[XCSSA] XCSSA Meeting: Christmas Lights, Confetti Canons, Robots and Rockets! Monday 7pm

Mon Feb 15 13:50:28 CST 2010

Ahhhhhhhh. Well I guess it is best to have the Fiestamobile in good running order.  By next meeting it will be even better...   Bring your laptop with the LOR software.  I would like to see how it fares against my two really buggy applications!!!

I will be there at 6PM since it's going to take me 45 minutes to set up; twenty to teardown...  

Thanks,

Charles Strang
(Sent from Blackberry)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Matt Grooms" [mgrooms at satx.rr.com]
Sent: 02/15/2010 12:33 PM CST
To: <tweeks-junk2 at theweeks.org>; <xcssa at xcssa.org>
Subject: Re: [XCSSA] XCSSA Meeting: Christmas Lights, Confetti Canons,	Robots and Rockets!  Monday 7pm

Apologies to anyone interested in the Fiestamobile confetti cannon 
demonstration planned for tonight's meeting; they will not be making an 
appearance.

I got a chance to get the Fiestamobile in at Ace Spring today for some 
suspension work, and couldn't pass up the opportunity. You heard right, 
there is enough extra weight on the Fiestamobile that rear spring re-arching 
is required, and for good measure overload devices are being installed as 
well.

I will bring the Light-O-Rama controllers tonight to compliment Charles 
X-Mas lighting presentation, however I do not have a presentation of my own 
prepared.

If there is any interest I will bring the Fiestamobile to the March and 
April meetings. It will be much farther along  by the March meeting and 
complete by the April meeting .

by March meeting:
auxiliary power plant - 2nd alternator(140 amp), battery bank (6x100AH deep 
cycle gel cell), 5,000 watt DC/AC inverter, on board AC charger
pneumatic system - 2 hp 10 gal air compressor, 4x5 gal, 1x10 gal pressure 
tanks, 4 confetti cannons, 1  8 barreled Mardi Gras bead launcher
Computer light control - 3x16 channel AC controller, 2x16 channel DC 
controller, 32 channel digital IO], Win32 computer running LOR S2 light 
control SW
Video capture - Linux box running Zoneminder for video capture
Cockpit console - Linux panel computer mounted in cockpit for MPC, VNC to 
other two computers in the equipment bay.
Audio System - 2x200 Bogen PA amplifiers, 6 35w, 70v PA speakers, subwoofer 
(?)

by April meeting:
Roof mounted
All lighting mounted to roof and body
Confetti cannons plumbed through roof
LOR S2 animations, sequences and shows
CLEAR networks WiMAX (Sprint "G4") uplink from onboard Zoneminder >-> real 
time FTP images to Linux content management server @ www.computermobile.net
grass skirt
bunting
flags
pinatas

Matt G.

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Tweeks" <tweeksjunk2 at theweeks.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 13, 2010 12:06 PM
To: <xcssa at xcssa.org>
Subject: [XCSSA] XCSSA Meeting: Christmas Lights, Confetti Canons,Robots and 
Rockets!  Monday 7pm

>                Xotic Computer Systems of San Antonio *
>                 \_____\________\__________\___\______X
>                        \________\__________\___\_____C
>                                  \__________\___\____S
>                                              \___\___S
>                                                   \__A
>         (* this email is best viewed in fixed fonts)
>       http://xcssa.org/archives/XCSSA_2010-02-15.html#NEXT
>
> Hey all..
>
> Holy Cow!  What a HUGE set of killer presentations this month!  I hope 
> that we
> have enough time in just three hours! (7-9pm)
>
> In a nut shell, we have:
>  #  TWO Über Christmas light automation live demos
>  # A demo of "The Fiestamobile" with computer controlled lights
>    and confetti canons!
>  # Autonomous gaming robots
>  # And possibly even some high powered rocketry (and Linux repairs)
>
>
> First up...
>
> # Christmas Light Automation DIY Overview, By: Charles Strang
> Charles returns in 2010 to show us updates to his ever popular Christmas 
> Light
> Automation setup using various computers, microcontrollers, and switching
> controller boards! Very cool. If you remember his 2009 presentation and
> video, well now he has even more to show and more videos!
>
>  # Light controller comparison
>  # Sequencing software comparison
>  # Demo of pseudo RGB "mega" tree
>  # Demo of Aurora and LightshowPro sequencing software
>  # Display and demo of d-light AC-8 and AC-16 controllers
>  # Display and demo of FM transmitter
>  # Display and demo of wireless speakers
>  # Update on the Xmas sign (bigger brother to the pong display by 
> Frederik)
>  # Christmas 2010 Plans
>
> Should be a really cool session!
> See the web site for links and videos!
> http://xcssa.org/archives/XCSSA_2010-02-15.html#NEXT
>
>
> Next Up! Bring Eye Protection for...
>
> # Off The Shelf, Christmas Lights Automation Made Easy, , By: Matt Grooms
> Matt, famous for his fully computer linked "Fiesta Mobile", and mini-ITX
> dashboard computer hacks, is going to be going the "off the shelf" route 
> with
> his lighting automation presentation, as opposed to Charles DIY setup. 
> Matt
> is planning to review:
>  # The LOR1602MP3 Light Controller + MP3 Director
>  # 16 channel DC controller (CBT16D)
>  # Showtime II software
>  # The Fiestamobile and demo the confetti cannons(!!!)
> Links for most all devices above at:
> http://xcssa.org/archives/XCSSA_2010-02-15.html#NEXT
>
> This session will be a "blast"! Literally! :)
>
>
> # 2010 FRC Robot Games, Breakaway Robot Presentation, By: Fredrik
> Not exactly sure what Fredrik has in store for us.. but it's always a 
> hoot! I
> think this time he's going to go over his Breakaway robot for the 2010 FRC
> competition. Here's a preview of the game that I found on YouTube. Wow!
> (again.. on http://xcssa.org/archives/XCSSA_2010-02-15.html#NEXT )
>
> And we all know that Fredrik's robots are always show stoppers!
>
>
> # Broken Linux Box Repairs and High Power Rocketry
> An XCSSA and Linux newbie is reportedly bringing in his Linux box for some
> software trouble shooting. So if any of you have the time, please bring 
> your
> diagnostic hats (and tools) so that we can help our new found friend out 
> with
> his setup! The person bringing his setup in also happens to be one of my 
> High
> Power Rocketry friends, and since I'm a big HPR geek, there may be some
> rocket-talk going on too. :)
>
>
> This is going to be a really killer night!  Don't miss it!
> Hope to see you there!
>
> Tweeks
> President of XCSSA.ORG
> _______________________________________________
> XCSSA mailing list
> XCSSA at xcssa.org
> http://xcssa.org/mailman/listinfo/xcssa

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