@late oracle I guess you should first look at Adafruit - Limor Fried, LittleBits - Ayah Bdeir, CircuitClassics - Star Simpson, Jerri Ellsworth... Props - Shawn Thorssen, Escape Room - John Park . They all started out with blogs of some sort, posted instructables of their projects, made videos, appeared at Maker Faire, Burning Man, museum or art exhibits/performance... They built up some serious maker cred to put on their resume. You could probably get some business insight from those that set up Etsy shops too. Good luck.
#general-chat
vestal phoenix
grave crest
@late oracle Adding to to @vestal phoenix, check out Bill and Britt Doran, from "Punished Props". Also check out Bob Clagett of "I Like to Make Stuff."
I know Bob wrote a lovely book on how he turned his making passion into a business.
abstract violet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgoPVq1oTx0
uhm just had to share! The audio runs off a smart phone app that has a scratch like interface, not sure how the other parts are controlled but cool!
grave crest
I remember such toys back when I was a kid
....some argue I still am, so I'll clarify -- when I was younger.
abstract violet
young at heart === forever young!
I love the display of resourcefulness, did not think to use rolled up aluminum foil like they did in the video
jaunty jetty
when you were closer via the 4th dimension to your birth
that's a really cool lego thing... kind of insufferable though, designed to always assume your first input was wrong
tender nimbus
@Cascade Oooh I see I see
torpid belfry
@jaunty jetty The upsell is VERY McDonald's, but you're not supposed to do it more than once
jaunty jetty
I would not have finished the first time
torpid belfry
they train you to a specific hierarchy of "what's missing from the model meal -- sandwich, drink, fires, desert" in that order
at least they did back when I worked there in high school
you were also not supposed to EVER say "will that be all"
and nowadays they ask that after every item, it's annoying
one of these days I'm going to go inside, ask to see the manager, ask to see the SOC sheets, and remind them how to train their staff
proven olive
@torpid belfry Wouldn't be surprised if they've changed it completely since thing.
torpid belfry
Last I talked to someone a few years ago, that's not changed
all the process to create the food has
proven olive
Personally, now if I go in there, I just go right to the do-it-yourself kiosk and order/pay there.
torpid belfry
but the soft-skill stuff is supposed to be the same
Yup. The app and the order yourself kiosks are awesome.
proven olive
And admire the size of their touchscreens because I'd really like one that size
torpid belfry
inorite?
jaunty jetty
I've only a couple times run into an upsell that was at all disruptive, but key point, people's a people, it's pretty easy to put your foot down and force someone to finish your order and if they make you angry you can cause a big stink, hold up everything, make them very sad, make you very sad. The automated stations usually don't have a skip button
proven olive
Because that's what, a 30-something inch display with a pretty accurate touchscreen?
jaunty jetty
I have uninstalled a lot of phone games because I was 3 minutes in and the point when I would be allowed to play wasn't in sight yet
jaunty jetty
large touch displays are easy when they're resistive
traditionally at least, I've been out of retail for a few years now, all UI use resistive panels because A, they're very cheap, and B, they're way more durable than capacitive plastic or worse, capacitive glass touch surfaces
proven olive
You're not wrong, but that doesn't mean I've seen one available for a consumer
(Disclaimer: I also haven't looked in ages)
proven olive
@jaunty jetty Honestly, the most difficult part would likely be the coding
Find a supplier of ITO plastic and you're 3/4 of the way there as far as materials goes.
jaunty jetty
so, my understanding of the way this works is that the controller puts a signal into one of the panels, the panels have a highly consistent resistance, so based on where you touch and where the samples are taken there's limited positions that could corespond to that resistance. Then you take samples from the middle of each edge in a scanning multiplex thing so you get multiple numbers for each touch event and there's only one position that corresponds to all of those resistance values; like trilateration but weirder
the code should be maintaining a series of maps for resistance across the screen from each polling system, then you look up all the valid positions and find the overlap
if the plastic is sufficiently consistent you should just need samples from the 4 corners to estrapolate a reasonably accurate space definition
then you need to have a bunch of separater dots that aren't visually disruptive
proven olive
I seem to remember them working completely different. Conductive strip on one side bottom, then opposite side top. Same goes for other two sides. Device checks X resistance, and can tell where it is based on that. Then checks Y resistance, and can tell where it is based on that.
jaunty jetty
on the strip based style is dead, way too much aberation
proven olive
To be honest, I've never looked into it, and I'm betting there's numerous ways to do it.
Eh, strip-based style is probably the easiest to make by hand.
jaunty jetty
maybe we can patent a new one and get rich 30 years ago
having used mcdonalds touch panels quite a bit, they're not strip based, but they're definitely resistive; and they have optimized for durability. I can imagine many people I know lacking the finger strength to operate them
proven olive
I've definitely had to press an option more than once
thunk
Oh, right.
THUNK
There we go!
jaunty jetty
I have to use my knuckles, cus my fingers are bad at fingers
proven olive
Looking at my fingers, I can understand that, I think. Poking something with a fingertip puts a completely different type of pressure on it than using a knuckle. And bends it in a different way.
jaunty jetty
there's way more leverage
also there's a lot more nerve endings as you approach the fingertips
grave crest
When touch screens don't respond to me, I gently threaten them with a Home Depot 20lb sledge hammer.
late fulcrum
I keep eyeing touch screen developments, as I could use a replacement ribbon controller for some old sound gear, which is essentially a single-axis touch element.
jaunty jetty
@grave crest idea: we build a special automatic centerpunch where instead of a centerpunch it's got a stiff tipped stylus. Then when the thing is ignoring you, you push the stylus in with a whole hand grip, and the trip hammer falls with maybe 70% the breaking force of a typical panel
late fulcrum
Heh, I keep one of those in my car as an emergency escape device.
jaunty jetty
a little bit of sparkplug on a stick will work better for that
broken ceramic of that type is so sharp that on contact with tempered glass the whole pane just shatters, and even plate glass will crack, very little force necessary. Since ceramic tens to flake off, the bit will remain pointy even if the tip gets knocked off
https://youtu.be/WZ1M_6kMsYU
shortest video I could find
flint jungle
velocity, mass, point of impact and size of object. Physics, simple it is
jaunty jetty
it's a bit more complicated than that because impacts always happen at one point first
with something that's extremely sharp the pointy bit is able to enter the volume of the material at an atomic level and interfere with the crystaline matrix, creating a drop in tension at the location which then causes a huge rise in force at another point because previously the forces were balanced and now they're not. this unwrapping force creates a split that cascades along the crystal
the full spark plug is so big even at the apparently sharp corners of the little fingery bit that it doesn't penetrate, the two volumes interact as volumes and all the tension in the crystaline matrix makes it very resistant to damage
the sharp ceramic bit subverts the glass's ability to remain a single matrix, force isn't particularly a factor, so mass and velocity don't matter much either
plain cedar
When in doubt, ask the people in audio to help with a sonic glass breaker
jaunty jetty
that works kind of in the same way, you're resonating the glass which causes it's volume to deform, the deformation serves as differential changes in the tension forces within the crystal, and if you resonate it hard enough the tension relationships in strain become so stressed that they fail. I would expect it's hard to do that with tempered glass because the existing tension forces are so strong.
jaunty jetty
some news organization broke embargo to release that microsoft is planning to make private repos on github a free tier feature, and I have a concern that the option of privacy is an attractive default, which will cause a steep decline in publicly available code (regardless of license)
at least in the rate of growth, probably not the actual available quantity
lilac tangle
Probably non. I have an educational account in Github with unlimited private repos, yet I choose to make most of mine public.
late fulcrum
I already migrated to gitlab π
jaunty jetty
theory: a lot of projects use github as free hosting, which is great and valuable; some even use it to host the actual project in operation by making the project run entirely in browser. The amount of traffic this drives must be associated with significant operations costs. Microsoft might be trying to reduce the growth of those costs by tempting users with privacy, as private repos will see magnetudes less traffic on average
currently users are dissuaded from privacy in a few ways, first the option for privacy is separated out with other premium features, users who don't have premium are likely to ignore the section entirely. Second being that even if they look at it, and they think about it, the feature costs and most github users are on the free tier so most users would have to go through the payment process to use the thing. Free is the default, most people go with defaults because they don't have opinions about it until asked and the site makes it pretty easy to just not think about it.
If private repos are made free this will probably also be accompanied with a UI change that makes the choice between private and public promonent and easy, tempting the user to have an opinion about it. I'm going to assume the good future where the default is still public, so public will win because: default. But the presentation of choice will result in more private repos
btw let's be clear, github should not be a social media platform so this usage of privacy is very different than like, facebook
facebook should default so hard into privacy that you have to beat a dragon at chess to reveal private information
I cannot keep discord and github straight in my head....
lilac tangle
I think it depends on the purpose of the Repo. If it is to host code for version control only, then private is the way to go. However, if the user wants to share the code or have people contribute, they would want to use public. Additionally, if the user wants to have a code portfolio for job searches, public is also the way to go. Both are legitimate choices for depending on the users' needs.
jaunty jetty
I don't know about the specific situation of 'for version control only', can you please describe?
lilac tangle
Yeah, if the user has some proprietary code and they only want to use github for version control, they wouldn't want other people accessing their code, but may want to retain the ability to undo changes.
