Fire and brimstone…
IOIO #1 is fucking toast..
Close call with the new 3-cell LiPo. It took some time to get the singed plastic smell out of the *lab…all three cells appear to be intact.
Making progress on the IOIO project, before the setback.
IOIO on LiIon Battery Power
I finally bucked up and picked up a few Li-Ion batteries for my dust-collecting Clocky mod project. A two cell, a three cell, and a suitable charger for the two arrived in the mail yesterday. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…lithium ion battery tech is crazy. I can’t believe how deprived we were, or more accurately, how pumped I am to utilize this stuff at a decent price point.
Anyhow, I managed to spec out a high quality, thrifty Li-Ion that will fit on my payload…
…and, the little sucker screams…
I have a hard connection from my phone to the IOIO in the vid. I need to configure the new ROM with bluetooth, and wanted to test the power function stand-alone. That will be the next step. The next next step will include piecing the payload together as a drivable unit. The next next next step will be tweaking the UI for some more realistic control units. After that is next next next next, and will involve a video of the unit in action.
Project Demo
One step closer…
This thing screams with wall wart power. Watch…
Now comes the hard part…choosing a decent battery and mounting the circuit board savely on the chasis. I have found a few good candidates, but they are a little bulky for my application. Still looking…
The UI should be fairly straight forward. Just need a few more garage sessions, and I’ll be good to go.
The cordless Dremel was a super purchase FWIW. One of the best tools I’ve used.
Upgrading DC Motors to Servos
A whole bunch of Dremel work and some hot glue…
The Clocky conversion to servo motor control is mostly done.
I still need to make the servo mounts more secure, but the initial test runs look promising:
Getting close. I determined that the IOIO board will not fit inside the casing, so I will have to come up with an external mount. Which will change the balance, so I might end up having to add some counterweights for balance. It should shape up, mechanically, in another garage session or two. The UI work will be another session, thereafter, but look for a finished product within the next week or so.
Chrome Robot Wheels
These rims are hotter than the combination cutting and grinding bit on my new cordless Dremel (after I’ve been cutting and grinding servo fittings with which to secure the rims in question.)
For a project that is being tackled in five-minute-sleeping-baby sessions, it is shaping up. I am not quite sure if the IOIO board will fit in the enclosure, but it will sure be close. I suppose if all else fails, I can chop the thing up a bit…as much as I enjoy Dremel-ing, I’d like to avoid that if possible. Maybe next five minute session…
Rattle Can Makeover
Impatiently awaiting my Dremel from Amazon, I made an executive decision that Clocky’s bright orange motif had to go. Clocky already had some big rims; sort of like my SS. Sort of too like my Yukon. Hmm…black and chrome…sort of a no-brainer.
Step 1: teardown / spray paint
Step 2: Re-assemble
Much better. Hoping to have the little guy rotary-drilled and souped-up before too long. Check back in soon.
Custom IOIO Enclosure
My conversion from DC motors to continuous drive servos is going to be a little more involved than first assumed. The idea is to keep the speaker, upgrade the drive-train, and re-purpose some buttons for power and possible function modes. Oh, and perhaps the toughest item…enclosing the IOIO itself…without nuking the bluetooth function.
Here goes nothing…
It became quite clear that I need to gear up before proceeding.
Shipped and on the way…hoping to get a chance this weekend to get my grind (and glue) on.
IOIO Project Revamp
A while back, I put together a project that added remote control via an Android. I broke out the leads to the DC motors that were existent, and left the structure largely intact…resulting in a monster of a build.
I would like to clean the build up a bit, but to do so will need to go with a different approach. I am looking into gutting the existing components entirely, and implementing continuous drive servos as my powertrain. This will likely get messy.
Servo motors will add big gains in the power consumption realm, and provide added control. I am not looking for speed, so I think this option might work out well. Stay tuned…
RBG LED Controller
My off-the-cuff remark about building an auxiliary bilirubin light manifested itself into a quick project.
In order to approximate the specific color of the bilirubin lamp, I figured that I would need to provide a means of setting PWM values for the three inputs. I had hard-coded values in Arduino code in the past, so thought about taking that route initially. I blew the dust off my Duemillova, fired up the Arduino IDE, and promptly decided to modify my Java servo PWM code to do the job.
Sort of growing attached to the IOIO…sorry Arduino.
So, the controller was born…IOIORBG.
Hit the bump for a video and some more info…
Continue reading “RBG LED Controller”
IOIODC Project Details
Consider this the conclusion of the IOIO DC motor experiment until further notice…
I’m chalking this up as a success. Even though it is ugly and raw, I learned a ton mashing this thing together. Very fulfilling project from a nerd standpoint: I learned more Java, had to buckle down and do a little EE, kicked up the soldering skills a notch, and introduced a few more components’ features into my ghetto skill set.
My code is live on github with a preemptive v1.0 push…
I also dumped the apk to the Android Market as promised.
Pins 21 though 26, wired through the usual candidates on an H-Bridge. Contact me with any details…it should be very spec sheet-heavy though. The main stumbling point is with the power source, so keep that on the front burner.
Cheers. This may be my last time intensive project for some time. Hardware is time-costly…I am planning to take on the software project I have been contemplating between diaper changes and feedings. Look for some dad stuff in the mean time…