Remote Shutdown using a Foscam FI8918W
As a parent of 2 children and an obsession with cramming my hobbies in whenever I can, I decided to devise a means to remotely monitor my CNC (a ShapeOko) and also provide the ability for me to remotely shut it down if things go arwy during a milling session. I picked up a Foscam FI8918W IPCam at a 'car boot' sale (I love that name) when I was visting in England this past…
Arduino Temperature / Humidity Sensor
The projects I do tend to fall in one of two buckets - either proof-of-concept (so I can learn new stuff) or items that have some sort of functional use. The need for this project came about when my wife was prodding me about the humidity in the house and whether our humidifier was doing it's job correctly. Most people would just go out and buy a temp / humidity sensor and be done…
Nissan Juke – Footwell & Glove Box LED Lightning
Next on the block - adding LEDs to the foot wells and glove box. (Prev mods: LED Tails and Rear Passenger LED mods) This mod can be especially useful this time of year up here on the 49th parallel since we are pretty much in darkness @ 5PM during November. All to often I drop something down near my feet and have to go looking for it. The light that casts from the map lights…
Dual LED Desk Light Controller – Arduino
I've been involved in microcontrollers for some time - but of the LEGO Mindstorms flavour (and BASIC Stamp to a lesser extent). Lately, I've jumped on the Arduino bandwagon. I've always had the natural nack to fix pretty much anything that has batteries or a plug running out of it. As the Arduino revolution has picked up dramatically over the past few years, so to has my desire to do DIY projects around the house.…
Pulito – Featuring DFlex
Over the summer we installed hardwood flooring - which needs constant sweeping and cleaning . What to What to Well, most of us would just sweep it, right? Some of us might even go buy a Roomba. But, then again, some of us build something to do it for them. Why? Because we Pulito (Italian for 'clean') is simply put, a sweeper robot. Much like a Swiffer and Roomba combined. The intent was…
Pulito – Beacon (Version 1) Internals
OLD Version Details: (see new version here): The following is a picture of the charging beacon. Although it looks quite plain from the outside, it is what is inside that resulted in this being a 5 month build (well that and things like kids! :-) ) From the top there is a cutout for the LCD. The purpose of the LCD is to display the change from 1200 to 600 Hz. The gray axle on…
Review – Dexter Industries – DI Thermal Series Sensor Roundup (Updated)
I recently had the chance to test out a set of Dexter Industries Thermal Sensors produced for the NXT. For those that are not aware, Dexter Industries has entered the market of producing LEGO Mindstorms NXT-compatible sensors and has come up with some pretty cool ideas such as the dSwitch (allows you to switch in-home devices on/off using the NXT) and some cool new ideas such as solar charging for the NXT as well as…
dSwitch Aquasaurs Temp Monitor
We recently picked up one of those Aquasaurs kits for the kids - which lets you hatch and care for some neat little aquatic fish (or shrimp) that date back to pre-historic times. After reading the instructions we got everything set-up and all was good, until we read the part about the temp of the water needing to remain between 72 - 80F. Problem is, we tend to keep our house around 70ish, and…
DualGrip-NXT Rover
Sometimes I build robots that attempt to solve real world challenges. Other times, robots are built based on random ideas. This robot is a case of solving a LEGO challenge - specifically, with their Technic tracks/treads #575518. At no fault of theirs, these plastic tracks are slippery on many surfaces. Great for carpets, flat areas, dirt (if you dare) - and great for turning as well. However, when you try to climb with them, they…
Welcome to my place…
Welcome to my new blog. I was beginning to tire of my old site and found that I needed a better way to manage the content of my projects as I diversify my portfolio of LEGO robotics, electronics work, mods, instructables and other hacks. Over the years I have had many great comments and questions primarily related to my LEGO robots. When I did my Apple MightyMouse mod to my Asus EEE 901 (which I…