Meetings – 2019

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Meetings are held at the WEA “Cottage B” 223 Angas St Adelaide on the second Friday of each month starting at 7:30pm. Display location.  
Contact SAMG using form page


    Agenda for SAMG meeting Friday 8th of November 2019 at 7:30pm

        1. Mark will show us his spectrum analyser – definitely PG rated 😉
        2. David will demonstrate his wireless project thus far.
        3. Bob K has a 8085 development environment that needs a new home. From Bob’s email: I have text books, 8085 programming manuals, heaps of cables, serial, parallel, boards (an ICE196 somewhere) All to give away. 
        4. Terry S has a bunch of “stuff” that he wishes to sell. Sorry for the view. It only takes one line (a link) in the editor. 

          Download (PDF, 91KB)

        5. Ad hoc projects or stuff you wish to share
        6. WEA Clubs Inc. has a meeting this month. If anyone has a concern or idea, it is time to table it at our meet so Rick M can in turn table it at the WEA Clubs Inc meet, if need be.
        7. We have to get our projected meeting times for next year in. It looks as though Friday the 10th is Easter Friday (Good Friday). We have to decide if we have a meeting the week before or after this date. All proposed dates will obviously have to be sanctioned by our good benefactors – the WEA.
        8. Are we going to have an end of year BBQ? Let’s discuss.
        9. Don’t forget Club fees should be paid.

    Agenda for SAMG meeting Friday 11th of October 2019 at 7:30pm

            1. Suggestions for future meetings
            2. Darren B and Industry 4.0 part II – Augmented Reality experiences.  Please download APP from google play 
              https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ptc.vuforiaview&hl=en_AU
            3. David Z’s Progress with OBS
            4. Ad hoc projects or stuff you wish to share

    Agenda for SAMG meeting Friday 13th of September 2019 at 7:30pm

            1. Suggestions for future meetings
            2. Wayne’s Tutorial on the wondrous world of Linux
            3. David’s Progress with OBS
            4. Ad hoc stuff you wish to share

    Agenda for SAMG meeting Friday 09th of August 2019 at 7:30pm

    1. Cliff to discuss WEA Changes
    2. Suggestions for next meetings
    3. Ad hoc presentations


    Agenda for SAMG meeting Friday 12th of July 2019 at 7:30pm

            1. David Z to present proposals for the recording of presentations. Hardware (mixers, microphones and video) and software (OBS) requirements
            2. Suggestions to improve timeliness to post our agendas
            3. Ad hoc presentations

    Meeting Proceedings for 14th of June 2019

    To Be Posted


    Agenda for SAMG meeting Friday 14th of June 2019 at 7:30pm

            1. David Z to present proposals for the recording of presentations
            2. Peter to delve into the fascinating world of Node Red
            3. Cliff to show his progress on the ESP8266 micro-controller (High power cob led controlled by a push button
            4. Ad hoc presentations

    Meeting Proceedings for 10th of May 2019

    To Be Posted


    Agenda for SAMG meeting Friday 10th of May 2019 at 7:30pm

            1. Colin to continue his fascinating overview and explanation of the NBN
            2. Peter to delve into the fascinating world of Node Red
            3. Cliff to show his progress on the ESP8266 micro-controller


    Meeting Proceedings for 12th of April 2019

    The April 2019 meeting saw Colin H’s “brief outline/overview of the NBN” turn into a major feature presentation that was greatly appreciated by those who were fortunate enough to be in attendance.  The presentation covered the various wired NBN types and the technologies used to deploy them “in the field”.  Samples of various copper and optical cables and connectors were passed around for a hands-on look at what it is that carries those cat videos from the Internet into our lounge rooms!  The excellent and comprehensive presentation also gave us descriptions, diagrams and photos revealing the hidden complexities and effort involved in transitioning from a fully copper to an optical+copper broadband delivery network.  The fundamental principles and characteristics of optical fibres were described along with an overview of real-world optical fibre cables.

