The Geeky Nerdy Project Page

[likesToLick 10,216]

On 3/4/2023 at 11:43 AM, Xanthous Gaze said:

If you have ever written code and you have experienced the insanity inducing frustration, that is programming. I'm sure you will appreciate this to. 

The Programmer's Lament

I've had it with this damned machine.

I wish that they would sell it.

It never does quite what I want,

But only what I tell it !

[Sophie 24,410]

I coded a little thing for funsies.

It calculates the gear ratios of my daughters bike (or any bike with a little tweaking), and then spits out the ratio for each chairing/sprocket combination, along with the speed she would be doing if she pedals at X rpm (default is 90 if no cadence is entered) For example, if she becomes super human and spins the cranks at 1000 RPM she would do anywhere between 65 and 230 MPH!!

#! /usr/bin/python3
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import argparse

parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Gear Ratio Calculator")
parser.add_argument("cadence", nargs="?", type=int, help="Speed", default=90)
args = parser.parse_args()
cadence = args.cadence


def calculate_ratios(cadence):
    chainrings = [24, 34, 42]
    cogs = [28, 24, 21, 18, 16, 14]
    ratios = []

    for ring in chainrings:
        print("")
        for cog in cogs:
            ratio = round(ring / cog, 2)
            ratios.append(ratio)
            rpm = round(ratio * cadence * 60, 2)
            distance = 2.050 * rpm
            speed = round(distance / 1609, 2)
            print(f"{ring}-{cog} {ratio:.2f}   {speed:>5.2f} MPH") 

   

    print("")


calculate_ratios(cadence)

Quote

24-28 0.86    5.92 MPH
24-24 1.00    6.88 MPH
24-21 1.14    7.84 MPH
24-18 1.33    9.15 MPH
24-16 1.50   10.32 MPH
24-14 1.71   11.76 MPH

34-28 1.21    8.32 MPH
34-24 1.42    9.77 MPH
34-21 1.62   11.15 MPH
34-18 1.89   13.00 MPH
34-16 2.12   14.59 MPH
34-14 2.43   16.72 MPH

42-28 1.50   10.32 MPH
42-24 1.75   12.04 MPH
42-21 2.00   13.76 MPH
42-18 2.33   16.03 MPH
42-16 2.62   18.03 MPH
42-14 3.00   20.64 MPH

 

[Scot_Lover 1,876]

This is my nerdy place , M is rarely seen in here, lol.

Windows 11 pc running FLStudio (I’ve had this forever, lifetime free upgrade is a wonderful thing) with a launchpad in performance mode. 

The other pc is FreeBSD running Audacity as a sampler. 
I can edit out bits of mp3 files and load them as samples into FL Studio, pretty much on the fly. 
 

Semi retirement is another good thing, so much free time.

 

[Sophie 24,410]

This isn't really a project but I hope it is okay to share here.

I have a SDR, or Software Defined Radio. It's essentially a USB dongle that lets me connect an antenna and listen to all sorts of different radio signals. A bit like the FM stereo you have at home, but on steroids.

Right now I am tracking a weather balloon! It has a little transmitter on it and I can pick up the signal it is transmitting, and with some nerdery and a little software I can see where it is on a map, how high it is, how cold it is etc. There are websites out there that do this, but I am doing it with my own device, no internet required. I think it's awesome!! I am more than happy to go into more detail about my setup or anything else if anyone is interested.

 

 

[DoctorDoctor 1,391]

1 hour ago, Sophie said:

This isn't really a project but I hope it is okay to share here.

I have a SDR, or Software Defined Radio. It's essentially a USB dongle that lets me connect an antenna and listen to all sorts of different radio signals. A bit like the FM stereo you have at home, but on steroids.

Right now I am tracking a weather balloon! It has a little transmitter on it and I can pick up the signal it is transmitting, and with some nerdery and a little software I can see where it is on a map, how high it is, how cold it is etc. There are websites out there that do this, but I am doing it with my own device, no internet required. I think it's awesome!! I am more than happy to go into more detail about my setup or anything else if anyone is interested.

 

 

Very cool, @Sophie.  Can I ask what kind of USB SDR you use?  Have you done any satellite work?

