Ramblings of an E-Geek: Archive

Moving on to another Blog Host

I’ve decided that it would be best to move the Ramblings of an E-Geek blog to another Blog Host. So, I’ve reconstituted most of my posts on Blogger. Please visit me there and subscribe to my RSS feed! Thanks! http://egeekrambling.blogspot.com/

Aug 28th

6 tags

Building Blocks: The UART

I know these posts aren’t in any kind of logical order, but I figure I should post about what I feel inspired to post about and, eventually, it’ll all be there. So, today I’m going to talk about the UART code I use on the atMega328p to communicate with the WiFly GSX. It is a bit more complex than the very basic tutorials out there, but I suspect it’s not up to...

Aug 12th

8 tags

Building Blocks: The Microcontroller

As part of the building blocks series, I thought I would share a modular microcontroller design that I came up with over two years ago and that I am using for the scoreboard project. The Arduino craze not yet peaked and I was not fully aware of what it was, however, I did see some value in what they were doing and couldn’t help but allow the Arduino influence my design. Basically I took...

Aug 12th

9 tags

Building Blocks: Overview

Alright, I’ve hinted and even mentioned what all the components are in the scoreboard, but not really in much detail. To supplement my building blocks series of posts, I thought I would put together a simple diagram of how all the different building blocks are connected and with some basic stats for each. As you can see, there is quite a bit of power distribution throughout the design. ...

Aug 11th

Jul 26th

3 tags

Building Blocks: Explosions are BAD!

Who says you can’t live on the edge as a geek? This next building block is really in there for safety more than anything else. What am I talking about? LiPo batteries. LiPo batteries have an excellent stored power to weight ratio, however, they are contentious beasts. You can’t overcharge them, or they’ll explode. You can’t drain them past a certain point or...

May 13th

1 note

Building Blocks: Switch Mode Power Supply

I know what you’re thinking…”Wow! This guy must be really smart because he designed a switch mode power supply for his project.” Well, I hate to disappoint, but I’m not really that smart at electronics (that’s why I’m doing this project…to learn!) The truth is, I was looking at building my own SMPS, but it looked like a chore even considering...

May 7th

May 2nd

Building Blocks: Anatomy of a Digit

Having already quite a bit of experience with microcontrollers, I decided to tackle the score digits first. I figured that if I could build these, the rest (except for maybe the wireless) would be pretty straight forward. Also, the digit design would be applicable for score digits, the inning digits, and also the balls/strikes/outs display. My design criteria were as follows: The digits must...

May 2nd

4 tags

Building Blocks: Introduction

It’s pretty funny how my neighbors view my different projects. They’re always asking, “so…why don’t you just buy one of those on the internet?”, to which I reply, “none of those on the internet do exactly what I want them to do.” This project is no different. I wanted an open scoreboard hardware platform that I can control from common wireless...

May 2nd

3 tags

Apr 11th

3 tags

Watch

Here’s a preview of where I am at right now with the scoreboard. Unfortunately I did not think of blogging my progress until now, so I’ve made some significant progress already. I will try to go back and document most things I have done so far. Stay tuned for that.

Apr 10th

3 tags

Let's Get Started, Shall We?

A few years ago, I realized that there were many things I’ve always wanted to do and learn, but never took the time. Some of these things come from as far back as when I was a kid, but I never had the time or the opportunity to pursue them. So…I took up Snowboarding. Now, a 38 year old on a snowboard for the first time is a comical thing to see. After a few years and a couple...

Apr 10th