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Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com>: May 29 11:54PM -0700 Hi,   I bought one of the above immediately they appeared on sale in Sydney - in fact I pre-ordered it. For the first week, I had no CDs to put in it !!   With a few minor repairs, it has been working perfectly for 34 years and nowadays getting only occasional use.   Yesterday, I popped a CD in the drawer and it spat it back - so I tried a couple more with the same result.   Fearing the worst, I opened the machine and found some cockroach droppings in the drawer and near the laser assembly. Not much, just a bit.   While doubting this could stop a CDP101 completely, I nevertheless decided to give it a thorough clean up. Took about 15 minutes with a damp cloth, brush & WD40 and finally a dry cloth.   Popped the same CDs back in and it plays them perfectly.   I reckon there must have been a bit of dead cocky on the lens.       .... Phil

thekmanrocks@gmail.com: May 30 03:53AM -0700 Phil Allison:   What a time capsule! Enjoy and take care of that.

Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com>: May 30 04:13AM -0700 > Phil Allison:   > What a time capsule!   ** OK - why do you call that ?     > Enjoy and take care of that.     ** I have no intention of doing otherwise.   In terms of tech specs, sound quality, features and ease of use - it is still one of the best CD players ever made.   http://vintage-audio-laser.com/sony/cdp101/sony_cdp-101_5.png       .... Phil

thekmanrocks@gmail.com: May 30 05:14AM -0700 Phil:   It's appearance, and being the first cosnumer CD player.   It represents that era!

"(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid>: May 29 05:54PM -0400 >use rechargeables.   I suspect that the issue for most people is dollars-and-cents battery costs, but instead whether-or-not the light works when somebody grabs it during a power failure or something after it's been on the shelf for 3 months. -- Pete Cresswell

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: May 29 04:43PM -0700 On Mon, 29 May 2017 17:54:14 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)" <x@y.Invalid> wrote:   >costs, but instead whether-or-not the light works when somebody grabs it >during a power failure or something after it's been on the shelf for 3 >months.   There's another issue, which is what inspired me to get away from alkaline and switch to LiIon and NiMH. Just about every alkaline battery brand that I've tried will leak and rot out the device it is suppose to power. I just recycled yet another 2D Maglite flashlight. At least once per month, I have clean out the guts from a 2way radio, clock, weather station, etc from the crud oozing out of alkaline cells. There must be a better way.   For devices that require AA and AAA cells, I'm using LSD (low self discharge) NiMH cells, mostly Eneloop. I had to use a pair of FRS radios last weekend which were last charged in Dec 2016. 6 months later, the charge indicator showed about 80% charge and they ran the radios all day. Good enough. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eneloop#AA_size> See charge retention table.   For flashlights, I've almost finished switching to all LiIon batteries, mostly 18650 and 14500. <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/LiIon%20Flashlights.jpg> That's about 1/3 of my growing collection of cheap LiIon batteries and flashlights. Why so many? Because most of what arrives is a mixture of not what I ordered, mechanical defects, premature electrical failure, bad design, or bad construction. To insure that things will go awry, I'm also buying nothing but the cheapest LiIon batteries at $0.85/ea for 14500 to $1.30 for 18650. Why buy bottom of the line? Because it's my contention that bottom of the line batteries are a better deal on the basis of cost per energy delivered than buying quality high capacity cells. It will take another 6 months or so to be sure, but so far so good. Cheap 18650 battery capacity at 1.5A, which is at the high end of what a flashlight will draw: <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/battery-tests/18650.jpg>   Drivel: There's even a web site for cheap flashlight enthusiasts: <http://budgetlightforum.com>   The only fly in the flashlight ointment is the cost of a decent battery charger. Most of the really cheap battery chargers are badly designed, dangerous, or both. For example, this loser sells for about $0.50 with many flashlight and battery combinations: <http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Charger%20Bowei%20HC-103W%20UK.html> How customs even lets them into the country is a mystery.   Before you buy a charger, check here: <http://www.lygte-info.dk/info/indexBatteriesAndChargers%20UK.html> Also avoid any dual battery charger with only one LED light. These charge 2 batteries in parallel, which is a rather bad idea, but will work for one battery at a time.   Real LiIon chargers are quite a bit more expensive. These are good so far: <http://www.ebay.com/itm/301383587686> $10 <http://www.ebay.com/itm/331572608015> $17.20   Bottom line is that you can get a decent bottom of the line flashlight system for: flashlight: $3 to $8 18650 battery: $1.50 Charger $10 ========================== Total $15 (approx) Of course, the expensive charger can be used with multiple flashlights, so the 2nd flashlight will cost only about $5.   For LiIon battery packs with multiple cells, I use a balance charger: <https://hobbyking.com/en_us/catalogsearch/result/?q=imax+b6> The charger is the most important and most expensive part of the system. I built a 10watt LED light, that runs on 11.3VDC, which uses a balance charger.   Oh yes, self discharge. Li-Ion is as good or better than LSD NiMH: <http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/elevating_self_discharge> See Tables 3 and 5. There's a rumor that storing a LiIon battery at full charge would shorten its useful life. That was certainly a problem with laptop batteries during the 1990's, but seems to have been eliminated in the current offerings.   Anyway, think rechargeable, recycle your alkalines, and return the flashlights to Costco.   -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

