Space and Congress

I went through a few ideas about what to post about today for the Friday science-related post. Since I have a congressional hearing on right now about NASA and its future, I'll post about that. This might turn into a rant about how much I dislike politicians.

I noticed a few things:

• Charles Bolden is a really smart guy.
• Congressmen are not. They don't seem to have a grasp of some key issues of science and technology.
• Congressman Wu from Oregon seems like a complete moron, incapable of making a clear argument. My impression of him: "Wahhh, I don't like this because I just don't. Hmmfp."
• Everyone seems to be worried about a human space-flight program.
• Props to Bolden for having to put up with these people. I couldn't do that.

The Constellation program was flawed. It was nothing new, just rehashing Apollo age technologies. Like rebuilding a 1977 Cadillac, but painting it red this time and adding a Tom Tom navigation system. I respect President Obama for his decision on this issue. It takes a lot of guts to completely cancel a program that we have already spent $10 billion on. I support this too. We need to develop new technologies to get us into space cheaper, and that is what the proposed NASA budget focuses on.

Congresswoman Giffords talked about how she (and many others) want to see more details about this shift for NASA. I agree with her. Details are important. This seem to be a reoccurring theme in this hearing. I'm not convinces that NASA has the details worked out in full, but Bolden did mention a few programs thay are currently working on.

Congresswoman Fudge had a story where she was talking to a kid who wanted to be an astronaut, and she didn't know what to say to him. She wanted to tell him to think of a new goal, because NASA will not have a maned space flight program. OK, what about private space flight? Can't he work for one of those companies (Boeing, Space X) that will soon have the capabilities to take people to space? There is a weird focus on government funded manned spaceflight, like its government funded manned spaceflight or nothing. I actually think that there is a better chance of me going to space if we have a few private companies that have the ability to get there.

She is also worried about the priorities shifting and having the funding for proposed programs canceled in the near future. If that is your worry, you are in the wrong field. Stuff like that happens in the world of politics all the time. I like to think that if it is a well thought out plan, then it will last.

One overlooked goal of the NASA Bidget is the development of a heavy-lift rocket. NASA is looking long-term, not just at the next ten years. This is the type of thing where government funding is useful. There is almost zero incentive right now for the private spaceflight industry to develop these type of rockets that use new technologies.

Bolden is talking about education in NASA. Important. Possibly the most important. Educating kids about NASA ans space and getting them excited about it is the best way to ensure the future of our space program, be it government or private.

It'll be interesting to see how all this plays out. Congress needs to approve the new NASA budget, and right now there seems to be a lot of resistance.

Electronic Components Part 2: I

Time for part 2 of this thing: Current. I is the second term in V=IR (obviously). It is also the one thing about electricity that scares the crap out of me. When it comes to electrical shocks, the current is what makes them deadly.

Current describes the rate of flow on the electrical charge. It is the change in coulombs (electrical charge)/change in time. Going back the the hydraulic analogy, current is the flow rate of the water. Current is measured in amperes (A).

This is a quick post. Next week will be R (resistance), and I will also bring everything together for an explanation of Ohms Law.

Synth Setup

I went to Guitar Center this weekend to pick up stuff i needed to set up my synth rack. My old keyboard stand is now used for the Oberheim DX. I bought a new 2-tiered keyboard tack to hold the two synths. I bought a small Behringer mixer too. All the synths and drum machine are plugged into the mixer. This allows me to use the FX loop on the mixer for the synths (or drum machine) and all three now have a single output. I was very excited to set everything up, and even more exited to play through it.

Pictures:

Synth pop?

I have always had a weakness for pop music. Lady GaGa is one example of this, I just can't get enough of her. I also like 80s synth-pop. I also like Nine Inch Nails, so my musical taste is all over the board.

I've been a fan of Gary Numan for a few years now. His songs have a feel and sound that is truly unique. And he sings about robots. I've been waiting to see him live since I first discovered him, but he hasn't come around.

Then there is Little Boots. Watch this video right now. Catchy pop tunes. I discovered her last year when my roommate showed me the video linked above, and I immediately fell in love.

So what do these two people have in common? A love for synthesizers. They joined forces back in December for a 45 minute session at the BBC studios. It is worth watching the entire thing, especially the Lou Reed cover at the end. They do a two solo songs each, then join up for three songs as a duetish sort of thing. Somehow, it works. Really well too, in my opinion.

Watch all five parts, it'll be worth your time.

Part 1
Part2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

The aspect ratio is off on these videos, but it was the only complete version I could find. There are interviews throughout too. Strange how their two different worlds can combine so well.

