Fantastic. Ah, I completely missed that I flipped the polarity on that connector relative to the other version, that was a completely unnecessary complication from me, sorry about that.
I don’t think the extension is included in the standard SD build, it should be in the SD linked in this thread (#15) or it can be installed using the instructions in the Sangaboard extension repo Filip Ayazi / Sangaboard Extension · GitLab . The extension allows you to control the illumination intensity, but it’s not necessary for normal use. It will add an icon to the left panel and opening it will give you sliders for the illumination.
I recently ordered and received the Sangaboard v0.5.2 from the website mentioned above. As per the assembly instructions provided in the video: OpenFlexure Low-Cost Microscope v7 - Assembly Process - MEng Mechatronic Engineering FYP - YouTube, I carefully followed the steps to assemble the board. However, upon completing the assembly and attempting to access the web interface, I encountered an issue where it displays “No stage connected.” I tried connecting power sources, either to the Raspberry Pi or the Sangaboard, but the outcome remains the same.
Upon reviewing the logs, I came across the following information:
[2023-08-04 10:04:09,658] [MainThread] [INFO] Creating serial.Serial instance...
[2023-08-04 10:04:09,659] [MainThread] [INFO] Created Serial<id=0xb3c42fb0, open=True>(port='/dev/ttyS0', baudrate=115200, bytesize=8, parity='N', stopbits=1, timeout=None, xonxoff=False, rtscts=False, dsrdtr=False)
[2023-08-04 10:04:09,659] [MainThread] [INFO] Testing communication to SangaBoard
[2023-08-04 10:04:09,659] [MainThread] [INFO] Running firmware checks...
[2023-08-04 10:04:09,661] [MainThread] [ERROR] We don't have a serial port to open, meaning you didn't specify a valid port. Are you sure the instrument is connected?
[2023-08-04 10:04:09,661] [MainThread] [WARNING] No compatible Sangaboard hardware found.
I am seeking assistance as to whether there are any diagnostic tests I can perform to identify and resolve this issue. Your help and guidance would be greatly appreciated.
I’m glad you had success building the microscope. Just for others on this thread, the video you linked should be used carefully, in conjunction with the build instructions on the main web site as there are a couple of times when they don’t follow the instructions and this can cause problems. Particularly the nut tool must always be used to lock the actuator when installing the bands, and the band tool cover should be used to help to make sure that the pressure is even on both sides of the band when you are inserting them.
With the Sangaboard v0.5 you should follow any extra instructions that came with the board as it is not fully covered in the main instructions yet. Particularly the serial communication needs to be set up correctly in both the operating system on the Raspberry Pi and in the Openflexure server.
Thank you for the report, it looks like it’s not getting any response from the board at all, are you using the latest official SD image or the SD image from this thread?
@filip.ayazi@WilliamW Thank you for your response. I have updated the latest official SD image using the following commands:
ofm update
ofm upgrade
I happened to order two Sangaboards, and the issue I described earlier is present in one board. However, when I switched to testing the other Sangaboard, it worked perfectly fine. This suggests that the server is functioning correctly.
I have two remaining questions:
Firstly, how can I recover or troubleshoot the first Sangaboard to resolve the issue?
Secondly, I have installed the Sangaboard Extension from link to the extension. Currently, only the PWM0 control seems to respond when I change its value. However, the other controls do not seem to have any effect at all. Is this behavior normal?
Thanks for the update. With the extension, did you follow the instructions in the repo Readme on installing the modified pysangaboard version? It relies on some changes to that module for illumination control so illumination control won’t work without a modified version (though I would expect none of the sliders to do anything).
Can you please check the non-functioning board for any mechanical damage from shipping? If there’s no visible damage can you try using that board, going to the Sangaboard extension and doing a firmware upgrade (it should still work even if it doesn’t detect the stage at all). Alternatively, can you please try plugging the non-functional board to a computer via USB-C connector and checking the status of RX and TX LEDs on the board and whether the board is recognised by your computer as a flash drive? (this would indicate it doesn’t have firmware uploaded).
Thank you, @filip.ayazi. Everything is now functioning as expected for me. The resolution was that the non-functional board lacked the necessary firmware upload.
Excellent! My apologies, I normally upload firmware to boards before sending them out so I must have mixed up your order somehow, thank you for fixing it.
That drawer will not completely fit because it was designed for a board with a shorter header. It is possible to use it, but you would not be able to screw in the Pi, and the Sangaboard would be strained at an angle.
There is a new drawer in the current repository, which has also meant a change in position of one of the fixing screws in the stand. I’ll try to post a link to the current built STLs for both.
Edit: These are the prototype STLs that should fit current versions of the Sandaboard v0.5 with a 11mm header height.
The drawers will fit in the microscope stand from the released v7.0.0beta1 if you have already printed that, but one of the mounting screw holes will not match. The slightly modified stand that with the matching mounting holes for the prototype electronics drawers is: microscope_stand.stl (292.8 KB)
i have two questions. I did just successfully completed the main body print of the v7.0.0-beta1 version. As i would like to order the new sanga board i assume that the above linked stl’s match the v7.0.0-beta1 main body?
Then, any idea when the sangaboard will be availble again?
The Sangaboard v0.5 does not change the main body, but you would need the updated microscope stand and electronics drawer as in post 50 just above. If you used the link in my post on your other thread you may already have these updated parts - check the position of the mounting screw on the side of the electronics draw, the old version has the screw directly above the Pi power port, the new version is moved above and to the side.
Hi,
the next manufacturing batch is currently in customs so unless there are some unexpected issues it should start shipping outside the EU late next week. There is very limited stock in the EU which can ship at the same time but intra-EU deliveries will likely be unavailable for a while after that is depleted. It is possible to ship from the UK into the EU, but that will incur VAT (and possibly other customs clearance fees) on delivery.
To update on the post above, the new manufacturing batch has arrived and it is now available for shipping from the UK, with a few boards from the last batch still available for intra-EU shipping.
sorry if this is the wrong place to post this: I did just try to complete an sangabboard plus illumination kit order and got this message: “Please contact your merchant about the state of this transaction. Some data is missing in processing, possibly due to session timeout”
After this i used the contact section for sending a form mail regarding the problem but i didnt got any feedback if the message had been successfully sent?!
All orders from outside the European Union ship from the UK, normally within 1-2 days of making the order (now that the boards are back in stock). EU orders ship from Slovakia, normally within 1 week of making the order.
I didn’t realise the form doesn’t send any immediate confirmation, but it definitely works and I got the message.
Since the Pi 4 should never be run without at least a large heatsink, it would be nice to include an extender for the GPIO port, the option for a non-stacking header, and some options for the printed base to allow for the extra height.
It would be easy enough to generate an electronics drawer with the Sangaboard higher up. The difficult thing was moving it up 2mm for the height of the current Sangaboard v0.5. Now that various mounts are moved around it is just a parameter to move it higher. However I am not sure that there is much space above the Sangaboard anyway when the motors are plugged in.
