Joined: 3/2/2010
Posts: 2174
Location: A little to the left of nowhere (Sweden)
WST wrote:
Well, I wanted this to be a question for those who do not know the answer. But since you answerred correctly, and even explained your answer, it’s not interesting anymore. The only thing I’d like to notice is that the color is not actually red, and also depends on the camera — on mine it is clearly white.
Sorry for ruining the fun, I got a little carried away :(
I've only ever seen IR lights turn red on camera before, so that part I didn't know. Thanks for the explanation of that.
Joined: 10/6/2011
Posts: 1690
Location: RU · ID · AM
No problem, it’s normal for a person with analytic way of thinking (which is normal for a tool-assisted speedrunner) to strive to explain the things.
Anyway, here is the video of the infrared LED:
Link to video
I beleive, my phone actually has an infrared filter; otherwise the LED would look a lot more bright. I am quite sure that a camera without such a filter can be used as a simple night vision device — if you got very powerful infrared emitter, you can light up a room enough to be able to see the things around through your camera.
By the way, here is my updated IC collection (clickable).
The 6th column will soon be as high as the others: I’ve ordered some missing ICs online; also I am going to disassemble this old keyboard from an old Soviet PC — someone’s garbage. It’s built on pure logic ICs (counters, flip-flops, etc) and can be used for learning them.
Obviously, there is no guarantee that all of the ICs from a probably broken device are working, but having a breadboard helps a lot — you just need a few minutes to build a test-drive for almost any IC.
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2
my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
Joined: 10/6/2011
Posts: 1690
Location: RU · ID · AM
Okay, time for a new just for fun device. Once again NE555 + 176ИЕ8, but this time on real glass fiber.
I used this circuit: http://www.555-timer-circuits.com/knight-rider.html
However, I wasn’t satisfied enough once I built it. The LED brightness was not same. Soon I realized that the possible reason is the way how the LEDs are connected to the decimal counter’s output. I’ve replaced the 100R resistors with diodes, and added one more resistor after all the LEDs. I realize that adding diodes to the very first and the very last LED is not necessary, but I added them simply because it made designing the PCB easier — honestly, I hate 176ИЕ8 / CD4017 pinout — I wonder if any other IC has a more stupid pinout.
Thus, I had to make the second revision of the PCB.
Here are some photos of the first revision…
…And the second revision…
The video of the first (unfixed) revision working:
Link to video
Waduh, this 3-megabyte video took me about 30 minutes to upload… 3G becomes worse and worse… I suppose that my operator may have unannounced restrictions for high outgoing rates (it’s more than usual for me to upload more than download). Actually, my village is located between 2 cities having 4G/LTE networks, but I highly doubt that the issue is technology-related. Used to get megabits per second through the same 3G link months ago. I think I should consider switching to ADSL, which I already used about a year ago (switched to 3G because of high instability).
I apologize for the absense of the soldering mask (like you can see on True’s PCBs). Someday I will begin making it as well, do not worry ^^
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2
my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
Joined: 10/6/2011
Posts: 1690
Location: RU · ID · AM
ixfd64 wrote:
Anyone else here a member of the EEVBlog forums? They have a lot of useful information.
Not me. For me TASvideos is the only place (at least in english-speaking world) where I discuss electronics.
Today I was experimenting with LED digit displays (SC05-11GWA). I wanted to test a simple counter circuit and possibility to use one current-limiting resistor (instead of having 7 resistors, one per each segment). I have no mood to consume 7 resistors in just-for-fun projects each time I use such an indicator. And I got good news — the difference in the brightness of different digits is noticeable, but satisfactory. Apologies about the digit being invisible on the photo — the photo flash was way too bright.
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2
my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
Joined: 10/6/2011
Posts: 1690
Location: RU · ID · AM
Just for those of you, guys, who is sure that I make cool stuff… :)
Link to video
This is how it should be done :)
Impressed? Now imagine that there are even more impressive examples, like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guppB4cK3oU
Another useless, but nice device — retro-styled CPU and RAM load indicator for PC
Oops, this was my post #666 ^^
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2
my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
Anyone else here a member of the EEVBlog forums? They have a lot of useful information.
Not me. For me TASvideos is the only place (at least in english-speaking world) where I discuss electronics.
Don't see why; EEVblog would at least get you people telling you to buy $1000 multimeters and critiquing the whole basis of your design while not offering any real help or, sometimes, bad information disguised as help - when all you ask is some basic question about one component on your design.
But it'd certainly get you more thoughtful and informed commentary on your projects.
BTW I don't know what any of that russian marked component stuff is.
WST wrote:
Some solder hacking
Congrats on the now un-plated tip that will surely corrode rubbing against all the TH stuff. I guess it is pretty well loaded with solder so maybe it won't oxidize so bad but I'm sure that copper will wear away. I don't know, I'm just as fast feeding wire in for TH stuff :/
Oh, we showing off equipment now?
