Ladvien's Lab

Originally posted on www.letsmakerobots.com

As I prepare to start adding peripherals to my Pi Bot, I wanted to be sure to get around the 700ma power budget the Pi has. After searching for a cheap battery powered USB hub and finding little, I decided to hack up a few cheap(ish) parts and make my own.

1. USB Hub : $1.39

2. 5000mAh Battery : $17.93

3. DC-DC Converter : $2.76

Total: $22.08

The Battery Hack:

1. Crack it open.

2. Find POWER and GND.

3. Wire it up.

4. Make a small hole for wires and bring wires out ...

Originally posted on www.letsmakerobots.com

This article is specific: How I personally would setup my Raspberry Pi to act as robot base. But, I'll be clear, this is one of nth possible setups. A chessboard has 64 squares but those working the board allow for innumerable possibilities.

That aside, here we go:

1. Get Berryboot. Berryboot will allow you to download several Raspberry Pi images.

Now extract the zip files to a blank SD card.

Put the BerryBoot SD card in your Pi and boot it up.

2. Setup RPi with Raspbian Wheezy (first option).

3. Setup your WiFi ...

Originally posted on www.letsmakerobots.com

Breakout PCB Arduino Code

I've waited to finish incorporating my Raspberry Pi into my bot for an ample bit. But since I know so little about electricity, I swore to myself I wouldn't add my Pi to my bot until I was absolutely sure I wouldn't fry it.

Well, I'm still not "absolutely" sure, but I feel this little optoisolator has brought me a lot closer. This builds on my post a week or so ago about making Eagle parts.

I plan to actually list out what tweaks a Wheezy image needs to get ...

Originally posted on www.letsmakerobots.com

I decided to try making an Arduino Pro Mini at home. Being done, it's not worth it. You can buy one for a dollar more than you can make them, and it took awhile to populate. Although, it's "fun."

This projects was also a chance for me to test the Spying-Stalactite I built.

I've enjoyed it. It allows me to reflect on my strategy while populating boards. It's simply a drop down with some high-powered LEDs (~2500 lumen), heatsink, and coolant fan. It has a hole for my iphone to do the recording. Cheap ...

Originally posted on www.letsmakerobots.com

Addendum: Please don't watch my videos. After Birdmun's comment I found Hack-a-Day has created better videos (shakes fist at Hack-a-Day) and I don't want anyone to waste anyone's time. Although, mine has a better soundtrack and less mutton-chops :)

Hack-a-Day videos:

1. Learning Eagle CAD Part 1 -- Schematic & Custom Parts
2. Learning Eagle CAD Part 2 -- Schematic & Custom Parts (includes making a part)
3. Learning Eagle CAD -- CAM Processor
4. Learning Eagle CAD -- Layout

Original: I was speaking with TeleFox and Birdmun about finding an optoisolator for use with my Raspberry Pi; I had gotten some samples of these ...

Originally posted on [www.letsmakerobots.com](www.letsmakerobots.com 1. Get over to Analog Devices and sign-up for a sample account. They seem to be pretty nice and let you order several samples every month, I believe.

2. Order a few samples of the ADXL345 chip from Analog Devices.

3. Download the Eagle files from Sparkfun: ADXL345 (Note the price).

4. Sign up for an OSHPark account. Then, upload the .brd found in the Eagle files.

5. Order the capacitors.

2 x 0.1uF

1 x 10uF

6. Try to learn Python while the mail peoples do their magics.

** **

7. Flip-off your Python code and ...

Originally posted on www.letsmakerobots.com

I finally got in my Mega Mini Motor (M3) shield that I designed. I was surprised, after populating the board: It actually worked. The board came about after making the Arduino Mega Mini . I noticed I wouldn't really be reducing the bulk of my bot because of the amount of wiring it would take to get logic to the Arduino Motor Driver shield I was using. Therefore, I set out to design a motor driver shield that would plug right into the MegaMini. I broke out Eagle and some datasheets on an assortment of ...

Six months ago I bought my first Arduino. Bought it at the Shack. I'd never worked with electronics, but I had to replace a momentary switch on my computer and wanted more. I quickly woke to the Open Hardware community.

A month later, I was reading about making your own PCBs at home. I made my first home board a few days later. It was a motor driver board, and well, it was a mixed success. Definitely not a looker (http://wp.me/p37cuD-3q). But I was hooked. I wanted to do something more sophisticated. And I was spurred on ...

Originally posted on www.letsmakerobots.com

First Bot Files

I will update with "4.x" build. But wanted to get video up as demonstration of concept. SSH-->RPi-->I2C Optoisolator-->Arduino Mini Pro--->Self Designed Motor shield-->Tracks :)

This is my first robot. Of course, he is very modular. I'm alright with that--I'm a homeless outreach worker and this entire projects was simply meant to take my mind off the bad stuff for a bit.

I do love this little guy though, his general hodge-podge appearance reminds me of Tank Girl's monster--good flick.

The Goals:

1. Stay mentally healthy through ...

About Me

Thomas Brittain: A Hacker’s Journey

Welcome to my corner of the web! I’m Thomas Brittain, a Data Engineering Manager and a fervent believer in the power of data to change the world. My journey has been anything but conventional, fueled by an insatiable curiosity, a love for hacking together solutions, and an unyielding drive to tackle challenges head-on.

Embarking on the Data Odyssey

Bitfocus: Data Alchemist and Architect

Nov 2017 - Present My journey at Bitfocus began with a mission: transform chaos into order, one dataset at a time. As a Data Engineer Manager, I’ve orchestrated ...