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AC Diversion Load, Part 5
Reworked the PLEG code to work with the positive/negative power readings that were unlocked in the previous video.
It's amazing what knowing the actual power and direction of flow makes in the code. Before, it was a guessing game and now it's a simple computation.
This is my first time working with "conditional values" in PLEG along with logic expressions in actions. The Vera controllers use the Lua programming language and PLEG uses a Lua-like syntax as well. On thing that's "missing" is you can't have assignment expressions, like a=b+c. Instead, you need to make a condition called "a" and determine it's value as the result of (b+c). Then you can use the value in "a" as a variable in other expressions. I like to keep expressions simple and compute just one thing at a time. This helps as you can see the intermediate results.
The key to this computation was to keep everything in floating point. My original code was integer-based and had a problem when it kept ignoring small ~1 watt changes in power. Over time those small changes would build up and until there was a big change of 7 or more watts, nothing would happen. With the floating point code, you keep accumulating the changes and once that rounds up or down to a different number, a change is made.
The other key point is to have only ONE variable tracking the dimmer setting. Before I had tried to use a counter to handle incrementing/decrementing the dimmer setting, then writing that counter value to the dimmer. This was before I figured out the "conditional values" and was an easy way to add or subtract numbers in a variable. However, this created a problem in that the counter and the dimmer could get out of sync. Moving to just having a device property that follows the dimmer setting solved that issue. With only one copy, it can't get out of sync. It also allows manually adjusting the dimmer to see how the code reacts.
Also tried to incorporate features into the code to reduce Z-Wave network traffic as well as spread that and the CPU load out in time. This should help reduce bottlenecks and synchronization issues. For example, the time delay between getting the power sample and then acting on any changes allows all the computations to take place before the logic that makes changes runs.
More to come, seeing what other features are possible with this code...
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Comment, rate, share & click the bell icon
And as always, thanks for watching
Intro/Outro:
Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
https://web.archive.org/web/20170402222425/http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXlhLOUYIow
It's amazing what knowing the actual power and direction of flow makes in the code. Before, it was a guessing game and now it's a simple computation.
This is my first time working with "conditional values" in PLEG along with logic expressions in actions. The Vera controllers use the Lua programming language and PLEG uses a Lua-like syntax as well. On thing that's "missing" is you can't have assignment expressions, like a=b+c. Instead, you need to make a condition called "a" and determine it's value as the result of (b+c). Then you can use the value in "a" as a variable in other expressions. I like to keep expressions simple and compute just one thing at a time. This helps as you can see the intermediate results.
The key to this computation was to keep everything in floating point. My original code was integer-based and had a problem when it kept ignoring small ~1 watt changes in power. Over time those small changes would build up and until there was a big change of 7 or more watts, nothing would happen. With the floating point code, you keep accumulating the changes and once that rounds up or down to a different number, a change is made.
The other key point is to have only ONE variable tracking the dimmer setting. Before I had tried to use a counter to handle incrementing/decrementing the dimmer setting, then writing that counter value to the dimmer. This was before I figured out the "conditional values" and was an easy way to add or subtract numbers in a variable. However, this created a problem in that the counter and the dimmer could get out of sync. Moving to just having a device property that follows the dimmer setting solved that issue. With only one copy, it can't get out of sync. It also allows manually adjusting the dimmer to see how the code reacts.
Also tried to incorporate features into the code to reduce Z-Wave network traffic as well as spread that and the CPU load out in time. This should help reduce bottlenecks and synchronization issues. For example, the time delay between getting the power sample and then acting on any changes allows all the computations to take place before the logic that makes changes runs.
More to come, seeing what other features are possible with this code...
Subscribe for more content like this
Comment, rate, share & click the bell icon
And as always, thanks for watching
Intro/Outro:
Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
https://web.archive.org/web/20170402222425/http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXlhLOUYIow
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RASPB
raspberry-pi-2-h-w-decoder-part-2
Time to test out the hardware decoder on the Raspberry Pi 2.
Again, this is with the OpenELEC version of Kodi, this being the Arm7, quad-core binary for the Raspberry Pi model 2. Looks like the keys supplied by the Raspberry Pi store did the trick. They arrived within 24 hours of purchase. These keys are tied to each board's serial number.
It seems that with the GPU decoder enabled, the CPU stays at the base speed of 600MHz and is only at about 20% load. In contrast, on the model B+, the CPU will jump to the fastest speed, 1000MHz in my case, and be sitting above 90% CPU load displaying these same Live TV programs..
