Adafruit GPS shield

I finished building the Adafruit GPS shield. I did a quick test whilst I commuted back to my flat. The visualisation generator I used is at every trail here:

http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=1927731


http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/ is another site that does the same thing.

What I dont like about the module is that you have to take out the SD card to load the data into the computer. It would be great if the data could be accessed throught the serial port. I have started writing some code that allows you to manipulate files on the SD card with some basic menus over serial. However, I am having trouble erasing files. If you have any tips, please let me know.


I also want to add some triggering options to the GPS module. I want to do this to A) reduce power consumption B) reduce data density.

The plan is:
A mode switch allow you to select. 1.trigger mode (push button/external trigger ie camera) 2. Normal mode, sampling at the normal rate. 3. Interval timing timing is set by a potentiometer that allows for logarithmic interval timing. The idea here is to save power where possible.

Work Safety a lo Chileno

Note: Harness at base of column in the left of the photo.

Here are some guys working at about 7 -10m above ground. I am pretty sure they use those temporary columns to climb up there. Leter there where 4 men on that same beam. Safety standards in Chile are nowhere near what they are in Australia but this is pretty bad by Bolivian standards.

3D Printable Compact Camera Mount for Bike (Moved)

I printed a camera mount for my bike so I can record my rides/ record confrontations with crazy taxi drivers.

It is available at thingiverse: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:37328


This is a handlebar mount for a compact camera for a bicycle. It uses a 6 x 25mm bolt for the camera and a 3 x 30mm bolt and nut to clamp the handlebars. 

Video here:
youtube.com/watch?v=5LYhufnWy6E&feature=youtu.be

Instructions

Print it! (I reccomend using the raft, the latest model had some curvature on the bottom surface.)

buy:
- 6 x 25mm bolt
- 3 x 30m and nut
- rubber washer

- Fit the M3 nut into the hole on the end. I used a heat gun to soften the plastic and then jammed it in. This way it keeps in tightly.

- Thread the M6 nut throught the block. Place rubber pad on top (this helps to dampen the vibration)

- Thread your camera onto the screw. (Note: the first camera I used was very cheap and had plastic threads which shreaded instantly. ONLY USE CAMERAS WITH METALIC THREADS!!.

- *IMPORTANT: slid the hand strap over the handlebars before clipping on the camera (just in case.)

- Snap the mount on the handlebars. It should stay where it is without the tightening nut.

- Place screw in tightening nut.

Enjoy!

Improved POP-BOT chassis (moved)

The pop bot is a kit offerd by Inex   and distributed by MCI Olimex that is aimed as an introduction to robotics.

Building and using the Popbot it was clear that it was designed by an electrical engineer. the construction is really quite clumsy. Here is a list of issues I have with the design:

1. Gearboxes and standoffs to give the robot its main structure. 
2. It also stacks the batteries over the electronics, which makes changing batteries fiddly work.
3. The kit includes a servo for steering and sweeping an infrared rangefinding sensor. To mount the servo a 40mm standoff is screwed into the base. 
4. The kit also contains an LCD screen for giving feedback directly from the unit. The holes in the PCB of the LCD do not match the hole spacing in the mounting plate.
5. The box that the kit comes in is not an appropriate shape to store the completed robot. I broke/pulled  some things off the robot unintentionally because of this.
6. There are several mounting holes in the gear box but few of them are aligned with the mounting plate
7. The plastic box for the batteries and electronics has various other holes and cut outs like it was designed for another product and then repurposed for the robot.
8. ...I will be sure to add more if it occurs to me.

Redesign:
With these complaints in mind I redesigned the structure. the model is located here in the sketchup 3d warehouse. This is the first revision and I plan to do at least a second. Stay tuned for updates.

Just finished the 2nd revision. The files are available at thingiverse.

Here are some photos of the second cut revisión of the improved bot Note from the photos that there are still a fex things to do.

I still have to by a 2 x2 AA battery holder and install it. I also need to by the hardware for the bearing "whee"

You may notice from the photo that the front part does not have a bearing installed. Thats because I miss measured the wheel diameter and twith 2 bearing wheels the driving wheels were left elevated above the ground surface.

As most of the weight is the back 3 wheels will do. In the next revisión I will include a better skid in front to prevent the bot from tipping forward.

Further design improvements:
-adjust motor mounting holes to better suit the gearboxes.
-holes for servo motor mounting screws
-through holes for cable management
-A shrowd for the LCD screen
-A flexible skirt for the bot that increases the colisión sensors effective área.
-better access to the communications port.
-remove the wheel enclosing part of the upper disk.

XOscillio Oscope for arduino

I stumbled upon this great executable that turns an arduino board into an Osciliscope. Which is excellent because I don't have to hook up my project to the real Osciliscope for small things and It's obviously loads cheaper and more accessible that the alternative.

The code is hosted here: http://code.google.com/p/xoscillo/

Here is a screenshot of a test reading of 2 digital channels of a electronic caliper (see my other post for details).

  

Note that the original code posted does note work with the current version of the Arduino IDE/firmware (1.0.1). But this has been fixed in this post here http://code.google.com/p/xoscillo/issues/detail?id=11

Code reposted - I must admit I dont understand any of this.
--- a/firmware/ArduinoOscillo/arduinooscillo.pde
+++ b/firmware/ArduinoOscillo/arduinooscillo.pde
@@ -100,14 +100,14 @@
 {
   if ( in == CMD_PING )
   {
-    Serial.print( 79, BYTE ) ;
-    Serial.print( 67, BYTE ) ;
-    Serial.print( triggerVoltage, BYTE ) ;
-    Serial.print( DataRemaining>>8, BYTE ) ;
-    Serial.print( DataRemaining&0xff, BYTE ) ;
+    Serial.write( 79 ) ;
+    Serial.write( 67 ) ;
+    Serial.write( triggerVoltage) ;
+    Serial.write( DataRemaining>>8 ) ;
+    Serial.write( DataRemaining&0xff ) ;
     for (int i=0;i<2 br="br" i="i">     {
-      Serial.print( triggerVoltage, BYTE ) ;
+      Serial.write( triggerVoltage ) ;
     }
   }
   else if ( in == CMD_RESET ) 

30 minute bandsaw fence (moved)

I knocked together this improvise bandsaw fence in about 30 minutes. It's a little too flexible about the z axis. But it much improved the accuracy of the saw (which is awful).

The New Boston C++ Tutorials (moved)

I have just completed working through a 70+ video series on the basics of C++. Bucky is a young programmer-educator-blogger that offers video courses in many computer languages. He also offers Biology classes and a Bear-Grylis-style survival course among other things. Check it out.
http://thenewboston.org/