Moving On to New Challenges

I look back on 2011 as a great success! Building 6 robots, making new friends, showing off our collective skills in some competitions. After all of that work is has been good to be on vacation.

I have been a busy circuiteer this vacation (I hope Apple doesn't sue me for building an 'I Stand')!

(A stick with an alligator clip to hold my FET sensor). Using a LCD with the PICAXE has been more useful than I thought; it is nice to get telemetry without the debug screen. I have been trying to improve my static field detector to self calibrate and to adjust to changing atmospheric conditions (when the air gets dry, by basic system goes into constant alarm because the floor level of static energy is high).

I have also revisited the FEZ Domino (have not ordered the FEZ Panda II yet); have repeated most all of the exercises in the FEZ Tutorial (though I still hardly understand object-oriented blah blah (OO). Getting C# to do basic things is not too hard; the leap here is combining a lot of basic things into a real-world embedded project with classes, inheritance, etc. Controlling LEDs, relays, LCD, is a piece of cake. The payoff for trudging through this is to acquire new capabilities like reading and writing to a RAM stick, connecting to networks and making an internet appliance.

I have ordered several Texas Instruments (TI) Launch Pad kits. That exercise in ANSI C will be all about manipulating the registers to get the outputs we want. The TI guide for the Launch Pad has what I was missing a year ago when I first tried to master the MSP430 processor: a guide to set up the A/D converters. If I overcome the novice challenges, I can than make use of my other TI modules (and my fancy wristwatch) (I have wireless sensors and a couple of USB development tools that have been accumulated over the years. My watch has an accelerometer, temperature sensor, barometer and wireless link).

I will be creating new blogs for each of these endeavors (committed to open source).

Please keep me updated on your projects as well.

James

New Horizon 2012 with FEZ Panda II [Link]


2012 Detour with Texas Instruments MSP430

 

My real and previously stated goal for the year is to master the FEZ and C#; but I am considering an intermediate step for a couple of months and taking a wack at the Texas Instruments (TI) MSP430 which programs in ANSI C. It follows a logical progression of programing skill; begining with BASIC, then C, then C#. The financial commitment FEZ requires is $39-$140; TI offers a MSP430 starter kit for under $6. I have played with other TI MSP430 chips, and I can at least flash an LED. I would like to see just how different it would be to repeat some of the things we did with the PICAXE (less the robots) using C (i.e. motor control, PWM, RS-232, etc.) A refresher with C will help with the C#.

 

Anybody else want to take a stab at this with me? Together, (combining our experience and intellect) we can go a lot farther than 'flashing a LED' (as far as I got so far).

 

LaunchPad Kit [Link] 

 

James

Dabbling with Dataloggers and RTC

Blog on RTC (Real Time Clock) and the makings of a data logger [Link]

AXE110 Data Logger Brochure [Link]

Example code for AXE110 [Link]

Example code for retrieving the data [Link]

Using i2c with PICAXE info [Link]

My other blogs [Link]

Robot Spec Comparison

People in the Ant-Scale competition are close to finishing their robots, so I put together a spec sheet template to compare our designs. I put my first 5 robots specs in as examples (I will only enter robot #5 for this competition). In 2 weeks we will do the robot Olympics and soccer games to complete this project.

Spec Comparison Template [Link]

My other blogs [Link]

Robot 5 Jamez RC Tank Track

Robot 5 Assembly Guide [Link]

Schematic [Link]

My other interests [Link]

Robot 4 JD A Wooden Robot

Robot 4 JD Assembly Guide [Link]

Schematic [Link]

My other interests [Link]

Week 8 Guide: Gearboxes and Sound

Week 8 Guide [Link]

My other interests [Link]

Week 7 Guide: Motors and Memory

Week 7 Guide [Link]

My other interests [Link]

Week 6: Sensor Labs

Week 6 Guide [Link]

Sensor Survey [Link]

My other interests [Link]

Week 5 Guide: Motor Voltage versus Life and Proportional Control

Week 5 Guide [Link]

My other interests [Link]

Week 4 Guide: IR Remote Control and Switch Debouncing

Week 4 Guide [Link]

My other interests [Link]

Week 3 Guide: Stepping Motors and Drive Trains

Worksheet [Link]

My other interests [Link]

Week 2 Guide Motor Control, PWM and H-Bridges

Worksheet Week 2: [Link]

PICAXE-18M2 Worksheet: [Link]

My other interests (kayaking, plant identification, etc): [Link]

Week 1 Intro to PICAXE Programming

Week 1 Guide [Link]

Basic Electronics Review [Link]

My other stuff (kayaking, plant identification, etc.) [Link]

Lunch-in-Learn Intro to Ant-Scale Robotics and PICAXE Programming

Some friends at work are getting together for about a month's work of weekly lunch-in-learn meetings to get everyone up to speed on building and programming an ant-scale robot. Then we plant to have a nice competition involving robotic soccer, an Olympics and an autonomous event.

Details [Link]

My other stuff (kayaking, plant identification, etc.) [Link]

Robot 1: "Little Jimmy"

Blog's Purpose

It has been a life-long dream of mine to build my own robots; but getting traction on actually assembling one proved difficult. Connecting wheels to motors is not as easy as it looks. Much of what is on the Web either assumed the hobbyist had a large budget, or access to machine shop. Robots can be built with C.O.T.S. (common, over-the-counter stock) if you know what to ask for (or 'Google'). Though I'm an Electronic Technician, there was a lot of mechanical terminology that I was not familiar with. It is my desire in this blog to share what I have learned and help many others succeed in building their own robot. As I build more robots, I intend to publish all circuit designs, drive trains, RC interfacing, battery charging systems and easy programming. I live in an apartment, so I also had to learn to scale down my tools and methods to work in that environment (limited space, noise concerns, thrift) so I will also detail how to work with tools and materials. Not only am I cheap, I'm a little green; recycling and scavenging wire, motors, batteries from any electronics on it's way to a landfill. Feel free to write, share your projects, ask for help.

Why Do I Build Robots?

They are neat! It stimulates my brain. Mechatronics is a synergy of mechanics, electronics, programming, art and science. This keep me studying and learning on myriad disciplines and have loads of fun at the same time.

Survey of Robotics Parts Sources
[Link]

My "Instructables" Blog (Step-by-step instructions)
[Link]

Photo Album of Building Robot 1
[Link]

 Video of "Little Jimmy's" First Steps
[Link]

Robot 1 Parts List
[Link]

Robot 1 Spec Sheet
[Link]

PICAXE Basic Code
[Link]

PICAXE Servo Receiver Motor Controller Circuit
[Link]

My other blogs and stuff (I'm interested in plant identification, nature, kayaking, sea beans, Christianity.......)
[Link]