What's on your workbench???

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#164
Boris_The_Blade said:
:bigeyes: more silicon than an adult film convention :bigeyes:
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They use silicone, not silicon!

I have a relatively clear bench but one project that I've been working at for >2 years now, and it is a fairly simple one, but I have been suffering from projectus interruptus.

First I had to move from Mo. to Az., then I had to study for the DAT exam, then I had to apply to dental school. Then I had probelms with static electricity that killed a PIC programmer and one of my target board ICs- one of the hazards of living in the desert. Then I got an antistatic mat and wrist strap followed by another programmer that couldn't program the target chip even though the specs claimed it could. Finally I got another programmer that works but school keeps sucking up all my hobby time. Now when I get a couple hours to work on it, I have to review what I did months ago, and relearn the MPASM so I can make some forward progress. By the time I have reviewed the project and the language, I don't have any more time to push the project forward.

The project is a stroboscopic microscope illuminator using a 5W blue LED as a light source. I slam 15A current spikes through the LED to get adequate brightness (even at 1200X) with very short flash durations. I use a PIC 16F877A to control it. Period is settable from about 15 sec to about 2 ms in ~0.25% steps, selected with a rotary encoder. I can control the flash duration from 5 to 250 us in 5 us steps. It makes it easy to observe the cilia on microorganisms. You can adjust the flash period on-the-fly and freeze the motion of the cilia or set the period slightly off and make the cilia look like they are moving in slow motion. You can see some interesting patterns in the motion that way.

I_F
 
#166
Hi I_F,

Your reasons of not finishing your project for over two years are almost as interesting as your project itself. That is interesting that a LED can handle short bursts of that many amps!

You know I learned all about that "Projectus Interruptus" thing when I was in High School. I believe it was called Health Class. I remember the teacher saying that it wasn't effective and it had risks like making bad decisions that may affect the rest of your life and ultimately your projects too.

Next time use protection......... you know......... your new anti-static mat and wrist strap and make sure it is grounded to cold water plumbing! That's what they suggested back in High School. LOL

I hope all is well and you get some of your time back again!

Regards//Keith
 
#167
KP11520 said:
Hi I_F,

Your reasons of not finishing your project for over two years are almost as interesting as your project itself. That is interesting that a LED can handle short bursts of that many amps!

You know I learned all about that "Projectus Interruptus" thing when I was in High School.
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Well, we had Jesuits in our high school -- and projectus was not something encouraged at the senior prom.
 
#169
reforming caps...
CIMG0377.jpg


repairing atx psu..
CIMG0220.jpg
 
#170
Re: workbench

cnctooltek said:
Well I was talking on a personal level. You gotta have lots of tools gear fancy measuring instruments etc. Thats what impresses people.
A mans garage / bench is judged by his stuff even if he never uses it. 😀
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I doubt I've had more than a few hours at the bench in the last 18 months :bawling:

Ultra low noise/distortion audio sine generator on the bench, Perreaux 2150B with dummy load on the right, just after complete rebuild.

DSCN1314.JPG
 
#176
anatech said:
There is definitely some equipment I could use in that pile.
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Due to the lack of use and change in focus of what I do, some of that is going to eBay. The Tek 7904A power supply recently got the "tick of death" and I have given it to a Tekkie who promises that it will be repared and have a good home (its a very nice clean unit, apart from the dead PSU).

The Tek 2465A there is my 'scope of choice - they are lovely to use... The 2430A gets little use, and will probably go to eBay too, as will the two Tek logic analysers (3001GPX & 1241 - each with all their probes etc. and in GWO).

There's racks of other stuff going too...
 
#177
Hi nickds1,
Shipping will be killer from there. Ebay prices are generally too high for many of us, but good deals can be had.

Too bad you are no longer using all that wonderful stuff. You did put together an excellent bench.

-Chris
 
#180
Never enough

How convenient that someone mentioned IKEA earler in the thread.
This is their "jerker" desk, with some modifications to add power and lighting.

Photos on flickr so I could add notes.
Front view
Side view

I'm looking to trade up to a 20MHz dual or quad trace scope.
This one is a single, and drifts so much, you've got to adjust every few seconds, or the trace goes off the screen. :dead:
 
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