So, I KNOW about impedance matching and all that, but bear with me while I tell a tale about staying up waaay too late to play with some junk on the workbench, and what that meant to my sleep schedule.
Continue reading “Today I Learned: 50 ohm Impedance”Teletype Fun with Arduino
Trying to get some new posts going as I’ve been slacking lately, but for a good reason; I’ve been crazy busy! One project that someone turned me on to was one found on Hackaday; specifically this project: https://hackaday.io/project/2836-arduino-teletype
Continue reading “Teletype Fun with Arduino”Hakko FX-888D: RTFM
Figured I’d share this, as its one of my many but funnier blunders.
Both me and my brother tend to get each other identical christmas gifts; it’s happened multiple times and we always get a laugh out of it. Last time we both bought each other new Hakko FX-888D soldering irons. The ‘D’ denotes digital control.
That said, since my Weller WTCP was hurting with a break in the wire, I was excited to have a new, fully-working iron.
So I get it on the bench, and start messing around with it, and realized the temp was set a little low, so I bump it up a little bit as it was struggling to melt solder. Again it still seemed to be struggling so I cranked it up a little more, and even at a solder-boiling 850 it just didn’t perform well, and eventually I just chalked it up to being new, having a new tip, needing to break in, whatever. I’ve used it a handful of times since then, but resorted back to my WTCP iron as it just didn’t seem to be working right. (I still LOVE the WTCP btw.)
Eventually I attempted to check the temp with an actual thermocouple, and while its difficult to get a decent reading, the highest it got was in the 500’s, far from the 850 it was set to. I figured it was likely defective.
A few days ago I was rooting around in my junk drawer and came across the user manual for it. I realized I never had any luck with it and maybe I should reach out to Hakko as there had to be something wrong. I flipped through the manual, and the answer came to me: I was changing the CALIBRATION, not the actual temp! Both are nearly identical procedures, but one starts with the enter key (temp), and one starts with the up key (cal). In my defense, one would think the “up” button changes the actual temp!
All the calibration does is change the DISPLAY for the set temp, so I was likely at 600 degrees, and kept setting it higher trying to get it to solder, when in reality it was still at 600.
I since did a factory reset, and turned up the actual temp, and now it’s working great and I can actually use it. I may pick up a soldering iron calibrator some day to properly set it.
Apparently I wasn’t the only one to do this; Hakko has a bulletin explaining the difference on their web site: http://kb.hakkousa.com/KnowledgebaseArticle11663.aspx
Perhaps on the FX-889D, they’ll properly label the buttons 😂
Moral of the story: RTFM – Read the f—riggin manual!
Making Ham…..Radio: Amateur Radio Kits. Projects, and Ideas
To go along with a talk I’ll be giving about “Making” and Ham Radio at the Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club’s monthly meeting, I figured I’d assemble a list of links for various kits, kit vendors, and other interesting ham radio projects that I can simply link to here. It’s possible I may update this or make it a permanent page down the road. This page is VERY link heavy so feel free to click away! Onto the good stuff…
Continue reading “Making Ham…..Radio: Amateur Radio Kits. Projects, and Ideas”Wells-Gardner 19K7201 Arcade Monitor Repair
What was one of my favorite games in the ‘cade broke down on me – my Megatouch 7. Yes this thing is so old it has a CGA monitor, but its been a solid performer for years.
Continue reading “Wells-Gardner 19K7201 Arcade Monitor Repair”
Learning about Teletypes – Down the Rabbit Holes We Go!
With temps in the high 90s and low 100s in Philly, after picking up my Teletype ASR-32 a week ago, I’ve been sitting in the AC diving into all sorts of resources, web sites, and videos learning about them and the various technologies they either originally used or continue to use today.
Continue reading “Learning about Teletypes – Down the Rabbit Holes We Go!”Hamfest Weekend and Teletype acquired!
Did a ton of walking and shopping this weekend at two back-to-back hamfests. What’s a hamfest? Easiest answer is “an electronics flea market”. They’re called “hamfests” as they’re often hosted by ham radio clubs, and while a majority of the gear for sale is radio related, you’ll find other deals at them as well.
The first was the MARC Hamfest in Kimberton, PA. Got a few goodies there and met up with some regulars.
Next up on Sunday was the Sussex County Hamfest up in New Jersey. This one is a bit of a haul and I attend it both to support some friends, and plugs it’s a bigger event. I found a few goodies here as well.
