Most normal people are feeling some effects of the current economic mess, even if they are still employed. Given the war being actively waged upon the American middle class, many folks are having more and more trouble finding money to just pay for day to day needs - much less the parts to build or create new projects.
Plato (427 BC - 347 BC) said that "necessity is the mother of invention". During the 1930's - the Great Depression - folks built their own radios and other projects from whatever they could find around. Grandpa's "oatmeal box radio" is but one example. During WW2, prisoners of war actually built functioning crystal radios using razor blades, scrap wire and other bits and pieces they found. Here in my lab, I too have embraced some of the ways of my grandparents' generation. During the past year I have learned of a couple ways to quickly and efficiently recover components intact from used PC boards. This has already saved me considerable funds - some of which I have been able to invest in those few specialty parts that I could not find in my gleanings.
From two dead CDROM drives removed from computers I have salvaged the lasers, motor drives, and a few other semiconductor devices. I have set the laser diodes aside for future use in an experimental "free space" optical communications system. From a 56K modem card I salvaged all the parts I needed to make a telephone line interface for conference calls. Ham operators take note - the 600 ohm line transformer out of a modem works great in a phone patch circuit. Why pay $10 - $20 plus shipping for this component? Also on the modem card were the MOV surge suppressor devices, high voltage capacitors, ... needed to interface with telephone lines.
Computer power supplies yield transformers, bridge rectifiers, resistors, low and high voltage electrolytic caps, and assorted semiconductor devices. Even the metal case can be reused for certain projects - especially if looks aren't critical.
A dead computer can yield fans, heat sinks, connectors, and some surface-mount components. The case can be salvaged for the metal.
TV sets, VCRs, stereo components, home appliances and personal electronic devices yield all sorts of good, useful electronic and mechanical parts. High voltage experimenters and builders of small Tesla coils will likely want the flyback transformers and high voltage capacitors from TVs and CRT-type computer monitors. Get 'em now - these parts will become scarce in the next few years as flat screen monitors and TVs take over.
So, before you hand your old computer, TV, or any other appliances to be scrapped or recycled, check and see if there's something you could salvage off it and use before throwing it away. Those parts will either end up in a landfill or melted down anyway - so why not reuse them yourself?
Thursday, September 8, 2011
SPIM: MIPS 32-Bit Simulator
SPIM is a simulator that allows one to run programs in MIPS assembly language on one's own PC. Many college courses in computer architecture and engineering teach MIPS assembly language as part of the curriculum. MIPS stands for Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages, and is an example of a RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture. MIPS is used in lots of embedded microprocessors, video game systems, some desktop workstations such as DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) and SGI (Silicon Graphics, Inc.), and many other applications. MIPS based chips can be found in hand held computers and cell phones. There are both 32 bit and 64 bit versions of MIPS.
This semester, I am taking a computer hardware and architecture course and am getting prepared for our first MIPS 32 programming assignment. We will be using SPIM. SPIM is written by James Larus. You can find more information and downloads at the links below:
SPIM Sourceforge Project Page - You can download the Windows version conveniently here.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/spimsimulator/
SPIM MIPS Simulator Homepage - You can find more information and LINUX versions by going here.
http://spimsimulator.sourceforge.net/
From my understanding of the documentation, the more recent versions of SPIM are apparently called "QtSPIM".
The LINUX downloads there appear to cater to Debian and Ubuntu users. I am currently in the process of finding out what is available for those of us who use Fedora and other distros. Last night I attempted to compile SPIM directly from the source code onto my Fedora system, but to no avail. There is a problem with the makefile that I am currently trying to resolve. I have contacted some people about it, so as soon as I find out what is going on with that I'll post it here. Meanwhile, in the interest of quickly getting something going for the class, I loaded QtSPIM to my Windows VISTA partition from the first of the two links shown above. Here is a screenshot:
Note there are two windows open. One is the "console" window that shows any results or dialogs when the program runs. The "Qt" window shows you your source code, registers, and other relevant information.
This promises to be quite an interesting semester. Will write more as things progress.
