Electrical Engineering

The Photon

23:00

Just proves that no good comes from continuing to review your design after you've already sent it out for manufacturing.

Asmyldof

Generally it's turned off, because copper pours may be added later and half the rules are on low-nag-mode out of the box

The Photon

@Asmyldof I had it turned on for online check, off for batch-mode check....

Asmyldof

hm

@Marla thanks for accidentally cheering me up ^.^

Marla

@Asmyldof welcome Asmyldof, and blush

Asmyldof

:-D

Marla

23:05

Just today, I wondered about a shortwave station I used to listen to (years ago). Just found out the Radio Netherlands, (Hilversum) no longer broadcasts on shortwave. Loved the news broadcasts during the cold war.

a way to get a different view on the news than the U.S. wanted me to believe.

Asmyldof

Hm, yeah, they quit quite a while ago

The Photon

@Marla They broadcast on the inernet now.

Asmyldof

well, on the shortwave

Marla

So, I guess, a belated thank you to Radio Netherlands.

Asmyldof

They do

Although the names and purposes got mangled up

Marla

23:07

@ThePhoton Yes, saw that they still broadcast on Internet. But not nearly as exciting as on air SW

Asmyldof

Put a shortwave-enabled BeagleBone in the garden?

PlasmaHH

depends on your interwebs provider

Marla

Besides, it de-values the value of the antique radios I restore ( de-values the value ? ? )

Asmyldof

shouldn't take too much energy

Marla

Most folks never think about that radio stations still use vacuum tubes for their transmitters ( 50 KW or higher )

PlasmaHH

23:10

there is an old tube radio in the workshop of my late father in law, one day I will try to get it working again (or well, I never tried, but I assume at least the caps are dead)

Asmyldof

I read on EE.SE once that they have all replaced them with 2N2222's because circuit lab says that'll work

Marla

oh dear. Bob Pease would have said, "What is this all about those 2N2222"s for transmitters.

Bob Pease is my go to man (if you couldn't tell), when dispelling poor engineering

PlasmaHH

@Marla generally one tune per transmitter these days ^^

Asmyldof

Obviously I meant BF210's

@PlasmaHH That's right

If you think of a carrier wave as a tune

PlasmaHH

.p

Branden Boucher

23:13

@ThePhoton, did my question about the Vgs voltage make sense in the context of that circuit?

The Photon

@BrandenBoucher I'm not sure, I thought you were asking about Vds. Usually when we ask how much can a FET switch, we're asking about Vds when the FET is not conducting.

Branden Boucher

@ThePhoton, that's the way I understood it too. And dissipating X amount of power through the op amp by controlling the current through it should mean the voltage doesn't matter as long as it's not over the rating for the FET right?

Asmyldof

I need to not be soooo tired! Ideas?

Marla

This is what I was trying to say when I blurted out, "i have got to get me one of those" : youtube.com/watch?v=g2O7rZTBs7w

The Photon

The Vds max rating is how much voltage can the FET withstand without breakdown (allowing current to flow that you don't want).
When you start running the FET in linear mode, the usual limit is heat.

Asmyldof

23:19

@Marla Yes. That sentence. Shouted Excitedly. That's pretty much what we got and you then told us you didn't mean that.

Marla

Still doing damage control I suppose

Must be a result of having been up to my elbows in PCB toxins in the late 70's

Asmyldof

hmm

Marla

(for those who don't know, PCB is not "printed circuit board", it is Poly clorinated, something or other , cancer agent)

The Photon

biphenol?

Asmyldof

I know the stuff

May even have the stuff

Marla

23:22

Polychlorinated biphenyl

A polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB; CAS number 1336-36-3 ) is a synthetic organic chemical compound of chlorine attached to biphenyl, which is a molecule composed of two benzene rings. There are 209 configurations of organochlorides with 1 to 10 chlorine atoms. The chemical formula for a PCB is C12H10−xClx. Of the different PCB arrangements and orientations 130 are used commercially. Polychlorinated biphenyls were widely used as dielectric and coolant fluids in electrical apparatus, cutting fluids for machining operations, carbonless copy paper and in heat transfer fluids. Because of PCBs' environmental...

Asmyldof

No idea what to put it on, other than a couple who's to put it on

Marla

it makes a great mayonaise for a sandwich

The Photon

@Asmyldof Pretty sure if you were a materials engineer in the 70's you put it in practically everything.

Asmyldof

@ThePhoton I wasn't though

Marla

Some idiot (read as poor fellow who was challenged) spread this stuff all over the state of Missouri in the U.S. An entire county (region within a state) had to be abandoned because of PCB.

Asmyldof

23:25

Right now I put silicone in almost evrything

Marla

just a tiny Chernobyl

Asmyldof

But with less glow in the dark :'(

Marla

it doesn't glow, but it does make a tasty treat

Asmyldof

Glowing is for heroes. Tasty is for losers!

Okay. Brain has obviously shut down. I am not supposed to be this tired this early!

Marla

although, I must admit, I have never heard of analysing PCB under UV light

@Asmyldof is this something new ?

< - - just realized , liking to tease

Asmyldof

23:28

@Marla Well, yes!

