Digital eype piece for a telescope

I don't know what are the insides of a digital eye piece of a telescopes but I think I succeeded in faking one for a pretty cheap price. For long I wanted to capture what ever I see through my 'Beginners Astro-terrestrial refractive' telescope. A month ago I decided to buy some gadget that will do this for me. Found a digital eye piece that would cost me 98$ along with taxes. Oops!! my telescope didn't cost me so much (Rs 3500 or 68$) and I decided not to go for it. There were some youtube videos that suggested replacing the telescope's eyepiece with a webcam. That didn't work until I figured out that 'Optic Physics' will not let me use a simple webcam instead of the eyepiece. I tried attaching the eyepiece with the USB webcam. It worked but the webcam was a VGA and images were poor. Then finally it struck me, "why don't I use my old cell phone with a 2 Mega pixel camera??!!". I fixed the eyepiece to align with the camera's focal length and now I was able to clearly capture what ever I saw through my scope. I was looking for a wired connection to my laptop but I ended up in a better wireless option. I have definitely saved so many dollars.

Check out the below images

Few easy steps:
Fixed eyepiece over the cell phone camera  using insulation tape (used a 50X eyepiece)

Camera axis should align with the eye piece axis

Telescope fitted with the digital eyepiece

 

Tata Pixel -Zero Turn Drive

Career after a year

I added something to my second name
This brought me a couple of proposals, So then,
Chose one, and thus began then game.
Pardon,didnt mean pretty women.

Was very happy,
Felt Spiced for all my life
That this relationship would keep me ever busy.
Mind you, i am yet to think of my future wife.

First few months was fun,
Before I realised,a year was up!
But why didnt that yet happen?
Don't think of baby names. Stop.

Part time affair?
Or an official another?
Or go soul searching, turn a master?
Believe me;"Choose",said all voices together.

Like a good partner, I am
staying bonded by the side.
Calm,accepting all good and damn,
Waiting for the tide.

I graduated and added a degree to my name.
I did choose a career on my own.
Not to complain it was great, bright,
Until my onsite travel got delayed for reasons unknown
Different options were in sight
But decided time would do it right.

Recall of cars in India and bravo Toyota

Of late Toyota was in news for the recalls it effected on a number of its models for the faulty accelerator pedals and related issues. I had never heard of a recall before until the beginning of this year. The reason may be that I have never been a Quiz participant. But blame me not. Even James Daly’s grandsons, if they had born in India, may have been unaware of many of the recalls of the international auto makers.

Here is the list of global auto recalls over the past decade:

