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!
Ah the dreaded blank speedometer issue. It plagues many 2nd gen Prius owners, and I was no exception. Basically, sometimes the Prius’s “combination meter” - the device that includes the speedometer and fuel tank level - doesn’t turn on. It affects other parts of the car too. For example, some information goes missing on the touchscreen, the backup camera doesn’t work, and sometimes you can’t even turn the car off!
It’s caused by a specific capacitor degrading. The temporary solution is to disconnect and reconnect the 12V battery in the back of the car. This usually works for a while, but is very annoying. And it seems to be more frequent in the winter, probably due to the cold weather causing the capacitor to exhibit lower capacitance.
