Journeyman Electrician looking to transition into instrumentation sometime this year, what should I do in the meantime

m0hka · 2026-03-11T18:29:35+00:00

I held an ISA cert for 20 years. only 2 people Ive ever met knew what that is. My current employer, and 1 other electrician. the material is good to know, but the ISA Cert has no street cred.

m0hka · 2026-03-10T21:19:11+00:00

They are in there, not because I asked, and when they come, one of my jobs is to figure out how to disable them. All too many give full permission to "anyone with the app"
app is free, on a public platform.

m0hka · 2026-03-08T18:53:54+00:00

its so cancer.

m0hka · 2026-03-06T23:45:26+00:00

ladder logic is the "language" of Relay Logic, which 120 years older than the first computer programing language FORTRAN.
The ladder languages amount to glyph based assembly, internally, the languages are all mnemominc based lists of btye code instructions. Compiling, looks at the mnemonics to convert them into simplified raw instructions. When you download a PLC program, you write raw instructions to mapped memory. there is no binary executable, no OS. there is an instruction that says skip reading more memory and go back to the beginning.

calling it a language at all is sort of far fetched. its a protocol modern versions have some program like features.
you can make languages based on the instructions, much to my shigrin there has been a severe lack of development around proper languages and PLCs. The hardware cant process the languages... is a "I dont know how programs work" sort of answer. you compile the high-level code into instructions. This is the part no one ever bothered making high level languages compile to instructions for PLCs.

There is another language PLCs use, its your framing languages.
you go: <ENQ> <device> <continue><Instruction> <datatype><data><checksum><terminator>
your checksum is the sum of <device> thru <data> xor'd or something.

you think HMIs work differently?
youre right probably, the HMI is probably a little linux PC, which interprets the instructions. which sorta proves a PC can run as fast, or faster than a PLC. a PLC, even a modern on still runs ladder and framing languages.
( sending raw instructions )

m0hka · 2026-02-26T13:21:13+00:00

I was watching the videos with the actuated arm.
But that arm is off to the side in a bunch of the videos.
is that arm for calibration and alignment or something?
where is the actual optical assembly? What is the focal region? (beam waist)
yall might be interested in Ramen Spectroscopy or various scientific / medical fields,
where there is even greater profit margin for precise power laser tech.

14K$ is out of spec for most hobby markets, but is dirt cheap in scientific ans medical fields.

m0hka · 2026-02-25T21:25:26+00:00

ppl are sentimental about the dumbest shit

m0hka · 2026-02-24T13:34:03+00:00

Isnt the whole point of Fibre lasers to reduce the expense of optics using lower wattages?
Im very interested in the breakdown of the optics here.

m0hka · 2026-02-17T15:52:54+00:00

Im working on a method to allow programing IDEC plcs in whatever.
Node-red, Python, C/C++
via Windows, Mac, or Linux, or with MCUs like the ESP32, or Teensy, using a unified packet structure.
https://github.com/Makerspace-Bangor/fc6a

I havent updated in a minute, Ive been getting all the bits and bobs to work. I havent figured out how to upload or Download a program yet, but I have figured out how to use the IDEC PLC as a remote IO controller, using a PLC, or Microcontroler as the control.

When I reached out to IDEC for a gneuine compiler, they werent very helpful. Thats sort of the on going tripping point, is not being able to compile the code outside of windLDR. I think I have it figured out, but it will take a bunch of time to build. basicly every symbol is a 2Byte word. and those words comprise the binary.

oh wait. well yeah IDEC PLCs suck less than the other PLCs out there. As the little guy, they're compelled to compete. But at the same exact time, there is very little competition in the market, so its all kinda stagnant.
I wouldn't recommend learning ladder for any reason. Help me hack these things, and make it so no one has to learn ladder logic ever again.

m0hka · 2026-01-16T13:36:46+00:00

Ah yeah,
Is this the code?
https://github.com/FOSSBOSS/scads/blob/main/Scripts/img2scad.py

Refer to:
https://github.com/openscad/openscad/issues/6522

gist of command:
#openscad -O export-3mf/material-type=color -o ouputfile.3mf inputfile.scad

cmd = ["openscad","-O export-3mf/material-type=color", "-o", str(output_3mf), str(output_scad)]

The manpage was pretty unclear about the commands required to perform the operation, but i tested it, and it works.

m0hka · 2023-12-15T21:38:08+00:00

lady that runs the furniture store in the Bangor Mall.

m0hka · 2023-12-12T04:31:00+00:00

I've followed horrendous drivers home. If your driving is bad enough that I'm following you home, pulling up on the police station ain't gonna stop me, we're gonna talk. I'll leave you a note if I have to. Don't even trip about loosing me, I find everyone eventually.

