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Making, baking, and (un-)breaking things in Southeast Michigan.

Tahquamenon Falls State Park

October 4, 2007

Southeast Lower Tahquamenon Falls
(Click for more photos…)

As mentioned previously, Danielle and I headed up to Tahquamenon Falls State Park in northern Michigan this past weekend. I guess I don’t have too much to say about it, except that it was a nice weekend.

In short, as I remember the UP is much like many of the scary southern states, except without the accent. There are loads of pretty parts, good food is hard to find (Pickelman’s Pantry was not very good), and long distances between things. There were lots of nifty things around the park to look at, including the falls themselves, hiking trails, multicolored mushrooms, puffballs, and people who don’t know how to row.

I found the gift shop particularly interesting, especially the wall of fantasy figures in the gift shop. I guess the 80s have finally reached the UP.

Hmm, I’m going to stop now and state that I’ll likely make a lengthier post tonight or tomorrow. For now I’m feeling a bit hungry, so I want to get home and eat. Finishing captioning the photos was the last thing on my to-do list, and now that it’s done I’m happy.

If you’d like to look through the photos, just click here (photo gallery retired).

moved from livejournaloutdoorstravel

PCB Layout

October 2, 2007

Here, have a PCB layout that I think it almost complete. I need to validate some parts and be sure the drivers work as I expect, but beyond that it should be all set.

Now I’ll be able to switch inputs on a headphone amp without plugging / unplugging things. Yay!

electronicsmaking thingsmoved from livejournal

Vegetarian MREs

September 27, 2007

Well, these should make camping a little more interesting. Based on the descriptions they appear to be from menu year 2006. These are designed to provide 1250 kcal (Calories, as we know them) per meal and taste good enough that they don’t degrade morale. The last time I ate an MRE was in the mid-80s when my dad brought one back from either Panama or Honduras (wherever he was deployed at the time) and I ate a cold patty of what was essentially spam. I always really did like the dehydrated fruit, though.

I suspect these will be better, with the two menus as follows:

(Left) MENU NO. 14: VEGETABLE MANICOTTI

Vegetable Manicotti, Pound Cake, Wet Pack Fruit, Peanut Butter, Crackers, Cocoa (Hazelnut), Hot Sauce, Accessory Packet B, Spoon, Flameless Heater, Hot Beverage Bag

(Right) MENU NO. 12: VEGGIE BURGER WITH BBQ SAUCE

Veggie Burger w/BBQ Sauce, Dried Fruit, Chocolate Banana Muffin Top, Wheat Snack Bread (2), Potato Sticks, Beverage Base (CHO Fortified), Hot Sauce, Accessory Packet B, Spoon, Flameless Heater, Hot Beverage Bag

Of course, ACCESSORY PACK B contains:

Tea (Instant w/ Sweetener & Lemon Flavor), Salt, Chewing Gum, Matches, Toilet Tissue, Hand Cleaner

I don’t expect them to be good, but I think they’ll at least be decent. Unless I intend to eat about a gallon of soup, four Tasty Bite entrees, a pound of oat bran, and a pound of dried blueberries on top of these MREs I’ve way over-packed food wise for camping. That’s okay, at least there will be variety. It all fit within a pretty small box, anyway.

More info on MREs and other pre-packaged military rations from all around the world can be found here. By the way, it’s worthwhile for you to order a few cases of civilian MREs for survival food. mentioned a good idea of eating one every two weeks or so, then order a new case when one runs out, rotating the stock.

In a disaster situation two cases would safely feed you for two weeks, and the waterproof-ness ensures they will last through some pretty awful weather. The only down side is that, unlike the ones pictuerd above, the civilian ones don’t contain the heaters in the pouch.

foodmoved from livejournaloutdoors

Part Identification

September 27, 2007

(UPDATE: This has been reworded to not sound like crap.)

I’m looking for an IC, but having a hard time figuring out exactly which one does what I need.

