Shakedown Social

Søren KjærsgaardIn January, I bought two 10V references, based on LM399. I was a bit skeptical on the design, following Marco Reps on YouTube does that to you 😂, but a teardown revealed quality components (Vishay precision resistors) and a decent circuitry and PCB layout. I measured the standard deviation on the 10V output, using my 3458A, and I’ve done so monthly-ish ever since, leaving them powered all the time. In March I added two more, unit 3 and 4. Result so far: unit 1,2,3 are converging towards 1uV SDEV, unit 4 however (separate curve), started out sky-high, but it has now joined the ppm club 🤷🏼‍♂️😳 Someone mind telling me what’s going on? I mean, it’s wellknown that the noise drops over time, but why? What physical/chemical factors comes at play, causing this behavior? <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/voltnuts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#voltnuts</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/ppmgeek" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ppmgeek</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronicsengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsengineering</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/testandmeasurement" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#testandmeasurement</a>

Ars Technica NewsEngineer creates first custom motherboard for 1990s PlayStation console <a href="https://arstechni.ca/NBSz" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank">https://arstechni.ca/NBSz</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/electronicsengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsengineering</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/hardwarepreservation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hardwarepreservation</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Reverse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Reverse</a>-engineering <a href="https://c.im/tags/Vintagecomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Vintagecomputing</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/hardwarehacking" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hardwarehacking</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/retrocomputing" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#retrocomputing</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/classicgaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#classicgaming</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/GamingHistory" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#GamingHistory</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/crowdfunding" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#crowdfunding</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Gameconsoles" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Gameconsoles</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/PlayStation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#PlayStation</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/retrogaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#retrogaming</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/opensource" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#opensource</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/PCBdesign" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#PCBdesign</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/retrotech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#retrotech</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Gaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Gaming</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/gaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#gaming</a> <a href="https://c.im/tags/Sony" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Sony</a>

Søren KjærsgaardYesterday was <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/worldmetrologyday" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#worldmetrologyday</a> and thus, a perfect occasion to do the monthly statistical readout of my four 10V references, based on the popular LM399. Two of them arrived January 15 and has been powered since. A couple of months later, March 22, I added two more. The idea is, that the standard deviation (noise) of the 10V output should improve with time, lots of time 😂Well, that is in fact what I see. Three of them are now at 1.15uV, 1.17uV and 1.45uV. The fourth however, started out really high, 81uV 😳, but has since improved to 29uV in just two months. I plan to keep doing this, - Let’s see what the rest of the year brings 🙂🙂Long term plan: a 10V calibration transfer 👍🏼<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/testandmeasurement" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#testandmeasurement</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/engineer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#engineer</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronicsengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsengineering</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronics</a>

Søren KjærsgaardThis weekend was special: yesterday the baltic countries: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, disconnected from the Russian/Belarus 50Hz power grid, going ‘island mode’, controlling the 50Hz grid frequency themselves. After more than a day of different stability tests, this afternoon, just before 13:00 CET, a connection to the European grid was established via Poland, so now the the three countries are in 50Hz sync with Europe. I observed a small, undramatic, ‘burp’ in the frequency at the time of the event, and my wall socket is now in full sync with the measurement in Estonia, provided by <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/sympower" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#sympower</a>⚡️ 😃👌🏼<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/gridtech" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#gridtech</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/powerdistribution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#powerdistribution</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronicsengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsengineering</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/testandmeasurement" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#testandmeasurement</a>

Søren KjærsgaardOccasionally you come across a rescue scenario: it was literally me or the dumpster… So I adopted it, I now have a 20GHz frequency counter… 🤷🏼‍♂️😎The 5361B was naver made for normal RF use, its primary application is analysis of pulsed radars. It does, however, fully support CW measurements, so although somewhat bulky, it’s a nice instrument to have around in the lab 🙂<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/testandmeasurement" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#testandmeasurement</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/rfengineer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#rfengineer</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronicsengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsengineering</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/hamradio" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hamradio</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/hamr" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hamr</a>

Søren KjærsgaardIt’s been 5 years since I started feeding <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/flightradar24" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#flightradar24</a> with a <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/raspberrypi" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#raspberrypi</a> and, initially, a DVB-T USB dongle. I quickly moved to the <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/flightaware" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#flightaware</a> Pro Stick Plus receiver and a much enhanced antenna, which gave me a significant range and performance improvement. Except…:I seem to be burning through a receiver about every year.. 🤷🏼‍♂️ They do run quite hot, seen here at 21C ambient, some components peak at 50C and that’s without the cover… I’m considering building a small enclosure with a fan to keep it ventilated without the plastic cover, any suggestions would be appreciated 🙂<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/flightradar24" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#flightradar24</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/flightradar24feeder" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#flightradar24feeder</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/flightaware" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#flightaware</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/aviationlovers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#aviationlovers</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/aviationgeek" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#aviationgeek</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/rfengineer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#rfengineer</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronicsengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsengineering</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/hamr" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hamr</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/hamradio" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hamradio</a>