    Below you can find a few of Colin’s notes and diagrams (click on the images to view them full-size):

    Fibre to the premises – FTTP

    What everyone wants!

    FTTP: Fibre to the Premises

    Original technology preferences were FTTP, Fixed Wireless and Satellite.  Other options now include :-

            • FTTN – Fibre to the Node – utilises last km of existing copper cable to customer
            • FTTC – Fibre to the Curb
            • HFC – Hybrid Fibre Coax – utilising existing Foxtel PayTV Coax infrastructure.

    Advantages of optical fibre transmission

    • Electrically intrinsically safe – can occupy same ducts/conduits as LV & HV power
    • Carries highest data rates ; higher than twisted pair and over longer distances
    • Very low transmission loss means long distances without boosters/repeaters (eg;150 km using single mode fibre)
    • Light weight cable
    • Immune to electrical interference from motors, transformers
    • Does not attract lightning
    • Does not cause ground loops when inter-connecting equipment in different buildings
    • Higher security against “taps” than twisted pair.

    Visible light: 400 nm (violet) to 750 nm (red)

    · Fibre optic transmission:
    • non-visible infra-red 850nm (MM), 1300nm (MM), 1310nm (SM), 1490nm(FTTP), 1550nm (SM) & 1625nm (SM Testing)

    Multi Mode is used for less than 2kms in customer premises, Single Mode is used in the Telco environment.


    Agenda for SAMG meeting Friday 12th of April 2019 at 7:30pm

            1. Colin to give a brief outline/overview of the NBN
            2. Peter to overview the ESP8266/ESP32. Are there benefits going to this fabless designed SOC from our trusty mate ATmega328p?
            3. Cliff to demonstrate the working atmega328p PWM with pot control
            4. Cliff to demonstrate NodeMCU8266 programming
            5. Change our motto/slogan from “Symbiosis between electronics and innovation” TO “     “
            6. Ad-hock presentations

    (sorry for he late posting of the agenda)


    Meeting Proceedings for 8th of March 2019

    This month’s meeting advanced our revised constitution incorporating changes suggested by members where there was a need for improvement.   A revised version will be distributed for final consideration very soon.

    Banking details have been sorted out to make them more relevant for our requirements.
    Peter Gheude overviewed the reasons why clubs become incorporated and need for a constitution.
    It was also mentioned clubs should review their constitutions yearly to ensure they are relevant against any Government changes within the Act.
    There were no outspoken objections to us updating our own constitution (rules) relating to the operation of our club.

    The use of full names on our website was brought up as a concern by a member.  This concern was focused on identity theft by unsavory individuals who come across a person’s name and then make systematic efforts to steal their identity.  It is expected a vote will occur at next month’s meeting (for a majority to rule) to sort this out.

    Wayne S has stepped up to the challenge of contributing SAMG website maintenance and editing.  His offer was accepted with lots of gratitude by everyone present.

    Dave Z and Phil K relayed their experiences in New Zealand and the Linux convention.
    It appears there was a lot going on and they were spoilt for choice in topics of interest, they had to choose specific topics at possibly the expense of others.  We are hoping they can share more information as time goes on.

    Chris B demonstrated his TFT LCD projects.  It seems one can leverage off CAD images to import into the relevant files to display on the LCD screen.   A very informative and educational presentation.

    Cliff Shirra demonstrated the dimming capability of a high-powered COB LED using PWM.   His computer code was briefly examined. Unfortunately the potentiometer wires had broken off during transport, and if we are fortunate, Cliff may salvage his reputation by demonstrating it actually working at our next meeting!


