Tapping the cheap energy to power our gadgets

Vibrations which is always present in the environment can now be harnessed to power our gadget. Just imagine while you are walking, try to move your arms or when the wind is blowing, vibration is produced and thus can be converted into electric energy. Free electricity is also a good term for this.

What is needed to convert these vibrations into electrical energy is the piezo vibration sensor.  An example of a piezo electric sensor is like this:

 

 

This typical sensor can produce low alternating current but large voltage ranging from 1v up to 90v. The electrical energy produced by the sensor goes out of the 2 leads. There is an integrated circuit designed specifically to regulate the output of the sensor, I am referring to LTC3588. This system on chip electronic component requires minimal external component and the typical circuit provided by the manufacturer is in the following circuit diagram:

 

 





This is basically a piezoelectric energy harvester with 9V battery as back up power. There are also other implementations like Sparkfun's  LTC3588 breakout board uses solar energy as power source instead of the piezo vibration sensor. This works like you have to set a certain output voltage, the role of the solar panel is to charge the super capacitors connected in series, if the voltage across  the input of the breakout board reaches the preselected voltage output, the LTC3588 circuit will be awaken and start to power a device connected to its output, if the supercaps were fully discharge or their output voltage is less than the preselected output voltage, then the circuit will enter the sleep mode.

This technology can really be a must have for everyone who uses gadgets that requires electricity such as mobile phones. If 5million uses this technology, perhaps our fossil fuel consumption will be reduced and will be a huge savings for a nation where 95% of the population are struggling to make both ends meet.

Miniaturized Arm Based Arduinos

For electronics projects where space and size really matters, a miniaturized arm based arduinos can be an excellent solution as it will definitely speed up development efforts especially during prototyping stage. My previous post which was about miniaturized arduinos does not offer much because those were just small arduino uno. What most hobbyist want and I would say an ideal tiny development board should at least be 40Mhz with huge rams and eeproms.

So I tried to search the web again to find arduinos having the above mentioned specs and to my surprise, I only found 1 and another tiny board almost qualified but then it is worth mentioning because of it unique features and it's a little bit more powerful than an ordinary arduino.

Teensy 3.1 is a small and is definitely a miniaturized arm based arduino. It uses the powerful MK20DX256 32 bit ARM Cortex-M4 72 MHz microcontroller and can be program in the arduino ide. The only feature that did not met my requirement is the small eeprom which is the standard 2kb, the manufacturer should have at least inluded an external eeprom ic to compensate for this lackness but overall, the teensy 3.1 will enable hobbyists develop a wide range of small but very powerful devices.

The other arm based arduino is small but is only 16Mhz (that's why it did not qualified) is the rfduino. What is nice about this tiny arduino module is having a bluetooth low energy module on board, this can also be used as an alternative ibeacon device or can be programmed to recieve ibeacon data. enablng other non-ble equipped devices to have the latest hardware in the market.

My Mobile Application Idea using Ibeacons

Micro location devices such as ibeacons are getting the right attention nowadays because these devices can truly make huge events in a large venue interactive making the event more organized and more enjoyable.Still, quite a number of people still don't know what ibeacons can do and what it can do to help them save time or enhance their experience.

Currently, a lot of new app design ideas have been coming out and I would like to share mine. I am not an expert in mobile app development but I think the concept is viable and can really help people who loves shopping or going out to buy some hard to find items.

Here's my idea:

1. Before I go out of the house, I will list down the items I am going to buy on the app.
2. I proceed to the mall where each shop has active ibeacons.
3. While I am inside the mall, I open the app showing the list I created.
4. I click on an item and immediately, the app will tell me which shop sells the item.
5. I click the shop that sells the item to give me the exact location and tells me if there is an on going sales discounts or they're giving away freebies.
6. Assuming it is so far away, so I will just send a message to the shop owner to just send the product to my current location and I will just click the "pay" button to pay for the product using my paypal.
7. I will just wait for the product to be delivered while enjoying a cup of coffee.

