Dazzler kit thoughts

[Lex Landa]

I've recently built a Dazzler kit from David's GitHub project: www.hackster.io/david-hansel/dazzler-display-for-altair-simulator-3febc6

I'm pleased with the result and have almost sorted-out component sources.  Although there's a BOM (bill of materials) in the project, I found that it was expensive to order from many different suppliers (especially Digikey!), so I stuck to my local supplier (Farnell UK).

A few issues remain with my board - probably due to my having been a little liberal with the solder.  One of these issues is a short in the TEST line, which causes the Dazzler to be permanently in test mode if pin 11 of the PIC is connected.  I've had to disconnect this pin from the socket (bend it out).  I've gone through it several times with a DMM, trying to find the short, but it's elusive.  My having the eyesight of a drunken wombat (i.e. bad) doesn't help.

The joysticks appear to be a standard SparkFun part, so no problems with those - though I'm considering using an old BBC Micro analogue joystick (non-centering type) as I already have a pair unused.

The picture from the Dazzler is rock-steady and as Stan Veit once did, I leave Kaleidoscope with the monitor facing the window, to amuse the neighbours.

Once I'm confident in building these boards, would anyone like to see me make it available as a kit on eBay or Tindie?

I have 4 PCBs remaining but they're cheap and delivery is very fast, so I could order more and put a bunch of kits together in quick time.

Hopefully I can bring some colourful joy to others by making these kits easy to order!

Lex.

[Randy E (OoMOR)]

I would love to get a kit (or even just a set of bare boards). Please let us know if/when you decide to do a run.

Thanks, Randy

[Charley Jones]

Ditto

Sent from my iPhone Xs!

On Dec 19, 2019, at 5:13 AM, Lex Landa <lex....@gmail.com> wrote:



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[David Hansel]

Glad to hear it's (mostly) working! Regarding the stuck "Test" mode that does sound like a short somewhere.
Have you tried de-soldering the switch? What if you take out the PIC32 - is the TEST line still shorted?

Is is shorted to ground or some other signal?

What are the other problems? If you give me some details (on list or off list) I may be able to help sort those out.

Good luck!

David

[Lex Landa]

To Randy and Charley,

From Randy:

I would love to get a kit (or even just a set of bare boards). Please
let us know if/when you decide to do a run.

On 19/12/2019 21:17, Charley Jones wrote:
> Ditto


Okay then!  It's good to know that there'll be a demand.  I'll get more
boards and count those components.

I might put the listing on eBay or I might try Tindie this time.


Merry Seasonal Festivities!

Lex.

[Lex Landa]

Hi David,

Thank you for your help with this.  I'm replying on-list as this may be
useful to other folks doing fault-finding.

On 20/12/2019 01:22, David Hansel wrote:
> Glad to hear it's (mostly) working! Regarding the stuck "Test" mode
> that does sound like a short somewhere.
> Have you tried de-soldering the switch? What if you take out the PIC32
> - is the TEST line still shorted?

> Is it shorted to ground or some other signal?

When I did a continuity test between the TEST pin (PIC pin 11 socket)
and GND today, it was open - the short had disappeared, but I can't get
the Dazzler to go into Test mode at all now.

Referring to the attached image (sorry for the poor quality - it's dark)
and looking down on the board, the top-left of the switch (removed so I
could test it) goes to the PIC pin 11 socket, while the bottom-left goes
to the right of the 1K pull-down resistor, R24.  This all checked-out
okay when I did these tests, so it could be that the fault was due to a
stray bit of solder between the PIC pins.  I've re-connected the PIC's
pin 11 and tried pulling it low through a low-value resistor (75R) and
pressing the RESET button, but it doesn't go into test mode. If I
understand the schematic correctly, are the Test switch pins 1, 2, 4 and
3 are viewed from the track side of the PCB?

Maybe if I add a weak pull-up to the Test pin that would help?

Please also excuse the bodged capacitors in the audio section at the top
of the picture - I didn't have any 470 nF capacitors for C10, C11, C12
and C13 and replaced each pair (C10/C11, C12/C13) with a 100nF.

Cheers,

Lex.

[David Hansel]

That all sounds correct - top-left pin of the switch should connect to pin 11 of the PIC

and bottom-left pin of the switch goes to the pull-down resistor.

