Circuit Break - A MacroFab Podcast

Podcast NotesJOSH is our guest this week Owner of Abbadad ProductionsOwner of Castle Bravo StudiosFounder of V33R TechnologiesOwner of the Space Echo RE-201Audio Engineer behind the recording of the MacroFab Engineering PodcastV33R technologies creates virtual reality environments for viewing real estate Created intuitive methods for navigating a 3d virtual spacePodcast is recorded in Castle Bravo Studios Located in the old post office bomb shelterRig Astley - A fully functional recording studio in a portable formatRE-201 Space Echo Unit will be done soon (We promise JOSH!)JOSH's favorite mic pre is the Groove Tubes VipreSpecial thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

24 Mar 20171h 1min

Podcast NotesMacroFab and Mouser Electronics have teamed up to create a free monthly meetup in Houston for anyone involved with hardware & electronics engineering or manufacturing. Hosted on the last Wednesday of every month, these meetups are designed to build a community of professionals who want to learn from one another, gain new insights on emerging electronics technologies, and expand their network. Sign up  here!What to expect  NetworkingFireside chats with Q&AIndividual project sharing and discussionDoor prizesRefreshmentsFree parkingChristian Aurich writes: "Could you talk about differences in surface finishes on PCBs? I am especially wondering what difference ENIG makes to other 'flat' finishes... so everything else than HAL." HASL (Leadfree and Leaded)ENIGImmersion TinImmersion SilverOSP (Organic Solderability Preservative)Gold - Hard Gold PDF on pros and consParker Working on a LVDS output board for the RPI 3 Parallel Display Interface on the RPI3Config.txt parameters and by enabling the correct Linux Device TreeUsing the Ti DS90C365A. It converts a RGB666 signal to a LVDS signal for LCD panels. You give it 6 bits for ever color, pixel clock, H clock and V clock and poof LVDS.Stephen Bench Stats: 80/20 construction1 5/8" plastic laminate table top60"x30" with adjustable height between 30.625" to 32.625"Total Length of 80/20 per bench: 40.33 feet42 angle brackets84 nuts/bolts~68.5 lbs Particles from outer space are wreaking low-grade havoc on personal electronicsClick bait? In many instances, however, these operational failures may be caused by the impact of electrically charged particles generated by cosmic rays that originate outside the solar system.This is called a single-event upset or SEUSEU failure rates for consumer electronic devices performed by Ritesh Mastipuram and Edwin Wee at Cypress Semiconductor on a previous generation of technology shows how prevalent the problem may be. Their results were published in 2004 in Electronic Design News and provided the following estimates: A simple cell phone with 500 kilobytes of memory should only have one potential error every 28 years.A router farm like those used by Internet providers with only 25 gigabytes of memory may experience one potential networking error that interrupts their operation every 17 hours.A person flying in an airplane at 35,000 feet (where radiation levels are considerably higher than they are at sea level) who is working on a laptop with 500 kilobytes of memory may experience one potential error every five hours.The engineer's bottom line: "This is a major problem for industry and engineers, but it isn't something that members of the general public need to worry much about." Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

17 Mar 201754min

Podcast NotesPatrick Renner and Kelly O'Brien are our guests this week.Flying Carpet CreativeInstagramFacebookVimeoPublic sculpture group dedicated to dynamic place makingExcited about the opportunity to makeHave installations in downtown Houston, East side of Austin, Montrose, HoustonHouston Museum of Natural ScienceProject for the new Energy Section of the museumDifferent set of challenges then previous projectsHas to last over a decade with no maintenanceSpecial thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

10 Mar 201756min

Podcast NotesAl Williams is our guest this week. Embedded System DesignerBlogger for HackadayAuthor of  many booksHam Radio OperatorHackaday is a very diverse set of writers. Each writer each has their own specialty that they write about. Al never lets the negative comments get to him. "If no one tells you you suck then you are probably not being read."The writers for Hackaday are able to pick out what is relevant and what projects are good. Hackaday Seal of Approval.Al Williams received his Ham Radio License when he was 14 Call sign - WD5GNRAl has always gone through more solder then log booksThe FPGA evangelist. Al Williams leverages the ability to parallel process on FPGAs.FPGA Computer Covers A to Z.Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

3 Mar 201740min

Podcast NotesWe would love to hear from our listeners. Tell us what you think, your current projects, any topics you would like us to cover, or just say “hello”. To reach us follow us on Twitter @MacroFab or send us an email at podcast@macrofab.com.Scott Vail wrote in earlier in the week. Gives the podcast two thumbs up.Stephen talks about how he got started in Audio Amplifiers and how it led to him becoming an electrical engineer. Built his first Tube Amplifier 12 years ago and it still works. See Figure 1.Dilbert - The KnackParkerThe greatest resistor in the world doesn't fit inside the My200 Pick and Place. Will be remade with 0201 10K resistors.The Jeep Radio Hack made it to Hack A Day.  Check it out! RFO Down and Dirty with Contact Cleaners - on Hack a DayEmmett wrote in and mentioned his volume knob on his NAD Series 20 stereo system is scratchy.Stephen likes  MG Chemicals Nu-Trol Control Cleaner.For penetrating fluid Parker likes Kano Kroil.TI HDC1080 temperature/humidity sensor Steve Kuehn wrote in to let us know about this neat chip.Relative Humidity Accuracy ±2%Temperature Accuracy ±0.2°CWhat sets this device apart from other humidity/temperature sensors is there is no analog readings involved.  The output of the device is an I2C interface.  Is owning a  3D printer worth it? Parker: If you know CAD, Yes. You treat it like another tool in your toolbox.Stephen: Making just silly plastic toys is not worth the expensive of a 3D printer.Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

