The Phaser Rifle X

OK, while I am waiting for the approval of the new programmer, another thought came to my mind: How to trigger the rifle.

Looking at the pictures of the original prop, the trigger is actually a square push-button electronic switch (but none in the drawings). Ignoring the fact that the rifle for the Insurrection movie has a trigger (in the drawings). So, in the movie, the actors are using rifles which has no triggers (except for Hero versions?) as the Special Effects guys would put the phaser flash into the movie. But for this project, the need for a trigger is necessary. And the decision to overcome this would mean that the rifle would not be true to the original prop anymore.

The need for the trigger was to solve two main problems.

1) Being the rifle's main trigger to activate the electronics
2) To change the scope LEDs from White to RED and back again


This is because of the problem with the inconsistency of the rifle's rear scope which changes between WHITE and RED on different occasions. Therefore, the agreed solution is to leave the LEDs WHITE by default and when the user is about to fire or pullls the trigger slighly, the LEDs would change to RED. In order to achieve this, a secondary trigger was designed into the circuit. If a mechanical switch was used, the solution would mean extensive modifications to the rifle's grip. And since the rifle is cast as hollow resin, this modification could make the grip become fragile. Therefore, the only solution I could come up with, was to use optical switches. The advantages of these switches are twofold, namely:

1) There are no mechanical/moving parts which would make the rifle last longer even if the owner is trigger-happy.

2) The modifications to the rifle's grip is minimal (I hope) with only the need to cut a small slot for the trigger to move about.

Although this solution is best, it beget another problem: The trigger has to be custom made. Looking at the diagram below, the rear of the custom-made trigger must have a small rectangular block with the maximum thickness of 4mm for the optical switches. This rectangular block would interrupt the light flow in the optical switch which would generate the much needed signal to the microprocessor (as seen in the previous "The Phaser Rifle X" entry). And another thing, there is also the matter of a spring to help the trigger to return to its original position once it is pulled. I do not know who to approach to make this trigger since I would like it to be made out of aluminum.
Ha ha ha ha ha

Left: The Original push-button switch just like the original movie prop
Right: The proposed aluminum trigger for the two optical switches

The Word "IMPOSSIBLE"

Throughout our lives, we try to fit ourselves into society. Everyone has a role to play. Square pegs for square holes, round pegs for round holes, and so on. We are conditioned to make sure we fit into these holes. And if we do not fit, we are outcasts and deemed as failures.


But when you're young and rules do not apply,


this means there is no such things as IMPOSSIBLE


The Phaser Rifle X

I finally got a breakthrough! I am not sure how it happened but the compiler/programmer problem almost solved itself. It happened an hour ago when all of a sudden, the piezo buzzer sounded. So, I quickly did a new program for it.

For almost two weeks, I was pulling wires in and out (also partly no thanks to Kristine who pulled a lot of stuff out everyday) from the prototype board, suspecting the circuit itself. So, the test program sorted it out once the chip starts "working".

In this video, I will be showing that the LED bars are working, the piezo sounder is alright and so are the switches. This is the video's sequence:

Pressing the Phaser setting switches (foreground, right)
LED bar and piezo sounder activates twice

Pulling the secondary trigger (background, right) with a tube of UHU glue
White LEDs (for the rear of the Rifle Scope) will switch to RED

Pulling the primary trigger (background, right) with a tube of UHU glue
LED bar and piezo sounder activates twice

The orange LEDs in the background stays lit for all duration as this is the top of the scope. But I am thinking of activating the whole scope only once the rifle is "On-Line"

MacFarlane's Military Series Redeployed


Thanks to Steve at Toy Wiz, I got these two excellent
figures which I had missed out weeks earlier. He had
SMSed me and I was there within 20 minutes so I
get to choose the ones I wanted since there are
only one of each and no other customer
to fight it over. Yep, severly limited

Star trek meet

There was a meetup with all the members of www.startrek.com.my and www.myscififan.com.my at Section14's Secret Recipe. The plan was to have dinner there and then adjourn to Section16 for a private screening of Star Trek movies.

Unfortunately, due to the last minute events in the house, I was only able to make it for the Section14 venue, introduced myself, chat a bit before rushing back home with dinner in my hands. I was planning to return for the second part of the night but by the time I got both kids sleeping, it was after mid-night. cheh


This is ncc1701a's excellent ERTL X-Wing model. I had enough
time to suggest how to light up his LEDs using an external
power adaptor instead of the more expensive coin
cell batteries. How to calculate the resistors
needed. And where to get more of those
wire-wrapping cables in Pasar Road


Everyone was enjoying themselves and the Orange
Yoghurt Shake I had was quite nice, eventhough
it tasted a bit sour. And yah, never sit infront of
the air-con. Most of us had to order some
warm water as well


While I bought my Wife a KFC Snack Plate, I got
myself that Meltz thingy. By the time I got Kristine
to take her bath, the food was already cold. So, the
Meltz tasted like shit.
It felt more like someone poured some cheese sauce
over some KFC chicken chunks, crumbles a few tortilla
chips and some tomatoes. And then proceeded to wrap
it all up with a very dry chapatti


An early start in Life


Kristine is starting to take all kinds of lotions and
puts them onto her face, the mirror, the table,
the........ well, you get the picture

Pao Ching Tien



Oh yeah, this fussy little can really cry

Mr. and Mrs. Ultraman's Baby


I shall expect LoctorMayat to put this up anytime in 2007 soon?