Here’s what I need it to do:

Have five inputs which are connected to five pins on a microcontroller. Have one common input connected to +5VDC. (This could be common with Vcc for the IC.) When one of the five input pins goes high or low, the common input is connected to or disconnected from the output. The point of this is so that I can provide / sink more current than the microcontroller can handle.

My original idea was just to use five NPN transistors, but I figured I could find something in the form of a single IC and make assembly easier.

This is going to be used to drive some relays and LEDs. I could do it with discreet transistors, but that seems clunky and harder to solder.

What sort of part do I look for, or which data / catalog sheets can I pour over to find something like this?

electronicsmoved from livejournal

Audio Input Switch

September 26, 2007

Yay! I just finished porting the software for my PIC-based audio input switch to the PIC16F630. Earlier this afternoon I got it feature-complete and worked out all the bugs I could find, then in the last half hour or so I got it running on the new chip.

Tonight I hope to get it working with internal pullups (should be trivial) and then I’ll give the power supply design some thought, along with initial parts selection for the PCB itself.

Since I haven’t mentioned it here before, it’s:

– 2-5 input audio selection switch (configurable via jumpers)
– Relays for switching audio
– Fail-safe design
– Switches balanced or unbalanced audio
– Next / Previous buttons
– Mute function
– Saves input to ROM so that last state is restored at power-on
– MIT-licensed software

I’ll post more info later. Now it’s time to go home and meet up with Danielle for dinner.

electronicsmaking thingsmoved from livejournal

Wax On…

September 25, 2007

My Tent In The Garage, Covered In Nikwax Tent & Gear Proof
(Click for larger…)

My garage and part of my house smell vaguely of white glue, which is what Nikwax Tent & Gear Proof smells like. Since Danielle and I are going camping at Tahquamenon Falls State Park this weekend, and there is the remote possibility of rain (there always is, eh?) I wanted to waterproof my tent. Most of the areas which needed waterproofing were the seams, but I made sure to spray the whole thing down. Also, after letting it sit for a bit and soak in I wiped the whole thing down with a damp cloth, which seemed to do a good job of helping the waterproofing further penetrate the fabric.

After the job was done I tried to wash my hands, but they just became sticky and the water beaded up on them. Neither acetone or denatured alcohol would remove the chemical from my hands, so I took to dry scrubbing them with sodium percarbonate (Oxyclean). This seemed to do a good job, and then soap was able to remove the remaining slick C2H6Na4O12 residue. My hands still feel like they have a bit of the waterproofing compound left in them. Hopefully it’ll come out in the shower tomorrow.

We had originally thought about taking Danielle’s larger tent (see them both here), but we only had one 500mL bottle of waterproofing and the rainfly on hers seems to have a greater surface area than my whole tent. I’m glad I didn’t try waterproofing hers…

Hopefully the weather will cooperate. We’ll have the air mattress to sleep on, sheets and blankets, and (with any luck) a dry weekend.

making thingsmoved from livejournaloutdoors

Maglite LED Upgrade Module

September 23, 2007

Incandescent vs. LED Lamp in Two D-cell Maglite

I’ve been wanting an LED flashlight for a while, and yesterday when Danielle and I were at REI I saw that Maglite offers LED upgrade modules for their existing flashlights. Years ago when I was in Civil Air Patrol I had acquired a two D-cell Maglite for various encampment / search and rescue / utility purposes. Despite its age (and wear, including being thrown at someone as they ducked into a fire escape) it still worked great, so I figured that a new LED bulb for it would work out great.

While out and about today we stopped by Home Depot and I picked up the Maglite LED Upgrade Module (Model SH32DCW6J, Part 108-000-701), which is advertised as being fitted with a three watt LED. A bit of research showed this to be a Luxeon 3W LED, presumably part number LXHL-PW09.

The lamp itself had no problems fitting into the flashlight just like the incandescent lamp. Once it was installed I shined it around the basement with the lights on and I wasn’t completely sure that it was brighter, but one look at the comparison photos taken in the dark showed that the LED is quite a bit brighter. (I tried to keep the focus as similar as possible on those two, and both were shot at ISO 100, f/11, with a one-second exposure. Locations for the tripod and flashlight were both marked with tape for consistency between shots.)

