Electronic experts - BLUETOOTH

[woodygb]

About 30 feet with nothing in the way.

[Burgerman]

Works fine with chair in next room, PC in another one, with brick walls. But not 3 rooms away.

[snaker]

I have added the live graphs feature to the app.

Video demo:
https://youtu.be/Ds6_sl4Ei6g

[expresso]

thats great work Snaker

[Scooterman]

Wow I want one!!! Would it work on iPhone? I'm guessing probably not

[snaker]

I write it in Xamarin. Basically, it can be built and deployed for all platforms Android/iOS/Windows. But for iOS I have to:
- Pay $100/year to deploy the app on App Store.
- Pay about $1.500 for a modest MAC laptop/PC to build the app.
- Pay about $500 for a modest iPhone to test the app.

It is an insane cost. Comparing to Google Play or Windows Store, a developer just has to pay $20, once for lifetime. Apple is really playing dirty, they are cheating both customers and developers. Personally, I do not find anything good in them.

[Irving]

I write it in Xamarin. Basically, it can be built and deployed for all platforms Android/iOS/Windows. But for iOS I have to:
- Pay $100/year to deploy the app on App Store.
- Pay about $1.500 for a modest MAC laptop/PC to build the app.
- Pay about $500 for a modest iPhone to test the app.

It is an insane cost. Comparing to Google Play or Windows Store, a developer just has to pay $20, once for lifetime. Apple is really playing dirty, they are cheating both customers and developers. Personally, I do not find anything good in them.

And that's assuming Apple let you deploy it. A mate of mine was refused because Apple deemed it was "infringing copyright" even though both apps were based on the same open-source core and the other party hadn't raised an issue. But Apple's decision was final and irrevocable apparently... and he hasn't the funds to get a lawyer onto it.

Basically for a small developer Apple sucks.

Kudos Snaker, once again you amaze me given your situation!

Xamarin looks interesting, I'll have to go and play...

[snaker]

Yes, Xamarin had been extremely expensive ($2.000/1 developer/1 year?). It was acquired by MS some years ago. It is now a part of Visual Studio. Both Xamarin and Visual Studio are free for sole developers and small companies.

[Irving]

Yes, Xamarin had been extremely expensive ($2.000/1 developer/1 year?). It was acquired by MS some years ago. It is now a part of Visual Studio. Both Xamarin and Visual Studio are free for sole developers and small companies.

Yes it looked expensive from PluralSight but then I realised its free with the personal edition of Visual Studio so I edited my post!

Where did you get the CCS source code?

[snaker]

What does "CCS" mean? My limited English

[Irving]

What does "CCS" mean? My limited English

The Revolectrix Charge Control Software...

[snaker]

I used ILSpy to decompile the PL8 software to source code. If you read its source code, you would have to laugh. It does not help much.

I mainly followed this doc
http://www.revolectrix.com/support_docs/item_1374.pdf
I also referred this library
https://github.com/coryrc/battery-cycler

[Irving]

I used ILSpy to decompile the PL8 software to source code. If you read its source code, you would have to laugh. It does not help much.

I mainly followed this doc
http://www.revolectrix.com/support_docs/item_1374.pdf
I also referred this library
https://github.com/coryrc/battery-cycler

Ah, I did wonder. Can you share the decompiled code with me?

[Scooterman]

The trouble is with Apple is they're crafty. Once you have one apple device their ecosystem sort of ties you in cos it's all interconnected and if you have one device, it makes life easier if all your devices are apple. At least if you're gullible like me and get seduced by the shiny high street Apple Store

[Burgerman]

I find that everything you actually tried to do with apple, is a nighmare or impossible. And if it IS posible they try and make you do it their way. Which is usually a massive hedache, with no simple obious solution.