mike <ham789@netzero.net>: May 29 06:10PM -0700 On 5/29/2017 4:43 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote: > At least once per month, I have clean out the guts from a 2way radio, > clock, weather station, etc from the crud oozing out of alkaline > cells. There must be a better way.   I'd agree, but many of my devices won't run on that voltage. Wireless power monitors and thermometers, for example. > See charge retention table.   > For flashlights, I've almost finished switching to all LiIon > batteries, mostly 18650 and 14500.   What's your experience with 14500 in single AA flashlights? Mine get hot enough with NiMH. I'm afraid to run them on 4V at 7W. Here's an example: http://www.everbuying.net/product867812.html   > be sure, but so far so good. Cheap 18650 battery capacity at 1.5A, > which is at the high end of what a flashlight will draw: > <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/battery-tests/18650.jpg>   Lowes has a six-cell 18650 lithium tool battery for $10. Only 1.5AH, but rated for 30 Amps max. Was gonna replace NiCd in an old drill, but I'm procrastinating.     > $0.50 with many flashlight and battery combinations: > <http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Charger%20Bowei%20HC-103W%20UK.html> > How customs even lets them into the country is a mystery.   I have one that looks identical except has US plug. Terminates just fine below 4.2V. Doesn't seem to have any of the characteristics shown in the review. I didn't take mine apart.

