Boreal Pixel

Hey, It's Been a While - Reprise

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT

So I'm getting some good practice with these, "hey I'm back," posts, eh? Another four years have passed since I last wrote something here, and you know what? I'm a little disappointed in myself that I wasn't able to naturally stay committed to writing and posting. I guess that's life. You make time for things you really care about, and unfortunately this activity slipped down my priority list anytime something else would come up. Now, it's not from a lack of enjoyment, but I think it comes from the all too common battle with the desire to achieve perfection.

I think about this a lot, or at least I try to be mindful about how perfectionism affects me. The last time I "came back" I redesigned my entire site so that it would look pretty to me. I liked its clean look, the minimal colours, and all of the photos. That was something I really wanted to share. Photos of wildlife, birds, planes, and gosh maybe even trains one day! Reflecting on this, I realize I was subconsciously creating a barrier for myself. I felt that a single post without an image looked odd, and so I needed to add one to everything that I wrote. Of course, I didn't always have a photo. And so I didn't write.

For a while now I've been thinking about the complexity of web design. I remember making websites when I was in middle school, and they were never complicated. They were all static web pages with some funky looking buttons and a few images. What I've been thinking most about is the simplicity. The lack of a requirement to steal your attention from something else. A space that used to be devoid of commercial products and the monetization of everything and anything. Simple sites that didn't require cookie disclosures because the idea of cookies being used to track you so that it can be used by an algorithm to determine the optimal way to extract something from you wasn't commonplace yet. I miss that flavour of the internet. It felt more organic. It felt human. It's the small web that I miss.

I've been falling in love with the internet all over again. I really enjoy reading what other people share for the joy of it, and not for financial gain. So I decided to scrap the heavy polish of a bloated WordPress site template and go back to a static site. It's simple, clean, and it loads pretty fast now too! I took inspiration from many different sites. Blending ideas together to create my own style. I really like how it has all turned out, and I think the great thing about it is that I don't feel like everything needs to be polished to a mirror finish. I feel like I've knocked another brick out of that perfectionist wall that I find myself pushing against.

So here's my first post back -- again. An imperfect post without a perfectly curated photo at the top. I want to write because I love to share my experiences or really anything that I'm interested in at the moment. I can't say how often I'll write, or how long my posts will be, but I'm sure my next post won't start with another long-overdue greeting.

The First Flight of the Season

Mon, 23 May 2022 00:00:00 GMT

With the start of the summer weather comes the beloved first flight of the season. The amount of excitement I had for today’s flight was no different than any other year. After some quick flight planning, a thorough walk around, a short stop at the fuel station, and a thunderous run-up, I was ready to taxi to the end of the runway. Taxiing the amphibious 206 always feels somewhat laborious when starting from a dead stop, but once it gets moving, it’s pretty maneuverable.

Now sitting at the end of the runway, I gradually increased the power as I listened to the engine’s roar, trying to compete with the deafening noise of the three-bladed propeller beating the air into submission. Without hesitation, the Cessna began its roll for the skies as my eyes moved to watch the airspeed indicator climb. Thirty knots, forty knots, then fifty, and off we go! What a fantastic feeling it is to leave the earth once again and soar like a bird. Another successful, uneventful takeoff, I thought to myself with a smile as I climbed into the circuit.

I had planned to take today pretty easy. Complete a few circuits at the airport, then splash around in some lakes. Since this was the first flight in a little while for the aircraft, I had heard that it’s best to keep the wheels down on the first flight (or circuit in my case) just in case they don’t operate correctly. So that’s what I did. I completed a nice little circuit around the airport and landed successfully. Everything is feeling great! I then took off again and completed another three circuits, cycling the gear on each lap to ensure everything was moving the way it should. Again, no problems here.

At this point, I’ve decided that I was ready to find some lakes and have some fun. I completed one last takeoff from the asphalt, set my heading bug to the northeast, and climbed even higher into the gorgeous blue skies. About twenty minutes later, I was above my first large lake. I completed a low-altitude fly-over to verify that my planned landing area was safe and clear of debris and traffic. I then configured the aircraft for a standard flap-30° water landing, making sure to double and triple check the wing mirrors that my wheels were up. Everything was looking perfect as I gently lowered the aircraft onto the water.

Splash! An uncontrollable grin spread across my face as I completed my first water landing of the season. I can’t get enough of the excitement this type of flying brings me. With such a great feeling in my chest, I decided to shut down and drift for a short while to enjoy the moment further. With the engine off, I reclined my chair for optimal relaxation and enjoyed the quiet, beautiful day on the water.

Soon, the itch to get in the air was back again, and I quickly started the ol’ Continental engine and took off in search of another few lakes to play around in. I completed another four takeoffs and landings in nearby lakes and decided it was time to head home. On the flight back, I thought about all the places I wanted to explore and how much fun I’ll have doing it. This was the start of a great summer!

Within twenty minutes, I was back above home base and crossed the field to join mid-left downwind. Nearing the end of this leg, I selected flaps ten and continued my circuit. As I banked into my base leg, I selected flap twenty and gear down. I waited a few seconds and glanced at my gear indicator; all the lights still glowed blue. Weird! I grabbed the gear lever, selected gear-up, then back down again—still nothing. I then turned the aircraft onto final and made a radio call that I’ll be overshooting the runway followed by a departure from the circuit so I could troubleshoot this in a more controlled environment.

I tried moving the gear selector back and forth a few times to see if that might trigger something. Nothing happened, though. I selected gear down again and reset the hydraulic gear pump circuit breaker thinking that a momentary power interruption might jumpstart the pump into operation. Again, nothing happened. I continued to fly on a straight and level path as I debated my options. I know I have an emergency manual gear-extension pump for this scenario, but the possibility that not every wheel would extend and lock into position came to mind. At the moment, all my wheels were up and locked, so I knew I could safely land on the water and deal with it dockside. I wasn’t sure where I could find a suitable dock, but I knew if I attempted a manual gear-drop, I removed the option to land on water.

I thought about this for a few moments, but I decided that the chances of a wheel not locking when fully extended were tiny, given the fact that I had cycled them many times earlier that day. I grabbed the emergency pump handle, unscrewed it and started pumping. Not much seemed to happen, but about twenty or so pumps later, one of the blue gear lights extinguished. I can’t change my mind now. I must get all the wheels down. I continued pumping as I continuously ensured that I was still flying safely and reasonably. I’ve studied too many accidents where the crew were so fixated on a problem that they forgot to fly the aircraft. Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 is a famous one where the crew crashed a 100% operable aircraft into the Florida Everglades because they were distracted by a burnt-out gear indicator light.

