Electronics: Swingy Meter
The Akiniscope has a swingy meter. The meter is an old meter from Ebay, that looks about right, but I have no idea what it was originally used for. It’s an ac meter, going up to 1V max. After playing with it for a bit, …
Month: February 2023
Electronics: Sound
All the sound is generated by the Raspberry Pi, unless Akiniscope falls off the wall and smashes. From the Raspberry Pi it goes into a generic USB audio dongle. The sound is then amplified by a Stereo 20W Class D Audio Amplifier. I tried various …
Electronics: Prototyping
Building a new project, I tend to start with a big mess of wires on the bench. Although it looks like a big mess, I make sure there’s no bare wires, and boards can’t short out on anything. To speed up wiring and testing, I make temporary connections with Wago connectors.
I love these. As someone who has got frustrated with ‘chocolate block’ screw terminals, as a wire pops out after being screwed down. They’re originally designed for electrical installation, but I use them for all sorts of low voltage stuff.
For this project, after the big mess of wires, I’m going to build a proper prototype, to test out some of the electronic block mounting techniques, the front panel positioning, and the outer box construction. I can then take this out, and get some comments from people who can have a play with it, and then I can correct any problems in the final finished project. Well, that’s what a prototype is for, isn’t it?
Sounds: Camera Warning
My favourite sound on Akiniscope, mainly because it comes from such an unexpected source, is the camera warning sound. It sounds like this: It is a soap dispenser in the Nottingham Playhouse toilets. Luckily I was working there when I discovered it, so had the …
Sounds: Camera photographing
I was doing some welding for someone, and, after a couple of weeks, I realised the sound of welding may work for Akiniscope. So, I recorded it, chopped it up into start middle and end sounds, and used those as the sounds of the camera …
Electronics: Proximity Detector
I’ve found a nice PIR proximity sensor to detect when people walk in front of the Akiniscope, and take their picture. Most PIRs are deliberately made to be seen. This one, although more expensive, is small and discrete, and you can even mount it behind thin material. I’ve been wanting to include this proximity sensor in a project for some time.
The sensor is a Kemet SS-430:
https://www.kemet.com/en/us/sensors/product/SS-430L-N.html
You can buy it as a surface mount component, or, as I have done, on a little board. The connector is small and fiddly. I bought the crimps and connector for it, but found it to fiddly to make up, as I don’t have a crimper that size. Pre-made cables are available, luckily. I bought one from HobbyRC:
https://www.hobbyrc.co.uk/jst-sh-5-pin-connector-300mm-wire
It takes a supply of 3.5V – 5.5V. I used 5V. The sense signal is 3V, so nicely compatible with the Raspberry Pi.
It’s nicely working on the bench, but will have to see if there are any drawbacks, when I start using it in the wild.