IronMan

The IronMan project has been challenging...

Basically, we know someone that does IronMan for events and parties, along with others that do Spiderman, and so on.

But the suit he has is somewhat failing - the original electronics failed a long time ago, and the reworks (no idea who did) also failed.

So this is at least third, or more, refit for this, but we have taken it on with some serious dedication I think.

The helmet

The helmet has a servo, to lift the visor, and LEDs for the eyes. We actually replaced the electronics on this twice - initially a simple LED controller, and then a more custom board.

The eyes are now WS2812 LED strips. so way more flexible, even if normally just static cyan.

One of the challenges was the current spikes from the servo - it killed LEDs. Big capacitors is the main fix for this.

The suit

The suit was also a challenge, and really, the stuff in there was a mess. Again, two stages, firstly a simple LED controller for the "arc reactor", but now gutting it all and replacing with custom controller handling multiple LED strips, and speakers.

The previous electronics had several primary cells, a rechargeable battery, and speakers and LEDs. But the speakers never worked properly apparently.

The new build takes a lot less space, is rechargeable, and lasts all day.

The gloves

These were especially challenging. The helmet and suit could accommodate a decent USB battery pack. But the glove are too small, so needed a design that could handle a small LiPo, and charging.

The previous electronics were a simple LED torch fitting and 9V primary cell. This was bulky, and just "lit up".

The new design is a rechargeable LiPo, and 88 RGB LED rings with diffuser, button, and repulsor effect.

Overall

The end result is nothing short of as complete revamp.

Less space taken in helmet, gloves, and suit. Rechargeable batteries in all, all lasting 8 hours. BLE linking so sound effects link to repulsor in gloves and helmet sounds.

At this stage there is concern the LEDs for the arc reactor and gloves may be too bright, and the speakers too loud, both of which can easily be adjusted.

Speakers

One of my concerns was the speakers, and I found these were the best. I tried 5 different types.

From PiHut, and really good.

They are glued inside the suit but sound awesome.

My son should have a video on it all soon.

Tindie so far

Well, the Tindie store is set up, and I am adding stuff.

https://www.tindie.com/stores/revk/

The basics

It is simple to use and way way way less hassle the Amazon. Amazon are a pain to make any change to any listing, often even refusing to do so for no good reason. Tindie, is simple, just works, changes are easy and happen immediately.

I am shipping, which is less ideal, but RM click'n'drop works well. I may be able to do more with APIs to tie things up more seamlessly in due course. As this scales up this will no doubt transfer to the sales team in the office.

Options

One nice thing is I can add sales options - which works because I am shipping to order. I did this on the coaster. Which diffuser to use, and if shipped assembled or as a kit. This would not work with Amazon fulfilment, obviously.

The costs

Works out around 10% in payment and Tindie fees. Pretty typical.

Getting paid

Payment via PayPal was a concern, especially as it looked a lot like I could not get PayPal to send me money without open banking crap (giving them access to my account!). However, we sorted the business PayPal account, and that allowed simple fast payment to the business bank account and did not appear to involve any fees, and seemed sensible exchange rate (Tindie is all in dollars). Looks like it is monthly, which is simple enough.

Looks like I have to go in to PayPal and accept the payment and then tell PayPal to send the money, which is a nuisance but not to much so on a monthly basis.

Paperwork

We need to work out VAT and paperwork, but simple enough to convert all to GBP on the monthly payment and generate the right VAT invoice matching the money that arrives - should keep HMRC happy. Again, this is where I may API it all and make it simple and seamless.

API

This is probably next step - make more streamlined for orders and paperwork. I'll write that up in due course I expect.

Don't use UPS

I know I said before, but this is an update on the saga.

Executive summary

• I had 4 parcels sent from China (same sender) via UPS, all marked with our VAT and EORI.
• UPS tried to charge a fee, it seems contrary to HMRC advice they do not do Postponed VAT Accounting by default.
• I refused delivery and they confirmed return to sender (I confirmed the rest by email), but only sent 3 of the parcels back.
• They told the sender the missing parcel had been disposed off.
• They told me the missing parcel had been abandoned because "the sender is not served by UPS", something that is clearly a lie.
• They have invoiced for VAT (and an un-agreed disbursement fee) for all 4 parcels, and then late payment penalties.
• It has taken over 6 weeks for this to get close to being resolved.
• Use DHL, or maybe FedEx. Don't use UPS!

