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ANNOUNCEMENT: CONTEST > A Project Only A Mother Can Love || Contest Complete! — Parallax Forums

ANNOUNCEMENT: CONTEST > A Project Only A Mother Can Love || Contest Complete!

Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
edited 2009-05-26 19:55 in Propeller 1
Here's the contest:

Build a Propeller or SX based project that's cool enough to get your mother to pick up a soldering iron. It can be standalone (a plant watering reminder-er) or modify something she already has (fuel usage tracker for her chopper), but you can't ask her to gut anything around the house for parts (like pull the flyback transformer from her TV).

What you have: The Project has to utilize a Propeller or SX. To enter, you'll need some photos or video showing it working and a brief description of what it does.

1st place prize:
Your project in kit form; ready to be the perfect mothers day gift and a Penguin Walking Robot for yourself.

2nd place prize:
Your project in kit form; ready to be the perfect mothers day gift and a Gadget Gangster Propeller Development Pack.

3rd place prize:
Your project in kit form; ready to be the perfect mothers day gift and a Gadget Gangster Hoodie.

OBC has volunteered to help me judge, & his son will act as tiebreaker. Hurry! All entries must be in by Midnight Pacific, May 17th, 2009.

ALSO, if you don't want to buy a boss board, don't forget we send out a free pack of boards to anyone who signs up, so you can enter the contest without buying anything.

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Post Edited (Nick McClick) : 5/18/2009 4:40:57 PM GMT
«1345

Comments

  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-03-31 15:15
    Need some ideas? Here are a few I thought of last night:
    • CNC Controller for a Sewing machine
    • Sun Burn Alarm
    • Soothing Noise Generator for baby
    • IR TV timer
    • Video Game Timer
    • Temperature monitor for brewing beer
    • Toilet Seat Detector
    • Parking distance meter
    • Telephone timer
    Any other ideas? I'm trying to think of what my mom would like (or would have when I was growing up).

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  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2009-03-31 17:35
    I was thinking plant water detector.

    Wait, before you say that the Prop isn't right for this...

    It should do resistance checks for moisture in the soil,
    when it hits a detected point, it should have a PIR sensor
    which can detect someone walking by and use Phil's speech
    object to beg for water.

    (This would have been my project if I hadn't been selected to judge,
    heck I might build it anyway.)

    Hey the Propeller is $7.99 tomorrow, what is too expensive for mom? tongue.gif

    OBC

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  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-03-31 22:27
    Got a few questions via PM. Thought I'd answer on the thread in case anyone else has the same q's.

    Does the project have to built with a boss board?
    - Yes. I sell a 2 pack of boards for $15. I also mail out a sample board to anyone who signs up as a designer (free - see signature!)

    Can you provide a picture that shows the copper layer of the boss board?
    - Yep. Attached. 3 layers - silkscreen, top and bottom copper.

    Do you sell parts from your inventory for designing?
    - If you don't have all the parts you need on hand, login as a designer, and click 'go here to submit your project'. Each component will be listed with a link to 'source', where to get it straight from the distributor. Alternatively, you can submit your project and I'll send you a link to buy the components from us.

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  • Bill HenningBill Henning Posts: 6,445
    edited 2009-04-01 01:08
    Slightly OT:

    Nice protoboards, I just ordered the new Gangsta 2 pack and the full/half board 2 pack... Looking forward to seeing how well they work!
    Nick McClick said...
    Here's the contest:

    Build a Propeller or SX based project that's cool enough to get your mother to pick up a soldering iron. It can be standalone (a plant watering reminder-er) or modify something she already has (fuel usage tracker for her chopper), but you can't ask her to gut anything around the house for parts (like pull the flyback transformer from her TV).

    What you have: The Project has to utilize a Propeller or SX. To enter, you'll need some photos or video showing it working and a brief description of what it does.

    1st place prize:
    Your project in kit form; ready to be the perfect mothers day gift and a Penguin Walking Robot for yourself.

    2nd place prize:
    Your project in kit form; ready to be the perfect mothers day gift and a Gadget Gangster Propeller Development Pack.

    3rd place prize:
    Your project in kit form; ready to be the perfect mothers day gift and a Gadget Gangster Hoodie.

    OBC has volunteered to help me judge, & his son will act as tiebreaker. Hurry! All entries must be in by Midnight Pacific, April 30th, 2009.
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    www.mikronauts.com - a new blog about microcontrollers
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-01 16:55
    Compliments are always on topic [noparse]:)[/noparse]. I'd love to take credit, but they're really just the culmination of everyone's suggestions, requests, and wishlists.

    My hope for these boards is that they'll be useful for regular development with the added benefit that you can publish and sell projects you design using them. Unless you need VGA, why buy a protoboard?

    Also, added a few components to the inventory. Let me know if you need something for your project. I added a PIR sensor, a TO-92 thermometer, a few discrete logic chips, A MIDI converter cable and a TIP120 power transistor

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  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-02 20:05
    Put up an official contest page, here. I've also reorganized the inventory so it's easier to find things & added a PS/2 splitter cable so you can connect a mouse and keyboard.