Søren Kjærsgaard<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/Easterquiz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Easterquiz</a>, what is this? 🐣Correct answer and a demo will follow one of these days 🙂<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/easterfun" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#easterfun</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/rfengineer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#rfengineer</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/testandmeasurement" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#testandmeasurement</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/hamradio" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hamradio</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/hamr" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hamr</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronicsengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsengineering</a>

Søren KjærsgaardAn interferometer is a really cool laser experiment you can do at the bench 💪🏼😃You need a laser diode with a built in photo diode sensor - not all of them have it. Keep the power low, and safe. I chose the ADL65052. (Laser diodes are NOT like your common LED so if you’ve never played with them before, start with that)Then build a transimpedance amplifier (a current to voltage amp), connect the output to an oscilloscope and here’s what happens: The light can be reflected back into the laser, causing constructive and destructive interference. The sensor diode sees this as varying light depending on the distance to the reflector. It’s REALLY sensitive, it’ll pick up vibrations of the surface of my bench 😳 It’s a well described experiment, there’s a whole Wikipedia article on the principle. The physics behind it is quite sofisticated though - so it’s a neat experiment to replicate 🤓<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/physics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#physics</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/stem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#stem</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/physicsfun" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#physicsfun</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/stemeducation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#stemeducation</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronics</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronicsengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsengineering</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/engineer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#engineer</a>

JimmyChezPants 🇨🇦Hey <a href="https://growers.social/tags/ElectronicsEngineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ElectronicsEngineering</a> So how expensive would it be to setup and operate an 80s-level chip fabrication facility nowadays?Something that could produce 6502 or 680000 type CPUs (C64 or Amiga level stuff) and that sort of thing.Is this something that can be done on countertop now or some such?

Søren Kjærsgaard<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/xmas" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#xmas</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/teardown" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#teardown</a> - the cheap LED flickery candles 🕯️🙂There’s just the one component, the LED. Visible through the clear plastic housing, there’s a small black dot, it’s the control chip which makes the LED flicker like a candle. Measuring the light output with an external detector, it’s clear that while it’s ON most of the time, occasionally it turns off at a seemingly random pattern. And zooming in, it’s clear that it is pulse-width-modulated at different duty cycles, giving the visible effect of a real candle. It’s actually really smart thought out - that little black chip is a lot more complicated than you’d initially imagine 🙂<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronics</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronicsengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsengineering</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/testandmeasurement" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#testandmeasurement</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/rohdeschwarz" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#rohdeschwarz</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/engineer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#engineer</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/xmasiscoming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#xmasiscoming</a>

Søren KjærsgaardEE friends, any recommended PSpice circuit simulators for Mac? I tried LTspice but it’s UI is absolutely horrible on the Mac .. 🤷🏼‍♂️ I heard that KiCAD has it, but I’ve never tried it.Thanks 🙏🏼 😊 <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronicsengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsengineering</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/hamradio" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#hamradio</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronicsdesign" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsdesign</a>

Søren KjærsgaardI decided to log the mains grid frequency for a full 24hr period 🤷🏼‍♂️🤓Using the Philips PM6669 and an external OCXO (calibrated, see earlier post when I received it) I get a quite accurate result. Each measurement takes 10 seconds, so in reality there’s some averaging going on right there, removing some of the jitter and noise at those last digits. The grid frequency is highly dynamic once you reach a millihertz resolution, and that is in fact what I’m trying to capture 🙂The PM6669 counter has a really nice feature btw., it’s max input level is 260Vrms! That’s really handy, in reality I could connect it straight to a mains outlet without damaging it, but due to the risk of transients I’m using a small transformer and the cute little Vellemann oscilloscope training kit so I can pick a more safe 12Vrms instead 👌🏻⚡️🙂Tonight I’ll have 8640 datapoints to play with 🤓<a href="https://techhub.social/tags/testandmeasurement" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#testandmeasurement</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/becauseican" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#becauseican</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronics</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/electronicsengineering" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#electronicsengineering</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/engineer" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#engineer</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/velleman" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#velleman</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/philips" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#philips</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/gridfrequency" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#gridfrequency</a> <a href="https://techhub.social/tags/mainsgrid" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#mainsgrid</a>

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