The Sorcerer's Progress (Page 11 of 62)

Don't think of reading.  Think of viewing ... in a museum.

Sorcerer's Stone? Whoopee!

No.  The second reference is to a story with only titles in written form.

Okay, the modified detector works.  I had to diddle a few of the resistor values, including one that was there for a while.  The hysteresis on the upper threshold is 3%, a little low.  But changing that would mean tinkering with almost every resistor in the detector.  The thresholds are: low-middle transition: on: 2.7v, off: 2.4 v, middle-to-high transition: on: 27.2v, off: 25.6v.

Low means no signal on the line.  Mid is off-hook, high is on-hook.

Back to the pigeon flasher.

Oh, for the other title look to Hogarth.

at some point in the story, even Poirot gives up an answer or two.

I'd never have gotten it, but will take a look at the story to see why you chose that one.

I may have a way to deal with the Pigeon Flasher problems.  First, reduce the voltage gain from the on-hook signal from the detector.  Second, explicitly have the off-hook signal shut down the on-hook circuit.  I need the voltage drop on my shcottky rectifiers plus the V(sub)DS on my mosfets to be less than V(sub)GS at turn-on for those same mosfets.  It should be, just barely, so long as the D-S (drain-source) mosfets have a decent gate-source voltage.

And darn, I've got to work on Erevain and Nikkano

The pigeon flasher control circuits are doing things that I don't understand.  The undervolt detector is also causing me trouble, which might require replacing it with a surface-mount version half the size of a grain of rice, or might just require a smaller pull-up resistor, which would cut into my power budget.

I'll have to start by replacing the mosfets in case I've damaged one of them.  I have to check leakage currents in my schottky diodes.  I might need a different part.  I have to ....

Oh, yes, Erevain.  I've done a little study on Jamen which shows where I mean to send him.  It's tucked in Book 2.

Your mother is going to be a mummy before she ever gets a chance to use this phone.  Not that she isn't your mummy anyway (aarr-aarr!)

Tried to post this yestre'en, but the site must have been etherized upon the table ...

Okay, here's what's up with Erevain.  This guy has to have a reason for his tinfoil hat.  There has to be a backstory and it has to unfold, with the hat, in a scene that's a small drama in itself.  A better or more experienced writer wouldn't have to learn on the job.

I've taken a step,closer, I think.  I need to look at my write-up after some good rest.

njc, for the ignorant around here, so the 135 number is important because that would determine your battery life?  One or two MICROamps don't sound like too much!  When you're done with this thing, we should celebrate.  This hasn't been easy!

And good luck with Erevain as well - let me know if you have something I can look at!

And ps - I passed my driver's license written test Monday.  Driving test is this Friday.  The friendly test centre told me where their cones are to practise my parallel parking.  I'm getting there ... and so far no dead cones, K would probably be so dissappointed.  Hopefully not too much, otherwise I'll have to see what I can do when I go out there again.  But please think of me (and the test person in the passenger seat too) Friday, if you could cross fingers and all kinds of other things, so much better because I won't be able to with both hands on the steering wheel.

I have the pigeon-flasher working as intended, but I've disturbed some things in my testbed detector.  I need to set them back to be sure everything is working as planned.  Then I need to set up another breadboard prototype to check the major (and minor)  layout revisions I have planned.  Before I start placing parts, I want to do a new master wiring/parts layout diagram.

And I need to work on Physical Design, and to order more parts.