Binary numbering and how to teach a moron

[BigWallop]

Hi folks,

I am trying to teach a young lad how to set up binary addressable fire alarm systems and no matter how I explain it, or how much I write it down or draw it for him, he just can't seem to grasp the concept. Now I know it is the way I'm trying teach him and not the way he learns (?) so I'm looking for any suggestions on ways to get this principle over to him.

He's bright when it comes to learning everything else, so it must be the way I'm doing it that has him confused. What it the simplest way to describe this numbering system. I've even given him homework to do, using the binary system to count to one hundred, but he still gets it wrong time and time again.

He needs to know how the DIP switches are configured in each detector to give them a unique number on the control panel. But I'm now tearing my hair out trying to get it through to him. HELP !!!

[Mike Barnes]

I don't know how many bits you're talking about, but consider supplying him with a simple look-up table rather than trying to teach him the system.

[Lee Blaver]

snip

I use a binary/hex/decimal calculator myself, whilst I know how to do the conversions I just can't be bothered with it ;)

Lee

[Tim Mitchell]

In article , BigWallop writes

I design DMX disco lighting which uses dip switches, and have to deal with DJ's, who are not well known for their mental agility.

This is the way I explain it (your switch numbering might be different). Switch 1 counts for 1. Switch 2 counts for 2. Switch 3 counts for 4. Switch 4 counts for 8. Switch 5 counts for 16. Switch 6 counts for 32. (repeat for all your switches).

Look at the number you need to set. What's the biggest switch number will fit into the number? example: 19, switch 6 is too big but switch 5 will fit. Then take off the value of that switch. Example, take off the value of switch 5, which is 16, leaving 3. What's the next biggest switch number which fits into the left over number? switch 2. Take off 2, leaving 1. Switch 1 fits, and there you are, switches 5 2 and 1 are on.

Some people just can't do it. I eventually designed a website to work it out for those people. It may or may not work for you depending how the dip switches relate to the number.

[PoP]

Some people have mental blocks about this and lots of other things.

I'm the same when it comes to chemistry. I could never, ever, figure out all those chemical symbols and so on - and yet everyone around me had no problem at all.

You may have entered into a battle which you will never win.

PoP

[BigWallop]

As I say Mike, I've given him tables to take home and work out how to make the switch number 100 say, and he still gets it wrong most of the time. I'm getting tired following him around or sending another guy out. He's making the numbers up as he goes along I think. :-))

[BigWallop]

I've given him a calculator to use when he needs to, and he knows how to convert the decimal number into binary on it. But then he tells me it gets him even more confused because the number that comes up on the screen is just 1's and 0's and he doesn't know how to make the DIP switches look the same as them.

I've even explained that when it shows a 1 it means it's ON, and similarly when O it is OFF, but then he'll either turn it upside down or make a balustrade of swapping it over to the switches themselves.

I'm now down to only a couple of hairs in my head, so to stop me going bald, I think I'll leave him in the workshop. :-))

[BigWallop]

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! It is getting to that stage PoP. I know he's bright and I don't want to lose him on site because of this silly problem. I'll persevere a bit longer with it I think and maybe just find a way of getting him to pick it up.

Patience is a virtue and frustration is a real pain in proverbial. :-))

[Owain]

"PoP" wrote | Some people have mental blocks about this and lots of other things. | I'm the same when it comes to chemistry. I could never, ever, figure | out all those chemical symbols and so on - and yet everyone around me | had no problem at all.

My chemistry teacher once assured my mother that I would pick up symbols and valencies just as easily as I'd learned multiplication tables.

My mother looked at him and just said "but he never learnt them either"

Owain

[Owain]

"BigWallop" wrote | > > I don't know how many bits you're talking about, but consider | > > supplying him with a simple look-up table rather than trying | > > to teach him the system. | I've given him a calculator to use when he needs to, and he knows how to | convert the decimal number into binary on it. But then he tells me it gets | him even more confused because the number that comes up on the screen is | just 1's and 0's and he doesn't know how to make the DIP switches look the | same as them. | I've even explained that when it shows a 1 it means it's ON, and similarly | when O it is OFF, but then he'll either turn it upside down or make a | balustrade of swapping it over to the switches themselves.

Then you either give him a lookup table with ONs and OFFs in the same layout as the DIPs on the detectors like (assuming ON is UP):

1 ON OFF OFF

-----------------------------

2 ON OFF OFF

-----------------------------

3 ON ON

-----------------------------

4 ON OFF OFF

-----------------------------

OR you spend half-an-hour one evening setting all the dip switches on the detectors to different, then writing in magic-marker the number in 'normal' inside the cover, so Laddo just has to copy the 'normal' number off the detector onto the plan or location list as he installs each one.

