Wow... What can I say, other than congratulations! Never figured my Quadrapod's logic schematic would lay the foundations to someone being inspired to build a CPU and winning a major science fair...
I guess all I can say is awesome!
Ironically, I've been making logic circuits using the tools in the PS3 game Little Big Planet 2. A number of people have created ALUs, and one individual has assembled an entire computer. I'm playing with the logic to try to create a calculator, and personally, created some very nice LED dot style decimal and hexadecimal displays in game.
My latest hobby has been vintage calculators. My favorite is a SCM (Smith Corona Marchant) Cogito 240SR. It has NO chips at all. It uses DIODE RESISTOR logic. It uses transistors only for inverting, buffering, and flip flops. Transistors are not even used for AND and OR functions! It's memory is nothing more than a piece of VIBRATING wire (bits are encoded by a transducer as twists in the wire that travel in a wave to the other end, where they are read). I only found this thread because I was looking at discrete component logic threads!
Small world I guess! Haha!
As for the "safety" issues... There aren't strong enough emoticons to capture half the intensity of my eye roll...
If they want to wine that much, buy a panel of plywood, some 2 bys that are wide enough to encompass the height of your CPU, and screw the plywood to the 2 bys to form a box. Cut a gap in the wood and mount a cooling fan if this is a requirement for your CPU, drill some ventilation holes, and then place a piece of plexi or lexan over the top. You can hinge it or screw it down. Serviceability vs cost, it's your choice. This way, it's fully enclosed, and no one can whine. The materials probably can be found for relatively cheap.
If it's only specific cables or wires that they are complaining about, go to an auto parts store and ask for the stuff that they run auto wiring through to keep it protected. A salvage yard is another, more cost conscious option. You're looking for those ribbed plastic tubes that have a slit down their length that auto wiring is run through. They handle engine compartment temperatures, and with a couple clip rings or a few zip ties will enclose any long runs of wires. If anyone complains, tell them if GM, Chrysler, and Ford are OK with using the material to safely run wiring, they can too. You can also roll ribbon cable to fit larger diameter tubes, and no cutting or resoldering of the cable is required.
Anyway, good luck and congrats!
I guess all I can say is awesome!
Ironically, I've been making logic circuits using the tools in the PS3 game Little Big Planet 2. A number of people have created ALUs, and one individual has assembled an entire computer. I'm playing with the logic to try to create a calculator, and personally, created some very nice LED dot style decimal and hexadecimal displays in game.
My latest hobby has been vintage calculators. My favorite is a SCM (Smith Corona Marchant) Cogito 240SR. It has NO chips at all. It uses DIODE RESISTOR logic. It uses transistors only for inverting, buffering, and flip flops. Transistors are not even used for AND and OR functions! It's memory is nothing more than a piece of VIBRATING wire (bits are encoded by a transducer as twists in the wire that travel in a wave to the other end, where they are read). I only found this thread because I was looking at discrete component logic threads!
Small world I guess! Haha!
As for the "safety" issues... There aren't strong enough emoticons to capture half the intensity of my eye roll...
If they want to wine that much, buy a panel of plywood, some 2 bys that are wide enough to encompass the height of your CPU, and screw the plywood to the 2 bys to form a box. Cut a gap in the wood and mount a cooling fan if this is a requirement for your CPU, drill some ventilation holes, and then place a piece of plexi or lexan over the top. You can hinge it or screw it down. Serviceability vs cost, it's your choice. This way, it's fully enclosed, and no one can whine. The materials probably can be found for relatively cheap.
If it's only specific cables or wires that they are complaining about, go to an auto parts store and ask for the stuff that they run auto wiring through to keep it protected. A salvage yard is another, more cost conscious option. You're looking for those ribbed plastic tubes that have a slit down their length that auto wiring is run through. They handle engine compartment temperatures, and with a couple clip rings or a few zip ties will enclose any long runs of wires. If anyone complains, tell them if GM, Chrysler, and Ford are OK with using the material to safely run wiring, they can too. You can also roll ribbon cable to fit larger diameter tubes, and no cutting or resoldering of the cable is required.
Anyway, good luck and congrats!