lots of prep to get ready

i dug in hard today on the project. after cracking the case of the receiving unit of the Neurosky, i spent a bit of time confirming pin outs and making sure my model matched the information i have gathered on the process. i started to wire up the bread board and i realized i was missing the voltage regulator; where the arduino sends data at 5v, the dongle takes a 3.3v signal. there were many reports of people burning out the dongles over a period time with this over voltage. suggested is the SparkFun Logic Level Converter - Bi-Directional

sigh...

so i sucked it up ordered a piece or two from amazon prime and paid for next day shipping and I will have it tomorrow. i realized as i continued to read up on the reasons why the voltage needed reduction that i could simply build a voltage divider as the team from Make a Mind-Controlled Arduino Robot had done. this is a simple process where you pass the voltage across two resistors in series leading to fractional adjusted voltage.


there are tons of calculators on the web, i used this one today and this one in the past to make multi-voltage supplies.

this is what I ended up with. and it worked beautifully with R1 = 1.8kΩ and R2 = 3.3KΩ

i also soldered wires to the pin-outs on the transmitter/receiver. note the shrink tube on the bundle as a stress relief and careful soldering on bottom to prevent shorts/bridges.

The generous Mr. Castro and squeaky circuits

Last week, I recieved a gift from André Castro (www.andrecastro.info) when he generously shared his circuit diagrams and plans for his noise circuits he calls Tactile Noise Machines. I combined his drawings and with my new drafts using Eagle CAD so that I could prepare PCB's and printed guides for my students.

here are my files to share:
tactile_noise_machines/tnm1.brd
tactile_noise_machines/tnm1.sch
tactile_noise_machines/tnm2.brd
tactile_noise_machines/tnm2.sch
tactile_noise_machines/tnm3.brd
tactile_noise_machines/tnm3.sch

Experimenting with these circuits over the past two weeks, they are making circuit bending instruments using found circuits in a 'sound toy' and adding in one of the Tactile Noise Machine plans. Next we start working on HMI. THey are all assigned to look at the act of making an instrument and consider the aesthetic/symbolic and maybe semiotic value of the methods that the instrument will require to 'play'. Taking a cue from the criticisms in Hertzian Tales by Anthony Dunne, I have asked them to look for these additional interpretations and metaphors that they can create in the instrument's form.

The sounds they are achieving from both explorations are pretty darn fantastic.

another sub $3k abs FDM

i am pretty stoked about the Makerbot Thing-O-Matic we will be assembling and using for my class this summer. whilst doing some, class prep, i found another FDM called UP! that retails just under $3000. it is distributed by Cool Components see: Check out A Technology to Change the World