Created by Flutter Wireless (Address Verification)
Flutter is an open source ARM-powered wireless Arduino with 1000m+ (3200 ft) range and 256-bit AES hardware encryption.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Short update - fixed the install/setup process.
about 7 years ago
– Sat, Sep 30, 2017 at 10:03:00 PM
Happy Saturday all,
I noticed this weekend that the code didn't want to compile with the latest version of a dependent library, extEEPROM. I've updated the Flutter package to support the library.
If you've received your boards and have had trouble getting the code to compile, try this update.
To update, open Arduino and use the menu to go to Tools->Board->Boards Manager as shown in the image below.
In the resulting window, type "Flutter" in the search bar, and update the library.
That should be all you need to do. You may also want to update the extEEPROM library using the same process. If you have any trouble, you can try wiping out the flutter package entirely and reinstalling using the normal setup instructions.
To wipe out the flutter package, open your Arduino preferences and and look at the bottom, under the text "More preferences can be edited directly in the file". There should be a path to your preferences file, and your flutter hardware package will be in the same folder in the directory "packages". Simply delete the "flutter" folder there, close and re-open Arduino, and follow the instructions at the top of this update to pull in the package again.
Please let me know if you have trouble, or if I broke it for you, or if it was broken and I really did fix it.
Also last weekend I processed 110 address confirmations! I have to do a little more work to generate the packing lists, but they will turn in to 110 shipments soon. :)
Love,
Taylor
Flutter News September 2017 - shipments going out!
about 7 years ago
– Sun, Sep 17, 2017 at 03:48:18 PM
Friends!
The second batch of shipments has been sent out by Goodsource making that 37 packages sent out so far.
I've delivered them another batch of 40 packing lists to ship out.
If you didn't already, e-mail me your address to get your shipment soonest - [email protected]. Please put "address" in the subject.
If you want a refund, just ask! E-mail [email protected] with "refund" in the subject line. I will make a note on your account and will not ship you hardware - you will be refunded as I am able. This will take some time, and your patience is appreciated.
I have good news to share - Flutter's shipments have been rolling out in a relatively smooth fashion and I feel like we're on a good sustainable path to releasing all shipments.
So far Goodsource has shipped 37 packages and this week I gave them a list of the next 40 verified shipments. It took about 3 hours to process those 40 packing lists last weekend as the procedure is still somewhat manual, but it feels much more sustainable for me to be basically just processing your address updates and then sending off packing lists to someone else. It feels slow going, but we're on a good path now and I believe we will pick up our speed somewhat as I continue to optimize the process.
There's not much more to update you on now, but I thought I would share a little bit about what I have been up to behind the scenes to make this happen. Specifically, I have written a Greasemonkey script in Javascript that manipulates backerkit packing lists to suit Flutter's needs.
Firstly, the packing list was ugly. It's very nice that Backerkit generates packing lists for you, but I really wanted to customize them more. This is what you normally get:
Not only is the packing list boring to look at, but it's confusing too. Are the items under "your backerkit order" included in the list of items below? They are, but even I missed that at first causing a few backers to get extra stuff (which they can keep or give away). And then there's the third SKU, the Upgrade from Basic to Pro. I had been telling Goodsource to do those substitutions themselves, but when you're packing boxes it's way easier to just go down the line and pull the count for each item without having to go back and fix it.
And so, with a little Javascript magic, I wrote a tool that generates packing lists that look like this:
Upgrades are rolled in to the counts, and a note is added to indicate this.
Backordered items (not shown in this example) are added to a separate table rather than included amongst the other items.
An issue with USB cable counts not being correct for all Upgrades has been fixed.
I have a non-printing clickable button that automatically saves a PDF of the packing list to the correct folder with the correct name, eliminating several manual steps on my end.
For anyone curious about writing greasemonkey scripts, I put the code on Github. I should warn you that this is probably some of the worst code I've ever written. I've been hacking on this as time permits for the last several weeks and it's pretty ugly - but I thought I would share!
Anyway that's it for now. Send in your address update if you haven't done so this summer, otherwise sit tight and I hope to ship your package soon!
Oh and a random thing - I've been playing with the VESC brushless motor controller lately and it's really cool. Open source and powerful. I really like it so far. I'll post updates on my specific project once I have it a little farther along, but if you haven't heard of the VESC and you're curious about brushless motor control, I highly recommend you check it out.
Love,
Taylor
Aug 2017 Flutter Update
over 7 years ago
– Mon, Aug 07, 2017 at 12:39:39 AM
Happy Sunday folks.
TL;DR:
E-mail me your address to get your shipment soonest - [email protected]. Please put "address" in the subject.
The 17 shipments mentioned in the last update were delayed due to miscommunication. I will work hard to ensure they ship this week - I apologize for the delay.
If you want a refund, just ask! E-mail [email protected] with "refund" in the subject line. I will make a note on your account and will not ship you hardware - you will be refunded as I am able. This may take some time, and your patience is appreciated.
Other notes follow:
I hope lots of you send in your confirmed addresses - I will work over the next few weeks to process those orders.
Some of you are frustrated with the delays this project has experienced, and occasionally I get mild threats demanding immediate action - I've even had people e-mail me my home address as some manner of scare tactic. This is not appropriate behavior. You are entitled to your feelings and I hope you feel able to express them in the comments here or in emails directly to me at [email protected]. But remember that everyone else is waiting too, and you are not entitled to special treatment for any reason. If you have any particular concerns please let me know.
I have made some updates to my packing list generator script (a greasemonkey script that manipulates the BackerKit packing lists) to help ensure smooth processing of orders with our shipper.
I wrote another short story segment about an automated future. If you're interested, please read The Corporation.
Thanks,
Taylor
July 2017 - First Good Source batch going out.
over 7 years ago
– Sun, Jul 16, 2017 at 09:19:44 PM
Last week I received my test shipment from Good Source, and it looks good.
Test shipment I recieved from Good Source
Today I have delivered them 17 completed packing lists to ship, from my small pool of verified addresses.
Once that shipment has gone out, I will post a new update with information about how to confirm that your address is correct, and we will do larger batches.
Thanks.
Taylor Alexander
The adventure continues!
over 7 years ago
– Sat, May 20, 2017 at 02:31:01 PM
In the last update I said I had decided on Whiplash for fulfillment, but after signing up for their site and uploading our stuff (a quick process thanks to BackerKit integration), I found that their Oakland warehouse had disappeared from when I first signed up. After an e-mail bounceback to Whiplash support, I decided to look elsewhere.
And I found Good Source! They seem cool, and I like that I interface with real breathing humans! They also do good stuff for other humans.
After a tour of their warehouse and operations as well as a fair quote, I decided to give them a try.
I dropped off enough product Friday for maybe 200 shipments, and now can directly turn paperwork and dollars in to those shipments. I've got $3000 earmarked for this first batch, and will set aside more as this progresses so we can release another batch after.
I still have to sort out some documents for Good Source but I expect that by next update we will have completed some trial shipments.