Toys!

When it snowed I got really board. That means that I surfed the internet a lot. I remembered that I love synthesizers, so I started to think about buying one. I also remembered that I really wanted a drum machine. This took me to eBay. After browsing for a day or two I found exactly what I was looking for. I was excited. So I bid on them. And then I won them. Here they are:

Oberheim DX. This is the "Blue Monday" drum machine. Well, its big brother the DMX is, but they have the same exact drum sounds in them, the DMX just has more. The one thing that makes the DX much cooler than the DMX is that on the back of it, there are thumb screws that adjust the pitch of the sounds. It can hold up to 100 sequences, you can change the number of measures in a sequence, the time signature, and you can arrange those sequences into up to 50 songs. And the buttons make a very satisfying click when you hit them.

And then we have the Roland Juno 106. This sound is THE sound of the 80s. It has 6 voices, a sawtooth wave, square wave, pulse width modulation, a sub oscillator, a sweet envelope generator, high pass and low pass filter, and two different chorus (or as I call it, the 80s button). 16 different banks of 8 patches. This is a really incredibly versatile synth.

I'm working on a rig for all this stuff. I'll post pictures when everything is set up.

Yamaha DX7: Finished

I finally had some time to fix the DX7. All keys now work the way they should. I also discovered that it has aftertouch. It is fun. After you press a key, if you press harder it activates the LFO. I also figured out what keyboard scaling is. I think that I finally fully understand the DX7. It is a really amazing piece of technology.

New Toys...

...comming soon...


...maybe tonight...

Electronic Components Part 1: V

One of the most basic (an most useful) equations in the worlds of electronics is V=IR, known as Ohm's Law. The first three posts will be about the three components of this equation. I will try my hardest to explain everything as simpily as I can. I want this to serve as a solid foundation to build upon in order to cover more complex topics. I want to adress the "why" for these topics too, not just show you equations and how to use them.

The first component of V=IR is V. This is the voltage. It is sometimes represented by an E, short for electromotive force, but that is not quite relevant yet. Just call it voltage for now. A voltage is the electrical potential difference between two points. Now, what does that mean?

Lets say you have closed "circuit" of pipes and the whole thign is full of water. you are able too measure the pressure at two points in this circuit, point A and point B. With the water not moving in the pipes, the two pressures will measure the same. Now, lets add a pump between points A and B. When you turn the pump on the water will start to flow. The pump creates a high pressure area and a low pressure area. Now measure the pressure at points A and B and you will find a pressure difference. If the pipes were actually copper wire and the water electrons, the difference in pressure would be the voltage. This is part of the hydraulic analogy of eletrical circuits. For some reason I was not taught this, but I do find it useful, so I will use these analogies in the next few posts.

But what is a volt? Easy. One joule per coulomb, duh. It is also one watt per ampere. I could go on like this, but I won't.

I'll leave it there for now. Next topic will be current (I).

DX7: How to program

I just found a good video on how to program a DX7. Its a good primer on frequency modulation.



As for the new features, they will start next week. I'm way to busy to even think about them. I also might have a few surprises coming too.

Surprise! Box

They Came. I got the small one and the ginormous one. The small one os much much cooler than the big one. It has lots of little electronic components, including about ten of these.





The gyroscopes look cool too. Real gold plating! The Electronic Goldmine has a schematic for a circuit to make the thing spin. I kind of need a power supply and an oscilloscope though. Stamp on the side says they were made in 1981.



The weather is going to be...well, very snowy for the next few days, up to two feet of snow. That means that I get to have fun sorting everything. Maybe i'll get some project ideas, or finish old projects. Or listen to 80s music and play with the DX7.

New Things for the Blog

I've been thinking a little about the format of this blog and I have decided to set some kind of rough format. I'm hoping that this will force me to post regularly. Starting today I will have two new features.

On Mondays I will post what is basically an electronics 101 series of posts. This is mostly for me to review and remember stuff that I learned in college and promptly forgot, but also serve as a way for beginners to learn about simple circuits.

On Fridays I will have a post on skepticism/science, because reason rocks. I have already done two posts like this (here and here). Don't expect these to be super long essays, although some of them might be. It all depends on the amount of time I have. Some of the posts might be about things in the news, others might be about something cool I read that week and want to share. I will probably get stuff wrong too, but that's how we learn.

I enjoy feedback too, so feel free to post comments.

I'm hoping to start on a new project soon too, or at least finish some older ones.