Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation project - part 2

I achieved neuronal stimulation of my primary motor cortex by using a single 15-turn coil and 1700 volt charge on the capacitor bank of about 190uF. The exact position of the coil on my scalp makes a very big difference in how much stimulation is achieved in the motor cortex. I would have suspected the single coil would produce much more diffuse stimulation and positioning would not be so critical. I never got any decent neuronal stimulation with the butterfly coil.

Cooking with thermite

I ignited four pounds of thermite made with aluminum / iron (III) oxide in a flower pot. The thermite reaction quickly formed liquid iron which dripped down out of the pot, and into a ceramic pan. I put a beef kebab directly onto the liquid iron, which cooked the food in under a minute. It was delicious!

Frequency response test for thermal imaging sensor

I am testing the frequency response of the TPS334 IR sensor. My very crude tests agree with the datasheet, which means that the image scan time will be very long for high contrast images. Many low-cost microbolometer-based thermal imaging cameras have 80x80 sensors (6400 pixels). At a 10Hz pixel clock (-3dB sensitivity from datasheet), the frame scan time would be 640 seconds, or nearly 11 minutes. Yikes! At 100Hz, the sensor would only produce an output level of %10 of its DC capability, and still require just over a minute to scan the whole frame. Obviously, this will not be a "live video" system, but might still produce some interesting still image thermographs.

I am working on other methods of sensing long-wave IR too. More later.

Cat feeder improvements (video)

This is just a repost for people who are not subscribed to my youtube channel.

http://benkrasnow.blogspot.com/2009/08/improved-automatic-cat-feeder.html

Product Review: CP06 low-cost AC/DC clamp-on current probe

I bought this bargain basement clamp-on current probe on eBay. It doesn't even seem to have a manufacturer (shamed out of existence?), but the model number is CP06. It's $70 shipped, and is probably worth it, especially if you plan to measure DC and 50/60Hz AC waveforms. It will not do high-frequency measurements. The DC accuracy seems good enough for many different applications where cutting into the test wire is not preferable.

Note: Hold down the "zero" button for a couple seconds, then release.