After about eighty or so pumps, two blue gear lights remained illuminated, and I quickly realized that the 200 pumps I was told I would have to perform might be underestimated. So I kept at it, and as I pushed in another few pumps, I felt a familiar shake and saw that the last two blue lights turned off as the red “pump on” light shined. Within seconds, the four green lights illuminated one by one, and the red light extinguished! The pump had come to life and finished the repetitive arm exercise I had committed to. With the hydraulic lines now completely pressurized, I could not push the pump back into its stow position, meaning that the wheels must have been fully extended and locked. I looked out the window at the mirrors once more and determined that the wheels appeared to be in the position they usually are for asphalt landings. I can finally return to the airport and call it a day.

I made a few radio calls and turned back towards the circuit for my final landing. I configured the aircraft without issue this time (having left the gear down) and made a smooth landing on the north-facing runway. Thankful to be safe on the ground, I taxied into the hangar, completed the logbook, and informed my mechanic that they should double-check the gear on the annual. The following drive home was full of my own cheers for me as I was thankful that I felt that I had handled that situation well.

Today was a good day. I loved getting back out there, remembering what it’s like to see the land from above and splash around in the water. I thought the gear issue was a great learning experience for what it is, and I was thankful that, in the end, I was safe at home.

Hey, It's Been a While

Mon, 28 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT

It’s been exactly seven years since I last wrote something I was passionate about. What an awfully long time to go without some sort of record for reflection and growth. This collection of pages, acting as a virtual time capsule, has me reminiscing about the adventures and experiences I’ve had. Looking back at it makes me wish that I had kept sharing some of these experiences. It’s hard to imagine that so much time has passed since my last post, but there it is.

I think that on some level, the sorts of topics I was interested in so many years ago are much the same as what I am passionate about today. If anything has changed, it’s that I feel I have gained clarity or focus when it comes to what I define myself by and what I find fascinating. Thinking about it another way, a whole lot has changed in my eighty-four-month absence. I went from an aviation student to a commercial pilot flying as the first officer on some beautiful corporate-style jets, to a change in pace working at a regional airline, followed by a departure from the aviation world, and starting again as a university student. This time I’m following a path that many thought I would originally follow. A path that took me days, weeks, and many exhausting months of thought to fully figure out. I decided I would become an engineer, specifically, a computer engineer.

There were many reasons why I left the aviation industry, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the time I had there. I love to fly. I always have. There isn’t a feeling quite like it. Well, maybe it’s similar to the feeling you get when you’re going around a corner on a motorcycle, but that isn’t the point. There is no substitution for flight. Through my years of training and real-life work experience, I learned a tremendous amount about many different topics and skills.

Aviation has taught me the importance of collaboration, communicating and acting with precision, as well as the confidence required to be an effective decision-maker. These skills were developed through continuous training in day-to-day and simulated experiences, lectures, and countless hours of practice. Aside from these tangible skills, I also had opportunities to exchange thoughts and ideas with all sorts of people that I met along my travels. I think this is one of the things that I enjoyed most because every person has their own stories and experiences that many can learn from. It was through many of these conversations that I came to realize that family holds the highest value in my life.

When I graduated from college, I accepted an opportunity to work for a company that operated jets based out of Alberta. I started my career working through the night, one week on, one week off, calculating the total times pilots worked to ensure that Transport Canada’s regulations were respected regarding flight and duty. Alongside this, my other responsibilities were to ensure aircraft were clean and sorted for the next day, and to fulfill any requirements for the client’s flight. The shifts were long, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. I loved having a consistent routine, and I loved completing tasks my way and in my own order through the night. A couple of months into this, I realized that if I could automate the regulation tracking process, then I could accomplish much more elsewhere with the added benefit of the increase in report accuracy.

The software that I developed was relatively simple. It was based around the idea of an advanced macro that was able to send keystrokes based on predicted software states and image comparison against a reference set. The program accomplished this through the implementation of a custom scripting language. This allowed for the addition of new routines and the ability to modify old ones to adapt to client updates. I initially planned for it to cycle through the handles of each control interface, but unfortunately, the software I was trying to automate operated by sending only images of the interface from a remote machine. This meant that the handles to the interface did not exist locally, and I could not directly access them. When I had finished developing this software, the time needed to complete the reports was reduced from around two hours to about twenty minutes. The best part about these reduced times was that I could complete other tasks while the computer did the calculations because it was fully automated. With this accomplishment under my belt, I was reminded how much I loved solving puzzles like this and how I had forgotten about this passion that I had once explored so frequently.

After a year of working through the perpetual darkness of night shifts, I progressed to the position I had trained at college for, a commercial pilot. What an absolute blast that was! Going from a single-engine piston aircraft with a cruise speed of around 120kts, to a multi-engine turbine aircraft cruising around Mach 0.72 was literally quite the change in pace, and I loved every moment of it. The Cessna Citation CJ2+ is a ton of fun to fly. It felt like a Skyhawk if it was designed as a formula one car.

I flew all over North America, specifically three countries, eighty-nine unique destinations, and 260 legs, seeing what life was like away from my own home, meeting new people, finding new adventures. All this travel was thrilling, to say the least, but I was longing for a stronger connection with my family. I was tired of missing the weekends with friends, the birthdays at the grandparents, the Christmases with my family. I was in luck, though! Seven months after starting my time on the CJ2+, I was offered a position on the company’s newest aircraft with the condition that I moved back to the Toronto area at the end of summer. The timing couldn’t be more perfect! With the excitement that things were working out for the better, I was remotivated to push through the long workdays and enjoy my very last Albertan summer.

A few weeks later, on one April evening, I was called out to replace a fellow first officer on a flight returning to Calgary [CYYC] and fly the aircraft to Kelowna [CYLW] for the night. I always enjoyed flying into Kelowna because of its geographical similarities to Castlegar [CYCG], where I trained. I loved the mountains, and I loved the cities and towns that reside between them. I also really loved the approaches into Kelowna. They were always a lot of fun because of the steeper descents required and the added challenges that come with them. Lastly, I loved visiting Kelowna because I had some friends who lived there who were always welcoming to my visits, and it was nice to get away from the repetitive hotel lifestyle.

It was on this chilly April evening that I began down a path that I would never wish to leave. It started when I called up a close friend to ask if she wanted to catch up over dinner. As it turned out, she had already made plans with another friend of hers and was excited to have both of us there. At dinner, it quickly became apparent that this new acquaintance was an extraordinary person. To summarize a long story, we hit it off and started dating soon after. I was over the moon!

