Weller VP 801 EC

Weller VP 801 EC

It's time for another look into an electronic device: This time it it is a Weller VP 801 EC desoldering station. I recently acquired one of those old professional desoldering stations. They are used to remove solder from e.g. PCBs in case something is wrong and needs to be replaced. Essentially, they are an expensive variant of using a soldering iron with a vacuum plunger, or solder wick.
Notably, it has two equal transformers, is based on a SL443A (controller), LM358AM (op amp), T0609DH (triac), BTB06-400S (another triac). I guess one transformer and one triac are for the pump while the other ICs control the heating part. It is very well built, easy to open and service. This one was built in 1985 - the main PCB module has a marking of 06/85.

Philips AEA2500

The Philips AEA2500 is a nice little Bluetooth audio receiver. Looking at its internals it can be seen that it is based on:

• CSR8645 for Bluetooth and audio decoding
• D4558 dual amplifier

The Bluetooth receiver is a complete module with a separate L24C64 ROM. Here are some pictures:

(see http://www.baimao.com/export/factory/5659456.htm)

(taken by myself)

Scala, Maven and Eclipse

Apache Spark

My plan is to experiment with Apache Spark.

Preparation

Install the following plug-ins into Eclipse:

• Scala-IDE
• Git/Subversion etc.
• m2e
• m2e-scala, see http://scala-ide.org/docs/tutorials/m2eclipse/index.html

Scala/Maven project

To create a new Scala project in Maven, follow the instructions on https://github.com/davidB/scala-archetype-simple. m2e somehow does not seem to find the archetype in the Maven catalog. Here is the command to create it from the console directly:

mvn archetype:generate -B \
  -DarchetypeGroupId=net.alchim31.maven -DarchetypeArtifactId=scala-archetype-simple -DarchetypeVersion=1.5 \
  -DgroupId=com.company -DartifactId=project -Dversion=0.1-SNAPSHOT -Dpackage=com.company

Now, add the Spark dependency to the project:

    <dependency>
     <groupId>org.apache.spark</groupId>
     <artifactId>spark-core_2.10</artifactId>
     <version>0.9.0-incubating</version>
    </dependency>

You might have to select a different version.
Next, follow the instructions on http://spark.apache.org/docs/latest/quick-start.html#a-standalone-app-in-scala to create a simple example. Note that the SparkContext object needs to know the Jar file name, so change the example accordingly. Use Maven to package and run it: mvn package exec:java -Dexec.mainClass=packe.of.your.App

Pens

My student association at university organizes a yearly recruitment fair. Most IT companies from Switzerland and those which are interested in the Swiss market try to convince undergrads, grads and PhD students to join them, either for an internship or a position. It seems easy to find internships, it's not so easy to find positions for after the studies.

However, there are a few common habits among most exhibitors: goodies. As ridiculous as might sound, companies want to convince me to apply for a position by handing me either a pen (probably Made in China), another USB stick, or a cookie. At least I got coffee with the cookie. I also got something called 'lipstick battery,' to recharge my phone, and a set of assorted band-aid. We'll see...