You didn't even test the DC/DC? How did you come to those wattages? They specified the maximum OUTPUT current, times the currently set 6.5v, that would be a max of like 100w...
Not one of Dave's brightest moments here with the dc/dc converter. Makes me think of an old colleague of mine who yelled "Wow ! 3500 watts at 15 amps ! That voltage must be incredibly high !" to which I answered: "I hope it's about 230V, Dave !"
That blue aluminium cube is a speed controller (ESC) for RC cars or boats. It is for Brushless motors. The plastic thing is the programming card for it.
Atheist here, Mattia is 100% right. Sorry Dave, you screwed up this one. According to your logic, it's impossible that anyone is right as long as there are more people that are wrong. I'd rather this channel would not turn into religious issues though.
Exactly why I am an atheist. A God could theoretically exist but there is no reason to live your life based on the unproven, astronomically unlikely chance that he exists and is as you imagine Him. As for your view on philosophy, all I have to say don't be a delicate little flower and always take the red pill. It might show you an ugly face temporarily but it sets you free.
+Mac Donalds The terms "atheist" and "agnostic" aren't mutually exclusive. The term "atheist" just refers to one aspect of an individual, that they haven't accepted as true any of the god claims put forth to them so far.
4:35 is a speed controller for a brushless motor for an rc car. The transparent blue "LED" programing box is used to program the speed controller for things like cut off voltage (for lipo batteries), brake strength and many other settings to fine tune how your RC cars run. The Speed Passion stuff is generally used by on road racers and RC drifters.
right now opv is touching upto 9% efficiency and energy payback time of organic pv is touching 3-4 months normal pv energy payback time is about 2-3 years
Would be really nice if you could retest the DC/DC. You bashed on it because you made a mistake which is fine. But I think it would only be fair if you re did that thing :) Thumbs it up people if you agree.
That's a castle brand BEC, castle is known for being one of the best (if not the best) BEC and ESC. I bet it meets and exceeds it's rating when you recalculate and test it.
The mailbag item at 3:28 is programmer for the SpeedPassion RC car ESC. (shown right after the programmer) it used to drive brush less rc car motor. You can edit the brake and reverse strength and how fast the esc will apply the full throttle and so on. (power curve adjust or something like that) neat little device and I think it was a cheap one.
I'm just going to reply, A, to recieve notifications for replys even if they get flagged, and B, to ask, what did MrJ0mmy say? I see a lot of people mentioning him, meaning that he's going on a commenting spree. Care to paraphrase what he's been spreading? (Other than his massive E-peen.)
Can you do a video on how to identify what a chip is. I've tried looking things up and cant find out, what's your scientific method to analyzing a circuit board?
G'day Dave... I've taken apart quite a few of those NEC projectors. They sold new back in the day for $1500+ US. Here's some of what I learned: The lamps (cost $160+ US) will burn out. Part of the issue is that they emit full spectrum light, which eventually cooks the reflector. As the reflector starts absorbing more and more heat, it eventually causes fracture of the glass tube. They have been known to explode under electrical force. The projectors themselves have another unique problem, as full spectrum light also is full spectrum UVA and UVB light. There is a cube prism that the light goes through, one side for R, one for G, one for B. The cube has a special coating that if it gets dirty, the UVA and UVB causes the dirt to fuse to that coating, ruining the prism, and the light output. NEC's otherwise usually had either a low voltage failure, or a high voltage ballast failure. If it's low voltage, it's toast (too hard and costly to get to it since it's on the very bottom. The high voltage module is a vertical metal encased box, that is right below the processor board (the top board). It can be changed fairly easy, and you've got a working unit. (If it turns on but won't light, HVPS... If it won't turn on at all, LVPS.) One point of failure, is the power supply. If you exceed mains rating (either high or low), you will burn out the low voltage board. We had a brownout at a high school and the power dipped to 85 volts. It took out 12 of them in one shot. It was confirmed by the local utility. Minimum low voltage is 90, as you can see from the sticker. We still have some of them in service 7+ years. Many are failing and being replaced by Hitachi branded projectors. Best... Lee in Tucson
We've just received a fabulous new laser cutter at school and it came with a dongle. You would think that the software would be of limited use without the cutter?
I guess you mixed up input and output current.... at 48V input max. output is 6A at 6.5v... 39W.... okay, maximum output is higher at lower input voltages (i guess due to better efficiency), but still way below what you've calculated....
+Really Funny, Original Name I assume it was a joke XD. He's implying that most often, the UA-cam comment section and the internet is devoid of rationality and logic (not specifically this channel).
Most RC stuff uses lipo batteries, charged between 3-4.2v per cell, up to 6 cells per pack in series (referred to as 6s). Some models use 2x 6s or 4x 3s batteries. More Vs = more whizz... The motors are specified using the odd designator kV, which is shorthand for "RPM per volt", so for an increase of 1V, you can expect an increase in x RPM. Also, much of the thermal dissipation for these are calculated assuming high speed airflow :-) - RC parts have been known to fail in bench/backyard tests due to insufficent airflow. Also, most RC parts are expected to be subjected to reasonably low duty cycle (
Well done on the religion verses logic letter from Mattie. I love this passage from Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. "The Final Proof of the non-Existence of God was proved by a Babel Fish. Now, it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mind-bogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some have chosen to see it as the final proof of the NON-existence of God. The argument goes something like this: "I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing." "But," says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves that You exist, and so therefore, by Your own arguments, You don't. QED" "Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic."
