ECE577J

Reviews

dagentooboy — Tue, 09 May 2006 21:13:59 +0000

I know John wants us to do these art reviews and it would be fun if it weren’t for the fact that I have absolutely no taste for art, at least not in galleries. I can’t see anything beyond a simple painting. When Steve and Barry talked about some of their projects that involved electronics the only thing that I thought was how was it made and what keeps it going. It would have never occurred to me that they were trying to communicate something with their art. Now there are other types of art that I do enjoy like music. Sound fascinates me and as a result I run just about every sound system I can get my hands on. Unlike a painting or something that you would see in a gallery, music is many artists (or one several times over) all using music to express something. There are musicians that play the music, vocalists that sing, and then there is someone that runs sound and puts all the pieces together. So as a result of all this the only thing I could think of to write reviews on is music. There are lots of types of music out there so I am going to write the reviews over different types of music. In my mind there are two broad categories that would sum up all music the first is Christian music and the second is non-Christian music. Now because of time limitations and a lack of friends that listen to non-Christian music I haven’t been to any non-Christian concerts lately so all of my reviews are going to be over Christian music. So here are my four reviews.

Kutless, Disciple, KJ52, Crystal Myers

dagentooboy — Tue, 09 May 2006 21:12:20 +0000

An interesting combination to say the least these bands put on a show that has verity written all over it. Kutless is a band that has given a new aspect to the “mid rock” section of Christian music. They are famous for songs like strong tower, pride away, and in me. Their most recent album is made entirely of Hymns that they have taken and kicked up a notch. They have 2 electric guitarists and a bass player and they will stand in a line and on the beat they will all three do a whiplash (throw their instrument behind their back and catch it as it comes around and resume playing). Their new stuff has been on the top of the charts a lot lately and they just keep getting better. They made a comment that for the past year they have had their noses in Hymn books looking for something that can be given a new rhythm. They also said that the Hymns are so rich in doctrinal truth that it is hard to overlook that and just write new stuff. Disciple is the one that I went to see. In the world of Christian hard rock these guys stand alone. The music they play is so deep and loud at the same time. The lyrics can give you almost as much kick in the right direction as the drum beat. This is also the only band that I have ever seen that will actually stop the music set down and preach a sermon. I have seen so many people turn their lives around as a result of a Disciple concert it isn’t even funny. Their new stuff, like Kutless, is much softer. While disappointing that Kutless got to rock out harder then Disciple there were still a lot of good songs and I did enjoy it even if it wasn’t what I expected. KJ52 is a rap artist and as an opening for Kutless and Disciple I was left scratching my head as to why they chose KJ52. KJ52 is someone that has a heart for people like Eminem. He has wrote three songs as a direct response to some of the things that Eminem talks about in his songs. KJ52 also has a great sense of humor and it is always fun to go anywhere he is playing. Crystal Myers…. I have no idea why she was even allowed to come. Matching Barlow Girl in the annoyance factor this is the artist that I managed to skip most of. She tried to match Kutless and Disciple in the hard rock section and in my opinion failed. But you know some people enjoyed it so that is what matters right?

Black Day Clear!

dagentooboy — Tue, 09 May 2006 20:49:00 +0000

Here is a local band that won at battle of the bands here in Kansas and has gained quite a following. Black Day Clear is a great band that can rock out well and still be real enough to draw the crowd in (everyone knows a concert is more fun when the crowd gets in on it). Unlike Barlow Girl, Black Day Clear is a rock band and so the fact that there were people acting like they were at a rock concert didn’t bug me. There were no flashy lights, no huge screens, and no $100,000+ sound system. These guys are just real down to earth musicians that want people to enjoy their music and aren’t only concerned with the money. There are many things that a band can have that will draw in fans like good music, a great stage performance, and something that gets their name out there. Whatever it takes this band has it all. After only three years of playing they are already one of the biggest local Christian bands here in Kansas.

