Here it is before surgery commenced…

Having stripped the thing down, I found inside two perfectly good electric motors, and when you find two working motors inside a toy there is only one thing to do: Work out how to use a computer to control them!

So, figuring out that the easiest way of doing this was with an Arduino, I bought one.

I won’t bleat on about how good the Arduino is, or how easy it is to use. There are hundreds of sites that do that.

Instead, here is a list of things wot i dun to get a PC controlling the Dalek.

To start with, I think we’ll have a bit of circuit design. Below is a simple circuit that takes 2 inputs from the Arduino and runs a motor either forwards or backwards. One input decides the direction of the motor, the other whether it is on or off.

All very nice and abstract, but to be of any use it’ll need to be built. The quickest and easiest way is on Veroboard. So here is the design for that:

The relays do the switching, and the diodes are there to protect the Arduino from back-emf currents when the relays toggle. Two of these circuits will be used, one for each motor. I built them on separate strips of board to make things easier for myself. This is what they look like when all connected up and dumped onto the Dalek chassis:

The small board in the top left of the picture is just a plug I bodged up to make connecting the thing easier.

The parts used are 4x 1A5VDC DPDT relays, 4x 1N4004 diodes, a 10×39 strip of Veroboard and some wires.

After all that soldering and burning my fingers, the next step is to write some code to make the thing move.

Each motor can be controlled to go backwards, forwards or stop. This gives nine possible movements, as this table shows:

And now its time to test this whole think by writing a program that takes keyboard commands (the letters in red, above) and sending signals to the circuitry to control the motors. Heres it is:

// Project: Dalek control system
// Version 0.1 - Written before my Arduino even arrived
// Tony Blews tony@tonyblews.co.uk

int MotorDirectionR = 10;
int MotorDirectionL = 11;
int MotorPowerR     = 12;
int MotorPowerL     = 13;

void setup()
{
 pinMode(MotorDirectionR, OUTPUT);
 pinMode(MotorDirectionL, OUTPUT);
 pinMode(MotorPowerR, OUTPUT);
 pinMode(MotorPowerL, OUTPUT);

 Serial.begin(9600);
 Serial.println("Serial control Dalek system starting...");

}

// modes for the motor control
// convention here is modeXX - where X is F for forward, S for stationary and B for backwards
// first X is the left motor, second X is the right one
// for direction control, the LOW if forward and HIGH is backward
// for power control, LOW is off and HIGH is on

// all stop
void modeSS()
{
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionR, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionL, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerR,LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerL,LOW);
}

// move straight ahead
void modeFF()
{
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionR, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionL, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerR,HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerL,HIGH);
}

// move straight backwards
void modeBB()
{
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionR, HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionL, HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerR,HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerL,HIGH);
}

// spin left
void modeBF()
{
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionR, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionL, HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerR,HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerL,HIGH);
}

//spin right
void modeFB()
{
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionR, HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionL, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerR,HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerL,HIGH);
}

// move forward left
void modeSF()
{
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionR, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionL, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerR,HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerL,LOW);
}

// move forward right
void modeFS()
{
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionR, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionL, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerR,LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerL,HIGH);
}

// move backward left
void modeSB()
{
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionR, HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionL, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerR,HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerL,LOW);
}

// move backward right
void modeBS()
{
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionR, LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorDirectionL, HIGH);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerR,LOW);
 digitalWrite(MotorPowerL,HIGH);
}

//main program loop
void loop()
{
 if (Serial.available() >0)
 {
 char inByte = Serial.read();
 // this version uses the QWEASDZXC "square" on the keyboard
 // as my laptop doesn't have a numeric keypad
 switch (inByte)
 {
 case 'q':
 modeSF();
 break;
 case 'w':
 modeFF();
 break;
 case 'e':
 modeFS();
 break;
 case 'a':
 modeBF();
 break;
 case 's':
 modeSS();
 break;
 case 'd':
 modeFB();
 break;
 case 'z':
 modeBS();
 break;
 case 'x':
 modeBB();
 break;
 case 'c':
 modeSB();
 break;
 default:
 modeSS();
 break;
 }
 }
}

And with that done, I suppose all that is left to do is show a video of the bottom bit of the dalek trundling around under computer control…

… which have to wait until the next post.

It disappears down into the bottomless pit…

Back in 1990, that could have summed up my computing degree, but it was the response you got when dropping items into the sacrificial pit on AberMUD.

AberMUD was a Multi User Dungeon written (mainly) by Alan Cox, long before he started doing bits with Linux.

If you don’t remember AberMUD, then you won’t want to bother reading any further. But if you do recall it, then prepare to rejoice.

I’ve located a copy of the sources that will compile under Linux, and got it running.

