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user61389
3:00 PM
@rawbrawb didn't know he had pseudonyms. I didn't understand why he kept using his own name, but hadn't seen a pseudonym yet
 
rawbrawb
rawbrawb
@CamilStaps there was one last week, over the period of three answers it was apparent. first one was pretty good, second one was weird and the third was babble. But he wasn't ranting against the mods so it was hard to tell. But apparently it was him.
@abdullahkahraman those are surprising large weights for people who don't look super ripped.
 
user61389
@rawbrawb you aren't 10k either, are you? I believe the moderator tools have something to check on stuff
 
abdullah kahraman
abdullah kahraman
@rawbrawb Looked ripped is not a case :) Weightlifters are almost all fat :D
 
rawbrawb
rawbrawb
@CamilStaps no I'm not.
@abdullahkahraman are you trying to tell us something? ;)
 
abdullah kahraman
abdullah kahraman
@rawbrawb But no, their muscle volume is not big at all looking at the weights they pull
 
rawbrawb
rawbrawb
3:05 PM
@abdullahkahraman If your timing is off, you could get seriously hurt. You do that right?
 
abdullah kahraman
abdullah kahraman
@rawbrawb Hopefully I am not a olympic weightlifter, I am a powerlifter.. I don't need that much technique..
The technique for olympic weightlifting is like a science, you could open up a stackexchange website for it
 
rawbrawb
rawbrawb
@abdullahkahraman I'm totally ignorant as to the difference.
@abdullahkahraman I'm sure it's much more in depth than a SE site.
 
abdullah kahraman
abdullah kahraman
@rawbrawb Please do not mock with me :)
 
rawbrawb
rawbrawb
@abdullahkahraman I'm not mocking you, the format doesn't allow for nuanced and long answers.
 
abdullah kahraman
abdullah kahraman
lol
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
3:22 PM
@jippie you around?
... and Hiya @rawbrawb @abdullahkahraman and whoever else I haven't greeted yet :-)
 
abdullah kahraman
abdullah kahraman
@AnindoGhosh hi!
 
rawbrawb
rawbrawb
@AnindoGhosh grEEts
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
:-)
 
rawbrawb
rawbrawb
@AnindoGhosh now that you're here I can leave. and will... ;)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@rawbrawb Must be my aftershave.
 
abdullah kahraman
abdullah kahraman
3:26 PM
Pff, two old guys, met again..
@AnindoGhosh I bought my smartphone, finally!
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@abdullahkahraman Oh congratulations!
 
abdullah kahraman
abdullah kahraman
@AnindoGhosh Thanks!
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
Nice pushback by Chris Stratton on Olin's comment:
This is absolutely an appropriate engineering issue, as Dave's answer clearly demonstrates. — Chris Stratton 2 hours ago
 
user61389
0
Q: What is the foam stuff that semiconductors come in?

skylerSometimes when I order semi-conductors, there pins are put in this black foam (im guessing static sensitive stuff). If I put a high voltage through it, it conducts and burns. What is this stuff called and what is it made out of?

antistatic
 
user61389
I like this guy, randomly putting high voltages through stuff you don't know.
 
abdullah kahraman
abdullah kahraman
3:41 PM
@CamilStaps Yeah, thumbs up since he gave high voltage to the foam.. :)
 
The Photon
The Photon
4:18 PM
@AnindoGhosh I've seen LEDs (with current-limiting resistor) put in parallel with fuses. Then you get an indicator when the fuse blows. To indicate a fuse blown for either overcurrent in the forward direction or due to reverse-battery, I guess you'd need two LEDs aimed in opposite directions.
These were for fuses in low voltage (< 48 V) circuits.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
4:32 PM
@ThePhoton Yes, I'd put in the fuse blow indication LED. I finally put a separate LED + resistor in reverse bias before the fuse, for reverse indication. Somehow I still get the feeling I'm missing a basic simplification.
 
David Kessner
David Kessner
@CamilStaps You still here?
 
user61389
@DavidKessner just got back, what's up?
 
David Kessner
David Kessner
@CamilStaps I was reading your comment about ESD and not needing to store stuff in the foam or other anti-static thing. Here in Colorado, where the humidity is often near 20%, we must store things in anti-static stuff otherwise it is super easy to kill it.
 
user61389
@DavidKessner didn't know that! I know this only of MOSFETs. Did you leave comment already?
 
