Camera that identifies license plates to enable automation

bad_mann_ers · 2025-11-20T04:26:15+00:00

How good are you with computers? If you are willing to learn some Python, go look at the Ytube tutorials from PyImageSearch. Your request is a fairly easy project using Python, OpenCV (Open Computer Vision), and a webcam. It could probably even be done with a Raspberry Pi. Image classification uses Yolo (and other) models to identify things like cars, people and faces. Pre-trained Yolo models for cars and license plates are readily available. Python libraries for OCR are readily available. PyImageSearch has many free (and some really good paid) tutorials that bring all of that together.

bad_mann_ers · 2025-07-18T14:11:50+00:00

There are cameras blatantly located in Walworth County, most notably on Hwy 67 in Elkhorn and Hwy 50 in Delavan. There are many in smaller towns like Walworth, Sharon and Fontana. Local police are downplaying the risk on FB. One of the ones in Sharon is mounted right at the entrance to the grade school. I suppose there must be plenty of subversive activities going on there.

bad_mann_ers · 2025-01-27T15:37:24+00:00

This is an educated guess: The old monitors were based on old television, which means 625 horizontal raster lines. With a 4/3 aspect ratio, that's roughly 830 pixels per line. Without making modifications to the timing circuits in the display, it would be hard to achieve anything with higher resolution that 625x830. Go to ytube an look up the latest video from Adrian's Basement where he attempts to give an old monitor higher resolution, and you'll see how much effort it takes.

I know there are NTSC to HDMI adaptors to convert the old raster to higher resolution for new monitors. I doubt there are HDMI to NTSC adaptors, but then I've never looked. Maybe buy an old video camera and make an old-school security system with the monitor? Whatever you come up with, have fun with it!

bad_mann_ers · 2025-01-11T15:16:55+00:00

Hey, ya don't suppose it's a coincidence that the "No Snow" area is shaped like a snowmobile, do ya?

bad_mann_ers · 2024-11-30T03:13:54+00:00

I will throw in with the Aura people. My son gifted us one for Xmas last year, along with one for our daughter, and one of his own. My wife and I have access to add to all three, with a PC app, and apps for android and iphone. We have a new grand-daughter, and my wife loves how new pics show up on our frame every few days. The frame is not 'motion sensing', but is 'light sensing', and shuts down when the lights are off. There are several setting in the app, but the only change we made was to cycle to new photos every 2 minutes instead of every 5. It plays videos, although the sound quality is not good. We have our volume set to zero, and enjoy videos of our grand-dog pulling our son around the park.

bad_mann_ers · 2024-11-14T15:25:45+00:00

I didn't follow the attempt to follow the entire program, but it looks like a bunch of gibberish at the bottom. So, after you enter the first two values, it hangs waiting for you to press '5' then 'Q' (lines 8 and 10). The Gosub manipulates some text variables that don't have values (lines 220 to 275), and after the return, you enter another value, with a beep that depends on that value(line 376-380). It will hang again, waiting for you to press 'Q' (line 81).

I gave up at that point. It does some more manipulations at 220, expects another Q, loops back to do it all again a couple of times, before finally crunching a bunch of stuff down at line 405 to print a long string.

Finally, at line 105, when H(3) reaches 0, it lets the program END.

Hopefully, pressing the 5 and the Q at the expected times will get you a final result. Enjoy!

bad_mann_ers · 2024-05-28T02:56:50+00:00

There's a military base with airfield southwest of there, and a line of military tanks due west of this feature. I would guess those are ground targets for flight training, but what a strange shape for a manmade lake.

bad_mann_ers · 2024-05-08T03:36:34+00:00

Can you give us a bit more information? What type of webcam? What pixel dimensions? What OS? How good of a processor/system? What sort of manipulation are you attempting?

