#eevblog - 2026-03-29 - AustNet Archive Project

// #eevblog — 2026-03-29

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07:43 Quit: Kuschelpony ([email protected]) Connection closed
00:25 <arch> rust_collector, well...i couldn't take the risk, so i went and spent $16 on a new intake valve lol
00:47 <arch> the price of fuckups...
01:24 <rust_collector> you read too many books. or cartoons, not sure
02:17 <rust_collector> but, ok. should be good. then you can lap the thing again, andmeasure, and grind this new valve also
02:28 <arch> yep
03:02 <rust_collector> make sure you dont do this too often, or your valve seat will be gone
03:29 <arch> how many times is this "trick" possible?
03:41 <rust_collector> yes!
03:42 <arch> i ground the thing maybe 30 seconds tops
03:48 <arch> the seat*
03:52 <rust_collector> mmhmm
04:02 <rust_collector> this is the thing... it depends
04:45 <rust_collector> you can just put a new seat in it. but.... that is also a project, for something you do not need
05:12 <arch> and if the new seat wears out, you put a replacement seat...in the replacement replacement seat
05:20 <arch> replacementseatception
05:47 <rust_collector> either that, or you learn that good enough works well enough,
08:15 <arch> im curious how much it costs to get the block skimmed. i assume if i royally mess up the mating surface for the head wish some deep gouges, that would be one of the few options
08:42 <arch> machine shops getting more and more hard to find
09:17 <rust_collector> oh gawd. this is ie a mower engine, you can make it flat enough, by turning it upside down, and rubbung it on a garage floor
09:27 <arch> or if im feeling rednecky, i guess i could get a bigass 500 grit sandpaper and put it on a metal flat table surface and sand it back and forth
09:33 <arch> or that lol
10:09 <arch> maybe im overthinking for stupid small engines. i guess taryl is right...it's not the space shuttle--it's a lawnmower
10:20 <rust_collector> and barely that
11:16 <rust_collector> these engines are made with very very...flexible tolerances. that is why they somehow keep working for 40 years without even an oil change
11:27 <arch> well, now that my plan is on hold until the new valve arrives... im now working on reverse engineering the wiring to the 120v/240v selector switch and the auto idle control relay
12:09 <rust_collector> ok. sounds good to me
12:33 <rust_collector> I guess it is hard to find diagrams for this thing?
13:58 <arch> yeah it's this, it's from 1987: https://www.proxibid.com/lotinformation/85750734/pincorgenerator-model-pb42hm5a-gas-powered-approx-max-watts-4200-approx-120-240-volts
13:58 <EEVBot> [url] PINCOR...GENERATOR MODEL PB42HM5A, GAS POWERED, | Proxibid | www.proxibid.com
14:36 <arch> i searched for "PB42HM5A" schematic on google, no luck
16:59 <arch> ok at least i found out this switch is basically a number of SPDT switches in an array. the 120V/240V selector switch
21:15 <arch> bingo, this is exactly what it looks like too: https://cdn.sparkfun.com/assets/8/f/8/6/6/517ed3fcce395f991d000000.png
32:59 <rust_collector> not sure if much of this is worth reading. it might not be for anything even similar to yours
33:07 <rust_collector> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HYsSmkm6RKoAJ745NiZTX_stnp6YmV5R/view?usp=sharing
33:08 <EEVBot> [url] pincor-alt-operators-manual.pdf - Google Drive | drive.google.com
35:38 <rust_collector> most of what I can find, is that the company quit making generators in 1985, heh
37:22 <arch> thx rust_collector, that could be helpful indeed
38:00 <rust_collector> it seems to be for an older model, but, maybe they just put a more modern box on it...
57:27 <flyback> it probably doesn't have avr regulation but might not be bad
57:41 <flyback> how much is it roughly in us
59:34 <rust_collector> all of it
17:56 <flyback> a generator is a generator, you can always find a use for it
26:19 <arch> the lack of regulation (more like rough regulation) on these older generators as time goes on, will matter less and less. everything these days is DC-DC
26:29 <arch> hell even my furnace uses a brushless DC motor
27:04 <arch> i wonder if there are DC compressors for air conditioners and refrigerators
27:44 <flyback> yeah inverter ones probably
28:19 <arch> TIL
28:26 <flyback> nm those are ac afaik
28:36 <flyback> but their frontend is dc input so hmm
29:21 <flyback> don't forget to check the brushes
29:27 <flyback> if it has any
30:12 <flyback> and generator rear bearing it could be dry
30:27 <flyback> well since your unit is 2 in 1 it could have a front and rear bearing
30:37 <flyback> vs modern ones where the front is really part of the engine
31:05 <flyback> btw you can mod those 4 stroke to run on propane or ng
31:13 <flyback> if you don't want to store a lot of gasoline around
32:37 <flyback> arch did I tell you my shit idea worked
32:55 <flyback> piped some of the generator output to a 120watt smps then back into a cheap inverter
33:14 <flyback> it was square wave out but smoother than the generator output
34:11 <flyback> I bet it would have worked even beter if I had had that 330,000uf 50v cap inline
34:14 <arch> yeah lol
34:31 <arch> it's not too shitty of an idea if fuel is free
34:51 <arch> it's shitty in terms of less efficiency
37:19 <flyback> i'd love to live on a property with a old coal mine
37:28 <flyback> i'd setup a generator to run on coal gas
42:49 Quit: DogWomble ([email protected]) Connection closed
49:10 <arch> kaboom!
