#power electronics test systems

[uspowertestequipmentshelp]

An Introduction to Oscilloscopes: What Are They and How Do They Work? The MSO72504DX is a high-performance oscilloscope that is designed for demanding power testing applications. It features a large display, high bandwidth, and deep memory, making it ideal for analyzing complex waveforms and signals.

[nasa]

Athletes Go for the Gold with NASA Spinoffs

NASA technology tends to find its way into the sporting world more often than you’d expect. Fitness is important to the space program because astronauts must undergo the extreme g-forces of getting into space and endure the long-term effects of weightlessness on the human body. The agency’s engineering expertise also means that items like shoes and swimsuits can be improved with NASA know-how.

As the 2024 Olympics are in full swing in Paris, here are some of the many NASA-derived technologies that have helped competitive athletes train for the games and made sure they’re properly equipped to win.

The LZR Racer reduces skin friction drag by covering more skin than traditional swimsuits. Multiple pieces of the water-resistant and extremely lightweight LZR Pulse fabric connect at ultrasonically welded seams and incorporate extremely low-profile zippers to keep viscous drag to a minimum.

Swimsuits That Don’t Drag

When the swimsuit manufacturer Speedo wanted its LZR Racer suit to have as little drag as possible, the company turned to the experts at Langley Research Center to test its materials and design. The end result was that the new suit reduced drag by 24 percent compared to the prior generation of Speedo racing suit and broke 13 world records in 2008. While the original LZR Racer is no longer used in competition due to the advantage it gave wearers, its legacy lives on in derivatives still produced to this day.

Trilion Quality Systems worked with NASA’s Glenn Research Center to adapt existing stereo photogrammetry software to work with high-speed cameras. Now the company sells the package widely, and it is used to analyze stress and strain in everything from knee implants to running shoes and more.

High-Speed Cameras for High-Speed Shoes

After space shuttle Columbia, investigators needed to see how materials reacted during recreation tests with high-speed cameras, which involved working with industry to create a system that could analyze footage filmed at 30,000 frames per second. Engineers at Adidas used this system to analyze the behavior of Olympic marathoners' feet as they hit the ground and adjusted the design of the company’s high-performance footwear based on these observations.

Martial artist Barry French holds an Impax Body Shield while former European middle-weight kickboxing champion Daryl Tyler delivers an explosive jump side kick; the force of the impact is registered precisely and shown on the display panel of the electronic box French is wearing on his belt.

One-Thousandth-of-an-Inch Punch

In the 1980s, Olympic martial artists needed a way to measure the impact of their strikes to improve training for competition. Impulse Technology reached out to Glenn Research Center to create the Impax sensor, an ultra-thin film sensor which creates a small amount of voltage when struck. The more force applied, the more voltage it generates, enabling a computerized display to show how powerful a punch or kick was.

Astronaut Sunita Williams poses while using the Interim Resistive Exercise Device on the ISS. The cylinders at the base of each side house the SpiraFlex FlexPacks that inventor Paul Francis honed under NASA contracts. They would go on to power the Bowflex Revolution and other commercial exercise equipment.

Weight Training Without the Weight

Astronauts spending long periods of time in space needed a way to maintain muscle mass without the effect of gravity, but lifting free weights doesn’t work when you’re practically weightless. An exercise machine that uses elastic resistance to provide the same benefits as weightlifting went to the space station in the year 2000. That resistance technology was commercialized into the Bowflex Revolution home exercise equipment shortly afterwards.

Want to learn more about technologies made for space and used on Earth? Check out NASA Spinoff to find products and services that wouldn’t exist without space exploration.   

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[twinsimming]

Utilities Mod by Twinsimming 💡💧

This mod adds optional power and water utilities for players looking for some added challenge in their gameplay.

This is a script mod that can be placed in your Packages folder. It was built and tested on 1.69 but should work fine on 1.67.

New Objects

Power Box

- Price: §0 - Category: Misc. Electronics/Misc. Appliances - Includes 3 original swatches + 1 recolorable option (3 channels) - Poly Count: 274

Water Pipes

- Price: §0 - Category: Misc. Plumbing - Includes 3 original swatches + 1 recolorable option (3 channels) - Poly Count: 1065

Utilities

The Power Box controls power and the Water Pipes control water (self explanatory :p). Both utility objects are free in buy mode in the Misc. Electronics tab and Misc. Plumbing tab, respectively.

Once placed down on your lot, you can enable one or both utilities. When the utilities are enabled, power and/or water will be cut off to certain objects on your lot until you "Turn On" the Power Box and/or Water Pipes.

While the utilities are on, your sims will be charged between §1 - §3 simoleons for every 10 minutes they use an object that requires a utility, with the charge varying based on the size of the object. The total cost will be added to your next household bill.

If you want to opt out of the utilities system, just use the “Disable Power Utility” and “Disable Water Utility” interactions available on the utility objects.

The utilities system only applies to the active household.

A full list of all of the objects affected by the Power Box and Water Pipes utilities and their usage costs can be found on the mod download page.

Utility Costs and Usage

To check how much you've spent on utilities during the current billing cycle (between when you pay your bills and the next bill payment), click on the "Check Utility Usage" interaction on either utility.

To see your full utilities breakdown, use the new "Check Utility Costs" interaction on the computer.

Also included in the full utilities breakdown is a Green Energy Rebate total.

This total calculates how much money a lot saves by using the Solar Panels and Wind Turbines from the Sims 3 Store and factors that into the total utilities cost.

The full utilities breakdown also shows up when your sim pays their bills.

Lack of Funds

If your household funds fall below the usage cost of a utility, that utility will be shut off and cannot be turned back on until your funds are sufficient.

Bill Delinquency

If you’re late on paying your bills, your utilities will get shut off. Both utilities will be shut off when your bills are two days old.

Tuning

All of the tunable values can be found on the mod download page under the header “Tuning”.

Script Namespace

If you want to turn another object into a power or water utility, open your desired object in s3pe and replace the current script name with the following:

Sims3.Gameplay.Objects.Twinsimming.Utilities.PowerBox

Sims3.Gameplay.Objects.Twinsimming.Utilities.Water Pipes

Conflicts & Known Issues

These are new scripted objects so there shouldn’t be any conflicts.

Credits

EA/Maxis for The Sims 3 and The Sims 4, Visual Studio 2019, Sims4Studio, Blender, Milkshape, TSRW, ILSpy, s3pe, Notepad++, and Gimp.

Thank You

Thank you to gamefreak130, @zoeoe-sims, @greenplumbboblover, and @echoweaver!

If you like my work, please consider tipping me on Ko-fi 💙

Download @ ModTheSims

[and-so-he-rambled]

Gotham Rogue Vlad Masters Part two

Masterlist | Part 1 | Part 3



The first night was the worst. Vlad broke into an empty old house without much difficulty, observing the layer of dust over everything and the lack of cameras or security beyond an old system he easily dismantled.

