S4 E21.We make progress on the Arduino controlled AMR500 supercharged Kubota diesel powered Honda

Season 4 Episode 21. Heads up!, bonus material at end. In this episode Jimbo builds and tests more gadgets for use on the AMR500 Supercharged Kubota Diesel powered Honda. Will the Arduino UNO have enough computing power to tame the little diesel engine?.. tune in and find out.
Robot Cantina
207 S. Sedgwick Ave
P.O. Box 28
Haven KS, 67543

[@markjohnston2675]

I for one love the "boring stuff"....You Sir are a great teacher...I appreciate your hard work not only on the project but also all the time editing and setting up the cameras...Well done.

[@Stevemax07]

I agree with everything in this comment. Thanks for adding the second part to the video for the rest of us.

[@haydenc2742]

The boring stuff is actually the "nerdy" stuff us geeks like Us mechanic/computer nerds are actually really stoked about this stuff...believe it or not

[@SonicBoone56]

​@@haydenc2742 exactly

[@jbuchana]

@@haydenc2742 Not only do we like it, but I'm impressed with the clear explanation for those who've never used interrupt-driven code.

[@danhard8440]

hello... im pretty sure everyone that watches your channel is here for the rambling🤣

[@lynnlandin7561]

"My favorite programming language is solder" - Bob Pease

[@adampowell576]

I love how simple you make all this look! Suddenly automotive computer systems don’t seem so difficult. Thanks Jimbo!

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

He's broken it down so well into steps that it makes it easier to grasp what's going on. The big deal with modern computer controls is they're monitoring lots of channels and making changes based off a lot of information, and all those interactions can make things a lot more confusing. CAN still escapes my diagnostic skills and equipment. Lol just causes me grief, thankfully I'm not a tech at a shop, I'm a company mechanic and we don't have too many newer rigs.

[@fredv7487]

They just want you to think it's so complex, so you bring it to them for repairs. Money, money, money.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

@@fredv7487 a lot of the information that the system uses is locked, hidden away from access by non licensed scantools and it really makes it tough sometimes. All I want to know is if a solenoid is being commanded to do something and I can't even do that. It's a multi-facetted issue but overall your statement is correct. They don't want us working on them

[@surewhynot6259]

Don't be fooled. The arduino here is doing next to nothing in comparison to a modern ECU. Sorry

[@gustiwidyanta5492]

​@@surewhynot6259but it is comparable to a 80s-90s ECU, like a Motronic or a Digifant.

[@Dis-Emboweled]

This episode, Jimbo drives 20 feet! And its exciting! 😁 And then we get punished for being interested in the bonus 🤦‍♂️ Great video!

[@ryandavis4863]

always a great day after ROBOT CANTINA...THANKS JIMBO

[@markrenfrow9873]

Hey Jimbo, I hung around to the very end, not wanting to miss a chance to have my head drug through the mud. I am impressed that you are one of few folks that know the computer magic and still are not afraid to get your hands dirty. And also know righty/tighty lefty/loosey.

[@robotcantina8957]

Thanks!

[@johnvender]

Your explanation of how interrupts work at the end is brilliant. I'm sure you would do a great job of explaining how a stack works.

[@iceman2k103]

I came for the cool gear head stuff. I stayed for the informative electronics stuff. 😉

[@craigfreeman9280]

Coffee, check, comfortable seat, check, annnnnnnd action!

[@paulwright3261]

You sir are a real genius! Oscilloscopes, Arduinos, writing programs, fabricating! The thought process in making all these decisions! It's always a blast watching your videos!😮

[@WatchWesWork]

I've used encoder buffer chips like an LS7366 to read hall effect sensors. They just count the number of pulses and when the arduino needs to know the speed, it asks the buffer for the current count and divides it by the time elapsed since the last time it asked. If you use something like a Teensy 4.0, it has 4 encoder buffers built right into the microcontroller. Reading a variable reluctance sensor would require some digital filtering, but it looks like you already have that handled.

