tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25141765313672196522024-02-19T12:20:43.506-05:00Reactivated Property OfficePuns and Portmanteau - can't Engineer without 'em.w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-54696260074115996152010-03-08T02:27:00.002-05:002010-03-08T02:27:44.206-05:00Input/Output<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">This weekend was an exercise in what must be a successive approximation of ISO9000 compliance for PCB assembly. I went down to Adafruit Industries and my hostess provided me with: a MetCal; a fume extractor; a pair of diagonal cutters and a bit of her invaluable time over a 36-hour window. With these ingredients, I <i>magically</i> transformed a 65# suitcase of components into 20 laboratory EKG amplifiers. Then I used her laser cutter to mark (for drilling) and label all of the enclosures. It was one hell of a transfer function.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_6xo5a3L9qL_Zfn7rdGDN3fkaIHJ_f6JGsOjdbe1Kv0TP2k3BYgcv9DziKoItbxsEzrMSFlyot33XNyEW6lrl2p1KZvzysRE7bh49cL4gAveypt1TDs56IZW0sKSeQVRSRhBX8aeNQoo/s1600-h/input.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_6xo5a3L9qL_Zfn7rdGDN3fkaIHJ_f6JGsOjdbe1Kv0TP2k3BYgcv9DziKoItbxsEzrMSFlyot33XNyEW6lrl2p1KZvzysRE7bh49cL4gAveypt1TDs56IZW0sKSeQVRSRhBX8aeNQoo/s320/input.jpg" /></a><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig 1. The Input </span></span></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPL2xN7uenczHO2vSaHbK-EquQahsW6m3wNgq_zNZz8bRO_zT77KBjEZj-zdygepmRbljiGT9jwuz5R-iMtCZbZrOeZ4p39k-dfpYvmPdDhNd9boWRhSzsNxK3u0bBCxUeqZpj1YtdPGiv/s1600-h/output1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPL2xN7uenczHO2vSaHbK-EquQahsW6m3wNgq_zNZz8bRO_zT77KBjEZj-zdygepmRbljiGT9jwuz5R-iMtCZbZrOeZ4p39k-dfpYvmPdDhNd9boWRhSzsNxK3u0bBCxUeqZpj1YtdPGiv/s320/output1.jpg" /></a><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Fig 2. The Output</span></span></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Between this and the 2009 Ninja Networks Party DefCon Badge assembly extravaganza, I'm overdue in giving a breakdown of how to bring medium and large-scale PCB assembly into the reach of a DIY-crew with enough time, enthusiasm and lack of OSHA oversight*. There are tons of things you can do in your home (but preferably in some borrowed industrial workspace) to assemble your own production-quality PCBs for low overhead -- and there's absolutely nothing mystical about how 90% of electronics are made. All the nebulous magic is reserved for how to make staggering volumes of things cheaply, quickly and reliably -- a process which Bunny has already demystified. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*OSHA really doesn't like it when you drink beer at your bench. </span></span></div>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-27770543380809962702010-02-10T13:10:00.000-05:002010-02-10T13:47:35.761-05:00Emission Spectra<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The New Year brings in good things!<br /><br />When I was learning how to knit, I spent a long time trying to cajole a friend of mine into making me the world's geekiest present: an emission spectrum scarf. It didn't pan out, but over New Years (and over drinks) we were circulating the idea around again and now it looks like Stern Lab is on assignment!<br /><br />Becky over at <a href="http://sternlab.org/">Stern Lab</a> is making emission spectrum scarves! Once she starts selling them <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/bekathwia">at her Etsy store</a>, you should go pick one up! Best. Present. Ever.<br /><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKha6qKm6wWZToS6cChsKtMbpmr4W-uB48ydqAh1PbLDR2g0UcXjJy75Un60aUtYl9JB8080ZM24Ok6y2bb2zU_PPr4dTygBzEC4G0Bb9HJghnDIi3dg0LJHdka_rzNPR_TaFN_EThVqxW/s1600-h/spectrum.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKha6qKm6wWZToS6cChsKtMbpmr4W-uB48ydqAh1PbLDR2g0UcXjJy75Un60aUtYl9JB8080ZM24Ok6y2bb2zU_PPr4dTygBzEC4G0Bb9HJghnDIi3dg0LJHdka_rzNPR_TaFN_EThVqxW/s320/spectrum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436688249123752050" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fig 1. Silicon<br /></span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-46896901699225868352010-02-10T01:12:00.000-05:002010-02-10T13:36:46.695-05:00Monochron<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Every Christmas break is another opportunity to go down to Adafruit Industries in NY, NY and (in addition to having a good time) exercise my nascent industrial design impulses. The new tradition is to knock out a kit enclosure. Adafruit's design constraints were as follows:<br /><br />1. The enclosure needed to be made out of 1/8" acrylic.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">2. It would preferably be completely enclosed.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">3. She didn't want "just a box."</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">4. It should have a variable tilt angle to accommodate the viewing angle of the LCD screen.<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Until I get a copy of my notes back (which sho</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">w my entire thought process, including doodles and the Bad Ideas Club) - these photos will have to suffice. I designed everything to slot together because I really like slotted flat-designs (go read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nomadic-Furniture-Victor-Papanek/dp/039470228X">Nomadic Furniture 1</a> & <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nomadic-Furniture-2-James-Hennessey/dp/0394706382">Nomadic Furniture 2</a> for more fun flat designs and examples of things Frank Gehry was actually good at designing -- PROTIP: It's not buildings)!<br /></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-u5WOZYoWCCHwJM54YRXaRL4Os4Hua_fU8J7iG6oLLQ8YFPHchOjydGoA2zBEkaLOzJ2KiuHXhnAchJDoHGRlmZXl1z1vlOHJqO9jrfFYf1IbG2AyDE7Af9NCAISMy__ern8vcwHfZdzj/s1600-h/pic1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-u5WOZYoWCCHwJM54YRXaRL4Os4Hua_fU8J7iG6oLLQ8YFPHchOjydGoA2zBEkaLOzJ2KiuHXhnAchJDoHGRlmZXl1z1vlOHJqO9jrfFYf1IbG2AyDE7Af9NCAISMy__ern8vcwHfZdzj/s320/pic1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436683823741754274" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fig 1. Notes 1<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9HED1D27d6G3TeS_m0gCJKeLm-0B6zWzOamziSjuKyTvte0ZFBSuNZjfKXJbDzmp5KN8BQxF_nAElWvlQo5wrGpQLHYKGHLWeBvwHSYQ1hnGO9cIkv1oxj87mR4tZkwZHLos3VTQGiSW/s1600-h/pic2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs9HED1D27d6G3TeS_m0gCJKeLm-0B6zWzOamziSjuKyTvte0ZFBSuNZjfKXJbDzmp5KN8BQxF_nAElWvlQo5wrGpQLHYKGHLWeBvwHSYQ1hnGO9cIkv1oxj87mR4tZkwZHLos3VTQGiSW/s320/pic2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436683979110163234" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fig 2. Notes 2<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffWnSgNQT7UmT7-JJkDLhwEWTlWZDLIPyWYlixuSjwhyphenhyphenzkBXkQNk8zPxJY7_uLU1H4g4mtLmkrP006CzLernGpRf-SzPo00nwhrBkhcsap7oyhjawk5o7FYMzyHwBkY1dXpGDdITWSdrb/s1600-h/pic3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhffWnSgNQT7UmT7-JJkDLhwEWTlWZDLIPyWYlixuSjwhyphenhyphenzkBXkQNk8zPxJY7_uLU1H4g4mtLmkrP006CzLernGpRf-SzPo00nwhrBkhcsap7oyhjawk5o7FYMzyHwBkY1dXpGDdITWSdrb/s320/pic3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436684181539695954" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fig 3. Notes 3<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh4MZsQ85cCc0sDBwKD-MggRm29EXBcFaQr78n9iVX6Lc-mrwbJq0t1FaV_SjUwCSgVxHJWQOuy3L7DOvdVm861Q8thNovjwRPHztZzBuMBuLnsqIS-tSlwb0mkHYXLb8Y5nUk5cmBuk8p/s1600-h/pic4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh4MZsQ85cCc0sDBwKD-MggRm29EXBcFaQr78n9iVX6Lc-mrwbJq0t1FaV_SjUwCSgVxHJWQOuy3L7DOvdVm861Q8thNovjwRPHztZzBuMBuLnsqIS-tSlwb0mkHYXLb8Y5nUk5cmBuk8p/s320/pic4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436684376969946626" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fig 4. My draft enclosure in clear acrylic.<br /><br />There were a couple of things about my prototype that I knew Adafruit didn't like. I had an asymmetric profile shape - chosen because I based the design off of an isosceles triangle, and a truncated triangular side profile meant I could slot the top piece in for ultimate interlocking action. I also really enjoyed the idea of having a low, flat very Byzantine/monolithic/robots-will-eat-you shape, which made the enclosure larger</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> than Adafruit's prefs. She ended up removing the top and changing it out to match the tab-locking bottom piece, while retaining the slot-locking sides and front piece, which allowed her to shrink the front piece down and make the area </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">surrounding the LCD symmetric. The final case retains a lot of the details I enjoyed making while matching Adafruit's own preferences. The following pictures show what the final production design will look like.<br /></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVY5nZSCgUjCHkCEQzdAow-Sto6CWbHSw7zpfTXXUCG1vOGosLVwkzT-MlA-R5jcGStG7bYqwyY2X9QkMK211ND5jNnCILYN_cMYQpb_UhpmwSM-BlvMB9_cPdKJWEG0aZuGwMVyEQWfqv/s1600-h/pic5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVY5nZSCgUjCHkCEQzdAow-Sto6CWbHSw7zpfTXXUCG1vOGosLVwkzT-MlA-R5jcGStG7bYqwyY2X9QkMK211ND5jNnCILYN_cMYQpb_UhpmwSM-BlvMB9_cPdKJWEG0aZuGwMVyEQWfqv/s320/pic5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436684945924647122" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fig 5. Back in Black<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYwuqPTz9yKdJzkVy-aYtSny8zoOoCd-4Kktz0KaMIJjQo74HJ5G0kAEWYSGnCNdmFWHcCD1Q2fB7W_K4laFXsg4Jx3jVBptPsYXCVs4bCXwW7lM2eb-mW9VeWhunOLA4X9p2OlXJZ9DC/s1600-h/pic6.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYwuqPTz9yKdJzkVy-aYtSny8zoOoCd-4Kktz0KaMIJjQo74HJ5G0kAEWYSGnCNdmFWHcCD1Q2fB7W_K4laFXsg4Jx3jVBptPsYXCVs4bCXwW7lM2eb-mW9VeWhunOLA4X9p2OlXJZ9DC/s320/pic6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436685092147009170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fig 6. Symmetric Side Profile<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsK69GO2I3qXFOwKIZR8lqF7b6BB-lj8vKmHtQ5u1Qy9LCqH38fipoUB2gLcjmFSzPsjP77AjBLsiD2imFBNZmfXlqKiMZqh5bkhoAhsIRRfGMExmZ-lrahxvhUqRFUCqW2G7WYmVvsdkC/s1600-h/pic7.