[18:37] morning [18:37] morning [18:38] morning [18:38] shit .. opened up the wrong irc screen session first ;) [18:40] morning [19:12] hmm Evolution in Quantal is a POS. [19:18] I suspect it's not getting a lot of love upstream these days [19:20] which is sad, because Ubuntu still hasn't completed the switch to Thunderbird [19:51] morning [20:01] morning [20:01] hads: ping [21:50] mwhudson: pong [22:21] hads: hi, sorry about the delay [22:22] hads: i have a couple of electronics gadgets i want to build, was wondering if you could supply the parts [22:22] or even the prebuilt gadgets :) [22:23] mwhudson: Sure, probably the former, possibly the latter. [22:23] hads: one is a way of powering on and off this 5v device i have from software [22:23] mwhudson: do you want to build, or to have ;) [22:23] lifeless: well, i want to have [22:24] hads: it's got a 5.5 mm OD 2.1 mm ID dc jack so i'm thinking a dc plug -> bare wire -> usb controlled relay -> bare wire -> dc connector type assembly [22:25] Yup sounds about right. [22:25] hads: the other is a way of completely unplugging a usb device from software, which i guess is a similar hack, although i don't know if you need relay on each wire or if one on the +5v wire is enough [22:26] I've wanted to do the same myself actually. [22:26] Let me think about it. [22:28] for the former task in our lab we have a bunch of 240v pdus on the upside of the 5v power supplies [22:28] but that's kinda ridiculous [22:28] It's more than one? [22:29] well [22:29] we have a lab with 50 odd devices that need to be power controlled [22:29] for development on my desk i have 1 [22:29] Ah right. Can I ask what they are? [22:30] hads: sure, they're arm developer boards [22:30] a panda in my case [22:30] Cool. [22:30] (actually i have three boards, but one is a broken panda and another is a beagle xm and noone seems to care about omap3 any more in linaro) [22:30] I just bought in an XM for someone yesterday. [22:31] * ajmitch wants to do something slightly simpler, a lap counter/timer for a slot car track :) [22:32] i found a place you could buy usb to bare wire cables, of course ironically it costs a lot more than a regular usb cable :) [22:32] ajmitch: You need lasers :) [22:32] i would like to avoid soldering if i can, but even i can manage wire strippers [22:33] hads: obviously [22:33] though I think I may keep it a *little* simpler than that [22:33] Yeah, people ask about custom cables occastionally. 90% of the time it's cheaper and quicker to get a normal one and cut it in half. [22:33] Hmm new word. [22:34] mwhudson: Are you in a rush? I could probably whip something up but it might take a while. [22:34] hads: no not really [22:34] hads: define "a while"? weeks, months? [22:35] I would say weeks but then it's not too many weeks until Christmas :/ [22:35] heh [22:36] early ish 2013 would be fine [22:36] Okay cool, let me add it to my list :) [22:36] heh [22:38] Every time I try and start working on something for myself I get more work for someone else :) [22:41] mwhudson: ~$50 https://www.yoctopuce.com/EN/products/usb-actuators/yocto-relay [22:42] hads: panda requires 3a :( [22:42] hads: i had found these: http://www.sedonia.co.nz/TCTEC-Super4-USB-relay-module.htm [22:44] Seems cheap enough. You'd need to figure out if you can talk to it easily. [22:45] they have some demo c code [22:45] it's some ftdi chip [22:45] http://www.sigma-shop.com/product/7/usb-relay-controller-one-channel-box.html [22:46] i wonder if they just show up as /dev/ttySOMETHING when you plug them in [22:47] oh heh [22:47] the manual has as sample code: [22:47] stty -F /dev/ttyUSB0 9600 // the relay 1 go ON. [22:47] echo $'\xff\x01\x01' > ttyUSB0 [22:48] Yeah that last one shows up as a USB serial port. [22:48] So that would be super easy. [22:48] That's how I'd build it too. [22:48] or /dev/serial/by-path/$foo for added sanity [22:49] i guess the one with 4 relays would mean you could build more stuff for less $$ [22:54] There probably isn't much point me reinventing those wheels. [22:57] i guess not, i should probably just buy a dc cable and a relay and get the wire strippers out [23:00] so i complain to air nz about them using poli which is windows only [23:00] and they assume I'm a mac user [23:00] I feel insulted! [23:00] mwhudson: In the next week or so I'll have some 5.5/2.1mm DC cable pigtails :) [23:00] ojwb: AirNZ are terrible. [23:01] but all other airlines are worse [23:01] sadly there aren't great alternatives much of the time [23:01] hads: oh cool! [23:01] ojwb: Extortionate CC fees that aren't reflective of what they actually cost. [23:01] charging for actually paying is such a budget airline tactic too [23:01] i can't really see why they're trying to position themselves in that area of the market [23:02] The are a budget airline now as much as they don't like to admit it. [23:02] hads: do you have terminal blocks (i think that's the right word?) appropriate for connecting the ends that won't go into the relay? [23:02] jaycar only seem to have hilariously huge ones in stock [23:02] ojwb: They must be charged around 1.5% CC fees from the bank, on cheaper flights with AirNZ you can be paying 10-20% [23:03] ojwb: wasn't it at one point that AirNZ would waive the fee if you couldn't pay with POLi because you didn't use Windows? [23:03] I think they still may. [23:03] they certainly don't automatically now [23:03] ojwb: I think you had to call up and moan at them [23:03] No you have to ring and try and get someone to understand. [23:04] hmm, the email reply said I could phone, but "not all fares may be available through reservations" [23:04] mwhudson: Not sure what type of thing you mean sorry, link? [23:04] personally dare I say it, I've had better service from Qantas lately compared to AirNZ (online checkin certainly is a plus too) [23:05] hads: http://www.jaycar.co.nz/productView.asp?ID=HM3196&keywords=hm3194&form=KEYWORD [23:05] hads: except only one of them, and smaller than the 10a rated one [23:14] I always fly Emirates when I have the option. [23:15] mwhudson: Ah right, sorry I don't stock those. The local electrical wholesaler will have them, 6A is the smallest. [23:16] oh right [23:16] so like bunnings or equivalent? [23:41] sadly there doesn't seem to be any alternative airline for wellington to dunedin [23:41] perhaps I could fly via auckland with jetstar, though it doesn't let me book it without 26 hours in auckland [23:44] flying via auckland on jetstar is getting pretty desperate [23:45] indeed [23:45] auckland airport is even further from dunedin than dunedin airport is [23:50] why would you want to visit dunedin anyway? [23:51] it's a bit damp down here today [23:53] conference thing in december [23:54] I see [23:54] it's a bit damp down there in December [23:54] * chilts speculates [23:54] might be [23:56] hopefully they're holding it indoors [23:57] if anyone fancies meeting for lunch on 4th or 7th, let me know [23:58] are you available on the evening of the 4th? that's when we have our monthly codecraft meeting on campus [23:58] 5:30 on the tuesday afternoon if you are around for it [23:59] might be [23:59] there's stuff on the 5th and 6th evenings, but I don't know of anything on 4th yet