Electronics Workbench – Page 112 – The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

SMA Attenuators vs. Broadcast FM vs. NooElec SDR

Four SMA attenuators arrived from halfway around the planet:

The top line has ATTENUATOR wrapped around the body. They’re rated for 2 W = +33 dBm, suitable for antennas and SDR and suchlike, not real radios or even HTs.

That assortment provides 39 dB of attenuation in 3 dB steps:

3 6 9
10 13 16 19
20 23 26 29
30 33 36 39

Sweeping them on the spectrum analyzer shows they’re doing what they claim, to within the resolution of the analyzer, and remain flat through 1.5 GHz, where my cheap N-to-SMA adapter cables roll off by 3 dB. Stacking them produces 38 dB of attenuation, which is certainly the small difference of large values and fine for my simple needs.

Conversely, a quick test with a NooElec SDR shows plenty of hocus-pocus betwixt antenna and display: the RF doesn’t attenuate nearly the way you’d (well, I’d) expect.

Direct from the antenna, with AGC off and 50 dB of RF gain:

WPDH Spectrum - 0 dB atten — WPDH Spectrum – 0 dB atten

3 dB attenuator:

WPDH Spectrum - 3 dB atten — WPDH Spectrum – 3 dB atten

6 dB attenuator:

WPDH Spectrum - 6 dB atten — WPDH Spectrum – 6 dB atten

10 dB attenuator:

WPDH Spectrum - 10 dB atten — WPDH Spectrum – 10 dB atten

20 dB attenuator:

WPDH Spectrum - 20 dB atten — WPDH Spectrum – 20 dB atten

Ain’t nothin’ simple…

2017-03-08

Cheap WS2812 LEDs: Test Fixture Failure 1

Well, that didn’t take long:

WS2812 array - failure 1 — WS2812 array – failure 1

The red spot in the next-to-bottom row of the test fixture (*) marks a failed WS2812 LED. All of the LEDs above it, plus the LED just to its left, are in pinball panic mode: random colors flicker across the panel as the LED’s controller transmits garbled data and the downstream LEDs pass it on.

This failure provides several bits of information:

The LED sees the same power supply as all the rest, so it’s not a power thing
The LED gets data from the adjacent WS2812, so it’s not an Arduino output thing
It failed after about four days = 100 hours of continuous operation

I connected the previous LED’s output (#6) to the next one’s input (#8), so the failed LED (#7, now with output disconnected) continues to flicker, but doesn’t influence any of the downstream LEDs.

(*) The LEDs are daisy-chained from lower right to upper left, row by row, so that’s LED #7 of 28.

2017-03-06

Another Numeric Keypad Snowflake

I got another batch of wireless keypads that, from the outside, look identical to the previous set:

The keypad on the right reports Model ID 0x4182, the same as the black plastic batch, and different from the 0x4101 of the previous batch (on the left). Apparently, the small USB dongle carries the Model ID data and the keypads can carry anybody’s logo.

The Vendor ID, of course, still shows Creative Lab’s 0x062a and all the serial numbers are 1.

Fortunately, the udev rules already have that combination and the streaming player can’t tell the difference.

Those labels on the keytops still don’t quite fit, but we’re coping as best we can.

2017-03-02

Cheap WS2812 LEDs: Test Fixture Current

With the WS2812 test fixture neatly mounted, I plugged it into a six-port USB charger allegedly capable of supplying 2.4 A per port and captured a trace with nearly all 28 LEDs displaying full white:

WS2812 4x7 array - 200 mA VCC - all on — WS2812 4×7 array – 200 mA VCC – all on

At 200 mA/div, the top trace shows a bit under 1.2 A, a bit under the 1.68 A = 28 × 60 mA you’d expect; in round numbers, each RGB pixel draws 43 mA. Actually, the WS2812 specs don’t specify the maximum / typical LED current and, on belief and evidence, I doubt these units meet any particular specs you’d care to cite.

Also, the supply voltage (measured across the LED array “bus bar” wires) hits 3.37 V, well under the 5 V you’d expect from a USB charger and less than the 3.5 V called for by the WS2812 specs. Although the WS2812 nominally limits the LED current, there’s no telling how it varies with supply voltage.

A cheap USB 1 A wall-wart charger produced far more hash:

WS2812 4x7 array - 200 mA VCC - all on - cheap 1A wart - 20 uF — WS2812 4×7 array – 200 mA VCC – all on – cheap 1A wart – 20 uF

That’s with an additional 20 µF of tantalum capacitance across the power bus bars. The peak current looks like 1.4 A, with marginally more supply voltage at 3.56 V.

