So I finally messed with the Arduino yesterday. I never thought to write here until now. I found a USB cord of the right kind and plugged it into a computer. What happened next was frustrating. I needed to get the Windows device manager to work with it with the right things (I honestly don't know any of those terms. Something about ports). So I was trying to get it to work, but I was working with... Windows. The guy who showed me before had Linux, so it took him like two seconds. I had to go to Control Panel to the device manager to something else to find something and finally to click on that and select the right stuff from the application for Arduino. So, yeah. As soon as I can, I'm installing Ubuntu.
After I got the Arduino to work, I tested a simple application already written for it. It blinked an LED on it for one second at a time. It seemed to be written in Java, but apparently Arduino has its own language. We messed with the blink program since I knew the Java syntax from robotics. We got it to blink in different orders, but that kind of fun only lasts so long. Now I need to attach the shield and sensors and stuff so I can continue working on the quadcopter. Speaking of that, I got an email from HobbyKing that they finally shipped the parts and should be arriving in a few days ('a few days' is just my interpretation) which I'm looking forward to.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
My Weekend
So I didn't really test out the Arduino this weekend (yet) because of other things. Yesterday, I went to a gymnasium (for gymnastics) for the first time ever, and it was awesome. I'd never been on a springfloor before, and I spent most of my time there. I couldn't do any flips, even with the extra height, because I still need to work on my technique. I did practice vaults, and was surprised. There were some big blocks we set up probably four and a half feet high, and I could kong and dash vault over them, which was very surprising to me because they were both high and long. I could also dive roll over them which surprised me even more because I thought I sucked at those. Afterwards, I went to the foam pit to attempt learning the psychological part of a backflip, and I did after falling backwards over and over. Now I just need to work on the technique. I was so close before I left, and hope to get it next time. There's another open gym next week, but I can't go because of something I'm doing with my robotics team. I'll go the Saturday after, though. When I came back from that, I went to my friends house for his birthday party. We just sat around watching other people play Black Ops, the most overrated game ever. I did learn, however, how to jump over my leg, which was cool. Today, I'm going to study and do my homework, and after finishing that, spend whatever time I have messing with the Arduino and experimenting with a cool music program demo for FL Studio.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Nothing
So I haven't really done anything the past few days. I said I'd work with the Arduino, but I've been too much of a slacker for that. I did weigh all the parts I did have, which were well under 200 grams, which is good since I have to be under 800. I still have to weigh the motors and speed controllers which will be the heaviest things.
I did do an interview to go to a new school, though, and it's looking good. I'll actually learn something in this school which will be cool. Nothing else, really, but I just wanted to inform my future self that I haven't died yet.
I did do an interview to go to a new school, though, and it's looking good. I'll actually learn something in this school which will be cool. Nothing else, really, but I just wanted to inform my future self that I haven't died yet.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
AeroQuad Stuff
So today, while I was taking a nap, a package arrived with the stuff I ordered from AeroQuad for my quadrocopter. I took a bunch of pictures of all the stuff and I'll explain it. I couldn't experiment with it today because it's late and I haven't finished studying for my Spanish test tomorrow. I plan on weighing everything, working on the Arduno, and balancing the propellers later on this week.
So in the picture above, you can see the view of everything that came. Everything is sealed in its original packaging except the accelerometer, gyroscope, and Ardunio. The second picture (to the right), is just the receipt showing everything that was delivered.
The thing I'm most excited about is the Arduino. This will basically be the brain of the quadrocopter, evaluating everything the transmitter sends and determining outputs for each motor. It came in a nice little box with a bunch of stickers and a little booklet that I probably won't read. The Arduino is probably the coolest item I'll ever see with "Made in Italy" written on it.
So this is the cool box the Arduino came in. It's blue... with words on it.
Here's the box opened. The Arduino is in the center, the information booklet is on the left, and most importantly, the stickers are on the right.
This is the Arduino up close. It's sideways. I'm not sure if it being sideways will be a major problem when putting together my quadrotor; let's hope not.
The next most important thing that came was the shield, to the left. It's not very clear because it's in a bag, but basically, you just put it on top of the Arduino. It's specifically designed both for the quadrocopter and the Arduino so you can easily solder the sensors and other things where they belong.
Another unclear picture. These are the stackable female headers. They simply connect the AeroQuad shield to the Arduino.
These are the straight breakout pins. You can break them apart to have any number connected. You solder them to the sensors and to the shield to easily connect the two together.
