[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Re: Mid point ground return wires


><Any word on these appearing in the US market?
>Kenny   Soon, I think we will start with the larger ones first. I think you
>saw the solid state units we used for the internet antenna in Brazil,
>remember, you designed and built the animation controller. The conection

How could I forget.  I'm still waiting to hear the full story of what they
did to it & why.  For you Parallax Stamp fans out there - I programmed and
hardwired a 14 circuit controller with I think it was seven different kinds
of animations each of which could be individually programmed to remember and
hold a pattern and its rate.  There was also a 'random' effect built in to
fire every 4 or 5 days.  This was for an art installation on a radio tower
that Dave engineered and oversaw the production of (interesting story there
as well I'm sure).  I was pleased with my hack, particularly since it was
prior to the 16 bit Stamp and I only used one chip (in tandem with the
Edwards serial to i/o chip).   For some reason between the Italian
transformer manufacturers and the Brazilian electricians there was much
confusion as to how to hook up to my triacs.  Frankly I don't know why. We
sent many diagrams back & forth & I left provision for  Line In and Line Out
for each circuit.   

Talk about midpoint grounding - there's a whole scenario there regarding
European style 220 vs Brazilian style. Well, for some reason, the
electricians, in their wisdom decided to open my device and 'fix' it though
we're pretty sure it wasn't broken. Well, I must admit that I often dissect
solid state transformers and sequencers just to see what's inside, but I
usually wait until it fails and is out of warranty.  Amigos, you can't take
apart an eeprom and expect to learn what its algorithm is.   It reverted to
fall-back mode (I always try to program some default effect to keep 'em
smiling).  They never called and then I learned a month or so down the road
that they scrapped it and built something of their own.

Sigh! At least I got paid. But it was a bit of a wierd feeling.  Dave has
assured me that this is the norm in Brazil.

>blocks are ok if you put the transformer in a metal box. Our style is popular
>in Europe and Asia because they are designed to stand alone outdoors without
>any protection. In the US this probably will not be possible but there shape
>and electrical design make them interesting.   David     
>
>

They are quiet, seem to have strong output, and run fairly cool. 
Gosh, don't you plan to have _any_ built in obsolescence?

Kenny

Kenny Greenberg   Neon Artist, Scenic Specialist, Columnist - Internet World
c/o KRYPTON NEON 34-43 Vernon Blvd Long Island City, NY 11106
      Ph: 718-728-4450   Fx: 718-728-7206  Email: kenny@neonshop.com
      http://www.neonshop.com  -  The Internet's Neon Shop
      http://www.licweb.com  - The Long Island City Web