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fig said:
I’d have enjoyed it, as the shortage had a direct impact on me a few years ago. I think I’ve told you that I was in the dinosaur industry for a few moons. Anyway, one of our services was underground pipeline leak locating using helium as a medium. It was fun..we’d walk along the path humming and when we went falsetto we knew that we were close. :ROFLMAO: Actually, we used a helium measurement device to pinpoint the highest concentration of the escaping gas.
The trucks also carried large SS Ni “doers” to pressurize the ullage of USTs for leak-testing, as well as small Ni gas cylinders (I still have one, somewhere). We used a large gas supplier located in TX ;) Man those SS lines get frosty when you crank up the flow!

Oops…diatribe.
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Ah yes… good ole helium leak detection. Something I’m also very familiar with. I did quite a bit looking for vacuum leaks in our cryogenic transport trailers. Pull vacuum on the tank. Hook up the old Varian 959 leak detector. Spray suspected leak area with helium. Wait for the machine to display pretty red lights and sound it’s air raid siren. While you waited, fill plastic bags with helium and let them float up and collect on the shop ceiling. If you found your leak, break the vacuum on the tank, weld her up, and then do it all over again the next day. First thing to do the next morning though, was clean up the 20 to 30 plastic baggies that are now on the floor. Good times 😂.
 
blackhatboojum said:
Ah yes… good ole helium leak detection. Something I’m also very familiar with. I did quite a bit looking for vacuum leaks in our cryogenic transport trailers. Pull vacuum on the tank. Hook up the old Varian 959 leak detector. Spray suspected leak area with helium. Wait for the machine to display pretty red lights and sound it’s air raid siren. While you waited, fill plastic bags with helium and let them float up and collect on the shop ceiling. If you found your leak, break the vacuum on the tank, weld her up, and then do it all over again the next day. First thing to do the next morning though, was clean up the 20 to 30 plastic baggies that are now on the floor. Good times 😂.
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We used a MARK Products sniffers. I remember the techs leaving them on my workbench to change the filters and charge the batteries. At the time, I think they ran around 8K a pop…just looked on theeBay….
$125, LOL.

We also used equipment that cost in excess of 100K per rig, filled a box truck, and sometimes took 36 hours to complete. Those same functions can now be done in a couple of minutes with an Arduino, a few sensors, and some cheap coding.
 
fig said:
We used a MARK Products sniffers. I remember the techs leaving them on my workbench to change the filters and charge the batteries. At the time, I think they ran around 8K a pop…just looked on theeBay….
$125, LOL.

We also used equipment that cost in excess of 100K per rig, filled a box truck, and sometimes took 36 hours to complete. Those same functions can now be done in a couple of minutes with an Arduino, a few sensors, and some cheap coding.
Click to expand...
Exactly! We had some crazy expensive equipment in the shop. Vacuum pumps that took 2 people to move, cost 20k, and had to be rebuilt once a year. Now they cost a quarter of that, are more efficient, and you can carry them with 1 arm. Not to mention the countless other analyzers and test equipment we had to use. Like you said, a few cheap sensors and a laptop can do the same job as an entire rack of that stuff.
 
Combo-Nation

I was just looking over @MichaelW ‘s latest hourly build report and read that he wasn’t loving the creation he put together while shaving this morning.

When I first began this insanity…er…hobby (yeah that’s the ticket), I was awed-inspired by the giant knob-covered creations that were called ”combos”.

As time went by I realized that a large percentage were simply feeding the output of one into the input of another, just like plugging a patch cable between them. This seemed to me, was sometimes limiting the potential of each circuit simply to have two pedals in one box. Some used order-switching to restore versatility, but you still couldn’t wedge a pedal betwixt them, so some used a side-chain to restore that ability.

Granted, some pedals are just made to precede / follow another either universally or through personal taste & style. Others, should not be kept in the same room much less fused together. Still others, have the potential to work well together, but not necessarily in the classic hand-off fashion. Perhaps planned insertion or weaving might do it…replace a tone pot with an EQ circuit….use the charge pump from one circuit to drive the other, change the staging order, etc. Think about what you want (and don’t want) from the pedal and merge the circuits to achieve it. Also, be mindful of the total current requirement compared to what your PSU has on tap.

“If one sounds good, two will be glorious!” It obviously happens but is not a constant. Some will double your pleasure, while others accentuate the worst bits. It doesn’t have to end there though.….maybe if you [ insert next step ]…

Just a dullard’s view. Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for erm….something!
 
fig said:
Combo-Nation

I was just looking over @MichaelW ‘s latest hourly build report and read that he wasn’t loving the creation he put together while shaving this morning.

When I first began this insanity…er…hobby (yeah that’s the ticket), I was awed-inspired by the giant knob-covered creations that were called ”combos”.

As time went by I realized that a large percentage were simply feeding the output of one into the input of another, just like plugging a patch cable between them. This seemed to me, was sometimes limiting the potential of each circuit simply to have two pedals in one box. Some used order-switching to restore versatility, but you still couldn’t wedge a pedal betwixt them, so some used a side-chain to restore that ability.

