Author Topic: Projects  (Read 2727 times)

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Offline squiggle

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Projects
« on: November 21, 2015, 11:31:02 pm »
Anyone else like trying to put what bits and pieces they have learned together to make something?

I rarely get to play this way but have recentely done windmill mk2.  It started life as some odd bits of angle stuff from a greenhouse. I sort of figured I could make a framework. mk2 uses a stepper motor and can be started/stopped from an Android as well as starting/stopping from the brief play I had with home automation.  It starts at 8 am and stops at dusk and in "auto" will "randomly" rotate between 8 and 25 rpm.

Pretty crude but I'm reasonably happy with it.  Sorry the video looks on its side.  I did write an Android app for printing vai cups on Linux for example but seem less capable at operating the things... IT sounds noisy there but it is very quiet running.

Another thing I did was the watering round the back. Solar panel, water butts and a marine fresh water pump.

  http://www.jonbanjo.com/3tpic/wmill.mov

As I say, it's rare for me but I like the chance to see what I can do.  Any others here?

And any real makers of things?  I sometimes dream of making a stirling engine, a model engineering job but am not sure I'd manage it even with the tools.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2015, 03:51:50 pm by Ian »

Offline Ian

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Re: Projects
« Reply #1 on: November 22, 2015, 08:38:47 am »
I'm afraid my DIY skills are on a par with Herod's child minding abilities, but my father would have loved what you're doing. He was always rigging some gadget or other from bits and pieces and some of them even worked.

The home automation thing is a penchant of mine, though. We control a lot of things through an iPad interface, but use mainly Wemo stuff. Orvid now seem to be making waves in that area, too, but I'm wondering if the new Apple TV will start the move more seriously.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.


Offline Merddin Emrys

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Re: Projects
« Reply #2 on: November 22, 2015, 10:16:47 am »
I can't get the link to work? What is it?
A pigeon is for life not just Christmas

Offline Nemesis

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Re: Projects
« Reply #3 on: November 22, 2015, 11:01:43 am »
Same here ME. My security system threw it back !
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to know.

Offline squiggle

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Re: Projects
« Reply #4 on: November 22, 2015, 11:36:36 am »
Apologises for the link Firefox here is complaining the file is corrupt.  I've have deleted it from the server and if anyone can remove the link form my post, I''d be grateful.

It was just a very short clip of the windmill.  I've tried again in a different format at http://www.jonbanjo.com/3tpic/wmill.mov

Offline squiggle

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Re: Projects
« Reply #5 on: November 22, 2015, 12:05:40 pm »
The home automation thing is a penchant of mine, though. We control a lot of things through an iPad interface, but use mainly Wemo stuff. Orvid now seem to be making waves in that area, too, but I'm wondering if the new Apple TV will start the move more seriously.


Most of the hardware here is LightwaveRF wich me moved to earlier this year as it works with LED lights (we are entirely LED now). The main hw interface is one of these: http://www.rfxcom.com/RFXtrx433E-USB-43392MHz-Transceiver/en.  I translated the code I wanted to talk to it form the free open source Domotiga. That was written in basic but that part of things here is written in Python and runs on a rasperry Pi. It's XPL based, a bit insecure with broadcasting data over the LAN in plain text but is fine for here.  I think it's pretty good for connecting a mismash of devices together. 

I've not got as far as a nice polished app for everything but here is a screenshot of the java desktop one.http://www.jonbanjo.com/3tpic/hapanel1.png  . That bit shows a couple of outdoor Oregan sensors, that it cab read the burgalr alarm and control the windmill.  It's been very much bit at a time over a few years.

Scipts are written in JavaScript using Jave Rhino.  This one is called when dawn/dusk changes.  On thing it does is turn windmill off.

Code: [Select]
Server.debugPrint("darkvarChange");
myvar = Server.getGlobalVar("isDark");
command = myvar.getString();
   
if (command.equals("dawn")){
    dev = Server.getDevice("FROpen");
    dev.sendCommand("on");
}
else {
    dev = Server.getDevice("POND1");
    dev.sendCommand("on");
    dev = Server.getDevice("Windmill");
    dev.sendCommand("Stop");
}

Offline squiggle

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Re: Projects
« Reply #6 on: November 22, 2015, 01:10:04 pm »
The home automation thing is a penchant of mine, though. We control a lot of things through an iPad interface, but use mainly Wemo stuff. Orvid now seem to be making waves in that area, too, but I'm wondering if the new Apple TV will start the move more seriously.

Just a couple of other thoughts, Ian.  I'm not really up on many of the brand names but tend to look for things I consider hackable.  Doubtless you will get something more polished but I don't want commitments to a maker (and home computing wise am a 10 -15 years  Linux user). 

I don't know Apple tv but we use MythTV https://www.mythtv.org/.  I've a feeling that some years back there were a couple of Linux distros that tried to combine that with X10 (a mostly powerline HA - it adds its HA signals to the mains) but I don't know the current situation.

Thinking apps again. I did once for the fun of it/ to show someone a voice activated Android one.  Androids voice recognition was interesting. I had to rename hall to corridor for one thing to get it to consistantly understand my command and some of the things it thought I'd said were, hmmm, odd.  Not sure I've ever seen myself shouting at a phone in company as practical anyway but a couple of people were interested I could do say "kitchen light on" and the kitchen lights turned on.

I'd probably have liked to have met your father btw.  The inventor in our family was probably "uncle Jack" - my mother's uncle.  He worked as a chauffer/ mechanic on one of the shoddy mills in Yorkshire but I believe turned down (I guess) Austin or BMC who wanted him. Family rumour anyway had it he was really clever. I only got to meet him the once before he died.  He gave me  a couple of worn Lagonda big end bearings.  I kept them for years.