Active Racing Simulator Pedal

May 17, 2023 by 11 Comments

Racing virtual cars from behind a PC monitor might be cheaper than doing it in the real world, but high-end sim racing peripherals still come with high-end prices. With the increasing popularity of force-feedback pedals [Tristan Fenwick] built built an active pedal that can provide significant resistance.

[Tristan] integrated a load cell into the 3D printed pedal linkage, which is connected to a 130 W NEMA23 servo motor via a 8 mm lead screw. With constant feedback from the load cell, a simple PID controller running on an Arduino to actively adjust the pedal’s position and the amount of resistance it provides.

At ~$250 in parts, it’s a significantly more affordable than the $2300 price tag on a single Simucube pedal, which served as inspiration for this project. There are still some issues to address, such as shaky ADC readings and a lack of computing power on the Arduino, the demo video after the break looks incredibly promising. [Tristan] also notes that 300 kg is overkill and a slightly smaller servo motor would probably also work.

For more incredible simulator inspiration, check out the A-10 Warthog cockpit, a 3D printed flight sim yoke and pedals, and a tank driving simulator from before the age of computer graphics.

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Change Of Plans For New Horizons Sparks Debate

May 17, 2023 by 13 Comments

In 2015 NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft provided humanity with the first up-close views of Pluto, passing just 12,472 km (7,750 mi) from the surface. What had always been little more than a fuzzy blip at the edge of the solar system could finally be seen in stunning high resolution. Unfortunately, the deep space probe could only provide us with a relatively fleeting glimpse at the mysterious dwarf planet — the physics of such a distant interplanetary flight meant the energy required to slow down and enter orbit around Pluto was beyond the tiny spacecraft’s abilities.

The craft, often described as being roughly the size and shape of a grand piano, raced past Pluto and its moons at a relative velocity of approximately 49,600 km/h (30,800 mph) and headed out in the direction of Sagittarius. The incredible rate at which New Horizons traveled officially put it on track to be just the fifth spacecraft to leave the solar system, after the Pioneer and Voyager probes. Even so, its onboard systems were still in good health, and if given a sufficiently distant target, the $700 million craft was ready and able to collect more data.

Pluto, as seen by New Horizons

Accordingly, almost exactly a year after it flew over Pluto, New Horizons officially received a mission extension from NASA. As it blasted through deep space, the craft would seek out and study as many objects as it could in the region of space known as the Kuiper belt. Given that there are no current plans to send other spacecraft through this distant area of the outer solar system, New Horizons was uniquely positioned to make what could be once-in-a-lifetime observations.

Or at least, that was the plan. Recently, notes from a May 4th meeting of the Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) were released that revealed NASA’s plans to redirect New Horizons from its work in the Kuiper belt to focus on heliospheric science in 2025. Those in attendance said the meeting became “heated” as New Horizons principal investigator Alan Stern questioned the logic of potentially changing the craft’s mission this late in the game.

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Learn How Impossibly Close-fitting Parts Are Actually Made

May 17, 2023 by 15 Comments

Most of us have seen those demonstrations of metal parts that mate together so finely that, once together, they have no visible seam at all. But how, exactly, is this done? [Steve Mould] has a video that shows and explains all, and we’ve never seen the process explained quite like he does.

The secret ingredient is wire EDM, or Electrical Discharge Machining, but that’s only one part of the whole. Wire EDM works a bit like a hot-wire cutter slicing through foam, but all by itself that’s not enough to produce those impossibly close-fitting parts we love to see.

EDM is capable of astounding precision in part because — unlike a cutting tool — nothing physically contacts the material. Also, there isn’t a lot of friction and heat causing small distortions of the material during the machining process. EDM is as a result capable of fantastically-precise cuts, but not invisible ones.

It’s pretty neat to see a water jet used to thread the fine wire through the workpiece.

In all good manufacturing, the capabilities (and limitations) of the tool are taken into account, and this is also true for making those close-fitting pieces. The hole and plug are actually made in two separate stages.

The hole is cut separately from the plug, and because EDM is capable of such finesse, the cuts can be made in such a way that they complement one another with near-perfection. After that, grinding and polishing takes care of the surface finish. The result is the fantastically-smooth and apparently seamless fitment we like so much.