Granted, some pedals are just made to precede / follow another either universally or through personal taste & style. Others, should not be kept in the same room much less fused together. Still others, have the potential to work well together, but not necessarily in the classic hand-off fashion. Perhaps planned insertion or weaving might do it…replace a tone pot with an EQ circuit….use the charge pump from one circuit to drive the other, change the staging order, etc. Think about what you want (and don’t want) from the pedal and merge the circuits to achieve it. Also, be mindful of the total current requirement compared to what your PSU has on tap.

“If one sounds good, two will be glorious!” It obviously happens but is not a constant. Some will double your pleasure, while others accentuate the worst bits. It doesn’t have to end there though.….maybe if you [ insert next step ]…

Just a dullard’s view. Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for erm….something!
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It was actually built before I shaved but I shan’t mention which part of my morning constitutional regimen it was. Let’s just say air freshener was required….
 
This Fuzz Face is with @Coda in mind; ;)

uWalfnq.jpg
 
Here at Fig Labs, we believe in complete transparency. That’s why we only hire acrylic robots and gelatinous masses. Actually, it means I post goofs as well as ta-da’s. Not all of either mind you, why just this morning I had a great pee and didn’t film it…so be thankful for small concessions. Anyway, about this goof;

My recently finished Electrovibe Mini was on the fritz. I was getting crickets from the Vibe side (the Chorus was still chorusy though). Figuring it was a dodgy switch I lifted the top board to expose the bottom and spotted this;

D1M2Goa.jpg



I looked up at the bottom of the top board/3pdt and saw this;


WkRMA4H.jpg



Sloppy! I trimmed the pins, put a pcb plaster (electrical tape) on the board, and reflowed the switch pins. It’s back to good vibes!
 
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You may have noticed the ”Help Wanted” sign all lit-up in the window. I’m working on a premise for GHM?6 that involves a non-contact traffic counter (proximity/motion sensor?). I’d like to collect the data over a 3 week period so I’ll probably add a small solar panel and battery/controller. In order to capture both directions of travel, I’ll need a detection distance of about 40’ or 12m. Please lay some input on me folks!
 
fig said:
You may have noticed the ”Help Wanted” sign all lit-up in the window. I’m working on a premise for GHM?6 that involves a non-contact traffic counter (proximity/motion sensor?). I’d like to collect the data over a 3 week period so I’ll probably add a small solar panel and battery/controller. In order to capture both directions of travel, I’ll need a detection distance of about 40’ or 12m. Please lay some input on me folks!
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Is this about your breaks?
 
  • Haha
Reactions: fig
fig said:
Here at Fig Labs, we believe in complete transparency. That’s why we only hire acrylic robots and gelatinous masses. Actually, it means I post goofs as well as ta-da’s. Not all of either mind you, why just this morning I had a great pee and didn’t film it…so be thankful for small concessions. Anyway, about this goof;

My recently finished Electrovibe Mini was on the fritz. I was getting crickets from the Vibe side (the Chorus was still chorusy though). Figuring it was a dodgy switch I lifted the top board to expose the bottom and spotted this;

D1M2Goa.jpg



I looked up at the bottom of the top board/3pdt and saw this;


WkRMA4H.jpg



Sloppy! I trimmed the pins, put a pcb plaster (electrical tape) on the board, and reflowed the switch pins. It’s back to good vibes!
Click to expand...
Don't do this again!
You'll be Grounded!!!!
 
  • Haha
Reactions: fig
Harry Klippton said:
Is this about your breaks?
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It’s all relative. :ROFLMAO:

Here’s the lowdown; 33 1/3 years ago we built a house. The place we chose was very quiet and you actually noticed when a car passed by. Now, you notice when the traffic stops. :oops: For the purpose of “Guess How Many VI?”, contestants will be asked to guess the percentage of the increase in traffic.

See? I do put a little thought into it (which is all I have). :cool:
 
fig said:
It’s all relative. :ROFLMAO:

Here’s the lowdown; 33 1/3 years ago we built a house. The place we chose was very quiet and you actually noticed when a car passed by. Now, you notice when the traffic stops. :oops: For the purpose of “Guess How Many VI?”, contestants will be asked to guess the percentage of the increase in traffic.

See? I do put a little thought into it (which is all I have). :cool:
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450%
 
fig said:
It’s all relative. :ROFLMAO:

Here’s the lowdown; 33 1/3 years ago we built a house. The place we chose was very quiet and you actually noticed when a car passed by. Now, you notice when the traffic stops. :oops: For the purpose of “Guess How Many VI?”, contestants will be asked to guess the percentage of the increase in traffic.

See? I do put a little thought into it (which is all I have). :cool:
Click to expand...
I didn't build my house, but Ted did in 1935 and we're the second owners (RIP Ted 🙏) and it's the same thing here. Sometime in the last 8 years, people in town have stopped calling it Ted's house and started calling it the Chicken House though 🤷🐓
 
At least 2x more.

In European plans, if you do get over here, stock up on your precious Pb solder and bring it over. You can give some away to us all when we have Euro-Fig-con!
 
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