New Blog Coming

Web Design student Josh H. is working on our new Wordpress blog. He's got some nifty tricks up his sleeves which will make the new blog more fun and interactive, "...if it works!" (Josh H.).

Check in now and then for to see if the new blog is up.

June 2010 Web Design Final Test

Semester Final
Create a 3-4 scene Flash web presentation, which describes the Web Design class.
We may use the presentation to market the Web Design class to 1st year students.

Caveat
• If you started the “Original Marketing with Flash” assignment found on the web site you may choose to complete that assignment instead of doing this one. The original assignment is worth a 20% bonus and satisfies the Semester Final requirement.
• Regardless of what I said before, you may NOT help each other on this assignment: this is a test. You MAY Google the problem and research our text books for a solution but not confer with each other.

Topics for Each Page
• Knowledge gained
• Skills gained
• What you liked about the class
• Make it personal

Include
• Original graphics
• Action – Flash, photos, or other
• Students working together and helping each other
• Taking photos

Organization
Set the page up similar to the Flash created in chapters 7 & 8 of the Stuidio 8 book. This will save time, however, you may change the design to satisfy your creativity. Do include the animation and alpha fade.

Friday (1 period)
Begin brainstorming and designing. Create a “Comp” for each scene to be included in your presentation identifying photos, graphics, animation, text, and navigation. Turn these in WITH your final product. Begin work on your project.

Monday (1 period)
Build the Flash animation. Take photos, create animations/graphics, and write content. Use MS-Word to create written content for grammar and spell checking.

Final Test Day - (1.5 periods)
Finalize the presentation for turn in. Turn the project in as a .zip file (we learned how to do this in a previous lesson. If you do not remember, Google it!



Student Name ________________________________ Date __________ Period _____

Marketing Evaluation

Design Elements: Good use of line, space, texture, shading, color, or shape 5

Navigation: easy to use. 5 pts

Message (all topics well described and written (grammar & spelling count) 5 pts

Visual (all graphics/animation enhance but do not detract from the message) 5 pts

Complexity matches time allotted 5 pts

Total = 25 pts X 4 = percentage

Sumobot Competition Debrief

Competition

Good:

• Screens (two big ones)
• Lots of help
• Student run
• MC was excellent
• More success
• Organized
• Went fast
• Added challenge with the Engineers

Bad:

• MC needs to annnounce the winners!
• Music needs to be more background orientated
• On Deck/In the Hole competitors did not sit in front or did not hear announcement
• Better labels for chairs
• Rules: Button pushing needs to be clearer
• Ref. needs to identify "outlaw" bots and insure they win twice against legal bots
• Bracket program needs better size text and colors
• Insure brackets are random (random button)
• More soldering stations
• Going against engineers
• Need more schools
• Double elimination would be good

Sumobots In General

• Start talking about it earlier
• Make some assignments homework; design, solder practice, knowing the parts
• Use Digikey bidding process
• Follow up on PO religiously (treasurer)

Wheels

5/17

• Discuss use of tape for a body, advantages/disadvantages
• Wire wrap tool

5/14

Two places for wheels:

• Local hobby shop


• RobotShop


• Jameco

Need an decent O-scope (or frequency counter).

Check out ERLE: Oscilloscope

5/11 - From Vern V.

• OCR2 = (clock/output_freq) – 1


• …we subtract 1 because the count actually starts at zero. So my initial value should have been 209. That formula also only works if the prescale is 1. Otherwise it would be:


• OCR2 = (clock/prescale/output_freq) - 1

5/10 - From Vern V.

Prescale is just a way to get around the fact that you can only count so highwith an 8 bit regist4er. The prescaler diveds the clock frequency down to a more manageable number.

5/10 - From Vern V.

Config Portb = Output

Config Portd = &B0001000

Config Portc = &B0000000

Config Pinb.3 = Output

'Config Clock = Soft

Config Timer2 = Counter , Compare = Toggle , Prescale = 1 '<<<<<>

Timer2_ir Alias Tccr2.0

'config timer2 (8 bit, CTC mode, 1:1 clock, toggle pin every 106 cycles)

Set Tccr2.3

'Ocr2 = 106

Ocr2 = 210 ' 8MHz/38KHz = 210.5 <<<<>

Enable Interrupts

Enable Compare1a

' Rename some pins for easier reading

Switch Alias Pind.0

Irleds Alias Portb.3

Leftline Alias Pinc.3

Rightline Alias Pinc.4

Leftir Alias Pinc.2

Rightir Alias Pinc.0

Frontir Alias Pinc.1

Led1 Alias Portb.4

Led2 Alias Portb.2

Led3 Alias Portb.1

Led4 Alias Portb.0

5/8 - From Gordon A.

