I’ve been meaning to build one of these for some time now. I can definitely use a beefer supply than the one I’m using. This will be getting done in parallel with the Solar Roller. I just broke a lead on the voltage trigger and now I have to order another one so the roller is on hold
I’ll also be putting some time in on some LED spotlights I was meaning to build for Halloween. I’m not to crazy about the construction and I have a few ideas to make it better. This will most likely shake out to be project #6. I can use an easy win here.
On a positive note the construction of the Solar Roller is going better now that I’m using epoxy to mount the parts. The drive wheel is now a bottle cap I stuck on the motor and everything will be hanging off a paper clip.
Once I get 5 projects put away I’ll send $50.00 to Nuts Bolts & Thingamajigs.
dave 52 Things, hardware
So my Scout troop won first place at the Klondike Derby. Which is a good thing.
The Solar Roller build on the other hand is going nowhere fast. The electronics are built for the most part. The mechanics on the other hand are proving to be a pain in the ass.
First I had a hell of a time gluing the rubber on the wheel. Cynoacrylate turns out to be the wrong choice for this job.
Then comes mounting the motor. I thought I would use a belt drive which after a few mock ups proved to be a stupid idea. I found some Solar Rollers using direct drives. So I’m gluing the pulley of the walkman motor to the hub I made using a post from the walkman.
I need to start the next project as I’m falling behind and will be 2 projects behind starting this week. I’m not giving $20.00 to the Discovery Institute that much I can tell you. I will catch up !
dave 52 Things
With the Scouts Klondike Derby this week I’m going to be pressed for time. Therefore I’m picking something I have all the parts for and won’t be too taxing on my time. I won’t count making 2 trays of Sausage and Peppers as part of the 52 things. Even though that may be harder than anything else I made so far.
dave 52 Things, hardware 52 Things, BEAM Robotics
Front of Makers Quilt Board 2
After a lot of unsoldering and resoldering I have the board properly rebuilt. I went from 30 AWG wire to Wire Wrap wire which is much better. When I wired the matrix to the drivers I alternated blue and white wires to better track where I was. Once that was done it was time to verify all the wiring. Out of 48 LED’s I had three bad ones. In the interest of time I went to Radio Shack and paid $1.49 for a pack of 2 3mm LED’s. I still have to slap together some Picaxe code which is 75% done. I should be finished by Sunday.
Old wiring with 30 AWG Wire
New Wiring using WIre Wrap wire
dave 52 Things, The Makers Quilt, hardware 52 Things, LED Matrix, Makers_Quilt
Added a dog collar for a strap and snapped it all together and voila I’ve got a pretty nifty case. See …
Case with the Jacks and the Strap installed
Now on to Project #3. This is going to be a clean up of my Makers Quilt Board #2. I built the board awhile ago but it was a total mess and needed more LED’s to properly display my son’s birthday. I’ve already added more LED’s and another driver. now I have to clean up the wiring. This project is mostly soldering but it’s gotta get done.
dave 52 Things, The Makers Quilt 52 Things, Case Mod, Makers_Quilt
Well the case has been cut to accommodate the data jacks. I’m not that great of a metal worker so this project gave me a chance to practice this skill. Here some pics of the process.
Box Cut scored and ready for the Dremel
I sprayed a coat of flat black on the box once I was done. Oddly enough growing up in The Bronx during the 70’s did not impart any magical spray painting skills. This turned out pretty good though. Of course I forgot I need to make 2 more cuts for the strap. This project is definitely on track to finish this week.
Case Sparyed Black
dave 52 Things 52 Things, Mod
This week I will be working with a box I use to keep my 5 in1 cable adapters. I built them way back when Make issue 1 came out. The box came with a Jack Skellington watch I got as a Christmas present. In the case I also keep a passive ethernet tap. The tap consists of four RJ-45 jacks that can be used to monitor traffic between two devices. I want to mount the RJ-45 Jacks in the box. I’m also going to add a leather strap to hold the box closed and add a little Goth charm too.
This is the Case Before I the carnage
dave 52 Things 52 Things, Mod
LED Cube is complete. Took a little time to troubleshoot some issues with my breakaway sockets. They don’t breakaway very clean and I lost a few pins. I didn’t need all the Arduino pins so it was easy to rearrange the socket so I had access to the pins I needed for the cube. Could use a little more power than I’m getting from just the power brick. When I have the USB port plugged in the LED’s run brighter. With the first project done I can get a few things done for project 2 which is going to be a simple mod for a case I use at work.
dave 52 Things, hardware 52 Things, Arduino, LED Cube
Started the LED cube yesterday. I know all the real Makers made them 2 years ago but I was busy then. I’m a pretty decent solderer so the assembly was pretty straight forward. This is a good project for novice solderers to practice on.
The design is pretty straight forward. 27 LED’s 3 transistors and a few resistors. I’m going to use the Arduino to control the circuit for now. As a future project I’ll probably put together a one chip Arduino and mount it directly to the board. I could also use an Ardweeny from Solarbotics. For now I don’t need the Arduino for anything else.
dave 52 Things, hardware 52 Things, Arduino, LED Cube
Well another year is gone and it’s time for me to start looking the new year. My twitter profile says “Hacker Geek Dad Magician and Occasional Kick Boxer”. Simply put my resolution is to be more of the things I enjoy … Here’s how it breaks down
Hacker
This year I plan on building more things. The goal is 52 things this year. That works out to e a thing a week. To make things more interesting for each thing I build I’ll donate $10.00 to Nuts, Bolts & Thingamijigs At the end of the year if I fail to complete 52 projects I will have to donate $10.00 for every project I fail to complete to The Discovery Institute, an Intelligent Design “Think Tank”. Failure means supporting bad science. There’s nothing I hate more than bad science.
Geek Dad
OK this has two parts. Geek Dad the parent and Geek Dad the blogger. Here I’m talking about Geek Dad the parent. I’m going to do more science with the kids during 2010. I try to include them in my builds as often as possible and this year I plan on doing it more.
Magician
This year I need to perform more. I need to show at least one trick a week to someone … anyone. I should concentrate on performing over learning more tricks or sleights. I do intend to get down a Zarrow shuffle and if possible a second deal. Maybe a pass.
Occasional Kick Boxer
This one is easy … more frequent than occasional would be a good thing.
Geek Dad The Blogger
Well I was totally shocked when I was picked to be a contributor to Geek Dad. I did 23 posts this year starting in May. That makes an average of 3 posts a month. This year I need to at least double that. One of my goals this year is to become a better writer. I intend to write at least once a day and I will participate in National Novel Writers Month 2010. who lknow there could be a short story coming out of this year … maybe.
That’s plan for 2010. Happy New Year !
dave Uncategorized