Author Archives: kevin

NOOBS distribution now supported in AlaMode Setup

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When the NOOBs method of creating an SD card for Raspberry Pi came out, we began to get reports that the AlaMode setup caused the Pi to crash (kernal panic, etc.)

At the time, I didn’t have time to look at it and just recommended sticking to the pure Raspbian image.

AlaMode setup now works for NOOBS as well as Raspbian. Updated links, and instructions are on the getting started page  You can grab the updated setup bundle at:
http://git.io/alamode-setup

Note that this script references install locations for the Arduino IDE that have only been verified for the Raspbian distro. NOOBS allows you to install other distros, but this will probably only work for the raspbian option (tested) and the other raspbian variants (such as scratch).

The problem was in turning off the console output to the serial port (used for programming AlaMode) we overwrote the cmdline.txt which controls booting. Because NOOBS isn’t a pure linux image, the partitioning of the SD card is different, and the referenced device for where the linux Kernel lives was incorrect (it was correct for pure Raspbian).

If you’re curious, this was fixed by using sed (stream editor) to remove the console references, leaving partitioning references intact.

CNC AlaMode!

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AlaMode is in stock and shipping now from Makershed ,SeeedStudios and ABRA Electronics

I’m a maker, and as a maker, I love tools. As a computer geek, I’ve long been interested in computer controlled tools. When Riley Porter of Synthetos suggested using AlaMode to control a CNC router from a Raspberry Pi, I was thrilled!

Riley and Alden Hart of Synthetos.com have been developing controllers for DIY CNC machines, and they make the controller for the Shapeoko, the lowest cost DIY CNC router around. They sent me the grblShield that is normally shipped with an Arduino in the complete Shapeoko kit.

I ordered the mechanical kit from Inventables.com, and then picked up stepper motors and a power supply from some surplus outlets.

This is of the simplest and most rewarding applications of AlaMode. People often dedicate an old computer to their CNC routers, but being in a dusty environment, it can be hard to keep everything running well. By stacking the credit card sized AlaMode, the Raspberry Pi and the GRBL shield, you get a wonderful networked platform for CNC that can be neatly boxed (though I haven’t gone that far yet!)

After assembling the Shapeoko, and wiring the motors to the grblShield, you’ll need to program GRBL onto AlaMode. Download the GRBL  optimized for GRBLShield, and assuming you’ve set up Raspberry Pi with the AlaMode version of Arduino, you can program it directly from the command line:

[code]avrdude -c alamode -b 115200 -P /dev/ttyS0 -p m328p -U flash:w:grbl-Shapeoko.hex[/code]

In the next post, I’ll talk about sending jobs to the AlaMode Shapeoko, including over the network!

 

AlaMode: Web Controlled Train Example

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Update!: You can now buy AlaMode at Seeedstudios

Here’s an example of using the AlaMode with the Raspberry Pi.

We had a great time demoing the AlaMode at MakerFaire. We got invited to demo in the MakerShed, because …. Surprise! MakerShed is going to carry AlaMode!

For this demo,  I took an adafruit motorshield and used it to modulate the power to a 9V Lego train track.

Photo by Brian Kronz

The Arduino code is pretty simple, using Serial.read to interpret single characters as commands for controlling the motor shield. “f” means forward, “b” means back, “s” means stop. 1-9 sets the speed.  You’ll also need to install the AFMotor  library.

Program the aalegotrain.ino sketch from here: https://github.com/wyolum/alamode/tree/master/examples/train_demo

You can either do this with an FTDI cable on another computer, or directly with the Arduino IDE on the Raspberry Pi.

The ala-modey part of this is to use the AlaMode to do the controlling motor bit. The Raspberry Pi will control the train through a web interface.

Install  lighttpd on the Pi (sudo apt-get install lighttpd) and put the web files from the example into /var/www.

photo by Drew Fustini

It’s a little slow because it’s a simple CGI script (spins up a whole process with each request.) A python script interprets button presses on the web page, and uses pyserial to send the characters to AlaMode.

Drew Fustini of Element 14 did a great blog post on our demo.

Here’s a video he posted:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?fv=y-9g_mfdFhc[/youtube]

If you have any questions, join the conversation at the Wyolum forums.