I think it's great that you aren't afraid to discuss religion on your channel when it comes up. There's little about religion that isn't relevant to the world today. Beliefs inform actions. And belief in an ultimate, unquestioned, yet self-constructed authority underpins many religious believer's worldviews today. That kinda of single-sourced worldview stifles introspection by making it far more uncomfortable to question previously accepted explanations about the world. Especially compared to a more scientific worldview, which will end up relying on a wide range of sources for its explanations. I'll leave you with this great quote from Karl Popper. “The empirical basis of objective science has nothing absolute about it. Science does not rest on solid bedrock. The whole towering structure, the often fantastic and audacious construction of scientific theories, is built over a swamp. Its foundations are pillars driven from above into the swamp - not down to any natural 'given', ground, but driven just as deeply as is necessary to support the structure. The reason why we stop driving the pillars deeper into the ground is not that we have reached solid rock. No, our decision is based on the hope that the pillars will support the structure. (If the structure becomes too heavy and starts to shift, then driving the pillars more deeply into the ground is unlikely to help. A new structure may be necessary, but the foundation of its construction must rest on the ruins, on the sunken pillars of the collapsed structure.)” - Karl Popper
Dave, you bravely tackle any topic. Kudos to you! I would have shied away from the angry letter, but you took it head on. I think you've got the right instinct.
It's a Castle Creations BEC- made in America. Also, it isn't over specced, Dave screwed up and multiplied the input voltage by the current, when he should have multiplied the OUTPUT voltage by the current. Don't worry, he knows about it- lots of people have pointed it out...
We used to use this software for converting print data to a proprietary format for archival purposes. It used those Sentinel dongles but they had a built-in counter. Every page we converted would subtract 1 from the counter, and when it ran out we would have to purchase a new one.
I have like 6 modern USB copy protection/license dongles for modern software. MikroElektronika uses it for their products, most of the big music production software companies also use license dongles. All a royal PITA.
Dave: These are still being used for re: Computer Dongle. We see them in use on our video games. Most do not use a dedicated 'logic' board with all the I/O goodies any longer. The newer stuff uses either a large 'dongle' like you showed, or they use a USB "Dongle" that contains the anti theft security stuff. So it might be old school-- But it's still being used today, just in limited applications with whatever computer the game makers decided to use.
EEVblog Yes. Game company called "Raw Thrills" still uses them. (Fast and Furious, Fast and Furious SuperBikes..etc..) Back in 'the day' it was also Midway games. They also use the USB dongles a lot more as well. But I still see them in quite a few recent games.
Mac Donalds Yep. I've been a manager and tech for over 21 years. Granted some of the arcade games are not 'cutting edge' when compared to uber high end applications, but the families enjoy it!
Tedybear315 I was just saying because Dave probably thought that some video games for home use used dongles. There's nothing wrong with arcade games, I have some myself, though not any newer ones that basically use a PC.
Hi dave, loved the video. The clock is the The Prague "Orloj", a medieval astronomical clock mounted on the southern wall of the Old Town Hall in the Old Town Square. First installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still operating. I got married in the town hall so I have some lovely photos taken in front of it.
The programming card and the "automotive thingy" is actually a BLDC speed controller for RC cars. With the Card you can programm, brake, soft start and a whole bunch of other stuff.
Unfortunately there still are dongles available and they are now using USB as a connection. I have to use one on my laptop for a mechanical design cad software I'm using for work (and I can tell you, the dongle annoys the hell out of me...)
The blue thing with wires in the first box, is a electronic speed controller its used for controlling the speed of a brushless motor on RC cars/boats etc
Max voltage output from that flexible organic solar cell? I don't see any mention of that on their web page. Your current measurement at ~1000 lux was 0.5mA. Direct sunlight can reach 120,000 lux.
Ha!! Our company uses that very brand and model, although Rainbow Technologies is now SafeNet. In fact, we use the even older SentinelPro model, too - irk! The nifty feature of these is the black-box hash function which you can do all sorts of nifty things with in software - drivers were compatible with VB 6, and MS QuickBasic 4.5 (DOS)
We used to use those exact dongles to protect the RIP software (Raster Image Processor) when I worked at FujiFilm in the UK, pretty sure we were still supplying them until the mid noughties.
Love the show! I wouldn't bother with people who are willingly ignorant, it's proven to be a waste of time. But I can understand how they can get to you sometimes.
Ahh, SuperPro dongles, I recall those, a couple of employers back we used them. Rainbow are very much alive and well (as are a few other dongle companies), their Parallel dongles no longer exist, but they do USB dongles still, fun fact, the OLD usb SuperPros had a EEPROM on them you could pull the data off and clone it to another ;) That lasted for about 7 years, then they started potting them. Mostly circumventing dongles in software was done by writing an emulator which would fake the responses from the dongle, in the DOS days it'd be a TSR that hooked the ports, in Windows it'd be a VXD that sat on top of the serial/parallel driver.
