This is a short one :)
I had debugging problem today and the fix is to simply install .NET Compact Framework 2.0 Service Pack:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=20943
:)
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Craftsman EG-95 Review Part 1
This will be my first time discussing guitars on this blog. :) My motivation for this post is that I saw some people selling their Craftsman EG-95 (maybe because of the problems that I encountered as well). I would like to share the solutions that I compiled to overcome those problems.
Last week (Feb 17 2014), I bought a Craftsman EG-95. This is just an experimental guitar since I don't have any previous experience with Floyd Rose (FR) setups. After trying it, the stock setup gave me some tuning instabilities. Before buying the guitar, the saleman warned me that Craftsman EG-95 is a little problematic and if I could extend my budget, go for the Charvel Desolation Star, which is a very nice guitar but has only one pickup. :(
Since, we engineers love to solve problems (and at the same time cut some cost), I decided to get the Craftsman EG-95. When I came home, the problems had already surfaced. Anyway, since I am a firm believer of the famous quote:
"The more we are exposed to problems, the more we learn. "
I started to dig deeper yesterday and studied the details of the Floyd Rose from the internet and I learned a lot (and still continue learning as of the moment). Here are the things that I leraned:
1. Never adjust the knife edges under pressure. I learned this rule a little late since I adjusted the action of my strings.
2. According to what I read, when the FR is removed, the knife edges should be stable when screwed to its holder since this is very crucial for tuning stability. In the case of EG-95, there is a very big play on the knife edges. So what I did, is to put teflon tape on the screw thread. This solved the play on the knife edges.
There are also tips to put Chapstik on the knife edges' contact to the FR tremolo, but I used petroleum jelly since I dont have any Chapstik at home. :)
3. Using conventional tuning, it will take time to tune the guitar. But when I saw this youtube link , I was able to tune my EG-95 quickly.
4. The thread on some of the saddles are a little bit sensitive. I have two saddles that have lost their screw thread. :( What I did is just bolt cut the long screws and use a metal file to narrow the tip. This solved the problem however I don't like this as a long-term solution. As of the moment, I am still searching for a saddle online since I don't want to replace the whole FR.
After all of this, I tried to play the guitar and it seems that it is more stable than before. Although, I like it to be really rock-stable even when you use the whammy bar intensely. Here are the things I am planning:
1. Add more springs. Currently, it has 3 springs. I read that having 4 to 5 springs can contribute to the tuning stability.
2. The guitar has a 1 year warranty. If the saddles will not be covered by the warranty, I am planning to look for a saddle or worst case, replace the whole FR with a new one.
Despite of the problems encountered, I am happy that it went this way since I know this will be a very valuable learning experience.
Last week (Feb 17 2014), I bought a Craftsman EG-95. This is just an experimental guitar since I don't have any previous experience with Floyd Rose (FR) setups. After trying it, the stock setup gave me some tuning instabilities. Before buying the guitar, the saleman warned me that Craftsman EG-95 is a little problematic and if I could extend my budget, go for the Charvel Desolation Star, which is a very nice guitar but has only one pickup. :(
Since, we engineers love to solve problems (and at the same time cut some cost), I decided to get the Craftsman EG-95. When I came home, the problems had already surfaced. Anyway, since I am a firm believer of the famous quote:
"The more we are exposed to problems, the more we learn. "
I started to dig deeper yesterday and studied the details of the Floyd Rose from the internet and I learned a lot (and still continue learning as of the moment). Here are the things that I leraned:
1. Never adjust the knife edges under pressure. I learned this rule a little late since I adjusted the action of my strings.
2. According to what I read, when the FR is removed, the knife edges should be stable when screwed to its holder since this is very crucial for tuning stability. In the case of EG-95, there is a very big play on the knife edges. So what I did, is to put teflon tape on the screw thread. This solved the play on the knife edges.
There are also tips to put Chapstik on the knife edges' contact to the FR tremolo, but I used petroleum jelly since I dont have any Chapstik at home. :)
3. Using conventional tuning, it will take time to tune the guitar. But when I saw this youtube link , I was able to tune my EG-95 quickly.
4. The thread on some of the saddles are a little bit sensitive. I have two saddles that have lost their screw thread. :( What I did is just bolt cut the long screws and use a metal file to narrow the tip. This solved the problem however I don't like this as a long-term solution. As of the moment, I am still searching for a saddle online since I don't want to replace the whole FR.
After all of this, I tried to play the guitar and it seems that it is more stable than before. Although, I like it to be really rock-stable even when you use the whammy bar intensely. Here are the things I am planning:
1. Add more springs. Currently, it has 3 springs. I read that having 4 to 5 springs can contribute to the tuning stability.
2. The guitar has a 1 year warranty. If the saddles will not be covered by the warranty, I am planning to look for a saddle or worst case, replace the whole FR with a new one.
Despite of the problems encountered, I am happy that it went this way since I know this will be a very valuable learning experience.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Scrum, Scrum Scrum: Just fell in love with Scrum...
Mid-2013, I am targeting for a PMP certification. I already took online basic project management courses and collected books regarding PMP certifications. Last November 2013, our company have knowledge sharing session regarding Scrum and by that time, I never know anything about scrum although I am a little bit familiar with Agile. After the presentation, I was impressed by Scrum framework.
