Hart Kallen

Just a quick look. The rim of the saucer is too thin to place anything inside it, but there is a central cylinder that goes from the upper dome to the lower dome. A 24 LED NeoPixel will fit nicely in the lower cylinder, with the Feather microcontroller and batteries going under the upper dome.

I think our hair color is starting to match.

Flying Saucer From Another Planet box art.

Flying Saucer From Another Planet box art.

And, I may have also purchased six HO scale (1:64) 20' long cargo containers that may just fit in a Gundam Type 89 Base Jabber (mecha-carrying aerial sled) that I'm thinking of converting into a inter-system cargo ship.

Magnets would secure the cargo containers to the Type 89.

2/end

I had to go into PGH today and while we were that far west, we decided to stop off at Hobby Express in Cranberry.

I may have purchased a 1950's-style scale model of a flying saucer, complete with a clear domed ventral "propulsion unit" that's begging to be lighted with a NeoPixel ring.

1/

I'll always remember you in a good way.

Didn't he visit Walter Reed the last time he went missing for a few days?

www.suspenders.com

I have seen magnetic wall paint. You use two coats, and as it is near black, you paint your color coat(s) over it.

Do you think this is how Batman started?

I decided a number of years ago that bearishness had nothing to do with body hair. If it did, they would have to be standards, a certifying authority, and there isn’t.

#project_ufo
The fine folks at Adafruit don’t know of any reason why the speaker should get hot, but suggest that I go with the 5W speaker (as opposed to the 3W.)

Nope. After running it for a few minutes, the speaker started to smell. It's a 3W speaker, and I think I'm pumping too much current into it.

A tone of 7 Hz pumped through a small speaker produces a soft rumble not too different from an idling automobile. I've figured out how to change up tuples that control the colors of the NeoPixels and add lines to produce different chase effects.

I think this part of the project is done.

3/

The Adafruit programs showed me how to initialize board.EXTERNAL_NEOPIXELS and audiobusio.I2SOut, and fix the AI-generated code. I learned which modules to include and which I could delete.

Tinkering with the code let me generate different colors, speeds, and tones. I think I have it.

2/

#project_ufo
I took a look at a light saber program from Adafruit, plus the AI-generated chase lights and tone generating programs. I gained insight in looking at the Adafruit RP2040 Propmaker Feather software, and how it differed from other Feather microcontrollers.

1/

#ufo_project
Well, this is interesting. I fixed the AI-generated tone program and produced a tone. After a few minutes, I started smelling a familar scent - hot electronics! Not quite sure what was getting hot, but I'm thinking it may have been the speaker.

Is it cheating to have an AI "write" a chase light program?

The AI isn't perfect. I had to fix a few lines because the AI didn't completely understand what differences an Adafruit RP2040 Propmaker Feather had.

But, once I had an example of code, I could start modifying and adding to it.

#ufo_project
I have the lights working in the demo light program. The program from MS Co-Pilot didn’t turn on the external_power nor load the digitalio module. I figured out what the problem was and fixed the code.

LIPO batteries- 3.7V. Left: 150mAh, Right: 105mAh. From Adafruit.com

Hollow Hexagonal Base. Four inches vertex-to-vertex, 3.5 inches side-to-side, 1-1/8 inches high with middle third in place. From newtype.us

More parts for projects. On the left, 3.7V LIPO batteries, 150mAh and 105mAh. Adafruit.com On the right, hollow hexagonal box with spacer. Measured 4 inches vertex-to-vertex, 3-1/2 inches side-to-side, 1-1/8 inches tall with middle third spacer installed. For hiding electronics. Newtype.us

The main reason I could never get through Dune, Foundation, and Tolkien - the names of all the characters.

E-books on a tablet? Maybe the Lenovo tablet from Barnes & Noble.

Mounting the speaker may be a bit of a challenge. There are no ears to the speaker 🔈. We think we can cut acrylic sheet with the laser cutter and fashion something. We will know better once me cut out the iris and install the speaker grille.

Bottom of UFO model.

Bottom of UFO model showing placement of speaker grille.

Inside view. Model of UFO model showing placement of speaker.

#project_ufo
Some parts came in. I plan on cutting a hole in the iris on the bottom of the UFO model, and adding a speaker grill. On the inside, I plan on placing a speaker to emit an ambient UFO hum.

I was hoping that you two knew each other.

#project_ufo
I've ordered a 40mm speaker for the UFO. It has to have a better bass response than what I was using.

I've also ordered a 100mAh and a 150mAh battery for the ACS mecha carrier.

Work on building models has been suspended until mid-month, as other projects have priority.

If I remember right, it's a deep-fried burrito.

Who told him that we have nukes?

After all, it *IS* Hurricane Season.

I wonder, if a hurricane threatens South Florida, do you think they'll test his weather theory over The Bahamas?

I did not know that this was going to be on the test.