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: May 29 07:57PM -0700 >I'd agree, but many of my devices won't run on that voltage. >Wireless power monitors and thermometers, for example.   Most everything that will run on alkaline cells will also run on LSD NiMH cells.   However, you can't just plug in a LiIon cell into a device made for alkaline cells, even if they fit. For example, if you try to replace a common AA alkaline cell with a 14500 LiIon cell, you are replacing a 1.5V cell with a 3.6V cell, which will likely burn out the device. However, you may be able to replace two AA alkaline cells with a single LiIon cell if device will tolerate a 20% increase in battery voltage. Most devices that have a voltage regulator will work nicely. Those without voltage regulators, will overheat.   >at 7W. >Here's an example: >http://www.everbuying.net/product867812.html   I don't understand. 14500 is the size of a AA cell which applies to alkaline, NiMH, and LiIon, LIPO, LiFePO4, etc, all of which have different terminal voltages. The flashlight appears to be designed for a 14500 size NiMH battery. Running it on a AA alkaline will kill the battery in short order because it can't handle the current. Running it on an LiIon battery will blow it up because it will be over twice the rated voltage. There's no information on the above web site as to whether the light is intended to operate on alkaline, NiMH, or LiIon voltages, but a comment by a user indicating that "7 days on a single AA Enelope" suggests NiMH. Do NOT install a LiIon 14500 cell as it will probably burn out the electronics (also known as the "pill").   The Cree XP-E Q5 LED is designed to operate at about 350ma and will generate about 120 lumens depending on type and bin selection: <http://www.cree.com/led-components/media/documents/XLampXPE-25A.pdf> That's about: 120 lm / (3.6v * 0.35A) = 95 lumens/watt which is consistent with todays LEDs at room temp. There is no way the XP-E Q5 LED will dissipate 7 watts or produce 600+ lumens.   In order to run on a single 1.35V nominal NiMH cell, the flashlight will require a boost converter and a current regulator. Done correctly, these work just fine. Done badly, they get hot and burn up. My guess(tm) is that this flashlight is in the latter category.   >Lowes has a six-cell 18650 lithium tool battery for $10. >Only 1.5AH, but rated for 30 Amps max. >Was gonna replace NiCd in an old drill, but I'm procrastinating.   It depends on which tool and how the conversion is done. I have several Makita 9.6v nominal power tools, that were intended to run on NiCd or NiMH, now converted to run on 11.3v (3 cells) LiIon cells. I was concerned about the increase in voltage, so I added a series power diode to drop the voltage. Works fine but admittedly does get warm when run heavily. Many LiIon (LiPo) battery packs can be discharged at 10C or more (that's 10 times the rated current in Amp-Hrs). That sets the minimum cell size to 18650, where my junk cells test at about 1000ma-hr capacity at 1.5A. 14500 would be to small. For charging, the recommended charge rate is 1C. If you plan to do this, make sure you use a LiIon/LiPo/whatever charger. I should mention that cramming 18650 cells into some battery packs is a major project. The good part is that such conversions require fewer cells. You might also consider using prismatic cells such as: <https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-1000mah-1s-20c-lipoly-single-cell.html> Make sure you leave room to let them inflate when charging.   >> <http://lygte-info.dk/review/Review%20Charger%20Bowei%20HC-103W%20UK.html> >> How customs even lets them into the country is a mystery.   >I have one that looks identical except has US plug.   Spray a little water into the charger and then measure the AC voltage between an electrical neutral wire and either battery terminal. The life you save may be your own. I stupidly bought 10 of these before I realized what a POS they were. I destroyed them before recycling so that nobody would get hurt.   >Terminates just fine below 4.2V. Doesn't seem to have any of the >characteristics shown in the review. >I didn't take mine apart.   I measured one of mine. When it got to 4.25V, I stopped to prevent destroying the battery.   -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net>: May 30 12:42PM +1000 On 30/05/17 12:57, Jeff Liebermann wrote: > However, you may be able to replace two AA alkaline cells with a > single LiIon cell if device will tolerate a 20% increase in battery > voltage.   They even sell blank AA cells (containing a wire from +ve to -ve) for devices that can use one Li cell instead of two alkalines. I use these in an Apple Bluetooth keyboard for example.   > 120 lm / (3.6v * 0.35A) = 95 lumens/watt > which is consistent with todays LEDs at room temp. There is no way > the XP-E Q5 LED will dissipate 7 watts or produce 600+ lumens.   Except in Chinese marketing materials :)   >> Only 1.5AH, but rated for 30 Amps max. >> Was gonna replace NiCd in an old drill, but I'm procrastinating.   > It depends on which tool and how the conversion is done.   I did this with my Ryobi, and use it every day: <http://polyplex.org/electronics/ryobi_lifepo4/index.html> It used to have 11 stubby NiCD cells, now four 26550 LiIons. Recently reworked with a female balance connector, after it short circuited in a toolbox and burnt one of the wires.   > If you plan to do this, make sure > you use a LiIon/LiPo/whatever charger.   Hobbyking supplied a Turnigy Accucel-6 for $25, which runs nicely off an old laptop power brick.   Clifford Heath.

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: May 29 09:40PM -0700 On Tue, 30 May 2017 12:42:03 +1000, Clifford Heath >> which is consistent with todays LEDs at room temp. There is no way >> the XP-E Q5 LED will dissipate 7 watts or produce 600+ lumens.   >Except in Chinese marketing materials :)   There are a few simple sanity checks for lumen claims. Unfortunately, they have to be done after you've spent the money.   1. Measure the current drain with an ammeter. Assume that initial lumens/watt luminous efficacy is about 75 lm/watt for consumer lighting including some loss through the optics. So, if your flashlight draws 1.0A at 3.6V, your flashlight will produce approximately: 1.0A * 3.6v * 75 lm/watt = 263 lumens You can also look up the specs for the LED, but that doesn't always work because some lights claim to have the latest greatest high efficiency LED, but actually use bin fallout, rejects, or counterfeits.   2. Buy a cheap lux meter on eBay such as: <http://www.ebay.com/itm/381903904643> There are better models, but this one seems to track measurements with my other more expensive meters quite well. Hang it on the wall and project a round spot on the wall with the flashlight. Measure and record the spot diameter and lux values. 1 Lux = 1 lumen/sq-meter Calculate the area of the spot in square meters. Multiply the measured lux value by the area and you have lumens. Notice that you do NOT need to record the distance between the flashlight and the meter.   Problem. The spot is not uniform brightness across its diameter. To compensate, I like to measure the hot spot at the center, half way between the center and the edge, and near the edge. I then calculate (or guess) an average lux value.   No integrating sphere or tube required.   If you want to make calculations easy, a 1 square meter circle has a diameter of 1.13 meters (44.5 in). Mark this on the wall and move the flashlight back and forth until the edges of the spot hits the marks. The lux meter will then read directly in lumens.   This measurement becomes difficult when measuring odd shaped spots, such as with bicycle and automotive headlights, but I won't go there.     -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

