overlapping circles represent a case i also had not considered at first, but having just recently seen the data for which the algorithm will be used, it seems quite inevitable. thankfully my brain is working this morning; a workaround to that is to not just consider the circumference of the current ...

nice diagram arvo :) i think i finally understand your approach - rely on a totally forward-based iteration/differentiation solution, rather than my method of trying to use a few rules/laws and building around those. your method has a distinct advantage in that it will always satisfy the objective o...

thanks for the thoughts guys; i really appreciate it! felger carbon: the problem is not a tsp, as i know the order of the circles already (apologies for possibly not making this obvious earlier) and hence the 'rough' path through the circles i need to take. but you are right in that finding any path...

1. The line (if extended) would necessarily pass through the first circle's centre. I can't prove it... but consider any placement of the other circles and you'd see this were true too. If an extension of the line didn't pass through the centre of the 1st circle, it would be longer than necessary. ...

*sigh* ... an iterative approach is looking more and more appealing the more i think about the problem... do you think an iterative approach would adapt well if each section of line coming off a circle was weighted differently? i admit i'm having a bit of difficulty visualising an iterative approach...

thanks for the response jb_ :) interesting to hear from another aussie (let alone sydneysider) first! i appreciate your thoughts on eliminating/ignoring co-linear circles - that was actually the first step i took as well :) essentially drawing rays of possible directions and then narrowing it down b...

hi all i realise this is a bit of a long shot, but for the math/geometry geniuses out there i need help with a seemingly simple problem :) imagine a path made up of circles of varying diameter. some circles are close together, others further apart. the problem involves finding the shortest path from...

i lose about an inch or two out of my 2" diameter reservoir every year - i put it down to really small leaks that are leaking at the rate of evaporation, or possibly evaporation through the tubing itself.

nothing too big to worry about, unless you find you're losing an inch every hour

The ST30NF works quite stable (from what I was able to test; I have only installed it for 3 hours), but it produces a very annoying noise when 3D applications are loaded; it's not like usual coil noise; it's more like a bad tempered fan; like something is loose in the PSU and is vibrating like craz...

I'm not even sure that I saved any money making it myself (I lost count some time ago)... However, I think that when I get the case tidied up, I will have something unique and very much to my own tastes. hehe yeah it's very easy to lose count of the $$$ when doing projects like these - my projector...

my my... sounds (and looks) like you've got this project well under way and under control already justblair :) would it not have been possible to start with an HTPC case? i think the front facias of HTPC cases would resemble what you're trying to achieve, maybe pick your favourite looking one and ta...

ahh well... it's all an experience :) it isn't exactly the easiest project to get right the first time around! perhaps your brightness problem isn't with the bulb - it might be with the projection lens. a lot of overhead projectors use single or double lens arrangements, however for diy projectors a...

Well, i guess it had to happen sooner or later. yesterday i took apart my prototype projector design (of which pics are posted above) and made a quick-and-easy setup that allowed me to position each of the parts individually and set the angle etc. so that i could get measurements for my next prototy...

justblair: that panel sounds quite nice. i think given your supposed destruction of a 15" lcd panel in the past, an 8" should be much easier to handle :) also, as peteamer points out, it'll let you stay away from the edges of your lenses and so you'll get a better image. another good thing about pro...

interesting suggestions. i remember myself keeping an eye out for anything shiny, round and concave everytime i went to the shops... heheh my gf wondered why i was so interested in saucepan lids etc. :) here's a pic of the ikea napkin holders, they're smooth and chrome and perfectly spherical and qu...

no... no reflector around the bulb in that design. i bought some (napkin holders from IKEA!) (i have no idea how they'd function as napkin holders though) but the bulb i'm using at the moment is physically too large to be able to use the reflector. the position of the fresnels (and everything else a...

hmm i don't know anyone who'd do it for free either, i think i'm just a bit insane :) yeah unfortunately there's a lot of falloff in the corners, it's noticeable in real life but not quite to the extent of the pictures. i'm 99% sure this is caused by the over-elegance of my over-complicated design c...

ok here are some pics: Fresnel lenses each sandwiched between 2mm-thick pieces of glass: http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/7498/fresnelholders8hb.th.jpg one mdf sheet-ful of parts, yet to be cut out: http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/1793/mdfplan1od.th.jpg all the mdf and aluminium cut out and ready...

good to see a relatively old thread come back to life again :) my projector was very DIY. i used (in order from light to wall) a 400w MH lamp w/ matching ballast, a glass-sandwiched 220mm fresnel+uv filter, the lcd panel from a benq fp567sv2 15" lcd monitor, a glass-sandwiched 330mm fresnel, a $5 mi...

Project after that is a DIY projector which will be integrated into some type of furniture. that was the project i just finished and have prolly been referring to in this thread :) coffee table projector. i hope it goes well for you, it went surprisingly well for me... i spent around $1000 on it (l...

ronrem: excellent ideas :) it's been a while since i last visited this thread, but it's good to see that people are still thinking of that cable-hiding problem. the very first idea i had was similar to / the same as your thick shag carpet one. i think it's a very simple way of hiding the cable and p...

i'd get a douple-pole switch and toggle both the 12v and 5v lines, but that's just me

no offence taken toad :) with the barbed connectors on that accessories page, yes you will still need hose clamps. the only situation i've encountered when you don't need hose clamps with those type of fittings is when the fit is so tight you have to heat the hose in hot water to actually get it ont...

yeah sorry about that, the guide is getting a bit old and while a lot of it still holds true, it really could use with an update. unfortunately full-time work has left me little time to play around with all these fun things so for now i'll just answer some of your questions :) 1/2" OD / 3/8" ID tubi...

hi jasonb885, i had a very similar situation with my watercooling box which had a hard-mounted pump in it - it vibrated like crazy! after i "silenced" my system i thought i was finished with it, however what i noticed was that the vibration from the box made an annoying resonance noise that was actu...

i have a cordless mx duo and i'm looking to replace it. the keyboard is too noisy and the mouse's left click is malfunctioning in an extremely irritating manner - when the button is physically down it sometimes seemingly un-clicks and re-clicks by itself which means dragging things around is nearly ...

Case windows actually add weight to normally thin aluminium or steel cases - and reduce vibration. i agree. after i added a window to my side panel (with nuts and bolts) the side panel rigidity increased a _lot_ - i couldn't flex it easily anymore. i assume this means a window bolted to the side pa...

yeah that cpu fan sure looks like it could use with a replacement if i was aircooling i'd just go for spcr's top pick which i think is a scythe ninja with a nexus fan.

that looks fine.

my only concern is in the 2nd pic, the unused connector at the top right is obviously only half-connected (and with the wrong voltage) so i suggest you tape over it and write "not to be used" or something to prevent confusion later on.

i'm with mathias in suggesting the 6v fans-in-series trick - i recommend you don't run the 12-5=7v trick for a prolonged period. i destroyed my antec sl350s power supply doing that =\ Haha I'm pretty sure that's how I ruined my Antec sl350s, too. It exploded - wasn't pretty. exploded!? damn! didn't...