Arduino experiments

How about some christmas lights?

Having muled Arduino kits to Uganda, I spent some time at Micro-Center looking wide eyed at all the things I can build.  Since I don't have much experience with Arduino, I engaged with my 14 year old and he and I built a christmas light controller.  Its surprisingly simple.

Basically you need something that can handle Logic.  I went for an Arduino Mega 2560 R3 .  This is where the program that will run the lights, lives.  The Arduino outputs in 5vdc or 3.3vdc.  Neither of these voltages will work and they are very limited in the amount of current draw something can have.  Here in the US we use 120VAC at 60hz.  So I need to switch that on and off.

SainSmart makes components that will do this.  Basically I need to take the 5V signal voltage from the Arduino and switch on and off 120v.  The thing I need is a relay.  I decided on switching on and off 8 different channels.  So I picked up a Solid State Relay Bank.

Wiring was simple, I took 4 standard $.59 outlets and cut their hot leg off making each outlet independent.  (Similar to making a 1/2 hot outlet that runs on a switch.)

Run a hot line to each leg of the relay bank, then run the other hot line off to the outlet.  Tie the common together and viola, switched outlet that runs on Arduino.

Need more information on how to build it?  Ask, or use this Instructable.  I didn't set mine up for music, just turn off and on.  Now my 14 year old is all into Christmas Lights because he makes them do whatever he wants.

I am going to build another one of these and show all my wiring, right now it is working perfectly but looks like a clunky prototype.

Maybe a big christmas light tree.  Then one for the house.....

The point of this post is, if you want to make things like this happen, do it.  I spent a little time on google and made it work in my kitchen.  I now have all these ideas for how to make my house more efficient using these types of controllers.

Made it home despite Kevin Mitnick

Hey there everyone, just back inside from a snowy day here in Ohio.  I fed and watered the chickens, its too cold for anything else IMHO.

On the way back I snapped a few photos of local things.  Finally we got to Kampala and Entebbe Airport and I got to the departures hall.  At security I had a big bunch of journals to take back to the US for Ngozi.  In Dubai they thought they were bibles and questioned them.  I figured the security in Kampala would question the books because I had many.  They only were concerned with my Kevin Mitnick business card in my wallet.  "Why do you have tools?"  "Its a business card with a funny shape, it looks like electrical circuitry."

https://www.mitnicksecurity.com/shopping/kevin-mitnick-lock-pick-business-card


I left Uganda on Tuesday and spent a little over a day in Dubai looking at big buildings and reflecting on how strange it is how your life can be so different if you are born in one place vs another.

This could be the road running past your village.

Or the road running past your village which contains the world's tallest building.

You may understand that construction is something that shows improvement.

Or you may live in a place of beauty that is constantly challenged to improve simple things like roads and safety.  

All in all Uganda is wonderful.  Know it isn't as safe as your little neighborhood but also know the people there are genuinely nice.  If you feel like you don't want to go, I have a few great projects you can help me with.  I have 3 basic pet projects now, I will probably blog further about them when they are more designed.

Here is Johnny's post about my leaving.  http://www.hackersforcharity.org/hackers-for-charity/a-few-precious-days-with-jason-kent-in-uganda/

Finish what you start

I have some good lessons to take away from my trip.

First I have to thank the Long's for sharing their home with me.  Happily they have a wonderful place to stay and can have the leather shop close so it is a safe environment.  I also have to thank the Ngozi Creations staff and especially Johnson for my belt.  Some items are special, some are beyond that.  Mostly I have to thank the Hacker Community for keeping these guys going, and holding the events that got me involved with HFC.  

My final couple of days were a whirlwind, I was able to help with a couple of technical projects, and just basically discuss some neat thoughts that occurred to me.  Now the job is mine to complete.

I will give you some closing comments in a bit, I have some things we could help with, as a community.

Ok so I showed up with loads of luggage and curiosity.  I had one task to complete, the stitching machine.  

We unboxed it and learned how to use it.  I wasn't going to be happy until I saw lock stitches in leather.  Johnny and I setup and got the machine working.  Expect neat products in the near future.  I feel that I have done what I came for, now on to bigger things.