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsK69GO2I3qXFOwKIZR8lqF7b6BB-lj8vKmHtQ5u1Qy9LCqH38fipoUB2gLcjmFSzPsjP77AjBLsiD2imFBNZmfXlqKiMZqh5bkhoAhsIRRfGMExmZ-lrahxvhUqRFUCqW2G7WYmVvsdkC/s320/pic7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436685271360889234" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fig 7. Rear View<br /></span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-78715163443658849522010-02-03T17:10:00.000-05:002010-02-03T17:36:35.854-05:00Rapid Prototyping<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">There's a lot of ground that's covered by the umbrella term of 'rapid prototyping,' but one aspect that's conceptually straightforward is usually a pain to tackle. Having a solution in-hand, I'm excited to share it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Q. How do I convert from my CAD format to a DXF so that I can cut out my circuit on a laser cutter or cutting plotter?</span><br /><br />Why would you ever want to do this? Well, perhapse you sent out some PCB files to be manufactured and wanted to cut your own mylar solder-paste stencils on a laser cutter. Possibly you're making your own flex-circuits at home out of aluminum foil and contact paper (if you don't have a cutting plotter you could always use an iron-on transfer, an X-acto knife, an inkjet printer and some really steady hands). Maybe you wanted to clone all of your drill hole placement and so that you could make a jig to use with your drill press. Some artist came by your lab and thought that your high-speed impedance-matched data bus would look <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">super futuristic</span> if it were water-jet cut out of sheet titanium and sold to fashionistas as jewelry. Or you think the Arduino layout would make a <span style="font-weight: bold;">really</span> awesome graffiti stencil (if only you could loss-lessly scale it up 50x and cut it out of plastic). Lots of applications require getting your CAD layout into some non-CAD format, and preferably a vector format. So, now that you have the 'why', here's the 'how'.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">A. You'll need your CAD software, a decent print manager and Adobe Illustrator or equivalent software.</span><br /></span></span><ol><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Starting with your layout - select-to-display only those features of the layout that you want to "print". Then print your file (non-scaled) to PostScript (.ps).</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Open your PostScript (.ps) file with Adobe Illustrator. At this point, all of your 'traces' will be 'lines', aka 'strokes' with a defined width, which you don't want. You want an actual closed 'outline'/path that describes where the laser/knife should be applied by your relevant plotter.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Delete any features (like origin markings) that you don't want and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Object -> <span style="font-style: italic;">Group</span></span> the ones that remain.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Then copy what's left into a new layer (for safety). AKA: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Select -> <span style="font-style: italic;">All</span></span>; <span style="font-weight: bold;">Edit -> <span style="font-style: italic;">Copy</span></span>; <span style="font-weight: bold;">Window -> <span style="font-style: italic;">Layers</span> -> <span style="font-style: italic;">New Layer</span></span>; <span style="font-weight: bold;">Edit -><span style="font-style: italic;"> Paste</span></span> </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Make the original layer invisible, so as not to muck with it.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Select -> <span style="font-style: italic;">All</span> ; Object -> <span style="font-style: italic;">Path</span> -> <span style="font-style: italic;">Outline Stroke</span></span><br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Object -> <span style="font-style: italic;">Expand</span></span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Window -> <span style="font-style: italic;">Pathfinder</span></span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">And then in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Pathfinder</span> window (have everything selected), click on '<span style="font-weight: bold;">Unite</span>' and then <span style="font-style: italic;">Option-click</span> on your selected object.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Export your file to DXF using <span style="font-weight: bold;">File -> <span style="font-style: italic;">Export</span></span>.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BAM!</span><br /></span></span></li></ol><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /></span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-47786183845398490372010-01-02T18:29:00.000-05:002010-02-12T11:35:43.916-05:00The Year In Review - Floors<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Due to the loss of my phone and associated SD card, I don't have any photos from the majority of my 2009 projects. I do, however, have some hard-learned lessons to share. First up - floors!<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Floor Refinishing - demolition</span><br />
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In a fit of loathing for polyester flooring, I ripped up the carpet in my room and found a blackened wood floor, with 3" boards (tongue-and-grooved together), held down by about 20 hand-made nails for the entire room. Unable to resist the urge to destroy, I recruited a friend for the weekend, and we went to town on the floor with a 100# floor square buff sander (Flecto's vintage 1990s Squar Buff Sander, to be exact) and started with a series of 35-60-100 grit papers. I polished it off by hand with 200 grit. Once we got the top 1/16" off of the floor, we realised it was 100+ year-old New England heart pine.<br />
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</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0OMwK8afNBVh4_y6guLSVzYM2k2E4dLCUB1y38ad7XrTihc5Jldh0FunZ8vPUcGLmaWj-FBV78yfdQfG3BUiWzcQW2j4448rrcpsOo7eZa6puE5Yg_Ut77wEtPLITTBuAk1UekaBgovk/s1600-h/squar+buff+flr+sander.gif" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5422291029362838898" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0OMwK8afNBVh4_y6guLSVzYM2k2E4dLCUB1y38ad7XrTihc5Jldh0FunZ8vPUcGLmaWj-FBV78yfdQfG3BUiWzcQW2j4448rrcpsOo7eZa6puE5Yg_Ut77wEtPLITTBuAk1UekaBgovk/s320/squar+buff+flr+sander.gif" style="cursor: pointer; height: 320px; width: 185px;" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Fig 1. Colonel Burne Sanders<br />
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So, to begin at the beginning -- as to what equipment to use, I prefer the orbital sander to a drum sander because you're less likely to hurt yourself or irreparably destroy your floor out of mechanical ineptitude or sheer inexperience. The trade-off is that the vibration is like a free trip to augmented physical therapy. You'll get blisters through gloves and will need to take frequent breaks. Most square buff sanders run on 120V, whereas more industrial floor refinishing equipment (and contractors) require 220V service. <span style="font-weight: bold;">If you hire a contractor to refinish your floors, do not, under any circumstances, allow them to clip in to your mains to get 200V service up to the work area.</span> Your homeowner's insurance will probably count such stupidity as "Act of God getting down to business and doing something he should have done to smite you a long time ago." Check to see if a contractor requires 220V before hiring them. Run the following: if ((req? 220V) and !(220V installed)) then hire(electrician) else open(beer). Also, as an aside, you will likely not save time or money by refinishing the floor yourself, unless you value your time at $2/hr. I broke even on my room (in cost, not time) because it was small. If I were refinishing my entire upstairs, however, it would have only cost about twice as much to have a contractor come in and do it for me.<br />
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I edge-sanded my floor with a hand pulse sander. This was woefully inadequate. I will use a belt sander with a feather-light touch in the future.<br />
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Once the grain appeared, I began to realize I might not have a hardwood floor after all. Once this happens to you... as soon as you realize you're not refinishing hardwood (or fir), tone down your methods (and the grit of sandpaper) and try working cross-grain. Normally, you always want to go with the grain, but pine likes to de-laminate and separate along grain lines in large, splintered pieces. This effect is amplified with age. And if you think you can patch a floor with the chunk of board that just came off in your hand... think again.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Floor Refinishing - renewal<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />
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<a href="http://www.minwax.com/products/wood_preparation/oil_based_pre_stain_wood_conditioner.html">When refinishing floors of any age, condition the wood before applying urethane</a>. It will a) improve the condition of old and dry wood, b) show you the final color of the wood once you urethane it, and c) produce an even finish in the event that you either stain the floor or add stain to your urethane.<br />
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<a href="http://www.minwax.com/products/oil_based_clear_protective_finishes/high_build_polyurethane.html">High-build poly-urethane does not do what you would expect it to do</a>. If you're short on coffee and picking out materials in the hardware store, it seems like a good idea. Two coats and you're done! Durable! Shiny! What you will not notice is that while the marketing materials say that it's meant for interior wood surfaces, it does not say "floors." If the ad copy doesn't say, "for floors," do not try to use it on floors. The high-build poly provides a relatively soft (antithesis of durable) finish, but even worse - <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">it never dries</span>. It smells like double-plus death (even with brand-new organic solvent respirator cartridges). In my case, I put one coat on after the wood conditioner (following directions), it promptly soaked very deeply into the wood (you would also be porous and dry after 100 years of solitude). I waited two days (due to humidity) and did a second coat. The second coat refused to dry despite ventilation and time. I later used a paint scraper to clean up the floor and switched over to the more traditional <a href="http://www.minwax.com/products/hardwood_floor_finishing/super_fast_drying_polyurethane_for_floors.html">Fast Drying Poly-Urethane For Floors</a>. Ask for it by name.<br />