Dave, my religion is science and you're the apostle of electronics! Seeing that this is an electronics blog, please toss any letters regarding religion straight in the bin next time, as they have no place here. Those wasted 5+ minutes could have been used opening more mailbag items. I know I am not in the minority when I say these mailbag videos don't happen often enough to satisfy my craving for unboxings and teardowns, so keep up the good work mate!
This wouldn't be the only manufacturer making solar cells with roll-to-roll process. Konarka bought Polaroid's old coating plant and is using the unique coating process to make what were the world's first commercially viable printable solar cells.
It's amazing how much they were able to condense the circuitry in the Apollo Guidance Computer. The whole computer is still smaller than most desktop computers.
Dongles carried through into the 90s as I recall; quite a few of the high-end 3D modeling and texturing software utilized them around the time home PCs were catching up with purpose-built SGI boxes. :) I was involved in the Toyota case. Even at that level, it's not worth it...
My friend bought one of those soldering irons,and frst thing that iron did when he pluged it into the wall was going kaboom. By tearing it down we noticed it didn't even had those sleeves on wires that are going to the heater!
Dave, as far as the DC to DC convertor is concerned, it looks like it's switching probably at a high repetition rate with variable pulse width not just a series regulator so the normal considered power dissipation with a series regulator would not apply. The switching transistor or FET would not dissipate as much being fully on or off as would a series DC regulator. BUT it still seems too small for the amount of current it would have to switch. The Chinese under rate devices all the time, it's called planed obsolescence, and when it fails they make money when you buy a new one to replace it. I have been a tech since I finished my apprenticeship in 1969. It was a five year apprenticeship back then, electrical & electronics trades and when I started in 1965 the electron tube was king, some very ignorant & stupid people want to bring it back again along with the black art of audio output transformer manufacture. Regards Rob
ESC programming unit the blue box ;) its indeed to program the speed controllers, for timing, direction of turning the Brushless motor and that sort of stuff ;) Looks indeed like there was too much load on the unit :) For the BEC, for instance an 10 Cell LiPo has already 37Volts, so 50 is quite ok to be on the safe side :)
I think 90% is nowdays considered as "okay" efficiency. There is some not that expensive chips with 97-98% peak efficiency. And overall efficiency is kept major part of operating range above 90%.
great mailbag Dave -- To Mattie : you will never win an argument for faith while using logic... if faith could be proven using logic we would call it science...
Dave, today they use USB dongles - a company FLEXnet specialise in this type of licenses. I remember at the local radio station, we used to use the HASP4 USB dongles till we switched to a new system. Each program had it's own HASP4 dongle. Some people found a way to emulate them with software which rendered the dongles useless.
re probability if we have N children and they give random answer between 1 and N to a question where the correct answer lies within that set, then the P of a given child being right is 1/N. For large values of N the P approaches 0. Ergo it's almost certain that any given one of them is wrong. It is *also* almost certain that at least one of them is right, but if you are one of the children it's very foolish/arrogant to believe that you are *the one* who has got it right. Of course for math we have well defined set of rules for determining the Truth (within the set of axioms it operates in). For things where we have no proof for any "true" value it gets complicated, Bayes theorem and comparing whether results are close to predicted outcomes for events where both have been recorded reliably might give us some tools but prediction "god (if it exists) does not affect result of X in any way" (vs "god will provide result Y for X") will just about always be the correct prediction and thus P for it starts to infinitely approach 1. Now if god never affects anything in the world in any way, it's quite logical to start to question gods existence in general.
Since there are infinitely many numbers the chance of guessing the correct answer to 6+9 is 0%. Make 2000 kids guess and the likelihood that at least 1 kid guesses right is still 0%. (remember 0% likelihood is not the same as the event being impossible). Therefore Daves statement: ".. it is almost certain that, well, none of them are right" is correct. The only way to make the argument in the letter work is to define that at least ONE kid has the right answer. This is actually explicitly done in the letter: "Of course, there is a kid who is right among those 2000 kids" If you start out by defining that at least one kid is right then of course "it is almost certain that, well, none of them are right" is a false statement. This is a direct consequence of the definition. Back to religion (the analogy): If you define that at least one god exists then any "proof" based on that cannot be used to determine whether or not any god exists. Who's using bullshit logic now? A "Ph.D."? I hope not. Would be embarrassing.
Back in the pre-PC days, the LH0033/LH0063 were listed in the National databooks as "Fast" and "Damn Fast" buffers. According to Bob Pease, some irate fundie Xtian complained about it and the LH0063 became merely "Ultra Fast".... electronicdesign.com/boards/bobs-mailbox-18
the solar cells seem like they would be good to make a "windshield" cover with like those foldable reflective covers you see people use ... you can charge your cell phone .. or maybe even charge the car battery if dead...
Haven't you screwed up the calculations? Looks like you've multiplied input voltage by output current, which makes no sense to me to be honest, but I might be the one who is wrong.
