Sketches, ideas, workshops and notes by Mogens Jacobsen
Basic Arduino circuits
This is a small PDF file with some very basic Arduino circuits.
It was done in 2011 for at course at the IT University of Copenhagen (it is in Danish – but I guess you can understand it)Download: Basale_Arduino_diagrammer
Blackboard Intervention, Transmediale 2013
I was invited to do a “Blackboard intervention” at the BWPWAP, the Transmediale in Berlin.
Simplified analogue meter
Analogue meter I found in Latvia.
Soviet design with a strange scale: The label says “Indicator” but there are no units on the meter.
Electronics for masterclass, “Power and Control”, Latvia
The workshop used 12 relays controlled by one Arduino. Each of these 12 “channels” was connected to the digital-out pins on the Arduino.
The electronics of each channel consisted of 1 resistor, one MOS-FET (RTF510 or RTF530) and a small relay capable of handling 220V.
Click on the image to get detailed info. The setup is deliberately keept very simple and very inexpensive.
You will need an additional power-supply to drive the relay (the red and blue terminals on the image). If your relay is rated 9-12v, you can use a simple 9V battery.The workshop used a free webserver software (XAMPP). On the server, a PHP-code triggered a small application. This application sent the command to the Arduino over USB. More about the application- and the PHP-code can be read here.
Source code for masterclass at “Power and Control”, Latvia
I’m working on my equiptment for the the “Power and Control” festival in Latvia. The festival is taking place at the former soviet military spy facility Ventyspils.
I’m preparing a master-class where the participants will be controlling electrical devices from a webpage.
The setup is really minimal: One Apache webserver – running on my netbook – with one PHP-page. This page triggers a command-line application on the webserver (a la old style CGI). This application sends on/off commands over USB to an Arduino-board. This board triggers the electrical devices. I did a workshop based on a similar concept in Istanbul in 2011, but in Latvia we will be working with larger household appliances (and thus higher voltage). You can read more about the electronics here.The PHP-page is quite simple:
<php?
$pincmd = $_GET['pin'];
$command = “arduinoOUT.exe “.”COM5,”.$pincmd;
// you will have to change the COM-port number to match your system
exec($command);
?>The command-line application (arduinoOUT.exe) was written in VB.Net as a “Console” application:
Sub Main()
‘ Getting the : comport and pin-command from the command line arguments
Dim arrArgs() As String = Command.Split(“,”)
Dim pincommand As String = arrArgs(1)
Dim COMPort As New SerialPortTry
COMPort.PortName = arrArgs(0)
COMPort.BaudRate = 9600
COMPort.WriteBufferSize = 1024
COMPort.Encoding = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII
COMPort.NewLine = Chr(13) + Chr(10)
COMPort.WriteTimeout = 100
COMPort.Open()
COMPort.Write(pincommand)
Catch ex As Exception
COMPort.Close()
COMPort.Dispose()
End
End TryCOMPort.Close()
COMPort.Dispose()End Sub
Media art does not exist
In a recent interview in “We Make Money Not Art”, I was asked why I called myself a “media artist”.
My choice of the word “media” is more an opting out of the “visual” category, than a positive choice.I have been hoping for an art dealing with processes and systems (which in some cases might include interactive systems).
But for some time media art / digital art / interactive art / (insert your favorite buzzword here) have been having problems. Stale and isolated, focusing on surface and experience.Then I found the article “Media art does not exist” by German writer Stefan Heidenreich. It was published some time ago (2008), but have not lost its significance since. Even though the article declares media art dead and sentences media artists to a life as educators at provincial institutions, I think this text is central.
Interview in We Make Money Not Art
Régine Debatty did an interview with me for the excellent blog “We Make Money Not Art“.
I am deeply honored….
Kreativ Kode Workshop
In March 2011 I held a Processing-workshop called “New media as a tool in high school art education”.
The workshop was arranged by the LMFK Secretariat, Denmark.You can download a PDF with instructions here (text is in Danish)
And download the example-code here (as a ZIP-file)