[@AFRspace]

I had the same suggestion with the teensy for sensor input there is even premade lib made for measuring input frequency. Cool to see you watch this channel too I love your other videos.

[@WILDouglash]

Tbh, this is the type of stuff that keeps the world running. Ingenuity breeds invention and advancement. I love this stuff.

[@Darisiabgal7573]

That car runs cleaner now than a Volkswagen during an inspection. 😎

[@randr10]

I just grabbed some coffee and was about to head out into my own shop and realized that it was Sunday, so I just had to check for a new RC video. These episodes bring me great joy, and I learn a lot. I'm surprised at how dirty the signals are from these sensors. I had this imaginary vision of engine sensors in my head that they put out these perfect digital square waves and never have noise. In actuality they look like me trying to draw a sine wave with a broken crayon. Who woulda thunk?

[@ex-engineer6657]

Thanks again...GADGETS! This was a nice walk down memory lane; O-scopes, processing, etc. It's been decades since I got to think and work on things like this. Next: and, or, nor gates?

[@somedude2492]

Jimbo, what you did with the sine signal was exactly what i was needing to do for a while with a project of mine, thank you for the ideas! Also, that H brige hack was genius. Transistor is transistor i guess... Anyways, greetings from Argentina!

[@robotcantina8957]

Glad I could help

[@mfenmor]

Love the content Jimbo. Gearhead and Electrical Engineering all in one place.

[@haydenc2742]

Those are the best type!

[@WalkiTalki]

Excellent results. When I tinker my sucess rate is much lower than yours. I replaced one of the O2 sensors on my old truck with a signal generator. It took me nearly two years to get the signal to match the original sensor. Then after a month of working perfect the "simulator" died. Definitely jealous!

[@robotcantina8957]

O2 signal simulators used to be available to "fix" the check engine light, Sadly they are hard to find these days.

[@ultimatetoast2739]

Cool video. Liked the bit at the end that got a little more in depth in the technical challenges with the electronics.

[@drunkskunk00]

I learned a lot in the last 4 minutes. I can see why you put it there, but that's the kind of stuff I enjoy.

[@StillFunBrewing]

Hahahaha great ending. Again I’m just loving the practical thought processing to solving problems for efficiency. Rock on.

[@MrCthur]

Appreciate the little appendix bit. Good explanation of why the analog converter is necessary.

[@rossbowman202]

I am glad I stuck around. Thank you Jimbo.

[@GIGABACHI]

Great Work, Jimbo ! Even tho electronics are not my favorite thing to mess with, you still make it watchable and dumb it down enough to keep a Caveman like myself entertained and seated until the end of each video.

[@Smidge204]

Not sure how fast you need to update the frequency measurement, but first thing I thought of when you were describing the interrupt cycle was to use the square wave input as a counter trigger and set it to do an interrupt every n counts rather than every single rising edge. Alternatively you can set a timer to trigger at known time intervals and read/reset the counter every j milliseconds. (Pick something smart like 125ms and your frequency in Hz is counter

[@gregholloway2656]

I had the same thought and posted it in a separate comment. Hopefully Jimbo sees these.

[@georgehooper429]

The thing you have to consider is that this micro controllers has an 8 bit cpu that is running at 16Mhz (consider the cheapest, slowest x86 PC runs at 1.1Ghz and has a data width of 64 bits). Frequency calculation takes quite a bit of processing time. If he was running an esp32 (32 bits at 240Mhz) there would be more time for tach inputs. With the method Jimbo is using he can get the analog voltage with just 2 cpu clock cycles(its probably more like 6 cycles but that breaks my narrative) reading one of the internal 10bit ADCs. All the the scaling to units of measure is done in the external DAC (the electronic frequency gizmo). No cpu math needed to get a relative speed. It doesn't have to be 100% accurate, it has to fast and close enough. If the processor was a bit faster then your timer method would work well.

