On Streatham Common.
Saturday 29 August 2015
Arduino - Temperature and Time
Yesterday I soldered up the Real Time Clock for the Arduino project .
A Real Time Clock is just a digital clock without a display.
What's the point of that Awa Rich?
There's one in every computer, that's how it knows what time it is even when you switch it off. There's a battery that keeps the clock ticking.
I thot the innernet did that Awa Rich.
Nope, most computers set their internal clocks by getting a reference time from the internet, but they still need to know what time it is even when there's no internet connection. When you save a document it gets a time and date stamp from the computer's Real Time Clock.
The clock came as a bag-o-bits. Assembly was not a complex task as the circuit board was the size of a postage stamp (remember them?) and there were only 7 components. It was rather a fiddly job as the circuit board was so small and it kept moving around.
I plugged it into a spare breadboard, loaded up the example code and fired it up. It worked! So, the next step was to add it to the digital thermometer I built previously and modify the code so It would display the time on the Liquid Crystal Display rather than the computer screen.
There were a few problems getting the time to display in the correct format but I got there in the end. That's what programming is all about. Working out how to get the result you want, not quite getting there and figuring out what you have to change. Iterative improvements, slowly creeping up on your prey, solving problems and trying different strategies based on the information you got from the results.
Better than doing SuDoKu Awa Rich!
A project like this requires a lot of juggling as you need to know about the physical components, not only how to connect them together but also how to communicate with them. They all have their own peculiar requirements and idiosyncrasies.
Just like Peeps Awa Rich!
You need data sheets many and lots of tabs open in your browser.
I've heard Peeps say that about you Awa Rich - "That lad's got too many tabs open in his browser!"
I think you made that one up HurdyGurdy Dude!
Aynho, I got the thing working but it was a bit of a mess with wires everywhere and two breadboard connected together. So I ripped it all apart and rebuilt it on the one breadboard.
Where's the bread Awa Rich?
A breadboard is a thing for building temporary prototype circuits on, without having to solder bits together - you just plug and unplug components, move and replace them as you need to.
Once upon a time someone banged nails into a wooden breadboard, strung wires between them and soldered on components to test a circuit. The name stuck. That's how I built my first electronic circuits.
Here's the Arduino with Real Time Clock, temperature sensor and liquid crystal display.
Now that I have all the controller circuitry up and running I need to write some code that lets you set the cooking temperature and cooking time.
Marie said that some people might think it's a bomb.
Some Peeps watch too much TellyBox and read too many Noozepaypers Awa Rich! Aynho, Everyone know that barms have curly wyrs. That has streyt wyrs so it can't be a barm. Wunt take it through airport security tho Awa Rich!
Stay tuned...
A Real Time Clock is just a digital clock without a display.
What's the point of that Awa Rich?
There's one in every computer, that's how it knows what time it is even when you switch it off. There's a battery that keeps the clock ticking.
I thot the innernet did that Awa Rich.
Nope, most computers set their internal clocks by getting a reference time from the internet, but they still need to know what time it is even when there's no internet connection. When you save a document it gets a time and date stamp from the computer's Real Time Clock.
The clock came as a bag-o-bits. Assembly was not a complex task as the circuit board was the size of a postage stamp (remember them?) and there were only 7 components. It was rather a fiddly job as the circuit board was so small and it kept moving around.
Image from Oomlout who supplied the parts
I plugged it into a spare breadboard, loaded up the example code and fired it up. It worked! So, the next step was to add it to the digital thermometer I built previously and modify the code so It would display the time on the Liquid Crystal Display rather than the computer screen.
There were a few problems getting the time to display in the correct format but I got there in the end. That's what programming is all about. Working out how to get the result you want, not quite getting there and figuring out what you have to change. Iterative improvements, slowly creeping up on your prey, solving problems and trying different strategies based on the information you got from the results.
Better than doing SuDoKu Awa Rich!
A project like this requires a lot of juggling as you need to know about the physical components, not only how to connect them together but also how to communicate with them. They all have their own peculiar requirements and idiosyncrasies.
Just like Peeps Awa Rich!
You need data sheets many and lots of tabs open in your browser.
I've heard Peeps say that about you Awa Rich - "That lad's got too many tabs open in his browser!"
I think you made that one up HurdyGurdy Dude!
Aynho, I got the thing working but it was a bit of a mess with wires everywhere and two breadboard connected together. So I ripped it all apart and rebuilt it on the one breadboard.
Where's the bread Awa Rich?
A breadboard is a thing for building temporary prototype circuits on, without having to solder bits together - you just plug and unplug components, move and replace them as you need to.
Once upon a time someone banged nails into a wooden breadboard, strung wires between them and soldered on components to test a circuit. The name stuck. That's how I built my first electronic circuits.
Here's the Arduino with Real Time Clock, temperature sensor and liquid crystal display.
Marie said that some people might think it's a bomb.
Some Peeps watch too much TellyBox and read too many Noozepaypers Awa Rich! Aynho, Everyone know that barms have curly wyrs. That has streyt wyrs so it can't be a barm. Wunt take it through airport security tho Awa Rich!
