tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43084332337683642772010-02-19T08:47:47.705-06:00Dustin WestabyDustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-90898152817088379062010-02-17T11:02:00.019-06:002010-02-19T08:47:47.716-06:00Installing an Ammo Counter<p>This is a small walk through of installing one of my ammo counters available in the <a href="http://store.westaby.net">store</a>. I am need of pictures, please send me pictures of your install, thanks! :)</p><br /><span class="fullpost"><h2>Tools Required</h2><p><ul><li>Solder Iron (I bought mine for $5 at menards)</li><li>Solder (I use 60/40, 0.032" diameter)</li><li>Wire Cutter / Stripper</li><li>Tape</li></ul></p><h3>Pregame:</h3><p>For quick start and demonstration of the counter. Connect the battery to the circuit. Use the red and black wires labeled BATT or BATTERY. Connect black to black, red to red.<br>No need to solder at this point, just twist the wires together and maybe use some tape so the red bare wire doesn't touch the black bare wire.<br> <br>The counter should now be on, take the wire pair labeled FIRE and connect these two wires together. Each time you connect them together, the counter will decrease. Do the same thing for RESET.</p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwest2/4353867524/"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/store/images/Counter/counter_kit_a_10.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" /></a><h2>Kit Contents</h2><p><ul><li>Assembled Counter Kit</li><li>AAA Battery Holder</li><li>Pushbutton Switch</li><li>Slide Switch</li><li>Lever Switch</li></ul></p><h2>Install</h2><p><b>Note: Before getting started</b><ul><li>All wire connections must be soldered. Twisting the wires onto the switch connectors will create a poor and inconsistent connection.</li><li>The included switches only have two connectors. They can be soldered in any order to their associated wires.</li><li>You may need to cut the casing to install the switches through the plastic housing of your gun, so be very certain with where you want them.</li><li>Please read and understand this entire page before cutting anything! thanks</li></ul><a href="http://www.westaby.net/store/images/Misc/t188867.jpg"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/store/images/Misc/t188867.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" /></a></p><h3>Step 1 - Identify and place FIRE switch</h3><p>The FIRE switch has a long lever on it. If you have an existing trigger, use the lever to connect to your existing trigger in such a way that when you pull the trigger, it will also push down on the lever switch.<a href="http://www.westaby.net/store/images/Misc/155380.jpg"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/store/images/Misc/155380.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" /></a><br>If you do not have an existing trigger, you may use the lever switch as a trigger itself.</p><h3>Step 2 - Identify RESET switch</h3><p>The RESET switch is a square pushbutton. It has a matching round cap. The cap snaps into place on top of the square pushbutton.</p><h3>Step 3 - Identify ON/OFF switch</h3><p>The ON/OFF switch is a slide switch. It has mounting holes on either side so it may be fastened down.</p><h3>Step 4 - Arrange</h3><p>Carefully arrange the different switches and batteries around your gun. Figure out where you want them. If you cut the casing of your gun, leave an opening so you can run the wires through the hole.<br>The on/off switch must be placed between the battery location and the counter location.</p><h3>Step 5 - Wires</h3><p>Next, install the counter and thread the wires to the various locations.<br>If the wires are too long, cut them the proper length and re-strip them.<br>If the wires are too short, you will need to extend them with more wire. Tape any bare exposed wire ends.</p><h3>Step 6 - Solder On/Off</h3><p><a href="http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/2010%20AmmoCounterv2/?action=view¤t=PowerSwitch.jpg"><img src="http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/2010%20AmmoCounterv2/th_PowerSwitch.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" /></a>If you have not already done so, please solder the counter battery wires to the battery. Match red to red and black to black. Cover the bare connections with tape.<br> <br>Now you may solder in the on/off switch. The on/off switch is to be installed along the red wire between the counter and the battery. Choose a place along the battery wires to install the on/off switch. Cut the red wire and strip it so you can solder the on/off switch in place.<br> <br>To the right is a drawing of installing the on/off switch.</p><h3>Step 7 - Solder FIRE and RESET</h3><p>Solder the FIRE and RESET switches. As noted previously, these switches only have two connectors. There is no wrong way to connect them to the wire pairs. The only thing you need to be certain of is that the bare wires ends do not touch each other, they should only be connected to the switch connectors.</span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-9089815281708837906?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-86293943713799395872010-01-31T10:46:00.018-06:002010-01-31T13:06:34.866-06:00Rockband Stage & Light Kit Mod<p>Sorry, I do not have full writeup for this project. Here is a photostream of the mod.</p><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwest2/sets/72157623319983384/detail/">Rock Band Mod on Flickr</a></p><p>Pretty much what I did was take an off the shelf strobe light and swap it for the one built into the fog machine. Re-wired a ps/2 keyboard cable connecting it to the liberated rock band strobe light. Now I can use the strobe light with the game without dragging out the fog machine.</p><p>Also added override switches on the fog machine so I could activate both the strobe and fog machine outside the game.</p><table id="flickr_badge_uber_wrapper" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10" border="0"><tr><td><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="10" border="0" id="flickr_badge_wrapper"><tr><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.flickr.com/badge_code_v2.gne?count=4&display=random&size=t&layout=h&source=user_set&user=40126522%40N04&set=72157623319983384&context=in%2Fset-72157623319983384%2F"></script></tr></table></td></tr></table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-8629394371379939587?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-90336619646821135942010-01-25T10:17:00.011-06:002010-01-25T11:23:02.448-06:00Hosting Fees<p>I thought it would be interesting to figure out my hosting fees for the last few years. My awesome host is <a href="http://www.nearlyfreespeech.net">NFSN</a>.</p><span class="shortpost"><p>Hit More Info to see the cost table.</p></span><span class="fullpost"><p>2007 was a seven month year.