These are also very important. The gyroscope (top) measures rotational movement on all three planes. This is necessary so the Arduino can tell how much the quadrotor is tilted and adjust for that. The accelerometer (bottom) measures linear movement on all three planes. It can sense the acceleration of the quadrocopter so it can stay in the same general area in the air. Both give six degrees of freedom and are necessary for stable flight.
This is a servo extension cable. I got seven of them. What they do is connect the radio receiver channels, which are connected to the antenna, to the Arduino. Now the Arduino can evaluate the signals transmitted to the quadrocopter.
The last things that came were the propellers. I ordered four extras, just because according to everyone who's worked on these before, the propellers will be the first things to break. Two of the propellers are normal and two are "pusher" propellers, which are basically reversed and meant to be rotated in the other direction. They simply cancel each other out so the quadrocopter doesn't rotate. I also read that propellers are rarely ever balanced when they arrive, so I need to fix that for each one. If a propeller is unbalanced, it stresses one side of the motor more making it less efficient and decreasing its life. You can imagine what a one-bladed propeller would do to a motor. It's the same thing, but with a reduced effect.
So... that's everything. I plan on keeping updates on this project so you can follow it. Thank you for reading my blog... I just noticed how funny 'blog' sounds. I wonder who made that word up. Anyway, I have to get ready for bed and study for Spanish.
So in the picture above, you can see the view of everything that came. Everything is sealed in its original packaging except the accelerometer, gyroscope, and Ardunio. The second picture (to the right), is just the receipt showing everything that was delivered.
The thing I'm most excited about is the Arduino. This will basically be the brain of the quadrocopter, evaluating everything the transmitter sends and determining outputs for each motor. It came in a nice little box with a bunch of stickers and a little booklet that I probably won't read. The Arduino is probably the coolest item I'll ever see with "Made in Italy" written on it.
So this is the cool box the Arduino came in. It's blue... with words on it.
Here's the box opened. The Arduino is in the center, the information booklet is on the left, and most importantly, the stickers are on the right.
This is the Arduino up close. It's sideways. I'm not sure if it being sideways will be a major problem when putting together my quadrotor; let's hope not.
The next most important thing that came was the shield, to the left. It's not very clear because it's in a bag, but basically, you just put it on top of the Arduino. It's specifically designed both for the quadrocopter and the Arduino so you can easily solder the sensors and other things where they belong.
Another unclear picture. These are the stackable female headers. They simply connect the AeroQuad shield to the Arduino.
These are the straight breakout pins. You can break them apart to have any number connected. You solder them to the sensors and to the shield to easily connect the two together.
These are also very important. The gyroscope (top) measures rotational movement on all three planes. This is necessary so the Arduino can tell how much the quadrotor is tilted and adjust for that. The accelerometer (bottom) measures linear movement on all three planes. It can sense the acceleration of the quadrocopter so it can stay in the same general area in the air. Both give six degrees of freedom and are necessary for stable flight.
This is a servo extension cable. I got seven of them. What they do is connect the radio receiver channels, which are connected to the antenna, to the Arduino. Now the Arduino can evaluate the signals transmitted to the quadrocopter.
The last things that came were the propellers. I ordered four extras, just because according to everyone who's worked on these before, the propellers will be the first things to break. Two of the propellers are normal and two are "pusher" propellers, which are basically reversed and meant to be rotated in the other direction. They simply cancel each other out so the quadrocopter doesn't rotate. I also read that propellers are rarely ever balanced when they arrive, so I need to fix that for each one. If a propeller is unbalanced, it stresses one side of the motor more making it less efficient and decreasing its life. You can imagine what a one-bladed propeller would do to a motor. It's the same thing, but with a reduced effect.
So... that's everything. I plan on keeping updates on this project so you can follow it. Thank you for reading my blog... I just noticed how funny 'blog' sounds. I wonder who made that word up. Anyway, I have to get ready for bed and study for Spanish.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Code Camp
Today, I did something cool. I went to Charlotte Code Camp. It was pretty amazing. If it seems like I'm typing in a monotone... tone, it's because I'm tired. Code Camp really was awesome. We (my father and I) didn't really 'formally' sign up, because I went to the site too late, but we went anyway because a fraction of the people expected don't show up to events like these.
When we arrived, we got a schedule and several pieces of paper with the sponsors on them, which was completely interesting and definitely not a waste of ink and paper. So, I chose an event to go to, on XNA particle systems, which is basically programming things like snow, clouds of dust, and fire. I want to look into XNA because I'm really looking into game/app development as at least a hobby. It wasn't really as much of a tutorial as I would have hoped, but it gave me ideas about what I could do in the future. I also won a free textbook on C++ or C# or something like that, which I'm definitely reading later. At the same time, my dad was in a class on making Windows Phone 7 apps, which I want to look into as well. He got another textbook from that on how to make Windows Phone 7 apps, to be redundant.
