Adventures in Home Security Surveillance with a TS-7970

As you may have seen in my TS-7970 Home Security Systems video on YouTube, I took a TS-7970 quad core single board computer and built it into my very own home security system using the open source software Zoneminder. This product works very well for the two camera system that I have hooked up. In case you didn’t get a chance to see the video, I wanted a security system that was cost effective and still worked well with the capability to expand if I so desired. I was referred to Zoneminder by a good friend and coworker of mine. Since I work at Technologic Systems I thought it would be cool to be able to use one of our boards to build up this camera system. After getting approval to use one of our boards my journey began on making my very own security system a reality.    Home

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Practical Guide to Getting Started with the TS-4100

 

This practical guide gives us an opportunity to take a relaxed approach to getting started with the TS-4100 computer. We’re going to take a look at how to make our first connections, and setup the network. These are usually the first things we do before starting development. In the grand scheme of things, this is just a friendlier extrapolation from the official TS-4100 manual, so be sure to keep it handy for more advanced topics and specific details. The only assumption being made is that you’ve purchased the TS-4100 with a development kit, including the pre-programmed microSD card and TS-8551 reference board. Right then, let’s get started!  Home

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Practical Guide to Getting Started with the TS-7800-V2

This practical guide gives us an opportunity to take a relaxed approach to getting started with the TS-7800-V2 single board computer. We’re going to take a look at how to make our first connections, and setup the network. These are usually the first things we do before starting development. In the grand scheme of things, this is just a friendlier extrapolation from the official TS-7800-V2 manual, so be sure to keep it handy for more advanced topics and specific details. The only assumption being made is that you’ve purchased the TS-7800-V2 with a development kit, including the pre-programmed microSD card and necessary cables.                                Home

For you TS-7800 users upgrading to the TS-7800-V2, you’re in for a treat. There’s a migration guide specifically created to help you with some of the nuances in upgrading. For this, take a look at the “Migration Path” section of the TS-7800-V2 Manual.

When you’ve finished, be sure take a look at PWM Primer with the TS-7800-V2.  Good stuff there about working with dimming LEDs and controlling servo motors.

Right then, let’s get started! Continue reading “Practical Guide to Getting Started with the TS-7800-V2”

PWM Primer with the TS-7800-V2

In this PWM crash course, we’ll be taking a look at what PWM is and how to use it by way of example. First, we’ll control the brightness of an LED and make it breathe, then we’ll control the position of a servo motor. This will all be done using the PWM channels on a TS-7800-V2.

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Real World Example in Working with I2C Sensor Device

Let’s take a look at what it takes to read sensor data from an I2C interface (aka I2C, IIC, TwoWire, TWI). In particular, we’ll be reading data from the NXP MPL3115A2 Altimeter/Barometer/Temperature sensor. The principles found in this guide can also be applied generically, even to your ambifacient lunar waneshaft positioning sensor of your turboencabulator.  Home

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Example XBee Project: Opened Door Alert via Email/SMS

Imagine this: You have a five-year-old son who has grown tall enough, and smart enough to open the door to your home office, packed with all your super fun gizmos and trinkets. It has a lock, but being the lackadaisical creature you are, you forget to lock it. You’ll only be gone for a minute or two, after all! Well, that was just enough time for your son to sneak in, rip up all the jumper wires from your breadboard, find a permanent marker, and well, you know how this ends.

In this (oddly specific) example project we’re going to be coming up with a solution to avoid such a disaster by building a wireless, internet connected, SMS door alert system using:

This way, we’ll receive a text message every time the door is opened and be able to rush to the scene of the future crime.
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Implementing a BACnet System Utilizing the TS-7680

BACnet is a data communication protocol for Building Automation and Control Networks. Developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), BACnet is a national standard in more than 30 countries around the world, and an ISO global standard. It was created to have a unified communication system for different devices across different manufacturers. Manufacturers of BACnet devices create a wide range of monitor and control modules, from basic IO, to analog, to specialized devices such as gas monitors.                            Home

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Now Sampling the TS-4100

TS-4100 System on Module powered by NXP i.MX6 UL Processor.

Feb 15, 2018 — Technologic Systems announced their latest System-on-Module, the TS-4100, has entered in to their engineering sampling program (see below for details). The TS-4100 is the first Technologic Systems System-on-Module to feature the NXP i.MX 6 UltraLite processor, featuring a single ARM Cortex A7 core, operating at speeds up to 695MHz. The NXP i.MX 6UL processors offer scalable performance and multimedia support, along with low power consumption. Technologic Systems allows you to take full advantage of the integrated power management module to optimize power sequencing throughout the board design to achieve 300 mW typical power usage, making this SoM perfect for embedded applications with strict power requirements. The TS-4100 is perfect for industrial embedded applications for medical, automotive, industrial automation, smart energy and many more applications.

Read the full press release on www.embeddedTS.com…

A Friendly Introduction to XBee

Digi XBee radios sure are handy for wireless communication in embedded systems, so let’s take a look from a newbie perspective at how to get two of ’em talking to each other quickly.                       Home

This tutorial can be applied generically to any setup with any two XBee radios, so long as you have them plugged in and ready to work with a serial port. That being said, this is a list of parts used in this tutorial:

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