Hobbies
Telescopes - Photos Page
I do not claim any title in this field. I am just some guy
with a tube that loves what the heavens have to offer. It is a true joy to me to see something with my own eyes that few have ever truly seen. One of the best nights was when I first observed the moons of Jupiter. This was one of the first objects I observed and was overjoyed that I could see something like that with my own eyes.
The photo in the header was a picture I took of the Orion Nebula.
Aircraft
I have always wanted to fly. Alas I’m just a poor boy nobody loves me. Well not completely true. I have never made the chance to fly on my own but it is on my bucket list. I have also move near a private airfield, which is one step closer.
In the meantime I have learned how to fly remote controlled aircraft. I really find it relaxing to go out a fly around for a bit. My first plane was an ultra micro J3 cub. I really loved that plane and it survived many crashes. In the end it crashed one to many times and I realized that there is more glue than foam and retired the airframe.
I currently have many other planes and a few quad copters.
Home Automation
This has been a fixture in my mind for many years. I have had ideas but never followed through. This is part of the reason I am going back to school. My plans have revolved around the Arduino micro controller. That changed just a few months ago when I was introduced to the Particle Photon. This device combines the wifi and the micro controller on one small device.
The next key was how to control high power safely. 
For that my good old Christmas lights can in handy. This looked good on paper but getting it to work with Photon was a great exercise in the digital signal world.
My daughter has a picture with a few LED lights built into the image. She loved this for her night-light.
The only problem was it ran on batteries. OK they lasts many tens of hours but after a month or so I would need to replace them. So I combined my project with her need.
I provide power to the Arduino via an iPhone charger. This in turn powers the Photon. The Photon is connected to the Wifi and is able to be controlled over the
Internet. The code on the Photon sends on/off commands via the 433mhz transmitter.
Lets not forget the 6 LEDS that are both blue and white to function as a night-light.