[DisasterRadio] New features & new boards

[samuk at disroot.org]

Hi All

Grant and others have been doing some great work recently.

https://github.com/sudomesh/disaster-radio (https://github.com/sudomesh/disaster-radio)

There's been a code refactor and a bunch of new features added

* Routing table is printed beneath the webapp
* HistorySD records history to SD card
* OLEDClient: displays messages on the screen
* You can set a WIFI_SSID and WIFI_PASSWORD to try to connect to, and if it fails it falls back to AP mode

There is some experimental, and I think largely untested support for new boards:
https://github.com/sudomesh/disaster-radio/blob/master/platformio.ini#L33 (https://github.com/sudomesh/disaster-radio/blob/master/platformio.ini#L33)

* Tbeam (with GPS) https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33046632533.html (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33046632533.html)

* Heltec V2 https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32909141441.html (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32909141441.html)

* Lopy https://pycom.io/product/lopy4 (https://pycom.io/product/lopy4/) - Which should be compatible with https://pycom.io/product/pygo1 (https://pycom.io/product/pygo1/) once released

I'm going to have a go with getting it running on https://m5stack.com/collections/m5-core/products/face (https://m5stack.com/collections/m5-core/products/face)

Of course, there remain plenty of meaty bugs to get stuck into;
https://github.com/sudomesh/disaster-radio/issues (https://github.com/sudomesh/disaster-radio/issues)

If anyone was up for testing some of the new boards that would be interesting..

Thanks

Sam
November 30, 2019 3:15 AM, "grant" <ggallo102 at gmail.com (mailto:ggallo102 at gmail.com)> wrote:
 fyi...

https://github.com/sudomesh/disaster-radio/releases/tag/0.1.0 (https://github.com/sudomesh/disaster-radio/releases/tag/0.1.0)

The aforementioned workflow is now a reality, just download `disaster-radio-0.1.0.zip` from the
releases page and follow the instructions in the README.

I encourage anyone with an ESP32 TTGO board to give it a try and let me know if there are any
issues.

Good luck!

-grant

On Tue, Nov 26, 2019 at 3:55 PM grant <ggallo102 at gmail.com (mailto:ggallo102 at gmail.com)> wrote:
 It is not difficult to create binaries, I have to create them every time I test a change to the
firmware. And yes, providing binaries could make it easier. It means that you wouldn't have to
install the entire toolchain and compile the firmware from scratch. You would just need to install
esptool (or another serial flashing tool) and upload the binary to the ESP.
You are correct that the `web/static` files created are the same every time (assuming that you did
not make local changes before creating them). However, it is not typical to track `bundle.js` in
github commits because it is an auto-generated file and would dirty the commit history will lots of
redundant, unreadable diffs.

The proper way of providing a both the binaries and the `web/static` files is to upload them with a
release. Then someone who purchases a TGGO board (or LILYGO before they ship the boards) would
download the latest realease as a zip file containing the necessary files and a README with easy to
follow instructions of how to put them on your ESP.

I'll work on making this work flow a reality.

And, I like the idea of a message ticker. Or at least some sort of notification when a message is
received?

-grant

On Mon, Nov 25, 2019 at 5:37 PM <samuk at disroot.org (mailto:samuk at disroot.org)> wrote:
Thanks Grant

I would like to tag a release (0.0.1?) and provide them binaries so that they are shipping it
with firmware from a
particular commit. They should also be able to flash the SPIFFs with the web app, we could
provide
binaries for that as well. Then, you wouldn't necessarily need an SD card.

Sounds great, would it be a lot of work to create the binaries? Would make for an easier install
whether or not we decide to allow Lilygo to sell directly.

then copy the contents of
web/static (`index.htm` and `bundle.js`) to the SD card. It's a fairly straightforward process,
but
I should create instructions.

Presumably these files are the same each time they are created? So we could just upload the
compiled versions to Github for users to drag/drop onto a SD?

This group generally operates on a consensus basis, so I'd be interested to hear what other
people
who have been involved in its development think.

Great, would be good to hear from anyone who has concerns. The way I see it is that this wouldn't
slow down or hinder efforts to create open hardware, but I realise others may have a different
view.

p.s. I would also be cool to display something on the OLED screen when it ships, haven't gotten
around to that idea though.

A scrolling ticker of the most recent messages would make the device usable without an additional
device. Probably over complicated for now though..

2p

Sam
-grant
On Sun, Nov 24, 2019 at 9:23 AM <samuk at disroot.org (mailto:samuk at disroot.org)> wrote:

Hi all

Yesterday I emailed TTGO/ Lily to see if in principle they could install the disaster radio
boards
they ship. After a bit of linguistic miscommunication they went ahead and did it.

So it's now possible to order the boards pre-flashed here:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000396836096.html (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000396836096.html)

I didn't intend to do this without asking the list, so apologies if I've overstepped.

If you really don't want to do this, then I can ask them to remove the listing. I realise that
fully open hardware is needed in the medium term.

They are willing to donate a $1 for every board sold:
https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/H856d5793d514415187b910e3fd4a3139w.jpg (https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/H856d5793d514415187b910e3fd4a3139w.jpg)

Assuming you're happy to leave the listing up, where should we send this trickle of donations?
Do
you have a bank?

This does leave the task for the users to configure their SD card, is that as easy as formatting
to
ext2 and copying index.html to it?
https://github.com/sudomesh/disaster-radio/tree/master/web/static (https://github.com/sudomesh/disaster-radio/tree/master/web/static) or is it more involved than
that?

Let me know what you want to do about the listing, and if it stays up, where to send the money.

Thanks

Sam
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