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Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2017 1:09 pm
by Andrew Robinson
The steak was delicious... :)

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2017 2:38 am
by David Rosignoli
Thanks to Richard for hosting another great event. Some more photos below.
Just a side note for those who travel by air - I bought a high voltage pulse capacitor that I tried to bring as carry-on luggage at the security checkpoint in Richmond but was rejected by the TSA. Although it was not listed on their list of banned items for luggage because they couldn't x-ray it they couldn't accept it. The TSA fellow said it could not be accepted as carry on luggage or as checked baggage, but I could try freight with the airline. A walk back to the check in desk manager gives a slightly different story. He says that they have a different method of scrutinizing luggage and was able to check it no problem. Good thing I had a second bag!
Thanks,
Dave
Richard explaining his geiger tube setup
Richard explaining his geiger tube setup
Tailgate supplies...
Tailgate supplies...
More goodies for sale
More goodies for sale
More goodies...
More goodies...
Mo' goodies
Mo' goodies
20171007_111204.jpg
20171007_111211.jpg
vacuum goodies
vacuum goodies
Richard manning the fusor
Richard manning the fusor
Hitting over 1Mega neutrons!
Hitting over 1Mega neutrons!
Tim Koeth giving an in depth presentation on the Univ. of Maryland reactor
Tim Koeth giving an in depth presentation on the Univ. of Maryland reactor
Kevin Dunn giving an entertaining presentation on the chemistry of soap
Kevin Dunn giving an entertaining presentation on the chemistry of soap
T.R. explaining his copper extraction steps
T.R. explaining his copper extraction steps

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2017 7:45 am
by Dennis P Brown
Great pic's and thanks again Richard for not just hosting this meeting but also creating it; also, making this entire forum possible and available!

Aside: And thanks very much to Frank Sanns for the new forum site! This is very nice and functional! ( I too have coded a good bit and can only say, boy, I get it on the ugly issues recoding an existing (and complex) piece of software can and usually is!) For someone that understands the work and frustration, thank you again for all the work!

The last time I was at HEAS I really enjoyed the presentations - in fact, outside of meeting Richard, it was the best part of the meeting - learning now to make fire was really a high light (yes, dates my last attendance.) The technical talk that year was also really interesting and professional (a deuterium accel & loading of deuterium in different metals via that device.)

Maybe someone could post on more details relative to the presentations this HEAS? Like what was the copper exaction talk on in a bit more detail? Is the UMCP reactor doing anything new and interesting?

Congratulations, Richard, on hitting one million neutrons/sec! That is impressive! Relative to the old saying: "Your not getting older but better" really applies to your fusor!

The picks really make me regret not attending - next year for sure! And I have to arrive for the equipment fair for once.

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 12:20 am
by Richard Hull
Whoa there..........It is not I who makes this forum available, nor Frank Sanns. It was the sole thought and effort of the perfesser, AKA Paul Schatzkin that has and continues to make the fusor forum available!!! Frank and I are just Paul's assistants in this venue, his overseers, if you will. The perfesser is the real original source for this fabulous, long running forum for serious amateur scientists interested in doing fusion.

It is Frank working with Paul and now Andrew who do the heavy lifting work on the rare total collapse and crisis modes that have caused distressful moments here to keep this venue on the internet, inspite of changing software and idiots that would do us injury.

I am just the garbage man, who knows garbage. I am trained to see word salads from the "also rans" and the "me toos" and take such trash to the dump.

I am proud to host a yearly conclave for the last 28 years for high energy amateur scientists of various interests to gather and share their knowledge, materials and science with others.

Please remember this is Paul's site from its inception. We have given it body and sustenance needed to grow to be more than just another forum in cyber space. Paul had the vision and we gave it arms and legs. Thanks, Paul, for the venue!

Richard Hull

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 12:30 am
by Richard Hull
About the talks.........Sadly, T.R. Leary gave his talk around midnight and only about 14 folks were still hanging around during his major show and tell.
He asked if he could do a show and tell and we all watched in tight group as he poured out his recent efforts. Many interesting things and revelations as well as great humor tend to come out and be witnessed by the folks who hang out after 11PM.

The last "hanger-on" left about 3:15 AM Sunday morning.

I have, only today, totally cleaned and oganized the lab and grounds to their pre-event level. I spent two days sorting through the goodies I bought.

Richard Hull

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:53 am
by Dennis P Brown
Richard, thank you for the correction. We, or at least I, as users of this forum need to know or be reminded of this information.
I did not know that Paul Schatzkin created and also helps to maintain this site.

So, a big thank you to Paul Schatzkin (aka the "perfesser") for this wonderful forum!

This forum has helped so many - just looking at the Neutron Club list (the most difficult major nuclear particle to detect!) says so much about the usefulness and power of this forum! That is above the fact this means that many more have achieved fusion (but weren't able to prove it) in their own home - certainly one of nature's most amazing reactions; and one can witness this using such (compared to modern tech) equipment is amazing, as well as informative.

