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Chris Grote: October 2011
http://www.chrisgrote.com/2011_10_01_archive.html
Sunday, October 30, 2011. Pneumatic Toe Pincher Coffin, Part 3. The 4th quality skeleton arrived from skeletonstore.com wrapped in bubble wrap. The "skeleton wrapped in plastic" look alone would make a scary prop. I left it on the dining table as a centerpiece for a few weeks while working on the coffin. The skeleton needs to be prepared before use. Some joints need adjusting, bolts tightened, etc. I also spent a day filing down all the flashing with a Dremel Stylus Cordless Rotary Tool. On to the "screa...
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Chris Grote: October 2012
http://www.chrisgrote.com/2012_10_01_archive.html
Thursday, October 25, 2012. Wired remote volume control for ClearOne Gentner AP800 matrix mixer. How to use the Arduino microcontroller to remotely control this matrix mixer. This unit will work fine for my particular application, Halloween sound effect playback. I am using this matrix mixer to control the relative levels of different kinds of wind and music played through two sets of stereo speakers. The remote has a dim red LED to indicate that it is connected to the base station and is receiving power...
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Chris Grote: QLab serial projector control with AppleScript
http://www.chrisgrote.com/2015/01/qlab-serial-projector-control-with.html
Monday, January 19, 2015. QLab serial projector control with AppleScript. If you are using QLab for video cues, I suggest having it triggered by the light board as most projections need to be synchronized with lighting. That way projected scenery will fade in and out with area lighting during scene changes. It is fairly easy to connect a USB MIDI interface. Between the Mac and the "MIDI OUT" of your light board. Tripp Lite makes an excellent VGA Serial extender. That works over CAT5 cable. With OS X Mave...
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Chris Grote: September 2012
http://www.chrisgrote.com/2012_09_01_archive.html
Thursday, September 20, 2012. Pneumatic Jack in the Box, Part 2. Make sure you view all the videos posted in Part 1. The ELK-120 sound board can pull up to 2A@12VDC and the mouth servo may require more current @5VDC than the Arduino's voltage regulator can support, so I went with a dual-output power supply that provides 12VDC and 5VDC outputs. However, the Arduino and the DF Robot Relay boards all need 9VDC. Power from the voltage regulator's output to which the other boards are also connected. On the re...
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Chris Grote: March 2012
http://www.chrisgrote.com/2012_03_01_archive.html
Wednesday, March 7, 2012. Thought I could simply plug in my wonderful GN Netcom 4800 headset into my Polycom Soundpoint Pro home office phone but no, a special adapter is required to adapt the RJ9 connection from the Netcom to the 3/32" subminiature phone jack on the Polycom. I found an adapter on the internet with Polycom part number 2457-11095-002 and ordered it, only to find that its bulky shape didn't quite work with the location of the jack on the Polycom phone. Subscribe to: Posts (Atom).
chrisgrote.com
Chris Grote: Wired remote volume control for ClearOne Gentner AP800 matrix mixer
http://www.chrisgrote.com/2012/10/wired-remote-volume-control-for.html
Thursday, October 25, 2012. Wired remote volume control for ClearOne Gentner AP800 matrix mixer. How to use the Arduino microcontroller to remotely control this matrix mixer. This unit will work fine for my particular application, Halloween sound effect playback. I am using this matrix mixer to control the relative levels of different kinds of wind and music played through two sets of stereo speakers. The remote has a dim red LED to indicate that it is connected to the base station and is receiving power...
chrisgrote.com
Chris Grote: UV LED miniature spotlights with snoot
http://www.chrisgrote.com/2011/10/uv-led-miniature-spotlights-with-snoot.html
Tuesday, October 25, 2011. UV LED miniature spotlights with snoot. I hate when people can see the light bulbs! What's nice about ultraviolet lighting is the amount of visible light is much less. An object painted with fluorescent paint shifts the UV light into the visible spectrum. Sells a 380nm 20mW UV LED for $0.67. The part number is RL5-UV0230-380. Ohm's Law is I = V / R, where I=current in Amps, V=Volts, R=resistance in Ohms. Equal 193.88 ohms, which is close enough. Resistors come in differ...Keep ...
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Chris Grote: April 2011
http://www.chrisgrote.com/2011_04_01_archive.html
Friday, April 15, 2011. I've been hearing about a concoction made from 5 parts drywall mud and 1 part latex paint called Monster Mud. That can be used to dress up Halloween props. Bloodsworth Manor has a cool coffin. Covered with the stuff. Speaking of coffins, I need to get cracking on learning pneumatics and try to build an automatic open/close coffin before October. Friday, April 8, 2011. I'll draw a grid spaced at one-inch intervals so that the gameboard can also be used as a battlemat. Apply wood st...
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Chris Grote: Pneumatic Jack in the Box, Part 1
http://www.chrisgrote.com/2012/07/pneumatic-jack-in-box-part-1.html
Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Pneumatic Jack in the Box, Part 1. This year's new prop is a large Jack in the Box - a two foot cube, powered by the Arduino. Microcontroller. It will have an Insteon InlineLinc relay module inside so that the prop can be controlled with a hand-held remote or an Insteon motion sensor. When the Arduino sees that the InlineLinc has been activated, it will execute the following sequence of actions:. Turn on a spotlight aimed at the prop so people pay attention to it. Open the top lid.
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Chris Grote: Pneumatic Toe Pincher Coffin, Part 1
http://www.chrisgrote.com/2011/10/pneumatic-toe-pincher-coffin.html
Tuesday, October 18, 2011. Pneumatic Toe Pincher Coffin, Part 1. This year's challenge was for me to learn a bit about pneumatics and try to build a coffin that would automatically open when kids walk past it. Spooky skeleton inside, maybe some cool lighting and sound effects. After reading Animatronics: Guide to Holiday Displays. I felt ready to begin this project. To help align the miter saw. Cutting and assembling the coffin is a 1-2 day project. The panels, base and lid are 1/2" birch plywood....