[Ovmsdev] Incentivising / Rewarding

[HONDA S-2000]

Hi Mark,

I would be interested in developing USB firmware for the PIC32 that  
meets your CAN-USB adaptor goals. I have experience writing USB  
firmware for multiple USB Device classes (not just plain serial),  
including working with the Microchip USB Stack.

I purchased the OVMS v2 with the goal of learning more about CAN  
signaling on my Roadster. I haven't actually used the device because  
I'm not primarily interested in getting a SIM card and paying for  
network access. I wanted to support your efforts at making a hardware  
platform, and I figured that I could just write my own custom  
hardware for recording and analyzing CAN messages. Unfortunately, as  
you're probably aware, the OVMS v2 is not immediately useful for my  
project. Also, I can imagine that you know what it's like to have  
more ideas than time.

The only question is how to incentivize the effort. It would be ideal  
if you could pay for the PIC32 USB firmware development, but I can  
see how that might not be within your budget. Another alternative is  
to just send me the new platform, and I might be able to make some  
progress. On that note, I would be willing to review the hardware  
designs before you make prototypes, just to see if I think there is  
anything missing in the hardware circuitry. Since I have experience  
designing USB platforms based on the PIC and other embedded  
processors, it might be worth having a second set of eyes look over  
the design. Also, with my combined hardware and firmware design  
experience, I think I have a particularly good sense of what makes a  
good hardware platform for particular firmware projects.

Let me know what you think.

To reiterate, I'm willing to look at the hardware design without  
charging anything. The reward for me will be enough to know that a  
new platform that I like will be made. As for firmware design, I'm  
hoping that some sort of compensation can be arranged, because that  
is much more effort. However, I think we may be able to work  
something out that is mutually beneficial.

Brian Willoughby
Sound Consulting

p.s. Regarding my existing OVMS v2, I would actually enjoy having the  
SIM card working for when I charge on the road, but it's just not a  
priority.


On Aug 28, 2013, at 18:25, Mark Webb-Johnson wrote:
> P.S. What I would really like to do is get the OVMS CAN-USB adaptor  
> working, and then give those out in large quantities. The more  
> people decoding vehicle CAN communications, the more cars become  
> open vehicles. But, to do that I need some one / people to step  
> forward and help with this. The China manufacturer is standing by  
> and asking me for the circuit diagram, but I've got too much on my  
> plate at the moment to take on the CAN-USB hardware and firmware as  
> well. Using a PIC32 microprocessor (with built-in USB support), and  
> MCP2551 CAN controller, we can do this for a materials cost perhaps  
> around US$30 (vs US$150 retail for the cheapest commercial units).  
> I'll send out a separate 'appeal' for this, and see if anyone will  
> step forward to help.