does anyone else want more mike/dave brinksmanship? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ftransform
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 09:55:36 am
content: I miss the solder trace videos. Competition is good and it forces innovation.So community, think like masterminds. How can we inspire another escalation?cold war? YES!

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 10:05:39 am
content: Mike gets an X-ray machine.Dave gets a CAT scanner.Mike gets a MRI scanner.

author: ftransform
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 10:09:49 am
content: dave gets a PET scanner...some time later....twomenchildren file for bankruptcyeevblog episode #501 - how to save money on pcb manufacture by using aluminum foil & shoplifting graphite/elmers glue from local walmart

author: snoopen
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 11:21:56 am
content: Quote from: ftransform on October 17, 2012, 10:09:49 amTranslated into Aussie:eevblog episode #501 - How to save money on pcb manufacturer by using al foil and pinching pva from Woolies

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 11:38:11 am
content: There is hardly any competition there.With the soldering videos, we obviously both thought it was an interesting topic, and simply did videos on stuff we thought the other didn't cover. No one-upmanship involved.I'll never be able to beat Mike on interesting teardowns, as the interesting stuff that he gets with apparent ease in the UK is next to impossible to get in this country. And we have some different interests too.And he has a van and a big garage.That X-ray machine for example weighed half a ton or something, and I wouldn't have been able to get it in the boot of the car let alone up into the lab.Dave.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 11:49:21 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 17, 2012, 11:38:11 amSo much for all the fitness training ...

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 11:54:20 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 17, 2012, 11:38:11 amI hired a van specially for that one, and as the weather gets colder there's only so much time 'til the car will be going back in the garage - just want to get it working again first. And I do also have another, smaller x-ray that I'll probably keep if I can figure out how to get it into the house - these things are damn heavy.Unfortunately very busy with real work atm (If you can call designing an installation with 200,000 LEDs and 12kw of PSUs real work :-) )The only competition I see is with myself - finding something bigger/cooler than the last one! I also rarely have time for detailed reviews & theory stuff - teardowns take much less time, and it's often stuff I'd be doing anyway!Any donations of MRIs, CT scanners, semi fab lines, or slightly used hadron colliders are most welcome! Might be fun to do an on-site teardown sometime!

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 12:07:22 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on October 17, 2012, 11:54:20 amCant you just dismantle it in smaller pieces and reassemble it inside?Alexander.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 12:09:05 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on October 17, 2012, 11:54:20 amFor me that would mean instant divorce!QuoteI'm full time at it and I still don't have time. That's why I have a regular Teardown Tuesday, it's relatively easyQuoteYes, likewise. Those who keep asking me to get cooler stuff for teardowns, well, I can't be in ebay, gumtree, and grays all day searching for every possible key word. So if you see anything, or have anything yourself, or know contacts for on-site teardowns of interesting stuff, please let me know.Dave.

author: ftransform
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 12:19:02 pm
content: I want mikes ebay scripts.probably worth as much as googles page rank algorithm.if anyone has a product list of EVERY product that agilent/hp/tektronix ever made please share...

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 12:23:09 pm
content: Quote from: ftransform on October 17, 2012, 12:19:02 pmYou can set up saved searches on eBay quite easily, for example "Agilent +oscilloscope +scope" "buy it now" price under £100, and it will email you when it finds a match.

author: ftransform
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 12:31:30 pm
content: hmm I never even looked into it, I just figured mike was being extra crafty somehow.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 12:43:46 pm
content: You can also broadly brose categories and filter items that are "for parts/faulty" often brings up interesting gear cheap.Dave.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 12:47:57 pm
content: Quote from: ftransform on October 17, 2012, 12:19:02 pmTop Secret!!! I currently have about 20 bookmarks I regularly browse - the trick is figuring out how to weed out the garbage.QuotePossibly, but they appear to have made the shielding by filling the pressed-steel panels with molten lead, and I think they may have then spot-welded them together. Not had time to investigate in detail yet.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 12:55:10 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 17, 2012, 12:43:46 pmThe one thing you can't do, annoyingly, is browse a category without a search term, but exclude words. The "-" to exclude only works if there are some terms, e.g. laser -printer works, but you can't, for example browse all medical/lab equipment but exclude certain words...AFAIK at least....There are a few hidden aliases though - certain words that invoke some category filters, which can help.

author: caroper
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 02:21:09 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 17, 2012, 12:09:05 pmYes dave, she would see right through you

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 02:22:29 pm
content: I had an MRI scan at the local distric general hospital last year in an interesting looking Siemens machine.I'd have smuggled it out to do a teardown, but it was a little too big.

author: G7PSK
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 03:29:24 pm
content: I have had quiet a few CT scans over the past 3 years average 1 every 6 months, I tried to smuggle a screwdriver in but it showed up on the scan and I was busted.

author: Wytnucls
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 04:02:07 pm
content: Quote from: caroper on October 17, 2012, 02:21:09 pmGood one Carop!

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 04:17:18 pm
content: I would love to tear down the digital Xray plate and reader..... It looks like a big envelope you place under/next to the area of interest then slide it in a reader which swallows it and you get the image on a computer a few minutes later.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 04:20:31 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on October 17, 2012, 04:17:18 pmIf it takes a few minutes it's probably film, with an automatic develop/scan process.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 10:00:43 pm
content: Get an atomic force microscope !