</p><table><tbody><tr><th class="first"><strong>Year</strong></th><th>Deposit Fee</th><th>Registration & Renewal</th><th>Bandwidth Charge</th><th>Storage Charge</th><th>MySQL Charge</th></tr><tr class="row-a"><td class="first">2007</td><td>$1.00</td><td>$7.50</td><td>$1.18</td><td>$1.02</td><td> </td></tr><tr class="row-b"><td class="first">2008</td><td>$1.30</td><td>$15.98</td><td>$2.73</td><td>$4.68</td><td>$1.47</td></tr><tr class="row-a"><td class="first">2009</td><td>$2.15</td><td> </td><td>$5.26</td><td>$15.17</td><td>$3.65</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Looking at the data, I notice that my storage fees have taken a sharp increase. In two years the physical size has more than tripled to 225MB.</p><p>Then if I plot my storage fees divided by my physical size, I find the prices have stayed the same. This is the cost of growing I suppose.</p><img src="http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/2010%20Website/sitestcost.png" border="0" class="float-right"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-9033661964682113594?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-74052357066200770732010-01-15T07:05:00.001-06:002010-01-15T12:13:58.153-06:00Avatar Sequel Scripts<p>I had some ideas for the avatar sequel and wanted to write it down. Turns out, I guess it was a fully developed idea because it turned into 5 pages. Click 'More Info' to enjoy!<br /><br /><span class="fullpost">Movie #2<br />[Due to science reasons the 2nd movie must take place ten years after the first.] The camera opens on pandora and Jake giving us a montage recap of the past ten years. He took his place as the leader omaticaya and replanted hometree. With Eywa's help, hometree has now grown almost a hundred feet. It will still take many generations before they can live there. In the mean time they have created themselves a tree village, high above the ground. The omaticaya's skills with fabric have become more in demand making peace and trade relations with the neighboring tribes easy.<br />After the montage, Neytiri asks to accompany Jake on some lame mission that requires Jake to leave the village by himself at night. I won't go into the details of this mission but imagine this, it will be constantly pretty to look at and pointless to the plot at the same time. As Jake returns to the tribe, he sees a flash in the sky. He has dreaded this day for ten years, the sky people have returned. He hastens his pace back to the village to gather a search party and they all run together toward the fireball that is slowly descending from the sky.<br /><br />[We are now seeing things from the perspective of one of the crew members.] Not the captain, but very much a leader of the people on board the ship. The ship they have resided in for three years is much smaller then previous ships that were sent to pandora, manned by only a handful of crew. They had no choice but to steal this ship. The only other ship available was under the close guard of the military. [clunk] They have landed. The leader asks to leave the ship immediately, they must not waste any time. As the doors of the ship open, the crew realizes their mistake. The ideal plain that they have landed in is a herding ground for hammerhead titanotheres. They are able to escape the scene, but watch from a distance as their ship and all their supplies are shredded by the jungle creatures. The remaining crew gathers what they can carry and venture out in search of some na'vi people.<br />They make so much noise that they are easy to track by Jake's party and he intercepts them. When he meets them, Jake does not know these people but is compelled to trust their words.<br /><br />[The next HOUR!!! of the movie consists of a stupid and depressing flashback.] Back on earth, the return of the military and miners from the failed Pandora campaign is met with the greatest of sadness. The atmosphere of earth is in a process of rapid decay. A few years ago when Jake left, only a few people wore breathing masks outdoors for health concerns. Now everyone wears them. Much like Pandora, Earth's atmosphere is toxic. The current government had promised the people of Earth a solution. Using unobtanium [and some techno mumbo jumbo], scientists had a bold plan in place to completely restore Earth's atmosphere and give a kick start to agriculture. The ships return with an empty cargo hold all but nails the coffin shut on the human race. They do not have the time or the resources to mount another mining expedition. The leaders of the world would now consider the most desperate of plans. A plan so despicable they would have never even considered it before this event. The plan is to use the same technology that would restore the Earth's atmosphere on Pandora instead, effectively killing off the entire ecosystem of Pandora. Everything living on the blue world of Pandora would be killed to make way for the green of Earth. Implementing the plan would be simple enough. They wouldn't even have to land on the planet to activate the device. A missile containing the device would be launched from orbit at a high enough velocity to penetrate the crust and tap into a vein of unobtanium. The process would start a chain reaction releasing a reactant into the air that instantly converts the Pandorian atmosphere into an Earthian one.<br />The plan was so horrible that it was kept a state secret till now. The leaders brought the plan public, because they needed the full support of the world's industry to complete the plan within the allotted time table. The people of course demanded a vote, the vote was met with extreme protesting and violence. Yet the vote to proceed with the plan passed anyway. It is widely believed that the vote results were fixed. This leads to more protests and more violence. At the same time the plan proceeds. The project is made up of people who are desperate to save themselves, their families, and their people. As the launch date approaches, two missiles have been prepared. Across the world, the news telebroadcasts surprise as a premature space launch is detected. A cult of na'vi worshippers have stolen a small ship outfitted with a space drive. There is no doubt where the traitors are headed.<br /><br />[Flashback has ended, oh thank you!] It is now revealed that the small ship did not have cryo sleep. The crew has been twiddling their thumbs for three years eating recycled food and drinking recycled water. [Yummy!] The lack of stimulation has made their minds soft and the speech they prepared during their journey is now revealed do be missing logic.