I worked at a place that used Github for such a purpose for their ecommerce website for instance.
jaunty jetty
so I see three categories of users making repos:
10% people making code that benefits from being public, and/or the world benefits from the code being public with no negative implications onto the user
50% people who don't actually care making code that doesn't matter
40% mostly businesses who want all the good services but really this does need to be private.
the 10% know their code should be public, the 40% know their code neeeeeeeds to be private, but the 50%, it just doesn't matter.
making private repos free will not impact the people who know it should be public, and maybe it'll benefit the mostly businesses, but I bet the terms say businesses still have to pay.
The only group that will be impacted by this change is people who don't care. I think the world has benefited from those people defaulting to public, and now some portion of them will be incited to go private
btw I think the businesses with private repos are an iceberg, I bet there are way more of them then it seems, hence 40%
grave crest
I know there's code I've fiddled around with, that I'd rather not have public. But it would've been nice to have a cloud-based version control.
This would be kinda awesome if there was a small team (2-3 people) working on a project that's just not ready for the limelight.
jaunty jetty
oh hey apparently the embargo happened and this is just true now
https://github.com/pricing
so the way they're bracketing the price is collaborators, 7$/month unlimited collaborators
grave crest
Though I see where you're coming from with your concerns. Ultimately, those who want their code to be open should have the option to do so. And the reverse likewise.
Then again, I'm a content creator myself. There are times I value keeping things 'close to my chest' as the cliche goes. And I like having control over when and how I release said content.
jaunty jetty
I think it's probably going to do more good than harm, definitely in the near term, but I worry. There's a feature of our new social media future where we have come to expect of each other that when prompted we will have a position on anything. If I ask you about the impact of hydroponic tomatos on <insert country that grows tomatos in north america's winter>, your brain to some extent will come up with a position. If you're educated on the subject good, if you're not, hopefully you're smarter than me and can have that function return null.
So if you ask your user to have an opinion about privacy, you will come to have had an opinion so you may respond to the prompt with a value.
there's a design culture difference between iOS apps and Android apps in that people tend to expect that Android apps will have options to change everything about themselves to match the user's desire; while iOS apps are lightly pushed by Apple and pushed more strongly by the culture that apps should contain the fewest options that results in the highest quality product. Options aren't even supposed to be inside the app, you're supposed to give them to the iOS settings thing so when users want to change things they go to the only settings place. It's of course not perfect and apps do have settings inside themselves but the intention is: if this app doesn't work for your head, somebody should make an app that does, instead of this app being everything to everyone.
Combined with the general perception in android that apps shouldn't cost money, a lot of android apps aren't good, because it takes a lot of development to offer the user to have so many opinions about things they probably wouldn't have had an opinion about if the app didn't ask
there are important things, like accessibility, like darkmode, like controlling what will make noises and how the app respects your cellular data
in podcast addict I can individually control the circumstances under which every podcast checks for updates, and when it will then download new episodes, and then when it will delete the files of episodes I have listened to
in discord I can't make the background and the text have a good contrast ratio so that it's easy to read without straining my eyes
I'm getting on a tangent, the point is choices for the sake of choices are not necessarily beneficial
torpid belfry
in this case I think "make free repos able to be private but only for limited collaborators" is an attempt to meet use cases that GitHub doesn't meet today and keep it relevant
instead of allowing people to go use alternatives
keep the technology used (and therefore maintained and up-to-date) by as many people as possible
I haven't used GitHub myself to hold code because I have code i don't (yet) want public
now I have an incentive to use it and get familiar with the toolchain
everybody wins
abstract violet
Ruiz Bros on the Cartoon Network Youtube channel!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPl5yvmQ_l0
grave crest
I'd watch an Adafruit cartoon.
tender nimbus
^^
jaunty jetty
what would the plot be?
you can't just have non-content cartoons anymore, gotta have a story with compelling characters that makes people feel valid
grave crest
Well, last time I turned on cartoons, it was just a bunch of kids yelling at each other. And I mean yelling. So anything can be better than that.
plain cedar
While walking home from the movies, Blinka and Adabot discover a black suit of armor in a pickup truck, and the gang deliver it to the local museum. The kids later break into the museum to search for clues, after learning that the archaeologist who was transporting the suit is missing, and they find that the knight's armor has come to life.
jaunty jetty
Blinka? I'm not sure B&E is an activity that can happen in the show
plain cedar
Things were so much easier 50 years ago (that is episode 1 of Scooby-Doo)
jaunty jetty
Scooby doo is a show that I have consumed twice the lethal dose of, and would like to never be aware of again
abstract violet
@grave crest Stephen Universe in an excellent show π
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3061046/
late fulcrum
It is a good show. A friend of mine just cosplayed Amethyst at a con.
vernal gale
I have a steven universe poster on my wall right now
grave crest
I'll have to check it out @abstract violet -- thanks
covert spire
@plucky herald I may be bit tired, but what anime is that character from?
plucky herald
@covert spire hunter hunter
idle iron
what is that process called with dye and microscope where you read data from chips that are not meant to be read? I remember reading something about team xecuter was doing it to xbox 1 but they were not going to release any mods until they did the same to the xbox 1 x, this was like 2 or more years ago and am wondering what progress they made.... I think knowing the terminology may help me search
@jaunty jetty you know everything you know about this? lol
jaunty jetty
do you mean trying to recover printing from the case that has been removed or trying to recover latent electrical states from the silicone
idle iron
the latter
jaunty jetty
ok so first get a PHD in particle physics
then probably a BA in compsci with an emphasis on electrical engineering
and do a vocational course in precision machining
as far as words, who knows, they're inventing that as they go
gleaming pier
Has anyone heard of Simblee? It is or was a company that had some sort of Arduino-compatible driver that would drive a Bluetooth Low Energy radio and also had an API such that your MCU code defined a GUI. Then you'd run the Simblee Android or Apple app, which would present the GUI as defined by the MCU code. The BLE connection was used to update the GUI state.
Neat idea but didn't work well for me, and now their web site redirects you to another company, and none if the documentation or download links that I have work.
abstract violet
Yikes @gleaming pier , hVe you tried looking for archived/cache version of their site?
gleaming pier
Good idea, thank you. I'm not actually worried about having the data, I'm just trying to figure out 1) what happened to the company and 2) how extensive was their product known and used in the maker communities. My guess is "not much".
balmy rivet
Any makers in Indiana (or Chicago, Kentucky, or Ohio)? We're having a Mini Maker Faire in Lafayette and are looking for more people to participate.
main kiln
Hmmm
balmy rivet
Cool. Will do.
shy dagger
My favorite way to watch ask a engineer
grave crest
Free Game Alert!
grave crest
What do you call a snake that's exactly 3.1415926535 feet long?
A Ο-thon. 
jaunty jetty
Ο-per
jaunty jetty
sure but make a snake pun using tau
jaunty jetty
then what good is it?
tender nimbus
I always assumed @Greys to be a Robot
plain cedar
2019: Steampunk makes a comeback https://phys.org/news/2019-01-steam-propelled-spacecraft-prototype-theoretically-explore.html
polar wraith
My daughter just told me my Grand Central is waiting for me at the apartment. Now how the devil am I supposed to focus on work for the next hour? π
covert spire
@plain cedar It lost popularity?
drifting oasis
Got a good RGB value for a not blue white?
Like not necessarily warm, just so the blue element doesn't overpower the blue
@wild apex I would if it were not Windows. Maybe I'll spin up my VM tomorrow
karmic kite
@drifting oasis please don't spam all the channels. but you can add resistors to the leads to adjust the colour of the led
grave crest
Remember folks to use strong, different passwords for your accounts.
Please be aware that you shouldn't use beefstew as a password.
