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February 11, 2017- IPv6 Part 1

The future of the internet, Introduction to IPv6

Victoria Computer Club
85A Burnside Rd West (at Wascana), Victoria, BC (map)

The internet has run out of IPv4 addresses (as of Oct 2016). The future of the internet and networking will rely on the “new” IPv6 protocol.

There’s more to IPv6 than a really big address. Come and learn the basics of this foundation of the next generation Internet.

We’ll cover:

• Why do we need IPv6?

• Not your Grandmother’s IP

• IPv6 Addressing

• Hands on session (Please bring a computer for the hands on session: Pi, Laptop, BSD machine)

more …

Resource: Craig Miller

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January 28, 2017 – ESP8266

9:30 AM

  • Q-College

    Suite 303 771 Vernon Ave, Victoria, BC (map)

  • The VicPiMakers and Others, includes many devices besides the Raspberry Pi. At this meeting, Greg, will provide an over view of the  ESP8266 is a low-cost Wi-Fi chip with full TCP/IP stack and MCU capability. He will highlight several different modules and dev boards, and the software options of Arduino code, and MIcroPython. There will also be a hands on session with the ESP devices.

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January 14, 2017 – Blinky Lights on BSD

Blinky Lights on BSD (Beaglebone Black)

Saturday, January 14, 2017
9:30 AM

Victoria Computer Club
85A Burnside Rd West (at Wascana), Victoria, BC (map)

If you ever had questions on how to integrate multiple devices together with 21st century security all controlled via a simple (looking) Android App, you won’t want to miss this meeting.

Join us for a similar but different demonstration of controlling LEDs running on one of the “Others” (a Beaglebone Black) using SSH and BSD. If that wasn’t enough, Mark G will also be showing a Raspberry Pi camera used to confirm that state of the LED, all under the control of a custom Android App.

See the full project here.

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December 10, 2016 – A Christmas Tree

Tis the season, a Christmas tree with lights and music controlled by an Arduino!

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November 26, 2016 – Analogue Inputs

Analogue Inputs on the Pi

  • Saturday, November 26, 2016

    9:30 AM

  • Q-College

    Suite 303 771 Vernon Ave, Victoria, BC (map)

  • The Raspberry Pi has 30 GPIO pins, but none of them are analogue inputs. At this meeting, we’ll take a deeper look at how to take an analogue signal (like temperature) and connect it to the Pi, and access it via Python.

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November 12th Meeting: IoT Streaming

Raspberry Pi and IoT Streaming

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a hot topic. Join us, as we continue to explore the vast world of IoT using the Raspberry Pi. This weeks session will focus on IoT devices streaming data over the internet.

Saturday, November 12th, 2016
9:30 AM
Victoria Computer Club
85A Burnside Rd West (at Wascana), Victoria, BC

A full writeup for this presentation is available on the presenters website.

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October 22, 2016 – Python 5: Exceptions

Python provides for the raising and handling of exceptions. An exception is used primarily for managing an error situation but is also handy in other circumstances e.g. an exception is used internally to end loop iteration.

A full writeup for this session is available here.

Saturday, October 22, 2016
9:30 AM

Q-College
Suite 303 771 Vernon Ave, Victoria, BC

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July 9th Meeting

Serving The Web With A Slice Of Pi

Although small in size, the Raspberry Pi and other embedded Linux boards can be used as very capable web servers.

Instructor Don Woods will show you how to set up a Web server on a Raspberry Pi and get around the little snags to be able to access your Pi from outside your local network.

The entire tutorial is available here:

http://piserver.vicpimakers.ca/

Note: This will be our last Meetup before the summer holiday season. We will reconvene in early September. Have a good summer, y’all!

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June 25th Meeting

Low-cost High-quality PiFi Audio

Presented by Stuart Hertzog

Tired of iTunes? Time for PiTunes! — HiFi audio from your Pi.