[Sophie 24,410]

14 hours ago, DoctorDoctor said:

Very cool, @Sophie.  Can I ask what kind of USB SDR you use?  Have you done any satellite work?

I use a RTL-SDR Blog V3 paired with a Moonraker Skyscan discone antenna in the loft. I haven't done any satellite work yet, I have managed to pick up the signal from one of the NOAA satellites but I am not set up yet to capture the APT images they transmit. I need to set up my dipole antenna in a V configuration and it needs to be outdoors. It is something I wish to do though, I have all the software ready, satellite predictions etc, I just need to be prepared and sit outside.

[DoctorDoctor 1,391]

5 hours ago, Sophie said:

I use a RTL-SDR Blog V3 paired with a Moonraker Skyscan discone antenna in the loft. I haven't done any satellite work yet, I have managed to pick up the signal from one of the NOAA satellites but I am not set up yet to capture the APT images they transmit. I need to set up my dipole antenna in a V configuration and it needs to be outdoors. It is something I wish to do though, I have all the software ready, satellite predictions etc, I just need to be prepared and sit outside.

Cool setup.  The ISS telemetry is easy to hear when it passes over your location with even a small outdoor antenna.  There is also ADS-B for aircraft and AIS for ships depending on your location to marine areas.  All fun and fairly strong signals to receive.

[Sophie 24,410]

2 hours ago, DoctorDoctor said:

Cool setup.  The ISS telemetry is easy to hear when it passes over your location with even a small outdoor antenna.  There is also ADS-B for aircraft and AIS for ships depending on your location to marine areas.  All fun and fairly strong signals to receive.

Yeah I've done ADS-B and AIS! Had more luck with the ADS-B than the other. ISS telemetry? All I've found on Google is things like SSTV and ham radio contacts. I can see telemetry?

[DoctorDoctor 1,391]

1 hour ago, Sophie said:

Yeah I've done ADS-B and AIS! Had more luck with the ADS-B than the other. ISS telemetry? All I've found on Google is things like SSTV and ham radio contacts. I can see telemetry?

Main telemetry is Ku band satellite.  It used to send data burst with GPS position every 2 seconds on 145.825 MHz when no amateur radio stuff was active.

[gldenwetgoose 21,486]

8 hours ago, Sophie said:

Yeah I've done ADS-B and AIS! Had more luck with the ADS-B than the other.

I love that ADS-B shows mil traffic as well as all those boring bus trip passenger flights.

Yes, you can track Doris heading off to Benidorm - or you can watch Typhoons (other inferior military products are also available) blatting around the skies of Europe.

[oliver2 4,418]

Just now, gldenwetgoose said:

I love that ADS-B shows mil traffic as well as all those boring bus trip passenger flights.

Yes, you can track Doris heading off to Benidorm - or you can watch Typhoons (other inferior military products are also available) blatting around the skies of Europe.

What about large waterbirds?

[gldenwetgoose 21,486]

3 hours ago, oliver2 said:

What about large waterbirds?

Well I guess so - but the Hughes Spruce Goose isn’t flying any more. 

There is the V-22 Osprey, or lots of land based bird names too. 

[Kupar 13,339]

5 hours ago, oliver2 said:

What about large waterbirds?

I guess there might be the occasional radio-tagged migrating bird: https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/cuckoo-tracking-project/tracking-technology  

[gldenwetgoose 21,486]

This is by no means a geeky project...

But I've just discovered that my Mac Mini can output sounds to two different destinations at the same time.

So I can have the headphone output plugged into my audio amp and decent speakers, to play music, Youtube, porn clips etc in glorious high quality stereo.  And at the same time my built in crappy speaker or monitor speaker can be giving me notification chimes etc.

That means when I don't have the amp switched on I don't need to mess about unplugging the audio lead.  Result.

 

[Sophie 24,410]

3 minutes ago, gldenwetgoose said:

This is by no means a geeky project...

But I've just discovered that my Mac Mini can output sounds to two different destinations at the same time.

So I can have the headphone output plugged into my audio amp and decent speakers, to play music, Youtube, porn clips etc in glorious high quality stereo.  And at the same time my built in crappy speaker or monitor speaker can be giving me notification chimes etc.

That means when I don't have the amp switched on I don't need to mess about unplugging the audio lead.  Result.

 

Can you choose what media comes through which device?