What kind of scope is that? C?-93? Who makes it?
And that multimeter scares me a bit. Looks like some Mastech rebrand?
Here's my bench, which is way too small. I can't fit hardly any of my tools here.
click for larger
Check out the accuracy+resolution of my 2015THD =) but I need more digits...
And here's part of the pile of scopes I need to go through. I'm only keeping a couple, the rest have to go.
click for larger
Joined: 10/6/2011
Posts: 1690
Location: RU · ID · AM
I was not going to show equipment, and those photos are not mine (I use other stuff). I just wanted to show what those equipment displayed. :)
С1-93 is made in Soviet Union. It’s not manufactured anymore, but because of high production volumes at that time, it’s still available. Googling gives you some more detailed photos of it, just be sure to type «С1-93» and not «C1-93» (those letters are not the same).
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2
my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
True,
Do you create your PCBs yourself, or you use PCB manufacturing services?
I have no desire to etch for myself. I'd rather send out an order and get it in a couple weeks.
The smaller projects I can breadboard, but most projects are larger or are intending to be used for commercial purposes, and a home-etched board wouldn't help me.
Joined: 10/6/2011
Posts: 1690
Location: RU · ID · AM
True wrote:
BTW I don't know what any of that russian marked component stuff is.
Well, that’s why I always mention what is what when I post something with russian components.
True also wrote:
I have no desire to etch for myself. I'd rather send out an order and get it in a couple weeks.
Oh… I usually create DIY stuff just for myself; thus I usually do not need more than 1–2 instances. The exception was a transistor audio power amplifier — I built 5 instances (channels) of it, but it’s still much less than minimal factory volumes. I also have no experience with Eagle CAD (but I’m planning to learn it) and create my PCBs in Sprint Layout. Some of my Russian and Indonesian friends also use KiCad, Topor and other things, but I begin to think that Eagle is almost a standard…
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2
my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
Electronics is pretty fun stuff. I haven't been doing this much in a long time, but I was planning on getting back to it because I want to make my own guitar effect pedals ^^
Probably starting off with a simple distortion pedal. I also heared that if you success at making the effect pedal, the result might be better than in bougth pedal or amp effect. Also need to learn the max voltages, etc. a guitar and amp can handle so I can make sure they don't break and also could make own "test" pedals and see what they do.
Joined: 10/6/2011
Posts: 1690
Location: RU · ID · AM
Baka94 wrote:
Electronics is pretty fun stuff. I haven't been doing this much in a long time, but I was planning on getting back to it because I want to make my own guitar effect pedals ^^
Probably starting off with a simple distortion pedal. I also heared that if you success at making the effect pedal, the result might be better than in bougth pedal or amp effect. Also need to learn the max voltages, etc. a guitar and amp can handle so I can make sure they don't break and also could make own "test" pedals and see what they do.
Oh… Good luck with your project :) if you have something to show or ask, don’t hestitate to post it here…
Unfortunately, I cannot build anything recently, because my drill broke -_-
I’m going to disassemble it and see if I can do anything…
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2
my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
Joined: 10/6/2011
Posts: 1690
Location: RU · ID · AM
I got a problem with my ADSL modem. Recently I bought an UPS to get rid of the short power outages which often happen here. It works like a charm, but somehow everytime I imitate a power outage, my ADSL modem goes offline, despite being powered by the UPS. And it’s only the minor part of the issue. The major one is that it does not reconnect after such thing happens. At all.
It differs from the situation when I temporarily disconnect the ADSL cable — in this case, the modem re-establishes the link within a few seconds.
I got two ideas first:
1. It is possible that the working UPS produces a noice in the ADSL cable causing the modem to drop the connection
2. Something power-related
At first, I made a simple test to find out which one of these two is more likely: I disconnected the modem’s power adaptor from the UPS and connected to the mains. Then I repeated my test power outage 3 times in a row. It did not cause the modem to drop the connection. So my deduction at this point was that the (2) is the more likely reason.
I took a measure of the power adaptor’s output voltage. Under normal conditions, it was 11.5V AC. After switching to the UPS, it became 9V AC. Could this difference make a problem to the modem? I am not sure, because actually the modem’s power socket is labelled as “9V AC IN”.
I disassembled the modem…
And quickly noticed the visibilly inflated electrolithic capacitors on power line. So I got the idea 2.1: major capacity loss of those capacitors, causing the modem’s transmitter to glitch. I am not very sure about it though — I am sure that in such a situation the modem’s core (the processor) is more sensible than the transmitter. However, if the transmitter is powered by unstabilized power (before the MC34063-based stabilizer), this still could be possible.
