#robotics Logs

Sep 23 2015

01:30 orlock Floppy?
01:31 Hyratel haha
01:31 orlock actually, Win2K.. is it trying for a domain login, or just local?
01:31 orlock but i'd sa.. just go buy a usb stick, if the system can boot from it
01:32 Hyratel afaict, local
01:36 Hyratel Dell Optiplex GX150, P3 933 MHz
04:14 veverak Hyratel: there should be a way
04:14 veverak connect HDD t odifferent PC and do some magic
04:23 deshipu veverak: the eagle has started
04:23 veverak ?
04:24 deshipu the, uh, payload is on the way, wink, wink, nudge, nudge
04:25 veverak I see
04:25 veverak ;)
05:00 theBear ahh, "when the purple egg hatches, count the bear's ears <wink wink>"
05:02 Jak_o_Shadows hi
05:41 theBear ho
08:33 rue_mohr last night I scribbled down all the times I woke up
08:33 rue_mohr apparently I woke up 7 times last night
08:39 Jak_o_Shadows I should make a button I can just press to log that
08:39 Jak_o_Shadows It wouldn't be too hard
08:39 rue_mohr I was going to
08:40 rue_mohr but I got caught between an android app and a program for the laptop
08:40 rue_mohr then I decided to just do it
08:41 Jak_o_Shadows I think I would want a physical button
08:41 Jak_o_Shadows That way you're not distoring the results by having lights at night
08:42 rue_mohr the android also goes to sleep
08:43 deshipu a spouse works too
08:43 Jak_o_Shadows spouse won't automatically make graphs
08:48 deshipu depends
09:50 blib anyone here?
09:53 Snert sorta
09:56 blib hi Snert
09:57 blib is there a good angular sensor I can use to turn left and right on a car? accel+gyro that I currently have is needed a lot of calibration
10:00 Snert I dunno. They all need work. And none that I have seen are suitable to hook up to a car.
10:37 Tom_itx blib, http://www.microstrain.com/inertial
10:37 Tom_itx good.
10:37 Tom_itx cheap? no
10:37 Tom_itx pick one
10:42 blib Tom_itx: I already have the gyro + accel sensor that I am reading. I was hoping someone has a robotic code to translate that into real rotations for a vehicle. I'm currently implementing it myself.
10:43 Tom_itx you must account for gyro drift
10:43 Tom_itx they just do that.
10:46 blib Tom_itx: I was hoping to use it for only 30 seconds
10:46 blib so that the drift is very low
10:47 Tom_itx gps
10:48 blib is there a library or platform that uses these already and is easy to play with?
10:48 Tom_itx no idea
12:43 Votato Hey guys, I went out and bought some proper motors
12:43 Votato ..but it looks like that my L293D won't arrive until next week, "First Class"
12:44 Votato Is it possible to get around this with some transistors and RPI PWM?
12:46 Hyratel not really
12:46 Hyratel well ok
12:46 Hyratel you can drive a motor one way with a transistor, but you need an H-bridge to reverse
12:48 Votato Stupid question: Can I have a lot of transistors and wire them up in reverse?
12:49 Votato http://www.robotroom.com/Motor-Switch/Forward-Backward-Motor-And-Battery-Parts-Test.gif like that
12:49 Votato Yes, it would look and perform badly but it's just a prototype atm
12:58 Votato Hyratel: Second question is what type of transistor would I need?
12:59 Votato 3.3V max 1A motor, RPI eh 20MA at 3.3V
13:00 Hyratel look up NPN BJT low side
13:01 Votato http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/2n3904-low-power-npn-transistor-to92-case-qr40t
13:01 Votato I don't know how to read the datasheet on it
13:03 Votato Ah, IC is max current on collector drawn?
13:07 Votato Hyratel: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/bc635-low-power-npn-transistor-to92-case-n56ac would do?
13:08 Hyratel i guess
13:08 Votato Thanks :)
13:08 Hyratel discretes isn't really my area of expertise
14:59 nfk The trade body the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) said earlier this year that autonomous vehicles will create almost a third of a million jobs over the next 16 years.
14:59 nfk man, joke of the day right there
15:08 Snert_ and almost 1/3rd of a million can drivers will lose jobs.