    I've got a few more project ideas;
    • Vehicle speed recorder (for errant teens)
    • Snoring husband waker upper
    • Stair lights
    • Keystroke logger

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  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2009-04-02 20:22
    "Stair lights" ... that's a pretty awesome idea Nick. Overkill for Propeller but great for SX, etc..., a blue LED, Altoids Tin, maybe some Velcro, and a AA batteries. Wonder if IR rx/tx would be good enough for a detector?

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    --Steve


    Propalyzer: Propeller PC Logic Analyzer
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=788230
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2009-04-03 00:55
    stair lights could be done very easily in analog. photo transistor and opamp are all you need. I think with tweaking and careful choice of led you could get rid of opamp

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    Need to make your prop design easier or secure? Get a PropMod has crystal, eeprom, and programing header in a 40 pin dip 0.7" pitch module with uSD reader, and RTC options.
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-03 17:58
    My biggest gripe about the prop was the price. Now that it's $8, I think it's pretty much perfect. Overkill? SURE! But there's no penalty for overkill in the contest. Besides, my dream stair lights would have pwm, a distance sensor to turn on when you get near, an rtc to turn blue during night and green during the evening, variable brightness based on ambient light, and they'd blink when I get an email.

    An analog version could work! Why not just a photoresistor, transistor and a few resistors? Of course, if you threw in an SX, you could do pwm and make it fancy. I do stock 3 opamps - the LM358, and the LM741, and LM386.

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    Post Edited (Nick McClick) : 4/3/2009 6:14:07 PM GMT
  • VaatiVaati Posts: 712
    edited 2009-04-03 18:04
    :!Don't steal this idea!!:

    Okay, here it is: a wall-mounted car key finder.· You just press a button on the project box mounted on the wall and it makes a beeping sound.· Using RFID, you would have an RF tag on a keychain attached to the keys.· there would also be a buzzer on the keychain, which would make a higher-pitched beeping sound.· Once the keys are found, another button on the main box would be pressed, stopping the beeping noise.

    How 'bout that?

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    Quit buying all those fixed voltage regulators, and·get an Adjustable Power Supply·for your projects!· Includes an LED testing terminal!

    Post Edited (Vaati) : 5/4/2009 5:47:44 PM GMT
  • mctriviamctrivia Posts: 3,772
    edited 2009-04-03 18:10
    well you would not use

    radio frequency identification

    to low power and not what it is ment for but otherwise cool

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    Need to make your prop design easier or secure? Get a PropMod has crystal, eeprom, and programing header in a 40 pin dip 0.7" pitch module with uSD reader, and RTC options.
  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2009-04-03 19:47
    We've all had the beeping keys or tv remote or whatever idea [noparse]:)[/noparse] problem with your implementation is RFID requires you to get close ... maybe not so bad for a tv remote if you carry the locator around ... until you lose the locator. I guess it would be like the "getting warmer" game. Maybe you could use a periodic low power ultrasonic speaker and microphone combo?

    On the stair lights ... I was thinking that the LED would only be on when someone is on the stairs and would stay on until a timer expires to save batteries ... guess you could do the same with a couple of 555s and a big capacitor. I certainly would not want to use a wall wart power supply for the controller.

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    --Steve


    Propalyzer: Propeller PC Logic Analyzer
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=788230
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-06 17:22
    A wall wart would be awkward. I thought of finding keys, but I'm not sure it would be practical - RFID might work 'hot-cold' style.

    We updated the post-login page this weekend! Now you can update project descriptions on-the-fly and take a look at how your project is selling (screenshot attached).

    We also added:
    1 - Use BBCode in your profile page (just click 'Edit Profile')
    2 - Password Reset (There's a link when you click login)
    3 - Password Change

    Personally, the coolest thing to me is how you add videos to your project page (or profile), just use a [noparse][[/noparse]video] tag. It automatically figures out what video hosting service you're using and creates the code.
    So for youtube, it would be [noparse][[/noparse]video] or say vimeo, [noparse][[/noparse]video]

    Also, if you don't want to buy a boss board, don't forget we send out a free pack of boards to anyone who signs up, so you can enter the contest without buying anything.

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    Post Edited (Nick McClick) : 4/6/2009 8:15:16 PM GMT
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  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2009-04-06 19:44
    mctrivia said...
    stair lights could be done very easily in analog. photo transistor and opamp are all you need. I think with tweaking and careful choice of led you could get rid of opamp

    Sure, but then you'd have a hard time doing this:·· http://alan-parekh.com/projects/stair-lights/

    These ones fade out from top to bottom or bottom to top, depending on where they're initiated from, which I thought was a pretty nice touch.

    Jason
    ·
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-07 05:34
    For some reason, I find it hard to picture my mom drilling holes into the sides of the stairwell, I was thinking of something a little more lightweight and cheaper. That's a cool project though! I like how he uses a laser to activate the lights.

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  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2009-04-07 06:59
    Jason that was neat. I really wanted to see the cat come back down the stairs.

