The show was packed with debuts of production cars and concepts alike, including more than a few surprises. 2018 LA Auto Show wrap-up: Audi, Jeep, Kia, Porsche and Rivian brought the heat – Roadshow
Source: CNet

[TheSignalPath] wanted to repair a broken Instek PSW80-40.5 because it has a lot of output for a programmable power supply — 1,080 watts, to be exact. This isn’t a cheap supply — it looks like it costs about $2,200 new. The unit wasn’t working and when he took it apart, he found a nasty surprise. There is a base PCB and three identical power supply modules, and virtually no access without disconnecting the boards. He continued the teardown, and you can see the results in the video below.

Each of the power supply modules are two separate PCBs and the design has to account for the high currents required. The power supply is a switching design with some filtering on the motherboard. One of the boards of the power supply module rectifies the incoming line voltage to a high DC voltage (about 400 volts). The second board then does DC to DC conversion to the desired output.

Although it was hard to get to the boards in operation, the theory was that since the three modules were the same, it should be easy to figure out which module was bad, and even which of the two boards in the module. The modules are more or less self-sufficient although there is a controller that requires the center module to provide voltage.

First, he verified the voltages on the motherboard while using an isolation transformer to provide a much lower input voltage. He then tested each module individually using one slot of the motherboard.

The power supply module that had been in the middle would not start. There wasn’t anything obviously wrong with it. A bit of probing and comparison to one of the good modules, however, finally revealed a failed resistor in the soft start circuit.

He temporarily shunted the open resistor with a similar unit and that made the module start working. That wasn’t the end, though. One of the other modules had some burn marks on it. The area was near some very low-value resistors near a MOSFET. The circuit had a fuse that wasn’t bad, but it looks as though the resistors may have fused before the fuse when the FET shorted out.

We were glad to see someone else stacking SMD resistors to parallel them. We don’t feel quite as embarrassed now about doing that. We also enjoyed all the ad hoc circuit analysis, since there was no schematic available.

While the inside of the supply was compact, it didn’t have that certain glow we enjoy. It did look like better construction than the cheap power supply we tore down that was killing modules when it turned off.

1,000 Watt Power Supply Tear Down And Repair
Source: HackADay

Need some protection for your new XS or XS Max? Here are bunch of top cases to check out, all of them compatible with wireless charging. Best iPhone XS and XS Max cases – CNET
Source: CNet

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:

Sources: EU’s antitrust regulators sent questionnaires to Google rivals last month, asking for details on Google’s practices and impact on competing services  —  BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators have asked Google’s rivals if the internet search giant unfairly demotes local search competitors …

Facebook is cashing in on your Joss Whedon ’90s nostalgia so you’ll try its Watch Party social video tools. Facebook to stream Buffy, Firefly and Angel so you'll watch with friends – CNET
Source: CNet

Get another glimpse of Rose as Batman in these candid photos Rose shared on her Instagram. Batwoman clues? Ruby Rose shares candid photos from Arrowverse set – CNET
Source: CNet

They want federal legislation to protect consumers and hold companies accountable. Senators call for data security law in wake of Marriott breach – CNET
Source: CNet

The Thin Red Line actor will reportedly join actors Pedro Pascal and Gina Carano in the cast. Surprise Star Wars casting: Nick Nolte joins Disney's The Mandalorian – CNET
Source: CNet

The portable air compressors sold at big box hardware stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot are perfectly suited for the jobs they’re advertised for: namely throwing some nails into the wall or filling tires. But if you try to respray your car with that $50 Black Friday pancake air compressor, you’re going to have a bad day. The relatively small amount of air they hold is almost guaranteed to be contaminated with oil and moisture, making it unsuitable for painting or even just blowing the dust out of electronics.

But all is not lost. [Stephen Saville] has done an excellent job documenting his work to turn these low cost homeowner-grade air compressors into something suitable for spraying auto body panels. But even if you aren’t looking to put a sick pearlescent finish on the family minivan, these tips are worth checking out. From increasing the usable volume of air in the system to separating out contaminants, these modifications can unlock a whole new world of pneumatic projects.

