life
Photo Blog – Cleaning out my Roland D-20
My uncle was kind enough to lend me his faithful but underused Roland D-20. For the last 4 years. The less feature-packed sibling of the D-50, the D-20 is still a very powerful keyboard. It is a “multi timbral linear synthesizer multi track sequencer”, according to the imprint on it’s face. I have used this keyboard in the studio and on stage, and despite being manufactured in 1988, it still sounds and performs as new.
Alas, it has not been used intensely for a long time, and dust had begun to accumulate. Today I felt the D-20 belonged on my desk, and once I’d moved it from the stand, I began to clean the keys. However, a bit of water trickled down in between the keys, and I was not going to turn it on for risk of there still being water down there. So I took it apart, and began a 3 hour journey to clean the D-20, from the inside out.
When a Project Isn’t Successful
For every project I post on here where I obtain the results I was looking for, chances are there are two other projects I’ve tried that didn’t quite work out. Such is the nature of tinkering and hacking for fun.
Just because it ended in failure (and occasionally, catastrophic failure), it doesn’t mean I’ve wasted my time – here are some lessons I’ve learnt from failure over time.
Last Day of Summer Co-op
Today marks the end of my co-op at the David Florida Laboratories. The experience was nothing less than incredible. I was so fortunate to work alongside professionals with decades of experience in the RF qualification field, people who were so very helpful and willing to share their knowledge with me. It is going to be hard leaving this.
However, I’ve learnt so much about a field I knew so little of going in. I spent 2 hours one night reading some chapters marked in my professor’s RF textbook, and explored some Wikipedia pages – that was the extent of my training. Over the course of the summer, I was exposed to tools I will likely never personally own, and that will be hard to come by even in school: spectrum analyzers, network analyzers, high power RF amplifiers, e-field probes. It was incredible.
Here is a picture of me at my test station, in front of a 1kW amplifier, the probe monitor, the signal generator and the test software. I’ve greyed out anything I’m not allowed to share:
Yeah, I know, it sucks. I wish I could, too.
Ottawa Pinball Expo – 2011 (Video)
Here is my video of the first ever Ottawa Pinball Expo! We brought three machines to the show, and I am pleased to say I played every free-play machine there! It was great fun, and I can’t wait for next year!
Filmed, edited and soundtrack composed by myself.
Pinball Party Timelapse
As it was my birthday Friday, I invited the Electronics Kids over for a night of pinball. I thought it would be cool to do a timelapse of the entire night, to see if there were any patterns in what machines people played and what areas people hung out in.
In the end, I discovered that it really depends on the people you have over. Last time the MAME cabinet was the main attraction, but this time it got almost no use. Hurricane remains the most popular machine (odd, it isn’t even in my top 3 favorites).
Summer Co-op: Canadian Space Agency
Heritage College’s Electronics program offers two summer co-op terms, which are recognized on the diploma received at graduation.
Last summer, I was employed at the very same college, officially preparing equipment for next year’s classes, making an inventory of electronics components and materials, and making a database with search and checkout functionality to keep track of components. Unofficially, I also assisted the computer services guys, setting up computers for the Jeux du Quebec 2010, then quickly dismantling and putting them back in classrooms and offices.
This year, I’m working at the Canadian Space Agency.
Old Band Video
I can’t believe it – has it really been almost 2 months since my last post?! I haven’t been documenting my projects in much detail recently, but I should have some new material soon! (Class project, new pinball machine and more!)
In the meanwhile, check out this video from my band days, finally published with 3 separate angles. Unfortunately, one of the cameras uses a codec my video editing software doesn’t like, so it is a bit jerky, but otherwise it is a great film!
Font Gone Missing: Arial
The other day, while helping a friend set up his new computer, I came across a bizarre and irritating problem. I installed Google Chrome, and was on the internet, and noticed that everything was in italics. It was difficult on the eyes. I tried to change some settings in the Page Font menu in Chrome, but to no avail. I found other people had this problem, and after digging in the system’s Fonts folder, I found the issue.
Christmas – New Tools!
I hope everyone reading this enjoyed their Christmas events, time off, and the company of friends and family.
This year, I actually made a list, much to the delight of my parents, so that they didn’t need to scramble and search for something they think I’d like (despite my assertions that gifts were not necessary.) In the end, my list was entirely composed of tools for electronics, and how happy was I to find on Christmas morning a plethora of utilitarian gifts!
Domain name!
Well, I finally did it: this website has moved from BIGBLUE to a dedicated host, and along with that, it has its own domain name! https://blog.danjoannis.com. Feels good to say it. I have signed up for 6 months, so we’ll see how it goes. If I like it, I’ll keep it here (the site is so much more responsive now).
Any comments or problems with the site? Let me know!
Edit: The link was updated to reflect the final, official address.