All-Purpose Debugging: A Practical Universal Screen with LCD Displays
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- čas přidán 25. 07. 2024
- As a maker, sometimes a tool that you need isn't available, not yet acquired due to cost, or simply doesn't exist commercially. Clem frequently encounters such challenges, particularly in projects involving various forms of serial communication. While plugging a project into a PC during software development is common, it underutilizes the PC's capabilities and is inconvenient for Clem's soldering workbench setup.
And so Clem’s "00Screen" project emerges as a solution! It provides a portable display for quick serial checks during hardware debugging, addressing challenges like misbehaving Wi-Fi projects and brownouts during boot.
Discuss the episode, see bonus content, and ask Clem questions on the element14 Community! bit.ly/414nyaZ
Clem's handheld BASIC computer in badge format: bit.ly/3O2nhzf
Engage with the element14 presents team on the element14 Community - suggest builds, find project files, and see behind the scenes video: bit.ly/3tmdewv
Visit the element14 Community for more great activities and free hardware: bit.ly/3q6YMpu
Tech Spotlights: bit.ly/3qPrDhM
RoadTest and Reviews: bit.ly/3pV5Bux
Project14: bit.ly/31wbnJY
#0:00 Welcome to element14 presents
#0:20 Overview
#4:03 The PCB
#7:44 The Code
#11:16 Functionality
#14:42 Give Your Feedback
#debugging #debugger #pcbdesign #pcbdesigning #uart #lcddisplay - Věda a technologie
No functional laptops were harmed in the making of this motion picture.
I appreciate how Clem always uses open source software for his projects.
that laptop was already trashpicked by myself in 2016 and revived with linux until its final demise a few years back, I used it as a prop in some videos. but even now I stil lsalvaged usable bits before recycling the remains.
Good work, sir. Well done. I can't even think of how many times I've needed something like this.
Well fear no more!
is nobody going to point out that I did not remove the screen protection film...i thought that would freak people out.
Lmao, i was really relieved when you left the protective film tbh. I like my screens protected...😂
I always try to leave mine on to act a a cheep screen protector.
what animal would remove the screen protection film. It's there to protect!
So a guy has a hammer in his hand and walks up to a window and the window says if you break me, you’ll have 3 years of bad luck. So the man turns around see a mirror and the mirror says if you break me, you’ll have seven years of bad luck. Then the man hears a laugh behind him and on the table, the condom jumps down and walks away and while he’s walking away, he says that’s nothing.
Idk why your comment reminded me of this joke 😂🤣😂
@@DavedarkoSome of the ones I have encountered over the years were really bad quality, making the screen either darker than it should be, more blurry, sometimes both. That's why I always remove screen protector from cheap LCDs and replace it with something that I know is of good quality.
6:59 Ooooh I like the “source selector!”
That tease at the end is the best.
it just has a little bug once you got a message you need to reboot to change again. so the software needs abit more work.
@@MAYERMAKES Software is boring. It's just 1s and 0s. The cool part is you added the button for it! :)
Back in the days of the original XBox, I had a modified shell and Xecuter 3 chip installed. It came with a LCD panel very similar to this. Had four buttons that could be programmed for system functions. Could also display a litany of geeky info.
I've been wanting something like this for a current project. It looks like your creation is it! Great work. 🙏
Thanks, 😂
very nice useful project Clem...
just a few nitpicks:
👉you can use a "switch - case" instead of your "if else" statements (though as you pointed out, it would indeed be better to have the options as an array then use a loop to check to see which one was selected ~or even get fancy by creating an array of functions 🤓so no conditional statements needed);
👉you can change your "readUSB()" function to accept parameters (like the "baud" & "protocol") with default values so you don't have two functions that have practically the same code (🤓this also allows you to change the baud rate to whatever you like with your keyboard for even more flexibility)
👋cheers & looking forward to your next project!
Yes, these are very reasonable changes, i cant sink much time into code, but if I could thst would be the way to do!
Great project. Other people drop microphones; Clem drops lap tops. :)
someones gotta do it.