It's not stroganoff.
abstract violet
LOL @grave crest π
drifting oasis
@karmic kite sorry. Like for neopixels.
late fulcrum
For Neopixels, a technique like this may help: https://learn.adafruit.com/led-tricks-gamma-correction/the-quick-fix
late fulcrum
Sticky tape? Magnetic tape? Tape measure? I remember the old style string spinners, wondering if this is similar.
cold lark
sticky tape
modified sticky tape
You know the double sided tape with the part you can peel off on one side?
yeah
the sticky side
I cover it in wax paper
and
I use the side where you cna peel it off
that way
its not sticky until shot
it removes the peel as it shoots
daring hull
^ this is the most beautiful poem I've ever read
cold lark
lol
I'll use a pencil as the anchor that will be fired
I'll add weights
for more kinetic energy so it will be able to pull the peel off
this is going to be intresting atleast
this helps me think
idk why
cold lark
ok I built the anchor launcher
a prototype
now just need to file a groove and add a servo
dusty citrus
Unsure which section I should post....Does anyone know when Octopus32 by Guido Burger will be released for sale? It has a brain of Featherwing onboard. The design looks really cool. This designer got an award from Maker Faire in Germany ( I think).
cold lark
Prototype anchor launcher
Works well
took 5-10 mins
shoots ~20ft without load
servo gets hot but its just a prototype
vestal phoenix
@cold lark What does your invention do? Launch a pencil but I don't get what the tape does, provide a streamer as it flies? Is it elastic vinyl tape or rigid cellophane tape?
cold lark
The tape is pretty much a streamer, and it is cellophane tape π
vestal phoenix
Propulsion is usually from rubber bands or springs or gravity...
cold lark
rubber bands
vestal phoenix
You should look on instructables for all the K'nex designs for what you are interested in doing.
vestal phoenix
designs and principles are the same
vestal phoenix
toilet paper streamers, t-shirts, party streamers, advertising streamers on airplanes...science
cold lark
i'll look into it. but I don't think I'll find anything useful because tape is alot different than for example toilet paper
I have a system in mind
vestal phoenix
look at personal labelmaker machines or even that correction tape dispenser, they peel and roll up the backer paper off the adhesive tape.
cold lark
hmm
I have the peel attached to the launcher so the tape would be pulled away
it onyl has a very small amount of resistance
vestal phoenix
so design comes down to what the end goal is, you just want to be able to tape something 10ft away by spraying on the tape?
cold lark
not really I just want to launch tape 10ft and have it stick to stuff
not
precision
tape launching
that would be difficult
vestal phoenix
so then you think about the tape. You could apply some kind of adhesive as the streamer is deployed. Look at drywall tape banjos for building houses.
cold lark
I don't really have such a adhesive
I have double sided tape covered in wax paper on the sticky side
so
I cna
pull off the peel side
using the anchor for kinectic energy
to pull the streamer
that way it isn't sticky before deployed
vestal phoenix
so think about launching a ball of rolled up tape or shorter segments of tape
cold lark
if I would launch shorter segments it would have to be semi automatic
late fulcrum
Like a fiberglass chopper/sprayer
cold lark
hmmm
that would be so messy and dangerous lol
I would be itching for the rest of the day
the streamer would be around 1m in length
I got it to shoot around 0.3m with one band
with the pull system
the anchor shot off a minute ago by accident and its missing now
no idea where it went lol\
i bumped the control
vestal phoenix
just look around the internet, research everything to do your design. It does have applications in law enforcement, crowd control, military...
cold lark
hmm
vestal phoenix
and Batman has some cool stuff.
cold lark
I give up, there isn't any point anyways π€·
surreal stump
Hope I'm not missing out on an in-joke by pointing out the typo in #adafruit-github-feed π
fair summit
@surreal stump oopsies - fixed - thanks!!
quiet urchin
@cold lark I would love to help if you ever decide to pick it up again
cold lark
@quiet urchin Thanks π Maybe in a few weeks or something
proven geode
@analog belfry @swift hatch Maybe one of you can delete this (flagged) phishing attempt: https://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=63&p=722753
wild apex
https://bluefroggy77.itch.io/colorsquared hereβs my first game if anyone wants to play it
glad saffron
New to discord - I see that it isn't possible to create a thread out of a post, how do I respond to someone's post from hours/days ago? Quote? Looking for how to do this, thanks
vestal phoenix
@glad saffron Just type in the at sign @ and select the discord name from the list that you want to respond to, type and post your message. This addressing should notify the recipient that something was posted.
glad saffron
Ah, very simple, thanks
plain cedar
I thought I knew what sour was until...wow ... just wow ... they don't even list these on their US site
potent lion
silver shale
i remade the Zune error 5 screen, might still need some work
hidden oar
Can you get VJoy input from a specific controller in any particular language? C, Python, etc.
late fulcrum
Yes. How it's done depends on the controller.
severe glen
The machinist's guide to multimeters (note the publish date): https://youtu.be/uFTQxWlMGeE
torpid belfry
I need a USB 3.0 mixer board
and by mixer board I don't mean audio
I mean I plug in all of my USB 3.0 peripherals
I plug in all my computers
and then I can select on the fly which peripherals are a) connected to which computer and b) on
Does anyone know of a product like that?
real anvil
I've seen A/B switches for USB before but...I'm not sure it's quite as intricate as you might be looking for
torpid belfry
I've got four computers on my desk and half a dozen peripherals I'd like to be able to switch between them
my KVM has a couple of USB ports that follow the selected computer, but in this case that's not what I want -- I'd like to be able to leave (say) the headset connected to my computer during a work call while I switch over to my second work computer
etc.
real anvil
yeahhhhhh I've not seen anything with that level of complexity haha
real anvil
but do dig around...I'm just pulling from past experience here. could be new things out there today. haha
late fulcrum
Sounds like what you want is a "USB crossbar switch". I see several ICs that implement this, but haven't seen any products using them.
torpid belfry
@late fulcrum well, maybe that's my next "way beyond my current skills event horizon" project
after I finish the current one
late fulcrum
I was hoping to find a packaged, ready to use product, and it seems like they should exist, given that the chips are available.
torpid belfry
Good to know I wasn't suffering a catastrophic search skills failure. Thanks for the confirmation!
abstract violet
I requested a few cool samples from torex and theyβre being personally delivered to me π wha
abstract violet
Genuinely confused and curious if this was a standard practice π§
main kiln
Many raw materials companies will hand out samples of material like candy. If they have to cut down sheets, they often have unsellable material, but they can reuse it to drum up business and get people interested
I've received so many samples of laminates, plastics, polished metals, etc... Just because I gotta shop around and most vendors will just send me a sample pack immediately after a conversations. My office is always joking about sample packs coming to my desk.
plain cedar
As kids , we use to line our tree houses with last year's carpet samples
main kiln
Oh man, when my parents were carpet shopping and painting, I literally was looking through the sample books like they were comic books or catalogs
plain cedar
π
main kiln
Golly, still treasure this catalog of metric gears I got years ago
I just sit and read through it when I want to discover a new drive mechanism or transmission term.
abstract violet
It was just a surprise but was a fun conversation! I learned lots about cool things (like this TDK tech) and got to do some networking
https://product.tdk.com/info/en/techlibrary/developing/agstack/index.html
late fulcrum
Nifty! I'm used to ITO (indium tin oxide) for such purposes, but I can imagine a silver-based one would be more conductive.
abstract violet
@late fulcrum the sample he showed was a glass pane that had variable "frosting" effect! sorta like the LCD shutters
late fulcrum
Like a window that can electronically flip between transparent and translucent?
cursive pike
Starting her young.
main kiln
I love that the reaction emojis are βIt Babyβ
dusty citrus
Lots of new #channels here. Good idea.
echo agate
Just awesome link tuning π Hahaha
late fulcrum
My Tektronix is much older and not nearly as fancy.
echo agate
Certainly a nice tool if you need to measure SATA
karmic kite
I've been gone for a bit everythings changed...
late fulcrum
Meccano is still a thing, but the modern offerings are more plastic than the old metal gear Meccano. π
karmic kite
... my little cousins got some insane sets for christmas and I was very jealous. although they had a lot more motors and programming in them then when I was little π
I got the Mechasaur kit a while back on markdown, had a great time putting it together, but then it mostly sat. I ended up taking it back to pieces, neatly repacking it, and gifting it to a friend's 9yo daughter, who loved it.
karmic kite
I can applaud that. Now that we've moved our studio I might have time to sit down and figure out a punch set for it
late fulcrum
Punch set?
karmic kite
I have punches for various metals, specifically for making a specific part for our baler. But I feel like If I can punch and bend mild steel I should be able to punch holes in sheet metal
late fulcrum
Ah, makes sense.
late fulcrum
Nice bit of machining there
karmic kite
CNC's are wonderful things π
plain cedar
Before Rubix's cube there was the 15 puzzle
grave crest
Here's a writeup from someone who bought a Leica camera, and reverse engineered the firmware and grip accessory. A really fascinating read.
https://alexhude.github.io/2019/01/24/hacking-leica-m240.html
dusty citrus
I can't say that
covert spire
late fulcrum
I quite liked Stein's Gate. I did a cosplay of Hououin Kyouma a while back.
covert spire
@late fulcrum Have you read/seen Gate 0?
late fulcrum
Nope, haven't seen that one yet.
@plain cedar That 15 puzzle you posted has scientific relevance today: https://www.wired.com/story/a-childs-puzzle-helped-uncover-how-magnets-really-work/
dusty citrus
How do protists move their cilia?
I doubt that they have nervous systems or muscles
plain cedar
Think of a cell as a package of chemicals and structures that act on those chemicals. When a threshold is reached either high or low certain structures begin to act or shut off. Most structures spend most of their time waiting for a chemical key.
