Summer lab instruments

[RoGeorge]

Found myself lately ditching standalone lab instruments in the favor of DIY test platforms.  By test platforms I mean measuring instruments/generators improvised out of random MCU devboards, all thrown together in a container, and all the boards talking with a PC through a USB hub.  Power is either from USB, or by wall adapters, so no lab power supply either.

Main reason is that it's too hot outside to add in the same room a couple more hundred watts of heat produced by the lab instruments (talking about a home lab).  Second reason is that I don't like the hum noises coming from the cooling fans each instrument has.  Most of the time is spent anyway writing software, so running the lab instruments during all this time doesn't make much sense.

Thinking of making a fanless adjustable power supply.  Or maybe just some standalone testing modules:  voltmeters, LDOs of fixed voltage (but isolated), a logic probe with a few LEDs, an Arduino with a display as oscilloscope, and anchor them all together with whatever project board has to be tested, for example by using sticky tape and bigger plastic container to keep all in one box.

Anybody in a similar situation?

[pdenisowski]

I feel your pain - I live in the Southeastern United States (yesterday's high temp was 100 F / 38 C) and often have many very large test and measurement instruments running in my office for hours at a time.  My solution is to do as much of my work in the very early morning hours as possible

Here's an example of a "summertime" test setup I was using for a July 4th video.  It may be a short clip, but it took me a couple of hours to get everything set up.

https://youtube.com/shorts/yGqDsFdWSdU

Edit:  I also will sometimes send people to voicemail if I'm in the middle of running tests - the instruments aren't particularly loud (as instruments go), but it makes no sense to have them running and producing heat / noise when I'm just chatting on the phone

Edit 2: Updated link to YouTube (vs. LinkedIn)

[RoGeorge]

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7214293171902578688/

Surprise setup!   

[joeqsmith]

I tried your linkedin link but it failed to load.   A little digging and I didn't realize (or forgot) microsoft bought them in 2016.  I block all known microsoft IPs.

[RoGeorge]

I block all known microsoft IPs.

Install Tor browser and try opening that link from Tor. 
It might open (with all the blocked IP still in place), but I'm not sure.

[coppercone2]

I found alot of fans can be improved with noctua in most equipment if you do the work and possibly add a power converter


i have a large number of successful mods where I got rid of old fans for quiet stuff with performance that is close


usually it takes some layout, drilling and filing if any chassis mod work at all. I would rather do a little mechanical work then reinvent the wheel

[joeqsmith]

I found alot of fans can be improved with noctua in most equipment if you do the work and possibly add a power converter


i have a large number of successful mods where I got rid of old fans for quiet stuff with performance that is close


usually it takes some layout, drilling and filing if any chassis mod work at all. I would rather do a little blue collar work then reinvent the wheel

How does changing a fan reduce the power dissipated by a 100W space heater?  Sound like some free energy stuff. 

[coppercone2]

Oh no for that part I just crank the AC down, instead of reinventing the wheel

[joeqsmith]

I block all known microsoft IPs.

Install Tor browser and try opening that link from Tor. 
It might open (with all the blocked IP still in place), but I'm not sure.

I use a hacked router to access the internet.  It may be possible to use proxy server. 

[pdenisowski]

I tried your linkedin link but it failed to load.   A little digging and I didn't realize (or forgot) microsoft bought them in 2016.  I block all known microsoft IPs.

Sorry - this should work:

https://youtube.com/shorts/yGqDsFdWSdU

[Infraviolet]

"Power is either from USB, or by wall adapters, so no lab power supply either."
I can see the practicality of this, so many things one develops are going to be powered from 5V wallwarts anyway, or if not are going to end up as systems where you have a battery powering a 5V regulator, which then gives regulated 5V to whatever you've designed. Add in wall warts for a few other key voltages, 12V for motors, 24V for really big motors... and I can see why a lab supply isn't often that useful. A box of wall warts can also be much smaller to pack up when moving house.

I don't really see any circumstances where one can comfortably do without a proper oscilloscope though. A semi-modern digital one doesn't generate any more heat or fan noise than a typical older laptop. A really modern one probably genrates less noise and heat than a fanless modern laptop. An arduino with the ADC doing time graphing can be useful, but it can't match against a real scope for anything other than long time-series data collection at relatively low samples-per-second.

My usual electronics envronment is a desk with an o-scope, a line of wall warts, and a nearby PC. Soldering iron unpacked from box when needed, that's going to be less pleasant in hot weather than test equipment I suspect.

[Shay]

Maybe I am missing something
But typical A/C consume about 1kW/h, so about 0.12$USD per hour?
or ~1$ for about 8 hours?

Why not use it?

[coppercone2]

and if you look into new technologies it gets more efficient. All sorts of stuff now, like dual inverter and triple inverter motors (6 pole)

[pdenisowski]

Maybe I am missing something
But typical A/C consume about 1kW/h, so about 0.12$USD per hour?
or ~1$ for about 8 hours?

Why not use it?

Many modern American homes have central A/C with a single thermostat.  If I adjust the A/C so that my "lab" is a comfortable temperature, everyone else in the house will freeze.

Rather than install a separate A/C unit that will only be used for a few hours a day for a few months a year, my solution is simply to be "smart" about when I use instruments during the summer months. In the winter, having the instruments running is actually a plus in terms of temperature

[coppercone2]

I hate compromises and delays like that. I would just get a small supplemental air conditioner in a window for the lab or a dual hose unit you can put into a closet when not in use.

I feel alot of stress because of things I am working on getting delayed. I start to see how time passes and I get older.... the cost of those AC is less then many equipment... so you end up buying time on a bargin . There is so many other delay problems that are not solvable by money, this one is and its cheap.

[Shay]

Maybe I am missing something
But typical A/C consume about 1kW/h, so about 0.12$USD per hour?
or ~1$ for about 8 hours?

Why not use it?

Many modern American homes have central A/C with a single thermostat.  If I adjust the A/C so that my "lab" is a comfortable temperature, everyone else in the house will freeze.

Rather than install a separate A/C unit that will only be used for a few hours a day for a few months a year, my solution is simply to be "smart" about when I use instruments during the summer months. In the winter, having the instruments running is actually a plus in terms of temperature

Ah, I see now. Here in israel its quite common to have seperate A/C unit for each room.

But IMO unless one is having financial issues an A/C that will only be used for a few hours a day for a few months a year is 100% worth the price of ~300$ that is basically an invemesent for your sanity for the long run.

Not only that, you can probably buy in the US a used A/C that is probably 10% the price of new one that will work just fine.

[Anthocyanina]

and what about an analog discovery? a complete basic lab in a single usb device that doesn't draw too much power and doesn't have a fan. it should be a lot better than an arduino oscilloscope/wavegen

[MathWizard]

I know actual bugs get in machines and cause problems, but yeah I wonder how often circuits get damaged from sweat dripping on them. I'm picturing huge old computers, and people lying on top of them doing maintenance/etc, yeah I wonder how many circuits get fried that way from sweat ??

I bet there's a lot of horrible jobs sites electrical tech's work on, like in the bowels of ships, or factories, , or like Lineworkers in a storm, or in the summer heat with all that gear on, etc.

Besides doing some household wiring in the city, when I think of electronics, EE, it's always from the comfort of my home.