USA Cal Club: Round 2

[rhb]

FYI I just received verification from Jason that this is the correct source code.  I'll get started on it tomorrow.

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/metrology/usa-cal-club-round-2/msg2521782/#msg2521782

Many thanks to @bitseeker for making life easier for Jason.  He's done *way* more than his share in this enterprise.

[cellularmitosis]

Hey guys, so happy to see this club thriving!  Glad you guys managed to dig up the tempduino source.  I’m not sure what is causing the strange output.  Sorry it is causing such a hassle!

As you may have guessed, I have taken up another hobby lately...

[bitseeker]

What an awesome view, Jason! Looks like a great new hobby. Thanks for confirming the correct source code and popping in to say "hi".

[SirAlucard]

Wow, I didn't realize we were still so high up on the list of participants.

Jason that looks like a fun hobby, probably cheaper too.

[Grandchuck]

Does his new hobby mean it is possible to crawl back up out of the volt nut rabbit hole? 

[Conrad Hoffman]

Cool, but be careful out there. I inherited some nice stuff from the estate of a good friend with leanings in that direction.

[bitseeker]

OK, I think I have the basics in place for the new USA Cal Club: Getting Started & User Guide.

I'll be adding more info such as how to do logging, log file formats, where to upload them, etc., in due course. I just wanted to get all the kit-dependent stuff in place while I still had all the goodies in order to take photos of them.

[bitseeker]

Does his new hobby mean it is possible to crawl back up out of the volt nut rabbit hole? 

Probably not. Looks like he hopped on that there bike and shot out the other end screaming.

[rhb]

Looks like the Austin Chalk to me ;-)

The son of a former business partner of mine was ripping through high grass on a bike near Houston and hit a stump.  He now sits in a wheel chair all day :-(

Be careful!  If you can't see what your front tire is going to see, don't go there at more than walking speed. The consequences can be seriously life changing.

[CatalinaWOW]

People who ride off road on motor bikes get broken.  Sometimes repairable, sometimes not.  It is like bull riding that way.  But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do

[bitseeker]

In the User Guide, I added a table of contents and a new section, Packing the Box, with a checklist for getting everything packed back into the box(es).

The kit shipped out this morning and should be back to vindoline on Monday, then off to rhb.

[Conrad Hoffman]

+1 on the user guide- nice work!

[maxwell3e10]

Is it not too late to join this round? I have a few 6-7 digit meters to contribute.

I would also suggest to make a spreadsheet that each user can fill out with some specific numbers:
Instrument, last calibration, average voltage, short-term std., long-term p-p drift, ave temp, p-p temp.
This will make summarizing the results much easier later.

[bitseeker]

Good idea. Can you make a template since you have a sense for which parameters are desirable/useful? Attach it to your post and I'll add it when I make the how-to section of the user guide.

[bitseeker]

+1 on the user guide- nice work!

Thanks, Conrad. It will be ongoing work as there is much to be documented. Next, I want to add a how-to section regarding setup, logging, uploading files, etc., as I remember being a bit lost and figuring it out when I first started way back in Round 1 . I'd also like to have a more formal section about the club, member requirements (nothing crazy, but to set proper expectations), etc. An FAQ would be useful, too.

TiN will be adding a section for the Python plotting script and collecting data about the FX reference.

[maxwell3e10]

Here is a simple file. Maybe one can think of a few other columns to add.

[rhb]

Eeek!  I'm now seriously under the gun and have not yet printed out Jason's code to study yet.  Guess I know now what I have to do tomorrow.   At least melting down 2.5 pounds of pure tin wine capsules won't take too much hands on time.  Mostly just waiting.  Though I should make  ingot molds rather than leave it in the bean can crucibles.  I think I may cheat and use a SS measuring cup as a mold.  It's not that hot a pour.

[hwj-d]

Here is a simple file. Maybe one can think of a few other columns to add.

Maybe it's better to migrate it to google sheets.

I myself am not a friend of proprietary software like MS-Office, and therefore I always use Open-Document formats according to ISO/IEC 26300 standards, for example by using the free Libreoffice.

In this case it might even be better to use the cloud capabilities of Google Sheets in an appropriate way (access rights).

[vindoline]

Is it not too late to join this round? I have a few 6-7 digit meters to contribute.

It's never too late, it will just be a bit of a wait! I'll add you to our list.

[CatalinaWOW]

Rejecting Excel on proprietary grounds while proposing Google sheets is inconsistent. 

I have no problem with odf, though for simple sheets such as this both MS and Libre can open and use either format.

If we are really concerned about such issues a backup for TiN's generous data repository might be worth discussing.  Natural disasters or other circumstances might make it inaccessible.  I don't personally feel that most cloud services address this need as they are vulnerable to business upsets that are far more likely than natural disasters.

[vindoline]

Perhaps we should just keep the data in .csv format and let individuals use the tool of their choice. I agree with keeping the data on TiN's server - he's been very generous with time and treasure. 

[Conrad Hoffman]

Excel is ubiquitous in the commercial world and I've no problem with it. OTOH, CSV files should make everybody happy, or at least insure that nobody is left out.

[ArthurDent]

People who ride off road on motor bikes get broken.  Sometimes repairable, sometimes not.  It is like bull riding that way.  But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do

You can't get to where I'm standing in this photo with a motor bike but you can still get broken if you're not careful 

[hwj-d]

Rejecting Excel on proprietary grounds while proposing Google sheets is inconsistent. 

?
What should be "inconsistent" with both proposals if they have nothing to do with each other?

I've seen excelsheets, with rudimentary macros, that only provided their functionality under an original ms-excel. (edit:) Not to mention when using different OS.

That's one thing.

Google-sheets is a cloud service, which could be very handy under certain circumstances, and is therefore used by many people when they work together on the same sheet locally. CSV-format has nothing to do with neccessary access grants, that we need to do that.

One was a hint, the other was a tip. What we can do with it, we are just beginning to see.

[bitseeker]

Perhaps we should just keep the data in .csv format and let individuals use the tool of their choice. I agree with keeping the data on TiN's server - he's been very generous with time and treasure. 

For the setup information template, my intent was to convert the XLSX file to CSV format before attaching to the User Guide. So, no worries about accessibility. You can still choose the tool and platform you prefer.

I use a variety of operating systems and tools for work and home. Thus, I try to make things as cross-functional as reasonably possible to minimize headaches for everyone, myself included.