This local website contains all information on the Philips EE and microcontroller-based projects that I have been running, with my eldest son Joost being involved sometimes as well. Regarding microcontrollers, I use the PICAXE, ZBASIC and - recently - MicroPython microcontroller types, quite different but excellent systems for building applications based on the BASIC (and Arduino/C++) or MicroPython language. I often use my childhood's Philips EE system for prototyping for both practical and nostalgic reasons, and therefore it has a sub-blog by itself.
Everybody wants to make a space trip, so my son Joost and I joined as well, that is, a trip to near space (31 kms high), through the service offered by JP Aerospace. For the full story on how we built this tiny satellite that fits into a pingpong ball, how it was flown upwards, which measurement results we got and to follow current developments, see the following link towards our PICAXE-18X based NLSE-1 Pongsat project. It has most probably been the first electronics-based PongSat that has functioned the whole trip towards near-space and back to earth, with registered temperatures as low as -60 C, thanks to a special LiPo battery.
The Picaxe "SerialPower" Network combines power delivery and bi-directional communications between processes on intelligent, picaxe-based battery-less nodes. This can be implemented using just two interchangeable wires. Simple diode-mixing networks with separate power and communication wires are supported as well.
In a joint project my son Joost and I built an airport model a while ago (Joost built and painted the hardboard-based construction, I took care of the electronics part). The model includes 68 programmable LEDs, all of them in three main landing and departure tracks as well as the support tracks. This is probably the one-and-only remote-controlled airport available on the globe that can be steered by a Sony RC!
Here follow a number of code contributions (snippets or small projects) to the PICAXE and ZBASIC user forums that may be of use for or provide inspiration to others:
The Philips EE series of kits have been developed by Philips Electronics from the sixties (the EE5/EE10 and EE8/EE20) till the eighties (EE3000) in various forms, and became very popular in various European countries, notably Germany and the Netherlands. Initially these kits were used to promote Philips-produced electronic parts to hobbyists, but at the end of the sixties the focus shifted towards educational purposes: the kits were intended to interest teenagers in studying electronics. As a result the series gradually developed into the most advanced electronic experimentation kit type that has been available ever, with designs that include several superhet radios, an oscilloscope and even a TV! Tor Gjerde has presented a great and very detailed presentation of the complete range of series at his website that I highly recommend for a visit.
The Philips EE category - also accessible through the "I am a Maker" menu item on the top of this page - contains all of my contributions on this subject.
The popular Mahjong game (4 players using ivory bricks) uses a points reckoning system that balances the individuals' scores in a certain way so that the net result always equals zero. This process is rather tedious and requires the person who is calculating to be "decoupled" from the ongoing social conversations, which destroys one of the nice aspects of the game. Therefore it is a good candidate for automation. My oldest son and I undertook the project of implementing such a calculator in ZBasic hardware using a ZX328L and a simple matrix keyboard and an LCD display. The youngest son contributed by generously allowing his wooden school-made encasing to be used for this project. The casing is designed to show off its internals.