This is a dramatic change in performance, at least in the responsiveness of the system. Both the B+ and 2 models play back the live TV signals at the desired frame rate, but the B+ is essentially at the limit and feels a bit sluggish from time to time. The model 2 is just barely off idle and seems to respond much smoother to user input.
Either model RPi works fine for this application, but the model 2 should give a lot more headroom for future needs and at the same price, may as well get the newer model if you are shopping for a RPi to use like this.
The amazing thing with either the B+ or model 2 is the miniscule power consumption, that just blows me away. At idle it is just over 1 watt and at full speed it is under 2 watts! So this means you can add the smart TV type features at almost no increased power consumption. For example, an XBox360 uses about 120 watts of power in it's media viewing mode.
This whole process works exactly the same on the RaspBMC version of Kodi, same file, same commands, etc. I've just settled on the OpenELEC release to use on my RPis.
Questions welcome in the comments section below.
As always, thanks for watching!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYoAPJa2sOQ
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8 CEL
8-cell-18650-discharger-part-1
Let's build an 8-cell 18650 discharger with the ZB206+ cell discharge modules.
Setting up an 8-cell (8-pair) 18650 discharger using the ZB206+ battery discharge module for battery testing. With this one unit, I'll be able to test the cell voltage, internal resistance and capacity on 1-8 cells or pairs of cells.
Discharge modules are wired in parallel off the the upper power jack. A JST-XH cable is used for the voltage sense wires and 16ga. solid core wire is used for the discharge leads. Dischargers will be operated in 4-wire mode, 3.0 volts cutoff and 1 amp discharge current. This is the same parameters I used on my earlier 150 pair of cells I tested.
I'll be adding a DC-DC step down (buck) converter for powering the unit off DC voltage up to 40 volts. It'll be controlled with an on/off switch. See follow up video for details on this.
ZB206+ link on AliExpress:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/DC-12V-Battery-Capacity-Tester-Lithium-Test-Life-Internal-Resistance-Analyzer/32748385509.html
Single 18650 cell holder:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/EDT-3-Pcs-Open-Frame-3-7V-18650-Battery-Holder-Cell-Box-Batteries-Case-Black/32716630690.html
2-pin JST-XH cable:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/50-SETS-JST-XH-2-5-2-Pin-Battery-Connector-Plug-Female-Male-with-120MM-Wire/231639548157
3-digit LED volt meter:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/LCD-digital-Panel-voltmeter-voltimetro-Volt-tester-Gauge-voltage-meter-DC-2-4V-30V-0-28/32661574872.html
3A/40V DC-DC step down converter:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10X-LM2596-DC-DC-Buck-Adjustable-Step-down-Power-Supply-Converter-Module-3A-Set/232500418155
On/Off switch:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/free-shipping-10pcs-Touch-Flashlight-Self-Lock-SPST-Push-Button-Switch-AC-DC-250V-1-5A/32562191452.html
ZB206+ operating information:
http://powercartel.com/teardowns/zh-yu-zb206-battery-tester/
Mounting tab in Thingiverse:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2639431
Step-down converter case:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1686779
More to come...
https://youtu.be/nI-DyfBcdwY
Be sure to rate, comment and share
And as always, thanks for watching
Intro:
Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Bi1Sfmc4I
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VIDEO
STEVE
stevens-creek-landslide-lake-deposit
Taking a closer look at the sediment layers along Stevens Creek now that the water levels have dropped.
This layering is likely quite complex. After a landslide dams up the creek down stream, water will slowly back up behind that dam. Eventually water will over top the landslide debris and start eroding down, causing the lake to drain. Then, you have the erratic nature of high flows in the creek that are capable of moving large amounts of sediment. As a result, you may have a sediment layer deposited while the water level is rising or when it's falling. The sediment will be deposited at the point the flowing water hits the standing water. Thus, the point of deposition may move up and down the canyon over a single landslide dam event. Add to that, multiple landslides over the milennia, with the creek cutting a new channel in between slides and this is what you get. The key point is that this sediment was likely not deposited in a single event.
Stevens Creek flow information:
https://alert.valleywater.org/map?p=sensor&sid=5045&disc=f
This is my hypothesis for what has happened in this section of Stevens Creek to explain the flat nature and deep sediment here. Also ties in the anecdotal evidence from the 1973 geology paper.
Paper: ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGIC ANALYSIS OF THE MONTEBELLO RIDGE MOUNTAIN STUDY AREA:
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL68916...
Pg. 22 mentions a landslide associated with the 1906 earthquake and this is ground zero for that slide. In fact, the report mentions that slide extended for 1/2 mile, nearly a kilometer, along the canyon.
