[QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;49539023]Holy fuck, I always thought it wasn't possible in normal air without really low thrust, but that's seemingly a strong bit of thrust. I really want to try that out with Xenon or some other gas in a vacuum chamber now.
I haven't tried CircuitMaker (first time that I've heard of it), I dislike Eagle quite alot because the interface is a clusterfuck with little organization IMO yet it has a sort of de-facto standard behind it as almost alot of manufactures/companies explicitly work in their proprietary brd format. (Thankfully DipTrace can import EagleCAD schematics.)
Also I didn't like the workflow of Eagle, it didn't flow as well as DipTrace. DipTrace is seamless comparatively with the Component Design -> Schematic Capture -> PCB Layout process.[/QUOTE]
It's certainly not enough thrust to do much with, but it's a neat experiment nonetheless. I might give it a shot if I have time, propulsion Tech is something I like enough for the project to actually get done
Also I've gone nearly fully to the dark side, project management *hiss* is a lot of what I do now. I direct a couple EEs and know way less than them :v: (but I do know this and listen to them I want to be a good PM)
I tried all the aforementioned PCB designers. Here's a real quick summary:
CircuitMaker - Polished UI, user friendly but cloud based. Making new components is simple. Browsing the library is slow since it is online and the interface tends to slow down even on fairly small schematics.
KiCAD is a nice option being open source therefore no limitations... But being open source it suffers from some odd UI decisions making certain operations more difficult than it should be.
DipTrace is pretty solid all around. In terms of appearance the GUI is straight from 1995 but overall it feels more intuitive than KiCad or Eagle.
Eagle is a nice all-rounder but has some flaky UI choices which tend to get in the way of your workflow.
Overall I'd say DipTrace > Eagle >= KiCad. CircuitMaker is fantastic if you don't mind the cloud otherwise it's dead last.
[QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;49531130]OSHPark is honestly your best bet with $5USD/in^2 (cheap and high quality boards with wonderful silkscreen) and they give you 3 boards per order.[/QUOTE]
OSH Park is shit for anything bigger than your thumb.
You can get a better price on [URL="http://pcbshopper.com/"]PCB Shopper[/URL] on almost any board, and you get more options - ENIG isn't worth it on 99% of boards, and OSH Park still doesn't fully support plated slots. They have unofficial support, but there's a possibility that you just end up with a fucked up board when it comes back.
[QUOTE=nikomo;49546396]OSH Park is shit for anything bigger than your thumb.
You can get a better price on [URL="http://pcbshopper.com/"]PCB Shopper[/URL] on almost any board, and you get more options - ENIG isn't worth it on 99% of boards, and OSH Park still doesn't fully support plated slots. They have unofficial support, but there's a possibility that you just end up with a fucked up board when it comes back.[/QUOTE]
Useful, I didn't know about that price comparison site. If it weren't for the cheaper PCB fabs being in China, I wouldn't mind (Mainly for the reason of speedy time to get my boards for testing).
I'd probably go with the Chinese fabs once my design was tested, verified and ready for higher production.
Hey guys, can anyone recommend to me where I can buy a cheap touchscreen LCD panel, about the size of a smartphone screen? Quality is mostly irrelevant as it's for a proof of concept, and it would need to have some kind of common display output (ie no soldering or anything). Can anyone point me in the right direction?
[QUOTE=srobins;49572216]Hey guys, can anyone recommend to me where I can buy a cheap touchscreen LCD panel, about the size of a smartphone screen? Quality is mostly irrelevant as it's for a proof of concept, and it would need to have some kind of common display output (ie no soldering or anything). Can anyone point me in the right direction?[/QUOTE]
Perhaps this? There is quite a lot of information available on this particular LCD.
[url]http://www.ebay.nl/itm/240x320-3-3V-2-4-SPI-TFT-LCD-Touch-Panel-Serial-Port-Module-with-PBC-ILI9341-/171983887298?hash=item280b09dbc2:g:4LkAAOSwI-BWMzzZ[/url]
[QUOTE=srobins;49572216]Hey guys, can anyone recommend to me where I can buy a cheap touchscreen LCD panel, about the size of a smartphone screen? Quality is mostly irrelevant as it's for a proof of concept, and it would need to have some kind of common display output (ie no soldering or anything). Can anyone point me in the right direction?[/QUOTE]
Just buy used smartphone, they are usually 20-30€.
I started up that 12v power supply again, this time I measured voltage and it was giving me nearly 15v.
