January 2014 Update

The Lab's Christmas tree for the 12 days of Christmas is very small - only about 7-inches high. It's fully decorated with Christmas ornaments separately purchased. Many of the individual components were received as holiday gifts. There's a set of battery operated working colored lights on the tree and a flashing lights Santa nativity set. Tiny box gifts actually fit under the tree. it sets on the Lab's mantel top.

JANUARY 2014 UPDATE
The new year has three major projects ongoing - 1) the Robot Explorer designed to explore new worlds, 2) the Brain Cortex in a Jar designed to transfer a small part of a human brain into the machine brain for greater longevity, and 3) the FM transmitter and radio station. Side projects include sending a man into space, developing humanoids and humanoid brains, advancing the deep space program with the new telescopes invented, and continuing to upgrade the Lab capabilities and facilities. Other projects include developing satellites, a new kind of flyable rocket ship design, and a possible major expansion of the current laboratory. There's also a push to develop custom test equipment and finish the radio station as it may be used as a wireless device for the brain in a jar.

FM Radio Station Broadcast Script Part 8

For FM radio broadcast testing, the green solid strand wire loop antenna was formed into a 1.75-inch diameter circle and soldered to the printed circuit board. The close proximity of the radio is for illustration only. The antenna and the transmitter are directional.

FM RADIO STATION BROADCAST SCRIPT PART 8
This is a list of broadcast script from the FM radio station on day 1 through 3 of part time operations. The determined test frequency is currently 102 MHz on the FM band.

Monday December 23
Two days before Christmas, at 10:00 pm, the radio station was turned on for the first time. A nearby FM radio was scanned across several transmitter harmonics, then settled onto the strongest signal. It's a success! "Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3..." came in loud and clear on the small portable radio tuned to the FM band. This was repeated several times.

Tuesday December 24
On Christmas Eve around 11 pm, this special transmission went out for holiday wishes and additional tests were completed. "Have a happy holiday and Merry Christmas." The script was repeated prior to running tests. 

Wednesday December 25th Christmas
At 1:00 am to 1:30 am, for tests, "Roger Rabbit" was repeated which verified the frequency orientation shift. For each Roger Rabbit, a new orientation and frequency shift was tested. Microphone positioning was established along with the notation of characteristics from human positioning. In particular, the coil is sensitive to human positioning and will need to be in a retracted position during future operations.

Signal Propagation
Again, with a 1.75-inch green loop antenna, which is very cute by the way, we're not exactly sure who heard the signal other than ourselves in the Lab due to the given "in house" range.

QSL Cards
If and when we are able to extend the range to another room, we'll think about making up a batch of QSL Reception Verification Cards for "send out" to our... er...  colleagues.

Radio Station Name
Prior to the design of QSL cards, the radio station will need a name, something like Whisper 102 Radio...

Broadcast Schedule
Later we will present the Whisper Radio 102 broadcast schedule for the New Year!

FM Radio Station Part 5 Index
http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.tw/2013/12/fm-radio-station-part-5-index.html

FM Radio Station Part 4 Broadcasting

THE VOICE OF SCIENCE NOW BROADCASTING... Connected to a 9-volt battery, this is the first power on of the radio station. We're on the air, with an antenna so tiny, it's merely broadcasting to the other side of the table. This is the first successful test of the FM radio station with "across room range." There's always excitement when a "just built" project is switched on for the first time. It's always hoped that it works perfect the first time. Building projects is like a crap shoot - there's any number of things that can go wrong as Murphy's law dictates. In the case of projects, components often have a 10% failure rate and can cause some frustration in troubleshooting newly assembled projects. One can take a gamble and assemble the parts untested, or test each part for greater workability insurance. With this project, the radio station worked perfect the first time!

FM RADIO STATION transmitter broadcasting part 4
We're broadcasting into space! Who is listening?

This is the fourth installment about building your own radio station. On Monday December 23, two days before Christmas, at 10:00 pm, the radio station was turned on for the first time. A nearby FM radio was scanned across several transmitter harmonics, then settled onto the strongest signal. It's a success! "Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3..." came in loud and clear on the small portable radio tuned to the FM band.

The transmitter's coil was slightly adjusted to push the signal farther up the FM band to avoid several very strong radio stations around 98 to 100 MHz. The perfect test place was quiet at 101 and 102 MHz.

For initial testing, a tiny loop antenna is used which extends only about 3-inches high in the long direction when elliptical and is about 1.5-inches diameter when circular, perfect for across-room broadcasting.

The sensitivity is capable of overloading acoustical feedback and distance of the audible source to the mic is also sensitive. The orientation of the transmitter greatly effects reception and keeping it in one place is required. Hands near certain areas of the transmitter effect frequency and harmonics, although the portable FM receiver is ultra sensitive - a 10 band FM/MW/SW World Receiver model 6110 by Panda made in China. Its FM band ranges from 76 to 108 MHz with manual tuning and running from 3-volts. This radio was used for reception of objects in space such as the planet Jupiter and the Earth's Sun during the Lab's SETI program searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Radio Telescope Receiver
http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.tw/2013/07/radio-telescope-receiver.html

Don't Eat Us Safety Program Radio Telescope
http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.tw/2013/07/dont-eat-us-safety-program-radio.html

Radio Telescope Adds Spaceweather Radio
http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.tw/2013/07/radio-telescope-adds-spaceweather-radio.html

Radio Telescope Observatory Lab 58
http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.tw/2013/07/radio-telescope-observatory-lab-57.html

The FM band in this region of the country, serving up to 24 million people, contains strong stations in almost every position on the band from 76 to 108 MHz. Smaller stations serve a six million locality. Therefore the density of stations is unprecedented. Many of these stations may be underground as the government is working to license and annex these broadcast stations.