Take that file thing. All I wanted to do was copy an MP3 file. I gave op on it after around 4 hours. After leaving my desktop and laptop infested with around 900MB of repeated and ever more confusing apple junk that wanted to connect to the web, phone home, update, and start itself automatically, and to sinc with stuff, including lists, libraries, permissions, licences, and christ knows what else. Now I have to try and properly remove all that intertwined crap from my PC and Laptop.

And they STILL have not figured out that a mouse has 2 buttons. So no right clicks and no menu's of options, properties or other ways to do stuff. You have to keep going in circles till you figure out theres no way to do the obvious.

EVERY other device, phone, PC or hard disk, memory stick and operating system, it simply lets you see the file system. And devices are extra disks. So you can copy and past, or drag and drop, or or cut and paste, or see BOTH the file and where it is and where you wish to put it. It literally takes 1 second and is obvious. Not apple.

And its not just this, its EVERYTHING you try to do. You can stick anything Apple where the sun does not shine for me. Its useless. Not only that it cant actually run anything I need it to do! Unless you also run windows! So whats the point of it? Useless doesent begin to describe it. And for this you get to pay apples stupid premium prices for often badly made hardware and dubious repair and maintainance. And people will sleep outside the showroom at launch for that !!!

[snaker]

This BlueTooth conversion is very helpful and it is very reliable. I no longer use the usb cable for long time. I no longer use the PL8 software neither, I use the phone to charge and monitor the pack. Why does nobody do it? As I know there are only 2 PL8BT, mine and BMs?

As an experiment, you only need to buy following components for less than $10 totally. And it will 100% work. After successfully experimenting, you can implement it either external or internal. Although BM said both are the same easy but that is because he is a professional and he did the same things a thousand times. We are almost amateurs and we do it the first time. External is absolutely much easier, safer. You can make it in a half hour. After you successfully make it external, you always can move ahead to make it internal.

HC-06 bluetooth module: $2.5-$3.5
https://icdayroi.com/module-thu-phat-bluetooth-hc-06

A breadboard: $0.75 -$1.75
https://icdayroi.com/de-test-board-brea ... 2-loai-tot

A bag of male-female jumper cables: $1
https://icdayroi.com/day-bus-day-be-duc-cai-30cm-soi

A power module and a male-male usb cable: $1
https://icdayroi.com/mach-nguon-cho-testboard-5v-3-3v

A 5V source like a powerbank or an adapter: you might already have.

UART usb cable: $4. You use it to program HC-06 for renaming and changing password. If the seller could help to name and set password for HC-06 before shipping, you do not need this cable.
https://icdayroi.com/cap-chuyen-usb-uart-ft232rl

[expresso]

i wouldnt mind it external at least for the first time - those links are not in English so hard to order from there

if someone else who knows the parts needed can post the links in English - that would be helpful to me and am sure others also

thanks

[ex-Gooserider]

Any chance of recompiling to make it run under Linux?

If you aren't set up to do this, can you share the source so I can see if I can get some of my programming expert friends to take a shot at it?

ex-Gooserider

I used ILSpy to decompile the PL8 software to source code. If you read its source code, you would have to laugh. It does not help much.

I mainly followed this doc
http://www.revolectrix.com/support_docs/item_1374.pdf
I also referred this library
https://github.com/coryrc/battery-cycler

[snaker]

Sorry, I cannot publish the source. It is just a simple phone app and designed to work like a TV remote. There is no way to convert it to linux. If someone is good in linux, he can write this app for linux in a week just by reading the doc, no need to refer any source code.

The library in the github link above can run as a linux app. But I believe nobody needs it.

[Burgerman]

My "BT inside" one is in the kitchen right now. Charging a BM2 chair thats stored. I am on my bed. Its invaluable. But not on a "smart" (stupid) phone! On my laptop. Its a good link even 2 walls away. As you say snaker, its as reliable or more reliable than the USB and wires. And just easier.

