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Scruge · 03-10-2005

If you have any changes or enhancements you want to contribute to the spreadsheet feel free to do so and please post them.

For you MacGyvers, here's a few tips you might find handy when shopping for parabolic utensils..
1) Visit you local 99 cent store at least every 2 wks. The one near my office rotates stock pretty frequently, and I've always managed to walk out with at least $5 worth of stuff, serial to USB converters found in PDA synch cables, 4v miniature lead acid batteries contained within rechargeable flash lights, dc to dc voltage converters within has been cell phone chargers, 120vac to dc adapters and all kinds of cheap tools which can be modified for special uses.

2) When shopping for parabolic utensils a laser pointer, ruler and a strip of metalized Mylar (like found on the inside of you favorite potato chip bag) work really well.. I simply put the ruler in the center of the bowl as if I'm measuring the depth and then point my laser at the sides of the bowl making sure to stay perpendicular to the top of the bowl. You should see the reflection stay pretty much stationary on the ruler (1cm of wobble is okay) as you move the laser from the edge to the center of the bowl. Most bowls will become non parabolic at their base as they flatten out, which is ok. If the flatten area is small, It shouldn't have much impact on overall performance. I found 9" stainless steel mixing bowls at my 99 cent store which was about 75% parabolic. Use them like a hybrid Cassegrain/reflector. The Mylar comes in handy for plastic ware. Just build up a static charge on the Mylar and lay it down the inside of the bowl to produce a reflective surface to bounce your laser off..

3) Plastic ware tips. If you find something in plastic you want to use, simply line it with foil wrap or I prefer to use the 2" wide foil duct tape.

03-10-2005	#3 (permalink)
Scruge Nyuk nyuk! Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: TX Posts: 1,378	If you have any changes or enhancements you want to contribute to the spreadsheet feel free to do so and please post them. For you MacGyvers, here's a few tips you might find handy when shopping for parabolic utensils.. 1) Visit you local 99 cent store at least every 2 wks. The one near my office rotates stock pretty frequently, and I've always managed to walk out with at least $5 worth of stuff, serial to USB converters found in PDA synch cables, 4v miniature lead acid batteries contained within rechargeable flash lights, dc to dc voltage converters within has been cell phone chargers, 120vac to dc adapters and all kinds of cheap tools which can be modified for special uses. 2) When shopping for parabolic utensils a laser pointer, ruler and a strip of metalized Mylar (like found on the inside of you favorite potato chip bag) work really well.. I simply put the ruler in the center of the bowl as if I'm measuring the depth and then point my laser at the sides of the bowl making sure to stay perpendicular to the top of the bowl. You should see the reflection stay pretty much stationary on the ruler (1cm of wobble is okay) as you move the laser from the edge to the center of the bowl. Most bowls will become non parabolic at their base as they flatten out, which is ok. If the flatten area is small, It shouldn't have much impact on overall performance. I found 9" stainless steel mixing bowls at my 99 cent store which was about 75% parabolic. Use them like a hybrid Cassegrain/reflector. The Mylar comes in handy for plastic ware. Just build up a static charge on the Mylar and lay it down the inside of the bowl to produce a reflective surface to bounce your laser off.. 3) Plastic ware tips. If you find something in plastic you want to use, simply line it with foil wrap or I prefer to use the 2" wide foil duct tape.