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Gears of Resistance

By: Gears of Resistance Podcast Network
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  • Summary

  • Gears of Resistance: A podcast for the curious DIYer. From OSHW, FOSS, and ethical hacking to the Maker Movement, STEAM, Citizen Science, and Digital Citizenship. GoR: Make. Better. Perpetually.

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    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Episodes
  • Green Shoe Garage @ Consumer Electronics Show 2020

    Green Shoe Garage @ Consumer Electronics Show 2020
    Feb 5 2020

    My company, Green Shoe Garage, made it's long-awaited CES debut this year. Along with partners Mouser Electronics, Digi, and Medium One; launched TANKFULL: An IoT Experimentation Platform. An excerpt:

    “Tankfull consists of two water tanks equipped with submersible liquid pumps and liquid-level sensors. The demonstration platform enables an operator to control the flow of water between the two tanks. Digi Connect Sensor+ continuously monitors four parameters. The first two parameters are the liquid level of both the two tanks.”

    Read more at Mouser’s Bench Talk Blog: https://www.mouser.com/blog/tankfull-iot-experimentation-platform

    The post Green Shoe Garage @ Consumer Electronics Show 2020 appeared first on Gears of Resistance.


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    Less than 1 minute
  • Lessons Learned from Building a Tradeshow Demonstration Device

    Lessons Learned from Building a Tradeshow Demonstration Device
    Jan 10 2020
    Recently I got to work on a project that was destined to serve as a table display at a major U.S. tradeshow. Complicating matters was that I would not be traveling to the tradeshow myself so the contraption had to be shipped and set up by those who would not see the hardware in person until the day it was delivered. Furthermore, while I was the hardware guy with a limited software background, the smart folks setting it up were software engineers with limited hardware background. One last background fact, the project was built to showcase the services and capabilities of three separate companies who were teaming up for this specific effort. Also, one of the major components was a given so we had to work within the constraints of the hardware and firmware of that device.I learned quite a few lessons about building a project that was more than a prototype and less than production-ready. It was also a rather physically large contraption (relative to what I typically work on) coming in at 36” (L) x 18” (W) x 12” (H). And as I mentioned before it had to be shipped across the country and set up by others with my support only possible over the phone.This blog is meant to serve as a quick and dirty debrief of those lessons in case you find yourself in a similar predicament.First, let’s look over the top-level requirements for the project:Two tanks that move liquid between them while monitoring the water levels with alerts when either tank becomes full.Send tank and pump telemetry to the designated IoT cloud service.Minimize hardware complexity since the demonstration is about the Cloud and softwareQuietDesktop size (Estimated Overall Dimension: 30” (L) x 18” (W) x 12” (H)Lightweight so to be easily transportableConstraint: x4 4-20mA or 0-10V sensor inputsConstraint: x5 Open Collector Output, 200mA; selectable 3.3, 5, 15, 24 VDCIn short, it was a rather straightforward demonstration of an industrial process meeting the Internet of Things (IoT) in a small, demo-sized form factor.Lessons LearnedDo not permanently mount any component that might need to be replaced or is fragile enough that it may need to be shipped separately. Ensure that any mounting is easily swappable. Consider magnets, velcro, or universal mounting systems such as DIN rail. Screws and adhesives should be used only if absolutely necessary.Use lever-nuts connectors to connect wires between components. Do not solder or use other permanent connectors between wires.Use quality 20 or 22 SWG solid core wires for breadboarding. 18 AWG stranded wire for routing wire long distances or with lots of bends. Establish q wire color code (e.g black for ground, red for power, yellow for clock signals, white for data signals)Use colored heat shrink to indicate the purpose of grouped wires in a wiring harness.Use zip ties or hot glue around cables when they go external from an enclosure to provide strain relief.Always tin the ends of wires before joining two wires together.Use ¾” standoffs to raise up project off the table. It gives enough clearance to route wires without being too tall. It also adds some ruggedness during shipping.When cutting a hole through plastic use a step bit, go slow, and coat with dish soap. Use a piece of tape to indicate which bit step to stop at.Ensure that you are not using oddball components in your project. Being able to source components quickly and cheaply relies on using common parts. Octoparto’s Common Parts Library is a great source to find which electronic components are easily sourced. When it comes to screws, #6-32, #4-40, and #2-56 are among the most common with common lengths being 1”, 3/4”, 1/2”, 3/8” and 1/4”.Don’t invent the wheel if not needed. Breakout boards of components are your friend. Do not create your PCB if not necessary.When inserting switch in series with external battery pack, cut positive cable and insert a switch/button in seriesMeasure power consumption on the low side, between load and ground.Use a “#define DEBUG” macro to easily toggle whether or not the microcontroller is printing debug messages over the serial connection.Know the difference between const int, static int, and the #define preprocessor directive.Know the difference uint_16 vs intKnow the difference between delay functions, interrupts, timers, and schedulers.Follow PEP8 naming conventions for variables:variable and function names use lower_case_with_underscoresclass/struct names use CamelCase,constants/DEFINE use CAPITALS_WITH_UNDERSCORESbyte RfidReaders[] = {RFID_READER1_CS};_VarName for private variablesenum PuzzleState {Initialising, Running, Solved};The post Lessons Learned from Building a Tradeshow Demonstration Device appeared first on Gears of Resistance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    Less than 1 minute
  • The Importance of the Maker

    The Importance of the Maker
    Sep 30 2019

    Like most of us, I wear many hats. Engineer, ethical hacker, author, and artist. Second only to dad, the hat I value most is that of maker.

    For me, the title of maker is a powerful one because it contains in itself so many important concepts.

    A maker is someone who thinks, who designs, who engineers, who innovates.

    But they also create with their hands. They balance the cerebral and mechanical. They value working hard and working smart.

    They like to tinker. Not every project has to have a goal. They make sometimes just for the sake of making. Making is almost a spiritual act.

    However, when they do make for a specific reason, they have the endstate always in mind. And still they aren't afraid to change the goal or the path to get there as they learn more and their skills improve.

    They value sustainability and elegant, user-centered design. They eschew complexity.

    They don't invent everything from scratch because they know they don't have to. They aren't afraid of the good enough. They value speed and iteration in their design process. They know the first attempt is just a first attempt but aren't afraid to share it with the world.

    They look at problems in an inherently multi-disciplinarian manner.

    Makers value creativity. They are inquisitive. They are passionate. They are explorers of the world and of the mind. They constantly learn new skills, refine existing ones, and apply something new to every project.

    Science. Technology. Engineering. Design. Art. Mathematics. All subjects they value. Their passions are diverse. They are humanists. They seek to improve the human condition.

    They never quit.

    They listen.

    And perhaps most importantly they are both students and teachers. They are fervent learners and passionate educators. They willingly and openly share their knowledge. They don't hoard information to make themselves self-important. They recognize that teaching others is the highest aspiration for an individual.

    They improve themselves, their fellow makers, and the world.

    The post The Importance of the Maker appeared first on Gears of Resistance.


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    Less than 1 minute
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