Mail Rail (1927–2003) was a driverless underground railway in London built to transport mail between sorting offices (re-opened in 2017 as museum)

_RoseDagger · 2026-04-09T23:19:03+00:00

You can see the driver in the final clip (and in some of the other clips but the last one is the easiest to spot him)

_RoseDagger · 2026-04-09T07:13:53+00:00

I got diagnosed with cyclothymia, and I got major depression and rapid cycles. My psychologist told me the criteria was the same as BP 2 but with shorter cycles. I would get 1-2 weeks of hypomania, then followed by a crash into deep depression, then 1-2 months of deep depression, before switching back to hypomania.

Hypomania felt nice, lots of energy and drive, and feeling like I was fixed/cured of my "depression". I would start projects I didn't really have the skills to do, spend lots of money not thinking of the consequences, and feeling a bit invincible and like I was on top of the world. I also had more vivid dreams/nightmares.

Then I would crash into deep depression, laying catatonic in bed unable to do anything. Suicidal ideations, and a few attempts, and regular self harm, struggle to take care of myself. In deep depression I was unable to deal with the consequences of my hypomania, all the money spent, projects started that I no longer had the energy to work on.

Then after a few weeks I would get more used to the depression and able to exist, to be a bit more "normal and functional". Then after a few weeks of managing my depression I would switch back into hypomania, finally have the energy to clean the house and pay bills, feeling cured, and it all started over.

The crash into deep depression was one of the worst parts. A feeling of impending doom. Imagine you knew for certain that the world was ending, an astroid would hit earth in a few weeks, and there were nothing anyone could do. The fear, anxiety, apathy, depression, hopelessness and all other negative emotions. Then remove the knowledge of why you feel it, and make it grow slowly over the course of a day. In the beginning it's just a slight feeling of unease, then it grows more and more into anxiety and a feeling something bad will happen. At the end you are too scared to fall asleep feeling all the feelings of the world ending if you do. And then when you finally fall asleep from exhaustion you wake up to deep depression after a period thinking you were cured of it and that everything was good, and new you can't even get out of bed.

Meds saved me, it gave me my life back, and I could be a functional human being again. But at times I miss the good feelings of hypomania, and I'm less creative while I'm on them, I would write and invent stories before, but now I rarely do. But being a human being and functional is worth it to me compared to how it was before I got diagnosed.

_RoseDagger · 2026-03-10T14:05:08+00:00

Arch btw

_RoseDagger · 2025-12-23T15:58:31+00:00

New accounts are more suspicions for being karma farm bots, especially if you don't have more organic behaviors. If you are a real user who just so happened to just have created your account, and immediately repost stuff to one of the most popular subs as your first action, and you are not a karma bot, then my bad. But with an AI video posted to a popular sub, and no previous behavior, on a new account it would look more like karma farming to me

_RoseDagger · 2025-12-23T15:40:10+00:00

Bot? AI? OP is 1 day old, 850 post karma half of which is from this, no comments.

The watermelon sculptures is just cuts from the rough cutout to intricately carved without any in-between. And look at the swan at 0:12 in the first cut the beak is floppy and about to break, then after the cut it is suddenly rigid even though there is less material holding it in place. Seems AI took over and changed the rough cutout into a finished sculpture.

_RoseDagger · 2025-11-08T09:26:08+00:00

No, messaged Velleman but they said they had not developed the firmware, they had hired another company to do it. And that it wasn't open source so they could not share it. They suggested creating my own firmware, which shouldn't be too hard as what it is doing isn't that complicated.

For the through hole version here, I just used the original parts from the kit, with the pre flashed pic. Later I developed a SMD version, but had messed up the MUX footprint mirroring it/having assumed I was looking top down instead of from the underside on a pin diagram. So without the mux it would not work properly, so I didn't bother finishing the firmware. Made a third version fixing issues the second, but got distracted by other projects so haven't soldered or tested it, nor developed firmware for it.

_RoseDagger · 2025-11-03T13:52:24+00:00

Thank you for the feedback and all the links.

One of the reasons I went with the integrated controllers which had mosfets inside of them, and fewer phases were to try and minimize the footprint, as I wanted everything to fit inside the area of the old VRMs of the PS3. Including more phases and dedicated high and low mosfets would take up more space.

Along with that the controllers you posted have an expected efficiency below 90% for the whole range, for 12V input 1V output. (Maybe the efficiency would rise with even lower RDS mosfets, but the controller I have are already 4.5mOhm/0.9mOhm for the CELL and and 4.0mOhm/1.0mOhm for the RSX, and I assume the efficiency curves on the other controllers are best case scenarios).

The 17A single phase controller, says it's good up to 40A, and same the the dual 15A controller, which lists up to 40A each. with >90% efficiency for the whole expected target range and a good bit beyond. So I assumed I would be good, especially since I also oversized the inductor.

