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If it is resetting, then somehow you must be triggering the Auto-Reset feature, that we use in programming. So, you need to disable the RTS# line on the FTDI interface.
The solution, I believe, is found here:(via raspberry pi forum: http://www.raspberrypi.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=6832 )Explicitly disable the RTS as follows:myport=serial.Serial(‘/dev/ttyUSB0’,19200, rtscts=1)Please let me know if that fixes it!RB6 does control row 7 of the LED matrix, which (with the sideways matrix) is what we’d normally describe as “the second column.”
Backing up a bit, “columns” 1,2, and 3 are driven by transistors Q7, Q6, and Q5, from resistors R7, R6, and R5. If there’s a solder blog connecting those three lines together, or a break in the circuit board traces, it could cause the problem that you’re seeing. Look carefully at that area of the board, and see if you can figure out what has actually happened there. If there’s an accidental solder connection, you do need to remove it.You can either post *a link* to it here, or contact us by e-mail– our address is visible here: http://shop.evilmadscientist.com/about
The Peggy 2 (or 2LE) can do it, but it is indeed overkill. Probably the most straightforward way to use it would be to wire up 6 rows rows of 10 LEDs each, meaning that you’d need to run a total of 16 wires to the Peggy.
The Peggy 2 is 11.320×14.875″ in overall size:
http://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/tinykitlist/75-peggy2You might prefer to use the Peggy 2LE instead, as it is smaller (9.625×5.9″) and lower in cost:
http://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/tinykitlist/157The Peggy 2 comes with a 3xD battery holder. One can be added separately to the Peggy 2LE as well: http://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/partsmenu/552I’d estimate battery lifetime under this set of circumstances as about 150-250 hours if the LEDs are on all of the time, and 2-5 times that if the LEDs are flashing intermittently. I’d certainly recommend turning it off when not needed or (much better) using a plug-in power supply.Since you don’t need all that many LEDs, and they don’t need to be on all the time, you might consider using Charlieplexing, directly from a microcontroller, to drive the LEDs instead. For 60 LEDs, you could do this with a microcontroller board like our Diavolino, using 9 digital output lines to drive a hand-wired matrix. For a bit more about Charlieplexing, see our article about how the Bulbdial Clock works:> So for a more complex figure (I don’t know how to show one like you did) one would need to go through a lot of convolutions.
Yes, but only in cases where you’re starting from vector artwork made with white fills– and that’s a little less common than you might think. (The only case where we usually see this being an issue is when people start with poorly made vector clip art.)If you have a specific graphic that you’d like advice on how to prepare for use with the Eggbot, please feel free to either post a link to it here, or contact us directly via the contact form or e-mail. We’d be happy to help.Yes, the pins can be bent by up to about 10 degrees, while still maintaining a good connection. If you need to bend more than that, you should probably consider how the things will connect together prior to assembling the connectors onto the boards.
The program can be altered to do almost anything, although true randomness is hard to achieve on a microcontroller. The Octolively is normally used in a mode where each LED responds to the stimulation at that site, however it does not necessarily need to be built with the sensors, if you do not need them, and your program will not expect them.Okay, column #5 – the column directly under LED D4, is really “Row 4” in the matrix, starting with row 1 on the top (your right hand side) and working down. Row 4 is at pin 23 of the LED matrix socket, and is controlled by transistor Q3, through resistor RB3, from pin 11 of the microcontroller.
So, check those points for a possible missing solder joint. See also a previous forum post on the topic: http://www2.evilmadscientist.com/forum/viewtopic.php?showtopic=5352If I understand correctly, you mean this situation:
If so, you can prepare the drawing for the eggbot, like so:
The Eggbot draws with a pen, and consequently it is designed to only draw lines. It does not, on its own, see fills. The guideline that I posted above will allow you to see where the lines are in your drawing, and therefore, what will actually print.
(If you want to fill regions, please see our tutorial on creating filled regions:
http://wiki.evilmadscientist.com/Creating_filled_regions )If you want to fill a region in with white ink, that’s certainly possible, so long as you have a white pen to use. Otherwise, it sounds like what you really want to do is to use the Path>Difference operation to subtract a white-filled region from a black-filled region.I’m not sure exactly what the situation is here. To preview what the Eggbot will actually draw, select all, and then ungroup everything. Turn the fill type to “no paint” (none), and select a consistent stroke width, say 1 px. Then, you’ll see all the same lines that the Eggbot will.
If you want to draw the outline of a set of path objects, you might try using the “Union” operation under the Path menu to combine them together.It sounds like you may have had some extraneous lines or artifacts in your file that the Eggbot was trying to print, outside of the template area.
A couple of things that you might try:– Import your file into Inkscape as an EPS drawing, rather than SVG. Illustrator SVG sometimes seems to have issues.– Check for extraneous lines or artifacts within Inkscape before printing. From the menu, select View>Zoom>Drawing, to show the full extent of items on your page. Then, Edit > Select All to highlight everything on the page.If the text comes into Inkscape as a set of curves (rather than as editable text), you do not need to do anything to it.If the text comes into Inkscape as editable text (rather than as a set of curves), you’ll need to convert it to curves before plotting. To do so, first select the text, and then from the Path menu, choose the option “Object to Path.”Can you say in which way the “Eggbot started to act weird?”Inkscape natively handles the fonts already installed on your PC, and can write with them using its built-in text editing tools.
The Hershey Text extension only *adds to* that set of fonts. The fonts that it contains are “engraving fonts” (by Mr. Hershey) which your PC cannot natively handle, because they are defined by the stroke width, rather than as an outline that gets filled in. These font types are so different that it is not possible (by any means) to convert an engraving font to or from an outline font.So, to answer your questions directly:(1) No, Hershey Text can only handle genuine engraving fonts.(2) While you cannot print system fonts from within Hershey Text, you are *not* limited to the fonts provided by Hershey Text. Inkscape handles your system fonts directly (and in many ways better), with the “normal” text tools.Here’s a project using an EiBotBoard and a RPi:
So, it is possible, certainly. In that project, it enumerates as /dev/ttyACM0.You might try connecting a few times, and you might try unplugging it and back in again.FWIW, we’ve had pretty good luck with just the ultimate GPS breakout, without any external antenna.
