Arduino Nano PI Main Discussion

[Qiaozhi]

George: In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of this detector vs the Voodoo project?

The Arduino Nano project is based on the Surf-PI. The Nano provides the +5V supply to the rest of the circuitry, the TX oscillator signal, and all the sample timing. It also generates the audio tone. In the original Surf-PI the audio tone is dependent on the TX pulse rate, but this dependency is removed by the Nano. An additional feature is the Boost switch that changes the TX pulse width from 50us (normal) to 100us (boost). Advantages of this design are that all the design data is open-source. The Arduino sketch is readily modified using the IDE, and the schematic and PCB files can be viewed and modified in DipTrace. Both the Arduino IDE and DipTrace are free.

Voodoo is a more advanced project which provides ferrous rejection that is not based on target conductivity. The disadvantage for the hobbyist is that the software was developed using mikroElektronika's mikroC Pro platform, and the schematic and layout were designed using EasyPC. Neither of these packages are free.

It really depends on your perspective as to the pros and cons. Clearly the Arduino Nano detects all metals, and is therefore intended for beach use, whereas Voodoo can also be used inland where other pulse induction designs are not suitable.

[bernte_one]

if i get asked for my favourite author of modern literature i can say : oh i got a unique collection of electronic books from G.O.

btw. did silverdog made a testvideo, would like to hear detection sound

[Qiaozhi]

if i get asked for my favourite author of modern literature i can say : oh i got a unique collection of electronic books from G.O.

btw. did silverdog made a testvideo, would like to hear detection sound

It sounds like a Surf-PI. The audio tone is 490Hz which varies in volume depending on the strength of the target signal. You can adjust the threshold control to either be silent search or to provide a faint background tone. The latter is preferable if you're looking for small or deep faint targets.

[Phantom]

I thought you may have found an error, but in fact that is correct.

The syncDemodOn state needs to be LOW in order for the input to the sample gate to be HIGH. That's because the signal goes through a voltage converter circuit which inverts the state. The same applies to syncDemodOff. See Fig. 2-1.

If it had been an error, I was going to blame Andy's proofreading.

OK. I didn't see any error in the text. Excellent job George and Andy. Also the drawings are clearer than in the Vodoo project book.

Only one question George. Why didn' you include the improvements of the 2 stage preamplifier, and the serial diode in the TX swich as you did in the MPP project?

It could be for future improvements?

Regards to all in the forum

Phantom

[godigit1]

Hi Qiaozhi,

My book arrived last night great job again.
I was trying to run verify and compile and having problems, but I was trying to compile to a galileo gen 2.

If I switch to the nano board it compiles fine.
I was wondering if you had to do anything different to the code for the R3 you first tried?

Also looking at the schematic could U4-3 be replaced with a J113 freeing up the 4066 to add two more sample pulses?

I really like this platform if we add a simple sd card we can boot different detector sketches having multiple machines available.(salt program, deep hole, relic, prospecting machines all in one).

A few tweaks to the board, Mur 460 dual pre amp, gain pot at Ic3a maybe would be needed of coarse.
Or even just use the SD for checking many different settings in the field and not having to connect to the Arduino.

Thanks again .

[Qiaozhi]

OK. I didn't see any error in the text. Excellent job George and Andy. Also the drawings are clearer than in the Vodoo project book.

Yes, I learned a lesson from publishing the Voodoo Project where I tried to avoid redrawing the schematics and hence create additional errors. However, it only introduced a different problem. So this time I carefully redrew everything using Inkscape, which has similar capabilities to Visio, but is free.

Only one question George. Why didn' you include the improvements of the 2 stage preamplifier, and the serial diode in the TX swich as you did in the MPP project?

It could be for future improvements?

Regards to all in the forum

Phantom

The Arduino Nano PI project is designed for the beach, as its basic core is the Surf-PI. Therefore it was not necessary to include either the series diode or a dual-stage preamp. In fact this design can go as low as 10us for the main sample delay, which is probably a bit too low for wet sand.

[Qiaozhi]

Hi Qiaozhi,

My book arrived last night great job again.
I was trying to run verify and compile and having problems, but I was trying to compile to a galileo gen 2.

If I switch to the nano board it compiles fine.

Thanks.
Yes, you have to remember to set the target system under Tools > Board.

I was wondering if you had to do anything different to the code for the R3 you first tried?

The sketch will compile for both Nano and Uno without any modifications.

Also looking at the schematic could U4-3 be replaced with a J113 freeing up the 4066 to add two more sample pulses?

I think that should work OK.

I really like this platform if we add a simple sd card we can boot different detector sketches having multiple machines available.(salt program, deep hole, relic, prospecting machines all in one).

