Who likes Electronics and Electrical discussions?

I don't discuss much on ATS anymore; mostly I lurk, but I have an electrical engineering degree and I work in industrial electronics sales, so there's definitely lots to interest me on those subjects.

I love electronics, have been using a soldering iron since I was about 8 and I have had my Nuts & Volts subscription almost as long. Seeing as I am in my high middle years, that's quite a while. I used to work for a well know consumer and industrial electronics company , then I worked in test laboratories for an OEM supplier to the Automotive sector building Analog to Digital converters and interfacing them to old early PC's 8088 | 80286 up through early Pentiums with custom coded software I wrote in Assembler... I am well into the realm of software development as a full-stack Microsoft developer but as I sit here I am looking at my desk littered with PIC Microcontrollers, Arduino''s and plenty of goodies that I use to build robots with my son who is not quite a teen yet. To my right is my trusty Tektronix 2246A scope and a B&K Signal generator and Lab grade power supplies. I don't do much with RF now but when I worked for the automotive component supplier I did di a lot of design validation testing RF leakage and absorption of various devices under test in a couple of different anechoic chambers and have felt the presence of live RF on the lines and crawling over my skin a few times, not very pleasant and by the second time I learned to never try tightening an sma or smc connector while transmissions are happening. I do a lot of metalworking and machining and have built my own CNC machine. I also build engines and built my own fuel injection computer and harness for a Fox body Mustang I have owned since I left high school. The fuel injection system was granted a CA CARB acceptance after I spent 6 months with the State referees back in 1999 working to prove it worked correctly and at the time generated the proper OBD-I outputs. I also built an entirely digital dashboard back in the 90's, too. So that WAS the short story.... Plenty more to offer but if you look at my posting history here, I only really say things when I feel it warranted. As far as this post of yours goes, I love to help solve problems, electronic, automotive, software and many other things that I have made a point of knowing how to do while sitting around on this earth.

I just recently got into electronics as a hobby (always wanted to), so I'm fairly new to it all. I've got my son involved, so we're kind of learning together. I'll follow along the best I can.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: ratcals

I also work in aviation, and aviation electronics. Have been for going on 35 years now. Mostly land based systems, but we do a bit of airborne systems. We support most ILS and Radar, and work on them as well. CAT I, II and even IIIC. (the list goes on). We do a lot of the new nextgen stuff now too, especially the new prox radars with analytics, and some of the new ASDE-X stuff is pretty cool.

High speed, low drag, man! Hoo-YAH!!

I speak that language. I also do weather radar. Do you work for the FAA?

I've brought a few old tube amps back to life.
Shocked the piss out of myself more than once.
I've done a lot of playing around with bending circuits on electronic noise makers.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I'm an hvac guy, so I know a little bit about electricity, it's fun to talk about, especially when you finally solve a head-scratcher.

I also know 24 tickles, 120 stings, 208/240 hurts, and 480 will knock you on your ass, or stick you to it (hope for the first).

Funniest moment I ever had was tracing out an issue with an air handler, laying flat on my back up in the roof space of a commercial building bathroom with legs hanging down from the roof. The unit had it's own breaker so I flipped it off and it literally fell off the unit, someone forgot a screw :/ Finally trace the problem to being a bad relay switch, then go to put the breaker back in its place and screw it in properly...my dumbass thinking 'oh I shut the breaker off, powers off' forgot that its the breaker into the unit itself and the power in is still hot. Of course, what happens? I grab the hot side of a 240 contactor and my legs literally jumped and kicked out the roof tile next to the one I went through.

