Jerry Heep Lights up RadioShack HQ

HOTLNC

HOTLNC

LOD Officer
They posted the third part of my interview.

http://blog.radioshack.com/

What wasn't mentioned was my daughter, Nikki -- who drove REDHOT, a 94 Mark VIII -- helped me in the project. She was needing a senior project (at the time my princess had been changed into a frog -- TCU) and she wondered if I had any ideas. I needed someone to design the computer that sent the light bulb commands to the two light computer in the towers. Her program (written in Visual Basic) sent the RS-232 commands to the two towers and also was used to develop and send the messages that were displayed.

She did it and the result of our work is what you see at the beginning of the interview.
 
tixer

tixer

Lincoln Evangelist
Awesome. Is that system still in place? Still in use? Did the receivers simply go in place of the regular light switch? Were there ever any other commercial installations?

I was going to ask how your protocol compared with X10, but I looked it up instead. they're totally different.

I still use RS-232 on a daily basis for the console on my phone systems. The new VoIP systems I'm installing this summer have a web interface that I'm not so sure I'm ready for...
 
HOTLNC

HOTLNC

LOD Officer
Each floor controlled 15 to 30 light bulbs on six parallel strings. RS-232 from my daughter's computer was sent to two light computers -- custom computer boards located on level 10 of each tower. This is where the circuit breakers were located for the light strings. The light computers was locked onto the three phase AC supply that fed the light bulbs. I installed solid state relays at each breaker that supplied the bulb strings. The light computer modulated the AC waveform to signal the controller boards into whatever pattern the main computer told it to do.

FYI -- I couldn't use X10 protocol because I needed more than 256 codes and also because there would have been serious crosstalk between bulb strings.

I put a patent disclosure out, but we told by RS legal that they would not pursue a patent because the light control system was not commercially viable.
 
S

steve

With "LOD" Since 1997
HOTLNC said:
I put a patent disclosure out, but we told by RS legal that they would not pursue a patent because the light control system was not commercially viable.
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I guess they never saw the light show from Hong Kong harbor, that is something to see if you ever get the chance.
 
tixer

tixer

Lincoln Evangelist
A truly elegant solution. Thanks for the detail, Jerry. I feel obliged to emphasize that I am equally impressed by your daughter's programming prowess. I never could code worth a darn. I hope she is still putting that talent to good use.

(although since we're talking programming, I would accept evil uses as well...)
 
HOTLNC

HOTLNC

LOD Officer
tixer said:
A truly elegant solution. Thanks for the detail, Jerry. I feel obliged to emphasize that I am equally impressed by your daughter's programming prowess. I never could code worth a darn. I hope she is still putting that talent to good use.

(although since we're talking programming, I would accept evil uses as well...)
Click to expand...
Thanks. Well, she's not using her programming skills, but she is using her computer science degree. She the IT guru for DR Horton (the home builder.) She goes all over the US and sets up the IT parts of the remote offices.

Back when we did the project together, she had to do formal presentations to our management about the light control program she was writing. You know -- the whole ball of wax -- diagrams, scheduling and flow charts. Her senior adviser was at these meeting and graded her on her presentation. As "project leader" I didn't make her jump though formal loops. All I required was a quality job that stayed on schedule. And she did it.
 
tixer

tixer

Lincoln Evangelist
Impressive. Clearly that is an experience that has served her well.

It sounds like she's got a pretty good gig there. I'll bet she gets to see quite a few interesting places.
 
HOTLNC

HOTLNC

LOD Officer
She been to several neat places. She just came back from doing a job in DC. She invited her mother to go with her and they could go see all the sites. But she could not go.

Later she called us and told her mom that it was a good thing she didn't go. Nikki had little time and tried to see it all in the time she did have. She RAN between the sights. Mom could not have kept up.
 
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