DorkBot PDX

Winch hanging from ceiling

I went to the DorkBotPDX meeting last week at the Lucky Labrador brew pub on Quimby in downtown Portland. I talked to a few people. A couple of guys were working on controls for RC (Radio Control) cars. One gal had a walking, talking miniature skeleton. Another guy had a wire mesh head with eyeballs.

One of the guys with an RC car was working on using GPS to have the car navigate a path. GPS precision is at least partially dependent on how many satellites you can see. Right now he is planning on some field tests. The trick right now will be how fast he can get updates from the GPS unit. Once you know where you are and where you want to go it should not be too difficult to figure out how to get there.

I worked with a OEM GPS unit a few years ago. It could take a long time for it to figure out where it is the first time you turn it on, like hours. Once it has done that the first time, it does not take too long, depending on how many satellites it can see, whether the power has been turned off, and whether it has been moved very far from it's original location.

The other RC guy had modified a wireless game controller to control the car. Actually the controller was unmodified. He had modified the receiver that plugs into the game console. He had removed the connector and wired it directly to a controller board in the car. He is also looking at GPS.

OPTAScope

He had an OPTAScope which used to sold by Parallax. It is a small device about the size of a cordless phone. It has three or four test leads that can be connected to the target board and a USB connector for connecting to a PC. A special program displays the signals on the PC's screen. It looked like a really handy and cheap way to get an oscilloscope. There are other USB/PC oscilloscopes out there but they cost a bit more.

Parallax software oscilloscope

I got the impression that the gal with the dancing pirate was using him along with some other characters in a movie/video she was working on. I didn't quite get the whole story, it was pretty loud in there. The pirate was mounted on a square base that held the electronics. There was one motor in his head that moved his jaw and another in the base that made the body move. The whole thing was run by a 6502 microcontroller and had a short audio recording that it played. The 6502 has been around forever.

The guy with wire mesh head was looking for pneumatic cylinders to provide some motion control. Used to be able to get stuff like that from Boeing surplus in Seattle, but they've shut down. Well, the brick and mortar store is closed, but they now have an internet sales site.

Arduino, Parallax and Winbond were names I heard from several people. Windbond makes a line of self contained audio record and playback chips, no other IC's required. Makes it simple to add a bit of sound to your electronic project.

Arduino and Parallax make circuit boards with microcontrollers for hobbyists.

The picture at the top? That's a five ton crane hanging from the roof of the pub. The building must have had some industrial application in a previous life. Sad that such a fine piece of machinery ends its' days as a decoration. I suppose that's better than being hauled off for scrap. And who knows? Someday it may find a use again.

Update November 2016 replaced missing pictures, added captions.