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Show HN: Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS

rocket.jonh.net

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Re: Show HN: Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS

#11

Post by uscjeremy »

detrites wrote: post #6

This is incredible. Is there any more recent photos/video of how it looks now?

Thanks! Yes, many new photos though we've been derelict in updating the web site ever since the big 2019 makeover!

Here are some of our end users enjoying our efforts:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8zca5kXXbAf2vcJh6

Here's disco mode, though I think this is with the old audio synthesizer:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vkenYZKATyDRB1386

The original rocket's primary display was 4 rows of 7-segment LEDs. It was actually just 4 of our 1-row boards all stacked on top of each other. For the makeover we replaced it with a native board that had 6 rows:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Dtiv5dN8FfrBAkDK7

Here's a video of it playing pong on my bench before installation:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bWfQkTaF3eUyacb78

The old display boards were controlled by bit-banging latches over long parallel cables. This turns out to be a very bad idea (any EE could tell you this, but we're computer scientists). In the 2019 update we changed the remote display control from bit-banging to proper networking using I2C-based packets. We didn't want to remake every single display board, so we came up with a shortcut: we designed little snap-on "dongles" that speak the new I2C protocol and translate to bitbang commands that just go a few cm to the display board below. Here's the dongle installed on one display board:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/z9e6z6p4vXgb5j5aA

Here's a side view showing how they stack:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tAzF4Aeq1dWVHFxE6

And here is one of the new dongles in situ with the new STM32-based primary controller, and the upgraded 32-bit audio synthesizer:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/oQxEZKRUZsK4Ry6W7

We're both pilots so of course we had to put in a Hobbs meter. The rocket has over 600 hours on it:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ydecF3q8VkdnJB1JA

Re: Show HN: Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS

#12

Post by Severian »

Man I love this. As a kid my dad had a friend that had some type of old industrial control interface, in unpainted sheet metal, he had wired up that just did blinkenlights. Had a bunch of 7-segment LEDs, light-up push buttons, switches, throws, dials, meters, and a bunch of other stuff. It had that tactile goodness that a touchscreen doesn't.

Basically it did nothing, but man did it inspire my imagination. I remember spending hours playing with it as my parents talked and played cards. This must have been the late 70s as I was 4 or 5 at the time (if that tells you my age).

These kids have it good.

Re: Show HN: Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS

#13

Post by uscjeremy »

debatem1 wrote: post #10

Hey, amazing work! It'd be awesome to see this in the solstice parade, or as an installation at the end site for Solstice or Luminata. I help run both events and we would be happy to help move it and put it back if you're open to it.

Thanks, that's a kind offer! I think we don't have another move in us for a temporary display, but once Jon's kids are grown it'd be great to find someplace to donate it to permanently.

We actually did haul the rocket hundreds of miles to Maker Faire years ago:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ESRsJChacRbvpqZU7

Here it is taking on hydrazine:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/1tcRasHpkVJUHq9s7

We had a line of kids waiting for "rides":

https://photos.app.goo.gl/gV9p6a8cVjWqeWgg9

Re: Show HN: Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS

#14

Post by andrewstuart »

Projects like this make life magic for little kids.

I don't have the time/skill/patience for something of this scale, but I love doing little projects that make life magic for other people.

So far I have created multiple kids gaming tables.

I made a lego play table that had storage drawers underneath and stuck big baseboards on the top.

I made quite a few kids playtables using model railroad stuff like grass mats, trees, houses, roads and given them to my boy or to the kids of friends.

I've converted old radios into custom music players for friends birthdays including birthday greetings on various "radio channels".

I converted an old rotary phone into a present for mu mum where you dial a number and hear people tell you their birthday greeting.

I made an alien adventure game in the park for my 8 year old boys birthday party with a story and sound effects and treasures to find.

I created a beach adventure for my boy when he was 6 years old in which he dug up a model sailing ship in the sand which contained a treasure map and a key leading to a little wooden chest wrapped in chains and padlocked and full of costume jewellery and trinkets.

My boy is now 14 years old and the current project is to utilise his interest in robotics to convert toys to robots with the objective of raising his self esteem and making him believe he can do amazing things, give him something to show his friends because he did most of the work.

The older I get, the more I find that this is in fact all I really want to do - be a modern day Gepetto.

It doesn't take much to create magic for other people.

Re: Show HN: Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS

#15

Post by debatem1 »

uscjeremy wrote: post #13
debatem1 wrote: post #10

Hey, amazing work! It'd be awesome to see this in the solstice parade, or as an installation at the end site for Solstice or Luminata. I help run both events and we would be happy to help move it and put it back if you're open to it.