A few months go by, July has just started, and I’ve completed my month-long training course in Missouri, certifying me to perform as first-officer on the Embraer Legacy 450/550. If the Citation was an F1 car, the Legacy was a rocket ship. Flying at Mach 0.83 at 45,000ft made travelling to distant locations a breeze. From Honolulu [PHNL] to Calgary [CYYC] in just under six hours or from Barbados [TBPB] to Toronto [CYYZ] in four hours, forty-two minutes. The Legacy really was an aircraft that would bring a smile to any pilot’s face. To repeat myself, I loved every bit of these flights; all five countries, 413 legs, and sixty-seven unique destinations. I loved exploring these new stops on my sometimes short layovers. I loved planning my descent and “greasing” the perfect landing on the runway of my destination. I loved seeing the little kids standing by the small-airport fence, watching as I performed a roaring takeoff over their small rural town. I absolutely loved all of this. What I didn’t love was that my work schedule isolated me from all the little day-to-day things that most people would probably take for granted.

With this specific career path, I was always on-call and had to be ready on a moment’s notice to travel to the airport and head out to wherever needed. While this wasn’t an issue most of the time, the erratic frequency at which my schedule was changed on me throughout the day really burned me out. Funnily enough, I wrote a program that monitored pilot schedules and updated the crew about any changes, sometimes hours before dispatch. Another problem solved! Well, another bandage over the spreading wound. With each literal and figurative last-minute change to my schedule, a crushing wave of exhaustion would rush over me. I knew I had to make a change, but I was unsure how, when, or where.

Twenty-two months after I started this journey on the Legacy, I decided that a change in operation would be the next logical step. “Don’t give up on what I had worked for all these years,” I told myself. The next step was to apply to the airlines and start at the bottom again. After submitting my resume and a quick interview process, I was hired! I was excited to leave behind all my issues and start fresh. I looked forward to bringing my experiences to the flight deck of another aircraft and gaining knowledge from the more experienced pilots that I would work with. Most of all, though, I was looking forward to the prospect of being home more frequently on a stable schedule with my fiancée (after I had put in my dues, of course).

Unfortunately for me, given the way the unionized company works, my name was drawn last out of the seniority hat, which meant that I was shipped back off to Vancouver with an aircraft that would likely never provide me with a path back to my home. I would have to commute between Toronto and Vancouver any time I had time off. Not fun! I understand that this method of drawing names from the hat is the fairest way out of all the poor options to determine seniority, and thus directly where you will work. Still, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed that the pilots with less experience than me who live out in Vancouver claimed all the spots on the Toronto-based aircraft in the exceedingly more likely chance that they could move back to their home (which they did after a month). C’est la vie!

I tried my best to keep my head up through this new work environment, but I struggled with the poor work hours, abysmal pay, poor work culture, and comparatively dull routes. I realized that I was much less happy here than I was before and that my change in career paths exasperated all the issues I tried to fix. I knew that a more significant change was probably needed, but I knew I had to be sure before pulling the trigger.

Through the year that I worked at the regional airline, I would discuss with my coworkers who have been there for their entire careers about what their lives were like to paint a better picture of what my life would be like one day. I asked all sorts of senior captains and first officers what it was like to be there for so long if they were happy and enjoyed what they did and what they would do if money weren’t a factor. The sad thing is that the only people that said that they enjoyed what they did were all within a year or two of retiring. Every other person that I was able to talk to all would either beat around the bush and avoid admitting they were unhappy, or they tried to spin it in a positive way; usually by saying something along the lines of, “if I were home more, my wife would have divorced me long ago.” Cheerful stuff, eh? The conversation that hit me the hardest was when a captain told me how he suggested to his teenage son to start a career as a pilot. The son replied that he didn’t want to do to his family what his dad did to theirs, rejecting the entire concept.

Aviation is a harsh industry for so many reasons. The enormous expense of training and education puts this career path out of many students’ reach, the comparatively poor pay for a large portion of the career, and the poor schedules with a lot of time away from family are some of the most immediately prominent factors in my mind. I don’t regret getting into aviation. It changed me into who I am, and it connected me with my forever person. I just realized that when I was away, I was removed from the people I love and that I could not help whenever somebody was in trouble, or an important decision had to be immediately made. I remember when my partner and I’s beloved cat got sick, and I could not do anything about it. This sole experience immediately made me realize that I didn’t want to miss my family’s life. I wanted to be there for the good and bad times. I only have this lifetime to live, and I don’t see the benefit of spending most of my time away from the people I chose to spend that very life with. Not coming home at night, even if it’s only to say good morning or goodnight, was something I was tired of experiencing. That’s why I made the change that I did.

I’m currently finishing up my second year studying computer engineering, and I love every part of it. The courses that I’m enrolled in align with the interests that I explored through the years. My two favourite courses that I’ve completed so far are Digital Systems and Software Systems. The former focused on logic circuits and developing standard and integrated circuits using technologies like transistors, CPLSDs, and FPGAs, while the latter explored the software development cycle with a focus on object-oriented programming languages. This alignment of interests excites me for what I will continue to study for the next few years.

Making the switch from a full-time career to the life of a STEM student hasn’t been easy in any sense of the word, but I’m honestly grateful that I made the switch when I had. With the added shutdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, my timing couldn’t have been better. I’m glad that I got to experience what I did when I did. I’m also glad that I followed the aviation career path first because I think sometimes we all get caught up in the search for which side of the hill has the greener grass. Thinking about how little I knew about careers, the world, and my future goals, I feel that if I had picked an unknown third option to study, then possibly I’d be dreaming about what it would have been like above the clouds, not knowing what I know now about the aviation industry.

Castlegar FSS Time-Lapse

Sat, 28 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMT

As soon as I had watched my first time-lapse, I knew it would only be a short while until the next one. I was right: three days. This one was pretty cool to film as I knew it would have to be a little more planned than just sticking a tripod on the top of a hill. For this one, I got in touch with the very lovely people at Castlegar Flight Service Station (FSS) and was able to attach my camera to the side of their tower: a perfect view of the airport. I set up the camera to take a picture every five seconds and let it record for almost eleven hours. I really like how this one turned out; it even has me itching to try creating yet another one, except for a complete twenty-four hours instead.

Coo Coo Ca Choo

Tue, 24 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMT

It's been a little while since the last time I had been Geocaching – so it's only natural that yesterday's trek was nothing but bliss. At the time, I had not really planned to go Geocaching. AIt's been a little while since the last time I had been Geocaching – so it's only natural that yesterday's trek was nothing but bliss. At the time, I had not really planned to go Geocaching. After a long day, I was actually taking a nap when I received an email about a new cache in the area. It was really just instinctual that I should go out and hunt for it; claim that first-to-find. Once at the site, I quickly had the container in hand and felt good under the early evening sun. At this point, I knew I couldn't stop with just this one cache; I had to have another.

