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"We can't compete with that!" --Steve Jobs('s doppleganger)
"'Zune'? What were we thinking? This is what we need." --Bill Gates('s likely thoughts)
"But needing a power source ruins the point..." --Ohio Art('s worthless opinion)
Tired of conventional portable electronics being too darned portable? Spoiled by the convenience of modern technology? Do capacitive sensors make for too much touch? Can your own Retinas not handle 16 million colors?
Well how about just two?
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Etch-i-Sketch.
What is it, you ask? First I'll explain what it isn't . The Etch-i-Sketch isn't just another Etch-A-Sketch with motors strapped to the knobs or with a resistive touch panel taped to the front (though I will not deny that it sports such features at this juncture).
No, as the lower-case "i" implies, we're making a sleek(?) and modern(?), coherent, portable(?) computer platform based on the Cypress PSoC that just happens to sport an unconventional mechanical display, to compete with established platforms like the iPhone/iPad and Android. I say "we" because the code will soon be opened up to allow users to leverage my API to design their own applications to run on the device!
If you're looking for a flawless and full-featured device, you need not continue (or follow my directions exactly, anyway). If we're following the lead of our competitors that closely, there will be a new, slightly improved version of the hardware out every year or so anyway, so stay tuned for that.
To everyone else... Come on, "early adopters"! Let's get started!
"'Zune'? What were we thinking? This is what we need." --Bill Gates('s likely thoughts)
"But needing a power source ruins the point..." --Ohio Art('s worthless opinion)
Tired of conventional portable electronics being too darned portable? Spoiled by the convenience of modern technology? Do capacitive sensors make for too much touch? Can your own Retinas not handle 16 million colors?
Well how about just two?
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Etch-i-Sketch.
What is it, you ask? First I'll explain what it isn't . The Etch-i-Sketch isn't just another Etch-A-Sketch with motors strapped to the knobs or with a resistive touch panel taped to the front (though I will not deny that it sports such features at this juncture).
No, as the lower-case "i" implies, we're making a sleek(?) and modern(?), coherent, portable(?) computer platform based on the Cypress PSoC that just happens to sport an unconventional mechanical display, to compete with established platforms like the iPhone/iPad and Android. I say "we" because the code will soon be opened up to allow users to leverage my API to design their own applications to run on the device!
If you're looking for a flawless and full-featured device, you need not continue (or follow my directions exactly, anyway). If we're following the lead of our competitors that closely, there will be a new, slightly improved version of the hardware out every year or so anyway, so stay tuned for that.
To everyone else... Come on, "early adopters"! Let's get started!
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Signing UpStep 1Gathering parts
We can't mess with software without hardware, so first we have to physically slap this puppy together. Keep in mind that what you see is cobbled together with things I had around or were available within a week's notice, not necessarily things that are ideal (some things are messy some things are overcomplicated, some things are just plain bad.. like the tiny baby stepper motors without gearing). Use your own judgement when applicable. There are a few hard rules with the way the code is right now (it won't stay that way, I promise), which we'll get to when I describe the code, but besides that, improvisation is encouraged.
Here's a list of the parts I used:
-(1) PSoC CY8C29466-24PXI "PSoC1" microcontroller. This version is a 28-pin DIP package.
-(1) 28-pin DIP socket for said PSoC.
-(3) 25LC1024-I/P 1MBIT EEPROMs. These are 8-pin DIP package SPI EEPROMs. They hold 128 kilobytes each. Currently used for save files.
-(3) 8-pin DIP sockets for the EEPROMs.
-(2) L293D inductive drivers for driving the stepper motors. Each can drive 4 ourputs, so it's one per motor.
-(1) Murata OKI-78SR 5V DC/DC converter. This is a drop-in replacement from a TO-220 regulator, except it's an efficient switching converte. This is used to derive 5V from the higher voltage supplied to the motors for use with the logic gadgets.
-(5 sections) 0.1" pitch male header. This will be used to put a programming header on the board. The PSoC's "MiniProg" programmer uses this sort of form factor.
-(1) HLW4R-2C7LF FFC connector. This four-position, 1mm pitch connector is used to couple the touchscreen's flat flexible cable to some more manageable wires for connection to the PSoC.
-Some decoupling capacitors. I'm using a 10 microfarad at the output of the 5V DC/DC converter and a 0.1 microfarad across the power and ground pins of the PSoC. Don't be like me! All digial logic devices should really have a decoupling capacitor across like this.
-(1) Perfboard for mounting the circuitry on.
