tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24687422024-03-14T00:18:29.467-04:00tom takes stuff apartusually more than you wanted to knowTom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-20041092820926293542019-06-27T12:19:00.002-04:002019-06-27T12:19:58.870-04:00Charging Ricoh Theta S and powering from USB battery packsThe Ricoh Theta S is unusually fussy about charging. In my experience, your results may vary with anything except a high quality USB charger, 2A minimum (I use a 2A iPad charger). Also, if the battery runs out, it can be difficult to recharge. Theta S cameras that won't recharge are often interpreted as "damaged", and there is no proof that there is any actual damage. My advice is to use a high Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-41636180010568999112017-02-06T10:41:00.000-05:002017-02-06T10:41:51.678-05:00Use Jekyll for blogs and static web sitesIf you want to build a simple, static website or blog, there is nothing easier than Jekyll. If you don't want to pay for hosting, create an account on GitHub and publish a site with Jekyll via pages.github.com.
Jekyll is software which processes files written in Markdown (a simple text markup language) into static web pages.
The advantage of static web pages is that they are lightning fast Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-30307134860810725982016-10-25T13:58:00.000-04:002016-10-25T13:58:40.262-04:00Best Lightning connector.........by far is the Apple Lightning to Micro USB adapter
Retail cost is $19, but I usually get them from vendors on eBay. I usually pay about $7 to $8. Be sure to get the Apple ones...the knockoff ones don't work and may mess up your Lighting jack. If it costs less than $7, it is likely a non-Apple adapter. How to tell the difference...
The best feature of these is that they don't wear out like Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-36626510228350116672015-09-30T15:54:00.002-04:002015-09-30T15:54:35.566-04:00EEG and creativitySince my last post about EEG devices, a lot has happened. I purchased the MUSE headset for $300 and the data was significantly more useful than with the NeuroSky. Not that I am necessarily finished with the Mindwave...I now have 4 of the MindFlex headsets in store for a good project.
Not ony does the MUSE provide useful data, their SDK has become quite reliable and includes useful visualization Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-8832862839283560452015-09-26T19:48:00.000-04:002015-09-26T19:48:14.558-04:00The State of mobile device printingDecided to try printing some of my GameBoy Camera photos from my iPhone via Flickr.
First, Walgreens. Their iOS app allowed me to order pictures without creating an account or signing up for anything. Downside is that they only offer 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10 sizes. Their system also reformats non-rectangular photos by cropping. There is likely a way to fix that on the device before sending, but still, Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-88642203869530864822014-05-16T17:39:00.001-04:002014-05-16T17:39:26.259-04:00More on BCI, waiting for OpenBCIContinuing to experiment with the NeuroSky Mindwave. Using Mindwave OSC on a Nexus S (Thanks Carrie!) which communicates with my iMac over OSC. PureData grabs the OSC stream and presents the data in my pd patch. Getting some interesting results -- the biggest problem is that the data stream seems quite erratic, which makes it difficult to correlate my thoughts with the results. Missed the Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-31622077527898529712014-03-18T19:06:00.000-04:002014-03-18T19:06:23.069-04:00Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI)Commercially available, relatively low cost Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) and related software
Is it possible to create music with brain waves? It's a work in progress.
You can find all of my links here : http://delicious.com/tkarches/search/EEG
An incomplete summary :
Mindwave Mobile (Neurosky)
Retails for $99 (Brainwave Starter Kit)
Works with Mac, Windows, iOS, Android
A number of iOS Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-82956923519234576932013-08-12T14:37:00.001-04:002013-08-12T14:37:28.670-04:00I miss record storesMy son and I went to the local mall yesterday where a new FYE store had opened. While the selection is not great, it was just good enough that I noticed that one of my favorite bands, "Los Amigos Invisibles" had a new album. Actually, they have had 4 albums since I last paid attention.
