Flight Simulators

I have always been interested in flying actual airplanes remotely, and after being to the US, I ordered a foam plane called a Super Cub.After flying it, I realized that it is incredibly difficult to start flying an airplane right away.You need to be under the aegis of an experienced pilot to really learn how to fly.I could not find any good flying clubs around town, and it being winter, the winds were not on my side.After a lot of reading, I found that there are simulators which help you learn how to fly.They are priced at about $200 a piece, and as ever there are free options available.
How do they work? Here is what the blog post is about :)

1)You need to have either a 4 channel transmitter or above.I chose the Spektrum DX6i.This has port on which you connect a cable, and the transmitter emulates as a 4-Button, 4-Position Joystick.This cable costs around $14.
For the software, I used FMS.
The argument here is, this is still larger in cost than the pricey simulator, but in the simulator, I get a stupid dummy joystick(No transmitter), which simply is a box with 4 potentiometers, and an expensive software( the FMS is just about same in performance and appeal as the other).
Currently, I have not purchased the DX6i, but the Super Cub did come with its own 3 channel Tx, in reality, it has four channels...Hmm..Well I have hacked around an old joystick earlier, so it should not be a difficult task to do so now with the Super Cub's transmitter.Here are some snaps which confirm my idea.









Here is an image with the back cover removed.The 4 Yellow Boxes show the contacts of the potentiometers which I will use and emulate a 4 channel joystick on my computer.





I would need to solder some wires and make a nice hole in the transmitter, stick a port there, and attach a cable to my computer.Trouble is, my computer only has USB ports(I so hate the new laptops, they are not really hacker friendly).So would need some kind of a dongle there.

More in later posts!

eZ430 Chronos Development Tool from TI

I just recieved a package from TI, which had the eZ430 Chronos Development Tool I ordered for Sree.Here are some previews and a quick video showing the accelerometer function.Enjoy!!!


In the image below, you can see from left to right, the bundled CD(which has the drivers as well as the control software for the access points), the eZ430 emulator (programmer as well, to add your own code to the watch), the watch itself, the RF access point(shown in photos further) and a nifty screwdriver to remove the back panel of the watch, In addition to these, there are a few screws(not shown in images) if you end up losing some.










Here is the video, that shows the accelerometer function.I was pretty excited, as this happens to be the first video, I would have uploaded for sharing.

DIY GorillaPod

I had been trying since a few days to find something interesting to make,when i really get bored out of my programming and web surfing..The best place to be in such times is instructables.com.

I am in awe of what people are creating out of their imagination and really cool stuff is out there to be discovered.

I happened to read about the GorillaPod,which is a simple tripod for a point and shoot,and its happens to be something created out of sheer genius...the tripod can actually wrap around things,and stay stiff,so you can get those oddly positioned shots out of your camera.

Here is what my DIY version looked like...

To be honest,I have made this in 2 days flat!And it has not cost me more than $15.

Here are some more snaps of it,where the tripod seems to assumes the role of a photogenic model.

Here is how it can shoot in the macro mode....

The Pod clinging to a thin Door of my cupboard(Please neglect the mess within the cupboard,actually its a black hole,whatever has gone in,really I have never been able to find that thing back....)

Last but not the least,how the tripod clings to the window grill in my house...

I would be keen to sell this to someone who would be really interested.Drop me an email at rupin[dot]chheda[at]gmail.com....

Hacking the A570

My good old friend Mirang owns a Canon A570.
A570+CHDK=Lots of Fun on an idle Saturday afternoon.
The term CHDK stands for the Canon Hack Development Kit....
I then asked one question-Why in the world does one buy a digital SLR?And then I realised that not everyone is born a techie.
If you own a Canon point and shoot and looking for the fun of a digital SLR(Mind it it gives you the ability to open and close the camera shutter for (1/100k) second.Now thats way cool)..Then the CHDK is a way to go....

I am completely in love with all the people who really are doing things that defy the rules of normal gadget usage.They have a different perspective on gadgets,and are looking for the next free hour to try something new.The world calls them "hackers".They mean something else to me...Something way more respectable....

I really did not want to write another post teaching how to boot the camera from the CHDK scripts..there are lots of posts and information out to search and easily accessible.
Go ahead..give your Canon camera some steroids!