IRC log for #qi-hardware on 20160618

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03:10.03arossdotme-planbwhen ya look at this, how good or bad do you think it is? i think some people on diyaudio.com forum said it was good :/. it does have the sleep and mute pins exposed via connector which is the attractive feature :) http://www.aliexpress.com/item/TPA3116-digital-class-D-amplifier-50W-50W-with-silent-sleep-design-with-heat-sink/32654679975.html?ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_0,searchweb201602_2_10037_10017_507_10032_401_10040,searchw
03:10.03arossdotme-planbeb201603_3&btsid=c43559b8-b84a-4ded-b95c-a11eb830efa1
04:00.29*** join/#qi-hardware DocScrutinizer05 (~saturn@openmoko/engineers/joerg)
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18:15.54wpwrakheroic rework of he day: unsoldered a worn-out micro USB connector (from anelok) and replaced it. amazingly, the board still works. but my disdain for micro USB only deepens ...
18:22.33DocScrutinizer05well, prolly for anything micro-*
18:23.15DocScrutinizer05that's the problem with all micro things: they are really small
18:25.23EDTwpwrak: you can't hear it, but I'm clapping for you
19:32.23*** join/#qi-hardware wej (~j@2a03:1b20:3:f011::f1e)
19:40.18wpwrakEDT: thanks ! ;-) the trick was to let "chip-quik" do its magic. tossed a huge drop on the connector (on the shield), heated it at 400something C for a minute or so, until it felt unwelcome and slid off the board.
19:42.10wpwrakDocScrutinizer05: naw, it's the specific suckiness of USB micro. they somehow messed up the angular tolerances, by trying to make them a bit too short. mini was fine and USB C also seems to correct this problem.
19:42.24wpwrakthere's probably just 0.5 mm or so missing, but that's enough ...
19:55.32whitequarkwpwrak: chipquik si fucking awesome
19:55.51whitequarkI've reworked complete boards with chipquik two times or even more, with no lifted traces
20:09.31DocScrutinizer05which product of chipquik?
20:10.25DocScrutinizer05there is quite a number of different chipquik products  http://www.chipquik.com/store/
20:13.12DocScrutinizer05ooh I see, alloy with a melting point <100°C
20:14.51DocScrutinizer05wood's metal
20:15.25DocScrutinizer05rather Roses metal I hope
20:17.52DocScrutinizer05https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roses_Metall
20:25.00EDTSo I just flashed my nanonote to the most recent version, and it doesn't have emacs installed or available in the repos
20:25.10EDTanyone have experience with emacs and the nanonote?
20:26.22whitequarkno
20:26.30whitequarkDocScrutinizer05: its an indium alloy
20:26.40DocScrutinizer05indium? wow
20:26.43whitequarkPb-free
20:26.58whitequarkI think it's BiInSn but exact composition is a trade secret
20:28.37whitequarkindium is not that expensive anyway
20:28.44whitequarkI have a kilo of InSn
20:33.02DocScrutinizer05Tin, Silver, Bismut, Antimony, Indium, Copper
20:33.14DocScrutinizer05http://www.chipquik.com/msds/SMD4.5NL.pdf
20:40.31DocScrutinizer05hmmmm :-)  Solder Paste no clean Sn42/Bi57.6/Ag0.4 Low Temp 138C
20:41.09DocScrutinizer05though.... will prolly fall off the PCB before chip reaches max operating temperature ;-P
20:52.16DocScrutinizer05sth completely off topic: I recently learned cochlear implants have 12 to 28 electrodes, also because they can't get more wires into the whole thing without it getting too rigid. How about one-wire serial setup with active component for each electrode?
20:53.42DocScrutinizer05they also said that more electrodes would be useless since crosstalk gets too large, but I guess that could get fixed by carefully modelling a matrix that creates compensation current on neighbor electrodes
20:54.55whitequarkhaahha cochlear implants
20:55.03DocScrutinizer05haha?
20:55.12whitequarkfun fact: for all the techie talk about 'uploading' we still have no idea how hearing works
20:55.39DocScrutinizer05sounds about right
20:56.07whitequarki'm sometimes chatting with a friendly neuroscientist who does a masters in that area
20:57.06DocScrutinizer05they recently implemented MP3-alike audiophysiological data reduction to the cochlear implant data, improving legibility of the created sensation drastically
20:57.30whitequark*nod*
21:00.28DocScrutinizer05(crosstalk)  even when we limit the count of concurrently active electrodes to maybe 24, I guess it still would make a huge difference when you could choose the position of those active electrodes from a say 500 existing electrodes
21:02.17DocScrutinizer05a simple one-wire daisychain design (actually maybe 3 or 4 wires then) should facilitate a way higher number of electrodes
21:02.34whitequarklemme ask him
21:02.35DocScrutinizer05higher than 28
21:03.14DocScrutinizer05the needed node chips are prolly as small as 0.2*0.2*0.05mm or somesuch
21:04.23DocScrutinizer05they basicaly could integrate the electrode already
21:05.12DocScrutinizer05should file a patent ;-P
21:05.36DocScrutinizer05but like always, I bet somebody else already did
21:09.35DocScrutinizer05I already think I know the electrical macro design: GND wire, V+, V- as bus. Data as daisychain from electrode to electrode, where the electrodes actually are chips
21:12.54DocScrutinizer05maybe even 'in plane switching' with two adjacent electrodes (integrated into one chip) could work to reduce crosstalk
21:15.01DocScrutinizer05whitequark: (ask him) yes, please do. Let me know what he thinks
21:15.43DocScrutinizer05maybe we could even start a project
21:29.59whitequarklol nope, have you seen the approval time for medtech?
