Using the Parallax GPS as a Tesla Coil
rjo_
Posts: 1,825
I was reading about the inductor on the Proto board also being a slow fuse... and I was thinking, in terms of multiple purpose engineering you can't beat the GPS also functioning as either a Tesla Coil or a capacitive circuit element... (can't tell which[noparse]:)[/noparse]
I'm not sure what the most critical step is... but you will want to try this:
1. make sure you aren't grounded.
2. wait for a dry day...humidity that is. If you are a social drinker, have one on me.
3. shuffle back and forth across your carpet.
4. hook up your GPS to a Proto board as usual... but don't use any resistor on the SIO line
5. power it up.
Have fun!!!
Rich
I'm not sure what the most critical step is... but you will want to try this:
1. make sure you aren't grounded.
2. wait for a dry day...humidity that is. If you are a social drinker, have one on me.
3. shuffle back and forth across your carpet.
4. hook up your GPS to a Proto board as usual... but don't use any resistor on the SIO line
5. power it up.
Have fun!!!
Rich
Comments
Maybe I should work for Consumer Reports... if I don't destroy it, it's a five star product[noparse]:)[/noparse]
If you don't have a GPS yet... it is rock solid and more fun than you've had in weeks.
Rich
If you are heating your home this winter, chances are good that you are removing
humidity from your air, increasing the chances of carrying a static charge.
ESD procedures are always a good idea, but specifically now.. [noparse]:)[/noparse]
OBC
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
New to the Propeller?
Getting started with the Protoboard? - Propeller Cookbook
Got an SD card? - PropDOS
A Living Propeller FAQ - The Propeller Wiki
(Got the Knowledge? Got a Moment? Add something today!)
I'm trying to follow your designs... what are you planning to use for a display?... and of course, I'm going to need some speech synthesis[noparse]:)[/noparse]
I've been looking at the total size issue as well... any hints?
Rich
By the way, I'm currently building a "parental unit" car locator... it uses Oldbitcollector's SD card interface to log location, direction, speed. I have an Applescript just about done for taking the GPS tracking data... putting it into a Mac and scripting Google Earth to summarize the children's evening. I'll be posting it all when it's done.
The Parallax GPS is absolutely amazing... it picks up signals from inside an aluminum shielded house... no joke. Just keep the flat side up[noparse]:)[/noparse]
I'm still hung up on figuring a real time system... right now the plan is to use a cell phone with some solenoids driving the keys ... very in-elegant... but it will work. Saw the concept on hacked gadgets. any suggestions on which solenoids and how to hook them up to a Prop would be welcome.
Any thoughts about a direct connection between a mobile prop and the internet would be too good.
Merry Christmas,
Rich
To activate the buttons, I would try using solid state relays to 'press' the buttons, and possibly opto-isolate them.·
Another thought is - and I don't know if this will work, but can a dtmf tone generator work on a cellphone?· That way you only have to have 2 buttons rigged for dial, versus the entire matrix.· But then again, if you do end up doing the solenoids trick, you could always have the solenoid press and hold just 1 key on the keypad (1,9) to activate the 'quickdial' of the phone. :-)
·
If you can't find a phone with a serial port then you could always get one of those GPS enabled phones. They have services online where you can view maps and all sorts of interesting stuff based on the current location of the phone. It may be slightly more expensive than a simple SMS plan, but it will probably end up to be more robust.
EDIT: There are also cellular modules that provide embedded connectivity (some even include onboard python scripting support). Sparkfun carries a few of these modules (www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?cPath=66_68).
Harrison
Post Edited (Harrison.) : 12/21/2007 7:35:38 AM GMT
You are a genius.
If anyone is a few steps ahead of me and wants to play with a Sparkfun module, is willing to post their code, and finds Harrison's last suggestion to be a no-brainer, please contact me.
Rich