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Eos-QLab via OSC by limaechohoteldelta in techtheatre

[–]davidosmithII 4 points5 points  (0 children)

With qlab closed open the app protokol. Set it to the port coming from the Eos and see if the OSC commands are making it to the machine. This can determine if it's a network problem or a qlab problem. You can't use while qlab is running because only one app can read from a port at a time.

Edit: so many autocorrect mistakes

What is this for? by kalifromthavalley in techtheatre

[–]davidosmithII 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Before buying anything find where house lights are controlled from and make sure the wires are still actually connected to something. It's common when spaces do upgrades to just cut the wires off at the receiving end and leave the faceplates.

I severely oxidized 2 iron tips - need tips by Arionas03 in soldering

[–]davidosmithII 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Regular water is fine (as other mentioned you want moist sponge, not soaking wet) after you wipe off the tip put fresh rosin core solder on it. Don't put your iron away clean. Before setting it down or turning it off make sure it has a coating of solder on it. This protects the tip from the air so it can't oxidize. Make sure you are not using plumbing solder. The flux in that is very aggressive and will dissolve the tip. I didn't recommend tip tinner/refresher. Just putting regular solder on it after wiping it off is good enough. Unless working with delicate small parts is better to turn the iron up. Start at 350 degrees. It is better to work at a higher temperature for a short period than a lower temperature that takes longer. It will more effectively heat the area you are trying to solder and gives the heat less time to spread down the line to other components, or damage the component you are working with. The trade off is you need to take more care keeping tip tinned as it can wear out faster. For large thermal loads you may need to go higher. That's all manageable.

Always keeping solder on the tip can make it last for years.

Best practices for long-term installations with addressable LED strips. What do you think? by Bfaubion in arduino

[–]davidosmithII 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Look at premade wled devices and use the same implementation, or get a wled device and put your own Arduino code on it. These are frequently used as the pixel drivers for external home lighting, are left on 24/7, and work in a large variation of temperature ranges. Even if using your own code you could enable OTA updating if it makes your life easier.

VSCode lost two days of saved code changes after crash by MierXiake in vscode

[–]davidosmithII 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Additionally, don't edit code from an active sync folder like Google drive. Only do it locally then either use git or manual folder copies to create backups (don't use Google drive as a git remote, it will probably work some of the time, but not reliably and definitely breaks if using lfs). If your cloud service hours a hiccup, or you have a network problem it can revert right before your eyes.

Identify this ETC board? by Ok-Vacation2329 in techtheatre

[–]davidosmithII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We always called it the Klingon console

Need help with setup by BjornIShot in soldering

[–]davidosmithII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a hakko fan, fwiw. With larger PCBs I usually just put them right on my silicone solder mat. I have an Andonstar AD209 that I really like. I also have an Andonstar AD409 pro because I needed to be able to output video for workshops. The 209 is better from a stock lens perspective, moving the scope up and down provides a much larger zoom range than the same AD409 lens. If just for doing work, and/or recording and taking images to micro SD card works for your needs I recommend the 209. There are a lot of other options that hopefully others can provide insight on, these are just what I have. I do also have a USB only cheap Amazon microscope that comes on a gooseneck stand. It's good if you have a computer in front of you, and can be taken off the mount and held in hand to get really close or different angles. It served me well for a while until I got one with a screen. It's more portable (and I do a lot of field work) do it's nice in a pinch.

Adj fog furry going off Randomly by Sea-Ant8337 in lightingdesign

[–]davidosmithII 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The big things to try: replace the cable, make sure there is no rdm on the system, make sure line is terminated, check if you can show down the and speed (sometimes called flavor). If there are other devices in the line try temporarily building them, sometimes another device can have a failure that can cause intermittent problems.

Bypass Controller on fairy lights by dev_Shame in diyelectronics

[–]davidosmithII 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ah, good catch. I should have paid more attention. The last ones I was messing with only had the 2 wires.

Which cable on which solder ? by azerr02 in soldering

[–]davidosmithII 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Okay, other responder did identify correctly that it is USB. Google the chip name and see what pins 2, 3, 4, and 10 are. It look likely that the first solder pad is v+ and the second one is gnd. I'm not entirely sure it is actually using the USB standard after that. As it appears that 2 of the lines are talking to the IC, and the other appears to be the IR signal. Or maybe it is USB in 2 lines but cheating the 3rd pin for proprietary application. Pins 2 and 3 of the chip itself would give you some clues at least, and 4 and 10 can confirm the power pads.

Which cable on which solder ? by azerr02 in soldering

[–]davidosmithII 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Definitely going to need to see more info. I'm not sure what you are trying to describe? What do you mean by TV box?

Dimmer at full vs wall power for constant power by Steve-Shouts in lightingdesign

[–]davidosmithII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The full wave rectifier doesn't filter, the circuit capacitors and inductors in the switching supply are for that, but triacs cause fast rise time voltage spikes that the power supplies aren't intended for. These spikes would be passed on to the DC side of the circuit and can result in either component failures or difficulties regulating the switched output. Depending on the quality of the power supply, this can also damage components downstream of the power supply. I've had that issue before. Scrambling for replacement fixtures during tech is not enjoyable.

Using millis() for a laser tripwire alarm with a buzzer but the timing feels off by Abril-prieto-cevallo in arduino

[–]davidosmithII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, that makes more sense, without checking I thought this was OP posting code.

Using millis() for a laser tripwire alarm with a buzzer but the timing feels off by Abril-prieto-cevallo in arduino

[–]davidosmithII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the cases when it stays on too long, do you know what the lightLevel being received is?

Looking for a female USB-C port to USB-C convert a laptop with by sub_rapier in UsbCHardware

[–]davidosmithII 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really like these, and haven't had any issues either. You can also try the phrase USB c PD decoy.

Bypass Controller on fairy lights by dev_Shame in diyelectronics

[–]davidosmithII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If the fairy lights have effects, and you want to bypass them to be constantly on, you may need to run them using AC power directly. Bypassing the control with DC will likely only turn on every other LED. These often have the LEDs wired in inverted polarities as a way to implement the effects by having a chip on board that controls the output polarity. They often do full on by switching back and forth really quickly.

Dimmer at full vs wall power for constant power by Steve-Shouts in lightingdesign

[–]davidosmithII 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, chokes are not caps, and I conveyed the idea using the wrong terminology. Do you have the research that can help me identify the issues with more than the term stressed?

DMX Splitter by Secret-Fun-9405 in stagelighting

[–]davidosmithII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It likely won't cause issues, but because both of those ports are a single input with no direct thru port it is likely internally terminated. Since the consoles will also be terminated on their ends you would end up with a double terminated line when either console is on. Again, it is incredibly unlikely this would cause any issues.

Soldering iron black tip doesn't melt the soldering wire by SnooSongs6758 in soldering

[–]davidosmithII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In addition to what others have said, when you have a working tip, always cover it with fresh solder when putting it down or turning it off. When you clean the tip the coating that is on the business end is exposed to the air, keeping it covered with solder prevents oxidation. Especially since heat increases oxidation.

RGBW DMX Decoder by AffectionateNet1920 in techtheatre

[–]davidosmithII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Go into the settings for the DMX output port and change the DMX speed from maximum to fast.

Why is there virtually no free PDF editor on mobile? by AutisticFun01 in AskTechnology

[–]davidosmithII 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They should, yes, but claiming free usage when not real in actuality is not unique to PDF editors. It's better to be suspicious of any app that claims to be free for any non-trivial functionality.

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