You don’t need a PC or laptop to enjoy listening to hifi audio from your personal collection or Internet streaming. And you won’t have to endure the convoluted iTunes interface.

A low-cost Digital Audio Converter (DAC) or DAC and Amplifier such as offered by HiFiBerry or IQAudio will turn any Raspberry Pi2 or 3 into a low-cost and energy-efficient MPD audio server controlled from a Web browser or an iOS/Android app.

Join us as instructor Stuart Hertzog explains how to set up a DAC on your Pi and demonstrates the free and open-source Linux audio software PiMusicBox, Volumio, RuneAudio, and MoOde Audio.

Discover PiFi audio and a world of listening pleasure!

Check out the links for this presentation:

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May 14th Meeting

Using the GPIO Pins on the Pi – Part 2

By Deid Reimer

This meeting we’ll pick up on the Pi GPIO pins (Part 2), looking at input, using switches (push buttons). You’ll learn how to not only have your Pi illuminate lights or close relays, but also to take input via GPIO. Using the input and output GPIO capabilities of the Pi, one can create a home automation system, or even replace your “Nest” thermostat with the Pi.

Bring your Pi and get hands on help after the presentation.

Read the tutorial material

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April 9 Meeting

VNC on the Raspberry Pi

by Craig Miller

In this meeting we’ll learn:

  • What is VNC
  • Why would you want to use VNC?
  • Basic Networking
  • VNC Server, VNC Client
  • Other remote GUI methods, X-Windows
  • Demo

Bring your Pi if you have one so you can set it up for VNC access as the presentation progresses.

Outline

  • What is VNC?
  • Why would you want to use VNC?
  • Basic Networking
  • VNC Server, VNC Client
  • Other remote GUI methods

Read the Presentation

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March 12 Meeting

Building An Arduino Obstacle Avoidance Robot

by Eileen Amirault (with a little help from Cody Gregory)

Last March Break, I read a book that changed my life. I immediately ran out and purchased an Arduino. A Raspberry Pi was not far behind. After a few months of experimenting, and watching YouTube videos of kids building Obstacle Avoidance Robots (OAR), we thought it looked like a good first project. We call it Bobby OAR. An OAR is an autonomous robot that rolls around and avoids obstacles by using sensor input. Then, based on programming, finds an alternate path forward, avoiding obstacles along the way. We had most of the components from various kits, so only a chassis and wheels needed to be ordered. Or was there something else?

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February 27, 2016 – Python 2: Basic Constructs

This Python Course covers what is useful to know so you can quickly and easily set about writing Python programs. (Detailed Python programming will be covered in subsequent courses.) This course is suitable for anyone, from those that may have very little computing/programming experience, to those who have already been actively programming in Python. The aim is to get everyone up to the point where they feel confident in using Python and writing useful programs.

Simon Bluck

See tutorial material here.

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February 13 Meeting

41BkDwf1-JL._AA160_   flightradar

A Live Flight Data Feeder

Presented by Gordo

One of the many cool things you can do with your Raspberry Pi is to add a special $30 DVT-T USB dongle and install some software to turn your Pi into a live flight data feeder for FlightRadar24.com and FlightAware.com.

The recommended one is an ADS-B USB Dongle (R820T), which includes a small indoor antenna, but I purchased an equivalent one from Amazon at a very reasonable cost.

Among the benefits of this project are gaining free premium memberships with both sites; the ability to monitor flights overhead in real-time; and learing a bit about how to install third-party software via the command line.

In this presentation, I will give an overview of the hardare and software required and perform a quick walk-through installing the FlightRadar24.com feeder. If time permits, I will also demonstrate installing the FlightAware.com feeder.

Since these feeder stations are location-dependent, you will have to perform your own install at the place from which you’ll set up your Pi feeder and antenna.