David Kessner
David Kessner
@CamilStaps No, I didn't. I started to, but I didn't want to seem argumentative.
 
user61389
4:40 PM
@DavidKessner no prob, I guess the humidity is lower here or I'm just plain wrong. I see now that pjc50 has left a comment about humidity yet, but he seems to say the opposite, so please leave a comment ;)
 
David Kessner
David Kessner
@CamilStaps Ok.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps Getting up, going to go get some coffee and try to cobble an answer for your SO question.
 
user61389
@angelatlarge take your time ;) good morning!
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh May I suggest some free beer for you, sir?
0
Q: Rechargeable battery type recommendations for a 1-2 amp bicycle LED circuit

angelatlargeWe are building a blinkey-blink circuit for a bicycle and not sure what battery to use. The circuit will need to run on about 5V, since is is powered by ATmega chip which must run at 20mhz. When all the LEDs are on, the circuit will consume about 10Amps (yes, there are lots of LEDs). We anticip...

batteries voltage-regulator
Hallo everyone.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Saw it, but with other things on my mind, decided to give it a pass. Thanks though.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
4:43 PM
@AnindoGhosh Don't thank me. I am begging :)
 
user61389
@angelatlarge 10A on a bicycle? How many LEDs do you have?
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps 120 RGB leds = 360 individual elements.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Ohhhh, it's YOUR question! OK I'll pass on the free beer and give some inputs here. OK with that?
 
user61389
@angelatlarge :D please share some pics when you're done? :)
 
David Kessner
David Kessner
@CamilStaps Commented.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
4:45 PM
@AnindoGhosh I'll appreciate any feedback of course, but why no beer?
 
user61389
@DavidKessner upvoted ;)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Also, I gave the question an upvote now.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh I wasn't begging for rep (this time, I know, weird), just for good answers :) But thanks anyway :)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Mind distracted by my strategizing on 100-units-or-so manufacturing cost minimization for a little baby project.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh I could wait for a few days and ping you to answer. You like that?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
4:46 PM
@angelatlarge OK, here are some random-order inputs based on some prior projects:
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh OK
 
David Kessner
David Kessner
@CamilStaps Thanks.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge 1. If possible, split up the LED load into multiple rails. Most rechargeable batteries last much longer on low current load, mAh relationship is not linear, as I alluded to, in a previous discussion with you.
@angelatlarge 2. If at all you can afford it, look at LiFePo4 batteries, those pack quite a punch. Distribute say 4 of them around the bicycle, so there's no concentrated load at one point.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh What would be the difference between manually assigning 100 LEDs with 10 batteries via rails versus 10 batteries in parallel?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge 3. Use point-of-load switching regulator for the actual microcontroller circuit, and leave the LEDs unregulated (voltage-wise), they really don't care. Get yourself a 5 Volt boost reg on eBay:
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
4:51 PM
@AnindoGhosh LEDs are being driving from TLC5940, a sink driver. TLC5940 needs to talk to the ATmega. I would think they'd need to share Vcc
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge I have that one, it can charge my cellphone from a single AA alkaline cell. Ignore the ripple, the MCU won't care much.
@angelatlarge Batteries in parallel = whichever one has lowest R.internal, will bear the load and deplete fast, then be getting charged from the others, overall a royal mess. Works with regular AA cells because they have high R.internal anyway.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh I see. Damn. That makes things really difficult. I remember seeing a post mentioning this.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge No, they do not need to share Vcc, only GND. However, feel free to feed the TLCs with Vcc from the MCU boost regulator, since the LED load is not coming from that Vcc anyway, the TLC is a low-side current regulating switch and the LEDs are powered separately from their high rail which has no relation to TLC's Vcc other than sharing GND
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh Ah, yes, you do have a point there sir.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Oh, and I'm horribly familiar with the TLCs, it's a totally love-adore-detest-hate relationship.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
4:55 PM
@AnindoGhosh Yeah, you seemed to have some things to say about them before :)
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
@clabacchio What beer!?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Another thing to keep in mind: The TLCs need a certain headroom on the LED supply, for effective regulation. While the absence of that headroom won't kill the LEDs, it will kill the TLCs at some point because you'll notice that they heat up quite a bit at the insufficient headroom stage.
@angelatlarge I've had to play with Ti's TLC series far more than I care to admit.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh How much headroom you reckon?
 