[stevelawiw]

I'm having trouble getting mine to work.
I've got my modded BT boards from Woody (thanks Woody), and I also bought 2 UBEC from Hobbyking. It will pair with my laptop powered with the UBEC and plugged into the back of the PL8, but will not form a reliable connection to the PL8 software.
I've ordered some ferrite ring and some servo extention leads, the leads came today so I tried it without the UBEC and connected up a receiver battery instead, it made no difference
What should I try next please?

[Burgerman]

Did you disable (not delete) the unused com port that it creates?
Are you using a quality BT module on the laptop or PC? And have "allow the PC to use power saving" or whatever its called disabled in the properties tab in device damager?
Do you have the correct baud rate set?

I had a similar issue. Installed a low drop diode in plce of the simple silicone signal diode, added a couple of .1 caps, and a larger electrolytic to the module power input as its a noisy supply, as well as ferrite rings. And connected it via all 3 of the external pins on a servo lead. And left the BT module inside wrapped in heatshrink. Its been perfect ever since. Not sure which thing(S) fixed it...

[woodygb]

Did you disable (not delete) the unused com port that it creates?
Are you using a quality BT module on the laptop or PC? And have "allow the PC to use power saving" or whatever its called disabled in the properties tab in device damager?
Do you have the correct baud rate set?

I had a similar issue. Installed a low drop diode in plce of the simple silicone signal diode, added a couple of .1 caps, and a larger electrolytic to the module power input as its a noisy supply, as well as ferrite rings. And connected it via all 3 of the external pins on a servo lead. And left the BT module inside wrapped in heatshrink. Its been perfect ever since. Not sure which thing(S) fixed it...

It has a schottky diode ...

[stevelawiw]

Works!
On my laptop, still drops out on Snakers app so I'll wait for the ferrite rings to arrive and fit one of those (I went back to the UBEC for power)
Because I had problems on both input devices I changed something at the PL8 end, I made it so that the UBEC is powering both the BT board and the 3 pin plug in the back of the PL8 whereas before the UBEC was only powering the BT board.
Thanks for the checklist Burgerman!
It's all outside the pl8 currently so tomorrow i'll make it all neat and fit it inside.

[snaker]

still drops out on Snakers app

Try to reset the BT by turning it off and then on (in the phone Settings).

[Burgerman]

Because I had problems on both input devices I changed something at the PL8 end, I made it so that the UBEC is powering both the BT board and the 3 pin plug in the back of the PL8 whereas before the UBEC was only powering the BT board.

Thats one of the things I did. Never tried the phone thing, as 'aps' on phones anoy me! Well smart phones annoy me. Way better on a proper laptop on windows.

[stevelawiw]

Thats one of the things I did.

I know! I copied what you had done. And as I only changed one thing I'm pretty sure it made a positive difference.

Never tried the phone thing, as 'aps' on phones anoy me! Well smart phones annoy me.

You know I had a feeling you didn't like smart phones! I must be very intuitive
I put it all inside today it looks all neat and tidy now and the laptop still works as good, I just can't get the app to work

[stevelawiw]

Snaker I tried what you suggested, turning bluetooth off and on, sadly it didn't work.
I'm using an S7 edge so that should be up to the job.
Oh one thing I'll try I have a rooted S7 I'll go and try it on that

[stevelawiw]

Nope, the S7 has exactly the same symptoms, it keeps dropping out.

[snaker]

Using the android app is easier than PL8 software as you do not need to config COM ports and baud rates. You only need to pair your phone with the BT module. If PL8 software can connect to the BT module, the app absolutely can too. Your phone is more modern than my ancient 5 years old phones, it will work too.

Try to check:
1. Did you pair your phone with the BT module?
2. When you run the app, do you see your BT module in the BT device list (in the app)?

If you see your BT module in the BT device list but the app fails to connect to it, it is probably due to you are running the PL8 software. BT module only can communicate to 1 device at time. If PL8 software is connecting to the BT, the app cannot connect to it. So close the PL8 software and try to run the app and connect again. Does it work?