21:45 Join: Rhine_Labs_2 ([email protected]) to #EEVblog
25:19 Quit: Rhine_Labs ([email protected]) Ping timeout: 2 minutes
34:57 Join: DogWomble ([email protected]) to #EEVblog
22:46 <flyback> na not if you do it right
22:53 <flyback> little risk of explosion
23:35 <flyback> not like the dipshits that blew up the local sewage plant back in 1983
24:27 <flyback> they were working on the digester pumps and they couldn't see so they lowered a standard "hot bulb" automotive type drop light into the million gallon brick tank filled with methane and chlorine
24:36 <flyback> not a explosion proof bulb
24:40 <flyback> instant darwin awards
24:55 <flyback> blew the 20 "TON" steel lid off the tank
25:02 <flyback> landed on the 2 dipshits
25:14 <flyback> leveled the plant
26:12 <flyback> so stupid
26:42 <flyback> I dunno if they were just morons or the plant is at fault for not telling them you can't use standard motors and lights near explosive gases
28:22 <flyback> they make special ones that are explosion proof
12:56 <gremlinz> where's the Ampera
13:33 <steve30> she said she's probably not coming back
13:41 <gremlinz> what happened
15:37 <steve30> one member supported another member who supports a transphobic political party a few thousand miles away
16:32 <gremlinz> right. ahuh
41:49 <MrMobodies> Oh well that's a shame
42:12 <MrMobodies> all over that
47:08 <MrMobodies> "[01:22] <@steve30> ampera is in #obscura"
47:19 <MrMobodies> Yep it seems he is there
56:55 <flyback> "he"?
56:58 <flyback> don't be rude
57:17 <flyback> I don't agree with the trans community on a lot of things but no need to be rude
58:08 <flyback> anyways this is a cool project
58:09 <flyback> https://github.com/dbrant/QICStreamReader
58:10 <EEVBot> [GitHub] dbrant/QICStreamReader - Decoders for disk and tape images from ancient storage media. | 100.0% C# | Last Push: 2026-01-26 - 01:00:00 UTC | Stargazers: 17 | Watchers: 4 | Forks: 2 | Network: 2 | Open Issues: 0
58:50 <flyback> I seeing more and more of this stuff the last 10 yrs
58:57 <flyback> software solutions to old hw problems
59:24 <flyback> vhs-decoder is another project I am following and intend to build one eventually
07:27 <flyback> man those ibm reel to reel tape drives are fascinating
07:45 * steve30 pets his Ultrium drive :)
07:47 <flyback> espically the early ones with tubes for brains and like 10 motors with electric clutches
08:30 * flyback has some qic525 drives from college he would like to read someday before the internal belts turn to dust
08:35 <flyback> mid 90's
08:40 <flyback> drives are too expensive
08:44 <flyback> there's a as is one for $50
08:51 <flyback> it might be fine the guy had no way to test it
09:32 <flyback> also relay logic
09:40 <flyback> in early computer storage devices
09:52 <flyback> and cams and electromechcanical in general
10:07 <flyback> back when having a cpu for a drive was unheard of and too expensive
11:11 <flyback> thaT vacume column trick was pretty slick
11:26 <flyback> to allow rapid acess without risk of snapping the tape
13:03 <flyback> even more modern stuff is becoming fasinating to me
13:08 <flyback> like floppy taope
13:17 <flyback> abusing the floppy controller to drive a tape drive
17:43 <flyback> and I lose cassette data storage for the early home computer market
17:55 <flyback> it was slow and some reliability issues but it was so cheap
18:06 <flyback> people found ways to make it work
18:40 <electrohead> Ha, I just repaired my tape library today, so the conversation is slightly fitting
19:16 <flyback> neat
19:27 <flyback> yeah those robots were the bomb
21:25 <electrohead> Had to yank the whole robotic assembly, aka the Z-axis
22:01 <steve30> what kind of tapes does the library use?
