[QUOTE=Leestons;43925697]I've just been looking at a plug, hopefully to use it as an input for my power supply. It says 30V on the sticker and outputs 40V without a load. Accidentally shorted the two wires together, loud pop, some sparks and it took a bit out of my clips.
I think I need new pants :([/QUOTE]
I once accidentally shorted a capacitor bank.
I had to lie down for a while afterwards.
So I was getting issues with my loop adapter. When it was tested the loop device was directly attached to a computer running HyperTerminal but when it was instead attached to the modem it was designed for you would get accurate character echo but commands were ignored. If you tried with the PC again the commands would work. I couldn't find any distortion but eventually it came down to the RxD and TxD lines being [i]just[/i] noisy enough that the modem was seeing glitching that was otherwise invisible. Two decoupling caps fixed it.
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/Computer%20related/ttybin.png[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/Computer%20related/CGS_0639.jpg[/IMG]
[QUOTE=chipset;43927540]I once accidentally shorted a capacitor bank.
I had to lie down for a while afterwards.[/QUOTE]
I once shorted a single 450v 12000uF capacitor (charges to 420v)... my ears rang for over an hour...
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;43928057]I once shorted a single 450v 12000uF capacitor (charges to 420v)... my ears rang for over an hour...[/QUOTE]
I once ran my finger by accident under a 4K7uf 200v (charged ~110) capacitor. I froze for a few seconds, but luckily I survived. I did also get a loud gunshot pop using a screwdriver to discharge.
Anybody here tried repurposing a gaming mouse to a position sensor?
[editline]15th February 2014[/editline]
[QUOTE=metallics;43899982]There might be C++ under there somewhere, but the top level language is awful.[/QUOTE]
You do realize that you don't have to use their libraries or functions, right? Or even their IDE.
[QUOTE=aydin690;43929366]Anybody here tried repurposing a gaming mouse to a position sensor?
[editline]15th February 2014[/editline]
[...][/QUOTE]
Actually yes, we (we being me and a couple members of my robotics team) hacked up a couple mice and were able to use them as fair useful 'accelerometers' via getting their raw dy/dx values through Linux's dev (I think we used some sort of listen command, I forgot which)
Either way, I can get you the code we used if you'd be interested.
[QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;43929519]Actually yes, we (we being me and a couple members of my robotics team) hacked up a couple mice and were able to use them as fair useful 'accelerometers' via getting their raw dy/dx values through Linux's dev (I think we used some sort of listen command, I forgot which)
Either way, I can get you the code we used if you'd be interested.[/QUOTE]
I was thinking of doing it as my new project but i wanted to make it stand alone with some sort of MCU, not directly connected to a computer.
So, with that in mind, i think loading the drivers, usb host port and shit are going to be a huge pain in the ass. Anyways, i suppose i can look at your code.
[editline]15th February 2014[/editline]
Meh, just ripped it out: :v:
[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/OyODzyy.jpg[/IMG]
Can't quite judge what sort of hardware will be on higher quality mice, however you may be able to tap into the onboard controller before any data gets to the USB controller (Unless its built in which is a likely occurrence).
Honestly its not that hard to create your own optical tracker with your own mcu, just takes some [URL="http://hackaday.com/2012/09/15/robotic-odometry-from-an-optical-mouse/"]clever timing and interrupt skills[/URL].
[URL="http://s000.tinyupload.com/download.php?file_id=01583950431638563930&t=0158395043163856393063018"]Here's the code[/URL] (Forgive me, its in Python)
[QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;43929913]Can't quite judge what sort of hardware will be on higher quality mice, however you may be able to tap into the onboard controller before any data gets to the USB controller (Unless its built in which is a likely occurrence).
Honestly its not that hard to create your own optical tracker with your own mcu, just takes some [URL="http://hackaday.com/2012/09/15/robotic-odometry-from-an-optical-mouse/"]clever timing and interrupt skills[/URL].
[URL="http://s000.tinyupload.com/download.php?file_id=01583950431638563930&t=0158395043163856393063018"]Here's the code[/URL] (Forgive me, its in Python)[/QUOTE]
Wow, that was a lot shorter than i was expecting. Yeah, i think i'm going to have to bypass a lot of stuff on this mouse (extra buttons, dpi switch, on board memory, etc) and go straight to the laser. I guess, i'll play with it and if it becomes too much of a time sink, then i'll just take out the buttons and laser.
I'm currently screwing around with a few LM567 tone decoders for a geo-caching esque mini game I'm playing with some friends. I'm hoping that I can tap off pin #1 to get an analog voltage for some sort of signal strength detection along with actual detection of the signal (The individual items have their own signature signal being broadcast)
Would it be possible to tap off of pin #1 to detect an analog amplitude perhaps with a peak detector? (Pin 1 Highlighted, Digital "Signal Detect" Pin is #8)
[IMG]http://oi60.tinypic.com/333zlvt.jpg[/IMG]
[URL="http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/snosbu1b/snosbu1b.pdf"]Schematic[/URL]
[B]EDIT:[/B]
Considering those current mirrors leading to pin #1 (Like Q58), I'm thinking yes as it seems to be isolated from the VCO section.
On the topic of high-power "oops" moments:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/HXS7x2w.jpg[/img]
Turns out electrical tape don't stop 3-phase too well.
I played with a really old 12V power supply (the kind where you have to select voltage with a U-shaped piece of metal) and relays as a child, and shorted it a few times.
It made pretty sparks and made the connectors glow :v:
I think I only got shocked once or twice though, I was pretty careful back then too.
We once had a defective(?) TV where some bit of metal on the back took out part of the cable-cable connector and the breaker of our apartment, I was just watching though and my father trashed it immediately afterwards.