cipher
cipher
Answers|
Answers? *
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge I'd looked it up and detailed it for one of my answers, but my memory fails me. I think 2 Volts + 0.1 Volt per volt of forward voltage, or something like that.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
4:59 PM
@AnindoGhosh Well, then I think driving LEDs straight off LiPO will not work, as these are RGB LEDs
@AnindoGhosh Or do you mean by "headroom" TLC5940 VCC?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@cipher No, there isn't really an universal color code other than for the ground line. No, you don't need all 9 wires for a DB9, a 6-wire implementation used to be quite common.
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
@AnindoGhosh sounds like a post.
 
user61389
@cipher that was 11 minutes ago, please have some patience ;)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Headroom = Vcc.led must be greater than Vf.led by about 2 Volts.
 
cipher
cipher
@CamilStaps :) .
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
5:00 PM
@AnindoGhosh Vcc.LED or Vcc.TLC5940?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@Kortuk A post of what kind? Wooden? Mailman? Opposite of pre?
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
@AnindoGhosh :) Write an answer.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Vcc.LED
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
I agree with your post completely, you just need to note which wires are used for what and why you can cheat that way.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@Kortuk I'm trying to not get into answer writing today, I tend to get engrossed, and I have other circuits bothering me right now.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
5:01 PM
@AnindoGhosh Then driving LEDs off one LiPO cell will not work, because these are RGB LEDs
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Vcc.TLC is not really bothered by the LED driving side voltages.
@angelatlarge Nope, note I said use 4. You may need maybe 8. Just add 2 in series for each rail of LED supplies. That's fair headroom, maybe too much headroom even.
@Kortuk Agree with which post?
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh Right.
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
@AnindoGhosh Sorry, your answer.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@Kortuk Please feel free to free-beer off that answer :-)
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh Ok, maybe I'll write a community wiki answer to my post and ask you to edit it when you are back in writing mode. Thanks.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
5:05 PM
@angelatlarge Angela, here's a trick I've used before: A 3.x Volt rail for R and G, a 5.x Volt rail or so for the B.
@angelatlarge That will be tomorrow hopefully.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh I'll just wait and let you get that beer than
@AnindoGhosh Neat-o
@AnindoGhosh Makes the circuit board more of a pain
@AnindoGhosh With 120 LEDs that is one issue...
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge I have always preferred the LED strips with the addressable WDsomething drivers integrated - Address each individual LED as you like without the wiring hassle.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh My dollar code has won this battle on this issue on this project.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge fair enough.
Now... Anyone of a mind to look at a teensy little schematic and figure out how to make it cheaper for low-volume production? (100 units, pick & place) :-)
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh OK
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
5:10 PM
Also any obvious bits I've missed, other than a decoupling cap or two somewhere...
So how do I post a PDF here?
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh You don't, I think.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
That's useless, the uploader converted the PDF to a low-res image.
Hold on a sec.
Sorry about the tiny text, I'm just used to much more components squeezed into an A4 page schematic, so my default text sizes are tiny, minuscule and atomic.
Output side is isolated from microcontroller input using optocoupler
Auto-reset PPTC fuse on output side
Reverse power protection on output side
LED indicators for input high, fuse blown, and reversed output side connection.
MOSFET gate protected by Zener
Flyback diode to protect MOSFET drain
I have used a 5-pin header strip for convenience, in implementation only the first and last pins would be existing (maybe cut off the rest of the pins to retain mechanical strength?), so that it fits perfectly on the breadboard's power rail and signal rail.
@angelatlarge Did you get to open the PDF?
 
jippie
jippie
@AnindoGhosh
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@jippie That would be me.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh Remind me what you drew that in so that I never use it?
 