I then quickly jumped into my car and drove to the base of a site that I've been eyeing for the past year or so. I knew at the top of his mountain was a locating beacon for the airport below, as well as the infamous cache I had been pining over. Without too much thought, I started to climb the mountain and had to bushwhack the entire way as there weren't any trails to follow.

After about thirty to forty minutes of climbing, I had finally reached the top. I felt amazing being up there; the view was clear, the air was fresh, and it was also absolutely silent: it was peaceful. Next to the beacon's mast rested a wooden helicopter pad that served as a nice deck to lay upon. I transitioned from laying to sitting multiple times as I soaked up the moment. Once the sun had started to set, I realized that I would be running out of daylight soon and was entirely unprepared for any climbing or hiking in the dark. With this in the back of my head, I jumped up and began to hastily search for this Geocache.

I had looked what seemed like everywhere thrice and was about to abandon my search because of the sinking sunlight that was just barely making its way over the adjacent mountain peak. I realized that I'd have to log a did-not-find and have to make my way back up again another day. I looked back at the sunlight left and decided that I had already run out of light to make it all the way down. I figured it wouldn't make much difference if I left right away then, so I continued my search. Luckily for me, I was able to find it a few minutes later, and I was then able to start the hike down the mountain after the sun had already completely set.

It got dark real fast; I had forgotten how black and how quickly it changes out here. After a few close calls with some vertical drops, I had finally made my way back to the bottom. Even though the last leg of my trip didn't turn out the way I had planned (or lack thereof), it was a lot of fun! I'm glad I got out there to explore and Geocache again; it's going to make me miss this place.

Sunset Over Castlegar

Thu, 19 Feb 2015 00:00:00 GMT

The other day I yet again climbed to the top of Dove Hill and watched the sunset. On this subsequent trip, I remembered to bring both my camera and binoculars to watch the sunset from across the valley. During my relaxing break, I also recorded a short time-lapse of the view. Now that I've experimented with this, I really want to take an extended time-lapse; about twelve to twenty-four hours' worth of footage – I think that'd be absolutely cool.

The Top of Dove Hill

Sat, 31 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT

With the tantalizing beauty of today, I couldn't resist going on a little hike up to the top of Dove Hill with one of my friends. The journey is a relatively short and easy one, but it has a fantastic view at the top– come to think of it, every incline out here seems to have a phenomenal view. Following the trail will take you for a short kilometre and a half long walk over well-worn ground. Each time I travel this, I always seem to be catching myself looking in every direction, witnessing the beauty around me; today was no different. To my luck, at the exact moment that we reached the summit, Jazz was rounding out onto final for the runway below. I always like to watch because I love to imagine myself as one of the pilots as they gracefully soar by. Watching them from above made it a particularly unique sight; it's not every day that you get to watch an aircraft land below you. Today was fantastic; a real refreshing experience from the overcast winter that's been plaguing the area. Hopefully, the weather will continue to improve, and I can go out on more hikes, and more Geocaches, and of course, fly.

Multi-Crew Operations

Thu, 15 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT

The first time I thought about flying with another pilot, it seemed like it would be straightforward and wouldn't be too different from what I had previously experienced. Up until about a year ago, I have always flown by myself and have never had any trouble with it. So why would I really need another crew member if I can do everything myself?

It didn't take too long for me to realize that multiple crew members in larger aircraft are essential. With an extra pilot, usual calls you make to yourself while running checklists are either split between you or delegated solely to the pilot-not-flying. In addition to lessening the workload, this adds an extra level of decision-making, further increasing safety.

At this point in time, I am rehearsing various emergencies with another crew member in the cockpit. In this situation, I can really appreciate having another pilot with me as there can be quite a bit going on at once. As pilot-flying, you're responsible for – surprisingly – actually flying the aircraft. While acting as the pilot-not-flying, you are responsible for assisting the pilot-flying through navigation, communications, decision making, and various other helpful and important duties. Regardless of which position I'm in, I always thoroughly enjoy it and find myself having a lot of fun no matter how challenging it may become; I honestly can't wait for my next simulation!

Hope Island

Tue, 19 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Today I got to experience something unquestionably wondrous: the exploration of an abandoned lighthouse. The day started with a quick ground briefing of what my instructor and I were going to do. The plan was to take off, fly northwest bound, land on a few lakes, and maybe get some ice cream – awesome! Not long after this, we took off using a glassy water, one ski technique, and were soon on our way. I still can’t get over the power difference between a 185 and a 172; the 185 just pulls you out of the water. Once we were in the air, we headed northwest and began to land in a few lakes along the way. On our second lake landing, my instructor told me about an island that he thought would be an excellent opportunity to learn how to beach the aircraft. I took him up on the experience, and we were once again on our way.

As we approached the island, he pointed out an abandoned lighthouse on the northeastern side – the opposite of where we were going to land. He told me that he had never been to that point and that it would be pretty cool to go explore it. I jumped at his idea, and we both decided that I would park the plane somewhere along the rocky shore. After we made this decision, I dropped down, landed alongside the long island, and began my long slow taxi toward shore. With a cautious eye for hidden obstacles from both of us, I was able to dock the plane next to a wrecked stone pier. I then shut down and proceeded to get into the water as we wanted to rotate the plane around 180° for an easy exit. Once we had accomplished this, we tied the aircraft to a rock and ventured onto the island.

On the island, immediately before the lighthouse, a posted welcome sign stated that anyone was allowed to visit, as long as they did so respectfully – no problem. We climbed up into the lighthouse, and I immediately went all the way to the top; I couldn’t resist it. The views were amazing. My instructor and I then went to explore the rest of the onsite buildings and saw that they were severely vandalized: everything was smashed, painted on, or defaced in one way or another. It’s unfortunate because it was scheduled to be privately restored at some point in the late 1970s, but was abandoned because of the $100 000 price tag to relocate and restore the lighthouse. Even in its current state, it’s still a really cool sight to see – I would definitely go back again to explore some more; I absolutely love this type of stuff. For anyone interested in learning more about the lighthouse, and its history, here is a link to the page where I found the most information about it lighthousefriends.com.

After about half an hour or so of walking around, we decided to leave and get some ice cream; this would also allow me to practice docking with another style dock. We geared up, taxied out, and took off once again. Before long, we were arriving at our destination and were soon docked yet again. We got out, bought our ice creams, fuelled up, and then we were on our way back to the airport. Today was a ton of fun; I loved it so much – it makes me crave float flying for the adventure that seems to naturally come with it. There is nothing that I love more than flying; absolutely nothing.