This is one of my favorite cell videos because it shows how the electrons flow. The cilia would be something much larger that uses energy and flips on with a chemical trigger. https://youtu.be/rdF3mnyS1p0
dusty citrus
Woah
Cool
Also, I just found out that kelp is from domain Protista
Since it shows no cellular specialization and no differentiation in its tissue, though itβs multicellular
What an interesting topic
dusty citrus
@plain cedar Exterminate
dusty citrus
Casinos are illegal here in Texas
What would happen if a Casino was built in the middle of the boundary between Texas and another state?
Just a silly thought....this is the offtopic channel
blazing pond
The "boundary" is arbitrarily small, so that couldn't be done.
dusty citrus
Well, by arbitrary, do you mean it could be a foot wide or so?
Or a few millimeters?
blazing pond
I mean in the sense that however small you suggest it could be, it could also be smaller than that
dusty citrus
Yeah
Hahaha, I remember it's illegal in Louisiana to cross the border with a duck sitting on your head
blazing pond
That sounds like a "That jerk Ted" law
blazing pond
Like, there was one guy being incredibly annoying, but they had to pass a law covering everyone equally
That's behind a lot of very odd laws like that
dusty citrus
It's a law here in Texas that you can't be arrested if you're standing in a river
Oh, boy, our ancestors were a piece of work
Wait, if this counts as political speech, I apologize
blazing pond
I mean, politics probably played a huge role in why this is the way it is, but it's local law trivia. I think it's okay, at least.
dusty citrus
Bruh
dusty citrus
old fjord
Yes
dusty citrus
^^^^^^
dusty citrus
It's a joke, lollll
dusty citrus
I like cheese, but it can definitely be overdone for me
Like today, I had a Philly Cheesesteak....and....oh, goodness
I should've probably expected all of the cheese hence the name of it
It was a nice sandwich either way
old fjord
Got some cheese
dusty citrus
Zenith, you actually went to get cheese..
old fjord
Hmm
dusty citrus
Video
old fjord
Worth it
dusty citrus
Lol, nice
old fjord
I like how you thought I was joking when I said I wanted cheese
dusty citrus
:|
cursive pike
Starting her young.
covert spire
Next is anime?
lilac tangle
Next is probably CircuitPython programming. π
late fulcrum
Looks like the conical "B" tip I commonly use.
maiden forge
"You'll take this soldering iron from my cold, dead hands, punk." π
turbid echo
spice moss
some EDM to be in Eurovision song contest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pdEJYwq6HM&feature=youtu.be
@swift hatch how good you are with Trellis M4? so could you play Darude Sandstorm with it?
sweet mango
It's so cold outside.
late fulcrum
All these modern computers don't keep me warm. Maybe I should fire up one of the old ones that doubles as a heater.
sweet mango
The weather has definitely changed, it's getting colder and colder. Wind chills are supposed to get down to <0 tomorrow.
late fulcrum
Yup. Staying inside. Playing with computers.
proven olive
You could make a parody song about that. "Ah, ah, ah, ah, Stayin' inside, stayin' inside"
covert spire
You mean staying inside with a nicely warm soldering iron in hand?
late fulcrum
It's like you read my mind!
covert spire
We prob have similar microwaves
grave crest
π΅
Well, frosty air from Chicago to Carlstadt
Weβre cold makers, should wear a hat.
M4 synths loud and soldering irons hot
Load Circuitpython
And now weβre inside, it's okay
Watch Ask An Engineer on Wednesday.
So put on your thinking cap
Donβt let Mr. Sparky get you zapped
Whether you're a maker or whether you're a coder
You're stayin' inside, stayin' inside.
π΅
languid pagoda
I am getting an ultimaker 2+ this weekend!
late fulcrum
Sweet! That looks like a really nice printer.
languid pagoda
Thanks! I managed to find one in working conditions under $100. The person literally wanted to give it to me for free but I refused lol.
late fulcrum
Yowza! That's great!
languid pagoda
Thanks!
clear vector
I really like the new topic organization. Now that there's #help-with-circuitpython I'll stop bothering the main circuitpython development channel. No questions at the moment but I'll be stumped again soon I'm sure.
vestal phoenix
@clear vector yeah, it seems to help the flow of questions and answers and makes it less intimidating for beginners who get lost in the crowd. So you are stumped for questions at the moment?
clear vector
@vestal phoenix haha. That's one way of saying I don't have a question at the moment. I'll try to start a new project soon. Just had an air quality sensor arrive in the mail. Maybe I can do something with that later in the week.
vestal phoenix
Seems like a there is a lot of interest in citizen science projects, like monitoring air quality at home or at a site. I guess it depends on what kind of things your air sensor can detect. It eventually evolves into an IoT datalogging project. Good luck.
vestal phoenix
@languid pagoda That's great going back into the water with a new 3D printer. I found a 3D printer on clearance at Microcenter, maybe 2 years ago, they had marked it down so much I got it knowing even if the printer didn't work, it will have cost less than the parts to make one. I had to reflash the board and tune it up and then I gave it to my niece studying engineering in college for an xmas gift.
languid pagoda
Nice! Thanks! @vestal phoenix
sweet mango
Stay warm out there everyone! It's -15 degrees Fahrenheit here in southern Michigan. π¨
spice moss
it was -30C one day and i was like sweet
sleek pawn
I feel bad for everyone up north dealng with the below fridgid temp. I'm down in Florida where the sun is shining and it in the 50s. Stay warm!!
ocean sigil
when it gets to -40, we can all switch to C π
late fulcrum
And then watch mercury freeze
cursive pike
Sunny & -18C (-1F) here.. with wind chill -31C (-23F)
late fulcrum
Just got a whiteout warning from the weather service. That's unusual for around here.
grave crest
+28F (feels like +19F) here in NYC area. Being near the ocean helps.
and we're very lucky to be near the southern edge of the low that compromises this vortex.
The last few years, we weren't so lucky. I recall that once we had over a month where it didn't get out of single digits.
Which for someone in the extreme northern states or Canada, they'd get a chuckle and mutter something about me being a "sweet summer child."
late fulcrum
I grew up in Florida so I get that reaction a lot.
echo agate
Anyone have interview tips for when you're the one doing the interviewing? π
vestal phoenix
@echo agate As the interviewer, you are the ambassador of your company. Also, there are questions that you can not legally ask which would be a liability for your company.
echo agate
Oh definitely, I'm familiar with the "you can't ask these" things.
vestal phoenix
Are you getting thrown into the position of doing managerial things /HR functions?
echo agate
Only a little. They're shopping for some temporary workers and they want the not-temporary people to help with the interviews.
Technicians interviewing other technicians.
vestal phoenix
I guess the best approach is to ask questions to see how enthused they are about working at your place, what they know, what kind of work attitude they have, and overall if they are someone you would want to work with.
Asking non-technical questions actually throws them off.
echo agate
Good point
vestal phoenix
Ask your company to post a listing on the Adafruit jobs board if you run out of interviewees. Good luck.
torpid belfry
Don't ask questions with answers that can be easily memorized or looked up.
Instead, try to ask question that require a knowledge of the underlying principles to successfully answer
One of my favorites is to ask about current issues I'm facing, cast as a hypothetical. "How would you go about solving X?"
then see how the candidate goes about the process.
those kinds of questions can quickly tell you if they have solid skills.
grave crest
@echo agate When I'm asked as a individual contributor to interview a potential peer, I personally have one question that needs answering:
Do I want to work with this person?
Depending on their knowledge gaps and experience, we can teach the technical.
But if they're not easy to work with, pleasant attitude, etc...then it matters little if they're a genius.
My technique is to get them talking about their hobbies. If they have their own website/custom email -- ask them the process of setting that up. What did they learn along the way doing it? What would they have done differently in their personal hobbies? What hobby would they do if they had unlimited budget -- why?
Asking about something personal helps them loosen up and get out of the memorized "what is my greatest weakness?" generic question mindset.
vestal phoenix
I also try to determine if they are a replicant.
grave crest
Hey, given some of the folks I've worked with in the past and their caustic personalities --- I'd happily take an evil replicant.
When we get done with the interview, we have a pow-wow with all the fellow co-interviewers. We talk about our impressions, positives, negatives.
But if anyone responds with "no, I wouldn't want to work with him"....then unless there's an outcry of "what? why?!?", they're eliminated.
Also....the applicant is interviewing you as a potential company to work for.