jippie
jippie
5:17 PM
@AnindoGhosh you called sir
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge I use insanely tiny text in every tool I use, it's a bad habit.
@jippie Yeah, wanted to bounce the circuit we're discussing, off you, since your suggestion of a breadboard SIL module for MOSFET switching triggered off this thing.
@jippie Scroll-up. Also check your gMail, I'd mailed you the PDF earlier.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh What is this supposed to do, exactly?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge I generally print out tiny sub-blocks of my schematic massively magnified (so that text is a bit readable), and carry them around for offline thinking.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh Just switch something. What are the characterists of the something?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Will be a SIL module, tiny little board, plug it into a breadboard, MCU input and MCU GND to the two end pins of the SIL connector. The other end is a screw terminal, connect a motor or other load to it, and that load's ground. It's a MOSFET switch building block for noobies.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
5:22 PM
@AnindoGhosh Oh, was that my idea?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
See the list I posted a few messages ago for the various protections and indications on the design.
@angelatlarge It was @jippie's idea I think, but could have been yours.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh I couldda been somebody! I couldda been a contender!
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
The high current stuff is kept off the breadboard because breadboards are no good for anything over fractional amp currents.
 
jippie
jippie
@AnindoGhosh my gmail? do you the password for that?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@jippie How or why would I have a password to your gmail? Last I checked, one mails people without having their mail passwords :-)
 
jippie
jippie
5:24 PM
@AnindoGhosh why do you think I have a gmail account?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge OK it must have been a collaborative idea by @jippie and you :-)
@jippie Well, your G+ allowed me to send mail to you, and it showed a something something @something.gmail.com
 
jippie
jippie
I'll throw my email on G+ msg in a minute.
m
anyways, not going to look there.
Can my answer wait for about another hour or so?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@jippie Can wait for 12 hours with no problem at all. Thanks for making the time whenever you can. :-)
 
jippie
jippie
did you see my ping on messenger?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@jippie Nope. Let me try to ping you
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
5:29 PM
@AnindoGhosh pin 2 to the motor, pin 1 is to ground (on J1)?
 
jippie
jippie
somehow messenger doesn't work for me
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
My god, people are so scared of a little voltage on this site.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
No, Pn 1 to Motor, Pn 2 to Gnd.
@Kortuk This site has a little voltage? Where are mama voltage and papa voltage?
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh Yeah, that's what I meant. Sorry
@Kortuk Yeah, when I was your age, we used to polish high-tension wires with our bare teeth while being grounded via a single coax cable. And you know, what, we liked it! We liked it fine!
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Don't forget the meg resistor
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
5:32 PM
@AnindoGhosh Is D6 a snubber?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge No, it's a 1n4148, standard small signal switching diode, to prevent the LED in series with it from getting fried whentfaced with a reverse bias up up to 20 Volts (which is the design limit, 20 V, 2 A)
Purpose of that bit is to have the LED light up when the load and ground of the motor are connected inverted.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh Ah, I was just going to ask what D5 is for. Because error.
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
0
Q: Why do 0.02A fuses not protect a person? Why no protection from shocks?

hhhI understand the user here and here so that fuses do not protect people from shocks. I am planning to put put fuses such as fast-blown fuses and PPTC fuses around all kind of positions such as computerUSB-microprocessor-link and wet-electrode-circuit link. I feel it is far better to blow up fuses...

safety fuse polyfuse
The first comment on that question.
Please do not attempt to design circuits with potentially dangerous voltages until you understand orders of magnitude more about electrical safety. This site is not a place where you will gain sufficient knowledge to do so — Chris Stratton 37 mins ago
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
D4 and D5 are error indications, D4 is fuse-blown, and D5 is reverse-wired
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh I may be slow this morning, but I think D5 and D5 are exclusive.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
5:36 PM
@angelatlarge Correct.
 
jippie
jippie
@AnindoGhosh seen it?
 
user61389
@Kortuk what's wrong with a warning? It's just a comment..
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh If this is for noobs, I think ideally you want fuse blown on whether the connections are reversed. I am just thinking "Well, it isn't showing fuse blown if I connect it this way, so the fuse must be OK"
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
@CamilStaps The bolded part annoys me.
@CamilStaps Tell people they need to be safe, but dont tell them you wont help at all.
 
