"Giving away secrets" of electronics?

[ogden]

One of the things I like about this site is the complete irrelevance of "like" scores.

Oh, hang-on-a-mo, did I just "like" that? 

Like here works same way as "thank you" in real world. Some pay attention to it, some don't.

[jpanhalt]

I should have been clearer.  A thank you is polite, provides positive reinforcement to those trying to help, and using the thanks button avoids unnecessary posts. 

My point was that the score per se is meaningless.   Some sites equate that score with helpfulness, in some cases even posting a percentage publically.  In reality, one often sees more likes/thank yous given for comedy, YT videos, and OT than for technical advice.  Various attempts to restrict "thank you" for technical help and "like" for everything else have been made, but they all fail.  I have no objection to keeping it simple and in the background as is done here, but I wouldn't miss it if that button were removed.

[EPAIII]

Actually he said, "I have been fixing up a bog standard couple of hard switched converters for a customer."

A bog is an area of soft, wet ground.

Hard switched? Does it use a knife switch? Or a toggle switch? Or is it a switch like my dad used when I got caught at something?

Converter? What does it convert? Voltage? Frequency? Current?

And "fixing up"? Is this a repair? A redesign to take care of some design problems? Or a new design entirely?

And who's customer?

Just what is this guy(?) talking about?

He wants some advise on how to approach this. But is he an employee? Or an outside contractor? Or the CEO? I think people in those different roles would act differently. Or, at least, they certainly could. Personally I would have the "I QUIT, get yourself another whipping boy" card ready to play at an instant's notice.

What’s a hard switched converter? Is it about 2 minutes longer than a soft switched converter?

[tggzzz]

He wants some advise on how to approach this. But is he an employee? Or an outside contractor? Or the CEO? I think people in those different roles would act differently. Or, at least, they certainly could. Personally I would have the "I QUIT, get yourself another whipping boy" card ready to play at an instant's notice.

Given his history (as seen through the filter of this forum), I suspect he has limited options.

[pardo-bsso]

He wants some advise on how to approach this. But is he an employee? Or an outside contractor? Or the CEO? I think people in those different roles would act differently. Or, at least, they certainly could. Personally I would have the "I QUIT, get yourself another whipping boy" card ready to play at an instant's notice.

Given his history (as seen through the filter of this forum), I suspect he has limited options.

Is that you Mo-Dean?
(sorry, slow day at work...)

[Kean]

What’s a hard switched converter? Is it about 2 minutes longer than a soft switched converter?

LOL, I'm slow.  I only just got this yolk.. I mean joke.

[PlainName]

Actually he said, "I have been fixing up a bog standard couple of hard switched converters for a customer."

A bog is an area of soft, wet ground.

Hard switched? Does it use a knife switch? Or a toggle switch? Or is it a switch like my dad used when I got caught at something?

I realise you might be taking the piss, but just in case you haven't come across this colloquial phrase before, bog standard means basic and ordinary (without frills).

And, I presume he meant 'hard switched' as in switched due to circuit condition (for instance, some threshold being reached tripping the switching device) as opposed to 'soft switched' which would mean being controlled by software.

Tre Farringdon can be a dork at times, but this sounds like a perfectly reasonable 20k foot view of whatever it is.

[tom66]

Hard switched vs soft switched refers to the rate at which the power switch is turned on, nothing to do with software.  A hard switched converter uses as much gate current as possible to get the channel of the FET or whatever device to switch on as quickly as possible, reducing dynamic losses.  A soft switched converter switches these power switches more slowly.  This is typically combined with a converter topology that can enter ZVS/ZCS modes where the voltage or current across or through the switch at the moment of transition is minimal;  these designs can then tolerate soft switching without excessive power dissipation in the FET/IGBT. 

A 'bog standard' hard switched converter is likely a lower power SMPS with hard switching of the FET, in an environment that either tolerates higher EMI but demands lower cost.  A good example would be something like a simple 30W 12V mains power wall wart.  Much above 100W the EMC considerations make topologies like this increasingly unaffordable and so you find ZVS/ZCS designs becoming dominant.  I have however encountered an LCD TV with a 200W flyback converter for the backlight 24V supply, with a four-stage EMI filter and an additional external filter at the IEC connector.    Me thinks the SMPS designer was a bit new there.

[PlainName]

See, not hard to figure out what he meant

Unless my suggestion was accurate

[Zero999]

I'm disappointed. treez/faringdon hasn't "thanked" my posts. Whatever is the world coming to?!

Hey, lick your wounds.  I got a "like" here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/renewable-energy/whats-wrong-with-smd-fets-on-pcb-lying-on-top-of-metal-plateheatsink/msg4546229/#msg4546229

Oh, I'm revelling in it

Thanking everybody cheapens any value there might be in saying thanks.

He hasn't thanked a single post in this thread, which is highly unusual. Perhaps he's not checked it? His profile says he's been logged on today, which is odd.

[timenutgoblin]

Just wanted to repost this since I removed it. It seems relatable to the Original Poster's story.

Hi, tomorrow, I am being taken to their customer, to answer questions about “giving away secrets”…

The sort of schems that are strewn all over the internet.

Has anybody else ever been to one of these inquests? What happens?

This happens:

M really doesn't mind you earning a little money on the side, Dryden. She'd just prefer it if it wasn't selling secrets.

From what I understand, the O.P. managed to survive (the inquest) unlike Dryden.

[thm_w]

There was a time when I really felt for Faringdon and spent hours trying to give him advice based on my experiences.  All of that was ignored, similar to another frequent poster from the UK here.  I don't think he cares and apparently the UK has enough support services that he isn't starving to death.  That's the one fear my mom instilled in me from a very early age, as ridiculous as it may seem today.*

*She was a teenager in a large immigrant family during the Great Depression.  Everyone had to work.

Yeah, thats my theory, dude is living on assistance of some kind and this is all LARPing for a real world job.
Even when "hired" for jobs its quit or abandoned without much care. Anyone that needs money for food and shelter would not have this mentality.

Wonder how strict this JSA thing is:

Recipients seeking the JSA must prove that they are actively seeking work and are willing to take any job that pays a reasonable wage.