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For a roughly 100 square foot room, I went through one gallon of wood conditioner and 1.5 gallons of polyurethane for 4 coats. I went for a semi-gloss finish. The most difficult things involved in cleanly polyurethaning a floor were.<span style="font-size: 85%;"><br />
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<ol><li><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Getting (and keeping) the room dust-, hair- and junk-free during application and drying.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Applying the urethane slowly and evenly enough to avoid creating bubbles.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Being patient enough to wait for ample time in-between coats of poly (sanding).<br />
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<li><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Being humble enough to avoid extemporaneous re-interpretation of the directions.<br />
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</ol><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Floor Refinishing - covering your shame</span><br />
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This section will be obscure without accompanying photographs, but there are a lot of entries up on Yahoo! Questions asking how to invisibly patch a wood floor and there aren't a lot of good answers. It turns out there isn't a good way to do it. Rather than documenting all of the different ways I screwed up...<br />
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Start with <a href="http://www.minwax.com/products/wood_maintenance_and_repair/high_performance_wood_filler.html">High Performance Wood Filler</a>. Anything else is Weak Sauce and not worth your time. Use it to fill any large and profound gouges, splits and cracks - but be careful to get it on as little of the surface as possible. If necessary, mask off the floor adjacent to the crack you're filling. Once you get this material into the grain of the wood, it's very difficult to cover up or sand away and it leaves a nasty grey color. Aesthetics aside, this two-part filler can't be beaten on strength and durability. Like epoxy, it hardens faster in higher temperatures. If you can, under-fill your cracks to leave yourself room to sand down the filler and work on how you're going to blend it in with your floor. Use a metal application tool - it perma-bonds to plastic.<br />
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You can try to stain the wood filler, but it will be touch-and-go on color matching. If you match the filler to the pre-urethaned raw wood, it will not match after you apply the first coat of poly (even for clear poly). Use a test-piece of finished wood as your color reference. I ultimately layered stain on top of the filler and adjacent wood (because I was messy with my patching) in-between coats of urethane. It looks like I have a restored, water-damaged floor as opposed to a restored floor full of wood putty. I consider it a pyrrhic victory.<br />
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Another method you can use to "match" filled areas to the rest of the floor is to save some very high-grade sawdust from your refinishing stage. I recommend sawdust generated with 200 grit paper or finer - sieved to remove any detritus. Mix the sawdust with fast-drying polyurethane and apply to your (preferably sunken) patch job on the first coat. Build up additional layers if necessary. Once you feel you've got good opacity, sand the area smooth and feather it into adjacent areas (without removing the sawdust-impregnated poly entirely) and polyurethane over it normally in subsequent layers. The color will match, but the texture will not. This will be more apparent under semi-gloss and flat urethane finishes.<br />
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Finally, buy kneepads. You'll need them.<br />
</span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-69666553753366687842009-06-10T15:01:00.000-04:002009-06-10T15:45:47.254-04:00Project Laxity<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">I have been lax in posting about my projects - indulging in the engineering tendency to do rather than to document. So, for a while at least, things are going to be more historical than contemporary. In February, I picked up a replacement frame for my bike and stripped it with methylene chloride and acetone in preparation for repainting it.<br /><br />Before I get into describing this project: methylene chloride, and any corresponding gel- or liquid- paint stripper is <span style="font-weight: bold;">nasty stuff</span>. <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">MINIMAL PRECAUTIONS INCLUDE</span></span>: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chemical gloves</span>: (not latex gloves, not dish-washing gloves, not leather gloves, but cloth-lined chemically resistant chemical gloves (shown below). <span style="font-weight: bold;">Proper ventilation</span>: you really should work outside. If you must work inside, work in a large area with huge fans (even for small projects). Fumes are hazardous to pets, your eyes, your brain and your home decor. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Proper respiratory protection</span>: Comfort masks won't cut it here, and dust respirators won't filter out the organic solvent fumes. You'll need to use a bona-fide <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100653900&N=10000003+20000061+10401001">paint and insecticide respirator</a>. Decent respirators are available from the Home Despot for less than $40 and the cartridges need to be kept in an air-tight bag when not in use (they have a limited lifetime of less than 10 hours after being exposed to air). <span style="font-weight: bold;">Protective clothing</span>: When working harsh and destructive organic solvents, you'll want to wear eye protection, full sleeves, overalls and boots that you don't mind trashing. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Common sense</span>: Your work surface should be protected from the stripper gel. You should have an exit strategy in case you get gel where you weren't expecting it (like on your skin or face). Have shop towels and acetone around to clean up spills. Have a plan for how you'll dispose of the used materials (like putting your scrapings and used towels in an empty paint can and traipsing it over to your local DPW on hazardous waste collection day).<br /><br />The obligatory disclaimer is that there are more environmentally-friendly ways to strip paint and enamel off of metal. You can sand-blast, use a rotary wire brush, resort to "green strippers", etc. The truth of the matter is, however, that none of these alternative methods are as fast and effective as using organic chemical stripper and trying not to breath too deeply.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 1</span>: Prep your materials. I worked on my deck. I started by zip-tying a platform together from four milk crates and then affixing some 3-mil thick contractor waste bags to act as my work surface. For my stripper, I used 5f5 that contains, among other solvents, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichloromethane">methylene chloride aka dichloromethane</a>. I used a wire brush for both stripper application and paint removal. I used a metal container to hold the 5f5 while I applied it in small batches and a small quart paint can to dispose of the paint scrapings.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJBEaNHDS3KM1sw2aDJgKF8NJQupS8rMhNMRC-NYqS9j4VupZeijEo5uUf-vvsAI3xrkLfwBWPYaks9-9JKIKrTViYrpWCU5w20QI42Kf8jLOa4N8zQhyZqDLHL2STu1xbxwvt9vDnRj7/s1600-h/Image012.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguJBEaNHDS3KM1sw2aDJgKF8NJQupS8rMhNMRC-NYqS9j4VupZeijEo5uUf-vvsAI3xrkLfwBWPYaks9-9JKIKrTViYrpWCU5w20QI42Kf8jLOa4N8zQhyZqDLHL2STu1xbxwvt9vDnRj7/s320/Image012.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345776881181498354" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 2</span>. Clean the frame of any debris and remove the decals (scraping with a knife or exacto blade).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgywxZJTFt-r2YDT_jZ9HlbSUXaWDZyg6z3hzEExy7_y_N1ZtqG5feFToFsfxX0auYBCj3VFJoPRuXxdgKlmRYzO5PGCo7rzDEB9cI-l6d7LtrPeT3NP0Neegm8sNJjzhHNztS0MMSfIWRi/s1600-h/Image011.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgywxZJTFt-r2YDT_jZ9HlbSUXaWDZyg6z3hzEExy7_y_N1ZtqG5feFToFsfxX0auYBCj3VFJoPRuXxdgKlmRYzO5PGCo7rzDEB9cI-l6d7LtrPeT3NP0Neegm8sNJjzhHNztS0MMSfIWRi/s320/Image011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345776819792612322" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 3</span>. Apply gel stripper to a portion of the frame in a thick and even coat. You can see my entire set-up in the photo.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3cDWdDB0IiTBEDDz4ZrBdqBj8cTwnnMs20h8Kl6jWzh0U-Wkdu5JYJ8_jdFn46v2hiFav1gY4YgD5_QM9SVJG2cNise_IsBvlexpE-D3Ndbww1fL6FvE5WqUDlSjK0n73ViTxEbynUqW/s1600-h/Image014.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl3cDWdDB0IiTBEDDz4ZrBdqBj8cTwnnMs20h8Kl6jWzh0U-Wkdu5JYJ8_jdFn46v2hiFav1gY4YgD5_QM9SVJG2cNise_IsBvlexpE-D3Ndbww1fL6FvE5WqUDlSjK0n73ViTxEbynUqW/s320/Image014.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345777044875748866" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 4</span>. Wait. The directions on the stripper recommend waiting 10-15 minutes per application, but that varies with humidity, temperature, the type of paint and the base material. When the paint is ready to be scraped, it will have begun to bubble up if not slough off outright. This beautiful degeneracy is illustrated perfectly on the head-tube.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrc9qtcBD5_880eBV5HJtzWWQfTHDhyUTxTXwXhGuaxZofkkmzAy1GOZrdiIAie57Eqou6oxbAIEB0qjDKTLv-TD5Cjhy3rwh0M93uVzGM5CuUQgv_sYJe5dwRrllkmChOXIkZR-mxXDLw/s1600-h/Image013.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrc9qtcBD5_880eBV5HJtzWWQfTHDhyUTxTXwXhGuaxZofkkmzAy1GOZrdiIAie57Eqou6oxbAIEB0qjDKTLv-TD5Cjhy3rwh0M93uVzGM5CuUQgv_sYJe5dwRrllkmChOXIkZR-mxXDLw/s320/Image013.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345776960924129730" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 5</span>. Scrape. Use the wire brush to remove the paint. As it collects on the brush (or on the work surface) scrape it off into the waste container. As the solvent dries, the paint will re-adhere to whatever surface it happens to be on. This adhesion is fairly weak, but it makes clean-up bothersome.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXF7T8uSZP7aL2zjLHBRFg4May9FinXnU0vpnburriCMigzINYD4VXCSmt4ZdSPFUzmbUzrIMQcEWECCKmlE8kyF7hoicQugT4xgbcK9FmS-6qkTlVUxznsS9zUzhciOq42FNMPEGYht_x/s1600-h/Image015.