The kids were weary, plodding along and knuckling their eyes as they tried to stay awake and alert. Jazz had a hand on Danny the way she always did when Vlad wasn’t carrying him, refusing to let him go far from her.

She tightened her grip as a sleepy Danny began to sink into the floor, Vlad diving forward to scoop the child up. He returned to a solid state, still not in control of his powers. They’d had a few teaching sessions since Danny came into his care, but they hadn’t been far along when they’d had to flee. The stress and sleep deprivation wasn’t helping the boys already frayed control of his powers. Even Vlad, a Self proclaimed master of his curse, found himself phasing accidentally.

He led the two to the first empty bedroom and laid them both down, Jazz curling around Daniel protectively.

“Sleep Jazz, I’ll stand guard.” He shifted to his ghost form, Jazz eyeing him warily the way she always did before nodding and closing her eyes. He knew she would try to stay awake anyway, but was confident she’d lose the battle soon.

The ghost inspected his wound, frowning at the black lines spreading out from the hole in his upper arm. That wasn’t good.

He’d tested various of the Fentons and his old designs on himself when researching what he’d become, and none had this effect.

The ghost sent a copy to explore the house, sitting guard next to the bed and assuring himself that a ghost didn’t need sleep. Sure, he’d feel in like a truck when he switched back, but right now he was too dead to be tired.

-

The kids looked much better after a bath and a meal. He didn’t dare use the electricity until he knew where the bill would end up, or he could hack in and reroute that bill to get lost or paid under the table. For now he just heated a pot of spaghetti-Os over his flaming fist.

Danny had found a young boys room, mostly devoid of life but having a few toys he latched on to. He played and seemed like a normal boy if not for the flying around the house, kicking off of walls and tumbling through the air with a giggle as Jazz tried to wrangle him. they still had dark circles under their eyes and a haunted air, but they looked like kids again.

He left Jazz in charge when Danny went down for a nap, flying from the mansion invisibly before touching down behind a building and coming back into view. It was easy to slip into the crowd, injured arm held protectively to his chest as he weaved around people who semis just as soulless and dead as he was.

The shelters were a mess, and many of the food banks seemed overworked and shady. He snuck in through the back and stole two portions for the kids, storing them inside himself as he continued scoping out Gotham. It was a shit hole, but he could feel the ambience of death that clung to him like a second skin and hid him from prying eyes.

He went back as it started to grow dark, a bag full of broken electronics on his back.

As the kids scarfed down their food, once it was sufficiently pulverized, he began to disassemble and work on the tech. He needed a way to stay in contact with Jazz that couldn’t be tracked or hacked, and would likely give one to Danny once he was a little older.

Jack had been better with tinkering, despite being an utter buffoon otherwise. Vlad couldn’t help but think of him and Maddie the entire time he tinkered, hands feeling guided by theirs.

It took him a few days to finish them in between trips to Gotham to steal food and entertainment for the kids who were definitely feeling cooped up. They had new clothes now, stolen from a thrift store as to not stand out. He hated to see his charges in rags, but this city was a dangerous place to stand out. They had to hide until Vlad was more prepared.

He knew he couldn’t keep them locked inside the mansion forever, and he needed to do some research. He wanted to steal a laptop, but he’d need to find a place with Wi-Fi to hunker down.

He made a decision as Jazz did her nightly lesson of trying to teach her little brother how to shoot straight, they needed a chance to be children.

-

[amphitriteswife]

Teacher (and subjects) head cannons!:

(I’m from the netherlands and the school here has a different grading system. Also collage and highschool are one thing. So highschool is 4,5 or 6 years depending on which grade you get on tests and stuff in elementary so please bear with me)

Poseidon:

You would think that he would teach biology but you would be wrong. He would teach Physics or some high level math.

The type to not let anyone in after the bell rings

Doesn’t care if you end up dead in the class you will not go to the bathroom during his lesson

Stands by the door to make sure you put it in those phone pockets thingy

Gives the most homework out of all the teachers

Wears formal clothes, always. Suits, blazer, slacks ect.

You will never catch him on a bad hair day

If he catches you cheating on a test, you can say goodbye to that grade because he will give you a zero.

He does sometimes turn a blind eye if you’re on the brink of not passing and don’t choose his subject. (You do need to be on the brink. So not like a 3 or sum)

Hates electronics so he just wants everyone to use a paper and the book. No laptops.

Only talkes to some teachers like Hades and Thor

Students think he’s either the worst or just eye candy

Has won the the contest of best man titties by students

People actually ended up crying in his class and he didn’t give a damn

Sends people out 2 minutes before the time and doesn’t care if they beg.

If you have him as a substitute you can start praying because you’ll miss your regular teacher

Types with one finger if he’s on his phone (rare sight)

Checks homework. As in not just looking but actually reading your calculations.

He sometimes even grades your homework or puts them for bonuses

He sometimes reads if it’s work time and he finishes his lecture

Got drunk one time during school dance and started breakdancing. Hades was supportive and filmed it.

Hades

Teaches history

Is well with his colleagues and is well liked by students

He’s not strict with phones but please don’t use them in his class

You sometimes do work. He mostly explains and writes notes on the white board for you to write down

Is very, very passionate about certain topics. His favorites would be the world wars and the greek/ roman empire.

Is that type of teacher that you could tell anything. School, home, hobbies. He won’t mind and he’s equally interested.

Has a mentor class every year and he helps them a lot.

His class is very popular and lots of people choose his subject, so popular that people who don’t take it sometimes ask if they can stay and also follow it for fun

Almost never gives homework

He makes planners, notes, power points. Anything that may help his students.

He even lets the class watch films so that they understand it better, he usually choses for oversimplified if he needs to explain the word wars

You can eat in his class as long as you keep it clean and don’t throw stuff

Smells like rituals. Flowers. Very addictive and good. Sniff

Is present at the school dance and school parties. He helps with carrying and making sure the students don’t do stupid stuff

He doesn’t even need to discuss about his students’ grades because all his students do good in his class

Is rated to have the biggest dick by the students.

Also wears formal clothes. So like a suit, but if he crosses his legs you can see that he wears funky socks. Like a bright purple with colorful cupcakes on it or a bright blue with yellow ducks on it.

Gives extra lessons if you don’t understand.

You know how when someone asks teachers about their life? If you do that he gets so happy and explains a lot

Shows pictures of Melinoe and Zagreus from when they were babies.

He brought a 4 year old melinoe with him one time and the class played with her. If she was not playing with the students she was probably in her father’s lap.

He also shows pictures of Persephone. Every time he talks about her you can hear the love in his voice. (I’m Persephone reincarnated)

Hermes

Teaches music ofcourse

You would think that music was easy but it really isn’t. You need to able to read music notes. You get 2 tests, playing and theory.

