Electronics

[Frankn]

Post interesting and historical,new items of interest about electronics

​

 

[bazinga]

Why don't you get us started?

 

[Frankn]

I did, but it went into never, never land!! I will give it one more try. My son showed me his new DROID cell phone. If you hold it over your head, it shows the location of all the stars in that area of the sky with names! I figure it has a electronic compass and an inclinometer built in. He showed me the list of apps. that he could get. While running Through the list, I spotted METAL DETECTOR. The first line said it didn't pick up aluminum. I was thinking, this circuit has to be showing up in detectors soon! The next line killed it. It said it only picks up ferris metals. I figure it has a built in hall effect device. It is to small for a magnetometer.

​

 

[Frankn]

All right lets stir up the pot a little! Name your favorite,Concentric or DD include reason why. I run a white's XLT with the 9.5" concentric coil that came with it. I like the results I get with it. It has gone down to 24" on large objects. In the prospect mode, It has gone down to 8" for one piece of #6 lead shot. It has pulled up $5 gold coins. It has pulled a diamond/gold ring out of wet saltwater sand at 10". When it pinpoints in soil,I merely lower the coil and insert the probe in the middle of the coil to touch the object. It is true that it has a reverse conical pattern, but this actually helps in trashy areas. I believe it will go deeper than a DD of the same size. well, lets hear your favorite and logic behind it!

​

 

[Woodland Detectors]

A touchscreen solar-powered phone called “Blue Earth” has been unveiled by Samsung Electronics. Slated to be released in the latter part of this year, this mobile phone is made from a recycled plastic called PCM, which is recycled from plastic water bottles. The phone is designed to symbolize a flat and well rounded shiny pebble. It is the first such phone to the market and charges up via the solar panel on the back of the phone, which is designed to generate enough power to make a call anytime.

Adding to those green credentials, both the handset and its charger are free from harmful substances such as Brominated Flame Retardants, Beryllium and Phthalate. Its phone features like Bluetooth settings, screen brightness, and backlight duration can be adjusted in an energy-saving mode called “Eco mode”. Other eco-friendly phone features include a built-in-pedometer which calculates how much CO2 emissions have been reduced by walking as opposed to taking the car. Detailed specifications and pricing information of this new mobile green advocate are due to be released prior to its market availability in the next few months.

 

[The Beep Goes On]

Robots Made Out of Cell Phones Dance, Cry, Throw Tantrums, and Talk to Each Other
Robots can act out phone users' feelings

Canadian researchers trying to integrate robots into our lives have come up with a pair of dancing, crying cell phone 'bots. The robots, called Callo and Cally, are cell phones with limbs.

Cally stands about 7 inches high and walks, dances and mimics human behavior. Callo stands about 9 inches tall, and his face, which is a cell phone display screen, shows human facial expressions when he receives text-messaged emotions. When he receives a smile emoticon, Callo stands on one leg, waves his arms and smiles. If he receives a frown, his shoulders slump and he will cry. If he gets an urgent message, or a really sad one, he'll wave his arms frantically.

Ji-Dong Yim, a PhD student in interactive arts and technology at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, says it's basically a simple avatar system. The robots can communicate with each other, for instance when their masters are on a video call.

"When you move your robot, my robot will move the same, and vice versa, so that we can share emotional feelings using 'physically smart' robot phones," he says in an SFU release.

The robots, which are made from Nokia N82 phone parts and components from a Bioloid robot kit, can detect human faces using OpenCV software. Cally can even track users' facial expressions during a phone call.

The robots can also be preprogrammed to move in certain ways when receiving calls from specific phone numbers.

The same concepts could be used to make other helper robots communicate with people and build long-term intimacy with them, researchers say.

 

[Frankn]

Allright here's a wild one. OKM has announced the FS-Airscan. The first flying metal detector! Fly over an area and scan underground! The ad said available soon. This would be great for you guys who are thinking about getting a harness for your WWII mine detectors!

​