<br />Jake, using his best skills is able to interpret the message. It was clear enough. The sky people are returning and they bring a terrible weapon. Jake invites the humans to come with him to hell's gate, this is the name for the original human settlement on Pandora. There we meet more humans that have been surviving on Pandora and continuing their research for the past ten years. We find out that the avatar program is back on and has been perfected. Avatar bodies can now be produced in weeks instead of years. They even have reverse breathing masks so na'vi people can hang out indoors. [yay!] Jake leaves them there and returns to his people to come up with a plan to defend against such an attack. After consulting with the rest of the humans, he is now certain that the attack will be space bound. The humans wouldn't dare step foot on Pandora again without such a tactic. Consulting with the rest of his tribe proves to be useless, what defense could they have against a sky enemy that never steps foot on the ground. Jake goes to the tree of souls to consult with Eywa. After making his plea he carefully listens as he was taught to. He can make out a whisper telling him to go on a journey to meet Eywa in person. Jake returns to the village and requests everyone join him at the tree of souls to perform the ceremony.<br /><br />[Jake's journey of the mind starts off kind of boring. Sure it is pretty, but it is all so existential, which I don't care for] To summarize though, he does a lot of floating and the background is filled with other floating things and everything is very bright. After a bunch of floating he finds Eywa, but at the same time not Eywa. Not what he was expecting. It is Dr. Grace as her human self! She tells Jake of a great weapon that she is helping Eywa create. A tree cannon. Jake instantly has doubts [me too, lol], but Grace promises him that the weapon will be completely effective against an inbound ship. It turns out that Eywa was not just growing hometree for the omaticaya people but also to use as a weapon. The unobtanium just beneath hometree is being absorbed into the roots and converted into high energy plasma. Jake must sit midway up the tree where a purple interface vine has been hidden. Jake thanks Grace and is about to leave, but is now shown to be restrained. Grace moves in closer to Jake to give a stern warning. Due to the nature of the weapon slowly gathering resources from the ground, he will only have one shot to hit his target. It would take years to recharge for another shot. The shot will be wide so the ship is unable to maneuver out of his crosshairs. Jake is then allowed to leave and awakes lying on the ground. Two days have passed and his people nearly gave up hope for his return. <br />[oh tears it is!] The END<br /><br />[Tree cannon? Seriously, this is the best they could come up with? lol, You want to see that tree cannon fire a volley at a space target, don't you!]<br /><br />Movie #3<br />[Just to mix things up] The movie opens on the blue gas giant that Pandora orbits. Slowly rotating around to see Pandora as a small ball in the distance. Not wasting any time, they get right into continuing the story. Despite protests from his village, Jake is able to convince them that hometree has become a weapon to eliminate the sky people. [Montage and rehashing old music!] Jake orders his people far away to take refuge with over tribes. The date that the sky people arrive is fast approaching and he still has much to do. Like learn how to control such a weapon. The humans help him the best they can, coaching him in projectile physics for high velocity plasma. [lol this script is that side of awesome]<br />Word gets out about his plan to eliminate the in bound humans and is met with opposition from the other tribes. Pre-emptive attacks are not their way. The humans must make the first move. Jake passionately makes his case for destroying the human threat, but is met with death ears. Jake is no long the Toruk Makto and they have no reason to follow him. The other tribes place a permanent military presence at hometree and do not allow Jake anywhere close.<br /><br />With his tribe disbanded for the moment, Jake is alone in his fight. [what about Neytiri, haven't heard from her for a while. Truth is she has kind of just been hanging out in the background of most the scenes, not really contributing to the plot, till now!] Neytiri comforts Jake and another half baked na'vi hair brained sex scene follows. Jake's mind is made up. He must find his long lost companion, the leonopteryx, and become Toruk Makto once more. He goes on a brief montage hike into the jungle to find the leonopteryx. He does and the leonopteryx remembers him. On his way back to push his way up to hometree, disaster strikes. Not only was he too late making it back to hometree before the sky people arrived, the humans had already fired one of their missiles.<br /><br />The missile was aimed at the richest unobtanium deposit that they had charted, the one right beneath hometree. Jake can see the devastation even from such a great distance away. He turns and instead goes to hell's gate. While there he is able to make contact with the orbiting ship. The man in charge on the ship assures Jake that once the unobtainium vein was converted the pocket of concentrated earth air would remain isolated to that particular valley and not spread further. After terminating the communication, the scientists at hell's gate explain to Jake that assurance was a lie. The two atmospheres could not coexist. Right now the earth air was slowly being converted back into pandora air, but another missile could flip the balance. If earth air became widespread on pandora [didn't they already explain this in the last movie?] everything on pandora would die. Not just the plants and animals, but Eywa too along with all the generations that she has preserved. Jake must travel to ground zero of the missile attack and fire the hometree weapon. The earth air that is now present there is toxic to na'vi people, but using one of those fancy reverse re-breathers Jake sets out for hometree.<br /><br />Back on the ship, we have some random character development, and the audience tries to feel sympathy for their own race. The propaganda from earth against pandora is in full swing. All that false information has led to extreme prejudice. The humans can not wait to eliminate the na'vi menace and have already begun to shuttle passengers down to the surface. They still need the second missile to ensure that earth air will be produced by the teraforming machines and remain in high concentrations for several hundred years. Enough time for them to create a new ecosystem. They just have not found a second vein of unobtainium with enough mass to convert yet. Additional shuttles are sent out as survey teams. On the third day a survey report comes back, another vein has been found on the other side of the planet. This one is the largest ever discovered. Big enough that it could convert the entire pandoran atmosphere in one go.