Only 5 days left. We have made a lot of progress, but we still have a long way to go. I have had a couple people contact me and say they are willing to bump it over the top if it gets closer, so please share to everyone you know (and get one yourself) so that we can make it!
Only 5 days left. We have made a lot of progress, but we still have a long way to go. I have had a couple people contact me and say they are willing to bump it over the top if it gets closer, so please share to everyone you know (and get one yourself) so that we can make it!
How much closer do you need to be?
I had one big donor who really wanted to see this happen (HUGE shoutout to Thomas Stoddard for making a really big pledge above and beyond the Better than a Blue Laser Pointer base value) and I have one sibling who said he is willing to top off any amount to push it over the top. So, it is definitely going to get funded at this point and any people who want to get in on it are invited.
Also, with the big donations from Thomas Stoddard and my sibling (which raises the amount per device made), I plan on trying to incorporate the audio circuit to play The Scotman and Hail the Utah Aggies.
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: April 19th, 2019, 8:19 am
by tipitup
If you do incorporate the audio circuit, make it programmable so the user can make it play whatever he/she wants. just a suggestion. i have the easy button from staples and that's what i want to do with it.
Only 5 days left. We have made a lot of progress, but we still have a long way to go. I have had a couple people contact me and say they are willing to bump it over the top if it gets closer, so please share to everyone you know (and get one yourself) so that we can make it!
How much closer do you need to be?
I had one big donor who really wanted to see this happen (HUGE shoutout to Thomas Stoddard for making a really big pledge above and beyond the Better than a Blue Laser Pointer base value) and I have one sibling who said he is willing to top off any amount to push it over the top. So, it is definitely going to get funded at this point and any people who want to get in on it are invited.
Also, with the big donations from Thomas Stoddard and my sibling (which raises the amount per device made), I plan on trying to incorporate the audio circuit to play The Scotman and Hail the Utah Aggies.
That is way cool. I am excited to see the finished product. Thank you for puting such a great and novel idea into motion. I have been jealous of the P5 stadium replicas that have come out, but I'd much rather have this with all of the awesome Aggie traditions you are incorporating.
Only 5 days left. We have made a lot of progress, but we still have a long way to go. I have had a couple people contact me and say they are willing to bump it over the top if it gets closer, so please share to everyone you know (and get one yourself) so that we can make it!
How much closer do you need to be?
I had one big donor who really wanted to see this happen (HUGE shoutout to Thomas Stoddard for making a really big pledge above and beyond the Better than a Blue Laser Pointer base value) and I have one sibling who said he is willing to top off any amount to push it over the top. So, it is definitely going to get funded at this point and any people who want to get in on it are invited.
Also, with the big donations from Thomas Stoddard and my sibling (which raises the amount per device made), I plan on trying to incorporate the audio circuit to play The Scotman and Hail the Utah Aggies.
Thank you! I’m very excited for mine!
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: April 23rd, 2019, 5:38 pm
by BigVBAg
Now that the campaign is over, is there a way for people to order them? I'd love to get some for gifts.
Now that the campaign is over, is there a way for people to order them? I'd love to get some for gifts.
First priority is getting the Kickstarter orders done. I have almost 90 to produce between now and the end of August.
I will definitely be putting up a website sometime this summer to take orders. I also have contacted Locker42 and the Aggie Bookstore to see if they are interested. The very first order of business is getting the first polished prototype done so that I can send it to the CLC Licensing company to get licensed (this is the company that almost all universities use to manager their licensing). I don't foresee any problems with that process, but it involves a bunch of steps which include forming and LLC, getting liability insurance, finding suppliers that meet with CLC's requirements for Corporate Responsibility Standards, and then finishing the licensing application. I want to get that out of the way ASAP, so that we can spend the remainder of the time polishing the product.
I will definitely post here once they are available for order (or pre-order) other than through the Kickstarter.
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: May 2nd, 2019, 5:29 pm
by jpswensen
Just a quick update for those that care.
While I wait for my some parts and supplies to get delivered, I have been working mostly on the embedded software and polishing up some of the onboarding process when a user gets their new Aggie A.
First, it now has a smart Wifi setup process. Essentially when the device is first powered, if it can't find the wifi router that it was last connected to, it goes into a mode where it is its own access point. So, you just connect to the router names "AggieAP" using your PC, tablet, or phone, and it will pop up a window that lets you then tell it which router to connect to and the password. This is stored, so you really only need to do this again if you move to another router name or new router password.
