This BK Precision power supply came across my bench with a simple problem: the “jog dial” adjustment knob was operating intermittently. I was able to get it working again by replacing the defective rotary encoder with a new Bourns PEC12R-4220F-N0024 encoder.
HP’s 34970A Data Acquisition / Data Logger Switch Unit is part of HP’s (then Agilent’s and now Keysight’s) data acquisition ecosystem. A seemingly common issue with this device is that if its internal battery dies, the entire machine will fail to power on. I was able to revive this particular unit by replacing the battery.
Lunar Flashlight launched! Almost three and a half years after I started working on this project, I got to watch from the Mission Operations Center in Atlanta as a Falcon 9 rocket carried our CubeSat into space. In the months following our December 11, 2022 launch, we carried out a successful technology demonstration with the spacecraft. This included successful operations of the propulsion system, near-infrared spectroscopy instrument, and Sphinx command and data handling system. In addition, using the onboard Iris radio, we demonstrated pseudorandom-noise delta differential one-way ranging (PN Delta-DOR) for the first time in space.
Early on, we identified variable performance from the propulsion system. In the following five months, we carried out a wide assortment of propulsion tests in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to get Lunar Flashlight close enough to the Moon to perform science experiments. The story of our approach and the lessons we learned are captured in a new paper at this year’s Small Satellite Conference. It can be accessed here.
A number of years ago I purchased an Aneng AN8008 multimeter for about $17. It’s been a good tool for the price, although these days they seem to cost quite a bit more, probably due to their popularity prompted by an increasing number of positive online reviews. The low cost and portability make it great to keep on-hand for automotive use and really just about any project.
At some point the 10A current measurement stopped working on mine. I probably blew the fuse trying to measure current while working on my car. I searched around but could not find any documentation on what replacement fuse to use. And to make things more confusing, it looks like the AN8008 has been sold over time with various internal designs, featuring different fuse packages!