If you want to play it, SSH or TELNET to bl83.homelinux.net and login with the username mud and password mud

I’ve had to take Telnet access off, so now you’ll need some form of SSH client such as Putty, or use the web-based ConsoleFish.

(bl83 was the name of the machine it ran on briefly at Staffordshire University)

ViaMichelin X-950

How do you turn a £20 quid satnav, bought from the local Steptoe and Son, into a pocket media player? Well, I’ll show you.

The aforementioned ViaMichelin X-950 runs Windows CE 4.2 Core as its base OS, with the GPS and mapping software running on top of that.

What we need is to stop it running the the mapping software automatically, but leave it on there with an option to run it.

To do this you’ll need the driver disk that can with the unit. ActiveSync alone won’t suffice here, and anyway it has to be ActiveSync 3.8 as later versions won’t work correctly (especially with WinXP SP3).

So install the software, fire up ActiveSync and connect the unit with a USB cable.

Next you’ll need to download the file at http://www.gpspassion.com/download/custVM_GpsPasSion_buddy.zip and extract it somewhere (to your desktop will do).

Run the custVM_GpsPasSion_buddy.exe program and follow the onscreen prompts. Answer Next/Yes/OK until its done.

Now unplug the satnav from the USB and reset it using the button on the back.

Click the OK box on the screen twice to install both software items, and then wait for the thing to reset itself. It should now look like this:

Win CE Screen

Next you’ll want to download http://hautil.free.fr/bm/ScreenRotate.zip, and copy the files in it to \Program Files\ScreenRotate. Running that program will, surprisingly, rotate the screen through 90 degrees.

Using Windows Explorer, find the file \Program Files\ScreenRotate\ScreenRotate.exe and create a Destktop short cut (File -> Send to -> Desktop as Shortcut).

Next you’ll need to run \My Documents\CustoVM\RegEdit.exe and change some settings.

Change the value of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Power \ Timeouts \ BattSuspendTimeOut to be 2700 (which is 45 minutes).

By now you’ll be wondering where the WinCE control bar is, and how to input data. Well if you tap the very bottom edge of the screen near the plastic, the control bar will appear, and from here you can enable the on screen keyboard.

So far you should have a machine that boots into Win CE and has a video player (CORE) installed, and the mapping system still available (as an icon on the desktop called MapSonic.

You’ll be wanting an image viewer too, so download the file http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA003011/gqe/gq151hpce.zip and extract it somewhere on your PC. The copy the files from the ARM directory to \Program Files\GQ and create a desktop shortcut.

And there you have it. Copy some sound files, JPGs and videos onto the thing and away you go.

You want a demo? Oh go on.

This info was gleaned from http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=57135 but that is in French, and this isn’t.

A rough indication of size

The reasons for buy it are twofold. Firstly the internal GPRS modem in my Ubisurfer has gone down, rendering it useless without another means of connectivity (at least until Datawind’s tech support sort me out a replacement or fix); and secondly, my trust Huawei E220 USB broadband modem is being pressed into service as a permanet net connection for my Linux box running a game server (until Virgin can final get around to installing proper broadband for me).

That’s enough of me justifying the purchase, let’s have a look at the thing.

There it is, all lit up like Blackpool

Ooh, shiny. So, pop in the sim card and battery, plug it in to the charger and wait for twelve hours. Thumb the power button for two seconds and on come the five lights.

Ah, you’re thinking, there are four lights! Well, the fifth light (in the middle, not shown) only comes on when you first power up the device or if you feel an irresistable pull to a a foreign land (roaming).

If you’re really insteresting in what the four status lights mean, I’m sure you can find out elsewhere.

Thumb the wifi button for two seconds, then the Saturn button (only my name for it, as it has a little picture of a ringed planet on it) for two seconds and if all is well you’ll be able to connect to the internet through the thing.

Assuming all it well, that is. Sometimes it isn’t. Even though i’m a bit of a 3 fanboy (nine phones and two modems over the years), I still have issues with them. Firstly 3 is a crap name for a company, Whampoa would have sounded cooler; and secondly the coverage where I currently live is ropey at times.

Coverage map of ST17 XXX

The darker shade represents indoor/outdoor coverage, whilst the lighter shade shows outdoor coverage only. The pointer shows where I live. Not shown is a 3g modem gaffa taped to my window in order to get a good signal.

Besides the device itself, the box contains a short USB lead and a charger. The charger is, obviously, for charging the thing, and the USB cable is for three things.

1. using it as a storage device if a microSD card (not supplied) is inserted into it
2. using it as a USB modem
3. using the configuration program.

The configuation program (which installs straight from the device itself – nice) allows you to do all the usual wifi router based things: DHCP config, port forwarding, changing the SSID to something rude, changing the password to something you’ll actually remember.

Connecting to the thing is easy with any most wifi devices. So far I’ve managed to get two laptops (WinXP and Linux), the Ubisurfer and a borrowed iPod Touch running concurrently. I know the iPhone works ok (slightly faster that the phone’s built in 3g modem), and I’m sure the iPad will work. (Does anyone want to lend me one to test?)