• 2004 - GM recalled nearly 4 million pickups because of corroding tailgate cables.
• April 2005 - GM said it was recalling more than 2 million vehicles to fix a variety of potential safety defects.
• GM said the largest of the safety actions included 1.5 million full-size pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles from the 2003 to 2005 model years with second-row seat belts that might be difficult to properly position across passengers' hips.
• Oct. 2005 - Toyota recalled about 1.41 million cars globally, due to trouble with their headlight switching systems.
• Dec. 2007 - Chrysler LLC said it would recall 575,417 vehicles as long-term wear on the gear shift assembly could cause them to shift out of park without the key in the ignition.
• Aug. 2008 - GM announced a recall of 857,735 vehicles equipped with a heated windshield wiper fluid system for a potential short-circuit problem.
• Sept. 2009 - Toyota said it would recall approximately 3.8 million vehicles in the U.S. because of floor mats that could have come loose and force down the accelerator. The problem was suspected in crashes that killed five people.
• Oct. 2009 - Ford completed a series of recalls affecting 14 million vehicles due to a faulty cruise control deactivation switch. The latest recall involved some 4.5 million vehicles. The action effectively closed out a 10-year saga over the switches made by Texas Instruments that led to more than a half-dozen recalls, the automaker said.
• Jan. 2010 - Toyota issues a series of recalls covering 5.6 million vehicles in the United States due to sudden acceleration in some vehicles. It is the largest ever recall for Toyota and among the biggest for an automaker in U.S. history.
• Jan. 2010 - Honda Motor Co recalled 646,000 of its Fit/Jazz and City automobiles globally over a faulty window switch after a child died when fire broke out in a car last year.
• Toyota's problems touched other carmakers too: France's PSA Peugeot Citroen said it recalled nearly 100,000 Peugeot 107s and Citroen C1s made in the Czech Republic, where Toyota and PSA jointly make cars.
• Feb. 2010 - Toyota recalls a total of 437,000 units of its 2010 Prius, Sai, Prius PHV (plug-in hybrid) and Lexus HS250h hybrids globally, including 155,000 in North America, 223,000 in Japan 53,000 in Europe.
• Feb. 2010 - Honda said it would recall another 438,000 cars globally to replace an airbag deflator that could rupture. The expanded recall was concentrated in the United States.
• Feb. 2010 - Nissan Motor Co, Japan's third-biggest carmaker, said on Feb. 25 it would recall 76,415 cars across 10 models in Japan and 2,281 cars overseas due to a possible defect that may cause engine failure.
• Feb. 2010 - Suzuki Motor Corp, Japan's No.4 carmaker, said it would recall 432,366 units of two minicar models in Japan after two reported incidents of fire due to a possible defect in air conditioners. Daihatsu Motor Co recalled 60,774 units of four minicar models in Japan due to wiring problems.
• March 2010 - GM says on March 2 it is recalling 1.3 million compact cars covering the 2005-2010 model year Chevrolet Cobalt and 2007-2010 Pontiac G5 in the U.S.; the 2005-2006 Pontiac Pursuit sold in Canada; and the 2005-2006 Pontiac G4 sold in Mexico.
• March 2010 - Nissan said on March 3 it will recall about 540,000 vehicles worldwide due to potential defects in brake pedal pins and fuel-gauge components, mostly in the United States. Five models from 2008 to 2010 model years, including the Titan pickup truck and Armada SUV, would be recalled.
• April 2010 - Toyota agreed on April 19 to pay a record $16.4 million federal fine for delaying a safety recall over defective accelerator pedals. Toyota also announced a recall for nearly 10,000 Lexus GX 460 vehicles sold in the U.S. and Canada to fix software in the electronic stability control system. The GX 460 is new for 2010 and has only been on sale for a few months.
• April 16, 2010 - Toyota will recall 870,000 Sienna minivans sold in the United States and Canada because the rear-mounted spare tire could drop into the road. Models years involved are 1998 to 2010. In cold weather areas where road salt is used, corrosion to a cable holding the spare tire could cause the cable to lose its hold on the spare tire.
• April 27, 2010 - Performance sports car maker Porsche AG recalled all 11,300 Panameras it built -- months after the model line was launched to much fanfare -- to fix possible faulty seatbelt tensioners.
• April 28, 2010 - Toyota will recall 50,000 Sequoia sport utility vehicles because the stability system could cause an unexpected problem with low-speed acceleration. No injuries or accidents have been reported to Toyota regarding this problem, the company said.

[Courtesy: www.reuters.com]

Are Indian manufacturers oblivious towards the quality issues that arises once the product is customer’s hands? ‘Yes’ was the answer until very recently some of the recalls that have happened. I came to know this from the articles I read through as I was gathering information for this blog. I read through some incidents where Skoda India shirked away from a lot of consumer complaints over its faulty parts. The recent Recall season started by the world’s largest auto maker Toyota could have been the sole reason to pressurize its counterparts in India to own up.

The culprit, by no degree of doubt, is the loop holes in the law to protect the consumers. Perhaps, it is this law and government which let out Anderson and sold ‘Dead Indians cheaper’ as somebody in a News Channel interview put it.

Another article which I read gave me somewhat comforting information. ‘Recalls in India do happen, but they do discreetly’. Your car could perhaps be part of a recall exercise conducted under the cover of a `free service week'. But unless they are not brought to the open these surreptitious operations will not ensure the quality of the product as most of these will be just crisis prevention measures. Ideally, ethical liability should be the core driver of the recalls. But no body will mind if it happens in the guise of ethical liability.

Automakers don't like to conduct recalls. They are very expensive and don't exactly do wonders for marketing efforts. But Toyota has shown it to the world. And thus it will remain in the good books of its millions of customers and the golden aura of unassailable quality will not dim for years to come. I bet the Japanese automaker will emerge stronger from the recession.