[@Smidge204]

​@@georgehooper429 "Frequency calculation" takes essentially no CPU time at all if you use the device properly. A timer/counter is a peripheral that utilizes zero CPU cycles unless and until the interrupt condition is met. Whether a counter incrementing on an external signal or a timer incrementing/decrementing on the system clock, the CPU itself is not involved until the interrupt triggering circuits are satisfied and the interrupt is triggered. The ADC actually operates in a similar way; You tell it to take a sample by setting the appropriate bit in the control register, and the CPU does other things until the ADC triggers an interrupt that the sampling/conversion is complete. The CPU then has to stop what it's doing and move the result out of the ADC's data register before doing anything else or risk the data getting overwritten. Alternatively you can put the ADC into free-running mode where it's constantly sampling and will trigger an interrupt every time a new conversion event is finished, or configure the ADC to sample and convert based on a timer or other trigger event with no CPU intervention. Again, if you're smart and pick a good time base for your sampling frequency, the counter/timer method is equivalent in terms of CPU utilization; The "math" is simply a bit shift left which is 1 CPU cycle. If you're smarter still, you can probably skip that "math" and just use the unscaled value as-is since it's just a constant, and if all you care about is relative magnitude then 0-32 in steps of 1 is exactly as good as 0-256 in steps of 8 if you don't need the full precision (as an example). Using an external DAC also works, clearly, but as mentioned in the video introduces another layer of imprecision as it converts pulses to analog that then needs to be converted back to digital. Squeezing the data through a 0-5v window, plus likely environmental noise, loses precision. Good enough is good enough, though...

[@robotcantina8957]

A lot of folks seem to forget that the arduino is also driving two stepper motors. The core of the program is focused of moving those steppers as fast as possible. Doing direct frequency measurements on the RPM and vehicle speed would absorb too much time using standard code. And yes, I'm aware it can be done with advanced code.

[@chrismartinus2622]

Just like the rest of Jimbo's overkill, even using interrupts is too complex, inefficient and requires too much programming. The Arduino's ATmega328 has counter/timers that will do the whole job in just a few lines of code - and hugely accurately and quickly. His use of extra hardware, particularly those frequency-to-voltage converters, really messes with my OCD. Converting a digital frequency to a voltage and then converting it back to a digital value is just crazy. Also, Atmel AVRs inputs will trigger at about 1.0 - 1.3V, so the transistor/half-bridge was also unnecessary. The inputs also have schmitt triggers, so that will deal with noise. At the end of the day, Jimbo could have solved the coal-burning problem by opening up the governor and removing a spring to disable it - instead of all the servos, sensors and electronics. But his videos are nevertheless entertaining!

[@dansteel8805]

The ultimate in tinkering video series. You know, it would be possible to programme the car so it could sense when it’s doing an emissions test and the engine could automatically go into a low emissions mode to pass the test! And then revert back to rolling coal settings once back in the real world. Brilliant

[@JazzbLu]

Hey Jimbo, this is my favorite channel on KZbin. Thank you for all the fun builds and I completely and thoroughly understand and appreciate work done every episode. It's really cool what I have learned from you and your projects, so Thank You!

[@michaelfiber4324]

I appreciate the bonus clip because I was a little confused about that specific thing during the main video and found the additional explanation very enlightening.

[@iGeneric-ut1zj]

I have learnt to stay 'til the end for the Easter eggs. It's fun watching this develop, waiting to see what happens next week. Good work Jimbo.

[@johntheoldmod]

You may not have been proud of your gizmo but I would have been over the moon if I had managed to have even thought it, let alone achieved it, I can't imagine anyone ducking out before the end your video. Thanks for the enlightenment.

[@IJ-E36]

Gotta love when theory becomes reality, as boring as you may think it is it's really interesting to those of us that don't have an electronics background, thanks!

[@gregvanderboom5011]

I suffered to the end and I'm always happy for analog solutions in the digital world. Sometimes a simple solution to a complex problem is elegant, sometimes it's a kludge. The important thing is to know the difference. LoL Thank you for the video.