The Natural Car Air-Cond


I was stuck at the traffic jam today and when I looked at my rear-view mirror (to see if any vehicles can't stop in time) I noticed the lorry behind me has the cleanest windscreen I have ever seen. It was so clean, you can see them without any reflections

That is, until I noticed there were some problems with their windscreen wipers
Then I realised they had no windscreen
Then I realised, I better speed off fast in case that want to whack me for taking thier pictures.

The Phaser Rifle IX


"Bang, bagi satu nasi"
"Biasa, ah?"
"Ya, tambah nasi"
"OK"
"You mau ini, ni, ni, kah?"
"Lain kali, la.
Berapa, bang?"
"Seringgit tiga puluh"


So, what he does is to provide you with a basic Nasi Lemak:
The Rice itself
Some cucumbers
Some hard boiled eggs
And the sambal sauce
Which is RM1

But when you add stuff like
Extra Rice
Chicken

The cost can go up to about RM3.00

But it is up to you, you see. He just gave you a basic base and you can then choose to put it stuff that you like.

Which I am trying not to do this to the Phaser Rifle. All the features discussed will be put in, if possible. For the www.startrek.com.my and www.startrek.com.sg Forum members, it will be full versions. For the rest, lets see how it works.

Anyway, I am taking a bit of a break as Kaelynn is needing me more. Not only that, I am trying to save up or secure funds to get a proper microcontroller system to make all this work within the shortest time possible. (and Provided Kristine does not pull any more components out of the circuit I am doing while I was out working). But last night, I managed to secure a bit of cash from a friend but with the condition that I help him (using this microprocessor) do the R&D for the publication of his Medical Journal.

Burnout


Don't keep it all in,
Don't bottle it all up.
When you can't stand it,
You will go pwhup.


When you're under a lot of stress, do take a rest
Don't burnout, and leave a mess

MacFarlane's Military Series 3

This is a toy figure from the famous MacFarlane (ex-Marvel Comic artist who made Spider-Man more famous in the late 90's). MacFarlane is famous for his Spawn toys and comics. But for the past two years, he has come out with the Military Series which is quite nice. Fortunately, not many people like to buy them and sometimes, you can find a few leftovers at Toys R Us if you do not have enough to pay for it at the normal "You have to buy in a set" comic shops. Very briefly put:

The label says its a Helicopter Crew Chief.
It sells for RM49.00 and it has two versions.
One is the African-American version.
The other is the normal Joe, who looked like Michael Jackson after heavy makeup


Stupid plastic pack which made a lot of noise.
Luckily, Kristine was sleeping or else..........


Shine some bulb and put a reflector, on him.
And now he looks like he's getting ready
for an early morning mission


Now he looks more like a store mannequin
I lost the other "map" piece for his left hand
while opening the stupid package
Yeah, the folder opens up so
you can keep the store's
price tag inside

Thanks to techmech

Woo-hoo! I finally got this 1/100th scale Mobile Staff from WAVE!
(maybe I should get more........)


Dang! I knew it would cost me an arm and a leg to hang
out with you guys but the whole torso too?

Kaelynn's Full Moon

Today is Kaelynn's Full Moon and we're all busy with lots of things to do. We had to wake up early (OK, I overslept) to get most of the tasks out of the way. By 0945, the delivery man from Uniq Food came and delivered all our Full Moon packs. Then, we had our first visitor at 11-something. It was supposed to be 1000 in the morning but she had lost her way. Funny thing about our house is that not many people knew where it is even if I gave a detailed guide. I mean, even a taxi driver can get lost. How bad is that?

Since we were preparing Kaelynn's Full Moon Ceremony and prayers, we had to do things very fast. Once I got rid....er the Guest left, my next task is to deliver all remaining 8 Full Moon packages to our relatives and friends. And as soon as we came back and gethered our wits, it was time for the Full Moon dinner.

At the end of the day, Kristine was the only one who really enjoyed herself. She met most of her cousins and by the we had our dinner, she was not her shy usual self anymore. Yeah, she blurted out to everyone that Daddy always scold her.



Kaelynn with her usual self in the morning


Big sister taking care of breakfast


The packages have arrived!


Yum! Yum!


And its time to deliver them with Kristine's help


Halfway, Kristine vomited all over the car and
we had to make an emergency stop to the
nearest relative stop for some clothes
(which was too big)


And then we continued to more visits


Time for Dinner at Restoran Oversea in Amcorp Mall


I love to eat hard boiled eggs and the ginger when I can but
these can leave marks on your fingers.


