Thursday Night after work April 20 2009
Ha! Programmed all three circuits and they pretty much worked the first time. Can I wire, or what? Presented to Steamboat Ed at the Dorkbots meeting, and we decided to go with the thumbwheel, or DigiSwitch, whatever you call it. These things are my new favorite input device.
Wired prototype circuits
Tuesday night 28 April 2009
Finished wiring up 3 test circuits for next version of Steamboat Ed's Calliope. Total time = 4 hours.
DIP Switches - Use DIP switches to select songs - practice your binary numbers. Steamboat's idea -- but let's give him some more options...
Thumbwheel - My Favorite - Just dial in the song number you want
Up Down Button with 7-Segment LED Display - Push up or down to increment/decrement song number. Song number will display on 7 segment LEDs. (2 digits)
Damn good fun.
Next step - programming.
Finished wiring up 3 test circuits for next version of Steamboat Ed's Calliope. Total time = 4 hours.
DIP Switches - Use DIP switches to select songs - practice your binary numbers. Steamboat's idea -- but let's give him some more options...
Thumbwheel - My Favorite - Just dial in the song number you want
Up Down Button with 7-Segment LED Display - Push up or down to increment/decrement song number. Song number will display on 7 segment LEDs. (2 digits)
Damn good fun.
Next step - programming.
lost parts OH SO FRUSTRATING
Saturday 25 April 2009
I have lost the *@#! slide spring for my carburetor. Looked everywhere and even went back to work to see if I left it there. Can't figure out how a four inch spring could go missing.
Well, other than that SLIGHT detail, it's reassembled.
I have lost the *@#! slide spring for my carburetor. Looked everywhere and even went back to work to see if I left it there. Can't figure out how a four inch spring could go missing.
Well, other than that SLIGHT detail, it's reassembled.
LEGO robotics - whittling down our time
Friday 24 April 2009
Worked on LEGO robot for "Pit of Despair" contest. Or I should say, watched Jeronimo work on the robot. 'Cause he's the man. 10-4 or so. Knocked some hella time off, we got like ah twenty seconds faster through the Pit of Despair.
Worked on LEGO robot for "Pit of Despair" contest. Or I should say, watched Jeronimo work on the robot. 'Cause he's the man. 10-4 or so. Knocked some hella time off, we got like ah twenty seconds faster through the Pit of Despair.
moto/metal/PCB
Thursday 23 April 2009
AM - Took my carburetor apart, cleaned it, blew out all the jets.
Drained all the gas. It really stinks.
Day - Cut out gears at work.
Eve - Steamer has soldered most of the components into the PCB and it looks pretty cool.
AM - Took my carburetor apart, cleaned it, blew out all the jets.
Drained all the gas. It really stinks.
Day - Cut out gears at work.
Eve - Steamer has soldered most of the components into the PCB and it looks pretty cool.
Puzzle pieces at last
Wednesday April 22, 2009
Beautiful. Chips flying.
Hot off the press -- I mean, the mill.
Here's one after being cleaned up.
Beautiful. Chips flying.
Hot off the press -- I mean, the mill.
Here's one after being cleaned up.
Fail Puzzle
Monday 20 April 2009
Finally got two puzzle pieces laid out, programmed, and cut -- alas, fail. Accidentally cut through the pieces with the toolpath and didn't notice it on the screen.
Haste makes waste...
(but I still go as fast as possible)
Finally got two puzzle pieces laid out, programmed, and cut -- alas, fail. Accidentally cut through the pieces with the toolpath and didn't notice it on the screen.
Haste makes waste...
(but I still go as fast as possible)
Makin' Bolts
Sunday April 19, 2009
Worked on my motorcycle. Hasn't run in 2 years. Bought/charged/installed battery, then started working on the rear brake mounting.
Somehow these bolts went missing and I need them for my motorcycle. Was going to order the proper thing and then it occurred to me I could "make do" by chopping off and then drilling a hole in a similar bolt. Need two bolts with particular shoulder and hole drilled for a cotter pin.
Motorcycles are particular, boy oh boy, the shoulder on the bolt fits exactly width wise and length into the brake drum bracket. So, it's NOT a permanent fix, and boy my old boss Charlie Craig would NOT approve :)
Before - Proper bolt in foreground, donor bolt in background
After - Hacksawed and drilled and looks pretty close, though shoulder diameter is too small.
Installed on the bike (photo only shows one of them).
Worked on my motorcycle. Hasn't run in 2 years. Bought/charged/installed battery, then started working on the rear brake mounting.
Somehow these bolts went missing and I need them for my motorcycle. Was going to order the proper thing and then it occurred to me I could "make do" by chopping off and then drilling a hole in a similar bolt. Need two bolts with particular shoulder and hole drilled for a cotter pin.
Motorcycles are particular, boy oh boy, the shoulder on the bolt fits exactly width wise and length into the brake drum bracket. So, it's NOT a permanent fix, and boy my old boss Charlie Craig would NOT approve :)
Before - Proper bolt in foreground, donor bolt in background
After - Hacksawed and drilled and looks pretty close, though shoulder diameter is too small.
Installed on the bike (photo only shows one of them).
Jank Mechanic's Rolling Chair
Sunday April 19, 2009
1 set casters, plus piece of wood, plus milk crate, plus cushion, plus shop rag = worst looking mechanic's seat ever. Beats just milk crate by itself, though.
Installing casters.
1 set casters, plus piece of wood, plus milk crate, plus cushion, plus shop rag = worst looking mechanic's seat ever. Beats just milk crate by itself, though.
Installing casters.
BinkyBot
Saturday March 18 2009
Now that the great electronic reorg is complete, I can have some fun actually doing electronics. I did a rebuild on an old robot which I made back in 2001. The breadboard was torn up so I rewired and reprogrammed it. This is maybe the second robot I built from scratch. I have maybe one or two more robots like this that I would like to get running again.
Robot in disrepair.
Where old robot code lives.
This is my old computer, a Toshiba Libretto. Still works and was able to plug right in and program this robot.
Now that the great electronic reorg is complete, I can have some fun actually doing electronics. I did a rebuild on an old robot which I made back in 2001. The breadboard was torn up so I rewired and reprogrammed it. This is maybe the second robot I built from scratch. I have maybe one or two more robots like this that I would like to get running again.Robot in disrepair.
Where old robot code lives.
This is my old computer, a Toshiba Libretto. Still works and was able to plug right in and program this robot.
BigTrak
13 April 2009
Fixed up someone's BigTrak at work. This toy rocks, it's programmable. You use the keypad to enter distance and direction and it can execute 16 motions/actions in a row.
Cleaned battery connections with baking soda, glued axle back together (ok coworker did the glueing), battery connector for trailer broke so had to sort of solder weld it back together.
Fixed up someone's BigTrak at work. This toy rocks, it's programmable. You use the keypad to enter distance and direction and it can execute 16 motions/actions in a row.
Cleaned battery connections with baking soda, glued axle back together (ok coworker did the glueing), battery connector for trailer broke so had to sort of solder weld it back together.
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