Crazy ideas

[RayFarmer]

ok 🙂

[Ray.R]

If you want to get fancy, you can also use a DIO card.

Then you get really fancy..

and fun!!

[Ben]

I just heard about a new USB device (from NI) that I am going to check out for my railroad.

This could save me alot of soldering!

I will still need the relays to handle the current, but I would have needed them for my current hardware anyway.

Ben

[Odd_Modem]

Try this place. Their X10 stuff works and its not too expensive.

http://www.pigselectronics.com/products/cartfrm.htm

On 12V: There is a lot of 12V stuff for RVs. In the home enviroment
you won't have the battery, so X10 still works. If it's a pool and
you think 12V is safe, more investigation is needed, me thinks.

[altenbach]

Yes, all the X10 stuff is 110V AC, still it might be great for some other projects.

This reminds me that I still have an old X10 Firecracker kit that I bought many years ago (they had a special for about $6 for the entire kit back then for what they are now charging $40 :()

While it comes with some software, the programming specs are published and it should be quite simple to use LabVIEW with it. I'll have to try that!!!

(A quick web seach even netted some old X10 demo VIs. Anyone tried these?)

[altenbach]

Looking further into the programming instructions for the serial interface of the X10 Fireplug device, it seems we need to be able to "wiggle" the RTS and DTR lines, nothing else!

Does anyone have any good resources that describe how to do that? I guess this might be something where I need In Port.vi ... ? 🙂

(EDIT: Ahhh, found something! :))

Message Edited by altenbach on 04-22-2005 05:12 PM

[redlar]

Here's a really crazy idea to provide a solution to our trash problem.

1.The governments of the world starts seperating waste into three categories:Bio-degradable;Recyclable;and Non-Recyclable/biodegradable.The Biodegradable items have to degrade by at least 50% in ten years.

2.The nations of the world cooperate to either:

                                                                         1.Build one or several large electro-magnetic launch system(s), which uses the power of electro magnets,like those on maglev trains, to fire cylinders filled with trash at the sun.This system can also be used, by varying the amount of power and the number of EM rings passed through, to launch satellites and unmanned probes into deep space.

                                                                          2.Create cheap, one-shot rockets that are fired at the sun.

                                                                          3.Build huge storage plants in space, that, when full, will propel themselves into the Sun.These storage plants will aslo reflect the suns radiation and heat, which will help lessen their effect on global warming.

3.The sun will incinerate all the trash and their carriers, thus ending the trash problem.

It's just a theory.

[Will.D]

Very interesting idea...  but isn't it overstepping our bounds a little?

Most scientists agree that it's very arrogant of us to assume that we're (earth) the only life in the universe, let alone the only intelligent life.  Just because we're destroying our planet doesn't mean we should start spreading our waste even further...  does it?

Edit: "even further... " than we already have, as we've already littered space with junk.  Throwing things into the sun makes them "go away" but assuming the priciples of physics apply in deep space, matter cannot be either created or destroyed, so we're still just moving it around.

Message Edited by Novatron on 08-26-2005 03:05 PM

[altenbach]

I believe redlar is just a nutcase, not a LabVIEW professional. 🙂 Notice that this is his only post here.

A few quick "back of the envelope" calculations can easily show that the energy and cost associated with putting even a few ponds of trash into orbit would be absolutely prohibitive to any such endeavor. 😮

I'm just curious who gave him five stars...   Have a nice weekend. 🙂

[chilly_charly]

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altenbach a écrit: : ...A few quick "back of the envelope" calculations can easily show that the energy and cost associated with putting even a few ponds of trash into orbit would be absolutely prohibitive to any such endeavor...

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Yes, I 'm trying to imagine dustbins launched at 40 km/s (that's the required minimal speed to leave the earth attraction field) with a magnetic accelerator... that would make some nice double-bangs...