Comments on: Game port photogate

By: paul

paul — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 03:19:44 +0000

is it possible to use LEDs ad light source using pin1/pin9 and pin4/pin5? What resistor value do you recommend?

By: andrew

andrew — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 06:50:17 +0000

#22: as there aren’t any built-in game port functions in vb (that i know of) i think it would be rather difficult, though certainly not impossible, to interface this project to a vb app. at the moment i don’t have any answers for that one.

By: M512z

M512z — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 02:59:48 +0000

aweson.
I think it’s pretty smart.

By: paul

paul — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 02:16:59 +0000

can this be implemented in winxp and vb6? could somebody provide a vb6 sample code? i kinda need it for a project

By: MrB

MrB — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 19:21:53 +0000

Though I have said this to Andrew IRL, I want to add here that I find his synthesis of ingenuity, programming, and physics to be a refreshingly creative solution to this problem. Out-of-the-box solutions with comparable precision (e.g. Vernier probes), cost much more and require much less thought. Way to go!

By: spine

spine — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 00:01:11 +0000

you can try to implement this for XP: http://internals.com/

just a thought…

By: spine

spine — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 00:00:37 +0000

you can try to implement this for XP: http://internals.com/

just a thought…

By: andrew

andrew — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 02:04:08 +0000

just a heads-up: the webserver this hack is hosted on has a scheduled down period on the 13th of July where it is moving to a new location. during this period the page will not be accessible.

By: Tom Parker

Tom Parker — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 22:58:55 +0000

I thought at first that would be annoying but from the video it looks pretty cool too bad i couldnt have that on my normal tv :(

By: strider_mt2k

strider_mt2k — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 16:49:13 +0000

I like seeing posts from the project creators on here.

And about the harsh crit:

This is hack a day, not “precision-made aerospace development-esque project a day”

We’ll leave those glittering gems for folks like michael to post.

-any day now.

By: majincline

majincline — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 11:24:40 +0000

My first reaction to this hack was ‘SWEEEET’ just because of how unique it is. Using the game port is a great idea and I didn’t know it was practical to do so because I’ve just never seen it done. Using microphones like a previous hack to measure velocity might be a bit simpler but sound can’t always be used. This fits the bill of a great hack, fairly simple, purposeful, and just plain clever. Commenting on your own hack is great; it gives insight into why a certain method was used and informs more than a how to could alone. I’m curious to see how antiwhack’s automation goes because I’ve been meaning to do something like it.

By: bp

bp — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 09:55:49 +0000

Antiwhack,

Sounds pretty awesome. Be sure to take into account the fairly prodigious current that an AC unit draws. You’ll need moderately heavy duty relays etc.

Anyway, good luck and look forward to seeing you’re write up!

By: mastershake916

mastershake916 — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 08:34:42 +0000

No, it’s fine to comment on your own project, people like it.

By: antiwhack

antiwhack — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 08:09:56 +0000

kickass, after going through your article i did some research into parallel ports and the joystick port, i’m starting with a simple program to be able to turn on and off my air conditioner from my computer (buggers on the other side of the room), hopefully, if all works out, i can automate my room off a the parallel port.

thanks for the inspiration and again, kick-ass project.

By: andrew

andrew — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 07:32:03 +0000

it’s probably fairly taboo to comment on one’s own post, but here i go. delay of an average photoresistor is around 30-40ms, that’s 0.03s to 0.04s. it’s not really about precision, it’s about what you can get for a few cents’ worth of parts. and the joystick port probably isn’t responsitive enough for anything more precise. if you’re going for something particularly accurate, then by all means build a 48 bit pci adc with a sample rate of 48000mbps and an accuracy of .0000000001v with a laser/photodiode combination on a dual cpu athlon 64 3.2ghz machine with 10gb ddr2 ram and a 20,000rpm sata hard drive and… you get my point. it just isn’t meant to be that precise. and hey, if you want to build something like this then by all means build it however you like, the parts i used were what i had on hand ;)