Afterwards, we both went to a lecture on Netduino, a microcontroller like Arduino, but with more memory and arguably much better for the same price. The guy who gave it was pretty cool. He made a water jet by his pool powered by the Netduino. He could tap places on the pool from his phone for the water jet to squirt. He showed us a basic program made to blink an LED on and off, which I just learned how to do with the Arduino last Sunday. That code was shorter than the code for the Netduino, although they were both simple.
When that lecture was over, we went to lunch. They gave it to us for free. I'm sure you're interested in what I had. I had some macaroni and cheese, if I remember. I also had garlic bread and salad. They tasted like garlic bread and salad, respectively. They provided free soda, chips, and junk food. I got lots of each. If you read that paragraph, I can tell you two things: first, you are at least semi-literate, and, second, you probably have no life, like me, which is perfectly legitimate to some people, including, but not limited to, me.
After lunch, I went to a lab. It was about a tool called Microsoft LightSwitch. I made an application that basically took information about authors in a form-like way. It allowed you to pair them up with one or more books. Although it's nothing I would use normally, it was still interesting to learn and may serve a purpose some other time.
The last thing I went to was a lecture and demo on mobile sites. I learned several interesting things from that. First, Windows Phone 7 doesn't support touch in its browser, so you can't click on things with your finger normally. That eliminates any chance that I'm going to get one. I also learned that websites with mobile versions get bumped up in a Google or Bing search, which is cool because it makes more people want to create mobile sites. That was cool, and I just want any website developers (maybe me in the future) to know that they need to make more mobile sites, because barely any normal sites are user-friendly.
There was another section, but none of the classes during it interested me, so I sat in the car reading video game stuff on my phone and looking through the textbooks we got. I went back in, and they had a raffle for stuff. The first person to win got an Xbox with a Kinect, but there were two envelopes with keys to $2000 windows software he could have also chosen, but didn't. I can't say I would do differently, though, because I don't know enough about the software to be trusted with it. Overall, it was awesome, and I'm hoping to go next year.
When we arrived, we got a schedule and several pieces of paper with the sponsors on them, which was completely interesting and definitely not a waste of ink and paper. So, I chose an event to go to, on XNA particle systems, which is basically programming things like snow, clouds of dust, and fire. I want to look into XNA because I'm really looking into game/app development as at least a hobby. It wasn't really as much of a tutorial as I would have hoped, but it gave me ideas about what I could do in the future. I also won a free textbook on C++ or C# or something like that, which I'm definitely reading later. At the same time, my dad was in a class on making Windows Phone 7 apps, which I want to look into as well. He got another textbook from that on how to make Windows Phone 7 apps, to be redundant.
Afterwards, we both went to a lecture on Netduino, a microcontroller like Arduino, but with more memory and arguably much better for the same price. The guy who gave it was pretty cool. He made a water jet by his pool powered by the Netduino. He could tap places on the pool from his phone for the water jet to squirt. He showed us a basic program made to blink an LED on and off, which I just learned how to do with the Arduino last Sunday. That code was shorter than the code for the Netduino, although they were both simple.
When that lecture was over, we went to lunch. They gave it to us for free. I'm sure you're interested in what I had. I had some macaroni and cheese, if I remember. I also had garlic bread and salad. They tasted like garlic bread and salad, respectively. They provided free soda, chips, and junk food. I got lots of each. If you read that paragraph, I can tell you two things: first, you are at least semi-literate, and, second, you probably have no life, like me, which is perfectly legitimate to some people, including, but not limited to, me.
After lunch, I went to a lab. It was about a tool called Microsoft LightSwitch. I made an application that basically took information about authors in a form-like way. It allowed you to pair them up with one or more books. Although it's nothing I would use normally, it was still interesting to learn and may serve a purpose some other time.
The last thing I went to was a lecture and demo on mobile sites. I learned several interesting things from that. First, Windows Phone 7 doesn't support touch in its browser, so you can't click on things with your finger normally. That eliminates any chance that I'm going to get one. I also learned that websites with mobile versions get bumped up in a Google or Bing search, which is cool because it makes more people want to create mobile sites. That was cool, and I just want any website developers (maybe me in the future) to know that they need to make more mobile sites, because barely any normal sites are user-friendly.