<br /><br />Jake is finally arrives at the hometree weapon. [why didn't he just ride the leonopteryx or take a gunship to speed his travel, idk] After the making "the bond" with the tree weapon, Jake suddenly sees the world with "Eywa Vision" being able to see everything, everywhere, and can clearly see the ship in orbit. But what is this?! the ship is moving away. Fast. He acts quickly, aims the weapon, and fires a shot that, he guesses, should intercept their trajectory.<br /><br />Back on the ship, they have no sensors for this kind of attack. They only realized they were under attack when the plasma burst was within visual range [you know microseconds before impact, lol]. The attack WAS completely effective, but not in the way originally thought. The ship was not destroyed, but its engine was disabled. The ship was now in a decaying orbit and would burn up in the next 10 hours. An evacuation is ordered. Then a discovery is made, someone thought to run a simulation based on their current trajectory. They would reach their target a few minutes before the ship exterior would melt and be unable to fire. It is also explained that there was no contingency plan for this, the missile could only reach the unobtainium deep below pandora's crust if it was launched from orbit.<br /><br />Long story short, their plan fails. The launch tube jams and the weapon detonates in space.<br /><br />Interestingly enough, the evacuates are able to make it to the surface. The humans convince Jake and his people that the weapon was not their doing and they should be allowed to stay. They make camp around hometree, where the highest concentrations of earth air is. They still have to wear rebreathers, but the air here is far less toxic than elsewhere. [No more skin rashes, yay!] The scientists estimate it will be about a decade before the earth air dissipates to the point that the air their will become completely toxic again.<br /><br />The movie ends on somewhat of a political note as Jake is in a constant debate with the other tribes who want retribution against the humans. [Oh well, maybe in sequels 5 and 6]<br /><br />Thanks for reading!<br />Dustin Westaby<br /></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-7405235706620077073?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-79182085978899863142009-11-30T17:33:00.000-06:002009-11-30T15:46:21.812-06:00Items Now Available in Store<p>After a long period of testing the store site is now open. The site can be accessed here: <a href="http://www.westaby.net/store/">http://store.westaby.net</a></p> <p>The main kit right now is an ammo counter. More to come, promise! :D</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-7918208597889986314?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-23154081018500823232009-11-06T10:19:00.004-06:002009-11-06T10:33:31.791-06:00Presenting the Halo Energy Sword~!<span class="shortpost"><a href="http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/09%20Halo%20Sword/?action=view¤t=sword_blogimage12.jpg"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/thumbs/sword/sword_blogimage_thumb12.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" alt="Full Sword Lit" /></a><p>I knew what I wanted to do was design a circuit that would be similar in function to the star wars sabers that fans build. That meant animated lights running the length of the twin blades, an accelerometer to gather motion data, and sound playback for startup and swing sounds.</p></span><span class="shortpost"><p>What I ended up doing was designing a circuit around an ATMEGA32 controller chip.</p></span><span class="shortpost"><p>Hit more info for details.</p></span><span class="fullpost"><p>This is a summary page, additional notes are on the <a href="http://www.westaby.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=51">forum</a>.</p></span><br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><p><a href="http://www.westaby.net/2009/03/halo-energy-sword.html">Original Project Page</a></p><br /><a href="http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/09%20Halo%20Sword/?action=view¤t=sword_blogimage12.jpg"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/thumbs/sword/sword_blogimage_thumb12.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" alt="Full Sword Lit" /></a><h2>Design</h2><p>I knew what I wanted to do was design a circuit that would be similar in function to the star wars sabers that fans build. That meant animated lights running the length of the twin blades, an accelerometer to gather motion data, and sound playback for startup and swing sounds.</p><a href="http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/09%20Halo%20Sword/?action=view¤t=sword_blogimage09.jpg"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/thumbs/sword/sword_blogimage_thumb09.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" alt="Full Sword NonLit" /></a><p>What I ended up doing was designing a circuit around an ATMEGA32 controller chip. The ATMEGA32 offered me everything I needed at the time, which was serial communication and analog in/out. There was also the benefit that I am familiar with this chip and know it's documentation well.</p><br /><a href="http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/09%20Halo%20Sword/?action=view¤t=sword_blogimage13.jpg"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/thumbs/sword/sword_blogimage_thumb13.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" alt="Blade Corner Close up Lit" /></a><h3>Tech - Lights</h3><p>The lights consist of 66 color changing blue/red LEDs. The lights are connected to the ATMEGA32 via 5 digital outputs and 2 analog outputs. The 5 digital outputs control the ignite and extinguish animations of the blue LEDs, while an analog output controls the red via PWM.<br>A unique wiring is used for the color changing LEDs. Bicolor LEDs have 3 leads, a common lead, then one for each color. The normal wiring method is to connect resisters to each color's lead. I used a single resister on the common lead which makes it impossible to light both colors at the same time (forward voltages are different for each color). But by using the microcontroller's PWM function, it is possible to make it perceived that both are lit at the same time. Playing with the frequency of the PWM on the red, I found the sweet spot where the red fades up and the blue fades down. This gave the appearance that both were lit at the same time for a purple glow. <br><a href="http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/09%20Halo%20Sword/?action=view¤t=sword_blogimage05.jpg"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/thumbs/sword/sword_blogimage_thumb05.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" alt="LED blade construction" /></a>The effect is set to fade in and out with a timing that matches the barely audible hum that the in game energy sword produces. On top of the fade effect, there is also a flicker effect that is controlled by the raw output of the analog accelerometer.