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it's not, the dispenser is a jab at the kind of trinket stalls that form around holy sites. what i don't understand is how the dispenser compensates for the cha
by ekaryotic 1y ago
it's not, the dispenser is a jab at the kind of trinket stalls that form around holy sites. what i don't understand is how the dispenser compensates for the changing radius of the tape roll in order to measure accurately. i suspect that it doesn't.
- arp242 1y agoDivine intervention, presumably. They don't bless those tape dispensers for nothing.
- tempodox 1y agoDivine intervention sounds reasonable for an automated blessing device. Otherwise the issued blessings might be unauthorized or even in violation of copyright.
- samwillis 1y agoTwo ways to make it: - know the total length of the tape, and when it's changed, and therefore predict the current radius of the roll - a small sprung variable resistor pressing against the under side of the role But that could be over-engineering something that almost more perfect if it's a little imperfect.
- fecal_henge 1y agoId just weigh the roll.
- ekaryotic 1y agothought of a third way: cellophane tape does emit xrays when unrolled, so correlate the strength of the radiation with the angular velocity of the roll to more precisely calculate how much tape was removed. I suspect a second photodiode may respond to the radiation.
- stephencoyle 1y agoYou're right that it doesn't consider changing diameter, though I did contemplate some approaches for doing that. But, since it only needs whole-inch resolution, using the diameter of a half-full roll of tape gets close enough for novelty purposes.
- implements 1y agoHow about measuring the linear tape motion in a similar way that laser mice measure surface movement?
- stephencoyle 1y agoThat's a cool idea! It's all open source, and forks/remixes are encouraged, so feel free to give that a whirl. :)