    Agenda for SAMG meeting Friday 8th of March 2019 at 7:30pm

            1. Concerns have been brought up about the proposed constitution regarding wording and meaning and banking. Peter G and Cliff S will overview these concerns. It should be noted that a constitution should be reviewed yearly based on any Government changes to the Act.
            2. A general and ordered discussion on what our real concerns are regarding a revamp of our existing 40 year constitution. It is expected that 30 minutes will be adequate.
            3. The approval for the continued use of full names on the home page (and others) in our website.
            4. A volunteer to take (immediately or over time)  the web editing duties for the club.
            5. Dave Z and Phil K will do a presentation about their Christchurch (New Zealand) visit and the Linux convention.
            6. Chris will do a presentation and demonstration with his TFT LCD’s
            7. Cliff (time permitting) will present the next stage of his ongoing project. This will include high powered LED COB’s and pulse width modulation – PWM. A working example and code will be produced.
            8. Ad Hock presentations.

    Cree XLamp XP-E2 cool LED Components no background

    Meeting Proceedings for 8th of February 2019

    The meeting started on a rather sombre (somber) note as we visited Eric Clarke’s history and contribution to the club. He was remembered with some fondness. Rick M gave a most detailed and insightful view of Eric’s dedication  to the SAMG. We will miss him. Our annual general meeting was then held. Committee members were elected and all the other stuff that goes with the AGM. I won’t take up space here as the meeting minutes will be posted on our website. Our constitution was revisited (again). Some progress was made. A big question hangs over this important club document regarding finances. Australia is heading away from cheques so we must progress with the times. Peter G and Cliff S will go the bank and see what electronic means may be optioned for easier banking.

    We only managed a single presentation. Darren gave a sterling one on his Commodore reproduction badges and a couple of devices he has produced to test the power supplies of these rather old computers. Very impressive.


    Agenda for SAMG meeting Friday 8th of February 2019 at 7:30pm

              1. A brief recap of Eric Clarke’s past association with the SAMG (he was laid to rest at 11.00am on the 22/01/2018). Anyone wishing to contribute to this is most welcome.
              2. Our Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held. Committee nominations and voting will take place. All the normal stuff that goes with the AGM will occur. And if time permits……
              3. Darren will do a presentation on his repro Commodore badging.
              4. Colin will do a presentation on various aspects of our fabulous NBN.
              5. Chris will demonstrate what he has done with his TFT LCD (Cliff is probably going to be shamed!).
              6. Possible firming up of our future project/s.
              7. Ad Hock presentations.

              


    Meeting Proceedings for 11th of January 2019

    The group all pondered new projects that could be undertaken over the next couple of months. Several suggestions were put forward. Wayne suggested the simple control of a stepper motor via a joystick. This would demonstrate the concept of analogue to digital control. Cliff did a short demonstration of mapping characters to the TFT LCD screen. He has mentioned (again) the code will be put on our website. The concept of diodes for reverse polarity protection was discussed. Rick, and others,  suggested it would be better to use FET’s instead as they have lower on resistance and lower revers current flow. Cliff has decided that the use of a p-channel MOSFET in his project is the better and more robust solution. 1 resistor and 1 zener diode along with the MOSFET should satisfy his project needs. Peter demonstrated how the PINE64 can write to a port pin to flash it on and off. Peter implemented a “script” that flashed the SOS message via the LED. More tuition is required in the LINUX environment which hopefully will be done by some of our members. Our component tester project can be wrapped up. A few of our members contributions has finally paid off. We examined the code for the tester and “turned on” the ability for Zener testing as well. Peter sourced a DC pump that boosted the 9 volts to 50 volts so a larger range of Zener diodes can be tested.


    Agenda for SAMG meeting Friday 11th of January 2019 at 7:30pm

            1. Group discussion on a new (yes a new) electronic project that people may be interested in doing. The aim is to select something that people would be really interested in completing based on cost, amount of time to complete and usefulness. Hopefully a micro-controller will be considered. Possibly we should consider the ESP8266, ESP32 that has bluetooth, wireless etc.
            2. Cliff will demonstrate the stage he is up to on his TFT LCD “project”
            3. Also there will be a discussion on the use of diodes to protect circuits against reverse polarity connections.
            4. Peter will demonstrate writing to ports on the Pine64 (we can see our single board computer finally flashing a LED)
            5. Further discussion and examination on our component tester project.
            6. Ad hock presentations. Please.


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