A for Airbus, B for Boeing

A for Airbus B for Boeing... hardly any alphabets left in the commercial aircrafts segment. Though we find few worthwhile names to mention in the Business executive jets class Airbus and Boeing reign the commercial aerospace. Be it technology used in their aircrafts, or the size of the aircraft, or the number of deliveries they make both the big players have just been neck and neck in the past decade.

The most recent product of boeing is the 787. Airbus' answer to 787 is A350 which is still under development. Now the both OEMs(original equipment manufacturers) are working towards lighter, fuel efficient aircrafts. Both 787 and A350 make extensive use of composite materials. Traditionally fuselage uses aluminium. This helps it conduct the lightning electricity and prevent the damage to the internal equipments. A fuselage made up of composite material can have a resistance 1000 times more than that of aluminium. Wonder how boeing is going to meet the FAA requirements for lightning effect. Boeing's statement that it will meet all FAA requirements

shows the technology it processes.

Boeing is based out of USA and Airbus is based out of France and Germany. Aerospace industry products are life critical and hence bound to lots of rules and regulations. The FAA for USA and EASA for Europe are equally stringent in their regulatories leaving little leeway to innovative technologies. An example for this may be, touch screens have still not found their way in to the cockpits of any aircraft. In spite of the strict regulations the duopoly of these two companies continues. A healthy competition is always good isn't it?

Boeing Family and Airbus Family are both big...! Below are some the family members. Have a look.

The Magical Anthem

Lyrics

Ooooooh Wooooooh 

Ooooooh Wooooooh

Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher

See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud

In the streets are, heads are liftin , every loser in ambition

Celebration its around us, every nation, all around us 

Singin forever young, singin songs underneath that sun

Lets rejoice in the beautiful game

And together at the end of the day.

We all say..

When I get older, I will be stronger

They'll call me freedom

Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back

And then it goes back

And then it goes back

And then it goes 

When I get older I will be stronger

They'll call me freedom

Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back

And then it goes back

And then it goes back

And then it goes 

Oooooooooooooh woooooooooohh

Oooooooooooooh woooooooooohh

Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher

See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud

In the streets are, heads are liftin , every loser in ambition

Celebration its around us, every nation, all around us 

Singin forever young, singin songs underneath that sun

Lets rejoice in the beautiful game

And together at the end of the day.

We all say..

When I get older I will be stronger

They'll call me freedom

Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back

And then it goes back

And then it goes back

And then it goes 

When I get older I will be stronger

They'll call me freedom

Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back

And then it goes back

And then it goes 

Oooooooooooooh woooooooooohh

Oooooooooooooh woooooooooohh

We all say..

When I get older I will be stronger

They'll call me freedom

Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back

And then it goes back

And then it goes back

And then it goes 

When I get older I will be stronger

They'll call me freedom

Just like a wavin' flag

And then it goes back

And then it goes back

And then it goes 

Oooooooooooooh woooooooooohh

Oooooooooooooh woooooooooohh

Nautical mile per litre

"Fill it, Shut it, Forget it"  wish some aeroplane manufacturer come up with such  an advertisement for selling their aircrafts. But in reality that day is beyond the horizon. According to Boeing's Web site, the 747 burns approximately 5 gallons of fuel per mile (12 liters per kilometer). Though it sounds too thirsty for fuel, honestly we shouldn't compare it with our 100 km/ liter bike.

There are actually safety needs to monitor fuel level and aircrafts have special computers to monitor them. An aircraft should carry enough fuel to reach an alternate airport during emergency. Recently 3 aircrafts had to land almost empty belly when they were diverted from Delhi to Jaipur. Though this doesn't happen every day the extra fuel that they carried saved them from another Mangalore crash

For most airlines fuel cost is the second most spending sector. So the oil prices can fluctuate the fortune of an airline when ever it fluctuates. Entire aviation industry is aware of the fact that an impending oil crisis will prove very much fatal to it. There have been no significant discoveries of new oil since 2002. Oil is now being consumed four times faster than it is being discovered, and the situation is becoming critical. It is a problem without a remedy and it is the most pivotal challenge facing modern civilization.

According to some research agency air travel will double by 2035. In spite of all the scaring facts we still have some good news. A MIT let team has proposed a design of an aircraft which will use 70 percent less fuel. This new design is promising but even if proves to be a success it won't make any difference on the Aviation fuel demand. We will have more people travelling by air. As said earlier its always a problem without a remedy.