To enter test mode, hold down start button then turn on both switches of SW2

5/7 - From Shane S.

Sub Detect(res As Byte)

Dim I As Integer

Res = 0

For I = 0 To 101

Toggle Irleds

' depending on how much code there is, adjust the following to make the IR

' pulse 38khz, plus/minus 1khz - the farther away the pulse timing is from

' 38khz, the worse the range

Waitus 3

'Waitus 4

If Frontir = 0 Then

Res.2 = 1

Res.0 = 0

Res.1 = 0

Exit Sub

End If

If Rightir = 0 Then

Res.0 = 1

Res.1 = 0

Res.2 = 0

Exit Sub

End If

If Leftir = 0 Then

Res.1 = 1

Res.0 = 0

Res.2 = 0

Exit Sub

End If

Next

End Sub

5/7 From Nathan P.

“I just spent a few minuets looking at the circuit and the code you sent me and here is what I remember from when I built the hunterbot.

The Ocr2 = 106 line is how many clock cycles it between toggling the line out.

When I was trouble shooting mine i had to tune that number in order to get the freq just right. There are a few different reasons why it is different between bot to bot. But it is made to be changed and played with in order to get the right freq out per bot. If I remember correctly I had mine working the best at around 103, The smaller the number the higher the freq out.

So my suggestion would be first to try to measure the freq out, the receivers work the best around 38 khz.
But since he doesn't have a way to measure that I would try to a range of +-10 untill they the recievers start firing.”

2010 Bot Shop

Photos of the Bot Shop

Sumobots Update

FYI regarding the latest on Sumobots:

1. Bri Palmer, Kamiakin Student, has taken on hosting the Sumobot competition as her culminating project this year. She made a proposal to the instructors and CTE director last week. Her next step is to recruit students and volunteers to help with the many parts of the project.

2. We had the competition date narrowed down to May 17, however have a conflict with the evening before when we would be setting up for the competition. We are trying to work around this presently.

3. Kamiakin’s Bot Shop is Saturday April 10, 9:00am - 2pm.

4. You are welcome to participate. Our goal for the Bot Shop is to complete soldering on the PCBs. Help will be needed in observing students using correct soldering technique, answering questions regarding component position, and possibly some troubleshooting.

I will also be updating the KamiakinTech blog periodically so you may want to add it to your feed burner.

If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask.

More on Logo Contest

Here is the response from Gesa regarding our questions:

"Yes, we will resize. Any shape is fine. Print friendly.

If our marketing dept can come in and speak we will have examples. Take a look at our website. Go to Youth, and high school branches. You will see the other school logo’s."

Here's a link to the Gesa web site with examples of other school logos. Click Here

I've added two Kamiakin logos from which to create the logo on our P:\readonly\hoglen\kamiakin_logos

Extra Credit Logo

For those of you who are ahead, need extra credit, or just want a challenge; test your design skills with the Gesa Logo Contest. There are prizes! Plus extra credit!

Click on the following link to view the contest requirements.

Geisa Logo Contest (.pdf)

Points

Completing this extra credit will afford you one of two choices:

This can take the place of a Photo Assignment from the current semester,

OR

Receive up to 25 insurance points for future assignments for 4th quarter. Insurance points can be used in part or in whole toward fixing an assignment grade which you would like to improve. Bump that "C" to an "A"!

Specs
Canvas size = ? X ? (we're checking on this)
Resolution = 300 pixels/inch

This is EXTRA CREDIT! You may work on this in class only after you have completed other assignments. If you have graphic software at home or access outside of class, you can, of course, work on it on your own time.

2010 Bot Shop

Preparation

1. Jan-Feb: Ordered and received all parts except R1 which we believe can be jumped with wire
2. Ordered soldering supplies: Wire (20 & 22 ga), soldering tips, Solder (.032 50/50 and .022 silver)
3. 2/24: Prepared soldering stations in 313 - card board, "HOT!" signs, outlets, extension cords, fixed soldering iron tips
4. 3/8: Began soldering practice - Jacobs' (Steve) Ladder
5. 3/17: Reserved Jerry's Room

Sumo Supplies to order

• heat shrink
• heat gun
• 500 g scale
• electronic parts
• tackle/organizer trays
• new points for irons
• batteries for multimeters
• servos
• wiring
• thinner solder
• small wire cutters
• soldering stands with magnifiers

IT Day 2009

Photos from our participation in IT Day at Three Rivers Convention Center, Kennewick, WA May 2009.

