Monday with electronics

I rose before 7 as I woke with the sunrise near 6 and had to prove hydration a few times. I had the XIAO ESP32S3 SENSE delivered yesterday and put aside the whole morning to see if I could make it work. While maybe not the most interesting blog subject, it is the base for having a mini-camera in my next project. I spent the morning trying to get the XIAO ESP SENSE to work.

The tooling is the Arduino IDE, as the device accepts a version of Arduino compiled C code. The device is tiny, about the size of a stack of three American quarters, and has many non-standard names and ports. For example, the 13-pin is not the LED on the board, and I found that the ESP Blink sketch supplied was wrong (!?). I revised it to use the name for the correct pin, LED_BUILTIN; later updates to Arduino established names for these items, but older timers, like I still think, 13. My copy works now.

It took me two hours to get the XIAO ESP32S3 SENSE to be recognized by Arduino IDE. I had to find the correct URL and set the IDE to see it. Next, then load all the required updates and libraries. Some of my stuff was outdated, and ESP hardware requires current as most of this hardware is only a few years old or earlier (part of the Internet of Things tech). Once I got the board information loaded, I could run the usual Blink sketch and see the friendly LED blinking on the board. Then, I found the incorrect ESP Blink and loaded and fixed it. This meant I had the basics working and could now try to do something interesting.

I attached the SENSE part of the XIAO ESP32S3, which is a tiny camera and an SD card that stores photos and videos. I also discovered that the extra memory, PSRAM, must be turned on in the IDE Arduino, which was a new item for me. Apparently, the setting allows the compiled code to use more memory and moves the camera photos to this extra memory.

Next, I took my Take-a-Photo sketch, code I copied from an example, and managed to compile and load it on the XIAO Sense, with some more updates to various libraries and adding one obscure ESP library (Arduino has a strong Stack-overflow-like site and Stack-overflow even picks up Arduino questions sometimes) after searching the Internet for a fix. It takes two pictures.

Then, my next delivery of items, including well-timed SD readers with USB-C connections for my MacBook Air M2, arrives. I pull the SD Card from the device and put it in the reader. I have not removed the protective lens-covering film on the camera, and I get to black photos. These are the last photos that work. After this, every photo is corrupt. Hmmm.

I spend the morning searching the Internet for information about photo processing and the XIAO SENSE. I found an article that says that moving a captured frame from the camera to a file is useless as it is a binary image and not a usable format. I revised the code all morning to try to get the frame to JPEG format, but I saw so much code strongly suggesting the frame should be in JPEG format already. I do finally get a working file (not corrupt), but the image is just a repeated set of color lines, and each photo is exactly the same. I wonder if the camera (SENSE part of the device) has died. I did buy two, so I am tempted to see if the problem exists with another device, but I keep working.

It’s time for a break and lunch (breakfast was an NYC bagel with cream cheese and capers—thanks, Joyce—liberal coffee and a banana). I get out some celery, onion, and seasoning. I chop things tiny. I added the leftover pasta from a day or so ago, a can of good tuna, capers, and real Mayo—cold tuna salad. I have a bowl, just one with the pasta (I can’t do the carbs and keep my A1C down).

I decided I needed a walk and some fresh air. I watered the roses on the front lawn, as there will be no rain in the forecast for ten days. Summer weather came early this year, about three weeks early. I went to use the hose coiler, bent over, and turned the crank, and when I went to stand, I was unsure where the up and down were. I walked over to the house, leaned on the house (knowing the house knew where up and down were), waited for my mind and body to settle up with gravity, and looked hard at the horizon. Soon, all was right. I was careless, and the f**king hose can sit on the ground next time.

I went back inside and decided I had recovered, and then I boarded an Air Volvo. I flew over Cooper’s Mountain via 170th to Roy Rogers Road and on to Al’s Garden and Home. I love walking in the place and used to take Susie there just to walk, look at all the plants, and, during Christmas time, see all the lights and trains. The parking lot and greenhouse are flat and easy to transverse for people who use walkers or are just prone to falling. Today, I thought it a good place to get some walking in. I did go out into the rougher plant area (having no issues) and saw a rose tree with Angel Face blooms (an old favorite that I was not able to grow–mine died in Maryland–and I had not seen it in Oregon before). Tempted, but the price did not include installing a hole, and I resisted. Here is the information on the rose for those interested: Angel Face (local Oregon source). I did look at hats, and they had exactly the summer hat I was looking for, and medium, while a bit loose, fit well enough. I purchased it and wore it to the cashier, who approved of my new look.

Aside: When I would buy flowers for Susie in Maryland, one florist specialized in exotic roses. I spent extra on a set of roses for Susie, Angel Face. I bought the bush later, but it did not thrive.

I returned to the Volvo Cave after Air Volvo flew back over Coopers Mountain. I rested briefly and decided dinner should be at BJ’s, and a pork chop sounded good. My usual waiter in the bar, Eric, had tables full, so I got a less skilled waiter. Soon, I had my favorite beer, a house salad with Thousand Island dressing, and a double pork chop and baked potato. It was all perfectly assembled. I could not eat it all. I got 3/4 of the pork shop and about the same for the potato (with sour cream and butter) and could not go on. I am down to 230 pounds (headed to my goal of 220, with breaching 200 being the impossible-to-imagine future moment) and obviously am used to eating less now (except for jambalaya and absinthe-based drinks). I got a dessert to go. I did re-write more C while at BJ’s.

I reached the house in Air Volvo, not noticing that my phone was not connected to Air Volvo. I put the ice cream in the freezer and drove back to BJ’s. They had my phone and stuff, and soon, I was back home.

I rewatched the last two episodes of Doctor Who for this season, still liked them, and went to bed.

Thanks for reading.