August 2012 - WLUG - wlug.mailman3.com

Announce: WLUG Meeting Wed 9/12 7PM: Raspberry Pi

by Chuck Anderson

Hi folks, The next Worcester Linux Users' Group (WLUG) monthly meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 12, at 7PM. The location will be WPI Higgns Labs, room 230 (computer lab). Wednesday, September 12, 7:00 - 9:00 PM WPI Higgins Labs, room 230 (computer lab) WLUG member Karl Lind will be giving a presentation and demonstration of two Raspberry Pi "credit-card sized" computers that run on the ARM processor architecture. Others are welcome to bring their own Raspberry Pi or other similar devices to join in the fun. Afterwards, we will go out for pizza and continue our discussions. See you there, Chuck President, Worcester Linux Users' Group http://www.wlug.org/

Aug. 31, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Help with water level problems

by Eric Martin

A few corrections: 1) s/overflow/pressure relief/g (Apparently I typed overflow valve, meant pressure relief valve, it's been a long week.) 2) Furnace tech already looked at it and replaced one part, the Air vent valve. He also re-calibrated the heater for the correct quantity (apparently mine needs that) and the temp was turned up too high. I haven't touched it in 5 years so I'm not sure why it was a problem now, but I saw him do those things as well as replace the air vent valve on the furnace and so far, so good. I impetus for the project isn't to delay fixing the problem, I already (hope) I have. This is to address the edge case that the pressure relief valve opens again either due to it leaking, or pressure building up. I wrote this email right after a long day that was ended by vacuuming up my basement so I apparently was scant on the details, sorry! On Mon, Aug 20, 2012 at 9:06 AM, Jeff Moyer <jmoyer(a)redhat.com> wrote: > Eric Martin <eric.joshua.martin(a)gmail.com> writes: > > > Hey all, > > Hi, Eric. > > > I had a close call with my hot water heater this afternoon. I heard on > odd > > noise in the pipes and it turned out that my hot water heater was dumping > > water out of the overflow valve. Luckily, I found it quick enough, and > I'm > > pretty sure I got it handled for < $150. There's a 1 Gal bucket under > the > > overflow valve, and if I had a water level detector emailing me that > water > > is in the bucket, I could have caught this earlier. > > You don't sound too sure that you have the problem licked. If that's > the case, I would definitely have a plumber look at it. It's well worth > the money (IMHO). > > > I was looking at buying an Arduino and setting up a simple circuit. I > know > > a few people have played with Arduinos, any suggestions on which one to > get > > and how to go about it? I don't need to know how much water is in the > > bucket, I was thinking about a float type device or even two wires that > > trip a relay. I just want a heads up that water is in the bucket so I > can > > stop before my basement floods. > > If you want to be paged or emailed, then I'd suggest something that can > actually talk over the internet. You can get ethernet shields and even > wifi shields for the arduino. However, the wifi shields are notoriously > buggy. If I were to do this, I would likely just run ethernet and hook > it up to a raspberry pi (it's overkill, but it will be cheaper than > buying the arduino + ethernet shield). The raspi has GPIO pins that you > can tap into for reading the sensor. Once you get your sensor and your > embedded platform of choice, folks on the list will be better able to > give you specific advice on wiring things up (if you need it). > > Good luck! > > -Jeff > Jeff, the raspberry pi advice is exactly what I'm looking for. I was indeed thinking of using an arduino with an ethernet / wifi shield, but I'm open for ideas. Obviously low tech is a light / buzzer hooked up to a sensor, but I want to be notified as well if I'm not home. I haven't played with arduino or raspberry pi yet so I guess I'm a blank slate. I'll poke around a bit more, I honestly hadn't even considered raspberry pi. I'll look a few pages to see what I like and what the pricing is and get back to you, thanks! -- Eric Martin

Aug. 20, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Help with water level problems