A few tweaks to the board, Mur 460 dual pre amp, gain pot at Ic3a maybe would be needed of coarse.
Or even just use the SD for checking many different settings in the field and not having to connect to the Arduino.

Thanks again .

As I replied in a previous post, the diode and dual-stage preamp were not included in this design, because I used Surf-PI as a basic core, and these modifications are not really useful for a beach detector. Also, I wanted to keep the design reasonably simple for people who are coming from an Arduino rather than electronics background.

I agree though ... this platform provides a really good basis from which to try out many different ideas. The Nano gives it great flexibility with the advantage that the IDE is open-source. If anyone wanting to expand on this design could also use DipTrace for schematics and PCB layout, that would allow more people to become involved. The free version of DipTrace is limited to 300 pins, and this design used 210. You can also upgrade to a 500 pin version for only $145, and there are 1000, 2000, and unlimited versions beyond that.

[godigit1]

Hi Qiaozhi,
This project comes at a good time in my learning with the code you provided and the book its kinda the missing link for me.
the way you spell out the code is better than months of trying to figure things out on my own.

I did select the gen 2 board to load and loaded the support package for intel boards. I think I may be having problems because its not supported any more or maybe something on the lennox side could be done. I have some nanos coming I just had it and some Edisons left over from drone builds.
wanted to see if they would work.

Thanks for doing the gerbers on dip trace, I wanted to add that you can get a 500 pin version for free if you make a request of them and if its only for personal use.
Im going to do a spin off board with 4 sample capability dual amp and mur 460 as well as the arduino Pi but I have several forum beach projects completed , that being said i like the idea of tweaking it a little and doing A sd bootable sketch Im thinking just about a little more versatility maybe.
I think the Sd card Idea could be useful even just for minor timing changes from say wet to dry sand if not to roll all those machines into one.
could even work in the voodoo's capabilities but that's for the more advanced members and yourself I'm not there yet..

Be well

[MartinB]

Andy has the PCBs on order, and I expect he will update the website when they arrive. He was able to replicate the project because I sent him a PCB.

The Arduino Nanos I used were from Elegoo. These boards have the CH340 chip instead of the original FT232 USB UART IC, but in programming terms these boards are 100% compatible. Linux Mint already has the correct driver loaded. However, Windows may not have this pre-installed. If so, the manufacturers will have a suitable driver on their website.

I haven't heard anything about memory problems on clone boards. Where did you hear about that?

Hi George
Sometimes Windows does not like the CH340 driver. For that reason, I always use the FT232 chip. The driver for this chip is native in the Windows environment.

[MartinB]

Looking forward to the build Marty.
Arduino is all new to me but I am happy to keep learning at my age.
Cheers

Hi Surfdetector
If I can learn it at my age, I am sure you can.

[Qiaozhi]

For that reason, I always use the FT232 chip.

Unfortunately that means you have to pay more money for the genuine version.

I will try programming the Nano from a Windows machine a bit later, and let you know whether there were any issues.

[surfdetector]

Hi George
Sometimes Windows does not like the CH340 driver. For that reason, I always use the FT232 chip. The driver for this chip is native in the Windows environment.

I think that the key to the CH340 is using the best driver. This one is the latest from the maker of the CH340 for anyone who might be looking for it. I am also using a Nano clone and it worked without a flaw.
http://www.wch-ic.com/downloads/CH341SER_ZIP.html

[Qiaozhi]

It appears that Windows 10 has the CH340 driver already installed, but it does get a little cranky if you select the wrong port, which is a bit of guesswork.

My Uno board was recognized on COM7 as "Arduino Uno", and "Get Board Info" displayed the S/N, etc.
However, the Nano board was not recognized, but did program when COM8 was selected. "Get Board Info" said it was an unknown board.

On Linux Mint the Uno is correctly recognized, but (again) the Nano is an unknown board, although both boards can be consistently programmed without any problems.
I only resort to using Windoze when I really have to. Otherwise Linux is my preferred OS.

[Qiaozhi]

I think that the key to the CH340 is using the best driver. This one is the latest from the maker of the CH340 for anyone who might be looking for it. I am also using a Nano clone and it worked without a flaw.
http://www.wch-ic.com/downloads/CH341SER_ZIP.html

I downloaded this driver to see if it would make any difference, but when I tried to install it, it said "Driver Install Failure".

[surfdetector]

I downloaded this driver to see if it would make any difference, but when I tried to install it, it said "Driver Install Failure".

The non recognition of the clone board is interesting. I was fortunate enough to have mine recognized as a Nano, at least one out of four that I purchased. I shall solder up the other 3 and try them.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1