The other major part I have been working on is how the user can select the lighting scheme for their Aggie A. There are several options and sub-options. For example, for the "Light the A" lighting scheme, you can pick which sports you care about. For the holiday mode, you can pick which standard holiday coloring you want to use. Once your device is set up, when you are on the same network as your device, you can get to it by typing "http://AggieA.local" into your desktop or mobile web browser.
So, long story short, I think I have about 75% of the embedded and web programming side of things done. There are still a few features I want to add in there, but I want to get to the fabrication side of things once the rest of my hardware shows up. I will make a video once I have the first fully-functional prototype done and ask the KickStarter backers if there are any other features they would like to see.
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: May 23rd, 2019, 12:26 pm
by jpswensen
Another update has been posted to the Kickstarter page (link below). This has a video of the first completed prototype, and shows the electronics box base and the topper. I will be making a time lapse video next week of a complete fabrication and hope to have a fairly complete software demo two weeks after that. My goal is to have the demo unit sent to the IMG Licensing company (which handles USU's sports licensing) by June 6.
I’m glad I got one, but am quickly wanting more than 1.
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The minute we have the licensing agreement approved, I will add a "Pre-order" link to the Kickstarter page that will take people to a website where they can pre-order another one. I will also post the link here.
I had a discussion with the USU licensing person before starting the Kickstarter to make sure everything was on the up-and-up, and she stated that I cannot take pre-orders until the licensing agreement is in place. She said that technically the Kickstarter doesn't count as pre-orders because there is no contractual obligation for me to deliver on a pledge, whereas a pre-order would. That being said, I don't foresee any problem with getting the licensing agreement and all the Kickstarter pledges will get their delivery, but wanted to describe the rationale behind why I could do the Kickstarter, but can't take pre-orders yet.
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: May 23rd, 2019, 1:49 pm
by jpswensen
Another side note is that a couple of nights ago my son was showing me a bunch of what is called "perceptual art", where it looks like different things from different angles. The most famous artist that does this is a man name Michael Murphy (https://www.perceptualart.com/portfolio.html) and you may have seen some of his work for Nike and various sports leagues.
So, I decided I would try to make one that is Aggie related. This video shows a rotation around a 3D model that from one angle looks like the U-State logo and from 90 degree off looks like the Aggie Bull. I am stilling having some challenges getting this to a point where I could 3D print it, and likely would need to buy the multi-material upgrade for my printer so I could have dissolvable support material, but would this make a good alternative "topper" for the Aggie A device?
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: May 23rd, 2019, 2:06 pm
by Aggiefan33
Just take my money already!
That is wild.
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: May 23rd, 2019, 3:15 pm
by dyedblue
Wow! I hope you are making something off of this project because this is beyond cool.
I’m glad I got one, but am quickly wanting more than 1.
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This. I now want more than one and a much bigger one for outside of my home on my roof/porch/yard. Excited for the one I ordered though!
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: May 23rd, 2019, 6:20 pm
by Gretsch
jpswensen wrote:Another side note is that a couple of nights ago my son was showing me a bunch of what is called "perceptual art", where it looks like different things from different angles. The most famous artist that does this is a man name Michael Murphy (https://www.perceptualart.com/portfolio.html) and you may have seen some of his work for Nike and various sports leagues.
So, I decided I would try to make one that is Aggie related. This video shows a rotation around a 3D model that from one angle looks like the U-State logo and from 90 degree off looks like the Aggie Bull. I am stilling having some challenges getting this to a point where I could 3D print it, and likely would need to buy the multi-material upgrade for my printer so I could have dissolvable support material, but would this make a good alternative "topper" for the Aggie A device?
I want one of these too.
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Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: June 20th, 2019, 10:59 pm
by jpswensen
Another update. This time I have a video of the build process from start to finish. the 3D printer in running both day and night and I am making good progress so that I can meet all the early-bird Kickstarter Backers by next month and all the rest of the backers by fall kickoff.
I am sending the sample in to the licensing company on Monday and that is the last step to be able to start sending them out once they are done.
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: June 20th, 2019, 11:26 pm
by dyedblue
That is looking awesome! I can't wait to get mine.
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Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: June 23rd, 2019, 9:56 am
by sneed
Looking forward to getting mine (already ordered).
Would it be pretty easy for me to add lights to this? I will probably want to solder a line off this and hook up to some LEDs in my window or on my roof to do a big A. I don’t want to break it though.
Lighting up the A
Posted: June 23rd, 2019, 10:25 am
by jpswensen
sneed wrote:Looking forward to getting mine (already ordered).
