Things to do...

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Steven Pickles

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Feb 8, 2013, 5:05:18 AM2/8/13
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Hi there,

Some of you might have overheard that I offered to help the RiAus with their Fringe parade. The theme is illumination.

The parade is rapidly approaching (it's next Friday - the 15th).

I'm also a little under the weather. I've lost my voice, if you can imagine such a thing.

Anyhow, were are the things I said we (err, I?) would do. I'm listing this here so that people can: 
  1) help 
  2) do them (!!)
  3) keep me on task.

- SpokePOV's for a BMX bike

  From the SpokePOV kids from the TDU event,
  - locate working assembled ones
  - assemble more

- Electroluminescent banner
  (the idea is to weave EL wire into a mesh banner and light it up. The EL wire will say "Science" - there is no branding allowed in the Fringe).
  - main thing here is to test if all 3 lengths of EL wire we have can be run from the one inverter we have.

(this one is a bit more ambitious)

- Lantern sandwichboard
  (turn two of the lantern panels into a sandwichboard)
  Peter is valiantly taking charge of building the sandwich board enclosure
  My task is to get the Arduino driving the panels. It will be a canned demo, so we don't have to worry about all of the communications stuff which was making the coding comliocated.

pix

Kylie Willison

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Feb 8, 2013, 6:29:09 AM2/8/13
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If someone can test the EL wire I can weave it or help with weaving it.

Kylie
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Paul Schulz

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Feb 8, 2013, 6:29:44 AM2/8/13
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A peddle powered 12V generator is available.


Steven Pickles

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Feb 8, 2013, 6:34:00 AM2/8/13
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Thanks for the offer Paul, however there will be no float, it will all be on foot (with the exception of the POV-kitted BMX bike weaving about). The parade moves very slowly so I doubt you could get up enough RPM to get anything out of the generator.

pix

Steven Pickles

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Feb 8, 2013, 6:35:39 AM2/8/13
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We don't yet have the banner onto which the sign will be woven, unfortunately..

pix

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Kim Hawtin

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Feb 8, 2013, 7:22:17 AM2/8/13
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On Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 10:05 PM, Steven Pickles <thatp...@gmail.com> wrote:
> We don't yet have the banner onto which the sign will be woven,
> unfortunately..

would you like a lump of white 'canvas' ?
its reinforced plasticy stuff that can be glued.
i got some to make water proof paniers and have heaps left over.

regards,

kim
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"Art without engineering is dreaming; engineering without art is
calculating." --SKR

Steven Pickles

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Feb 8, 2013, 8:14:33 AM2/8/13
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I was hoping for something vaguely transparent like mesh or netting so that the EL wire sign will be visible from behind also.

pix

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Tamsyn Michael

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Feb 8, 2013, 5:00:46 PM2/8/13
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I'll have a look in my fabric stash.  What size Pix?

Steven Pickles

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Feb 8, 2013, 5:09:07 PM2/8/13
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It really depends how big one can write "science" with 3m of EL wire. Ri were going to try this and get back to me but I haven't heard anything.

pix

Kylie Willison

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Feb 8, 2013, 6:59:43 PM2/8/13
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How flexible is EL wire and how thick is it?
Kylie

Kim Hawtin

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Feb 8, 2013, 7:20:11 PM2/8/13
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>> On 08/02/2013 11:44 PM, "Steven Pickles" <thatp...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> I was hoping for something vaguely transparent like mesh or netting so
>>> that the EL wire sign will be visible from behind also.

ok I dug out some poly plastic mesh, its has 3mm square holes, is
about 50cm wide and there is about four meters on the roll.

i previously used it to try out some VHF wire antennas

can drop them in on the way through today.

regards,

Kim

Tamsyn Michael

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Feb 8, 2013, 7:22:05 PM2/8/13
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Sorry Pix and Kylie, no joy with the fabric stash.