Postponed VAT Accounting (PVA)

I've explained PVA, but basically a VAT registered business getting overseas deliveries should get them without paying a fee if the sender includes the VAT/EORI when sending, that is HMRC advice to couriers. It gets declared on import and we (recipient) get paperwork from HMRC to ensure we account for it and the reclaimed VAT on next VAT return. Simple, easy, no admin fees, no delays.

• DHL manage it - not problem
• FedEx manage it - usually - not always - but seem to cave when pointed out.
• UPS want a separate signed agreement with us and the sender, and extra paperwork by the sender on every shipment. No way random foreign senders will do this. It is just, in my view, incompetent. Senders know to do VAT/EORI, but not extra UPS paperwork.

What did they do wrong?

I did try a parcel via UPS and it all worked well, but the good value of the parcel was $2, one of JLCs super discounted bare PCBs. That arrived, no fees, no invoices. Surprising. That lulled me in to a false sense of security and 4 more orders were shipped using UPS. Big mistake.

First arrived and driver wants a fee paid, I said no. I actually include the VAT on the address as an address line as well as on the waybill so I pointed to the VAT number on the label and explained it should be PVA. He had no idea, and literally threw the parcel back in the van.

Of the 4 parcelled, one other was tried and my wife rejected it. On that occasion the driver was very used to such things saying loads of people reject parcels with fees - usually because they paid fees to sender to handle and UPS cocked up (slightly different to out case). This really says something of UPS's competence.

The tracking showed each of the 4 parcels having multiple refused deliveries, this was clearly a lie. Not their first.

They took weeks to send 3 of the parcels back to sender. I guess they can take as long as they like. But when only 3 arrived we asked questions. They told the sender the parcel was disposed of. This was a lie, what a surprise.

They told me it was abandoned. It took weeks to get the explanation that "the sender is not serviced by UPS". This is a lie, wow.

They sent an invoice for the abandoned parcel (VAT and disbursement fee), which is not valid, obviously. I checked the HMRC import records and they only recorded (and hence paid HMRC) for the other 3 parcels. They were charging me for VAT they apparently have not paid HMRC. That sounds really fraudulent to me.

They sent invoices for the other three, even though returned to sender.

They kept quoting their terms and conditions that they can basically lose or destroy a parcel and not be liable to anyone. Wow! I have repeatedly had to explain that I am not subject to their terms and conditions. I have not agreed them. I am not a customer. I have no contract with them.

I have explained that if they have appropriated my parcel, that is Theft, a criminal matter. If they have lied ("sender is not served by UPS") to do that, then that is Fraud, a criminal matter. I was getting nowhere.

Surprise!

To my utter shock, they sent back the missing parcel to China. It arrived there after many weeks. The UK UPS contact seems unaware of this?!

But then, I get an invoice for late payment penalties - even though I have no contract with them that could lead to such penalties. Even statutory late payments penalties are a statutory contract term and don't apply if no contract. This is verging on harassment.

TODO

I may update this.

• Will they cancel the late payment invoice?
• Will they correctly report the return to sender VAT to HMRC for next month's report?
• Will I sue them for harassment - I have said one more invoice or demand and I will do so?

Bluetooth (BLE)

I have been working on some more educational R&D for the last week or so - exploring the possibilities with Bluetooth, specifically BLE.

The application involves four battery operated devices that need to link together.

1. A helmet, with a servo to power a visor up and down, and LEDs for the eyes.
2. A left glove with a disc of LEDs in the palm (I believe called a "repulser").
3. A right glove, the same.
4. A suit with speakers and a large ring of bright LEDs (I believe called an "arc reactor").

Why linked together?

Each works independently, and each has a button to trigger working. The repulser will quickly fade up to a bright light then go off. The helmet goes up or down.

The ideas is that when you activate the repulser, a synchronised sound effect of an increasing sound and a whoosh and crash happens at the same time. Similarly when the visor closes there is a synchronised clunk as it finished closing. A few other synchronised novelty effects have been added as well.