Thanks, that's a kind offer! I think we don't have another move in us for a temporary display, but once Jon's kids are grown it'd be great to find someplace to donate it to permanently. We actually did haul the rocket hundreds of miles to Maker Faire years ago: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ESRsJChacRbvpqZU7 Here it is taking on hydrazine: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1tcRasHpkVJUHq9s7 We had a line of kids waiting for "rid…

Looks like a great trip and with all that disassembly I can imagine it not being an easy one, especially for a one day thing. Still, if you change your mind or want to chat about someday relocating it with all the other space-themed art in Fremont feel free to reach out to parade@fremontartscouncil.org or my username at Gmail. Awesome build!

Re: Show HN: Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS

#16

Post by uscjeremy »

Severian wrote: post #12

Man I love this. As a kid my dad had a friend that had some type of old industrial control interface, in unpainted sheet metal, he had wired up that just did blinkenlights. Had a bunch of 7-segment LEDs, light-up push buttons, switches, throws, dials, meters, and a bunch of other stuff. It had that tactile goodness that a touchscreen doesn't. Basically it did nothing, but man did it inspire my imagination. I remember…

Honestly, this thing inspired my imagination more than I could have imagined. I had so much fun that I ended up building dozens more embedded systems projects, and eventually redirected my career more towards embedded systems, too. Embedded systems really let you interact with them in a tactile way, as you put it, that computer-based software does not. I found it irresistible.

Jon's oldest child -- pictured on the web site as an 8-year-old -- is now a sophomore in college, majoring in engineering. I'd like to think the rocket had some small part in that, too.

Re: Show HN: Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS

#17

Post by uscjeremy »

debatem1 wrote: post #15
uscjeremy wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks, that's a kind offer! I think we don't have another move in us for a temporary display, but once Jon's kids are grown it'd be great to find someplace to donate it to permanently. We actually did haul the rocket hundreds of miles to Maker Faire years ago: https://photos.app.goo.gl/ESRsJChacRbvpqZU7 Here it is taking on hydrazine: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1tcRasHpkVJUHq9s7 We had a line of kids waiting for "rid…

Looks like a great trip and with all that disassembly I can imagine it not being an easy one, especially for a one day thing. Still, if you change your mind or want to chat about someday relocating it with all the other space-themed art in Fremont feel free to reach out to parade@fremontartscouncil.org or my username at Gmail. Awesome build!

Thanks, I'll get in touch!

Re: Show HN: Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS

#18

Post by jacquesm »

uscjeremy wrote: post #4
dang wrote: post #3

As david_elson pointed out, this incredible project was originally submitted back in 2011: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2246856 - and got zero comments. An observant HN user (dcminter - thanks!) ran across it the other day and suggested it as a candidate for the second-chance pool (explained at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26998308 ). I enthusiastically agreed and we got back in touch not only with th…

Thanks dang! I'm one of the makers and happy to chat!

What a fantastic project! It would be interesting to do some risk assessment to see how well it stacks up against the real thing ;)

I'm definitely not going to show this to my kids because I have other plans for the next three years...

Edit: I love the GPS datalogger, it's like the random number generator doing '4' all the time.

Re: Show HN: Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS

#19

Post by jacquesm »

uscjeremy wrote: post #16
Severian wrote: post #12

Man I love this. As a kid my dad had a friend that had some type of old industrial control interface, in unpainted sheet metal, he had wired up that just did blinkenlights. Had a bunch of 7-segment LEDs, light-up push buttons, switches, throws, dials, meters, and a bunch of other stuff. It had that tactile goodness that a touchscreen doesn't. Basically it did nothing, but man did it inspire my imagination. I remember…

Honestly, this thing inspired my imagination more than I could have imagined. I had so much fun that I ended up building dozens more embedded systems projects, and eventually redirected my career more towards embedded systems, too. Embedded systems really let you interact with them in a tactile way, as you put it, that computer-based software does not. I found it irresistible. Jon's oldest child -- pictured on the we…

I think a big factor is that kids see adults do stuff and think that doing stuff and making things is normal. That gets them out of 'if it isn't store bought it isn't real' mode.

Re: Show HN: Homemade rocketship treehouse – hardware to custom OS

#20

Post by uscjeremy »

jacquesm wrote: post #18
uscjeremy wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks dang! I'm one of the makers and happy to chat!

What a fantastic project! It would be interesting to do some risk assessment to see how well it stacks up against the real thing ;) I'm definitely not going to show this to my kids because I have other plans for the next three years... Edit: I love the GPS datalogger, it's like the random number generator doing '4' all the time.

I don't have numbers so I'll just say that it has only ever been disassembled slowly and according to plan!
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