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXF7T8uSZP7aL2zjLHBRFg4May9FinXnU0vpnburriCMigzINYD4VXCSmt4ZdSPFUzmbUzrIMQcEWECCKmlE8kyF7hoicQugT4xgbcK9FmS-6qkTlVUxznsS9zUzhciOq42FNMPEGYht_x/s320/Image015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345777138647311762" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 6</span>. Repeat over the frame. Limit your working area to a size where you can apply the solvent, step back, breath some wholesome air, and then scrape the entire area clean before the paint re-dries.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQO18TNv6GsFuq041ZZatd189KciVBNBoUe1VLx02zbDbvm4SZ5NSOCpue26lXk9bf_n27EAh3A52b5l-9NOdGi9tNyCJgqiNqySnlp-jQeRNwv4oi88kc96f0rm-ny5sANl-8cWoCM99/s1600-h/Image016.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQO18TNv6GsFuq041ZZatd189KciVBNBoUe1VLx02zbDbvm4SZ5NSOCpue26lXk9bf_n27EAh3A52b5l-9NOdGi9tNyCJgqiNqySnlp-jQeRNwv4oi88kc96f0rm-ny5sANl-8cWoCM99/s320/Image016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345777222597457714" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 7</span>. Clean the frame with acetone (on shop towels) to remove remnants of both the paint and the methylene chloride. I also cleaned my work area in-between applications of stripper to prevent removed paint from getting back onto the clean frame. You can see in the photo below that the frame is looking pretty good after one go-over. Methylene chloride is as effective as it is dangerous.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0N6CsYqMpwhJ_hC076RWTMuXnAsAcKw9SYA5DBZPO3wFkKx5uwfz_aSempF9IqRes7MrnrJErFgNjeSSezHL5P97AsToU40yTn7wBA-lgkLE_My92Yue8Lr76v43U4mc0Za1IZYngknwO/s1600-h/Image017.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0N6CsYqMpwhJ_hC076RWTMuXnAsAcKw9SYA5DBZPO3wFkKx5uwfz_aSempF9IqRes7MrnrJErFgNjeSSezHL5P97AsToU40yTn7wBA-lgkLE_My92Yue8Lr76v43U4mc0Za1IZYngknwO/s320/Image017.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345777327876093458" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 8</span>. Repeat as necessary. It took two applications of stripper to get my frame and fork pefectly clean. I then wiped down the frame with acetone, followed by water, and cleaned up my workspace.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcmmyjGnHZFkEgo3TCoJWBqGZF0UxBBfUe2xatnL79Cz3Qf36nUWGSPMYEqGAiMaeA8Zgvn8KWxtodwTDM-I1tBriYbjHLz-tmZGPRiNMOlTgAbXsunuSJVJMkb4X-rg8O1d1eR-9THDj/s1600-h/Image018.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKcmmyjGnHZFkEgo3TCoJWBqGZF0UxBBfUe2xatnL79Cz3Qf36nUWGSPMYEqGAiMaeA8Zgvn8KWxtodwTDM-I1tBriYbjHLz-tmZGPRiNMOlTgAbXsunuSJVJMkb4X-rg8O1d1eR-9THDj/s320/Image018.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345777421323594210" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Now I have a bike frame ready for primer, color and top-coat.<br /></span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-75681604577457352632009-01-27T02:26:00.000-05:002009-01-28T17:21:47.315-05:00Zero-th Order Function Generator<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">I'm trying to debug a circuit that's having either a frequency- or pulse-width dependent glitch. We're using a hall-effect sensor to measure RPM on the <a href="http://bostonsprints.bostonbiker.org/">Boldsprints</a> equipment and under mysterious and hard-to-reproduce circumstances, the microcontroller that bridges the sensors to the software crashes. Maybe we're exceeding the frequency input of the micro. Perhaps the sensor isn't triggering for long enough. Maybe there's excessive noise on the line. Well, at least the first two conditions are easy enough to rule out or verify by swapping out the sensor input for a function generator. The only problem is - this isn't for work, and I don't own a function generator. So, I took the day to make one.<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The ckt:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPuvCJ3zX4v_oFRJuxA6KXyAwLTBP119B7rXkagUxszFR3sU72jZaa8OVjL8WkpK0OFXCtFiqk9SKaxrKaEx9i-Ac633O7QRQP7GX0OQz64vbFTBxGqh0qdPW_dQffdXDKW2j5M9A8mu5/s1600-h/function-gen1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPuvCJ3zX4v_oFRJuxA6KXyAwLTBP119B7rXkagUxszFR3sU72jZaa8OVjL8WkpK0OFXCtFiqk9SKaxrKaEx9i-Ac633O7QRQP7GX0OQz64vbFTBxGqh0qdPW_dQffdXDKW2j5M9A8mu5/s320/function-gen1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295873815266109298" border="0" /></a></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The scope shot:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHutIohAjkkOsUERvs6hNojrfFprYpg-OwJPh-E4QTjcrBzEE7yGvL3enmcPEmYcEtr9_qLqQdEyKkwe0RuliT1x4BbEzy5IfMh-Mr9ugPpQf-ym8KJazlbnb1iFnkUqRKfYEvrJkXoikF/s1600-h/function-gen2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHutIohAjkkOsUERvs6hNojrfFprYpg-OwJPh-E4QTjcrBzEE7yGvL3enmcPEmYcEtr9_qLqQdEyKkwe0RuliT1x4BbEzy5IfMh-Mr9ugPpQf-ym8KJazlbnb1iFnkUqRKfYEvrJkXoikF/s320/function-gen2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295873921782391042" border="0" /></a></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />It's a straight-forward circuit using two LM555s. I cascade an astable 555 into the trigger of a monostable 555, and sweep the Ra of each to vary frequency and pulse width, respectively. In retrospect, I should have used LMC555s - a CMOS version that has full-swing TTL output... but more on that below the notes. As it is, I can dial the pulse width from 110uS to 12.5mS and sweep the frequency from 12Hz to about 2.5kHz using the two 100k potentiometers. I can generate negative and positive pulses (by exploiting aliasing!). The signal swing is from 0V to 3.7V. The overshoot is minimal.<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />And because there's nothing sacred in engineering... the notes:</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFyB2r-W2YBx3CRVzh60DT-9f-dI_rgE89F_Wy4hWsT-BNISRBju8PlAkO4GJYZtFpWoE4TYMVS522gea02Csno2nHAzD52iLrTHxZH5X9ehxjeRdpFQ4N5EAYsNoA9-l6E5DoYDKK_Wu/s1600-h/function_notes1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFyB2r-W2YBx3CRVzh60DT-9f-dI_rgE89F_Wy4hWsT-BNISRBju8PlAkO4GJYZtFpWoE4TYMVS522gea02Csno2nHAzD52iLrTHxZH5X9ehxjeRdpFQ4N5EAYsNoA9-l6E5DoYDKK_Wu/s320/function_notes1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296440935452714098" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMav8i5NWF30jeBmjraBzOpfcFpmOim2qwvx8ft0K4VcS1683wOXQRoGyZPhr8Zmiy7aZtszTIH1w1hvYoXToQUJxIUaYBMG4X4goLXU6fRHGAVYNfHykf2rOy-PYUPbdQ9UWPPrGTq9D/s1600-h/function_notes2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMav8i5NWF30jeBmjraBzOpfcFpmOim2qwvx8ft0K4VcS1683wOXQRoGyZPhr8Zmiy7aZtszTIH1w1hvYoXToQUJxIUaYBMG4X4goLXU6fRHGAVYNfHykf2rOy-PYUPbdQ9UWPPrGTq9D/s320/function_notes2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296441180754444434" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtLuG3H6hHWgUJ7wOlOFi5YgZKIic4QnvGqXNZZtEDVlpwrGLq3V53_xL1PU9o0PsLqd1JhOHsmfUNC3utFiGhyphenhyphenG43MSya5c0iLbcj5sw5V8SlPXlRNa8wujckbPy5BGWRpiiJMnYIcPP/s1600-h/function_notes3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtLuG3H6hHWgUJ7wOlOFi5YgZKIic4QnvGqXNZZtEDVlpwrGLq3V53_xL1PU9o0PsLqd1JhOHsmfUNC3utFiGhyphenhyphenG43MSya5c0iLbcj5sw5V8SlPXlRNa8wujckbPy5BGWRpiiJMnYIcPP/s320/function_notes3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296441416998321938" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Congrats - you made it to the bonus geek-out portion. Why should I have used an LMC555 over the LM555? Well, it's the difference between CMOS architecture and old-school bipolar processes. Here's the schematic for the National LM555. For the purposes of this discussion, we only care about the output stage - specifically the pull-up transistors <span style="font-weight: bold;">Q27</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Q28</span>.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPdxNdxMWa0jM1N3rLp68priwt9Bpiq66lNhGMd1QjwUmT7fBEeftDhKyEaCCH4sFH2i94v7d-3AqbCzcktXPzjvCNdjVINlmIyDOnVkIWmP4PZK-l2zrCIrcR5VlesWnOfCJaAvLxjRc/s1600-h/lm555.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPdxNdxMWa0jM1N3rLp68priwt9Bpiq66lNhGMd1QjwUmT7fBEeftDhKyEaCCH4sFH2i94v7d-3AqbCzcktXPzjvCNdjVINlmIyDOnVkIWmP4PZK-l2zrCIrcR5VlesWnOfCJaAvLxjRc/s400/lm555.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296451316561180578" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The LM555 is <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">old</span>. In addition to being incredibly cheap, it uses a very old-school bipolar process. Now, a modern bipolar process typically has comparably good P- and N-type transistors, so you'll often see a push-pull output stage that has pretty good output swing. However, Back In The Day, the P-type transistors (PNPs) were really crappy compared to the N-types (NPNs). Specifically, the P-type had really low beta (low gain), and couldn't slew a lot of current. So, a push-pull output wasn't an option for the LM555 designers. Instead, the LM555 has two NPNs (<span style="font-weight: bold;">Q27</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Q28</span>) configured as a totem pole to slew a lot of current at the output (which is necessary if you want your square wave to look square). When the LM555 is driving high, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Q27</span> is always on, and the maximum output voltage is one <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Vbe</span> down from the rail (<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Vbe</span> is typically 0.6 Volts, give or take) plus the voltage drop across <span style="font-weight: bold;">R12</span>. When the load current is high enough so that the voltage drop across <span style="font-weight: bold;">R12</span> (3.9k * <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Iload</span>) exceeds the <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Vbe</span> of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Q28</span>, then <span style="font-weight: bold;">Q28</span> will turns on, which increases the current drive capability of the output but has the trade-off of limiting the output swing to within 2x <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Vbe</span> of the top rail. My function generator circuit is driving a 50 Ohm resistive load (which requires a fair amount of current - 3.7 Volts / 50 Ohms = 74 mA), so it's no surprise that the output of my circuit settles at 3.72V instead of 5V.