Monthly Archives: August 2011

A heartbreaking bug

Last night I decided to try to find a nagging bug in my lightning detector software. The code is supposed to not output a strike severity number unless it is different than the previous value. I was seeing several cases … Continue reading

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First use of Sugru

I have been looking at purchasing some Sugru since I learned about it some months ago. Sugru is a hand workable silicone putty that air cures in about 24 hours. It becomes a medium hard rubber solid. It comes in … Continue reading

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Solution to reboot issue?

Could it be that I found the reason that my lightning detector rebooted on strong sparks? When I ran the project without the programming cable connected I stopped getting resets. Connected it would reboot. Perhaps some kind of ground loop … Continue reading

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Return of the dreaded disease

Last night as I making for algorithm changes to my lightning detector, I experienced an unexpected reboot. Never mind, I was probing with a scope lead at the time. That likely caused the problem. But after a few minutes it … Continue reading

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Data from my lightning detector

Here is a sample CSV file from a lightning storm that passed through my area on August 2, 2011 at around 5:30PM. sparks_38 Here is a sample piece of that CSV file: 1312198123.414 8 187.975 8 1312198123.416 0 0.002 8 … Continue reading

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HomePowerMonitor with a CS5460A?

A poster on the Sparkfun forums (donnib) clued me into the Cirrus Logic CS5460A Power/Energy IC. This part appears to be designed specifically to be the backbone of a power meter. It takes as inputs the instantaneous voltage and current … Continue reading

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HomePowerMonitor on an Arduino? First tests.

Using an Arduino for my Home Power Monitor (HPM) has many advantages. It is cheap, simple, small, and has a good user base behind it. But could it meet my requirements (more on these in a future post)? To find … Continue reading

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