If they don't demonstrate an interest or excitement....or ask any decent questions......well, you see where that would go.
quiet urchin
I just finished tie dyeing over 60 shirts and let me say it gets boring fast
light rapids
it's so cold here in Michigan the light posts are shivering!
https://mobile.twitter.com/mspnorthernmi/status/1090710190889025536
echo agate
I just finally figured out my Windows problem with my Android phone not wanting to connect, it's a miracle. Just had to find the right windows update.
sweet mango
It's getting so cold, I got an alert saying that everyone must turn their thermostats down to 65ΒΒΒΒ°F.
spice moss
I was outside get some snow from roofs
10mm of water is coming in a weekend what make snow more heavy
sweet mango
Hmm... Looks like Adafruit changed their Website Design. I like it.
plain cedar
I mean I want to make my own flow batteries but I think getting some other skills and equipment first would be better. This is neat and I love what they are trying to do, I'm just not ready for that adventure yet. https://youtu.be/WZkqgj1J_WE
patent ibex
@stray wind i've been writing code this week and notice my "," s have become ", "s without thinking about it π
late fulcrum
,\r? Like I got in the habit of doing back in the troff days?
tame saddle
it may need some water... π
echo agate
It may be earth, but ground is a lot lower
covert spire
@dusty citrus No, you're missing the tag on ground wire by the junction box to mark it as ground
dusty citrus
ooohhhh mk
languid pagoda
I just purchased an ender 3 from amazon lol!
patent ibex
i'm learning html in school but wish it was c, the html is cool, the padding and auto margins and stuff, but not challenging yet
late fulcrum
HTML isn't a programming language, it's a text formatter. However, you can write Java applets, and have CGI backends in whatever language you like (C, Java, Python, whatever). I actually wrote the CGI backend for a commercial system in C because in those days we needed the performance.
tender nimbus
Hyper Text Markup Language ?
echo agate
A language for marking up, indeed π
late fulcrum
HTML and XML are subsets of SGML ("Standard Generalized Markup Language"), not to be confused with MarkDown (which is used on Discord) π
earnest mirage
@languid pagoda i love mine! /r/ender3 has some great posts about upgrades you should read
lilac tangle
There's a great Youtube channel by Teaching Tech that goes over a lot of recommended updates for the Creality printers as well. Other that replacing the firmware with Marlin, I haven't done a lot of the upgrades yet.
languid pagoda
Thanks peeps! @earnest mirage @lilac tangle
lilac tangle
yw
lilac tangle
Continued from #help-with-makecode: Yeah that's about the state we left it in.
pine cloak
The bus is loaded with Microbits
lilac tangle
Nice
pine cloak
Radio saves me cabling to sync lightning
lilac tangle
You mean radio signal or a stereo?
pine cloak
micro:bit radio protocol
lilac tangle
Ah, I've actually never played around with a microbit
I wonder how well lorawan would work for the bus?
pine cloak
Radio is meant to be ridiculously simple, perfect for a bus work
LoRaWAN would probably be nice
lilac tangle
Something to experiment with
pine cloak
The experiment is mostly around lighting. I had 1800 Neopixel in it
lilac tangle
Wow
lilac tangle
Yeah, I was planning on just boring LED lighting.
lilac tangle
Yeah
pine cloak
Get a shorter one
lilac tangle
That's the plan, but not for a couple years probably.
pine cloak
Definitely a commitment to finish it
lilac tangle
I want to make sure I have a good place I can work on it. I was working on it in an area that I really wasn't supposed to be.
pine cloak
We teamed up with another family
lilac tangle
That's a good way of doing it.
pine cloak
Yup, itβs a lot of work and people bring different skill sets to the table.
It was fun.... looking for #2
lilac tangle
π
Well, I gotta get back to work on writing a CircuitPython driver.
Good luck on finding a good next bus
lavish ridge
Does anybody know similar sites to instructable that hold contests?(I cannot participate to instructables contests due to laws)
late fulcrum
Hackaday has contests. So do Elektor and Make magazines.
lavish ridge
Thanks,will check them out!
lavish ridge
Hello,what is your expirience with bang good?
I orderd some parts,they come from china,I paid all the insurance txes(traffic insurance and shipping insurance)
And it's been proccesing for 6 days
late fulcrum
My experience has been pretty good. They can take some time (I think they have vendors all over the place), but I've gotten everything I've ordered eventually.
Note that it's Chinese New Year, so nothing is happening fast in China for a little while.
plain cedar
Valentine's day heart cam http://507movements.com/mm_097.html
soft thicket
echo agate
Ever get a component that welds itself so badly to its traces that it can't be desoldered anymore? Good stuff.
Had a tiny itty bitty board fire π
sleek urchin
well, I've got one of those Oregon Trail handhelds now
I have a feeling, long term, it's gonna end up with a raspberry pi shoved into it
sullen cedar
I orderd the ts80 and and doogee s80 and it was fine, just took a month to get to me
@lavish ridge
lavish ridge
Thanks
plain rover
Hey guys, I want to buy a wireless charging stand and I'm wondering whether getting one with less power output (5W instead of 7.5) but without fan is going to hurt the device in any way.
I mean: why does the more powerful pad have a fan? Is it really necessary? What can happen if your wireless charger doesn't have a fan?
I personally really like it when it's quiet / silent so I'd be glad to have a charger without fan.
late fulcrum
Basically, the high power pad needs to dissipate more heat in operation, which is why it has a fan. I don't think either of them is likely to hurt the device: the specs are designed to avoid that.
blazing pond
Wireless charging is only about 50 percent efficient, whereas a well designed wired charger can easily reach 85 percent or higher. In a small pad, dissipating five watts of waste heat can be significant. After all, that's about how much power your phone can dissipate at peak, and consider how hot that gets eventually!
A good middle ground to a wireless charging pad is a magnetically-attached USB cable
lavish ridge
Hello,i have a question about fedex.I have never used it before.Before they come at your door to deliver your package,do they call or message you?
late fulcrum
You can use FedEx's "Delivery Manager" service to get a variety of alerts https://www.fedex.com/apps/fdmenrollment/
lavish ridge
And if I have this app,will they still call me or will I recrive a notification?
late fulcrum
I don't know for sure, I suspect you can select what notifications you prefer to receive.
lavish ridge
thanks
radiant shale
@lavish ridge I don't believe they do alerts at the granularity you describe. You can track your delivery on their website using the tracking number that you can get from your sender, but the best it will say is something like "out for delivery". You can also "sign" for the package online, in advance, so the driver will just leave it at your door, assuming you're OK with that security.
lavish ridge
thanks for the response,i am used for the delivery service to call me before getting at my door to get my package
thanks
languid pagoda
covert spire
Seeing @cobalt rain profile picture makes me sad another season of that show isn't out yet
rare bolt
i just wanted to share this video with y'all - it's for a new song by australian band king gizzard and the lizard wizard and the song is called cyber boogie. i love this band and i love this video. i hope y'all get a kick out of it.
plain rover
Thank you very much @late fulcrum I will then get the less powerful fanless model π
dusty citrus
Hi, I'm a new user here. Just testing to make sure this thing works.
vernal gale
@stuck moth I bought celeste
stuck moth
nice @vernal gale ! how do you like it?
vernal gale
it's really fun and really hard
vernal gale
yeah it's not overwhelmingly hard
just, not easy
the speedrunners make it look easy π
it's cool that the difficulty ties into the plot
stuck moth
ya, I like it a lot
vernal gale
I've died 1390 times in 3.5 hrs
stuck moth
π that's not too bad
vernal gale
really?
vernal gale
I just got a postcard saying be proud of your death count
frail forge
Hello DIY_DUN π
lavish ridge
What is the longest time you have waited for your package from BangGood?Orderd some stuff on jan 29 and it is still in processing.What is your experience with bang good?(i am using the free shipping methon)
proven olive
There's a huge break for a while around that time. Also, it's listed in business days. Probably 'soon' though
dusty citrus
dim temple
Why did it take me so long to realize that Mho (
) is just Ohm backwards
echo agate
Mho is also the old unit of conductance!
sleek urchin
I think there are a few units like that
echo agate
Siemens is the only one I've seen in anything modern.
Some older RF test equipment has "kilomegacycles" instead of gigahertz, that one looks pretty antiquated anymore π
sleek urchin
heh, yeah, cycles is not really common
Also certain graduations of Farads
like, don't really see nanofarads all that much
usually micro- or pico-
echo agate
Or femto if you get into the really miniscule ones.
I think that's the lowest value cap I've ever put down, 500fF
patent ibex
i just got accepted to UBA
worthy socket
what's that?
lilac tangle
Congrats @patent ibex ? Does that mean you're moving to Buenos Aires?
patent ibex
thank you @lilac tangle ; Ahahaha no, maybe to Boston tho
stray wind
That's great, @patent ibex! Congrats!
patent ibex
π much appreciated π
lilac tangle
Awesome @patent ibex . What will you be studying?
patent ibex
wherever I go I have 'narrowed' it down to: electronics engineering, computer engineering, software engineering, and computer science. fingers still crossed for the polytechnic institutes tho
lilac tangle
Nice!
patent ibex
thnx, did you study in college / university? if so what?
lilac tangle
Yeah, I studied Software Development (which is what I still do), but I've learned much more through hands-on experience than I did from school.
I would like to transition over to doing more of a combination of electronics engineering and software engineering though, which is basically what I do in my spare time.
late fulcrum
I did that for a while after getting laid off from a software engineering job.
late fulcrum
I ended up designing a tracker/anticounterfeit device for high-value objects, with an aim to shrink it later for use in combating human trafficking.
