the same kind that you use for trimming wire leads. The top acrylic plate should be able to fit parallel to the bottom plate, and make the buttons work well.

Viewing 15 posts - 466 through 480 (of 1,520 total)