Mail Archives: geda-user/2018/02/08/14:56:11
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Hello Erich,
Op 06-02-18 om 23:29 schreef Erich Heinzle (a1039181 AT gmail DOT com) [via
geda-user AT delorie DOT com]:
> Not sure if it helps but you can generate spiral inductor footprints
> with the following utility
>
> https://github.com/erichVK5/SpiralInductorFootprintGenerator
>
> Which reports the overall length of the spiral.
The normal R(eport Net Length) action already does this.
> Maybe if you fill the pipes with saltwater and figure out the
> permitivity of the ground you can make a tuned circuit too... The
> utility will also calculate the inductance and capacitance!
Hehe, yeah, let's turn or new home's foundation in one ginormous tuned
circuit. And hey, maybe if we choose the right frequency, we might even
catch extra energy from whatever is transmitting at that frequency!
This reminds me of a project I once designed and built for an artist in
my university days, some 30 years ago: the man wanted to realize a
functional electronic device with as many 'strange' and natural elements
as possible.
So I thought of the good 'ole toilet roll AM receiver -- but scaled up
to ludicrous proportions: the receiver coil was made from coax-6
'bamboo' ground cable, with windings 3 meters in diameter; the tuning
capacitor was made from two plates of steel (dimensions: 2 x 4 meters,
weight: 300 kilograms each) we got from a shipyard, with the top one
running on wooden wheels over the bottom one; and we got a bucket full
of high-impedance (300 ohms IIRC) obsolete telephone loudspeakers, some
two dozen we mounted in a large piece of PVC sewage pipe.
I was unable to come up with a large equivalent for the actual
semiconductor part (3 transistors for amplifying and rectifying the
signal), so that was housed in a big glass jar on a pedestal -- but the
resistors needed for the transistor circuit were individual, partly
charred tree trunks. Unfortunately, the charring didn't really result in
a low enough resistance, so we cheated a bit there, creating a sort of
carbon and resin slurry, that produced a fairly reliable resistance
track when painted over the charred areas -- the exact (OK OK, 50%
tolerance ...) resistance of which was chosen by hammering in big nails
at the right spot.
And oh, the power supply was of course lemon with bits of zinc and
copper wire. 144 of the suckers, each in its individual jar, 12 in
series, and 12 rows in parallel -- just about enough to produce a few
volts at ~10mA for an extended period of time.
We christened this unholy contraption (covering about 1/10 of an acre in
all) 'The Brontoceiver' -- and the thing actually worked (OK, sometimes,
especially at night, with no traffic noise, and you still had to listen
carefully).
One hilarious comment from another nerd deserves mentioning: "Ah, it's a
radio! Cool! So next year, you'll build a TV, right?"
> If you are just running air through the pipes, you'll need to sort out
> drainage of condensation.
Nah, there's just plain water in the pipes, with propylene glycol as an
antifreeze. And no salt allowed at all, because that destroys the
(aluminum) heat exchangers.
Best regards,
Richard
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<p>Hello Erich,
<br>
</p>
<br>
Op 06-02-18 om 23:29 schreef Erich Heinzle (<a
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:a1039181 AT gmail DOT com">a1039181 AT gmail DOT com</a>)
[via <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:geda-user AT delorie DOT com">geda-user AT delorie DOT com</a>]:
<br>
<blockquote type="cite" style="color: #000000;">Not sure if it helps
but you can generate spiral inductor footprints with the following
utility
<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="https://github.com/erichVK5/SpiralInductorFootprintGenerator">https://github.com/erichVK5/SpiralInductorFootprintGenerator</a>
<br>
<br>
Which reports the overall length of the spiral.
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
The normal R(eport Net Length) action already does this.
<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite" style="color: #000000;">Maybe if you fill
the pipes with saltwater and figure out the permitivity of the
ground you can make a tuned circuit too... The utility will also
calculate the inductance and capacitance!
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Hehe, yeah, let's turn or new home's foundation in one ginormous
tuned circuit. And hey, maybe if we choose the right frequency, we
might even catch extra energy from whatever is transmitting at that
frequency!
<br>
<br>
<br>
This reminds me of a project I once designed and built for an artist
in my university days, some 30 years ago: the man wanted to realize
a functional electronic device with as many 'strange' and natural
elements as possible.
<br>
So I thought of the good 'ole toilet roll AM receiver -- but scaled
up to ludicrous proportions: the receiver coil was made from coax-6
'bamboo' ground cable, with windings 3 meters in diameter; the
tuning capacitor was made from two plates of steel (dimensions: 2 x
4 meters, weight: 300 kilograms each) we got from a shipyard, with
the top one running on wooden wheels over the bottom one; and we got
a bucket full of high-impedance (300 ohms IIRC) obsolete telephone
loudspeakers, some two dozen we mounted in a large piece of PVC
sewage pipe.
<br>
<br>
I was unable to come up with a large equivalent for the actual
semiconductor part (3 transistors for amplifying and rectifying the
signal), so that was housed in a big glass jar on a pedestal -- but
the resistors needed for the transistor circuit were individual,
partly charred tree trunks. Unfortunately, the charring didn't
really result in a low enough resistance, so we cheated a bit there,
creating a sort of carbon and resin slurry, that produced a fairly
reliable resistance track when painted over the charred areas -- the
exact (OK OK, 50% tolerance ...) resistance of which was chosen by
hammering in big nails at the right spot.
<br>
<br>
And oh, the power supply was of course lemon with bits of zinc and
copper wire. 144 of the suckers, each in its individual jar, 12 in
series, and 12 rows in parallel -- just about enough to produce a
few volts at ~10mA for an extended period of time.
<br>
<br>
We christened this unholy contraption (covering about 1/10 of an
acre in all) 'The Brontoceiver' -- and the thing actually worked
(OK, sometimes, especially at night, with no traffic noise, and you
still had to listen carefully).
<br>
<br>
One hilarious comment from another nerd deserves mentioning: "Ah,
it's a radio! Cool! So next year, you'll build a TV, right?"
<br>
<br>
<br>
<blockquote type="cite" style="color: #000000;">If you are just
running air through the pipes, you'll need to sort out drainage of
condensation.
<br>
</blockquote>
<br>
Nah, there's just plain water in the pipes, with propylene glycol as
an antifreeze. And no salt allowed at all, because that destroys the
(aluminum) heat exchangers.
<br>
<br>
Best regards,
<br>
<br>
Richard
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