It was a little nerve-wracking going from a programming job to designing circuits and printed circuit boards for a living (I had some some simple hobby boards previously).
lilac tangle
These days professionally, I mostly do web development using PHP and JavaScript. For doing electronics/programming I do lots of different projects. This past weekend I was working on getting my Grand Central to work with reading my RC remote signals and I hooked up a PCA9685 board to control some servos.
Also I've been trying to help out with a lot of the CircuitPython libraries for the past month.
proven olive
@lilac tangle What RC controller are you using for that?
lilac tangle
It's a Hitec Optic 6
proven olive
Oooh, fancy.
lilac tangle
Yeah, but it's a little dated. I got it about 10 or 11 years ago when I started the project.
proven olive
Wow, working on it for a while now
lilac tangle
Yeah. My fancy remote is a Spektrum DX8
proven olive
I actually just purchased some bits for my tank-bot project yesterday.
And then saw you were working on the RC stuff and was a little amused
lilac tangle
Nice
proven olive
of course, by "And then" it was "Close order sent tab, look at twitter, see your thing with servos"
I love the concept of RC stuff.
lilac tangle
Yeah, back when I started, I was still learning about I2C and SPI.
I had gone though a similar development of creating a coprocessor with a PIC16F84a and talking to the Arduino. It wasn't very efficient though and I had moved over to just the Arduino. Then I was having problems reading multiple channels in CircuitPython and made a quick coprocessor, but eventually figured out the problem was the level shifter.
proven olive
I first did a tankbot thing waaaaay back with the Raspberry Pi. Had some issues, couldn't get it to do what I wanted, and kinda let it go.
Eventually picked up some parts for doing it in Arduino using the RFM95 LoRa wings.
But oof. Arduino does not play nice with strings.
lilac tangle
Yeah, not as nice as CP
proven olive
So I set it down again. Then learned of CP, then waited for CP to support the RFM modules. then waited until I could actually afford to buy some more parts for testing.
lilac tangle
Yeah, the great thing about helping out with the CP libraries is that it gave me enough experience to take a datasheet and write a driver library if I need to. I just made a quick library for the remote that is based on pulseio.
proven olive
You're more advanced than me. Then again, I don't like programming, so I just stick to the hardware and PCBs and stuff
lilac tangle
Ah thanks, I like both the hardware and software.
proven olive
I try to do the bare minimum for software.
To be fair, I also try to do the bare minimum for PCB designing, but that's actually a challenge. "How small can I make this? What components can safely be removed?"
lilac tangle
Yeah, it is easy to make something overly complicated.
echo agate
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muntzing A fun term and bit of electronics history π
proven olive
@echo agate That is an amazing term and I love it
tame saddle
Spektrum..nice remote indeed. My Turnigy 9x has been collecting dust for many years, after spec'ing out my first quad build and never getting past that and some odds-n-ends.
grave crest
Not to be confused with Putzing, which occurs after eating freshly cooked beans.
patent ibex
do you think GitHub is tracked and edited with git ?
@lilac tangle apple system7 ? π
lilac tangle
I never used System 7. I didn't switch to Macs until about 6 years ago.
patent ibex
what was that
lilac tangle
I think they were joking
lilac tangle
Oh, was that a bot? It was pretty quick, so I missed that
patent ibex
yeah
i prob miss typed something as a swear
i madea swear bot but i alwasy had it message the person the deleted text so they didn;t have to re tpye it, just correct it. (or delete it depending)
lilac tangle
Yeah
patent ibex
i was saying i was pre teen six years ago but i've hear system 7 was overcomplicated and feature cre e ped alot
lilac tangle
Ah. I hadn't heard either way. I was strongly in the windows camp at that point, but then Windows 8 came out and that changed everything.
patent ibex
ahaha can;t blame you. not that i mind having more mac users: resistance is futile (if < 1 ohm)
π
okay: back to homework
tame saddle
i skipped Win8. that was a strange attempt. phone != PC, even if the processing power gap is narrowing.
grave crest
I tried windows 8 when it was a release candidate. I intentionally did not familiarize myself with the info online, opting to "try the weird UI blind".
It took me over 30 minutes to figure out how to shut the system down. The sensitivity of the "charms" menu was tedious -- you had something like a 10-20 pixel lateral movement allowance before it disappeared.
I was testing it as a replacement for the parents. Who use a trackball since their dexterity isn't as good as it used to be.
Long story short -- if I was getting frustrated....a fully able, life-long techie...I think they'd probably hit the thing with a baseball bat. Or just unplug it. Bam. It's turned off!
tame saddle
yeah. i tried to offer some friends-n-family tech support for Win8. sorry...the only way i can fix your problem is to install Win7. π
plain cedar
@patent ibex GITception
grave crest
Now 8.1, that was a sincere improvement. But so short-lived when Win10 was on the horizon.
And I have my own thoughts about Win10 -- coming from a MacOS + Win7 world, the way Win10 handles certain things....hmm. It's still better than 8 though.
lilac tangle
Yeah, I use Win10, but only very occasionally on my personal computer and daily on my work computer π because I have to.
I prefer my macbook though
grave crest
I've upgraded all but two instances of Win7 to Win10....which surprisingly the upgrade tool still works.
Or at least it did a month ago.
lilac tangle
Yeah, I have 2 windows computers. A desktop that I use maybe once every 1-2 months and a mini-laptop which I hardly ever use.
I was using the desktop for 3D printing, but have moved to just throwing the files onto SD cards.
grave crest
I'm lazy -- I have a few VM instances of it, mainly because "it just works with 90% of stuff out there without fiddling with it". Quick and easy for a short-term project.
So a temporary solution, as always, turned into a permanent one.
....also, most of these were deployed like 8 years ago. My familiarity with linux -- and VMware Tools -- has gotten better since then.
lilac tangle
Yeah, I started using unix/linux back in 95. The unix commands on the mac are one of the reasons I love it. For instance, running git on windows is so much harder.
grave crest
Without a doubt, the tools on linux systems have gotten so much better....
Then again, back when I was in high school + college, linux was a hobby project OS for me. Now, I practically live in the CLI for work.
lilac tangle
Yeah, linux was pretty new back when I was in highschool. I didn't even hear about it until I was in college.
grave crest
And the best part, I'm learning more little tricks every day.
grave crest
hahaha -- I work in cisco SAN switches, tab is my best friend. I owe the tab key a tasty beverage.
lilac tangle
Lol, yeah
grave crest
I found this the other day -- sudo !! was the big one I was grumbling "that would've saved me tons of time through the years".
and disown -a && exit
lilac tangle
Ooh, these are some I didn't know about
grave crest
A lot of these youtube vids tend to rehash the basics -- but Engineer Man has a lot of awesome content. This was the first video of his I've watched, and I'm a fan.
lilac tangle
Nice
grave crest
See? there were quite a few commands that made me grin from ear to ear.
grave crest
Not a problem, hope it helps π
lilac tangle
yeah, it does
Very informative.
Well, time to log off. Have a good night @grave crest
grave crest
You too @lilac tangle !
ocean sigil
<@&327289013561982976> Please take a look at the repeated posting by @rose iron on several channels
please stop posting this
@rose iron thank you
grave crest
Thanks for the heads up @ocean sigil
fickle slate
Might not be the best place to ask, but does anyone have any sort of idea on how to render an orbit path given the 6 Kepler elements?
proven olive
@fickle slate I have no idea how you would even start, but render it on what? PC would be a different approach than a TFT on an Arduino, or even a Pi
fickle slate
@proven olive openGL π
late fulcrum
I think you may find a lot of what you need here https://github.com/istellartech/OpenTsiolkovsky
In particular, scr/Orbit.cpp
There are some useful comments and visualizations here too https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/19322/converting-orbital-elements-to-cartesian-state-vectors
late fulcrum
The first steps compute the mean and eccentric anomalies, then computes the true anomaly from them. Then it computes the orbital radius and the angular momentum, from which the position (x, y, and z) can be calculated.
That's probably enough to just plot an orbit in 3-space. More calculations can yield the velocity vector, and rotate the projection to give the orbit from a point on the planet's surface, if desired.
fickle slate
I think I already have the true anomaly.
late fulcrum
Ah, I may have guessed wrong when you said the "6 Kepler elements" then.
fickle slate
I think the true anomaly is one of the 6 elements.
Wikipedia lists it as one of the 6
late fulcrum
If you're starting with the true anomaly, you can skip some of the calculations.
