Parkour video I made for my friend

Here is a parkour video I filmed and edited for my friend:


I filmed it with a Casio Exilim ex-zr1000 and with a go pro hero 3 silver edition.
Song in the video: Juicy-r - Notorious B.I.G. vs The XX (Wait What mashup)
I hope you enjoyed the video, if you have any question comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

3 years of blogging bitcheesss :)

Hi guys today I'm posting because today It's the third anniversary of this blog :D
In three years I think I evolved the posts' quality, with the result of getting more appreciations from you.
3 years of blogging --> 50100 views
I hope you enjoyed this three year, here are the next posts' arguments:
-update of arduino POV code
-powerful coilgun tutorial
-reviews of some stuff I use for making videos
-a video of the parkour showreel of a my friend
-infinity mirror tutorial

Unfortunately I don't have much time for making these things, but however even if slowly I'll make them :)

Stay tuned

Bye, Dami

Where to find money to support your projects

Hi, today I'm here with a post to suggest you where to get the money you need for your projects.
If you have little startup or you're simply a person with a nice idea but you haven't enough money to develop it I suggest you crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding is the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations. (wikipedia)

You can do this through many websites, the most popular are:
-http://www.indiegogo.com/
-http://www.kickstarter.com/
-http://www.crowdrise.com/
-http://www.rockethub.com/

In this site you will be able to collect the money you need if you make a good presentation of your project.
I hope you like this post.

Bye, Dami

quod acerbum fuit ferre, tulisse iucundum est

Hi guys today I'm here with this latin phrase, which I found really impressive.
Probably you're asking why I'm posting latin phrases instead of projects with arduino, electronics or stuffs like that: I was asking this to myself too than i thought that there were no reason to post about things i don't like (at the moment).
Certainly in future I'll post about projects like the old one but at the moment I have mainly three reasons for not doing that:

-I haven't enough time (I'm focusing on school, sport and playing piano): posting about a project takes a lot of time, you have to make the project, remake it and take photos and video during the making of, write a post (in english, which is not really for me because i'm italian)
-I'm finding interest in other things like music, cool phrases (like the one in latin) and spending time with friends
-Everyone live once (maybe just Jesus had a bonus life) and I think that you have to spend your life in the best way which means 2 things: •do things that you like
                                                              •do the previous thing within limits that make you being        
                                                                accepted in your society, because just being a part of it you
                                                                will be able to leave your mark in this world

Coming back to the latin phrase it means (this probably isn't the best translation but i think you may understand the main concept): what we had to tolerate is displeasing but tolerating it is pleasing.

I hope you like this post

Bye, Dami

Watsky, rap genius, poet and artist

Hi, this post isn't about any project. It's about a person who i admire: Watsky, a 27 years old american rapper and poet; here are two of his creation:

I hope you like this post

Bye, Dami

Some random stuffs with my friends

lol

Arduino ultrasonic distance measurement

Hi guys' today I'm here with a tutorial about interfacing arduino with ultrasonic distance meter like the HC-SR04.
First of all, the theory:

If we know that the sound take a time t  to reach the obstacle and come back and that
speed s is equal to s=d/t where d is the distance then d=s*t .
We consider that speed of sound is 340.29 meters/seconds that is equal to
0.034029 centimeters/microseconds.

Now let's see the hardware parts, which is very simple:

To start measuring distance you just have to upload this code to the arduino
int trigPin = 2;
int echoPin = 4;

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop(){
  long duration;
  float cm;
  pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);
  pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
  delayMicroseconds(2);
  digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
  delayMicroseconds(10);
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
  duration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
  cm = microsecondsToCentimeters(duration);
  Serial.print(cm);
  Serial.print("cm");
  Serial.println();
  delay(100);
}
float microsecondsToCentimeters(long microseconds){
  return (microseconds*0.034029)/2;
}

Here is a video of me testing this project:

I hope you like this post, if you have any question please comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye,Dami

Use Arduino with RF Modules

Hi guys, today I'm here with a really cool project.
If you have ever wondered how to make 2 arduinos communicates without using expensive shield, here is the solution: there are some RF modules sold for about 2$ (transmitter + receiver)  that offer one way, easy-to-use communication with a range of about 150 meters.
In this post I'll explain how to use this modules.