Bumping the trace speed shows the wall wart produces nasty current spikes, at what must be the poor thing’s switching speed, as it desperately tries to produce enough juice for the LEDs:

WS2812 4x7 array - 200 mA VCC 50 us - all on - cheap 1A wart - 20 uF — WS2812 4×7 array – 200 mA VCC 50 us – all on – cheap 1A wart – 20 uF

The step over on the right looks like a single RGB LED going dark, as it’s about 50 mA tall.

The output voltage doesn’t show the same spikes, so the LED array acts like a constant-voltage load. Given that the WS2812 probably connects all the LEDs pretty much straight across the supply, that’s not far from the truth: we’re looking at the forward drop of those blue LEDs.

Now, to let it cook away in the cool and the dark of the Basement Laboratory…

2017-02-25

Cheap WS2812 LEDs: Test Fixture Mount

Mounting the ungainly WS2812 LED test fixture seemed like a Good Idea to keep the electricity out of the usual conductive litter:

WS2812 array test fixture - rear — WS2812 array test fixture – rear

The solid model shows more details:

LED Test Fixture - solid model — LED Test Fixture – solid model

The power wires along the array edges slide into the rear (thinner) slot, with enough friction from a few gentle bends to hold the whole mess in place.

The knockoff Arduino Nano rests on the recessed ledge in the pit, with M2 screws and washers at the corners holding it down (the PCB’s built-in holes might work with 1 mm or 0-90 screws, but that’s just crazy talk). I soldered the power wires directly to the coaxial jack pins under the PCB; they snake out to the LEDs through the little trench. There should be another cutout around the USB connector for in-situ programming, although the existing code works fine.

The front (wider) slot holds a piece of translucent white acrylic to diffuse the light:

WS2812 array test fixture - front flash — WS2812 array test fixture – front flash

It’s painfully bright: a few layers of neutral density filter would be appropriate for a desk toy.

The array runs hot enough at MaxPWM = 255 to produce a gentle upward breeze.

It looks even better without the flash:

WS2812 array test fixture - front dark — WS2812 array test fixture – front dark

You’ll find many easier ways to get RGB LED panels, but that’s not the point here; I’m waiting for these things to die an unnatural death.

The OpenSCAD source code as a GitHub Gist:

	// LED Test Fixture
	// Ed Nisley KE4ZNU – February 2017

	ClampFlange = true;

	Channel = false;

	//- Extrusion parameters – must match reality!

	ThreadThick = 0.25;
	ThreadWidth = 0.40;

	function IntegerMultiple(Size,Unit) = Unit * ceil(Size / Unit);

	Protrusion = 0.1;

	HoleWindage = 0.2;

	//- Screw sizes

	ID = 0;
	OD = 1;
	LENGTH = 2;

	Insert = [2.8,3.5,4.0]; // M2 threaded insert
	ScrewOD = 2.0;
	WasherOD = 5.0;

	//- Component sizes

	PCBSize = [18.0,43.5,1.6]; // microcontroller PCB

	PCBClear = 2*[ThreadWidth,ThreadWidth,0]; // clearance around board

	PCBShelf = [ThreadWidth,ThreadWidth,0]; // shelf under perimeter

	PCBCavity = PCBSize – PCBShelf + [0,0,2.5]; // support shelf around bottom parts

	LEDPanel = [70,40,4.0]; // lying flat, LEDs upward
	LEDWire = [LEDPanel[0],LEDPanel[1] + 2*5.0,2.0]; // power wires along sides

	Diffuser = [LEDPanel[0],LEDPanel[1] + 2*4.0,3.5];
	echo(str("Diffuser panel: ",Diffuser));

	WallThick = 8.0;
	BaseThick = 3*ThreadThick + Insert[LENGTH] + PCBCavity[2];

	Block = [3*WallThick + PCBSize[0] + LEDPanel[2] + Diffuser[2],
	2*WallThick + IntegerMultiple(max(PCBSize[1],LEDWire[1]),5),
	BaseThick + LEDPanel[0]];

	echo(str("Block: ",Block));

	CornerRadius = 5.0;
	NumSides = 4*5;

	//- Adjust hole diameter to make the size come out right

	module PolyCyl(Dia,Height,ForceSides=0) { // based on nophead's polyholes

	Sides = (ForceSides != 0) ? ForceSides : (ceil(Dia) + 2);