Stay tuned...
Thursday 27 August 2015
Arduino Thermometer
Some time ago I decided to rekindle an old flame. Something I'd been mulling over for a fair while.
Time to fire up the old soldering iron.
I've been fascinated by electronics since I was a kid. At first it was the inscrutable bits and bobs inside the salvaged radios - what were they? What did they do? How did these things work?
My first serious foray into this mysterious, magical world was the Ladybird Book 'Magnets, Bulbs and Batteries'. A brilliant introduction to the wonders of electrickery.
As you can see from the cover, you get your sister to wind wire around a six inch nail and then you connect it to a bicycle lamp battery and it turns into a magnet that you can pick up smaller nails with! Un Be Leeevable! You acherly lookit like that in the 60s Awa Rich!
At school I built radio receivers and transmitters. Passed the Radio Amateurs exam (My call sign was G8VZP) built musical effects pedals, amplifiers, synthesisers and all manner of other stuff. Whatever sparked my curiosity.
Later, I got a job in electronics - that radio amateurs certificate came in useful. Later still I actually got some qualifications. Then I discovered computers - in the early 80s they became affordable thanks to good ol' Uncle Clive (Sinclair). I learned programming and - with my knowledge of electronics was able to use my Sinclair ZX81 to flash lights and whizz motors.
I ended up teaching computers, first to YTS kids then to adults. But this was all off the shelf software and I let the programming and electronics moulder in the glark.
As computers became appliances, employers and universities bemoaned the lack of hardware and software engineers missed out there dint you Awa Rich? and various plots were hatched to rectify this - the Raspberry Pi and Arduino being a couple of the better known examples. Now, even Mighty Microsoft are at it.
I was interested in the Raspberry Pi because it's British (and I believe some of the developers were involved with the early Sinclair computers). The only problem was that it requires a HDMI TV or monitor to display its output - much like the early 80s computers plugged into your telly. This was going to make it expensive as I haven't had a telly for over 20 years. The tellyboxes these days are brilliant Awa Rich. Shame there's nowt worth watching.
I went for the Arduino, partly because its needs are simpler but also, its primary function is to control things like motors, lights, relays, beepers and all manner of other magic stuff - That reminds me of a song Awa Rich, summink about a dragon. This seemed like fun.
I got me a starter kit from Oomlout - I like the name and they're in Yorkshire. - I worked my way through the book of examples then forgot about it for ages. Mostly because I didn't really have a practical application for it. I could think of a few things it would be fun to build but I got distracted by other shiny baubles (in my world that's an interesting idea rather than an amusing trinket).
One such shiny bauble was sous vide cooking - where you seal the food in a bag and dunk it in a bath of hot water for a few hours - the water baths cost a fortune and even the 'light sabre' devices you can put in a pan are pretty hairy prices. I just use a big pan of water on a very low heat on a regular electric hob.
Deedly doo, Deedly doo, Deedly doo (time travel music) back to 1976 when I was working in Croda lab. We had lots of such temperature controlled water baths for getting the knowing of edible oils and fats. They were pretty simple so why so expensive? (I'll leave you to work that one out).
I could make one. An analogue controller would cost a fiver at the most. I could probably knock the whole thing together for about 20 quid.
Then I thought...
This is a job for an Arduino!
This morning a package arrived in the post - Crystals of liquid! I assembled the components, loaded up the code and had a digital thermometer up and running in about 20 minutes!
The other thing in the package was a Real Time Clock (as opposed to those pretend time clocks - still working on that one Awa Rich?), so the next step is to get that assembled and running.
Stay tuned.
Time to fire up the old soldering iron.
I've been fascinated by electronics since I was a kid. At first it was the inscrutable bits and bobs inside the salvaged radios - what were they? What did they do? How did these things work?
My first serious foray into this mysterious, magical world was the Ladybird Book 'Magnets, Bulbs and Batteries'. A brilliant introduction to the wonders of electrickery.
As you can see from the cover, you get your sister to wind wire around a six inch nail and then you connect it to a bicycle lamp battery and it turns into a magnet that you can pick up smaller nails with! Un Be Leeevable! You acherly lookit like that in the 60s Awa Rich!
Later, I got a job in electronics - that radio amateurs certificate came in useful. Later still I actually got some qualifications. Then I discovered computers - in the early 80s they became affordable thanks to good ol' Uncle Clive (Sinclair). I learned programming and - with my knowledge of electronics was able to use my Sinclair ZX81 to flash lights and whizz motors.
I ended up teaching computers, first to YTS kids then to adults. But this was all off the shelf software and I let the programming and electronics moulder in the glark.
As computers became appliances, employers and universities bemoaned the lack of hardware and software engineers missed out there dint you Awa Rich? and various plots were hatched to rectify this - the Raspberry Pi and Arduino being a couple of the better known examples. Now, even Mighty Microsoft are at it.
