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Installing LEDfx Windows

To get started on Windows it is highly recommended that you use Anaconda to make installation of Cython components easier.

Install Microsoft Visual Studio

https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/downloads/

Start Anaconda

Once open, start a terminal session and run the following:

conda create -n ledfx
conda activate ledfx

Install LedFx and all the dependencies using pip and the conda package manager

conda config --add channels conda-forge
conda install aubio portaudio pywin32
pip install pipwin
pipwin install pyaudio
pip install ledfx

Launch LedFx (with the ‘open-ui’ option to launch the browser):

ledfx --open-ui

Trubleshooting:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/52283840/i-cant-install-pyaudio-on-windows-how-to-solve-error-microsoft-visual-c-14

Making Robot Friends with RemoTV

Years ago at Maker Fair I saw a person followed by a rather impressive robot that seemed to have a mind of it’s own. Later I found out that the robot was being controlled by people through the internet using a site called LetsRobot. While that project is no more, that same person, Jillian Ogle, that I met is the creator of it’s successor RemoTV.

Continue reading Making Robot Friends with RemoTV

Wireless NAT server E-ink badge with Apache, PHP, SQL, Media Wiki, and MQTT

If you can not connect MediaWiki with your MySQL password and user name, do the following steps.

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop

Once MySQL has stopped, run:

sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables &

When MariaDB is loaded, run the following command but replace username and password with one of your choosing.

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'username'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';

Or try to reset the root password:

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop
sudo mysqld_safe --skip-grant-tables &
sudo mysql -uroot

when MariaDB is loaded, run the following commands but replace newpassword with the one you want.

use mysql;

press enter, then:

update user set password=PASSWORD("newpassword") where User='root';

press enter, then:

flush privileges;

press enter, then:

quit

press enter

Now stop and restart MySQL

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop
sudo /etc/init.d/mysql start

Try logging into MySQL

sudo mysql -u root -p

At this point you may have to add a new user if the root password will not work.

After logging into MySQL, like before, run this command:

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'username'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';

Soft electronics projects

So a few weeks ago I got a visit from a friend that I worked with on getting embroidery machines to sew circuit patterns using conductive thread. This is one of the most time consuming and difficult part of doing soft electronics work for wearable tech.

Well he has made a huge amount of progress in doing the same types of embedded fabric circuits that only companies like Levies is doing. Using a $300 home embroidery capable sewing machine and his software anyone can assemble complex circuits complete with easy pads to stitch electronics to. There are even some embedded sensors that can be stiched into the fabric like Capacitive touch sensors, induction coils, and linear encoders. Even stitching the electronics in place is easy using the button stitch setting.

One other thing that has made this much more accessible is the development of better conductive thread. The thread I am working with is very similar to regular thread so it can used in the top and bottom of the sewing machine unlike other conductive threads that can only be used on the bottom part of the machine with regular thread at the top.

Currently I am working with this friend to get the software publicly available, and hopefully free, and develop a supply chain for getting this new conductive thread available in the US.

Currently I am using this to create exsamples of embedded wearable technology for an up and coming fashion show at the Living Computers Museum in Seattle. I do plan to post some videos and photos of what I am doing in the coming weeks.

It’s only Rocket Science!

So someone on Facebook reposed a video from a Flat Earther arguing that the centrifugal force of the earths spin should fling the ocean out into space. We have water on earth, so how is this possible unless the earth is really just flat and not spinning at all? Well my friend science shamed these people with a reasonable argument, but I thought that I would really hammer some hard science into the argument. Rocket Science that is… Continue reading It’s only Rocket Science!