Thanks for putting on the UPEC!
vanmunch
Posts: 568
I just wanted to thank everyone who worked on putting the UPEC together this year and it was a lot of fun seeing some familiar faces and some new ones. Thanks!
Dave
Dave
Comments
Jim
vanmunch's robots are multiplying...
I've been meaning to copy some of his ideas and make my own robot ever since the last UPEC.
I think the score was something like:
vanmunch 5
Rayman 0
Hopefully, I'll get on the scoreboard next year...
Jim
Ha Ha
I'm actually going to work on trying to develope a non-robot "novelty" idea that I hope to sell to the general public (and thus feed my robot building machine) so your presentation was very helpful. Very helpfu in, "Oh my that's a lot to learn and do while not accidentally poisoning yourself."
It's good to see what others are doing and hear them talk about their projects. You never know what might spark some new ideas. It's also good to be able to talk casually about what you are working on - new ideas come from there too.
I want to add my thanks to OBC for another great UPE and Parallax for the support (people, product, etc.) that they provide.
I do have a suggestion for future UPEs. There were several people using Xbees for RF communication. If they are being used in their default configuration, there is a lot of room for cross communication between projects (they will all listen to each other and transmit to all the others). Especially with robots and other moving devices, this could really cause some problems.
You can set Xbees to use different networks (ID) and channels (CH). If these are set to different values for each person/project then they should not see each other's messages. It would probably be a good idea if we had an official list of Xbees that would be present at each UPE so that we could each set these values to prevent interference. This is similar, in a way, to the control maintained over RC frequencies when multiple planes (for example) are flying in the same area.
My Xbees are typically set with ID = 9876 and CH = 10. 9876 due to lack of imagination and 10 because I seem to get the strongest signal at home using that channel.
It's very easy to change these values using Digi's X-CTU program and a USB adapter like the one from Parallax. If people don't have the adapter, the parameters could be changed at the UPE itself as long as someone brings an adapter (e.g., I would probably have one with me).
Hey schill,
We had the same problem at UPEW. Jeff Albrecht sorted it out for everybody. OBC should assign an XBee coordinator to take care of the frequency/ID/channel allocation plan.
Ken
An XBee coordinator for UPEC/UPENE sounds like the answer. Anyone want to volunteer?
OBC
Last year, we had some issues with attendees who registered for the show, hoping they could find a way to attend and were not able to. I certainly understand the feelings there. The resulting difference (129/75) between actual attendees and the registration created waste issues with food. (not good!) We made some adjustments to registration this year, namely a twenty dollar entry fee. This both forced people to think seriously before signing up, and also helped to defray some of the costs of the expo.
We were shooting for an exact count as much as possible to order lunch without creating waste, and you guys were perfect!! We had 70 people register, two who contacted me to let me know they could not attend, and ONLY THREE no shows! Three walk-ins gave us the 70 of 70 number!!
We had to re-order a little food to care for staff and a couple people, but because of your cooperation, and the cooperation of the local vendors, we were able to run UPEC with little to no waste! (Giving a few left overs away) -- This is a big positive change from last year!!
We'll be instituting some meal tickets next year which should prevent us from having to double order, but THANK YOU for understanding the changes we made. We are able to better allocate resources as a result!
OBC
Until the expos get so large that it becomes a big job, I don't mind doing it at the ones I attend. I plan to be at UPENE 2011.
OBC
RS_Jim,
The possibility of adding it to the Eventbright system is pretty slim, but we can certainly like from the signup page to another for requests.
I'll leave this to schill to let me know how he would like to proceed.
OBC
Thanks to Jeff and crew. Thanks to Parallax.
Robin and I have been home from UPEC 2011 about an hour, still unpacking and returning phone calls.
schill:
OOPS on me. Checking the XBee network ID was on my TO DO list (and changing if still set to default value).
Just one of many items that did not get done.
Mine worked fine all day, hope I did not cause issues for others.
and yes, I could have changed the ID at the show if needed.
Now for some unwinding time.
I don't know if there were any problems at UPEC. I had mine powered up off and on all day but I was just transmitting telemetry data and I did not turn on the receiver so I don't know if there were any problems at my end. I was using ID = 9876 and not the default so I hope there weren't problems.
For UPENE, I figure as we get closer we can post details of who is using what in a thread. It shouldn't be too hard to make changes on the day of the event, either, although ahead of time would be better so that we don't have potential conflicts between hotel rooms during UPE-eve testing. I think we just need a few announcements at the beginning of the day so that people know to check their Xbee IDs before powering up. We can have a sign up sheet for this. It's no problem to have adapters there to change IDs during UPENE if they don't have their own or know how to do it.
My experience has primarily been with Series 1 Xbees so I don't really know if things are handled differently with Series 2.
I enjoyed meeting everyone. Can anyone contribute to the free table? My wife really wants to know since I told her about it.
-grindel (tan hat guy)
BTW, I just got back to Parallax this morning. Those of you who ordered stuff that needed to be shipped - those should be going out here shortly.
Thanks again to all for making UPEC pretty darn snazzy
I just noticed that no one had seconded this motion - according to Robert's Rules, a motion must be seconded - So... I will second OBC's motion - I think that Schill will do well as our X-Bee Czar!
OBC