They did not allow shop class at my high school, and I really felt robbed of some good technical information/experience.
I am still upset about that.
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I am still upset about that.
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Fun fact: Thomas Edison discovered the tube effect, ie: that if there are three electrodes in a vacuum tube, one can be used to control the current flow through the other two.
He did not realize the significance of this feature, and so never capitalized on it.
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He did not realize the significance of this feature, and so never capitalized on it.
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Radio Shack was big when I was growing up, and we use to buy those kits, and build all sorts of things, such as crystal radios, FM radios, telegraph keys/sounders, etc.
All discrete components; this was the days before transistors.
I always marveled at how a radio channel could come out of what looked like a tiny rock.
That had rather a sci-fi feel to it, and still does.
We made our own record player, with a tin foil cone, with a straight pin at the end of it.
We would spin the record by hand, and it would play perfectly, assuming you maintained the right speed.
That really had me scratching my head, and I wondered how the heck audio signals could be stored in those little grooves on a record disk.
I had always assumed that something electric/electronic had to happen in order to play a record, but nope.
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All discrete components; this was the days before transistors.
I always marveled at how a radio channel could come out of what looked like a tiny rock.
That had rather a sci-fi feel to it, and still does.
We made our own record player, with a tin foil cone, with a straight pin at the end of it.
We would spin the record by hand, and it would play perfectly, assuming you maintained the right speed.
That really had me scratching my head, and I wondered how the heck audio signals could be stored in those little grooves on a record disk.
I had always assumed that something electric/electronic had to happen in order to play a record, but nope.
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Richard Hed
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You SHOULD be upset. They are doing the same to your children and grandchildren. We are being bred like pigs, chicken and cattle--to produce labor and to keep our mouths shut about the problems this all brings about. Some people thimpfk that as soon as AI is able to replaace us all, that the international puppet masters will pull the plug on us--that is, create some disease or whatever (ebola or one of the two day viruses) to kill us. Conspiracy Theory!! Well if you are interested in education, read John Taylor Gatto's books. They will make yhou very angry.
Our school system is nearly worthless. Bring on the electronics, hands-on subjects. For those going on to Uni, let them study books.
To be fair, when I first tried to start engineering school, they had a large slide rule (perhaps 6 feet long) hanging up at the front of the classroom. The teacher said "Everyone in this class needs to go purchase a GOOD slide rule, if you don't have one already".
I had a math phobia (go figure a math phobe trying to go to engineering school, but it happened), and so I immediately walked to the registrar's office and quit school.
After working two years at really bad jobs, getting paid almost nothing, I knew I had to either do engineering or die trying.
I walked into the same class, and the instructor (probably not the same guy) said "Everyone needs a good calculator".
It was at that point that I knew I had a chance at making it through engineering school.
It was a hallelujah moment, and I exclaimed to myself "Saved by the calculator ! ".
Everyone called the electronic calculator a "crutch", but the calculator allows me to focus on the design, and not on how to use archaic calculating devices. I general, I understand how a slide rule works, but keeping up with the decimal places and such is a hassle, and the focus should be on having a good design, not impressing your fellow students with your slide rule prowess.
The nerds in college wore their slide rules on their belt, like some sort of badge of honor or mark of intelligence.
I never liked slide rules, and still don't like them.
I never purchased one, and will never own one.
Once a phobia, always a phobia.
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I had a math phobia (go figure a math phobe trying to go to engineering school, but it happened), and so I immediately walked to the registrar's office and quit school.
After working two years at really bad jobs, getting paid almost nothing, I knew I had to either do engineering or die trying.
I walked into the same class, and the instructor (probably not the same guy) said "Everyone needs a good calculator".
It was at that point that I knew I had a chance at making it through engineering school.
It was a hallelujah moment, and I exclaimed to myself "Saved by the calculator ! ".
Everyone called the electronic calculator a "crutch", but the calculator allows me to focus on the design, and not on how to use archaic calculating devices. I general, I understand how a slide rule works, but keeping up with the decimal places and such is a hassle, and the focus should be on having a good design, not impressing your fellow students with your slide rule prowess.
The nerds in college wore their slide rules on their belt, like some sort of badge of honor or mark of intelligence.
I never liked slide rules, and still don't like them.
I never purchased one, and will never own one.
Once a phobia, always a phobia.
