hobiger.org Blog

Notes, comments, things I found worth to mention.

USRP2 and soldering the DBSRX

Sep 3

Posted by Thomas Hobiger in GPS, computer, programming | No Comments

Yesterday our first USRP2 was delivered and I managed to do all the software stuff around it. Today we fixed the problem with one of the resistors to make the DBSRX work with the main board. According to this page one has to remove R193 (i.e. a 10 Ohm resistor) and put it on the empty space named R194. Here’s a picture before the job

and here how it looks after the soldering.

After this I put the firmware for the DBSRX via the SD card, then changed back to the original firmware which drives the USRP2. From now I am going to verify some spectra with input from a signal generator.

Popularity: 1%

Scientific conferences ….

Sep 2

Posted by Thomas Hobiger in paper, travel | No Comments

Here’s a funny draft for making an announcement from PhD comics for a scientific conference

Popularity: 1%

NASA’s new solid rocket

Sep 2

Posted by Thomas Hobiger in Uncategorized | No Comments

This week NASA tested its new rocket for the constellation class (wiki) of launchers in the Utah desert.

What a boost !!!

Popularity: 1%

Forgot to register for the Tokyo Marathon

Sep 1

Posted by Thomas Hobiger in Japanese, sports | No Comments

Originally I had the plan to register for the Tokyo Marathon 2011 but I totally forgot to fill out the internet form until yesterday. Since I am recently exercising quite regular I thought that it would be an additional motivation to keep things going. Anyway, this means that I have to look now for another running event in early spring 2011. There would be Ome Marathon in February or the Chiba Half-Marathon in January.

Popularity: 1%

Mandelbrot extreme

Aug 31

Posted by Thomas Hobiger in computer, math, programming | No Comments

Maybe you have stumbled over Mandelbrot plots or animations before, but this one here is one of the best I have ever seen. It was created with open source software.

Update: Here’s another amazing one:

Popularity: 1%

PC garbage

Aug 30

Posted by Thomas Hobiger in computer | No Comments

Here‘s another example of a totally useless peripheral device for your PC. Sometimes I am wondering if the designers of such “blessings” ever touched or worked with a PC?

Popularity: 1%

Planes, brakes and beaches

Aug 30

Posted by Thomas Hobiger in travel | No Comments

Sometime pilots have a bad day

and sometimes their passengers too

Popularity: 1%

Digital camera – 35 years ago

Aug 29

Posted by Thomas Hobiger in Uncategorized | No Comments

Kodak was working on its version of the digital camera already in the year 1975. The clumsy apparatus recorded the image on a tape, which was the usual storage device at that time. It took 23 seconds to take one picture, which means that only static objects could be captured. It’s interesting to see how things have evolved and that such innovations have become now daily life electronic equipment which is affordable for everybody.

Popularity: 1%

A day at the pool

Aug 28

Posted by Thomas Hobiger in Japanese, travel | No Comments

Since my institute has given me a discount coupon a few weeks ago, I spent today at a nearby pool. As for everything in Tokyo area, one can not expect to be alone at such a place, and it was pretty crowded. Nevertheless, we found a place to put our towels and other stuff and inside the water it was OK. At some places two or more people were sharing a square meter of water area, but on other locations it was less crowded. The water sliders were quite fun, whereas the wave pool was not really producing waves, but rather making 10cm high mini-tsunamis that did not even shake the small kids in their inflatable boats inside the pool. Overall it was an interersting experience (I have never been in a water park together with 5000 people), but I won’t go there again, I guess.
Update: Pictures are here (password protection !)

Popularity: 1%

Helium shortage ?

Aug 27

Posted by Thomas Hobiger in Uncategorized | No Comments

According to this article the world could run out of helium by the year 2030. Since helium is a noble gas, it can’t be produced, except that someone starts nuclear fusion on the large scale. The article also mentions that balloons filled with that gas are currently much too cheap and people don’t mind about recycling helium. So will the next generation of children only know balloons from text books? Can only the millionaires buy their kids a balloon? Will there be helium thefts?
We will see what the future brings. Maybe we can fill the hot air produced by politicians into those balloons :-)

Popularity: 2%