    I bought some PIR modules last year, but they just collect dust. This looks like a perfect use for them: 100ua for PIR + 100ua for SX at 32KHz + modulating LEDs = long 3xAAA battery life ... I hope [noparse]:)[/noparse].

    Now if we could only get a cheap WIFI solution for Propeller, we could have an explosion of ubiquitous household products.

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    --Steve


    Propalyzer: Propeller PC Logic Analyzer
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=788230

    Post Edited (jazzed) : 4/7/2009 7:04:42 AM GMT
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-08 05:45
    I've been seeing a profusion of Ethernet / serial adapters - I could always add one to the stock. I also have an RJ11/45 breakout board and an ENC28J60 in the inventory. I love the zigbee's but they're too expensive.

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  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2009-04-08 07:17
    Nick, When are you going make your "stock items" available for sale?

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    --Steve


    Propalyzer: Propeller PC Logic Analyzer
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=788230
  • VaatiVaati Posts: 712
    edited 2009-04-08 19:29
    I think that i will do a project that is like an alarm clock, except it goes off when one of the items being watched on eBay is bid on by someone else or it is about to end.· How do you think i would go about making such a device, equipped with an SX48 proto board, an SX Blitz, and of course, the Boss board and wall wart?

    Thanks.

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    Quit buying all those fixed voltage regulators, and·get an Adjustable Power Supply·for your projects!· Includes an LED testing terminal!

    Post Edited (Vaati) : 5/4/2009 5:48:03 PM GMT
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-09 00:35
    That sounds like a pretty cool project - Mothers love eBay!

    Just thinking thru it, people usually find an auction with a variable amount of time remaining. So, they'll need a way to enter how much time is left, and a way to see what they've entered.

    For output, you could use a TV (kind of silly), or you could use an LCD display. I think an 8x2 or 16x2 LCD display would work fine. My LCD displays are all HD44780 based.

    You'd also need an input. you could use; a keyboard, mouse, NES controller, Potentiometer, or tactile switches. I think a Pot would be a cool way to set the time, and a few tactile switches for cancelling a countdown / etc.

    I'd also add in a few alert do-dad's. Maybe a blinky LED (I have bicolor LED's which are pretty cool), or a mini speaker. I'm not sure how to connect it to ebay (that might get complicated), but most people just wait until the end of the auction to start bidding, anyway.

    @jazzed
    You can click 'submit your project' and add a note that you just need the parts. I'll send you a link to buy the parts from me. Personally, I think that's the best way because you can be sure your project will work with my parts. Does that work?

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  • ProcessingData...ProcessingData... Posts: 208
    edited 2009-04-09 02:11
    Is there any way you could add a 3x4 keypad to your parts list?

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    Basic Stamp,···· Propeller,·· · SX,·· FUN!


    START:·
    >Proccessing Data. . . .··
    >Task Complete. . .·.
    >Saving Data. . . .
    >Entering SLEEP Mode. . . .
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  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-09 04:19
    Added. You can also use an NES controller if you need input

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  • ProcessingData...ProcessingData... Posts: 208
    edited 2009-04-09 14:27
    Thanks

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    Basic Stamp,···· Propeller,·· · SX,·· FUN!


    START:·
    >Proccessing Data. . . .··
    >Task Complete. . .·.
    >Saving Data. . . .
    >Entering SLEEP Mode. . . .
    >Signing OFF


    ·
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-09 18:31
    No problem! I'm cautious of adding components that aren't likely to be used in another project, but a matrix keypad is a no-brainer.

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  • MicrocontrolledMicrocontrolled Posts: 2,461
    edited 2009-04-09 19:44
    Can you add a 5 to 9 volt relay? For my project this would be a must!
    (The relay dosn't have to support 5 - 9 volts; but it can be one of the two.)

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    Robots are microcontroled.
    I am microcontrolled.
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-09 21:35
    Hey guys -

    If you'd like to order parts directly from us, you can now do so here.

    I'll look into the relay, can you suggest anything from mouser?

    Nick

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  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-10 17:58
    Added a 5V relay in! - (This One)

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  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2009-04-10 18:20
    Very nice Nick [noparse]:)[/noparse] Now I'm afraid I'll end up giving you money wink.gif

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    --Steve


    Propalyzer: Propeller PC Logic Analyzer
    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=788230
  • Nick McClickNick McClick Posts: 1,003
    edited 2009-04-10 19:36
    Yeah, the omron one is better. 3V coil, 2amps and a standard footprint. I've switched it over. I'd rather use a more expensive part that makes the project easier to build & a 3V coil will make it easier.

    By the way, there was a bug in the parts order-er, but it's fixed now.

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  • ProcessingData...ProcessingData... Posts: 208
    edited 2009-04-10 19:39
    Whoa, cool boards! Just got them today. I'll order a propeller plug and be on my way!
    (Oh, do you have on your list a common cathode 7-segment display?)

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    Basic Stamp,···· Propeller,·· · SX,·· FUN!


    START:·
    >Proccessing Data. . . .··
    >Task Complete. . .·.
    >Saving Data. . . .
    >Entering SLEEP Mode. . . .
    >Signing OFF


    ·
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