Would it be pretty easy for me to add lights to this? I will probably want to solder a line off this and hook up to some LEDs in my window or on my roof to do a big A. I don’t want to break it though.
That depends on what you consider easy.
These devices use multicolor LEDs called WS2812b (or SK6812). They are super popular. The way they work is that they are connected in series and the way it works is that after the first one gets its color command from the microcontroller, it passes all subsequent commands down the line. When the second one then gets the second color command, it passes all subsequent commands down the line. You can feasibly command a chain of these 1000+ long from the microcontroller. There are about a million vendors of these strips out there, but here is an example (ALITOVE 16.4ft WS2812B Individually Addressable LED Strip Light 5050 RGB SMD 150 Pixels Dream Color Waterproof IP67 Black PCB 5V DC
Reasons why this might not be “easy”:
1) I wasn’t thinking about expansion like this, so I didn’t include a header coming off the board to continue on to an additional string of lights. I wish you had mentioned this 4 weeks ago before I ordered the 250 PCBs as it would have been a pretty easy addition. It would be about another $300 and another 4 weeks to place an order for another PCB set with the header holes included. Depending on your comfort level with soldering, you can solder a wire coming off the last LED in the chain and connect it to an external string of lights. If you did this, I would recommend also putting a big glob of epoxy as strain relief after making sure it is connected.
2) The USB power supply that is provided is only a 1 amp supply. These LEDs draw about 40mA at max brightness. So, depending on how long the strip is that you are connecting, you may need an external power supply to the strips that can provide the power needed.
3) the software currently has the number of LEDs in the chain set to 5. I could pretty easily make this a configuration parameter in the “Advanced Settings” tab of the web page provide by the device.
I can post some pictures later to show where you would need to come off of the current board to make this work, if you would like.
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Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: June 23rd, 2019, 12:52 pm
by sneed
jpswensen wrote:
sneed wrote:Looking forward to getting mine (already ordered).
Would it be pretty easy for me to add lights to this? I will probably want to solder a line off this and hook up to some LEDs in my window or on my roof to do a big A. I don’t want to break it though.
That depends on what you consider easy.
These devices use multicolor LEDs called WS2812b (or SK6812). They are super popular. The way they work is that they are connected in series and the way it works is that after the first one gets its color command from the microcontroller, it passes all subsequent commands down the line. When the second one then gets the second color command, it passes all subsequent commands down the line. You can feasibly command a chain of these 1000+ long from the microcontroller. There are about a million vendors of these strips out there, but here is an example (ALITOVE 16.4ft WS2812B Individually Addressable LED Strip Light 5050 RGB SMD 150 Pixels Dream Color Waterproof IP67 Black PCB 5V DC
Reasons why this might not be “easy”:
1) I wasn’t thinking about expansion like this, so I didn’t include a header coming off the board to continue on to an additional string of lights. I wish you had mentioned this 4 weeks ago before I ordered the 250 PCBs as it would have been a pretty easy addition. It would be about another $300 and another 4 weeks to place an order for another PCB set with the header holes included. Depending on your comfort level with soldering, you can solder a wire coming off the last LED in the chain and connect it to an external string of lights. If you did this, I would recommend also putting a big glob of epoxy as strain relief after making sure it is connected.
2) The USB power supply that is provided is only a 1 amp supply. These LEDs draw about 40mA at max brightness. So, depending on how long the strip is that you are connecting, you may need an external power supply to the strips that can provide the power needed.
3) the software currently has the number of LEDs in the chain set to 5. I could pretty easily make this a configuration parameter in the “Advanced Settings” tab of the web page provide by the device.
I can post some pictures later to show where you would need to come off of the current board to make this work, if you would like.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thank you i probably will try and add to the end of the string. I have a lot of practice with the LED lights from fixing LED lights in my flag pole. Never had to add power but sounds worth a try.
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: June 23rd, 2019, 1:06 pm
by sneed
Your project inspired me. I'm going to get a new flag pole for my Aggie flag that lights White and can switch to blue.
I have had blue in the past and White now but not one that can switch.
Thank you i probably will try and add to the end of the string. I have a lot of practice with the LED lights from fixing LED lights in my flag pole. Never had to add power but sounds worth a try.
As promised, here are two quick and dirty schematics of your options (with some sub-options).
I personally think it is going to be really hard to try to solder to the out pin on LED5 and have it stick well. That is a surface mount LED chip, so there isn't a lot of surface area there. I actually do that soldering with the solder paste and an oven (if you watched the Kickstarter video, I show that step).
