Oh!pEnions: June 2010

For nexus

OK, the project is ready but there are some things I needed to point out:

3-Digit Countdown Circuit

As with most off-the-shelf circuits, they need to be modified. And so, after some tinkering, I got the counter to count down very fast but you have to watch the video to see the speed. Unfortunately, the Nokia 5800's video is not that good and so, in the video, the LEDs look very weird. However, to the human eye, they are perfect.

If, and if, for any reason the counting down is too fast, just locate the 555 time PCB (the smallest circuit board) and just cut off one of the leg of the paralleled resistor which has been soldered to resistor R5. This would slow down the counter and you will see the first two red LEDs blink slower.

Looking at the whole countdown circuit, I think it is possible to connect to another set of countdown module & 3-digit display. This would expand the whole thing to 6-digits. Ah, but there is a catch. The way the 3-digit circuit boards are designed, it is not possible to join them together to form a nice row of 6 digits but rather, a set of two 3-digits. But if you insist, it can be done but it would need a lot of re-wiring onto a stripboard.

Do bear in mind that the wiring is quite fragile and you have to be very careful with them. I will await your SMS for the greenlight to post before I hot glue the wiring. Also, days after I bought the whole thing, they came out with a 4-digit version but using a microprocessor. As it costs about RM4.00 at Rm72.00, I have no more funds for it. And since the kits have been soldered, it is highly unlikely that they would accept any trade-ins. Moreover, since I am not buying it, there is no way I could open the package to see if the assembly code (software) is in there or not. What it means that, if the chip burns, it would cost another RM72.00 to replace it instead of just buying the chip and programming it since there is no software to do so.

LED Badge

As requested, I tracked and bought a female to female USB converter but at the price of RM15.00 which I am sure is a bit steep. Maybe I can search for them in Low Yatt for Rm13.00 or so but I don't think they have any. And so, with the remaining funds until next month, this is the best I could do. I have modified only ONE LED badge as you mentioned there is a tight space near the collar bone, which I think, an unmodified LED badge with velcro would be the best solution.

What I did was to extend the three switches to a few inches longer and with a more user friendly buttons. You do need to charge them for two hours (with the display off) for a minimum of 12 hours of display. The sheet of A4 red filter would have enough to cover both the countdown and LED badges.

Some work in progress pictures.

Testing the down counter module which is soldered

to the 3-digit LED board at . Yeah, its a rip-off but

as mentioned, given the time-frame, thats the

problem with off the shelf solution. Testing the

connections but its hard to see the LEDs light up

since I am using low voltage. When it is OK, I

plugged in the ICs.

To create a clock pulse for the counter to 'run',

I got a simple LED flasher using a 555 timer

for this purpose. Modified the resistors to

give a very fast clock pulse. If you think its too

fast, just cut one of the legs of the resistor that I

soldered to resistor R5 in the 555 timer PCB

module. Also fixed a push button switch where

with a push, you can reset the countdown to

start back from '000'.

OK, everything is almost ready. You need to see

the video for the countdown's timing, if its the

kind of speed you are looking for. Of course

the 6-digits would countdown slower.

Modified one LED badge with extended buttons

because I can only find one USB female2female

converter and got skinned at RM15.00. Due to

costs, I am only modifying one LED badge.

The video:

The hot garlic gravy

This garlic gravy came about when my former Boss was around the office and he called me for a quick afternoon tea. And so, while he had his lunch, I spotted this chicken dish which I packed for home, thanks to his wallet. Heh.

Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to

have it until two days later. So, I added it

to the Sunday Lunch's Chee Cheong Fun.

The smell of garlic was very strong, from the time

I got it into the office, the car, the fridge and so on.

Then I realised its full of chili too. Yeah, this was so

incredibly hot, I had to drink more than 2 big cups

of pure icy water.

Then came dinner, where I helepd Wife to make

the french fries. And I got a little bit itchy hand

Where I sliced some bananas and dumped them into

the hot oil. Suffice to say, without the batter, they

came up lifelessly limp.