Helps well if you need assistance with your instruments

Gives surprise tests to see if you actually did the homework

He loves and i mean looooveeees gossip

He doesn’t say much but listens when a student says something about another teacher

Handles the school musical

You actually need to put effort if you want to pass

Doesn’t take away your phone if he sees you with it. Just stares from behind on it until you notice.

doesn’t sent people out of the class, just gives them extra homework

He never, ever stops smiling. The class is being too loud? He’ll sit in his chair and simply drink his tea while glaring with a smile.

Some students find him scary because of how polite he is, because they can feel that underlying anger.

Knows how to make a student’s life miserable if they make his class unbearable.

You threw paper at him and made the class disruptive? Boom 4 chapters done by the next lesson and all the texts should be 4 times written. In cursive

He is usually seen with the principal (Zeus)

Buddha

Geography teacher

Why? Because he often travels for different kind of reasons.

Eating is allowed, as well as chewing gun

Is great with the students and most people just choose his subject because he’s chill

Doesn’t prepare lessons. He just talks and the students get it

If he does have a powerpoint he promotes his insta, tiktok and his snap

Loves to know about different cultures

Had a diss battle in his class once and almost got into trouble

Called someone emo

If you eat in his class prepare to share.

Asks people if they can bring him coffee from the teachers’ room

You cannot tell me that dawg didn’t pull up in Jordans

Is also present at the school dance and actually bribes the dg for some songs

Doesn’t really care if you skip his class. He either doesn’t care or doesn’t notice.

He too has a mentor class. He has private talks and doesn’t mind if you tell him his problems and genuinely tries to help

Doesn’t give homework unless it’s necessary.

Beelzebub

Creepy Science teacher

Got called emo by Buddha

Doesn’t hesitate to threaten students

He never cares if you don’t show up, but he will rat you out because funny

Has been detected to smile when he does weird stuff. Like cutting things open

Is always in his lab and he’s the only one who can enter with a key

Someone made a sticker of his face and the whole school used it, again he doesn’t care

Had like those weird pots with stuff in it

Doesn’t allow anyone to touch them. He does demonstrate stuff if you ask nicely

Let’s you go early but it’s not in a nice way. He’ll only do it because he doesn’t want to teach anymore for the day

Doesn’t even go to lunch, he just remains in his lab

He only goes to halloween parties

Cyberbullies people. Teachers and students included

Runs the anti *insert school* accounts

Will not care if the school burns down. He hates everyone and everything. Except Hades, because he’s cool

Doesn’t care if you eat or drink. (He may or may not have put something in it for his experiments)

‘Students are like little monsters’ is his motto. He’ll treat them like it too

If you fail his tests he’ll sometimes give you one to retake

Thank ya’ll for reading :p

I’m gonna make a part 2. I think. Maybe some with the human fighters

[carionto]

How to beat Deathworlders

I don't know what I want to write and it's a little frustrating. So, to fix that, I'm just gonna throw this at me - Giant Ant Planet

The first call to arms Humanity has declared. They mobilize with unseen speed and precision seven of their mightiest Dreadnoughts, hundreds of transports, and amass fifty thousand soldiers, fully armed and trained on the target.

They are headed to a world Humans scouted as having great potential for life to flourish. How correct they were.

In orbit above the planet Chromathium-2-4, the station Truncated Crescent Ellipses was tasked with conducting experiments to test the viability of Human-digestible flora and fauna living on Chromatoff (as the scientists began to call it for short).

When the fleet arrived, the final message from the station turned out to be true - it had crash landed on the surface. From the chaos of the recordings they received, there was a containment breach and the systems were under attack by some unknown electronic waves and incomprehensible code. A hostile act, but by who?

This was two weeks ago. Whoever it was, they would know the wrath of Humanity. Once we find your traces, there will be no hiding for long.

Preliminary scans show the station was dead and only local creatures and plants appeared, in greater density than elsewhere, but no matter. Just some animals.

The first unmanned craft landed and began exploring the wreckage. All of the digital systems were fried, not a hint of power remained anywhere. Attempts to manually power anything up proved fruitless - the data had been replaced with pure garbage code. Then, the drone vanished underground and went silent. Connection failure.

Orbital sights showed nothing, all frequencies were monitored and were free of unaccounted signals. The next group of drones descended and shortly after touchdown they too were seemingly devoured by the ground, all power and electronic signals cut.

A deep scan showed the same dense biological activity, but looking closer at the data it was like a carpet just below the actual surface layer. And for whatever reason the pulse couldn't penetrate below a few meters. Scanning areas further from the crash revealed a much more detailed and sparsely populated map going down the expected three kilometers.

For the third attempt they kept several drones above the landed ones at different altitudes. The moment the drones on the ground were vanished again, a sudden signal struck the ones floating up to seventy meters above and cut them off as well, but didn't seem to reach any beyond that. The visual was not as detailed as they'd like, but it was enough - the tips of large pincers and antennae and beady eyes. Ants.

The fleet maintained a perimeter around the entire system just in case, and spent half a day consulting professionals and former colleagues of the deceased scientists to get a better understanding of the current situation.

Two experiments the team had worked on before and supposedly continued when relocated to the new station stood out - metabolic acceleration, and unassisted neural interfacing via modified brain waves. Far from the wildest here, such as the self-relocating giant sequoia, but ones that offered a plausible explanation.

Ants serve a variety of critical functions in the maintenance of an ecosystem, so naturally they are a part of most late stage terraforming efforts.

Here, however, something went wrong and they evolved alongside technology at an intimate level. Perhaps deliberately made to do so.

They are spreading fast too. Twelve hours ago the "carpet" of underground ants was roughly two square kilometers. Now it was close to three and a half. In mere weeks they may spread across the entire continent, perhaps make it across (or below?) the seas somehow and ravenously consume all life on this planet before succumbing to extinction themselves.

This world is bountiful. Also, we're here already. Hmm...

Eh, may as well. Plenty of us have seen Starship Troopers and only joined to hopefully one day shoot at alien bugs. Guess these are more like home grown critters, but whatever.

With that brazen attitude (and a quick orbital bombardment) the troop ships landed, well, were forced to crash land the final few meters, but whatever electromagnetic warfare these ants were throwing our way didn't account for reinforced alloy armor and hand-held rail guns. Their sharp pincers, acid throwers, and thick carapaces did however.

Actually, fucking hell, they move real fast underground. Uhh...

This isn't looking so good in retrospect. Did they add cockroach DNA in these bastards too? Some of them literally don't care about losing their head, what the fuck!?

Okay, holy shit, abort mission! Good thing we still install regular ignition engines as an added redundancy to the military ships. Not very fast or efficient, but screw you, burn beneath the thrusters. BURN!

*deep breath*

Okay. So. We lost 831 soldiers, and 4625 are injured. And the ant casualties don't matter cuz they're ants. Super mutant ants. Who are going to take over the world if we don't nuke them. Which might not work anyway because HUMAN scientists made them.

Hoisted by our own petard or something.