OR you spend an hour one evening, setting all the dip switches in the detectors, writing the number in magic-marker inside the cover, making the list of locations or marked up plan, so all Laddo has to do is put detector

318 in location 318 on the plan.

Owain

[Bob Eager]

If there are N switches, make 2^N pictures of the actual switch block. Draw in the switches that are ON or OFF in each picture. Write a number beside each picture.

[BigWallop]

Now that's a good point Bob. But I'm now wondering how many pages of drawings I'll have to make up if the system goes to the full ten switches. :-))

9,999 detectors on one system is highly unlikely though, so I might give him a try on this.

Thank you.

[nightjar]

I think that what Mike is suggesting is a table with numbers 1 to 128 (assuming 8 switches) and a picture or diagram of the DIP switches in the correct places for each number. It might take a bit of work to create it, but, once done, you wouldn't need to teach anybody binary for them to be able to set the switches properly.

Colin Bignell

[BigWallop]

"nightjar .uk.com>"

Thanks Colin. I've already started this, but I'm running out of paper already. :-))

[Nick Nelson]

What is the likely highest number?

I agree that he clearly has a mental block, and the anxiety induced by constantly getting it wrong (and knowning that you know) will be making it worse.

You definately need to make a fresh start, beginning with what he can do and feels confident with, and building on that.

I'd prepare sheets with drawings of actual switch settings and the associated numbers. On A4 sheets in landscape you ought to be able to to get 8 diagrams across the page in a line. So the first line will have 0-7, the second 8-15 etc.

You might get 16 lines to a sheet so that would allow 0-255 on a double side which could be laminated. With luck, he may work out the pattern for himself, but don't push it. Otherwise limit his responsibilities to jobs which are within his capabilities using the crib sheet.

Nick

[John Rumm]

I would go for either printing up a little booklet of numbers 0 to 1023 and the associated switch positions, or finding something programmable (like an old Psion series 3, or even one of those nice new Java compatible mobile phones) and knocking up a little program to do the conversion for him on the fly with a pictorial output.

[G.W. Walker]

Ahem :-)

0 00000000 1 00000001 2 00000010 3 00000011 4 00000100 5 00000101 6 00000110 7 00000111 8 00001000 9 00001001 10 00001010 11 00001011 12 00001100 13 00001101 14 00001110 15 00001111 16 00010000 17 00010001 18 00010010 19 00010011 20 00010100 21 00010101 22 00010110 23 00010111 24 00011000 25 00011001 26 00011010 27 00011011 28 00011100 29 00011101 30 00011110 31 00011111 32 00100000 33 00100001 34 00100010 35 00100011 36 00100100 37 00100101 38 00100110 39 00100111 40 00101000 41 00101001 42 00101010 43 00101011 44 00101100 45 00101101 46 00101110 47 00101111 48 00110000 49 00110001 50 00110010 51 00110011 52 00110100 53 00110101 54 00110110 55 00110111 56 00111000 57 00111001 58 00111010 59 00111011 60 00111100 61 00111101 62 00111110 63 00111111 64 01000000 65 01000001 66 01000010 67 01000011 68 01000100 69 01000101 70 01000110 71 01000111 72 01001000 73 01001001 74 01001010 75 01001011 76 01001100 77 01001101 78 01001110 79 01001111 80 01010000 81 01010001 82 01010010 83 01010011 84 01010100 85 01010101 86 01010110 87 01010111 88 01011000 89 01011001 90 01011010 91 01011011 92 01011100 93 01011101 94 01011110 95 01011111 96 01100000 97 01100001 98 01100010 99 01100011 100 01100100 101 01100101 102 01100110 103 01100111 104 01101000 105 01101001 106 01101010 107 01101011 108 01101100 109 01101101 110 01101110 111 01101111 112 01110000 113 01110001 114 01110010 115 01110011 116 01110100 117 01110101 118 01110110 119 01110111 120 01111000 121 01111001 122 01111010 123 01111011 124 01111100 125 01111101 126 01111110 127 01111111

[BigWallop]

Been there. Done all this for him. But he still doesn't grasp the concept.

[Tim Mitchell]

In article , G.W. Walker writes

... translating this to the actual switches is not that straight forward though. Switch 1 (the least significant bit) is usually on the left not the right. And people can't work out that 0 is "OFF" and 1 is "ON", or indeed which way the switch has to be for off and on.

[BigWallop]

Thanks for this reply Nick. Maybe I've just pushed it to far this passed couple of weeks and he needs a rest from it. I'll see what I can do about the drawings for him, and maybe make a point of personally being with him on more of sites to see if I can spot where the failing is coming from.

Thank you sir. You've made me sit back and relax a bit more on this. I knew it was me that was at fault somewhere here. I'm being to pushy. :-))