tabbypurr@gmail.com: May 29 10:56PM -0700 On Monday, 29 May 2017 22:54:20 UTC+1, (PeteCresswell) wrote: > costs, but instead whether-or-not the light works when somebody grabs it > during a power failure or something after it's been on the shelf for 3 > months.   Even cheapie rechargeable NiMH do that no problem IME, and are less likely to corrode the contacts. There might be some out there that don't, but I think that issue has been exaggerated.     NT

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: May 29 10:16AM -0700 On Mon, 29 May 2017 17:29:44 +1000, Clifford Heath   >I don't know what frequency the PIC counter input is capable of, >but I know that the AVR counter is clocked; so you can only count >at half the CPU clock frequency. Bah, humbug.   The clock crystal is 4MHz on the old version. I can't read the numbers on the schematic of the new version. That doesn't look very promising for measuring 60MHz inputs or even with /4 at 15MHZ.     >The units I have have both pairs of protection diodes, and the inputs >are joined only at the connector. I cut the trace and soldered a bit >of co-ax onto the prescaler input capacitor.   Oh swell. So the PCB wiring might not follow the schematic. I suppose it doesn't matter since the DG MOSFET seems to be badly biased anyway.   I was having nightmares last night from thinking about this counter. Maybe I should give up while I'm still sane?   >I don't have a good RF source (yet - currently building, see >https://github.com/cjheath/AD9851LCD) so I can't evaluate the >sensitivity.   Before you reinvent the wheel, there are AD9851 based DDS generators available on eBay. <http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=dds+generator+ad9851> along with the associated LCD display: <http://www.ebay.com/itm/PIC16f-Controller-for-the-AD9851-DDS-Signal-Generator-Module-/182593721953> However, those only go up to about 70MHz and the output looks distorted above 30MHz. If you're going to test the counter all the way to its rated maximum frequency (2.4GHz), you're going to need a better generator. DDS has benefits for a function generator and arbitrary waveform generator, but is limited to lower frequencies.   This looks interesting (and tempting): <http://www.ebay.com/itm/ADF4350-v4-0-137-5MHZ-4-4GHZ-OLED-display-Signal-generator-RF-signal-source-12v-/262688224985> 137.5MHz to 4.4GHz signal generator in 10KHz steps. Looks ok to about 1GHz, but drops in output and increases in sidebands at higher frequencies. Looks like the same board, but in a shielded box: <http://www.ebay.com/itm/137-5MHZ-to-4400MHZ-Signal-generator-frequency-generator-RF-signal-source-dc-12v-/271838837908> Or maybe this thing: <http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-5Mhz-470Mhz-RF-Signal-Generator-Meter-Tester-For-FM-Radio-walkie-talkie-debug-/172598060649> Or maybe something computah controlled via USB: <http://www.ebay.com/itm/RF-Signal-Generator-35MHz-to-4-4GHz-via-USB-16dBm-Plus-Features-2000-units-sold-/201929990411> Or maybe a real RF generator from HP, TEK, Fluke or others that can actually be calibrated and trusted. This is the cheapest HP I could find: <http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hewlett-Packard-hp-8656A-Signal-Generator-1-990MHz-rf-signal-generator-04-/252950700229> I have an HP 8656A but prefer to use an HP 8540B. Top right: <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/home/slides/test-equip-mess.html>                 -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: May 29 11:00AM -0700 >> The free version will do all that except edit and save the resulting >> text. For that, you need the registered version.   >I'm not sure what "standard" means.   Bad choice of words. I meant that the PDF standard: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF/A> includes searchable text as part of the standard. I'm too lazy to look up the chapter and verse.   >I was viewing a document full of imaged >text the other day and none of the permissions were set to preclude >anything. Yet I couldn't select any text as it had not been OCR'd.   Yep. If you scan text as a bit map image, and save it in PDF format, it cannot be text searched. You have to feed it to an OCR program, which is capable of attaching the OCR text to the PDF, save it, and then you can search.   >I assume the OCR has to be done at capture time.   No. It can be done at any time with any reasonable document. I usually make some effort to realign the text and improve the contrast to make it easier (and faster) for the OCR program to do it's thing.   >Are you saying a reader will convert images to text?   If the images look like readable ASCII characters, yes. I don't think size makes much difference, but I haven't done much experimentation into how badly I can butcher the text and the OCR will still work. I also haven't tried to edit the text after reading to correct OCR errors.   Maybe a demo will help. Note that the initial scan and file saves were done in Irfanview, while the OCR and subsequent saves were done in PDF-Xchange:   Original document scanned to JPG using Irfanview 4.44: <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/OCR%20Demo/JPG.jpg> This is not searchable.   