While the internet is a great resource for finding music, being in a record store provides a much better Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-10070459127979434852013-08-08T14:42:00.000-04:002015-07-16T16:31:22.657-04:00Switching from AT&T to T-MobileI recently switched my phone service from AT&T to T-Mobile. I did not have any particular problems with their service. Other than the typical crazy business practices that only mobile phone providers can get away with. I have 3 iPhone 4 devices on my account, and two of them are out of contract. Since T-Mobile has separated the phone subsidy from the service costs, I was able to reduce my phone Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-46506743821997842972013-07-31T16:14:00.001-04:002013-07-31T16:14:33.659-04:00Ubuntu does not remove old kernelsUbuntu 12.10 does not do a good job of cleaning up old kernels. If you do a default install and allow Ubuntu to partition your disk, the /boot partition may fill up with no warning. Easy solution : install Ubuntu Tweak to clean out the old kernels.
Once installed :
Run Tweak and click the "Janitor" button
Click the checkbox next to "Old Kernel" under "System"
Click the "Old Kernel" checkbox onTom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-45632041932086246982013-04-24T13:33:00.000-04:002013-04-24T13:33:11.110-04:00Don't recycle electronics, repair them
Don't recycle, repair.
My wife is now using two 20 inch Samsung LCD displays that I repaired with a well documented fix found on the internet. Spent about $4 in parts and an hour of my own labor. They were about a week away from being in the landfill.
If your late model Samsung or Phillips LCD display/flat screen TV has recently stopped working (my Samsung LCD TV died about 4 years after its' Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-20330932513485582512013-04-24T13:24:00.000-04:002013-04-24T13:24:28.797-04:00Java is a 4 letter wordGot this today from a friend :
Java users beware : Exploit circulating for just patched critical flaw
So, Oracle just patched Java (again) and almost immediately that patch is being patched.
If we were to sum up the cumulative misery (lost time, lost work, endless patching) that Java has inflicted on humanity, it would be a big number.
The whole concept of "the same code runs everywhere" Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-36001773932765235702013-03-26T22:14:00.001-04:002013-03-26T22:14:10.457-04:00I found an Optigan!
This past weekend, I found something from my musical "Holy Grail" list....an Optigan! The Optigan was built in the 1970's by Mattel Corp. (yes, that Mattel) in Compton, California (yes, that Compton).
Wikipedia has a pretty good overview : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optigan
The Optigan used samples recorded on circular film stock that looks like a vinyl LP, but you can see through it. Each Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-46847817629158214822013-03-07T10:51:00.000-05:002013-03-07T10:51:35.535-05:00Raspberry Pi, Puredata and MIDIMy initial test with the Raspberry Pi running Puredata did not go as well as I had hoped. Noticeable noise in the output audio. In my MUS306 class today, MIDI was the topic of discussion. Why not MIDI? Connected my $5 no name MIDI interface to the Pi and started Puredata. Changed the configuration to turn off the audio output and set the MIDI ports. Used my Yamaha QY-10 as the MIDI tone generatorTom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-35038252144623715512013-03-07T10:49:00.000-05:002013-03-07T10:49:39.837-05:00Hammond Tone Generator - Part 3 - FInding the usable tonewheelsI have tested the outputs of the tone generator...there will be about 60 usable outputs. The other 31 outputs consist of the lower frequencies..the windings on the tonewheel cores include resistance wire which drops the levels significantly. I will have to further dismantle the TG to see if the resistance wire can be bypassed. I don't think that further dismantling is worth the potential of Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-76382659097069731782013-01-06T20:45:00.003-05:002013-01-06T20:45:34.582-05:00Hammond Tone Generator - Part 2I have tested all the outputs of the Hammond tone generator. Some of the levels are lower than others, but all are generating output. The levels are too low to be switched by anything other than physical switches, so they must be amplified. Many of the tone generator (TG) outputs are filtered through a LC filter to suppress harmonics and reinforce the fundamental. If I were to bypass this filter,Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-35206819789012965712013-01-04T21:18:00.002-05:002013-02-23T15:33:41.624-05:00The amazing Deacy ampWas listening to Queen's Greatest Hits and was looking up the band members on the internet. Turns out the bassist, John Deacon, was an electrical engineer. In the early days of the band, he FOUND a amplifier circuit board on the street and decided to try and make it useful. He put the amp in a spare speaker cabinet and the Deacy amp was born.
http://www.brianmay.com/brian/briannews/Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-81125725018578526872012-12-26T11:57:00.000-05:002012-12-26T11:57:27.462-05:00Hammond Tone Generator Project - Part 1Early this year, I acquired a tonewheel generator (TWG) from a Hammond series H organ. The H series was rushed into production to compete with offerings from other organ companies, and suffered reliability problems as a result.