I opened it up and found the capacitors(??) had leaked at some point in it's life span.
Anyone ever see these things before? How old could this thing be, 90s maybe?
[url=http://i.imgur.com/gCJLsmL.jpg][img]http://i.imgur.com/gCJLsmLs.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://i.imgur.com/TEQbjlg.jpg][img]http://i.imgur.com/TEQbjlgs.jpg[/img][/url]
The whole unit is rusty and crusty and all kinds of nasty.
[QUOTE=false prophet;49621307]I started up that 12v power supply again, this time I measured voltage and it was giving me nearly 15v.
I opened it up and found the capacitors(??) had leaked at some point in it's life span.
Anyone ever see these things before? How old could this thing be, 90s maybe?
[url=http://i.imgur.com/gCJLsmL.jpg][img]http://i.imgur.com/gCJLsmLs.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://i.imgur.com/TEQbjlg.jpg][img]http://i.imgur.com/TEQbjlgs.jpg[/img][/url]
The whole unit is rusty and crusty and all kinds of nasty.[/QUOTE]
That looks 70's to me. Probably wax caps. Caps are probably dried out.
This is where my knowledge runs out. Pentium knows a shit ton about replacing wax caps though.
Most power supplies don't regulate properly until they have some sort of load on them. Linear supplies in particular.
Bought a cheap voltage reference on Aliexpress, measured it at school.
[media]https://imgur.com/a/xAziW[/media]
[QUOTE=nikomo;49624000]Bought a cheap voltage reference on Aliexpress, measured it at school.
[/QUOTE]
Nice, I bought a similair one with the same reference ic a while ago on ebay and measured it as well:
[media]http://imgur.com/a/FTwYq[/media]
They are pretty nice for doing some spotchecks on your multimeters.
[editline]28th January 2016[/editline]
[QUOTE=false prophet;49621307]I started up that 12v power supply again, this time I measured voltage and it was giving me nearly 15v.
I opened it up and found the capacitors(??) had leaked at some point in it's life span.
Anyone ever see these things before? How old could this thing be, 90s maybe?
[url=http://i.imgur.com/gCJLsmL.jpg][img]http://i.imgur.com/gCJLsmLs.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://i.imgur.com/TEQbjlg.jpg][img]http://i.imgur.com/TEQbjlgs.jpg[/img][/url]
The whole unit is rusty and crusty and all kinds of nasty.[/QUOTE]
Doesn't look like that power supply has any regulation at all, so its normal for the voltage to be higher when it's not under any load. Capacitors look like early axial electrolytic capacitors.
They're serious about handwriting-based obfuscation on those measurements, aren't they.
Bloody unreadable.
[QUOTE=nikomo;49624447]They're serious about handwriting-based obfuscation on those measurements, aren't they.
Bloody unreadable.[/QUOTE]
It's called 20 (or possibly 30) year old VFD that has rarely been switched off. At least I'm assuming you are talking about the multimeter and possibly calibrator?
Talking about the measurement sticker on both my unit, and yours.
There's a digit on my 10V where I'm still not sure what it's supposed to be.
[QUOTE=nikomo;49624842]Talking about the measurement sticker on both my unit, and yours.
There's a digit on my 10V where I'm still not sure what it's supposed to be.[/QUOTE]
Ah yes, I see they also switched to a better multimeter, the HP 3458A on your sticker, mine was measured with a HP 34401A.
[QUOTE=nikomo;49624842]Talking about the measurement sticker on both my unit, and yours.
There's a digit on my 10V where I'm still not sure what it's supposed to be.[/QUOTE]
That is an 8.
Cleaned the desk, you can really see the difference.
[t]https://i.imgur.com/r7GtIR7.jpg[/t]
Here's for the wusses that need light.
[t]https://i.imgur.com/k8Zc1yN.jpg[/t]
[QUOTE=pentium;49444565]Oh, I know that feeling.
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/00031.jpg[/IMG]
Fuck you, Air Canada.[/QUOTE]
Oh my god.. That's... I don't even know congrats on being resourceful but usually folks around here would say "Thats so fuckin ghetto"
That was during the flight too so I didn't have proper tools. Just my fingernails and my teeth to strip that shit.
-snip-
Hi guys, I have a question about power supply.
At work we have casino machines running on a few models of old power supply (Can't remember the model) and as they age they seem to lose power and consistency.
Lights that they power don't work properly as you can see them flicker.
They also power a bank of mechanical counters, which spit out a high when a count is made.