This semester, I am taking a computer hardware and architecture course and am getting prepared for our first MIPS 32 programming assignment. We will be using SPIM. SPIM is written by James Larus. You can find more information and downloads at the links below:
SPIM Sourceforge Project Page - You can download the Windows version conveniently here.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/spimsimulator/
SPIM MIPS Simulator Homepage - You can find more information and LINUX versions by going here.
http://spimsimulator.sourceforge.net/
From my understanding of the documentation, the more recent versions of SPIM are apparently called "QtSPIM".
The LINUX downloads there appear to cater to Debian and Ubuntu users. I am currently in the process of finding out what is available for those of us who use Fedora and other distros. Last night I attempted to compile SPIM directly from the source code onto my Fedora system, but to no avail. There is a problem with the makefile that I am currently trying to resolve. I have contacted some people about it, so as soon as I find out what is going on with that I'll post it here. Meanwhile, in the interest of quickly getting something going for the class, I loaded QtSPIM to my Windows VISTA partition from the first of the two links shown above. Here is a screenshot:
Note there are two windows open. One is the "console" window that shows any results or dialogs when the program runs. The "Qt" window shows you your source code, registers, and other relevant information.
This promises to be quite an interesting semester. Will write more as things progress.
Monday, September 5, 2011
More on Making a PVC Pipe Archery Bow
Regular readers of this blog will recall the piece I wrote about my experimental PVC archery bow. I wanted to see if one could actually produce a longbow type archery bow easily and cheaply using PVC. Between family, school, and other demands I have not gotten out to shoot it yet. See my previous post here:
http://inkarlslab.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-pvc-pipe-archery-bow.html
While doing some research a couple weeks ago I stumbled upon this interesting you-tube video. It details how to make a PVC bow that is considerably more elaborate than the one I made and wrote about. It's owner claims 60 pounds draw weight - quite respectable, in my opinion.
http://themanscave.com/hunting-outdoors/pvc-bow/
There are plenty of sites online that deal with PVC as a cheap and readily available material for making archery bows. Here is a quick distillation of what I have learned:
USE EYE PROTECTION when shooting ANY archery bow!! Any bow made of any material could potentially break. This could cause eye injury, depending on where the pieces fly. I've also heard of strings breaking and swatting people in the face, too.
1) While PVC will work, it does NOT have the speed or the "snap" of wood or fiberglass. In other words, when the string is released, a PVC bow of a given design and draw weight will take slightly longer to return to the relaxed position. Thus it will not produce as much arrow velocity as other materials.
2) PVC will develop a "memory", or "take a set", if it is left strung all the time. Thus, one should always unstring the bow when not in use.
3) On ANY "traditional" style bow, you want a brace height of 6" - 7". The brace height is the measurement between the string and the handle - in this case as measured at the middle of the bow. I should adjust mine by shortening the string slightly; the brace height is about 4.5".
4) The "composite" design of "Themancave's" bow offers the advantage of better speed due to the fiberglass rod core. Doing as he said by using a 1/2" pipe slipped inside a 3/4" pipe might also help protect against breakage - though I'd use soap or lanolin instead of petroleum based oil as the assembly lubricant.
5) If you paint PVC as "Themanscave" did, beware that the solvents in the paint will eat into the PVC and weaken it somewhat. Krylon and Rust-Oleum both make a spray primer for PVC. This primer is supposed to help the paint bind to the PVC. I'm currently using that on my own PVC projects to hopefully avoid the paint flaking I've experienced in the past.
6) As I mentioned in my previous post on this topic, PVC gets quite brittle at temperatures below the mid 40's Fahrenheit. So don't try to shoot it in cold weather. PVC also degrades due to UV exposure - so don't leave your PVC bow exposed to sunlight when not in use. Painting your bow will protect it from UV exposure, but as I mentioned above the paint itself will weaken the material slightly.
While PVC does have certain disadvantages as pointed out above, it can be a viable way to obtain a bow quite cheaply and easily, and also might prove to be a useful emergency technology in a survival situation.