	FixDia = Dia / cos(180/Sides);

	cylinder(r=(FixDia + HoleWindage)/2,h=Height,$fn=Sides);
	}

	//- Build it

	difference() {

	hull() // main block with rounded corners
	for (i=[-1,1], j=[-1,1])
	translate([i(Block[0]/2 – CornerRadius),j(Block[1]/2 – CornerRadius),,0])
	cylinder(r=CornerRadius,h=Block[2],$fn=NumSides);

	translate([2*WallThick + PCBSize[0] – Block[0],
	0,
	(Block[2]/2 + BaseThick)])
	cube(Block + [0,2*Protrusion,0],center=true); // cut out over PCB

	translate([WallThick + (PCBSize + PCBClear)[0]/2 – Block[0]/2,
	0,
	0]) {
	translate([0,0,(BaseThick + (Protrusion – PCBSize[2])/2)])
	cube(PCBSize + PCBClear + [0,0,Protrusion],center=true); // PCB recess

	translate([0,0,(BaseThick + (Protrusion – PCBCavity[2])/2)])
	cube(PCBCavity + [0,0,Protrusion],center=true); // cavity under PCB

	translate([PCBSize[0]/2 + WallThick/2 – Protrusion/2,PCBSize[1]/2 – 15/2,BaseThick – PCBCavity[2]/2 + Protrusion/2])
	cube([WallThick + PCBShelf[0] + Protrusion,
	15,PCBCavity[2] + Protrusion],center=true); // wiring cutout

	for (i=[-1,1], j=[-1,1]) // screw inserts
	translate([i(PCBSize[0] + ScrewOD)/2,j(PCBSize[1] + ScrewOD)/2,-Protrusion])
	rotate(180/(2*6))
	PolyCyl(Insert[OD],BaseThick + 2*Protrusion,6);
	}

	resize([2*Block[0],0,LEDPanel[0] + Protrusion]) // LED panel outline
	translate([0,0,BaseThick])
	rotate([0,-90,0])
	translate([(LEDPanel[0] + Protrusion)/2,0,0])
	cube(LEDPanel + [Protrusion,0,0],center=true);

	translate([-Block[0]/2 + 2WallThick + PCBSize[0] + LEDWire[2]/2 + 5ThreadWidth,
	0,BaseThick]) // LED wiring recess
	rotate([0,-90,0])
	translate([(LEDWire[0] + Protrusion)/2,0,0])
	cube(LEDWire + [Protrusion,0,0],center=true);


	translate([Block[0]/2 – Diffuser[2]/2 – 5*ThreadWidth,0,BaseThick]) // diffuser
	rotate([0,-90,0])
	translate([(Diffuser[0] + Protrusion)/2,0,0])
	cube(Diffuser + [Protrusion,0,0],center=true);
	}

view raw WS2812 LED Array Test Fixture.scad hosted with ❤ by GitHub

2017-02-24

Cheap WS2812 LEDs: Test Fixture

Given that I no longer trust any of the knockoff Neopixels, I wired the remaining PCB panel into a single hellish test fixture:

WS2812 4x7 LED test fixture - wiring — WS2812 4×7 LED test fixture – wiring

The 22 AWG wires deliver +5 V and Common, with good old-school Wire-Wrap wire passing to the four LEDs betweem them. The data daisy chain snakes through the entire array.

It seems only fitting to use a knockoff Arduino Nano as the controller:

WS2812 4x7 LED test fixture - front — WS2812 4×7 LED test fixture – front

The code descends from an early version of the vacuum tube lights, gutted of all the randomizing and fancy features. It updates the LEDs every 20 ms and, with only 100 points per cycle, the colors tick along fast enough reassure you (well, me) that the thing is doing something: the pattern takes about 20 seconds from one end of the string to the other.

At full throttle the whole array draws 1.68 A = 60 mA × 28 with all LEDs at full white, which happens only during the initial lamp test and browns out the supply (literally: the blue LEDs fade out first and produce an amber glow). The cheap 5 V 500 mA power supply definitely can’t power the entire array at full brightness.

The power supply current waveform looks fairly choppy, with peaks at the 400 Hz PWM frequency:

WS2812 4x7 array - 200 mA VCC — WS2812 4×7 array – 200 mA VCC

With the Tek current probe set at 200 mA/div, the upper trace shows 290 mA RMS. That’s at MaxPWM = 127, which reduces the average current but doesn’t affect the peaks. At full brightness the average current should be around 600 mA, a tad more than the supply can provide, but maybe it’ll survive; the bottom trace shows a nice average, but the minimum hits 4.6 V during peak current.

