Definitely, at least in my opinion. There was some disagreement during our conversation yesterday about whether this was strictly accurate.

The latter, combined with the fact that it's one of the less-popular displays and is a pain in the neck to keep running. The effort and space would be better-spent on something else.

I think the Whack-a-Mole idea is actually a pretty good one, if we have a physical Whack-a-Mole "controller", because it would bridge the gap between people who know what Whack-a-Mole is and people who have seen calculator hardware projects.

*bump* For the curious, I've drawn up the following diagrams of our possible table layouts (based on what I'm requesting in our application):

I'm curious. Most faires I have been to had rows that are two booths wide. How would the first layout work? I assume the rows are just one booth or are these two different locations? Where the corner option is based on a two-wide row and the first is based on a single wide row?

If you take a look at our pictures from last year, we were at the end of a one-wide row, so we essentially had three sides of a 10x10 area exposed. It worked well to have our displays on two sides of the tent, especially since we had them segregated into less-technical displays (floppyTunes, the gaming calculators, the wooden calculator) on one side, and the more-technical displays (CALCnet, the guestbook, the books, our overview board) were on the other side. Our very first year, we had a location that would fit that second option above well: the outward-facing corner of a set of exhibitors under a big tent.

I hope that answers your question.

I think Option 1 results in a lot more useable interior space for us, but I'm not sure I liked people having to walk all the way around our tent to see the whole display.

Is the wooden calculator going to be at Maker Faire?

As long as Eeems joins us this year, the wooden calculator (made by CalebHansberry and won at auction by Eeems) will be there.

*bump* Long-delayed updates on preparation and brainstorming:
- We'll be using an MSP430 for one, if not two, of the hardware demos (see below for more about one of them, the Whack-a-Mole game)
- I've ordered a giant calculator banner, due to arrive tomorrow. I'll post photos as soon as it gets here.
- I've been thinking about (but not making concrete progress on) the programming instruction display. I'll post updates when I create something tangible.
- As promised, my super-rough sketch of what the Whack-a-Mole game looks like in my mind. The horizontal and vertical portions are boards of some sort, the squares on the horizontal portion are plexiglass, and the calculator and MSP430 are mounted next to explanatory text.



Edit: Fixed microcontroller name ~ Geekboy

Looks good and similar to what I had in my mind. I think the backdrop is the only thing that I would do different, EG make it separate or supported enough to handle the kids who are going to beat on the display. We really should make this display kindergarten proof....

I was thinking that it could have at least two vertical supports behind it, perpendicular to the backdrop itself, so it would be well-supported if someone tried to push on it. If we put it far enough back on the table, kids will also not be able to reach it easily. Thoughts?

I'm going to be able to go! Can't wait to see all you guys

I am more worried about the fists hitting the thing on people that take "whack" a little bit to literally. More so then it falling over.

Then we should make it as close to the table as possible while still being able to fit LEDs and sensors underneath. It's suddenly occurring to me that to solve both this issue and the sunlight issue, maybe we don't want plexiglass at all. Maybe we want this (excuse the ASCII art):


Code:

That actually makes sense and would be pretty(maybe..) easy to construct. I could make a test for that once i have all the parts. Its really a question of the sensitivity of the CDS cells at this point.

Then I need to go ahead and order them (after I test the CDS cells I think I already have with the RGB LEDs I have to see which/how many RGB LEDs I need). By the way, if we have the CDS cells connected to the uC's ADC, all we need to do is have the calculator read the CDS value right as it displays the next tile to hit. Then it simply waits until that value goes way down (ie, dark = higher resistance = lower voltage).

By the way, some new Maker Faire things. From left to right, the parts to build 3D-printed fake AAA batteries, the first two attempts to print the batteries (our printers' quality is not perfect), our new banner, and supplies for mounting calculators and printing bookmarks.

Yeah we can work those quirks out as we go. If that is what makes it reliable that's what we will do . But definetily order those cells! the only thing that might be a problem is the rgbleds influencing the light level of the cds cell. But that will get figured out as we design it.

Also how to those battery dummies work? They look pretty good!

If you'll still have me I'm down for helping out as much as I can. Always love a good Maker's Faire.

I am hip to making some more recognizable MT3s, if you have room for it. People might be a tad more interested in something like Game of Thrones or Pokemon tunes than my standard castlevania beats.

Also this time around I think I should be able to pay for my own maker ticket, so if you have anyone you want to get in for free
(assuming the free assistant tickets are limited), feel free to do so.


edit: Also I can bring my 84+ SE, a 89 Titanium, and possibly one of the first nspires if my brother isn't using it for his classes. Also can bring arduinos and other assorted electronics if need be

What are the fake batteries for?

Powering calculators off wall power.

The inaccuracy of the printer made the washer a really tight fit; I'm going to increase the tolerance on the model and re-print it again. The batteries themselves fit snugly against the contacts, though, so that part is good.

Absolutely! We've been planning around the fact that you'll be there; it's always a blast to have you.

GAME OF THRONESSSSSS! If you have the time for this, you absolutely should explore some new songs.

At the moment I think we have exactly as many helpers as tickets; since various SOs will be around, I also need to ration out the discounted tickets, so I'll keep you posted.

The SE (for mobileTunes) and Arduinos would likely be helpful. Thanks!

Edit: I modified and re-printed the standard bookmarks for this year, and wasted 10 sheets of the fancy paper testing out the bookmarks. We should have some 115*7 bookmarks available once I get around to the laborious task of copying and then cutting them.

I guess we are not changing the bookmarks at all Still cool. Any chance you can share the battery model with me? I might want to play with it a little and give it a try.