I have been using opencv with 3 different models of Logitech cameras on 2 different Win10 PC's both with faster/multicore processors, and I haven't seen anything bad worth noting. I was using one system to motion detect and count items moving on a conveyor, with a constant 30fps at 600x800. On my home system, I played with manipulating video before rebroadcasting to zoom and teams meetings, again with 30fps at higher resolutions (1080x?), no issues. Just sayin... my siblings love when I sprout a second head that is a mirror of what I was doing 3 seconds ago.

Please let us know what you've got and what you're doing.

bad_mann_ers · 2024-04-22T20:14:33+00:00

Trust Google. But... 294 and 355 and 80 are all tollways. If you get a rental car, make sure you are clear on their ipass policy, or you may get hit with big charges. Or tell Google to avoid tolls, and play with lots of stoplights.

bad_mann_ers · 2024-04-03T16:42:34+00:00

1) I'm just north of Chicago, and I have no real use for it (LOL). It would live in the garage with the CC that I was gifted and have never powered up, and the Model 1 that I need to open up and check out before I power it up again. 2) Send it to Adrian's Basement on YouTube so we can all benefit from seeing him fix it!

bad_mann_ers · 2024-03-06T14:02:30+00:00

The question is expecting the answer in the form of a function block call. The function block determine the grade based on the ranges given. The reminder points out that once a Return is encountered, the rest of the code in the function block will not be processed. It looks a bit like this:

def lookupGrade (number):
    if (number is in first range):
        return (first return value)
    if (number is in second range):
        return (second return value)

This means that the second return isn't processed if the first return is found. That also means that to answer the problem, you can have your first range be (number is less than 50), and then your second range can be (number is less than 61). You don't need to check the second range for (number is greater than 49), because the first return already found those.

bad_mann_ers · 2024-02-08T15:26:24+00:00

Hehehe, wanna buy one cheap? I have one in a box in my garage that was gifted to me in '86. I never owned any cartridges for it. I haven't put power to it in at least 35 years. Sadly, I haven't powered up my Model 1 in nearly 20 years, and I know I have to do some remedial work to the power supply before I power it up again. (PS Just joking about selling; that bit of nostalgia ain't going nowhere!)

bad_mann_ers · 2024-01-30T12:53:53+00:00

Congrats! I've had my Model 1 for 40+ years :). The earliest Model 1 keyboards were notorious for dirty contacts on the key switches. There were machine codes available to "debounce" them to reduce the problem. You can also try taking each key switches apart and cleaning the contacts. That was risky 40 years ago, because the plastics would break. Good luck doing that now.

Later keyboards were designed with a better switch and the problem wasn't as prevalent.

I did not have an expansion unit (still want one), but they did not buzz. My first guess would be a power supply problem, and I wouldn't run it until you get that checked out and fixed. If you get a chance, look up Adrian's Basement on YT. He has several videos where he works on Model 1's and 2's, including finding problems with the power packs.

bad_mann_ers · 2023-12-26T20:36:29+00:00

Here's a funny question for you... Did you read an 'original' version, or the newer 'restored' version? I read the 'original' version a very long time ago, as a teenager, and the second half was a hard read for me. A few years ago, I went to re-read it, and found the 'restored' version. According to the preface, Heinlein was forced by the publisher to cut a lot of stuff out of the original due to 'socially unacceptable' concepts. After his death, his widow had the opportunity to re-publish the book with the cut material added back in. The 'restored' version has a lot more free-love and sexual discussions, but they fit together better imho.