This forum also encourages and helps beginners (like me!) learn a great deal of practical electronics/high voltage systems knowledge that is extremely useful; yet, this forum also does more: the Plasma Club list - all those people achieving a vacuum system and some type of power supply to create the Fifth State of matter - a phenomena that is an important achievement, in of its-self, too; even the Scrounger's Club is useful for many - a group that encourages and helps people to learn how to find really interesting scientific equipment that can be used for so much more than just a fusor.

This overlooks the many methods people here develop and share to deal with the many issues related to building a fusor: like producing deuterium gas from heavy water to get around the problem that this gas is getting near impossible to procure now-a-days.

Finally, this forum provides a place for people from other disciplines to meet here to exchange ideas/information and get both help and learn about other scientific endeavors.

This forum has both inspired and aided so many to achieve these impressive and useful activities. I suspect that most or many would never have done these technological achievements and certainly most would never have been able to do it both as quickly nor as safely without the aid of this forum.

Finally, this forum encourages both young students/teens/children to both appreciate science and for some, starts them on a very production and exciting career track in both High School and college.

Again, thank you Paul Schatzkin - we are all in your debt!

Aside: Richard, thanks for the updates on the HEAS talks - really wish I had attended! Hope more pic's are posted.

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 3:30 pm
by Richard Hull
Dennis, thanks for your excellent reply.

Doing fusion is all about a fusion of many scientific and technical disciplines, as you note. The first fusion is when someone with the verve and nerve starts to fuse the many knowledge bases and take them into their collective knowledge. This the most difficult of all fusions and few landing here have the right stuff. This makes all of those who actually do fusion and who take over a year or more to do so, the real winners. Most often, these are the folks who did not use money and others building their device for them, but pushed forward against the odds. They make a lot of mistakes even with or in spite of our help. Still, they learn via the doing and the hands-on imperative.

Like you, I am rather stunned at so few who took photos and who have posted them here. I know there were more taking pictures. I hope this will spur them on to share their images.

Richard Hull

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 8:49 pm
by Silviu Tamasdan
Looks like you had a lot of fun. Wish I could have been there... but it came on one very busy week for me.

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2017 11:30 pm
by Susan51160
In regard to Richard's statement about the hearty steak-eaters; I know EXACTLY to whom he is referring. One sat on my left and the other sat on my right! But I will never tell....:)

I took many snaps at the event and will post them from my laptop tomorrow.

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 12:13 am
by Jim Kovalchick
Posting up a compressed pdf of my presentation powerpoint. Not a lot of words, but I thought some might like the pictures.

Jim K

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 6:06 pm
by Susan51160
These are photos of the lab activities from the Friday night.

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 6:25 pm
by Susan51160
These are from the Saturday of the big sale. As you can see, a good time was had by all!

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2017 9:16 pm
by Dennis P Brown
Thanks for posting the talk (wow - that is really one deep UV "flash light": not a device to look into! I'd even be careful about any specular reflections from reflective surfaces. Is there anything the Chinese aren't making that isn't really off-the-wall? Some of the stuff just really strikes me as ...well, just couldn't for the life of me think why they'd make it and then you show how useful the items can be. Go figure.

Also, thanks for more of the HEAS photo's - is it possible to get some captions for ones that aren't obviously self explanatory and possibly names with some of the pic's of people?

Really have to attend the "sale" when I manage to go to the HEAS the next time it comes around (I've only been able to stay for one day each time I went previously and so missed out on the "Flea Market"! So many nice items (and not just fusion related.)

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sat Oct 28, 2017 2:34 am
by Richard Hull
Susan, You really did a fabulous job of capturing images of the lab gear and the fleamarket. Thank you very much! I have captioned the photos. This was a great wad of photos.

For those who don't know, Susan has been to a few HEAS events and is currently in college going for her degree and nuclear physics. She asks questions to learn what methodologies are being applied.

Apparently Susan's camera date tag is stuck on May 25 2008

Richard Hull

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 1:32 am
by Richard Hull
2017 HEAS will be remembered as the year of the vacuum goodies! We had four vacuum vendors and the competition was fierce! I spent close to $180 on vacuum materials, but near the end of the day, as the vendors packed up, Tim Koethe yelled out.."I do not want to take this stuff back"..... A small crowd ensued around his, still well stocked, vacuum gear table. I stayed the longest and packed several boxes that were sold at fire sale lot-in-a-box prices.

Dare I gloat.....Oh yes... and here are the images and data to prove it. Sorry for those who could not attend or for those who did and did not bring enough money to the table.

Look close at the KF 16 pile. (click on image) You will see a snap on-snap off bellows valve plus 2 micrometer metering valves.
Check out the feed thru image. One is a weldable HV BNC feed thru and the MDC 10 pin job is new in package... normal price on this is about $500.00

Opps.... I forgot the 6 Baratron capactitive 50 torr differential pressure manometer gauges with VCR fittings on one end of each. I will add the photo of them soon.

Richard Hull

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 5:56 am
by Dennis P Brown
Just wow! I keep telling people about getting deals on fusor stuff and that it can be done but apparently, the best deals are at HEAS! Maybe next year I will remember this and be there as well!

That is really good and useful stuff, Richard!

