Category: Hacking Around

Sound Detector with Microview

jpindi
Image of Sound Detector from top and side

I built this because our new home has a number of pinging ducts and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. So I decided to build something that could ‘hear’ through walls and display the number on a screen. In theory, this should allow me to pinpoint exactly where sounds might be located. I had a few components at my fingertips, one of them being the Sparkfun Microview which I might have even obtained way back when they had their Kickstarter campaign. I had built a pretty sweet…

Monkey Tank

jpindi
Assembled tank with Monkey and Rabbit

The best projects are ones where you manage to find everything on-hand and no waiting for deliveries or going out to get extra material. Thus is the case with Monkey Tank. My nine-year old has a small stuffed monkey (named, you guessed it: “Monkey”) and wanted to build a little remote control car for it. Kids being kids, she does not have a lot of patience and also aren’t giant perfectionists, so I wanted something quick but fun. At home, I had a Rover S Robot Chassis that I thought…

3D Printing a Fan Case

jpindi
Completed solder fan in workshop

After a recent move to north Etobicoke, I thought I would check out the local Toronto Public Library near my home. To my delight they have a digital innovation hub, meaning green screen studios, computers with animation and design software and 3D printers. At the same time I was setting up my electronics workshop (we are trying to call it my “lab” but the name isn’t sticking) and needed a better way of dealing with solder fumes. Maker 101 exercises in popular how-to books show you how to build a…

Animating simpleheat.js

jpindi
static heatmap image

As a POC (proof-of-concept) for a presentation, I wanted to generate a heat map, similar to the kind you see for Toronto Raptors players and for other examples, such as for airline flights or overlays on physical world maps. Because I was presenting this in front of a fairly mixed audience, I did not want to make assumptions about how well they could make the mental ‘leap’ while I explain the narrative I had built for them. In other words, for each part of the story I was telling them,…

Placeholder heatmap data

jpindi
static heatmap image

I recently needed to create an interactive wireframe concept using a heatmap. This was for a presentation and I needed to walk the client through a particular story. As a result I needed just enough data to populate the heatmap but had to somehow create the data myself. Getting the right data wouldn’t be straightforward: The heatmap, using json, requires both an x-and-y coordinates, and then a third value to denote intensity of colour on it (I’m calling it z or z-value). Since this was a POC (proof-of-concept) I needed…

Using Amazon EC2 Linux for Vanilla Minecraft Server

jpindi
Minecraft screen shot

(Hey, I closed comments on my posts, but if you have follow-up questions about this, please contact me directly!) After months of begging, I finally caved in to my seven-year-old’s pleading to install a Minecraft server for her to use with her friends. Not only was I prompted by the challenge, but I also wanted an environment for the kids that I could keep an eye on (plus the endless begging wore me down, obviously). Originally, I was going to build a FreeNAS box and host it there, but a…

Gear box update

jpindi
Gear box workshop

I manage to get some projects done relatively quickly while others tend to be a bit of a slow burn. My printed gear box has definitely been one of the latter. To recap, awhile ago I designed a gear box and engaged 3D Co. to prototype one for me. It works great, and I am a much bigger fan of the “measure thrice, print once” way of doing things, since it is exactly right on the first try. I think that’s part of what’s amazing about 3d printing, is that…

Time Lapse Test

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On my bucket list are a few things: take a train across Canada; get a tattoo; scuba Tobermory and a few others (and I’d better start writing these down so maybe I can actually accomplish a few of them). One easier thing on the list is to experiment with lapse videos, preferably up at the cottage. As a proof-of-concept, I put together a short time lapse video. I actually started filming it a day later than I wanted, because the day before there had been a big melt and I…

2013 Maker Faire in Toronto

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Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the 2013 Toronto Mini Maker Faire at Wynchwood Barns. This was a treat for me for a few different reasons, not least of which is this was my first visit to Wynchwood, after following its evolution over the years in the popular press. Of course there was the sheer DIY explosion of creativity at the Faire which I think is the main attraction for nearly everyone who attends. My eldest daughter immediately made a beeline for the 3-D printers and my youngest…