All you need to know about Kansas is that they completely redefined what Science is as to put "creation" on equal footing with what nearly every Scientist in existence knows to have actually occurred.
Heh… I am working on modifying the software that uses parallel port dongle as this one right now at this moment. The goal is to make an old DOS program which uses this thing work under WinXP and newer. Original developer abandoned it long time ago but there are still some stubborn companies that use this ancient stuff and don't even want to hear about upgrading.
Those low cost cells might be a great step into a first home solar project. Do it for cheap, get some savings, save for the expensive panels, then resell the old cheap panels to someone starting their first home solar project.
Czech Republic is mostly atheist country and Mattia Butta is not even Czech name so he is probably one of those immigrants who want to "enrich" our culture
Dave, I'm sorry but you didn't understand Mattia's letter. He appears to be talking in terms if FORMAL LOGIC(Formal Science). On the other hand you are arguing in terms of Natural Science. Since he's speaking in terms of formal logic, the content within your sentence "And they can't all be right so it is almost certain that, well, none of them are right" is irrelevant (by content I'm referring to either religions or in his case the math answers). You may as well replace"religions" and "math answers" with "opinions". Since it's formal logic, Mattia is most likely only criticizing the structure of your statement. In other words, it doesn't matter if it's about Gods, math answers, political opinions or whatever. Any evidence regarding the existence/non existence of Gods is irrelevant since Mattia is talking about the structure of you're statement.
The "funny" lenses in the projector is a light integrator. Basically what is does is make the light beam more homogeneous across it's cross section. I have seen Panasonic ones that use two of these to have a really flat light level on the screen across the whole picture. The light the bulb outputs is a mess is this regard.
You didn't even test the DC/DC? How did you come to those wattages? They specified the maximum OUTPUT current, times the currently set 6.5v, that would be a max of like 100w...
Dang, did I do that? Really? Shit, I did. That's really dumb.
EEVblog It happens to everyone :P
Exactly what I thought.
+EEVblog Can you do a quick revisit in the next mailbag video?
+EEVblog oh wow 😂😂😂
I missed that too
The BEC Output voltage was rated 6-8 (Currently set to 6.5) You have been multiplying the Input voltage with Output current ;)
Not one of Dave's brightest moments here with the dc/dc converter. Makes me think of an old colleague of mine who yelled "Wow ! 3500 watts at 15 amps ! That voltage must be incredibly high !" to which I answered: "I hope it's about 230V, Dave !"
USB dongles are still a thing.
My company still uses them to handling licensing of a product. Keylok.com still produces them.
in the pro audio and studio, they are common - protools uses iLok, and Steinberg use an USB-eLicenser
Dataton Watchout use hardware key dongles for the license. You don't get to play with anything if you don't have that £1400 USB stick.
I think Steinberg uses it still.
+fnmatrix Haha, I hate that. I tend to buy and legally crack software because the licensing is reaaaaly annoying sometimes.
Multiplying input voltage and output current is not that smart)
Oki, I'm a n00b, but doesn't it say *input* voltage and *output* current? I don't think I'm allowed to multiply those two to get the power... :/
Correct, I'm an idiot.
EEVblog Oh! Oki... :|
At least you're man enough to admit it. Surprised you didn't edit your video to avoid needing an annotation.
In that case, how much does it change your opinion? 100W output, ~10 W losses, 60°C above ambient seems reasonable for a quality power devices.
Happens to the best of us (and to me daily).
Admitted mistake is better then many things in our current human communications. Thanks for the great example on how to make it right.
That blue aluminium cube is a speed controller (ESC) for RC cars or boats. It is for Brushless motors. The plastic thing is the programming card for it.
+MrJ0mmy Fuck off
Atheist here, Mattia is 100% right. Sorry Dave, you screwed up this one. According to your logic, it's impossible that anyone is right as long as there are more people that are wrong. I'd rather this channel would not turn into religious issues though.
Exactly why I am an atheist. A God could theoretically exist but there is no reason to live your life based on the unproven, astronomically unlikely chance that he exists and is as you imagine Him.
As for your view on philosophy, all I have to say don't be a delicate little flower and always take the red pill. It might show you an ugly face temporarily but it sets you free.
No, Mattia is not right and your example is irrelevant to the issue.
What are the chances the real lawd gawd would be concerned with Human foreskins?
You're not an atheist, you're an agnostic.
+Mac Donalds The terms "atheist" and "agnostic" aren't mutually exclusive. The term "atheist" just refers to one aspect of an individual, that they haven't accepted as true any of the god claims put forth to them so far.
I just looked up the meaning of the Aussie slang term "suck of the sav" 24:09 and it took me down a dark hole of chipolata sausages and train wrecks.
4:35 is a speed controller for a brushless motor for an rc car. The transparent blue "LED" programing box is used to program the speed controller for things like cut off voltage (for lipo batteries), brake strength and many other settings to fine tune how your RC cars run. The Speed Passion stuff is generally used by on road racers and RC drifters.