First of all you'll need:
-2 arduinos
-a rf transmitter
-a rf receiver

STEP 1: the transmitter
Connect the transmitter to arduino this way:

Upload this code to the arduino connected to the transmitter:
 
#include <VirtualWire.h>
void setup(){
  vw_setup(2000); // bps
  }
void loop(){
  send("hello world"); //your message
  delay(1000);
  }
void send (char *message){
  vw_send((uint8_t *)message, strlen(message));
  vw_wait_tx();
  }
STEP 2: the receiver
Connect the receiver to the arduino this way:

Upload this code to the arduino connected to the receiver:

#include <VirtualWire.h>
byte message[VW_MAX_MESSAGE_LEN];
byte messageLength = VW_MAX_MESSAGE_LEN;
void setup(){
  Serial.begin(9600);
  Serial.println("Device is ready");
  vw_setup(2000); //bps
  vw_rx_start();
  }
void loop(){
  if (vw_get_message(message, &messageLength)){
    Serial.print("Received: ");
      for (int i = 0; i < messageLength; i++){
        Serial.write(message[i]);
        }
      Serial.println();
    }
  }
STEP 3: test ;)
Connect the 2 arudino and check with the serial monitor if it works

I hope you like this post, if you have any question please comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

Where to buy electronic parts for cheap

Hi guys Today I'm here with a tip about where to buy electronic parts(Arduino boards, LED, ICs, Arduino Shields, RF modules ecc...) for cheap.
 It's an ebay store located in Hong Kong, here is the link to the ebay page, I think it's a good seller beacuse it offers:
-really low prices
-good quality items
-more than 3000 items
-free shipping
The just thing I found not perfect is the slow shipping, but it's free so however it's good.
I hope you like this post,

Bye, Dami

Happy birthday linux

22 years ago Linus Torvalds sent THE email

Use android phone as webcam

Hi guys, today I'm here with a short but useful tutorial about using your android device as webcam:
-first of all download on your phone the app "IP Webcam"
-then start the server from the app (be sure to be connected on the same network of your computer)
-finally download the camera adapter from here.
If you have any problem when you start the server open broswer on your pc and go to http://192.168.1.40:8080 you will see the guide for using the camera.

I hope you like this post,
Bye, Dami

Update android on Xperia ray

Hi guys this is just a little tip for everyone who wanna update android OS on an Xperia device: unlike previous updates now you will have to update your phone via pc.
Go to sony PC-Companion download page and download the software, then just follow the instructions to update your phone.
I know it's a short post but I hope you'll find it useful ;)
Bye, Dami

Humble Bundle

Hi guys, today I'm posting about a site I found really interesting: humble bundle.
In that site you can pay 1$ a game like "medal of honor warfighter" or 5$ "battlefield 3"
A part of your money will go to a charity, another to game developers and another to Humble Bundle Inc.
I hope you enjoy that site,
Bye, Dami

Where to buy for cheap xbox live membership

If you are looking for cheap xbox live gold membership I suggest to check this site.
I tested it in Italy but I think that memberships can work in every country.
The price is about 35€ for 13 months membership.
I hope you like this post even if it's short, if you have any question comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmal.com

Bye, Dami

Where to get free piano music sheets

I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE OF YOUR USE OF THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THIS POST.
There are mainly 2 sites where you can find music sheets for piano :
-pianofiles.com : it requires registration but then you will be able to trade with other people and about 4 million of sheets
-scribd.com: this isn't particullary made for music sheets but you can even find some. This also requires registration.

