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Between rigging up a small LED matrix to my member storage and returning my 3D printer + webcam to the shop, the idea of measuring ambient light has come up several times. Finding a photoresistor to do this turned out to be beyond simple: a member gave me one to use. But once the thought had crossed my mind, I wanted to follow through with this LED sensor thing and see if it’s really up to snuff.

First, gotta find out how it all works. Easy: another shop member wrote a library for it. And the library references an Arduino page which describes the operation: Light Emitting Diodes are typically wired to produce light. But, if you attempt to apply reversed voltage, then the LED will reject current (it is a diode after all) and will do something I find pretty cool: it acts as a tiny capacitor. And even cooler: the capacitor’s characteristics will change based on how much light is reaching the LED’s substrate. So this library will “charge” the LED by applying VCC->VSS backwards on the device, and then measure the length of time it takes for the capacitor to discharge (which is dependent on the ambient light). Neat!

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ctag and I made an appearance at the Charger Union for the UAH Makers‘ Make-a-thon event. We gave a brief talk/tutorial about Arduino basics to an audience of a couple dozen attendees, including both UAH students and non-UAH affiliates. We also discussed how to integrate Arduino and Raspberry Pi-based trinkets into larger projects, such as for robotics or automation – as well as just for fun. Here are some shots of the event, as well as our example trinkets and projects.

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2015_10_30_10_48_30_Untitled_Sketch.fzz_Fritzing_Breadboard_View_

This coming Tuesday (Nov 3) at 7:00 PM, we have some amazing people from YourDuino.com coming by Makers Local 256 to give a presentation/demo/Q&A on Arduino microcontrollers and embedded electronics in general. They’re touring around the Southeast and ML256 is one of the many places they chose to stop by!

Their main objective is to talk to people about Arduino and what you can do with it. They’ll have some kits and parts available during and after the presentation, so if you don’t have an Arduino (or two) already, you can pick one up then. They’ll be showing off a neat display of a few different Arduino projects and circuits, so it should be interesting and fun!

They’ll be going through the entire process of designing, connecting, and coding up a simple Arduino project from start to finish. If you have any questions about your own project, they would love to discuss ideas and give help where they can.

There’s no cost to attend the presentation, but they will have parts available for sale if you need them. Anyone is welcome to attend!

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By MOG and Tim

This Mind Flex project is a re-imagining of a similar design LINK  Where a Mind Flex EEG device has been modified to output and log brain functions via a serial connection to a laptop. The laptop is running on battery power alone as you should have no current plugged in while connected to an EEG.

This altered design has similar concepts though this version is a little different as there is no tether with an Arduino,  rather information is being transferred via a serial to Bluetooth adapter.  The Arduino was removed to reduce some of the bulk and increase battery life on the laptop. Serial to BT

The adapter is powered by the Mindflex power supply and also the serial line. when the Mindflex is turned on the Bluetooth is turned on simultaneously outputting information from the subject’s brain to the computer for logging.

Also a self designed software library was created for this project and runs in the background for logging data. lib

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Where: Makers Local 256, 203 Brown Street
When: Saturday, October 17th, 1:00 – 3:00pm
Cost: $30 (for the things you get to keep)

Mr. Mike Spiceland, a coworker of mine, will be giving an basic AVR class in two weeks, October 17th from 1 to 3pm. Everyone will need to bring a laptop with them. I’m waiting to hear back about getting some Arduinos for $30. Please email me before Saturday if you’re interested in taking part in the class so we know how many people to plan.

For those with Debian or Ubuntu systems, you should be able to just run the following before the class:
apt-get install gcc-avr avr-libc avrdude

For those with Windows systems, you’ll need to install the WinAVR package here: http://winavr.sourceforge.net/

Don’t worry if you have any problems getting your system setup, just show up a little early and we’ll be able to help you get going.

The class outline is as follows:

Class 1: Introduction to microcontrollers / AVR / Arduino
– October 17th
Basic Concepts
building projects and programming your micro
bits and bytes – hex, binary, binary C operators, and accessing
16-bit registers on an 8 bit micro
getting familiar with the datasheet
I/O ports – talking to the outside world
intro to avr-gcc and avr-libc
Interrupts
Interrupt Service Routines
External Interrupts

Mike also has two more classes planned. We’ll discuss when we want to have them at the this class.

I look forward to seeing you there!
#matt