KREEG Newsletter 12-10

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Iris Hoover
5 years ago
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Learning Arduino and Kinect interfacing NEW MEMBERS! Our newest members for this month includes: Dave Endrigo.

1 KREEG Newsletter Attendees Doyle Maleche President Mike Cambra Kurt Hinkle Charlie Johnson Vice President Ian Cambra Emily Oliphant Braxton Brown Forrest Carlson Aaron Shaw Wayne Cazier Jeff Quast Dave Endrigo Alex Jeffries Tammy Jeffries Charile Johnson leading the group Learning Arduino and Kinect interfacing NEW MEMBERS! Our newest members for this month includes: Dave Endrigo. Dave brings strong mechanical and entrepreneurial experience to KREEG. He holds patents in automotive and engine designs, keen insight and unique new technology concepts. Page 1 of 5

Kurt Hinkle is retired Navy and a Mechanical Engineer at Naval Engineering Facilities Command (NAVFAC) at Bangor.

Alex Jeffries seemed quiet until you get him in a conversation about 3D design and art. FINALLY, we have someone who can work with GIMP and Blender and likes it!

Tammy Jeffries is, of course, Alex s mother, the Executive Assistant to the Director at the Kitsap Regional Library and is a supporter of KREEG.

MEETING: Again we like to thank Wayne Cazier for providing photos of the meeting and events THANK YOU WAYNE!

2 Kurt Hinkle is retired Navy and a Mechanical Engineer at Naval Engineering Facilities Command (NAVFAC) at Bangor. We didn t get a chance to pick his brain, but look forward to talking with him at the next meeting. Alex Jeffries seemed quiet until you get him in a conversation about 3D design and art. FINALLY, we have someone who can work with GIMP and Blender and likes it!! KREEG is in need of art and design talents that Alex brings to the table. We might convince him to teach/demonstrate these popular Open Source applications. Tammy Jeffries is, of course, Alex s mother, the Executive Assistant to the Director at the Kitsap Regional Library and is a supporter of KREEG. We hope to reel her husband into the group next month! MEETING: Again we like to thank Wayne Cazier for providing photos of the meeting and events THANK YOU WAYNE! KREEG Vice President, Charlie Johnson demonstrated an exciting and popular technique with interfacing the Arduino and Microsoft Kinect computer vision system. It was impressive to view what the Kinect sees, and how it interprets the environment, motion, and transform a person s limbs into a joy-stick like control. The Arduino had Light Emitting Diodes (LED) which changed intensity proportional to the height of your hand from the waist. Page 2 of 5

Forrest Carlson gave a presentation on two renewable energy projects that he is working on.

the monitor from 50 watts down to 8 watts.

The LED s provided the necessary power reduction and still kept the screen bright.

Solar Evacuated tubes to heat a house, and is currently in the design process.

subsequently pumped/recirculated through a subfloor heating system.

3 Forrest Carlson gave a presentation on two renewable energy projects that he is working on. He discussed converting an old 19 inch LCD monitor s back-lighting from florescent bulb to Light Emitting Diode (LED). By removing the florescent bulbs and replacing them with LED s he was able to cut the power consumption of the monitor from 50 watts down to 8 watts. This was a necessary improvement because the monitor was using twice as much power as the computer itself. The LED s provided the necessary power reduction and still kept the screen bright. 19 inch LCD monitor with florescent back-lighting Small Florescent bulbs/strip Forrest s second project uses Solar Evacuated tubes to heat a house, and is currently in the design process. Using the available solar energy, the evacuated tubes would be used to heat water inside the tubes and subsequently pumped/recirculated through a subfloor heating system. The evacuated tubes provide a way to collect the suns energy with minimal impact to the environment. The efficient heat collection is achieved by a double wall vacuum. The heat from the tubes is then transferred from the tubes through a copper pipe, then to a manifold at the top where it transfers thermal energy (heat) to the surrounding water reservoir such as the Hot Water Tank in a home. Page 3 of 5

Plans for the house design will be built from a modified old grain silo. This will help to keep construction costs down.

Additionally, the modified house will have its electric power provided by a 1380 watt solar array.

Current (AC) power. A lot of folks were really impressed with Forrest s knowledge and passion for renewable energy and answered MANY questions from interested members.

Anyone wanting to learn how to program their Android device should contact him. Fall and winter learning sessions are typically best, since everyone is stuck inside.

4 Plans for the house design will be built from a modified old grain silo. This will help to keep construction costs down. A round house or cylindrical structure is more energy efficient, has less surface area to loose heat, and has better air flow inside; making it is easier to maintain an even or homogenous temperature. Additionally, the modified house will have its electric power provided by a 1380 watt solar array. The solar array charges a 440 amp hour 24 volt battery bank and a pure sine (vice square) wave inverter converts the power from the Direct Current (DC) batter bank into regular house hold Alternating Current (AC) power. A lot of folks were really impressed with Forrest s knowledge and passion for renewable energy and answered MANY questions from interested members. We are privileged to have his enthusiasm, knowledge, and mentorship in KREEG. WELL DONE FORREST!! Doyle is soliciting interest in Android App/Device programming. Anyone wanting to learn how to program their Android device should contact him. Fall and winter learning sessions are typically best, since everyone is stuck inside. Sessions will be at Doyle s house or if you wish to accommodate a session, let him know. You can visit his company website and view applications he developed with KREEG member, Todd Hansen and started obdcanex at Karl Kirchhofer found time in his busy schedule to build us a Facebook site! WOW!!!!! It is still in development and needs more information. We will publish past newsletters and events as well as your projects. THANKS SO MUCH KARL.YOU ROCK!!!! We hope to move forward with an official KREEG.org website when funds are available. Page 4 of 5

5 ITEMS FOR SALE In pursuit of funds for our web site, Doyle has the following items for sale: RoboClaw 2x24 motor controller. Dual brushed motor controller up to 24 amps per channel! $90 4 NEVER USED - Parallax HB-25 (25 amps each) motor controllers. $200 for all! Parallax price is $55 each plus $20 shipping. eld/0/level/a/productid/64/default.aspx I m just starting to consolidate items to sell for this venture. Let me know what you might need. We have established a common date and time for all KREEG meetings. The date is now the LAST FRIDAY of EACH MONTH. See the foot note for directions. Don t hesitate to if you have question. Make it a goal to bring a friend to KREEG. We want to expand the knowledge base and skill sets. If they re breathing they re members! In closing, please let me know if I need to make corrections for misspelled names and I will fix them. Until next time Best, Doyle Maleche Maleche1@comcast.net President, Kitsap Robotics & Electronics Enthusiasts Group (KREEG) Page 5 of 5

Sidney Sizes his Solar Power System

Sidney Sizes his Solar Power System Sidney wants to size his van s solar power system. He s got a few things he d like to power in his van, and those items are where the design will begin. Step 1: Sidney