Right, let's just chalk it up as a... military exercise gone wrong and quarantine the planet. Wait, make that the whole system.

...so this is what it must've felt like to lose the Emu War...

[ikroah]

I have reached the breaking point, the point of no return, it’s very clear to see a fool like me will never, ever learn. I have reached the breaking point, I hear the drums of doom, I’m gonna flip my wig in one great big atomic boom! —“The Breaking Point,” Bobby Darin (1966)

It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin’ #27 - Ring-a-Ding-Ding VI

Collaborative Issue! Guest Artist: @sas-afras

«« First | « Previous || Next » | Last »»

Read IKROAH on Archive of Our Own

Notes / Transcript:

Notes

Huge thanks to Monty over at @sas-afras for getting this one done! I handled the original layout and lettering, but the rest was all them. Layouts like this can seem simple and easy because of how straight-forward and repetitive they are, but when all you've got are a dozen and one reaction shots, every single one of those reaction shots needs to be as perfect as you can get them. And Monty did a hell of a job. Especially on the coloring! Monty, if you're reading this, you're a hell of a good colorist (on top of everything else). Thanks again!

Another note about this issue is that it, along with the previous one, were some of the most difficult to write in this whole damn comic so far. I really hate repeating in-game dialogue verbatim without good reason, but there's really not much else I could do here. It's a very necessary part of the story that is also literally a part in the game where your character is fixed in place listening to a monologue. I took some liberties, did some punch-up, not just for its own sake but to really drive home what I find most interesting and vital here about Mr. House as a character.

Anyway, Agnes is in trouble. And there's only one issue left in Volume 2! The next one closes out this arc of the story, at long last. Stay tuned.

Transcript

INT. LUCKY 38 BASEMENT. From an observation deck of sorts, AGNES SANDS watches several SECURITRON robots position themselves in a testing area, containing several sandbags, dummies, and makeshift fortifications. A voice booms from an unseen speaker.

MR. HOUSE: You're well familiar with my Securitron police force. But have you ever wondered: what exactly makes them the marquee option in perimeter security and pacification?

AGNES glances in the direction of the voice, uncomfortable.

MR. HOUSE: Well to start, the reinforced titanium alloy housing of each unit, which protects its electronic core, easily deflects small arms and shrapnel.

MR. HOUSE: As for its offensive capabilities, its X-25 gatling laser—produced to spec by Glastinghouse, Inc.—is deadly against soft targets at medium range.

SFX: BZZTZZTZZTZZTZZT

AGNES recoils as a red glow washes over her from the testing area.

MR. HOUSE: And then for close-range suppression or crowd control, the Securitron is also armed with a 9mm sub-machinegun.

SFX: DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA

AGNES shuts her eyes, wincing from the crack of gunfire.

MR. HOUSE: These features have been sufficient for keeping the peace within Vegas, but with the NCR and Legion closing in on Hoover Dam, and sizing up my city like a piece of prize cake, more than ever we need to be prepared for, well...external conflict. Policing is one thing, but when geopolitical powers are involved, my Securitrons can only pose so much of a threat.

MR. HOUSE: That is...if they're forced to rely exclusively on their secondary weapons--as they have been, all this time!

AGNES looks upward, surprised.

MR. HOUSE: Remember, the Great War interrupted a pivotal moment for RobCo's work. Consequently, all extant Securitrons have been stuck, running on a mere Mark I operating system—the first production version of the OS—which has simply lacked the software drivers for the use of their primary weapons all this time!

AGNES looks around, as if HOUSE were in the room somewhere and she could find him, in a panic.

MR. HOUSE: The platinum chip, you see, was never just a token. At a time when industrial espionage ran rampant, it was minted as a high capacity, proprietary, and uniquely irreplicable data storage device. In a way, it's more like a computer chip. And now—with the data from the platinum chip finally installed onto my nextwork—it's time for a very crucial software update. Behold: the new Mark II Securitrons!

AGNES gawks downward at the testing area, eyes wide. Oh no.

MR. HOUSE: Their newly accessible M-235 Missile Launcher gives them the ability to engage ground and air targets at significantly longer ranges...

SFX: PSSSSSHHH KTHOOM THOOM THOOM THOOM

AGNES flinches, covering her face for protecting, and screams as explosions rip apart the testing area below.

MR. HOUSE: ...and their rapid-fire G-28 grenade launching system, another part of the Mark II, makes them much more powerful in close-range engagements as well.

SFX: THMP THMP THMP KRRSSH KRAKTK KABOOM

AGNES, nearly frozen, watches the bombardment with horror.

MR. HOUSE: It also includes rewritten drivers for the Securitrons' auto-repair systems—although always sophisticated, the new optimizations render them inexhaustible in even the most protracted and attritious of engagements. Altogether, the Mark II upgrade confers a 235% total increase in combat effectiveness per unit—and it's all because of you!

AGNES lowers her arm slowly, jaw slack, mortified.

MR. HOUSE: Vegas finally has an army—worthy to protect not just the city itself, but the best interests of all of mankind, at home and abroad. Which is to say: this simple display of might remains a mere teaser for what I can, and what I will, accomplish, in an illustrious new epoch.

AGNES sinks further into a paralytic terror.

MR. HOUSE: What we will accomplish, Agnes—should you accept my offer, of employment. Ah—but I digress. I'm certain that you've had a long day. You can rejoin Miss Cassidy in the presidential suite for the night, if you'd like to, as they say, "sleep on it."

MR. In fact...say for as long as you'd like. However long you may need, to think everything over. And you'll be very well provided for in the meantime, consider it a taste of what could be...should you make the right choice before you.

MR. HOUSE: That reminds me—I've already sent Victor to collect your belongings from the Vault 22 Hotel, so no need to exhaust yourself further by making that trip on your own, hm? There's much about your future to consider, Agnes—and I would like you to think of it as our future.

AGNES stares straight ahead with a deadened expression.

The testing area in the basement has been reduced to smithereens. Fires rage on the rubble of obliterated structures, gnarled steel, and collapsed walkways. The dummies have been dismembered entirely.

MR. HOUSE: ...Goodness, what a mass. With friends like these, I sure wouldn't envy my enemies.

MR. HOUSE: Wouldn't you agree?

[almightyhamslice]

Stinger Flynn redesign! he is a horrible fucking bastard LOL. He's kinda strange compared to the others since he has only one eye and no flocking, and mild electroconductivity-- probably a charging function so kids can recharge electronics by standing close to him. He's also able to fluctuate in size depending on how much givanium e consumes, though his mask and eyeball do not change proportionally. I rlly wanted to make him look disgusting and slimy.

Purpose wise he is probably a guardian kind of like Opila, but without her hostility towards adults. He'd use his multiple arms to keep kids from falling off playground equipment and to prevent them from drowning in the resort's pool! He is a jellyfish after all, what good would he be if he wasn't waterproof?