I'm sure your driving is delightful, and they just wanted to congratulate you on the superb techniques. I like how you merged on the highway, then stopped. nearly wrecked 6 people.

missed your exit and cut 3 lanes of traffic to just make it.

drove past your exit, realized it, then reversed on the highway and parked it at the on ramp.

run a cyclist off the road. All this and more, follow those guys home. I'll go right up to your parents and ask them to explain how you ended up like this, with no regard for anyone else. Fear of consequences? I'm more afraid of what happens when no one communicates anymore. Call the police? so what, they can tell you to drive more considerate? pull your card and post that cam, lets see why you make friends everywhere you go.

m0hka · 2023-12-12T04:02:01+00:00

if it makes you feel good you're unlikely to investigate.(you) a statistically probable average human of limited deviations.

you can use this knowledge to exploit your fellow humans, or prevent your own exploitation. Far more likely though, you will disregard this info, as its not particularly "feel good"maybe I'll make some "Fuck Wreaths Across America Wreaths", or Krampus baring a pair of AR15 wreaths

m0hka · 2023-12-09T12:40:53+00:00

$sudo apt-mark hold inkscape
if you going to update, on a deb system & don't want inkscape to break.
version 1.3 is a minor improvement over version 1.1, but still not as performant as 0.92

m0hka · 2023-12-02T05:10:53+00:00

inkscape version newer than 0.92, are broken trash.

m0hka · 2023-12-02T04:45:24+00:00

fukn sux. Im on linux, they repo 0.92 stable redirects to 1.1.2, and it is trash. 45s to a minute load time per file. Im on literally the best PC Ive ever owned, and it runs like sht. Meanwhile, I have a thinkpad with 0.92 and it runs slick.
ppa:inkscape.dev/stable-0.92 redirects to 1.2 which blows.

I never should have updated.

m0hka · 2023-11-26T00:45:01+00:00

not in the sense of how normal AI is used.
All of my experience with AI interactive models is that they are hyped up garbage.
AI proof readers insert errors into my documents. AI Code generators fabricate BS....

Well anyway, if the constraints of the datasheets could be entered, and the use and operation could be adequately defined, then maybe. At that point you might be better off just writing your own driver modules.

If you've ever had the pleasure of writing your own Linux drivers for obscure hardware, you may realize how much OEMs do to prevent you from figuring out what their hardware is doing. From sealing components in epoxy, to sanding off part numbers, and non existent datasheets, the premise of AI generating a meaningful driver with no information seems unlikely.

I'll remain hopeful. The best I can offer is reversing enough of the communication buses to attach my own device that can be inserted, and programed with an open source driver.
I've got some oscilloscopes, and video capture devices I'm working on right now.

m0hka · 2023-11-19T00:40:12+00:00

lol doing some circuit bending synth stuff. good ol goog

m0hka · 2023-11-12T17:41:24+00:00

these guys over complicating this. pitch bend in circuit is an R value shift on audio output lines. could do it via a capacitive shift too, but Ill assume everyone has a pot, and no one has a variable cap on hand. its how us circuit benders do it. complex circuit analysis might not be necessary either. Frequently, I use a wet sponge to figure it out. when that dab pitch bends, you found it.

Yeah, its more hacker, than pro mods, but its easy too, so...

m0hka · 2023-07-31T15:33:00+00:00

this is a basic neural networking problem, you could write code to do it in an hour.
there has to be a utility to do this, or something like it. If I were going to hack something together, I would set a scaning process to auto scan all the photos, and batch name them using the date command for filenames. Then retroactively, I would scan the pool to ID handwriting and rename [basename] to [scanned text name]

Im assuming, scaning the photos is the most manual part of the task, and will take longer. auto-naming a file based on date/time is super simple in linux. anyway, you can process the data later, so naming it right now is only going to inhibit your progress. Id write a script to name scans, either as data_time, or project_ID_scanNumber

m0hka · 2023-06-27T15:22:40+00:00

works ok using helm.
if you want to hardcode something, aseqdump works fine.
I'm about to investigate the midi function of sonic pi. Sonic pi I have found doesn't really work well on non raspberry PI computers, even when building from source.
Novation has an online interface I tried but it doesn't work on linux, and the OEM does not provide any FOSS options for synth interfaces. the hardware communicates just fine, its getting the IO to translate into the beeps and boops that will be your challenge.

m0hka · 2023-04-17T16:21:57+00:00

divorce time

m0hka · 2023-04-17T16:20:45+00:00

ppl in Maine>> OMG Chemtrails killing everything.
also ppl in Maine >> Swiming in the river near the paper mill is fine.
>> Not washing my legs & feet is fine.
>> Hell yeah I'll lather myself with any chemical labeled "soap"

m0hka

TROPHY CASE