Minion Code Warriors

Lab based teach by example

Minion Lance and Minion Jocelyn learned coding for the first time in their lives today in preparation for Hour of Code on Monday.  We have already gone over a lot of the parts and pieces of the Arduino kits we bought a few months ago so all was left was to download the IDE and start working on their first project.

Helping debug code (low != LOW)

They first installed the Arduino IDE and set it up.  They set the correct COM port and selected the correct Arduino MEGA 2560.  They then hooked up their MEGA to their PC via USB.  This was all new to them and it was fun to watch their troubleshooting skills.  We had a brief talk again about electricity and how it was trying to get from a high potential to a low potential, kinda like water running down a mountain to get to sea level.  If you put a water wheel in the running water you could get the water to do work for you (see below picture).

A bit of theory

We worked though the picture schematic and they each wired up their breadboard.  I then printed off the code and had them type it in.  Lance was a quick one and said, "If you have it there you could just send it to us."  "No, I want you to type it in", I said.  They did and it was a great learning experience for them.  I was also able to help cook dinner a bit.  =)  After that they had to find all of their errors because their code would not verify.  Code has a very strict syntax, ledPin does not equal ledpin and they found this out.

What the heck is code anyway?

Once it compiled they uploaded it to their microcontroller and low and behold it worked!  Where they, and I, got really excited is when they started to change the code to try change how the LED turned off and on.  Tonight is the first time they have every coded, the first time they have ever even heard of a variable, or let alone seen what a loop does.  Their single LED blinked faster, slower, or stayed on all the time depending on how they changed the code.  I think the next session will be to remove ledPin and replace it with redPin, greenPin, and yellowPin.  I will explain how they can modify their current code to blink the other lights and help them understand variables, delays, and loops better.

All in all it was great.  I would highly suggest anyone interested in electronics to share their passion with their children.  I will leave you with a few more pictures of the Minions at work.

Battery tester extrodanar

Super excited Minion Lance (stealth mode)

Minion Jocelyn's 1st project

 

Dr. Ffreeze's blinky LED

Crazy Minion Zomie Monsters (in the dark no less)

I have nothing really to add...

Minion Grace as a Zombie

Minion Grace, Minion Dax, and Minion Logan as a Zombie

Introduction: Minion Logan

Minion Logan

Alter Ego: Logan

Minion Logan is a fun, lovable, great little guy.  He has lots to say and can somehow get it all said by just saying, "Hi".  He loves to play with cars and is spending quite a bit of time with Minion Dax.  That could end up being dangerous...

Introduction: Minion Dax

Minion Dax

Alter Ego: Dax the Pirate

Minion Dax is made up of the proverbial puppy dog tails and jet fuel.  He loves to sit and play with cars and he is currently fascinated with ships of all kinds.

And then it snowed 1 day ...

Our 1st day of snow.

Nice snow

Outside Work

I am a bit behind on things I would like to blog, but I have been a bit busy.  I will try and catch up.  

As a family we worked outside a few weeks back.  It was raining but stuff needed to get done.   After we got the van working again we started on the fence.  We had 3 posts rotted out so we had to replace them.  We also cleaned up some brush in the burn pile.  Everyone had a blast.

Here is the cleanup crew -Mommy

Setting the posts

  

Post setting up

Tibby, our German Shepard / Alaskan Malamute

We got a bit of snow

Introduction: Minion Grace

Minion Grace

Alter Ego: Grace

Minion Grace is a fun loving sweetheart.  She likes to draw people and be read too.  Although she admits she is unable to draw in the lines well, she feels she can draw eyes really well.

Van Brakes, Again

Well, I was a bit under the weather this weekend so I didn't get much of anything done.  I felt somewhat better on Monday so I took the day off and did some projects around that house.  Well, that was the plan.  I was only able to work on one project but I did get that done.

I just did a brake job on the Caravan's front brakes.  When I got done, they were still very spongy and didn't really stop the van.  I decided to buy a brake bleed kit and change out the brake fluid to see if that fixed it.  (Sometimes air can get in the line and cause just such a problem.)  Once I got out to work on them Monday morning I realized I have four wheel disk brakes and I only changed the fronts.  The back breaks needed changed too.  That is what happens when you finish a brake job in the dark and you go from memory.  =)

Tonya and I went into town and got some brakes and rotors ($115 for the rear.  It is not hard.  Do it yourself and save quite a bit of money).  I replaced the rear brakes and changed out the old brake fluid with new synthetic brake fluid.  The kit worked well but it was faster to use the kit while having Mrs. Ffreeze pump the brakes to get all of the fluid out.  It works much better now and the Caravan is clear to cart the Dr. Ffreeze family around.

Lots of work this weekend

This weekend was a busy one but not on many things terribly fun.  Saturday we went to town and got Winter gear for the kids.  I think we are all ready for the snow to fall as far as the kids are concerned.

Saturday night the four oldest in the house played Pathfinder.  We had a blast.  The kids are figuring out roll playing games more.  You can just see their eyes light up as they get sucked into the story fighting to protect each other from the bad guys.

We bought tall cabinets for each of the kids' rooms.  We put one together so far but I am thinking I will "improve" them a bit when I have the time.  I plan to make them their toy box so we can keep the rest of the house cleaner.