Here are some photos :
The Tonewheel Chronicles
This TWG had already been removed from the organ and was headed for the dumpster when I picked it up. I have bolted it Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-69224741990366286822012-11-18T12:48:00.003-05:002012-11-18T12:48:21.932-05:00Synthesis on the Parallax PropellerHave been experimenting with audio synthesis on the Parallax Propeller chip. The Propeller is a 8 core multiprocessor chip that can be purchased for $7. It is remarkably capable...the processors share the I/O bus on a time slice basis, so each processor knows when it has access to the I/O bus. Anyway...
There is discussion on the forums about a SID Synth project. It runs an emulation of the Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-1704662022000134822012-09-20T13:03:00.000-04:002013-03-07T11:08:22.345-05:00Microsoft Family Security. Useful? Not Really.I'm trying out Microsoft Family Security on our Windows 7 box. Following is the list of software that my son is "using". Completely accurate, but pretty useless. There are 3 real programs in here : Google Chrome, Nero and Snagit
Most of this stuff runs in the background all the time. Apparently there is no way to exclude this background nonsense from the report. I don't want to disallow it, Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-19033423761722725452012-06-02T10:42:00.000-04:002012-06-02T10:42:04.330-04:00Politics : Don't like the facts? Legislate them awayOur legislature in action :
Climate change may be illegal
So, if you don't like the science, make it illegal.
This is the legislative equivalent of putting your fingers in your ears and saying "La La La, I can't hear you.Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-43952374821047938912012-02-22T13:06:00.000-05:002012-05-18T22:03:10.263-04:00Project : Clavinova - where to go from here?My attempt at repairing the Clavinova CVP-87A did not help (the audio output still sounds terrible), but there was a silver lining. It turns out that the MIDI out still works. I am currently using a Yamaha external MIDI sound module as the sound source. I disconnected the audio output of the mainboard, and connected the audio output of the MIDI module to the external input of the Clavinova. Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-27742222011165369252012-02-17T11:51:00.003-05:002012-02-17T11:51:50.711-05:00Logitech Orbit AF - Only in Ubuntu :-)Grabbed an old Logitech Orbit AF cam to do some video conferencing. Logitech does not support this device under Windows 7, and Mac OS X does not recognize it. Finally tried Ubuntu 11.10 and the camera WORKS, though the audio does not. Amusing.Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-70257608411527893352012-02-10T11:01:00.003-05:002012-02-10T11:01:37.574-05:00It's been awhile : new HP laptop series naming?It's been a while since I posted. HP has just come out with a new line of laptops -- The HP Spectre.
Looked up the definition of spectre on the Free Dictionary :
spectre US, specter [ˈspɛktə]
n
1. (Spirituality, New Age, Astrology & Self-help / Alternative Belief Systems) a ghost; phantom; apparition
2. a mental image of something unpleasant or menacing the spectre of redundancy
Hmmm.Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2468742.post-24318111418293382312011-11-18T13:07:00.001-05:002011-11-18T13:14:00.856-05:00Success : Auto update of Ubuntu 11.04 to 11.10Did the "click the button" update from Ubuntu 11.04 to 11.10. Zero problems. I did have to ask Mr. Google how to get the old Gnome desktop back. This is the 2nd time I have done a hands off (mostly) Ubuntu upgrade...previously from 10.10 to 11.04. That upgrade was also flawless, but I did have to answer a few questions about keeping files that were to be replaced. I have been using Ubuntu as my Tom Karcheshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00779345746133842280noreply@blogger.com0