@@MAYERMAKES I laughed way too hard at the second drop. 😄
Love this little display!
thanks!
Great presentation!
Thank you
Yesterday I debugged a whole project that controls a machine with several threads, DMA, and a communication protocol. At some point the microcontroller simply stopped responding. What did I use for this? One LED! But, of course, you need the ability to change the code and flash the microcontroller.
*B.t.w. you have like 5 times more space in your workshop than I have, but I still have place for a computer because it's as much the instrument as, say, soldering iron or oscilloscope or PSU. Very important and powerful tool.
**But eventually I like your idea. It's useful to have something compact that can read many different protocols and display data in convenience form.
its mostly about the conveneince to have it when I need it and to be ready in a second. the reflashing is only needed if you want t oadd something new, all modes can be accessed via the buttons.
my workshop is a lot smaller than people think, I use a lot of camera postiioning tricks to make it look much bigger. its a bit under 4x5meters total, so with al lthe furniture/shelves there are less than 3 meters side to side. while I film i usually stand inbetween tools and boxes and need to move them all for the next shot. its cozy...and very full, but I really need al lthat stuff.
I have been pondering the same thing for too long now, I’ll have to make one if I ever finish the projects in the pipeline.
go for it and show it!
Remind me to never lend Clem my laptop! 😧😆
I get mine from the trash, thats cheaper than borrowing.
I haven’t watched the video yet, why? Also, Clem won’t tell me when he is done with mine.
Its a very useful project. Good job for such idea.❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thank you
Thank you for making videos. Please don't stop making informative videos like this. I really like your work. And yes I am an electronics engineer
won´t stop anytime soon!
I need one of those to debug writing debug messages to one of those 😅
exactly every household needs at least two of those and also order soem for your freinds and family!
I just need to buy this thing! I need a stand alone serial sniffer for monitoring a PLC talking to a serial device - these are Always trouble.
Since that request came a few time, i might make a commercial version.
@@MAYERMAKESIn my case I need good old 3 wire serial,
For people that don't want to make a custom PCB, could this project not be done with one of the ESP32 modules that have an integral OLED display?
Yes you could do that. Just need to adapt the code. My main requremrnt was legibility of the screen and i love the big lcd for that purpase but various mcu/screen combos are possible
Heyo
I've noticed the procedure/function in your Arduino IDE have the ability to roll them up. How do you do it in Arduino IDE 2.x ?
Still works, just hover in the row inbetween line number and code, the arrow does the same thing.
I put together something similar with an ESP8266 that outputs to either a 1602 or 2004 LCD with data received via i2c or WiFi.
Nice!
Very nice! I like that you can get it to buzz , say when you let it run and are waiting for some condition. About the driver: why does it interleave or use multiple virtual LCDs for bigger units? Is it a speed thing, is the protocol so old there aren't enough bits somewhere or something else? Also: I knew it was a gag but everytime that laptop crashed, it hurt. hah!
Thats the exact purplse of the buzzer! I think the interleaving is a consequence of the hd44780 standard, which keeps all the displays compatible and working even if you would mount a 40x4 instead of a 16x2
Hd 44780 originally was meant for an 8bit bus on a microcomputer
can anyone provide the link to his pcb manufacturer as I wanted to give them a try but am unable to find them online
the pcbs were made by Aisler
I would have killed for this a few years back when i was working in a server lab and neck-deep in saucy servers. Unfortunately, we had no budget. Fortunately, we had a surplus blackberry, so I slapped on a terminal program and added a serial dongle. Such overkill, and it was slow to boot, but it did the trick.
i think you understand why I wanted to build this! it is asimple as whipping out a multimeter and switch it on...like a dmm for data
I would've liked to see it in action, helping you debug an actual project
I'm pretty sure you will see it used in future projects.
Loved the video, sadly it reminded me of the new long adafruit displays and I made a 100 Euro order after midnight 😬
Influencers gonna influence your wallet😅
"Martin Router King" is a pretty good router name...but not as good as "Router McRouterface" like mine! Hahaha. I'm also quite fond of, "Your Mom" as an ssid handle...
