Ivor Hewitt

https://social.ivor.org/@ivor

🏊‍♂️🚴‍♂️🏃‍♂️ 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️
#nerd, #ultrarunner, #ironman
"Quite an accomplished runner" - David Hellard

Profile avatar courtesy of https://comicscamp.club/@feff

Tech: #hacker #developer #thinkpad #rpi #arduino #openSUSE
Sport: #cycling #ultrarunning #running
Health: #migraine #TBI
Search: #nobot

Surrey, England

pronouns: he/him/they
blog: https://blog.ivor.org
codeberg: https://codeberg.org/ivor
github: https://github.com/ihewitt

Public Key

npub1lxxzptcx7waydshadz8llcrpy4j2dw5f0lrtp4rcvuy3q4nrukjqg7fy3m

NIP-05 Address

ivor_at_social.ivor.org@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs0nrpq4ur08wjxct7k3rllupsj2e9xh2yhl34s63uxwzgs2e37tfqprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntqr7esk

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub1lxxzptcx7waydshadz8llcrpy4j2dw5f0lrtp4rcvuy3q4nrukjqg7fy3m

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Published at

2026-05-31T18:16:07Z

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0 Metadata

Event JSON

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Last Notes

2026-04-21 09:36:10 UTC

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ok I have no idea whats going wrong, it's *definitely* my builds. If I take the pristine checkout and use "vera-sentinel.bin" that works.
If I clean and rebuild that, *with no other changes*. I get corruption; clearly the binary diffs, but there are tons of differences in the "out/-nextpnr-/vera-sentinel/vera-sentinel.json" too, I've tried rolling back over multiple versions of oss-cad-suite (back to the yosys 0.52 of 202504) but with no differences at all. 😡 (tried on another machine too, although same linux) any ideas? I picked oss-cad-suite since it implied that was the "simple/recommended" way to get the right versions, what toolset are you building with.

2026-04-17 09:55:44 UTC

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sob. ok I have a *horrible* feeling there's something wrong with my FPGA toolchain then - I'm using current "oss-cad-suite" (https://github.com/YosysHQ/oss-cad-suite-build/releases)
I reflowed the chip (a couple more times, along with completely removing, pad cleaning and resoldering it)... and it's up and running.
with *exactly* the same artifacts as before. 😱
So I flashed back the stock ROM and got corrupt zeros.... re-downloaded the original FPGA bitstream and flashed that, and the zeros were all fine again. 🤦
I think when I tested the "back to original" before, I'd actually *re-built* it minus my change.
To test this current theory... can you upload/update the vera-sentinel.bin in https://codeberg.org/Sentinel-65X-Team/VERA/src/branch/sentinel/fpga/out with the latest build and I'll retest that. 🤞
If that is the case, then I need to figure out what on earth's the problem with my builds.
Then I'll sit in a corner and have a little cry that I didn't figure that out before resoldering a 7mm 48-QFN chip.

2026-04-15 18:31:46 UTC

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new FPGA soldered on...
Got excited - it flashed and verified firmware.👍
But. sh1t. Nope. No VGA, no sdcard. 😡
Will have a go at redoing tomorrow.
any validation/test tips?
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/410/148/747/084/158/original/2c9f27b5c6fb4c38.jpg

2026-04-15 11:48:44 UTC

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FPGA removed. Phew. Time for a break before figuring out how to relow the new one. 🤞[@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 )
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/408/563/976/422/015/original/20dd8b3aed2eb8f4.jpg

2026-04-15 11:46:06 UTC

Yay backordered FPGA finally arrived... time to see if I can replace the sentinel 65x chip. 😬
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/408/571/187/542/147/original/c6d1f55cb3709927.jpg

2026-04-11 18:25:50 UTC

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I need to go back home and hunt. I'm sure mine is in my parents attic somewhere....

2026-03-22 20:57:57 UTC

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one. step. at. a. time! 🤣 Will get the FPGAs ordered tomorrow too, didn't get around to it yet, been a bit busy.

2026-03-22 20:24:17 UTC

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I'm thinking - building a basic system/monitor interpreter rather than a full language interpreter, then an SD card could have an image file on it and something like an "autorun" script, e.g. LOAD "rom.img"; CALL 0xXXXX etc.
(albeit it *is* tempting to get BBC basic going for a nice interactive machine to play with, but also would open up an option to be able to script simple games and programs without making a ROM)

2026-03-22 20:10:25 UTC

Ok... So since my display is toast (exhibit a) I decided to hook up the uart3 for console IO with a few primitive commands. (exhibit b&c)
With the sdcard, I can list the directory (exfat) and view a file! This is SO MUCH FUN. #sentinel65x [@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 )
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/274/640/345/703/194/original/159b59d7852b7752.jpg
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/274/639/883/544/683/original/a9dae936e6e00ebe.jpg
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/274/640/879/286/295/original/cfb960744b6d55ef.jpg

2026-03-18 14:28:41 UTC

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I always say my superpower is being able to make mistakes really fast. 😁

2026-03-18 14:18:56 UTC

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I think so, I'll order one and give it a go. Hoping the QFP is easier to swap than a BGA. (I made a mess of swapping one of those last week. 🙄)

