DIYEFI.org Forum

Right now I spend a LOT of time working on things that aren't the firmware. Mostly that is good value for the project as a whole and the work that I put in elsewhere trickles down hill to the next people and everyone wins. However, sometimes that's just not true. Sometimes it's purely "mundane" testing work that ANYONE could do, and thus it's a very poor use of my time to be working on those testing tasks. They DO need doing, though, so others getting stuck in and helping test applications and their interaction is genuinely useful and valuable to every aspect of the project by way of giving me more time to spend elsewhere.

The same goes for the other developers.

• Rob, Sim, and Fred developing firmware!
• Fred maintaining EMStudio!
• Ari developing a great loader!
• John developing auto calibration!
• Fred configuring/packaging build tools!
• Andy developing Jaguar hardware!

If you're using any of these, study what it does and how it behaves and report problems. Check on the tracker first to ensure that they aren't already reported, and then report them. If you're not sure if it's a problem or not, ask in IRC or on the forum. What EVER you do, don't stay silent!!!! There have been too many instances of people saying "oh, i noticed that but thought it was normal" about shit that really wasn't normal and in some cases was serious. If you come to us on IRC or the forum with "I noticed this, is that normal" we'll quickly direct you to the solution or to report the issue with lots of good info.

Even casual use and fiddling is healthy and useful. All of them need testing online/offline win/mac/linux 32/64 bit, etc.

Most importantly, the author NEVER uses the software how the users do, so he will never find some of the issues that you will find when you play with it in unexpected ways.

PLEASE, I'm begging you all, report your issues to all of us as often and as clearly as you can. This goes for both software (of all types), and hardware.

If you own some hardware, load up new firmware regularly and play with it and all of the tools available. Tell us what you find/think!

Also, if at all possible, make yourself available to test on demand for these guys. Right now I carry 99% of the testing load for all four major parts of the FreeEMS puzzle, and that sucks especially because others are more than capable of helping in that area.

Feel free to pester the authors for documentation on how to use each component too.

In summary, dig in and help out. If you've got something wired to a car, please help. Your silence slows the entire project down if you don't.

Fred.

Two more things!

1) Recently Andy has been helping test MegaTunix with Dave, AWESOME, very helpful, saves me a lot of time/effort and enhances the firmware! Thank you Andy!!!!!

2) Please, if you have a TA or Puma or Jag or whatever else, please post here and pledge your intent to be more vocal about your FreeEMS tool experiences.

Fred.

I will help out however I can with testing firmware, MTX, Seans's loader and also with providing feedback on my hardware build which will help out with testing circuits for Ravage.

I have a Debian 32bit PC, a Windows XP 32bit PC and a Windows 7 64bit PC so I can test just about any combination, plus I could setup the Win7 64bit PC to dual boot Debian 64bit for testing on that OS if needed.

I would like to help out with the (64bit) freeEMS toolchain. Some documents to help build on any distro would be helpful or some scripts. I currently have 64bit linux installs ( ubuntu 10.04 ) and some (64bit) windows 7 installs ( can test windows builds if needed ). I have a TA card that i can test with as soon as the garage is not freezing. I do tend to test the firmware, OLV, Loader and megatunix with compiling and installing as often as possible. I also might be thinking of a distro switch down the road.

I just found out the whole time i was using ancient 64bit freeEMS toolchain yet the firmware still compiles fully under it for what its worth.

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the help. I was starting to get swamped with stuff that wasn't my core purpose, which sucks for everyone.

Prelude, your tool chain is significantly younger than the one that I'm using, so don't worry about it for now.

I've decided that I'm not going to write any code to specifically benefit anyone who doesn't post in here and follow through on their word. I think it's only fair that those who put more in get more out. So if you want features/fixes, get posting and testing, please.

Fred.

I pledge to be more vocal about FreeEMS tool experiences .....signed here

Preston.

Preston wrote:I pledge to be more vocal about FreeEMS tool experiences .....signed here

Thanks mate, it's the way it has to be.

once i get the money together to get a board and sim board im sure i'll find something i dont like and write a fix for it.

Hey Fred,
I'm all for getting some of the work delegated, and off of your
shoulders.

I'm committed to the project, I've thrown the dizzy away on my DD
(well, it's in a box in the crawlspace, but I have no idea how to
re-install it and set the dwell properly*), so you are stuck with
me.

I do my best to provide useful feedback to you and the other
developers. I don't pipe up with every gripe, I like to at least
characterize the defect first, so I can write a useful bug
report. This might make me slow, and produce fewer reports, but
the reports I do produce are quality, I like to hope.

I'm keen to contribute back (beyond testing) at some point. I
haven't found the time to come right up to speed on the code, but
I will eventually.

I'm interested in writing some documentation, when the time comes
for that. (I'm kind of keen to document learning the code,
actually, but that is a bit of a project.)

At some point I expect I will hack code, if only on my branch.
Three cheers for free software.

I've done my best to document my build so far. It does have
deficiencies, and I've tried to highlight them as best I can.

I'm committed to working to further the project, and am jealous
of the time Fred has committed. What an amazing way to live.

Kudos also to Dave, Sean, Ben, John, and all the fledgling users.
Amazing work so far!

This is going to be a great year for FreeEMS.


[*] Yes, I could read the manual, but this is one obsolete skill I'd
like to avoid learning.

Oh, and please feel free to ask me to test stuff, I'll do my best to.