[gldenwetgoose 21,486]

Just now, Sophie said:

Can you choose what media comes through which device?

Seems like system tones - and I think the 'bleep' when you posted just then comes to the displayport monitor and any streaming audio goes to the headphone port.   So I can be watching youtube with sound on speakers and tones on the monitor.   Or external amp switched off, so no music etc but still getting tones on the monitor.

 

[Sophie 24,410]

1 minute ago, gldenwetgoose said:

Seems like system tones - and I think the 'bleep' when you posted just then comes to the displayport monitor and any streaming audio goes to the headphone port.   So I can be watching youtube with sound on speakers and tones on the monitor.   Or external amp switched off, so no music etc but still getting tones on the monitor.

 

That's awesome!

On my Linux setup I think I have it set to automatically mute the speakers and lower the headphone volume to 50% when I plug in my headphones, but I don't believe I have a way to have different things through different devices.

[gldenwetgoose 21,486]

2 minutes ago, Sophie said:

That's awesome!

On my Linux setup I think I have it set to automatically mute the speakers and lower the headphone volume to 50% when I plug in my headphones, but I don't believe I have a way to have different things through different devices.

Hmmm....   Seems on mine that Peefans tones go to the headphone output (so none when amp is off), but email alerts etc go to the 'always on' speaker.  Not a big problem I guess.

The keyboard volume controls work the headphone output level, the only way to adjust the alert volume is through the settings window.   

 

[Sophie 24,410]

I believe this counts as a geeky nerdy project? Please honk at me @gldenwetgoose if it doesn't!

I am planning on buying a mini lathe in the near future, once I have somewhere suitable to put it really, but I have already started designing parts for it! The very first thing I have designed (and likely needs some tweaking) is a tap follower. For those who do not know, one end of this device goes into the back of the lathe and the pointy bit is spring loaded and goes into the little hole at the back of a tap. This allows me to keep the tap perfectly straight while cutting threads, and the spring means I don't have to constantly wind out the tailstock with every revolution. Super handy!

Here is my design. It's basically a hollow tube with a plunger inside, a sharp tip to go into the tap, a spring at the other end and a cap to stop everything falling out. I might make the body out of aluminium with a brass cap for style points, and I will likely make the tip out of steel just for longevity. There is a small groove cut into the tip to indicate when I have ran out of travel as a reminder to wind in the tailstock a little more. This just fits into the drill chuck (which has the benefit of being able to be used in anything with a drill chuck) but once I get more experienced I might make another with a Morse Taper 2 that fits directly into the tailstock.

If you have made it this far without falling asleep out of sheer boredom, I thank you!

[Kupar 13,339]

19 hours ago, Sophie said:

I am planning on buying a mini lathe in the near future, once I have somewhere suitable to put it really, but I have already started designing parts for it! The very first thing I have designed (and likely needs some tweaking) is a tap follower. For those who do not know, one end of this device goes into the back of the lathe and the pointy bit is spring loaded and goes into the little hole at the back of a tap. This allows me to keep the tap perfectly straight while cutting threads, and the spring means I don't have to constantly wind out the tailstock with every revolution. Super handy!

It looks lovely 🙂 Two questions though. First (and I realise I must have missed something obvious here), the tip is smooth, but doesn't the follower need to transmit torque to the tap? And second, how will you calculate the spring force required?

(That need to have a lathe is growing irresistible now isn't it?!)

Edit: I think I just realised my mistake - you're turning the tap by hand, and the lathe is just being use to keep everything straight. Doh! (And, of course, the spring force isn't particularly important as long as everything moves smoothly.) Ignore me!

Edited November 20, 2023 by Kupar
Corrected daft error!

[likesToLick 10,216]

On 11/19/2023 at 11:31 PM, Sophie said:

I am planning on buying a mini lathe in the near future, once I have somewhere suitable to put it really, but I have already started designing parts for it! The very first thing I have designed (and likely needs some tweaking) is a tap follower. For those who do not know, one end of this device goes into the back of the lathe and the pointy bit is spring loaded and goes into the little hole at the back of a tap. This allows me to keep the tap perfectly straight while cutting threads, and the spring means I don't have to constantly wind out the tailstock with every revolution. Super handy!