I will bring my bubble gun to show you Pix.  Sadly I've steampunked mine, but the original are clear with brightly coloured moving parts, light up, shoot bubbles, and are $5 each.  Perfect for the theme, and shooting bubbles over / into the crowd would be fun (no hacking required either).

What time are we opening up?

Tamsyn Michael

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Feb 8, 2013, 7:25:10 PM2/8/13
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PS

Kylie, the EL wire is about 1mm and as flexible as a piece of wire of the same diameter.  At the size the letters would be only a small e might be tricky.

On 09/02/2013 10:29 AM, "Kylie Willison" <kira...@gmail.com> wrote:

Tamsyn Michael

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Feb 8, 2013, 7:25:53 PM2/8/13
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Kim Hawtin

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Feb 8, 2013, 10:36:22 PM2/8/13
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Is this stuff suitable?

2013-02-09 11.00.22.jpg

Steven Pickles

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Feb 8, 2013, 11:32:35 PM2/8/13
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I think it would work and it means we could have a go at building it today. Would be cool if you could bring it by.

If it's too thin I'm sure some handy weavers here could run it double-wide.

Thanks,
pix

Kim Hawtin

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Feb 9, 2013, 6:07:41 AM2/9/13
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2013-02-09 11.00.22.jpg

Steven Pickles

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Feb 9, 2013, 6:11:27 AM2/9/13
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Hey Kim,

Did you not get my last message? Anyho:

I think it would work and it means we could have a go at building it today. Would be cool if you could bring it by.
If it's too thin I'm sure some handy weavers here could run it double-wide.
Thanks,
pix

pix 

On 9 February 2013 21:37, Kim Hawtin <kimh...@gmail.com> wrote:

Is this stuff suitable?

On 09/02/2013 10:55 AM, "Tamsyn Michael" <tamsyn.j...@gmail.com> wrote:

Steven Pickles

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Feb 9, 2013, 7:13:32 AM2/9/13
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Thanks for helping out today guys. Especially all of the key runs :)

Just thought I'd write an update on where we are with these things:

- SpokePOV's
  Jon sorted though them and has 3 working ones. That will probably be enough unless someone gets very excited on Wednesday night and builds another one. But most of Wednesday will be consumed with programming them and attaching them to the bike (let's hope it exists by then).
  I was thinking a bit more about patterns that would look cool when the speed estimation glitches out, and perhaps dashed concentric circles would work well, since the dashes will grow/shrink as it glitches.

- EL banner
  Tim got all three runs of EL wire running from our single inverter, and it also seems to happily run from batteries. A couple (or maybe a few) AAA's should last the whole parade.
  Kim has some suitable mesh that hopefully we will have on Wednesday and we can stitch up the banner, for-reals!

- Lantern sandwich-board
  I've been digging through our old lantern code to find something that can generate something interesting just using the Arduino on the panel (independently), rather than receiving commands over serial (to work as part of a larger display). Since all our old code is for a subtly different circuit, that will still take some doing. I've taken one panel home to plug away at.

pix

Tamsyn Michael

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Feb 9, 2013, 8:30:40 AM2/9/13
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Upon seeing Kim's mesh I realised I have some mesh too.  I'll bring it Wednesday, or Monday?

Steven Pickles

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Feb 10, 2013, 12:55:54 AM2/10/13
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Either will work. Although, as a wise highlander once said, "There can be only one" (because we don't have enough EL wire for two), so either yours or Kim's might get chosen.. who knows.. very exciting ;)

I've sorted out the addressing issues and here's what the lantern panel currently looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JO63mMUD9c

Any suggestions for abstract animations to code up for the sandwich board?

