Chris Nafis Projects
I'm retired after 35 years at
GE Global Research,
I enjoy my family, boating, skiing, biking, working on our
1833 house,
and a ton of other things! You can follow along on some of Sue and my journeys at:
SerendipitySue
3D Printer Part Designs
I own several 3D printers. I love designing and 3D printing parts. I put all my designs out in the public domain.
RYOBI Tool Hacks
I love my RYOBI tools, but I also like making my own. Sometimes I just hack them to make them do something I want.
It's fun designing and 3D printing things.
RAD Power eBike Hacks
We got a RAD Power Radcity step-thru 3 eBike. I've made several attachments for the eBike and the battery.
Bosch eBike Hacks
I have a Bulls eBike that uses the Bosch drive system and battery. Unfortunately, Bosch has a very close system. Here are some of the things
I've figured out
Solar Projects
I got interested in Solar Panels and chargers when I purchased a trailer and wanted to go boondocking. I've
since added them to my house and other projects
Boondocking
I've been camping around the country in my 2015 Jayco 145RB.
I made some changes to better boondock:
I've documented some of the locations on Youtube:
Bike Generator
I worked with an elementary school teacher to build a
bike generator
to help the kids explore the environment, conservation of natural resources, and electricity generation
Weatherstations
I have built several
weatherstations.
Currently I have a
wireless Davis Provantage 2.
The data is posted to WeatherUnderground (
KNYREXFO1 [barn roof]
),
the Citizen Weather Observer Program (
CW1411 [barn roof]
,
CW3725 [garage roof])
,
CBS6 WeatherNet6
,
StrikeStar
, and
Boltek Lightning Sites
.
Rabbit Processor based 1-Wire Weather station
Here's a
Rabbit Semiconductor Processor
based weatherstation that uses 1-wire sensors (
version 1,
version 2).
It displays the weather information locally on an LCD display and
posts it's weather data to the
WeatherUnderground
and
CWOP.
Siteplayer based weathervane
Here's a NetMedia
Siteplayer ethernet web server based
Weathervane.
Measuring Snowfall and snow depth
I'm interested in low-cost sensors that automatically measure snowfall or snow depth.
I've developed several prototypes:
-
1-wire DS2450 based
IR snow depth sensor
using Sharp GP2D12 (prototype 1)
-
1-wire DS2438 based
IR snow depth sensor
using a Sharp GP2D12 and a photodiode to detect saturation (prototype 2)
-
1-wire DS2438 based
IR snow depth sensor
using a printed circuit board, Sharp GP2D12, and a photodiode (prototype 3)
-
Rabbit semiconductor based
ultrasonic snow depth sensor
using a thermister to measure temperature. I was a little disappointed with the performance
last year. The system accuracy was +/-1 inch. I think the drifting was due to the
thermistor temperature sensor. I need to rebuild the system using a better temperature sensor.
Water Level Detector
Here's a
1-wire IR sensor to measure water level
Solar Radiation Sensor
Here's a
1-wire solar radiation sensor
based on the DS2438.
Lightning Strike Detection
Lightning detectors are available from
Boltek.
Lightning strike counters kits are available from
Hobby Boards.
Unfortunately the Boltek range estimations are not that good.
I'm interested in combining the bearing information from different locations
to better locate the strike locations.
I've put together several applications to help display the strike locations.
-
In the NorthEast US, it
collects lightning strike
data from Boltek Nexstorm users and overlays it on current visible
and IR satelite images. Vectors are drawn for each station. This helps understand
where the storm actually is (Boltek systems have a problem with reporting strikes 180 degrees
out of phase).
Astrogenic systems (makers of NexStorm) has now come out with an application called
Strikestar that combines data from Boltek NexStorm
users and triangulates lightning strike locations.
Wirelessly Reading Electric and Water Utility Meters with Arduino
Many electric and water utility meters broadcast consumption messages that can be received and decoded.
This
project
shows how to use the Grid Insight AMRUSB-1 and the Arduino to post the data to the Internet.
Radon Gas Monitor
Radon gas is a leading cause of Lung cancer. Charcoal test kits only give you a small window view to your Radon levels. Radon levels vary over the year and change with the weather. I've only been able to find one inexpensive electronic radon gas detector. Unfortunately it isn't set up to collect data. I wanted to work with the local schools to collect radon and weather data to correlate. This
Arduino Ethernet Hack
shows how to connect a safety-siren radon detector to the Internet to log/graph the data.
