Chuck - thank you for asking that question. For those of us that have not made thier own machine yet we have to keep plugging away at the answers until one day the lightbulb doesnt dim and we "GET" it. Unfortunately we forget to tell the others about the rough patches we have had on the ole learning curve.
Tell me about it -- usually the FAQ is written by someone who understands the subject rather well, but who barely remembers the FAQs he asked himself, when he was starting out.
Experts are all well and good...but they have to be able to communicate the basics to the newbies!
I wonder if this forum software has a facility to save threads like this? Append it to the FAQ, essentially.
I just assumed that I bought all the electronic / software parts carefully matched to tolerances set by either NASA engineers or people that build brains in their spare time, threw it all in a big box, sacrificed a couple goats while chanting in a smoke filled room and If I got it all JUST right my machine would work.
You forgot a few things.
First, the smoke filled room. The smoke must be released from electronics in a sacrificial ceremony called burn-in. The smoke has magical properties...it must! The circuits will not work without it.
Then, you forgot to spin around 3 times and blink left once, right once, and then both eyes once...one blink for each axis.
Oops...wait a second...that was the love spell from "I Dream of Jeannie." Sorry! ;-)
Ty Chuck - you just de-mystified a large chunk of the puzzle for me.
For both of us, actually...I've been obsessing over the interface and the compatibility layer. I knew from the get-go that I can build a machine, and make it work -- I just didn't want to have to write custom software to control only my machine. That would have been too much work for too little gain. I started coming up with ways that I would use if designing a more generic system, and it occurred to me. IOW the light bulb went on.
Glad I could be of some assistance.
-- Chuck Knight  |