Community DIP – Blog. by Next Thing https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com News & Notes. Process & Projects. No BS. Srsly. Thu, 09 Nov 2017 03:16:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.5 C.H.I.P.s & DIPs: 5 New Community Accessory Boards https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/c-h-i-p-dips-5-new-community-accessory-boards/ Thu, 19 May 2016 13:00:40 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=496 Spinach you'll want to have!

Look closely behind the Spinach DIP and all its spinachy goodness and you’ll spot C.H.I.P.!

A few weeks ago Kolja Windeler’s Queso DIP was featured in a blog post. Queso connects to C.H.I.P. and adds four additional USB ports, plus handles power.

But Queso is not the only DIP JKW, as he’s known on the forums, is working on. He currently has five more DIPs in development! Make sure to use the forums and let JKW know if you have questions about his awesome new DIPs!

DIPs are add-on boards for C.H.I.P. that connect directly to it and expand its functionality. A good DIP design doesn’t add every possible feature all in one board, but focuses on adding one or two new features. That’s why there are so many different DIPs starting to appear on the forums –each DIP is meant to specialize.


Enough DIPs for a Party

menu

DIP Menu created by JKW

Salsa DIP brings realtime control to C.H.I.P., which is great for controlling motors and blinking lights. The awesome four-wheel drive vehicle in the video below is powered by C.H.I.P. and Salsa DIP.


Onion DIP has a built-in relay, which is great for controlling external devices and it also includes a small prototyping area for wiring up your own custom circuit. It’s a bit like the Relay DIP that Gus created for my RocketC.H.I.P. project.

(Thanks to iot_steve from the forums for pointing out that the Onion DIP does have a realtime clock.)

Onion DIP rendered in circuit design software.

Onion DIP rendered in circuit design software.


Spinach DIP is filled with 32 powerful, multicolored LEDs that are controllable directly from C.H.I.P.. The video below shows a C.H.I.P. and Spinach DIP in action, but it’s extremely bright and difficult to see the boards. Scroll to the top of the page for a more clear image of the Spinach DIP.


Guacamole DIP is still in the works, but it’s designed to take a digital audio source and convert the output to an analog signal. From the listener’s perspective, the analog signal is a much more rich, full sound compared to the digital signal.

This conversion is actually done by a specialized component known as a digital-to-analog converter or DAC for short. If you’re interested in a more detailed explanation of how a DAC works, check out this site.


Not in WiFi range? No problem. The Hummus DIP provides a wired ethernet connector for C.H.I.P.. Believe it or not, there are actually some projects where having a wired ethernet connection, not WiFi, is a must.

A good example are DIY cluster computers, where multiple boards are wired together to cooperatively perform computational tasks at very high speeds. Since each board needs to quickly communicate with the others, wired connections are the preferred data transport method.

Hummus DIP provides wired ethernet to C.H.I.P.

Hummus DIP provides wired ethernet to C.H.I.P.

Community DIPs

These DIPs are all community created, so you won’t find them anywhere but the forums. Thanks to their open source hardware design, the files and tools are available for you to make your own. If you’re looking for more info on any of the DIPs in this post, just click the included links and ask questions in the forum.

Stay current on all the DIPs by checking the community run wiki. While you’re browsing, make sure to check out the C.H.I.P.sters’ projects and hardware hacks over on Hackster.io.

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Add 4 More USB Ports to C.H.I.P. Thanks to Open Source Hardware https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/add-4-more-usb-ports-to-c-h-i-p-thanks-to-open-source-hardware/ Thu, 28 Apr 2016 13:00:59 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=481 4

C.H.I.P. smothered in Queso DIP Photograph by JKW

C.H.I.P.ster Kolja Windeler (JKW on the forums) built an accessory board called Queso DIP that’s basically like attaching a powered USB hub directly to C.H.I.P.

The Queso DIP connects directly to C.H.I.P.’s header pins and provides 4 additional USB ports, plus it can power attached USB device and C.H.I.P.. This means you can plug-in anything from a webcam to USB hard drive and the Queso DIP will take care of the power management.