We bought quite a bit of car stuff.  I need to do the front breaks on the Caravan, add some coolant to the Caravan and Suburban, and do an oil change on the Caravan, Suburban, Kawasaki Mule.

I started on the breaks first.

Opps

Tonya was in town so I had her pick up a lugs and a few lug nuts.  We kept working...

Car repair crew

Teamwork

Teamwork

And More Teamwork

Just a bit more...

I then realized they gave me the wrong break pads.  I just put brake quiet all over them.  Opps.  I called Tonya and had her pick up a few more car things.  I got all of the car stuff done and cleaned up in the dark, but at least it is done.

I am a bit bummed that I didn't get to work on our desk as it is a gatekeeper for us delving into our electronics stuff.  I have a few more "get done before Winter" projects and then I expect to have more time for the electronics stuff.

All in all, it was a GREAT weekend!

Introduction: Minion Jocelyn

Minion Jocelyn

Alter Ego: Jocelyn

Minion Jocelyn is a great and happy hard worker who loves to help others in school during her recess and can't wait to get started in electronics.  She thinks princesses are kinda neat too.

Minion Lance: about myself!

These are somethings about ME! So I like Mine craft do you? I also like electronics and here are some  thins I want to make: a tank,robot,and LED switch.Do you like electronics? I also like legos and i like to make lego tanks! I have some friends to.These are some facts about me.

NZXT Source 530

NZXT Source 530

I should receive this Thursday and I can't wait.  My current case is missing a few sides and it is a wonder my old Intel 750 2.6GHz overclocked to 3.3GHz is still working with all the dust that gets in the heat sink.  Hopefully this will the last case I will ever need.

Introduction: Minion Lance

Minion Lance

Alter Ego: Lance
(to blend in better)

I would like to introduce Minion Lance to you.  He is a bright young 3rd grader that enjoys school, reading, Legos, and has a big heart.  I will see if I can get him to stop by tomorrow and put together a post in his own words.

Have you ever hung a computer?

Well, before today neither have I.  I have been thinking about it for quite a few though and I finally got around to it.  We have a large (15') computer desk and I wanted a way to get the kids' small form factor PCs out of the way.  This is what I did...

Take a small form factor PC

Add some 1/4" x 2" eye bolts

Finished eye bolts

Hang two screw hooks

Hang the PC

As seen from afar

I will paint each PC black so it blends in better with the desk (I am still working on the desk).  I may add a black 4" magnetized wood strip that overhangs the rear of the PC to hide the cables, but I am not sure.  I may also add an external 120mm exhaust fan on the back side to better cool the PC.  I will have to see once I get the desk done.

Project Idea: Lego Magician Type Robot

Sparkfun Magician Chassis

Sparkfun has this for $15 but I think we could have more fun making something like this with our Legos and the servos we just got.

Project Idea: Steam Powered Tesla Turbine

With trees all around us, it would be neat to find a way to generate some electricity from wood fuel.

Vehicle Designs

Minion Lance and I did a ~30 minute design jam before bed.  Here are the results of our labors.

Minion Lance

Dr. Ffreeze

~$300 Amazon Gift Card gets you what?

Hello All,

A great start into the electronics hobby for Dr. Ffreeze and (2) Minions.

SunFounder, H20, Pressure, Voltage, Electrons, and Holes Oh My

My goal is to share what do together so that it may inspire others to get involved with teaching their children electronics at a young age.  We will meet the Minions at a later time as they are all in bed now.

I am not sure how best to lay out the blog but if you want to purchase some of the items we are using I have included our original Bill of Materials below.

Peace,

Dr. Ffreeze

Bill Of Materials (BOM)

[Count / Item / Cost Ea]
(3)     SunFounder Mega 2560 R3 Project Super Starter Kit     $53

(3)     Amazon Basics USB 2.0 A-Male to B-Male Cable - 6 Feet     $5
(1)     1 ohm - 10M ohm 1/4W Metal Film Resistors Assortment Kit     $9
(1)     Elenco TL-6 Standard Alligator Lead Set, 10-Piece     $6
(2)     INNOVA 3320 Auto-Ranging Digital Multimeter     $20
(1)     microtivity IL451 5mm Clear White LED w/ Resistors (100ea)     $10

(1)     HOSSEN® 5pcs Genuine Mini SG90 Micro 9g Servo     $14
(3)     Arduino 9V 1A Power Adapter     $6

(1)     RHX 100x Quality Mini Micro Momentary Tactile Push Button Switch     $4

(1)     microtivity IL188 5mm Assorted Clear LED w/ Resistors (8 Colors, 80total)     $4
(3)     Keyes Thumb Joystick Module for Arduino     $3
(3)     Passive Speaker Buzzer Module for Arduino     $2

Is this thing on?

Hello Everyone,

I am just trying out a blog to see how I like it.  I used to post my thoughts and experiments on the web many moons ago as Dr. Ffreeze.  Well, I am back but this time as Dr. Ffreeze and Minions.

I would like to use this blog to post about being a father, teacher, and inventor.  We will see how it goes.

Peace,

Dr. Ffreeze