Troubleshooting Workshop at SRHS 5/11

Notes:

• Good battery vs bad battery; put it under load before testing voltage.


• 5V should be at pin #7


• "Verify" in BASCOM compares code on the chip to code in the program.


• SW1 shoud be on. SW2 is only for Hunter Bots


• Some students put infrared emitters on bot by mistake instead of LEDs. You can still see the emitters using a digital/cell phone camera.


• Need alligator clip for one side of multimeter to clip onto VR for ground. This makes testing much easier.


• Test servo pulse at JP 8 & JP 9 on pin #1


• Use hip holder (with slots rather than holes) as a connector


• Solder sensors to jumpers before inserting - taken care of if chip holder is used.


• Diagnostics: Push and hold SW1 then turn on SW2 then release SW1 for diagnostics mode.


• Test Sensors first w/o servos connected (to avoid wasting


• Need to use heat shrink

Troubleshooting

Part 1
The first problem we normaly run into is an error when programming the chip. The chip is not recognized. This can be caused by two problems we've identified:
1. JP7 1-5 pins do not connect to the chip. Test these for continuity with a multimeter. Use ohms, not beep (diode) as 3-5 have a 330 ohm resister in series with each and will not beep.

• 1=17
• 2=1
• 3=19
• 4=18
• 5=8

2. If the above proves ok then check voltage at VR1. Vin = 9volts, middle pin is ground (as well as heat sink) and V0ut = 5 volts. If voltage is less than what it should be at both pins, check...

• ground (tab) of VR to ground at battery terminal.
• Diode poliarity
• R1 (especially if voltage is approx 1/2 what it should be (e.g., 3V and 1.5V) at both pins.

3. If voltage is not present, work backwards. Check to insure Diode has correct polarity:

• Excellent description of diodes

4. If all checks ok, test to insure voltage is present at pin #7 of the IC chip. NOTE: the chip will not program unless voltage is present at +vcc (pin #7). The complete circuit for this voltage comes from the battery through D1, into VR1 (9V in/5V out) then to pin #7 of the IC Chip.

Part 2

If you servos will not synch correctly, begin trouble shooting the Line Sensors and Servo circuit.

JP2: Line sensor 1 (JP3 should be tested the same way)

• Check that sensors are in board correctly: dot = pin1, then count counter clockwise on sensor for 2, 3, & 4. Board is labeled for pins 1-4 for each sensor.
• Insure student didn't tape bare wires together.
• P1 connects to R3 (5K ohms) and should have 5 volts P3 connect to R9 (330 ohmes) and should
• P2 goes to ground
• Pin 27 of IC has 5V/.5V (depending on if sensor is covered or uncovered.
• P 3 of JP2 goes to pin 20 of IC.
• P2 & P4 go to ground.

Brave Bot Shop 2009

Parts

1. Need JP7 (cable connection to PC for programming, need 20
2. R1 missing, need 14
3. Chip socket missing, need 18
4. JP 2 & 3: Line sensors can be soldered direction to the board
5. Consider better connectors for JP1,2,&3
6. Will 1N914 (Radio Shack) Diode work for D1?
   

In Brave Bot Book

1. cap, highlight, italicize Cautions and Notes (i.e., square is negative)
2. Recommend R1 & D1 install prior to sW1 and SW2.
3. R2,3,4 only (not 5-8)
4. C1, 3, 4 only (not 8)

2008 Bot Shop Notes

Time

• 9am – 2pm
• Pay for bot prior to Bot Shop

Provide

• Get thin solder
• Need soldering stand with magnifier
• 2-3 small vise grips for hacking servos
• 5/32" drill bit for hacking servos

Students Bring:

• $ for lunch
• Shoe Box
• Ziplock sandwich bag for parts
• Card board for soldering
• Soldering irons
• 9V battery
• cups for pop

Safety

Watch when grabbing your soldering iron
Scott Niebuhr
4/21/07, 1:10 pm,
grabbing for soldering iron, grabbed wrong part. Thumb and middle finger burned.
Probably 1st-2nd degree. Blistered. Applied cold water immediately then ice.
Student went home at 1:45 pm. Told to put band-aid on to protect them.