He is the most insidious member of the main cast I think-- he cares only for himself and thinks he is the smartest person in the room. He also has psychic powers, able to make others hallucinate whatever he desires. He's the most dangerous member of the main 6, though he's convinced everyone he's harmless.

His view of himself is incredibly contradictory-- he simultaneously believes he is the best and the smartest, comparable to a god, but also harbors a deep self hatred (from "allowing" himself to be tested on by humans?) that cannot be mitigated. His solution is very extreme-- he wishes to activate a genome cloy on himself using the DNA of the children he was once meant to protect. What's a Genome Cloy? I'm glad you asked.

A Genome Cloy is a phenomenon observed in givanium-based lifeforms where, if genomes from more than 3 separate sources are introduced to the creature's system, the most closely related DNA is flushed out, leaving the most distantly related DNA circulating within the creature's system. In Flynn's case, since he is already part human and part jellyfish, introducing additional human genomes from new sources would cancel each other out, reducing Flynn to a simple jellyfish. This would render him effectively braindead, which is what he wants.

He seems very misinformed to me-- he generally understands that if he is cloyed, he will no longer have a brain and therefore will be unable to leave the kindergarten himself, hence why he wishes to have a human helper. However, he doesn't really know what it's like to BE a jellyfish living in the real world. He thinks life will be easy and blissful that way. How would he be able to appreciate "peace" without a brain? And jellyfish are obviously not the top of the food chain, they have predators like sea turtles! I suppose that thought comforts Flynn, the idea that he can be mortal.

[thatonebirdwrites]

Crossover Shenanigans: Korrasami and Supercorp

Korra and Asami stand in front of a strange purple portal. Korra: You know, I'm a little relieved I'm not the reason for this portal for once. Asami: True. Mako: I don't think it's safe to mess with it. Maybe stay here? Asami: How will we be able to determine where it goes? The best way to test a hypothesis is through an experiment. *proceeds to tie the rope around her and Korra's waist and then spools it around hte pulley-crank system she's built. It's several hundred meters of rope* So all you two have to do is keep an eye on this. If the rope is tugged three times, then crank us back. Bolin: *digs into his bag of cookies* Easy enough. Mako: *sighs dramatically* Don't yell at me when this goes badly! Korra gives him a thumbs up, takes Asami's hand, and enters the violet portal. A brief moment of weird stomach-churning nausea hits them, and then they enter a large white room. Two people stand behind a counter with strange devices that Korra and Asami have never seen before. Asami: Wow. That looks like a fancy typewriter. *Points to the keyboard with a strange square attached to it, that looks like a very thin mover screen.* Brunette-and-very-pretty-woman: Who the hell are you two? Korra: Hey! That's not very nice! We're explorers. Investigating the new portal. I'm Avatar Korra. *jerks her thumb at Asami* and this is my super awesome girlfriend Asami Sato. Asami: *blushes* Do you have to introduce me like that every time? Tall-muscular-blonde: Oh, hey! Great to meet you! I'm Kara Danvers, and this is Lena Luthor! *grins and holds out her hand* Asami stares at it for a long moment. Korra rolls her eyes and shakes Kara's hand. Asami bows instead. Lena: Okay, so nice to meet you, now go back through so I can shut this down... Asami: Wait, you made this? How did you make it so small? When Korra made a spirit portal, she energybended a massive explosion, which ripped open the fabric of reality... Lena: What is energybending? Asami: Oh, it's something only the Avatar can do. She manipulates energy in people or the environment. Lena: So she manipulated a massive explosion to create a portal? That seems a very destructive way. *gestures to the portal behind Asami* I built this using Nth metal, magnetic coils, and... Asami: *whips out a notebook from her jacket* What is Nth Metal? And magnetic coils? That's actually a brilliant idea. I've been experimenting with those lately. . .

Kara and Korra watch as the pair dive into an intense conversation about electromagnetics and engineering.

Korra: Yup, that's Asami there. My girlfriend.

Kara: Yup. That's Lena. My girlfriend.

Korra: Huh. So what can you do? I can bend all four elements and metal! *shows off by waterbending the water from Lena's glass, then uses airbending to boost herself upward briefly, and bends stone around the room* Lena: Would you please put my water back in its glass? Asami: It could short-circuit the electronics. Korra: Whoops. *Drops water carefully into glass but then bends the metal bar that's lying on the table into a knot*

Kara: Okay, but that was really awesome. So, as Supergirl, I can do this. *Flies into the air, shoots lasers from her eyes, then lifts up half the lab with one arm.* Lena: Kara, please, if you're showing off, do it away from the portal. *turns back to Asami* So you're saying, you build a powered suit using pistons, hydraulics, and platinum? Are you sure its platinum? Because the hardness and tensile strength you described sounds like titanium to me. Asami: You know, maybe that's what it's called here. Let me show you. *proceeds to draw the chemistry diagram for the metal*

Lena: Fascinating. That's definitely titanium.

Korra: I bet I can beat you in a fight.

Kara: No way. I could beat you.

Lena and Asami: If you're going to fight, take it outside please.

Lena: I'm also filming it. *Reaches over and picks up a round ball and then proceeds to type something into her keyboard. Asami watches fascinated as the ball rises into the air and follows Kara out of the room and onto the porch area of the lab* Asami: Was that a tiny mech? Lena: Robot. Asami: Wait, so what powers it? I've struggled with decreasing the size of batteries due to... Korra unhooks herself, cracks her knuckles, and follows Kara outside. MEANWHILE IN AVATAR-VERSE: Mako: Why did the rope go slack?

Bolin: OH NOES. Do you think they got eaten?

Mako: Bo, by what? *his eyes widen* Oh no, they could really be in trouble then.

Bolin: We go to save them! But we need someone to man the ropes for us.

Mako: Let me radio Jinora. *picks up the portal radio* Jinora? Can you send some help to the new portal?

Opal and Jinora soon join them. They agree to man the ropes while Mako and Bolin head into the portal. MEANWHILE ON EARTH-38:

Mako and Bolin exit the portal and stare in shock at Asami standing by a brunette, while Korra and Kara battle outside. The walls are transparent, and the fight is intense.

Bolin: Asami! We're here to save you! *puts up his fists*

Asami: Wait what? No! Korra and I are fine.

Lena: Who the hell are you two?

Mako: So you're not about to be poisoned or something? *has fire blades ready in his hands*

Asami: NO! Lena here was chatting with me about the technology here. Korra is just sparring with Kara. Lena, that's Bolin and Mako, our friends.

Bolin: Oh. Do you have any snacks? Because I got to see this.

Mako: *sighs* whatever.

Lena: *grumbling but opens snack cabinet and tosses food at Bolin* I hope no one else comes through. I still need to calibrate... Asami: For the calibrations, do you have to manually type commands? Lena: Actually, no, I write code for that. Asami: TEACH ME.