The “If I Had One Chance to Tell You Something” Tour

dagentooboy — Tue, 09 May 2006 19:56:41 +0000

This was one that I wasn't entirely sure that I would enjoy. Yes it is Christian music but there are some types of music that annoy me. There were a lot of people there and my girl friend loves Rebecca St James and Barlow Girl so I got drug along. Unlike the Indescribable tour this one had too many lights and they were obnoxious rather then adding to the music. There was a screen that had some video on it but it wasn’t anything impressive. For the first two artists (Barlow Girl, and Jason Lavik) they didn’t use the lights as much and the atmosphere was better as a result. The good thing about it all was the message. Rebecca St James got up front and talked about Compassion International (a non-profit organization that helps children in third world countries) and played a video from when she went over there and got to meet some of the kids. They asked that anyone who didn’t support a child already seriously consider sponsoring a child. The problem that I have always had with this type of music is that it tries to be something that it is not. The artists and the crowd act like they want to be at a rock concert but they aren’t. That along with the blinding lights made this an annoying concert to visit and something that I would not readily repeat.

Indescribable Tour

dagentooboy — Tue, 09 May 2006 18:29:10 +0000

There is a definite difference between a normal concert and a night with Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, and Louie Giglio. These guys are famous and yet they still have a way of worshiping that draws everyone in. Chris Tomlin is the type of worship leader that can play for a crowd of 5000 or a crowd of 5 the same because he is there to worship. His songs have been in the top 10 many times and he plays every year at challenge (a Evangelical Free conference for high school students) and does a great job of leading teenagers into worship. Beyond the art of the music was the lights and video. There was a projector screen that was at least 40 feet diagonal (that’s what I need for a TV J). On the screen they showed different shots from space and also clips from Mel Gibson’s The Passion. The entire night was set up for worship. The next artist was Matt Redmond. Matt Redmond is the guy that most Christian music artists today claim for inspiration. The funny thing is that when you listen to him play live the question is always “why does he play all the music we sing in church instead of your own stuff?” the greatest part is that this is his own stuff. Most people that have been to any type of contemporary Christian church service have heard Matt Redmond’s songs. Following Chris’s intro Matt continued to prepare everyone for what was next. Louie Giglio, if ever there was one person that could come close to communicating the power and ability of God without making your head explode he would be it. We all sat down and got the equivalent to the IMAX trip through the stars with Louie as the narrator. He showed pictures of vast galaxies and star formations. He talked about the speed of light and how long it takes light to travel the stars. At one point he said “light is really fast, if you don’t think so then go home and park your car in the driveway, now turn on the headlights and see if you can beat light to the garage. You won’t win.” Over all the whole night was a great time of worship and a real wake up call on just how big God is.

Building the machine

dagentooboy — Wed, 03 May 2006 14:11:16 +0000

Although my responsibility was to write the code and make the schematic here is what the rest of the group wrote about our project.

Overview from Bill

Building the machine
Tube assembly

More comments from Paul

And some images…..

FETs Vs. NPNs

dagentooboy — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 15:34:16 +0000

When we designed the schematic for nervous machine there was a concern of how to run 80 motors off of the logochip. The problem was that the logochip can't sync enough current to run them. So there are several options to switch power on and off with the logochip. NPNs and PNPs can sync enough current to supply 2-5 motors but not enough for what we wanted. N and P channel FETs are one of the other options. P channels allow about 1 Amp each and that would be enough but just barely so N channels are the best option because TO-220s will sync 14 Amps. The ones we ended up with will sync 9 Amps and that was plenty for each group. The reason the we blew up 16 FETs is because 90% of the motors were shorted.

Here is the FET datasheet for the small FETs that we used

PCB Ideas

dagentooboy — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 15:33:14 +0000

PCBs would offer a much more reliable platform for the logochip. One of the main problems with ultrasonics is that the code will stop if it doesn't get a pulse back from the ultrasonic. I had lots of problems with the logochip controlling 3 ultrasonics on the breadboard because the connections aren't extremely reliable. We ended up using a solder down board from Radio Shack that allowed us to get most of the reliability of a PCB without the etch turn time (5+ days).

Ultrasonics….

dagentooboy — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 15:30:39 +0000

I made a post on the Wiki that I will update periodically….

Ultrasonics

Schematic

dagentooboy — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 15:28:13 +0000

Here is a PDF of our project schematic.

Schematic