How to link them together?

The obvious, and low power, way to link would be cables, plugs and sockets. But this would be hugely inconvenient for the weather.

So - Bluetooth, specifically low energy BLE.

Daunting task

This was indeed a daunting task. I have done a little with BLE, just passively scanning advertisements to pick up and decode advertisements from temperature sensors. This would need a lot more.

But I went for it, and, well, it took a day!

Basic example code

I used the basic security gatt example - and to my amazement it worked. Minor bug and slight tweak, but very quickly I had a "heart rate monitor" server, and there clients connected. I then succeeded in having clients change the heart rate monitor location (text) which I used to tell the suit what sound to play.

Moving on

I tried to adjust the GATT fields, and failed. I need to read up more and understand how to do this, and add device information perhaps. Then consider making custom service codes - after all, calling an arc reactor a "heart monitor" is perhaps a stretch.

I need to properly understand the example code in the process, and prune it down.

I've also applied for a Bluetooth manufacturer code.

How long is a month?

A month averages 30.436875 days, apparently, according to google, but sounds right.

A lunar month as we see from Earth is 29.5306 days, again, according to google, but sounds right.

What is fun is people saying we should do 28 day months, which is, I think, not daft for many reasons, but we need to allow for the extra days, or two, outside of the months. The extra day(s) would be way better at end of year and a holiday. What is special is that one reason they say this is to align with the moon which is simply not the case.

But put that all aside and let's talk of prescriptions!

In England I had, I think, 8 week prescriptions, and in Wales it is 4 week.

But clearly things vary around the world, and there seem to be two key styles of packaging for drugs - either 28 day or 30 day.

This must be hell for any pharmacists, either adding 2 or removing 2 from packages to meet 28 or 30 day based prescriptions. Why no standard?

Freestyle Libre 2

But this gets interesting. If you have these on prescription the pharmacist cannot make it up from 28 day to 30 day, or from 30 day to 28 day, they are 14 day sensors. They are 28 day for two, 56 day for 4.

So they are not like other meds that can adapt to 28 or 30 day basis. You cannot add 2 days extra from next box to make a 28 day prescription to 30 days.

Freestyle Libre 2 Plus

They now do the plus which is a 15 day sensor. This means they can work with 30 day based prescriptions. A clever move. But still, a pharmacist cannot take 2 days out of a package or two to meet a 28 day based prescription.

Cynic

So now the cynic in me says...

1. It probably is the same sensor. They may have had to do new approvals, and new tests and trials to prove it is within a good tolerance after 15 days, but I bet the 14 day sensors are the same, just not verified as such. Yes, I may be a cynic.
2. This means they cost them the same, but what if NHS pushed for lower costs, this means a 7% reduction in cost when selling the same thing for the same price, that is a win for the bean counters.
3. Anyone on normal 4 or 8 week prescription will take a year, or two years, to have a prescription where there can miss a prescription and so mean Abbot actually lose out.
4. But anyone using these knows they fail some times, so a spare is handy, so nobody, when they get to the year, or two years, when they could skip this on a repeat prescription will do so. Why would you?
5. What is clever is that if one fails, and someone now has a spare, they will likely just use the spare rather than the hassle of calling, or filling in web form, to get a (free) replacement now. That will make the failure statistics way better, whilst meaning they get the same money as they would from 14 day sensors.

To be very very clear, this is a totally cynical viewpoint, and my own personal speculation. It may not be true.

Trying Tindie

So some good news, it is worked.

I tried Tindie for the "coasters", listed 5 of them, and by the end of the day all sold and shipped.

It looks like they took around 10% in payment processing and their fees, not too surprised.

Now I have the challenges of sorting payment and VAT. I am sure I can, but I need to blog that I am sure.

It seems payment is Paypal, and PayPal sending to my bank account wants open banking access to see all transactions (WTAF?). Trying to add an account with no txns fails, what a surprise! So we need to sort that.

No clue of VAT, so will err on the side of HMRC to be on the safe side I expect. Invoice matching what is shipped.

But the next plan for Tindie is exactly as I said - some small volume boards, from time to time, and the example is an IronMan controller board.

I only need one, and maybe one as a spare, for a mate of my son that does IronMan at events and parties and so on. He has a suit. But the tech is all crap and broken.