<br>For a while I left the PWM on during sound playback, the blade had a neat "lock-on" effect that would turn the blade solid red during a swing. However, the PWM created an annoying feedback on the nearby audio amplifier. So now the sword is solid blue during a swing.</p><br /><a href="http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/09%20Halo%20Sword/?action=view¤t=sword_blogimage02.jpg"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/thumbs/sword/sword_blogimage_thumb02.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" alt="Magifier on Accelerometer" /></a><h3>Tech - Motion</h3><p>The motion chip is an ADXL203 dual axis accelerometer. At first I threw out the idea of an accelerometer because of the surface mount soldering that is required, but later found surface mount soldering by hand is attainable. There are some good tutorials on <a href="http://sparkfun.com/commerce/present.php?p=SMD-HowTo-1">Sparkfun</a>. <br>This accelerometer has an analog output (force = voltage level) and is connected to A2D inputs on the ATMEGA32. A programming loop monitors the input then if it detects sufficient motion, the program will fire up the sound subroutines. Motions that do not have sufficient motion for a swing are passed to the lighting functions. The raw data from the accelerometer is given directly to the PWM routines and added to the fade value. Since low motion analog data is susceptible to noise, this gives the appearance of the lights flickering in a truly random effect. This also gives the user the impression that they are in control of the flicker. Slowly waving the sword around gives a unique flicker effect.</p><br /><a href="http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/09%20Halo%20Sword/?action=view¤t=sword_blogimage03.jpg"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/thumbs/sword/sword_blogimage_thumb03.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" alt="VMUSIC2 connected to Controller circuit" /></a><h3>Tech - Sound</h3><p>The sounds were recorded from in game and saved as MP3s. Some work was done in an audio studio to clean up the sounds for playback. At the heart of my circuit is the Vinculum VMUSIC2 MP3 player. This sound module has come to be known to be the best sound effect solution for prop makers. It has a USB port to read a USB memory drive and a serial wire so it can be controlled by your own microcontroller. It can play both MP3 and WAV file types with full bit rate of the MP3.<br>The only down side of the VMUSIC module is the size. It measures 2.5"x1.5" which could be considered small, but is difficult to fit into the handle of my prop.<br>I also considered writing my own playback program or using sound recording chips. Neither of them could compare with the playback audio quality that the VMUSIC module provides.</p><br /><h3>Tech - Amp</h3><p>The audio amplifier was added as an afterthought and it shows in the design. This is one area that screams improvement needed.<br>The current solution is a AN7513 1W audio amp chip. This is a small IC that can directly power a small speaker.<br>The problem is an issue of both volume and sound distortion. The amp is capable of driving the speaker kinda loud, but at volumes louder than 50%, distortion becomes apparent. This limits the speaker volume to household venues.</p><p>As an alternative, I added a headphone jack to the design. An wearable small amplifier is connected for usage in noisier locations. Because the headphone output is directly from the MP3 player, it can reliably be amplified to <i>very</i> loud volumes.</p><br /><h2>Partnership</h2><p>To ensure the highest quality prop I teamed up with an individual named Sean Bradely. Sean is best known for featuring his <a href="http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/sean_bradley_energy_sword/">previous halo energy sword</a> that he built. His previous sword consisted of a molded handle, flat plexi blades, and glowing EL wire. It was regarded as the most accurate fan made prop energy sword in existence.<br>I had a mostly functioning circuit when Sean approached me. We decided that we were working toward the same goal and a partnership would allow us to use the best of both our talents to achieve an even more accurate prop.<br>He had been in the process of designing a new energy sword for quite some time. For the new sword he would have dimensional blades instead of being flat. In this cavity he planned to insert LED rails to maximize the light given off by the blade. My circuit would be perfect for him and his blade and handle molds would be perfect for me.</p><br /><a href="http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/09%20Halo%20Sword/?action=view¤t=sword_blogimage07.jpg"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/thumbs/sword/sword_blogimage_thumb07.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" alt="Sean's Vacuuformer in action" /></a><h2>Vacuformer & Blades</h2><p>One of the tools to create the dimensional blades was a vacuuformer machine. It was assembled by Sean for this and other projects. I won't go into it much, but it is an amazing tool to form plastic. <a href="http://405th.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=19132">More info</a>.</p><p>The blades were created on this machine around a wooden buck that Sean cut and sanded into the shape of the blade.</p><br /><a href="http://s567.photobucket.com/albums/ss117/thatdecade10/09%20Halo%20Sword/?action=view¤t=sword_blogimage10.jpg"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/thumbs/sword/sword_blogimage_thumb10.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" alt="Handle close up assembled" /></a><h2>The Handle</h2><p>The handle is made from an impact resistance resin and was sculpted by Sean. It houses the circuits and has the structural support for attaching the blades.</p><br /><h2>Improvements</h2><p>Handle lighting. This was simply a matter of size and time constraints. We wanted to add lighting to the handle and I had designed pins on the circuit to control this lighting. The idea was that the lighting would be bicolor blue white LEDs wired similar to the way that the blue red LEDs were wired. A mix of LEDs directly on the surface and fiber optics for pinpoints of light. The circuit could even blink or fade the handle lights in a pattern to reflect the MP3 player status. Problem came down to fitting it inside the handle along with everything else tightly packed in there.</p><p><a href="http://evilmadscience.com/partsmenu/131-pagermotor"><img src="http://www.westaby.net/thumbs/sword/sword_blogimage_thumb01.jpg" width="100" class="float-right" alt="Buy a Pager Motor" /></a>Vibration Feedback. Add a pager vibrator motor inside the handle. The motor would be connected to the same PWM signal sent to the blade lights. This vibration would give the sword the missing "hum" effect. The PWM signal is sent in parallel from two controller pins to two driver pins, allowing the circuit to control two devices with the same signal.