JKW also built Queso to handle higher input voltages (7-28V DC) than C.H.I.P. can normally use, and the DIP regulates these down to a USB-friendly level. In fact, he’s even used an old laptop charger to power Queso, a couple USB devices, and C.H.I.P.. Something you’d never want to do directly to C.H.I.P., but Queso takes care of it.

Of course, before you connect any power supply to Queso or C.H.I.P, you should consult the specs of the DIP, power supply, and C.H.I.P. closely. And if you’re not confident with what you find, don’t be shy about asking questions in our forums. Electricity is no joke!

Queso DIP: lots of power, lots of ports

Queso DIP: lots of power, lots of ports

Speaking of specs, JKW’s design files are open source and available on his github page. You’ll also find other resources like the list of parts (aka Bill of Materials) you need to build one of these boards. Or, if sourcing parts and soldering isn’t your thing, check the forums thread where JKW occasionally takes group orders.

Open Source Hardware in Action

Though we at NTC don’t have anything to do with the design or manufacturing of the Queso DIP directly, we’re huge fans and excited that JKW is creating accessories for C.H.I.P.! Community created hardware is a great result of C.H.I.P.’s open source hardware.

We’re committed to open source hardware and software because it encourages, enables, and fosters community participation and ultimately makes us all better off.

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C.H.I.P. Does Embedded Linux Conference Things with the Free Electrons Team https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/c-h-i-p-does-embedded-linux-conference-things-with-the-free-electrons-team/ Thu, 07 Apr 2016 17:36:05 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=428 Maxime (left) and Boris (right) helping Dr. K. scheme his future Linux presentation

Maxime (left) and Boris (right) helping Dr. K. scheme his future Linux presentation

This week in San Diego, Richard and Dr. K. joined up with Maxime, Antoine, and Boris from Free Electrons for the Linux Foundation’s Embedded Linux Conference.

The conference offers Linux developers who work on embedded systems — basically any device that isn’t a laptop, desktop, or large server– the chance to learn about new technologies, present their latest research, and to finally meet each other in person.

With the focus on embedded devices, this was the perfect place for the Free Electrons team to update other developers on their work with us on C.H.I.P. and PocketC.H.I.P., and ultimately get our code into mainline Linux — a slow and steady process.

For developers and users alike having C.H.I.P. in mainline Linux means there is no need to patch or customize the Linux kernel to get Next Thing Co. hardware working properly. It means the code is already in the official Linux kernel. This saves everyone from the huge frustration of configuring the device, plus it’s the responsible thing for us to do as we build a Linux-powered product, and we’re working hard to make this a reality.

While Richard and Dr. K. were busy demoing C.H.I.P., PocketC.H.I.P., and PockulusC.H.I.P., the Free Electrons team members were giving C.H.I.P. specific presentations covering accessory boards, flash storage, and 3D acceleration. Currently, only the slides are available from the presentations, but the post will be updated as soon as the video recordings are released.

NTC+FE

Using DT Overlays to Support the C.H.I.P.’s CapesDIPs:

Antoine Ténart thoroughly explained how C.H.I.P. uses Device Tree to identify attached accessories and load any necessary drivers to get it working. It removes the big hassle for users to try to figure out how to configure attached devices.

If you’re thinking of developing hardware to attach to C.H.I.P., or simply want to know how we get C.H.I.P. to recognize when a PocketC.H.I.P. is attached to it, then Antonie’s slides are necessary reading.

Expect more from us about how to use Device Tree with custom DIPs in the near future, and while you wait take a look at the community DIPs already in the works.


Modernizing the NAND Framework: The Big Picture

Boris Brezillon took a deep dive into the inner workings of NAND flash storage. It’s a very, very low-level discussion of the flash storage found on C.H.I.P., but it’s vital for us to understand these details so we can provide reliable, stable storage.


Bringing display and 3D to the C.H.I.P Computer

Maxime Ripard rounded out the presentations discussing his work on C.H.I.P. and PocketC.H.I.P. 3D acceleration and the current state of other project working to get Mali400 — the graphics hardware on C.H.I.P. — working in Linux.


The guys were even able to track down Linus Torvalds the founder of Linux. Thanks for OS!

Dr. K. sporting his custom tote with Linus Torvalds and Richard

Dr. K. sporting his custom tote with Linus Torvalds and Richard

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