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(meteorobs) Final report on Leonid Observations



I have finally gotten all my stuff unpacked, my tape logged, and my
equipment checked, and I have some results for this list. First, I succeeded
in getting in a grand total of 32 minutes of observations, starting at 10:12
UT. During that time, I saw a total of 301 Leonids. I won't bother posting
the minute-by-minute results as they are largely useless. I was otherwise
occupied attempting to get my equipment working.

For worshippers of Murphy, I now have a definitive explanation of the
failure of my equipment: chip failure of a 74HCT138. It took a while to
track down, but there's no question: situated all by itself with static
direct connections for its inputs, it yields outputs not in the defined
range for TTL signals, and outputs are not consistent with the logical
specifications for the chip. In other words, it was damaged enough to
produce bad signals but not badly enough to simply die. In all my years of
working with ICs, I have never had this happen. My precautions against
static discharge have always been sufficient. Apparently, in the desert
environment, I somehow zapped the chip.

Done in by a few quadrillion electrons. What a fate.

Chris

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