The list are just high level outline of my idea, if I would dig a little deeper into the features, I would probably add these items into the list:

• The list of enumerated shops must include the selling price so I could decide immediately from which shop should I buy. 
• The search algorithm I would use in determining which shop sells the item is keyword based. But it would be a lot simpler if I would tell all the shop owners to have similar product code. For example, I intend to buy a laptop which has i7 octacore cpu, ips touch screen of at least 11". I would also include my budget and ideal casing. The app should use the keywords "i7 octacore cpu" "ips touch screen" and 11".
• If I click on a product, it would show the typical brochure-like screen filled with useful information and at the button several widgets that shows the related items, the "people who bought this item also bought the following items", reviews and feed backs.  

With this app, I don't have to go each and every shop just to ask them if they have the item I am looking for.

This app can really be very helpful especially when you have a project and you will start looking for the components you need and shops are located far from each other and not to mention the extremely humid weather.

Utilizing the Power of the Sun

For 4 months now, I have been utilizing the energy coming from the sun to energize my gadgets. And within that 4 months, I have been doing several experiments and trying to solve everyday problems I encountered. Although it is quite expensive, I have enjoyed tingling with technology. It is as if I don't care about the money much as long as I really enjoy what I do and I really do enjoyed it.

First problem I encountered is I really can't leave my solar panels because in the place where I stay, a lot of strangers pass by and who knows, they may pick up some of my solar panels and easily run away. Second, I will have to check starting at 3 pm whether the solar panels still receive sunlight which they often do so I have to re-arrange them accordingly.

So I really need  to construct a small metal structure about 8ft high just to be able to use my solar panels 7 days a week because right now, I am only able to charge my battery bank twice a week and use this stored energy the whole week for my usb electric fans and led lights plus the Christmas lights.

So off I went to the hardware store and bought several flat angular bars and screws which cost over 2500 pesos and without much planning, I was able to finish the job in just 1 day.

So now, I will be able to use my solar panels 7 days a week and I just wonder how it would affect my energy needs. Currently, It could not adequately power my CHangHong 29" Led Tv and charge my 2 laptops.

The Peso in gaining temporary strength

When something keeps climbing and reaches the top, it will not go anywhere but down. This is mostly true in gold, currencies and stocks. Traders usually concentrates in determining the highest possible value and when this value is reached, that's the time that they start either selling or buying. This is another good way to earn money to buy new gadgets.

Lately, the peso is appreciating but this will be temporary and once it reaches its inflection point(a point where it starts to collapse), that is the best time to buy dollars. Just imagine if you have 1million dollars, and you bought this dollars at $1: Php35, and suddenly the peso loses its strength and value and reaches $1:Php50, then you will earn around Php15 million  with no sweat. And with Php15million, you can already buy a big house, a nice car, lots of expensive gadgets, etc, etc.

Another Good Suggestion to Save Money

For those people who earns so much but are not able to save their hard earned Pesos because they keep buying gadgets and always go out to spend, I have another very good suggestion on how you can save your money. Spending so much can be very addictive. Especially when you go out a lot and spend most of your time in a mall with all of your cash with you. This can be prevented by not sacrificing your bad habit of hanging out in the malls.

Money is a very liquid asset, you must therefore find a way to convert it into something else that will not reduce its value. I have discovered that with the current European crisis, a lot of foreign investors in the country are withdrawing their money, as a result, the Philippine Peso is weakening because of this huge outgoing migration of funds. So you must be aware of this, and because you frequently go out perhaps twice a day, then instead of spending your money for expensive food, gadgets and whatever that attracts you for no reason, why not buy USD? So each you go out, just to satisfy your urges, just buy USD100 each time you go out and you will see that your money does not disappears because you are buying money?

Just keep on doing that and in about 5 months, you will realize that you have been shopping a lot and your money is still there. LOL!

