The WORKBENCH part 1

x681

x679
ubuntu update to 17.10 went completely wrong

x680

well… the RAK 8 dbm is definitely not a magic stick, just comparing otaa/abp joining with the A&C 3 dbi
have to reinstall RF explorer software on my laptop to test swr ect.

Oh yeah… that were the days :sunglasses:

2 Likes

and those days were so fun …
assembly coding, learn hex and binary :wink:

3 Likes

did you receive your RAK antenna aka ‘magic stick’ ? @Charles
I am curious if you also didn’t get antenna mounting material

not yes they are stuck waiting the end of chinese new year to be posted

dBm is an absolute power measurement, as in 10dBm = 10mW

dBi is a relative measurement, as in the antenna has a gain of 10dBi over an isotrophic radiator (one that radiates equal power in all directions).

An 8dBm antenna makes no sense, suggesting that maybe the figure was invented by someone who does not know what they are selling.

1 Like

dBm is a log ratio of signal gain or loss.
See for a longer explaination:

2 Likes

dBm is a log ratio of signal gain or loss.
See for a longer explanation

I know what dBm is used for, but my statement was correct, to quote Wikipedia;

"dBm (sometimes dBmW or decibel-milliwatts) is an abbreviation for the power ratio in decibels (dB) of the measured power referenced to one milliwatt (mW). It is used in radio, microwave and fiber-optical communication networks as a convenient measure of absolute power because of its capability to express both very large and very small values in a short form.

1 Like

Not entirely. It also simplifies power calculations.

Maybe RAK’s ‘magic’ stands for:
‘how are you going to mount this thing without mounting materials?, it must be magic. :roll_eyes::wink:

1 Like

tnx for the info

So (without ‘real’ measurements yet) my observation that the RAK antenna performs equal or a bit less then 3 dBI I have could be right ? :roll_eyes:

Well even if the 8dBM was meant to be 8dBi, you might expect such an antenna to be bigger (longer) than one that is 3dBi. I am very sceptical as to the claims made by some who sell antennas.

Its actually not that difficult to measure the real world relative gain just use a 1/4 wave vertical with radials as a reference.

yes I am :sunglasses:

https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/forum/t/the-library-basement-part-4/11489/235

Nice. Looks interesting. I hope everything will fit, because it has different measures.
(Wouldn’t it be easier to use his custom made PCB?)

x682

lots of 'old ESP12’s in stock … plenty of space :sunglasses:

No… ‘The’ days started half a decade before Commodore:
I still have a TRS-80 somewhere in the basement
(and a VIC-20)

1 Like

my most funny one is called ‘banana’ … a chinese apple 2 clone , still have it somewhere

cbm3032
this was my first ‘real’ computer (I was 15/16 y/o) - a commodore CBM 3032
had to work really hard before I could buy it
sold it just a few years ago in working condition to a collector

Do you have one of these;

Its in my attic somewhere.

Plus an Apple II, UK101, Tangerine Microtan 65, BBC Micro (used to make them) and an assortment of IBM AT and XT motherboards (used to fix them).

I recall that the Apple II cost me circa £1299 with disc drive in 1979, the equivalent of £7000ish in todays money.

1 Like

The NSc SCaMP wow I forgot that one! I designed and built my own computer based around that and set on Veroboard entered it for the Young Engineer for Britain comp (yes I was young once :wink: ) whilst an undergraduate apprentice for a Mil Aero player. Even fabricated my own case for it - approx 4u high - using apprentice training school facilities - in military green power coated aluminum. Could programme in Hex Assembly using 2 x hex key pads (Add & Data) and associated dual (quad?) 7 segment led displays and some switches controlling load/run etc on front panel…or could take the ‘easy’ route using an in built version of TinyBASIC (2kB?) that was accessed over serial port connected to a current loop driving a telex type TTY keyboard/printer as user interface…simple hello world type progs worked well but never quite got a moon lander game to run quite right (just added more craters most runs! Teh Heh). It was quite a hack. I think it was around then I decided I wasn’t a ‘Softie’ and should stick to hw & semi’s…now here I am worry about how to programme and load LoRa nodes…ah well what goes around comes around…:grin:

1 Like

x685

:rofl:

3 Likes