The big one (literally and figuratively) is the swirl tube [Stephen] builds out of an old CO2 cylinder. The idea is that this will centrifugally clean the air, not unlike a cyclonic dust separator. As the air enters the top of the cylinder and spins around, contact with the cold metal will cause any moisture to condense out and collect down at the bottom. Oil and other particles in the air should also get spun out, leaving a central column of cleaner air. The collected water and contaminants at the bottom can be occasionally purged out by way of the cylinder’s original valve.

With a source of clean and dry air sorted, [Stephen] next wanted a way to get it around his shop. Using scrap metal pipes he puts together a system that not only gives him air where he needs it, but also increases the volume of compressed air he has available. By using large smooth metal pipes rather than something like flexible rubber hose, the plumbing puts very little resistance on air flow. The pipes therefore can be considered something of an extension of the compressor’s primary tank.

In the video after the break, [Stephen] shows off his new air system by laying down a very nice looking coat of paint on a car hood, but he also goes through the hold build process if you want to see the nuts and bolts of his system. He gives some great tips on welding and working with dissimilar metals which are worth the price of admission alone.

Outfitting the workshop with an integrated compressed air system sounds like the perfect second project to tackle once you’ve got the built-in dust collection system up and running.

Professional Results From Cheap Air Compressors
Source: HackADay

Microsoft was one of the pioneers of the current trend of flat design, but recently the company has been evolving its aesthetic into something a bit more three-dimensional. Last year, it unveiled its new approach, called Fluent design, adding depth, lighting, motion, and more to its aesthetic. Fluent has slowly been making its way into Windows, and now it’s hitting Microsoft Office in a big way. Say hello to the new Office logos: If you ask me, that’s a big upgrade over the current suite: And I don’t think it’s just a matter of newness, given some of the questionable and…

This story continues at The Next Web

Or just read more coverage about: Microsoft

Microsoft’s new Office logos are a beautiful glimpse of the future
Source: The Next Web

Fake news on the platform comes ahead of general elections early next year. WhatsApp faces misinformation problem in Nigeria, reports say – CNET
Source: CNet

As streamers have grown from being scrappy amateurs to professionals, the tools that facilitate their careers have undergone a similar evolution. While several of the tools are integrated into the streaming platforms themselves, successful streaming relies, to an almost astonishing degree, on third-party software. As Twitch, YouTube, and the like have risen to be entertainment powerhouses, the makers of this software have become more sophisticated to meet the needs of the streamers. One company in particular has fairly ubiquitous on several streaming platforms. If you’re a streamer, it’s a name you’ll probably recognize: Streamlabs. TNW spoke to CEO Ali Moiz,…

This story continues at The Next Web

Or just read more coverage about: YouTube,Twitch

Streamlabs CEO describes building monetization tools for Twitch & YouTube
Source: The Next Web

Stephen Hall / 9to5Google:

Source: Google Hangouts for consumers will be shutting down sometime in 2020  —  According to source familiar with the product’s internal roadmap, Google Hangouts for consumers will be shutting down sometime in 2020.  That’s not entirely unsurprising since Google essentially ceased development on the app more than a year ago.

The chat app has been overshadowed by Google’s newer communication platforms. Google Hangouts gets hung out to dry in 2020, report says – CNET
Source: CNet

Bethesda has been widely lambasted for its latest game, open-world MMO Fallout 76 — both for releasing the game when it was nigh-unplayable, and for allegedly refusing to issue some gamers refunds. This tidal wave of censure begs the question: would the company still be having this problem if it’d released its game on Steam rather than its own platform? It’s all over but the crying If you’re even passingly familiar with gaming media and news, you’ve probably heard some scuttlebutt about just how bad Fallout 76 turned out to be. The past week in particular has been nothing but a litany…

This story continues at The Next Web

Fallout 76 would have been marginally less disastrous on Steam
Source: The Next Web

Melia Russell / San Francisco Chronicle:

DHS proposes H-1B visa rule changes that would prioritize workers with US advanced degrees and make it harder for outsourcers to hire cheaper staff from abroad  —  Stacked shipments of H-1B visa petitions outside a government processing center in Laguna Niguel, Calif., April 3, 2017.