I could also probably hardcode about 30 frames of animation if someone wants to make an 8x16 animated GIF ;)

pix

Tim Aslat

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Feb 10, 2013, 1:34:43 AM2/10/13
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On 2013-02-10 16:25, Steven Pickles wrote:

Either will work. Although, as a wise highlander once said, "There can be only one" (because we don't have enough EL wire for two), so either yours or Kim's might get chosen.. who knows.. very exciting ;)

 
I've sorted out the addressing issues and here's what the lantern panel currently looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JO63mMUD9c
 
Any suggestions for abstract animations to code up for the sandwich board?
 
I could also probably hardcode about 30 frames of animation if someone wants to make an 8x16 animated GIF ;)
Nice job Pix.  Is it a simple matter of copy & paste (re flash other modules) or does it need to be messed around with individually?

Cheers

Tim


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Steven Pickles

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Feb 10, 2013, 1:41:41 AM2/10/13
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On 10 February 2013 17:04, Tim Aslat <t...@spyderweb.com.au> wrote:

Nice job Pix. Is it a simple matter of copy & paste (re flash other modules) or does it need to be messed around with individually?

Do you mean for setting up the other panel? When I have a nice animation coded up we can easily flash it onto another Arduino Mini and plug it in. The other panel might need to be soldered up, and this one could be made a little more robust.

pix

Scott B

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Feb 10, 2013, 6:25:26 AM2/10/13
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do you want some more el wire?

I have a couple 1m AA powered ones here somewhere from my old night combat flying days... if you have a use for it I could see if I can find it.

Steven Pickles

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Feb 10, 2013, 6:32:44 AM2/10/13
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If you happen to find it for Wednesday, we could use it to tack on some extra letters to the sign ;)

Here is my current animation for the lantern: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpE_LNqza_I

pix

On 10 February 2013 21:55, Scott B <solar....@gmail.com> wrote:

do you want some more el wire?

I have a couple 1m AA powered ones here somewhere from my old night combat flying days... if you have a use for it I could see if I can find it.

Peter Wintulich

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Feb 10, 2013, 5:52:05 PM2/10/13
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Hello,

The Hardware is coming together for the Sandwitch board.

Tetris would fit ?

Would a coded animation from the web fit in?

The boards are going together in a vertical orientation 8 LEDs across
and 16 down.
the top RIGHT hand LED is ROW ZERO and Collum Zero.
The drive for the LED's should be the same as the working Panel Pix Has
as R G B order are the first 3 PWM channels of the string, then repeated
for each LED.

I think I have fixed the broken wires to 3 of the leds so all leds will
light.

The first side is assembled wired as far as the controller an I am well
over half way on the second side.

The only thing I have not addressed is battery low detection for the
LIPO Packs. They are 3 cell stacks, one for each side.

I think I should have the wiring complete tonight and the fabrication
finished Tuesday night.

Regards Peter

P.S. I have a small number of photos along the way that can be shared later.

On 10/02/13 16:25, Steven Pickles wrote:
> Either will work. Although, as a wise highlander once said, "There can
> be only one" (because we don't have enough EL wire for two), so either
> yours or Kim's might get chosen.. who knows.. very exciting ;)
>
> I've sorted out the addressing issues and here's what the lantern
> panel currently looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JO63mMUD9c
>
> Any suggestions for abstract animations to code up for the sandwich board?
>
> I could also probably hardcode about 30 frames of animation if someone
> wants to make an 8x16 animated GIF ;)
>
> pix

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Peter Wintulich

Voicetronix Pty. Ltd.
Level 1, 246 Pulteney Street,
ADELAIDE 5000
South Australia
AUSTRALIA
+61 8 8232 9112

Peter Wintulich

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Feb 10, 2013, 5:58:10 PM2/10/13
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Hello,

I have 4 x 5 meter lengths of RGB led tape ( 2 are weather proof ) (Non
weather proof ones are a little fragile ).
Each has its own IR controller and runs from 12V to produce color fades,
strobes of a steady glow.
The Weather proof ones need 3A and the others 6A peek so realy need to
carry a 7Ah gell cell (these can get heavy after a while) in a waist bag
or something.