user61389
@Kortuk yeah okay, I read it as that it's better to learn in practice in a safe environment, not as an I'm-not-going-to-help-you. If the latter is the case, I agree ;)
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
5:39 PM
@AnindoGhosh Can a fuse be replaced with something that can reset after error conditions are no longer present?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge If connection is reversed, the fuse does blow, since the Schottky becomes a short allowing more than the fuse would bear.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh You were looking for a different sort of feedback, I think :)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge But the reverse indicator stays lit, as it is before the fuse.
@angelatlarge No, I'm looking for every kind of feedback.
@angelatlarge And since it is a PTC, I'm OK with the fuse blowing whenever there is a f-up. Whether that is a reverse connection, or overcurrent.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh You mean D2? It's a Zener, no?
@AnindoGhosh What's PTC?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge No, D2 is a Schottky. D1 is a 10 Volt Zener to protect the MOSFET's gate in case more than 20 Volts is supplied.
@angelatlarge Polymeric Positive Temperature Coefficient auto-reset fuse. It blows and goes high resistance, then when it cools down it allows current again.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
5:43 PM
@AnindoGhosh OK, good.
@AnindoGhosh But you are saying any time it is connected in reverse the fuse is guaranteed to blow. (which makes sense given your circuit diagram)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge I thought of adding another 18 Volt or so zener in parallel to the Schottky, to blow the fuse if someone wires up more than 18 Volts, but those zeners are driving up production cost. I still might do it.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh Resistors are basically free, right?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Yes.
@angelatlarge Also I still have room on the PCB if I wanted to add overvoltage protection without an indicator.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh Yeah, I don't have too much more to say on this at the moment: it's been a while since I used optos, for instance.
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh did you make that? If so, how?
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
5:52 PM
@AnindoGhosh I guess one question I have: the fuse is not going to get blown by transients, is it?
@AnindoGhosh Especially in repeated on-off applications
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge That's what the board looks like so far. There's the patch between the PPTC (oragne) and the MOSFET (the 3-pin SMD part) where I can add another zener. Or between the other two diodes at the right side bottom in the upper image.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh What's the big green box on the top side? Opto?
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@CamilStaps Yes, Proteus 3d Visualizer.
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh cool, thanks!
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps KiCad (free!) also has 3D visualizer thingie.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
5:53 PM
@angelatlarge No, the PPTC has a 7 mS blow-out time.
 
user61389
@angelatlarge :)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Yes, and it has many more nice 3D models available too.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps Did I mention "free"? (for the hoi polloi)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge I was on KiCAD till a couple of days ago. Then I got railroaded into switching to either Orcad (oh, the nightmares!) or Proteus, by the person I'm collaborating with for the production runs.
 
user61389
@angelatlarge I'm now downloading KiCAD ;)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
5:56 PM
@CamilStaps First thing I did when I got KiCAD, was to print out the footprint library PDF as a reference. It's helped me out a zimmion times.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps It aint perfect (I need to maybe join the project or something), but its free and does the job. I've laid out many schematics/PCBs in it, so feel free to ask. I am not an expert, but I've used it.
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh thanks! I'll see if it doesn't have too much pages :)
 
user61389
@angelatlarge okay, appreciate it :)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge So, to summarize our discussion on the circuit, just one point, add a 20 V zener shunt?
 
clabacchio
clabacchio
@Kortuk La Trappe quadrupel oak aged, a limited edition with only 2000 bottles made...ever :)
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
6:01 PM
@clabacchio !!!!!!
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh I feel like I am being graded. And the grade I am receiving is not a good one.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge Nah!!!! I'm just tired, so wanted to ensure I captured it all.
@angelatlarge Normally I'm much more alert than today.
@Angela, are you using a dynamo to charge the batteries on that thing?
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh No.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@angelatlarge why.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh Me want go fast
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
6:05 PM
@angelatlarge Typical bike dynamo = 5 to 10% additional load at low speeds, less at higher, and then again more at super speeds
 
user61389
@angelatlarge buy a car, you won't need a battery anymore either
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh I don't want 5/10% additional load :) I am slow enough as it is :)
@CamilStaps Or the LEDs. Problem solved!
@CamilStaps Maybe you should make that an answer
 
