EEVblog #821 - Mailbag

[EEVblog]

More Mailbag!

SPOILERS:
Get Your Ass To Mars Buzz Aldrin
October 22nd 2015 USA Today Back To The Future Newspaper
Kickstarter KeyDuino: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1535978353/keyduino
Esinomed Infoview medical tablet computer
TDA7377 Power Amplifier Chip: https://tibounise.com/misc/TDA7377.pdf
500W PMPO Bullshit
Military Mystery Item Teardown
Marine LORAN C Autopilot Teardown

[ChunkyPastaSauce]

More Mailbag!

SPOILERS:
Military Mystery Item Teardown

The Military Mystery Item is a missile pulse duration modulation encoder for wireless data transmission, possibly for intercontinental ballistic missiles. See one of the engineers who worked at on it "ELLIS G. GOODWIN" https://radiwiki.wikispaces.com/file/view/resumesA-H.pdf - search "goodwin" in PDF:

"Mr. Goodwin is presently Project Engineer on the Martin Titan III PCM telemetry system. Prior to being given this assignment, he was Subtask Supervisor responsible for circuit design for the Titan III PCM telemetry system.

Prior to coming with Radiation, Mr. Goodwin was engaged in circuit design for advanced electronic airborne equipment with International Data Systems Incorporated. In this capacity he was responsible for the circuit modules such as power supplies, inverters, delays, buffers, clock generators, flipflops, and decoding matrices which were used in a programmer connected with the Saturn Program; low-level amplifiers for Thiokol and Boeing; a signal conditioner which included a power supply, frequency converters, phase sensitive demodulators, and AC and DC voltage converters which was used by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation to normalize various measurements to a 0 to 5 volt range.

Mr. Goodwin also did design work on a 90 x 10 high-level and 60 x 1 lowlevel PDM multicoder for use in the Asset missile, and a 45 x 20 high-level and low-level PDM multicoder for use in the F4H aircraft by McDonnell Aircraft Corporation."

"Asset" missile is unnamed, however I think this module may have also been used in NASAs Project FIRE http://www.wired.com/2012/07/interplanetary-reentry-tests-1966/ because project documents state a 90 x 10 PDM communication system http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19660029120.pdf, http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19650004794.pdf, http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790076764.pdf, the dates seem to be right, and project FIRE used an asset missile platform. The missile turns out to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, from the Atlas D ICBM family. These were used for the early orbital space program (1960's) and some military intelligence stuff. 

Edit - This is definitely early space program related,  Contract No on side nas9 is a nasa contract. Project FIRE was at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, housing the Manned Spacecraft Center. (MSC) The Module spec says MSC on the side.  Also the serial number of #025 makes sense now, and so does the construction

[EEVblog]

Awesome find, thanks!

[Halcyon]

Love the USA Today paper. Sadly I missed out on the sale directly from USA today but managed to pick one up fairly cheap on eBay. Seems like the seller didn't really see the value or significance (clearly wasn't a BTTF fan).

[crispy_tofu]

BS level is at DEFCON 5?? Ahh, it's okay then. 

[Clear as mud]

The postcard from \tezz at 22:24 mentions that he is working on a project using an instrument cluster from an E46 BMW.  It has a couple of links in the text on the postcard.  If you go to his blog at http://tsharp.me.uk/, you can see he is working on decoding the CAN bus signals so he can get his BMW instrument cluster working in a car racing simulator he is building.  This was interesting to me because I have an extra instrument cluster from an E32 or E34 BMW (both of those body series used the same instrument cluster and wiring), as well as another one that is still installed in the whole car.  Mine is an earlier model car, but it also used the CAN bus, and probably uses a very similar protocol.

[kaadam]

Dave, you mentoined some view statistics at the beginning. May i ask, how many viewers have you from Hungary?

[max666]

Österreich = Austria != Australia   

I like seeing the postcards. Thanks Dave.

[BassPotato]

The postcard from \tezz at 22:24 mentions that he is working on a project using an instrument cluster from an E46 BMW.  It has a couple of links in the text on the postcard.  If you go to his blog at http://tsharp.me.uk/, you can see he is working on decoding the CAN bus signals so he can get his BMW instrument cluster working in a car racing simulator he is building.  This was interesting to me because I have an extra instrument cluster from an E32 or E34 BMW (both of those body series used the same instrument cluster and wiring), as well as another one that is still installed in the whole car.  Mine is an earlier model car, but it also used the CAN bus, and probably uses a very similar protocol.

Tezz Here

Entirely possible, some of the base information I used to get an understanding of this cluster came from documents for other BMWs, particulary the E36 series. Some of this cluster's functionality is spread onto a linbus-style interface called "K-Bus"/"I-Bus" which is actually quite well documented:
http://web.comhem.se/mulle2/IBUSInsideDRAFTREV5.pdf
The hardest part there was finding what was useful to my project.

Learnt heaps about BMWs, various bus types, used my Hitachi Analogue 'scope for the first time, destroyed components and had fun in the process

I've not had much time to put into the project as I'm currently finishing my last year of University however I do want to round off the documentation and the host software when i get the chance. As it stands it works in Euro Truck Simulator 2 quite well. Happy to answer any questions but I am by no means an electronics expert!

Made my day seeing my postcard

[EEVblog]

Dave, you mentoined some view statistics at the beginning. May i ask, how many viewers have you from Hungary?

Youtube only shows me the Top 10 and Hungry isn't in that list.

[EEVblog]

Made my day seeing my postcard

Thanks, and welcome the forum 

[Len]

Youtube only shows me the Top 10 and Hungry isn't in that list.

Hungary != hungry

although it does remind me of my grandmother's cabbage rolls

[timelessbeing]

I think that despite the inevitable deluge of damning evidence, many people will stick to their guns, and swear by the batteriser. Just like audiophools. They will just come up with abstract, immeasurable phrases like, "the batteriser gives my batteries more perkiness and liveliness." and "My batteries have more zest".     That's probably what the creators are banking on too.
Just wait.

[Stonent]

BS level is at DEFCON 5?? Ahh, it's okay then. 

DEFCON level "Barry Corbin"



(But to his credit, he did say he'd piss on a sparkplug if it would do any good...) 

[kaadam]

Not surprising, thanks!

[max666]

Youtube only shows me the Top 10 and Hungry isn't in that list.

97,5 % male; 2,5 % female
Dave, I can't believe your channel is so sexist! I think we need a women's quota. 
Just kidding, I'm just sulky Austria didn't made the cut. 

[PA0PBZ]

Most popular in Europe it seems. Percentage of views by population (not percentage of viewers of course...):

[IU8BBM]

Uhm, it looks someone received another free postcard from me, to be sincere it was hard to believe that it would have crossed the whole globe without letting anyone noticing about the trick, but it did, "Beauty" hehehe. So sorry that's actually the best I can send to you, i'll find a way to send bigger parcels without having to sell my kidneys, that's a promise!

Luca