Category: Dropship

I had a bunch of these left over from military panels that I have been hoarding for over a decade.  However, most of them don’t have lamps in them.

Looking at the datasheet I was able to find the replacement 12 AC/DC/50 mA part number  is 10-1109.1279 (01-913.12).  However, you can’t find that part number anywhere except in reference to the switch datasheet.

I worked with DigiKey technical support this morning and we think the SM1250S will do the trick.  I ordered 100 of them and they had them in stock.  I will post a follow-up comment and find out whether they actually fit or not.  I previously bought the SM1250G but they were too big!

Over the next couple weeks I am going to be installing all of the monitors so that we can start applying the interior skin and also start playing with multiple frustum rendering.  Once they are in place I will take precise measurements of each of the corners of the monitors so that we can compute the frustums from some arbitrary point between the two airmen.

Protect the monitors from scratches, easier cleaning, glare inside cockpit is more realistic, and helps another pressure distribution layer in case someone bumps a screen.

Product chosen is Optix® Acrylic Sheet from Professional Plastics.

Optix® acrylic sheet is crystal clear, durable, weather-resistant and lightweight. It also offers the advantages of high molecular weight for ease of fabrication, low heat loss for economy and an attractive clear edge color.

For the 55″ monitors we need 4 sheets at 26.875 x 47.75 (26.75 x 47.625 +/- 0.125)

One of which I already cut from an old projection screen TV that was dismantled.

And another of which is 53.75 x 47.75 (53.625 x 47.625 +/- 0.125) which I will try to thermal form for the top middle.

For the 42″ monitors we need 2 sheets at 20.75 x 36.75 (20.625 x 36.625 +/- 0.125)

Did a number of calculations but placing the whole order at once saves 40% on shipping.

$47.71 shipping on whole $174.16 order is 27%
$25.32 shipping on partial $37.84 order is 67%
$25.70 shipping on partial $64.30 order is 40%
$28.57 shipping on partial $102.14 order is 28%
$30.25 shipping on $128.60 is 24% (all but curved piece)
$34.44 shipping on $65.56 is 53% (curved piece only)

We did a little more brainstorming and investigation about Venus last night.  The back-story we are working with is as follows:

The cities on Mars now lay in ruin – as abandoned as they were unsustainable.  The lack of economic self-sufficiency was exacerbated by the inability to terraform the planet.

Rewind to when Mars was in its heyday – we looked to Venus for the abundance of an otherwise rare isotope (36) of Argon which was crucial in controlling the fledgling fusion technology of the period.  “Air” as we know it is buoyant at 50km above the Venetian surface where the atmospheric pressure is almost identical to sea level on Earth.

Large, floating mines were created to extract the isotope in the atmosphere and shipped to orbiting facilities for transport back to Earth.  The conditions in which these mines operate make one shudder: noxious gases, acid rain, violent convective activity, and volcanic ash plumes for starters.

Protection from solar radiation was a constant battle as the planet similar problems with core rotation that we encountered on Mars.  Even the Argon-36 was radioactive.

Was going to try a VisionTek Eyefinity6 Radeon 7870 which I won on eBay for $255!  Can anyone spot the problem?

I offered to pay $155 for it but the seller declined. This one is going back as part of an eBay case.  I have since ordered a brand new one from TigerDirect at a crazy Cyber Monday low price of $359.

My gut is telling me that we will have to run in a 2×2+2 extended configuration in order to mix resolutions but the thing I am most worried about is running my application across these different viewports in DirectX. The benefits of one application would be sharing texture, mesh, point, and telemetry information. In reality I think switching the view and projection matrices out 6 times per second will impact the frame rate.

I also have 6 of these active mini-DP to RGB adapters on the way from China which I got for $10 a piece on eBay!

I also had to upgrade the power supply – NewEgg took care of me there with a 550W 2×6-pin PCI for $40.  That is the only piece I actually received so far.  Everything else should arrive next week.

My conversion from watts to VA was off pretty significantly.  I am now using the maximum designed wattage as outlined in APC specifications for each UPS.  The SC1500 that I intended to use will be overloaded but it is more economical to get three of these LS700 units instead!  The values for the computers are estimates based on the PSU in each unit (value can only go down from there) as well as the 1A regulated 12V supply consumption.  I don’t think we need the monitors themselves on backup power (it would be cool for them to flicker when we transfer from internal to external power and vice-versa.

The generator was mounted.  The air conditioner and all the topsoil have been loaded on the trailer for storage.  The whole thing was covered with a tarp after it was relocated to the backyard.  I feel so defeated not getting further this summer with the motion tests… hopefully if we get one more nice day I can do a final test (using generator power to boot).

While playing Halo 4 on the XBox 360 the TV would turn off randomly every 2 to 8 minutes. I would simply press the power button and it would come back on and stay on for another 2 to 8 minutes.

http://www.ehow.com/how_8535412_upgrade-firmware-vizio-television.html

I contacted Vizio because I could not find the M550SV on the list of firmware downloads. So far they have been worthless with automated replies. I chatted with a representative this morning that informed me that techsupp@vizio.com aren’t really technicians and the online registration process through the TV doesn’t send the freaking serial number (the first piece of information they ask for every time you call).

Another shameless plug for Just Answer: http://www.justanswer.com/tv-repair/67whx-vizio-model-m550sv-tv-playing-ps3-no-reason.html

I tried this procedure yesterday (although I have read on Fix Ya that the duration to hold the power button is 3 minutes instead of 10 seconds). It stayed up for a couple of hours but rebooted (hopefully and presumably after the firmware update was downloaded and installed automatically). Hopefully it is on until I turn it off now!

Bought a retaining ring tool from Home Depot for $22 in the wrench section.

Had to remove my NPT connections as they keep you from removing the cylinder ends. Squeeze the tool and move the ring away from all edges and pull up I needed three hands.

Packing kit is universal. Of all the parts included I only needed the O-rings for the rod, 2 ends, and piston along with the new sleeve bearing for the rod.

One down, one more to do. I am picking up a replacement U-joint today fit the one I broke.

Definitely need the packing kits for these actuators.  They are leaking like a sieve!

M2d is installed.  From the factory they come set for 0 to +10 VDC with the closed position at +5 VDC – I had to change the DIP switches after I had it installed (note for future installations) to work with -10 VDC to +10VDC so that 0 VDC is our closed position.  One question is whether or not that 0 VDC can be “floating” for short periods of time.

I didn’t have any weight on the platform (only 380 pounds) but because of the leaking I couldn’t continue with the tests.  However, when the pressure in the actuator exceeded 30 PSI or so the seal “locked” and it was quite strong – all my might I couldn’t get it to budge (which is really promising).