Assuming that perversity will be conserved as usual, none of the LEDs will fail for as long as I’m willing to let them cook.

The Arduino source code as a GitHub Gist:

	// WS2812 LED array exerciser
	// Ed Nisley – KE4ANU – February 2017

	#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

	//———-
	// Pin assignments

	const byte PIN_NEO = A3; // DO – data out to first Neopixel

	const byte PIN_HEARTBEAT = 13; // DO – Arduino LED

	//———-
	// Constants

	#define UPDATEINTERVAL 20ul
	const unsigned long UpdateMS = UPDATEINTERVAL – 1ul; // update LEDs only this many ms apart minus loop() overhead

	// number of steps per cycle, before applying prime factors
	#define RESOLUTION 100

	// phase difference between LEDs for slowest color
	#define BASEPHASE (PI/16.0)

	// LEDs in each row
	#define NUMCOLS 4

	// number of rows
	#define NUMROWS 7

	#define NUMPIXELS (NUMCOLS * NUMROWS)

	#define PINDEX(row,col) (row*NUMCOLS + col)

	//———-
	// Globals

	// instantiate the Neopixel buffer array

	Adafruit_NeoPixel strip = Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUMPIXELS, PIN_NEO, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);

	uint32_t FullWhite = strip.Color(255,255,255);
	uint32_t FullOff = strip.Color(0,0,0);

	struct pixcolor_t {
	byte Prime;
	unsigned int NumSteps;
	unsigned int Step;
	float StepSize;
	float TubePhase;
	byte MaxPWM;
	};

	// colors in each LED
	enum pixcolors {RED, GREEN, BLUE, PIXELSIZE};

	struct pixcolor_t Pixels[PIXELSIZE]; // all the data for each pixel color intensity

	unsigned long MillisNow;
	unsigned long MillisThen;

	//– Figure PWM based on current state

	byte StepColor(byte Color, float Phi) {

	byte Value;

	Value = (Pixels[Color].MaxPWM / 2.0) * (1.0 + sin(Pixels[Color].Step * Pixels[Color].StepSize + Phi));

	// Value = (Value) ? Value : Pixels[Color].MaxPWM; // flash at dimmest points
	// printf("C: %d Phi: %d Value: %d\r\n",Color,(int)(Phi*180.0/PI),Value);

	return Value;
	}


	//– Helper routine for printf()

	int s_putc(char c, FILE *t) {
	Serial.write(c);
	}

	//——————
	// Set the mood

	void setup() {

	pinMode(PIN_HEARTBEAT,OUTPUT);
	digitalWrite(PIN_HEARTBEAT,LOW); // show we arrived

	Serial.begin(57600);
	fdevopen(&s_putc,0); // set up serial output for printf()

	printf("WS2812 array exerciser\r\nEd Nisley – KE4ZNU – February 2017\r\n");

	/// set up Neopixels

	strip.begin();
	strip.show();

	// lamp test: run a brilliant white dot along the length of the strip

	printf("Lamp test: walking white\r\n");

	strip.setPixelColor(0,FullWhite);
	strip.show();
	delay(250);

	for (int i=1; i<NUMPIXELS; i++) {
	digitalWrite(PIN_HEARTBEAT,HIGH);
	strip.setPixelColor(i-1,FullOff);
	strip.setPixelColor(i,FullWhite);
	strip.show();
	digitalWrite(PIN_HEARTBEAT,LOW);
	delay(250);
	}

	strip.setPixelColor(NUMPIXELS – 1,FullOff);
	strip.show();
	delay(250);

	// fill the array, row by row

	printf(" … fill\r\n");

	for (int i=0; i < NUMROWS; i++) { // for each row
	digitalWrite(PIN_HEARTBEAT,HIGH);
	for (int j=0; j < NUMCOLS; j++) {
	strip.setPixelColor(PINDEX(i,j),FullWhite);
	strip.show();
	delay(100);
	}
	digitalWrite(PIN_HEARTBEAT,LOW);
	}

	// clear to black, column by column

	printf(" … clear\r\n");

	for (int j=NUMCOLS-1; j>=0; j–) { // for each column
	digitalWrite(PIN_HEARTBEAT,HIGH);
	for (int i=NUMROWS-1; i>=0; i–) {
	strip.setPixelColor(PINDEX(i,j),FullOff);
	strip.show();
	delay(100);
	}
	digitalWrite(PIN_HEARTBEAT,LOW);
	}

	delay(1000);