The video is embedded below, and there are some great details about EDM and how it actually works in there. For example, we see how a wire EDM machine can use a jet of water to help thread the wire through a hole in the part to start a job, and we learn that the wire is constantly moving during the process.

As cool as wire EDM is, it is not magic and we’ve seen some pretty remarkable efforts at bringing the technology into the home workshop.
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Two Factor Authentication Apps: Mistakes To Malware

May 17, 2023 by 58 Comments

Everyone in security will tell you need two-factor authentication (2FA), and we agree. End of article? Nope. The devil, as always with security, is in the details. Case in point: in the last few weeks, none less than Google messed up with their Google Authenticator app. The security community screamed out loud, and while it’s not over yet, it looks like Google is on the way to fixing the issue.

Since 2FA has become a part of all of our lives – or at least it should – let’s take a quick dip into how it works, the many challenges of implementing 2FA correctly, what happened with Google Authenticator, and what options you’ve got to keep yourself safe online.

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Mythic I: An Exploration Of Artisanal Computing

May 17, 2023 by 14 Comments

While computers have become ever faster and more capable over the years, it’s hard to say they’ve become any more exciting. In fact, they’ve become downright boring. Desktop, laptop, or mobile, they’re all more or less featureless slabs of various dimensions. There’s not even much in the way of color variation — the classic beige box is now available with white, black, or metallic finishes.

Believing that such a pedestrian appearance isn’t befitting a device that puts the world’s collected knowledge at our fingertips, [Keegan McNamara] started exploring a more luxurious approach to computing. Gone is the mass produced injection molded plastic, in its place is hand-carved maple and Tuscan leather. Common computing form factors are eschewed entirely for a swooping console inspired by fine furniture and classic sports cars. The final result, called the Mythic I, is equal parts art and science. Not just a bold reimaging of what a computer can be, but an object to be displayed and discussed. Continue reading “Mythic I: An Exploration Of Artisanal Computing” →

Cornering The Antenna Market

May 17, 2023 by 21 Comments

Sometimes antennas can seem like black magic. However, when you see things like a dish antenna, it sort of makes sense, right? Just like a mirror focuses light, the parabola of a dish focuses RF energy. But [IMSAI Guy] shows another common-sense antenna arrangement: a corner reflector dipole. He had built one years ago and decided to do a bit of research and make another one.

In a clever use of copper-clad board, he was able to make a reasonable reflector by soldering together three boards and an RF connector. A single wire makes the “driven element,” and by bending it to just the right position, you can change the characteristic impedance for matching.

The antenna, in this case, is essentially a quarter-wave antenna with a ground plane and reflector arrangement. After the obligatory chalk talk, he breaks out the vector network analyzer and shows how well it matches. He didn’t, however, measure the gain or directional selectivity due to the reflector.

Intuitively, you’d think this kind of antenna would be good for direction finding purposes. In fact, hams that use handy talkies for direction finding often use their bodies to block signals, much like these reflectors should.

The [IMSAI Guy] reflector is pretty small, but you can easily make bigger ones. Using PCB material for antennas isn’t anything new, either, but we still enjoyed this simple corner reflector build.

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Self-Driving Library For Python

May 16, 2023 by 3 Comments

Fully autonomous vehicles seem to perennially be just a few years away, sort of like the automotive equivalent of fusion power. But just because robotic vehicles haven’t made much progress on our roadways doesn’t mean we can’t play with the technology at the hobbyist level. You can embark on your own experimentation right now with this open source self-driving Python library.

Granted, this is a library built for much smaller vehicles, but it’s still quite full-featured. Known as Donkey Car, it’s mostly intended for what would otherwise be remote-controlled cars or robotics platforms. The library is built to be as minimalist as possible with modularity as a design principle, and includes the ability to self-drive with computer vision using machine-learning algorithms. It is capable of logging sensor data and interfacing with various controllers as well, either physical devices or through something like a browser.

To build a complete platform costs around $250 in parts, but most things needed for a Donkey Car compatible build are easily sourced and it won’t be too long before your own RC vehicle has more “full self-driving” capabilities than a Tesla, and potentially less risk of having a major security vulnerability as well.