First of all, the test mode is ONLY entered if the TEST button is pressed at power-up
(or RESET). Pressing it later is not supposed to have any effect. Maybe the instructions

aren't super clear on that? Suggested procedure to enter test mode is:
- press and HOLD the TEST button
- press and let go of the RESET button
- release the TEST button

If that doesn't help, is it possible that the leg on the PIC got damaged from bending
it out and back? You can short the PIC pin 11 directly to ground - the pull-down
resistor is not really necessary. Maybe try directly going from the pin on the chip
to ground.

David

[Terry Fox]

I would also like one or two sets of boards, or a kit or two.  Thank you for doing this, I started laying out the Dazzler board, but got sidetracked...

Terry, N4TLF

[Lex Landa]

Hi David - and other list members.

I hope that the season finds you jolly.

On 20/12/2019 02:49, David Hansel wrote:
> That all sounds correct - top-left pin of the switch should connect to
> pin 11 of the PIC
> and bottom-left pin of the switch goes to the pull-down resistor.

Good.  Further tests show the same thing so I can scribble another note
to myself about that..

>
> First of all, the test mode is ONLY entered if the TEST button is
> pressed at power-up
> (or RESET). Pressing it later is not supposed to have any effect.
> Maybe the instructions
> aren't super clear on that?

That's okay - they were very clear; I realise that the test mode is only
entered on initialisation.

> Suggested procedure to enter test mode is:
> - press and HOLD the TEST button
> - press and let go of the RESET button
> - release the TEST button
>
> If that doesn't help, is it possible that the leg on the PIC got
> damaged from bending
> it out and back? You can short the PIC pin 11 directly to ground - the
> pull-down
> resistor is not really necessary. Maybe try directly going from the
> pin on the chip
> to ground.

OK - I did that a few minutes ago, with no effect.

Although it's unusual, could it be that there's an intermittent break
between the pin and the chip?

I've tried shorting the PIC pin 11 to ground and pressing RESET - it no
longer has any effect and I haven't been able to get it to go into test
mode since yesterday.

Oh well - I have a few more PIC chips, so I'll try programming another one.

Regards,

Lex.

[David Hansel]

Strange - Everything you describe sounds good and should enter test mode,

especially shorting pin 11 directly to ground during reset. Three more things I can

think of (but you've probably tested already):
- is there any general problem, i.e. can you run Kaleidoscope?
- is the Reset button working?

- is pin 11 somehow now shorted to VCC?

If it's neither of those then I would suspect the pin got damaged when
you bent it out. 

Happy Holidays!

David

[Chris Davis]

Tindie is a great marketplace for stuff like this.

[Lex Landa]

On 20/12/2019 03:59, Terry Fox wrote:
> I would also like one or two sets of boards, or a kit or two.  Thank
> you for doing this, I started laying out the Dazzler board, but got
> sidetracked...
> Terry, N4TLF
>

Great - thanks for letting me know.  I'm writing up the construction
guide now.

Lex.

[Lex Landa]

Hello David - and the rest of the list -

On 20/12/2019 12:17, David Hansel wrote:
> Strange - Everything you describe sounds good and should enter test mode,
> especially shorting pin 11 directly to ground during reset. Three more
> things I can
> think of (but you've probably tested already):
> - is there any general problem, i.e. can you run Kaleidoscope?

Yes.  All programs that I've tested perfectly.

> - is the Reset button working?

Yes.

> - is pin 11 somehow now shorted to VCC?

No.  Pin 11 shows infinite resistance (open circuit or too high for my
DMM to measure).

> If it's neither of those then I would suspect the pin got damaged when
> you bent it out.

I agree.  What's weird is that sometimes the board will go into test
mode on a reset or power-up.  No (correcting myself..), that would
happen if the pin was floating, wouldn't it?

My conclusion is that the pin has a micro-fracture at the point where it
joins the chip body; that's all I can think of.

I'll be trying other PICs later and I'm betting that the test switch
will work fine with them.


Cheers and best wishes,

Lex.

[Lex Landa]

On 20/12/2019 15:08, Chris Davis wrote:
> Tindie is a great marketplace for stuff like this.

Tindie it is, then.

I hope that everyone's okay with a wait of a few weeks before these kits
are available.

The reason: it's Christmas and there's always disruption then - and I've
just received notice that I have to quit my flat, so I'll be needing to
find somewhere to live.


