Category Archives: Cabin

My Robot Lawn Mowers

Posted on 14-June-2019 by mathscinotes

I am working today in my garage office at my cabin in northern Minnesota. From the office window, I can see a Worx Landroid robot mowing the lawn (Figure 1). I installed two of these mowers  (one for garage and one for cabin) because I am not regularly at the cabin and wanted to ensure the lawn was mowed even when I could not be there. Continue reading →

 
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Tensions and Angles in a Simple Rope Rigging

Posted on 14-November-2018 by mathscinotes

I have been tutoring math and physics at the local library for the last few months. As part of this tutoring, I have been looking for good graphics that illustrate basic science concepts. One common high-school physics problem involves computing the tension in ropes tied to an anchor by a pulley. Figure 1 is a graphic that nicely illustrates the tension relationship between two ropes connected to an anchor point by a carabiner. Continue reading →

 
Posted in Cabin, Construction, Daily Math | 10 Comments

Lake Level Variation Over Time

Posted on 16-May-2017 by mathscinotes

My wife and I are building a vacation home on the shores of Eagle Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota. We also are active members of the local lake association, which is a group of homeowners who work on projects to keep our lake healthy. One task I perform on a yearly basis for the lake association is to draw a graph of how our lake level is varying over time (Figure 1). The lake level is important to homeowners because it affects the amount of beach that is exposed and the length of their docks. Continue reading →

 
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Video of Wild Cat in Northern Minnesota

Posted on 19-September-2016 by mathscinotes

Like me, a number of my coworkers have cabins in Northern Minnesota and most of us have cameras that record activity on our properties. A coworker came in the other day with this video that shows a wild cat going by one of his cameras. I am not sure what kind of cat it is – probably a lynx. This site is not far from the Canadian border. Maybe one of you out there can identify it? Continue reading →

 
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A Lesson Learned from Lab Testing a Colpitts Oscillator

Posted on 7-June-2016 by mathscinotes

It is the weekend and time to build my personal circuits. Some of my recent personal work has been focused on detecting cars in my cabin's driveway by using a loop of wire that experience an inductance change when a car passes over it. This weekend I built the Colpitts oscillator I discussed in this post, which is part of a car detector improvement I am considering. The circuit I am using now is not as sensitive as I would like, and I am hoping a few changes will allow me to detect smaller vehicles, like ATVs. Continue reading →

 
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Inductive Car Sensor Math

Posted on 7-April-2014 by mathscinotes

Introduction Spring has come to Minnesota and I want to build an outdoor electronics project -- this is one of my favorite activities. I have decided to build a car sensor for my cabin in northern Minnesota. This car sensor … Continue reading →

 
Posted in Cabin, Electronics | 2 Comments

Morning in Northern Minnesota

Posted on 10-September-2013 by mathscinotes

Fall is coming ... soon the leaves will start to change color. This is my favorite time of year here. The photographer is my neighbor, Joel Teigland.  

 
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My Little Gilligan's Island - Part 1 (The Shower)

Posted on 8-September-2010 by mathscinotes

Introduction My cabin in northern Minnesota is very primitive (the only water is lake water, no heat, no air conditioning, no phone, no Internet) and I do not want to put any money into it until I get my sons … Continue reading →

 
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