Prodical’s Blog

CHDK (Canon Hack Development Kit) enhances the capabilities of Canon Powershot cameras in a non-destructive, non-permanent way.

CHDK (Canon Hack Development Kit) enhances the capabilities of Canon Powershot cameras in a non-destructive, non-permanent way.

It features:

• Professional control – RAW files, bracketing, full manual control over exposure, Zebra-Mode, Live histogram, Grids, etc.
• Motion detection – Trigger exposure in response to motion, fast enough to catch lightning.
• USB remote – Simple DIY remote allows you to control your camera remotely – I really do have to make my own USB Remote Cable
• Scripting – Control CHDK and camera features using UBASIC and Lua scripts. Enables time lapse, motion detection, advanced bracketing, and much more.

There’s lots more info about CDHK at the FAQ.

I installed CHDK on my IXUS 860IS (Powershot SD870IS in the US) a while back though I’ve been using precious little of its functionality.

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My old jailbroken iPod Touch 2G iOS 3.0 has been languishing.

Although it’s where I used to test out most of the audio and music apps I came across, Cydia got corrupted and stopped launching a while back. While it gave me the testing ground and impetus to jailbreak my iPhone 3GS iOS 3.1.2 – my iPhone is now where I try out new apps and Cydia tweaks.

But with an iCreate>Music taster workshop as part of Play Space at Contact Theatre in early December and a new Akai SynthStation 25 to play with I thought I’d upgrade it to the latest iOS 4.1, jailbreak it and to look for ways to optimise the iPod 2G hardware. Here’s how I got on…

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I’ve been thinking more and more that it’d be useful to explore smaller form factor Arduinos and clones for future space restricted projects – and though there’s plenty to choose from as a start I opted for the Adafruit DC Boarduino (Arduino Clone) Kit (w/ATmega328) – v1.0 for $17.50 and “a tweaked out FTDI FT232RL chip adapter” in the FTDI Friend + extras – v1.0 for $14.75.

My previous experience of other Adafruit kits – such as their Motor/Stepper/Servo Shield – gave me confidence it would be well documented and supported – and this particular combination seemed both cost-effective and flexible… saving $7.50 on the USB version – albeit losing the USB power and USB-serial converter, rx/tx LEDs and the rx/tx 1K series resistors… and $5.25 on the standard USB FTDI TTL-232 cable yet gaining “a little extra – in this case it’s the extra-long headers that you can use to plug it into a breadboard, or a 6-pin extension cable (which will also let you rearrange the wire order). There are also blinkies, 2 red & green LEDs that pulse when serial is sent or received. In a pinch, you can even use it to program AVRs (it’s a bit slow but works!).”

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The Auduino has been a great project to learn about Arduino hardware and software - and in the process find out a lot more about basic electronics and various components, prototyping, fabrication techniques and source suitable suppliers etc.

Even though the project is relatively simple I’ve done what I normally try to do – aside from getting fairly obsessive/compulsive – make something refined but within imitations. It’s intended as a ‘thank you’ for Dave Mee from Madlab who lent me this Arduino Starter Kit for an Arduino Workshop way back in February 2010.

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My SparkFun components arrived… taking 9 days from order in the US… but since I thought I’d build Dave Mee an Auduino as a thank you for lending me his Arduino kit I bought some additional 4.7k linear rotary pots, knobs and an audio jack socket from Maplin for an equitable £9.95 in the interim. They’re chunkier – but chassis fitting.

So I had a good day at Fablab Manchester on Friday…
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With my SparkFun components in the post I’ve been preparing for building my Auduino – researching the Google Group a bit more thoroughly and following up on some of the links… and it really does seem like an ideal ‘my first proper’ arduino project…

I think the demo video on Jesse’s Studio Blog post illustrates how much fun this could be…

So I’ve now collected a series of Auduino sketches that variously:

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Had oodles of fun (sad I know) browsing the sparkfun.com and robotshop.ca online catalogues looking for components for the Auduino I’m planning to build… and getting a bit sidetracked with all sorts of interesting things…

Essentials include:

Audio Jack 3.5mm – £1.03
Audio Jack Breakout – £0.65

Rotary Potentiometer – Linear – £0.65
Potentiometer Knob – £0.65

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I’m currently researching how to make and control sound with an Arduino as well as sourcing possible components for the mooted Monomatic Modular Music Box for the “Analogue is the new Digital” exhibition as part of AND Festival in October.

With a total budget of £400 solutions and parts need to be cheap & cheerful – yet do the job…

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I’ve been googling how to transmit DMX via an Arduino… and following up on links in the DMX512 section at the Arduino: Playground…

Daniel Hirschmann’s Super DMX Shield

Ideally I’d like to buy a ready-made shield:

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It’s been a while since my last blog post – so this is an overdue round-up of what’s been keeping me busy.

It feels like I’ve been focusing on Processing to the exclusion of anything else for sometime… and not just my own creative development… but also all the time and energy I’ve been investing into InProcess:ing – the open forum for sharing creative coding and practice at Madlab.

Don’t get me wrong… I lurve Processing… but I think it’s time to take a bit of a breather and outline ideas and strategies to move forward with new opportunities and other creative ideas that have been bubbling on my back-burner for a while…

Themes include:

1. KiNoSeq – a kinetic nodal sequencer for the iPad
2. Fun with Arduino
3. PEAL ‘Hand Bells’
4. The Augmented Tonoscope
5. shado – monome widgets
6. Dirty Electronics – Skull Etching
7. ‘Analogue is the new Digital’ exhibition

Some of these are relatively brief and included within this post – others are more substantial so I’ve opened up a separate post in their own right.

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