These high signals are seen by a comms box, which spits it out on the network it is connected to.
The problem is, as these PSUs age, the signals that the counters spit out becomes weak and jagged, there's also a lot of noise on the line.
Could I fix this by replacing the capacitors in the PSU? There's some fat bastards in there and I suspect they are giving me these headaches.
[QUOTE=Nightrazr;49627004]Hi guys, I have a question about power supply.
At work we have casino machines running on a few models of old power supply (Can't remember the model) and as they age they seem to lose power and consistency.
Lights that they power don't work properly as you can see them flicker.
They also power a bank of mechanical counters, which spit out a high when a count is made.
These high signals are seen by a comms box, which spits it out on the network it is connected to.
The problem is, as these PSUs age, the signals that the counters spit out becomes weak and jagged, there's also a lot of noise on the line.
Could I fix this by replacing the capacitors in the PSU? There's some fat bastards in there and I suspect they are giving me these headaches.[/QUOTE]
If there is a problem 99% of the time it'll be capacitors.
Here's an interesting situation. So for another project I need a controllable low temperature oven to bake magnetic tapes. A food dehydrator works perfectly however the only one I've come up with after two months of searching is extremely basic and only has a switch, fan, heating element and a thermal safety switch. The critical baking temperature range is between 130°F and 140°F but the dehydrator is fixed at 180°F.
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/Computer%20related/IMG_2374.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/Computer%20related/IMG_2384.jpg[/IMG]
I need to figure out a way to install a thermostat and still accurately deliver the temperature range I need.
[url=http://www.majlath.com/diy/how-to-add-a-thermostat-to-your-food-dehydrator/]One guy with a pretty much identical machine added a thermostat from an "electric water heater"[/url] but neglected to say exactly what [i]kind[/i] of water heater it was from.
[editline]asdas[/editline]
[url=http://www.ebay.ca/itm/90-250V-10A-Digital-All-Purpose-Temperature-Controller-Thermocouple-w-Sensor-TM/201365900101?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140620091118%26meid%3Dc78f43ad848c40d9b5fa5b6a1fd2d74d%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D360823592248]Heyyyy. This will do nicely.[/url]
[QUOTE=nikomo;49625757]Cleaned the desk, you can really see the difference.
[t]https://i.imgur.com/r7GtIR7.jpg[/t]
[/QUOTE]
Convection oven, alarm clock, alarm clock and alarm clock.
[QUOTE=pentium;49628268]Here's an interesting situation. So for another project I need a controllable low temperature oven to bake magnetic tapes. A food dehydrator works perfectly however the only one I've come up with after two months of searching is extremely basic and only has a switch, fan, heating element and a thermal safety switch. The critical baking temperature range is between 130°F and 140°F but the dehydrator is fixed at 180°F.
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/Computer%20related/IMG_2374.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/Computer%20related/IMG_2384.jpg[/IMG]
I need to figure out a way to install a thermostat and still accurately deliver the temperature range I need.
[url=http://www.majlath.com/diy/how-to-add-a-thermostat-to-your-food-dehydrator/]One guy with a pretty much identical machine added a thermostat from an "electric water heater"[/url] but neglected to say exactly what [i]kind[/i] of water heater it was from.
[editline]asdas[/editline]
[url=http://www.ebay.ca/itm/90-250V-10A-Digital-All-Purpose-Temperature-Controller-Thermocouple-w-Sensor-TM/201365900101?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140620091118%26meid%3Dc78f43ad848c40d9b5fa5b6a1fd2d74d%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D360823592248]Heyyyy. This will do nicely.[/url][/QUOTE]
You could probably also go the way some people do reflow ovens, with a thermocouple and a PID loop.
I already bought the thermostat. :v:
It should fit right next to the existing power switch but seeing how the PID kits are only $5 more I guess I can consider it should I not like how this regulates the heat. In this case it's less keeping the temperature within a few degrees and more keeping the tape hot enough that the moisture can evaporate out of the oxide's bonding agent.
Not gonna lie. I wasn't expecting much form a $30 pair of SMD tweezers from the Ukraine (probably made in China)....but they actually seem to work really well.
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/Computer%20related/IMG_2398.jpg[/IMG]
...until you try and remove old SM lytics.
The fucking pads are completely underneath the caps with only little metal nubs on the end. These are almost useless when the cap leakage has corroded everything up. :(
[t]http://mynewsla.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/blowtorch.jpg[/t]
The solution to everything.
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Electrical Engineering V3