user61389
@angelatlarge working on Philosophy right now, sorry man ;)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@CamilStaps A diode can be a voltage controlled cap, BTW.
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh yeah I'm thinking of removing that answer anyway, Dave seems to have better eyes :)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
6:09 PM
@CamilStaps Also, op amps can be used to fake voltage-controlled capacitance, IIRC, in a transconductance amp configuration. So maybe transistors too?
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh I see - removed that answer
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@CamilStaps Ahh, Wikipedia has this to say: The thickness of the depletion layer of a reverse-biased semiconductor diode varies with the DC voltage applied across the diode. Any diode exhibits this effect (including p/n junctions in transistors)
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh okay okay okay! I confess! ;)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@CamilStaps Sorry, wasn't meaning to bug you. I just got excited on learning something I had limited knowledge of, and was sharing.
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh no problem
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
6:14 PM
@CamilStaps Not necessarily better eyesight, he could just be from our age-group, hence having seen many of those little things. I bet I even have a few varicaps still lying around.
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh I have them too, but couldn't see in the image how many sectors there were inside. That I didn't see the trimmers on the bottom isn't the problem of my eyes of course, that's just too few experience :)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@CamilStaps Admit it, you're thinking "Oldies, bahhh!" ;-)
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh yeah, the best would be a site with only newbies and zero experience ;)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@CamilStaps What would @jippie and I do then?
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh go to a site of a field where you are a newbie? That sounds like a useful activity.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
6:18 PM
@CamilStaps One semi-crappy answer done.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@CamilStaps I tried that with Arduino, we got shot down :-(
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh ahhw
 
user61389
@angelatlarge thanks! I'll leave a comment with questions there ;)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@CamilStaps I qualify as enthusiastic newbie there. For that matter, I had a 20 year gap between my EE and my next contact with any circuit design or electronics work. That makes me a newbie as well.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps You think I actually know this stuff, don't you?
 
user61389
6:20 PM
@AnindoGhosh okay then, you may stay
 
user61389
@angelatlarge you've more reputation than I have there, so ;)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
@CamilStaps Thank you. :-)
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps And as @jippie knows, rep is everything.
@CamilStaps What will the PHP side will send data in response to?
@CamilStaps Is it a chat message? Something out in the OS?
For those confused and wanting to join in:
1
Q: Efficient reloading data / pushing data from server to client

Camil StapsI'm looking for the 'way to go' (i.e. the most efficient, most used, general accepted way) when it comes to the reloading of data from a web server to a front end. In the end application, I will have several output fields where data has to be written to, for example like this: The data streams...

data stream client-server reload reloaddata
 
user61389
@angelatlarge does it matter? Some pseudocode with isDataAvailable() and getData() would be sufficient, wouldn't it?
 
user61389
But if you must have something concrete, you can use chat. I'm going to use it for multiple things, but chat is one of them.
 
jippie
jippie
6:29 PM
@AnindoGhosh I'd feel relieved. :-p
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps It does matter in the following way: you want to wait efficiently in your PHP code. isDataAvailable() is a polling mechanism, we really want to avoid that here. I think you can in PHP, but I need to check. (Disclaimer: I've done some work in PHP, but I am not an expert in those, so I am going to have to do a bit of research for this beer. )
 
user61389
@angelatlarge okay, perhaps sleep() is what you want, but I'm not sure. You might also want to hint at increasing the execution time limit ;) otherwise, just forget about the usage example.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps Let me adjust my answer, and then we'll talk?
 
user61389
@angelatlarge Perfectly fine :)
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
Hmm, I've found a P channel + n channel logic level MOSFET pair in a single package, for merely 36.4 cents each... vishay.com/docs/70717/70717.pdf
I could use the N for the MOSFET switching, and the P channel for reverse connection protection in my little circuit.
 
jippie
jippie
6:33 PM
@angelatlarge just send a document and don't send an EOF. Basically do a tail -f in unix-speak. That way you avoid having to set up a TCP (and possibly an SSL tunnel)
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps After I adjust my answer, I am going to retag your question, making it much more visible, I think. Which will probably result in some downvotes on my answer, but more good answers for you.
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
Okay, g'night all. Take care. Thanks @angelatlarge
 
user61389
@angelatlarge if you want :)
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@AnindoGhosh I didn't do anything. Thank You dear sock leader.
 
user61389
@AnindoGhosh night!
 
