Unlike Sparkfun, who actually manage to find fake Atmel ICs, we just get strange batches. The Atmel ATMega328 is the power behind the Arduino/Freeduino/*duino, and we have to set up a programming system to burn the venerable Arduino Bootloader into these chips. We normally use an AVR STK500 in HVSP (high voltage serial programming) mode, […]
Bulbdial on Steroids - the Chinook Shado...
Dave Hrynkiw
March 23, 2012
We've been working with the Chinook Mall since they did a retrofit a decade ago, where they really amped up the mall, making it the keynote shopping centre of Calgary. One of their features is the "Time Capsule Clock", which sits in the floor of the center court, where a 1000 year time capsule waits under a clock.
Time passes fine for the capsule, but time did not treat the clock too well at all. Since clocks are generally supposed to be wall-mounted affairs, the constant beating it took from floor cleaners and pedestrians finally make it die an early death. We were called in periodically to repair the clock hands and reset the time until they finally gave us the go-ahead to design them a replacement. A much better engineered replacement - a ShadowClock!
Inspired by the sheer sleekness and appeal of the Evil Mad Scientist's Bulbdial, we adapted the idea to a larger scale, with 2.5X the LEDs. We finally installed the project last Monday, and just finished putting up a Flickr roll detailing the project.
Want one of your own? Sorry - we only have the backup unit left for our own nefarious purposes, but we're working on a kit!
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Bundles o' Brains
What's worse than having to wait nine months? Having to wait a year and nine months. That's where we're finding ourselves, with Beakerhead here in Calgary aiming to land in September of 2013. Luckily, though, this festival of art fused with technology (think MakerFaire) will have a few smaller events between now and then. We […]
Site Back Up; Cool Links Wednesday: Hall...
If you've noticed, our website had another slight weapons malfunction that happened last night. Our server in NYC is raising from the ashes as we speak and the hamsters are back to spinning their wheels. We're even able to process orders now! Please don’t hesitate to give us a shout if you have any concerns […]
Closed Tuesday, November 11th (Remembran...
Just a quick note to remind everyone that we are closed on Remembrance Day - Tuesday November 11 and will resume responding to phone calls and emails tomorrow.
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Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.