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Messages - CodeWarrior
16
« on: November 27, 2020, 02:12:12 PM »
Joe- Your 1/10th scale Tatra is an impressive build. It sounds like you enjoy the creative process, both from the electrical and mechanical standpoints. I’d be curious to know your impressions Ender 5- I have a SeeMeCNC's Rostock MAX which has fallen into disuse as the computer which I had attached to it crashed. That would likely be a topic for another forum somewhere else. I’ll have to check out DIYGuy999’s projects- I appreciate your mentioning it. I like the ESP’s: They are very powerful ‘boards, in a small size at an excellent price. I fight with having too many projects going on at once. I’m striving to see things all the way to completion. I too am retired and find that, since my life doesn’t revolve around work, I have much more time to get things done which I enjoy. Your convoy idea is intriguing and I believe it could be doable with the proper implementation. I don’t know that the following tank could exactly mimic the lead tanks movement so much as follow it, at least with the way I could imagine designing the electronics. I’m thinking that a photovore system, or perhaps IR-based system might work. From my side I got what is probably the more difficult part of the ATTiny85 battle system working. It is now able to successfully fire an IR round at my Tamiya 1/35th Panther and have it cause damage. I've included a .zip file of the video I shot of the circuit in action and also included some pictures of the breadboarded circuit. I cannot say “Thanks” enough to Luke for his help. Although the code for the ATTiny85 doesn’t include any code from the TankIR implementation it was Lukes sharing his knowledge of the Tamiya 1/35th IR protocol which made it possible. I’m still a relative newb as far as forum etiquette goes. I’m thinking this ATTiny project should perhaps be moved to it’s own topic, if it even belongs on OpenPanzer at all as it’s not an OpenPanzer offering. I’d welcome a response from anyone reading this who may provide some enlightenment to me. Eric
17
« on: November 26, 2020, 08:38:14 AM »
Joe- I’ll start out by apologizing for the length of this post but it’s nice to relate to others with similar interests. Yes, I’ve been following your progress on the T-35. It’s a very impressive effort. I have also done a Panther PanzerTurm design from probably 10 years ago or so. I have included several pictures of my past efforts. I really enjoy designing things of all kinds- both electrical and mechanical. My work on IR tank designs started about 20 years ago but tapered off significantly about 10 years ago. We all know the story here: Very little time for fun when the time demands of the job became significantly greater. Arduino was not generally known then and my designs were based on the Microchip PIC parts. Since discovering Arduinos, and the huge amount of open-source designs out there, things have become much more easily done. 3D printers have also been a boon to us experimenters. I have included pictures of my earlier designs, except for the PanzerTurm as I’ll have to dig that out. They include: - A 1/35 tank platform with dual motors and collision detection. PCB was acid etched and is dated from November of 2002.
- 3D printed leaf spring system experiment
- A hand held IR receiver/transmitter which my tanker buddies found useful for verifying that their tanks were transmitting and receiving IR shells. It would also send out 10 IR shells quickly to kill a tank, effectively resetting it for the next battle (Tamiya 1/16 system only). This board was machined using a CNC machine set up to fab PCB’s.
I’ve also have about a half-dozen motorized platforms, including a DF Robot Devastator , a Zumo 32u4 Robot and several hand-built ones I don’t have pictures of right now. I’m currently working on designing an IR battle system for solo (or multi-person) battles. Luke’s TankIR is an extremely nice piece of work but I’m also nearly done with a design which will transmit and receive Tamiya 1/35 IR shells based on an ATTiny85, about the size of a grown man's thumbnail. Idea is to use several of these to try and sense where an incoming IR round came from and move towards it, with an autonomous platform, or at least aim at that area with a static platform. Of course, I’ve been working this for nearly 20 years now, so we’ll see how it goes. If I were to get something which worked I would like to make it available to others. I doubt there’s any money to be made at it, and I’m not looking to do that. I’m just looking to have fun making a design that others may find useful. It would also be nice to potentially further the interest in IR tanks. I’m always looking for any others who may be interested in collaborating on such a design. As an aside- I also worked on a system for measuring RC car lap-timing based on IR signals as I occasionally run some RC cars. Please continue to keep us updated on your T-35 build- it looks to be a truly great effort and I admire your tenacity and vision to see it through to completion.
18
« on: November 23, 2020, 12:34:15 PM »
Luke- I hope all is going well with your move.