Anindo Ghosh
Anindo Ghosh
6:34 PM
thanks in advance, @jippie
 
jippie
jippie
good night @AnindoGhosh
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
@jippie Raspberry Pi is making me learn linux.
I got the dev environment working for arduino, it was easy.
 
jippie
jippie
@Kortuk of course it is easy. I ditched Windows because it is too complicated for me. I understand Linux a fair bit.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps OK, done. Watch for the mob that will tar and feather me now.
<-- Turning into a chicken in 5.. 4... 3...
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
@jippie That was the only part that was easy, it still took about as long as getting it on windows for me.
@jippie although took less of my interaction, but only barely.
 
user61389
6:44 PM
@angelatlarge thanks! I'll have a look in a minute
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
Is there any way to know how many views a question has/had while you are looking at the question itself?
 
jippie
jippie
@AnindoGhosh sent me an email, but he didn't ask a question ...
what is the word again for 'deciding what value a component should be'?
synonymous for 'sizing'
 
user61389
@angelatlarge can't you just refresh and see how much the difference is?
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps Sorry, this is shown somewhere? I never noticed... looking now...
@CamilStaps Right. DUH
@CamilStaps So far the mob has not materialized. We wait. Did I answer your question?
 
user61389
@angelatlarge I'm looking now!
 
user61389
6:55 PM
@angelatlarge yeah, that thread you linked to is what I needed. However, they say PHP just isn't the right language :) and I can't install Node.js on my shared server
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps PHP isn't a great language, period, IMHO. I am very sure that someone has written a decent synchronization library for PHP, however, server-side Java is probably the way to go for this. One thing to do is to search for chat server examples on the interwebs, I think.
 
user61389
@angelatlarge yeah, good idea. Anyway, you've done a great and nice job. I'll accept this answer unless another better answer pops up within 'a vaguely defined amount of time' :)
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps Yeah, you should wait, methinks. With "Comet", "php", and "JavaScript" tags it should get a lot of eyeballs, I would think.
 
user61389
@angelatlarge aren't they too general? Comet not perhaps, but I tracked php for a while, and stopped because it was too much
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps I don't know. I bet lots of people are looking at PHP tags, hunting for low-hanging rep :)
@CamilStaps @jippie is probably there right now, frantically hitting F5
 
jippie
jippie
7:03 PM
?
 
user61389
@angelatlarge yeah, but even there, the question isn't visible anymore now :P
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps Depends on your filters. If you are looking at questions w/o accepted answers?
 
user61389
@angelatlarge yeah okay
 
jippie
jippie
@angelatlarge yeah sysadmins love server side java on shared webservers
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@jippie Isn't that how internet is built?
 
user61389
7:05 PM
@jippie it isn't installed by default, but I have enough space to install a copy in my own space. The T&C don't say anything about it :)
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
That will work, in a rather ugly fashion; don't forget the 48W flyback diode! — pjc50 3 hours ago
Do you need a snubber to drive a speaker from a BJT? Really?
 
jippie
jippie
@CamilStaps hope no one will complain about CPU and memory issues.
 
user61389
@jippie again, nothing in the T&C :P
 
jippie
jippie
oh I bet there is something that allows them to take your website down.
 
user61389
@angelatlarge I removed my upvote on your answer at SO, so that people tracking no upvoted answers will stop by as well. I'll add it later on again of course ;)
 
jippie
jippie
7:08 PM
but you may be lucky.
 
user61389
@jippie yeah, I guess (hope!) there is. But perhaps they won't notice :)
 
user61389
@angelatlarge I hope you're okay with that?
 
David Kessner
David Kessner
1
Q: Why do 0.02A fuses not protect a person? Why no protection from shocks?

hhhI understand the user here and here so that fuses do not protect people from shocks. I am planning to put put fuses such as fast-blown fuses and PPTC fuses around all kind of positions such as computerUSB-microprocessor-link and wet-electrode-circuit link. I feel it is far better to blow up fuses...

safety fuse polyfuse
What's up with this guy? I can't figure out if I should take him seriously.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps Totally
@DavidKessner +1 +1 +1
@DavidKessner Thank you.
@DavidKessner Have you been seeing the chat logs/activity?
 
David Kessner
David Kessner
@angelatlarge No.
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
7:18 PM
@DavidKessner He was in chat for quite a while asking questions here. He seemed to be honestly interested.
 
jippie
jippie
For 3 upvotes I will remove this answer:
0
A: Why edge triggering is preferred over level triggering?

jippieAn edge is a well defined moment in time, its duration approximates 0 seconds. The level on the other hand is a unspecified period during which all kind of things can happen that may influence the end result, including changing inputs due to outputs being fed into an input.