[@NoblePineapples]

I love learning the ins and outs of these sorts of things so the end bit was really appreciated.

[@sylvaingagnon3211]

Oh yes, I stayed around. I like your theme music of the odd band of drums, bass, keyboard brass, ukulele and vibraphone. Yes, vibraphone! Anyway, I love the content too. I’m not only here for the music.

[@54mgtf22]

I never find your content boring, Jimbo. Another great video. 👍

[@davidkettell1073]

i have to admit it ,i am hooked on your channel. I am so impressedc with your all round mechanical and electrical knowledge and abilities. Not to mention your programming and machining skills and of course your crazy imagination.

[@muhammeduzairdhoodhat8730]

I loved the 2nd segment and the way that you didn't mention it and left it for us to figure out

[@miguelgameiro8063]

Pretty cool

[@redgopnik2227]

the plate visible in the acceleration exhaust tests made me chuckle... looking forward to next episode as usual

[@MartinNyxel]

This series can be named "Engine ECUs, how it all started." 😆☺👌👌👌

[@jacquesb5248]

this is turning into a very interesting project! the "boring stuff" wasn't so boring at all

[@2alawabidingcitzen]

14:44 better stay till the end so glad I got to hear the whole jingle every Sunday.

[@ryang6311]

Now for withdrawals to set in until I get my fix next Sunday. I have enjoyed your channel for years now. Keep up the great work and I cannot wait to see once this project runs its course to see what comes up next!

[@RvnKnight]

Come for the music, stay for the content.

[@ProfessionalNoodler]

So great to see how much this channel has evolved. I do miss your evil gnome friends. ;)

[@peaceeagle1618]

Great info Jimbo. Love the computer tech. Keep up the good work.

[@kitcarlson6033]

Instead of frequency to voltage converter to measure RPM. Using input capture to measure period of proximity signal uses less parts, and will be more accurate, and fast response if needed. I use timers for EFI and electronic advance ignition systems. AVR is easy and fast just using C. Have achieved over 10K RPM with 4 cylinders.

[@oddojaggins]

Amazing! Once again my favorite automotive start up JIMBO MOTORS is teaching myself and others valuable info about electronics and coding in a way I can actually retain it. I hope you are taking care of yourself Jimbo we love the content and its worth waiting till next week for the next update

[@TheBansheeboy10]

Ngl the "boring" items actually explain the very simple operation of a basic ecm, currently working on swapping a diesel motor into a jd lawn tractor so using your kids as a reference in the future, cheers

[@retrorocker002]

I really appreciate the massive amount of time and effort you're putting into this project, you're one clever guy 😎

[@davidwostrel]

The ending segment was very informative, I learned something. I didn't realize that is how an IRQ acts. Very interesting

[@jimbo5728]

I always watch to the end. Nice bonus this time 👍👍👍

[@jmorganz3]

3rd time watching this slice of genius. Thank you for sharing all your hard work and skills!

[@PaulinesPastimes]

Not boring, fascinating and illuminating! 😊👍

[@Maybe-So]

LOVE the explanation at the end! Thank you! LOVE LOVE LOVE your show! Your explanations help a lot -

[@sweis12]

I wish i had enough patience to build something as unique as this .

[@anthonyrstrawbridge]

I learned that converting the frequency range to logic is simple and better than using a voltage converter.

[@DaveFromColorado]

Thank you for the extra bit at the end.... I always like the extra information.. I get to learn stuff that I didn't really know relearn stuff that I once knew but forgot... I used to be the self-proclaimed dangerous but wannabe expert for writing the initialization string my old us robotics 28.8k bps modem. And when writing for an external modem, using the old serial port on my my dad's 286 I used to have to know all that stuff... irq or interrupt request, and many other things that I can't remember but a good initialization string help the modem perform the handshake faster which was important when running a bulletin board system, which I did in the early to mid-90s.. I loved running elk lodge, it was an awesome bbs. Running the Citadel 86 software.

