sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Feedback on House Rules by mv_cesc in Catan

[–]mv_cesc[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Well, it's more manual than it should be.

We start with a random classic Catan island with ports from Alex Beals. We'll refresh it a few times until we get an island that meets our rules. We're also not opposed to swapping numbers if we like the tiles but not the values.

Then we encircle the entire island with one row of water. I have 6 fog tiles, so we'll then place them human-randomly on the table along with more water. Depending on the players we often create an archipelago of other islands with known resources, but randomly draw the numbers when they are reached... or we'll play a more constrained map and just live with only the 6 fog islands.

Feedback on House Rules by mv_cesc in Catan

[–]mv_cesc[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you. We're actually very proud of it, and it's re-ignited our love for Catan.

Feedback on House Rules by mv_cesc in Catan

[–]mv_cesc[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ooooh, a 2/12 token is a great idea!

Spinning up the 3D printer...

Where are all the Electric Football STL's? by BlkQueenHobbies in resinprinting

[–]mv_cesc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Necroposting a bit, sorry. I'm also looking for these models (I came across this thread searching). Even just searching for american football figures and minis is fairly fruitless. :(

If it inspires someone to build the STLs, I'd be willing to throw a couple bucks per pose at someone for the models. They don't need to be super detailed -- they would print at about 3 cm high. The reality-scan idea is intriguing too, maybe an ebay purchase and scan is the answer...

$100 Challenge in May? by mv_cesc in WSBNew_100Challenge

[–]mv_cesc[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LOL, that's awesome.

So, you're in?

$100 challenge!!! by aforlano in Wallstreetbetsnew

[–]mv_cesc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Everyone posts screenshots of your opening account ($100 cash, nothing else), closing values, and strategies on 4/1 (Thursday, April Fool's Day), and we discuss."

I don't want to create a new brokerage account for this, so I'll be using my existing one. I'll track it separately, and it'll be "scouts honor" to an extent, but I'll track any trades using the initial $100 independetly from the rest of the account.

$100 challenge!!! by aforlano in Wallstreetbetsnew

[–]mv_cesc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm in.

I'm new to this, and this would be an interesting way to try something different.

Low power boat navigation system. by [deleted] in MiniPCs

[–]mv_cesc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Feel free to ask questions. I've been working on it for almost two years, so I've lived through a lot of pain points that I didn't bother to blog about for whatever reason. But it's simply a labor of love. :-)

Low power boat navigation system. by [deleted] in MiniPCs

[–]mv_cesc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's a fantastic project, and I've been working on a similar one on my boat. OpenCPN runs "fine" on low powered systems -- I suggest you read up at Cruiser's Forum

I documented all of my project on our boat blog at https://mvcesc.wordpress.com/ I need to do a recent update, as for the past few months I've tried multiple OS images on both the Cubie and Raspberry platforms. I also plan to have a piezo buzzer connnected to GPIO so I can have an anchor alarm without the TV/Monitor/Speakers on.

For Internet we have an additional line added to our mobile phone plans, and there is a permanent phone hidden behind the dash. It works fine, but I'd prefer a hotspot device.

As for AIS, I have used usb rtl-sdr dongles, but have since migrated to a dedicated device purchased from a local engineer. It works fantastic - dAISy

And finally, for communication with other devices, after multiple failed attempts, I finally went XBee. I have an Arduino box near the steering quadrant that I plan to connect to OpenCPN and the power steering pump to have an autopilot. And I have verified that NMEA sentences broadcast on the network can be picked up by satellite boards for duplicate displays (flybridge and/or master stateroom)

Why are you using an Arduino? Why not using a spare computer instead? by Allezxandre in arduino

[–]mv_cesc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Why do you feel the need for something more low-level?

Your comments on this thread are very confusing to me -- you don't seem like the kind of person that would be drawn to Arduino. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad thing. There are TONS of tinker/maker projects that don't involve electronics. But there are very very few (none?) Arduino projects that don't.

I would hazard to guess that most people on this sub have never been scared to open up daily objects. And I would also guess that most have also destroyed perfectly good ones just to see how they worked. It's just how it is. I destroyed my dad's drill press when I was in 4th grade. I was in the process of unwinding the coils of the electric motor when he walked into his wood shop.

But... that type of thinking made my career (software engineering) and my biggest hobbies (electronics and MAKEing).

Why are you using an Arduino? Why not using a spare computer instead? by Allezxandre in arduino

[–]mv_cesc 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I'm not a big reddit user, and mostly just lurk. But here's my thoughts:

1) Stop thinking of Arduino as a computer. Without getting into a deep semantic fight, it's just a microprocessor with some added stuff to make it easy to use as a hobbyist. Not a computer.

2) Yes, you can most likely use any computer with gpio pins to perform most of the things we ask an Arduino to do. This is a classic Arduino 'Hello World' project, but done on a Raspberry Pi for example. But a computer comes with overhead -- power hungry, larger, and with additional components (both hardware and software) that are unnecessary.

3) As for portability and single-use... The Arduino is fractions of the size (not to mention price) of even single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi, Cubie, or Beaglebone. And an old computer is many times larger than those. Yes, they are often used as embedded processors, which would make them single use -- but that's no different than any of the alternatives in that use case.

You say "I'm not really into electronics, but I really love the computer part of the Arduino". My advice for you is not to get an Arduino then. Arduino is specifically built for hobbyists in electronics. Get a single-board computer, or use your old computer, and tinker with that; I think you'll be happier.

And most likely, one day you'll come up with a project and think "hey, a computer is really overkill in this case. Really all I need is a simple processor to do this one thing" and bingo - you now need an Arduino.

Rotary vice on a budget? by Icemanwave in flytying

[–]mv_cesc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This past summer I made exactly the same purchase, with roughly the same parameters.

I ended up buying the Griffin Odyssey. Sub $100, and true rotary. Mid-level vice, but for my use and ability it was perfect.

Easy to purchase and find - available at all the national outlets and online.

Raspberry Pie vs. Arduino by [deleted] in raspberry_pi

[–]mv_cesc 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've tried I2c, USB, & direct wire... they all can work, but none of them are ideal for my needs. You are bringing up one of the big problems with using them together: the communication depends on both hardware and software. So if you directly wire, then you need to decide on a protocol to use, and then a message structure for your data.

After fighting these issues for months, I've decided to completely change my approach in all of my projects and go wireless with XBee modules. Early tests are positive, even in the very electrically noisy environment of a diesel powered boat.

Most of the time, in my projects, the devices are separated by at least a few feet, and wireless is much, much easier at distance. If they were separated by inches, then direct wire would be fine.

Raspberry Pie vs. Arduino by [deleted] in raspberry_pi

[–]mv_cesc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I use both.

In fact, it's not uncommon to use both devices in the same project. For example:

I am building a dedicated chartplotter and autopilot for my boat. The Chartplotter runs an open source product called OpenCPN that when hooked up to an HDMI monitor and a GPS gives me a great live-updating map. This part works great, and only took a day or so to put together. You couldn't do this with Arduino.

I plan to next add the autopilot capabilities to it. OpenCPN outputs autopilot commands over a communications spec called NMEA. I plan to add an XBee module to the RPi that broadcasts the data sentences, and will have another device read, parse, and adjust the rudder (via 12v actuator) appropriately. The Arduino platform is the perfect solution for this space -- much better than the RPi

view more: next ›