Hi @Sophie .  You might find this video from Blondihacks interesting.   She has some useful thoughts about the design,  including making a reversible tip that has both convex and concave centres for large and small taps respectively.

I would also suggest making a concave centre in the back of the tap follower,  as you can then drive it with a standard tailstock centre as supplied with your lathe, instead of needing the elaborate holding device that is shown in your example picture.

That's great to hear that you are planning to get a mini lathe.  If I may make a suggestion about that,  I would recommend that you buy the biggest lathe that you can fit into the space you have available.  

The reason I suggest this is that the tooling you will eventually buy to go with the lathe will cost the same regardless of the lathe being small or large,   and the tooling will cost at least twice as much as the basic lathe did,  so there will be very little difference in cost over the long term,  but,  if you have a small lathe,   you will be constantly frustrated by its limitations.

I have a 10 inch (swing diameter) Chinese engine lathe which came fully loaded with accessories, and cost less than an equivalent 3 inch Sherline lathe,  while being much more versatile.

You can make small things on a large lathe,   but you can't make large things on a small lathe.

I also have a 90 year old Webster Whitcomb watchmaker's lathe for small work.   It still works well,  but accessories are very expensive and almost impossible to find. 

Please feel free to send me a PM if you want to chat about your lathe plans,  or hear about any of the issues (and mistakes) I have had with mine.

 

[Sophie 24,410]

16 hours ago, Kupar said:

It looks lovely 🙂 Two questions though. First (and I realise I must have missed something obvious here), the tip is smooth, but doesn't the follower need to transmit torque to the tap? And second, how will you calculate the spring force required?

(That need to have a lathe is growing irresistible now isn't it?!)

Edit: I think I just realised my mistake - you're turning the tap by hand, and the lathe is just being use to keep everything straight. Doh! (And, of course, the spring force isn't particularly important as long as everything moves smoothly.) Ignore me!

You are completely correct with your edit! It's basically so I don't have to use three hands. One to turn the chuck, one to hold the tap stationary (or block it with a piece of wood or something) and another to turn the tailstock at the same time.

[Sophie 24,410]

9 hours ago, likesToLick said:

Hi @Sophie .  You might find this video from Blondihacks interesting.   She has some useful thoughts about the design,  including making a reversible tip that has both convex and concave centres for large and small taps respectively.

I would also suggest making a concave centre in the back of the tap follower,  as you can then drive it with a standard tailstock centre as supplied with your lathe, instead of needing the elaborate holding device that is shown in your example picture.

That's great to hear that you are planning to get a mini lathe.  If I may make a suggestion about that,  I would recommend that you buy the biggest lathe that you can fit into the space you have available.  

The reason I suggest this is that the tooling you will eventually buy to go with the lathe will cost the same regardless of the lathe being small or large,   and the tooling will cost at least twice as much as the basic lathe did,  so there will be very little difference in cost over the long term,  but,  if you have a small lathe,   you will be constantly frustrated by its limitations.

I have a 10 inch (swing diameter) Chinese engine lathe which came fully loaded with accessories, and cost less than an equivalent 3 inch Sherline lathe,  while being much more versatile.

You can make small things on a large lathe,   but you can't make large things on a small lathe.

I also have a 90 year old Webster Whitcomb watchmaker's lathe for small work.   It still works well,  but accessories are very expensive and almost impossible to find. 

Please feel free to send me a PM if you want to chat about your lathe plans,  or hear about any of the issues (and mistakes) I have had with mine.

 

Thank you for the awesome reply!

I am very familiar with Quinn! I have watched so many of her videos. They are my often go-to while I am in bed before I sleep.  I do like the idea of a concave centre on one end and making it reversible but I don't actually know how I would machine that! I know drills don't produce flat bottomed holes but surely there's more to it than just drilling a small hole on one end?

I am not following (heh) what you mean by putting a concave centre in the back of the tap follower. So I would have the tailstock, then my follower supported by that centre, then my tap, then my work? I feel like it would be hard to get everything straight balanced like that. My idea is to just throw it into the jacobs chuck until I have the confidence and motivation to make a MT2 shaft to fit directly into the tailstock itself.

