Ramblings of a Cadet

Analog Servo Controll, 555 timer

sergeantatarms — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:49:10 +0000

I just ordered a micro-controller to get my hobby started, but couldn’t wait for it to arrive to get my projects rolling. I wanted to controll a servo using just the parts i had laying around, so i opted for a 555 circuit.

This circuit produces a 50Hz square wave with a duty cycle of 7.5% (this will set my servo to the middle position). To control the servo, the duty cycle must be variable from 2.5% to 12.5%, so i replaced R1 with a 3k potentiometer. Changing the value of this resistor only affects the duty cycle of the output, and not the frequency.

Here is a great illustration of what’s going on to control the servo:

http://www.brookshiresoftware.com/rd_how_servos_work.htm

This is the completed circuit, with the servo added and an LED (connected to the servo) to help troubleshoot. Now i can control the servo just by turning the nob on the potentiometer!

Tagged: 555, control, Servo

VMI Bugler Rob Allen featured…

sergeantatarms — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:59:23 +0000

Playing Taps at the annual New Market Parade

This article was published about me in the Roanoke Times on Memorial Day:

Still, some are trying to maintain the tradition of the bugle, the brass instrument without valves that traces its military use back more than 250 years.

“I think it’s a disgrace to see an electronic taps played at military funerals,” said Rob Allen, a rising fourth-year cadet at Virginia Military Institute who leads the bugle corps.

VMI is one of the few military schools that still relies upon live music for calls to duty — such as reveille in the morning and taps at night — and to announce formations. Allen, a 21-year-old electrical engineering major from Boulder, Colo., is one of five scholarship buglers, but he is the only cadet who actually plays a bugle. The rest play trumpets.

Check out the online article here:

http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/205948

And the multimedia slideshow:

http://roanoke.com/multimedia/soundslides/0525_taps/gallery.html

Tagged: Rob Allen, VMI Bugler

VMI Cadet and Jessica Simpson

sergeantatarms — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:24:18 +0000

This picture is an instant classic. This was taken last week at some kind of Tiger Woods event that the VMI Brass Quintet was playing at.

Josh Applewhite and John Brodie

EYES TO THE FRONT APPLEWHITE! YOU THINK THIS IS SOME KIND OF A GAME SON?!?!?! LOOKING AT LADY PARTS WHILE YOU ARE IN YOUR DRESS WHITES WILL GET YOU A WEEKS WORTH OF CLEANING LATRINES AND SHINING BOOTS! Maaaaaan. It looks like all his dreams are coming true right there. He’s gonna enjoy the back of that dress too. Unfortunately, Jessica’s tail game is not going to hold it down.

See the post at Us Versus Them

Tagged: Jessica Simpson, John Brodie, Josh Applewhite, VMI

Swine Flu in Lexington

sergeantatarms — Sat, 02 May 2009 23:43:02 +0000

Received this email today from someone in administration:

The state health commissioner reported last night that two students at Washington and Lee University who were treated with mild flu symptoms are probable cases of swine flu.

There are no suspected cases of swine flu among cadets at VMI. Institute officials are monitoring the situation and at this time are not calling for any exceptional actions.

According to Dr. David L. Copeland, Institute physician, cadets with a high fever and aches should report to the Post Infirmary any time day or night for evaluation. Faculty and staff with any flu-like illness should see a family doctor. Sick employees should stay home and sick cadets should report to the Infirmary.

The best preventive measures are careful hand washing and covering a cough to avoid spread of viruses.

The VMI pandemic flu Web site (www.vmi.edu/pandemic/) provides information concerning the flu and preventative measures individuals can take. Another excellent website for accurate and up to date information is www.cdc.gov/swineflu. The epidemic continues to be a cause for concern but not panic. The Institute has prepared for an epidemic like this and we are ready to react appropriately.

I still don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Famous last words, right? Today finals, tomorrow Bacon Lung!

Tagged: bacon lung, H1N1, lexington, Swine flu, VMI, Washington and Lee

Midwinter Formal Hop Permit 2009

sergeantatarms — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:34:01 +0000

REGIMENTAL S7

CORPS OF CADETS

VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE

LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA

9 December 2008

Midwinter Formal Hop

1. EVENT. The VMI Corps of Cadets is permitted to attend the Midwinter Formal (MWF) in Cocke Hall on Saturday, 14 Feb from 1900-2300 in accordance with the following eligibility requirements.

2. ELIGIBILITY.

a. A cadet must have a date to attend the MWF. Male cadets must have a female date and female cadets must have a male date to attend.

b. A cadet must pick up tickets for his/her date from the S7 staff to attend the MWF, as tickets will be taken at the door of Cocke Hall.

c. A cadet with restrictions who has a date and attends the MWF in its entirety will have restrictions lifted from CMD Saturday 14 Feb 09 until noon Sunday 15 Feb 09.

d. Cadets without dates are encouraged to sign up with S7 to work at the hop to earn hop privileges.