Regards Peter
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Peter Wintulich

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Feb 10, 2013, 6:00:50 PM2/10/13
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Hi,

That will look really good on the board.

Regards Peter

Ken

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Feb 10, 2013, 6:13:39 PM2/10/13
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Hi Guys.

I wish you well with the Mini Maker Faire.

I would love to attend, and maybe get involved, but I'll be motorcycling North, heading for a Ulysses AGM at Maryborough QLD, via Alice, Threeways, Cairns.
The missus will be on the back (usually snoozing on the less windy bits), and I'll have a travelling companion on another bike.
I'll think of you on the 6th.  Will have been away a week by then.  Away 4 weeks all up.

Regards,
Ken.

Steven Pickles

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Feb 10, 2013, 7:49:24 PM2/10/13
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Thanks Ken.

By the way, this is kind of what I was imagining for the "science" banner. Lowercase because it's easier to link. The yellow lines are where the EL wire will be masked out. But we actually have 3 separate strands, so we can have two breaks that we won't need to link in this way.

Inline images 1

pix

Peter Wintulich

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Feb 11, 2013, 8:21:32 PM2/11/13
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Hello,

I have completed the assembly of the sandwitch board and now need to fix
the power and test the electronics.

Pix can I get a couple of programed controllers from you to stick in it.

I think I made the straps a bit long, they may need shortening a bit
depending on who is going wear it.

Regards Peter

Steven Pickles

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Feb 11, 2013, 8:28:15 PM2/11/13
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I have one programmed controller here. I could pop in the hackerspace today and program another one if you need both.

pix

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Peter Wintulich

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Feb 11, 2013, 9:42:15 PM2/11/13
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Hello Pix,

One will allow me to test all parts. I can wait till wednesdays session to complete the project and hand it over if all goes well.

Regards Peter




On 12/02/13 11:58, Steven Pickles wrote:
I have one programmed controller here. I could pop in the hackerspace today and program another one if you need both.

pix

On 12 February 2013 11:51, Peter Wintulich <pe...@voicetronix.com.au> wrote:
Hello,

I have completed the assembly of the sandwitch board and now need to fix the power and test the electronics.

Pix can I get a couple of programed controllers from you to stick in it.

I think I made the straps a bit long, they may need shortening a bit depending on who is going wear it.

Regards Peter


--

Peter Wintulich

Voicetronix Pty. Ltd.
Level 1, 246 Pulteney Street,
ADELAIDE  5000
South Australia
AUSTRALIA
+61 8 8232 9112

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Kim Hawtin

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Feb 13, 2013, 1:13:16 AM2/13/13
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On Sun, Feb 10, 2013 at 12:00 AM, Tamsyn Michael
<tamsyn.j...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> - EL banner
>> Tim got all three runs of EL wire running from our single inverter, and
>> it also seems to happily run from batteries. A couple (or maybe a few) AAA's
>> should last the whole parade.
>> Kim has some suitable mesh that hopefully we will have on Wednesday and
>> we can stitch up the banner, for-reals!
>
> Upon seeing Kim's mesh I realised I have some mesh too. I'll bring it
> Wednesday, or Monday?

I'll drop this mesh off on my way through town before 6pm.
Unfortunately I can't stay this evening.

cheers,

Steven Pickles

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Feb 13, 2013, 1:49:07 AM2/13/13
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Thanks Kim!

pix

Kim Hawtin

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Feb 13, 2013, 2:14:04 AM2/13/13
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When does the space open today?

Steven Pickles

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Feb 13, 2013, 3:28:45 AM2/13/13
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Hello Kim from the past :)

6pm, but you knew that.

pix

Kim Hawtin

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Feb 13, 2013, 6:54:39 PM2/13/13
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On Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 6:58 PM, Steven Pickles <thatp...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hello Kim from the past :)
>
> 6pm, but you knew that.

well, i do now.

how did the banner go?
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