2026-03-18 07:30:33 UTC

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anyway.... It's a bit hard to see due to the image corruption... But. Yaaay 🎉 I've got the ROM burnt with fatfs reading off the sdcard here. The sdcard holds two files, "Readme.txt" and "example.bas"
#sentinel65x
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/249/004/063/713/241/original/27e4d85f8ab8fd06.jpg

2026-03-18 00:10:39 UTC

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so. Good news, and bad news. 🙄
I added the pin mappings to the FPGA and reflashed.... and I can read data from the sdcard. Yay. But I think I might have somehow fried something in the FPGA in the flashing process. 🤦‍♂️
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/247/274/194/505/352/original/eff272519cfa7f51.jpg

2026-03-17 21:07:41 UTC

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ok couldnt wait... I've got the vera image built, having trouble using an in-circuit clip on the flash though. (although I'm going to check the clip's definitely ok) did you flash with a clip or via the J11?

2026-03-17 18:35:10 UTC

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quick q... the VERA code in https://codeberg.org/Sentinel-65X-Team/VERA, "sentinel_top.v" has empty settings for the spi lines, shouldn't these be:
.spi_sck(spi_sck),
.spi_mosi(spi_mosi),
.spi_miso(spi_miso),
.spi_ssel_n_sd(spi_ssel_n_sd),
if I need to update them.... how hard is it to update the FPGA?
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/245/955/150/361/040/original/0147c34958f7c8fa.png

2026-03-17 18:19:59 UTC

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many thanks, I'm going to take a break and take another look with fresh eyes later/tomorrow, I've been banging my head against this for hours!
just wanted to check I wasn't missing something obvious like a setup/init flag somewhere.

2026-03-17 18:00:17 UTC

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hmm nope, still can't get anything from the sdcard. 🙁 spi_data read is always zero.
[@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 ) do I need to do any additional VERA init to setup/enable the SD lines? When I try to talk to the SD card, I can see a burst of data on the SCK and MISO lines but nothing on MOSI, which feels wrong.

2026-03-16 19:30:42 UTC

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Bah, can't get sdcard reading working. yet. will try again tomorrow.

2026-03-16 11:29:40 UTC

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right! sort of a basic "hello world" up and running. 👍
Will have a think about what to do next - as well as SD-card for code, I think hooking up a keyboard somehow will make experimenting a bit easier.
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/238/619/684/565/219/original/0e9fda330a24597a.jpg

2026-03-15 20:35:50 UTC

Right. Finally got some code running on the #Sentinel65x (albeit random junk) phew.
Could have done without (finally) discovering my plcc32 to dip adapter was faulty. 🤦‍♂️🙄 so spent several hours fixing that £3.99 part first. 🤣
I weep for the life of the rom socket though, really need to get sdcard code launch working. [@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 )
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/235/104/540/068/025/original/f278d06809770d44.jpg

2026-03-09 21:53:24 UTC

[@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 ) gorgeous.... time to tinker. 👍👌
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/116/201/436/092/220/345/original/756ead91aae1ce4e.jpg

2026-01-06 20:50:48 UTC

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indeed...
https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/11/linus_torvalds_vaccine_smackdown/ 🙄

2025-08-19 13:47:52 UTC

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😱 I mean... we had a scruffy fox. 🤷‍♂️

2025-07-24 19:09:45 UTC

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"dogshit unit-economics." 👍

2025-06-03 00:02:44 UTC

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bah, I must be missing something... but it's late and I *really* need to get some sleep! Probably not the best state to start playing. 😴😁 Shall try again tomorrow. 👍
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/616/497/807/795/847/original/17685e59229a411a.png

2025-06-02 06:35:13 UTC

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"I'm your huckleberry"
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/114/612/378/779/088/993/original/b4cd1344ca5c71fa.mp4

2025-03-04 17:40:27 UTC

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I need to see this! 👍😁

2025-02-24 18:24:58 UTC

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just look at that window manager, what a work of beauty and practicality. 👌

2025-02-11 09:17:30 UTC

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opesource hardware monthly 'show and tell' -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPOOaPATvMc going to talk about my GPS board.

2025-02-11 07:35:38 UTC

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Better than yesterday where I spun around to hold open a door for someone and threw my latte everywhere.
But this morning, also trying to get my lighting sorted as a distraction for a talk I'm doing (first one) next week - so starting to worry/panic about that.
otherwise... all good! 👍😁

2025-02-01 11:14:42 UTC

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no Konqui!? 😱
https://ivorsocial.files.fedi.monster/media_attachments/files/113/928/338/230/830/782/original/6db30d91fe85c46d.jpg

2025-01-08 17:34:09 UTC

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indeed, although I expect anyone on threads unhappy with the choices will instead move to bluesky. 🤷‍♂️
The majority remaining just won't care.

2024-09-11 20:21:59 UTC

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i.e.tired, low on sugar and emotional... then throw in something like The Time Travellers Wife.

2024-09-11 20:19:06 UTC

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I got into the habit of listening to audiobooks when I was doing proper long training....
Although I quickly learnt the lesson to choose them more carefully after bursting into tears a few times! 😬🤣

2024-08-13 08:24:47 UTC

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uh oh, this idea didn't go so well in the three body problem. 😬