USGS National Map Viewer w/ Hill Shade layers:
https://apps.nationalmap.gov/viewer/
More to come...
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#USGS #HillShade #geology #earthquake #tectonicplates
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEm--QRmC1A
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VIDEO
SMART
smart-tv-w-openelec
Time to put some brains in the dumb TV.
Not sure whether to call this a Smart TV or is this just a "set top box" for over the air TV?
This is a fresh boot of the Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center (OpenELEC) Kodi (XBMC) distribution image I downloaded to the microSD card and inserted into my new Raspberry Pi model B+:
- https://youtu.be/y2xvKxSsSP4
- http://youtu.be/Hf4gZyQYZcc
I decided to film this setup compared to the RaspBMC setup as I had some difficulties with that version not really related to the software itself. Once I worked those out, the RaspBMC setup was about the same as the OpenELEC version, a few different prompts.
Speaking of all those names, this video is my attempt at clarifying what they all mean:
- http://youtu.be/3bkWSlwY_Y4
Some notable differences in the two distributions:
RaspBMC is a little more complete Linux distro. with more options and services, for example FTP and Apple Airplay support and also a built-in CPU speed setting tool and out of the box runs at 850MHz. It also has a one-step image installer direct to the microSD card:
- http://www.raspbmc.com/download/
OpenELEC is more stripped down, it feels faster than RaspBMC. It lacks the CPU speed setup tool, you need to hand-edit the config.txt file, I'll show a video on that later, out of the box it starts at 700MHz. You also need to first download and extract the RPi image. Then use something link Win32 Disk Imager to write the image to the SD card:
- http://openelec.tv/get-openelec
This is the device I was trying to duplicate:
- http://dvblogic.com/en/hardware/players/dvblink-tv-player/
DVB Logic unfortunately ships hardware to the EU only, so I was unable to purchase that pre-configured device. Luckily with open source hardware and software, it is easy to replicate that device. So I procured the Raspberry Pi, case and microSD card and got the results in this video, really happy with the result. If you are outside of Europe and want to get your hands on the DVB-Logic TV Player, this is how you can make your own.
Why not a ChromeCast? Well, I have the ability to send all the data off my media PC to the TV via a hardware-ChromeCast device (a.k.a. a HDMI cable). And I wanted something that would work with my live TV server that already have. FireTV might have been another option or one of the popular Android TV boxes. But I wanted to go with this setup as the TV server vendor supports this as a dedicated product, so I wanted something that would work. Plus I figured if this didn't work, I could use the RPi for something else.
So this device becomes a replacement for my cable or satellite TV set top box. It also only uses 1.5W of power out of the TV USB port, so it is very green. There are 0 standby losses like the DirecTV set top box I me
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiaPd2vO_54
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OLD 1
old-1895-stevens-canyon-road-first
Looking for remnants of the old 1895 canyon road from the end of the current road. As it exists today, Stevens Canyon Road is paved up to the gate at 1000 ft. elevation. Beyond that, there's limited motor vehicle access along with hiking, biking and equestrian access. About half way to the end, there's a slide area that's taken out the old road, blocking motor vehicle access. The old road continues to the first creek crossing as part of the Canyon Trail.
The old road seems to have crossed the creek in the vicinity of the modern trail crossing and continued for a ways up the north side of the creek. It then crossed to the south side about half way up to the current Table Mtn. trail crossing.
About the USGS HTMC:
https://www.usgs.gov/programs/national-geospatial-program/historical-topographic-maps-preserving-past
View/download maps on the TopoView site:
https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/
I used the 1895 Palo Alto quadrangle or the 1900 historical topo as listed in GaiaGPS:
https://www.gaiagps.com/
More to come...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLKU_Rv0osk
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VIDEO
BREVI
breville-870xl-filter-tear-down
Breville espresso machine water filter tear down and a "too small filter" hack.
The filters I ordered:
- http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HN0277E
Last year, I got the proper size, this time I got the smaller ones, so there appears to be a supply problem with this vendor. They have an update from July 2015 saying to ignore the "too small" reviews, but that's about the time I ordered mine (June 2015).
These same water filters work with the following Breville models: BKC600XL, BKC700XL, BES840XL, BES860XL, BES870XL, BES900XL, BES920XL and BES980XL.
I made a simple adapter out of one of the original large filters to insert the smaller ones into and I think this should work fine. It'll keep the filter centered over the water outlet. I can then rinse out that outer filter and insert a new small filter every 2 months.