I hope you like this post, if you have any question comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

Blender depth of field and RGB curves test

Hi, today I'm simply posting a test of depth of field and RGB curves in blender.
Maybe in the next days I'll post a tutorial for these features.
Here is my render:

Bye, Dami

Blender trasparent texture

Hi, today I'm here with a simple but really useful tip: using transparent textures on planes (but also other meshes) in blender.
First of all I wanna say that I discovered this method here.
I'm working with blender 2.66 but I think it works fine in 2.5x or higher.
Here is the final result:

To reach this result follow these steps in order:
1)create your plane (or other mesh)
2)create a new material for this object

3) active transparency and set alpha value (optional: also specular value)  to 0

4)in the texture panel create a new texture and set as type "image or movie"
5)load your image
6)under Influence tick alpha and leave its value to 1.0

7)Optional: to make the image fit the plane: under texture panel, in image mapping set "clip" instead of "repeat"

8)Now it you try rendering you will see that shadows made by your plane aren't of the same shape of your  texture; to make them follow your image you will have to change settings in the object that RECEIVE the shadows.
In the material panel, under shadow, tick "receive transparent".

I hope you like this post, if you have any question please comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

Cockroft Walton voltage multiplier

A cockroft walton voltage multiplier is a circuit that increase the input voltage.
The circuit is made by stages and each stage is made by 2 diodes and 2 capacitors.
Here is a schematic of a 2 stages voltage multiplier:

I used IN4007 diodes and some high voltage capacitor that I found in a printer power supply circuit; however i reccommend ceramic capacitors with low capacitance and about 3kv of max voltage.
Here are some photos of mine 8 stages, 5kv, cockroft walton multiplier:

Here is a video:

I hope you like this post, if you have any question comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

Base Filtering Engine: "access is denied" restore tutorial

Hi, today I'm here with a quick tip that I found useful.
I had problems with windows firewall and to solve them I had to start the BFE service but when I tried to do it appeared an error message saying "error 5: access is denied"
Here is a step by step tutorial for solving this problem:
-download this 2 files: file 1 , file 2
-double click FIRST firewall.reg and THEN bfe.reg
-restart your pc
-open "regedit"
-go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SYSTEM>CurrentControlSet>services>BFE
-right-click on BFE and click permissions
-check that for "Everyone" is enabled "full control" and if not, do it

-open "services" and now try to start BFE

If you have done everything in the right way it should start.
I hope you like this post, if you have any question comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

Small diy electric motor tutorial

Hi, today I'm here with a tutorial for creating a small electric motor.

First of all you will need:
-a power source (5v or more)
-some tape
-some wires
-some NON-insulated wire
-some magnet wire
Most of sites suggest to buy it on online stores but finding it is easier than it seems.
In fact most of windings of transformers or inductors are made with magnet wire.
I took my magnet wire form inductors in a printer power supply circuit.

-a quite strong magnet (I took it from a geomag)

Construction:
-Use your insulated wire to create 4/5 loop coil of about 1.5 cm diameter like this:

-Use a knife to cut insulating layer from your wire, at one end of your wire cut all insulating layer, at the other just half, like this:

 

cut insulating layer with a knife

 -Use pilers to model NON-insulated wire to create two supports like this:

 -assemble everything like this:

Making it works:
To make it works, put the magnet near the coil, and plug the two supports to your power supply.
The hardest part is calibration, don't give after 2 minutes, just try making adjustments to the coil or the magnet.

Here is my motor working:

I hope you like this post, if you have any question comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

Quick tip: update music library android

Hi, this is just a tip that I found useful when I added new songs to my phone but they weren't displayed in the music library.
- Go to settings>apppications>manage applications and find a system service named "media storage"
-Click the button "clear data"
-unmoumt and then mount sd card

And here you are!

I hope you like this post :)

Bye, Dami

Tilt shift effect open source software

Hi, this is a quick post, just to say that I created a simple software (this is the first version, I'll add some improvements) to create tilt shift effect in photos.
Here is the google code project link:
http://code.google.com/p/open-tilt-shift/
This is basically how it works (this photo is from an article of another blog):

 If you want to check the processing code, you can download it from the google code project page.
I hope you like this post, if you have any question comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

blogging pause

I'm sorry but I have to stop blogging probably up to june because I have to study for school

USB breadboard power supply

Today I'm posting about a simple USB breadboard 5v power supply I think there is nothing to explain, just take your solder and make an useful power supply for all your projects.
Here are some photos of mine:

I know this isn't a great post, but of course this is a nice tool that you can use for all your projects.
If you have any question comment or send me an e-mail to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

Joule Thief

Hi, today I'm posting about Joule Thief.
Joule thief is a small voltage booster.
Here is a video that explain how it works:

