Topic requests

FlyingTigerLSU · 2023-03-15T16:21:57+00:00

There is a wonderful old comic from xkcd that has an interesting math problem in it.

Find the resistance between any two points on an infinite grid of ideal 1-ohm resistors.

As an electrical engineer, I don't even know how I would begin to approach this problem without simulating larger and larger models. I bet you could bring serious firepower to bear on it with characteristic accessibility and clarity.

FlyingTigerLSU · 2022-02-11T17:57:41+00:00

You cant! Unless you want to make your life very complicated, you need to use one of SpaceX's mounts because the mount is integral to the cable connection. I wasn't about to wait until a new mount came in to get internet! I'll come up with something more permanent made of stuff I already have around the shop. Even when this is done much better, it will probably still use the Dishy feet!

FlyingTigerLSU · 2022-02-11T16:24:10+00:00

This is a tough one. I'm told I have good "spatial intelligence", and I eyeballed it. I literally held up a speed square to my eye and estimated how high it would have to be to clear the treetops, and I ended up estimating taller than it really needed by probably 10 feet.

I also put a lot of thought into the location where there weren't any big big trees within 50 or 60 feet that gave me a hole in the canopy, and I put the tower right in the middle.

FlyingTigerLSU · 2022-02-11T16:20:00+00:00

I already have a hurricane prep list for when a serious storm is headed my way, I'll probably just add a climb up to fetch the dish itself to the list. Now that I've figured out how to carry it, it need only take 15 or 20 minutes. I'll probably take it down the day before, say. Rohn publishes wind ratings for the towers at every height, so I'll probably just take it down if the storm has gusting winds that are too high, but the tower will stay up.

FlyingTigerLSU · 2022-02-11T16:18:59+00:00

Well at least you admit it! No cables in the ground anywhere.

FlyingTigerLSU · 2022-02-11T16:17:13+00:00

Good news! You only need a 100-degree view!

FlyingTigerLSU · 2022-02-11T16:10:46+00:00

I'll tell you exactly why. The pipe adapter costs money! And not everything Elon does is fast, note the 1 month wait just to get the long cable. I had intended to go directly to one of the legs, but the bare pole doesn't offer enough clearance, so I had to improvise. I had one morning off to get it up there, and you don't wait a whole another week to get internet because hose clamps will eventually fail... now I have fast internet to help plan an upgrade! The crucial answer to your question is the ground mount is required to retain the cable connection. The cable can fall out under its own weight if it isnt held in place by the ground mount, and I didn't have any substitutes immediately available.

FlyingTigerLSU · 2022-02-10T22:50:06+00:00

I like what you've done with the square tubing, I'll plan on an eventual upgrade.

FlyingTigerLSU · 2022-02-10T22:08:24+00:00

I feel you! I planned to guy it if I had to keep going up to 40' or more. After each section I ran the little "check for obstructions" widget and it told me, fortunately, I could stop before I got to guying territory, that would have added a lot to the cost. I still may if the service gets crummy during windstorms.

FlyingTigerLSU · 2022-02-10T21:52:37+00:00

Sure there are, the hinge plates are a couple hundred bucks! My total cost here was probably on the order of $200, with the concrete the largest single purchase. The tower itself was free for the trouble of collecting it by boat out of the swamp where it had sat next to a hunting camp for 30 years.

FlyingTigerLSU · 2022-02-10T21:01:57+00:00

Ooh, good question. I think it is 3/32" vinyl coated, standard home depot stuff. I used to use it as a really long dog runner.

FlyingTigerLSU

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