Pretty interesting contents of the filter. The product listing says its a carbon filter, other places list resin. It appears to be some of each. There is a large quantity of round ion exchange resin spheres and then a bit of carbon granules that must dissolve over time. A new filter appears to be filled completely while a used filter is only about half full.
Stay tuned for a follow up video looking more closely at the ion exchange resin and its interesting optical properties:
https://youtu.be/xPlDFaWllZs
My filter replacement video:
https://youtu.be/rXRPbLBRu_c
If anyone has a used Breville filter that they are otherwise going to throw out, contact me via a PM, I'd like to open one up to see if they are the same.
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Z3LPp38C4
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7"X12
7-x12-bandsaw-blade-guide-repair-part-2
Replacing the movable support guide bearings, then set up the blade for a nice square cut.
I usually try to get the blade set to where it'll make a 3" tall cut with less than 0.010" run-out.
Looks like ceramic ABEC 6000 bearings start around $18/ea. so may be an option for the next time around. Seems to be a few options, one is full ceramic and the other with stainless steel races. Not sure which would hold up better to the outside wear than these bearings take. If anyone has had any experience with this, post up in the comment section below.
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Intro:
Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38mu1ob5kLQ
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VIDEO
MAGNI
magnified-led-worklight-v2-part-1
After 5 years of use, the original LEDs used in the magnified work light are failing. Time to replace them and also repair the broken switch.
The switch is rather complicated mechanically as it served both as an on/off push button switch as well as a manual starter for the old fluorescent tube that used to be installed. The switch had broken and with the hold-to-start feature, it was very hard to use as you had to hold the button down and see if the lamp would strike then release and see if the switch would stay on. It might take 30 seconds to turn on the lamp sometimes.
As I had never seen inside the switch when it work, it took a while to realize the shaft was broken. I repaired it with some JB Weld epoxy and sanded that smooth to rebuild the shaft. Then I could figure out how the switch worked and identify the maintained contacts. Since the lamp housing had screws and hole set up for this exact switch, it was best to repair it.
I also located an 8" (200mm) T9 circline LED tube with a 12VDC power supply from M4 Products:
https://m4products.com/xw-round-cw-cool-white-8-round-12-volt-t9-led-tube-light-6000k/
When I ordered, they had a 4500K natural white option, now it seems only the cool white version.
I'm trying to use 12VDC power for as many things as possible on my electronics workbench. One reason is lack of flicker and 60Hz buzzing noise and EMI. It's safer by minimizing exposure to line voltage. Also, I can power this off my solar battery bank.
More to come, we'll fit the circular lamp into the lamp housing and get the power supply installed.
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Intro/Outro:
Louisiana Fairytale by Austin Rogers
http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WZLHggFF6g
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HALOG
halogen-torchiere-lamp-conversion-part-2
Out with the old, in with the new, or is it the other way around?
The old Edison screw base socket predates the bi-pole halogen bulb by many decades. In any event, the idea is to remove the high power halogen bulb socket and replace it with a simple Edison socket.
Be sure to unplug the lamp prior to working on it for safety. And if the lamp was on, be sure to allow time for the halogen bulb to cool, they can get extremely hot in operation.
I used a replacement socket from the local hardware store. Pick one that has some sort of provision for a mounting tab. Some will have a large threaded hole in the bottom for screwing onto a hollow tube, you don't want that kind. This one on Amazon is similar to what I used:
http://amzn.to/2wgJhlf
On other lamp conversions I've done, the mounting tab bent easily over flat. But this socket the tab was very stiff and ended up breaking off. So I just cut a thin strip of sheet metal to fit into the slot that the tab is in. I drilled a hole in one end and slipped the new tab under the original one to hold it in place.
Then mark and drill a new hole in the new tab to place the socket dead center in the reflector. Screw it down, and hook up the two wires and the conversion is done.
Time to test it out. Some of these lamps had simple on/off rotary switches, others, like this one had 3-position dimmer switches and others had infinitely adjustable dimmers. I found on some of my old Torchiere lamps, the dimmers failed due to the 300W-500W load.
How you proceed with the switch depends on if it still works and if it works with your chosen bulb. Options are use the switch as-is, replace with a simple on/off switch or just tie the two switch wires together and use a switched outlet to control the lamp. I've done all 3 in the last and all have worked.
The switches are typically located in the middle at a threaded coupling on the pole. Unscrew the pole to access the switch if needed.
In the next video, I'll add the finishing touches to the lamp by adding a shade for the exposed bulb:
- https://youtu.be/DRFeMsj8m_M
Music by: Austin Rogers
http://drfiddle.com/show_tune.php?id=94
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAgNBIzP_-M
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