As the technophile mom of three boys, I look for cool and interesting new projects to tackle with (and sometimes without) them. I decided to start blogging because, as Adam Savage of Mythbusters says: “…the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down.” Maybe this blog can elevate some of the screwing around with tech projects I’ve been doing to actual science. It can’t hurt. In any case, I’d be delighted if it inspires someone to try a new project or join an organization like FLL. I welcome new ideas, so please let me know if you’ve come across some tech-related project or organization that you find interesting.
-Debra
Hi Debra,
many thanks for sharing your excellent work. And I appreciate your friendly answers to all of us, who are asking strange questions.
I have an Arduino UNO R3 and a Sparkfun BOB with MPU-6050, hooked up according to the diagrams. To be able to check out that the I2C-communication works and that I can read data från the MPU-chip.
I was happy to get the MPU-6050 raw program run via the ArduionoIDE. So encouraged by that I continued to the Teapot-demo. But when I ran the demo via Processing then I got errormessages like:
” The package ”toxi” does not exist. You might be missing a library.
– No library found for toxi.geom
– No library found for toxi.processing
– Libraries must be installed in a folder named ‘libraries’ inside the ‘sketchbook’ folder.”
I have downloaded a toxipackage, but I am probably not putting the folders in the correct library/-ies. I put the libraries in the same folder as the Teapotdemo, but it does not seem to be correct. Can you please give some advice what to do?
This post talks about where to put the toxi libraries. Hopefully it will help:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4093706/add-toxi-library-to-processing
Great website. Discovered it via becky
Hi Debra, my name is Javier. I’m from Argentina, currently living in Paris. Electronics engineer and “technophile” / geek/ and so on… I’ m amazed by your blog! I came up with your site looking for some info about how gyroscope works and BINGO! your post about MPU6050 was the master key! Thank you very much. I’m building my own quadcopter, and I would like to make kids and adults learn about technology, electronics, as you do…with real experiments/inventions.
Well, just to give you a warm back rub!! Thanks for everything!
Thank you for your nice words! Good luck with your project.
Hi Debra! I found your blog during a search for some easy Lilypad projects. Loved all your projects 🙂 Being another geeky mom (PhD Computer science), I got to know Arduino exactly one year ago at Maker Faire Rome. We came back from the faire armed with an Arduino starter kit and many books on Arduino. We started making the projects in the starter kit with the kids and I really loved Arduino. Then in January this year I attended a workshop held by the Italian company that you mention here, Plug-and-Wear (it is based in Florence, where I live, actually) and got very interested in e-textiles. Being a crafts lover (giving also knitting lessons), I think e-textiles is what fits me the best. I am also mentoring in CoderDojo Florence, and we give Arduino lessons, too.. Anyway, I wanted to take your attention to the best e-textiles page I have found so far: http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/ Check out the project examples they have. I am sure you will love them!
Good luck with the great work you are doing!
Y
Hi, Debra!
It’s very glad to read your blog. I am an university teacher majoring in inertial technology, and I am giving an academic visit in UK now. Hope we can find some interesting topics.
Looking for the mindstorms curriculum. Wanted to teach robot badge for BSA next week
The curriculum i based in Mindstorms development environment (not EV3), but if that’s ok, you can download it from the post about Mindstorms. If that doesnt work for you, send me your e-mail via the ‘contact’ page and I will send it to you.
Hi Debra,
Thank you very much for your MPU6050 codes and information.
It helps me a lot to finish my project.
It’s amazing to see the complicity of your works and the the detail of description.
Thanks again.
Muntak, from Korea
Hi Debra –
I too am a geeky Mom and came across Piper, a DIY console for kids that love minecraft. The company is a small startup that will be receiving their first shipment on December 11th for the holiday season. They are only taking pre-orders at this point, but Moms can follow announcements on twitter @withpiper. My son is only 2, but I wanted to pass along as your kids ages are more appropriately aged. I am so glad that I came across your blog!
Cheers,
Elese
Hi, Debra!
My name is Hannah and I am a community events intern at Monona Terrace in Madison, WI! I am reaching out to you to see if you might be interested in attending our Maker Faire which will be taking place in November of 2019. We would love to showcase your talents as part of our Faire. Please shoot me an email if you might be interested!
Thanks!
Hi Debra,
You did me and others a very nice service in sharing your MPU-6050 information and projects.
I’m 77 years old and working on a robot project that I think can effectively use the MPU-6050.
You text and videos have been quite a help in getting me started. Thanks again.
Also, I’m proud of you and ladies like Lady Ada who show how well women can deal with technology and do it well!
Hi,
I am in the process of making the edge-lit LED Rainbow in Vol. 69 of Make magazine. I’ve laser cut and assembled all the pieces. Ive wired all wires to the circuit playground express. Everything looks great!
I am stuck on uploading the arduino code for this project. Where can I find the code to upload?
Thanks so much,
Reyce Krause
Glad the project is going well! The code is in the same downloadable zip file as the vector files at http://makezine.com/go/edge-lit-rainbow Let me know if you have any issues getting them, and I can email the code to you.
I actually need the code too! I checked that file and no cigar.
Thanks so much, Debra, I really appreciate your quick response. I found the code and I saved it to the device “Rainbow” in my devices on my laptop. When I click on Rainbow I see “main.py”. I copy and pasted the code using MU and then I clicked save.
My circuitplayground express is connected via USB to my laptop.
Nothing is happening.
Any suggestions?
Do you know how to use the REPL in Mu? It will give you error messages to tell you what the problem is with the CircuitPython code. Do you have all of the libraries you need? The python program requires the neopixel and fancyLED libraries to work.
Also, if you are looking for the Arduino code to run on an ESP8266, you can find that in the folder called “RainboWeatherStation” which is located in the same folder as “main.py”
I didn’t have the libraries! Now I do 🙂
When you write “Pressing CPX button A”, where on the playground express is button A and B?
Found it!
Hi Debra,
One more question.The first 6 led’s(starting from the inside) on the neopixel strip are all lit beautifully. The 7th neopixel on both sides is flickering. Any suggestions? is there a way I can send you a video clip to show you?
thanks so much,
Reyce
Usually flickering is a problem with the electronics, but if it’s happening on both sides, that would indicate a problem with the code. Are you sure it’s happening on both sides? It’s sometimes hard to tell because the light from both LED strips mixes together. It can be a sign, sometimes that the electrical connection between the CircuitPlayground Express and the LED strips is poor. If you used my technique of screwing on ring connectors the the CPX, it can be hard to get a solid connection. If you want to send me pictures, please include pictures of the electronics wiring as well. You can email them to me (or a link to online files if they are large) at debra (at) geekmomprojects.com.