Archived - OP position progress

Current images of fusor efforts, components, etc. Try to continuously update from your name, a current photo using edit function. Title post with your name once only. Change image and text as needed. See first posting for details.
Post Reply
User avatar
Doug Coulter
Posts: 1312
Joined: Sun May 27, 2007 3:18 pm
Real name: Doug Coulter
Location: Floyd, VA, USA
Contact:

Archived - OP position progress

Post by Doug Coulter »

Making some progress on the remote operating position for my fusor. Another computer yet to hook up, and a few other details at this end, like the panel hardwired to power relays at the fusor end for "stop this now no matter what" kind of control, but this looks like a fun cockpit to fly it from, eh? Here I am testing a few of the remote HD video cameras streaming back, with the cameras in this room as I'm still fiddling various details. Looks like I have the bandwidth in both 'net and cpu to handle this with ease. Obviously not CERN or even ITER-class, but not bad for an amateur. Sill working on the remote effecutators, data aq and so on, there's a lot of moving pieces that seem so simple when you can just be there to notice something and hit the correct button or valve without thinking about it - when you can't be there, you have to think of more things in advance.
70' from fusor, fiber optically isolated
70' from fusor, fiber optically isolated
Finally, enough pixels! I'd like to find a good KM (no need for video) switch to reduce my keyboard and mouse load, but otherwise, this feels like "it". Oh well, I used to have hair on the back of my head too. Thanks BillF for helping with this.
Why guess when you can know? Measure!
User avatar
Steven Sesselmann
Posts: 2127
Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2005 9:50 pm
Real name: Steven Sesselmann
Location: Sydney - Australia
Contact:

Re: OP position progress

Post by Steven Sesselmann »

Nice work Doug.

Cool to see how despite all those MHz timers you still need that analogue clock to tell you when it's time for coffee.

I'm working on a similar thing using Labview.

Steven
http://www.gammaspectacular.com - Gamma Spectrometry Systems
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Steven_Sesselmann - Various papers and patents on RG
User avatar
Doug Coulter
Posts: 1312
Joined: Sun May 27, 2007 3:18 pm
Real name: Doug Coulter
Location: Floyd, VA, USA
Contact:

Re: OP position progress

Post by Doug Coulter »

Well, even if I wasn't a bit of a luddite about some things (and I surely am), there's also this fact that I'm totally off the grid (solar), and the clock runs a year on an AAA battery and is always-on. The computers, not so much.

I hope you can get what you need out of LabView. It didn't look like it would do what I want here, like distributed computing (~12 machines involved here), control, display, transactional replicated database storage and analysis across quite a number of machines and so on, and heck, you have to pay for the nifty versions, AmIRight? Not much chance they're going to have drivers for my Arduino or Teensy homebrew fusor-control "robots", or my homebrew data aq boxes, or my raspi HD vidcams either. If I have to write all the "hard" code, I may as well do the fun stuff too, as a break from the nastier details. I'd rather have a Tesla p85d (or two, and a butler) than what it would cost to buy all that off the shelf or contracted out, and since I have the time and the skillz, hey "I did it my way". I'm in this for the fun and sense of accomplishment, too.
Why guess when you can know? Measure!
User avatar
Dennis P Brown
Posts: 3159
Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 10:46 am
Real name: Dennis Brown

Re: OP position progress

Post by Dennis P Brown »

Impressive; so, avoiding radiation hazard with a remote station? A good idea since your system appears to be rather dangerous. Best of luck and keep us informed - your starting down a path that most fusor people can only dream about!
User avatar
Richard Hull
Moderator
Posts: 14992
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2001 9:44 am
Real name: Richard Hull

Re: OP position progress

Post by Richard Hull »

You are wise to implement remote operation if the flux is extremely high. Nice control room!

Thus far, here, and at the limit of 2-6 mega fusions/sec level of our very best folks, remote operation is a mere 8-12 foot deal in open air. Naturally, at fusor.net, 99.9% of all those who show up never do fusion and 100% of those who have actually done what might be called top level fusion, have no intention or desire to exceed their typical maximum of 2-6 mega fusions per second.

However, 100% of those arriving here that never do fusion are all for 10e9 fusions per second, fusion power, etc., as one might imagine. Money, verve, education, time and youthful age have, thus far, stopped all such wishful thinkers arriving here.

Good luck and keep safe.