Festive cheers,

Lex.

[Lex Landa]

Hi folks,

Terry, Randy and others: would you be okay with being guinea-pigs with
my first few boards?

The documentation isn't quite up-to-scratch and I haven't quite got the
components sorted... but when I do, I'll sell the first batch via
PayPal, not using eBay - because on eBay, it's difficult to sell to a
specific set of people and I want to make sure that those who have asked
get their boards first.  If you're satisfied I'll then get more boards &
components and put a listing on Tindie and/or eBay.

You'll be covered by PayPal's trade agreement if you choose 'goods &
services' (or the like) when paying.

I really appreciate any comments regarding this kit, because I'm still
learning how to do this properly.


Ta!

Lex

[Randy E (OoMOR)]

Lex,

I would be happy to build up one of the test boards. Do you have the joystick boards available as well as the main Dazzler board? (If not, I could always use protoboard.)

Randy

[Lex Landa]

To Terry and Randy,

Thanks for agreeing to receive the first few kits.  I'll reduce the
price as these are test versions.

On 22/12/2019 18:38, 'Randy E (OoMOR)' via Altair-Duino wrote:

> Lex,
>
> I would be happy to build up one of the test boards. Do you have the
> joystick boards available as well as the main Dazzler board? (If not,
> I could always use protoboard.)
>

The joystick board will be supplied, as will two thumb joysticks -
however, one issue is that I don't have the facilities (3D printing or
design apps & skills) to design an enclosure for the joysticks, Dazzler
board or joystick board, so these will be supplied as the board, cables
and connectors only.  As yet, I haven't wired-up my own joysticks since
there was some confusion (my fault) about the DB9 connector polarity. 
After conversing with David H., I decided to have male connectors on the
joystick side and female on the board, to emphasize that they are not
compatible with Amiga or Atari ST joysticks.

Any thoughts you might have about this would be much appreciated.

Festive cheers,

Lex.

[Terry N4TLF]

I'm in! Just let me know. Thank you.
Terry

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[Terry Fox]

Sorry, this is a duplicate that finally went through!

email to altair-duino+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[Lex Landa]

Hi all,


A bit more news regarding the kit:

I've put together a Bill Of Materials (BOM) based on David's, and am
getting most of the components from RS.  I ordered about UKP200 of stuff
today.

That's the good news.  The bad news is that it worked out a little more
expensive than I originally guessed.  The reasons are twofold:

1) Suppliers often sell items in packs or require a minimum quantity of
components.

2) High-quality items (e.g. the joystick assembly) are often very
expensive. I'm guessing that this is because they supply to trade, and
the prices are just a lot higher based on the quality and quantity of
component.

3) Through-hole components are becoming scarce.

At present I have components necessary to build 5 kits, but without the
joysticks - and the cost of each kit is going to be (guess) $30 to $50,
and unfortunately, not within the price range of my previous kit.

I'm sorry for this - it's disappointing because I know how important it
is to have a kit that's affordable.

I'll continue trying to get the price down, but I don't want to cut
corners.  E.g. I'm using turned-pin IC sockets, MLCC capacitors and
connectors from reputable suppliers.


Thank you all for your patience.

Lex.

[Juan Orlandini]

I’d be happy to test one of them as well. Just let me know.

[Lex Landa]

On 25/12/2019 15:08, Juan Orlandini wrote:

> I’d be happy to test one of them as well. Just let me know.
>

Thanks Juan, I'll add you to the list of potential buyer/testers.

I'm currently waiting for components; I'll then put some kits together,
print-up some documentation and let you know.

Mostly of the folks on this list are more than capable of constructing
kits themselves, but I'll put a basic construction guide together to
make it suitable for novices... and I'll add pictures this time!


Lex.

[Scott Bennett]

I just joined the group -- I'd be interested in a Dazzler kit -- or at least the circuit board and BOM.  Let me know.  Thanks.

Scott

[Jim Martin]

Just recently joined as well, but you can put me down for 2 of the kits !  Just tell me where to send the money !!

Jim

Sent from my iPad

On Dec 29, 2020, at 11:42 AM, Scott Bennett <swb...@gmail.com> wrote:

I just joined the group -- I'd be interested in a Dazzler kit -- or at least the circuit board and BOM.  Let me know.  Thanks.