My last few days in Jinja were about community.  I met some great people at The Keep.  Missionaries that hire trained people, that Johnny has trained-the-trainer for and learned basic skills,  keeping the missions rolling.  I met a nice factory owner that wants to use some machines to help Ngozi move into other projects.  Cutting straps for belts, for instance, takes this factory just seconds (It takes much longer when it is done with basic tools).  Then it can be tooled by an artist and sold at a reasonable price, giving both quality and consistancy.  This nice man just threw the doors open and offered to assist because he hires from this community of Jinja, and wants to support it and I think he really understands what Johnny is doing in his shop.

I wanted to also just look for things that would draw me into motion.  Door handles aren't really my forte but learning is.  So I fixed a pesky problem Johnny just didn't have time for, just new handles so a useful door can be used.

The wifi in the house kinda was slow.  So I did what I do at home.  I am on wimax, I have to position my base stations somewhere with good signal.  I also look for the best Access Point placement as well.  I setup in the leather shop and geeked out on donated equipment, add a cache to the mix and viola, new access gear.

Small simple projects at home, Africanized when in Uganda.   Picking up the AP I didn't know the vendor, communication method for configuration or options available.  I hadn't logged into a Blue Coat for 5 years and made sure I had most things and hoped for the best.   Turns out a patch cable isn't easily found (an assumption, I realize now the level of assumption you cannot cross).  Similarly, zip ties for cable management are hard to find.  Immediately we saw how much more difficult setup in the morning is for the Ugandan staff, and how tear down will be at closing.  Now we need a server cage so we don't hurt the cables or equipment but can keep them secure.   The local cage builder has been summoned, it'll be a few days.

Why was putting faster more reliable service so important?  Community.  Johnny can now offer both inexpensive and low bandwidth Internet to those that need it (via queuing on the metering software).  He can offer tourists fast Internet that is more expensive and charge for their use.  This facilitates collaboration for those helping and ability to flex to the customer needs.  Many of these missions are businesses with boards back in the US, he can offer the service they need to keep the local population moving forward.

I got to see the Computer Training Center as I was leaving.  It's a bit small for a training center in the US, I think 20 seats with stations but,  looks like a modern facility in the US.  The folks that take classes there get skills and certification that easily becomes a job in many possible places.  Literally saving lives.  Yet, Johnny and the staff at the CTC will tell you there is so much more to do.  

So here is the promised wisdom.  Please stop trying to kill Johnny!  I mean this with love and with the understanding that we want to help.  We just need to realize there is a component to helping that can become a burden on someone else.  He's had quite a few people help out with donations but if the thing being donated isn't something the hands on the ground understand, it becomes a burden.  

Here is an example drawn off of modern US problems:

Let's say I come to your house and notice a brick loose on your porch or sidewalk.  I'm neighborly so I run down to the hardware store and buy a new brick, some mortar, a mixing machine, and sand.  I drop it all on your lawn with this note.  "hey neighbor, I noticed your loose brick, you are welcome, let me know when it's fixed!". 

Or, I hear you are a mason so I further direct said neighbor to you and they say " I have everything you need" except it's mortar you have never used with instructions that assume you have and a mixer that runs on horse drawn power, and you have no horse.

HFC can use money and I used to be the guy that could throw $100 bills at whatever.  Trust me, if you want to they will be well received funds and put to a good use.  But, if you want the kind of fulfillment I am currently riding, GO to Uganda.  You don't have to work, just don't create work for Johnny.  I think it would be even better if you had an idea of need before you go, and finish that one thing.  Heck, one project and a safari on the Nile, not a bad vacation.  Just about anyone can find the time to come and work one project.  Just be willing to make sure it gets finished.  

If you have a good idea, awesome!  If you want to mail a complicated thing to Johnny expecting him or an uneducated Ugandan, to start and finish, you have to rethink how you help.  We all have talents, it's ok to use them.  My head runs heavy with ideas for this and that, I just have to restrain myself to ensure it doesn't become a burden because I didn't factor in: dust, high theft environment, high humidity, power that is unregulated, i.e. Uganda.  