24 Feb 201737min

Podcast NotesWe would love to hear from our listeners. Tell us what you think, your current projects, any topics you would like us to cover, or just say “hello”. To reach us follow us on Twitter @MacroFab or send us an email at podcast@macrofab.com.Derek long time listenersent us an email!Twitter handle @TCurrentSourceEmailed us last week that he picked up a 1200V SCR Thyristor.Parker Wrote a capacitor article about polarity and silkscreen markings.Started working on a new Pinball Controller with Spooky Pinball. Stephen Resistor Resistor arrived. Made a goof on it... but it is fixable. Motor controller for one of our benches. The Open PLC will be controlling it. It is basically a fancy a fancy pwm filter. - its an optoisolator into a dual transistor config with a r/c filter. See Figure 1, 2, 3RFO  Solar Roadways...yes again with this topic. 2 year experiment in France, called Wattway.Single lane road stretching 1mile long Cost €5 million, or roughly $5.4 million in U.S. currency. Covered in 2,880 photovoltaic panels, Produce 280 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy each year and an electrical output of 767 kilowatt hours (kWh) per day. It's enough to power...wait for it...the streetlights.That’s $19.29 per kWh. We pay 4 cents per kWh.Costs about $3million per mile for a 2 lane road.SparkFun Launches SparkXPlan is to rapidly iterate on ideas and new products.The 3 commandments of SparkX Speed over PolishUnabashed FailureGoMaybe get Nate on the podcast?McDonalds  reinvents the StrawSuction Tube for Reverse Axial Withdrawal3D printed straw that fixes problems with drawing thicker liquid out of a cylindrical shaped vessel.The Fluid dynamics image is great.Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

17 Feb 201736min

Podcast NotesWe would love to hear from our listeners. Tell us what you think, your current projects, any topics you would like us to cover, or just say “hello”. To reach us follow us on Twitter @MacroFab or send us an email at podcast@macrofab.com.Parker Jeep Radio Working! Article out soon. Uploaded a video last week about it.Modified my Tektronik TDS520 scope to have a USB stick. Replaced the low profile floppy drive with a emulated floppy drive with USB on it. Parker bought it here on ebay.Stephen Synth update. PCBs should arrive next week.To match the transistors for the synth, Stephen is going to use his transistor matcher to test them. See that project here.Stephen needs 6 matched BC547C transistors. He is going to buy 100 transistors ($5.70) so that he can pick the best 6 that match.The Open PLC that Parker and Stephen have been talking about is finally doing something! Building a hand place benchControls sensors and barcode scannerStephen is also going to use it in a museum projectRFO Have we gone to far with RGB LEDs? Razer Chroma Mug holder. Samsung might just be a bunch of pyros. Fire Breaks out in Chinese factory that makes Samsung note 7 batteries.Computers that can survive on the surface of VenusSulphuric rain is easy, Not being cremated by 470°C (878°F) or crushed by 90 atmospheres or 9MPa is hard.Longest survival time for a human-made object on Venus was 127 minutes, back in 1981 when the Soviet spacecraft Venera 13 landed there. Took the only color picture of the surface.Semiconductor Silicon Carbide electronics, support high temperatures.NASA's Glenn Research Centre developed high temperature wire bonding.GEER—the Glenn Extreme Environments Rig. Can simulate the surface of Venus.Oscillator operated for 521 hours before they turned the simulator off.The Footprint Files - Properly marking parts with silkscreen - Capacitors. Look for the article Parker will be writing next week!Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

10 Feb 201748min

Podcast NotesAditya BansalCo-founder and CTO of KineticGraduated Purdue University with a PhD in Electrical and Computer EngineeringWorked at IBM Research Center before KineticDeveloped a motion tracker to move text on a display so the text stays still while running on a treadmill Mijael Damian Head of Data Analysis and Supply Chain at KineticGraduated New York Columbia University as a Mechanical EngineerUsed to work with key.me which is a "physical key" in the cloud, key cut is stored into the cloud and can be made at a kiosk so you are never locked outKinetics is a company developing wearable devices to reduce workplace injuries of industrial workers Located in New York CitySmall, lean teamThe "Device" runs on the Intels Edison platform which is an x86 architecture Rugged design for industrial and harsh environmentsOLED display15 hours of battery lifeAdvance IMU for tracking motionRecords and tracks employee motion to help reduce high risk moves and liftsQuantifies how many high risk moves and lifts a person doesCan give supervisors data on equipment improperly setup, EX: Table too short or parts stored too highLots of advance drop tests, environmental testing, humidity, and temperatureThis is also the first year anniversary of the MEP! Here is to another 52 episodes!Special thanks to whixr over at Tymkrs for the intro and outro!

3 Feb 201742min