Development Notes Volume 1 Chapter 3
19. - Android phone on USB w/Camtasia 2022-11-28
I tried using a simple webcam in the creation of the help videos for the NeuronLab simulator but the quality was poor. Then I moved to using my Android phone and the quality is much better but connection the phone to the PC USB is a pain. This is the recipe.
Install DroidCam on your phone. I use DroidCamX from Play Store (consts a couple of bucks extra).
Unlock Phones Debug over UBS:
Go to Settings:
Search for Build Number
Tap Build Number seven times (yes you are a wizard I know)
Go back to Settings again and search for USB Debugging and enable it
Install DroidCam Client on your PC
Download and install Samsung USB drivers:
https://developer.samsung.com/mobile/android-usb-driver.html
Download and install the Windows Client from dev47apps:
Start the phone DroidCam app
It may ask you to start the DroidCam for OBS - Just do it.
Connect your phone to a USB port
Launch the DroidCam client, and Click to Add a Device. This creates a new Droidcam source. It may take a second or two. Select the USB device then Add device a the bottom.
The client will query for available devices. You'll likely get a dialog on the phone to Allow USB Debugging. Tap OK to allow the connection
18. - Embedding YouTube videos 2022-11-08
I keep forgetting how to do this simple task.
Go to the page where your video is displayed in YouTube, or whatever video sharing service you're using. You should be able to find the "Embed" code for the video. This is the code that you will insert so that the video will appear on your web page.
The embed code looks something like the following:
For the curious, the above code was taken from thesitewizard.com's video on How to Add a Feedback Form to Your Website at https://www.thesitewizard.com/general/feedback-form-video.shtml
Select the code, and copy it to your clipboard. That is, after selecting the entire block of text in the "Embed" box, click "Edit" on the menu bar and select "Copy" on the menu that appears.
17. - Swap Ra 2022-10-27
I finally decided that the axial resistance should be represented on the exit side of the cell's electrical schematic. This change allows me to visualize that Ra does not affect the incoming current but does change the outgoing current. Small but crucial difference.
Now I have to adjust all the calculations in Synapse, Dendrites, and Somas.
16. - To Do List 2022-10-21
Mak'n a list - check'n it twice etc. In no particular order
- Dead Start
- Step and Scope only - Left click, left click. Position Oscilloscope. Set in Step.
- Scope Positing -Set second step, right click and show scope double click
- Reset - Clear screen and start over
- Maximum space - clear connection grid and body parts. Sliders on Scope
- Step functions - Voltage and current, editing pulse
- Add Dendrite - Explain the rise equation and the concept of compartments, change length and diameter and show re-computation effects
- Basic Units - Show how its selected and mention its use
- Your first neuron - Add Synapse (say what it is) add Dendrite compartment, add Soma, add Axon, add Scope probe. Add a step and start it. Switch to Voltage and increase it to about 50 mVolt. Open Oscilloscope sliders. You first Neuron in operation.
- Second Scope probe - add another probe and check delay time of the Axon. Measure delay
- Refractory period - Connect probe to the 'hidden' soma port. Directly below the 'a' in Soma and on the edge
15. - Browser Reloader 2022-10-14
It pisses me off no end when I realize that Chrome is downloading an old file because it has the same file in its cash. One way to solve this is to clear the cash from the browser when every I want to download a file but a better way is to put this in the HEAD of the directory on my own website:
<script type="text/javascript" src="https://livejs.com/live.js"></script>
Just include Live.js and it will monitor the current page including local CSS and Javascript by sending consecutive HEAD requests to the server. Changes to CSS will be applied dynamically and HTML or JavaScript changes will reload the page.
WAIT - NO. Doesn't work either
The solution is to add the version number to the Setup Neuron xxxx.EXE. This doesn't cause the browser to refresh but if the user hits the refresh button it works.
After this many years there should be a better way of doing business.
14. - Splitting the Step 2022-10-13
I preparation for adding the capability to work with Spike Timing Dependence Plasticity (STDP) I realized that I need to be able to create a train of steps from each Step body part. Modifying the code for this project made it clear that I need to add an array of boolean to actually produce the Step and that I did not have a good visualization of the process. This should help.
13. - Hodgkin-Huxley 2022-08-01
I am going to try to develop a standard Hodgkin-Huxley Soma in Delphi.
wish me luck...
NO LUCK FOUND. I was able to create the Soma but found that my computer simply cannot keep up with the calculations required of HH. I find no particular advantage to simulating at that lowest level anyway and that the grapes are sour.
Continuous simulations, such as mine are best served by
Izhikevich neurons.