I would like the hacker space to have a mig welder.  I did Ugandan analysis of this.  Arc welding draws huge power.  Can the shop's power handle it?  Shielding gas available?  Filler wire available?  The answer btw is no.  Also, no one knows how to shoot mig to teach it.  It's a great example of a great and super teachable technology that could help change lives.  I need to do way more research to figure out feasibility.  Had I bought a 110V (Uganda is 220v) welder and some wire and shipped it, it would just sit until someone on the ground figured out the need and power etc...

One project I did conceive while there is a DIY voltage regulator.  Able to handle 100vac to 400vac and give steady 220vac up to 1000w, would be a huge help.  I am going to get a design and prototype done.  If its easy enough we could potentially offer soldering and basic electrics as a class, in Jinja.  This teaches skill, safety, and allows for hard earned electronics (20 line text phones are pretty normal for those with more than minimum wage jobs) to survive such a harsh environment.  Repairs on the regulator, should it break, would be done by the hacker space as educational so the price can stay low.  My end requires finding, funding and delivering a completed regulator design, finding parts for the first batch , getting soldering irons, voltage regulators shouldn't be a problem, solder, training materials and time to deliver it all as a complete thing.

Going there gave me the context to understand that those starving kids in Africa your mom told you about, are still starving only now they are 17-25 years old and want to learn a trade.  With some education we can get them a meal, we just can not assume that cash will solve this, at the end of that monetary line are a set of hands that might just be busy with something else.  Johnny and Jen both work two jobs helping out those who want it.  Go.  If you think you can help, do.  One of the things that Johnny really needs right now is support from the hacker community.  He has a very important project that needs skills.  If you want to volunteer, ping me.  Need OpenWRT knowledge, some rsync services ideas and anyone that knows GSM radio/comms/phones to help decipher log messages, please let me know.

I guess what I am trying to say is, help any way you can but finish what you start.

If you can Donate, please do.  I can assure you 100% of the money goes to good use.

I enjoy this community of security professionals and geeks I get to hang with.  BTW, jinjacon isn't a bad idea, teams of hackers hacking all the things.  

Thanks for reading, if you want to send some cash to help...do.  Just think about helping in any way you can. 

I will follow this post with one that has photos.  Bandwidth isn't free everywhere in the world so it will have to wait until I am back on my home SSID.

The Stitchening

My primary mission when I came here was to get the Boss up and running with Johnny.  We have done it!  And then we did some other things.

Here is Johnny stitching together the home-made sandals we threw together in the shop.  The machine worked really well, I stiffened up the table its on and we finished the sandals easily.  They aren't much to look at but they represent a pathway that can now be walked on.

Here is Johnson putting the finishing touches on my belt.  I am going to enjoy this belt for years to come.  Every time I look at it I will be able to know its connection to the artist, what it means to have been able to come here, and what it means that this place exists.  Its a deeply personal thing for me as this belt will help hold me to my perspective.

Here it is all finished.  I really love this belt, fear not, you all will get to see it as I expect to wear it often.

In addition to the stitcher I got to work on loads of elecronical/techy things.  I installed a web proxy, got some high-powered wifi working, and soon we will be upgrading The Keep's registration server.  This is going to turn The Keep in to the best wifi signal and fastest Internet in town.  Johnny might be blogging about this aspect in his next write up.  I was doing it so I don't have photos.

Have a beautiful day!

Market and Sandals

Good morning from Uganda! 

 

Today Johnny and I ventured out a bit and ran a few odds/ends errands.  We rolled past Loko Village.  This is the village from a passable road.  Basically think poles with tin as the structure.  This is the village that brought loads of focus on Hackers for Charity, it is really how it all started.  Read about it here.

 We needed a few things from the Market so we drove over.  The first thing that hits you is the smells.  There are definite Live Stock smells, those I can live with.  Then there are some fish/dried fish stalls, that stuff is pretty strong.  Amongst all of the strange and wonderful fruits and various merchants, we stopped in the middle of the "tailor" section.  Hundreds and hundreds of stalls with Treadle Singer Sewing machines.  It was one of the sweetest sounds.