I am happy to inform you that I am now able to compile the TankIR sketch with it working on both sending and receiving IR shells (screenshot attached to unnecessarily provide proof). I went ahead and uninstalled the Arduino IDE on my other laptop (laptop B) and reinstalled it letting it choose the install directory and use all default settings. The compiler reported:
“Sketch uses 24284 bytes (75%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32256 bytes.
Global variables use 1462 bytes (71%) of dynamic memory, leaving 586 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.”
The net result of all of this is: TankIR needs to compile on Arduino IDE 1.8.5 with the installation being done using all default settings. I'm thinking that there were enough changes made to the compiler between 1.8.5 and 1.8.13 that the memory usage became much greater and the resulting low memory disallows properly registering a (Tamiya 1/35th) IR shell hit.
My next step is to get a complete system working with the Adafruit FX in place and move it to a hand wired protoboard. Assuming all goes well I will consider making a home-etched, or possibly a fabbed, PCB to fit the Arduino form factor. I’m thinking that others may take more of an interest in having a stand-alone battle unit if something were available off the shelf. Even then, if something was available off the shelf I’m guessing there would not be a huge demand. Let me know your thoughts once you’ve settled in from your move. In the meanwhile I’ll contact ‘Wibbly to see if he, or anyone else, has used the stand-alone unit.
Once again thank you so much for your kindness, help and patience in getting me set up on TankIR. Looking forward to hearing from you.
19
« on: November 18, 2020, 12:26:21 PM »
Luke- I have attached the platform.txt files for both my 1.8.13 and 1.8.5 IDE's. Your logic on staying with the proven IDE is sound.
You are correct in thinking that I had seen WibblyWobbly’s comments on RC Tank Warfare. I am known as CodeWarrior there as well. I seem to recall some discussion about the type of sound card being used. I tend to like the Adafruit ‘board- it’s simple and convenient if not a bit more expensive than some of the other offerings. I will write in to the RC Tank Warfare forum to determine how ‘Wibbly went about with his implementation. I have had this feeling that there are only a handful of people interested in making a standalone battle unit and your input somewhat confirms these suspicions. To my way of thinking it’s entirely logical that a solo battle unit might be a reasonable alternative when one can’t get a group of RC tankers together. Ultimately I would like to cooperatively design a challenging solo battle system- but I’m not sure there is sufficient interest in this.
It sounds like you're going to be rather busy for the next few weeks. Moving is never any fun. I wish you the best of luck with that extremely disruptive event. Hopefully there will be some RC tankers in your new location.
I appreciate any input you can give me. I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you later and will post any insights I may get here in the meanwhile.
20
« on: November 16, 2020, 03:41:59 PM »
I tried compiling the code using the Arduino 1.8.5 IDE, not installed using windows installer but just as a desktop client on my main laptop (I'll call it laptop A). This yielded the same results as compiling with 1.8.13- TankIR is not able to register hits from the Panther. The compiler output stated: "Sketch uses 25014 bytes (77%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32256 bytes. Global variables use 1864 bytes (91%) of dynamic memory, leaving 184 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes. Low memory available, stability problems may occur." The only remaining differences that I can think of are the files which are included as part of the compile process which are not directly provided by GitHub. There are only two of these: #include <Arduino.h> #include <avr/interrupt.h> Of these I suspect that it may be the interrupt.h file which is causing me the problem. I went ahead and did a Windows installation on another machine (laptop B) after having deleted the existing 1.8.13 installation and all folders related to the Arduino IDE. I used another machine as I didn't want to disrupt the other Arduino work I had going on laptop A- although not currently working on. No joy. It is clear to me that there is something wrong with my IDE, or at the very least different, between my Arduino IDE installation and yours. Let me know if you have any thoughts as I would really like to be able to tailor the TankIR code to suit my needs. On the other hand I fully understand if time does not permit you to offer much more help. You’ve helped me immensely already. I suspect that others have tried TankIR with more success than I. Can you tell me if you know of other users which have had success with it?
21
« on: November 16, 2020, 08:45:39 AM »
Luke- Success! Using your code, without my Arduino IDE compiler in between, did the job! I was able to both transmit and receive IR shells to and from my 1/35 Panther. The flash effect for the hit LED was very nice. Well done! BTW- I checked for a reply yesterday from you but did not realize that our thread had reached a second page. My bad. I must report that I was not successful in using OP Config to upload the .hex code (screen snip attached). Maybe that's the subject for another post once I thoroughly worked through OP Config to see what I might have done wrong. Apparently I have bad luck everywhere with these things. I used the process which was described here https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=410618.0 with success (one exception: ensure the file path has no blank characters in it.) I have downloaded Arduino IDE 1.8.5 and will try it to see how things work with it. I will report back with the results. IDE 1.8.5 is many generations before 1.8.13, sequential numbering being the way that it is. I'm just curious why you do not use the latest releases, other than the fact that it apparently breaks good, working code?