21:30.24whitequarkhow does that count against your life expectancy? how does that count against *my* life expectancy?
21:37.39DocScrutinizer05yeah
21:37.52DocScrutinizer05however an intriguing topic
21:38.29DocScrutinizer05reads about Anisotrope Conductive Adhesive, used in flipchip mounting
21:39.38DocScrutinizer05(approval time) the idea for sure wouldn't be to start a medical supply company. Rather to sell the concept to such company
21:41.36whitequarkthat doesn't really happen because concepts are worthless
21:41.47DocScrutinizer05prolly
21:41.52whitequarkask a grad student who really doesn't want to study
21:42.46DocScrutinizer05I might try to contact the university scientists that do R&D on that stuff
21:43.50whitequark" Error: Multiple definition of the extension constructor name Data_source_error.
21:43.53whitequarker
21:43.56whitequarkwrong paste
21:44.08DocScrutinizer05btw the topic is somewhat similar to the also really pathetic retina implants they test nowadays
21:45.04DocScrutinizer05which have a resolution of 8*8 or somesuch
21:46.11DocScrutinizer05for the latter they are evidently still in prototype state, with different issues than resolution
21:46.35DocScrutinizer05cochlear implants are well established
21:47.58whitequark"afaiu the major restriction on electrode counts is actually crosstalk between electrodes - plus more electrodes at the same stim current means more charge transfer which is bad for both the electrodes and the body. Plus these active devices would have  to operate inside the cochlea if I understand the intended design - complicates. Pictures: http://www.medel.com/blog/close-up-with-cochlear-implant-electrode-arrays/"
21:48.49DocScrutinizer05yes, that sounds all right but not to the point
21:52.15DocScrutinizer05in that picture imagine those 12 electrodes with their separating spaces in between would each be broken up into - say- 20 segments of 'partial' electrodes of which an arbitrary consecutive sequence of 10 would get activated as one 'macro' electrode, acting exactly on same physical parameters like the recent discrete design, just the virtual position of such virtual electrode could get shifted in 10 steps back and forth
21:53.44DocScrutinizer05then there's also the idea of "in plane switching" where the electrode potential isn't vs "GND" but vs twin electrode 't
21:54.43DocScrutinizer05>>active devices would have  to operate inside the cochlea<< is an issue which gets solved on a technical level, unrelated to medical concerns
21:57.40DocScrutinizer05I think flipchip will just work fine when embedded into that transparent silicon
21:57.43whitequarkthe majority of issues with implants are technical though...
21:57.53DocScrutinizer05sure, I know
21:58.11DocScrutinizer05it's an endless nightmare of "damn this electrode material corrodes" etc
21:58.56DocScrutinizer05but those issues are not really entangled with the core idea of daisychaining and having more and smaller electrodes
22:00.20DocScrutinizer05IPS could help a lot with crosstalk, and I'd bet nobody considered that so far since it wouldn't help anyway as long as you need to double the number of electrodes for it and you can't get more than 28 of them because of technical reasons
22:02.45DocScrutinizer05I know the stimulus current must not exceed rather low levels or there will be long term damage to the nerves
22:03.34DocScrutinizer05but that's a concern that gets handled on a calibration level, not at design level
22:03.56DocScrutinizer05s/ on / at /
22:03.57qi-botDocScrutinizer05 meant: "but that's a concern that gets handled at a calibration level, not at design level"
22:04.39DocScrutinizer05IOW more electrodes doesn't per se mean higher stimulus current
22:06.26DocScrutinizer05au contraire IPS might mean you get away with way lower stimulus current
22:07.02DocScrutinizer05and crosstalk outside of the area of the twin electrodes should be drastically reduced
22:14.28DocScrutinizer05umm this http://i2.wp.com/www.medel.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Hüttenbrink-011.jpg?w=1140 already looks like they do IPS
22:14.32DocScrutinizer05no?
22:16.46DocScrutinizer05yes, the video clearly shows pairs of electrodes
22:17.34DocScrutinizer05ok, didn't know they already use IPS
22:20.35DocScrutinizer05http://i1.wp.com/www.medel.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Top-of-electrode.jpg?resize=600%2C450 however doesn't suggest they actually use 24 wires for that 12 electrode pairs
22:43.43DocScrutinizer05whitequark: could you ask your contact what's the deal with thiose 24 electrodes in pairs of 2, vs seemingly only 12 wires at the end where the processor connects?
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