An Introduction
My name is Jay Oyster. By trade, I'm a manager in the IT industry, but by inclination, I'm a woodworker. This site began as a place for me to share my projects, my ideas about design, and my commentary on the world of woodworking.
Lighthouse update: Touchscreen interface
It’s been a while, huh? The last time I put out an update, I had finished getting the clock and the screen attached to the microprocessor board. Prior to that, I had hooked up the two sound boards and wired some basic speakers in place. This time, I’m going to describe how the touchscreen user interface is laid out. This was a long, iterative process, but I’m just going to describe the features as it ended up. (perhaps with a couple of asides about other things I tried in certain areas.)
- Block diagram and prototype
- Configuring the sound boards, speakers and audio sample files
- Setting up the MX board with Circuitpython and activating wifi and basic code
- Attaching the touchscreen driver board and touchscreen to the Metro MX board
- Initializing the Openweathermap API calls for local weather data
- Attaching the realtime clock board to the Metro MX
- This update: Building the basic touchscreen user interface
- Wiring the lighthouse lights and motor to the Metro MX board – Coming soon
- Triggering sound effects with the Metro MX Board – Coming soon
- Building the wooden lighthouse base Installing the electronics into the base - Coming soon
Whisky review: Bruichladdich - The Classic Laddie
Tonight, working on my website while we're getting pelted with rain out of feeder bands from hurricane Idalia. Opted for a classic. Tonight it's The Classic Laddie.
Bruichladdich Unpeated Single Malt Scotch
50%ABV, NCF, NC, No age statement. This was bottled May 2020. Strong alcohol on the nose. pink rubber eraser. granola. petrichor. salted ham. seaweed. looong finish. candy cane.
Using my 0-100% personal taste history rating system: 89
Stay safe everyone.
Lighthouse update: Adding Screen and Coding
OK, to reiterate where we are in the build of this Smart Weather Lighthouse build, up to this point I had configured the sound files and sound boards to play when triggered, and powered on and loaded Circuitpython on the Metro MX board. Up next, I'll go through how I got the 4.7" touchscreen attached and operating. And then talk about getting data back to the Metro board using the OpenWeather API, and finally, attaching the clock.
- Configuring the sound boards, speakers and audio sample files - DONE
- Setting up the MX board with Circuitpython and activating wifi and basic code - DONE
- Attaching the touchscreen driver board and touchscreen to the Metro MX board - This update
- Initializing the Openweathermap API calls for local weather data - This update
- Attaching the realtime clock board to the Metro MX - This update
- Building the basic touchscreen user interface
- Wiring the lighthouse lights and motor to the Metro MX board
- Triggering sound effects with the Metro MX Board
- Building the wooden lighthouse base Installing the electronics into the base
Lighthouse update: Demo video
Video demo published of the lighthouse:
Lighthouse update: Soundboards and MX Board Setup
So far, I've described the overall idea for the smart weather lighthouse, and what the various systems of the build will be, but let me lay out the stages to this build . . . since it is a bit complicated. These are the steps I went through to pull it together:
- Configuring the sound boards, speakers and audio sample files
- Setting up the MX board with Circuitpython and activating wifi and basic code
- Attaching the touchscreen driver board and touchscreen to the MX board
- Initializing the Openweathermap API calls for local weather data
- Attaching the realtime clock board to the MX
- Building the basic touchscreen user interface
- Wiring the lighthouse lights and motor to the MX board
- Triggering sound effects with the MX Board
- Building the wooden lighthouse base
- Installing the electronics into the base
I have to say that I couldn't have pulled together all of the electonics and coding without the excellent support of the Adafruit projects and learning pages.
Challenge Coin Display Stand
This is not a complicated project, but I found it rewarding. Last year, my sister asked if I could make a challenge coin display. Now, I had no idea what a 'challenge coin' was, so I had to do some research. She gave me a starting point. She had seen such a display on the TV show 'Criminal Minds'. She gave me a season and episode number, so I went out and bought that episode on Amazon Prime. (It wasn't available on any of the streaming services I have.) In Season 7, Episode 18, a challenge coin plays an important role in the plot, and display is shown on someone's desk at 42:25 into the show. Challenge coins are used, often by military units or for particular military milestones, to indicate membership in a rare group that has accomplished something difficult. They're also used by some other groups as a sign of membership, such as industry or affiliations. My sister and her husband had acquired a few over the years related to fan conventions, and they wanted some way to display them.The example shown in the episode is a single board with slots on top for each coin, in a single row. I gather that would not be large enough for the number of coins they have. So they asked for a tiered stand.
I started off as I have typically done lately by opening up a gridded notebook and making some drawings. I needed to understand the typical sizes of these coins, and how many could be places in a certain area. I understand the coins are made by several companies and are usually of very high quality, including fine metals, engraving, enameling, and while many are round, some are odd shapes. So I needed to accomodate a variety of potential coin types.
Most coins are between and 3 and 4 mm in thickness, and around 4.5 to 6 cm in diameter. (1.75" - 2.0")
I opted for a simple board tray with multiple row slots for the coins, and a riser mounted at the back to lift it to create tiers. Overall, it was going to be about 12" wide, 6" deep, and about 2 1/2" tall. (30cm x 15cm x 6cm)
StartDate:
Thursday, September 1, 2022 to Saturday, December 10, 2022
Finished project?:
Yes
Lighthouse update: Block Diagram and Prototyping
OK, thinking back to the beginning of this effort in January and February, I had a basic idea of what I wanted to accomplish in this build. First, I wanted the lighthouse itself to look pretty-much stock, as designed by Lego. I just want it to function with more autonomy.
Basic design of the lighthouse automation systemSo starting with a basic set of functions and I how I saw it coming together initially . . . this is not that different from what I ended up building. Here are the basic components:
