Experiments

I recently started getting into retro computing, and got myself a Z180-based RC2014 compatible board, the SC126. It features an SD card adapter, which you can boot from, and store files on. On CP/M, there is a way to transfer files via the serial port, using the xmodem protocol. However, getting this to work on a Mac is not immediately ...

This is a project I’ve had on the shelf for quite some time (2 years or so), and only just now finished up. Ever since I saw these HEXBUG Battle Spiders, I’ve wanted to tear them apart and supply them with a more capable brain. These Battle Spiders are mechanically really interesting. All the 6 legs are powered with a ...

Inspiration struck me the other day and I’ve come up with a new project.  I’m going to use a Raspberry PI for it, since I am such a fan of Linux, to make a remote control for the EV3.  It’s going to use an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) to control the WiFi connected robot.  I ordered the list of component ...

Last week, I received no less than 6 of the Bricktronics Breakout Boards from Wayne & Layne LLC.  If you think that name sounds familiar, you’re right, they’re the authors of the “Make Lego and Arduino Projects” book.  These adapters would definitely be indispensable if you’re planning to do any kind of tinkering with your Arduino and whatever NXT peripherals ...

As some of you know, the EV3 runs a stripped down version of the Angstrom Linux distribution. The cool thing is that the kernel has been configured to output diagnostics data to the first sensor port (S1).  You can easily access this data by using a USB to serial converter.  You can make one yourself or if you’re not that ...

If you’re like me, and you do a fair bit of playing around with Wi-Fi sensors, you may find that you don’t always want to connect your contraption directly to your home network.  There are two alternatives, setup a second wireless router, or, if you’re using Windows 7 or 8, you can use the built-in hostednetwork feature.  What’s hostednetwork, you ...

Splunk is an enterprise-class machine data gathering and analysis tool, capable of consuming 100s of gigabytes of machine generated data and turning it into arbitrarily searchable data and presenting it with fancy reports and graphs.  I’ve used Splunk in the past for a project and another time to do post-mortem analysis of a hacked webserver. Since I was working on ...

Last Thursday Laurens Valk came over to chat and play.  We thought it would be fun to try and do something with our AnyWays, Laurens had brought his with him.  We thought it would be fun to make one follow the other. We’d use the HT IR Ball as a “beacon” on one and the HT IR Seeker on the ...

Today I’ve been quite busy programming a more generic framework for using buttons, strings and multiple windows on the NXT.  Things like button pressing is now handled centrally, as well as rendering the windows and the buttons in their current state.  It’s starting to take shape now and it’s not looking too badly.   The buttons respond to presses anywhere ...

I thought it would be kind of fun to modify some of my program to make use of the Mindsensors TouchPanel sensor.  Having buttons on the screen would make it a lot more intuitive to use.  So here’s a first short video of a 3D button that you can press with the TouchPanel using a stylus.  It’s not much yet, ...