Music

[maccorin]

Mr_Sfstk8d: Thanks for the explanation dude!

My electrical background is about average for a comp-sci grad... in other words, one class that I didn't pay much attention to ;p. I did know that you can only amplify to a certain point w/o clipping, but i never really knew much about tubes, so I guess I never thought about the fact that may be a non-issue (if I'm reading your explanation right). As far as the heat goes, are you saying basically that tubes may run hotter, but can handle it better? (I'm sorry... i _really_ am not an electrician... I should start doing some studying though, because I think I would find it interesting, and it may help my knowledge as a programmer as well, _especially_ if i ever have to do micro-controller programming or something similar).

[Mr_Sfstk8d]

I have kind of an advantage in component level electronics. I, literally, cut teeth on project bread boards. My dad was an electronics technician of the highest order. When he passed on, I lost the best technical reference anyone could have ever hoped for in built electronics (not printed PCB's or micro-whatevers) particularly RF engineering. Case in point: once we chatted to a guy in NZ. We lived in IL, US. We were operating on less than 400W. On top of that, he was a great guy. That said, I'd been training up 'at Daddy's knee' on electronics my whole life. I'm kinda hard pressed to come up with links and specefic doc's off the top of my head, because I've gotten it from a multitude of differnt sources: verbal, texts, burning my own damn fingers, etc. for over 2 1/2 decades.
If you want to learn electronics, in my opinion, the best way to get 'intimate' with equipment is to:
1) Study for and get an amateur radio license. You'll have to learn some AC/DC circuitry, RF modulation, signal recomnination, signal flow, FCC rules, RF propogation, etc. There are varying levels of profieceincy in licensing of course. Start them out on the soft stuff :P
2) Start _building_ some of your own rigs. See what works. Really, you learn better the things you enjoy.
The cutting edge of technology is always on the amateur circuit. Things that come out in a branded box one day were on some hobbyists bench years before. We're the guys who look at a funny problem and say "Oh, hell, I've got some time, let me futz around and see what I can get."
One of the best band pass HF tuned chamber filters I ever saw in action was one my Dad built out of 2 - 2 lb coffee cans inside 2 - 5 lb coffee cans, telescoping the tuned chamber on a threaded rod to adjust the matching freq. Sounds funny, no? But that's the same principal of all tuned chamber filters.
Now, about clipping in tubes, the amplification is going to be limited by the allowable power consumption of the tube. And yes, that means, where do I smoke it. The mercury vapor condensate on the top and bottom of the tube is normal in an aged (100+ hrs) component. If the whole thing is covered, probably bad It's almost like it's doing its own DC/DC transforming internally, but a bit different. I'd really have to look up the specifics on that to be sure. Also, when you get WAY up there on what the tube will do, you will get some distortion. Build them up based on your aplication, basically. But you knew that :P
I really do think that studying basic circuitry will help your programming and micro designs. Be careful not to get _too_ muddled down in someone elses jargon and conventions. But getting the theories of operation and basic concepts is always a plus. For me, I frequently find myself when looking into an electronics troubleshooting job thinking in terms of plumbing. Where's the clog? Where's the leak? Why don't I have any damn pressure? Stupid, but it works for me. Well, I hope that was at least marginally informative. And if you've got questions on specifics of electrical components, troubleshooting, whatever, anybody feel free to give me a buzz.

Damn, that was long.

Ciao

[maccorin]

you have inspired me to start reading about short wave radio, once i get some cash i'll get some basic supplies and just start fucking around. I think I got a lot to learn, but the right mindset to do it (ie... _very_ logical) because of my programming. One thing I've been wanting to do is get into robotics, i have a 486 laptop that i think would make a great controller.... it's got a few serial ports on it but something tells me that radio would be a bit better beginning.

EDIT:

I also grew up with a father who would have been one of the worlds greatest resources, he's one of the head EE's for Allison Transmissions. But if I couldn't access it with a keyboard I didn't care.... and now I live in a different state then him I bet he'll be a good resource over the phone though.

[beezlebubsbum]

no problem fatal error!

[Mr_Sfstk8d]

Maccorin, now, what you need to do is set up the interfaces on some of the, say, 5GHz amatuer bands so you won't get a bunch of chatter over your controls with the robot, and play around with slow scan TV, maybe in the head, or the middle of the chest. There's a _lot_ you can do with that protected channel space. Don't let the FCC or your local legislation take away the public domain airwaves!!!

[maccorin]

i'm thinking a fairly simple start, a robotic arm, it doesn't even need all 6 degrees of freedom, with a sensor.... i'll program it to take beer out of the fridge for me or something. Did a little bit of reading about short wave radio, it really doesn't float my boat... i think i am more interested in the micro-* aspect of engineering (hey, what can you say, it runs in the family...)

[Mr_Sfstk8d]

OK, then, try this on for size. Make a microwave tranciever in about .5 cu ft with a square cone feed cone. Oh yeah, and run it on 2 AA batteries. Haven't done that myself, but seen one in action. Pretty cool.
BTW, how did we get from digital music distrobution to beer swilling robots and cracker jack box radios? I love the Foo!!

[Gruntled]

To quote one of the old masters:

"Don't need no glitter/no hollywood,
All you gotta do is lay 'em down/and lay 'em down good!"

I've been listening to a lot of interviews with classic rock icons lately, and I've been hearing a lot of the same thing. Thye dwere looking for a certain sound, or an original sound, and ended up finding it in either old guitars from yard sales, or in home-made solutions.

This is the spirit of the hobbyist, and the heart of Linux. It can be done well, done right *and* done cheaply. You might end up with a different sound, or a new sound, and the whole thing just might take off for you.