<br /><br />In the CMOS-based LMC555, the output is driven by a beefy inverter - an inverter being a P-type MOSFET stacked on top of an N-type MOSFET. Once nice thing about FETs is that you can design them to have very low on-resistance (<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Ron</span>), and the output of such an inverter will be able to swing to within <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Ron</span> * <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Iload</span> of either rail. So, in order to improve on the LM555, all the C555 designers had to do was specify the "max" output current load and the output swing to exceed the specs of a bipolar 555, having already sized the output FETs accordingly.<br /></span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-40861260742134710452009-01-27T00:15:00.000-05:002009-01-28T17:54:49.594-05:00The Birth of Praxicality<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Praxis</span> \Prax'is\, <span style="font-style: italic;">n</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1.</span> Use; practice; especially, exercise or discipline for a specific purpose or object. <span style="font-style: italic;">"The praxis and theory of music." -- </span>Wood<span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> 2.</span> An example or form of exercise, or a collection of such examples, for practice.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Practical</span> \Prac'ti-cal\,<span style="font-style: italic;"> a</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1.</span> Of or pertaining to practice or action. <span style="font-weight: bold;">2.</span> Capable of being turned to use or account; useful, in distinction from ideal or theoretical; as, practical chemistry. <span style="font-style: italic;">"Man's practical understanding."</span> -- South. <span style="font-style: italic;">"For all practical purposes"</span> -- Macaulay. <span style="font-weight: bold;">3.</span> Evincing practice or skill; capable of applying knowledge to some useful end; as, a practical man; a practical mind. <span style="font-weight: bold;">4.</span> Derived from practice; as, practical skill.<br /><br />Combine the two at 3,146 RPM and -40C for 4 minutes and 32 seconds, and you get <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">praxical</span>. As conceived of on 1/26/2009 with previously generated content ported over and back-dated appropriately. </span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-62451073205019296722009-01-11T20:59:00.000-05:002009-01-28T17:18:25.567-05:00Makeation<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">I recently found myself killing time in NYC, which means a visit to the good folks over at Adafruit Industries. Cue dramatic voice over, "This time, it's not social." Limor had wrapped up the prototype for her Vacuum Florescent Display (VFD) clock, but was still in need of an enclosure. I was in need of something to do. Thus - over the weekend - I had a Makeation.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />It began, as all things must, with an engineers' pad, some graphite, an eraser and some high-precision calipers.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lEgh_PqKn7MIUmbLWbmW6Mvt2Lxtr8irGCupDWruLoIkSRjYxrKTNLRqBNK3DSUaXSKWgynd8Ro81ZRrtHNmJRIa7BVnPgKygGmZzOtlTpsVhlcDb61muDMtSv9KHswHPPANM2V9x0s0/s1600-h/t0ck-notes1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7lEgh_PqKn7MIUmbLWbmW6Mvt2Lxtr8irGCupDWruLoIkSRjYxrKTNLRqBNK3DSUaXSKWgynd8Ro81ZRrtHNmJRIa7BVnPgKygGmZzOtlTpsVhlcDb61muDMtSv9KHswHPPANM2V9x0s0/s320/t0ck-notes1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295855798143944050" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpnAznBGo-bBorhcOIJVw5piuwQvBFUTjaQqUhn_0WDArzlsiiNXrJHBbda7dJk-1HZBT2iIzE0gSxj5fDQNxz80BaFcfjzx8_kuiUupXFRG44Zgif_6u93MCfahqkoSMVuphex9pF-Xg/s1600-h/t0ck-notes2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpnAznBGo-bBorhcOIJVw5piuwQvBFUTjaQqUhn_0WDArzlsiiNXrJHBbda7dJk-1HZBT2iIzE0gSxj5fDQNxz80BaFcfjzx8_kuiUupXFRG44Zgif_6u93MCfahqkoSMVuphex9pF-Xg/s320/t0ck-notes2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295856193034236162" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />After I was thoroughly sure of the dimensions (on paper),<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnU8KG_q67JB2_NudNvRTkBEdZW0dRG-B-MkY05yRexSouitY1PRqWzIJaVZ0gc7jvTYaevmCjGDkvdZ2fEtQOVAu82QTwp4UQ8RHe-ggQA3No5HCWbPhudJxqxfQ9AdMVXhspPUSXpbS/s1600-h/tock-sketch.jpg"> I started sketching up the pieces to cut on the laser cutter in Illustrator</a>. No, it's not the right tool for CAD, but you can monkey around and get center-to-center drills if you sufficiently abuse some of the alignment and grouping features. And it worked well enough to yield a first-time-right design (although one that required exactly 0.125" acrylic).<br /><br />Here's the front:<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSpfawibuu3KU9RaO5rwsXKVfkB8gv9XhD2VyXpu25CvZcAz5icfQm-8hAxunHdCcxKZ9YDqvrYdPBR_YoN6vzGeRUhL5UkEAY3iA2s-RTCcAUFtOHLDNrXRfy2Kes6iL7om1h3ODqpKU/s1600-h/tock1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSpfawibuu3KU9RaO5rwsXKVfkB8gv9XhD2VyXpu25CvZcAz5icfQm-8hAxunHdCcxKZ9YDqvrYdPBR_YoN6vzGeRUhL5UkEAY3iA2s-RTCcAUFtOHLDNrXRfy2Kes6iL7om1h3ODqpKU/s320/tock1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295860446770362130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The back:<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhFqCymqLlhPgBbGxBQ6u53Gl08oY1JP2KYCZz2Tt8-inojIiO0rwVx7I_gpGOs9mWFtyA9O11eLV-dJT86PwJILiNSlXMcjtb2yOYKRM_J3DfqkUgvGYADYGVA_XOurQ34BKGdk2lcCg/s1600-h/tock2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqhFqCymqLlhPgBbGxBQ6u53Gl08oY1JP2KYCZz2Tt8-inojIiO0rwVx7I_gpGOs9mWFtyA9O11eLV-dJT86PwJILiNSlXMcjtb2yOYKRM_J3DfqkUgvGYADYGVA_XOurQ34BKGdk2lcCg/s320/tock2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295860778926221394" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">And the bottom:<br /></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9NuwIolL3RywZH_eyDfH2QQ975CUJAN_RrVgCLok7bIlKrAQ3B3OOKiI4Xhx5rbUm3jUZuGFb9fZnwhnzgkjTdX9TicQNPU0TS1sbX1kDaWon6Ndety8PIyVp6ewfBbFuKbzRT00ggoq/s1600-h/tock3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd9NuwIolL3RywZH_eyDfH2QQ975CUJAN_RrVgCLok7bIlKrAQ3B3OOKiI4Xhx5rbUm3jUZuGFb9fZnwhnzgkjTdX9TicQNPU0TS1sbX1kDaWon6Ndety8PIyVp6ewfBbFuKbzRT00ggoq/s320/tock3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5295860976527111074" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The final kit won't be called 'iceb0x,' but I couldn't resist. It's only a prototype run so far, but the layout of Limor's board is clean and very compact. The VFD itself is also nice. You can see from the photos that the color is a cool aqua, that's a nice contrast to the warmer tones of the highly-fetishized Nixie tubes. The other upside(s) to using a VFD over a Nixie is that it's multi-digit, not nearly so rare, and it runs at a significantly lower voltage. A VFD takes less than 40V as compared to Nixie tubes, which need 80V to 100V. I know that voltage is cool (it's current that kills) but why use a BEEFY transformer when a cute SMT core will do?<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Another nice detail of the clock is that Limor has the VFD mounted on a daughter board via a right-angle header so that the tube "floats" above the PCB. That made for the trickiest part of the enclosure design -- placing the "nipple" drill in the North face that keeps the tube in place. It worked on the first pass, but I admit to tweaking it so that the tube was perfectly parallel to the PCB. There's less than 1/16" of wiggle room in the long dimension in this version of the case. I'm especially proud of the fact that it's fully-interlocking on 5 of 6 faces (the top being held on by compression from two nuts) and assembled using 6 x 4-40 screws.<br /><br />If you're psyched about the VFD clock design, and can't wait for the <a href="http://www.adafruit.com/">Adafruit Industries</a> kit to come out - it's the sort of project that's been multi-sourced by</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> <a href="http://web.jfet.org/inGrid/">rsw</a> and <a href="http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/10/how_to_make_an_7.html">Make Blog</a>, among others.<br /></span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-81172585220412188392008-11-27T17:20:00.000-05:002009-01-28T17:19:19.668-05:00Thanksgiving Recipes<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">My favorite exercise in holiday cooking is to make brined turkey. Use any clean, water-proof storage container and a cold environment (such as a refrigerator or Boston) and soak the turkey in the brine for an hour per pound of bird.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">The recipe for the brine I use is roughly 1 gal cold water to 1 cup of the following: kosher salt; raw sugar (or 1/2 white sugar and 1/4 molasses); rough whiskey. I like to use Wild Turkey. It makes a man mean and meat delicious. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Hi Mom, meet Delicious. Mmm.</span>) You can add any combination of aromatics or other flavors to the brine. After soaking: remove the bird; dry it; rub with spices and stuff if desired; roast according to size and stuffing.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Now, you can stuff a brined turkey with anything, or nothing at all - it comes out delicious either way. This year, we decided to experiment with some mild aromatics: we applied a salt-and pepper rub and stuffed the bird with a mix of Gala apples; red onion; garlic; rosemary; thyme and celery salt.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMGAADLs5Cnhie4eOLEBGZojwMeVV2MqLuIzMDOlAYo4oxM4T1Y-BcxHcZ6sLJ0YZxJ34GeplhXcv7woULrU8UQmvmcTC0cZFmmK8hDRRafo2cz-sCjONYDWTFc5yyvR1Z-MHQKkGTrB1/s1600-h/wild-turkey1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMGAADLs5Cnhie4eOLEBGZojwMeVV2MqLuIzMDOlAYo4oxM4T1Y-BcxHcZ6sLJ0YZxJ34GeplhXcv7woULrU8UQmvmcTC0cZFmmK8hDRRafo2cz-sCjONYDWTFc5yyvR1Z-MHQKkGTrB1/s320/wild-turkey1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296469300382274978" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">My method of roasting a turkey is to cover it with a clean dish towel and roast it at 325F for 3-3.5 hours. I soak the towel with low-salt chicken stock every half hour.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFPeiKWqSFdhtT7vRMTgO1GRqRMuYzuqoq2EQ1_axFqvBYux9JVGIeW1ycTGPzGzjR9afExxu0BUBHmi5E8wJ5Opr3TpChUroq8Nqz9zNuL4vCHNM0fjB-eivydjOrzcPytD_tH99Hp5X/s1600-h/wild-turkey2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOFPeiKWqSFdhtT7vRMTgO1GRqRMuYzuqoq2EQ1_axFqvBYux9JVGIeW1ycTGPzGzjR9afExxu0BUBHmi5E8wJ5Opr3TpChUroq8Nqz9zNuL4vCHNM0fjB-eivydjOrzcPytD_tH99Hp5X/s320/wild-turkey2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296469949394012162" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Once the time is up, I uncover the turkey, turn it around (breast to the front) and baste while roasting at 350 for another hour to crisp the skin. It usually comes out looking delicious.