My RC4 device is really shaping up! I have only four critical issues remaining (but two are so closely related that I really have only three issues remaining) before I will be ready to plug this into a computer and start playing with it. Oh man! All that hard work and I am finally approaching an end point!

I haven't ordered the Rev G boards, yet. I am glad that I gave myself the weekend to make changes, because I made some more changes today. The longer I look at this thing, the more issues I come up with. If I don't draw some [figurative] lines, this thing could go on forever.

Now, see, if I knew Verilog or VHDL, I could just get an FPGA and program in the peripherals I need and be done with this. There would still be issues going that route, but nothing like the route I took. Most of the tricky firmware I have developed for this thing is due to the lack of peripherals on the microcrocontrollers and employing every trick in the book to make use of the ones that are there to accomplish my objectives. I must say I have done a grand job of it, but at quite a price (ow, my neck and back, and the emotional strain - and all that TIME). But now I can reap the benefits...I hope.

I may still make one more change to the PCB layout before I order new boards. I would like to add in-circuit programming capability so I don't have to keep migrating the chips between the programmer and the RC4 board. The only problem is, I think I can get to one chip, but not both, so I don't know if it will be worth the effort. I just want some new boards that I can use, so I am more apt to just order them than try to add SOMETHING NEW.

Here's RC4 Rev. F in its test bed:

Not a very good photo (kind of dark), but there you have it. I just ordered some new servo wire today. The wire I used for the connectors currently on the test bed was too small and fragile and two connectors have gone bad on me. And I flew a test flight with those wires last year! I am revamping the wires to prevent disaster.

Here is the little programmer I use for burning the firmware into the chips:


It works well. Well enough for what I am doing.

Anyway, I have plans for a very small model airplane that I will be building soon. It will be a model just like this one, except with a few differences. It will be constructed as a night flyer (with LEDs and generator), but it will also be segmented so that I can disassemble it into smaller pieces. The wing will either separate into two halves or fold over, the tail boom will come off, and the tail fins (fin and stabilizer) will come off. This will allow me to pack it into a small bag/backpack so that I can take it anywhere. What I would like to do, eventually, is to hike up to a secluded lake somewhere and get into an inflatable boat at night and fly my plane around over the lake at night.

I can't wait.

Also, as electronics & computers keep getting smaller, I should be able to equip the plane with some gadgets at some point in the future, too. Even RC4!

Well, dinner is ready. Time to break from technology for the evening.