I could help you make the code more dynamic with use if variables if you want to instead of hard coding baud rate for example. Do you want me to-do that?
the code is open source as always, got to the link below the video there you can download fork it and repurpose it as you want. I want you to have fun.
@@MAYERMAKES well I have no real use of the code or project personally to be honest, I just was asking as I'm capable to-do that easy stuff you was talking about, as it will go pretty fast to-do and maybe you wanted it to make it more dynamic and even contain less code as it would not contain unnecessary repeats
@@Dynamit008”to-do” isn’t a fixed phrase that needs hyphenation, it’s just two words: “I need to do this”, the same as “I need to read this”, etc. The sole exception is in the phrase “to-do list”, because it’s not acting as a verb there.
@@tookitogo sorry that I'm not using the words 100% right, but the most important part is that people understand, but thank you for declaring that to me.
To be honest, with a uC this powerful, all possibilities should be runtime configurable in a menu instead of having to recompile the source if requirements change. Other than that, I love the idea as well as it's execution, of course! :)
oh yes, thats for sure doable, just takes someone to put in the time into the code! I just have avery tight schedule so I get stuff working and making it pretty is less important. but yeah thats how it should be!
I'd buy one.
i´d sell one
@@MAYERMAKES How much?
@@skrame01 I'll most likely make an episode about the development ,and we all find out together😂
Such a useful little gadget, I often have the same issue with computer and electronics being separate.
Poor little laptop, I did laugh rather too hard when it was dropped for the nth time.
thx
Should have SPI and I 2C, as well, very common memory and I/O interfaces for anything with Raspberry π or Arduino, ST Morpho...
A frequentt request also did put it in a text insert onm screen.. its jsut amatter of code. ad wathever you want. the beauty of open source!
I2C/SPI displays already exist.
@@tookitogothere is a key difference: a normal spi/i2c display needs its specific commands to show anything. This device could didplay the exact signals(ususlly hexcodes) that are meant for a totally different device, to check if they are sent right.
@@MAYERMAKES I know. And that’s exactly what I meant exists. For example the SPIdriver and I2Cdriver from Excamera.
I2c and spi are nice protocol.
yeah those would be good additions! how often have I wondered why an i2c device would not respond just to encounter the adress is actually sent wrong.
I am beguuiner and use ic2 with arduino. iwant to interface to test piano syn lcd display signal. I dont fully understand all of your device use here. i like it
@@MAYERMAKES
14:24 - LOL
thanks.
Sounds like you just need to buy a handheld data logger or logic analyzer?
Nah, diy is always better for me, does exactly what i want and i have fun in the process.
It it a requirement by element 14 to use the Heckingdorm acting style?
There is no acting. 😅
back when the format changed, we were forbidden to do that by the audience 😬
Sounds like you need a flipper zero. The GPIO allows you to connect anything. And you can make your own apps for whatever you need.
The flipper is quite a different beast😂
Indeed I just got one for my toolkit. So far I’ve made an FM radio app.
why to add mosfet in the circuit????
if you mean the mosfet before the Buzzer, that is because the buzzer can draw more current than the mcu pin can safely provide. if you mean the two mosfets at the battery , these activeat or cutoff connections when the lithium polymer cell gets overcharged/overdischarged
GPIOs typically don't have great current sourcing capacity. The FET die can handle a lot more current for the backlight. Basically, it offloads the current from the micro.
Time to call louis rossmann to check out that laptop.
😂
It will be determined to be DOA, so need to call Louis :)
Remind me , not to lend you my Laptop.
oh come on....
🤔I generally like using my smartphone for stuff like that - cause that's the only thing I carry around - so I guess I'd need a usb-c to uart bridge , but the rest should already be onboard
not really, if your project does not conform to the standards your phone recognizes it wont accept the dat or tend to convert it on receiving, unless you code a custom app that does display it raw and allows to decode other stuff that is not USB like true UART , I2c SPI etc. also I hate how long it takes to unlock the phone start an app etc. while a dediacted device is ready in 2 seconds.