So instead, my recommendation would be to just solder your wire directly into the D7 pin the is going to the first LED. It is OK to put some of these LEDs in parallel, it just means that the first 5 LEDs of your LED strip will have the same colors as the 5 LEDs on the board. I don't show the other side of that board in the images, but I used a technique called "through-hold castellated holes", so you can actually heat up that solder and shove a wire all the way through. This would be the easiest and most secure way of adding a wire.
As a side note, I suppose that if someone wanted to just cut the on-board LEDs out of the loop and connect this to some other yard setup, they could just unsolder the 5 LEDs on board, connect the D7 pin to the input of their LED strip, and then put the LED strip wherever they wanted (flag pole, cement block A in their front yard, etc.)
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: July 16th, 2019, 4:48 pm
by jpswensen
Just another update. The license application made it through the initial review process with no issues. It now goes to a detailed review by a panel of people at the IMG Collegiate Licensing company, after which it gets sent to the school for final approval.
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: August 19th, 2019, 8:50 pm
by stewusu98
Any other updates? Thanks for your hard work in this regard jpswensen.
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: August 19th, 2019, 10:07 pm
by Bigd23
Really wish I would have seen information on this sooner to invest. Now I'll just be patient and hope the opportunity to purchase an A comes soon.
Any other updates? Thanks for your hard work in this regard jpswensen.
Still negotiating the licensing process. Almost all the parts are done 3D printing and about 1/3 of the boards are soldered up.
The CLC Licensing process is really thorough. I just finished up this week going through the artwork process (where USU staff had to comment and approve the artwork on the packaging and the device). I also finished up a pretty lengthy process of supplying information from all of the materials supplier, distributors, circuit board manufacturers, etc. They require you to disclose details about every single company that is part of your supply chain. I think my final two steps are to get registered with the Fair Labor Association and the get the CLC-required level of business insurance policy active.
I will likely be a week or two behind my goal of having everything shipped by the first game, but they are still coming. This licensing process has taken a lot longer than I was expecting. I started the whole process all the way back in late May.
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: August 20th, 2019, 12:07 am
by NVAggie
Keep up the good work. We appreciate your Aggie fanhood.
Any other updates? Thanks for your hard work in this regard jpswensen.
Still negotiating the licensing process. Almost all the parts are done 3D printing and about 1/3 of the boards are soldered up.
The CLC Licensing process is really thorough. I just finished up this week going through the artwork process (where USU staff had to comment and approve the artwork on the packaging and the device). I also finished up a pretty lengthy process of supplying information from all of the materials supplier, distributors, circuit board manufacturers, etc. They require you to disclose details about every single company that is part of your supply chain. I think my final two steps are to get registered with the Fair Labor Association and the get the CLC-required level of business insurance policy active.
I will likely be a week or two behind my goal of having everything shipped by the first game, but they are still coming. This licensing process has taken a lot longer than I was expecting. I started the whole process all the way back in late May.
Thank you!
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: October 23rd, 2019, 1:35 pm
by AggieMeister
Any updates? I would really like to purchase one of these when they are available.
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: October 23rd, 2019, 8:00 pm
by pilotaggie
On October 14th he told us shipping should happen within a couple weeks. I still haven't gotten the form to give a shipping address. Sounds like any day.
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Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: October 23rd, 2019, 8:10 pm
by jpswensen
pilotaggie wrote:On October 14th he told us shipping should happen within a couple weeks. I still haven't gotten the form to give a shipping address. Sounds like any day.
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I got the executed contract via email this afternoon. I can’t ship until I receive the NCAA Officially Licensed Product hologram stickers to apply to the boxes. I sent the email to finish the order for those today.
pilotaggie wrote:On October 14th he told us shipping should happen within a couple weeks. I still haven't gotten the form to give a shipping address. Sounds like any day.
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I got the executed contract via email this afternoon. I can’t ship until I receive the NCAA Officially Licensed Product hologram stickers to apply to the boxes. I sent the email to finish the order for those today.
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I'm going to be in the U.S. for a short trip until November 9. Any chance I could receive it by then?
Re: Lighting up the A
Posted: November 16th, 2019, 1:10 am
by jpswensen
Another update. The licensing process is finally completed. I received the NCAA Officially Licensed Product hologram stickers in the mail today. The plan is to start shipping next week. I have been adding a few features that backers have been requesting (see the Kickstarter update for lots more details of what those extra features are)
After the Kickstarter orders are shipped, I will send the website live and will start taking order (or pre-orders if my manufacturing can't keep up with demand).
