lol
May 2, 2011 – 9:48 pmtrolololol
lol
May 2, 2011 – 9:48 pmtrolololol
All Pokey All the Time!
January 17, 2011 – 3:23 pmSometimes, inspiration strikes. In this case, what struck me was the immediate and visceral need for more Pokey the Penguin in my life. And how better to make the intangible tangible than with an LCD photo frame? Someone has to put these things to a better use than stupid family vacation slideshows.
I picked a frame with 1024×600 resolution so that I could fit up to 12 panel comics on the screen. (Each panel of Pokey is 500×100.) I pulled down all of the Pokey archives with HTTrack, then I wrote a dirty python script to scan through the panel images and composite them into 1024×600 JPEGs. For example, Pokey #197 turns into a two-column layout, like so:
Six comics have more than 12 panels, and one has no panels, leaving 533 usable comics. The internal memory of the photo frame can hold almost all of the archives (516, to be precise), so I just dumped as many as would fit and set it on random play.
YES!!!!
back to the roots
December 14, 2010 – 9:36 pm
A friend of a friend was moving, and I guess their old NES didn’t make the cut! I picked this up along with two controllers, a gun, and a couple boxes of games. Not bad! The first thing I did was order a replacement 72 pin connector and a can of contact cleaner. Result: finding out I still suck at Tetris!
Also, this is a test of the WordPress Android app. Looking pretty fly, I must say.
more taillights
June 3, 2008 – 7:02 amAll of my attention has been on a new project, but I did just order PCBs for the second round of LED taillight prototypes. This one has been cut down a bit and has a second set of mounting holes so that it can fit either series 2 or series 3 taillight housings. At least, that’s the plan!
The first prototype had six red LEDs and four white LEDs for the running light and twelve red LEDs for the brake light. This new design has four red LEDs and five white LEDs for the running light and sixteen red LEDs for the brake light. This should light up the license plate a little better, increase contrast between the running and brake lights, and make the brake light even brighter.
Getting Eagle PCB registered was such an ordeal. Good software, absolute shit customer service.
LED taillight
May 21, 2008 – 6:10 pmMy other Lambretta project:
(A bit fogged from letting wet superglue cure in an enclosed space. Oops.)
The prototype is good enough to use but needs to be revised. It’s bright, it doesn’t flicker, and it uses about 3-5W max so the headlight doesn’t dim when you step on the brake at idle. The problem is that the running light (“low”) is a little too bright compared to the brake light (“high”). Both are quite visible, but there’s not enough contrast between the two. I will definitely add more LEDs on the brake light circuit. I haven’t decided if I want to remove any from the running light.
| Running light | Brake light | |
|---|---|---|
| 25W 1157 bulb |  |
 |
| LED Array |  |
 |
(All photos taken at F2.8, 1/10 sec exposure.)
Unlike the speedometer, these lights would be really easy to build in quantity, and the parts are pretty cheap. I’m going to work as quickly as I can to get production-ready prototypes made for 6V and 12V systems.
speedometer update
May 21, 2008 – 5:54 pmI’ve been done with the first speedometer prototype for a few weeks now, so it’s time for a tiny follow-up post. Short version: it rocks! Clear, readable, accurate, useful, gets comments. So far, it hasn’t skipped a beat even with all the vibration from the TS1.
The thing on the left is a bar that grows with RPM. The right hand readout and bar graph is for EGT or CHT, but I don’t have a sender hooked up to it yet.
On the other hand, I’m compiling a list of improvements that I’d like to make. The speed and RPM update in real time, which is great for the speed and terrible for the RPM. RPM needs to have bigger leading digits and update maybe once every quarter second. The backlight needs to turn on sooner than it does; it doesn’t impact readability at all in bright light like I worried it might. I need to be more careful about startup and power-down so that the display never blinks or gets stuck in weird states when the power is going on and off.
My biggest irritation is that I really want to have a button for function selection, but I can’t think of a sufficiently rugged and unintrusive way to add one. I don’t think it’s going to happen. This makes a trip odometer pretty much impossible.
I’m also starting to think about production issues. The faceplate needs to be prettied up a little, there are some light-blocking and anti-vibration bits inside that I made by hand, and the cabling and connectors are going to be labor-intensive. Everyone will have slightly different needs depending on their stator voltage, number of coils, and whether they’re running a temperature gauge. Then there’s the question of faceplate color and backlight color. It’s going to be interesting getting all of this stuff worked out in a practical manner.
…and I am seriously thinking about adding a USB port somehow to download speed and RPM data so you can use this thing like a mini-dynamometer. We’ll see.
Weekend in the Garage
May 20, 2008 – 7:43 amI spent almost the entire weekend plus Monday in the garage. I think I knocked out most of the projects that have been lurking on the to-do list for a while now:
In the garage:
- made 2 sawhorses
- made a big, sturdy 8′x2′ workbench (cost: $50 worth of lumber). You could park a car on this thing.
- installed four new lights
- installed eight new outlets (quite an improvement over the previous total of one)
- took down the old klunky outside light and put up a 300W halogen with motion sensor
On the Lambretta:
- trimmed the front brake cable and housing
- installed an anti-rattle clip in the front brake disc (too big, had to cut it and grind it down)
- replaced the stock fork springs with Deanspeed progressive springs
- built an LED taillight (no flicker, 3W max power draw, brighter than stock)
So, yay. Now I need to take some pictures. Oh, and get back to real work.
DOUBLE YES
April 30, 2008 – 5:52 pmThere were a few snags, but no show-stoppers. Damn, those 0603 parts are tiny.
The backlight turned out better than I had ever dared to hope, and the warning light is BLINDINGLY RED. Which is good, considering the things it will be warning you about.
I have no idea if the inputs (EGT, hall effect sensor, RPM counter, ambient temp, ambient light) work. I need to go pack for vacation now.
Hee hee. This is so fun. 
YES
April 30, 2008 – 10:40 amMy day is shot. The boards came in the mail today. I ordered two, and they sent SIX. The LCD fits, everything lines up… so far, so good. Incredible service from SparkFun/BatchPCB!
Ohhhh, so happy.