So we can do way better, we already sorted the helmet, but the "chest" has speakers, a button, and several LEDs, which means more than one string (one RGBW and one RGB at least). The arc reactor has a nice outside ring with bright RGBW, and some inner RGB, but also a load of single "pixel" WS2812 in the suit.

So the board has :-

1. ESP32S3-MINI-1-N4-R2 processor - Dual CPU, 4M flash, 2M SPI RAM
2. Four LED outputs, well, they are just GPIO with an ESD diode, and power from USB-C and a big cap on the power from USB
3. Two inputs, again GPIO with ESD diode, and 10k pull up, but suitable as buttons
4. USB-C to power it all and do loading code, debug, etc
5. Two (stereo) speaker outputs MAX98357A
6. Two (stereo) microphones TDK ICS 43434 (not needed for Iron Man but cool, so did anyway)
7. Micro SD card (for WAV files for the speakers).
8. All WAGO connectors.

Ordering 5 is minimum and ordering 10 (or even 20) it way more sensible given the many "one off" aspects to costs. I ordered 10.

So plan is we use one, one spare, and 8 on Tindie. We'll see how that goes.

Update: Looks like at least two other "IronMan" specific boards as well (for gloves), so this will be fun.

Selling cool stuff

We sell loads of stuff, much of the small PCB stuff on Amazon, and even though Amazon as a fucking minefield, and charge a fortune, they still make sense for things like Faikin boards sold all over the world.

We sell very little of the small PCB stuff direct on the A&A web site - I mean we have tried, and many boards are listed and in stock at the office for staff to ship out - but the A&A site just does not have the clout of Amazon.

But I actually get quite a lot of other cool stuff that never makes it to Amazon, or the A&A site, that is mostly not quite a commercial product - it is a result of loads of R&D. We record when we scrap stuff as part of R&D work, but in some cases we make small run prototypes that work perfectly, but they have no good home to go to, and not worth listing on Amazon or the A&A site. In some cases staff get bits.

This can happen as part of trying to evaluate an idea, consider new technology, or on the road towards making a product we do sell on Amazon and the like. Some things are a dead end. Some things have different features along the way to a final product. One recent example was my audio recorder - as I added a speaker driver to the initial prototypes, which are on Amazon now, but dropped it as not sensible to include at the extra cost. Other times are devices that have fewer than the final features, or different devices or configurations (e.g. LED controllers with PDM microphones).

What I need is a way to sell some of these - even if only just above cost price. It is way better in many ways than scrapping or hoarding them. If low quantity I can do shipping myself, and so handle international shipping as well.

What is nice is that payment used to be a pain, but these days we have sold several things (like the ASR33 boards listed on the A&A site) directly with shipping to US, but paid by transfer to IBAN which was complete within hours. So I think it is sane to sell some things.

What I need to come up with is a site / forum to list what shit I have to sell.

The latest, as a good example, is some illuminated coasters. The idea came from making coasters for my Son's wedding, but he has used them in videos on the tok of tik, and people actually asked if they can buy. So I have 10 prototypes. One is staying under my glass here. It may be that when he posts some stuff on these they do sell, he may sell, even. But for now I have 9 more here.

The board, as you can see, if pretty neat, and has 124 LEDs, which could be used for compass type stuff even. Arranged as 4+8+16-32+64 LEDs in rings (yes, the code to make that in KiCAD was fun).

With two spacer boards, and a diffuser, you get a coaster. Of course it runs any ESP32 software like WLED, or ESPHome, etc. It has a microphone even (for sound based effects).

It is cool! I am really amazed with the overall solid disk construction. I'm adding some feet on the base tomorrow.

Now, I think we can sell for £30+postage. Obviously if we made 100s of these it would be somewhat cheaper, except once we list on Amazon and they take a cut.

But for now, I have a few, and it is just an example of some of the stuff I have.

So I am pondering a web site and maybe just an email address, but any other suggestions for how to list these things - low quantity, ad hoc, sales of things?

Suggestions welcome.

And just to be clear - if I can sell stuff (that works) even if around cost, I'll be more happy to keep making these things :-)

Update: Trying Tindie