Christmas Gifts Galore!

Hello all!

I've finished my finals for the semester and now I should have more time for the bucket list!

I have been working on my computer some. I received a new cd/dvd burner which I just installed with no issues. I also got a 1TB Western Digital HDD. Right now I'm working on getting another Arch setup on it.

I had space issues with my first Arch partition. I didn't have much space for anything, including root. It frustrated me to no end, but seeing as how cheap HDD's have been getting, I figured that would work nicely for me!

I just tried to install Arch on my new HDD, but I'm having issues with the new .iso file from the website. The CORE install has the 2.6.33 kernel in it, but for some reason daemons is asking for the 2.6.35 kernel. People are saying that creating a local repository is easy and will do the trick, but I think I'll try a Netinstall tomorrow morning. That seems to be easier.

On a slightly less computer-y note, I also received the wonderful Arduino Duemilanove and I've already started chugging away at it. Luckily, all my previous C knowledge has paid off and I'm not struggling at all with the programming! Just last night a made a solar controlled servo!

I found a few servos in my parents basement. My dad was once into model airplanes, which are filled with servos. As a sensor I used a small solar cell designed for breadboards and protoboards.

I have a few photoresistors and a continuous servo coming in the mail, should be here tomorrow.

I'm going to make a solar cell tracker similar to this,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATnnMFO60y8

Though I figure it's possible to do the same with only 2 photoresistors using similar logic.

Once I do that I think I can scratch learning arduino off the list.

My girlfriend has been bugging me to do some haul videos of my gifts, so expect some videos in the future! I'll have to get used to the whole video thing.

I'm using http://www.youtube.com/user/thisweekinlinux as a good reference! You should all check out his blog and channel.

Adding One to the List

Hey guys, sorry for the lack of updates, schools been really busy and I haven't had much time to scratch a few off my list.

But one thing I have done is found a new project I want to work on. It's called Arduino, and it's an open source microchip controller-esc programming package and controller. The board itself can be bought already assembled and the programming language is in C, which I know fairly well.

Once I teach myself how to use use the Arduino, I'll be able to add some more complex projects to the list, and I'll be one step closer to that elusive peristaltic pump!

On a side note, the next PSR solar car is coming along rather nicely. We just got our webcam back up, and you can watch our progress live HERE! We finalized the chassis two weeks ago and we took the carbon fiber panels to WJI Waterjet in Indianapolis. Mike Trapp showed us the ropes and volunteered his time to help us get the car completed.
Next step is to finish the bottom body of the car so we can fit it with the chassis. In the meantime, we'll have to build the front and rear suspension, which we have designed as of last week. Then we'll have a moving car!

Edit: It seems like the webcam is down again. I'll have to look at it again.