There was another section, but none of the classes during it interested me, so I sat in the car reading video game stuff on my phone and looking through the textbooks we got. I went back in, and they had a raffle for stuff. The first person to win got an Xbox with a Kinect, but there were two envelopes with keys to $2000 windows software he could have also chosen, but didn't. I can't say I would do differently, though, because I don't know enough about the software to be trusted with it. Overall, it was awesome, and I'm hoping to go next year.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Ow... my head...
Oh, sorry. I was just reading through my most recent posts. Yeah, those ones from like, a year ago. Yep, I've started again, and I'm not going to say for good, because I've said that before, and it didn't happen. So I guess I should explain those other posts... Well, what happened was... I thought I was cool and my social life was important, but now, I've realized that talking to myself over the internet is far more productive than making real friends. So if you're reading this, you're probably me... or someone I've asked to read it. But seriously, I want to have something to suck up my time, and this seems right. So I'm going to go over what I plan on doing on this blog and what has happened to me over the relatively short period of time since I've stopped blogging.
My decision to blog was a sudden, random decision about ten or fifteen minutes before I finished writing this sentence. In order to tell you how this decision came around, I have to explain the past year. So, middle school was awesome. I had lots of friends, and it was pretty fun. During the summer, my friends and I got together a lot and hung out. However, afterwards, we went to separate schools. Most of my friends went to one school, East-Meck, and I went to Rocky River. The system had to through me in there so the test scores wouldn't be as bad as they would otherwise. It's really a longer story than that, but I couldn't find anyone I could relate to in that school, and to be honest, I have approximately 0 friends that are like the ones I had in middle school that go with me to high school. I started to hate it, and I found this cool FIRST robotics team called Yeti which I joined. We were a rookie team and we went to nationals. It was pretty awesome. I'm friends with everyone on the team and they're pretty great; far better than any friends I have at my school. So after we went to nationals (and got 25th out of 88 in our division), we were trying to decide what to do, and one of the boys kind of jokingly said "We should build a quadrocopter!". I'd seen them before on YouTube, and they seemed pretty cool, so I looked at more videos. The more I watched, the more I got obsessed (this was all last week, if you want to know). So anyway, I eventually got serious about it even though it kind of started as a joke. I found a cool site with tutorials for every step of building one, and after a few days of researching, I ordered all the parts. They haven't arrived yet, and they may while my dad is out of town next week. So, today, he said he wanted me to take pictures as I received and began building everything and post them on here. That was about an hour or so before I finished writing this sentence, so I thought maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to blog again, so here I am.
I really hope to do a lot on here. I'll rant about things and maybe put up tutorials on cool and interesting things. I will talk about my life and stuff... and I really suck at coming up with plans, so if you're interested, just stay tuned and read. So, bye!
My decision to blog was a sudden, random decision about ten or fifteen minutes before I finished writing this sentence. In order to tell you how this decision came around, I have to explain the past year. So, middle school was awesome. I had lots of friends, and it was pretty fun. During the summer, my friends and I got together a lot and hung out. However, afterwards, we went to separate schools. Most of my friends went to one school, East-Meck, and I went to Rocky River. The system had to through me in there so the test scores wouldn't be as bad as they would otherwise. It's really a longer story than that, but I couldn't find anyone I could relate to in that school, and to be honest, I have approximately 0 friends that are like the ones I had in middle school that go with me to high school. I started to hate it, and I found this cool FIRST robotics team called Yeti which I joined. We were a rookie team and we went to nationals. It was pretty awesome. I'm friends with everyone on the team and they're pretty great; far better than any friends I have at my school. So after we went to nationals (and got 25th out of 88 in our division), we were trying to decide what to do, and one of the boys kind of jokingly said "We should build a quadrocopter!". I'd seen them before on YouTube, and they seemed pretty cool, so I looked at more videos. The more I watched, the more I got obsessed (this was all last week, if you want to know). So anyway, I eventually got serious about it even though it kind of started as a joke. I found a cool site with tutorials for every step of building one, and after a few days of researching, I ordered all the parts. They haven't arrived yet, and they may while my dad is out of town next week. So, today, he said he wanted me to take pictures as I received and began building everything and post them on here. That was about an hour or so before I finished writing this sentence, so I thought maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to blog again, so here I am.
I really hope to do a lot on here. I'll rant about things and maybe put up tutorials on cool and interesting things. I will talk about my life and stuff... and I really suck at coming up with plans, so if you're interested, just stay tuned and read. So, bye!
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