<br /><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7D1QOW6svnbapHc9JVpJZ7OJjGYxM_HP0wc_pIkXC1ZQ6X_oInmDoWhmza9-R04sxR5ftiQ-liEWI7dxxhyphenhyphenKABt6yJNancg6arCDczZAWdaXbvmicMmcw20TZ9gC7F-eH3pXGD6NKTSjV/s1600-h/wild-turkey3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7D1QOW6svnbapHc9JVpJZ7OJjGYxM_HP0wc_pIkXC1ZQ6X_oInmDoWhmza9-R04sxR5ftiQ-liEWI7dxxhyphenhyphenKABt6yJNancg6arCDczZAWdaXbvmicMmcw20TZ9gC7F-eH3pXGD6NKTSjV/s320/wild-turkey3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296470353880470130" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">For the side-dish, we cut up a single enormous butternut squash to roast with sweet potatoes, carrots, apples and Morrocan spices. <br /><br /><span class="fullpost"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Delicious Spice Mix</span> (we upgraded to tablespoons):<br />2 tsp. ground cumin<br />1 tsp. ground coriander<br />1/2 tsp. chile powder<br />1/2 tsp. sweet paprika<br />1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon<br />1/4 tsp. ground allspice<br />1/4 tsp. ground ginger<br />1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper<br />and a pinch ground cloves</span><br /><br />To prep, just toss the chopped squash and sundry with a few tablespoons of olive oil and a few teaspoons of the spice mix (enough to provide reasonable coverage). Now the recipe I cribbed said to roast the squash uncovered at 450 for 45 minutes; but we were roasting the turkey simultaneously, so we roasted the squash covered at 325 for 1.5 hours. Good thing, too! It was delicious.</span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-90774313362491407862008-10-29T22:12:00.000-04:002009-01-28T17:20:01.105-05:00Babies for Obama<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">In line with <a href="http://yeswecanholdbabies.wordpress.com/">Yes We Can (Hold Babies)</a>, I made this <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Stencil-Shirts-with-Freezer-Paper/">hand-stenciled</a> Obama onesie for my nephew.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1sqi0LAfnOL5pY8N2MpTvuJpDqeLPzSKaLCFSn8k74n5sJVsIJB-7QRJrSShNKBOX8r4LR2QzrYouYGQyMUDbX6dRov7Ae_6jPaOEL9aiv5K-LsWOR27Jz8NoLB2DLAzBhhT4dV1CO-k/s1600-h/IMG_1247.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1sqi0LAfnOL5pY8N2MpTvuJpDqeLPzSKaLCFSn8k74n5sJVsIJB-7QRJrSShNKBOX8r4LR2QzrYouYGQyMUDbX6dRov7Ae_6jPaOEL9aiv5K-LsWOR27Jz8NoLB2DLAzBhhT4dV1CO-k/s400/IMG_1247.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5262718368368582162" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Because it turns out a) the <a href="http://store.barackobama.com/Obama_Baby_Onesie_natural_p/on00012.htm">Obama onesie you can buy that gives money to the Obama campaign is lame</a>, and b) any and every home craft project should involve bacon. Which is to say, I forgot that we needed butcher's paper to make the iron-on stencil (I substituted in 'waxed paper' in the Ye Olde and Decrepit Mental Archives). Luckily, we'd had bacon with dinner - delicious bacon wrapped in bacony and not so delicious... butchers paper.<br /></span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-51979539833729546302008-10-06T20:35:00.000-04:002009-01-28T17:27:04.396-05:00Delicious Pesto<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">There was a mad rush this week to get basil from the farm share before the frost hit and all the plants turned brown and unfortunate. I'm not entirely sure of the basil variety they plant, but the leaves are smaller than grocery-store basil, and it smells spicier. I will update this post with the varietal information at a later date. What's more important is that making pesto was a moral imperative, but whenever I use raw garlic (as most recipes call for) the pesto always turns out much too strong and sharp.<br /><br />The solution: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Roasted Garlic Pesto</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 1.</span> Roast a whole head of garlic ala <a href="http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=6511">Warren Ellis</a> (He writes like my Papa, which is disturbing. Even more so, he seems to follow the same hard road in cooking -- so ignore him about scraping yourself bloody trying to peel sweet potatoes. One day, someone brave will tell him that the right way to make sweet-potato mash is to boil the potatoes first, quench them in ice water, and then rub the skins off). I used Otter Creek Copper Ale as my beer of choice. Nice and sweet. I wanted my garlic in between sweet and sharp, so I only roasted it for 30min on 400F.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 2</span>. Clean and pack 2c fresh basil into a food processor.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 3</span>. Add 1/2c of EVOO - use a tasty variety. I like to use Trader Joe's California Estates Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, in the black bottle. Ask for it by name.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 4</span>. Add 1/2c+ of grated Parmesan.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 5</span>. Add a double-handful (1/3c) of pine nuts.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 6</span>. Add salt and pepper (a pinch of each), or forget to add the salt and pepper like I did, and add it as a garnish later on. If nothing else, it gives you an excuse to summon <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqpyo7DPVoY&feature=related">Heavy Metal Guy</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 7</span>. Add the roasted garlic.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 8</span>. Q: Will it blend? A: Yes it will.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 9</span>. Sever over pasta with fresh tomatoes.w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-40010066354552082822008-07-17T01:29:00.000-04:002009-01-28T17:30:45.507-05:00Deliciousness<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">There has been some recent deliciousness occurring in my kitchen. The cause: This summer, I am participating in a local farm share, a privileged activity of the socially-conscious green (and maybe, young and urban) professional, which was <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/us/10farms.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=farm%20share&st=cse&oref=slogin">recently featured in the NYTimes</a>. You pay in advance for produce. Every week, one person picks up that week's allocation of vegetables harvested from the farm. We then struggle to consume the fresh produce without having any of it rot. It is wonderful.<br /><br />If you are lacking the time (or more importantly, RoHS-compliant soil) to grow your own food, a farm share is the next best thing. You pay (in my case $150) in advance for what turns out to be about 4 months worth of vegetables. That's $10/week for enough vegetables to stuff yourself silly on. Onions. Beets. Turnips. Carrots. Chinese cabbage. Lettuce. Spinach. Tomatoes. Kale. Garlic (and skates). Squash. Zucchini. Cucumbers. You get all of the joys of the earth without any of the labor, birds,</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> cutworms, deer, mites, droughts, storms, winds or thieving neighbors. It's then an exercise (in my case, a serious learning exercise) to learn how to cook what you have, make it tasty, and most importantly, just eat or preserve all of it. We've had good luck with all our recipes this week... so far.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Saag/Korma Hybrid</span> (a.k.a. I disavow any knowledge of regional Indian cuisine):<br /></span></span><ol><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Saute finely chopped onions with pressed garlic in a fair amount of rapeseed/canola oil and butter (as a substitution for clarified butter or <span style="font-style: italic;">ghee</span>).<br /></span></span> </li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Once the onions are translucent, fold in about a pound of washed, finely chopped spinach.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Add delicious spices, such as coriander, ginger, cumin, fennel, cinnamon and chili powder. Saute. Do not steam.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Separately, wash and dice up summer squash (we had a variety that half-hybridized with zucchini and was quite sweet).<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fry the summer squash in hot canola oil, and as they start to cook spice them with mace, paprika, salt and cinnamon.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Add yogurt to the spinach-onion-spice mix. Reduce.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fold in the spiced fried squash. Reduce until creamy.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Serve over rice.<br /></span></span></li></ol><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Beet and Cucumber Soup</span> (a.k.a. I love cold cucumber bisque):<br /></span></span> <ol><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Start out peeling the beets (save the greens). Dice a cup's worth of them and cook in boiling water.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Juice half a lemon into a blender. Add some salt, some pepper and a handful of chopped onion.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Peel a large cucumber, and cut into medium-sized pieces. Add this to the blender.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Add the cooked beets (drain the water).<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Blend!</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Add a cup of sour cream to the mixture. Blend!<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Add milk and blend until the texture is appropriate.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Serve chilled with sour cream.<br /></span></span></li></ol> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Vegetable Ragout </span>(a.k.a. One eats what there is to eat.):<br /></span></span> <ol><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Saute chopped onions with pressed garlic in a fair amount of olive oil.<br /></span></span> </li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">As the onions are partially cooked, add vegetables in the order of most flavorful/slowest-to-cook (mushrooms, carrots, broccoli, celery, peas, corn, peppers, whatever you have on hand). We added broccoli, beet greens and lemon juice. Saute.