Dice Contact Card - 2023

Ok, so maybe you received one of these from me and are confused.  Hopefully I can clear that up!  I figure the best way to talk about this is in an FAQ style.

Q: What IS this thing?

A: Well, first and foremost, it's a contact card which has info on how to reach me as well as some things I am interested in.  I don't use the term "Business Card" because I am not offering services, products or selling anything other than my enthusiasm about electronics, flying, making, and other nerd stuff.

Q: What does it "Do"?

A: Well, as stated above, the primary function is to serve as a contact card, but you may also be wondering about the lights and battery.  Well, this is an electronic circuit that when activated "rolls" 2 dice and displays a result.  You activate it by pressing and holding the tab.  The lights will flash random numbers for a bit and then stop on a final number.  It will hold this final number until you release, so be mindful of the non-replaceable battery!  See the image below.  This is just for fun and to give it a little something extra.

Example result showing a "5" and "3", corresponding real dice shown for illustration.

Q: How good is the "randomness" of the dice?

A: Short answer is not very.  You will quickly see the results are not highest quality.  This is because I am seeding the PRNG (Pseudo Random Number Generator) by taking an analog input reading off of a pin that isn't connected to anything.  This is picking up EMI in the air.  This is similar to how those cheap "ghost detectors" work.  Unfortunately, in a self-contained little circuit like this, there just isn't a good source of entropy to tap into.  There are chips which have true hardware random number generators built in to them for cryptography purposes, however that would drive the cost up for a silly dice card.  I say, enjoy it for what it is, a fun novelty, don't use it for your critical rolls in D&D, or DO, I am not here to tell you what to do.

Q: How did you make this?

A: This project combines a few different disciplines and as a result was a lot of fun to make.  I started by prototyping this on a breadboard to work out the programming portion.  At some point in the future, I will publish the source code so you can dissect how it works.  After I had working code, I designed the board layout in Eagle Cad.  I had the boards made and populated by an overseas board house minus the processor and the battery.  When they arrive to me, I flash the chips with the code, solder them on and install the battery.  The battery uses spot-welded clips that are soldered in.  This was a custom solution; my goal was to make this as low-profile as possible and use minimal components.  At some point in the future, I would like to explore making it lower profile by using reverse mounted LEDs and holes in the board.

Q: Why did you make this?

A: I wanted a contact card that was memorable, showcased my interests and skills and was less likely to be discarded by the people I give them to.  I wanted it to a convergence of technology and "Art". Plus, it was a fun project to bring into the world.

Q: What is with the weird, curving, non-octagonal traces?

A: This was a conscious decision that actually took a lot more effort than if I had simply gone with a traditional layout.  I wanted something different, the thought in my head was that the traces would emerge from the main processor like tendrils from some kind of monster.

Q: Why isn’t the main card square?

A: This was another stylized decision, if science fiction has taught me anything, it’s that hexagons and octagons are the way of the future!

Q: What happens when the battery runs out?

A: Enjoy it for what it was, remember the good times.  Alternately, this is a good reason to use the contact info on the card and contact me!  If you reach out to me and get it to me, I will replace it!

Q: These must be expensive to make!

A: That is not really a question!  But to answer it anyway, they are about $7/per unit in materials.  Chip shortage has not helped and also not counting my labor and development time.  I certainly don't hand them out as freely as I would paper cards, but I do think of these as being a little more special.

Q: Why is your website not kept up?

A: Why haven't you done YOUR chores?!  I do this for fun, and what I have discovered is that I enjoy making things, flying, playing music a lot more than maintaining a website.  Sorry, Not Sorry for that. I do update it from time to time when the mood strikes or when I want to document something interesting, but I make no promises as it’s not a main interest of mine.  I recommend you follow me on Instagram for more up-to-date happenings in my world which is mostly flying and making things.

Q: Will you make me one with my info on it?  or will you make me xyz idea that I have?

A: Short answer is I am sorry, but probably not.  Longer answer is, A lot of these projects take many hours to develop and integrate.  While I would never say a firm no, the reality is, the amount I would have to charge to make it worth my while likely greatly exceeds what you would be willing to spend.  I do these things because I am passionate about exploring ideas and concepts.  The minute it becomes a commission job, it robs my soul.  That being said, if you are Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk and you want me to make you one, have your people reach out! As The Ghostbusters said "No job is too big, no fee is too big".

Q: …but my idea will change the world and bring fortune and glory!

A: I am sorry, but ideas are a dime a dozen, I can come up with 10 ideas that would change the world over dinner. Ideas are cheap, implementing them is gold.  That being said, if you have an idea, hit me up.  However just to set expectations 95% of the profit split is in the implementation, marketing, and actual running a business part.  Don’t think that your only contribution is the idea and that I am going to labor away tirelessly for hours and hours bringing it to market only to hand over all the benefits and profits to the idea person.  Again, it would also help if I am actually interested in it.  If you bring me a new idea for a spatula, idk, sounds kind of boring to me, not sure if I would be passionate enough to work on it.  That being said, if you are a fellow maker and want to collab, hit me up!