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[John Fuller]

Yes, please put me down for a kit.  Thanks.

[wgt...@gmail.com]

Lex:

I would be interested in 2 sets if they are available.

Thanks

Wally

[Patrick Jackson]

I am also interested in a kit if possible! I got the original manuals for it and would love to play with it!

[Lex Landa]

Hi folks,
I'm back on the Altair-Duino list, so here's an apology.

Sorry to keep you all waiting - I moved house in March 2020, and since
then, everything's been a total mess - half of my equipment is at my
new apartment and half is in storage, about a mile away. I don't have
a car so am not able to collect everything - instead, I carry bags of
stuff from the storage place, every few days. With it all being
stored in a haphazard fashion, I'm never sure what I'm going to bring
back with me.
The good news is that I found the Dazzler kits a few weeks ago - when
Christmas was in full swing - and I built a board to check that I'd
got the components correct. Unfortunately, I made a few mistakes with
the types of capacitors and inductors, and the joystick boards are not
working correctly. I think that the pinout is wrong; the joystick
test shows a cross wandering all over the screen and pressing B1 seems
to short the A-D out, so the cables need to be tested fully. If
anyone's interested in tackling this themselves, I have a number of
joystick and Dazzler boards and most of the components, although not
all. I realise that it's hardly an ideal situation and one that will
most likely cause frustration to kit builders. If only I'd ordered
David's components from LCSC - but the cost of import to the UK is
prohibitive, so I went with components from a variety of sources (RS,
Farnell, Switch Electronics). I will not be charging the full price
for any kits that I sell, since they are incomplete and I want to get
rid of them.

Thanks for your patience, everyone! I'm pleased that there's still a
demand for these.

Lex Landa

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[Scott Bennett]

Lex,

Thanks for the reply.  I'd be willing to work with a partial kit -- just let me know how much

you'd like and how to contact you.  Thanks.

Scott

[Lex Landa]

To Scott and everyone else on the list:

The status of my VDM-1 kit is as follows.

I have all components, apart from the following:

1. USB connector: the ones that I have are SMD, which means that they
will require delicate soldering to attach four wires to connect them
to the pads. I had some success with this method, but had to be very
careful not to short the leads.

2. C8 and C15. I have no 220nF capacitors. I suspect that I ordered
them and they're in a bag in storage.

3. Inductors (L1 to L4): the ones that I have are too big and you'll
need to bend the leads a little to get them to fit.

4. Audio output socket: I got a part with a different pin
configuration; you'll need to attach wires to them. This looks messy.

5. Joystick cable and PCB. The joysticks don't work yet - see my
previous message about incorrect wiring. I previously messaged Terry
Fox about this, and he traced the pinout. Terry, if you're out there,
did you get the joysticks working?

Other issues: I don't have a printer (it's in storage, it's heavy and
I can't carry it!), so you'll get no documentation and any notes will
be in my untidy handwriting.

As to how many kits I can produce, I'd say that I have enough
components for 'about 10'. When/if I run out of components, please
let me know whether you'd like to wait for me to send them on or if
you'll order them yourself.

Price for the whole kit: I originally set it at UKP45 (British
Pounds), where the price reflected the increased cost of through-hole
components. I've decided to sell the partial kit at $35 each, which
is about UKP25. At this price I will be making a loss, but it's
better than holding on to components that I have no use for. I would
still have made a loss if I sold them at UKP45, but I consider that to
be too high a price to ask for, when the kit has parts missing.

Again, instead of selling the kit via eBay or Tindie, I'm selling each
kit privately. Could each prospective purchaser please send me an
email at broo...@imap.cc or lex....@gmail.com, including their
postal address? I'll then batch-up the components & PCB and let the
purchaser know when I've dispatched the kit. You may send funds via
PayPal, to https://paypal.me/lexthehex

... but.. please don't send anything until you've received
confirmation from me; I'm stating that to avoid disappointment. The
last thing that I want to do is promise kits and then be unable to
deliver. :)

Speaking of delivery, the cost does not include postal charges -
unless you live just down the road. That's one reason why I have
decided to correspond with each buyer and let them know the status of
the order.

Thank you all and I hope that the new year finds you well!

Lex.

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>

[Lex Landa]

Whoops.. I mean 'Dazzler kit', not VDM-1. I've been doing VDM-1 stuff
lately, so it was on my mind.