22:08 <electrohead> Someone or something "used the force" and knocked everything out of whack. Well, at least for the Z-axis. The tape loading tray itself had to be twisted back into place carefully
22:25 <electrohead> steve30: It's a Quantum Scalar i40
22:32 <electrohead> Has two LTO5 drives
22:50 <electrohead> Each magazine holds 20 tapes, for a total of 40
23:04 <flyback> neat
23:15 <flyback> the most important question
23:20 <flyback> does it have a serial console port?
23:24 <steve30> cool
24:00 <electrohead> Not a direct serial port, but ethernet - which, this has SSH
24:09 <flyback> nice
24:23 * flyback bets he could find a hidden serial console port
24:24 <flyback> heh
24:39 <electrohead> Yeah, just take it apart and look on the PCB :p
24:51 <electrohead> If it ever breaks that hard, then I'll find it, don't you worry
25:21 <steve30> I should probably do some more LTO backups soon
25:57 <flyback> would be nice to own a lto unit someday
25:59 <flyback> :/
26:26 <steve30> they're good for storing large amounts of video
28:29 <electrohead> In the end, I got this unit for $75
29:36 <flyback> nice
29:49 <electrohead> I was the only bidder, so got slightly lucky there. It showed up and didn't power - here, the seller didn't realize there were tapes in it ?? and all of the tapes fell out of the magazines, heh
29:49 <flyback> wonder how much it was new ;/
30:16 <steve30> hehe
30:45 <electrohead> I won it for $150 plus shipping, was about $200 and some change? I got money back because I showed pictures of the internals, not to mention I scolded the seller for shipping it without locking the robotics
30:47 <electrohead> heh
31:03 <electrohead> well, some listings of that same unit are well over $1000
31:05 <electrohead> lol
31:33 <electrohead> serious though, just search ebay - I've seen tape libraries used for buy it now prices of less than $300
31:49 <steve30> I think I paid £80 for my LTO4 drive
31:57 <steve30> no library though (don't need one)
32:19 <electrohead> yeah my crazy ass runs a data center for the hell of it, don't do what I do lol
38:11 * steve30 pets his 4TB Ironwolf
39:16 <flyback> ironwolf owns your "canuck":
39:31 * flyback dropkicks nothing\
44:08 <MrMobodies> flyback, I am sorry
44:19 <MrMobodies> I forgot Ampera now a She
45:34 <MrMobodies> when I know someone that was once a he I can sometimes make mistakes oops
47:47 <MrMobodies> I don't know much about the trans community apart from Fran Blanch who I always knew as a she (without knowing she was a he at one point)
49:51 <MrMobodies> There was some lad at the pub who converted a few years ago and one day I accidentally referred to as the wrong gender
52:08 <MrMobodies> If someone call me a she, I wouldn't be as offended but I could see how that could be quite offensive to someone who converted and be seen as denying their gender preference/title,
52:24 <MrMobodies> so sorry about the mistake
58:17 <flyback> im not your peer bro, it was just a suggestion :P
58:31 <MrMobodies> thanks for pointing it out
58:39 <MrMobodies> the last thing i want to do is offend someone
58:51 <MrMobodies> good Ampera wasn't here to see that
01:05 <electrohead> https://0xznc01.pw:2600/public/i40_z-axis_removed.jpg
01:05 <EEVBot> [url] null | 0xznc01.pw
01:12 <electrohead> oh ffs
01:52 <electrohead> ok fixed, lol
02:05 <electrohead> so, there's the z-axis removed, since I mentioned it
02:19 <electrohead> it really wasn't all that hard to figure out, very straight forward
37:08 <flyback> night
04:54 <electrohead> night
38:22 Join: AustGuest0113 ([email protected]) to #EEVblog
47:36 Quit: AustGuest0113 ([email protected]) Connection closed
30:37 <Halcyon> Evening all
30:52 <steve30> hi
31:06 <Halcyon> Hey steve
31:12 <Halcyon> I have no more mint balls left :-(
33:38 <steve30> aww
36:46 <MrMobodies> Woke up and feel fully recovered
36:52 <MrMobodies> except for what I am allowed to eat
37:15 <steve30> i'm just wondering if I can programme one of the generic keys on my Snom phone to change the ring tone when pressed
37:33 <MrMobodies> that ordeal (Thursday to Saturday morning) felt like 5 days went by
38:03 <MrMobodies> and I had a normal sleep in my bed instead of the ground
38:40 <MrMobodies> today experiment with these IP Power 28xx sockets with a Vonet 5GHz bridge
39:00 <MrMobodies> at the local pub as a possibility to turn on and off some light
39:12 <MrMobodies> for the discos I mean
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