</p></p></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-2315408101850082323?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-23313964942797405642009-10-29T08:06:00.002-05:002009-10-29T08:50:30.141-05:00Rotory Tools<p>I doubt there is any usefulness in cordless dremel tools. I bought a store brand cordless rotary tool from Menards a year ago and I knew immediately that it would be trouble. After the first charge, each battery would run for about 5 minutes on high speed. The highest speed setting was as fast as a corded version's lowest speed. It did however come with a full accessory pack; lots and lots of cutting/sanding bits plus a flex extension tool.</p><p>Yesterday, I bought a Black and Decker corded rotary tool. The same $20 that bought me the cordless crap tool, bought me this wonderful tool. The black and decker tool didn't come with any real accessories, just a handful of cutting/sanding bits and a wrench. I was surprised to find that nearly all my old accessories were compatible with the new tool! Even that fancy flex extender. So now my new tool is happy in a new box, surrounded by more sanding bits than it will ever need.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-2331396494279740564?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-46155560236453839032009-03-24T08:42:00.016-05:002009-11-06T10:27:41.575-06:00Halo Energy Sword<p>If you read about that sort of thing, you may remember last fall Master Replicas announced a Halo Energy Sword that would feature similar functions as their ForceFX Lightsabers (powerup/down sounds, motion activated sound, animated lights). The promised release date was the holiday season 2008.<br />There is another company that makes realistic Halo toys, this is the same company that made a plasma pistol and plasma rifle that are superb. They also announced an energy sword in 2007 with a 2008 release.<br />Here we are in 2009 with no product from either company. I had to do some major digging to learn both these products were canceled and will never be released. Killed for either licensing or safety concerns.</p><p>Based on the demo videos released by Master Replicas, it seems possible for me to create my own prop with similar capabilities. <span class="shortpost">Hit more info for details.</span></p><span class="fullpost"><p><a href="http://www.westaby.net/2009/11/presenting-halo-energy-sword.html">Update: August 2009</a> - See completed project details.</p><p>This project is fairly large for me and needs to be broken down.</p><ul><li><a href="#HESplastic">Modeling and Plastic Molding</a></li><li><a href="#HESlights">Lights and Acrylic</a></li><li><a href="#HESsound">Sound Effects</a></li><li><a href="#HESmotion">Motion Sensors</a></li><li><a href="#HESbformat">Battery Format</a></li><li><a href="#HEScprog">Current Progress</a></li></ul><br /><hr><a name="HESplastic"></a><h2>Modeling and Plastic Molding</h2><p>Most of the Halo models are freely available and have even been converted into a format that can be printed out. Ready to be cut, folded, and glued into a 3d shape. I plan to adapt this process to recreate the sword's handle. So far, I have the blade handle shape created and I filled it with expanding insulated foam for strength (paper is not strong).</p><p>The next step is to cut this model in half and place on a vacuuform machine (which I don't have). The resulting plastic shape will be glued or screwed together to create a hollow plastic handle (to house the electronics) that is durable and ready to be painted. There are plans available online for home vacuuform machines that can be built for less than $50 and use a shopvac.</p><a name="HESlights"></a><h2>Lights and Acrylic</h2><p>I need to experiment with some scale arcylic pieces to determine the best method of lighting an acrylic blade, but the goal is to animate some LEDs that illuminate the blade so that the blade will appear to extend and retract.</p><p>Diffuser Options<br>The acrylic has a fiber optic like property when light shines near the edge, the light will bounce around inside of the arcylic until it finds an imperfection to illuminate. A diffuser is used to catch the light.</p><ol><li>Sanding the acrylic, will give the acrylic a frosted look.</li><li>White adhesive laminate, this is best suited for a multi layered acrylic that is lighted internally</li></ol><p>LED Placement Options</p><ol><li>A row of LEDs on the interior or exterior edge or both. The LEDs can be covered by a strip of black or white tape. May create "hot" spots along the edges.</li><li>An array of LEDs sandwiched between acrylic on either side. Will use hundreds of LEDs and give the most even light.</li></ol><p>Whatever I end up doing, the LEDs will be animated. I have a circuit in mind that will do the extend effect very nice, but I am also looking into a microcontroller (depends how the sound effects tests go). As far as I can tell, I will be the first hobbiest to attempt something like this for a Halo prop.</p><a name="HESsound"></a><h2>Sound Effects</h2><p>Besides the lights, this is the most interesting part of the project and is fast becomming the most difficult. I have seen on various forums people harvasting the sound board from electronic sword toys and reusing them for this purpose. I was unable to find any local stores that sold appropriate electronic toy swords. I can find several online but refuse to buy anything before I use it in hand, so I know the light patterns and sounds it will make (don't want my halo prop making pirate shouts, haR!).</p><p>My next option is compiling my own sound effects and playing them back in sequence. This is a lot easier said then done. The actual sounds can not be dumped from the game only recorded while it is running. The best quality sounds I have found are actually from that MR demo video. I plan to record this to some .wav files for the sounds they demonstrated.</p><p>As far as playing them back, that is an interesting request. I have a few options including MP3 players, voice chips, and microcontrollers. An MP3 player would be too slow and would have limited playback options, similar story with the voice chip. That is why I am leaning toward a microcontroller. A microcontroller could be loaded with converted wav files and play them back at a sample rate, it could also be used as a substitute for the light circuit and give access to more animation patterns.</p><p>The problem with using a microcontroller is more an issue of experience with sound playback. I've only done it once before on an 8085, which I don't have. What I do have is a dev board left over from my college days for an ATMEGA32 chip. There is a great website available for enthusiests of the atmel microcontroller manufacturer and the free software suite, AVRstudio. The website is <a href="http://www.avrfreaks.net">AVR Freaks</a> and after doing some searching I found some <a href="http://www.avrfreaks.net/index.php?module=Freaks%20Tools&func=viewItem&item_id=402">free source</a> for playback of converted wav files. The assembly source is for a different processor, but checking the spec sheets, they are not only compatible, but my chip offers more features and four times more flash memory (32kB vs 8kB for more sound clip storage).