Mako and Bolin sit down with their snacks to watch the increasingly intense fight. Korra has all four elements and is in Avatar state while flying in the air. Kara is blocking all the attacks using invulnerability and trying to get close enough to do a right hook.

After several minutes, Jinora and Opal rush through the portal.

Jinora: Are you all okay?

Opal: Woah, nice place.

Lena: What the fuck is with you people?? Go home! I can't turn off the portal with y'all here!

Bolin: Can't! Got to see who wins!

Jinora: I apologize for the intrusion! I'm Jinora and this is Opal. We were worried about the brothers.

Asami: Here's some snacks. Korra is battling Kara to see who is stronger. *gestures to the windows* I think it's an even match so far.

Lena: *scoffs* Kara is obviously winning. She's invulnerable to all of Korra's attacks. She also has the ability to fly, and her laser vision can easily incinerate most of what Korra fires at her.

Asami: *laughs* So? Korra's ability to dodge with airbending keeps her a moving target. Kara has yet to land a punch. Also, the fire blasts, ice daggers, and stone spikes keep her on the defensive.

The pair fall into an argument into the science of their girlfriends' powers and how they may work scientifically. The argument ends up so heated that Lena finally throws up her hands in defeat.

Lena: FINE. Let's find out who wins then?

Asami: FINE. More snacks are needed though. Bolin eats enough for three, I swear.

Lena grumbles under her breath about insatiable eaters, while she makes popcorn for all of them instead using her bunsen burners.

Alex, Kelly, Brainy, and Nia burst into Lena's lab.

Alex: Are you okay? We heard about the invasion!

Asami: Invasion? We're just visiting.

Lena: Don't interfere! This is important research.

Alex: Who the hell are these people? *gestures to the Avatar-verse people*

Mako: Who the spirits are you? *jumps to his feet with his fire blades ready*

Bolin: We need more popcorn! *waves an empty bowl*

Nia: Did you say popcorn? Yesss. You're my new friend.

Opal: So you're all friends of Lena? *Opens snack cabinet and ignores Lena's glare at her touching Lena's things. Takes out snacks and tosses them at Jinora who hands them to the others*

Kelly: Yes. Don't tell me, she had an accident in the lab?

Lena: Not an accident! I might have unintentionally created a bridge to another multiverse that is directly parallel to ours per M-brane theory --

Asami: M-brane theory? Spirits, we're way behind. We just figured out quantum entanglement exists and how to build planes. Tell me all about M-brane theory please.

Brainy: I posit that if you tell her that could alter the trajectory of their world with dangerous consequences--

Lena and Asami: Shut up Brainy!

Bolin hands out more popcorn for the now TWO shows: Kara and Korra fighting still -- the fight has gotten more and more intense with no sign of either being able to land a significant blow on the other. On the other hand, Asami and Lena fall into an intense argument about physics, which is interspersed with yells at Brainy to stop interrupting them.

Brainy: Sharing this with a person of lesser technology may interfere with the time modality of their multiverse --

Lena: Brainy, if you don't shut up, I'm kicking you out!

Asami: It's not like I'm going to completely rebuild the entirety of all engineering in my world. I mean, I could, I am rich, and you know, that would be a fun project...

Lena: Ah, shaping society through money and technology. Sounds like me... *she trails off and stares at Asami*

Asami: Oh my spirits

Lena: Oh my god

Asami and Lena: ARE WE THE SAME PERSON?

Bolin: *throws popcorn into his mouth* Yup.

Nia: And those two fighting are probably the same person too.

Brainy: I calculate that the probability of two identical people from alternate universes could disrupt the time continuum-- Everyone but Nia: SHUT UP BRAINY.

Nia: *shoves a beer into his hands and pulls him down next to her* Shush, just enjoy the show.

THE END... FOR NOW?

[theramseyloft]

What’s your opinion on pigeon racing and flying? Do you think it benefits the health or tractability of a breed or could it ever be done in modest ways without the large aspects of neglect?

Ooh, this is a tough one.

Racing, in particular, is not exclusively for entertainment.

Just like riding horses or running sled dogs isn't.

The races that earn the biggest pot, for example? Supply breeding stock to the parts of the world that still exist where they are depended upon as messengers, and having them or not is still a matter of life and death.

Hell, if anything ever happened to our current means of electronic communication, Racing Homers are very literally the best possible alternative to fall back on, historically tried and tested.

And because their ability to navigate is central to meeting that need, training tosses and actual races are genuine necessities that cannot be replaced by any other means.

So I can't, in good conscience, say that the breed or practice should die out.

That said, GPS trackers are much smaller, cheaper to make, and easier to come by, though I don't know what kind of power they would need to transmit in real time, or if the addition of that would make it too heavy to carry.

If a GPS capable of real time transmission could be made small and light enough for a racing homer to carry without effecting their flight speed, I would love to see them used in tosses and races so that races could be monitored and birds who stop flying either very suddenly during the day or longer than it takes to wait out a night can be recovered.

A volunteer team of spectators would be ideal for that.

I can see some potential down sides to this, like people tracking the birds specifically to take pot shots at them, or trying to find a way to intercept and steal some, but a healthy racing homer's base speed is 60mph, with some sprinting lines clocked at up to 100.

And unless they physically can't, they do not stop until they get back!

The average person isn't going to be able to trap or catch that bird unless something is seriously wrong.

And having the on-the-move flight data in real time would be valuable to racers both for the data itself and as a means to draw spectators.

There isn't an aviary on the planet big enough for the length of sustained flight from which the musculature of the Performing breeds has developed, but we have ways to artificially enhance the immune system: Vaccines.

Natural immune systems develop over generations of survival.

Pathogens adapt to their host by becoming less lethal over time.

No host? No spread. Pathogen population dies out, and that strain becomes a dead end.

Hosts adapt to their pathogens over time by developing more and more aggressive immune responses with each exposure.

Vaccines work by presenting the immune system with the means to identify a pathogen without the damage to the host that would usually happen while the body is trying to organize the response to take it out.

We have vaccines for Paramyxovirus and Paratyphoid. There is an inoculation for Pox.

It would be amazing to have a full vaccine for Pox, not to mention Adenovirus, Circovirus, avian flu, and ornithosis, or if it were possible to vaccinate against protozoa like coccidia and trich.

Honestly, the improvement of medicine is a matter of time and funds.

In the mean time, all we can do is our best to selectively breed hosts with strong immune responses to the pathogens we don't have vaccines for yet.

[ickysubbyboi]

listening to you tell us about electronics is so hot. giggling fr like please talk more…

I was not expecting people to enjoy my rambles at all..but you should know exactly what you’re asking for here anon. Okay so basically the issue I was having

Part of my project was to power these two server fans and use a timer on them. So they for example work for 15min then stop for 30min. To control the fans, which are basically motors. I was using a L298N motor controller and on it you have the a few entrances to connect cables. And 4 of them are the Enable A1, A2, B1, B2. These are connected to my arduino which I can set the speed of the fans.

