Particle-Losant Integration using Webhooks

As I’ve posted on my blog before, I use a Spark Core to control the lights in my bedroom. In my first blog post, I described the original hardware and firmware. In the second blog post, I described the hardware and software updates, and also how I integrated it with IFTTT. Recently, I wrote a post about integrating Liquor Lights into the project. I had thought that these changes had fixed the remaining issues, but I was still experiencing problems where the lights would turn on and off without input. I had to think of a way to log what what happening so that I could dive in and see what is actually going wrong.

My Spark Lamp project’s hardware

IoT Liquor Lights using Spark Core

My whiskey collection was starting to outgrow the space that was allocated for it in the kitchen so I was brainstorming a new place to put them. I love how unique the bottles and colors are for each drink, so I wanted a way to display them. With the help of my girlfriend, we decided to move them into a small bookcase in the corner of our apartment that was mainly used for displaying knickknacks. We decided it would look nice if we could light up the bottles, and I of course needed to connect that light to the internet!

Spark Lamp Update

At the beginning of the year, I posted my Spark Lamp project. It worked fine most of the time but I noticed when I would get home from work and flip the light switch on the wall to turn the lamps on, it would take 10 to 15 seconds before the lights actually turned on. This really started to become an issue when Daylight Savings ended in November and it was dark out when I got home from work.

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Spark Lamp

     There is a light switch on the wall at the entrance of the bedroom in my apartment. You would imagine it would turn on the bedroom lights, but since there are not ceiling lights in the bedroom, it can't do that. What it actually controls is the power to a single receptacle on the wall. In the past, I've had two lamps plugged into this one receptacle. The lamps sit on nightstands on either side of the bed, but there is a problem. Imagine you're getting ready for bed. It's dark out, so as you walk into the bedroom, you flip the light switch on and the lamps come on. Just as expected. Now you're going to bed and you want the lights off - you have two choices: go to the wall and flip the switch again, or individually turn the lamp's power switches off. Of course you're not going to get out of a warm and comfortable bed to flip the light switch so you turn the lamps off. Now here's the dilemma. In the morning, you want the lights back on, right? You have to clumsily reach under both lampshades to turn the lights back on because the light switch won't do squat if the lamps are powered off. That's what this project aims to solve. The light switch will work as any other light switch does - flip it up and both lamps come on and down to turn them both off. Each lamp will have a switch that not only has the ability to turn that lamp on or off, but also to control the other lamp just as easily. And finally, have control of the lights and read their status over the internet. Because this is the future and I want to turn lights on I can't even see. Read on to see how to do it.

electric imp-Controlled 120VAC Relay Switcher Software Update

     About half a year ago I published a post about my electric imp-Controlled 120VAC Relay Switcher project. I used it very often to start making coffee in the morning while I was still in bed. Since I was still using iWebKit for the web app, I searched around for a framework that was visually in the style of iOS7. There are so many available frameworks around like Ratchet, ChocolateChip-UI, and Onsen UI and I tested many of them but none gave me everything I wanted. I finally found Google's Web Starter Kit and it was perfect for me. I could easily extend it with JavaScript, it had a responsive design, and the gulp tool for automatically refreshing all pages on all devices on a file change helped me quickly debug errors. While I was changing the UI, I also added a timer function to the code.

1st 1/4 of '14

     It's April and I haven't posted much about any of the projects I've been working on. I haven't completed any big projects that I thought warranted their own blog post, but I'll use this one to explain what I've been doing and what I plan on doing soon. 

electric imp-Controlled 120VAC Relay Switcher

     I bought an electric imp about a year and a half ago when they were released. I loved it's simplicity and made a few temporary projects involving it but wanted to keep it for something more advanced. After all this time, I decided it's better just to use it for anything rather than leave it just sitting in a box in my room, so I've made an internet-controlled 120V_AC relay switcher for it and an "app" for my iPhone to switch it remotely. I'm sure there are other ways of accomplishing this project, but I was able to build the whole thing using parts I already had on hand. This blog post will be a high-level overview of what I did to make it.

Update: I've updated the software as shown in this blog post.

Past Few Months

     I noticed I haven't posted anything for four months. Now that I have a job doing electrical engineering, I don't have the same urge to tinker on the nights and weekends. I've still being doing some small things every once and a while, but since I haven't finished any of it yet, I haven't posted anything about them yet.

     I got some new development boards that I've played with. I got two different watches from Texas Instruments. One is Bluetooth (and doesn't seem compatible with any phones made in the last few years) and the other has a 915 MHz radio that I wanted to connect with my home security system (but it has a proprietary wireless stack and I don't want to rewrite it to use with my system. Also, I had to take my security system down after a thunderstorm hit my apartment and destroyed the power system for it.) I also got a TI BLE Sensortag which seems pretty neat, but I need an Apple computer to mess with the iPhone app, so I haven't used it for much of anything. I bought some ATTiny13 chips to work with those programmable LED Christmas lights. I was having a problem using my cheapo programmer to set the clock frequency right, so I stopped working on that. I received my 2 Borderless Electronics Arduino clones. I haven't done anything with it yet but I'm keeping one of them in my car in case a situation comes up where I need to hack something. The creator of the project just launched a part 2 for that project which I decided to back because of how quick and professionally he dealt with the first one. His fundraiser was the best experience I've ever had with a crowd-funding website.

     Last week, I went to a design workshop for work and got to play with a Avnet Wi-Go module so I could use that for an internet-controlled project in the future. I also won one of the new MSP430 Launchpads with the USB HID interface but I have no idea what kind of project I would use that for. The last thing I've been working on is an internet-controlled AC switch that uses the electric imp for it's brains. I need a MOSFET with a Vgs of 3.3V to finish the electronics of the project. I can't believe I have so many electronic parts but can't find a suitable MOSFET. After that, I'll create a 3D-printed case and it should be done. It's pretty simple overall, but I'll still try and write up a blog post on it.