Well I’ve converted my blog from wordpress to static, so no more mysql/php on this server, just markdown. I must get around to adding some new content, not actually posted for over 2 years! I’ve been doing lots of stuff with QEMU/KVM and even some ESXi (yuk!) and not using VirtualBox anymore. See my github for various libvirt scripts including VFIO with macOS/Win10, AutoYast with SUSE, kickstart for RedHat, preseed for Debian, virt-builder for Fedora, nested ESXi; and also how to configure your host.

I’ve been experimenting with using non-standard pins on an ATtiny85. Using XTAL1 and XTAL2 is simple if you run off the internal oscillator at 8MHz/3.3v but I want to also use the RESET pin as D5/A0. When you re-purpose the RESET pin, you lose the ability to program using an ISP, so we have to use a high voltage serial programmer (HVSP) which basically applies 12v to the RESET pin to set the fuses.

I decided I wanted to play with shift registers, and the classic circuit for that is running a bunch more LED’s from a chip than the chip has pins, so I decided on an 8 pin ATtiny85 running 16 LED’s as a Larson scanner (Knight Rider or Cylon effect). I started out on breadboard which was a terrible mistake as I ended up needing two breadboards to provide enough space to run 16 LED’s via resistors all with a shared GND.

I’m thinking of making a soldering microscope from a Raspberry Pi (either a spare B+ I have or maybe a ZeroW). I had looked at Andonstar ADMSM201 or Lapsun 14MP HDMI 180x scopes, but they each have their limitations – crap software, tiny focal length requiring additional lenses, £200+ pricetags….. So looking at it, I just have to buy a Pi camera module with a CS mount and a decent lens.

I’ve wasted about three days trying to get OTA upgrades to work on my ESP8266 boards. They take 1-2 OTA’s and then don’t even boot into the sketch. Tried my Gizwits WiFi Witty and ESP12F on a breakout board with an LDO as described in my earlier post. Then I tried my old NodeMCUv2 board and it worked fine, all of the time. Turns out we need moar powah! The HT7833 LDO on the white breakout boards from the earlier post, are supposed to be able to put out 500mA so I guess its not a current problem but a voltage one, when measuring what gets through to the ESP its just over 3.