The biggest item on the loot pile? A Teletype ASR-32! While it’s not the ASR-33 (I’d still LOVE to find one for a decent deal!), its nearly identical in appearance and I’m hoping I can use it for vintage computer fun as well as some ham radio RTTY (radio-teletype) action. As part of the deal I also got a HAL ST-6 “teletype unit”, which is a demodulator (receiver) for RTTY. You can find a picture of it here. This unit receives RTTY signals from a radio, and converts them to serial data thats transferred to a teletype via a “current loop” connection. In this case the HAL ST-6 has been modified with a AFSR board so the teletype can be used for sending RTTY as well. More importantly, it looks techy and has blinky lights. No pics yet, but some will be forthcoming as I mess around with it and get it going.
With weather forecast in the mid to hid 90s this week, I think imma stay in the AC and geek out some!
Philly Mini Maker Faire 2019 still on despite “Make” shutdown
Got some sad news over the weekend; Make Magazine (Maker Media) has abruptly shut down all operations, which likely includes the “Maker Faire” events, at least the larger events held annually at locations across the US and the world. The New York event (which I’ve attended a number of times) was awesome and huge.
It seems the smaller “licensed” events are likely to continue, depending on each’s situation.
It seems not all may be lost though; there seems to be efforts to keep the business afloat (as well as possibly some of the Maker Faire events), so I guess we’re in a wait-and-see pattern as far as the NY Maker Faire is concerned. That said, today I received word that the 2019 Philly Mini Maker Faire, which is hosted at the Pennovation Center, is still on and completely funded and organized separate from Maker Media, which is awesome news to hear!
I hope for the best for this organization and hope the NY (and other) Maker Faires continue.
Already Missing Radio Shack
Yes, Radio Shack may still be around in some minor form and via web site, most of the stores, including all the ones in the PA area, are gone. Walking around the mall a couple days ago, I was reminded of what was once my favorite store, likely the only store I would really “shop” at in the mall….Radio Shack!
While in recent times, Radio Shack struggled to keep up with my massive need for all things technology, I did still frequent the store just to see what they had that was new, and especially what was on clearance. While they were all around, the one I remember and likely visited the most was the store at the Plymouth Meeting Mall, in Plymouth Meeting PA. Every now and than I would manage to find a connector, a weird battery, or some other oddball item that I could use.
That said, I remember fondly growing up where I was cutting my teeth playing with TVs, VCRs, boomboxes, and other stuff, where most of the time I needed batteries, or usually some “RCA to (some other plug) adapter”. We’d always mess around with the computers, and make sure we got our free battery from the free battery club! (While the club is long gone, Rat shack’s web site has t-shirts themed on it!)
The distinctly fond memories I have though, going back to the late 80s and early 90s, would be checking out the computers in the back of the store, and playing a game called Thexder on a TRS-80. I also remember the robotic arm called the Armatron they had at the counter that I’d play with while waiting in line. The one with the constantly-grinding gears that felt like it was going to break at any moment.
Lastly, I also remember the newer computers, one of which my parents finally bought me the family for Christmas, and the look of horror in my dads face when I told him we needed a “VGA” monitor, and when we went back, the $400 price tag that monitor had (after dumping over $2k into the actual computer). It was a Tandy 2500 SX 386, and I still have it!
Soon after I got the 386, a friend of mine also got a new computer, a Tandy Sensation 486, complete with the new MULTIMEDIA speaker sound system! Oooh!
(Yes, still jealous!)
I’ve had lengthy discussions with friends over what Radio Shack could have done to save themselves, and honestly from what I heard, they sorta knew. In reality though, having quick access to nearly any kind of component within a couple days certainly put a hurting on them, and I think its ironic that they really died off at a time when the Maker movement was really starting to take off. I realize more and more that malls have become mostly havens for clothing and jewelry, with Sears gone (the “other” store I’d shop), its somewhat difficult to actually buy hard goods at a mall anymore, especially anything having to do with “repair”.
Oh well…I’m just glad that with the writing on the wall, I learned to take the initiative to take a pic of the store before it closed up. The pic above was taken by me in February 2015. I have a couple other pics and videos of the Plymouth Meeting mall dating back to the mid 90s, so stay tuned for more nostalgia posts!
If you’re a nostalgia nut like I am, there’s tons of Radio Shack media out on the internets, including commercials, catalogs, other blog posts, and more. One example I found was this web site that has tons of Radio Shack catalogs. Cool!