I wish I had that on camera

a reply to: ratcals

No, don't work for them. Work with them a lot, but not for them.

a reply to: Vector99

I've always heard that 208 is worse than 480 for grabbing you. Fortunately, I can't speak from experience. A while back one of the guys at work got bit by 480. He was clipping a monitoring meter into a hot panel and his hand slipped. Bit him on the top of the hand and arced out of his forearm to the panel enclosure. Messed him up pretty good. He's the lead EE for a municipality too. He's okay now, but he's since gone PPE koo-koo, looks like Robocop just walking down a hallway even. I don't think he'll even leave his desk without donning a full flash suit practically. Spooked him I guess. I get it though.

a reply to: NoCorruptionAllowed

Interesting! You wouldn't think they could steal enough power to be concerned about, but yeah, that's exactly how it works. Just for grins one time I stood under a big HV transmission line with a fluorescent light tube and it lit up. Someone told me about that so I had to go try it. Pretty cool stuff.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Never been bit by 480, and that was the only time 208 got me. It was only for a second, but I had a metallic taste in my mouth for the next 2 days.

Needless to say, I use a dummy stick every single time I'm playing with high voltages now, without fail.

a reply to: Vector99

What's a 'dummy stick'?

I generally use a NCV tester so I know what's hot and what's not. Is that what you mean by a dummy stick? Once I do that I check everything with a meter.

ETA - Used to have to do a lot of work on hot equipment and panels. Goes with the territory in electronics. The recent NEC/NFPA changes make that a lot harder anymore. And, a helluva lot more expensive!

Back to electronics for a moment.

One discussion I'd really like to have is preventing ground-loops in testing equipment, especially O-scopes. This is one subject which is quite a bit more complicated than it seems at face value, especially with multiple channels under test. Lots of people say isolation transformers on the bench, but I've seen magic smoke get out even using one of those.

I'd love to think there is one "golden answer", but I have yet to find one. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

How about..
AND, OR, XOR, NOT, NAND, NOR and XNOR

The very stuff behind one being able to post on ATS ?
Without those 6 , your display would just blankly stare back at you .

a reply to: Gothmog

That, and "1" and "0", as well as high and low.

I've been bit by 480.
Bad insulation on a welding lead.
An arc jumped between my upper and lower teeth.
I think my skull may have been vitrified.
I took the rest of that day off.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: Gothmog

That, and "1" and "0", as well as high and low.

But 1's and 0's would still flow.
They just wouldn't do anything.

I enjoy discussions on electronics/electrical topics here on ATS.

My MOS in the US Army Reserves was 91-Alpha (bio-med technician). I think the medical-related MOS (it used to be the case that 91-Alpha was biomed tech, 91-Bravo was combat medic, 91-Charlie was nurse) have since shifted from 91 series to some other numeric designation since I was in uniform.

We biomed-techs received a basic education on electrical theory and electrical components as part of our AIT. Our tech school was one of the longer ones in the Army as I recall; it was 9 months long at that time. That was plenty of time to work our way up from the basics of how to troubleshoot simple electrical circuits, all the way up to board level diagnostics for complex equipment like x-ray machines and MRI units.

This tech school served me well, as it prompted me to switch my college major to comp sci after AIT, and it also gave me the confidence to do some work on my first home that would ordinarily be doled out to electricians.

Definitely enjoy the topics you create on electrical equipment FCD; those are always threads I drop in to read up on.

Only time I've seriously shocked myself was something over 1000 volts, but it was at microamps. (I don't know the exact voltage because it was higher than the meter could read...) I was trying to measure the output of a kid's science experiment, which involved building a small Tesla coil using a transformer out of an electric flyswatter. Basically due to my own stupidity I accidentally held the meter probes by the metal probes instead of the plastic handles and essentially tased myself on a flyswatter (Don't do that...)

I remember my first circuit ar school.
it was the flip flop basic circuit BC108.
two flashing bulbs, that was before LEDs !
I love the NE555. I am just a hobbyist.

I have zap't my self with 240 ac countles times. UK volts
one time with 380 volts ac. only time I have screamed and Jumpt.
and you here of people dieing from 240ac !

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

What's a 'dummy stick'?

I generally use a NCV tester

That's a dummy stick. Use the NCV tester first dummy, next time you wont get bit. If you are a sparky you should know that one lol.