Hobby Time With Me, Ryan Susman

How to get your hands on some tritium? This guide will provide resources and what to look for when purchasing tritium. With the shipping disruptions of 2020, prices are all out of wack and should normalize.  Note: This guide will not cover the legal aspect as each country has its own laws and regulations. To learn more about the luminosity and spectral intensity of tritium vials, read my post here:  True Brightness of Tritium Vials   Spoiler: Tritium Safety Isotopes should be treated with respect, not only for the safety of yourself but also for the safety of others. The average amount of tritium inside a tritium vial has been observed as such: 3mm x 22.5mm tritium vial is roughly 0.1 curies (3.7 GBq) 5mm x 150mm tritium vial is approximately 1.8 curies (66.6 GBq) Is That Dangerous? It would be inappropriate to say anything other than 'Yes'; however, the risk is highly negligible. The EPA  touches on how tritium can enter and be processed through your body. Tritium is a low-ene

Tritium Vial DIY Spectrogram To make the best decisions regarding solar cells, understanding the emission of Tritium Vials is critical. A lab-grade spectrometer can cost $5k-$10k, a bit out of budget for this project. Instead, building a spectrometer isn't too terribly difficult. Consumer-grade tools are available that enable the home enthusiast to construct an estimated optical spectrometer that, for general purposes, can be used. The range of this DIY spectrometer is easily between 40nm to 700nm.  To learn more about the luminosity and spectral intensity of tritium vials, read my post here:  True Brightness of Tritium Vials   Spoiler: How to Build this Spectrometer? Credit, where credit is due, this 2016 project by Tony Butterfield,  is the root for this idea; the physical form was replicated to the best of my ability with some improvements.  The code was initially analyzed  and determined to be a guideline rather than a commitment .  The CMOS sensor and features in

Automated Cell Testing What variables are we tracking? From here on, we will define results as their relation to a 'Cell Combo'.  A cell combo consists of the two variables we want to focus on changing while all others remain static. Below, we cover a more complete set of variables we want to monitor and manage, for the cell construction we will be representing the cell combo as the Tritium Cell ID and the Solar Cell ID. Key attributes to measure the cell combo are: Open circuit voltage Current draw Changing Variables: Solar cell Tritium vial Static or controlled Variables: Resistor Capacitor Wire length and type Ambient light Local AC (noise) ADC impedance Relay inductance (noise)  Raspberry Pi (noise) Temperature of components  How to capture? Component choices Components are chosen for their efficiency and consistency. 10µF 25V Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitor 100 kOhms ±1% 0.25W, 1/4W Through Hole Resistor Axial Flame Retardant Coating, Safety Metal Film 16 Bits ADS1115 ADC

Why a Parabola? To learn more about the luminosity and spectral intensity of tritium vials, read my post here:  True Brightness of Tritium Vials   Spoiler: Mathematically, a parabola is the best shape to focus light from a single omnidirectional source in a specific direction. The " Focus " of a parabola is the optional point for the source of light. Note: this assumes that the source of light has a diameter of 0. Obviously, that being impossible, our 'Loss' in terms of 'non focused' light is a function of the diameter of the light source. This loss can be reduced to nearly 0 by placing the captured cell (solar cell) as close to the 'exit' of the parabola as possible. Source Wikipedia Initial Proof of Concept Video: The light behind the source and rear of the parabola lost? To measure if light reflecting between the source and the immediate walls behind the Tritium Vial is a significant loss, we can measure the performance with a double in