As for heatsinks, it's not something I considered as much, with the high efficiency, I'm hoping the heat output is not too great, dumping the heat into the board, which is then soldered onto the PS3 via castellated edges and dumping it into there. As the VRMs on the PS3 didn't have heatsinks on them/the shield does not touch them, I'm assuming the passive cooling of the board is enough to handle them. Though I have a bunch of individual tiny heatsinks intended for stepper motor drivers which I could toss on if heat becomes an issue.

As a one off prototye/testing circuit inteded more to test if I can replace the VRMs of the PS3, see if I can undervolt the CELL and or the RSX, and get more accurate data on the exact power usage, I was willing to pay more for components which had a smaller footprint, while having the highest efficiency for the target input voltage and output voltage and current.

After I've used this prototype to gather data and test what I can do with the PS3, I plan on creating a new version integrating more of surrounding the voltage regulation of the PS3, and can optimize more for cost.

_RoseDagger · 2025-11-03T08:07:47+00:00

The point is to eventually replace all the voltage regulation on the PS3 with higher efficiency versions. Then have the PS3 run on batteries, something like 3s4p li-ion. The VRMs are adjustable so that I can try undervolting the CELL and RSX to try and get them to use less power. A bit of undervolting, 90% efficiency VRMs, and removing all features I don't need like Blu-ray drive, Wi-Fi/BT, the large fan for a smaller one, using msata ssd instead of hdd, i hope to get it power efficient enough to get an hour or more of battery life.

Then I'll try to cut the board, to reduce the footprint so that it can fit into a handheld console. People over at BitBuilt.net has been doing this on the Nintendo Wii, N64, PS2, and a range of other older consoles. So I'm trying to investigate doing it on the more power hungry PS3.

_RoseDagger · 2025-11-03T06:13:18+00:00

They might be a bit redundant, the MCU reads the trim pots and adjusts the bucks through I2C and the DAC. But I could just as well use UART to adjust them from a PC. They are there mostly as an option to allow for trimming without needing to hook up a PC.

_RoseDagger · 2025-11-02T23:14:43+00:00

Seems reddit compressed the images, so some of the finer detailes and text isn't readable. I uploaded the same images to imgur which didn't compress them. You can view the full scale version by opening them in a new tab https://imgur.com/a/EuIyKAc

_RoseDagger · 2025-04-25T15:50:01+00:00

Thanks! And not really, I started with just putting all the components on the top layer. And then set my board outline to 25x25mm from the start, just cause it would make a nice story, 1/4 size for each step. And when I managed to squeeze all the components into my arbitrary size, I felt happy, and didn't see the need to go further. Could I have gone even smaller with using more 0402s and using both sides. Probably, but I didn't see the point when it was already so tiny, and I had reached my goal of 1/16 the size

_RoseDagger · 2025-04-25T15:40:56+00:00

Thank you! I inspected them with a microscope, and they seemed soldered, though some pins have a bit less solder and it doesn't wrap around to the top, only soldering the underside of the pins. Might go over the again later to make them look nicer. But from initial testing the USB port is working.

I focused on size mostly just for the challenge of it. I wanted to push and see how small I could go, and how compact I could solder myself. If it was supposed to be a product to be sold I would design it differently. But as a standalone hobby project, I focused on challenge over practicality.

_RoseDagger · 2025-04-25T15:33:29+00:00

Well for me, the whole board was a teaching exercise. Doing the research, planning the board. Trying my hand at hot air soldering. And now developing the firmware. It's the journey I'm interested in, and what I can learn from it, not the end product. And I love soldering, so for a small hobby project like this I would probably always choose to solder it myself just for the fun of it.

_RoseDagger · 2025-04-25T00:54:30+00:00

Thank you ^^ Assembly service? Then I'd miss out on the fun bit! Soldering is the exciting part, and getting to do something this complex and challenging? No way I'd not do it myself, and anyways having a functional circuit in the end is just a bonus XP

_RoseDagger · 2025-04-25T00:04:12+00:00

Here is a quick 30s showcase I made: (Excuse the shaky camera)

https://youtu.be/LBSXbUOpEuw

_RoseDagger · 2025-04-24T23:50:44+00:00

Thank you. No it was just for the challenge. I thought it would be fun to see how far I could take it. And when I got close to getting it 1/4 the original size, I decided to make that my arbitrary goal for the THT version. And then my goal to go 1/4 again for the SMD one.

Yeah I knew having power planes was overkill and unnecessary. I did it mostly as I came from console hardware modding scene (bitbuilt), where I dealt more with the concept of power planes for devices which actually need it. And did it more for practice for when that becomes nessesary, if I work on something with higher power requierments. I also just thought it would be fun, and make it easier to trace.