15:08 Snert_ cab
15:09 nfk unlikly, more like 300 milliion worldwide
15:10 nfk but probably not in 16 but maybe 20 years
15:11 nfk and i'm still calling bullshit on the number itself, there's no way there's that many skilled individuals in UK which i presume is where that organisation is based, even globally there might not be that many jobs created because of self-driving c ars
15:11 nfk *cars
15:12 Snert_ I'm calling bullshit on the whole idea of automated cars.
15:12 Snert_ much as I'd like to see it.
15:12 Snert_ driving is fun :)
15:13 Snert_ but I could see getting toasted at the bar and let the car do the driving.
15:14 nfk actually i'm ready to ditch driving myself, just give me a car that can actually drive itself, i'll foot the electricity bill and random repairs as long as it's nothing fancy
15:14 nfk but i expect the car to be able to take punishment as the roads here are rather special
15:14 nfk as someone recently put it "at least our drivers know to keep in their lane"
15:14 Hyratel so no SmartCar for you
15:15 nfk just make my volvo smarter
15:15 Hyratel most cars are nearly drive by wire these days anyway
15:15 nfk i'm pretty sure the clutch is either fuckd or fucking with me for example
15:15 nfk it's just too non-linear
15:15 nfk and even changing over time
15:15 nfk makng me suspect it's actually analyizing my behaviour
15:15 nfk or is fucked
15:15 nfk given the age of the car could go either way
15:16 Hyratel all you'd need to add to the mechanical interface of most cars would be an actuator for the gearshift (on automatics) and a motor for the steering
15:16 nfk i think bmw of that age already had electricalally actuated clutches
15:17 nfk also i'm too tired to spell, night
15:17 nfk just one last laught at that quote
15:42 Votato where could I find one of these around my home? http://www.globalspec.com/ImageRepository/LearnMore/20135/metal-pulley78509e229b064012b974ce744519b533.png
15:42 Votato a small one
15:45 sherlock hardware store
15:45 sherlock garage door
15:49 sherlock likely dont want to take apart your garage door
15:49 sherlock so, hardware store
16:08 Snert_ I'd get that from ebay
16:09 Snert_ and maybe a compound pulley to boot.
16:09 Snert_ how much ya trying to lift?
16:26 Votato well
16:27 Votato i'm looking more
16:27 Votato um
16:27 Votato bottle cap sized :P
16:30 sherlock anything should work then
17:04 rue_mohr whats it for?
17:04 orlock rue: Hows your printer going?
17:05 rue_mohr I put the heated bed on and then it broke
17:05 rue_mohr I didn't have any hairspray anyhow
17:05 rue_mohr will work on it this weekend
17:06 orlock what filament do you have?
17:07 orlock i use blue tape for PLA
17:07 orlock havent gotten any really decent ABS prints yet
17:07 orlock used ABS slurry and hairspray
17:07 orlock next attempt will be PVA glue + water
17:07 orlock oh, tried kapton too, but bed didnt get hot enough
17:08 rue_mohr just pla
17:08 orlock If your printers not enclosed, the parts may cool too fast and end up delaminating even with decent bed adhesion
17:08 rue_mohr I have a little abs
17:08 rue_mohr rifraf did abs with no heated bed
17:08 orlock no blue tape?
17:09 orlock i've seen people have done it, with a massive massive brim and sanded blue tape i think
17:10 rue_mohr yea I use green , its less aggressive, I can get the print off
17:14 orlock when i've been here a bit longer (work)
17:14 orlock i might see if they will cut me one of the metal printer frames
17:14 orlock theres an i3 style steel frame that doesnt use threaded rods for frame
17:43 rue_mohr hmmm
18:40 Hyratel well Xubuntu is too sluggish on that system. any alternative suggestions? caveat - has to be available through Unetbootin. System is P3/933, 256MB RAM, 4MB Video
18:45 Snert_ and that was one fine machine back in it's day.
18:46 Snert_ embedded linux comes to mind.
18:46 Snert_ all the bells and whistles ripped out to make it faster.
18:46 orlock Is that system in a specific bit of hardware?
18:46 orlock Like, does it have a DSO or CNC system surrounding it?
18:47 Hyratel no it does not
18:47 Hyratel but I want a linux that'll be easy to switch oiut for such
18:48 Snert_ switch out drives.