Mutual Funds is much better way to Save Money

Gadgets are cool but they are just cool that way. Gadgets can easily be outdated and therefore there is a need to constantly upgrade. It is not a good way to save money. Mutual fund is professionally managed type of investment that pools money from many investors to buy stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments. There are many companies that sells mutual funds and for the past 3 years, the yield is so good.

Money grows 100% every 3 years here in the Philippines if you invest in Mutual Funds. It is almost risk free. I invested some money 3 years ago and I am so glad that it has doubled eversince. I intend to invest more because well the market is still bullish and is expected to stay that way in the next 5 years.

The companies that sells Mutual Funds are Philequity, Sun Life of Canada, ATR KimEng, and many more. Some companies can allow you to invest as low as Php5000. They have an organization called Philippine Investment Funds Association. Mutual Funds

Some brownies for deserts

I went to Cubao this afternoon to check again the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e. I can't see any computer shop that displays the netbook not even the Lenovo shop at the SM Cubao Cyberzone. So instead, I just walk around and check each of the available netbooks that has almost the same specs as the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e and these are the Asus EEE Pc 1201T and the MSI Wind U230.

Of all the three netbooks, MSI Wind U230 has better specs compared to the two netbooks while the Asus EEE PC 1201T is the cheapest, and the Lenovo ThinkPad X100e has the best appearance and of course the classic ThinkPad boxy design.

As of today, I still think that the Lenovo Thinkpad X100e is the best choice but I am not planning to buy it locally although I haven't made up my mind yet. Before I went home, I happen to pass by a stall that sells lovely brownies so thought I should buy some, and took some pictures of it using my Olympus T-100 digital camera.

I watch cool movies with Bufallo Portable DVD

Watching movies is one of my favorite past times and since my Qube M1 Netbook does not have a built DVD, I forced myself to buy a new DVD portable player and I have chosen the Bufallo Portable DVD reader and writer. I did not really shopped around to see any other brand to compare the price, appearance and other features.

I have actually randomly picked it up because I am not really very particular and picky with this kind of gadget. I am supposed to just be contented with a VCD player but since the recovery disk that came along with my Qube M1 netbook was in DVD format so I am forced to buy a DVD reader/writer instead And after 2 months of using it...so far, I have no regrets. Its black glossy appearance helps beautifies my computer table.

Some of the features of the Bufallo Portable DVD:

• 8x DVD-R Read/Write
• Ultra Slim Design
• USB Bus Powered
• Includes Cyberlink Data Writing software

I rarely use the DVD Burning feature of this gadget because I don't have much data to store permanently on a DVD. But who knows, probably in the future there could be a time when I really need to use it maybe. But for now, I am so happy that I am able to watch high quality movies with this gadget.

The gadget I use to access the internet

The internet has become an important part of my life. There has not been a day I never surfed the internet in the a past 10 years. It is really very addictive. To access the internet, I used to stay at an internet cafe for hours. I even have to wake up very early in the morning just to rush at the internet cafe. Then there came 3G Broadband connections that made connecting to internet anytime, anywhere possible.

Just after buying me a netbook, I immediately bought a 3G USB Modem from Sun Telecom...but then 3G signal in my apartment was poor. I could hardly connect to Sun's 3G network, so I have to figure out a way to enable me to use the 3G device to accept other 3G Broadband providers. After 3 days, I have successfully unlocked it and now I am able to access Globe Telecom's 3G Broadband services. But still, the connection was very slow but then, Globe's 3G service is so much better than the previous. But before I connect to the internet, I need to stay near the window and I need to put my netbook on top of a box about 1 ft high so that it can pick up the signal. I used that setup for almost 3 months.

Then came the Globe Tattoo MyFi device. The moment I first heard about it, I definitely liked it because it will solve the inconvenience I was suffering and I also wanted it to end. So rushed to Globe's nearest outlet, bought one immediately. After 3 weeks of using it, accessing the internet from my apartment has become very convenient and I am so glad that this device has made it possible.

Thanks to these two gadgets. I no longer have to go out just to surf the internet.