Light Up The Runway

Fri, 08 Aug 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Last night I attended a charity event to raise money for the Bethel Hospice located in Caledon, Ontario. The event consists of closing the runway and walking down the entire length of runway 15/33 at night, with nothing more than candles along the edge of the paved runway. All of the proceeds go to Bethel Hospice [bethellhospice.org] to help fund their annual costs. If anyone would like to donate, here is the event page [bramptonflightcentre.com].

The whole event was really nice to attend, the weather was nice, there was live music, snacks and beverages, lots of other people, and best of all it was all for a good cause! This event will be the first of many; the Brampton Flight Centre plans to make this an annual thing, and for good reason. Oddly enough, this was actually the first time I’ve walked down a runway of any sort – I’m glad it was this one. It was mesmerizing seeing the flames dance around at the edge of the runway. I hope that I’ll be able to attend the next one; this was a great first launch.

More Float Time

Mon, 21 Jul 2014 00:00:00 GMT

I’ve been racking up these float hours, and I absolutely love it! I’m super excited about flying the Cessna 185 – it’s really something else compared to the C172. The addition of the constant speed propeller has been a real treat. I’ve practiced with the concept in a simulator, but it always just seemed like a theory. That seemed to have changed when I started flying the 185. The whole practice of saving fuel and being easy on the engine is now just something you do; it simply makes sense. I don’t know what changed, but it definitely is a good thing!

A Lesson in Human Factors

Sat, 07 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Today I experienced my first live dose of human factors. I had previously promised to fly my friend back home as she didn't get to see her family much because they live 4 hours away. I planned the flight, reserved the aircraft, and triple-checked everything before I left. I then picked my friend up and another along the way; the original plan had been for my two friends to meet me at the airport to save time as I was coming back down from Orillia after a days' worth of float flying. After this minor setback, we eventually reached the airport and had signed out the aircraft. I did my usual walk around and had noticed that I only had a quarter tank left of fuel – great, another delay, I'll have to change my flight plan.

While I was having the plane refuelled, my two passengers decided to go to the washroom quickly. Ten minutes later, I had filled the aircraft, and my passengers were still nowhere to be seen. I didn't want to leave the plane as that would mean I would lose sight of it and have to do another walk around, which would delay me further. My revised takeoff time came and passed, and I yet again updated my flight plan accordingly. After multiple attempts to phone my passengers, I eventually got a hold of them and got them to return after another ten minutes. Everyone then jumps in and buckles up, excited for the flight – my first human factors experience comes is already coming together.

I go through my routine checklists and begin to start the cold aircraft engine. I hastily threw on the fuel pump and waited for my fuel flow gauge to register; it didn't. I look down and realize that I forgot to apply a full-rich mixture – awesome, I somehow skipped that in my checklist. The fuel then starts to flow, and I continue cranking the engine; it won't catch. I figured I simply didn't have enough fuel in there because of my mistake. So I pumped more fuel in, making sure I had the mixture in this time. I start to crank it again, and still nothing – I'm starting to get frustrated. Luckily there was a nice older and much more experienced pilot standing nearby. He yells to me that I've flooded the engine; there's fuel dripping onto the apron at this point.

The kind pilot instructs me to crank the engine and pump the throttle until it catches. After a few seconds of hearing that electric motor turn the engine over and over, it finally catches and sputters to a strong start. With an embarrassed red face, I look back at my passengers and ask if they are ready to go. I taxi to the run-up area and perform my standard check; everything is running fine and in the green. We take off, and I call London Radio to confirm that my flight plan has been opened. I then started off in the direction I had planned for and contacted Toronto to get the proper clearances. An hour and a half later, and we were there, just coming into the airport just before night had fallen.

While entering the circuit, I switch to the ARCAL frequency and click the microphone five times – nothing, the airport beacon is on, but no runway lights. I figure I must have miscounted somehow and toggled it again; suddenly, a whole heap of nothing happened yet again. I do this probably at least five more times before deciding to call the airport in an attempt to ask what is wrong. Unfortunately for me, however, their switchboard operator didn't know who I should talk to. I'm starting to sweat; the first time I take one of my friends on a plane and promise that I can get her to her family – which at this time is sitting in their car on the ground below watching us circle – I would have to turn around and give a big fat nope; I couldn't do that! I then start to create a plan B: land at another airport.

I pull out my map and scan all around for another place to land while our plane circles. The next closest place to land is an hour away by car and is across the American border; I can't do that either. I looked at my watch and back outside – I had looked up what time the sun was setting earlier and calculated what time night technically started. I still had fifteen minutes before the cut-off – I'd have to do this quick. I do a low-and-over pass first, then make my final landing; nice and smooth, and no problems with visibility. I quickly taxi over to the apron and shut down. I practically throw one of my passengers out and proceed to do another quick walk around. I say goodbye to her and her family while I simultaneously activate my second flight plan and jump back in the Cessna with my last passenger. I look back at my watch and see that I have less than ten minutes left. I do a quick run-up while I'm rolling this time and get to the three-quarter point on the runway. I knew this would still be enough room to take off and land twice, but it still made me extra cautious. I do a short field takeoff just for extra comfort and lift off before I even reach the apron.

I start a steady climb and get on the radio with London once again. I tell them that I want to make sure my new flight plan is open and my previous one is closed; what I was told next made my stomach tighten. I was told that I had hit my search and rescue time, and they were just about to call my cellphone before they sent out the troops. I felt terrible; I felt like a jerk, an inexperienced jerk. I apologized, and they told me it was fine as I had caught them at just the right time – I apparently had a minute or two left. I had not accounted for all that circling that I had done before landing. I've got to stay focused though, I have to contact Montreal to obtain clearances back to Toronto. Except to my realization, I had accidentally changed the standby frequency where I had been storing it, and of course, I had not written it down when I received it. I'm now anxious that I'm breaking another rule and flying in someone's airspace. I frantically look through my CFS and come across a frequency that I think it was. I tune it in and hear that it's someone speaking in French to Toronto – this can't be it! I tried to think back to what I had listened to a few hours before; luckily, the frequency returned to me, and I punched it in. I got a hold of the correct people and received the clearances that I needed.

I can finally relax now and enjoy the rest of my flight. I start to scan my gauges and stop upon my fuel gauge; it's getting low. I start doing some calculations and see that I will still have two hours of fuel when I land – no worries, but I might as well climb higher to burn less; so I obtain another clearance easily as the skies were quiet. I then glance back at my watch and see that I won't be landing until half an hour after my local club would prefer me to (they wanted to go home early). Not wanting to disappoint them either, I try to fly as fast as possible, throwing out my scenic route for a direct one. I eventually land with my last passenger and call it a day.