	// set up the color generators

	MillisNow = MillisThen = millis();
	printf("First random number: %ld\r\n",random(10));

	Pixels[RED].Prime = 11;
	Pixels[GREEN].Prime = 7;
	Pixels[BLUE].Prime = 5;
	printf("Primes: (%d,%d,%d)\r\n",Pixels[RED].Prime,Pixels[GREEN].Prime,Pixels[BLUE].Prime);

	unsigned int PixelSteps = (unsigned int) ((BASEPHASE / TWO_PI) *
	RESOLUTION * (unsigned int) max(max(Pixels[RED].Prime,Pixels[GREEN].Prime),Pixels[BLUE].Prime));
	printf("Pixel phase offset: %d deg = %d steps\r\n",(int)(BASEPHASE*(360.0/TWO_PI)),PixelSteps);

	Pixels[RED].MaxPWM = 127;
	Pixels[GREEN].MaxPWM = 127;
	Pixels[BLUE].MaxPWM = 127;

	for (byte c=0; c < PIXELSIZE; c++) {
	Pixels[c].NumSteps = RESOLUTION * (unsigned int) Pixels[c].Prime;
	Pixels[c].Step = (3*Pixels[c].NumSteps)/4;
	Pixels[c].StepSize = TWO_PI / Pixels[c].NumSteps; // in radians per step
	Pixels[c].TubePhase = PixelSteps * Pixels[c].StepSize; // radians per tube

	printf("c: %d Steps: %5d Init: %5d",c,Pixels[c].NumSteps,Pixels[c].Step);
	printf(" PWM: %3d Phi %3d deg\r\n",Pixels[c].MaxPWM,(int)(Pixels[c].TubePhase*(360.0/TWO_PI)));
	}


	}

	//——————
	// Run the mood

	void loop() {

	MillisNow = millis();
	if ((MillisNow – MillisThen) > UpdateMS) {
	digitalWrite(PIN_HEARTBEAT,HIGH);

	unsigned int AllSteps = 0;
	for (byte c=0; c < PIXELSIZE; c++) { // step to next increment in each color
	if (++Pixels[c].Step >= Pixels[c].NumSteps) {
	Pixels[c].Step = 0;
	printf("Color %d steps %5d at %8ld delta %ld ms\r\n",c,Pixels[c].NumSteps,MillisNow,(MillisNow – MillisThen));
	}
	AllSteps += Pixels[c].Step; // will be zero only when all wrap at once
	}

	if (0 == AllSteps) {
	printf("Grand cycle at: %ld\r\n",MillisNow);
	}

	for (int k=0; k < NUMPIXELS; k++) { // for each pixel
	byte Value[PIXELSIZE];
	for (byte c=0; c < PIXELSIZE; c++) { // … for each color
	Value[c] = StepColor(c,-k*Pixels[c].TubePhase); // figure new PWM value
	// Value[c] = (c == RED && Value[c] == 0) ? Pixels[c].MaxPWM : Value[c]; // flash highlight for tracking
	}
	uint32_t UniColor = strip.Color(Value[RED],Value[GREEN],Value[BLUE]);
	strip.setPixelColor(k,UniColor);
	}
	strip.show();

	MillisThen = MillisNow;
	digitalWrite(PIN_HEARTBEAT,LOW);
	}

	}

view raw ArrayTest.ino hosted with ❤ by GitHub

2017-02-23

Vacuum Tube Lights: Plate Wire Plug

After replacing the WS2812 LED in the 21HB5A socket, I drilled out the hole in the disk platter for a 3.5 mm stereo jack, wired a nice knurled metal plug onto the plate lead, and it’s all good:

21HB5A - Audio plug cable — 21HB5A – Audio plug cable

The plug had a rather large cable entry that cried out for a touch of brass:

Audio plug - brass trim turning — Audio plug – brass trim turning

Fancy plugs have a helical spring strain relief insert about the size & shape of that brass snout; might have to buy me some fancy plugs.

This time, I got the alignment right by clamping everything in the lathe while the epoxy cured:

Audio plug - brass trim gluing — Audio plug – brass trim gluing

I flipped the drill end-for-end, which was surely unnecessary.

It’s now sitting on the kitchen table, providing a bit of light during supper while I wait for a WS2812 controller failure. Again.

2017-02-21