How was the fuse on that calc dave would be good if it was blown
+MrJ0mmy shut the f uo
right now opv is touching upto 9% efficiency and energy payback time of organic pv is touching 3-4 months
normal pv energy payback time is about 2-3 years
Would be really nice if you could retest the DC/DC.
You bashed on it because you made a mistake which is fine. But I think it would only be fair if you re did that thing :)
Thumbs it up people if you agree.
Yes, I'll have to redo it.
You should have deleted that part of the blog and redid it in a later video without the derogatory comments! Poor form!
That's a castle brand BEC, castle is known for being one of the best (if not the best) BEC and ESC. I bet it meets and exceeds it's rating when you recalculate and test it.
The mailbag item at 3:28 is programmer for the SpeedPassion RC car ESC. (shown right after the programmer) it used to drive brush less rc car motor. You can edit the brake and reverse strength and how fast the esc will apply the full throttle and so on. (power curve adjust or something like that) neat little device and I think it was a cheap one.
is there something about these DVI adapter's to HDMI I don't know?
I'm just going to reply, A, to recieve notifications for replys even if they get flagged, and B, to ask, what did MrJ0mmy say? I see a lot of people mentioning him, meaning that he's going on a commenting spree. Care to paraphrase what he's been spreading? (Other than his massive E-peen.)
the output voltage should be around 6v so it max out at around 80w
Can you do a video on how to identify what a chip is. I've tried looking things up and cant find out, what's your scientific method to analyzing a circuit board?
G'day Dave... I've taken apart quite a few of those NEC projectors. They sold new back in the day for $1500+ US. Here's some of what I learned: The lamps (cost $160+ US) will burn out. Part of the issue is that they emit full spectrum light, which eventually cooks the reflector. As the reflector starts absorbing more and more heat, it eventually causes fracture of the glass tube. They have been known to explode under electrical force. The projectors themselves have another unique problem, as full spectrum light also is full spectrum UVA and UVB light. There is a cube prism that the light goes through, one side for R, one for G, one for B. The cube has a special coating that if it gets dirty, the UVA and UVB causes the dirt to fuse to that coating, ruining the prism, and the light output. NEC's otherwise usually had either a low voltage failure, or a high voltage ballast failure. If it's low voltage, it's toast (too hard and costly to get to it since it's on the very bottom. The high voltage module is a vertical metal encased box, that is right below the processor board (the top board). It can be changed fairly easy, and you've got a working unit. (If it turns on but won't light, HVPS... If it won't turn on at all, LVPS.) One point of failure, is the power supply. If you exceed mains rating (either high or low), you will burn out the low voltage board. We had a brownout at a high school and the power dipped to 85 volts. It took out 12 of them in one shot. It was confirmed by the local utility. Minimum low voltage is 90, as you can see from the sticker. We still have some of them in service 7+ years. Many are failing and being replaced by Hitachi branded projectors.
Best... Lee in Tucson
We've just received a fabulous new laser cutter at school and it came with a dongle. You would think that the software would be of limited use without the cutter?
Hahaha! Loved this one Dave! Gotta love the huge angry letter about the religious bullshittery. Classic theist logic!
I guess you mixed up input and output current.... at 48V input max. output is 6A at 6.5v... 39W.... okay, maximum output is higher at lower input voltages (i guess due to better efficiency), but still way below what you've calculated....
Are you high on something or just plain stupid?
+simontay1984 Wow, I've never seen someone get so mad about DC power before
I wonder how well the PET film substrate on the solar cells hold up in the sunlight?
That Panasonic calculator had a fuse for $%^#'s sake! Hmmmm, was it blown? Could this thing live again? Expiring minds want to know!
Try to see if it can be repaired Dave!
And if not send it to me :D
Still got the same dongle type in use today. Business software upgrade times arn't quite as fast as admins want them to be :/
So what is the specs of the demonstrating solar cell (volt, amp)? Infinity make it extremely hard on the website to get that information....
Don't mix input and output variables ;)
get out of the comments
+Really Funny, Original Name I assume it was a joke XD. He's implying that most often, the UA-cam comment section and the internet is devoid of rationality and logic (not specifically this channel).
***** nearly every comment has him in it saying random thing kindda like spam lol
I hope you all are talking about MrJ0mmy, I really don't get what he wants either...
Would those printed solar cells make a better solar roadway?
That controller is for servos. It will never be under load for more than a second or so, short bursts. Its possible.
Most RC stuff uses lipo batteries, charged between 3-4.2v per cell, up to 6 cells per pack in series (referred to as 6s). Some models use 2x 6s or 4x 3s batteries. More Vs = more whizz... The motors are specified using the odd designator kV, which is shorthand for "RPM per volt", so for an increase of 1V, you can expect an increase in x RPM.
Also, much of the thermal dissipation for these are calculated assuming high speed airflow :-) - RC parts have been known to fail in bench/backyard tests due to insufficent airflow.
Also, most RC parts are expected to be subjected to reasonably low duty cycle (
Well done on the religion verses logic letter from Mattie. I love this passage from Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.
"The Final Proof of the non-Existence of God was proved by a Babel Fish.
Now, it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mind-bogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some have chosen to see it as the final proof of the NON-existence of God. The argument goes something like this:
"I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."