That, a super simple battery-push-button-mic-speaker loop circuit to the next room and a small electronics beginners set are just about all of my EE experience though, I never did much in that direction afterwards.
That reminds me of 2 weeks ago when an ex-colleague of mine managed to boost a VW Crafter's battery the wrong way around (Positive on negative terminal, negative on positive terminal)
Blue smoke came spewing out of the dashboard, some crackling was heard.
Turns out he blew up a 300 euro computer component.
This same guy also, as he should, removed some old kit from a car and he never thought to tape up some snipped wires on the +15.
So imagine my surprise when I get this car back saying some fuse blew.
I turn the ignition, put in a new fuse and the fuse leg gets eaten.
Goddammit this guy is 41 years old with some experience in this field and he does that...
[QUOTE=Zero-Point;43931395]On the topic of high-power "oops" moments:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/HXS7x2w.jpg[/img]
Turns out electrical tape don't stop 3-phase too well.[/QUOTE]
Ouch, just be careful, arcflash from 3-phase can be very very bad, somtimes lethal, and often nasty burns.
[QUOTE=nuttyboffin;43934874]Ouch, just be careful, arcflash from 3-phase can be very very bad, somtimes lethal, and often nasty burns.[/QUOTE]
It was my co-worker that did it.
What happened was we replaced a 10-ton air handler with electric heat strips, and we misplaced the cover for the electrical box that we had to reuse, so our boss told us to make a cap out of sheet metal and put it on there. Naturally, the wires on this thing were thick and hard to coerce into a more compact setting, so my co-worker just tried shoving them in with the cover we made and as soon as the cover touched the grounded box, BANG.
He wasn't hurt, just damn-near pissed/shat himself.
[QUOTE=Zero-Point;43937240]It was my co-worker that did it.
What happened was we replaced a 10-ton air handler with electric heat strips, and we misplaced the cover for the electrical box that we had to reuse, so our boss told us to make a cap out of sheet metal and put it on there. Naturally, the wires on this thing were thick and hard to coerce into a more compact setting, so my co-worker just tried shoving them in with the cover we made and as soon as the cover touched the grounded box, BANG.
He wasn't hurt, just damn-near pissed/shat himself.[/QUOTE]
Man I had a 3-phase spark-show happen closeby once.
I wasn't the one that caused it, not the one closest to it either.
But I'll be the first to admit that a little Nutella came out.
Probably a stupid question but where can I get a nice 12v (or close) input for my power supply I want to build?
[QUOTE=Leestons;43937953]Probably a stupid question but where can I get a nice 12v (or close) input for my power supply I want to build?[/QUOTE]
Depending upon how much regulation you need, really any basic wall wart would suffice (Unless your PSU will be supplying hefty loads at say 10V which then you'll need to do some shopping for a specific transformer)
[QUOTE=Leestons;43937953]Probably a stupid question but where can I get a nice 12v (or close) input for my power supply I want to build?[/QUOTE]
Computer power supplies have huge current 12V rail(s) but a fair bit of noise
Heads up for fellow Europeans, [URL="http://shop.eurotech.co.uk/"]Eurotech are having a ridiculous clearance sale[/URL]. Includes half price Tek scopes and power supplies, some real good dev board sales too. Get yer' gear on!
Edit- Think they do US sales upon arrangement too.
Still can't afford it :v:
[QUOTE=Fuxed;43944723]Heads up for fellow Europeans, [URL="http://shop.eurotech.co.uk/"]Eurotech are having a ridiculous clearance sale[/URL]. Includes half price Tek scopes and power supplies, some real good dev board sales too. Get yer' gear on!
Edit- Think they do US sales upon arrangement too.[/QUOTE]
Got me excited, but then i saw the prices.
Yeah, apologies, I know it's a bit out of the student/hobbyist/dabbler price range for the most part (Though check out the dev kits section, there's some really nice Atmel, Lattice, TI and Zilog stuff for cheap), figured it'd be worth a post for anyone who's been saving up for higher end equipment.
This is so disappointing. Practically formed a crater in the mobo with battery acid. I'm just gonna use whatever parts are good and make some of microprocessor project out of it.
[t]http://i.imgur.com/CWqdgxl.jpg[/t]
[QUOTE=Sombrero;43948797]This is so disappointing. Practically formed a crater in the mobo with battery acid. I'm just gonna use whatever parts are good and make some of microprocessor project out of it.
[t]http://i.imgur.com/CWqdgxl.jpg[/t][/QUOTE]
Haha, you had a red Maxell. Those are the worst ones when they leak. At least you got an 030 and an FPU.
[QUOTE=pentium;43949532]Haha, you had a red Maxell. Those are the worst ones when they leak. At least you got an 030 and an FPU.[/QUOTE]
I'm curious to why they explode and don't slowly vent.
[QUOTE=Sombrero;43953643]I'm curious to why they explode and don't slowly vent.[/QUOTE]
Nobody really knows why they are so worse than other brands but in the mac world the red Maxell's are the worst offenders when they leak. They foam up and form an acidic mass that destroys everything. It will even start corroding the frame under the right condition.
[t]http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15/GnatGoSplat/MacClassic/IMG_1264.jpg[/t]
It looks so gross, jezus
Managed to connect a PS2 controller with my Arduino. It was a bit of a hassle at first, but after using a pull-up resistor somewhere it worked all fine. I'll be using it for the project I'm in to controll a model-scale gantry crane.
[QUOTE=scratch (nl);43957798]Managed to connect a PS2 controller with my Arduino. It was a bit of a hassle at first, but after using a pull-up resistor somewhere it worked all fine. I'll be using it for the project I'm in to controll a model-scale gantry crane.[/QUOTE]
Please make a video when it's done. Sounds great.
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