Although you'll still need the eccentric anomaly term to calculate the radius.
shrewd hatch
@late fulcrum i don't know why but your pic makes me think you are swedish
late fulcrum
It's a crop from this one, which a friend of mine took on a vacation to Vermont
shrewd hatch
still has the Swedish vibe to me
late fulcrum
Cool! Bork! Bork! Bork!
late fulcrum
Here's something you don't need every day: a 2000 megohm (2 gigohm) resistor. https://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G23709
patent ibex
can you figure it out?
tame saddle
Deductive reasoning leads me to "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", but that might not be correct.
late fulcrum
I got "flying circuits"
tame saddle
Ahh. Forgot flying circus. That def makes more sense with the last "wist".
spice moss
this is live action short film
think build your own javelin
that game have 4 javelin what you can customize so made your own cosplay
grave crest
something interesting I came across: https://medium.com/ibm-watson-data-lab/veremin-a-browser-based-video-theremin-1548b63200c?fbclid=IwAR3oR58thwjklO9xbMW3l92eCbse7x9HVydxooMosoGsL8VI76EeNgPLfGw&hss_channel=fbp-153488801415
vernal gale
do the ymca
shrewd hatch
welp never thoght this would be a thing https://www.twitch.tv/gdcstream
covert spire
There's a live stream of a docked WWII submarine also
plain cedar
This was some amazing coffee #1337
vestal phoenix
@plain cedar I hope you got the special. Too bad the Ask an Engineer discount code didn't apply.
grave crest
I'm sure McD salted their hashbrowns.
vestal phoenix
Wait a bit to find some fresh easter eggs hidden in mix.
vestal phoenix
The toys with the happy meals are getting better and better.
covert spire
I now feel like eating a child's meal there
grave crest
I haven't had fast food in like....6-7 years. Stuff like McD, BurgerKing, Wendys, etc. I've had "better" fast food like Subway, Shake Shack, Five Guys, etc.
But....if they included stuff like that, I'd probably make a return visit.
vestal phoenix
I like to find out about all the chemical additives used in food processing - meat glue, pink slime and that neato anti-foaming agent they put in the fryer oil.
grave crest
Hmm. I generally follow a simple rule -- if you make it yourself, you know what's in it. You have much more control over how healthy or unhealthy you make it.
And I order out, I get food while on the go. That's life. π
Cooking is one branch of DIY that pays dividends down the road.
lilac tangle
If they're giving out the book for free with happy meals, why would somebody have to buy his book?
covert spire
@vestal phoenix If you seen the between plants of this food, I don't think you'd find it so ineresting
@lilac tangle That's like asking why 90's McD glasses are worth a fortune now
late fulcrum
So I should make my own CPX instead of buying one someone else made with unknown components? Then again, AdaFruit documents their designs.
grave crest
I think when you factor in value of your time, you'll be hard pressed to beat the total cost of a CPX.
But hey, that would be a great project to demonstrate understanding of many disciplines.
late fulcrum
Similarly, it's hard to beat McDonald's price for a burger.
grave crest
Yeah, but you're not putting a CPX inside your body. π
And there are varying levels of trust and expectations of quality between companies. Along with different levels of value for DIY vs. pre-made -- whether it be food or circuit boards π
blazing pond
For example, a popular project for a lot of folks is making a USB Hub add-on board for a Raspberry Pi Zero based off the cheap Fe1.1s USB hub chip
but by the time you make prototypes and buy the BOM, you've got like $10 of parts and you have to solder it
Compare and contrast a Zero4U hub, $13.99 from Adafruit because someone was able to build in quantity
Sometimes DIY results in better bang for your buck! Sometimes it does not
grave crest
Exactly π And sometimes, you go into a DIY project fully cognizant that it's a worse "value", but you want the experience of sourcing the parts, doing SMD soldering, designing & ordering a circuit board, testing the product, etc.
With a proven design like a CPX, you take a huge unknown out of the picture. It's open sourced, widely tested and accepted.
blazing pond
If it were me, I'd do an Arduino Uno first, though :v
Significantly less complicated.
vestal phoenix
I made a programmer shield for the uno to program attiny85 chips when the Trinketfy fad came out. Good for the experience but too much trouble to really do for a lot of projects. Luckily the assorted 5v/3v Trinket six pack was available.
dusty citrus
Can I post memes?
vestal phoenix
@dusty citrus Memes are pretty much discouraged but I ask myself this: Are they in compliance with the spirit and letter of the posted code of conduct and terms of service? Do they have any positive contribution to the conversation? Are they sufficently on off topic to be on topic?....
dusty citrus
they are funny...
vestal phoenix
This is the Adafruit discord focused on electronics and the maker world.
vestal phoenix
Enjoy your stay at the circuit playground. Don't litter, pick up after yourself, be nice and everyone can have a good time.
dusty citrus
alright
late fulcrum
You're not the only one. If you haven't seen this site, you might like it. http://www.visual6502.org
dusty citrus
i am wondering if i can create my own CPU
vernal gale
you can with an fpga
there's also an online course called Nand2Tetris where you build a cpu in a simulator
and program tetris for it
dusty citrus
heard of ben eater?
vernal gale
FPGAs are made up of the same sort of logic gates, just a lot smaller
no
have you heard of the gigatron?
late fulcrum
Yeah, there's a TTL ALU chip (74181) that's perfect for that sort of project. There's a great writeup on it here http://www.righto.com/2017/03/inside-vintage-74181-alu-chip-how-it.html
More writeup https://hackaday.io/project/13103-the-74ls181-alu
dusty citrus
is it possible to build a CPU using that ALU chips?
late fulcrum
Yeah, several people have (check the links in the righto.com article)
dusty citrus
noice
late fulcrum
Tech related girls' clothes (leggings with pockets, yeah!) https://princess-awesome.com/collections/themes
dusty citrus
Holy moly
broken mountain
dusty citrus
Haha
rotund echo
I built a cpu that doesnt know how to add
It says 28+14=58
late fulcrum
Hmm, I was just talking to someone with a similar problem, turned out the bits went the other way
He had thought the output was 15 (0x0F) when it was really 240 (0xf0)
rotund echo
I think its the problem of loose connections, and the bits sometimes appear from nowhere, for example when there is 00101010 on the bus it fetches 00111010 to the register
late fulcrum
Yeah, could be loose connection, noise, or (possibly nastiest of all) a timing problem.
rotund echo
I dont think its a timing problem because its clocked at 1Hz
late fulcrum
I like testing at speeds like that, but if you have (for example) edge-triggered latches on an input, and the inputs are changing right at the time the clock arrives, it can "miss" a transition.
The usual test for that is to try sending the same input twice and see if the second one is always correct, then sending complemented inputs (like 0x55 then 0xaa) and seeing if the second one is corrupted often.
I had a problem just like that with (of all things) a SCSI floppy drive once.
rotund echo
Its design actually makes sure the data arrives earlier than the register is told to read it
Data arrives on the falling edge of the clock and registers update on rising edge
late fulcrum
Yeah, that should be solid. Which leaves noise and loose connections.
rotund echo
I use NE555 for system clock generation as well as display multiplex clock generator. Do You think changing them for CMOS 555 would solve it? I can sometimes see that touching multiplex clock generator messes with the register
late fulcrum
Interesting. That does sound like a noise (data or power) issue. I doubt a CMOS clock would change things much unless there's not enough power supply decoupling.
rotund echo
π€ I dont think its a power issue because I checked with my meter and there is 5.1v on every power line
I use 2.5A supply
late fulcrum
I'm thinking switching glitches (which a multimeter won't see, you need an oscilloscope for those). That's why many designs sprinkle small capacitors near every IC.
rotund echo
I put 0.1 uF ceramic on every second power line
late fulcrum
Good idea.
rotund echo
I decided it wouldnt hurt to add more so I put one on rest of power lines
late fulcrum
Right: more capacitance means lower AC impedance, which is what you want.
rotund echo
I rewired memory chip to the bus because its connection was questionable
Now it gets 42 more often but still not always
So I guess the registers are next
late fulcrum
It's a lot of work.
rotund echo
No, its not
Have to replace 8 wires since its 8 bit
But I think it might be ALU's fault as well, because its really unstable and it sometimes calculates right, but often doesnt get it quite right
And the worst thing is that I already did rewire it and it didnt help
Like why
late fulcrum
Which ALU are you using? 74181?
rotund echo
2x 74ls283 with B register connected through 2x 74ls86 for subtracting
late fulcrum
Cool!
rotund echo
74ls173 registers
late fulcrum
The thing that sticks in my mind is that it gets worse when you touch the multiplex clock generator.