"But," says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway, isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves that You exist, and so therefore, by Your own arguments, You don't. QED"
"Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic."
Has anyone found what voltages we can expect from these infinitypv panels? I can't find any info on it, I think it might be a secret.
You could use those solar cells to build a solar roadway for your model Delorians?
Favorite quote: "I love the nipple." LOL
I think it's great that you aren't afraid to discuss religion on your channel when it comes up. There's little about religion that isn't relevant to the world today. Beliefs inform actions. And belief in an ultimate, unquestioned, yet self-constructed authority underpins many religious believer's worldviews today. That kinda of single-sourced worldview stifles introspection by making it far more uncomfortable to question previously accepted explanations about the world. Especially compared to a more scientific worldview, which will end up relying on a wide range of sources for its explanations.
I'll leave you with this great quote from Karl Popper.
“The empirical basis of objective science has nothing absolute about it.
Science does not rest on solid bedrock. The whole towering structure,
the often fantastic and audacious construction of scientific theories,
is built over a swamp. Its foundations are pillars driven from above
into the swamp - not down to any natural 'given', ground, but driven
just as deeply as is necessary to support the structure. The reason why
we stop driving the pillars deeper into the ground is not that we have
reached solid rock. No, our decision is based on the hope that the
pillars will support the structure. (If the structure becomes too heavy
and starts to shift, then driving the pillars more deeply into the
ground is unlikely to help. A new structure may be necessary, but the
foundation of its construction must rest on the ruins, on the sunken
pillars of the collapsed structure.)” - Karl Popper
Dave, you bravely tackle any topic. Kudos to you! I would have shied away from the angry letter, but you took it head on. I think you've got the right instinct.
I'm a christian and your not... whatever. Let talk about how electrons flow around a circuit board.
+kim Dierichsen Im vegan. It is one stage over god.
The blue plastic box is for programing the ESC that came with it.
ESC= Electronic Speed Controller, It's an R/C car/boat/plane motor speed controller.
Personally, I am shocked, SHOCKED that a BEC most likely made in China is massively over-specced.
It's a Castle Creations BEC- made in America. Also, it isn't over specced, Dave screwed up and multiplied the input voltage by the current, when he should have multiplied the OUTPUT voltage by the current. Don't worry, he knows about it- lots of people have pointed it out...
Kansas City is in Missouri, the people in KCK we don't speak of them.
On the DC-DC converter, powering the receiver and all the servos at the same time might hit 6 Amps, so for its intended use, it would be loafing.
We used to use this software for converting print data to a proprietary format for archival purposes. It used those Sentinel dongles but they had a built-in counter. Every page we converted would subtract 1 from the counter, and when it ran out we would have to purchase a new one.
I'm the person who sent in the BEC/DC-DC regulator.
Yes indeed, you did multiply the input voltage, not output ;)
Any chance you will do a revisit?
I have like 6 modern USB copy protection/license dongles for modern software. MikroElektronika uses it for their products, most of the big music production software companies also use license dongles. All a royal PITA.
The fan in the projector is a NMB Minebea brand. They are quality-wise in the same league as Papst, and has been on the market for ages.
Dave: These are still being used for re: Computer Dongle. We see them in use on our video games. Most do not use a dedicated 'logic' board with all the I/O goodies any longer. The newer stuff uses either a large 'dongle' like you showed, or they use a USB "Dongle" that contains the anti theft security stuff. So it might be old school-- But it's still being used today, just in limited applications with whatever computer the game makers decided to use.
New video games use them, really?
EEVblog
Yes. Game company called "Raw Thrills" still uses them. (Fast and Furious, Fast and Furious SuperBikes..etc..) Back in 'the day' it was also Midway games. They also use the USB dongles a lot more as well. But I still see them in quite a few recent games.
He means arcade games.
Mac Donalds
Yep. I've been a manager and tech for over 21 years. Granted some of the arcade games are not 'cutting edge' when compared to uber high end applications, but the families enjoy it!
Tedybear315
I was just saying because Dave probably thought that some video games for home use used dongles.
There's nothing wrong with arcade games, I have some myself, though not any newer ones that basically use a PC.
The blue box is for programming Speed Passions Reventon series electronic speed controllers used in radio controlled racing cars.
Pc soft in France (major software cpy) still uses usb dongles and codesoft (label software) is still available with lpt dongles
I even have a machine (industrial) using isa based dongle cards
15:03 EEVBlog: where all your glue sniffing desires come together lol
Hi dave, loved the video.
The clock is the The Prague "Orloj", a medieval astronomical clock mounted on the southern wall of the Old Town Hall in the Old Town Square. First installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still operating.
I got married in the town hall so I have some lovely photos taken in front of it.
27:41 - Dongles were 'all the rage' back then, but not in a good way! :)
The programming card and the "automotive thingy" is actually a BLDC speed controller for RC cars. With the Card you can programm, brake, soft start and a whole bunch of other stuff.
That blue little device with the wires hanging out is a ESC speed controller. Controls DC motors with a lot of current behind it.
