Recently, as I've previewed some of the images of past posts, I've noticed some are broken (though work fine when you click on them), and I'll be slowly fixing them.
Photobucket is the one causing the problems (might also be that I turned HTTPS on for the blog, it's hard to say), which I used to like using, but with how things are recently, I've stopped using them for images for new posts.
Again, it'll be a slow process, since I have to hunt down the picture on my server before uploading it to the new image hosting site and then update the link within the post. For now, just hold the control key and left click for any images that don't appear.
16 March 2016
15-pin D-Sub Testing Breakout Board
This wasn't the first circuit board that I've designed, but it was the first challenging one to do because I wanted to keep it as small as possible and that I had a lot to work around.
The holes for the pins and the mounting clip/hook thing wasn't really hard to do, since the datasheet told me all that I needed to know (even though I kinda ignored the suggested hole diameter a bit).
There was another 15-pin D-Sub tester at work that was made with the same PCB-mounted connector, a length of 15-conductor ribbon cable (originally 20-conductor), and some female molex pins with heat-shrink tubing around each pin. While it did the trick, it was annoying to sort through the pins, even though the main ones were labelled (which I later updated because there was a rare occasion that I needed to find one of the pins that wasn't one of the common ones).
Since I had created a couple boards or so before this, I figured this would be the much sane replacement for the mess of cables, as it would make it easier to use and be much more compact. But as I said, it became a challenge to keep the board as small as possible (to keep the board cost down) while trying to route the traces efficiently.
The smallest "standard" trace width in EAGLE is 0.254mm (0.01in, 10mil), which was what I tried to use, but when I thought I was done, the design rule for OSH Park told me that I had spacing issues (the spacing between the 0.254mm traces and the pads for the pins were too close to each other), and I think at that point, my only option was to make the traces as narrow as possible.
OSH Park's minimum trace width is 0.1524mm (6mil), which I used and was able to successfully complete the board. I marked pins 1 and 15, put circles on the main pins (1, 2, 9, 10, 13, and 14), put lines to denote pins 6 through 10, marked pin 15 for the connector (for proper mounting orientation), and then labelled the board on the bottom.
I now just plug the cable that I make into the tester, have one test lead in contact with the cable and the other on the corresponding pin number on the board. I haven't used it officially yet, but I have tested it to make sure it works (not like I had already checked the design enough times to make sure I didn't screw up the order). Since OSH Park sends boards out in threes, I've got a couple extra for whatever.
The holes for the pins and the mounting clip/hook thing wasn't really hard to do, since the datasheet told me all that I needed to know (even though I kinda ignored the suggested hole diameter a bit).
There was another 15-pin D-Sub tester at work that was made with the same PCB-mounted connector, a length of 15-conductor ribbon cable (originally 20-conductor), and some female molex pins with heat-shrink tubing around each pin. While it did the trick, it was annoying to sort through the pins, even though the main ones were labelled (which I later updated because there was a rare occasion that I needed to find one of the pins that wasn't one of the common ones).
I took the picture after I had discarded the twist-tie that was separating the main pins (rather after I discarded the mess).
Since I had created a couple boards or so before this, I figured this would be the much sane replacement for the mess of cables, as it would make it easier to use and be much more compact. But as I said, it became a challenge to keep the board as small as possible (to keep the board cost down) while trying to route the traces efficiently.
The smallest "standard" trace width in EAGLE is 0.254mm (0.01in, 10mil), which was what I tried to use, but when I thought I was done, the design rule for OSH Park told me that I had spacing issues (the spacing between the 0.254mm traces and the pads for the pins were too close to each other), and I think at that point, my only option was to make the traces as narrow as possible.
OSH Park's minimum trace width is 0.1524mm (6mil), which I used and was able to successfully complete the board. I marked pins 1 and 15, put circles on the main pins (1, 2, 9, 10, 13, and 14), put lines to denote pins 6 through 10, marked pin 15 for the connector (for proper mounting orientation), and then labelled the board on the bottom.
Bottom and top sides of the board without the connector.
I now just plug the cable that I make into the tester, have one test lead in contact with the cable and the other on the corresponding pin number on the board. I haven't used it officially yet, but I have tested it to make sure it works (not like I had already checked the design enough times to make sure I didn't screw up the order). Since OSH Park sends boards out in threes, I've got a couple extra for whatever.
Top, bottom, and front sides of the board with the connector.
Mei-chan Upgrade
Back in October (2015), I kinda vaguely posted about the Blu-ray upgrade that Mei-chan got. I'll just be giving a few extra details that I missed (and also a picture I never posted).
Because I had about 300 DVD disks to copy, I kept the DVD-RW drives connected (albeit not in the same place), since copying 4 disks at the same time is a bit more task effective (though probably not effective time-wise). It's probably the only time I'll ever have four optical drives connected to a computer.
This was after upgrading the assorted hard drives that Mei-chan had to two 1TB hard drives. I'm hoping I posted about that, but if I didn't, there's not much to say about it. The hard drive upgrade had to happen first before this because there wasn't going to be enough SATA connections (never mind the lack of space), as Mei-chan only has six SATA ports.
Because I had about 300 DVD disks to copy, I kept the DVD-RW drives connected (albeit not in the same place), since copying 4 disks at the same time is a bit more task effective (though probably not effective time-wise). It's probably the only time I'll ever have four optical drives connected to a computer.
This was after upgrading the assorted hard drives that Mei-chan had to two 1TB hard drives. I'm hoping I posted about that, but if I didn't, there's not much to say about it. The hard drive upgrade had to happen first before this because there wasn't going to be enough SATA connections (never mind the lack of space), as Mei-chan only has six SATA ports.
Just a quick picture I took to remember the moment.
Apps and Battery Life
The article I read is: Closing Apps to Save Your Battery Only Makes Things Worse
I've seen a few articles about this on Google Play Newsstand, and have been ignoring them. Why did I finally give and click on it? Because Ting decided to post it to their Facebook page.
I'm neither going to agree nor disagree with the articles, simply because it depends on how you use your phone. I hardly use my phone, so I get home from work with about 90% battery life. I have a set of countdown timers running (because it's easy to lose track of time when I'm focused), and only really poke around on my phone during lunch.
I've always closed apps because I don't want it using CPU/RAM. Yes, the automatic resource management has gotten better over the years, but every-so-often I'll notice the phone lagging a bit, to find that I left a ton of apps open. This is mainly why I'm not going to agree or disagree with the article, because it's really a case-by-case issue. For the general public that spends almost every free second on their phone, yes it's great advice, but for light users, it might not be the best idea.
I've seen a few articles about this on Google Play Newsstand, and have been ignoring them. Why did I finally give and click on it? Because Ting decided to post it to their Facebook page.
I'm neither going to agree nor disagree with the articles, simply because it depends on how you use your phone. I hardly use my phone, so I get home from work with about 90% battery life. I have a set of countdown timers running (because it's easy to lose track of time when I'm focused), and only really poke around on my phone during lunch.
I've always closed apps because I don't want it using CPU/RAM. Yes, the automatic resource management has gotten better over the years, but every-so-often I'll notice the phone lagging a bit, to find that I left a ton of apps open. This is mainly why I'm not going to agree or disagree with the article, because it's really a case-by-case issue. For the general public that spends almost every free second on their phone, yes it's great advice, but for light users, it might not be the best idea.
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