22
« on: November 14, 2020, 10:08:31 AM »
Thank you for your extremely quick reply. I did as you suggested: Reloaded TankIR from Github with the only change being made is to change IR_FIRE_PROTOCOL to IR_TAMIYA_35. With just this being made compiling the code yielded the same statement from earlier:
“Sketch uses 25014 bytes (77%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32256 bytes.
Global variables use 1864 bytes (91%) of dynamic memory, leaving 184 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
Low memory available, stability problems may occur.”
This caution was present in the original code from the first time it compiled. The behavior of the system with the reloaded code is the same as with the previous code: The TankIR shells cause damage to the Tamiya Panther but there is no effect on the TankIR circuit from the ‘Panther shells.
You are right to think that I might investigate/consider changing RAWBUF to a larger value- I noted that the max value would be 255. I figured this would not help the understanding of the issue as only the first 50 bits are read by TankIR to recognize a hit. Because of this I didn’t make any changes other than what we discussed.
I’m wondering if there may have been changes made to the Arduino IDE which somehow altered the manner in which the code compiles. It may be hard to see in the screenshot- I am using version 1.8.13 of the Arduino IDE. I have included a screenshot of my Arduino IDE so you can see the compile environment being used. It will be obvious that I use a "Dark Mode" color scheme as I find it a bit easier to view than the stock offering. This should not have any effect on the compiler itself.
23
« on: November 13, 2020, 11:19:29 AM »
Luke Z- Once again thank you for your help. Unfortunately the TankIR circuit/software still does not recognize a hit from the 1/35 Tamiya Panther. I made the two changes which you suggested and fired a shell from the Panther.
I posted pictures of a side-by-side comparison of the previous IR dump from TankIR and the dump with your suggested edits above. The results are shown in the two .jpg’s attached below. Not too surprisingly the two results diverged in their behavior after bit 50. As you noted only the first 50 IR bits (start bit * 2 + 3 bytes *8 bits/byte * 2 IR bits/bit) are used anyway so this shouldn’t matter. I also included the screen dump in zip file below. I know that no hit was sensed by TankIR because I didn’t see a change in neither port A2 nor D5 nor did I see any output in the serial monitor indicating a hit was received. I have verified that the Tamiya Panther can fire a shell which can be sensed as a hit by putting the ‘Panther in Test Mode and having it shoot itself by firing at an IR reflective surface.
I am a bit concerned about the statement from the compiler indicating:
“Sketch uses 25100 bytes (77%) of program storage space. Maximum is 32256 bytes.
Global variables use 1864 bytes (91%) of dynamic memory, leaving 184 bytes for local variables. Maximum is 2048 bytes.
Low memory available, stability problems may occur.”
This should not matter as anyone compiling for this core would get the same warning and yet the software was tested as functional. FWIW I verified that the TankIR circuit can still produce shells which register a hit on the ‘Panther.
I remain puzzled by the apparent inability of my TankIR implementation to receive infrared hits.
24
« on: November 11, 2020, 04:10:39 AM »
Joe- That is a very impressive build that you're doing. It's an interesting choice by Dean to model a fairly complicated tank. If I were even to attempt to create the models for an RC tank I think I'd opt to make something like a Stridsvagn 103 (turretless!).
Are you using ABS or PLA filament?
25
« on: November 10, 2020, 02:29:44 PM »
That is a very impressive IS-1! The sound is great too and the video is very nicely made.
26
« on: November 10, 2020, 02:18:01 PM »
I did the following today:
I took the TankIR shield off the Mega 2560 and placed it on an 'Uno. Still no joy in terms of the Tamiya Panther receiving an IR shell. Time to employ the trusty oscilloscope. Looking at the 'scope trace I found that the IR LED (Vishay TSAL6100 from DigiKey) was indeed being driven with a signal. I scratched my head for a bit and then decided to position the Panther within 10cm of the TankIR transmitter and, et voila, the Panther was shaken by a deadly infrared shell. Success! I recalled that I had increased the size of the IR LED limiting resistor so as to not risk overloading the IR LED. While the WIO terminal could read the IR signal it seems that the Tamiya Panther needs a stronger signal. Replacing the 1kΩ IR LED limiting resistor with a 3.3Ω (!) resistor, just like the schematic indicated I was to use, gave the TankIR circuit a very acceptable range for it's IR shells. Next step was to investigate the IR receiver behavior.