But the issue was I could only make the fans work by using all of the enable entrances (A1, A2 for motor 1 and B1, B2 for motor 2) This meant I had 4 cables connecting to the PWM ports of the arduino. So the fans worked, but I was using 4 port, ideally you should be using 2, 1 for each motor. But I couldn’t make it work that way so I said it should be fine (it wasn’t)

Now to the timer, I used a library on Arduino IDE which helped program the timer. Everything seemed fine but it didn’t work. I tried it for days and nothing. Later I looked up the library was only compatible for 3 specific PWM ports of the arduino. And I was using 4….Then when I tested only 1 motor (using 2 of the compatible ports) it worked just fine. So the issue was not making it work with just using Enable A1 and B1

But what I did instead was use the millis() statement on the code. Which basically registers the amount of time the code has been running. Then I created a variable called something like PastMillis and well as CurrentMillis for the current time. Then I had a if statement doing something like if(CurrentMillis - PastMillis >= 15000) (the 15000 is 15 seconds, on the code you use milliseconds)

So in this case once the program runs for 15 seconds, after 15 seconds the fans turn on. And then 15 seconds number is stored in PastMillis. Then I do an else statement that if the difference between the two isn’t 15 seconds the fans turn off. This makes the fans work for 15 seconds and off for 15 seconds which works like a timer. So it did work what I did, but the other issue is that millis() resets after I think it is like 50 days? So the system would stop working after 50 days which is an issue.

I tried to go around that to prevent millis rollover but I wasn’t sure if it was working because I struggle to simulate the timer reaching 50 days. But this would all have been avoided if I set up the motor controller correctly in the beginning. So in the end it was sort of a simple problem that I couldn’t fix. I told my professor about it and he was like “why are you even using 4 ports” which I thought was pretty funny because true..

Part of the project also included designing 3d parts and printing them but I won’t go into it because this is too long already…but that was fun too

[usafphantom2]

Updated B-52 electronic warfare suite will be tested in flight in 2024

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 03/29/2024 - 10:36 in Military

Flying through the skies since the 1950s, the B-52 Stratofortress is a U.S. Air Force (USAF) workhorse and a lasting symbol of American military power. The eight-engine giant has unique capabilities unparalleled to any other American warplane - which is why, after more than 70 years of service, it continues to play a vital role in the defense and national security strategy of the U.S. And thanks to a collaboration between L3Harris and USAF, this iconic aircraft is prepared to remain ready for the mission against highly sophisticated emerging threats in the coming decades.

Under a 10-year contract worth $947 million granted in 2021, L3Harris is upgrading and improving the AN/ALQ-172 electronic war self-protection system (EW), which protects the B-52 and air crews from a wide range of electronic threats. Our current work is based on decades of experience in providing critical technology as a Manufacturer of Original Equipment of the AN/ALQ-172 systems for the B-52 fleet. And combined with other ongoing modernization efforts, these updates will increase the relevance and reliability of the B-52 by the 2050s.

L3 Harris AN/ALQ-172 systems.

"Our opponents continue to evolve, facing advanced and far-reaching threats that challenge our ability to operate in contested environments," says Robert "Trip" Raymond, USAF's Program Leader for EW Technology Development at L3Harris. "It is essential that we provide our B-52 crew with the necessary tools to keep the B-52 relevant, lethal and survivable as the backbone of the strategic bomber force of the United States."

The effort of modernization and support - ALQ-172 Maintenance and Reliability System (MARS) - intends to do exactly that, increasing the average time between failures due to its modular design, while further improving the performance, maintenance capacity and reliability of the system. Thanks to an integrated and improved radio frequency system, crews will be able to simultaneously combat multiple radar threats that interfere with aircraft operations. And by replacing analog systems with more economical software solutions, USAF will be able to reduce the size of B-52 crews from 5 to 4. This frees up resources for additional mission-critical activities.

Ultimately, the updates will further help USAF in its Global Attack Mission and strengthen the effectiveness of the B-52 in modern warfare, while making future upgrades cheaper and easier.

"We are implementing affordable solutions that not only reduce costs, but also provide crews with more advanced protection against the most sophisticated threats detected by radar," said Jimmy Mercado, Program Director at L3Harris. "All this results in a more modern, efficient and effective aircraft, ready to dominate the future struggle."

USAF plans to conduct a test flight with the new electronic warfare capabilities of the B-52 in 2024.

Tags: Military AviationBoeing B-52H StratofortressEW - ELECTRONIC WARL3HarrisUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[askagamedev]

What build system do AAA studios typically use? I know that Electronic Arts has their own build system, but is this common?

Every major studio I've worked at generally has their own automated build system. These build systems are not shared between projects at the same publisher. This is because each game has its own file structure, asset list, and scripts that must be processed alongside building the code in order to result in a functioning game build. The larger the project/franchise, the more elaborate and powerful these build systems tend to be.

The Call of Duty team, for example, has a build system that allows developers to build the game with a shelved changelist against the current depot on multiple platforms (PS4, PS5, XB1, XSX, PC), and run a full suite of tests on the result in order to validate the changes. The devs are required to run this build and validation process before being allowed to submit their changes in order to ensure stability in the game. The build system is also constantly running in a cycle to compile all of the game's maps and packages for QA to test.

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Got a burning question you want answered?

Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter

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Frequent Questions: The FAQ

[dark-raven-feathers]

For the Tumblrinas in the US:

On October 4th there will be a nationwide FEMA alert sent out. This will just be a test notification for the emergency system. If you are in a situation where you are hiding a secondary electronic for whatever reason (DV, DA, etc), power it off completely or even drain the battery before that date. The alert will make noise and vibration, which you will not want. There is no way to block or silence the alert otherwise. The alert will most likely last for a full minute while the government does stuff with it.

You’ll note my use of secondary ‘electronic’. If all goes to plan this alert should be going to all electronics, not just cellphones. This will include the following: Phones (not just the cellular type) Radios TVs

If you’re not a fan of your TV suddenly switching to the EAS screen without any real emergency, switch off/unplug all of the following before testing time, which will be around 2:30 EST (10:30 AKT, 1:30 CST, 12:30 MST, and 11:30 PST)

[tehjmastuh]

October 4th National Emergency Alert Test Facts. DON'T PANIC!

All wireless providers carriers and TV providers will be conducting a test Nationwide. But I want to let you guys know what to expect when this test happens. The Test will commence at 2:20PM EST. Your phone will Amit a two chime square lead tone. These tones will be a ~ 932.328 Hz and a ~ 830.609 Hz For all you music majors out there. That is a Ab and a Bb the black keys on a keyboard. The tone will sound in a certain pattern. The pattern will produce one long blast, following 3 short blasts, and the pattern will repeat three times. It will sound like this.

