DIY Music Light for music stand

I created this because most other lights I have found just are not very bright , some have tons of options but they're just not that bright and my old eyes like bright lights even on the bottom of the page to pick out very small guitar fingering and notes bunched together or accents etc . 

The lights are what are called cree led , but that is a brand name , the more generic name is high powered led but that name also causes confusion so let me show you what they look like .

These LEDs come in a lot of sizes and wattages. This size is from 1-5 watt , and the picture is of a 3W though 1W looks the same . But the big difference is these are very bright the 1W you can look directly into but the 3W no you will go blind .  For this project I used 4 3W with lenses .  The lenses will direct the light into angles or spots of light , I used 2 60 deg lenses and 2 120 deg lenses. The idea is to have some that are very spread and 2 that are more spotlights .  I created the design for the 3d print case so that they will swivel in almost any direction , IE get any point on my music with light . 

 The electronics for this are a little complicated , in that voltage and current have to be limited .  Standard 3w LED's need 3.7 volts and also need current limited to .8 amps each so you need a power supply that will keep a steady 3.7V at .8 amps , but of course I have 4 LED's and I wired them in parallel so that means voltage says at 3.7v but current is added up so 4*.8 = 3.2 amps at 3.7V.  The power I used is called a step down with current limit capability .

   The above picture is my step down in my 3D printed box (my design)  with switch and power connector .  The power connector will connect to a used laptop power supply that they were throwing out at work. I've collected a few of these over the years and are perfect for these kinds of projects .  By the way most times these things (laptop power supplies) never die so don't throw them out give them to me :)   This project is on version 3 , the first version blew up (or it just turned off) and the power supplies I used died , I put 2 chips on each board and the boards only were for a max of .800 amps and I doubled that so they died after about 5 minutes of on time .  The 2 version I FU some measurements and I junked that and went to version 3.  The gooseneck I found was the perfect size but it wouldn't hold the weight of 4 leds and 3d printed holders so I have to put a 12G wire for support, with it and thus it's a little ugly .  In general it is almost too bright but that is OK with me , I guess a version 4 would allow it to be dimmed , but that would require more research into how to dimm the power supply , I think it will take a pulse width signal but would have to play with that and of course knobs and more electronics for that .  Here are some more pictures of parts of it .    

GM Canyon 2008 bad sun visors

The GMC Canyon 2008 has been a pain, in that there are many little things that are broke or worse just falling apart .  One of these things has been the "sun visors"  .  The construction of this things is plastic and the plastic is just cracking and falling apart right at where the visor swings .

Though most would say just replace it , but at over $100 for the replacement part for 1 , I refuse .  Both driver side and passenger side cracked in the same place after 2-3 years and then the drive side wouldn't stay up any more so I fixed the connector first by glue and then a total re-design .  Here is the connector :

As you can see the damage is to the connector that holds the visor , besides the crack there should be a tube to hold the pipe from the visor , that has fallen apart, IE broken into many small pieces.  Glue will not fix this because the parts are gone.  So I created a piece of metal to replace this with a tube inside for the visor to sit on and rotate.

It now holds the visor on the roof with no problems , the passenger side still needs fixing so here is the driver side fixed :

And the passenger side still broke and getting worse each day:

It seems the vibrations from the truck normal use cause this and the fact that the plastic design is just crap .   Seems to me this should be a recall but in the last 10 years very few things get recalled any more so I guess I will be creating yet another metal part to fix this .

Chromcast chromium Linux not connecting

Just a short post on problems connecting Chromium to a Chromcast device

Much confusion on this problem, people go into great detail on obvious answers with setting up Chromcast but of course this is a bit more detailed then simple setup problem. The first problem is to see that chromium supports casting nativity no need for extensions for apps etc. Go into settings and you will see a cast label, select the label and something should popup like cast tab ? If your Chromcast device pops up your are all set, if not read on. Chromcast is not firewalls friendly , IE once found a udp flow from Chromcast comes to your machine/IP that is NOT related . So in order to connect to your Chromcast device you must open your machine FW a bit. Since Chromcast works best if you are on the same wireless device you can put up a rule that just's allows the Chromcast device IP in your INPUT rules: "iptables -I INPUT 7 -s Chromcast-IP -j ACCEPT -m comment --comment "chromcast cast device" , where Chromcast-IP is the IP of the device. I found a much more complicated set of rules like this:

export CHROMECAST_IP=10.1.2.3 # Adjust to the Chromecast IP in your local network
iptables -A INPUT -s ${CHROMECAST_IP}/32 -p udp -m multiport --sports 32768:61000 -m multiport --dports 32768:61000 -m comment --comment "Allow Chromecast UDP data (inbound)" -j ACCEPT
iptables -A OUTPUT -d ${CHROMECAST_IP}/32 -p udp -m multiport --sports 32768:61000 -m multiport --dports 32768:61000 -m comment --comment "Allow Chromecast UDP data (outbound)" -j ACCEPT
iptables -A OUTPUT -d ${CHROMECAST_IP}/32 -p tcp -m multiport --dports 8008:8009 -m comment --comment "Allow Chromecast TCP data (outbound)" -j ACCEPT
iptables -A OUTPUT -d 239.255.255.250/32 -p udp --dport 1900 -m comment --comment "Allow Chromecast SSDP" -j ACCEPT

That said my simple rule is a bit simpler and assumes you all ready have rules that allows outbound connection like this: INPUT/OUTPUT ctstate RELATED,ESTABLISHED , that allows outbound connections to flow . I think the complicated above should work but is a bit complicated so I didn't try it . Once I had the one rule for the Chromcast IP in INPUT everthing worked from Chromium without issues . Most problems are simple and most solutions are also simple why get complicated .