If you were really good at programming, you wouldn't use a number for sources. You'd initialize source methods into an array of function pointers in the code, terminated by a NULL, then at runtime it would know how many by walking that array until reaching the NULL. This is fewer things that need to be updated in the future, which is fewer areas to make a mistake, which is fewer bugs.
IF the point is IF I would be a good programmer😂
I just wonder: What's a Liquid Crystal Display Display?
its a display so liquid even the crystals are displaying displays
@@MAYERMAKES Oh good, I was afraid it might be a display displaying a liquid crystal display...
@@imagiro1 of course not , that would be silly.
you do realize that "LCD display" is a pleonasm, right?
i would even say liqudid crystal lcd displays.
@@MAYERMAKES indeed. may english RIP in peace!
What is with you Arduino programmers that you can't keep your bracket indentations under control?
we have brackets, we don't need no indentation. Plus arduino ide puts them in wild spot some times..
If it aint broke dont fix it😅
What kind of nonsense claim is this? Automatic indentation is done by the text editor - and the Arduino IDE is just one of many text editors used by “Arduino programmers”. If you indent manually, you’ll likely end up fighting your editor’s settings. Not to mention that there is no consensus on “correct” indentation and line break placement. There’s a reason most text editors for coding let you configure the bracket rules.
Why not just use a Logic Analyzer?
Because that involves csbles, setup time, pc or standalone snalyzer...settings etc.
This display is more like a DMM just take it plug in , done.
I am sincerely curious how you think a simple UART-based screen is, in any way, similar to using a Logic Analyzer.
management "we have half a million lcd displays in stock, and everyone wants tft displays nowadays"
marketing "ok, lets make a video"
It is literally me wanting to build a thing that decides what I build. 😂
U must really hate that laptop thingy
nah, i gave it one last purpose before recycling. I picked it from the trash years ago used it until it broke running xubuntu then it served as a prop on various occassions.
The laptop drops were super annoying.
my laptop would agree
please use your phone's browser as a terminal, no need for more keyboards or displays,
I cant read a thing on a phone,the LCD is miles betterin any way. also a phone wants propper USB communcation implemented or wont accept the data, it is as impractical as a laptop for this purpose.
1 minute in, oscilloscope is what you need buddy. ..
Nope its not. I need to see the message not a signal trace.
Can't you get used to calling them LCD screens rather than LCD displays? Or just say LCDs or LC displays.
hmmm. no probably not
In English, we just don’t break up acronyms like that, so we never, ever say “LC display”, “ISB number”, or “PI number”. Nonnative speakers of English may do that because their own languages (e.g. German) do it. But in English we don’t. You’ll just have to accept that this is how we do it.
And if we’re going to be pedantic, “LCD screen” is just as redundant as “LCD display”. Which is to say, only sorta redundant, in that logically, it means “I am using an LCD as my display”.
@@tookitogo You're absolutely right, of course. I was simply trying to highlight the silliness of LCD displays by providing more obviously silly alternatives (although, thinking about it, LCDs is actually the right answer - I now have a bullet hole in my foot). PIN number, ATM machine, PCB board, VIN number etc, are guaranteed to bring out the worst in me.
@@pintokitkat Well the thing is, I’ve seen German companies write “LC display”, for example, not realizing it’s just not correct in English. So you might think it’s “obviously silly” but some German-speakers rather condescendingly insist on applying those German rules to English in earnest.
Years ago I worked as a translator at a software company in Switzerland whose principal product designer was German, and the “ISB Number” thing was a huge, nasty debate. He simply refused to accept that a) in English, “ISB number” is not a phrase that is _ever_ used by native speakers, and b) that breaking off “number” violates the internal semantic tree of the term, which is “international+(standard+(book+number))”, because there is no such thing as an “international standard book”.
You look a bit like me.
Sheldon set the wifi password lol
Finally someone saw it. btw. i hide things like thatt in almost every project, for years.