Andrew Huang's Blog, page 18

Name that Ware May 2020

The ware for May 2020 is shown below.

The unreadable marking on the big IC on the right (U26) is: 6417750R, SH-4 F240V, R 0740, BJ14742.

Thanks to Adrian (@adistuder) for sharing this really interesting and well-photographed ware!

Solution, Name that Ware April 2020

The Ware for April 2020 was part number 2533-26-42 “PROCESSOR BOARD, LARGE DISPLAYS” from a Rockwell Collins Airshow Moving Map display system (2710-1-1702, “DISPLAY BULKHEAD, 17″ DIGITAL”) used in a Gulfstream G500 series business jet. Apparently the entire system cost over $16,000 new in 2006. The board was intentionally damaged before it was discarded, presumably to prevent it from being refurbished and resold as new down the road, especially given the high markup for such a system.

Thanks again to Jack Whittaker for contributing this guest ware! It was a real stumper, so there is no winner this month.

Name that Ware, April 2020

The Ware for April is shown below.

Thanks to everyone who answered my calls for wares! I’ve only got so many weird gadgets in my place to tear apart, but now I’ve got material for the next couple months. This month’s ware is courtesy of Jack Whittaker!

Winner, Name that Ware March 2020

The ware for April 2020 is the controller board from a Full Spectrum Laser “5th generation hobby laser”. I knew someone would eventually nail it, despite the paucity of details — the XMOS is pretty unique. Congrats to miguel lopez for nailing it, email me for your prize.

I recently had to say goodbye to my FSL laser as the laser power was getting inconsistent — during a cut, it would drop out intermittently, and it would get worse and worse. Probably either the tube leaking CO2 or the power supply gone bad, but I figured it wasn’t worth fixing as laser cutters have come a long way since I purchased this one.

I’ve actually been eyeing the LionsForge Craftlaser as the replacement. The rugged portability of the unit is appealing — the two cutters I’ve owned had degraded performance because both were damaged in separate moving accidents — and it is high-density living friendly with an integrated fume extractor and HEPA filter. That being said, times are tight, so until I have an immediate need I think I’ll be getting by with a combo of 3D printing and outsourced CNC to shops in Shenzhen.

Name that Ware, March 2020

The ware for March 2020 is shown below.

XMOS! There’s a chip that brings back some memories.

Fortunately I still have some weird and miscellaneous gear hanging about my lab that I can take apart to keep name that ware going, without having to leave my home. That being said, I am definitely welcoming guest ware submissions! Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy in these strange times.

Winner, Name that Ware February 2020

The ware for February 2020 was a Young Model 32400 “serial interface” wind monitor.

The exact model is tricky, because the 32500 and the 32400 share a lot of the same circuitry, and the electric compass feature is mainly an add-on to the wind sensor so you can get an absolute direction of the wind rather an offset from an arbitrary zero point. So I’ll give Czajnick the win, congrats email me for your prize!

Also, it’s nice to see a tech company from Michigan.

Name that Ware, February 2020

The Ware for February 2020 is shown below:

The case above contains two boards in a stack, so I separated them and took a photo of each to provide a little more insight into the ware.

Thanks again to Akiba for loaning me this ware to share!

Winner, Name that Ware January 2020

The ware for January 2020 is the brains of an IQ Motion Control position module. Congrats to Cody for guessing it, email me for your prize! And yes, I did blog about the modules a couple years ago, and since then I’ve found them to be an indispensable element of my mechatronic design toolbox. I’m just finishing up on delivering another successful design using these, so I had a couple extra laying about to take apart. If you’re doing any kind of motion control or robotics, it’s worth checking them out.

Name that Ware, January 2020

Welcome to a new year of name that ware! The first ware for 2020 is shown below.

There’s some aggressive image cropping going on to make it a little harder to guess, but there’s still plenty of hints laying around…

Winner, Name that Ware December

The ware for Dec 2019 is an async mux module from a PDP-11, more specifically, a DVZ11 quad asynchronous multiplexer (M7957). I found this board while rummaging among my childhood possessions looking for unrelated gear…I seem to recall picking it out of a trash pile at a local university back in the day. I had no idea what it was back then, it just looked cool. Congrats to dwu for naming it right away, email me for your prize!