[@Salmon_Rush_Die]

You're a smart guy, Jimbo.

[@novavroomvroom3435]

After using advanced mathematical equations and eating pie, I've come to the conclusion that I have no clue of what's going on but the pie was delicious....!!!! 😊😊😊😊😊 great video...

[@boxxdrmtb]

I watched it right through to the end. I have a great interest in Arduino projects and learning about these limitations and workarounds is of great insight. I was completely glued to the entire episode Bravo!

[@bokke7u7]

Perfectly explained. Fantastic video!

[@Sevalecan]

(EDIT: I see we get a special section talking about interrupts at the end.. EDIT2: As far as documentation, well, you're going to look at the datasheet and which registers are available and how to configure them. It's just not documented in a single place at that point, because now you have to find corresponding variables exposed for those registers.) Man, you mentioned a voltage converter and I'm sitting here thinking about a voltage regulator and wondering what on earth you're talking about with frequency (especially if it's linear) and why it would even matter. 😆... That said, I imagine if you configure an interrupt on an input pin on the Arduino (Or you might be able to configure a counter peripheral, not sure without looking at an ATMega datasheet, but an interrupt is definitely doable), you could just count the pulses directly instead of worrying about a frequency to voltage converter. At 200Hz I imagine the overhead wouldn't be terrible or necessarily impact the rest of the program. Do I think you're going to do this? Probably not, especially if your existing solution is functional. Now for some more information you may or may not know and may or may not care about.. The Teensy line of devices generally has a much more powerful processor than an Arduino while being in a smaller package, so if 200hz was a problem with the Arduino counting pulses directly, there are alternatives out there that have a much higher operating frequency and wouldn't care at all. Also, I've played with a few of the STM32 Discovery dev boards and those processors are also very powerful, also have a Nucleo I may not have touched in a while. Lots of good options /if/ you're ever interested in going further. Teensy is Arduino IDE compatible so pretty easy to use. The STM32 dev boards can be a bit more work.... Also your beep at 9:08 just now made me think my sump alarm was going off. How dare you? 😆

[@gregholloway2656]

I’ll add that the RPi Pico is fast enough to directly count the pulses. I’m using one for fuel injection control on my old truck.

[@gavster89]

There are also the more powerful ST microcontrollers in the Arduino footprint, I was a fan of the M0 but I think they discontinued it. I ended up using a MKR series last time I was fiddling with them as it had a 16 bit ADC

[@Sevalecan]

@@gregholloway2656 That's fun. Did you use any of the Speeduino kit for FETS + drivers or go for a more home brew solution?

[@gregholloway2656]

@@Sevalecan totally home brew. The Pico outputs trigger op-amps that act as buffers and drivers to darlington transistors, which then fire the fuel injectors and bipolar stepper motor for IAC. I’m testing a second version now that adds distributorless ignition control. The Pico is easily fast enough, and the dual processors really helps.

[@msamour]

I just watched the second part to the video. That is exactly the explanation I was hoping to get! Thank you Sir! I am learning a lot from you.

[@m.searay4629]

Glad to find this series....very entertaining 👍

[@Reman1975]

[Random algorithm appeasing comment] - Damn you Jimbo. That shocked Arduino face animation looks just like a ring doughnut (Or "donut" for folks that side of the pond)............... It's 22 : 45* here in the UK, I'm watching this while getting ready for bed, and you've now got me craving doughnuts !!! :D (* Have to write the time like that or KZbin thinks it's a video timestamp.)

[@lindsaydempsey5683]

Brilliant, amazing content Jimbo, you are clearly a man of multiple talents. I'm loving the Arduino content and in-video graphics that you've added into this episode, they really help people to understand which bits you are working on and what they look like. Keep up the great work 🙂

[@scottallpress3818]

That old scope is awesome !

[@carlnelson3893]

Enjoyable as usual! Thanks!