</p><p>To bad for me, before I left college I accidently erased my serial bootloader. So now I need an ISP programmer ($40). While I'm at it, I might as well also purchase some extra crystals and power transitors so I can build up a stripped down dev board for a prototype circuit. Here is an ordered list of the planned evolution of my program.</p><ol><li>Get the sample code working playing back the sample wav file</li><li>Get the sample code to playback my own wav file</li><li>Call the assembly sample code from a c coded main loop</li><li>Playback two wav files back to back</li><li>Playback a wav file in a loop</li><li>Playback starts on button press, playback stops on button release</li><li>Put it all together: Wait for button press, playback powerup sound, playback on sound in loop, wait for button release, playback powerdown sound, wait for button press.</li><li>Add timer interrupt to control LED animations</li></ol><a name="HESmotion"></a><h2>Motion Sensors</h2><p>I am not really sure, what I will do here. This is more of a future development. I have seen motion sensors before, they consist of a week spring surrounded by metal, movement causes the spring to contact the metal sides. I could use something like this and set an interrupt to triggure additional sound effects (swoosh, swish).</p><p>Some other options, tilt switches and accelerometers. I don't think a tilt switch is what I am looking for, in the tilted position, the switch is always one.<br>The accelerometer has some technical hiccups. It will detect motion very nicely on all 3 axis and the cheaper models are sensitive to small motions (less than 3G). The problems come in that this is an analog device and to be cost effective, only is available in surface mount packages. The analog side can be handled by the sound microcontroller and the ADC inputs, but the surface mount... that will need some more thought.</p><a name="HESbformat"></a><h2>Battery Format</h2><p>Probably a 9V for now, may expand to a recharchable NiMH or an impossibly small lithium poly.</p><a name="HEScprog"></a><h2>Current Progress</h2><p>Current progress and project notes can be found on my <a href="http://www.westaby.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=51">forum</a>.</p></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-4615556023645383903?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-21359923742540435182009-03-09T14:27:00.008-05:002009-11-30T15:47:42.746-06:00New Front Page<p>The main pages are now powered by <a href="http://www.blogger.com/">blogger.com</a> and will make post management easier for me. Previously, I was editing all affected html pages by hand every time I wrote a new post.<br /><br />Site should look pretty much the same as before. There is a new archive section on the sidebar and a rss feed available in the header. For comparison I am hosting the <a href="http://www.westaby.net/index_old.html">old index page</a> for a short time.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-2135992374254043518?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-26710109626890033222009-02-26T14:34:00.006-06:002009-03-12T14:09:22.880-05:00Published<p>I am excited that one of my pictures has been published. My brother works at a print shop and submitted several photos for his company's calendar. We both got a picture in, May and August.<br />I don't have a copy of either exact picture available at the moment, but I did find one from the <a href="http://www.westaby.net/photography.html">gallery</a> that is similar to one picture in the calendar.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.westaby.net/images/68%202008%205%20710.jpg">Old Man Fishing, Rice Lake, WI, Dustin Westaby</a><br />Hay Bales, West Salem, WI, Dale Westaby<br /><span class="fullpost"><br /><img src="http://www.westaby.net/images/68%202008%205%20710.jpg" width=450 alt="Old Man Fishing, Rice Lake, WI, Dustin Westaby" /></span><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-2671010962689003322?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-19313886423035563242009-02-23T12:11:00.007-06:002009-11-30T15:48:05.037-06:00Gaming Generations<p>A used game shop in La Crosse has really shined lately (the place is always <br />packed when I head in there on Saturdays). Within the last year they have <br />brought several arcade machines into the store, but only with the last week <br />with the release of Street Fighter IV did they bring out something really special.<br /><br />Pictures available.<br /><span class="fullpost"><br />A custom mame arcade machine that is so beautiful; 4 player, custom art, 40+ <br />tv. On top of that, they also have custom made 360 arcade sticks for playing <br />Street Fighter IV on their HD tvs. These are not the poorly made madcats arcade <br />sticks. Did I mention they are holding fighter tournaments?<br /><br />Pictures in the <a href="http://www.westaby.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=723">forums</a><br /><a href="http://www.gaminggenerations.com">Gaming Generations</a></span><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-1931388642303556324?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-47280687213405013872009-02-06T14:38:00.004-06:002009-03-09T16:07:12.109-05:00HTPC Project<p>A writeup of choosing parts for my black box media computer. Based on my htpc project from last year.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-4728068721340501387?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-59273946608339632682009-01-23T14:49:00.002-06:002009-11-30T15:49:57.529-06:00Xbconnect Wireless Guide Updated<p>Major overhaul to the layout and format of this page to bring it up to date with the rest of the website. No new content, sorry.<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-5927394660833963268?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-13550288805576077302009-01-22T09:23:00.001-06:002009-11-14T09:27:09.282-06:00Star Trek Communicator<p><br />Got the idea in my head after I finished watching all seven seasons of Star Trek Voyager for the second time that it may be possible to create a functional comm badge. It would function as a bluetooth headset of sorts for a cellphone. Their are plenty of micro sized bluetooth headsets, but they only work when close to your ear.<br /><br />I see three different ways to implement this idea:<br /><br /> * First, take an existing micro headset pcb and add an amplifier.<br /> * Second, there could be a wire from an ear phone to the comm badge, the mic and controls would be in the comm badge.