Electrical Engineering V2

[DrLuke]

I'm ready for the Chaos Computer Congress.
I am hosting a soldering workshop as I did previously on smaller events, though this time I'm going big with 50 seats. I have a total of 70 kits (I got 20 extra boards for free, woop!).

[gamerpaddy]

I made myself a "controller" im using for FSX (Gear, fuelpump, lights, trimwheel etc.) or ETS2.
[video=youtube;LYSgxBbZFVk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYSgxBbZFVk[/video]

Im using cheap china made (too small for my fingers) metal buttons wih both-way LED (can be connected like you want) and resistor up to 24V)
3 tiltswitches that have led too, but im not using them. a big Joystick switch (1 axis, not analog) and 2 very old ceramic potentiometers with wire wound core molded in some sort of cement.. found them on my bench. very accurate & tough.
As controller im using the arduino leonardo with modified USB HID thing to directly connect as DirectInput device. (from [url]http://www.imaginaryindustries.com/blog/?p=80[/url] )

if someone post a "heavy breathing cat" picture, i am asthmatic.

[HiddenMyst]

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO_xXIQIOWM[/media]
I made this synth as a proof of concept to test a single oscillator design. It wasn't ever intended to work the way I have it configured here, the system would normally pulse through the selected notes in quick succession but this particular board was too small and relies too heavily on the larger microcontroller.
My newer version uses an attiny85 and a couple of shift registers to control the resistor ladder but in the process of downsizing I've lost the convenience of USB serial.

[ben1066]

[QUOTE=HiddenMyst;46797885][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yO_xXIQIOWM[/media]
I made this synth as a proof of concept to test a single oscillator design. It wasn't ever intended to work the way I have it configured here, the system would normally pulse through the selected notes in quick succession but this particular board was too small and relies too heavily on the larger microcontroller.
My newer version uses an attiny85 and a couple of shift registers to control the resistor ladder but in the process of downsizing I've lost the convenience of USB serial.[/QUOTE]

The ATTiny2313 has UART if you want to get it back, you could maybe bit bang it any way if it isn't a pin count issue?

[TCWilliamson]

[QUOTE=gamerpaddy;46797233]I made myself a "controller" im using for FSX (Gear, fuelpump, lights, trimwheel etc.) or ETS2.
[video=youtube;LYSgxBbZFVk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYSgxBbZFVk[/video]

Im using cheap china made (too small for my fingers) metal buttons wih both-way LED (can be connected like you want) and resistor up to 24V)
3 tiltswitches that have led too, but im not using them. a big Joystick switch (1 axis, not analog) and 2 very old ceramic potentiometers with wire wound core molded in some sort of cement.. found them on my bench. very accurate & tough.
As controller im using the arduino leonardo with modified USB HID thing to directly connect as DirectInput device. (from [url]http://www.imaginaryindustries.com/blog/?p=80[/url] )

if someone post a "heavy breathing cat" picture, i am asthmatic.[/QUOTE]

that's a pretty neat controller you made there :)
I would suggest moving it to one of those slanted boxes where its easier to operate in a game, feels a bit smoother to work with, e.g.
[img]http://img.directindustry.com/images_di/photo-g/console-casing-mount-desktop-40424-2501035.jpg[/img]

Also:
[img]http://www.biology-online.org/user_files/Image/Zoology/ZO-coughingcats.jpg[/img]

[gamerpaddy]

Oh, but they are expensive.. better make one out of wood next time.

[Ddrl46]

I believe I [i]may[/i] have found the reason the first channel on this Tektronix 2445 wasn't working...
[url=http://i.imgur.com/kC2h2oY.jpg][img]http://i.imgur.com/kC2h2oYl.jpg[/img][/url]

That, and 3 blown hybrids later:
[url=http://i.imgur.com/jopCOb2.jpg][img]http://i.imgur.com/jopCOb2l.jpg[/img][/url]

[Chryseus]

Saw this while browsing reddit, pretty damn cool.

[url]http://techno-logic-art.com/clock.htm[/url]

[img]http://techno-logic-art.com/images4/fc1.jpg[/img]

[nikomo]

Saw that. My only thought was, holy shit, that's so inefficient.

[TCWilliamson]

I would pay.... probably up to £600 ( for mass production ) if they sold that... It looks so awesome. I'd want it on my wall as a designer piece :P

I'm not a fan of normal art... that would be awesome though.

[HiddenMyst]

[QUOTE=ben1066;46798116]The ATTiny2313 has UART if you want to get it back, you could maybe bit bang it any way if it isn't a pin count issue?[/QUOTE]

I've got plenty of spare pins, so I guess software serial is definitely an option. All I need it for anyway is to send through which notes to be playing.

