2015-05-01 (F) Weekly Summary

This last week started on a different foot. I attended a Twin Cities Plus group discussion about cryonics, which is the process of preserving a person at low-temperatures. In this case the temperature of liquid nitrogen. The process was presented by Mr. Dennis Kowalski the president of the Cryonics Institute. He was gracious enough to video conference with our group and answer questions. Not only that but he was very candid about his answers and made no claim that cryonics was infallible. The Cryonics Institute has a 17 minute video tour which started our discussion. Original journal post.

The rest of the week I focused on the Cyborg Distance Sensor and nearly completed it. After figuring out that a complicated relay configuration wasn't necessary and that a single Arduino output could power a coil capable of being sensed by a magnet implant the design for the project got substantially simpler. Instead of two separated modules only a single module with a battery was necessary as well as the coil to stimulate a magnet implant.

Last week a potentiometer was soldered to an analog input to provide a means of easily changing variables in the program as opposed to constantly coding a new value and uploading each time. A wide range of frequencies were tried and finally a high and low range were found and coded into the program.
 Removing the small coils from relays proved more destructive than productive and it wasn't until the 3rd relay that a coil was successfully extracted. The extracted coil was from a larger relay than the first two attempts but can be felt from any side of my finger. It is directional so the metal cylinder must point axially toward an implant.

Two destroyed coils on the left and a usable one on the right


With a usable coil extracted I realized how fragile they were so I coated the good one in epoxy. Years ago while working at RadioShack someone showed me a headphone socket coated in epoxy and it made me realize just how useful this stuff could be. Epoxy doesn't have the finished look I am going for but this can be easily replaced in the future. Since the rest of the relay is gone and there are no moving parts this is simply and electromagnet.

Epoxy coated electromagnet

Further condensing was done to the project by adding a 9V battery holder to the lid of the distance sensor. This clip allowed the power source to be carried with the main unit instead of a separated module. While less modular this solution clearly shows that the bulk of this project is a power supply and not electronics. Grindhouse Wetwares, which originally produced the Bottlenose project, had a unit which barely fit in hand but was also a prototype not a finished product.





Measurements to add the 9V battery holder to the project


The unit was assembled with the exception of the hardware to hold the lid in place. Fortunately the screws used to hold the battery clip in place held the lid in place well enough for testing. Hardware will be purchased and installed and instructions written to complete this project. The battery holder is not visible in the picture.

Assembled Cyborg Distance Sensor

Files for Cyborg Distance Sensor:

The rest of the weekly summaries have been arranged by date.





This disclaimer must be intact and whole. This disclaimer must be included if a project is distributed.

All information in this blog, or linked by this blog, are not to be taken as advice or solicitation. Anyone attempting to replicate, in whole or in part, is responsible for the outcome and procedure. Any loss of functionality, money, property or similar, is the responsibility of those involved in the replication.

All digital communication regarding the email address 24hourengineer@gmail.com becomes the intellectual property of Brian McEvoy. Any information contained within these messages may be distributed or retained at the discretion of Brian McEvoy. Any email sent to this address, or any email account owned by Brian McEvoy, cannot be used to claim property or assets.

Comments to the blog may be utilized or erased at the discretion of the owner. No one posting may claim claim property or assets based on their post.

This blog, including pictures and text, is copyright to Brian McEvoy.

Comments