The part cost US$18.97, but I figure this is worthwhile. It should also help save on batteries. I’m not sure if the LED is being powered in a way which allows the LED to dissipate a full 3W (probably depends on the circuitry in the bulb housing, but it still seems pretty good. Hopefully this will come in handy while camping next weekend.

acquired thingsmaking thingsmoved from livejournal

Bodum Isis 5500-1

September 22, 2007

Bodum Isis 5500-1 Of Questionable Origin

While perusing Craigslist Detroit Danielle came across a “garage sale” of questionable origin. That is, a supposed garage sale taking place in one of the hangers of a private FBO located at Troy airport. (More info and photo of inside the hanger.) We swung by there this afternoon and while most of the things available were open box / missing item RTA furniture, there were a few interesting things. The only one we found worth purchasing was the Bodum electric kettle seen above. It was US$20, marked Salvage (on a yellow item number sticker on the top), but seemed to be unused. The kettle itself was in great shape, the box was just a bit beat up.

Usually when I heat water for tea or whatnot I use a metal kettle on the stove. This works, but it’s both a bit slow and inefficient. I’ve been wanting an electric kettle, but there only seem to be two varities available: cheap white plastic, non-detachable cord, and a top which can’t be opened much, if at all (<US$20) or expensive (>$50), stainless steel and plastic, and not much better made than the cheap ones.

This one is of the same heating element design, except the top opens up all the way to allow for easy cleaning, it was cheap, seems to have been unused, and almost all of the energy spent is actually put into the water. In the initial test it heated six cups of water to boiling in around three minutes. Not bad at all.

I think tonight I’ll make some valerian root tea to celebrate, and also help take off the edge which the multiple cups of coffee throughout the afternoon have put on me. Whoops.

acquired thingsfoodmoved from livejournal

Birmingham, MI to Ann Arbor, MI via Train

September 21, 2007

Train Arriving at Birmingham Platform
(Click for more photos (photo gallery retired)…)

Back on July 7th Danielle and I decided to head to Ann Arbor for the evening. However, instead of driving there, we decided to take the train from Birmingham at around 5pm, then back at about Midnight. While the ticket cost was around $80 for the two round-trip first-class tickets and gas would have cost around $18, it was a nice diversion from the normal drive.

Along the hour-ish ride we passed through some rather interesting areas, seeing everything from a state trooper attempting to drive around the gates and TURTL graffiti to someone with a pickup slinking around an abandoned building (stealing copper?) and a giant chicken on KIDZ PLAYLAND. There was also the typical landfill, rail yard, and wetlands.

Once we arrived at Ann Arbor we walked up the stairs and road to Zingerman’s Deli and Next Door where we had dinner. I actually ate a rather substantial bacon-laden sandwich, Zingerman’s lovely Jen’s Pimento Parti.

After eating we wandered around the town a bit, eventually meeting up with and a very tired (and lost) . After a bit more wandering around, including back to the train station, waited until it arrived, then made our way back to the Birmingham station, where we arrived just after 1:30am.

By the way, the Birmingham platform is pretty crappy. It’s nothing but a track-level concrete platform located at the end of a road, and is fitted with a very uninformative information display and a “shelter” which does little but retain heat and stink of urine.

The train itself was decent, but nowhere as nice as UK trains. The ride was smooth, but slow. Staff was courteous, although not particularly friendly. The inside of the train feels like sparse 70s engineering. I’m not sure if I’ll take it to Ann Arbor again, but I’d definitely consider it for transit to Chicago. Without all the hassles of air travel (able to bring whatever you want on board, no security, etc) is rather nice, and the ticket cost is about the same as flying.

(Yes, I did just get these pictures uploaded this week. If you’d like to see all of them, please look here (photo gallery retired).)

foodmoved from livejournaltravel