I'm guessing you're touching the output lead, which would have two effects: it'll increase the capacitance on the output lead, which will increase the noise coupled into the power supply, and you'll act as a big antenna, coupling noise into the data lines.
rotund echo
Doesnt matter where I touch it
And its unstable as well
Sometimes it might just stop oscillating
late fulcrum
Oho, it's unstable too? That's unusual, a 555 is normally rock-solid.
rotund echo
Here is a picture
late fulcrum
I guess you're using high impedance timing components?
rotund echo
2x 1k resistor and 0.1uF capacitor
late fulcrum
Ah, WAY more than 1Hz for that one.
late fulcrum
That shouldn't be sensitive at all. Maybe it is a bad connection (sometimes those solderless breadboards get a little flaky)
I have to say, your wiring is a lot neater than mine.
rotund echo
My cpu doesnt know how to add
dusty citrus
Oof
rotund echo
It says 28+14=58
dusty citrus
Is it the CPU Ben eater built?
rotund echo
Its a slightly modified design
dusty citrus
What does it have?
rotund echo
And now i run it and it got 42
It is full 8 bits
8 bit commands
8 bit mem address
dusty citrus
Can you modify the ALU to do more?
rotund echo
Well, You can add logic operations if You want
dusty citrus
Like FPU math
rotund echo
What is FPU math? XP
rotund echo
I also modified mine to support up to 8k of program memory
It uses eeprom instead of ram so I dont have to program it every single time I power it on
dusty citrus
Wait
rotund echo
?
dusty citrus
How did you program the eemprom?
dusty citrus
Noice
I am a bit confused of how the control unit works
Its hard for me to understand
rotund echo
Its just an eeprom as well
It translates instructions like ADD to singals for all the individual modules
rotund echo
Thanks to all modifications I made to mine it can execute a full instruction in just four clock cycles instead of six
But there is a tradeoff
There is no RAM, so You can not do STA
It can be added of course
dusty citrus
Can you get the ALU to do logic?
rotund echo
I know for sure that it can work as a comparator, but stuff like logic operations - im not sure
rotund echo
π€ maybe You just need to add straight up logic gates and wire them to the registers
dusty citrus
True
rotund echo
So back to my freaky ALU, I think it might be a fault of my 74ls86s and I can easily check that by removing them and connecting B register directly
dusty citrus
How much did it cost to build the CPU?
rotund echo
~150$
late fulcrum
Could be worse. Could be vacuum tubes.
dusty citrus
And it could be slower
rotund echo
I thought about only transistors but it would be insanely difficult
dusty citrus
Yep
rotund echo
I couldnt build a jk flip flop from transistors, so I guess good luck building entire cpu
rotund echo
Why? It would ruin the fun of building it
rotund echo
Then get atmega328
XP
And taking ls86s out solved the issue
So I guess I'll go and buy new ones
dusty citrus
I wonder if I can build a z80 CPU out of logic chips...
rotund echo
You can even build a 6-chip z80 computer if You want
dusty citrus
But when I build a test circuit for the z80 the CPUs output nothing
rotund echo
Maybe theyre dead
dusty citrus
Both of them are nea
dusty citrus
I guess I'm wiring something wrong
rotund echo
Maybe try like this
dusty citrus
Alright
late fulcrum
I assume you've seen the MOnSter 6502 built out of individual transistors.
rotund echo
Yeah, I did
And now Im wondering why executing a jump instruction clears the registers
Control logic cant even access the clear line
karmic kite
https://www.theoriginalscrapbox.com/products/workbox-3-0
This would be an ideal storage cupboard for all my loose components
tame saddle
Well that's comforting after a Win10 update. π¬
echo agate
I had an update do that, it had something to do with an included microcode update messing things up
tame saddle
yeah, the fun part is: update history lists it as a failed update, just finished auto-downloading again, and is currently installing it again. i'm not a windows hater, but their current update model needs some serious re-engineering. its on the wrong trajectory over the last couple years...
grave crest
Full agreement @tame saddle β I use everything as they each have their pros and cons, but the mandatory upgrades leave me feeling frustrated.
tame saddle
i bet your industry is quite upset about the drop of the enterprise update delay... that one boggled my mind when i read about it.
grave crest
Wellβ I donβt handle anything of our local IT... and most of the products I handle run embedded or custom linux :p
tame saddle
in case you hadn't seen it come across your feed: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/02/microsoft-shaking-up-how-windows-feature-updates-are-rolled-out-again/
tame saddle
sowwy! π
grave crest
Haha sβall good man
I use windows for a few always on situationsβ like a media server
And win10βs forced updates that reboot... βwhy is the server down!β
*?
tame saddle
yeah. i'm hoping that my earlier situation dealt with a nagging intermittent hang i get on PC startup. i opted to update+restart earlier and walked away, then came back to a hang and had to hard-boot. π€
and good lord this 1809 update is ridiculous. status messages are an endless cycle of initializing, progress, downloading, etc.
grave crest
I literally just got done with a MacOS upgrade from sierra to mojave β- and that was brutal. Broke bootcamp, invalidated my win10 license, and had to call msft support for a fresh key. I have rebooted more in the past day than the last 5 years.
I hope it works for you too.
I can imagine someone being on the fence β and a problem like this pushing them to alternatives
Esp. someone nontechnical
tame saddle
yeah, i was incensed when they pulled that update criticality move for Win10. i held off until that moment...
i at least have a laptop now with ubuntu on it if things get hairy. beats researching fixes on a 5" screen.
- having the ability to make bootable USB sticks
grave crest
I am lucky β i have a spare old laptop and an ipad. I can get things done if needed, but not as comfortably. Other folks donβt have that luxury.
Most of my windows were win7... but that ride is coming to a stop in jan 2020
So i have been slowly migrating to win10 when possible. Or other alternatives as appropriate
tame saddle
exactly. sole winPC + no knowledge/inclination to fix == π‘
grave crest
The average person shouldnβt need to be a windows expert to do a mandatory upgrade
In an enterprise environmentβ the cost effective way to handle this is to reimage. Data loss yay!
Hence why I think computers will turn more into thin clientsβ software as a service, cloud (public or private) storage.
Sure, weβll still have local drives, but no one will rely on them any more than a temp workspace
tame saddle
thins are interesting to me, but i've never been on one. definitely moves the power requirements from the consumer to the offeror. wondering when XBox will finally meet its XBox-ThinClient goal...
grave crest
In a way, I treat my existing machines as pseudo-thin clients. I keep nothing on my phone, tablet, or desktop/laptop that doesn't either exist entirely on my NAS (private cloud) or gets routinely backed up (i.e. time machine, full disk images, etc).
tame saddle
well, 1809 is finally finished, and appears successful. nothing missing or any other unintended consequences; yet. and finally, an OS implemented dark mode. πΆ
grave crest
One of the nice perks of Mojave also -- you don't realize how nice the dark mode is until you switch back to bright mode.
My retinas get a scottish accent -- "I canna take anymore of this, cap'in!"
tame saddle
any program that offers it, i pull the trigger. but then that dialog box comes up and "BAM!"... π
i did read about a possible bug of 1809 causing Visual Studio to crash. hopefully Atmel Studio plays nice (its built on VS).
grave crest
I remember a version of MS Office -- 2013 if I recall correctly -- where they used a very flat bright white, contrast-less UI.
I flat out refused to use it. I held onto my Office 2010 install with a tight grip.
Atmel is one of the few things I wish were MacOS compatible. Like 99% of things I do are web-driven or cross-platform.
tame saddle
yeah, i don't know why they went Win only. I mean, VS is available for Mac, isn't it?
or is it just VSCode?
grave crest
VS Code is. And I think there was VS Community edition for Mac at some point, though I never really used it to be honest.
late fulcrum
I was hoping Microchip would port Atmel Studio to Mac like they did for their PIC tools. Then again, I wish FPGA manufacturers would offer Mac versions of their tools.
tame saddle
you could VM it. i saw Brent suggest that in his "burn the bootloader" guide.
and either hathach or sajattack (or both) use Segger Studio which is cross platform. I've only opened it a couple times on my linux machine; seems hearty enough.
grave crest
Yeah, that's the biggest reason I have a Windows VM on my mac. But, USB-pass-through never quite worked right. Probably because it was a virtualized access to a bootcamp instance.
Nothing about that ever really was graceful. Now I made it a pure VM, I'll give it another fair shake.
late fulcrum
I did try running the FPGA tools under Linux in a VM, but never got them to work (apparently their Linux port is rather poor).
grave crest
@tame saddle Do you have a link to that guide of brent's?
tame saddle
give me a sec...
it just gives a mention to installing in a VM. doesn't go into steps or anything.
grave crest
@lean owl Thanks man, I'll take a gander at it.
I'm "redeploying" my development environments after reinstalling both my mac and win installs -- so if I'm going to reinstall atmel, I might as well do it right the first time.
dusty citrus
Is there a simple 8 bit out there that I can build?
vernal gale
rc2014
dusty citrus
What's that?
dusty citrus
I mean is there a way to build a CPU?
dusty citrus
How do you program it?
vernal gale
verilog
vernal gale
there are multiple toolchains available, should be some for every platform
vernal gale
there may be an ide from the vendor, but it's probably expensive idk, I'm no fpga expert
the open source toolchain is command line based
but works on every platform https://github.com/FPGAwars/toolchain-icestorm/wiki
there's also this thing https://github.com/FPGAwars/icestudio
which is kinda an ide
dusty citrus
Man all these FPGA stuff are new for me
vernal gale
icestudio is probably best for a beginner like yourself
vernal gale
yeah, it shouldn't be too limiting either
it's sorta block based, but all the blocks are different pieces of code
dusty citrus
Alright
vernal gale
she explains here, it's not really like programming an arduino, it's more like defining hardware