Author Topic: The BelfryBoy logger has evolved! (Read 6481 times)

belfryboy · « **on:** January 12, 2016, 05:29:24 PM »

This Christmas has been very busy in the workshop, with 30 loggers ordered in the last month, this has taken up a lot of my time and my stock has dwindled rapidly, so I decided to see if the assembly process could be improved.

The main bottleneck has been attaching the USB cable, so this was the obvious place to start, so I have changed the attachment method to use a solderless connector.

I have also found obtaining the FTDI USB to serial chip problematic, so have changed that as well.

One final improvement has been the addition of a small handle to make logger removal easier.

The first boards have arrived and been successfully tested and are now on their way to two lucky weather enthusiasts.

Thanks everyone for your continued patience if you have ordered one, they will be on the way in the next week.

Below are a few photos of the Mk 2.3 Belfryboy logger, comments welcome.

belfryboy · « **Reply #1 on:** January 12, 2016, 05:31:10 PM »

Here's another picture showing the whole cable assembly

torkelmj · « **Reply #2 on:** January 12, 2016, 05:59:06 PM »

Very neat.

Interesting to hear about your sales figures for the last month. I've also noticed an increased interest in the simple ATTiny "unlocking controllers". Not quite in the same league, but they do the trick for unlocking the serial line. Anyway, I'm pleased to see that a growing number of users are eager to access data from the consoles and get the most out of their fine devices.

Bushman · « **Reply #3 on:** January 12, 2016, 06:01:13 PM »

Is there any reason you could not put a female USB jack on the logger board? Then the user could select whatever cable length they desired.

CW2274 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 12, 2016, 06:08:41 PM »

Quote from: Bushman on January 12, 2016, 06:01:13 PM

Is there any reason you could not put a female USB jack on the logger board? Then the user could select whatever cable length they desired.

In case you or others may be unaware, (doubt it) a USB cable is good for only about 16'.

belfryboy · « **Reply #5 on:** January 12, 2016, 06:16:09 PM »

Quote from: Bushman on January 12, 2016, 06:01:13 PM

Is there any reason you could not put a female USB jack on the logger board? T

It's quite tricky to get a suitable connector that doesn't cause the cable to sit at an odd angle when fitted. A short drop cable (similar to the Davis logger) may be the answer.

Quote from: CW2274 on January 12, 2016, 06:08:41 PM

In case you or others may be unaware, (doubt it) a USB cable is good for only about 16'.

Good point, I have made these with 3 metres of cable, and that's about as long as I'm willing to make them. 1.5 metres seems to be the preferred length though.

Bushman · « **Reply #6 on:** January 12, 2016, 10:17:08 PM »

Something like this? http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Swivel-Rotation-360-Degree-USB-2-0-A-Male-to-Female-Jack-Connector-Adapter-Cable-/281871190662?hash=item41a0d50a86:g:l6EAAOSwxN5WW~yE

belfryboy · « **Reply #7 on:** January 13, 2016, 03:03:26 AM »

I'm fairly certain that would be too large to fit in the expansion slot.

Bushman · « **Reply #8 on:** January 13, 2016, 09:47:38 AM »

Quote from: belfryboy on January 13, 2016, 03:03:26 AM

I'm fairly certain that would be too large to fit in the expansion slot.

You are probably right - that was just an idea. What is needed is NO CORD at all! Maybe a nice BT or wifi add-on?

kobuki · « **Reply #9 on:** January 13, 2016, 10:55:55 AM »

What chip are you using now instead of FTDI?

Do you still apply that epoxy layer? What purpose does it serve? IP protection or moisture protection, maybe? I guess if you leave it out, it should still function perfectly and also save a lot of time...

belfryboy · « **Reply #10 on:** January 13, 2016, 11:08:40 AM »

I'm now using the FT231XS, it has a smaller footprint, and is easier to get hold of.

I still apply the epoxy, it is a 5 minute rapid cure self leveling epoxy, I still apply it to provide protection to the exposed electronics.

txweather.org · « **Reply #11 on:** January 13, 2016, 12:02:35 PM »

Quote from: belfryboy on January 13, 2016, 11:08:40 AM

I'm now using the FT231XS, it has a smaller footprint, and is easier to get hold of.

I still apply the epoxy, it is a 5 minute rapid cure self leveling epoxy, I still apply it to provide protection to the exposed electronics.

Protection is good!

belfryboy · « **Reply #12 on:** January 15, 2016, 04:27:49 AM »

Here are the last of the 2.1 boards being built,

with a 2.3 board to the right hand side.

docbee · « **Reply #13 on:** January 16, 2016, 02:14:07 PM »

Quote from: belfryboy on January 13, 2016, 11:08:40 AM

I'm now using the FT231XS, it has a smaller footprint, and is easier to get hold of.