Same document saved to PDF using Irfanview 4.44: <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/OCR%20Demo/PDF-no-OCR.pdf> This is also NOT searchable.   Same document in PDF-Xchange 6.0 build 322.4 after OCR: <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/OCR%20Demo/PDF-after-OCR.pdf> This one can be searched.   PDF-Xchange screen grab showing a typical search result: <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/OCR%20Demo/PDF-Xchange-screen.jpg>   -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: May 29 11:13AM -0700 On Mon, 29 May 2017 11:00:12 -0700, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:   >I also haven't tried to edit the text after reading to correct OCR >errors.   Here's how to edit OCR errors using Adobe Acrobat: <http://blogs.adobe.com/acrolaw/?s=ocr+and+image+layer> I'm still trying to figure it out using PDF-Xchange Editor.   -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net>: May 30 08:17AM +1000 On 30/05/17 03:16, Jeff Liebermann wrote: >> at half the CPU clock frequency. Bah, humbug.   > The clock crystal is 4MHz on the old version. I can't read the > numbers on the schematic of the new version.   But I don't think the PIC has a clocked counter anyhow. I assume that the AVR does it to (sometimes) avoid the need for a low-pass filter.   The xtal on mine is marked "SCK451C" and "TC,A.426", whatever that means. It was about 15ppm slow, but seemed quite stable, based on measurements taken with an HP5386A.   Quite a few people have patched in a TCXO to these units.   >>> It also shows that the gates of the DG MOSFET are >>> NOT tied together.   I don't understand why they used a DG MOSFET, nor why, since they did use one, they didn't use the upper gate for gain control. It seems they're feeding the signal into the upper gate, so won't get the best bandwidth from the cascode behaviour.   >> are joined only at the connector. I cut the trace and soldered a bit >> of co-ax onto the prescaler input capacitor.   > Oh swell. So the PCB wiring might not follow the schematic.   I haven't found the schematic of the current-manufacture.   > I was having nightmares last night from thinking about this counter. > Maybe I should give up while I'm still sane?   I think it's fixable, perhaps with an additional front-end. It would still be easier and cheaper than building from scratch.   >> sensitivity.   > Before you reinvent the wheel, there are AD9851 based DDS generators > available on eBay.   Who do you think designed those? People like me :) I have a bit of that Jedi "build your own light sabre" thing going on.   Plus there's no accessible used test equipment market here in Australia. Whenever nice gear comes up at bargain prices, merchants buy it up and slap a stupid price on it.   > <http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=dds+generator+ad9851>   That's exactly what I'm using for development. They have all copied a flaw in the output filter design, leading to very low output at higher frequencies. Some impedance problem, it's not designed to drive 50ohms. I'll add a buffer.   > along with the associated LCD display: > <http://www.ebay.com/itm/PIC16f-Controller-for-the-AD9851-DDS-Signal-Generator-Module-/182593721953>   I loathe and detest both PICs and those 16x2 displays. I'm building one with 320x240 colour touch screen.   The Arduino also has TTL-level RS232, so add a $2 USB module and you have USB control.   > way to its rated maximum frequency (2.4GHz), you're going to need a > better generator. DDS has benefits for a function generator and > arbitrary waveform generator, but is limited to lower frequencies.   I expect to incorporate an ADF4351 also, and possibly two AD9851's, to give quadrature (but still cheaper than AD9854 or whatever the multi-channel DDS chip is).   E.g. <https://www.aliexpress.com/item/35Mhz-to-4-4GHz-4400mhz-PLL-RF-Signal-Source-Frequency-Synthesizer-ADF4351-Development-Board/32757566484.html>   The ADF351's have the same problem as most of those VCO synthesisers, that they won't sweep cleanly. Changing the frequency makes them jump wildly about until they stabilise again.   > This looks interesting (and tempting): > <http://www.ebay.com/itm/ADF4350-v4-0-137-5MHZ-4-4GHZ-OLED-display-Signal-generator-RF-signal-source-12v-/262688224985> > 137.5MHz to 4.4GHz signal generator in 10KHz steps.   The Arduino clone and TFT Touchscreen LCD cost me $AU14 all up. <https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2-4-SPI-Serial-TFT-LCD-Touch-Panel-240x320-Dots-5V-3-3V-Module-ILI9341-Driver/32665656357.html> Add the $30 ADF4351, a $17 $AD9851, and USB and you have a nice bundle for half what the above costs.   > actually be calibrated and trusted. This is the cheapest HP I could > find: > <http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hewlett-Packard-hp-8656A-Signal-Generator-1-990MHz-rf-signal-generator-04-/252950700229>   "Does not ship to Australia"   > I have an HP 8656A but prefer to use an HP 8540B. Top right: > <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/home/slides/test-equip-mess.html>   I have to give this HP5386A back, but not in a hurry - my friend also has mountains of test equipment. He worked in sat-comms, so has contacts who call him before dealers get there - but he loves to hoard it all :(   Clifford Heath.

rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com>: May 29 11:04PM -0400 Jeff Liebermann wrote on 5/29/2017 2:00 PM:   > No. It can be done at any time with any reasonable document. I > usually make some effort to realign the text and improve the contrast > to make it easier (and faster) for the OCR program to do it's thing.   It is so easy to be misunderstood. I'm talking about the text showing up in the PDF document. I receive d a document that was clearly a scanned image in a PDF file. But the text was selectable and copyable. The two options are the image was scanned and OCR when the PDF was made, or the PDF viewer had OCR scanning built in. Since I couldn't select the text in another scanned image PDF it must be the former.       --   Rick C

Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net>: May 30 12:48PM +1000 > This one: http://clayphillipsracecars.com/other/150-166.pdf > This is the manual that's upside down, which I posted about.... ... > Till then, I'll read the manual. > (and wont have to stand on my head to do it).   Other people have also given you a method, but I thought it was worth mentioning that the standard OSX (Mac) Preview app does PDF natively, and it's trivial to invert, shuffle, delete, etc. Just show the page thumbnails on the left, click on one, type Command-A to select all pages, and hit Command-L twice to rotate. Command-S saves the rotated file.   You can also select and delete individual pages, re-order pages, and even drag pages in from another document. It's nice, and it's standard.   Clifford Heath.

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com>: May 29 09:58PM -0700 >are the image was scanned and OCR when the PDF was made, or the PDF viewer >had OCR scanning built in. Since I couldn't select the text in another >scanned image PDF it must be the former.   The example I provided was how to do the latter. I scanned the image in one program, and added a searchable text layer with a PDF viewer.   There are scanning programs that will seem to do the process in one step such as Nuance Omnipage, Paperport, Adobe Acrobat (NOT reader), etc. To the casual user, it looks like the process is being done in one step. In reality, it first scans to a bitmap. Next, the OCR software reads the bitmap to produce the searchable text layer. It then saves the result as a PDF file. To the best of my limited knowledge, none of the available software does the OCR step *WHILE* scanning, but I might be wrong about that.   >> This one can be searched.   >> PDF-Xchange screen grab showing a typical search result: >> <http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/OCR%20Demo/PDF-Xchange-screen.jpg>   I never did figure out how to display and edit the OCR text in PDF-Xchange Editor. Looking through their feature list of other versions, it seems to be something at only the more advanced and expensive versions will do. Bummer.     -- Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