[@ghostlyninja125]

This is dope, mans making his own ecu

[@daviddjerassi]

As a car / van / motor cycle owner for over 73 years i must admit i have no idea what your doing or what all these gizmos are for but i love your videos thanks.

[@hattyfarbuckle]

The directors cut was well worth the editing ❤

[@lewdog9647]

Thanks for the explanation at the end!

[@SeanTheMac]

Brilliant stuff, keep 'em coming please.

[@rickwalker1462]

I've been a auto mechanic for almost 25 years I understand how the sensors work and hoe to diagnose a bad one but never understood the whole "code" part of a pcm the stuff you call boring is the stuff I signed on for awsome job 👍

[@oldsranch]

thanks for giving us some insight to the controls!

[@mikeh2520]

Excellent work Jimbo!

[@802Garage]

Mans is just building a standalone ECU piece by piece. ;)

[@802Garage]

P.S. Def enjoy the boring stuff.

[@theblackhand6485]

We would love to see a Blue Motion E6 AdBlue system on the diesel. And with a self cleaning system. Thank you.

[@gkraker04]

love the vanity plate Jimbo. thanks for all y'all do.

[@markmonroe7330]

Excellent presentation. Thank you. Amazing job at explaining things.

[@terencehawkes3933]

Practical engineering at its very best.

[@NathansMoparGarage]

Thanks for explaining how all these sensors and inputs work.

[@MrDdaland]

LOL, I went to see if the latest Kubota diesel video was up, and lo, here it was

[@yodasbff3395]

Great video, thanks for sharing your videos. 👍

[@MrCybergladiator]

I love these videos, Keep up the good work. I'm loving the electrics

[@perrymattes4285]

I really like the fusion between the micro processor and mechanics Its not boring to me. .

[@michaelblacktree]

Thanks for demystifying the electronical stuff. 😎

[@Compact-Disc_700mb]

I liked the Easter egg at the the end!

[@markchapman2585]

I don't have a clue what you're talking about when it comes to Electronics, but I love it. You are really smart, Jimbo. Keep up the great work 👍🏻.

[@JRattheranch]

Fascinating again this week Jimbo! 😃 I'd just commented, liked and hit the screen to leave this discourse when I caught on that there was more! So I immediately returned to listen to your last part, thus proving my point of just how respected you and this series is in my estimation! 👍👌

[@robotcantina8957]

Thanks for that!

[@nazcaplain]

My Mercedes 300SD had a switch under the accelerator pedal called a 'kickdown switch' that engaged 1st gear if you really stomped on the throttle. That might be a good way to engage your full rack emergency acceleration mode in your Insight.

[@jakov175]

I'm very much enjoying this series

[@CodyShell]

After watching this it got me thinking... I bet you engineers at the automakers in the '80s and '90s. Probably felt like rocket scientists getting their engines to run with computerized tuning. Those were probably some fun days for those engineers

[@colestowing8695]

Great. Now everytime i see an arduino being used somewhere, I'm going to see those little emoji faces in my head 😁

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

Shooooo, lets go! I already had a cup and im on my second coffee and ready to see what the Cantina has in store! Thanks as always, Jimbo!

[@Speeduino]

Hey Jimbo, as always love the crazy work you're doing! If you're wanting to have a 2nd look at the interrupts for the RPM measurement I'd be more than happy to help you through this. For your setup it can be done in just a few lines of pretty standard code in the Arduino environment and I have no doubt we could get it running a little nicer than the frequency to voltage if you want :)

[@surf4luke]

So fun watching you interface with the A/C vehicle speed signal with an Ardiuno as I was doing the exact same thing with an arduino on my suburban to control the Torque Converter Clutch. Great stuff!

[@user-ej7vy1rl4t]

The only logical progression to this build series is a blown up engine and I love it.

[@haydenc2742]

The whole point to this is NOT to blow up the engine :D

[@paulwebber1657]

Luv the special license plate!