If any readers have made and used a PVC bow, I'd love to hear from you. In a future post I plan to cover simple "home and hardware store" materials to use for making bowstrings.
http://inkarlslab.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-pvc-pipe-archery-bow.html
While doing some research a couple weeks ago I stumbled upon this interesting you-tube video. It details how to make a PVC bow that is considerably more elaborate than the one I made and wrote about. It's owner claims 60 pounds draw weight - quite respectable, in my opinion.
http://themanscave.com/hunting-outdoors/pvc-bow/
There are plenty of sites online that deal with PVC as a cheap and readily available material for making archery bows. Here is a quick distillation of what I have learned:
USE EYE PROTECTION when shooting ANY archery bow!! Any bow made of any material could potentially break. This could cause eye injury, depending on where the pieces fly. I've also heard of strings breaking and swatting people in the face, too.
1) While PVC will work, it does NOT have the speed or the "snap" of wood or fiberglass. In other words, when the string is released, a PVC bow of a given design and draw weight will take slightly longer to return to the relaxed position. Thus it will not produce as much arrow velocity as other materials.
2) PVC will develop a "memory", or "take a set", if it is left strung all the time. Thus, one should always unstring the bow when not in use.
3) On ANY "traditional" style bow, you want a brace height of 6" - 7". The brace height is the measurement between the string and the handle - in this case as measured at the middle of the bow. I should adjust mine by shortening the string slightly; the brace height is about 4.5".
4) The "composite" design of "Themancave's" bow offers the advantage of better speed due to the fiberglass rod core. Doing as he said by using a 1/2" pipe slipped inside a 3/4" pipe might also help protect against breakage - though I'd use soap or lanolin instead of petroleum based oil as the assembly lubricant.
5) If you paint PVC as "Themanscave" did, beware that the solvents in the paint will eat into the PVC and weaken it somewhat. Krylon and Rust-Oleum both make a spray primer for PVC. This primer is supposed to help the paint bind to the PVC. I'm currently using that on my own PVC projects to hopefully avoid the paint flaking I've experienced in the past.
6) As I mentioned in my previous post on this topic, PVC gets quite brittle at temperatures below the mid 40's Fahrenheit. So don't try to shoot it in cold weather. PVC also degrades due to UV exposure - so don't leave your PVC bow exposed to sunlight when not in use. Painting your bow will protect it from UV exposure, but as I mentioned above the paint itself will weaken the material slightly.
While PVC does have certain disadvantages as pointed out above, it can be a viable way to obtain a bow quite cheaply and easily, and also might prove to be a useful emergency technology in a survival situation.
If any readers have made and used a PVC bow, I'd love to hear from you. In a future post I plan to cover simple "home and hardware store" materials to use for making bowstrings.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Some Insight Into The Mindset of GNOME3 Developers
I have written about the GNOME3 desktop environment in a couple recent posts. Richard Jones, a computer programmer, wrote a short blog piece about GNOME3 today. He posted a link to an actual conversation between Owen Taylor (from Red Hat) and two GNOME developers. Definitely an interesting and eye-opening 10 minutes of reading for any GNOME user.
http://rwmj.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/more-gnome-3-inanity/
My $ 0.02:
What I come away with from Mr. Jones's and Mr. Taylor's posts is the GNOME developers are basically focused on how THEY use GNOME; they are not necessarily mindful of how the rest of us work within the environment.
College business and marketing professors have taught that businesses who ignored indicators of what the market wanted and was buying did so to their own peril. Personal experience and observations in the real world bear this out - one does NOT need a degree in business to figure this out.
Having taken computer programming classes in college, I can attest to the level of thinking acuity required to produce a piece of software. Building something as complex as an entire GUI environment - like GNOME - is no small feat. My hat's off to anyone who can do it.
These guys aren't stupid - I just hope they get the wax out of their ears, and soon.
http://rwmj.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/more-gnome-3-inanity/
My $ 0.02:
What I come away with from Mr. Jones's and Mr. Taylor's posts is the GNOME developers are basically focused on how THEY use GNOME; they are not necessarily mindful of how the rest of us work within the environment.
College business and marketing professors have taught that businesses who ignored indicators of what the market wanted and was buying did so to their own peril. Personal experience and observations in the real world bear this out - one does NOT need a degree in business to figure this out.
Having taken computer programming classes in college, I can attest to the level of thinking acuity required to produce a piece of software. Building something as complex as an entire GUI environment - like GNOME - is no small feat. My hat's off to anyone who can do it.
These guys aren't stupid - I just hope they get the wax out of their ears, and soon.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Does Mozilla have a Death Wish?