Unfortunately there still are dongles available and they are now using USB as a connection. I have to use one on my laptop for a mechanical design cad software I'm using for work (and I can tell you, the dongle annoys the hell out of me...)
The blue thing with wires in the first box, is a electronic speed controller its used for controlling the speed of a brushless motor on RC cars/boats etc
Max voltage output from that flexible organic solar cell? I don't see any mention of that on their web page. Your current measurement at ~1000 lux was 0.5mA. Direct sunlight can reach 120,000 lux.
So Dave what do you think where did matter come from ?
Read Lawrence Krauss's book, something from nothing.
EEVblog I will tnx for reply.
Ha!! Our company uses that very brand and model, although Rainbow Technologies is now SafeNet. In fact, we use the even older SentinelPro model, too - irk! The nifty feature of these is the black-box hash function which you can do all sorts of nifty things with in software - drivers were compatible with VB 6, and MS QuickBasic 4.5 (DOS)
I never thought I would get a philosophy lesson from Dave but he nailed it in my opinion great job!
Why wasn't there a mailbag the previous week?
We used to use those exact dongles to protect the RIP software (Raster Image Processor) when I worked at FujiFilm in the UK, pretty sure we were still supplying them until the mid noughties.
Love the show! I wouldn't bother with people who are willingly ignorant, it's proven to be a waste of time. But I can understand how they can get to you sometimes.
For security devices iLok exist which do a similar thing but over usb, they used to be required for ProTools.
Ahh, SuperPro dongles, I recall those, a couple of employers back we used them.
Rainbow are very much alive and well (as are a few other dongle companies), their Parallel dongles no longer exist, but they do USB dongles still, fun fact, the OLD usb SuperPros had a EEPROM on them you could pull the data off and clone it to another ;) That lasted for about 7 years, then they started potting them.
Mostly circumventing dongles in software was done by writing an emulator which would fake the responses from the dongle, in the DOS days it'd be a TSR that hooked the ports, in Windows it'd be a VXD that sat on top of the serial/parallel driver.
Dave, my religion is science and you're the apostle of electronics! Seeing that this is an electronics blog, please toss any letters regarding religion straight in the bin next time, as they have no place here. Those wasted 5+ minutes could have been used opening more mailbag items. I know I am not in the minority when I say these mailbag videos don't happen often enough to satisfy my craving for unboxings and teardowns, so keep up the good work mate!
This wouldn't be the only manufacturer making solar cells with roll-to-roll process. Konarka bought Polaroid's old coating plant and is using the unique coating process to make what were the world's first commercially viable printable solar cells.
It's amazing how much they were able to condense the circuitry in the Apollo Guidance Computer. The whole computer is still smaller than most desktop computers.
Haha
Dongles carried through into the 90s as I recall; quite a few of the high-end 3D modeling and texturing software utilized them around the time home PCs were catching up with purpose-built SGI boxes. :)
I was involved in the Toyota case. Even at that level, it's not worth it...
LED solar garden light project comming up?
Is that blue LED thing from a RC car?
I really REALLY want to know where I can buy your knife !!
Dave, you need to sharpen your Crocodile Dundee Bowie knife! That's why it's having trouble cutting an envelope!
I'm not 100% sure, but I think the first thing was a brushless motor controller for RC cars, with the programmer to adjust its parameters.
My friend bought one of those soldering irons,and frst thing that iron did when he pluged it into the wall was going kaboom.
By tearing it down we noticed it didn't even had those sleeves on wires that are going to the heater!
Skip from 29:44 to 37:17 if you don't care about Dave's personal views on religion.
Dave,
as far as the DC to DC convertor is concerned, it looks like it's switching probably at a high repetition rate with variable pulse width not just a series regulator so the normal considered power dissipation with a series regulator would not apply. The switching transistor or FET would not dissipate as much being fully on or off as would a series DC regulator. BUT it still seems too small for the amount of current it would have to switch. The Chinese under rate devices all the time, it's called planed obsolescence, and when it fails they make money when you buy a new one to replace it.
I have been a tech since I finished my apprenticeship in 1969. It was a five year apprenticeship back then, electrical & electronics trades and when I started in 1965 the electron tube was king, some very ignorant & stupid people want to bring it back again along with the black art of audio output transformer manufacture.
Regards Rob
the blue thing is a brushless RC car ESC. The other thing is a programmer for the ESC
ESC programming unit the blue box ;) its indeed to program the speed controllers, for timing, direction of turning the Brushless motor and that sort of stuff ;)
Looks indeed like there was too much load on the unit :)
For the BEC, for instance an 10 Cell LiPo has already 37Volts, so 50 is quite ok to be on the safe side :)
Rainbow Sentinel security dongles are actually still around. We use one for CAD software
This particular mailbag wins the award for the most incorrect calculations of any EEVBlog ever. #893 will go down in history.
I'm not religious but I didn't think your response was persuasive. Maybe either give it a lot more thought or avoid the issue in the future.
I think 90% is nowdays considered as "okay" efficiency. There is some not that expensive chips with 97-98% peak efficiency. And overall efficiency is kept major part of operating range above 90%.
great mailbag Dave --
To Mattie : you will never win an argument for faith while using logic... if faith could be proven using logic we would call it science...