by Jeff Moyer

Eric Martin <eric.joshua.martin(a)gmail.com> writes: > Hey all, Hi, Eric. > I had a close call with my hot water heater this afternoon. I heard on odd > noise in the pipes and it turned out that my hot water heater was dumping > water out of the overflow valve. Luckily, I found it quick enough, and I'm > pretty sure I got it handled for < $150. There's a 1 Gal bucket under the > overflow valve, and if I had a water level detector emailing me that water > is in the bucket, I could have caught this earlier. You don't sound too sure that you have the problem licked. If that's the case, I would definitely have a plumber look at it. It's well worth the money (IMHO). > I was looking at buying an Arduino and setting up a simple circuit. I know > a few people have played with Arduinos, any suggestions on which one to get > and how to go about it? I don't need to know how much water is in the > bucket, I was thinking about a float type device or even two wires that > trip a relay. I just want a heads up that water is in the bucket so I can > stop before my basement floods. If you want to be paged or emailed, then I'd suggest something that can actually talk over the internet. You can get ethernet shields and even wifi shields for the arduino. However, the wifi shields are notoriously buggy. If I were to do this, I would likely just run ethernet and hook it up to a raspberry pi (it's overkill, but it will be cheaper than buying the arduino + ethernet shield). The raspi has GPIO pins that you can tap into for reading the sensor. Once you get your sensor and your embedded platform of choice, folks on the list will be better able to give you specific advice on wiring things up (if you need it). Good luck! -Jeff

Aug. 20, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Help with water level problems

by Eric Martin

Buzz / page me since I might not be home. Luckily I don't have any pets, it's just me, the wife and the baby. She'll hopefully check the buzzing, and he won't mind. sent from my mobile Eric On Aug 18, 2012 10:22 PM, "Tim Keller" <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > What you're looking for is called a "waterbug" > > It has a pair of dry contacts that close a circuit when it gets wet. > you could set up an arduino, or just wire it to a buzzer. > > On 8/18/12, Eric Martin <eric.joshua.martin(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Hey all, > > > > I had a close call with my hot water heater this afternoon. I heard on > odd > > noise in the pipes and it turned out that my hot water heater was dumping > > water out of the overflow valve. Luckily, I found it quick enough, and > I'm > > pretty sure I got it handled for < $150. There's a 1 Gal bucket under > the > > overflow valve, and if I had a water level detector emailing me that > water > > is in the bucket, I could have caught this earlier. > > > > I was looking at buying an Arduino and setting up a simple circuit. I > know > > a few people have played with Arduinos, any suggestions on which one to > get > > and how to go about it? I don't need to know how much water is in the > > bucket, I was thinking about a float type device or even two wires that > > trip a relay. I just want a heads up that water is in the bucket so I > can > > stop before my basement floods. > > > > Thanks in advance, > > -- > > Eric Martin > > > > -- > Sent from my mobile device > > I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their > constituents as "consumers". > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >

Aug. 19, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Help with water level problems

by Mike Peckar

We have one of these - it works great, though the dog freaks out when it goes off. $15. www.leakfrog.com Mike

Aug. 19, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Help with water level problems

by Tim Keller

What you're looking for is called a "waterbug" It has a pair of dry contacts that close a circuit when it gets wet. you could set up an arduino, or just wire it to a buzzer. On 8/18/12, Eric Martin <eric.joshua.martin(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hey all, > > I had a close call with my hot water heater this afternoon. I heard on odd > noise in the pipes and it turned out that my hot water heater was dumping > water out of the overflow valve. Luckily, I found it quick enough, and I'm > pretty sure I got it handled for < $150. There's a 1 Gal bucket under the > overflow valve, and if I had a water level detector emailing me that water > is in the bucket, I could have caught this earlier. > > I was looking at buying an Arduino and setting up a simple circuit. I know > a few people have played with Arduinos, any suggestions on which one to get > and how to go about it? I don't need to know how much water is in the > bucket, I was thinking about a float type device or even two wires that > trip a relay. I just want a heads up that water is in the bucket so I can > stop before my basement floods. > > Thanks in advance, > -- > Eric Martin > -- Sent from my mobile device I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

Aug. 19, 2012

Re: [Wlug] Help with water level problems

by kstratton＠fastmail.us

I can't help on the Arduino stuff except for the most basic of stuff (yet). I do remember seeing an article about a home made sensor using wires and table salt encased in paper. When the paper gets wet, the ionized salt + water conducts electricity. On Sat, Aug 18, 2012, at 09:00 PM, Eric Martin wrote: Hey all, I had a close call with my hot water heater this afternoon. I heard on odd noise in the pipes and it turned out that my hot water heater was dumping water out of the overflow valve. Luckily, I found it quick enough, and I'm pretty sure I got it handled for < $150. There's a 1 Gal bucket under the overflow valve, and if I had a water level detector emailing me that water is in the bucket, I could have caught this earlier. I was looking at buying an Arduino and setting up a simple circuit. I know a few people have played with Arduinos, any suggestions on which one to get and how to go about it? I don't need to know how much water is in the bucket, I was thinking about a float type device or even two wires that trip a relay. I just want a heads up that water is in the bucket so I can stop before my basement floods. Thanks in advance, -- Eric Martin _______________________________________________ Wlug mailing list [1]Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org [2]http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug References 1. mailto:Wlug@mail.wlug.org 2. http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug -- kstratton(a)fastmail.us