I was interested in the Raspberry Pi because it's British (and I believe some of the developers were involved with the early Sinclair computers). The only problem was that it requires a HDMI TV or monitor to display its output - much like the early 80s computers plugged into your telly. This was going to make it expensive as I haven't had a telly for over 20 years. The tellyboxes these days are brilliant Awa Rich. Shame there's nowt worth watching.
I went for the Arduino, partly because its needs are simpler but also, its primary function is to control things like motors, lights, relays, beepers and all manner of other magic stuff - That reminds me of a song Awa Rich, summink about a dragon. This seemed like fun.
I got me a starter kit from Oomlout - I like the name and they're in Yorkshire. - I worked my way through the book of examples then forgot about it for ages. Mostly because I didn't really have a practical application for it. I could think of a few things it would be fun to build but I got distracted by other shiny baubles (in my world that's an interesting idea rather than an amusing trinket).
One such shiny bauble was sous vide cooking - where you seal the food in a bag and dunk it in a bath of hot water for a few hours - the water baths cost a fortune and even the 'light sabre' devices you can put in a pan are pretty hairy prices. I just use a big pan of water on a very low heat on a regular electric hob.
Deedly doo, Deedly doo, Deedly doo (time travel music) back to 1976 when I was working in Croda lab. We had lots of such temperature controlled water baths for getting the knowing of edible oils and fats. They were pretty simple so why so expensive? (I'll leave you to work that one out).
I could make one. An analogue controller would cost a fiver at the most. I could probably knock the whole thing together for about 20 quid.
Then I thought...
This is a job for an Arduino!
This morning a package arrived in the post - Crystals of liquid! I assembled the components, loaded up the code and had a digital thermometer up and running in about 20 minutes!
The other thing in the package was a Real Time Clock (as opposed to those pretend time clocks - still working on that one Awa Rich?), so the next step is to get that assembled and running.
Stay tuned.
Saturday 8 August 2015
A Payne in the Arts
Connections - The Route to Payne’s Grey
Nick sent me a link to a YouTube video showing his working process, made for Australian television. I thought it was interesting that he starts his paintings by blocking out the tones with Payne’s Grey.
You would usually work from light to dark with watercolours, though I’ve seen articles in The Artist magazine that advocate starting with the darks.
Establishing the tonal contrast early in the painting gives it depth that can easily be lost when concentrating on colour.
Lessons in Tertiary Greys (that should be the title of a book) at PSAD.
Grey is not just a mixture of black and white, and even if it was, the variations in black and white pigments allow you to create a wide variety of warm and cool greys. You can mix tertiary greys in many different ways but a good starting point is to mix a secondary colour with its complement (a primary) for example orange (secondary) mixed with blue (primary) or purple (secondary) mixed with yellow (primary), or you could mix 3 primaries (red,yellow and blue).
Tertiary greys make a painting interesting by their variety. You can mix any degree of warm, cool or neutral tones and create interesting effects by using mixtures of granulating and staining pigments.
The range of greys available is immense given the number of colours you can start with. Tertiary greys will always sit comfortably in the composition if they are mixed from colours used in the rest of the painting.
Experiments with Limited Palettes (another book title - the sqeaquel praps)
A few years ago I did a couple of summer schools at Putney School of Art and Design - painting classes with Ian Ellis and Graham Cole. Redcurrant themes in both were the use of limited colour palettes and mixing tertiary greys. Both techniques give a feeling of unity to a painting, although you can mix a wide variety of colours from your palette, the limited number of starting colours binds the picture together - the colours look as though they belong together.
Just Doodling
After watching Nick’s video I rummaged through my paints only to find the Payne’s Grey slot was empty. So, off to the shops I went.
I painted a few swatches in various dilutions and stared at them for a while. Winscale and Neutron’s Payne’s Grey is quite blue but leaning towards greenish.
Since I’d squeezed the new kid on the palette into an empty well alongside a couple of my limited Earth colour palettes, I thought I’d have a go at mixing it.
My latest colour scheme is based on what I thought Aaron Becker had used in his illustrated children’s book Journey - Prussian blue, alizarin crimson, burnt umber and yellow ochre.
I found I could get pretty close by mixing a bluish purple with Prussian blue and alizarin crimson then progressively adding yellow ochre. Along the way I made some rather nice looking greys.
Looking it oop on Wicky PDA.
I had a look on Wikipedia for information about Payne’s Grey and found it was named after the 18th century English watercolour painter William Payne who mixed this grey to give his paintings more luminosity than using black.
Guess what? He mixed iron (or Prussian) blue, crimson lake and yellow ochre or raw Sienna.
I looked on the tube for the pigment codes to see what Winscale and Neutron actually use. PB 15 - Copper phthalocyanine, PBk 6 - Carbon black, PV 19 - Quinacridone. So, a modern synthetic blue and crimson plus lamp black, but no yellow.
It’s amazing where a little thought or scrap of information can lead you.
iPad Sketch
I did this sketch on an iPad Air using a 53 Pencil and the Concept drawing app.
Marie reading her book in the sunshine somewhere isn Sussex.
Marie reading her book in the sunshine somewhere isn Sussex.
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