__________________ ______ _____ _____

__________________ ______ _____ _____

__________________ ______ _____ _____. TV's and radios will be slightly different then it will be on a cellular device. The message you will receive should say "THIS IS A TEST of the national wireless emergency alert systems! No action is needed." ATTENTION CONSPIRACY THEROISTS! This is only a test!! If you don't want to participate in this test. These are some things you can do. Power off your phone or put your phone in airplane mode. From what I've hear for iPhones the silence switch on the side of your phone will not silence the message. and It will still be audible. If you try to ping your phone using your apple watch and your silent function is on, it will still ping. AGAIN! This test will be for all Cellphones within range of a phone tower that is Powered "On" and not in Airplane Mode. All radios and Television Providers. Period. Just like if you were to receive and AMBER alert or Any Alerts about any severe weather or general public safety alerts. Not your Personal Computer or Laptop! This test will only last approximately 30 minutes. But you will receive the message only ONCE. For TV's and radios, the message will be broadcasted for about one minute. If you power up your cellphone after the 30 minute test. You should still NOT receive the alert!! Nothing else crazy should happen that day, we won't loose power or internet, the government is not trying take over our lives. And if you think that.. ALL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS TEST WILL BE ON FEMA'S WEBSITE!! It's against the FCC to have unauthorized signals to be transmitted from one receiver to another. All electronics and radio frequency devices must be in compliance with FCC regulations. THIS IS ONLY A TEST just like the presidential alert test that happened around the same time in the beginning of October back in 2018. For anyone else that thinks differently, I encourage you to turn off your tv's cell phones, radios, and any other communicative electronic device. Because I will be powering off my cellular devices that day as well. My thoughts. I do believe that if we don't want to be interrupted by these tests or if there were to be a real situation. We should have the right and freedom to ignore it at our own risk. This is my only take on the Government.

[voskhodart]

Hey, do you want to learn how to play VHS tapes in the year 202X?

I know this is my art blog, but it has come to my attention that some of you are too young to have experienced the joys of the Video Home System in its prime. Come hither so I can teach you and we can embrace the beauty of physical media together. If you have a thrift store and a TV, this process should work for you.

Step 1: Get a VCR ($4-$15)

DO NOT BUY EXPENSIVE VCR/COMBO SETS FROM THE INTERNET!

The ones you find on sites like eBay and Etsy are insanely overpriced and might not even work. Instead, find a Goodwill, Savers, or independent thrift store near you and go to the electronics section. There’s a good chance they’ll have at least one VCR. If they don’t, try a different shop. You can also check local online marketplaces, yard sales, etc.

Good things to look for:

4 (or more) Heads — Heads are the things that actually read the tape. The more heads you have, the better your picture is going to be.

Auto Tracking — Poor tracking can create a rolling picture, which is a pain to fix. An auto tracking VCR does that work for you.

Pre-2000 — After 2000, electronics started being mass produced with plastic casings and cheap parts. VCRs made after this time are a whole lot easier to break. Ideally, you want something from the late 80s to mid 90s.

Well-known brands — Sony, Toshiba, etc. Japanese manufacturers tend to have the best quality. Early Emersons are nice too.

Generally good condition — If there’s a bullet hole in the case, it’s probably best to pass on. A bit of dust isn’t an issue, but major damage isn’t a good sign. If you can, plug the machine into a power outlet in the store and see if it even turns on.

Head cleaning indicator — Not something you *need*, but I find it nice to have. You’ll want to use a head cleaning tape when the indicator starts flashing.

This is the one I’ll be using for the sake of this guide. This is an old Emerson that I picked up from Goodwill for $7.95. (Notice the five price tags they slapped on top.)

Step 2: Get Some Tapes (¢10-$1)

This is the fun part. Almost every thrift store will have some VHS tapes, usually near the books/DVDs/records. I’ve seen them as expensive as a dollar, but some stores will just give them away for free. I suggest buying a few movies you like, plus one or two shitty tapes to test out your VCR with.

You may also find 20 different copies of Titanic in every store. This is a normal occurance.

Remember to check the condition of any tape you plan on putting in your machine. If the spool looks moldy, you *can* try to clean it, but you’ll need another VCR to do so. If the tape looks wrinkled or otherwise damaged, you can still probably play it, but it will look and sound a lot rougher than you should expect. If the casing is damaged, I wouldn’t risk trying to put it in your VCR at all.

Remember: VHS tapes stopped being produced commercially in 2006. Most tapes you find aren’t going to be in the best shape, because they’re all a few decades old. (Sometimes, though, you will come across a tape with an excellent picture, good sound quality, and subtitles! The Mummy tape that I own is near perfect.)

Step 3: Connecting the VCR to Your TV

For this step, you’re going to want a coaxial cable and a set of RCA cables (the red, yellow, and white ones). If your TV doesn’t have an RCA input, you’ll also need an RCA-to-HDMI converter. If your TV also doesn’t have an HDMI input for whatever reason, you’re shit out of luck.

You’ll plug these cables into the “out” or “out to tv” connection on your VCR, then plug the other end into the back of your TV.

Note: Not all VCRs have right audio (the red one)! That’s fine. Just leave it hanging free. The left audio (white) is your mono audio, so you’ll just have that instead.

Lastly, put the channel switch on the back of your VCR on 3 or 4. I keep mine on 3. This is the number for the channel you’ll go to on your TV to actually see what the VCR is playing.

Step 4: Setting up the TV

I use a little Roku TV, which is surprisingly steady to set up for VCR input:

Settings ➡️ TV Inputs ➡️ Live TV

From here, you’ll either be prompted to scan for channels OR you’ll have to select “scan for antenna channels”. It will ask you if you want to have channels 3 and 4, to which you’ll say “yeah, I do want channels 3 and 4” and click the button that lets you have channels 3 and 4. If you don’t have an antenna, you can skip the other prompts.

I haven’t done this on any other type of TV, but the process should be pretty similar: get yourself to channels 3 and 4 through whatever means necessary.

Once you’re there, it should look like this. Sad, blank, and lonely. But not for long.

Step 5: Playing Your Tapes

This is where things can go really really well or really really wrong. If everything is hooked up, you can grab your shitty tape and insert it into the VCR.

(Make sure there isn’t anything else in there first, though. Some people don’t remove their precious Titanic copies before donating these things.)

You’ll want a tape that’s fairly clean, with no casing damage, and already rewound (black tape in the left window). To insert the tape into a front-loading VCR, slowly and firmly slide it into the slot. Once it’s most of the way in, the machine should “grab” it and pull it all the way inside. You’ll hear the machine make some noises.

(If those noises are really crunchy, that’s probably not a good thing. Troubleshoot with your favorite search engine or head over to r/VHS to see if anyone can help you.)

Once your machine is only making some clunky whirring sounds, it should be safe to press the play button. Enjoy watching your favorite films in the least pleasant format possible. Don’t forget to rewind em when you’re done.

If you have issues, the freaks over at r/VHS tend to be really helpful, but you can also find decade-old YouTube videos that might answer your questions too.