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Richard Hed
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LOL, I was not a nerd, I was a 'geek' and yes, in high school I did exactly that: wore a slide rule on my belt! In 1975 I bought my first calculator--it cost 156.09$. Now that calculator can be bought for 10$ The calculators I use now are completely unnecessary in power for what I use them for. The study in Math is usually a fear factor for those of us that say they cannot do it. Well, also, there is a huge factor in people teaching it being incompetent, plus the curriculum which teach rote mechanics and not the fantastic ideas in Math such as prime numbers (who cares what the numbers actually are?), the concept of infinity, negative numbers and other interesting ideas. instead it's 1+1 uh equals uh . . . or 25% of 100 is uh . . . uh ... Math it taught by people who don't know any math and are afraid of it just like many kids being taught math. Just like most of gradeschool and highschool is almost useless unless it is hands-on.
By the way, I now have 3 slide rules and something like 6 calculators. I still have that calculator I bought in 1975 but it doesn't work. OMG, next year, it will be 50 years old.
I should be the education tsar.
I still have the two casio calculators I used in school.
I was never a Hewlett-Packard calculator person; the reverse notation confused the heck out of me.
The folks who understood the reverse notation used it to their advantage.
The HP calculator had buttons that were downright Neanderthal; you practically had to lean on them with your whole body to press a button.
The Casios have a very light touch to the buttons, which is why I still use them today.
Last I checked, my original casios still worked, so that would be 44 years old.
I have never had a casio calculator fail on me.
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Has anyone tried making a boiler with a fire box for wood pellets?
Like a pellet stove with auto feed? You are itching to control something cool with an Arduino, aren't you? And yes, that WOULD be cool.
Especially if it actually worked.I recently converted our kitchen oven to PID control. Actually you can run it either in its normal electronic control, or use the PID control. And yes, it will hold the oven temp to +/- 1 def F if you set it that way. There is probably a PID sketch that someone has already written for an arduino. There are some serious project possibilities for using (wasting?) your spare time .
Lloyd
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Richard Hed
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the basis of how that little shocker workt is how the transformer works. When a DC circuit is closed, a huge spike in Voltage AND current occurs in about or less than a 1/1000 of a sec. I don't know the exact amounut of time but that this occurs is important to how a transformer transforms. As long as the amount of current is CHANGING, it will cause electricity to flow in any nearby metal. We take advantage of that and make long strings of metal and wrap it around a steel core to make transformers. As you know, DC only does that at the beginning of a circuit when you 'Close' it, that is, flip the switch but like the vibrator example, which switches 60cycles per sec., you can get that necessary varying current from the spike of DC which causes (called 'inducing') the current in the nearby wire to flow. I wish I had known all this when I was a kid (last week) but the shitty school system did not teach. I didn't know that I probably could have found a book in the library.
It drives me nuts the modern ovens are not PID.Like a pellet stove with auto feed? You are itching to control something cool with an Arduino, aren't you? And yes, that WOULD be cool.
I recently converted our kitchen oven to PID control. Actually you can run it either in its normal electronic control, or use the PID control. And yes, it will hold the oven temp to +/- 1 def F if you set it that way. There is probably a PID sketch that someone has already written for an arduino. There are some serious project possibilities for using (wasting?) your spare time .
Lloyd
I built a massive aqarium to PID but the biology self regulates so that went out the window.
A fire box with blower controls, feed regulator and a electronic ignition would be a fun arduino project, but I personally don't have any boiler ambitions.
I am thinking of ways to PID a diesel, vs a mechanical governor, but having a prototype is a long ways away...
I agree about the modern ovens shamelessly staying with a couple of mechanical relays and bottom of the barrel basic temp control. They already have a processor on board, and I think all they'd need to do is replace the mechanical relays with 3 nice solid state relays. The switching rate of the relays is pretty high to maintain the control, sometimes as often as every 10 seconds. It doesn't have to be that fast, but the mechanical relays would burn up in a few years, I think.
And yes, the electro-mechanical fuel injection would be very cool to build. I considered it, but it would clash with the spirit of the Detroit Diesel.
I find the mechanical relays for the stone only last a few years as is. Probably using boards from the early 2000's with little or no updating.
It would clash lol. Right now it's a beautiful mechanical marvel.
With a MAN type G it will be a bit more inplace as those are increasingly less mechanical to meet environmental regulations.
It would clash lol. Right now it's a beautiful mechanical marvel.
With a MAN type G it will be a bit more inplace as those are increasingly less mechanical to meet environmental regulations.
