RE: using breadboards
- From: "Juan Hernandez" <blindmagik@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:02:18 -0800
well, I guess my progra was stupid. we never did any physical work, I might
have gotten a better idea of things. We built virtual circuits with a
program called logic works. 100% not accessible.
I had my textbook in braille, and the graphics were tactile.
I think I just had a bad experience. My professor was chinies, and his
axent was so thick, that I could understand 1 out of 10 words he spoke. his
electronic lectures, what he posted on the projector, were 100%
inaccessible. There was another blind student in the class with EE
experience, anad the professor kept comparing me to him, and asking me why
he did such a good job, and I couldn't do it.
I guess If I had the right taccess, and a better professor that I would
think at this all differently.
Take care.
_____
From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of tribble
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 12:49 PM
To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: using breadboards
Hi Juan and Tyler and Ken and all --
I'm entering this thread late but wanted to say that with a little sight
(enough to see circuit diagrams on my CCTV but not enough to see the holes
and pins on the breadboard), I was able to get through my digital logic and
comp architecture classes with no problem -- in fact, I found the digital
logic class to be one of the most fascinating classes I took as an
undergrad. In that class we went from low level circuits to the final
project of building our own programmable calculator.
My comments: I had no trouble managing the breadboard as I found I could do
everything I needed to do by touch -- and in fact, because I was extra
careful in building my components, I frequently found myself finishing my
project early and leaving the lab, while my sighted counterparts were
ripping the wires out and starting over for the third time.
The circuit diagrams i think may be the biggest barrier for totally blind
students. If I were to go back to that time of my life having no vision, I
think I might need tactile representations of the diagrams, some of which
got pretty involved. Juan, what did you use for circuit diagrams that made
it difficult? I'm not saying it should have been easy, just that having no
vision may have had a major impact.
Good luck Ty, and I'll keep that graduation date in mind...
--le
----- Original Message -----
From: Juan <mailto:blindmagik@xxxxxxxxx> Hernandez
To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 10:55 PM
Subject: RE: using breadboards
Hi Tyler,
I really applaud your wanting to do circuit work. but good luck finding
text books and such. When I was finishing up my computer science degree, I
had to take a computer archetecture course. basicly this was circuit design
and such. this was the hardest course I've ever taken. I have since
forgotten everything I learned in that class.
I know the ideas, enough to code my own operating system and such, but I
have no interest in that field.
I have only heard of one eelectrical engineer ever that was blind. maybe
you'd be the second one, but who knows.
Keep hacking, but just remember this is like 1000 times harder than anything
software related you'll ever do.
Juan
_____
From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Tyler
Littlefield
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 2:40 PM
To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: using breadboards
I graduate this may, I believe.
Maybe I won't go that route. I'm interested in OS design, making something
work.
I really want to just write a basic shell, though I doubt my OS will be the
next windows on the market, I want to get things working.
I started playing with something, but after I got it to boot up and
everything I wasn't able to find a way to test what I wanted to see if it
works.
Basically I'm looking for another solution besides just windows and linux
dev. I want to start playing with new technologies learning how things work,
making things go bang, etc.
Any other ideas would be great. I won't give up on learning about circuitry,
but it's hardly a career option for me.
----- Original Message -----
From: Ken <mailto:whistler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Perry
To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 3:34 PM
Subject: RE: using breadboards
You are looking at the wrong place for making a PDA even if it was just for
you personally. I said 274 for the development board after you design the
software on that and decide what components you want for example the 274$
development board I spoke of came with y-fi, 2 usb ports, blue tooth, and
some other things like keyboard input which you would have to design. Of
course a finished product would not need all of those or it would be a Pac
mate. Anyway the thing is you buy one dev board and develop your PDA idea.
When you're done you get the company who made the dev board to make you 5000
of them and your off and running with the next Victor stream. Now I am not
talking from left field. I would suggest you call Marc at Levelstar and
talk to him. He developed the brail plus and Icon hardware and he will be
able to explain it much better when I was talking to him the other day he
said and I quote, "you may think you want to get into hardware design but
you don't believe me you don't." You really need to talk to people already
in the industry.
I also know of another device that was a Linux pda that never made it to
market because it took 6 months to get a bread board working for it because
you have to match up the daughter boards and get all the polarities and
voltages right and in this case it was a sighted person doing it and he
smoked a few components just getting it to work. After that he had to get
some kind of software to actually compile and work on it. Why would you
want to go through that kind of hell when you can purchase a development
board from either Samsung or hell there are lots of companies that you can
get atom dev boards from and I am not even sure my $274 is the lowest cost I
did see one that was $1000 for a dev board and it was a 4 inch by 3 inch
board that was pretty much a laptop in a tiny box. These dev boards come
with an operating system that works on them, heck most of them come with
both windows CE and Linux so you can choose
Shrug do what you want but the work you will have to put into a PDA is not
worth it. This is the last I will say, without any other questions,
because if you want to fight with it more power to you just know you are in
for a long hard road to get nowhere and by the time you get there your
device will be so far behind the times it won't be worth having. For
example if you are planning on making this for more than yourself it costs
in around $2000 to $5000 just to get your power supply tested and passed all
the regulations. That's just one of the things you will have to do with
your own design.