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Add tomato sauce and spices (thyme, rosemary, oregano, salt, pepper) (and optional things like tomatoes and meat). Stir, then cover and let steam. If you need more liquid, add vegetable stock or bullion and water.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Fold in chopped cabbage and cover.<br /></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Serve as is, with rice, or over pasta.<br /></span></span></li></ol> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">To make some excellent Eastern European peasant food, start with the ragout, skip steps 2 and 3, go straight to 4 (folding cabbage into sauteed onions and steaming) and then add a pile of cooked lentils. It doesn't look like much, but it is very simple, tasty and filling.<br /><br /></span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-66679740663488095532008-05-19T19:29:00.000-04:002009-01-28T17:20:31.545-05:00Approximately 13,000 Stitches of Love<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">In January, as a belated Christmas/birthday present for my mother, I finished my first knitting project. It's a scarf made from slightly less than 3 skeins of <a href="http://www.manos.com.uy/">Manos del Uruguay</a> wool (Granite, #108), worked on Size 9 bamboo needles in a basket stitch with a cross motif in reverse-stockinette on the middle section. The pattern grid size is 6x6 stitches, and each section is 7x17 squares (and the middle section is 7x19). Prime numbers... you know, for luck.<br /></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjA2Sj4ewLBy54FwumM_C8I6vTB03FSugqvlh7yGnHvgWPD1amYKyfh7IMhriywbkArVbyXG-6MYGYoOEiwQjwlm9JaP0EPae8lv3FRoMgrrCst5NOulCJu5rhIwKYRpzIDSBIhjmEdDg/s1600-h/grad+044.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjA2Sj4ewLBy54FwumM_C8I6vTB03FSugqvlh7yGnHvgWPD1amYKyfh7IMhriywbkArVbyXG-6MYGYoOEiwQjwlm9JaP0EPae8lv3FRoMgrrCst5NOulCJu5rhIwKYRpzIDSBIhjmEdDg/s320/grad+044.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202192091090596594" border="0" /> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0b8K-Ur-2a8ro5iGr3LZiASe64r_7eV_wOqALosi_fcBsh_TNHN5wzvhIMgcs4EedyB0wl42EPsT29i24ojFUGTSiB2crngXiX93t64Bg-oXqFVp71oWckqh1kTwEXpSQbMs_XmwzXE/s1600-h/grad+045.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0b8K-Ur-2a8ro5iGr3LZiASe64r_7eV_wOqALosi_fcBsh_TNHN5wzvhIMgcs4EedyB0wl42EPsT29i24ojFUGTSiB2crngXiX93t64Bg-oXqFVp71oWckqh1kTwEXpSQbMs_XmwzXE/s320/grad+045.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202193250731766546" border="0" /></a>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-54600980575897883722008-04-07T15:20:00.000-04:002009-01-28T17:21:19.918-05:00Reverse Engineering<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The industrial design of a TV is really interesting.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">I got a chance to disassemble and reassemble an HDTV at work the other day (with some reason)</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">. It was a fun afternoon. Disassembly time: unclocked; Reassembly time: 38mins. No screws lost, no extra parts leftover.</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fvd_CVAsNoQ8zoJlj_s4qHqdQGJvAbSvW8pN93Xz6V6m90BVPvhvhXEheGwCL_xsFdEUpww0kCap9dPrJJqgo-mVsfxP-RMCnoJt4v5M8_gEC_jSq_ay56kbnBhxb-g3C3HBqRPRLJs/s1600-h/P1010024.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8fvd_CVAsNoQ8zoJlj_s4qHqdQGJvAbSvW8pN93Xz6V6m90BVPvhvhXEheGwCL_xsFdEUpww0kCap9dPrJJqgo-mVsfxP-RMCnoJt4v5M8_gEC_jSq_ay56kbnBhxb-g3C3HBqRPRLJs/s320/P1010024.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186516101225059394" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDd4TumyW9nh-8oWzjkkdYaWZ59ax0_HStXwS_0uN3oRmZI1-oCCpJPWq_OXbitkCeGAeKLDTlImfpn8PnlDaS-rv4KxYzDR7yJushvs8PbYT33ovg7RoEWxYUL3sfdGf-BrrKa01tX4/s1600-h/P1010026.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfDd4TumyW9nh-8oWzjkkdYaWZ59ax0_HStXwS_0uN3oRmZI1-oCCpJPWq_OXbitkCeGAeKLDTlImfpn8PnlDaS-rv4KxYzDR7yJushvs8PbYT33ovg7RoEWxYUL3sfdGf-BrrKa01tX4/s320/P1010026.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186516444822443090" border="0" /></a></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />I wrangled my way into getting a full technician's tool kit when they hired me, but the project only required a hex wrench and a Philips-head screwdriver.<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rNZtBZZvGRkJjpH44eZqck1kKakDWUKle1wF__TuFPRrJ5rso8aODchsiyluAWGOeLb600UZoWfdGzx0WAsaqZVl46SMdR2UWA0jzpt64Sd_QvX7We-gkBIWOkxcXyPzqj5HhErK2O8/s1600-h/P1010030.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2rNZtBZZvGRkJjpH44eZqck1kKakDWUKle1wF__TuFPRrJ5rso8aODchsiyluAWGOeLb600UZoWfdGzx0WAsaqZVl46SMdR2UWA0jzpt64Sd_QvX7We-gkBIWOkxcXyPzqj5HhErK2O8/s320/P1010030.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186536596808995970" border="0" /></a></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">When you take off the back plastic cover, there's an internal metal chassis. Good TVs have substantial internal shielding because of the FCC's electromagnetic interference (EMI) regulations. EMI happens when there is a voltage transition on a wire (ie, power or data). That transition has a corresponding current pulse, which produces a magnetic pulse that radiates outward. Hence, electro-magnetic radiation. EMI worsens when your voltage swings are large and fast. The larger the voltage transition, the more current you need to make it, the larger the magnetic pulse and the greater the EMI. The faster the voltage transition, the more current you need to make it, the larger the magnetic pulse and the greater the EMI.<br /><br />The source of the EMI inside a TV is typically from the power supply (if it's a switching supply), unshielded internal cabling and poorly-laid out printed circuit boards (PCBs). Things like proper shielding, short cables, current-balanced signaling (low-voltage differential signaling, like that used in HDMI, or differential current mode logic), and proper terminations improve system EMI performance. However, high-volume manufacturers are cheap and won't use a multi-layer PCB with ground planes when a 1-layer board with jumpers will do. So, they ultimately have to make up for the cheap components with the expensive metal chassis a.k.a. Faraday</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> cage.<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Not only do cheap TVs without shielding violate FCC standards, they also tend to have weird artifacts when the EMI from one part of the TV (say, the power supply) couples into another circuit (like the receiver) and introduces noise and offset into the signal path. This TV is build really well, though. The more sensitive high-speed digital circuitry is well-protected.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVosCo5JljQhAf0TzYJMS7wT4viR6MGGo4UCe1jIZvRhHPMGH6kBxybZ-HMhPmI1dk3ttbr997PCsE6ZYER-Wx-r7g4kEU0UP3jini94VhIuDF-4gcuv8rECnv2Nz4KJ_hxeYwywdADJA/s1600-h/P1010027.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVosCo5JljQhAf0TzYJMS7wT4viR6MGGo4UCe1jIZvRhHPMGH6kBxybZ-HMhPmI1dk3ttbr997PCsE6ZYER-Wx-r7g4kEU0UP3jini94VhIuDF-4gcuv8rECnv2Nz4KJ_hxeYwywdADJA/s320/P1010027.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186544027102418130" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />On the right in the picture way-back is the power supply and the high-voltage circuitry for driving the LCD. That's built on a single-layer board with all through-hole components and pretty huge electrolytic capacitors. That design method's been in play since the 1970s. The receiver board and input circuitry is on the left under a shield that screws to the main chassis - we know that because that's where the HDMI and cable inputs are.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioNTHUWlZnW0lAg72JQoEr9PQJH4KnWo03L7tqDx4MOWnZtTKpt4N7D6gxVSl6XMHqbUK7QDbckOA4h-KqPe7fGf4HFp_EzHuFeaHZCWyINcEva1vEvPYxv6nKjOQnZlmQrp6k-6Annp8/s1600-h/P1010035.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioNTHUWlZnW0lAg72JQoEr9PQJH4KnWo03L7tqDx4MOWnZtTKpt4N7D6gxVSl6XMHqbUK7QDbckOA4h-KqPe7fGf4HFp_EzHuFeaHZCWyINcEva1vEvPYxv6nKjOQnZlmQrp6k-6Annp8/s320/P1010035.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186537485867226258" border="0" /></a></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Under the first shield is a second shield with a built-in heat-sink for the main video processor. Please note the secret to high-speed disassembly and reassembly: mark the various screw mountings with flag tape as you remove the screws. This is useful because manufacturers cut every corner possible, so you can't trust the assembly markings. The case (and the board) are over-designed, so the manufacturer will strip the actual number of components down to the bare minimum in order to get better profit margins. Some overseas low-cost, high-volume manufacturers are even known to take a PCB design and start removing components until the design fails -- then they put the last component removed back on. Bam! Instant cost-reduction. For this TV, you can see that all of the cabling is unshielded ribbon cable or unshielded 30AWG stranded cable and they aren't using any ferrite chokes (ie, that lump on your monitor cable that also helps improve EMI). But, like I said earlier, their metal chassis makes up for that, and, hey, the low-profile PCB connectors are nice.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvUkBnM5RdFQXJeWGbSGiSOCs0_P79UPhsLgcIuPj0VR73xwdIzMiIAwiV50SJfkZ9MOMxhJswz1fKkEkst_DU89LRUV4mc3P60aooslZqgteGZKc7UpoUVD9iblSXfT0mEBzearqnuE/s1600-h/P1010037.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXvUkBnM5RdFQXJeWGbSGiSOCs0_P79UPhsLgcIuPj0VR73xwdIzMiIAwiV50SJfkZ9MOMxhJswz1fKkEkst_DU89LRUV4mc3P60aooslZqgteGZKc7UpoUVD9iblSXfT0mEBzearqnuE/s320/P1010037.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186538774357415074" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcJE-3icfpr3CiQ4QGBRXT-xh-a6fri5OjAH9wzn6PutJP8L84ds3ehPU-apww6wNcsvvSRJUn-MfuXL6qnU2BtSij66XVPq9tkHVncXK8fxzX3JtwLw9t-K0r7yF1gxMFuf5KYtYu38/s1600-h/P1010047.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOcJE-3icfpr3CiQ4QGBRXT-xh-a6fri5OjAH9wzn6PutJP8L84ds3ehPU-apww6wNcsvvSRJUn-MfuXL6qnU2BtSij66XVPq9tkHVncXK8fxzX3JtwLw9t-K0r7yF1gxMFuf5KYtYu38/s320/P1010047.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186539491616953522" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I couldn't remove the heat-sink entirely due to some permanent plastic rivets, but I got it up enough to fully expose the receiver boards. There are two: one for all the digital functionality and another, (only part of it is shown) that handles all of the analog inputs and audio out. The first photo is of the digital inputs with the main processor/scalar. The second photo shows the cable tuner on the digital daughter board (in yet another shielded enclosure). The analog daughter board isn't shown, but it's the darker green board you see connected with the 3 flexible headers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFaCjtZYh9VFLYcAp8Hojr4wtfYLZD7dcKe8SqmeClIbFqBI1OgsOtnfxgpdSgmwAVQPgk_XVXp7aL2xinx9fwQ0cHsiF_Br1zBIthvYpf-qPxj-mpUU1d6GS0n9o9GbjQEO9_5aKlfE/s1600-h/P1010051.