We’ve seen a lot of unique large-format scrolling message boards on these pages, but most of them use some sort of established technology – LEDs, electromechanical flip-dots, and the like – in new and unusual ways. We’re pretty sure this air-bubble dot matrix display is a first, though.

While it may not be destined for the front of a bus or a train station arrivals and departures board, [jellmeister]’s bubble display shows some pretty creative thinking. It started with a scrap of multiwall polycarbonate roofing – Corotherm is the brand name – of the type to glaze greenhouses and other structures. The parallel tubes are perfect for the display, although individual tubes could certainly be substituted. A plastic end cap was fabricated; air nozzles in each channel were plumbed to an air supply through solenoid valves. An Arduino with a couple of motor driver hats allows pulses of air into each channel to create reasonably legible characters that float up the tube. The video below shows it in use at a Maker Faire, where visitors could bubble up their own messages.

It took some tweaking to get it looking as good as it does, but there’s plenty of room for improvement. We wonder whether colored liquid might help, or perhaps adding a Neopixel or even a laser to each channel to add some contrast. Maybe something to cloud the water slightly would help; increasing the surface tension with a salt solution might make the bubbles more distinct. We doubt it’ll ever have the contrast ratio of a flip-dot display, but it certainly has a charm all its own.

Air Bubble Characters Float Along This Unique Scrolling Display
Source: HackADay

The struggling EV company lost an appeal to its arbitrator to loosen Evergrande’s hold on its intellectual property. Faraday Future's fight against investor Evergrande not going well, report says – Roadshow
Source: CNet

The understated pale pink Pixel 3 (the XL in this case) looks great up close under a macro lens. The 'Not Pink' Pixel 3 under a macro lens – CNET
Source: CNet

It’s almost certain, based on current research trends, that an artificial brain will replicate the organic pain experience in its entirety one day. So here’s a thought experiment: if a tree falls in the forest, and it lands on a robot with an artificial nervous system connected to an artificial brain running an optimized pain recognition algorithm, is the tree guilty of assault or vandalism? A team of scientists from Cornell University recently published research indicating they’d successfully replicated proprioception in a soft robot. Today, this means they’ve taught a piece of wriggly foam how to understand the position of…

This story continues at The Next Web

Scientists work to accurately model human pain in robot brains
Source: The Next Web

Could Mazda3 tech help pave the way to a new RX sports car? Mazda studying a rotary with Skyactiv-X technology – Roadshow
Source: CNet

Holistic healers are increasingly embracing “quantum physics” as the new age answer to all ailments. Because, of course, nobody understands the nuances of advanced physics like someone who eschews a medical education in favor of ancient mysticism from the Kindle province of Amazon. A little over a decade ago, Deepak Chopra – a person who’s made a living convincing people that he’s helped them by telling them that’s what he’s done – published a self-help book called “Quantum Healing.” The book, best as I can tell, teaches people that quantum mechanics will let them change their reality if they ……

This story continues at The Next Web

‘Quantum healing’ is the new snake oil
Source: The Next Web

In addition to improving the user experience, these updates will allow Care by Volvo to offer more of the company’s products. Care by Volvo subscription service getting an update in February – Roadshow
Source: CNet

International Space Station bot CIMON likes Kraftwerk and astronauts who are nice. ISS robot accuses crew of being mean – CNET
Source: CNet

Martin Coulter / Financial Times:

Venafi, which protects machine identities like cryptographic keys and digital certificates to minimize harm after a network is breached, raises $100M  —  A start-up specialising in “machine identity protection” has secured $100m in its latest round of financing, led by Silicon Valley-based …