Then Wife said I had to fry more fries as there is

not enough. Although they ended up crispy and

all, there is a sweet banana taste, which gave me

an idea of throwing a fresh clove of garlic but Wife

stopped me on this one. Anyway, the fries came

up a bit speckled due to the burn sugar in the

bananas. They also failed the taste test by the girls

whose tastebuds are very sensitive. Once I told

them its due to the bananas, Kaelynn loved it.

Outdoor switch cover

Went to Pasar road this morning to get something for the Wife and at the same time, I spotted this cover. Its one of those that are meant to be placed over a electrical switch and protect it from minor water splashes such as mild rain or something like that. And so, I decided that our doorbell was the best candidate.

Ordinarily, this switch would have lasted about

so long and not before then. So, in order to make

it last longer and not so before, we used the below

A RM8.00 plastic that comes in with pieces,

a protective foam and a spring. Oh, the price

tag is free, courtesy from the shop.

Wow. Ants in the cavity and these ants

run very fast. But I can't call them Road

runner Ants since this is not a road.

Lazy to remove the wires, luckily, I can

just maneuvre them through the switch

and voila!

All done! Just hope they do not crack too much

or yellow in just a few months.

After installing it, I now dread if someone

would just walk up and then pry the cover

off as its very fragile.

Trapped at Fun and Cheer

with every child's Birthday that falls on a school day, they get to celebrate in the class. And usually, the parents would be buying presents, not only for their kids but also for the whole class. Now I know why Kristine was so happy as she gets to have all the presents to herself. Unfortunately, this was not the case with Kaelynn.

We had headaches enough as it is and so, today, we decided to shop for hers months before the actual day. And what better place than Fun and Cheer. Of course, its a well known fact that everything is from China. Why they did not call the stores Made-In-China, I am not sure. they even had foreign workers. So, this place is 'cheap'. Although there are a lot of things that attracts you, be mindful of the quality and also, the prices as not all are bargains when you compared them with other shops.

This is a place which is more of a 'Cash

& Carry' and personal store in one go.

And all the goods were from China.

I kept telling and reminding them about

the time. But girls being girls, they went

nuts in there until they're almost late for

their swimming lessons. So, I had to use

the Toll to save time. Haih.

Even at RM2 per item on average, by

the time we saw the bill, there were

more than 40 items and well, it costs

us almost RM100.00. Then Kaelynn

decided not to have a party with her

class but in the house. This saved us

a lot of cash but meant more presents

for herself. Very smart, this girl.

We kept the things in the car until the next

day where everyone had more time to sort

things out. Everyone had their stuff.

I could not resist buying this lighter

right after Wife told me that she saw

them on sale at RM5.00 instead of

RM2.00 here. You can see how big

this lighter is, compared to a normal

one. Oh, the flames are big too. Ha ha!

As for me, I got a very big pencil case, maybe

its me but I felt that the make quality for this

is a bit inferior as the ones I bought ten years

ago, did not flex much nor bend at the slightest

stress. The hinges are held with thin copper

wires which comes off easily. Then again you

can't expect much for RM5.00

I chose this because it was big enough to house

all the 24 Faber-Castell colour pencls and plus

extra pens, etc.

Kaelynn helping me to put everything into the

case for test fit. After that, I mounted some of

the rubber foams in there to make sure the

contents do not 'colour' the case too much when

being carried around.

Trying out new stuff

As with the occasional surprises, one of the highlights of the girl's swimming is that we sometimes eat out. And being creatures of habit, we would go to the same place, order the same food and so on. But this time, we decided to try something new.

Kaelynn looking happy (due to

the presents from Fun & Cheer)

This is something new, not sure what it was

but they used macaroni, sliced meatballs and

some weird soup stock which I could only

taste the MSG. The girls loved the pasta but

not the soup.

Then there is the moment with the Takoyaki,

which they're not sure what it was. The girls

were stumped with the 'moving' jellyfish skin

which moves with rising hot air from the balls.

OK, so they do not like it. Guessed who

did all the DBKL job?

Kaelynn wanted to play with my Nokia 5800

camera but I insisted she finished that Tako

ball first. Haih,,,,,,,

Pitiful Death

Somehow, this poor lizard crawled onto Kaelynn's

Strawberry Shortcake sticker. It got stuck with the

sticker's glue and could not free itself. So, I guess,

it eventually starved to death. Not sure if it lost its

tail in the process or it was lost before it died.