[Lex Landa]

Hi list peeps,

Here's a list of Altair-duino fans who would be interested in a kit
(email addresses omitted for privacy reasons):

These kind people have been waiting for more than a year - thank you
so much and I'm sorry that it's taken so long. The wait is comparable
with the time that it took Ed Roberts to produce the first Altair 8800
kits - and I humbly apologise for my lack of organisation with regard
to this issue.

Randy E (OoMOR)
Charley Jones
Terry Fox
Juan Orlandini

Folks who contacted me recently ('ish):

Scott Bennett
Jim Martin
Jim Manley
John Fuller
(wgtuten AT gmail DOT com)
Patrick Jackson
Philippe Richer

I'm batching-up kits now and well let each person know when they are
ready - and what the status of each kit is (missing or incorrect
parts).

[Randy E (OoMOR)]

Coolness! Thank you for doing this.

Randy

[Lex Landa]

An update on the Dazzler kit:

I've just ordered another batch of components from LCSC, and I chose
the 3-7 day postage option, so they'll be here soon-ish - that's as
soon as LCSC approves the order. I find it curious that because the
order contains components that are not in stock, the whole order is
held until they approve it.

I ordered enough components for at least 25 kits. The only missing
parts are from Digikey, whom I am reluctant to order from because they
are expensive. I have some of those components, so won't need to
re-order.

I'm also putting together complete kits and importantly, I should have
a working printer soon, so I can print postage labels. This is a
Canon BJC-80 printer with a 'power brick' PSU. In addition, it has a
Centronics interface and my PC doesn't have a parallel port. It also
has an infra-red (IrDA?) port, which I might be able to use with my
Psion Series 5mx organiser, but this is getting a bit long-winded - as
is this email!

Lex

[Lex Landa]

On 1/9/21, 'Randy E (OoMOR)' via Altair-Duino

<altair...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
> Coolness! Thank you for doing this.

You're welcome. I'm finding this all fun, if it's sometimes slightly
on the verge of 'pull my hair out and shout at the computer' fun. :)

Lex

[Lex Landa]

To Randy E. and other kind people following this thread,

Yes!!!  I finally have all components necessary to start putting kits in the post.

Thank you all for your incredible patience - I'm sure that the wait must have been so annoying.  It's certainly been stressful for me to wait for components to arrive from China, only to find that I missed something out and have to order more.

Regarding payment and postage, I'll email each of you separately to arrange this.

Due to printer issues, the documentation is very much lacking.  I'm sure you know this sort of thing: a generous neighbour gives you their old inkjet printer, saying that it doesn't work because it has a bit of paper stuck in it.

Clearing the printer jam involved taking the printer apart and very carefully finding all loose bits of paper - and after that, it still shows a paper jam condition.. and then I notice that its previous owner also removed the ink cartridges.

I have no way of knowing whether new cartridges will get it working again.  I have another printer, but it only works with my old Psion Series 5 PDA and I don't know whether I can convert PDFs to the document format that it uses.

I'd therefore recommend purchasers of this kit to download the documentation from Mr. Hansel's GitHub repository.

Components: I have almost all of them and have got the board working, but there's something wrong with the joystick board (see previous messages).  So, some creative pin-mapping may be required.

I've decided to sell these kits at $35 (US dollars) each, not including postage.  Does that seem a fair price?  Please let me know; all feedback is gratefully appreciated.

Stand by for emails.

Lex.

[Randy E (OoMOR)]

I received my Dazzler kit today, much faster than I expected. I hope to build it this weekend.

Thanks, Randy

[Lex Landa]

Hi Randy,

I'm glad to hear that you've received the kit.  Sorry that it's all a bit 'how ya doing', with no documentation.  If I had smaller anti-ESD bags I would have grouped the components together.

Regarding the wiring of the joystick boards, you may encounter some difficulties if the joysticks are not Sparkfun COM-09032.  The wiring's a bit strange, even with the correct joysticks.  I've been corresponding with Brian Welland on this, so he's probably the man to talk to if you have any problems with them.  I personally only use the display side of the board, but I'd like to get it all working at some point.  Terry Fox also did tests with the wiring of the joysticks ages ago - 2018, maybe?  Time flies..

Lex.