By the way as a side note, Tylor when do you graduate from High school?
This has nothing to do with what you're doing I am just interested.
Ken
From: programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Tyler
Littlefield
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 4:43 PM
To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: using breadboards
I figured I was totally scrued up.
It's just something I want to do.
I have an idea for a PDA I would like to build that sounds fun, just my
personal little PDA. I could totally customize it, and it would be cheaper
than anything I could buy more than likely.
I also want to just learn how these things work. I've often found them
interesting.
I have been digging around for some electronics tutorials, but haven't found
all that much that doesn't consist of a ton of pictures, etc etc.
----- Original Message -----
From: The Elf <mailto:inthaneelf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 2:34 PM
Subject: Re: using breadboards
lol, odd list to send this to, but I used to do modular electronics, so your
in luck.
firstly, that setup will not do the job, you need to find a basic
electronics tutorial and read it, smile, not ragging on you, just the truth.
there are basic principles that you haven't grasped yet.
for a battery charger, you need the 110 volt (wall) plug, a transformer,
you need a full wave rectifier (I'll explain in a minute) and you may want
some filter capacitors, though there not really needed for a bat charger.
now then, your first mistake is that your setup would have put wall type
current, called AC for alternating current, into resisters and batteries
which are DC (direct current) devices , that's a large shocking flam buoy
recipe.
number two, you said resisters to bring the current down, yes resisters will
drop current, but not in the way you need it to, this kind and type of
current step down is done with a transformer (that's why so many things with
removable wall plugs have that large box either at the wall end, or in the
middle of the cord, the box is mostly the transformer that reduces the
voltage and changes the amperage of the wall current.
and without the full or half wave bridge rectifier I mentioned before, your
still plugging DC parts into an ac circuit, another flam buoy!
the full wave bridge rectifier I have been mentioning is the component that
changes the AC current coming out of the transformer into DC current for the
batteries to charge off of.
here is the correct series of components for a simple power supply:
1. 110 volt power plug, which you attach to a specific set of contacts on a
110 AC to... (output voltage equals the number of batteries going into the
battery holder, times 1.5 volts) so if you have a battery clip for 2
batteries, then its 3 volts, if its four then it's six volts) AC transformer
(note here, all the transformer does is change the voltage and amperage of
the power, not its type, at this point you still have AC current running
through the thing).
3. to the output side of the transformer you attach the input leads off the
full wave bridge rectifier (this is the device that changes the power from
AC, to DC so its the same type of current as your batteries).
4. to the output side of the FWBR you can either:
4-1. insert two filter capacitors to screen out noise the circuitry
generates, but this is not needed in a simple charger(*note,! the filter
capacitors have to be hooked up the correct way, one end is positive one
negative).
or,
4-2. attach your battery holder, making sure you get the polarity of the
wires correct to the battery holder , or your making a loud bang and a lot
of stink and a hazard out of your batteries.
another point, this simple setup has no way, like many chargers you buy do
now a days, to tell when the batteries are fully charged, and stop trying to
charge them, and this will heat up, and eventually give you another ka boom.
the circuitry for a regulator is not to hard, but I can't pull it out of my
head like I can a simple power supply.
that is the basics of a power supply and it will work as a charger. and it
will not cost much, but why reinvent the wheel, unless your going to try for
some work in the electronics field? which I would not advise, some of the
stuff is extremely complex, and some of it quite delicate, and none of it is
marked in a method that can be read with our current tech abilities.
laters,
inthane
----- Original Message -----
From: Tyler <mailto:tyler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Littlefield
To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 12:06 PM
Subject: using breadboards
Hello,
I'm looking to start using breadboards to create some small things.
I'd like to start off with something small, possibly a battery charger or
something similar.
I found a small tutorial on instructables, but not totally sure how to get
going.
It explained how things work somewhat, but not accurately enough for me.
It mainly used pictures to explain, which didn't do me a whole lot of good.
Any ideas on how I can set this up?
I understand the polarity--hooking one negative end to the positive etc so
that the circuit forms a loop, I'm just not sure how to do what I want.
So, here's my idea.
If I figure out the layout, I can set up a power cable going from the outlet
to the breadboard.
Then I can place in jumpers to bridge the gap.
I can take the 120 volts down to 9 with some resisters (?) and hook a
battery pack to the other end that will charge the batteries.
I'm thinking I'm way off, but... ideas would be great.
If I could, I'd like to set it up so it'd charge like 4 at once, then I
could cut down the 120 to 36. Possibly put in a heat sink to keep it from
getting really hot.
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