 Stall after stall all under make-shift tarps keeping the alley ways drier.  Its all red-clay so when it rains it becomes very slipperty and messy.  They dig a ditch through they alleys in the middle to drain water away.  Johnny just charges right in.  On this trip we bought belts from a few of the vendors.  The buckles and parts are "up cycled" into hand crafted pieces.  I commissioned the resident Journeyman "Johnson" to make me a belt and needed to get a buckle.

 This is the entrance to the market, we parked in a gas station and Johnny gave a nod to the armed guard.  Upon our return the guard gets a tip, I assume only if the vehicle is untouched and is still there.

 This guy deals with cooking.  One can purchase a small gill like device that is made from ceramic and can hold charcoal or burn off of cooking gas, the big pot goes over the top.

The ladies all part of the divine symphony that is the chattering of a time when things were made to last forever and will only need a small amount of maintenance to keep it all going.

 Here is Johnson working hard on my belt.  I asked for him to make me one like one he just delivered to a Belgian customer.  Johnson was very nervous talking to the customer,  so I became his next customer, this gives him the opportunity to see what it will take as his career advances from Journeyman to Master Leather Craftsman.  He is very dedicated and immediately started following our business advice on how he should price his work.  He feels bad asking a premium price for his products, I explained that the people he is dealing with want to have an authentic piece of art that someone they met had made.  He still balks at the price but appreciates that now when a customer walks in and asks "how much for a belt?" he has used mine as a test and can confidently say "75,000 shillings for a belt with a simple pattern, anything custom and the price goes up based on my time".  Its small things like this that educate Johnson in how to interract with customers.  If you want a genuine African Leather belt, hand tooled, the price is about $30 for a simple one and if it takes longer, like mine, well you just need to let the man tell you what he's worth (and remember that he is lowballing you).  I am honored to have been able to have this made and humbled by how genuine Johnson has been with me.

 Then Johnny and I went back to the leather shop.  I told him that the first pieces we should stitch are sandals.  They don't do sandals at Ngozi but for the experience and to use this as a learning opportunity, we did some product development.

Here we are at the Tooling phase.

The design came together on the fly and we even did some art on the Sandals.  I even picked up the leather tools for the first time since 7th grade and cut a design into one of the Sandals.  It was fun learning the process for binding leather the way we were and it was great to feel the tools again.  

Sometimes perspective is something that is lost so quickly that we never see it smack us in the face, until we really get it good.  The fire at Loko Village, completely destroyed the homes of over 100 people.  Imagine living in abject poverty and having the roof over your head disappear.  Johnny saw this need and really wanted to figure out a way to help.  I think that we all lose our perspective and that was Johnny's moment to really make a difference and get smacked in the face a bit.  Hackers for Charity has built many programs but out of Loko Village came a guy that wanted to learn something new.  He wasn't looking for a job, he didn't even think about that aspect, he just wanted to learn.  He is now a journeyman in the progam (I am using that word as a reference point, he's pretty far beyond that.)  He returns to Loko, helps a few children now and then and has become that voice that a few hear on how to get out of that situation and work your way toward a life of less worry.  Today I teased him about his girlfriend and you could tell that he thinks of where his life is going.  Not that long ago, he wouldn't have seen past his next meal.  

My next post is going to be a bit about some of the technology things we did today, I am sure you are already only occupying the edge of your seat but relax, that post will be in a day or two.  Tomorrow is another day.  Lets see what it brings.

First real day in Jinja

I made it from Dubai.  

As I said customs was a chore.  It wasn't any different in Uganda except the electronics are red flags and they couldn't figure out why I had so much booze.  Apparently they haven't had a pumpkin spice latte or vanilla shot in their venti vanilla machiato.  

In Dubai it was countdown timers on the arduino boards they wanted to know about.


