Author: sensei

So I created an online class for learning how to play the Tin Whistle. It’s a hobby I’ve had since the late 80’s. Anyway, To play this instrument, when you want to learn new songs, there are fingering diagrams. These diagrams tell you which holes in the instrument to cover in order to get the…

So now that I have self configuring software in the Arduino, spinning up a new set of sensors or adding digital pins to an existing one is relative simple. All I need to do is the electronics and wiring and to change a JSON array in Node.js and I am in business. My short term…

So it was time to update the software. the previous version of my software was rather basic. I would send it a basic commaind using AT mode in Xbee and it would dump a delimited string holding each analog sensors’ value. No digital input, output or pulsewidth capability. No ability to poll at a different…

I am planning on getting a new roof this year. My house never had soffit vents installed. They are supposed to allow a natural airflow that will keep the attice cooler and cause less decay in the roof and shingles. Also, a cooler attic will make it easier to cool the house.   My plan…

In the winter of 2017/18, I performed a careful study of what it takes to break a pvc water pipe through freezing. I created a series of 1 foot pipes and filled them with different amounts of water to see how much water it takes to break. A second set of pipes had 100% filled…

Over the winter or 2017/18, I performed a controlled study of what it takes to break PVC due to freezing. PVC piping is often used for pool pumps and lawn watering systems. I’m working on a video that explains the test and shows the assembly, monitoring and results. I’m actually quite surprised with the results…

My Port from a Windows laptop to Ubuntu has been rock solid. The low power, Netbook that I converted to Ubuntu has been rock steady and comes with the benefit of low power consumption. In addition, I’m using the same machine to act as a disk server and it’s been great too. I’m glad I…

Porting Problem Summary: Getting the right versions of node & serialport installed Uninstalling Node Getting the node.js program to run automatically Getting the program to not shutdown upon disconnect Changing the port designation Changing the code due to node.js version differences Changing the permissions to the USB port Make int he changes stick between reboots…