-(2) unipolar, 6-wire stepper motors. These were the only ones I had, and the ones the code is set up for right now. They're 48 "ticks" per revolution, and are just coupled directly.. no gearing. Yeah. In order to use the whole length/width of the screen, yours have to be like this too. It might just make more sense to wait for a fix.
-(2) 1 inch to 1/2 inch copper plumbing couplers. These will be used to couple the motors to the knobs of the Etch-A-Sketch since Etch-A-Sketch knobs are about an inch in diameter. The other end billed as "1/2 inch" really has more like a 5/8 inch diameter.
-(2) Clamps capable of closing down to a ~1/2 inch diameter.
-(2) Clams capable of closing down to a ~1 inch diameter.
-(1) Standard Etch-A-Sketch.
-(1) Flat (1/16 inch) strip of aluminum long enough to get two ~8 inch pieces from.
Not specifically pictured:
-(1) 8.4" ELO AT4 4-wire resistive touch panel. The driving/reading process should be about the same for any 4-wire touch panel, but I can't guarantee my code will work with others as it is.
-(1) 5/8 inch wood dowel for the couplings.
-Lots of wire. Different colors help.
-Nuts and bolts.
Optional:
-A beefy battery. All I had was a benchtop power supply.
Other:
Tools abound. It'd be great to have, at least, soldering supplies, a hacksaw, a drill(press), screwdrivers, pliers, and tape.
Here's a list of the parts I used:
-(1) PSoC CY8C29466-24PXI "PSoC1" microcontroller. This version is a 28-pin DIP package.
-(1) 28-pin DIP socket for said PSoC.
-(3) 25LC1024-I/P 1MBIT EEPROMs. These are 8-pin DIP package SPI EEPROMs. They hold 128 kilobytes each. Currently used for save files.
-(3) 8-pin DIP sockets for the EEPROMs.
-(2) L293D inductive drivers for driving the stepper motors. Each can drive 4 ourputs, so it's one per motor.
-(1) Murata OKI-78SR 5V DC/DC converter. This is a drop-in replacement from a TO-220 regulator, except it's an efficient switching converte. This is used to derive 5V from the higher voltage supplied to the motors for use with the logic gadgets.
-(5 sections) 0.1" pitch male header. This will be used to put a programming header on the board. The PSoC's "MiniProg" programmer uses this sort of form factor.
-(1) HLW4R-2C7LF FFC connector. This four-position, 1mm pitch connector is used to couple the touchscreen's flat flexible cable to some more manageable wires for connection to the PSoC.
-Some decoupling capacitors. I'm using a 10 microfarad at the output of the 5V DC/DC converter and a 0.1 microfarad across the power and ground pins of the PSoC. Don't be like me! All digial logic devices should really have a decoupling capacitor across like this.
-(1) Perfboard for mounting the circuitry on.
-(2) unipolar, 6-wire stepper motors. These were the only ones I had, and the ones the code is set up for right now. They're 48 "ticks" per revolution, and are just coupled directly.. no gearing. Yeah. In order to use the whole length/width of the screen, yours have to be like this too. It might just make more sense to wait for a fix.
-(2) 1 inch to 1/2 inch copper plumbing couplers. These will be used to couple the motors to the knobs of the Etch-A-Sketch since Etch-A-Sketch knobs are about an inch in diameter. The other end billed as "1/2 inch" really has more like a 5/8 inch diameter.
-(2) Clamps capable of closing down to a ~1/2 inch diameter.
-(2) Clams capable of closing down to a ~1 inch diameter.
-(1) Standard Etch-A-Sketch.
-(1) Flat (1/16 inch) strip of aluminum long enough to get two ~8 inch pieces from.
Not specifically pictured:
-(1) 8.4" ELO AT4 4-wire resistive touch panel. The driving/reading process should be about the same for any 4-wire touch panel, but I can't guarantee my code will work with others as it is.
-(1) 5/8 inch wood dowel for the couplings.
-Lots of wire. Different colors help.
-Nuts and bolts.
Optional:
-A beefy battery. All I had was a benchtop power supply.
Other:
Tools abound. It'd be great to have, at least, soldering supplies, a hacksaw, a drill(press), screwdrivers, pliers, and tape.
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Jul 6, 2011. 12:17 PMAKluthe
says:
This is amazing! Real winner material -- plus, it doesn't use k'nex.
Reply
32
Jul 5, 2011. 6:42 PM
iminthebathroom
says:
iminthebathroom
says:
Cool, i have thought some one should do this for an instructable!
Reply
Jul 4, 2011. 5:57 PMiedmiston
says:
Great project, I'm excited to see the "APPS." Definitely a contender in the mobile device market. Are you taking pre-orders yet?
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