Dave, today they use USB dongles - a company FLEXnet specialise in this type of licenses. I remember at the local radio station, we used to use the HASP4 USB dongles till we switched to a new system. Each program had it's own HASP4 dongle. Some people found a way to emulate them with software which rendered the dongles useless.
re probability if we have N children and they give random answer between 1 and N to a question where the correct answer lies within that set, then the P of a given child being right is 1/N. For large values of N the P approaches 0. Ergo it's almost certain that any given one of them is wrong. It is *also* almost certain that at least one of them is right, but if you are one of the children it's very foolish/arrogant to believe that you are *the one* who has got it right.
Of course for math we have well defined set of rules for determining the Truth (within the set of axioms it operates in).
For things where we have no proof for any "true" value it gets complicated, Bayes theorem and comparing whether results are close to predicted outcomes for events where both have been recorded reliably might give us some tools but prediction "god (if it exists) does not affect result of X in any way" (vs "god will provide result Y for X") will just about always be the correct prediction and thus P for it starts to infinitely approach 1. Now if god never affects anything in the world in any way, it's quite logical to start to question gods existence in general.
He is not using a linear voltage regulator, so input current != output current.
Since there are infinitely many numbers the chance of guessing the correct answer to 6+9 is 0%. Make 2000 kids guess and the likelihood that at least 1 kid guesses right is still 0%. (remember 0% likelihood is not the same as the event being impossible).
Therefore Daves statement: ".. it is almost certain that, well, none of them are right" is correct.
The only way to make the argument in the letter work is to define that at least ONE kid has the right answer. This is actually explicitly done in the letter: "Of course, there is a kid who is right among those 2000 kids"
If you start out by defining that at least one kid is right then of course "it is almost certain that, well, none of them are right" is a false statement. This is a direct consequence of the definition.
Back to religion (the analogy):
If you define that at least one god exists then any "proof" based on that cannot be used to determine whether or not any god exists.
Who's using bullshit logic now? A "Ph.D."? I hope not. Would be embarrassing.
Hey Dave, can you test that DC-DC converter brick.
Nipples. THAT's why I have an irrational appreciation for vacuum tubes...! Thanks for the realization, Dave!
Back in the pre-PC days, the LH0033/LH0063 were listed in the National databooks as "Fast" and "Damn Fast" buffers. According to Bob Pease, some irate fundie Xtian complained about it and the LH0063 became merely "Ultra Fast"....
electronicdesign.com/boards/bobs-mailbox-18
the solar cells seem like they would be good to make a "windshield" cover with like those foldable reflective covers you see people use ... you can charge your cell phone .. or maybe even charge the car battery if dead...
Haven't you screwed up the calculations? Looks like you've multiplied input voltage by output current, which makes no sense to me to be honest, but I might be the one who is wrong.
All you need to know about Kansas is that they completely redefined what Science is as to put "creation" on equal footing with what nearly every Scientist in existence knows to have actually occurred.
And for those who insist on references: www.nytimes.com/2005/11/15/science/sciencespecial2/philosophers-notwithstanding-kansas-school-board.html?_r=0
Some of you younger folks might be surprised to know that the retail price on that panasonic calculator was probably over $200.00 usd in the mid 70's
Heh… I am working on modifying the software that uses parallel port dongle as this one right now at this moment. The goal is to make an old DOS program which uses this thing work under WinXP and newer. Original developer abandoned it long time ago but there are still some stubborn companies that use this ancient stuff and don't even want to hear about upgrading.
I would love to read a blog on your progress! Fascinating stuff.
Those low cost cells might be a great step into a first home solar project. Do it for cheap, get some savings, save for the expensive panels, then resell the old cheap panels to someone starting their first home solar project.
Czech Republic is mostly atheist country and Mattia Butta is not even Czech name so he is probably one of those immigrants who want to "enrich" our culture
Dave, I'm sorry but you didn't understand Mattia's letter. He appears to be talking in terms if FORMAL LOGIC(Formal Science). On the other hand you are arguing in terms of Natural Science. Since he's speaking in terms of formal logic, the content within your sentence "And they can't all be right so it is almost certain that, well, none of them are right" is irrelevant (by content I'm referring to either religions or in his case the math answers). You may as well replace"religions" and "math answers" with "opinions". Since it's formal logic, Mattia is most likely only criticizing the structure of your statement. In other words, it doesn't matter if it's about Gods, math answers, political opinions or whatever. Any evidence regarding the existence/non existence of Gods is irrelevant since Mattia is talking about the structure of you're statement.
The "funny" lenses in the projector is a light integrator. Basically what is does is make the light beam more homogeneous across it's cross section. I have seen Panasonic ones that use two of these to have a really flat light level on the screen across the whole picture. The light the bulb outputs is a mess is this regard.
For the letter with the math example:
It's actually more like 2000 kids giving 2000 different solutions for "4/0=" when there is none.
Don't let SolarRoadWays hear about those flexible solar cells or we will have wheels with solar pannels on the tread side.......