A weak station, or even one that has associated harmonics, will be lost in the signal hash, thus limiting the range.

The unexpected high quality of the FM transmitter is very good when trimmed and tuned. Voice is very audible close to the microphone. Backgrounds sound muted as desired although this requires more sensitive testing.

The high quality of such a simple circuit is attributed to the high quality of the parts used, i.e. the special am/fm, rf, amp, mix, conv, osc and IF ability of the 2SC1675 transistor, and the 1-watt output amplifier of radios in class B push-pull operations ability of the 2SC9013 transistor.

FM Radio Station Part 5 Index
http://humanoidolabs.blogspot.tw/2013/12/fm-radio-station-part-5-index.html

New Year 2013 Spectacular

Creative pinwheel by Taiwan Masters is spectacular!

NEW YEAR 2013 SPECTACULAR CELEBRATION!!!

You've never seen Taipei 101 like this before!!! - Welcome to Taiwan!!!

This year, Taiwan officials in charge of managing New Years fireworks at Taipei 101, one of the tallest sky scraper buildings in the world, came back with a spectacular display of fireworks, one so great - it defied the imagination!

The display solved the challenges from an earlier year when the great fireworks and amazing choreography ended up producing smoke which rose from the ground level upwards, and blocked out some of the fantastic fireworks shot and launched from the side of the 101 building.

Today, the new millions of dollars display, seen by crowds of millions of people at ground level, was ever more spectacular. Obvious visuals included perfect timing and position, as fireworks launched outwards in patterns with synchronization where the smoke quickly dissipated. The breeze was also cooperative and the weather was perfect, the brilliant Moon high in the sky to prove the excellent conditions.

For the multi-days holiday, it appeared that pollution completely vanished when the island's manufacturing plants, and possibly those located in Mainland China, shut down.

PHOTO 1 Take a look at our most spectacular introduction photo. Look carefully and closely about two thirds of the way up, in the center, where you'll see the dimly glowing two Chinese characters proclaiming New Year good luck. How this was master-minded so perfectly is beyond belief!

 photo 2

CLICK ON THE SMALLER PHOTOS TO SEE THEIR FULL SIZE
Nothing burned down, not like what happened in Mainland China the other year when a new skyscraper completely burned out, a fire caused by the abundance of amateur lit fireworks during Chinese New Year!

Taiwan is very regulated during the Gregorian Calendar's New Year and has a climate that's always damp and humid which helps create an evironment rather perfect for launching fireworks.

 photo 4

 photo 3

Note the creative pinwheel, Christmas Tree, spirals, colors and other remarkable shapes and displays, with impeccable calculated timing, spread, position, color, duration, intensity, contrast, and backed by a literal textbook of mathematics in motion producing great fireworks stature so precise that no one could have expected such spectacular results this year!

 photo 5

 photo 6

These are definitely good luck photos as my clock was 20 minutes early due to a run down battery. When I turned on the TV, fortunately I saw there was a countdown with only 24 seconds left to the New Years beginning.

 photo 7

 photo 8

I had to run and hurry to start up the camera. Unfortunately I had yet to take a movie with the new camera and could not find the setting. However, the still images still turned out great, imo, even though I had to brave the cold, standing outside on the deck in only PJs.

 Photo 9: A burst of green color

 photo 10

This deck has served as a platform for taking a few astronomical photos of star fields and selected objects (see previous blogs), and the brick building side was a good steady base when I remembered to use it.

Photo 2 shows the shape of a big Christmas Tree.

Photo 3 is one of the most spectacular with intermixed colors and shapes, which are glowing and scintillating beyond belief.

Photo 4  is a mind meld of real time spinning motion from bottom to top of 101, with a special rotating messages display (seen towards the top). This may also periodically show advertising sponsor messages and graphics. It took special processing to bring out the delicate contrast of these characters that were located behind the blazing fire and brimstone!

Photo 5 demonstrates the pinpoint accuracy of the charge placement.

Photo 6 shows a simultaneous multi-color display of spectacular proportions with parallel launching arches.

Photo 7 To see this spinning around, like a dazzling toy top in real time, is magnificent.

Photo 8 is the proprietor of many discretely placed fireworks charges all along 101 from bottom to top.

Photo 9 is an example of erupting color - a green mix predominance unlike anything seen before at Taipei 101.

Photo 10 is a final shot showing the 101 building as it appears to glow hot beneath the rising smoke after the fireworks had ended.

 Photo 10: Taipei 101 looks hot & molten after fireworks!