[n4tlf]

Hey Lex,

(Sorry to the group, but I tried sending an email directly to Lex, but I don't think it went through)

Lex, I think you sent me an email about purchasing one of the Dazzler kits within the last week, but I can't find that email anywhere.  Was it a recent email, or an old one from a year or so ago?  If recent, could you please send it again?

I lost my main email computer recently, and am still recovering stuff from that.  Some accounts are not working right yet.

Thanks,

Terry Fox

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[Lex Landa]

Hello Terry,

(Sorry to the group also - using it as a broadcast medium...)

Terry, you can get me at lex.landa AT gmail DOT com or brooknet AT imap DOT cc (address obfuscation necessary to avoid Gmail warning me).

My original email was sent very long ago on 19th December 2019, and here's a bit of it:

  I've recently built a Dazzler kit from David's GitHub project: www.hackster.io/david-hansel/dazzler-display-for-altair-simulator-3febc6

  I'm pleased with the result and have almost sorted-out component sources.  Although there's a BOM (bill of materials) in the project, I found that it was expensive to order from many different suppliers (especially Digikey!), so I stuck to my local   supplier (Farnell UK).

...

I continued by describing a problem with the test mode that I'd had, which has since been solved.  It was down to (I think..) damage to the test input on my PIC - solved when I used another PIC.

  The picture from the Dazzler is rock-steady and as Stan Veit once did, I leave Kaleidoscope with the monitor facing the window, to amuse the neighbours.

  Once I'm confident in building these boards, would anyone like to see me make it available as a kit on eBay or Tindie?

  I have 4 PCBs remaining but they're cheap and delivery is very fast, so I could order more and put a bunch of kits together in quick time.

  Hopefully I can bring some colourful joy to others by making these kits easy to order!

I wrote this email before a major house move (270'ish miles north - probably not much to you USA readers!) and after that I lost track of all of my kits and didn't get the components & tools back until around November 2020, when the Covid-19 thing was causing delays.  I needed more components, ordered lots of them and at the time of writing, I have 4 Dazzler PCBs remaining, an unknown number of joystick boards - at a guess, enough components to build 3 kits at most.  The limit is due to the price of the PICs, which are quite expensive.

Although the Dazzler board itself works well, the wiring of the joystick board cables has caused issues. I don't have the equipment necessary to fit IDC cables and for those kit buyers who have tried their own, they've had limited success.  Brian Welland, for example, said that the joysticks are 180 degrees out-of-phase - probably caused by me not using original Digikey joysticks.  In the UK, ordering from Digikey is expensive and slow: they're fine if you order in bulk, but ordering small quantities of components can work out to be very expensive, so I've avoided them and used joysticks from other suppliers.  LCSC are great, though: they're really fast, good value and their website is easy to use.

To conclude, the boards are available but it may take me some time to get the components together.  In the meantime, I'm working on an SDL Dazzler client that should work on a Raspberry Pi, allowing it to be used instead of the Dazzler board.  I've got it plotting windows of colourful dots at present, and the next stage is to get it talking to the Altair-duino via a CDC-ACM tty, for which I am poring over documentation about serial ports.  If anyone's interested in helping (I may have mentioned that I'm a lousy C programmer!) then I'd be willing to share the code - it's all under GPL 2.

That's the status so far.

Cheers!

Lex

[David Williams]

Lex,

I'd be interested in helping. I did some work on having the Altairduino drive an LCD display in Dazzler mode and have it working pretty well, so I'm familiar with the whole Dazzler protocol. I've kinda set it aside as I'm running into memory limits on the Due and I have barely started trying to do the other features I had envisioned. Also the display is a touch too expensive to become a popular option. 

Here's links to my modified Altairduino code and some videos of how it's currently running. 

https://github.com/davewill/Altair8800

https://youtube.com/channel/UCY-_sE_a4ih9G3v5WUxbxaA

I looked seriously at modifying David Hansel's pigfx terminal emulator for bare metal Raspberry Pi to do Dazzler, joysticks, and USB serial. The instant on nature is what makes it a winning idea. At the time, no one seemed to have the USB serial class implemented on bare metal, however. I've been thinking for a while of returning to the RPi approach.  It would probably be possible to run Dazzler over standard serial, bumping up the data rate as high as we can manage, but USB would be preferable.

Here's the link to David Hansel's pigfx project, assuming you aren't already looking at it: https://github.com/dhansel/pigfx