<br /> * Third, ditch the comm badge all together and go with a TOS communicator and use a bluetooth speaker phone module. *preferred<br /><br />Updates will be on the forum, <a href="http://www.westaby.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=721">link.</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-1355028880557607730?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-41088843285234492982009-01-12T14:51:00.002-06:002009-11-30T15:48:17.200-06:00Hosting Calculator Updated<p>Updated the calculator to be compatible with more games.<br>TBD if more games will be added by default besides Halo 2 for the xbox.<br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-4108884328523449298?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-10231190019993591352009-01-05T16:19:00.002-06:002009-03-09T16:26:44.783-05:00Use a PC Headset With Any 2.5mm Headset Jack<p>Create an adapter that will connect two stereo 3.5mm phone connectors (one speakers, one microphone) to a single 2.5mm connector.<br />I plan to use a durable and comfortable PC headset to replace the terrible selection of xbox live headsets.<br /><a href="http://www.westaby.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=716">Forum Link</a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-1023119001999359135?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-64467691879611202432008-12-29T14:56:00.003-06:002009-11-30T15:48:27.617-06:00Piano Star<p>Woke up today with a great idea for a piano learning application. A program that would display songs in a format that is familiar to me, guitar hero. My plan was to make a scrolling music application written in C++ that would take xls files as input and display note names on each bar. I am not much with OpenGL/DirectX programming, so I would need help. It then dawned on me to search sourceforge for a similar application already in development and offer my help. I found one, Synthesia.</p><br /><p>Synthesia completely blows me away. Does everything I wanted and takes a huge step forward by using MIDI files, making it compatable with thousands of free songs. It even connects to your USB or MIDI keyboard for input and "scoring". It also has a practive mode that will pause the scrolling waiting for you to hit the correct notes.</p><br /><p> I am saddened that the project is currently closed source. The only help accepted is from a user's perspective; bug reports, feature requests, etc...</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-6446769187961120243?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-44054999759912532292008-11-11T14:59:00.002-06:002009-11-30T15:48:37.290-06:00Pedometer Enthusiast<p>New widget added to the main page for tracking my personal exercise activity (below the right side menu bar). Hosted by <a href="http://walkertracker.com/">Walker Tracker</a>, one glance shows the last 14 days.</p><br /><p>This new plan was inspired by an <a href="http://rlbatesmd.blogspot.com/2007/11/pedometers-and-physical-activity.html">old article</a>. I am keeping a step goal and increasing it by 2000 each month, but the simple act of tracking how active you are makes you self aware of when you need to be more active.</p><br /><p><b>"It takes about six months to "lock in" a new behavior."</b></p><br /><p>I am using a freebee pedometer that came with a brita water filter. I am about three months in and promised myself a new pedometer if I make it to six. Should prove interesting going into the coming winter months.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-4405499975991253229?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-40259233279269377842008-11-03T16:09:00.001-06:002009-03-13T15:32:41.186-05:00Ghostbusters Costume<p>This was a joint project between myself and my brother, Dale. I am <br />good with electronics and he has access to sticker industry machines.<br /><br />Although I spent two months working on this costume, there is no <br />reason it couldn't be done faster and with less effort. Having said <br />that, this costume did win me a costume contest in two out of four <br />catagories.<br /><ul> <li>Best Costume</li> <li>Most Original Costume</li></ul></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-4025923327926937784?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-33375384580377988762008-09-13T16:13:00.001-05:002009-03-09T16:17:37.020-05:00Coffee Table Arcade Machine<p>No end result here, just some concepts. Current research progress and link archive.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-3337538458037798876?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-62389002237833067612008-09-07T15:01:00.002-05:002009-03-09T16:07:12.114-05:00Halloween Construction<p>With halloween 2 months away I figure it is time to start working on a costume. My brother asked me to help with his Ghostbuster costume and also gave me permission to copy him so we can go together. Check out our current progress in the Costumes & Props section of the forum.<br /><a href="http://www.westaby.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=51" class="comments">Project Forum</a></p><p><br />Update: November 3, 2008: Project complete, costume contest won, details and pictures available.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-6238900223783306761?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-45661857409446760172008-08-08T15:04:00.002-05:002009-11-30T15:48:49.464-06:00Forum Online<p>Forum has been offline since February, but recently I was able to fix the database error on the old host and get the backups restored on the new host. Took the chance to update to the latest 3.0 phpBB too.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-4566185740944676017?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-31555422357731558352008-07-27T16:11:00.001-05:002009-03-09T16:17:37.029-05:00Arcade Renovation<p>I started building this cabinet years ago, but only got as far as making it functional. To me it was never complete, until now.</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-3155542235773155835?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-83720659139807179652008-07-15T16:12:00.007-05:002009-03-13T15:34:31.982-05:00Home Theater PC w/ XBMC<p>The idea here is to build a pc from scratch that's sole purpose is to play HD or HR videos using a port of XBMC. All for under $300.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-8372065913980717965?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4308433233768364277.post-90161981591918103022008-05-28T15:06:00.002-05:002009-11-30T15:49:33.082-06:00New Site Design<p>Finally made the move to CSS with a template from <strong>styleshout</strong>. Enjoy.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4308433233768364277-9016198159191810302?l=www.westaby.net' alt='' /></div>Dustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02878921131165534747noreply@blogger.com0