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Category: making things

SDrive NUXX ATmega8-16PU Programming

Published July 12, 2011

Here’s what I spent a good portion of my evening doing: programming and labeling 50 Atmel ATmega8-16PU microcontrollers as part of a new SDrive NUXX production run. Some of these will be sold preprogrammed along with blank PCBs and aluminum end panels while others will be fitted into assembled devices. The next step is for me to begin soldering on the surface mount SD card connectors.

Programming was done with CrossPack on OS X. The issue that I previously complained about has since been fixed, so I had no issues using avrdude and an AVR Dragon fitted with a ZIF socket to quickly program and verify each device.

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Permanent Signs at River Bends

Published July 9, 2011

On Thursday I headed out to River Bends with Spencer Wood, the Eagle Scout candidate who built the trail head kiosk and is working on the trail signage. He and I placed a bunch of WRONG WAY signs along the single track clearly illustrating it as one-way trail, and signs were also placed along the two track. All placed signs are color coded to match the map, and the directional signs match the directional arrows. This is a really big step in the construction of the trails, as it establishes the trails with permanent signage which matches the published map and the forthcoming trail head information.

Conveniently we were able to arrange it so that the temporary signs placed last November could be reused (in place) in most areas, reducing the need to remove signs and the effort and associated waste. The seasonal loops (blue signs / route) is currently unridable and thus not completely signed, but this should be done within a couple weeks; hopefully some time after next weekend.

Here’s a few more photos of the new signs:

· In the parking lot at River Bends getting ready to hang more trail signs.
· Start of Phase 1 of the single track at River Bends showing the entrance to the single track (yellow signs) or multi-directionality of the two track (green signs).
· Wrong way sign on a stake at the end of the normal single track due to there being no trees to affix it to.
· Sign indicating the start of the two track at the current end of the asphalt path at River Bends.
· New signs (yellow and blue) at the beginning of the seasonal loops at River Bends.

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SDrive NUXX PCB Cross Section

Published July 6, 2011

The new run of PCBs for the SDrive NUXX arrived today (photo), and with them was this this piece of the PCB, embedded in acrylic, sliced, and polished to allow inspection. The through-hole plating, top and bottom layers, and everything are all clearly visible (and measurable). Now it’s time to order up the components and enclosures, wait for the end panels to arrive, and get to building.

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River Bends Trail Video: June 2011

Published June 26, 2011

Yesterday I met up with some friends from MMBA / mountain biking stuff and recorded this video of one lap of the current single track at River Bends. It starts out with me following a guy named Jim (who provided the camera), until part-way through (after ripping his shirt on a tree) he drops back and I follow Vlad to the end of the single track trail. This does not show any of the pavement, seasonal loops, or two track return trail.

Click the image above or here to watch.

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Download Maps via QR Codes

Published June 1, 2011

While working up some revisions to the River Bends trail map for the trail head kiosk and I realized that having a QR code on it which links solely to a PDF of the same map might be a good idea. This would allow one to scan the code and download the map to a phone and keep an offline copy; exactly how one would want an electronic copy while out and about.

I think this would nicely augment the standard large map placed at the trail head and the typical paper map distribution box. One would just have to ensure that the link stays live for the life of the map. It might be a better idea to have the QR code on a separate smaller poster that just says “Scan Me to Download The Trail Map”, as it’d be cheaper / easier to update should the need arise.

This is probably the first productive use I’ve had for a QR code.

(The image above is a draft / mockup and links here to the current [but soon to be out of date] version of the map. Final implementation will definitely need more polish.)

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Eggy Hash

Published May 22, 2011

Today’s lunch was some eggy hash, made with shredded potatoes, onion, roasted garlic, egg, salt, pepper, sweet corn, mild cheddar, chili powder, and (smoked) Spanish paprika. I probably should have used less cheese and left out the roasted garlic, but it was otherwise good. I’m also now quite full, which is good as I want to get a bunch of things done this afternoon.

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Salsa El Mariachi: Built

Published May 20, 2011

After work today I tore down the VooDoo Dambala and cleaning the parts for assembly on the Salsa El Mariachi frame. After the parts were disassembled and cleaned, after another five hours passed (including a break for dinner) this pile of parts turned into the bike you see above. It’s currently fitted with the rigid fork, but at some point in the future I’ll probably switch to the squishy Reba. For now I figure it’d be nice to get back to having a rigid single speed to ride, especially now that I’ve got some nice, reliable, wide-profile wheels.

I’m still waiting for another Carnegie’s Bar to arrive from the UK for this bike, but in the mean time it should do just fine with the FSA CarbonPro that had graced the VooDoo. There’s also going to be a bit more fiddling to do to get the saddle position right, but I think everything in a good starting place for now. With any luck I’ll be able to get out to Stony Creek tomorrow and try it out.

I’m really happy with how the look of the bike came out as well. Without really trying I ended up hitting a blue/shades-of-grey color scheme. While I’m not interested in spending an inordinate amount of time color coordinating a bike, I do like it when everything falls into place to have something nice looking. And here I was questioning the blue color of the frame at first…

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MPHD Coating the Salsa El Mariachi

Published May 18, 2011

After work today I set to coating the inside of the Salsa El Mariachi frame with Amsoil MPHD . After removing the Alternator dropouts (PDF) I cleaned off any remaining grease on the bottom bracket shell and head tube and liberally fogged the tubes with the corrosion protectant. Tubes were done one at a time with the frame slowly rotated afterward, then once all tubes had been treated I hung/propped/laid the frame in all manner of positions to try and ensure that the protectant evenly coated all of the internal surfaces. After a number of rotations I hung the frame to with no tubes horizontal and headed off to get some dinner.

The frame continued to drip and dry, and after arriving home I was able to remove much of the residue left on the frame with isopropyl alcohol and a paper towel. I hope that the MPHD will dry sufficiently over the next two days so that on Friday evening I can assemble the bike. Tomorrow evening I plan on disassembling the VooDoo and piecing together the major components (crankset, wheels, etc) so that come Friday I can properly build up the bike. Perhaps then on Saturday I’ll be able to go for a test ride out at Stony Creek.

The photo above shows the frame after the initial applications, but still with quite a bit of spill-over in the rear of the frame, on the newspaper spread on the garage floor, along the down tube gusset, etc.

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