Air Quality Monitoring
With allergies and asthma, I've been interested in the local indoor/outdoor air quality.
I'm
gathering data from the local DEC office and putting it into COSM so I can better compare it with my own results.
I have hooked up a A
Dylos DC1100 Pro air quality monitor
to the Internet with an
Arduino Ethernet. It posts data to
COSM.
I have also been evaluating the low-cost
Sharp Dust sensor
and the
Shinyei Model PPD42NS Dust Sensor.
Air Quality Egg
The
AQE was an idea that was Kickstarted.
The idea is to have a community-led air quality sensing network that gives people a way to participate in the conversation about air quality.
The initial hardware measures Temp, Humidity, NO2, and CO concentrations.
WiFi Air Quality Particle Sensor
Here is my attempt at an inexpensive
WIFI laser particle sensor
based on the Electric Imp / Shinyei PPD42NS dust sensor.
3D Scanners
I'm interested in building low-cost
3D scanners that can make a digital model
of a real objects. I try to keep track of the different 3D scanning and measurement technologies.
Building a Pole Barn
Time-lapse photos of barn raising
Restoring an old Yamaha G1 Golf Cart
Yamaha G1 restoration project.
1957 Oldsmobile 88 Restoration
I was given an old
1957 Oldsmobile 88.
I acquired three other parts cars and have been learning a lot!
We got a 1957 98 Holiday out of the weeds in 4 hours
I have designed and 3D printed several parts (
Radio faceplace and knobs,
Windshield Washer jar hole cover,
Windshield Washer F connector, and
Steering Column Grommet
).
Community Service
Selected Publications
-
Automated 3D IR defect mapping system for CZT wafer and tile inspection and characterization (Conference Proceedings)
Authors: Yi Liao, Esmaeil Heidari, Gil Abramovich, et al.
Published: 14 Sep 2011
-
Andreini, K.; Tkaczyk, J.E.; Tan Zhang; Williams, Y.Z.; Nafis, C.; Abramovich, G.; Harding, K.; Bednarczyk, P.J.; Chen, H.; Bindley, G.; McKenzie, J.; Ragothomachar, B.; Dudley, M.;
Low-signature Cadmium Zinc Telluride CZT defect inspection by IR, ultrasound, etch pit density, and x-ray topography
Nuclear Science Symposium Conference Record (NSS/MIC), 2010 IEEE
-
G. Abramovich, K. Harding, S. Manickam, J. Czechowski,
V. Paruchuru, R. Tait, C. Nafis, and A. Vemury. Mobile, Contactless,
Single Shot, Fingerprint Capture System. In Proc.
SPIE, volume 7667, 2010.
-
Method for evaluating compatibility of commercial electromagnetic (EM) microsensor tracking systems with surgical and imaging tables (Conference Proceedings)
Authors: Christopher Nafis, Vern Jensen, Ron von Jako
Published: 31 Mar 2008
- C.A. Nafis, V. Jensen, L. Beauregard, P.T. Anderson,
"Method for estimating dynamic EM tracking accuracy of Surgical Navigation tools";
,SPIE Medical Imaging Proceedings, 2006
- C.A.Nafis, N.R. Corby, "Reducing Measurement Blunders
Using Images", CMSC, 1998
-
C.A.Nafis, N.R. Corby, "Combining Laser Interferometer
and Photogrammetry Measurements", CMSC, 1998
-
N.R. Corby, R.A. Hogle, C.A. Nafis,
"Signal Processing and Acquisition Challenges in Real- Time Magnetic
Source Imaging Systems", Computer-Based Medical Systems Symposium, 1994
-
N.R. Corby Jr., C.A. Nafis, "Augmented Reality
Telemanipulation System for Nuclear Reactor Inspection", SPIE ,1994
-
P.W. Lorraine, W.T. Hatfield, C.A. Nafis, "Application
of Ultrasonic Phased Arrays to Inspection of Plastic Pressure Vessels",
Review of Progress in Quantitative NDE ,edited by D.O. Thomson and
D.E. Chimenti, Plenum Press, New York, 1994
-
W. Lorensen,H. Cline,C. Nafis,R. Kikinis,D. Altobelli,L.
Gleason, "Enhancing Reality in the Operating Room", Visualization '93
Proceedings ,IEEE CS Press, 1993
Patents
Useful Tools