18:48 orlock Hyratel: Just wondering why you would be holding onto it
18:48 Hyratel for playing around with
18:48 Snert_ several drives with different flavors of linux and such , or whatever.
18:48 Hyratel I have more-powerful systems, but this was a freebie and I want to see what I can do with it
18:48 orlock We throw out systems faster than that
18:49 orlock ok fair enough heh
18:52 orlock Hyratel: You know you can get itty bitty linux boxes for $30 or so, right?
18:52 Hyratel so>
18:52 Hyratel I have this right now, and I want to play with it
18:53 orlock honestly, i'f its for playing
18:53 orlock i'd go a BSD
18:53 orlock esp. if you have never used one before
19:43 orlock Hmm
23:24 tsmeow sniffs the potted plant in the corner of the cha
23:24 orlock heya kat
23:24 orlock ltns
23:24 katsmeow heys orlok
23:24 katsmeow well, conversation in here wasn't happening, o i wasn't either
23:25 katsmeow how's astronomy going?
23:26 katsmeow think the telescpe software can keep a antenna on a boat aimed at a satelite?
23:27 orlock maybe - would be up to the mount capabilities more than anything
23:27 orlock and the state of the water
23:27 orlock like, frozen or not
23:27 orlock and geostationary sat. or not
23:27 orlock etc
23:27 orlock i got it working though!
23:27 katsmeow choppy water, gimballed mount with weights
23:28 orlock as in, Webcam+Telescope -> PC software -> Arduino software -> Stepper motors
23:28 orlock creating a feedback loop to keep the mount pointing at the same position despite imperfect alignment
23:29 tsmeow
23:36 katsmeow .
23:36 orlock probably not
23:36 orlock as it works via feedback from the stars position
23:36 katsmeow it works for steadycams :-(
23:36 orlock and the cameras have a reasonably low exposure rate
23:37 orlock like, some of them go via seconds per frame
23:37 orlock and the errors they are dealing with are reasonably small mechanical ones
23:38 katsmeow so a antenna on a steadycam munt, on a x-y gimbal mount, can't track a geostationary sat?
23:38 orlock that should
23:39 orlock but its completely unlike what i have
23:39 orlock :)
23:39 tsmeow
23:39 katsmeow i'll haveto make it myself
23:39 orlock i got a new job
23:40 katsmeow less stress?
23:40 orlock Previous job went bust
23:40 orlock yeah, oddly enough
23:40 orlock all my previous jobs i have been running the hting that makes the company money
23:40 tsmeow though
23:40 orlock this one, i just look after computers
23:41 orlock other stuff makes the money
23:41 orlock and they make awesome stuff
23:41 tsmeow sends you her addy so you can send xmas presents this year
23:42 jasonj8 jobs are the worst
23:43 orlock the company i work for is a subsiduary of a big american company
23:44 orlock the other companies make awesome stuff too
23:44 orlock like.. multimeters.. and oscilloscopes
23:44 orlock amongst other things
23:44 katsmeow Fluke?
23:44 orlock yeah
23:44 orlock and Tek
23:44 katsmeow ;-)
23:45 orlock they are both owned by the same company
23:45 katsmeow oh
23:45 katsmeow yeas
23:45 katsmeow they bought fluke resently, they owned Tek for years
23:45 orlock some of the other companies make electric motors
23:45 orlock bearings
23:45 orlock whole specialist motion systems
23:45 orlock petrol bowsers
23:45 katsmeow bowser?
23:45 orlock gas pumps
23:45 katsmeow oh
23:46 orlock cancer detecting robots
23:46 tsmeow makes a postit note to inquire of the station attendent about puling up to the bowser, in a brit ac
23:52 Jak_o_Shadows yay, successfully fixed something!
23:52 Jak_o_Shadows well, to a functional state anyway
23:53 katsmeow congregations
23:55 rue_mohr school is keeping me from irc
23:55 katsmeow ok, which one of you forced rue to school?
23:56 rue_mohr heh
23:56 rue_mohr somehow I figured I'd be a more valueable person if I finished my electrical apprentiship
23:56 rue_mohr I'm never feeling more the fool
23:56 katsmeow no one sent you to school to feel up foold, cut it out
23:56 Jak_o_Shadows well, that was the break for my eyes from the computer