January 2013
1 post
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December 2012
2 posts
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November 2012
2 posts
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October 2012
7 posts
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Update on things
So what was that fuss about with cleaning the room with fiberglass dust and playing with solar panels?
The answer is boats. Badass solar-electric boats.
I joined a club that builds a single-person boat and enters it in an international competition called Solar Splash. I will be working with a large motor, those solar panels, and lots of of batteries. On top of that, I will be building a...
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Anonymous asked: fiberglass = very bad stuff. hope you were wearing a mask.
Anonymous asked: Nice bunny rabbit. Thanks for the smile.
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September 2012
9 posts
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I cannot eat an irrational number for dessert!
I wanted pie today. There was no pie available. This is troublesome.
In other news: I am recovering from a cold (which is more troublesome than a lack of pie) and I might get to order some really expensive components with money that isn’t mine in the next few days (which is far more awesome than the availability of pie).
There will be more info later, as I must now sleep.
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RAGE!!
Know what sucks? Getting fiberglass dust all over your clothes.
Know what didn’t suck? The vacuum cleaner that was supposed to clean up all the fiberglass dust before I had to work in the room.
Know what sucks more? Not being told about the fact the dust contained fiberglass until AFTER I got it on me.
Now I am down a pair of jeans, a shirt, and a sweater, as they are impregnated...
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It's been a LOOOOOONG TIME
After a summer of shenanigans and going off to college, I will be posting here again. Slightly new direction this time, with both commentary on stuff from my YouTube account and, well, traditional bloggy stuff about things that happen to me/near me. First up will be a pile of long-exposure pictures of the campus, because I can.
May 2012
5 posts
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April 2012
23 posts
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Apple Time Capsule 1st Gen. (2008) Repair
I will be pulling this Time Capsule apart, replacing the failed capacitors in its power supply, and modifying the case so that it runs cooler. I will cut a hole in the bottom of the case and place the fan so that it draws in fresh air and forces it into the case, where it will escape from the vent slits. I will then wire the fan directly to the 5-volt output of the power supply, so the fan runs...
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Apple Time Capsule 1st Gen. (2008) Repair...
Apple’s Time Capsule is a wireless router with built-in hard drive for automatic backup of devices on the network. The first generation was released in 2008, and within a couple years became notorious for mysterious power supply failures that left the devices as $300+ bricks. The failures were quite similar in that the device would lose power suddenly and be unable to start back up. The...
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Too good to be true and plan B
The circuit is unstable and still does not regulate reliably. I’m afraid it will overcharge the capacitor and send scalding steam and fumes everywhere.
It was an interesting experiment but not good for the actual functioning prop. I’m not given up on making this prop work just yet.
I have a small police strobe light that I’m going to sacrifice to this project, using its...
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PFFFFT
Dammit…it freaks out when I disconnect the comparator, and I now see why: Bad solder joint on the voltage reference zener diode. Now to see if I can get the comparator to actually work as intended now that it has a ref voltage to work with that doesn’t freak out.
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YES. ALL OF THE YES.
khsdfkjdfjhsd11111
I must be the luckiest engineer in Boston tonight.
My new transformer turns ratio of 4:190 (originally 9:190) is PERFECT. It takes a healthy 2-ampere bite out of the battery and brings the cap to a workable 250 volts in about one second, reaches 297 after a few more seconds, and tops out there. No comparator needed. Time to get this thing put together for good now.
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first charging circuit test
The circuit elements do their job perfectly, only on too small of a scale. Current draw was barely 200 mA, output topped out at 170 volts, and it took a while to get there. Not bad for a first test, considering that all elements theoretically worked. This combination of low values suggests that the inductance of the primary on the transformer is far too high, causing it to not store or...
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Derp...
Well, I thought that the flash capacitor had REALLY bad leakage and/or the diode was really cooked. I was wrong :P
My voltmeter has an unusually low value sense resistor, which when connected to any capacitor, it presents a non-trivial load and bleeds the charge off the capacitor once the charging source is removed.
Once the meter was connected, the flash capacitor discharged from the 5.7...
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Reblog with your Username and Birthday
herekommtdiesonne: March 24
commanderbobbyboy: February 24
lukecallaghan: aprile decimo
shotgunshutshiscakehole2: april 20th
bourbonandgunplay: December 6th
the-cooooooooooooooolt: November 11, 1835
sliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinky: June 25, 1993
piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie: June 9, 6969
thefuckingimpala: stone age
lucifersloudspeaker: May 3. And that is all you need to know.
saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam: September 11
theyoungcrowley: August 11
a-r-m-a-n-d: March 30th
Nijah: October 10. the day I was turned to a vampire.
thebiancasolderini: May 7, 1478 I'm very old. -laughs-
niccolo-the-vampire: IC: Not sure...I think around October 13, 1600. That is what my plaque said at the crypt. (OOC: April 21. 19 DAYS UNTIL MY BIRTHDAY. FUCK YEAH)
ageniusinthemaking: IC: April 7th.
OOC: AUGUST 7TH. Four. more. months. ^^
gunnapopyourcherry: IC: April 18th. ((OOC: October 15th!!!))
cigaretts-and-roses: IC: May 9th. ((OOC: November 5th))
crisisthevaleyard: OOC: August 3
girlinthefrockcoat: OOC: August 3
doctorhorribleishere: IC: June 15th ((ooc: August 23rd))
cryingaloneoverbritishgentlemen: June 7th. ;u;
silver-leaves-of-gallifrey: May 29th :D
CCT123: March 14th
thetardisinhogwarts: September 22nd :)
Yllamse: November 29th
aretenike: April 12th (SOOOOOON))
metaphysicalengineer: May 12 (a month later than SOOOOOON)
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*insert maniacal laugh here*
I just tried the circuit with my transformer running open-loop (no control gear to shut it off when a target voltage is reached).
Even with a weak 6-volt flashlight battery, the rig spews out a blistering 820 volts. I was guessing maybe 400-600 volts open loop, but this is just a silly amount of voltage for the circuit. I may have blown the diode I was using (rated for 600 volts with...
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March 2012
19 posts
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