If you'd like to build one here is the parts list:
-transistor 2n3904(or equivalent like 2n2222)
-ferrite ring (toroid)
-LED
-1k ohm resistor
-some wires

Here is a simple diagram:

 

Here are other photos of the project:

 I hope you like this post, if you have any question comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

Coin roll slow motion

Simple coin roll trick filmed at 120fps using a Casio EX-ZR1000.
I'm not really good in that trick but I tried.
Here is the video, I hope this will be helpful for everyone who wanna learn this nice trick :)

I hope you like this post, if you have any question please comment or send me an e-mail to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

P.S.: probably in a couple of weeks I'll post about flyback transformers, tesla coil and jacob's ladder.

Open source game engine: maratis3d

Hi, today i'm posting about a really versatile and easy to use open source game engine, it's called maratis3d.
I think it's a good point to start game development, it supports many cool features like lua scripting, full blender integration (with an addon), sounds, texts and many more...
The only bad thing is that it has a really poor documentation.
I'll not write everything about this game engine because I think it's really noob friendly and with just some tutorials that you can find on youtube you should make a nice little game.
I hope you'll enjoy playing around with that, if you have any question comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

Simple javascript countdown script

I've created for a mine project a simple countdown script in JS, I think it's easy to use and really flexible.
Here is the code:
 
<script>
function countdown() {
    var yourdate = new Date("April 12, 2013 9:30:00"); 
    var now = new Date();
    var timeDifference = yourdate.getTime() - now.getTime();
    if (timeDifference <= 0) {
        clearTimeout(timer);
        //any other code to run on countdown completition
    }
    var seconds = Math.floor(timeDifference / 1000);
    var minutes = Math.floor(seconds / 60);
    var hours = Math.floor(minutes / 60);
    var days = Math.floor(hours / 24);
    hours %= 24;
    minutes %= 60;
    seconds %= 60;
    document.getElementById("days").innerHTML = days;
    document.getElementById("hours").innerHTML = hours;
    document.getElementById("minutes").innerHTML =  minutes;
    document.getElementById("seconds").innerHTML = seconds;
    var timer = setTimeout('countdown()',1000);
}
</script>
<style>
#cdcontainer{
text-align: center;
}
#countdown li{
display: inline;
list-style-type: none;
padding-right: 10px;
font-size: 60px;
background: #1560BD;
}
</style>
<body onload="countdown()">
<div id="cdcontainer">
<ul id="countdown">
<li id="days"></li>
<li id="hours"></li>
<li id="minutes"></li>
<li id="seconds"></li>
</ul>
</div>
</body>

This code is shared in the same license of the blog (creative commons, for more info check the end of the page)
I  hope this simple script will help you, for any information comment or send me an e-mail to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami

Ice lamp

Today I'm gonna talk about a cool and simple project: an ice lamp.
To start you need:
-rubber balloon           
-1 LED
-some wires
-a 9v battery








First of all solder or connect in any other way the LED with you wires.
Then fill the balloon of water and put the LED with its wires inside (some water should get out).

 Now put the balloon in a freezer for about 3 hours.

After 3 hours connect your wires to 9v battery and the LED should light up.

Here are some photos of the final result:

 

Basis of logic gates

This post is about logic gates, those one are the basis of calculation in base 2 (so also of computers).
In this post I'll talk about three logic gates:
-not
-and
-or

NOT Gate
The not gate return the opposite of the input. Here is the truth table:
in out
0   1
1   0

This is the standard symbol of NOT gate:

AND Gate
The and gate return positive just if all the inputs are positive. Here is the truth table:
a b out
0 0   0
0 1   0
1 0   0
1 1   1

This is the symbol of AND gate:
 

OR Gate
The or gate return positive just if one input is positive. Here is the truth table:
a b out
0 0   0
0 1   1
1 0   1
1 1   1

This is the symbol of OR gate:

This gates can be created using transistors like BC547, here is a short summary about logic gates made using transistors:

 

You can also download a pdf of this summary here.

Here are some photos of logic gates made using transistors:

 

I hope you like this post, if you have any question comment or send me an email to damianoandre@gmail.com

Bye, Dami