Hm, I have loads of UV. Should see if my inheritance collection includes PCB

I'll check

Some day

It is great for finding tiny oil leaks

My garage is equipped with UV LEDs for just that reason

Marla

I am on the cusp of being able to edit questions. It is so annoying to have to have someone else review my edit. So I must find my way to another 50 points

Asmyldof

Find a 5 year old very well received question with little to no recent activity and copy-paste it

Marla

I will earn it. On arduino, the level to achieve is much lower, but then, a lot of things there are much lower.

Asmyldof

But with completely different tags and altered title

hah!

Marla

I just laughed out loud, and I don't even want to say LOL

Asmyldof

23:33

I'd almost ask the question "Who's Marla" with a 50 rep bounty for that

Marla

oh god, yes. I could do that. Cash in big timre

time

Asmyldof

Think my account can take a -20vote hit

:-D

Marla

I suspect that one of you has been favoring my answers. Before I started chatting here, I found little up votes. Since here, I have noticed early up votes. Thank you if it is appropriate

Asmyldof

I am now!

Marla

I used to answer and maybe (maybe) get 1 upvote. Perhaps my answers have been getting better

BTW,. Nick Gammon on Arduino has been doing an absolutely great job , @nickgammon , . Nick has been guiding that site so well. I think we have several guys here who have recently been doing a great job. @NickAlexeev, and @W5VO , have been really good administrators .

I know , you guys don't have much appreciation for arduino here

Branden Boucher

23:40

Looking back over the the Datasheet for the IRFZ44N, I don't think that's a bad candidate for the power trans in my dummy load. But there's something I don't understand from some experiments I ran last night.

Asmyldof

@Marla I have no ill will towards people using Arduino for their own enjoyment or learning the first steps involved in those kinds of systems.

I get annoyed at people using it as a blue-print for good design, HW or SW, because it isn't

Especially people who charge for it

Who should know infinitely better

Marla

glad to hear that, I help young ones here. And it gives them a platform to start with

Asmyldof

The only reason I'm not active on Duino fora helping people with Atmel specifics is that all questions always say "On the Uno (or whatever names) of 2014 I used the FloatyDuinoShieldyThing and how do I know make The middle LED blink?"

In which none of those things mean things to me, since I have no time to find out

Branden Boucher

just in case, this is the circuit (except R8 is 100mOhms, not 100Ohms): i.sstatic.net/hOczf.png I'll have to run my experiment again, but last night, I used a 5V input to the load and brought the current through the FET to 8 amps, but it took like 1.1V on OA4's + input. Then I ran it at 12V input and it reached 8 amps with only about .8V on OA4's + input. Still trying to figure out what I am missing.

Marla

You guys don't know how much of a challenge it is to get girls to join in the computer thing. The boys seem to start out early, the girls come along later, and then the girls feel intimidated by the boy's early knowledge

Branden Boucher

23:45

Just throwing this out here if anyone wants to look at it.

Asmyldof

@Marla I know lots about it actually

Have been involved with initiatives

And you know what the main problem is over here?

Marla

@Asmyldof sounds like you might have a young daughter

oops, I knew better than that

Asmyldof

Puberty and how the media makes young girls feel about their obligations

Marla

just remembered your status

Asmyldof

I have worked with "no gender specification" groups in tech at ages 8 to 10, 10 to 12 and 12 to 16

Guess which group it was, purely voluntarily, 50/50?

Marla

23:47

I am glad to hear that Asmyldof, I won't guess :)

Asmyldof

The youngest ones

Because they don't care what other people think they should do yet.

I remember this always commercial a while ago

Pretty much got it right

Or at least the first minute

(just looked it up and am to impatient)

too*

Always #LikeAGirl

►

Oh yah, gets real preachy, but the difference is exactly what I saw

Marla

that is wonderful , that you can see that. I wish I could upvote in chat

Asmyldof

:-P

No need

Marla

I know, but I wanted others to see that I would upvote

Asmyldof

I just wish I could think of the "campaign" for lack of a better word that does work to change it all

Nothing I helped in trying so far really made a difference in the effect

Well, miniscule at best

Marla

23:52

in the long term, you never know what your effect will be

Asmyldof

Best experience ever was this workshop I sometimes do with kids

Where they make a solar powered fan cap and it takes some serious hammering

Marla

gawd, Asmyldof, you could really do for finding a gal, and doing great things with kids

Asmyldof

two 14 or 15 year old boys sit at the table, tapping the cap like babies

Girl comes in, asks what to do, no more than 10, I explain to her, she takes the hammer and smashes a hole in the cap in two blows, no blush

"Like that?" --> (with big smile): 'Yup, pretty much, now for the soldering.'

Marla

ok, I know the others are going to say again, "did I just stumble onto psych 101. But that is ok. These things are important to the future, of boys and girls

Asmyldof

:-P

Marla

23:55

oh, and she was so gooooood

Asmyldof

My favourite student to date

Marla

a quote of myself , "I always wanted to be a teacher. I realized I was a teacher when I got to choose my students (employees). "

Asmyldof

@Marla I will not star that message, because it makes me sound sad, but thank you

@Marla :-)

Marla

it does NOT make you sound sad

Asmyldof

I like workshops and trainings better than classrooms, tbh

Though I think I could, if I wanted

Do you remember how many people you trained on the job?

Just curious

Transcript for