[Fourier]

[QUOTE=nikomo;46800099]Saw that. My only thought was, holy shit, that's so inefficient.[/QUOTE]

Mine thought was same, like.. why the heck this thing needs 1161 Diodes for?

[Ddrl46]

[QUOTE=Fourier;46804602]Mine thought was same, like.. why the heck this thing needs 1161 Diodes for?[/QUOTE]

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diode–transistor_logic[/url]

There are no ICs to be seen.

[pentium]

Oh that brings me back to the early DEC Flip Chips.

[img]https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3336/3522381833_2be0039dd2.jpg[/img]

No IC's. Just resistors, transistors and diodes making up everything form the bus logic to the CPU.

[Papkee]

I've recently acquired about 40 120v relays of varying functions, from an elevator.

[t]http://i.imgur.com/Tad2jCA.jpg[/t]
(that's about half of them)

What the hell can I do with these other than automate everything in my house?

[Unidan]

Install an elevator in your house.

[pentium]

[QUOTE=papkee;46812593]I've recently acquired about 40 120v relays of varying functions, from an elevator.

What the hell can I do with these other than automate everything in my house?[/QUOTE]

Relay logic. You don't have enough for a computer but I'm sure you could build something like....I dunno...an oscillator?

[nikomo]

Inferior 120V junk.
Real men use 250V.

[TCWilliamson]

[QUOTE=nikomo;46814003]Inferior 120V junk.
Real men use 250V.[/QUOTE]

No. Real men use 415/480V

What? Can't handle 2 extra wires eh?

[Chryseus]

My isolation box is finally done, I got rather lucky on the box size as it all just fits.

[t]http://u.cubeupload.com/Chryseus/VVfsMB.jpg[/t]
[t]http://u.cubeupload.com/Chryseus/6rMYnE.jpg[/t]

Yes I'm aware those connections are not exactly super secure.
The transformer is a 230V/230V 120VA from [url]http://www.airlinktransformers.com/[/url]

[Papkee]

Those gauges are awesome. I've got a huge love of analog meters in general.

[nikomo]

I ordered one of those super-cheap shit coaxial RC helicopters that the Chinese make by the truckloads.
9.50€, going to see if I can first replace the remote with an Arduino, then figure out how much load it can carry, and then figure out if an Arduino and a 6DOF sensor weigh too much.

If stuff ends up being lightweight enough, I might be able to fit a 433MHz receiver on board, now that would be fun.
I believe the transmitter is much simpler though, and weighs less, so I could send data back to another Arduino, process there and then control it the copter with IR.

Love me some toys.

[Zero-Point]

My Rigol is coming today. :dance:

[nikomo]

You're American, so it's the American department of whatever delivery company that's handling it, so it'll be dead on arrival.

[Chryseus]

It will be stopped at customs and have every cavity thoroughly searched.

[Zero-Point]

[QUOTE=nikomo;46821513]You're American, so it's the American department of whatever delivery company that's handling it, so it'll be dead on arrival.[/QUOTE]

It's being shipped by UPS so I wouldn't doubt it. Then again they managed to NOT fuck up my 2.5L of nitric acid so who knows?

[QUOTE=Chryseus;46821838]It will be stopped at customs and have every cavity thoroughly searched.[/QUOTE]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/7U0FOLB.jpg[/img]
Mustn't have been many cavities to search. :v:

[DrLuke]

The 31c3 workshop was a great success. In the 7 hours of runtime we had we served 42 workshoppers out of the intended target of 50.

Due to an error in the stencil we had made, each and every board hard to be reworked, as a DFN-device got too much paste on it. I took over the reworking, getting quite a lot of amazed spectators watching me as I reworked a DFN with just a soldering iron.

In the end we got all boards to work though, and everyone was happy that they had a neat little tool that could easily be reprogrammed and hacked.

[nikomo]

DFN isn't that bad to solder with an iron, right?
I'm thinking about using a few of those in the future, seems like it would be easy to solder one on if you just remove some silk screen, and leave a bit of a strip that you can "push" solder along, into the pad.

[DrLuke]

[QUOTE=nikomo;46826544]DFN isn't that bad to solder with an iron, right?
I'm thinking about using a few of those in the future, seems like it would be easy to solder one on if you just remove some silk screen, and leave a bit of a strip that you can "push" solder along, into the pad.[/QUOTE]

It's not bad if you use long pads on the PCB, otherwise you'll just have a hard time to reach anything with the iron. That's pretty much the only difficulty.
Use flux.

[Chryseus]

Decided to play with an EN30 neon filled thyraton, or as they call it a cold cathode tetrode.
The example circuit specifies a -150V pulse to trigger it but I don't have time for that so I just tied one trigger pin to the high voltage through 82k and grounded the other one.

[video=youtube;fAkwxl42_HQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAkwxl42_HQ[/video]