As for which size lathe to buy, I know I am going to be limited by my 7 X 14 I am planning on purchasing but that really is all the space I have. In fact, I don't even have that space which is why I currently don't own one. I've been talking to my husband about buying a new shed and putting it in there. I have literally nowhere else to put it. I would love a Colchester lathe and a Bridgeport mill etc but that's just not going to happen. Also, I do not think anything else will be in my budget at the moment. I have been putting off buying a lathe because I flick from hobby to hobby. I struggle sticking with one thing for a long period of time and it annoys me so much.

Thank you again for your response!

[likesToLick 10,216]

12 hours ago, Sophie said:

I do like the idea of a concave centre on one end and making it reversible but I don't actually know how I would machine that! I know drills don't produce flat bottomed holes but surely there's more to it than just drilling a small hole on one end?

The tool for making one is called a centre drill.  A small set of those is one of the earliest "must have" accessories you will need.   The drill has a narrow pilot point,  followed by a tapered cutting edge that makes a cone-shaped hole that matches the taper on lathe centres.  (I think that's 60 degrees included angle.)  This ensures that you have a bearing surface with good concentricity.   See picture.

Small taps often have a tapered point,  rather than a concave centre,  so they would run in the concave end of your tap follower if you make one.  To cut the concave centre, you would just use one of these centre drills in your Jacobs chuck while rotating the tap follower tip in your headstock chuck.

12 hours ago, Sophie said:

I am not following (heh) what you mean by putting a concave centre in the back of the tap follower. So I would have the tailstock, then my follower supported by that centre, then my tap, then my work? I feel like it would be hard to get everything straight balanced like that. My idea is to just throw it into the jacobs chuck until I have the confidence and motivation to make a MT2 shaft to fit directly into the tailstock itself.

Your Jacobs chuck will work fine for the task.   The main advantage I can think of for using the tailstock centre instead is that it probably takes up less space along your lathe bed than the Jacobs will,  so maybe if one day you are wanting to tap a slightly larger part that you can't fit between your 4 jaw chuck and your Jacobs chuck,  using the MT2 dead centre instead might buy you another inch or two of clearance.  It's probably not important,   but very easy to add the centre "just in case" when you have the part already set up in the chuck while you are making it.

12 hours ago, Sophie said:

As for which size lathe to buy, I know I am going to be limited by my 7 X 14 I am planning on purchasing but that really is all the space I have. In fact, I don't even have that space which is why I currently don't own one. I've been talking to my husband about buying a new shed and putting it in there. I have literally nowhere else to put it.

A home machine shop can never be big enough 😄.    I have a 20x20' air conditioned workshop,  and there are still some machines that I want,  but have not bought,  because I can't fit them into the remaining floor space.  I'm amazed at how well "Clickspring" can work with his two lathes and a milling machine in the tiny room that he has.  I like to be able to walk around the sides and back of the mill and the lathe in order to work on them,  fit attachments and so on.

[Alfresco 11,629]

On 11/19/2023 at 1:01 PM, Sophie said:

I believe this counts as a geeky nerdy project? Please honk at me @gldenwetgoose if it doesn't!

I am planning on buying a mini lathe in the near future, once I have somewhere suitable to put it really, but I have already started designing parts for it! The very first thing I have designed (and likely needs some tweaking) is a tap follower. For those who do not know, one end of this device goes into the back of the lathe and the pointy bit is spring loaded and goes into the little hole at the back of a tap. This allows me to keep the tap perfectly straight while cutting threads, and the spring means I don't have to constantly wind out the tailstock with every revolution. Super handy!

Here is my design. It's basically a hollow tube with a plunger inside, a sharp tip to go into the tap, a spring at the other end and a cap to stop everything falling out. I might make the body out of aluminium with a brass cap for style points, and I will likely make the tip out of steel just for longevity. There is a small groove cut into the tip to indicate when I have ran out of travel as a reminder to wind in the tailstock a little more. This just fits into the drill chuck (which has the benefit of being able to be used in anything with a drill chuck) but once I get more experienced I might make another with a Morse Taper 2 that fits directly into the tailstock.

If you have made it this far without falling asleep out of sheer boredom, I thank you!

I could make use of that!   It is so easy to go off line when tapping a thread.   I don't have anything fancy.  I just put the tap in the tailstock and rotate the headstock chuck but leave the clamp loose on the tailstock so it slides along as the tap pulls into the work piece.