3. STIPULATIONS.

a. Eligible cadets must stay at least three hours at the MWF to take advantage of the hop privilege which is a free in-county weekend. Cadets with restrictions must return to Post by noon Sunday. Cadets with full class privileges must return to Post by taps Sunday.

b. There is no charge for admission to the hop.

c. Uniform for cadets is coatee with white ducks for men and long white skirt for women, no cover or gloves. Uniform for military attendees is mess dress. Dress for civilian guests is long gown for ladies and tuxedo for gentlemen.

d. Cadets may wear hop uniform up-town.

e. Regardless of PT restrictions or AC pro, eligible cadets may depart at CMD 14 Feb 09 in the hop uniform or gray blouse to spend time with their dates prior to the hop, but they must then stay at the hop for at least three hours.

f. All cadets who are attending or working the MWF will have optional SRC on 14 Feb 09.

g. Eligible cadets with drill vehicles may use their vehicles for activities relating to the formal from Friday, 13 Feb through Sunday, 15 Feb. Cadets must be accompanied by their dates or meeting their dates while using their vehicles.

h. Reservations and work sign-ups will be accepted by the S7 beginning noon, Monday 26 Jan 09 for firsts; noon Tuesday for seconds; noon Wednesday for thirds; and noon Thursday 29 Jan 08 for Rats.

i. The S-7 Captain may authorize 1 for 1 PTs to facilitate execution of the event.

j. The 4/C will receive a briefing on customs/courtesies and procedures at the MWF 2 weeks prior to the event.

Respectfully Submitted,

Cadet Asia T. Pastor ‘10

1st Battalion S-7 Sergeant ‘07-‘08

Room 203

Tagged: 2009, hop, mid winter formal, Midwinter formal, valentines day, VMI

Ghost Storys of VMI

sergeantatarms — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:52:05 +0000

Some cool ghost stories. There’s a few that have been left out…. but still interesting.

Virginia Mourning Her Dead

A beautiful bronze statue, Virginia Mourning her Dead, by Moses Ezekiel, has captivated generations of VMI cadets. The statue has a long history of suspected paranormal activity, including moans and cries that are reported to come from the area in which it stands. Many alumni claim to have seen tears coming from Virginia’s eyes when they went to inspect the mysterious sounds in the vicinity.

VMI ghost storys

Tagged: ghosts, haunted, VMI

VMI Jazz Band in Germany

sergeantatarms — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:48:24 +0000

Thank God for the Jazz band and Colonel Brodie. Without these things, I wouldn’t have been able to visit Germany over break. We played in Munich at the Bundeswehr University, and in Garmish at the Edelweiss resort. I loved being out of the country and tasting some good European beer. Maybe I can go back for the starkbierfest some time. Here’s a picture of us playing at the resort:

VMI plays at Edelweiss resort.

Tagged: Bundeswehr University, Edelweiss, Germany, Jazz band, VMI

VMI at President Obama’s Inauguration

sergeantatarms — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:35:13 +0000

Here’s some video of us in the parade. The buildup to the actual event was really annoying, but I’m glad we had the opportunity to march. I was kind of disappointed though because by the time we marched the entire crowd had left. We maybe passed 2000 people, most of which were security. Oh well. On the bright side, the first lady seemed really excited to see us. The president even gave us a salute!

Tagged: Inaugural parade, inauguration, President Obama, VMI

2010 Ring Figure at VMI

sergeantatarms — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 18:22:36 +0000

Ring figure was amazing. It was all we hoped it would be and more. The week started out well with some kind of moderate celebration every day prior to the first event. At the class dinner we were given our combat rings. The theme for the dinner was combat, which is appropriate. The gym was dressed up and hardly recognizable with camo nets, cannons and guns. The class was pretty obnoxious, but very excited so it was understandable. After we got our rings, we started a new tradition by ring-tapping a brass helmet that we’ll pass to our rats. The idea is that we “left our mark” on the institute by denting this helmet.

The ring presentation ceremony was very long because they read the names of every cadet and presented the rings individually. General Pea gave a speech and cracked some okay jokes, but we were too busy admiring our rings to really take note. The ball was interesting. Originally the plan was to have assigned seating, but then someone realized there’s no way everyone could fit into the right seats. When we arrived, they changed the plan and said it was a free for all. In the end that worked out better and helped the atmosphere seem more like a ball.

Just after my date and I passed through the ring, My good friend Paul proposed to his girlfriend. When he dropped to one knee, the entire room went silent and the girls squealed. It was pretty cool.

This is my class ring. 14kt gold, light blue topaz, 1/4 kt diamonds.

VMI Ring figure 2010

Tagged: Ring figure 2010, VMI

VMI SURI 2008

sergeantatarms — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:11:13 +0000

For the first part of my summer, I opted to participate in SURI (Summer Undergraduate Research Initiative). It’s a paid summer research program, and I’ve chosen to build an inverted pendulum. If you’re not familiar with this classic feedback dependent control problem, it can be described as a robotic cart that balances a pendulum. We can train a micro controller to react to sensor information much quicker than a human can. My particular project explores the use of a spiking artificial neural network to control the cart. However, due to time restraints, the project won’t be finished until next semester. Today, I finished the hardware. It uses the chassis of a remote controlled car, a 20 amp H bridge, and a handy board we had kicking around the lab. I built the pendulum out of legos only because they offer a simple solution for gearing an encoder wheel at a high resolution. The encoder uses two light-to-logic gates which were placed approximately 90 degrees out of phase. This allows the controller to determine the angular position, velocity, and acceleration of the pendulum.

With the help of my instructor, I wrote a program that simulates the behavior of the cart. This will allow us to test the control algorithm before we program the hardware, as well as train the neural network in a timely manner. Pictures are below.