Sadly, I could not get a laptop running Hexxeh’s Flow build of Chromium OS. But I put this down to Flow failing to recognised the Dell’s WiFi hardware.

Its a great little device. Go and buy one now. £49 from Three on their PAYG plan.

So, all that remains for me to do now are the customary speed test, using www.speedtest.net, as ever.

Firstly using the old E220 USB Modem:

E220 USB Results

And now using the E5830 Mifi:

E3850 Mifi Results

I clearly have a winner here, but your mileage may vary.

Finally, here are the frankly deplorable results taken recently from my sister’s Orange Home Broadband link recently:

Orange are shite

So, what is the UbiSurfer? In short, its a cheap netbook running an implementation of Linux. Oh, with a years free internet access thrown in.

More about that later, but first the specs:

• 7 inch 800×400 TFT screen
• 128MB RAM, 1GB Solid State disk
• Full QWERTY keyboard and Touchpad mouse
• Push-Push SD card socket and 2 USB ports (the box says 3, but I have 2 and a connector I’ve never seen before)
• Measures 222x165x29.5mm, weighs 700g
• Battery life provides 4 hours active use and 4 hours

Note the lack of a spec concerning the processor. Apparently it is some form of ARM 500Mhz job.

Applications wise you get the usual word processing and spreadsheet offerings, and a collections of email clients, PDF readers and the like, all GPLed programs.

For web browsing you have Mozilla IceWeasel (Firefox), which only works when connected via a Wifi hotspot, and the UbiSurfer browser itself.
And now we get to the main (only) reason that I bought this thing: free internet access. Included in the price of the device is 30 hours access per month (for a year) to Vodaphone’s GPRS network, via an onboard modem. As we all know, GPRS isn’t exactly lightening fast, but Datawind claim that any web page can be loaded in 7 seconds.

This is supposed to be achieved by Datawind pre-rendering the web pages on their servers (in Canada) and sending them on in a compressed form to the UbiSurfer browser, which then decodes and displays them.
Ok, that sounds fine in theory, but in practice its not so good.
Datawind’s own site (www.datawind.com) takes about fifteen seconds to load, and more complex site such a Google Mail can take up to a minute to fully render.
This pre-rendering process also throws up problems when entering data onto a web page. Tabbing between fields can take up to ten seconds.
Obviously these problems don’t occur when using IceWeasel and connecting via a Wifi hotspot.

But, oddly, my biggest complaint about the UbiSurfer browser is about the hideous splash screen which also comes up when you disconnect, thus preventing you from viewing pages offline. Here it is in all its glory.

Just look at the smug pissweasel. Those grass stains are going to raise questions in the office after lunch. Luckily you can overwrite the this image with something less irritating.

I shall continue to persevere with this thing, in the hope that I can find a use for it.

First though, here are the adverts from times past:

Classy stuff, i’m sure you’ll agree, and cock all to do with the game which is a poor Civilisation clone with no queen to save, and thus no norks.

And so on to the new advert…

Christ, you’d hardly know it it was for Evony if it wasn’t for the “My Lord” catchphrase, and the the familiar looking button.

Still, it seems to work for them. Gullible idiots seem to be playing the game and even paying for it.

So. If it works for them, it might work for me. If you want to volunteer to show a lot of cleavage to advertise a website of mine, don’t hesitate to contact me. Jon, this does NOT apply to you!

DNS:

Arsecakes. Fifteen years ago I could write DNS records in my sleep. Actually, I frequently did, but don’t tell Staffordshire University that, as they may want my wages back. So why is it that now I have no idea what I’m doing?

Ebay:

Okay, so I’ve identified myself using my credit card, and now you want another form of ID. As I don’t have a landline number, I click on the “identify yourself by credit card” link and… HOLY FLASH H. GORDON, you’ve taken another £1 from my card! Well, my auctioning friends, you can sod that!

Guitars:

I have quite a few guitars.  I own probably more than it is healthy for a non-musician to own.  My favourite, for a long time, has been a Spanish 3/4 size acoustic that a mate gave me about 15 years ago.

It survived 3 house removals, but sadly, it didn’t survive falling off it’s stand.

Broken Guitar!

I’m hoping that given enough strong glue I can fix it.

Here is the map:

View Larger Map

Download the file

Firstly, where I currently live:

And Now, where I will be living in 2 weeks:

Oh dear.

So, after restoring from Sunday’s backups and finding them still un-openable, I’ve swapped to OpenOffice. Now all is well.

The only reason I haven’t switched completely to something better than XP, like Ubuntu GNU/Linux, is that Live for Speed needs windows…..

And yes, I am current on all XP fixes and twiddles, and my anti-virus software is tip-top.