Ghostbusters Proton Pack build.

 

This was a somewhat of a rushed build.  I started it (and the uniform) about 3 weeks before a Halloween party that I wanted to wear it at.  The pictured above is a photo of me from that party.  I didn't document it in great detail because my focus and time was spent on getting the build done.

The pack itself was the anovos kit which I had preordered several years ago and it delivered last year and sat in a box for a year.  A lot of great info about this kit build can be found on the youtube channel Bombastic Entertainment.  https://youtu.be/O__Qz5kW-L4

I upgraded quite a few items in the kit with genuine items (dale resistor, Clipper valves, metal id plates, etc.  The kit itself was good and bad.  Overall the casts were pretty good aesthetically, but as far as fit, they were terrible.  No holes lined up, pretty much every step of the way required custom fabrication.  I pretty much encountered a lot of the same issues as Bombastic.

Most of the ideas for the jumpsuit came from..  https://www.primermagazine.com/2015/spend/make-this-screen-accurate-ghostbusters-costume-with-80-available-from-amazon-prime

Here are some photos of the pack and build. (Click thumbnails for larger views)

Early work on the pack, trying to level everything out

Cyclotron lenses epoxied in with epoxy putty.

e-cig based smoke system (use toasted marshmallow scented non-nicotine vape juice)

A view inside the fan duct. A Computer fan cut down and sandwiched in, sealed with hot glue.

Preliminary wiring on the wand is complete (Had to do a lot of custom drilling to make this work)

View of the completed pack (pre-weathering)

Back view of the finished costume.

Custom lighting for PPG.

I started to design a custom lighting driver to drive and control 255LEDs + a LED strobe on my Paramotor.  Here is a breif video of them in action.

The design consists of 3 major components.  The battery,  The driver box and the keypad control box.  The way i currently have it programmed is as follows.  Numbers 0-9 switch different patterns.  The * key acts as a "shift"  so * followed by a number gives me 10 additional patterns.  If I outgrow this, I can rethink this, but for now it seems to work ok.  The # key toggles the strobe on or off.  My design uses 2 ATMEGA328 microprocessors.  The idea is, 1 processor is dedicated to running the strobe, so the strobes timing is independant of anything going on with the ring lights.  The second processor polls the keypad over i2c and runs the ring lights.  Additionally, processor 2 toggles a pin high or low which acts as a signal that processor 1 is listening for to determine if the strobe should be on or off. 

Going with 2 separate processors significantly reduces the processing load as opposed to trying to do it on 1 chip.  The keypad is a nifty thing that sparkfun came up with called the "Quiic Keypad",  this is nice because it talks over i2C and handles all the keypad matrixing/polling, further reducing processor load of my main processors.

There was 1 issue with using The sparkfun keypad.  It operates at a 3.3V logic level and my stuff operates at 5V.  So I threw in a local VREG and a logic level converter to handle this descrepancy.  Finally I connectorized everything so that I can quick disconnect any given component if I need to.  The connectors are all keyed and different, so it's impossible to accidentally connect the wrong component to any given connector.

Finally, I designed in Solidworks and 3D printed custom enclosures for the driver and keypad boxes.

Here are a few photos of the build...

Inside the driver box.  Custom PCB that I designed and had made.  Also using a Castle Creation off the shelf 5V/10A buck converter to drive the ring LEDs.

Cad view of the PCB...

My CAD design for the keypad's enclosure...

The finished modular keypad...

Driverbox and Battery mounted on my frame...

Keypad mounted to my harness so that I can reach it in flight...

Testing out the lights on the ground...

I bought a wing!

Just a quick update.  I bought a wing!  Found a good deal from Germany on the Facebook PPG buy/sell/trade group.  Only 3 flights on it.  Very happy with this purchase, it is brand new condition, everything is crisp and even still smells new :).  I love the color scheme as well!

I still need a motor to complete the ensemble, but I can at least get out and practice kiting with this.  Hope to pick up a motor come spring time or so.

 

Powered Paragliding.

Sorry for the long haiatus.  It's been a busy year and I haven't had much time to work on projects.  The few projects I have been working on, I haven't done a good job at documenting.  This site is probably turning into a very sporatic life blog more so than a dedicated project site.  That being said, I do hope to submit future projects (time permitting).  I thought I would post something I have recently been doing.

I very recently got back from a trip to Midwest Powered Paragliding in Franklin, Indiana.  I spent about 9 days learning how to fly Powered Paragliders (PPG).  While I was out there, I got 36 flights in and earned my "PPG2" rating.   I went from knowing very little, to being talked through my first flights to now being fit to do this on my own without instruction.  This was an exciting adventure that I can't wait to do more of.

Here are a few videos and photos from this adventure...  The best way to keep up with my goings on is via my Youtube channel which I do post to more frequently :)