I had studied CRM (crew resource management) and human factors all year long, but I never really realized what it was actually like until I experienced it for real. While assessing my flight later, I realized that I hadn't done anything wrong; no rules were broken, and no harm to anyone. I had worked myself up by making these tiny mistakes into huge problems in my mind; I wanted to impress my friends. I realized that I had let time get the best of me, making me worry that something would go wrong, something terrible, something embarrassing. I now really see that the best thing to do is take my time, no matter how hard it may be. If I had relaxed and started the engine properly, I wouldn't have flooded it, I would have been in the air much sooner, which would have made my worries about being too dark disappear, and it would have eliminated the circling. This would have eliminated the delay in closing my flight plan, my concerns about fuel, runway length, and even getting back to the club on time. It's really crazy when I think about how one tiny little problem snowballed into a bigger problem, even if it was all in my head. This is the exact same stuff that I learned in class, but now I have a real-life experience. This flight turned out to be an invaluable learning experience, and I won't ever forget what it has taught me.

Float Endorsement

Tue, 13 May 2014 00:00:00 GMT

I finally did it; I got my float rating! I had always thought that this would be a fun and interesting experience, but that doesn't even begin to describe what it was really like. I had an absolute metric ton of fun while learning how to operate a float-equipped aircraft. I loved the fact that you can get real close and personal with the landscape; ripping literally around the terrain and vegetation so that you can make that ever so short landing in that tiny and remote lake. It's just absolutely amazing – kind of like the feeling you get when you take flight for the first time.

The aircraft that I used was a Cessna 172L – a slight variation that I wasn't too familiar with. There aren't any significant differences between this variant and the others that I have trained on (P, R, and S), only slight and insignificant ones. Theoretically, the most substantial difference would have been that the flaps can go down to 40° rather than just the typical 30°. This aircraft had its flaps fixed to 30° anyway, so the experience wasn't any different. The one other difference with these flaps is the way they are applied. As with the other three variants that I have flown, there are notches in the flap selector so that a consistent flap setting can be achieved. In comparison, this aircraft had the type of selector that I've seen in Beechcraft Travelair and used in its simulator counterpart: a manually adjustable selector. The difference is that the selector acts as a toggle rather than an analog selector; the pilot must toggle and hold the desired movement direction and wait until the flaps are in their appropriate spot before releasing the switch. Apart from the flaps, the airspeed indicator was measured in miles per hour rather than knots, but again, that wasn't much of an issue because there was a smaller knots scale on the inner arc anyway. The last difference that I noticed was that this aircraft is quite a bit slower – nothing wrong with that though. Regardless of the aircraft I am flying, I know deep down that this is only the start of my new addiction; it's like nothing that I've experienced before.

Completed Vehicle Lighting Controller

Sun, 11 May 2014 00:00:00 GMT

I’ve finally finished my lighting controller and am quite happy with the results. During this process, I learned quite a few things about how I should design and program any new projects or ideas that I might have in the future. I have also planned out an improved version of this device too if I ever want or need to rebuild this. Most of the issues I had were related to board design and have been manually rerouted and fixed in my theoretical next version. In addition to this, since I have acquired a new programmer during the development of this device, I have also somewhat decided to switch my interfacing method from the usual and default SPI to JTAG to incorporate more robust programming and debugging feature sets. Unless the microcontroller I’m using doesn’t have JTAG capabilities, then this will be my last SPI-enabled device.

My First Night Flight

Tue, 06 May 2014 00:00:00 GMT

I just finished my very first flight at night, and it was absolutely amazing! The flight itself was actually more straightforward than I had imagined, but I guess that’s due to all of the simulator and instrument time I’ve had so far. During this flight, I got to experience different nighttime illusions like how clear air makes you judge things as being closer than they really are and how various patterns and quantities of lights can also affect your judgment. I also got to experience how much smoother night flying can also be – simply amazing! I also can’t until my first cross country at night either; it’s going to be a lot of fun!

Vehicle Lighting Controller Update

Tue, 29 Apr 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Before I had left Castlegar, I wanted to have finished this little project of mine; however, due to unforeseen events that took priority or just made it literally impossible to work on this, I couldn’t finish everything as I had hoped. I am now home and am looking back at my creation, giving it the final word of approval.

Since most of the fabrication was rushed, and from the lack of proper tools, I’m not completely happy with the results. I had assumed that the connectors I was using were the same dimensions as the ones found in the default components library located in EAGLE; of course, a simple double-check would have killed this issue. For starters, this oversight now causes the boards to float around inside their enclosures and makes it extra challenging to disconnect any cables from them. Adding to this, the extremely rough cut-job using a Dremel has also left me unhappy with my results.

Apart from aesthetics, the units mostly function as I planned. I do keep running into issues that wouldn’t be there if I had taken my time planning this project, though. So far, I have been able to fix any problems that arise – looking at the bright side of things. I had a minor issue with a defective LED strip, but I have replaced that, and all the wiring in the vehicle has been completed. The last couple of things on the list are to confirm that the units are working as planned and mount and connect them to the vehicle; it shouldn’t be too much longer!

Optimistically thinking, these issues have saved me from another headache: interfacing with the headlight switch and emulating it. Up to this point, I have relied upon some poorly organized diagrams of how it works; however, nothing can beat a real-world test. I quickly popped out the switch and wired it up to test and visually see how it works. This switch has six functions and relies on four wires for communications; three of these behave almost like a binary switch.

When the dial is in its auto position, all three wires are disconnected. When it’s set to the power position, a single wire is grounded, completing the circuit. When the switch is moved to the parking lights selection, it switches another signal wire on. Finally, when the switch is in the low beam position, the wire that signals the parking light selection is left connected, and another wire is then also grounded. As for the brightness toggle wheel, it works by varying the amount of resistance depending on if the user is pushing up or down; this signal is then sent through a single wire to the body control module along with the other wires.

The End of Year One

Sat, 12 Apr 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Today I completed the last flight of my first year at Selkirk College. This flight wasn't anything too out of the ordinary, but it did have some things that I had never tried before, more specifically, something that I had not experienced under the hood before. It was only a week ago or so that I had rediscovered how thrilling spins were. On this flight, I found out how different it feels to be in a spin while not seeing out the windows. When recovering from a spin, your first reaction is to pull the throttle out to idle and neutralize the aileron. Immediately after that, push full deflection of the rudder in the opposite direction of the spin and follow it up with a forward push on the control column to break the stall. Once the spin stops (which usually happens pretty quickly), recover by pitching up and applying full power, attempting to regain and stabilize your altitude, followed by airspeed. When under the hood, the steps are the same; the only difference is that you can't rely upon most of the aircraft's instruments.