Place: Victoria Computer Club, 85A Burnside Rd West (at Wascana), Victoria
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Read the full instructions here

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January 23, 2016 – Python 1: Introduction

Jan 23, 2016 · 9:30 AM
Victoria Computer Club

Python is a modern programming language that is relatively easy to learn and well-suited to sensor or robotics projects using the Raspberry Pi, Arduino, or other embedded Linux boards.

The first of a monthly series, An Introduction to Python is co-presented by Deid Reimer and Simon Bluck, two VicPiMaker members with considerable combined experience in programming and teaching.

See tutorial material here.

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What topics do you want covered at our Meetups?

Hi! My name is Deid Reimer and I have taken on the task of ensuring that we have presentations, demonstrations, or something else of interest as the focus of our biweekly Saturday Victoria PiMakers And Others Meetups.

Send me your ideas and suggestions as to:

  • What topics you are interested in seeing covered at our meetings?
  • A topic or project you could present or showcase at a meeting.

We’d also like to know:

Please don’t worry if you have an idea for a topic or a project you can present but don’t know how to structure your talk, or are just shy about speaking in public. I can help with this: send me your idea and we’ll work to make it happen.

Presentations should be about an hour long, leaving up to an hour for questions and answers, directed help, and general discussion.

Some possible future topics could include:

  • More on GPIO and sensors
  • More on command line Linux
  • Projects you or others have completed or are still in progress
  • Programming (could be a series of tutorials) in:
    • Python
    • JavaScript
    • HTML/CSS
    • C+
    • Scratch
    • Sonica
  • Using the Pi (And Others) as a:
    • Media centre
    • DNS server, or a
    • Web server
  • Backing up your SD cards and devices
  • And all the other topics that I haven’t thought of…

Please contact me at presentations@vicpimakers.ca with your ideas.

Meetups for the first quarter of 2016 are:

  • January 9th and 23rd
  • February 13th and 27th
  • March 12 and 26th

First 2016 presentation – January 9th

To kick off the New Year, I’m going to present simple Raspberry Pi General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) (basic turning an LED light on and off — don’t worry, I’ll bring the LED!) on January 9th, 2016. This is the equivalent of the introductory Hello World printout in programming. So this date is covered unless anyone else wants it; if so I will yield.

Happy New Year!

Deid

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A very Merry Pi/Arduino/Beagle Mas!

cold-linux-penguin-tux-animal-hat

We are taking a break from meetings until the New Year so people can enjoy the embedded gifts and goodies that most certainly the Linux Penguin will be delivering to your door (or community mailbox).

Our next meeting will be on January 9th 2016, on the topic Introduction to General Purpose Input/Output.

Meanwhile, enjoy the Holiday Season,
Victoria PiMakers And Others

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Animatronics Course

Animatronics Course (at Makerspace)

uviclogo
January 28, 2016 to March 24, 2016 (6:30 PM – 8:30 PM)
9 sessions on Thursday

Location: Vancouver Island Technology Park
Instructor: James Jacoby
Expected Class Size: 12
Register at UVIC Continuing Studies HERE
Movie special effects abound with monsters and robots that roar and move and react to people in the scenes with them. Learn how to make your own animatronic creations! This course will teach you how to program the Arduino microcontroller, a tiny computer that can connect to sensors and motors to make your projects light up, react to sounds, move, sense temperature, and all sorts of other tricks. You’ll build a project from scratch—maybe a puppet, robot, a spaceman helmet, or whatever else your creativity inspires. Along the way, you’ll have workshop facilities available to you as a temporary member of the Victoria Makerspace (makerspace.ca) and access to all of the instructional videos from one of the leading special effects studios, Stan Winston Studios, www.stanwinstonschool.com/tutorials.

At the end of this course, you will have the knowledge you need to embed a computer into all of your artistic creations.

Please note: this course will take place at Makerspace at the Vancouver Island Technology Park, 4A – 4476 Markham Street.

Course Includes: Arduino kits, 2 months MakerSpace Membership, 2 months Stan Winston access.