nuxx.net

Honda Music Link

July 18, 2007

Well, I just sniped an auction for another Honda Music Link, for US$49 shipped. As soon as I get a logic analyzer (I might order one this week, I don’t know yet) I can properly begin writing new firmware for the Honda Music Link.

I’m thinking of moving the HMLiberator project name from a hardware project to the new firmware. Or maybe I’ll decide on a name if (when?) the new firmware is done.

My plan is to make the firmware nice and open source (BSD license, most likely), then charge people to reprogram their devices. Anyone who can do ICSP programming of a PIC can do it themselves, or I will for a small fee. I figure $20 plus shipping is fair.

Yay!

July 18, 2007

My legs and ass are sore from sitting on a stool for the last five or six hours, but I’ve finished assembling the first batch of the RS232 to Eaton Leonard Level Shifter parts. They still have to be washed and tested, but they look good. Now to go wash the soapy rosin-based flux off my hands and go to sleep. I have a meeting in seven hours.

electronics making things moved from livejournal

Bike Shops

July 9, 2007

Can any of you recommend a good bike shop in the Shelby Township-ish area? I want a bike, something for trails mostly. I also want something decent, but I don’t want to over pay.

Suggestions please?

cycling moved from livejournal

Bird Feeder and Flower Woes

July 9, 2007

Broken Open Bird Feeder

A while back I got an upside down-style bird feeder to replace my previous one, as the old one was causing too much of a mess. Well, today I came home and found holes in the new feeder torn open and the seed spilled all over the ground.

I guess everything is just conspiring to keep me from having a bird feeder.

Additionally, some large bird has solidly soiled my window, and for some reason (heat? pests which I can’t see?) the salvia planted in front of my house is dying.

Arraugh. Maybe it’s because I ate some bacon.

around the house moved from livejournal

iPhone, Amtrak, Bacon, etc.

July 8, 2007

Yesterday I got to play with an iPhone. I think that I would buy one if the following things change:

· Ability to get photos off of it via Bluetooth (OBEX?), or some method other than simply syncing with iPhoto or via email.
· Ability to upload photos via Safari.
· Ability to use the phone as a network device for data access via from another device. Either as a BT modem or network device.

The interface is very very slick, and it’s pleasant to use. Google Maps on it is a dream. However, it doesn’t do the couple things I want.

Danielle and I took an Amtrak train from Birmingham, MI to Ann Arbor, MI. We wandered around Ann Arbor, ate at Zingerman’s, bought a few things, met up with Kate and Ben, and then took the train home. It was $72 round trip for the two of us with business class seats. I have a few complaints about the service, but generally it was all right. I don’t know if I’d go via that route again, but it was nice to see the trip between the the two towns from a different perspective.

When at Zingerman’s I ate a very tasty sandwich plied with some high quality, tasty, smoked bacon. It also included lettuce, tomato, avocado, and green chilis.

Photos of all of this will likely come later.

acquired things food moved from livejournal travel

Parts! Parts! Parts!

July 6, 2007

All parts for the assembly of 11 RS232 to Eaton Leonard Level Shifters.
(Click for huuuuge….)

Well, with the Mouser order arriving, I have all the parts for the boards. The Phoenix-branded screw terminals seem to fit the footprint I drew for them, which is a good thing. Now I just need to wait for the boards to arrive. Part of me thinks that I should have spent the extra $30 or so on overnight shipping, but I don’t really think that waiting until Wednesday (when they are slated to arrive) will be a huge deal.

I’m really anxious about it, somewhat worrying that I screwed up something else in the design and that it won’t work. <frets>

We’ll see. :)

electronics making things moved from livejournal

Eagle3D

July 6, 2007

Second-Try Render from Eagle3D

A bit bored at work today I’m poking around with Eagle3D which generates POVray files from CadSoft Eagle .brd files. The ~~ceramic disc caps up there are wrong~~ caps are mostly missing, the TO-92 parts are misaligned, and the screw terminals and RJ45 connectors are missing, but I think it looks pretty nifty.

At this point I’m going to stop messing with it and get some lunch. I don’t need an accurate rendering of the board for anything, I just thought it was nifty to mess with. Now to figure out some lunch… I’m not sure what I’m going to have, but it’ll probably be something low cost.

computers electronics moved from livejournal

RoHS, here we come!

July 5, 2007

Lead-Free test of 555 Timer and Resistor
(Click for full res…)

Today my order of lead-free solder and anti-static bags arrived. That meant that was finally able to stick the new ETO tip on my iron, get out the new sponge, and set everything up for trying out lead-free (SAC: 96.5% Tin, 3% Silver, 0.5% Copper) soldering. To get started I acquired a spool of 0.025″ Kester SAC solder with 331 (water soluable) flux.

I must say, this is quite different… First off, I had to turn the temperature up to 750°F. Then, after that, it was rather like soldering with the low-flux no-clean lead solder. The joints don’t wet as much, flux still flows but it doesn’t seem to help as much, and the resulting joints just aren’t shiny. All of this is in line with what I’d read about lead free solder, so that’s at least good.

The flux came off nicely with a toothbrush and hot tap water (my normal process, followed by a rinse in distilled water and drying with an air compressor) so I’m quite happy with that.

After reading this article from Kester (PDF) I may give an 800°F tip a try next time, but for now I’m pretty happy with how things were coming out.

A few more photos of test joints, both before and after flux removal, are available here (photo gallery retired).

electronics making things moved from livejournal

BusRadio

July 2, 2007

I’m sure most people my age who went to high school during the years I did remember ChannelOne and the problems with it. (At the time I didn’t quite understand why my band director refused to show it, but now I understand and wholly agree.)

Anyway, what’s next? Where else beyond 15 (or was it 20?) minutes per day of school-mandated television, vending machines, fast food-branded cafeteria foods, and in-school billboards can ads be put? Why, via looping audio on the bus, of course.

From the site:

BusRadio has launched a national radio show that is delivered exclusively to school buses nationwide. This free program is designed specifically to improve bus safety while providing the students with both age appropriate content and an entertaining ride to and from school.

[…]

An independent study, conducted by Edison Media Research, found that overall student behavior improved dramatically with the implementation of BusRadio programming.

Yep, it’s being sold (well, it’s given in exchange for the student’s brainboxes) to schools and bus drivers on the promise of improving behavior through distraction.

Here I was thinking that the directional audio and looping ads for ABC (I believe) in Meijer checkout lines were bad.

found things moved from livejournal

Boards Ordered, etc.

June 30, 2007

Final v1.0 Board
(Click for 600dpi version…)

Well, it’s done. I’ve ordered the first run of boards, all the parts needed to make 11 pieces, lead-free solder, static shielding bags, etc.

The biggest difference between the previously posted version and this one is I had to squeeze in four more resistors (pull-ups for the lines going to and from the MAX232), but that wasn’t too difficult to do.

Now it’s time for Danielle and I to go get food and see a movie.

electronics moved from livejournal work