rickman <gnuarm@gmail.com>: May 30 01:00AM -0400 Jeff Liebermann wrote on 5/30/2017 12:58 AM: > then saves the result as a PDF file. To the best of my limited > knowledge, none of the available software does the OCR step *WHILE* > scanning, but I might be wrong about that.   I'm still not getting through. I'm not looking for ways to make PDF images text selectable. I'm reporting on what I saw.       --   Rick C

oldschool@tubes.com: May 29 06:52PM -0400 On Sun, 28 May 2017 18:32:59 -0700 (PDT), Phil Allison   >> What is the difference between a BASS Guitar Amp and a STANDARD guitar >> amp, as far as the circuitry?   >** Bass amps are generally simpler with no reverb, vibrato or overdrive.   Correct. None of that on this amp. But since I am not using it for guitar, I dont need that stuff.   >There are all kinds of bass amps, like there are all kinds of dogs.   >In the tube era, a bass model would normally have a slightly larger output > tranny and bigger speaker/s.   Then it's really a BETTER amp..... This one is solid state, so it's only the speaker in question. It's a small amp, so the speaker is only an 8 inch, but it has darn good sound. And I generally consider any speaker less than 12" to be a "toy". Not so with this one!

Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net>: May 30 09:31AM +1000 >> In the tube era, a bass model would normally have a slightly larger output >> tranny and bigger speaker/s.   > Then it's really a BETTER amp.....   Sigh. A guitar amp is what it is because it makes the sound that the musician wants. Not because it has better technical specs! It's a highly significant part of the "instrument". The same is true for bass guitar amps, though usually a cleaner sound is preferred.   > This one is solid state, so it's only the speaker in question. It's a > small amp, so the speaker is only an 8 inch, but it has darn good > sound.   Bass guitar players would only use an 8" speaker for practice, and then only under duress.

Phil Allison <pallison49@gmail.com>: May 29 08:38PM -0700 olds...@tubes.com wrote:   ---------------------------   > >In the tube era, a bass model would normally have a slightly larger output > > tranny and bigger speaker/s.   > Then it's really a BETTER amp.....   ** For bass guitar maybe, otherwise not.     > small amp, so the speaker is only an 8 inch, but it has darn good > sound. And I generally consider any speaker less than 12" to be a > "toy". Not so with this one!   ** I know the " Gorilla GB30" amp you have, it is basically a toy.   Good for only bedroom use for practice.       ... Phil

Dave M <dgminala at mediacombb dot net>: May 29 01:25PM -0500 >generally been pretty satisfied with their stuff, so I was considering >this.... (Except since it's a "BID ITEM". I passed, knowing I dont >have a chance to get it on my slow internet).   I downloaded the manual for this counter, and found several things that would cause me to dislike it. The max input signal level on the normal input is 1.4V, with no attenuator or sensitivity adjustment. Another issue is the lowest frequency on the wideband input is 1MHz. To get down to the low frequencies, (below 1MHz), the signal level has to be TTL or CMOS levels. The TTL input only goes to 10 MHz, in fact, the max frequency on that input is 9.9999999 MHz. There is a note in the manual about a problem when measuring signals having a varying frequency (like adjusting a signal generator). The display freezes if the signal frequency varies by 50KHz or more between readings. To fix this, you have to turn the counter off, and hold a button down while turning it back on.   In view of all this, I would avoid this unit, however, you might not have issues with the problems.   Cheers, Dave M

oldschool@tubes.com: May 29 06:44PM -0400 >Sorry, I don't go to "tinyurl"s anymore. Post the real URL if you want anything from me.   That's not possible. Most URLs are too long and my news provider will not allow lines that long. If I break them up, then you will have copy and paste each and every line into the header, and no one will do that. (I wont). Tinyurl is the only way I can post them.   This one is an Ebay item, those sometimes are so long that if I copy them to notepad, they are 5 lines long. (Damn near a whole paragraph).   There is a way to PREVIEW Tinyurl links.

Ralph Phillips <ralphp@philent.biz>: May 29 02:40PM -0500 > Now I know why I like PDF-Xchange!   > (By the way, I'm using their "portable version"). That's the only one > that runs on both XP and Windows 98.   I'll add that if you run IRFANVIEW as your image viewer, with the plugins, you can open a PDF, rotate the pages, and save the PDF rotated.   I also use Foxit Reader; but that sucker's bloating up like a beached whale in August in Florida ...   RwP

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