Tomorrow I’ll try replacing those capacitors and post here my report about it. Feel free to wish me luck, guys — no mood to buy a new ADSL modem :)
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2
my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
The power switchover with the UPS can cause the problem. Combined with lack of filtering, that noise event can really be an issue.
Replace those caps and you'll be fine.
Joined: 10/6/2011
Posts: 1690
Location: RU · ID · AM
True wrote:
Replace those caps and you'll be fine.
Thanks, True, it really helped me.
I didn’t have LowESR rated capacitors of 1000µF×25V though. So I took regular capacitors. I also had a choice between 1000×25 and 2200×16 and decided to take the latter ones, as the voltage on the capacitors doesn’t seem to go over 12 volts.
The connection survived the test power outages.
I think I’m going to use the modem without the box, as it makes the air inside the modem dangerously hot. I beleive, the inside temperature was exactly what caused the original capacitors to fail.
(upd) as it turned out, I have a slightly better SNR margin now (was 15–20)
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2
my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
But without resolution I don't know what the settings are...
WST wrote:
P.S.: sadly, I do not have an ESR meter. I’m planning to buy it soon.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DER-EE-DE-5000-LCR-Meter/161104294237
I bought my first one for ~$350 (but it was a full set with case and USB link). It's a steal at the current selling price. I liked it so much I bought another from this seller. Just noticed that he changed his listing to no longer have his real name...
I modified a TL-21 with some cheap sort of Kelvin clips from DX - they're pretty crap though, but give me more working range than the alligators that come with it. The wires are a bit too long to calibrate properly though, I will need to shorten them. The price has also gone up, like all things on dx do.
http://www.dx.com/p/test-clip-probes-for-lcr-meter-with-bnc-wires-pair-34214
Joined: 10/6/2011
Posts: 1690
Location: RU · ID · AM
True wrote:
But without resolution I don't know what the settings are...
The capacitor’s actual capacity is about 20µF, while it’s labelled as 1000µF (I wrote that earlier). A good proof that the failed capacitors were really the source of the issue.
True wrote:
I bought my first one for ~$350 (but it was a full set with case and USB link). It's a steal at the current selling price. I liked it so much I bought another from this seller. Just noticed that he changed his listing to no longer have his real name...
I modified a TL-21 with some cheap sort of Kelvin clips from DX - they're pretty crap though, but give me more working range than the alligators that come with it. The wires are a bit too long to calibrate properly though, I will need to shorten them. The price has also gone up, like all things on dx do.
http://www.dx.com/p/test-clip-probes-for-lcr-meter-with-bnc-wires-pair-34214
Thanks for the suggestion as well
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2
my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
The 6th column will soon be as high as the others: I’ve ordered some missing ICs online; also I am going to disassemble this old keyboard from an old Soviet PC — someone’s garbage. It’s built on pure logic ICs (counters, flip-flops, etc) and can be used for learning them.
Obviously, there is no guarantee that all of the ICs from a probably broken device are working, but having a breadboard helps a lot — you just need a few minutes to build a test-drive for almost any IC.
…And the second revision…
The video of the first (unfixed) revision working:
Link to video
Waduh, this 3-megabyte video took me about 30 minutes to upload… 3G becomes worse and worse… I suppose that my operator may have unannounced restrictions for high outgoing rates (it’s more than usual for me to upload more than download). Actually, my village is located between 2 cities having 4G/LTE networks, but I highly doubt that the issue is technology-related. Used to get megabits per second through the same 3G link months ago. I think I should consider switching to ADSL, which I already used about a year ago (switched to 3G because of high instability).
I apologize for the absense of the soldering mask (like you can see on True’s PCBs). Someday I will begin making it as well, do not worry ^^
Oops, this was my post #666 ^^
click for larger
Check out the accuracy+resolution of my 2015THD =) but I need more digits...
And here's part of the pile of scopes I need to go through. I'm only keeping a couple, the rest have to go.
click for larger
And quickly noticed the visibilly inflated electrolithic capacitors on power line. So I got the idea 2.1: major capacity loss of those capacitors, causing the modem’s transmitter to glitch. I am not very sure about it though — I am sure that in such a situation the modem’s core (the processor) is more sensible than the transmitter. However, if the transmitter is powered by unstabilized power (before the MC34063-based stabilizer), this still could be possible.
Tomorrow I’ll try replacing those capacitors and post here my report about it. Feel free to wish me luck, guys — no mood to buy a new ADSL modem :)
The connection survived the test power outages.
I think I’m going to use the modem without the box, as it makes the air inside the modem dangerously hot. I beleive, the inside temperature was exactly what caused the original capacitors to fail.
(upd) as it turned out, I have a slightly better SNR margin now (was 15–20)
P.S.: sadly, I do not have an ESR meter. I’m planning to buy it soon.