Pull, kick, push, and recover.
Ray Preston: Abbreviated spin recovery

The aircraft we use are outfitted with the usual analog instruments along with an Aspen PFD and Garmin GPS unit. Even though these aircraft have some very nice digital instruments, they still get confused when in a spin. The attitude indicator can topple, the compass and heading indicator are useless too, and even the Aspen displays a message asking to crosscheck attitude – the Aspen is pretty much saying it's futile at this point. The only reliable instrument, in this case, is the turn coordinator because it has a pinned axis which means it can't topple. To figure out which way the aircraft is spinning, all that needs to be done is to glance at the turn coordinator; the banked wings will show the direction quite simply. Once the spin has been subdued, the use of the wings will then indicate if you're close to being level or not.

I think this was the first time I felt different than what the instruments were telling me – or maybe I subconsciously believed an error from one. After recovery, the Aspen tends to indicate that the aircraft is still banked by quite a bit even though there isn't any error message being displayed. On the other hand, the turn coordinator shows that you are, in fact, closer to being level than what the Aspen will tend to make you believe. Ignoring your basic senses of motion and accepting the information from an instrument is an exciting feeling. You have to consciously tell yourself what you feel is wrong and that you must pay particularly close attention to making sure you aren't subconsciously 'correcting' due to this false sensation.

With the closing of my first year, I am already very excited for the start of next year. In addition to this, I'm also quite excited for this summer – I'll be training to earn both a night and float rating; so many experiences to be had!

A Brief Dive Into CAN Bus

Mon, 07 Apr 2014 00:00:00 GMT

During the past two days, I've had just enough free time that I've been able to test out some CAN bus, GMLAN sniffing, and experimentation – I've also discovered how interesting and how much fun this whole thing can be! CAN bus (Controller Area Network) works by sending data through an interconnected network of systems and devices. In a single payload, the most important things to look at are the header, and of course, the data packets. The header consists of up to four bytes containing three types of data: priority, arbitration ID (receiver), and the ECU ID (sender). When communication is needed, a message is sent with the proper header, and all the other devices on the network listen to see if the data contains its particular ID code. If it matches, the device accepts it, and the system moves on to the data packet.

This data packet can contain up to eight bytes and carries various pieces of data in multiple formats depending on manufacture and, or application. These packets can control many different things; for example, the instrument lighting in my car: the control dial changes a value in the BCM (Body Control Module) and then sends data about how bright the lighting on all the interfaces should be. More specifically, for my vehicle, the BCM sends the header 0x10644040, followed by how many bytes of data – in this case, three – and finally sends the actual data. I haven't fully decoded this particular example yet, as right now, I am basing everything on educated guesses as well as trial and error. For the instrument brightness, it sends a 0x02 (not sure what this does yet), then a value between 0 and 255 which corresponds to how bright the accent lighting should be, and finally a third byte containing another value between 0 and 255 corresponding to how bright the radio's screen should be. I was surprised how much brighter the screen can get by sending my own data as the built-in system seems to limit it from reaching its brightest – I figure that this is probably for reducing wear and tear on the components.

So far, with my very little time spent testing this out, I have figured out the data packets to a few various things. Things like basic media controls, cruise control, lighting and indicators, and sounds (mostly). The capability and flexibility to access and change this data has given me an idea to improve and develop a possible second version lighting controller. Until then, I'll be having fun figuring out how the whole system works together with each individual device.

Spins

Thu, 03 Apr 2014 00:00:00 GMT

For the past two days, I've been practicing various upper-air work activities. Apart from the stalls, slow flights, steep turns, slips, and forced approaches, I got to re-experience what it was like to do a spin again. After I received my PPL, I had practiced spirals regularly but somewhat forgot about practicing spins. Until now, I had forgotten how much fun these spins can be – how they can get the adrenaline pumping.

Golden Cross Country

Wed, 02 Apr 2014 00:00:00 GMT

As part of my flight training, I must do a cross country to Golden, British Columbia. The whole flight took 4.4 hours of Hobbs time and was quite an experience for me as it was my longest flight yet. My planned route was Castlegar → Cranbrook → Invermere → Golden → through Rogers Pass → Kootenay Bay → Castlegar. When I landed in Cranbrook, I also had to fuel the plane myself – I didn't know there was such a thing as self-serve fuel stations for aircraft, especially one with an automated payment system. I obviously then thought the whole pumping system was pretty cool then. The other thing that amazed me was the seemingly random flat area between the two mountain ranges; I just couldn't get over the views while in the area. After refuelling, it was time to make my way to Golden with a quick stop and go in Invermere along the way. Once I had reached Golden, the last few legs of my flight would take me through Rogers Pass; a place I had only driven through before. The weather was quite lovely the whole way; however, it was a bit turbulent and cloudy in the valley which made the flight even more exciting. After taking in the beautiful sights and nearing my last few waypoints, my flight was over. This will definitely be one of 'those flights' that I'll remember forever: my first real cross country.

Castlegar FSS Tower Visit

Thu, 27 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Today a couple of friends of mine and I wanted to go visit the airport’s control tower. We’re fortunate enough that the really nice people at NavCanada told us that we can visit any time we wish. We got to see how the controller received and transmitted IFR clearances to Air Canada and other operators, how they dealt with flight plans and passing traffic, take weather observations, and what it’s like to work there daily. I really like being up in the tower; it is certainly a different perspective and side to the aviation industry.

Vehicle Lighting Controller

Thu, 20 Mar 2014 00:00:00 GMT

One of the first things I did to the car was to install under-dash lighting. The actual LED strips weren't anything special; they're aqua in colour and fade in and out with the dome light built into the car (simply wired up to the generated signal provided by the BCM). After a few years, including the cold winters, the LED strips started to shed their waterproofing, crack, and just flat out fall apart. Due to this fact, I have wanted to replace them for some time now; the only problem I had was the replacements themselves.

Getting a replacement strip wasn't really the issue as I could just order the same ones from the same supplier; however, they are pretty expensive for what they are. I had thought that maybe I could get a bulk deal of some sort and save a bit as I wanted to add more lighting elsewhere. After contacting the supplier, my savings still weren't that impressive, so I started to look elsewhere in an attempt to cut out the middleman. This proved to be even more difficult as I have now found out, aqua coloured LEDs are quite hard to come by, let alone LED strips.