One of our magnet is missing

Well, not really. After more than 10 years, the

double-sided tape has failed and it came off when

I pulled my Nokia 5800 away from it. So, just

for curiosity's sake, I pried open the cover and

saw this. there were three magnets and one of

them has actually corroded so badly that it just

literally disintegrated and its remains were

pulled by the surviving magnets. Nice pattern.

Just beware that all magnets will disintegrate

as I think, there is no such thing as rust-proof

magnets.

Trip to Pasar Road

I was at Pasar road today, and I did not tell someone about it because it was supposed to be a quickie. Anyway, there was a reason why I went there and this has something to do with fact that I bought the remote control system last week. After finally connecting the whole system together, I got the expected result; as usual, it did not work.

I've spent hours after hours poring over the datasheet and checking the connections but to no avail. I know the receiver is receiving the data since it registered some voltage changes when compared to a ready-built 4-channel version. what it did not do, the IC, I mean, was to confirm the data is correct and activate the output.

And so, because I know that today I would pass through that area, I decided to bring the whole circuit to the shop. I showed it to the guys and they too was stumped. And so, I went through the steps one by one with them, until I reached the frequency part and that's when we all went, "Aha!".

The problem is that I have paralleled the oscillating resistor instead of putting them serially. This means, I have created a frequency which was ¼ of the original value. And so, after that, it was smiles all round. But the guys at the shop told me not to feel bad since I work on this late into the night and so, my train of thought was stuck in a loop. They, being not familiar with my design, could look at it from a fresh point of view.

So, my circuit is very simple and I think, it can be done without using any circuit board as I can just solder everything onto an IC socket and let it run from there. But the voltage regulator and the pair of relays would require some imaginative soldering. Oh, heck. I forgot to look for a 12volt switchover relay! I just hope I have one spare.........

Hee hee hee hee! It works and I tested it to be

working to a range of about 70 metres or so as

I called into the office while pressing the remote

from across the road. I told my coordinator to

watch for the lights and tell me when it lights up

While I was there, I went back to the same shop I bough the 3-digit countdown kit only to find a new kit that costs RM4.00 more, at Rm72.00. Its a complete solution, suitable to what nexus was asking for; 4-digits which can not only count down but up as well. The only problem is that I would need to get a clock pulse generator to simulate the button presses ion a very fast pace. However, there is a catch. It is using a microprocessor. Although there was a sticker blocking it, the tell-tale clue was a clock crystal which a certain range of microprocessors needed and this Ic was THE IC for a lot of Pasar Road kits. Its obsolete and so, someone got them from a clearance sale, I would think. Since I bought the other kits and also soldered them, there is no way I can get them exchanged. But the main thing that stopped me was that what I am paying for, is the copyright of the programmed code inside the chip and I doubt it comes free with the kit. So, if the IC is burnt for some unforseen circumstances, you're out of luck. Still I cannot confirm abut the code unless they allow me to open the pack, which I know, they would not. Nor would they accept credit cards either.

The cost of this kit, at one glance, is obscenely cheap but I am not going to tell you how much.

Damn it. I think I can make one but then,

it would take time to design the PCB and

with the deadline, its not possible.

The Rice Con

"I want you to finish this rice"

"I can't. too much."

"Then take 10 scoops of rice"

"One..."

"two..."

"three..."

"....nine..."

"...ten! I finished"

"How come still so much rice?"

"You cheat me! You only scoop a few grains of rice!"

"But its 10 scoops, Mommy, Daddy!"

"Show me how you scoop, then."

"See?"

"Bluff me again. Take another 10 scoops!"

"Nooooooooooooo!"

New Layout

Saw this new feature (Template Designer) on Blogger when I logged in. So, I decided to give it a try and redo the whole Blog page. What do you think?

Activities from a Saturday evening

OK, I am bored today. Bored because there is a lot of things to do and bored because I don't know which one to start because there is so little time left to do them before family time kicks in. In other words, its a lazy Saturday after a very heavy lunch with my Aunt who is going back to Australia in the evening. We had to say goodbye to her instead of sending her off since the kids had swimming to go to.