ESP8266 notes and hints

There is a fair amount of information out there and web sites to building/using the ESP8266, the problem is there is a lot of just wrong info on the ESP8266 out there . ESP8266 wasn't designed to be like a Arduino but info was released and programmers hacked it and now it's a lot like a Arduino , it seems to be designed to be used by a Arduino like a processor using a serial connection and a AT modem set (a flash back to the 1990) . You can find a lot of Arduino library's that let you do this but the real power of the ESP8266 is that you can re-flash it with Arduino like code and use it as a stand alone Arduino. The confusion on the ESP8266 starts because there are a lot of hardware version of the ESP8266, google ESP8266 wiki and read, lots of versions and manufacturers so here is the start of miss-information . Lots of datasheets poor translations , incorrect interpretations of the documents . It also doesn't help that these are 3.3v devices where most of the Arduino's were 5v, IE 3.3v devices are a lot easier to damage due to over voltage IE anything over 3.6v and you device is garbage, and let me count the ways that can happen (at least 4-5 times I have done this, by mistake or indirectly). Once you damage a ESP8266 it can still function but not to spec , IE GPIO's show off when on , A/D can work but be wrong , at boot pins will recycle up and down randomly etc .

One of the first things you hit when using the ESP8266 is how you have to set it up to program or just run it , IE 3 pins will need pull up resistors and 1 pin a pull down , RESET,GPIO0,GPIO2 up, GPIO15 down, please read the data sheet for the device you have to verify this, don't trust anyone , again because of the above . GPIO0 is the program pin, low puts it into programming/flashing mode. But one of the things you will run into is that there are a lot of pins that go up and down during a boot, IE power on. This can cause un-wanted functions to trigger on your design, so again find some documentation and experiment. The other major problem is that the ESP8266 has a built in wireless stack that when activated will take time away from any process to keep the connections alive and well. There are many Arduino library writers that have had to fix there code because of this time share of this device, IE your code is not the only thing running of this chip, keeping that in mind you have to be able to give up control to the communication code so that it can maintain connections health etc .

The ESP32 is the next generation of the ESP8266 and it solves some of the ESP8266 problems IE duel processors more pins better documentation and designed to be programmable from the ground up. But the ESP32 is 2x the money at least if not more as of this document creation. So in the low price area ESP8266 still has a place and a market if you can get around the above issues. I had some good success with it so far .

Honda Wallpaper img imid option

To create a Wallpaper for your Honda 2015 you need to read the owner Manual and see the following limitations of the image:

Each image file can be up to 2 MB.
• The maximum image size is 1,680 x 936 pixels. If the image size is less than 420 x 234 pixels, the image is displayed in the middle of the screen with the extra area appearing in black.
• The number of files that can be selected is up to 255.
• Up to 64 characters can be displayed in the file name.

Also when you create the JPEG file you must not use progressive compression for the jpg file. By default gimp turns this on and the paint program does not.

DIY PDF Bluetooth foot pedal for Android

DIY PDF Bluetooth foot pedal for Android

Why do this:

There are many directions that someone can go to build/buy something like this , so why bother and why is this worth while ? 

I think learning and understanding how things work and why they work or don't keep people in a balanced state , IE ignorance is not good for any one, details are the only path out.

This project keeps my mind into a sample of current electronics/Android development and how new products can change the way we work and think.  Also this touches things I can use and do, IE wood work is a something I like to do, electronics is something I find fun and programming/machine building is in my blood somehow. The BT foot pedal is something that is changing how sheet music is read when playing a instrument IE no paper just a tablet and a foot pedal I play there for this is good . I found this link to a DIY foot pedal project Bluetooth-page-turner-pedal-for-sheet-music-apps .  It was a good project to find the bluefruit-ez-key which gave me the rest of my project as I built everything around it.

Designing the pedal:

 I always start with the minimum of what I need:

• Some kind of platform to rest the foot on to trigger a switch/page turn.
• Some kind of switch ?
• Power the unit ? 
• Some way to package the hole unit ?

Since most of this project will be built with the Bluefruit-ez-key unit most of the questions and design points will be answered there. Some key features of the EZ-key:

•  Power the module with 3-16VDC, so a 9V battery will work great.
•  Acts just like a BT keyboard, IE plug a switch to a key and it works.
•  Sends the 4 arrow keys, return, space, etc.