Driving the Company Car III

We had sent the car for major repairs and servicing. Some of the parts I remembered were:

-Speedo meter cable
-Changed timing belt
-Changed other belts
-Engine Oil
-Radiator
-Clutch
-ECU Tuning
-Brakes

There stuff which needed to be changed as the car was really trashed about. I am considering getting the rear shocks changed as well but this is not so important yet.

Now, the car is really fit to be driven and it has a really good torque!!! Still, the most important aspect is that it saves a lot of petrol. All way fine until I started to take notice about the speedometer cable which "shakes" about whenever there is a bump on the road or some small dents (which I have yet to notice).

For you see, if the needle is above 80Kmh, depending on the harshness of the bump, it will move about. When the needle is hovering between the 110 and 120Kmh region where it is quite "weak", you can see some funny stuff: A small bump will send it pointing donwards and after some time, it would go back to normal.

Luckily, the Highway is straight and there were not many cars about.

The Phaser Rifle VIII

This segment deals with changing the rear rifle scope from White (standby) to Red (trigger pulled slightly).

So, this section of the project is done. But I will need to refine it further as we still cannot decide on which voltage/battery to use. Also, there is more work for the trigger as I would only use a mechanical switch as a last resort.

And maybe the scope should only be activated once the rifle is on-line. Part of Starfleet's Safety protocols?

Anyway, this is my first YouTube video:


Things you can do with a small towel


This is Kristine before everything went wet
Moral: Never stand next to a big tub or water

Presents from Singapore


Yep. My Sis gave me this 80GB portable Hard disk
Now, I can archive all my pictures, esp. Kristine and Kaelynn's
And she left this morning before I could pay her since my checque cleared last night

Driving the Company Car II


RM30 and I get close to 265Km!!

Durians for Dinner IV

My sister came back from Singapore after she was granted a few days annual leave, which was rare. So, they all went out and bought a lot of food on the second night. Unknown to them, I bought a lot of food too. By the time we combined all the food, it was overwhelming. Ha ha ha ha

We have enough to last us for two days.



So, its chee cheong fun, satay, durians and more stuff in the kitchen


This is very expensive, called Kucing something
And it was delicious!


Not enough, these are the D23 (or something) which they got in Kajang


Amidst al the excitement, Kristine wants me to feed her
And she has no interest in the Durians

The Two Sisters


Kaelynn and Kristine

Why you cwy and cwy?


Cry!!!!!!!!!!!
And Mommy only have less than 4 hours sleep per day


Me: Hungry, ah?
Kaelynn: Bwaaaaaahhhhh!
Me: Thirsty, ah?
Kaelynn: Bwaaaaaahhhhh!
Me: Change diapers, ah?
Kaelynn: Bwaaaaaahhhhh!
Me: Hot ah?
Kaelynn: Bwaaaaaahhhhh!
Me: Cold, ah?
Kaelynn: Bwaaaaaahhhhh!
Me: .........
Kaelynn: Bwaaaaaahhhhh!

Bwaaaaaahhhhh! Bwaaaaaahhhhh! Bwaaaaaahhhhh!


sigh. even Kristine was not that noisy.

Driving the Company Car

I just go the keys to one of the company's car a few days ago. The car would be used by me as my daily transport, to deliver stocks and also, for me or my technicians to travel outstation within West Malaysia.

So, after getting the keys, I began my SOP (Stand Operation Procedure) to evaluate the car. Bear in mind, it has been bought in 2004 and has been abus...er, driven by quite a lot of people. After a good wash and a new car freshener, it was starting to look better.

Taking it for a drive, the car felt quite "tall" to me and as the steering column is not adjustable, I had to stretch out my hands. This is because, if I moved the seat closer, I would have a problem with the clutch where the biting point is quite high. In the end, I felt like driving a double-decker bus but with the driver's seat at the top.

For the mileage, I filled it up with 3/4 tank (RM30) and after 48km, the fuel gauge used slightly more than half a tank already, which is quite alarming. Even my Satria would not consume that much. Then I reminded myself, all these readings would be false (except for the fuel gauge) since the speedometer cable is faulty. So, for two years, I would not believe it has used up 77,000Km. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Anyway, since the yellow engine light is coming up, its time for a major service with Perodua.......... soon-ish.

Ha ha ha ha ha.

But this weekend, I'd need to clean the dahsboard area, the inner sides of the doors, cigarette ash from the carpets and also, the usual engine bay servicing. One thing I noticed was that there is a second fan (not sure if its A/C) which you can activate with a remote. Once I get my camera back, I will take pictures of it.

Took my dad for a ride and with Kristine running about in there, I was so tempted to lock her at the rear portion........


One thing I like about this car is that you can activate the
alarm from quite a distance.


The Phaser Rifle VII


Yep, its the start of the new month, which means I get
my salary. So, I have to use it sparingly and spend it
on the 3Watt Luxeon LED and some collimator lens
which will focus the light to a 10º radiation spread.
This will go into the Phaser Rifle's scope.

Time for a treat


When we're small, our parents would take us out in the night
for a small treat. For me, last time it was A&W's Root Beer.
For Kristine, its MacDonalds