Aug. 19, 2012

Help with water level problems

by Eric Martin

Hey all, I had a close call with my hot water heater this afternoon. I heard on odd noise in the pipes and it turned out that my hot water heater was dumping water out of the overflow valve. Luckily, I found it quick enough, and I'm pretty sure I got it handled for < $150. There's a 1 Gal bucket under the overflow valve, and if I had a water level detector emailing me that water is in the bucket, I could have caught this earlier. I was looking at buying an Arduino and setting up a simple circuit. I know a few people have played with Arduinos, any suggestions on which one to get and how to go about it? I don't need to know how much water is in the bucket, I was thinking about a float type device or even two wires that trip a relay. I just want a heads up that water is in the bucket so I can stop before my basement floods. Thanks in advance, -- Eric Martin

Aug. 19, 2012

Re: [Wlug] A question about KMS API's

by Jason Couture

I apologize for the abbreviations. Kernel Mode Setting and Framebuffer, I found stuff on the framebuffer, using ioctl's, and mmap to work with the graphics, but I can't find any documentation on Kernel Mode Setting (Other than how to use it with Gallium/Intel/Nouveau etc). Basically, We tore the entire userland out from under the kernel, because we don't like it, and we have our base laid out and ready to go, but we want to __start__ with the graphics, and not make them an afterthought like that monstrosity X is. Want to write a small graphics API using the frame buffer (Keeping kernel mode setting in mind for when we switch to hardware acceleration) to design and test the UI using drawing primitives. Reason for wanting to know about Kernel Mode Setting: KMS gives the smooth transition (and from what i understand, also moves quite a bit of the graphics code to the kernel) that you get on say, ubuntu switching from a boot splash to the login window. We'd like to replicate that, but obviously alot more work has to be done before we get there. At least want to know what I need to keep the code ready for it, if that makes sense. Please keep in mind that no libraries can be used for this, only available binaries are ones written by myself, not even gnu libc is available. Only calls involving the kernel headers are available. The framebuffer, As i've said, I figured out. need to be mmap()ed, and ioctl is used to set/query various operational parameters (Resolution, refresh rate, manufacturer) I am not going to modify the kernel at all, with the exception of a builtin command line, I don't think i'd call that a modification though. On Thu, Aug 16, 2012 at 11:25 PM, Keith Wright <kwright(a)keithdiane.us> wrote: >> From: Jason Couture <plaguethenet(a)gmail.com> >> >> Anyone know anything about the KMS API? From userland? I'm working on >> a project and would like to use KMS/FB directly, as at boot there will >> be no binaries available except ours, No libc even. Just a few static >> binaries. if anyone could point me in the right direction, it would be >> greatly appreciated it. I can't seem to find anything on it on google, >> and I really don't have the time to go pouring over the kernel source. > > KMS? Kilogram/Meter/Second? No API for that. > > Kernel Module System? I wrote a couple of kernel > modules quite a while ago. I found the following > to be very useful: > > Corbet, Rubini, Kroah-Hartman; "Linux Device Drivers", > O'Reilly > > Key Managment Service? I know nothing, but it sounds evil. > > Kernel Mode Setting? I found that via Google. You mention FB > which might mean Frame Buffer, which might mean you are trying > to set the display resolution. If that's the case, the above > reference might still be useful, but what you really need is > technical data sheets for the graphic card you want to use. > > Too many TLA's > > -- Keith > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

Aug. 17, 2012

Re: [Wlug] A question about KMS API's

by Keith Wright

> From: Jason Couture <plaguethenet(a)gmail.com> > > Anyone know anything about the KMS API? From userland? I'm working on > a project and would like to use KMS/FB directly, as at boot there will > be no binaries available except ours, No libc even. Just a few static > binaries. if anyone could point me in the right direction, it would be > greatly appreciated it. I can't seem to find anything on it on google, > and I really don't have the time to go pouring over the kernel source. KMS? Kilogram/Meter/Second? No API for that. Kernel Module System? I wrote a couple of kernel modules quite a while ago. I found the following to be very useful: Corbet, Rubini, Kroah-Hartman; "Linux Device Drivers", O'Reilly Key Managment Service? I know nothing, but it sounds evil. Kernel Mode Setting? I found that via Google. You mention FB which might mean Frame Buffer, which might mean you are trying to set the display resolution. If that's the case, the above reference might still be useful, but what you really need is technical data sheets for the graphic card you want to use. Too many TLA's -- Keith

Aug. 17, 2012