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFaCjtZYh9VFLYcAp8Hojr4wtfYLZD7dcKe8SqmeClIbFqBI1OgsOtnfxgpdSgmwAVQPgk_XVXp7aL2xinx9fwQ0cHsiF_Br1zBIthvYpf-qPxj-mpUU1d6GS0n9o9GbjQEO9_5aKlfE/s320/P1010051.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186541037805180098" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Then I did what I needed to do inside the TV, put it back together, and it still worked! The. End. </span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-11118743005535210612008-01-31T17:03:00.000-05:002009-01-28T23:51:16.753-05:00As Hard As I Can<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Well, it's 1-31-2007, the first anniversary of the Ignignokt scare, and once again, I'm spending this time in NC</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">. My prototype demo was completely unscrutinized by Logan security. I have heard (so far), "Wow, that's big!" and, "It's so complex..." It's mostly just a kludge.<br /></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1mP0spzXzTscOzZFwZ8T2ZWzj4TjycCej1YKj8Q2nIojEc6jD4VrT6yazHymHe15QQhj_pxt-o4GpOuDzPEukAtkZ64UyZ8cwvoF4lUQQ8_0ifZthrycm_zIdNpHPeg8MVtALtrwqE4/s1600-h/adv3002+001.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1mP0spzXzTscOzZFwZ8T2ZWzj4TjycCej1YKj8Q2nIojEc6jD4VrT6yazHymHe15QQhj_pxt-o4GpOuDzPEukAtkZ64UyZ8cwvoF4lUQQ8_0ifZthrycm_zIdNpHPeg8MVtALtrwqE4/s320/adv3002+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162136154983087522" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Of course, it's got enough parts that it didn't really survive transit all that well. It worked before I packed it up on Tuesday night. Now, after two days, the hardware appears to work, but the FPGA is talking smack to its surrounding circuitry instead of the smooth and rhythmic cadence of jive. Oh, poor broken thing... bless it's heart.<br /><br />I'll be here working over the weekend.<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Also, if you have to change flights on US Airways, and the new flight happens to be cheaper, you will not get a travel voucher for the remaining difference. Which is lame, considering they'll charge you the full $130 change fee, regardless.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKC12GAkOVsuYTf8b2BdmcPzSZg6oqgaEjToyAU3rUpGY2fQRlRt1wQgCVnQmQ_aUST79tJFbL9Sgll8TOJrnYQVfh2BveoUjuzbTYIETBdD3YgDYCWaYFAhQaeBjcXU88CbSvVTiyqE/s1600-h/sketch+001.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsKC12GAkOVsuYTf8b2BdmcPzSZg6oqgaEjToyAU3rUpGY2fQRlRt1wQgCVnQmQ_aUST79tJFbL9Sgll8TOJrnYQVfh2BveoUjuzbTYIETBdD3YgDYCWaYFAhQaeBjcXU88CbSvVTiyqE/s320/sketch+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5162143692650692034" border="0" /></a>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-41029715046754984862007-11-29T18:53:00.000-05:002009-01-28T17:23:24.384-05:00Unscrewed<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">I didn't make this titanium screw. What I did do, is I carried it around in my shoulder for four months. I feel like that must count for something. </span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7UdUeIwqWi6BmFGzw6DLuK5wQSgvezoyAoS65B13FxLhtC5jE2Yngh3pM_2hdVROGmCtLjXXN9McxNrXQHQUcdyvVbJNJ2pwkbhmq41F59MVAu7ahI7ckMMXK1wCPb5MUmxlHo2t2jU/s1600-h/PICT0006.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7UdUeIwqWi6BmFGzw6DLuK5wQSgvezoyAoS65B13FxLhtC5jE2Yngh3pM_2hdVROGmCtLjXXN9McxNrXQHQUcdyvVbJNJ2pwkbhmq41F59MVAu7ahI7ckMMXK1wCPb5MUmxlHo2t2jU/s400/PICT0006.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5138368768132304386" border="0" /></a>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-60120575518815007112007-11-04T16:04:00.000-05:002009-01-28T17:23:51.818-05:00Happy Halloween<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">(1 x red LED + 2 x AA batteries + 100 ohms + wire + electrical tape) = fuse.<br /></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidS88DRsMkN2QwZ_atJ6D8uw8JN2xnJUBQu2RzTso7xrWUq-5T7QN2_GgJoKDKZoDiQULW17f9Hc3vxAEclz7wbjL95l2-5TIxo4o4bXVIgLXhrcfc1JL0LiLQxu_qCjm_fuafckzNFps/s1600-h/IMG_1287.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidS88DRsMkN2QwZ_atJ6D8uw8JN2xnJUBQu2RzTso7xrWUq-5T7QN2_GgJoKDKZoDiQULW17f9Hc3vxAEclz7wbjL95l2-5TIxo4o4bXVIgLXhrcfc1JL0LiLQxu_qCjm_fuafckzNFps/s320/IMG_1287.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5129542745854281090" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Spy vs. Spy - the game is on. </span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-33284983213077818782006-12-19T23:29:00.000-05:002009-01-28T17:36:41.428-05:00Korean Stir-Fry<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" ></span><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >My friend's mother is always sending her very good Korean food - all prepared and ready to defrost and eat. Unfortunately, we depleted her supplies rather quickly, so adventures in cooking were required:</span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ></span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ><em><strong>Korean Beef/Thai Stir-fry</strong></em></span><br /><em><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ></span></em><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >1. Take thinly-sliced sirloin and make a spicy Korean beef marinade: <em>sesame oil, soy sauce, chili peppers (jalapeno or habanero + some seeds), sugar</em></span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" ></span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >2. Lightly fry generous amounts of minced garlic and ginger in sesame oil: add beef.</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >3. While the meat is browning, make up your sauce: <em>sesame oil, peanut butter, tamarind paste, soy sauce, lime juice, siracha or red pepper to taste</em></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >4. Add chopped onions to the browned meat; saute; add your sauce.</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >5. Add green onions or sundry other vegetables.</span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;" >6. Serve over a bed of rice noodles or vermicelli with spinach, cilantro, mint, sriracha sauce (rooster sauce), lime and peanuts (or any combination thereof; including other raw vegetables). Goes well with beer. </span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2514176531367219652.post-69288427959844108312006-09-10T19:53:00.001-04:002011-02-16T21:48:15.602-05:00Grrl Power<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I have successfully planned and installed my first floor (in less than a weekend, even). The mission: to upgrade Laura's unfinished office in the Broadway warehouse from</span></span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> bare concrete with traces of carpet adhesive to a vinyl tile floor.<br />
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On Saturday, I took stock of 'how to' sites on the Internet, picked up Laura. We went to Home Depot armed only with my engineer's computation pad and determination and a rough estimate of the room's dimensions from Matt's schematics. To the flooring section! We picked out tile (and designed the floor pattern), estimated minimum and necessary placement of 4'x8' sheets for the underlayment, got nails and cartridges for the Remington powder-driven nailgun and other sundries. After checking out, it turns out that our eyes were too big for my Honda Civic, so it was back into the Despot for carpet pad, clothesline and a razor knife (John from Flooring earnestly made sure we had the right trowel and then excitedly showed me his fool-proof trick for cutting edge tiles to size).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Laura and I then strapped the 4'x8' sheets of luon (ideally, you'd use plywood, and this is one of the corners we cut) to the roof of my Civic with the clothesline (with some doubtful and informative comments by a grizzled old contractor). It was secure, but still... I've never been happier to hit traffic than I was when we had to get onto Storrow Drive West to go to Back Bay. A cabbie yelled that we should have used 2x4's to keep the boards flat and a cute blond girl in a fast red car looked at our plywood and our wee little Civic and smiled at us while we were stuck together in traffic. We arrived without incident and unloaded and got to work.<br />
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Step 1: cut the underlayment and piece it together. Step 2: fun with powder actuated nailguns! It turns out that power level 3 is not <span style="font-style: italic;">quite</span> enough to put 1" nails into concrete, but hammers can solve this particular problem. Step 3: "stitch" along the underlayment seams with a staple gun. Pound flat. Step 4: mark center lines and dry lay tile. That's where we stopped for Saturday. Sunday morning, we pulled up the tile in quadrants, spread adhesive and then glued the tile down as such:</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3nF1Bh4Xdnf_DDzVSBJ7_FdvqRxG0eyXDxoQD4jqmnluDEdcRMgquPFfuZKYtIbnmzH0pSwxTmF4FUZEDjQsizC3UG52OznQeB_4c8hhOa2B1CwIoOxgbL8FDkHewmOXcxkwcpB43FNK/s1600/floor1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3nF1Bh4Xdnf_DDzVSBJ7_FdvqRxG0eyXDxoQD4jqmnluDEdcRMgquPFfuZKYtIbnmzH0pSwxTmF4FUZEDjQsizC3UG52OznQeB_4c8hhOa2B1CwIoOxgbL8FDkHewmOXcxkwcpB43FNK/s320/floor1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> Step 5. Iterate. And once we were done, it looked like this:</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeirJ9GcOA5y3gQzM4vafYGb3bwGJFNnDUdAZ3wuUIcIG1P5vCLtAMi5ndLt8AcSs6AhIdlali_vnsIO9bcjLfLPZdrgDkIFgR52FJDZ0p1n8wUqg_zWODJHDUIhJW_FTaKAIxXcJThl5/s1600/floor2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxeirJ9GcOA5y3gQzM4vafYGb3bwGJFNnDUdAZ3wuUIcIG1P5vCLtAMi5ndLt8AcSs6AhIdlali_vnsIO9bcjLfLPZdrgDkIFgR52FJDZ0p1n8wUqg_zWODJHDUIhJW_FTaKAIxXcJThl5/s320/floor2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">If you look carefully, you may notice that it's an interwoven checkerboard of vertical gray and vertical white crossed by horizontal tan and horizontal white. If the tiles came with serial numbers, we probably would have had a hard time <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> laying them in serial order. But, hey. Floor!</span></span>w0zhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03650958159262103832noreply@blogger.com0