:o)
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@Kortuk Should I rewrite my Electrical Engineering Meta post to be more clear on what I propose to blacklist?
 
David Kessner
David Kessner
I don't think that people should be rewarded for deleting their own posts. Perhaps we should reward people for not writing crap answers to begin with. It doesn't matter how many up-votes a crap answer gets-- there will always be people who like crap. :)
 
user61389
@jippie badge hunter
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@DavidKessner But if you delete your own post, you lose the rep, right? So badge does seem appropriate: if the community upvoted, then it seems nice to get a consolation prize for doing the right thing.
 
David Kessner
David Kessner
7:21 PM
Holy crap! I was looking for a pair of differential scope probes and MSRP for the pair is US$20K! I haven't look at the price for the scope they connect to-- I'm too scared!
 
jippie
jippie
@DavidKessner my intention with that answer was to get a bit of a discussion going, because nobody seemed to answer that question. I think that question deserves answers like it has now.
 
David Kessner
David Kessner
@jippie I thought about answering that Q, but it seemed that the OP needed a lesson in sync-logic design and it's hard to cover that in <1,000 words.
 
jippie
jippie
@DavidKessner answers are not limited to 1000 words :-p
 
The Photon
The Photon
@DavidKessner There's a badge
 
Kortuk
Kortuk
@angelatlarge I will write an answer.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
7:31 PM
@Kortuk Awesome
@Kortuk I edited the post, BTW
 
user61389
When we're talking about Meta anyway, let me promote this :)
 
user61389
12
Q: Show Area51 ads in the sidebar

Camil StapsUp to now, I've seen several different types of ads in the sidebar of the sites (community ads, newsletter / chat, (interesting posts from) other sites, join us on G+/Twitter/Facebook). We also have Area 51 ads: What would you say of adding these to the sidebars as well? As we're getting so...

feature-request area51 advertising sidebar
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
7:51 PM
@jippie, who is this directed towards?
Mixed forward / and back \ slashes? — jippie 4 mins ago
 
jippie
jippie
you
/usr/local/bin
and d:\cygwin\angela\...
@angelatlarge I'm not used that forward and backslashes can be used on a single operating system
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@jippie Yes. That's how it is. On cygwin, you have to use the Windows version of avrdude. I should make a comment on that.
@jippie How do I make a text in my answer tiny?
 
jippie
jippie
\tiny a\ \large{a}\ \huge a
but I believe there was a SE way too
 
user61389
@angelatlarge isn't really possible (without TeX) but you can use HTML's <sub> or <sup>, which is the commonly used workaround, I believe - doesn't look nice inline though
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps Or both, as they suggest on Meta Stack Overflow :)
 
user61389
7:57 PM
@angelatlarge permission to give you a hard time about a typo?
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps Please, sir.
 
user61389
@angelatlarge [metaso] ;)
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@CamilStaps Thank you.
 
user61389
@angelatlarge not at all
 
Scott Seidman
Scott Seidman
Prototyped w/ my first 100-pin SMD package today! Mounted a AD9271 ultrasound front end for some of my students.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
8:04 PM
Wow. "the acrid pale grey smoke of shame was released". +1 just for that.
http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/66535/how-might-one-short-out-a-diode
@CamilStaps Well, maybe I was wrong about Stack Overflow... not too many views on your question.
 
user61389
@angelatlarge ah well, I got an answer :)
 
user61389
Hmm, shouldn't pin and pins be synonyms of each other? I can't suggest it due to low score on those tags..
 
jippie
jippie
8:44 PM
@CamilStaps A DB9 connector often has small printed number in the plastic at the side where you plug it onto the other connector.
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
Gawd, being under 2K is a PITA
 
jippie
jippie
@angelatlarge ?
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@jippie Not being able to just edit frustrates me ;)
 
jippie
jippie
@angelatlarge for similar reason I want 20k(rep)
i just want to delete stuff
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@jippie You find a lot of stuff you want deleted?
 
jippie
jippie
8:49 PM
i want to feel the power granted by SE in my index finger every time I click the mouse button.
4
you are so predictable @angelatlarge
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@jippie w.r.t starring?
 
jippie
jippie
yups
time for bed
/me is out
 
angelatlarge
angelatlarge
@jippie Goodnight
 
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