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 11:10:09 pm
content: Hmmm.....https://www.hilditchauctions.co.uk/lot_details.lasso?-KeyValue=439171

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 11:20:34 pm
content: Holy fuck that looks awesome,but where the hell would it go?Your workshop / shed looks cramped enough!Good conversation piece though!

author: notsob
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 17, 2012, 11:29:25 pm
content: Coming Events:BBQ and Basement digging party at Mikes

author: akcoder
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2012, 03:57:07 am
content: Quote from: steve30 on October 17, 2012, 02:22:29 pmA bit off-topic, but I'm a thin guy (145 lb, 65.8 kg or for Mike - almost 10.5 stones). I had a hard time fitting in the tube to get my MRI, how the hell do they get the more "plump" people in those things :-)-dan

author: akcoder
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2012, 04:01:02 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on October 17, 2012, 04:20:31 pmOne of the machines we have at work is all digital, but like the old xray machines, you place the "film" under the area to be xrayed. Then they dock it and it downloads the image. The other xray machines have the xray sensor embedded in the table.-dan

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 18, 2012, 04:12:47 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on October 17, 2012, 11:10:09 pmI've seen one of those go for auction here.I think it started at a couple of grand.Dave.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2012, 08:24:38 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 18, 2012, 04:12:47 amProblem is it's where it ends that matters....

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2012, 08:37:17 am
content: Switch it on and watch all your precious gear fly into it.

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2012, 09:38:37 am
content: It'd probably have a couple of grands worth of copper in it!

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2012, 12:55:27 pm
content: Quote from: akcoder on October 18, 2012, 03:57:07 amDan,Good question. I'm very tall and thin and fitted fine. It was quite roomy in fact.Was the machine old? The one I was in looked very modern.

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2012, 12:59:58 pm
content: Quote from: peter.mitchell on October 18, 2012, 09:38:37 amThe primary coil is a superconductor, which is not copper.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2012, 06:50:59 pm
content: Running costs might be a little steep. 1MW of power, and the little matter of precooling and warm area needing 1kl of lN2 before you start putting in the lHe.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2012, 10:55:45 pm
content: Quote from: AntiProtonBoy on October 18, 2012, 12:59:58 pmWhat would it be made of ? I suspect maybe something more expensive than copper due to purity, but maybe harder to sell to the local scrappie...

author: tom66
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 18, 2012, 11:03:54 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on October 18, 2012, 10:55:45 pmIf it's a superconductor, maybehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niobium-titanium- according to wiki this is quite common.

author: AntiProtonBoy
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2012, 12:58:48 am
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on October 18, 2012, 10:55:45 pmAs tom66 metioned, Nb-Ti alloy, but there are also variants based on tin, Nb3Sb.I think Niobium is worth something like $30/kg? Not sure how that compares with copper.Quote from: SeanB on October 18, 2012, 06:50:59 pmDepends on how you look at it. The bulk of the power goes into ramping up the magnetic field of the superconducting coils. Once powered, that energy is stored in the magnetic field, which remains that way with practically no additional significant power draw costs. At least in theory. This is one of the reasons why MRIs are never "turned off".Imagine quenching 1 MW worth energy in just a fraction of a second, say, due to superconductors going above the transition temperature. Something similar happened to the LHC when they were first powering them up.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2012, 04:50:48 am
content: Superconductors could be ceramic, but that is also worth money ( though not to the local scrappy) as it is a rare earth ceramic.

author: mickpah
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2012, 05:30:59 am
content: MRI,is incredibly interesting to work on and often damm scary. A big blooy magnet you can;t switch off & cryogens.I used to be a engineer responsible for a 1.5 tesla full body magnet. Once a magnet is "ramped" (at at full field strength) the power is disconnected. The power supply used is basically a constant current source that ramps to the rating of the magnet, on the one I worked on about 150 amps. We slowly increased the current till magnet was tuned to it's centre frequency , about 64 Mhz . The power being off, the field decay is very slow as there is practically no resistance in the coil, but to achieve this there is a hell of a lot of power used to keep the cryogenic liquid from boiling off.The only time we evr ramp it down was to service the refrigeration , about every 2 yearsThese things have high speed computing really sophisticated RF and power electronic. A tear down would take a week for a quick overview.

author: peter.mitchell
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2012, 09:33:14 am
content: Quote from: AntiProtonBoy on October 19, 2012, 12:58:48 amI have no idea how power would be distributed to an MRI but I could imagine the following;A breaker goes (because of cooling issue)Magnetic field collapses (fast, because of cooling issue)Lots of power dumped.Bad suff.Quote from: AntiProtonBoy on October 18, 2012, 12:59:58 pmYeah, in hindsight that makes a lot more sense...However, the premise of my post still stands, in components/accessories/materials it would probably be worth significantly more than " a couple of grand".

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2012, 12:50:23 pm
content: Quote from: peter.mitchell link=topic=11392.msg155231#msg155231Probably, although things like transport and de-install costs would eat into that.Unfortunately the listing seems to have disappeared so can't see what it went for (estimate was 40-50K)

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 19, 2012, 07:10:33 pm
content: QuoteWhich is peanuts compared with the original price - easily several million.