During my hunt, the only LEDs that I found that had the correct colour (or close to it) were produced by Lumex – product number: SSL-LX5093TC. I had two issues with this: the first being that they are regular through-hole LEDs, and the second being that they sell for an average of $1.00 CAD or so from places like Digi-Key, Mouser, etc. Feeling somewhat defeated, I revisited an idea I had previously to fix my dilemma: RGB LEDs.

I had initially dismissed the thought of using RGB LEDs because I knew that the strips were expensive, and I didn't want to overcomplicate a simple repair; however, without having many other options, I decided to entertain the idea. After a bit of price shopping, I came to find that I could get an excellent deal on some LEDs – waterproof too! I was blown away by how much cheaper RGB LEDs had become over the years; I even found out that there was a better waterproofing style that wouldn't experience the same faults my previous strips had encountered.

These new strips are housed in a silicone tube completely shielded from the environment, while my previous strips were only coated in a type of epoxy on the emitting side. Since the new ones are made from silicone, they won't crack and fall apart like their epoxy counterparts. As a quick price comparison, the aqua-only led strips (with inferior waterproof capabilities) cost $7.98USD per foot. The more durable RGB strips cost $0.86 USD – a no-brainer. I then quickly placed an order and received them within a week or so. During this time, I started to plan everything out; things like where to use them, how I was going to drive them, functions, controls, etc.

When I was done planning, I had figured out that I would like lighting in five different areas: under the dash, under the seats in the rear, under a panel, in the door handles, and in the speakers. At this time, I still had remains of my EL wire project in a few of the places where I wanted to place LEDs. Originally, I was going to tie the left and right sides together and control the five main channels individually, but then I thought, 'what if the LEDs aren't consistent between the left and right sides?' I then also figured that I might as well go all out and control each channel individually – I'm now at ten channels. In addition to this, I also wanted to control my existing EL wire; add on another five channels. This means that I need to effectively manage five EL channels and thirty LED channels as each RGB strip has three channels each 10 strips times 3 channels = 30. With the planning done, my next step is to design both the hardware and software.

Free Falling

Tue, 26 Nov 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Today while heading back to the airport, we decided to toy with Newton's laws. We pitched up, then down again, causing a moment of continued upward motion as we tipped forwards. Seeing this happen before my eyes made me giggle with excitement and awe. I understand how it all works and why it does what it does, but it still manages to amaze me every time I see it. I'm soon after thinking about the universe and how enormous it is – thinking about how much more is out there never fails to leave me speechless in an infinite gaze out into the world above.

Flight Around Mt. Gimli

Mon, 25 Nov 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Today on one of the mutual flights that I was acting as FO for, we decided to take a short trip around Mt. Gimli. It's a beautiful mountain located in Valhalla Provincial Park, and the views from the top are astounding!

Apologies for the seemingly random auto-focusing that my phone decided to apply.

Stepper Motor Test

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

There’s nothing quite like experimenting with some electronics on a quiet afternoon day. Today I decided to try driving a stepper motor with a simple microcontroller; it wasn’t very long before I had a working sample – duck added for aesthetics.

The SmartHorn Is Complete

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

It didn't take very long for me to get around to developing the board for this little project of mine. I designed the board layout in EAGLE, then printed it to a transparent plastic sheet, and was soon on my way etching.

The etching process is quite simple and actually quite common among hobbyists. Once the plastic sheet with the board layout printed on it is complete, it is then placed over the top of a photo-sensitive copper clad board. A light is then switched on over the board and layout, activating any parts exposed to the light. After eight minutes, the light is turned off, and the activated board is then submerged into a bath of water and positive developer. The developer eats away any light-exposed parts revealing the shiny copper underneath while leaving a green outline when the printed circuit once was.

After the development stage is completed and the board rinsed, the exposed copper is then etched away by some ferric chloride [katex][FeCl_3][/katex]. After soaking in the chloride until all the exposed copper is gone, the board you are left with will look exactly like your printed circuit. The next step is to wipe away the last of the green coating to expose what's left of the copper – acetone works well for this. The last part of this process is a relatively quick one: a bath in some liquid tin.

This liquid tin attaches itself to the easily oxidized copper and protects it from corrosion. This tin also has an added benefit, better soldering characteristics. At this point, the board is ready to be drilled, populated, soldered, and fit into an enclosure. The results are always quite nice to see as they have a higher quality than standard prototype boards.

In this case, my board turned out well (yet messy), but it worked! Board fabrication is always a pleasant learning experience that takes a long time to master – I have quite a way to go with all my jumper wires everywhere.

SmartHorn Prototype

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

I had always thought it'd be fun to create something that controls a vehicle's horn. This little thought of mine quickly motivated me to experiment and see if I could, in fact, create something fun. Without too much thought, I quickly started thinking about how I would accomplish this and what it should do.

The final idea came out to be a simple interface that allowed the user to program their own functions on the fly. The user could bush the one button to cycle functions while the other activated the function. The user could then push both buttons to enter programming mode and customize it to their liking. With the prototype done, all that is left to do is build a proper board and fit it into an enclosure.

Arcade Machine

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

For a while now, I've wanted to build something special; it wasn't too long before I decided to create a full-sized arcade machine. I found some basic plans on the internet somewhere about the general dimensions and shape of the cabinet. I then took these plans and adjusted them for my liking and requirements.

The entire cabinet is constructed out of stained and painted maple wood to match the room it resides in. The actual functioning parts of the cabinet consist of a standard coin slot, ten buttons, two joysticks, and of course, the computer and screen. The screen is an old, unused TV; I chose it because it will look a little more authentic – pixels, distortions, and all.

Controlling the system is quite simple; it operates by a simple push of the power button located on the front of the cabinet. The circuit I built then takes care of the rest by switching the light, TV, and computer on at appropriate times while displaying information on a small LCD screen.

Once in the system, the user is greeted by a menu allowing them to select whichever game they desire to play. For each system, game, and menu, the buttons on the panel change colour to their associated buttons found on the original controller and/or system. Any unused buttons then turn off to avoid user confusion. To quit a game or return to the main menu, the user simply pushes the coin return lever on the coin slot, and they are quickly swept away. To shut down, the user pushes the power button, which then starts a ten-second countdown, flashes the LCD, and allows the player to react if it was an accidental push by pressing the button again to cancel the shutdown.

As for the actual board I designed to control the system, I used an ATtiny4313 coded in C. The chip outputs the PWM signal to the power button, waits for any interaction, drives the relays controlling the system, and manages the small LCD screen. This simple board is quite important as I quickly realized how complicated it would be for a random person to start up and run the machine without my assistance. The machine now sits in the basement, where anyone can play whichever game they wish.