Yesterday afternoon, when I started my lab PC and logged onto the Internet, I discovered that Firefox had automatically updated itself to the next version. I had stayed with the 3.6.xx versions of Firefox out of concern that some of my add-ons wouldn't work under FF 4 or 5. Indeed, there has been a BUNCH of complaining online about such compatibility issues with the newer Firefox releases. Since I had been running 3.6.18, it updated to 3.6.20. As a result, java runtime didn't work any more. Oddly, flash ran great, but no java. I checked the mozilla plugins directory; the symlinks to the flash and java plugins were there. All looked well, but no java. So I tried removing the symlink to java and re-creating that. Still no success.
I have spent all afternoon today looking through online forums, uninstalling, and reinstalling Firefox - all to no avail. I downloaded, unzipped, and attempted to install Firefox 6, but the install scripts wouldn't work. No info available on this from Mozilla or any other forum I checked online.
Tonight I performed a clean install of Firefox 5.0. Oddly, there was NO mozilla plugins directory created in the process. I used the mkdir command and created my own mozilla plugins directory. Therein I created the symlinks to the flash player and java plugins. Flash works great on you-tube but java is still broken, so I can't access my online college courses using Firefox. And classes start next Monday.
Mozilla's troubleshooting guides, forums, ... are silent on this. And of course, there's nobody to yell at.
THANKS, Mozilla!!
I'll be testing Opera 11 and Google Chrome this weekend - though I've heard terrible things about the security of both these products.
As things sit right now I have the choice of a buggy, insecure operating system (Windows) with a fully functioning web browser(IE 9), or a good, relatively secure operating system (LINUX) and a lousy, broken web browser. Great way to start a new semester.
Sorry, but I HAVE to ask:
Does Mozilla have a death wish? Are they being paid by Micro$oft to torpedo the competition?? Is their management really as clueless as they appear??? Have they become "pod people" - occupied by alien body snatchers????
I don't have the answers to these burning questions. If any of my readers have any insight into this madness, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section. I'm absolutely stumped!
What I do know is that folks who work for a living and/or have other "mission critical" activities they are doing (Graduate school, in my case) do NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE ON THIS NONSENSE!!!!
I seriously think Mozilla may have to lose most of its user base before they wise up. Many folks will simply take the easy way out and put up with M$ IE, rather than fight this kind of hassle. That would be a crying shame, as Firefox and LINUX were indeed a pretty unbeatable combination until recently.
I have spent all afternoon today looking through online forums, uninstalling, and reinstalling Firefox - all to no avail. I downloaded, unzipped, and attempted to install Firefox 6, but the install scripts wouldn't work. No info available on this from Mozilla or any other forum I checked online.
Tonight I performed a clean install of Firefox 5.0. Oddly, there was NO mozilla plugins directory created in the process. I used the mkdir command and created my own mozilla plugins directory. Therein I created the symlinks to the flash player and java plugins. Flash works great on you-tube but java is still broken, so I can't access my online college courses using Firefox. And classes start next Monday.
Mozilla's troubleshooting guides, forums, ... are silent on this. And of course, there's nobody to yell at.
THANKS, Mozilla!!
I'll be testing Opera 11 and Google Chrome this weekend - though I've heard terrible things about the security of both these products.
As things sit right now I have the choice of a buggy, insecure operating system (Windows) with a fully functioning web browser(IE 9), or a good, relatively secure operating system (LINUX) and a lousy, broken web browser. Great way to start a new semester.
Sorry, but I HAVE to ask:
Does Mozilla have a death wish? Are they being paid by Micro$oft to torpedo the competition?? Is their management really as clueless as they appear??? Have they become "pod people" - occupied by alien body snatchers????
I don't have the answers to these burning questions. If any of my readers have any insight into this madness, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section. I'm absolutely stumped!
What I do know is that folks who work for a living and/or have other "mission critical" activities they are doing (Graduate school, in my case) do NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE ON THIS NONSENSE!!!!
I seriously think Mozilla may have to lose most of its user base before they wise up. Many folks will simply take the easy way out and put up with M$ IE, rather than fight this kind of hassle. That would be a crying shame, as Firefox and LINUX were indeed a pretty unbeatable combination until recently.
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