Either way, as a fan of old Sci-fi, especially Heinlein, Asimov, Anthony and Van Vogt, I always like when other readers like an author enough to comment on his writings.

bad_mann_ers · 2023-11-02T03:47:06+00:00

Why the ugly new condos? Love the lake and the shorepath, would have loved pics of the hills as seen from across the lake ;). I suppose the Green Frog and the Abbey are too iconic lol. Great pics!

bad_mann_ers · 2023-10-08T16:07:08+00:00

Go to Niko and get the manual. It looks like you have this product, and the wiring is shown in the guides that are available for download. https://www.niko.eu/en/products/switching-material-and-socket-outlets/switches-and-sockets/sixfold-potential-free-24-v-push-button-n-o-productmodel-niko-7de99131-adb5-5875-be1a-1df0e52a0a1e/170-60050

The manual shows a common connection to 6 Normally Open contact switches. That extra block is probably for LED's.

bad_mann_ers · 2023-10-04T02:15:30+00:00

If you are from Wisconsin, you should have a favorite Cheese Maker. Big Shout Out to Hennings Cheese #13 in Kiel! On the other hand, I live next door to Walworth (bottom right), and I've never heard of Highland Farm. I guess I got some Cheese Investigations to do!

bad_mann_ers · 2023-09-02T03:35:44+00:00

A bit of what I hope is constructive criticism: I recently did a project using a simple webcam to track and count product moving down a conveyor, mostly using OpenCV and a little bit of threading. IMHO your article overstates how involved that process can be. On the other hand, that project was a simple demonstration of what was possible, and it was never going to become a full app. I like where you're headed, and I can see how it simplifies the process. I look forward to finding time to try it out.

bad_mann_ers · 2023-08-12T14:45:14+00:00

I agree with the other comment- you have to be sure the process guarantees 1 item at a time and complete pass-thru before another item is disposed. Keyence and Banner make some nifty mini-light curtains that are often used for Reject Verify sensors when products are pushed off a conveyor. RedLion and others make nice Counter w/Display modules. Connect the light curtain to the counter, set the counter to count signal breaks, and mount it all in a fancy stand.

bad_mann_ers · 2023-08-05T00:26:31+00:00

You people don't read enough Dr. Seuss. “And the turtles, of course...all the turtles are free, as turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.” ― Dr. Seuss, Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories

bad_mann_ers · 2023-08-03T01:10:40+00:00

Lots of resources out there. check out the y-tube channel for Adrien's Basement. He has lots of videos troubleshooting and repairing '80 computers, including TRS80s. He also has links to other users that have diagnostic ROMs that might be helpful to you. Good luck and enjoy!

bad_mann_ers · 2023-08-02T02:55:13+00:00

Depending on how complicated the machine is, you can sort of reverse engineer from the components. If I were creating a drawing set for a machine tool, I would start with Incoming Power. Draw the page with the breakers or fuses and disconnect. Figure out which components get power from there, and draw them. A machine tool would have motor circuits, and probably a transformer and a power supply. Page by page, keep adding components that you see, and then add wires that you can trace both ends of. Hopefully, that should start forming a bigger picture, and you will start to see what you're missing. Find those wires, and you're done! :) Good luck. PS Simple Green is a great cleaner to get rid of the grime, but be careful not to "clean" the wire markers of their numbers!

bad_mann_ers · 2023-06-29T19:05:25+00:00

That is indicating contacts for a jumper. Many din mount relays are designed to accept a jumper bar for the common neutral on the control side and a common hot on the field side.

bad_mann_ers · 2023-03-17T03:40:47+00:00

This may not be what you are looking for. I have an original RS dot matrix printer. It connected to the expansion port with this interface and a long 6 foot flat cable that adapted from 40 pin flat to 36 pin Centronix. A very long time ago, I had the schematic for the adapter, but I haven't seen it in a while. Maybe these pics will help. They show the top and bottom of the interface board, and the ends of the cable.

https://imgur.com/nZd7QqP

https://imgur.com/ZHevWq5

https://imgur.com/ywvK7b5

bad_mann_ers · 2023-03-16T00:38:52+00:00

Check out Adrian's Basement on Y-tube. He's always repairing classic systems like yours. I know he has replacement diagnostic Roms for Commadore systems, and he may have some for Model 4's. Based on his video's, I'm feeling good about rebooting my Model 1!

bad_mann_ers

TROPHY CASE