I knew I had made it when I saw the stack of journals.  These are created in the leather shop on the grounds.  Look at the cool design.  I am going to talk leather later but its pretty amazing.  It is also a huge opportunity to help out.  If you are artistic and have ideas for leather design, reach out.  Lets get these guys some more options or even custom work.  You work with the artists and they turn these out with high quality and attention to detail.

I was tired last night.  As I explained, napping is evil and that is what killed my day the next day.  That and some really long car riding.

Today, after a sleepless night from travel and African sounds that were too interesting to sleep thru, I woke early.   There are about 10 billion things outside that are trying to communicate with something that is very far away.  Goats, bugs, dogs, birds, probably bats that are bigger than birds, holy crap I am now envisioning that scene from Indiana Jones where she has the bat.  *shudder*

Hennyway.....

Beautiful day.  And today I get to give someone something that will change people's lives.   Its gonna be a good day.

Welcome to a new day in Jinja, Uganda.  I left the background lit in this shot, Lake Victoria in the Front Yard.

We wake and prepare to head out.  The Bed and Breakfast is a ministry to help weary missionaries and keep sanity amongst the lost.  They also run The Keep, a Coffee Shop/Restaurant/gathering place.  We head on over.  The Keep is a castle/d&d themed place.  Johnny, Jen and their youngest hit this place every morning as part of their routine.  It's very much like the community center in Finland MN, only it's also a coffee shop so it has lots of people from the community that pass through.  As you can tell, their barista is good, really good.  And YouTube trained.  The ministry of The Keep also helps to train people to work in real jobs that pay ok for the area.  The Barista here learned his craft from the Long's via YouTube.  *looks at camera* "you hear that every Barista in America?  There is a guy in Uganda that learned this via YouTube, you will make Latte Art or be ridiculed forever." </rant>

While there today Johnny met with a guy that will be fixing their car and we discussed the hackerspace/makerspace and he offered mechanical expertise and a place to have mechanical classes.  The Hacker Space is going to be something we talk about more but hear me out.  It isn't only going to be Ugandan's learning computer skills.  I think this could be a community of more than that.  I hope to see ideas from our discussions in the Hackerspace/makerspace.  Also, if you have run a maker space, please contact us we have some questions around lessons learned.  After breakfast and morning coffee, we moved on to the day.  The hardware store!  (could this day get any better?)

Let me try to describe the hardware store.  You know those tiny little ice cream shops that only have a counter.  Those are way bigger.  The transaction to find 4 bolts was long and involved.  Think about that they next time you are in Home Depot looking at 3/8" x 3" bolts and nuts.  We needed to mount that stitching machine so we could get it working.  

Returning from the Hardware Store we took Bodas (motorcycle taxis).  About 2 miles, maybe less, $1.50 for both.  This is inexpensive transportation and scales well.  It something we should consider in NYC.  At the same scale, Manhattan to Mid-Town for $3.

We had pressing issues to attend to.  My mission was to bring a very important piece of equipment to the leather shop.

This strapping thing right here is the Tippman Boss.  We had some assembly, and requisite fiddling but, it works.  I couldn't be happier.

This machine means more professional presentation, more speed, more accuracy and takes their products to a new level.  The Long's are making people into craftsmen that can go out and find their own work.  This machine makes it so they are still connected and was donated as a open source community project.  We all can support it by either buying the goods or donating, we all can offer talents for things that can be made or designs that would be something special for you.  The idea is if a craftsman strikes out on his/her own, they can use the machine to keep their craft rolling.  It isn't just for the Longs, its for their Leather Project.  If anyone in the graduate community from the Leather Tooling School (patent pending) needs to fix Tack for Horses, they can.  Any project is possible.

I cant wait to see DEFCON next year.  The items for sale there will for-sure be amazing.

Today was about ideas.  Little dumb ones and big a-ha moments.  Johnny showed me a video of a guy named Zack.  Zack needed an idea once.  He searched the Internet and got the idea, and this spawned another idea.  Google picked it up and did the video.  Zack got everything he needed to fulfill his ideas.  But, Johnny realized, no one ever got him to put forth his ideas.  They assumed a laptop would do it.  What they needed was collaboration.  More and more ideas but all formulated to solve a central problem.  Zach wants to help farmers.  It may just be that he can help them understand crop rotation, his idea is to help Farmer.  Mine is to find the appropriate solutions to problems and find the resources to make them happen.