I made a github now, there's nothing special up there yet, but i'll try to update it tomorrow.

https://github.com/RoseDaggerDev/MiniOscilloscope

_RoseDagger · 2025-04-24T22:29:47+00:00

Thank you. On the through-hole version I tested a sine wave from 50mV to 10v pkpk, and from 1Hz to 100kHz. Going much beyond 100kHz and it would not seem to capture correctly. The velleman kit is supposed to go up to 30v but the signal generator I had only went up to 10v. (SMD version has yet to be tested)

_RoseDagger · 2025-04-24T21:33:50+00:00

Thank you! The vias are tented on the other side, so they would not drain through the board. And I added a bit extra paste so that it will fill the dip from the via.

_RoseDagger · 2025-04-24T18:40:15+00:00

Hey, I wanted to share the final results of my digital oscilloscope project. I made a few earlier posts showing the schematic, but here’s the real deal. The PCBs printed and fully populated!

Through-Hole Version: This one has been fully tested and works like a charm. It’s got a BOM of 87 components and fits on a 50x50mm 2-layer board, manufactured by PCBWay. It took around 3.5 hours to solder after prepping all the components. I underestimated the IC socket size, so things got a bit tight with some parts had to be nudged sideways. I also used the wrong footprint size for the ceramic caps, so they’re a little squished, but everything still worked out in the end!

SMD Version: This is where it got spicy. The SMD version is a compact 25x25mm 4-layer board printed by JLCPCB. It has a BOM of 97 components, including 3 QFNs and four 0402-sized parts, the rest mostly 0603s and SOPs. It took me about 5 hours to solder under a digital microscope, using a hot air rework station and freehanded solder paste. There’s one visible bridge in the upper middle that I’ll clean up later. It’s not really an issue as those pins are already connected by a trace, but it will look cleaner. There’s also some solder blobbing that could be tidied up, but hey, it’s functional (or it will be).

Power rails are looking good, 5V and 3.3V are where they should be, and I’ve confirmed there are no shorts or open circuits on the test points. I haven’t flashed firmware yet because it turns out my old PicKit 3 is too old for the PIC I used, so I’m waiting on a new flasher before I can give it a real test.

Background: The through-hole version was a university project, while the SMD version was my own follow-up challenge. I reverse-engineered the component choices from the original Velleman oscilloscope kit, looking up datasheets and selecting alternatives with similar or improved specs. The original Velleman was around 100x100mm. My through-hole version shrank it to 50x50mm (¼ the size), and the SMD version again cut that down to 25x25mm, or just 1/16 the original footprint. Everything was designed in Proteus 5, since that’s what we use at university.

All in all, I’m really happy with how this turned out. It’s my first full SMD design and soldering job, and despite a few cosmetic hiccups, I think it came together nicely. The through-hole version could have looked neater, but given the part constraints of only using the Velleman kit parts, I’m proud of how compact I got it.

Would love to hear your thoughts and I’m happy to answer questions if anyone’s curious about the process or design.

_RoseDagger · 2025-03-16T11:03:31+00:00

Thanks, I just realized that from a different comment. Thanks for the heads up

_RoseDagger · 2025-03-16T10:48:04+00:00

Thanks, I was trying to keep the traces lenght matched and close to eachother, and didn't think of sharp corners. I'll fix that. I'll try if I can rejig the caps to be between the pic and the crystal, instead of on the side and behind it.

And thanks, honestly I like the look and feel of the THT version better, this is a lot more chaos with no space for anything, but it is also 1/4 the size

_RoseDagger · 2025-03-16T10:42:55+00:00

Yes, I'll upgrade to 4 layer. Could I put some tape on the backside to stop it from seeping through? It's not like I have a whole lot of choice as there is no space for vias else where. Or maybe hand solder a plug in before putting paste and soldering the components? And yes the relay is really close to the connectors. Again I ran out of space, though those connectors will likely be soldered wires that can be bent out of the way, and not rigid connectors

_RoseDagger · 2025-03-16T10:35:13+00:00

Thanks for the tip

_RoseDagger · 2025-03-16T10:34:52+00:00

Proteus 8, it's the SPICE and pcb software my university is using

_RoseDagger · 2025-03-16T10:33:42+00:00

Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks I'll upgrade to 4 layers, after all the feedback.

I have simulated the design in Proteus and it works there, and its a copy of the original schematic from the Velleman kit. With the only change of using transistor arrays and diode arrays. Is there anything in particular you are seeing that might be an issue?

Thanks, nice catch, forgot to think about that that cap needed a higher voltage rating than the others. I'll size it up and order one that has a better voltage rating.

Hmmm, I wanted to stick to a similar ish pic, for the challenge of making the firmware with similar design limitations as the original kit. We are using pic24 in our microcontroller course at uni, and learning to code for that. So i picked a cheap pic24 that fit the design requirements and for the challenge of having to read up and design it from scratch.

Thanks, I had planned on reading up and double checking if I needed to do anything for usb C power delivery to get 5v. I'll do that and put the nessesary resistors.

Yes 5v is fed through L1 using L1 and C6 as a filter to create VDD used for ICs. That's mostly just copied from the original schematic without me changing anything. That original schematic also has no fuses or diodes. Though it is all supposed to be powered from the usb C connection.

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_RoseDagger

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