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
User avatar
Doug Coulter
Posts: 1312
Joined: Sun May 27, 2007 3:18 pm
Real name: Doug Coulter
Location: Floyd, VA, USA
Contact:

Re: Archived - OP position progress

Post by Doug Coulter »

Thanks, Dennis, I'm lucky to have the time and other resources, so why not max out the fun - with safety? Not all luck, of course, I worked long and hard to get here.

Richard is pretty much on target here (doh, as if that were news) - many dream, few do. And of the latter, few can.

But what is true of 99.999...% of people (howevermany 9's you want) isn't necessarily true of everyone. A few of us both dream and do - sometimes as in my case, taking a lifetime to prepare to be able to - build those skills, acquire those resources. Develop the attitude and prep that allows accurate observations of the unexpected. Ignore distractions - have discipline. Set up to have those "Fleming moments" - those "eh, that's funny" ones that really advance science. Few that dream also have patience and industry to stick it out - if it was easy, it would have been done already, after all.

I'm fortunate to have that rare combo, and a mean streak of contrarianism and competitiveness that gets going when someone tells me I can't do something, or it's simply not possible - and I can thank Richard, specifically, for that stimulus. I will find a way if there is one and I live long enough. I might be pretty close. I did warn Richard when we met many years ago that I was going to take this on just like my consulting company took on other megabuck "black" projects (none of which had ever failed) - and wrestle this to the ground, not letting it "tap out". Plan A is still in effect, though there have obviously been some twists and turns in the understanding of the problem along the way. We seem to have stumbled onto the phenomena that produced Farnsworth's "anomalous output levels" - but this time we have the gear to measure what really happened and can replicate it - he was somewhat ahead of the capabilities of the data acquisition, analysis, and control equipment he had available. Now that we replicate - we can tweak. Just from a distance, we don't want to have to dig a pit. Where I live it'd just fill with water, but space for distance is cheap - the inverse square law and compton scattering can be your friends (adapted from a Hull quote).

Look for me at Milliways for breakfast! (See Hitchhiker's guide)

Most .gov fusion research has been going down various paths that amount to - lets use this tool that looks like fun to build to solve this problem we don't really understand. (a few fusioneers have fallen into this trap as well)

We here are going another way - let's really understand the problem, and all the dynamics, and only then choose an approach. I think that's a better way. </opinion>

Now, back to it - I have some computers to finish configuring, and some control panels to wire up, some more software to write, and a few tricky little bits of tech to build up to allow further systematic and accurate search of the new parameter space we've found here. Rest assured I'll be reporting when I have things to report, I'm all the way behind the open source nature of this - something science and trade secrecy seem to have been losing (priced an Elsevier subscription lately?).
Why guess when you can know? Measure!
User avatar
Jason Callaway
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2016 1:41 pm
Real name: Jason Callaway
Location: Maryland, USA
Contact:

Re: Archived - OP position progress

Post by Jason Callaway »

Doug Coulter wrote:We seem to have stumbled onto the phenomena that produced Farnsworth's "anomalous output levels" - but this time we have the gear to measure what really happened and can replicate it - he was somewhat ahead of the capabilities of the data acquisition, analysis, and control equipment he had available.
Being a complete noob, I assume this may be a "well duh" thought for the titans of this board, but I'll tell you what I love about it -- people post these amazing nuggets of information, often in passing. But for guys like me who are in the drink-from-the-firehose phase, they're really amazing pointers to research topics. Doug's quote implies a fascinating story: 1950's scientist builds something amazing, has a breakthrough that's possibly beyond the technology of his day to reproduce, but that's being re-discovered (or disproven) by latter-day open source hackers.

We live in an age of wonders.

Doug -- I work in your former industry. I'd love to chat some time. You might be amused with recent developments.
User avatar
Doug Coulter
Posts: 1312
Joined: Sun May 27, 2007 3:18 pm
Real name: Doug Coulter
Location: Floyd, VA, USA
Contact:

Re: Archived - OP position progress

Post by Doug Coulter »

Jason, I use my real name (and the silly profile picture) on G+ and am on most evenings EST if you'd like to chat. We can move to other comm as required for security. After that Vice video I've had to be real careful about handing out my email in public - trolls come out of the woodwork. I don't get to this board signed on very often. Hours in the day kind of issues, and I do have my own forums as well.
Why guess when you can know? Measure!
Post Reply

Return to “Images du Jour”