I think some kids are naturally dangerously creative (only partially joking) and will seek the sources out. But encouragement from a mentor is important. I taught industrial arts (shop) in a middle school for 2 years but I didn't have the temperament for it. In each class, I would say that maybe 15-20% of the kids were thirsty for the knowledge. I did not have the talent to reach the other 80%, but the 20% had fun and learned a lot. I really enjoyed the 20%.
I will use me and my brother as an example. A old guy gave us each a worn out lawnmower engineto play with. I carefully disassembled mine, trying to figure out what each thing did. My brother, on the other hand, took out a few bolts, got bored, and finished the job with a ball peen hammer.
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WisJim
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I see a number of things in the recent discussion to comment on. We grew most of our food on about a 1/2 acre garden when we lived in our off-grid place. We had chickens and we helped a relative who farmed make hay and butcher steers in return for our supply of beef. We traded land rent on our tillable land for milk from a neighbor. We didn't need the 40 acres and a mule (thank goodness) since we were just growing our own food, not trying to make a living farming.
My 3 sons were homeschooled for most of their schooling (for non-religious reasons), and the youngest never went to school, except adult night school for machine shop. He now has his own business fabricating and installing granite countertops and his hobby is electric vehicles. He has a patent relating to electric motorcycle conversions. When the boys got to the age of wanting a car, they were allowed to get a non-running vehicle and get it to safe running condition. They learned a lot doing that. I've always had a shop with wood and metal working equipment that they learned to use.
My dad had been a radar electronics instructor in World War Two, and his attitude when I wanted something electronic was to get out the RCA tube manual, go through his boxes of tubes and parts, and design a circuit for me to build. We worked with transistors, too, when they became available. He was a small town high school chemistry and physics teacher, so we did a lot of related electronics in school, too. I wish I remembered all that we did.
My 3 sons were homeschooled for most of their schooling (for non-religious reasons), and the youngest never went to school, except adult night school for machine shop. He now has his own business fabricating and installing granite countertops and his hobby is electric vehicles. He has a patent relating to electric motorcycle conversions. When the boys got to the age of wanting a car, they were allowed to get a non-running vehicle and get it to safe running condition. They learned a lot doing that. I've always had a shop with wood and metal working equipment that they learned to use.
My dad had been a radar electronics instructor in World War Two, and his attitude when I wanted something electronic was to get out the RCA tube manual, go through his boxes of tubes and parts, and design a circuit for me to build. We worked with transistors, too, when they became available. He was a small town high school chemistry and physics teacher, so we did a lot of related electronics in school, too. I wish I remembered all that we did.
conflict of terms - by definition:
"rectifiers" convert AC to DC
"inverters" convert DC to AC
Richard Hed
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Thaat's the way schools should be now. What a travesty
I agree, there are plenty of precise terms in electronics. The use of data sheets and standard dimension, etc, are very nice and save time and trouble. But then the jargon starts being thrown around , like buck converter for example.?? The novice (me) always has to be looking up these not-so-precise terms. Still the standardization in electronics is extremely helpful.
Lloyd
I have conflicts in my brain, but not much I can do about that.
I am glad some folks are paying attention and keeping the jargon straight.
My functionality these days (mental and physical) is not what it use to be, and what it use to be is nothing to brag about.
My goal every day is to remain above ground as long as possible; pretty simple really.
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I am glad some folks are paying attention and keeping the jargon straight.
My functionality these days (mental and physical) is not what it use to be, and what it use to be is nothing to brag about.
My goal every day is to remain above ground as long as possible; pretty simple really.
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Have worked on several big ones burning wood. Type of wood and moisture is key to how they perform. Also ash fusion temperature will make a big difference. Can cause clogging of grates. Grate is similar to coal but combustion gases are a lot higher in moisture. This causes higher efficiency loss from latent heat of vaporization. Saw dust or fine particles can cause issues. Need lots of grate air and good control of overfire air. A smaller unit if not carefully designed will precipitate creosote and can cause chimney fires. Do not know where you would get pellets except maybe from sawmills that pellitize saw dust. Seen that done. Have a local company near hear that burns all their scrap wood. Scrap wood is easy to get. I think your best background for information is old steam boat boilers that actually burned wood. Its not impossible but I saw a small boiler built for maple syrup rebuilt about five time before it worked correctly. So if the wood is free you have nothing to loose but if you pay for the wood economics could change drastically.