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2017 3:12 pm
by Silviu Tamasdan
Susan51160 wrote: Fri Oct 27, 2017 6:06 pm These are photos of the lab activities from the Friday night.
LOL @ the Geiger ray gun.

I made recently a GM counter based on Arduino+LCD. It's mounted on a 4-foot long piece of wood (which I had previously used to test various compositions of wood varnishes) The GM tube is at one end of the stick with HV wires taped along the length of the wood. The Arduino, LCD and battery box are near the other end - the handle. I dub it my GeigerStik. It allows me to test stuff from a distance. :)
Unfortunately it's not rain-proof.
I plan to upgrade it at some point with a case for the Arduino+battery, and a HV connector at the tube end so I can change tubes easily.

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 12:50 pm
by Richard Hull
You must be around some really hot stuff to need a GM on a stick!

I regularly handle some ore samples that are over 100,000 cpm as measured with a 2" mica windowed pancake tube....no problem, of course. After all, it is just NORM (Naturally Occuring Radioactive Material)....It's just rock! I picked these rocks up off the ground in the high desert of Utah.

As always, a smart person knows how to be safe. For protection I use the physics of the inverse square law, but when that isn't possible, (ore in my hand), I use the physics of tiny exposure times followed by inverse square law. I believe in hormesis, as well. Alas, I am never around enough radiation to let hormesis take effect.

Many, non-smoking miners in the poorly ventilated U mines of the 1950's lived to a ripe old age. It is mostly the common American of that period, who mined and smoked 2-3 packs of old unfiltered cigarettes each day that suffered a shortened life span. This was not due to exposure to uranium ore's intense and continuous radiation bombarding them within the mine, but the radon daughters they sucked in with each puff of satisfying tobacco smoke, that took them out early. Death came early due to the ultimate chronic exposure to radon daughters while inhaling smoking debris from a tubular weed that they set on fire and happily dragged into there lungs on a continuous and perpetual basis. It was never the particulate radiation given off by the ore that took them out, it was continuous daily exposure to Radon daughters and the two packs of old "Lucky Strikes".

For those who never smoked, that is 40 cigarettes set on fire and inhaled per day! I never smoked or drank but have worked around folks all my life who had both vices.

Richard Hull

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2017 9:06 pm
by Jon Rosenstiel
As a 15-year old in the mid 1950's I remember my dad asking me: "Do you know what LSMFT means"? My answer was: "Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco"? Dad answered: "No, it means Lord, Save Me From Truman".

Jon Rosenstiel

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2017 9:28 pm
by Silviu Tamasdan
Richard Hull wrote: Sun Nov 05, 2017 12:50 pm You must be around some really hot stuff to need a GM on a stick!
Nope just lazy, don't want to bend down to test stuff that's on the ground. :)

Like that 50lb bag of KCl that sits in a corner of my garage and I occasionally use as a check source. Though that's not its primary use.

It's amazing how many things one wants to check when one doesn't have to crouch or climb on a ladder to do it.

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Tue Nov 07, 2017 12:31 pm
by Richard Hull
Amazing!! I was also asked at HEAS 2017 why I had a 50lb bag of KCL sitting under a bench in the lab. One of its common uses is as a water softener in homes that have hard water with a lot of iron. I bought it just for the 1million electron volt ++ gamma rays coming out of the bag. Fun stuff for my gamma spectrometer. It turns out that KCL is the highest mass, (atomic percent), potassium source that is easily and readily obtainable that is not chemically nasty like KOH.

When demo'ing a large lump of the stuff, pulled right out of the bag, and before throwing it under my GM counter, I always lick all over the piece with my tongue. It freaks people out.......some of whom, are on a low sodium diet and use "No Salt" (KCL) and sprinkle it, unwittingly, on their food.

When I would see folks using no salt in the lunch/break room at work, I used to say...."Oh I see you are using the radioactive salt substitute." They freaked out and said it is not radioactive. I would go get my counter from my desk and prove it. They were not amused.

Richard Hull

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2017 11:05 pm
by Silviu Tamasdan
KCl, jack of so many trades... Water softener (not my main use), salt substitute (not my main use), gamma check source and amusement for mad scientists (my secondary use), cheap feedstock for making potassium chlorate and perchlorate for pyrotechnics (my main use)

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 12:40 am
by ian_krase
Huh, I did not know that was a thing you could do.


To all of this I would add flux for DIY aluminum casting.

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 5:23 am
by Dennis P Brown
Oh, thanks Richard, for that reminder! I use KCl for food and I really am now glad to know that it is also radioactive... well, I've been irradiated well over a full sievert so, I really don't think the KCl is too much additional. ;)

Re: HEAS 2017 - post all images here!

Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:37 am
by Silviu Tamasdan
ian_krase wrote: Thu Nov 09, 2017 12:40 am Huh, I did not know that was a thing you could do.
It's easy. All you need is an appropriately large power supply (5V at min 10A but 30-40A is better), electrodes (titanium cathode and titanium coated with iridium/osmium/rhenium mixed oxides aka MMO for anode, or if you're rich platinum anode) and patience. If you want a full description send me a message.