As we have Pluralsight subscription from our company, I watched Pluralsight's Scrum Fundamentals by David Starr. On the first video, I was inspired by how Scrum Framework saved FBI's Sentinel project. I highly recommend to those who are interested in Scrum to watch this as this gives very good, very simple and practical insights regarding the real-world use of Scrum.
After watching Pluralsight's Scrum Fundamental's, I am more eager to get a Scrum Master Certification rather than a PMP certification. Although I know that PMP's are more respected and more recognized but based from my experience as a developer in companies whose processes and guidelines are based from PMBOK, projects do not always go as planned. Here is a good article regarding this. Also, one can clearly see the difference by just reading the Agile Manifesto.
December 2013, I tried scouting for Scrum Certification and I saw the International Scrum Institute. The exam and certification is not that expensive. All the learning materials is free and can be viewed by anyone. I studied all the materials and took the exam in January 2014 and I passed it. I was able to secure a Scrum Master certificate and this is one of the best New Year gift I could give to myself.
Certifications doesn't need to be expensive and I would like to say thanks to International Scrum Institute for making this possible. As the materials can be learned online, I personally don't agree on the way where certifying bodies requires classroom training before taking exams. This isn't a bad thing actually, but I hope that they would realize that there are some people who have the ability to self-study and are more eager to explore things by themselves. I hope this will change in the future.
Good luck to all who wishes to take the exam.
As we have Pluralsight subscription from our company, I watched Pluralsight's Scrum Fundamentals by David Starr. On the first video, I was inspired by how Scrum Framework saved FBI's Sentinel project. I highly recommend to those who are interested in Scrum to watch this as this gives very good, very simple and practical insights regarding the real-world use of Scrum.
After watching Pluralsight's Scrum Fundamental's, I am more eager to get a Scrum Master Certification rather than a PMP certification. Although I know that PMP's are more respected and more recognized but based from my experience as a developer in companies whose processes and guidelines are based from PMBOK, projects do not always go as planned. Here is a good article regarding this. Also, one can clearly see the difference by just reading the Agile Manifesto.
December 2013, I tried scouting for Scrum Certification and I saw the International Scrum Institute. The exam and certification is not that expensive. All the learning materials is free and can be viewed by anyone. I studied all the materials and took the exam in January 2014 and I passed it. I was able to secure a Scrum Master certificate and this is one of the best New Year gift I could give to myself.
Certifications doesn't need to be expensive and I would like to say thanks to International Scrum Institute for making this possible. As the materials can be learned online, I personally don't agree on the way where certifying bodies requires classroom training before taking exams. This isn't a bad thing actually, but I hope that they would realize that there are some people who have the ability to self-study and are more eager to explore things by themselves. I hope this will change in the future.
Good luck to all who wishes to take the exam.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
RF Sample Code for CC430F5137
The Variable LT FIFO RF sample code on TI for CC430F5137 works but it is difficult to be reused in another project because it is tightly coupled to the application code and causes some problem on the interrupt routine if the one who is reusing it is not careful enough.
I revised the code so that it can be reused and reduced most of the processing in the interrupt routine. Although not yet finish and still in progress, it is in usable state as of this writing.
Get it here.
I revised the code so that it can be reused and reduced most of the processing in the interrupt routine. Although not yet finish and still in progress, it is in usable state as of this writing.
Get it here.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Link Sharing: Model View Controller (MVC) Design Pattern
I am looking for good examples on MVC Design Pattern implemented in Python. I saw this site and it contains very concise and straight to the point examples.
MVC Wikipedia
MVC Wikipedia
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Kicad's Middle Mouse Panning
I played with KiCad before and made very small progress learning that tool because I thought there is no middle mouse panning feature. Since I am inclined to Eagle, Kicad's lack of middle mouse panning button turned me off. But I was wrong! To my surprise, Kicad has a middle mouse panning feature. However and surprisingly, it is not enabled by default (I used Windows installer).
To enable this:
- On Schematic Editor, go to Preferences > Options. Then check the Use middle mouse button to pan.
- On PCB Layout Editor, go to Preferences > General > Pan and Zoom. Then check the Use middle mouse button to pan.
In my opinion, this should be enabled by default or there should be a start-up option after the first time installation and let the user choose if they want this feature or not.
Now, I think I am ready to jump out of the Eagle bandwagon. :)
To enable this:
- On Schematic Editor, go to Preferences > Options. Then check the Use middle mouse button to pan.
- On PCB Layout Editor, go to Preferences > General > Pan and Zoom. Then check the Use middle mouse button to pan.
In my opinion, this should be enabled by default or there should be a start-up option after the first time installation and let the user choose if they want this feature or not.
Now, I think I am ready to jump out of the Eagle bandwagon. :)
Friday, September 6, 2013
Short Review: RF Explorer, Low-Cost Handheld Spectrum Analyzer
I got this small handy tool for my current RF project (CC1101 and CC430 based). Very easy to use and can be connected to a software for capturing data, easier/faster configuration, and making data screenshots. I was able to identify and rectify firmware and hardware issues during design stage. Highly recommended!
RF Explorer Homepage
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