I hope your day is full of ideas, great big ones, and little tiny ones.

Dubai stop over

I broke a cardinal rule.  I napped.  When flying long distance I find it better to keep the time at the destination, go to sleep as late as possible.  I napped, oops.

BTW, misc electronic parts is something that puts customs officers on edge, especially if they look like a Hollywood bomb with countdown clocks.  How does one describe a proxy?  "makes internet faster."

12 hour flights aren't very fun.  Tomorrow is a mere 5.5 hours but then I will finally be in Uganda. 

False starts on the way.

Have you ever been so certain something would happen that you believe you made it happen?  Yesterday I knew for certain that United would pull its usual shenanigans and cancel my flight.  I had anticipated it so thoroughly that I made it happen.

So, last night my flight cancelled.  This means they have to get me there.  I was the first customer they helped and got on a 10am Emirates flight. 

I know you have heard the rumors of my ability to cause aircraft to break and blame me for problems it may have caused you.  I can assure you I make them break on the ground, where repairs are trivial compared to up in the air.

Any way, bee+ and remember, maybe you need to have been slowed down so you could experience something else.

BTW, it so happened that Johnny and his family were returning from an exhausting trip and had all this stuff to do at home.  Not losing the day by getting me at the airport was perfect.

Steps toward Uganda

Before I depart for Uganda…

I figured that since I was about to embark on a pretty significant journey I thought I would pause and reflect a bit.How did this all start? Well, have seen these “I Hack Charities” T-Shirts at various security conferences and a few years ago I stopped by the booth and bought a shirt and heard about Johnny Long and what he’s been up to in Uganda.

I followed Johnny’s blog for a while and finally met and talked with Johnny at Shmoo last year. This year at DEFCON I saw my friend from Australia and Johnny talking and said hi and looked at some of their leather goods. I saw a pretty vast improvement in the quality of the leather and the quantity he had with him. We talked about the leather program and I told him I wanted to help.

Johnny gave me a few ideas on how to help and we finally decided on what I could do. It was expensive and would probably require a trip there to get things up and running. I agreed and promised an upcoming bonus to the effort. The bonus came through and I am happy to report everything is in place for me to go.

Being a global traveler I looked for a required VISA for Uganda. Its pretty simple, US citizens just pay a new $50 bill. O_o Apparently a bill newer than 2006 is accepted. Odd, I agree.

Next, vaccines. Right after I bought my tickets the whole Ebola thing blew up (and wasn’t in this part of Africa) but being former Navy I remember getting vaccinated for everything. CDC says Yellow Fever, Typhoid and Anti-Malarials. Given I have had most of this, but it was long ago, and being risk averse I decided to get the shots.

After paying for and getting Yellow Fever and Typhoid I am ready to set off. Buying a few last minute items and keeping in touch with Johnny I learn there is a guy in-country with Johnny right-now! So I start following his blog. Check out http://www.pilgrim.ninja

This just gets me more and more exciting I am now all set except for packing and making the very long flights there.

From my home I will travel to DC then DC to Dubai, UAE. I am going to take a day in Dubai to look around then fly toward Jinja, Uganda utilizing the airport in Kampala, Uganda.

The question I feel needs answered the most is “why go?” Its pretty easy for me, I am not good at finding these things and getting them going but, I am good at finding resources and putting them with need. I don’t feel fulfilled without helping people and I want to help. Finally, I have children. If I can leave the world in their care and they do all they can to help others, imagine how great the world will be. My grandmother Martha helped me to understand that we all should care for our neighbors and demonstrated it to me time and time again.

Being the change you want to see in the world is way harder than quoting Ghandi, who’s ashes were spread nearby BTW.

BTW, I posted this on Postagon but their stance on HTTPS caused me to move it here.