As I was already working with the o'scope I naturally attached the scope probe to the output of my IR receiver. The receiver is a Vishay TSOP-38238, ordered directly from DigiKey. I was not going to risk a bunch of unnecessary troubleshooting just because of having purchased potentially inferior surplus parts. I did as you suggested and uncommented the debugging code you directed me to. I was indeed receiving, and demodulating, IR shells from the Panther. I monitored the 'Uno's A2 port ("Incoming hit sound trigger") expecting that it would change state if an IR shell was properly decoded. Although I pummeled the TankIR circuit with multiple shells Port A2 never seemed to changed states. The test code in Tank.cpp did output data when a shell was fired but it seemed to stumble a bit after every 50th bit. I decoded the first 3 bytes and included screenshots of that plus a .zip file of the test code dump in case you may have the time to briefly check them out. Having already had more success for one day than I could handle I decided to call it quits at this point.
As you know I really appreciate all of the help you have given me so far. I've already had more success than I could have hoped for in such a short period of time.
27
« on: November 08, 2020, 04:05:25 PM »
Luke- I'm happy to receive a reply no matter how long it takes. I appreciate your taking the time to write and share the benefit of your experience.
I used an Arduino Uno with much the same results as using the Mega 2560. I figured they were a similar core (328 I believe) and I am able to see IR shells being transmitted from both the TankIR (Mega 3560) circuit and the Tamiya Panther. I recorded 5 IR shells from each and plugged them into a Google Sheet to compare them. I used a WIO Terminal to read and display the IR timing in the Arduino IDE monitor. You did a very nice job of documenting the structure of the unusual Tamiya 1/35 protocol. With the aid of it I was able to see that the IR signal looks basically identical between the Tamiya and TankIR software. I've included a screenshot of the first byte of so of each of the two groups of 5 signals. The issue I'm having is that the WIO terminal only shows the first 50 marks and 50 spaces giving me 100 total bits worth of data. It could be that the signals lose commonality after the 6th byte, although that would be surprising giving how well the two systems agree for the first 6 bytes.
My next step will be to try the TankIR circuit on an 'Uno as you suggest. If I can locate a true-blue 'Uno (versus a clone) I'll use that. I don't know if clones vary much from the performance of a real 'Uno. If that doesn't yield any results I'll log the full IR transmission of both TankIR and Tamiya systems. I don't know why the WIO doesn't log the entire transmission but I may just write some simple code to log the whole thing.
28
« on: November 06, 2020, 07:26:21 AM »
I hope it's OK to add a new post to an older topic but here goes: I have downloaded the TankIR sketch into an Arduino Mega 2560 with the intention of using it with some of the Tamiya 1/35 tanks. While I understand that it was pieced together from several other works it's nonetheless an amazing piece of code with clearly allot of effort having gone into it.
I implemented the schematic exactly as shown in the .pdf and the code compiled properly without any problem. The only change which was made was to the A_Setup file where the IR_FIRE_PROTOCOL was to to IR_TAMIYA_35. The issue is that the circuit does not indicate a hit if one is received from my Tamiya Panther nor does the tank receive a hit when the circuit fires a shell. Can someone confirm that the the code was tested on the Tamiya 1/35 platform and that no further changes were required other than what was already mentioned? I would guess that the code was tested and that I have some issue with my setup but I wanted to ask the basic question before digging into things further. I really don't want to take up anyone's time on this other than to get a quick response confirming that the setup should be working with the only change required having been the one I've already made.
I would like to make sure that the TankIR authors (Luke + others?) know that I am very appreciative of the work which has been done on it and the fact that it was made available to all of us.
29
« on: October 30, 2020, 10:47:46 AM »
I have recently restarted my efforts to build a small battlefield accessory that would present a challenge for the solo RC tanker. I've known about the excellent work that the OPEN PANZER team has been doing but didn't realize that the TankIR project existed until recently. I happened to have stumbled onto the RCTankWarfare forum where LukeZ mentioned the link to the TankIR code. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I am very thankful for all of the hard work the OP team has done, and even more so because of their incredible generosity in making it available to us all. I'm very glad that the OP website exists and hope it remains that way for a long time to come.
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