It looks like all I need is a platform to hold switches and a box to hold the EZ-key and a 9V battery. I start with the platform, some major points :

• Comfort , I don't want to be picking the foot up to hit a page turn, I wanted something to  use as a foot rest and then rotate the foot left or right. 
• Back and forward keys will be closest and I wanted a home and end function key to act as a top of document and end of document.
• Pitch of the pedal would be not too high and not too low so again minimal foot movement. 
• Size of unit should be small to be able to easily pack away in a gig bag.
• Stability of the unit no tip or chance of turning over during a session.  

I wanted a lot of pitch control on the platform so I made this with some scrap wood. Wood is something you can just form into any shape and pitch/angle would be controlled with the supports of the platform.  So I started with a shape that would be a arch that would allow the foot to pivot on the heel to each switch.  I determined a pitch that was comfortable to rest the foot on and then I cut out the pieces and glued it together.  

Pitch of the platform for resting the foot

Because the platform is small and the supports are large there isn't much space to hide a 9V battery and the EZ-key board so a external box was needed to support this, I went with plastic because it is a insulator and it is easy to cut and glue a box also I wanted clear to see the led's on the EZ-key board, again something small/strong. I added and on/off toggle to power on off the unit for convenience. 

EZ-key , battery, switch

I wired the box to the platform with some small plastic tie wraps and the wire holes in the foot switch supports.  I used monetary stomp box foot switches to do the key presses and wired them to the 4 keys and ground.  The keyboard keys I'm using are up arrow for page up, down arrow for page down, space for top and enter for max down,  See the EZ-key documentation for the keys and pins . 

Underside so that you can see supports and wiring

I wanted to use this on a Android tablet , I have a nook 9 inch with a Cyanogenmod cm11 loaded with Android 4.4.4 .  I found the pdf reader Ebookdroid which has a way to control the scroll down/up and could remap keyboard keys to do functions like top/end to space/return.  Ebookdroid is also opensource with alot of functionality in it but the documentation is not much but I was able to figure it out. There is a bit of documentation in the EZ-Key unit that I over looked and that is when paring the EZ-Key to a device you have to hit the very small button on the EZ-Key to start the pairing else it will never see it, I wasted some hours of work missing that button.  

The buttons are mapped right to left as bottom, page down, page up, top.

In general this project took months to figure out all the different pieces and to make the decisions on how I wanted it to turn out. There needs to be a top piece to the control box but for now I'm leaving it off for future debugging.  In general this is working well , but I am still in testing and will update with more results later.     

Asus AS U32U laptop with Linux

Asus AS U32U laptop with Linux

This is a AMD E-450 dual core, cool running CPU with these lspci:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 14h Processor Root Complex
00:01.0 VGA compatible controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Wrestler [Radeon HD 6320]
00:01.1 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI Wrestler HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 6250/6310]
00:04.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 14h Processor Root Port
00:11.0 SATA controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 SATA Controller [AHCI mode] (rev 40)
00:12.0 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB OHCI0 Controller
00:12.2 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB EHCI Controller
00:13.0 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB OHCI0 Controller
00:13.2 USB controller: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 USB EHCI Controller
00:14.0 SMBus: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SBx00 SMBus Controller (rev 42)
00:14.1 IDE interface: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 IDE Controller (rev 40)
00:14.2 Audio device: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SBx00 Azalia (Intel HDA) (rev 40)
00:14.3 ISA bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB7x0/SB8x0/SB9x0 LPC host controller (rev 40)
00:14.4 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SBx00 PCI to PCI Bridge (rev 40)
00:15.0 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB700/SB800/SB900 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 0)
00:15.1 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB700/SB800/SB900 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 1)
00:15.2 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB900 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 2)
00:15.3 PCI bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] nee ATI SB900 PCI to PCI bridge (PCIE port 3)
00:18.0 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 12h/14h Processor Function 0 (rev 43)
00:18.1 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 12h/14h Processor Function 1
00:18.2 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 12h/14h Processor Function 2
00:18.3 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 12h/14h Processor Function 3
00:18.4 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 12h/14h Processor Function 4
00:18.5 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 12h/14h Processor Function 6
00:18.6 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 12h/14h Processor Function 5
00:18.7 Host bridge: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Family 12h/14h Processor Function 7
04:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. Device 5289 (rev 01)
04:00.2 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8111/8168B PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet controller (rev 0a)
05:00.0 USB controller: ASMedia Technology Inc. ASM1042 SuperSpeed USB Host Controller
06:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)

The only real problem area was the Realtek RTL8111/8168B Ethernet controller , I had to upgrade to Linux kernel 3.7.0 for this to work at all.  Atheros wireless works at N speed without any issues so far at kernel 3.6.6 .   

Suspend worked with "s2ram -f -a1" and X11 worked with a almost default file , sound works with a 3.6.6 kernel but mute on headphone didn't work till the 3.7.0 kernel.  Put my own 180G Intel SSD and works without any issues for the last month .  

I like the Asus build quality a lot and think this is a great laptop where you can still put standard parts in it like ssd - ide / memory with out issues unlike the ultralights out there with special ssd and memory.

Hope this helps.