Hopefully this will not need new drivers for my software. I was totally happy with the FT232RLs which I also use in my own products.

kobuki · « **Reply #14 on:** January 16, 2016, 03:18:52 PM »

Cheaper part, same driver...

belfryboy · « **Reply #15 on:** January 16, 2016, 03:24:49 PM »

Quote from: kobuki on January 16, 2016, 03:18:52 PM

Cheaper part, same driver...

I beleive that's correct, same driver so it shouldn't be a problem.

docbee · « **Reply #16 on:** January 16, 2016, 05:26:10 PM »

Quote from: belfryboy on January 16, 2016, 03:24:49 PM

Quote from: kobuki on January 16, 2016, 03:18:52 PM
Cheaper part, same driver...

I beleive that's correct, same driver so it shouldn't be a problem.

Same driver is fine, but same USB product ID (or one also included into a bit aged embedded drivers) would be much better... or no change at all.

BelfryBoy, could you please post USB product ID, so that I can check with drivers used here?

belfryboy · « **Reply #17 on:** January 16, 2016, 05:42:04 PM »

No worries, the ft231X datasheet shows the PID as 6015

docbee · « **Reply #18 on:** January 16, 2016, 05:59:33 PM »

Thanks, I looked into the kernel modules sources of my products and PID 6015 is supported. So Meteobridge will be fine. $\:D/$

belfryboy · « **Reply #19 on:** January 19, 2016, 05:29:04 PM »

Today I had a major upset in the build of this last batch of V2.1 loggers. My usual (reputable) supplier of FT232RL chips was out of stock, so I found a supplier on eBay. Unfortunately the chips were counterfeit.

They looked almost identical, but when plugged into my laptop they reprogrammed themselves, and became non functional.

It was in the end relatively trivial to edit the driver to function with these loggers, but I'm not willing to ship counterfeit goods to paying customers. This combined with a house move this weekend has severely impacted on my ability to supply all the orders that I received over Christmas.

Normal service should be resumed in the next week once the new workshop is up and running.

kobuki · « **Reply #20 on:** January 19, 2016, 05:36:46 PM »

They're easy to tell apart. The FTDI logo is laser-etched on the originals, and it shows on good photos as well. If the supplier is not intentionally selling you counterfeits (and possibly kept in the dark about it too), he can be asked to check it for you...

But 2 things. There exists a tool that resets the USB ID to the factory value. I used it on my adapters last year. I can dig it up for you should you need it. No need to hack the driver ini or whatever. The other thing is... you should update your FTDI drivers, since newer ones don't disable the counterfeit chips any more. It has become quite a scandal when news broke of it in the wild so they eventually backed out.

Man, what a mess!

belfryboy · « **Reply #21 on:** January 19, 2016, 05:41:56 PM »

I'm well aware of ftdi gate, and have ftprog, which I used to switch the PID back. I'm still not keen on shipping hooky gear though.

txweather.org · « **Reply #22 on:** January 19, 2016, 09:19:01 PM »

Quote from: belfryboy on January 19, 2016, 05:41:56 PM

I'm well aware of ftdi gate, and have ftprog, which I used to switch the PID back. I'm still not keen on shipping hooky gear though.

Good call. Don't risk it.

kobuki · « **Reply #23 on:** January 20, 2016, 04:42:27 AM »

Yeah, I didn't mean to suggest that either, just that the wonky chips can be made working again with a simple tool. Maybe for other projects, since apart from being counterfeit ones, they appear to work just fine...

McCavity · « **Reply #24 on:** January 22, 2016, 06:00:00 AM »

First of all, thanks for the logger, I'm absolutely happy with it! I suspected there might be a little congestion around the holidays so I didn't worry

Three small things to mention, though:

I'm no electrical expert but when I first tried the logger, I attached it to my notebook. After a while I moved the VP2 console which the other end is attached to and in the same instant my notebook crashed (kernel panic). I suspect there might have been a short circuit on the USB line although I can't prove it - didn't happen again, yet so I don't complain. One reason why it didn't happen again yet might be #2.
When inserted in a Vantage Pro 2 Console, the Logger sits near the bottom edge of the device. The USB cable is again at the bottom side of the logger and from there it goes directly through the gap of the battery compartment with no strain relief whatsoever - I think a strain relief might even be difficult to fit considering the small amount of space in the logger compartment. My solution was to carefully bend the cable upwards left inside the compartment, wind it around the handle (which I'll mention again in #3.), attach it to the handle with a piece of lacing cord and only then lead it through the gap - see attachment #1.
The handle is a really great idea! It makes insertion easy and it doubles as a strain relief in my case - however for the Vantage Pro 2 compartment it's a mm or so too long - the battery compartment lid does not shut tight with the logger inserted (see attachment #2.). This is independent from the lace cord; I noticed the small gap immediately when I first inserted the logger. However, as the notches still snap in (with a little force applied) that's not really a problem, I just wanted to mention it.

Again, I'm very happy with the logger and it works perfectly so I can only recommend it.

Best regards,
Henning

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Author Topic: The BelfryBoy logger has evolved! (Read 6481 times)