Category: Electronics
To some, the smell of solder is like the smell of fresh cookies. I can’t help tinkering with LEDs, microcontrollers, and computers. It’s what I’m paid to do, but also what I love to do with my free time.
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The intersection of IKEA and hacking
I heard a really fascinating episode of one of my favorite podcasts recently (99% Invisible). It was about hacking IKEA furniture. They interviewed the curator of a website devoted to the niche art form.
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Inaugural Maker Faire
Well, I’ve officially joined the DIY electronics community. Last week, I attended my first Maker Faire. It was my city’s first ever, and I was determined to take one of my projects as a booth participant. Nothing like a deadline to get my hind quarters into gear and (kind of) finish a project!
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The state of the Arduino ecosystem
At this ripe old age, I have come to value most the quality of a toolchain. I’ll go a step further and say that the coherency and consistency of the umbrella that toolchain inhabits is a most prized quality. And what spurred this revelation? Why the obtuse declaration? I have seen the other side, brothers and…
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Dell OptiPlex motherboard repair
My office was liquidating a bunch of old computer equipment. In the heap, my eye was caught by a Dell box. “Hmm, what’s wrong with that computer?” And so began my next big obsession.
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Failure analysis on the HoMedics Lullaby Soundspa
We have one of these little do-dads for our kid: HoMedics SS-3000 Soundspa Lullaby. It’s a nifty little product, makes different simulated white noise sounds and projects these images from a spinning disk apparatus. Like I said, nifty. But also fragile, and prone to breakage. The company, HoMedics, replaced our first one because its little motor…
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IKEA kitchen light mod, part 2
A while ago, I modified my daughter’s little kid kitchen. In that project, I found my design self teetering on that edge between two goals: get-it-done on the one side, do-it-right on the other. I had chosen the former and even my 2 year old (at the time) could see that this was a critical…
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AC multi-way light switch
My garage has a single light switch in it for its overhead fluorescent lights. This light switch is not conveniently located; it is situated beyond our freezer, such that one has to walk into the darkened garage in order to turn the switch on. So I made an electronic 3-way switch. “Why?”, you ask. Indeed.…
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Parody Circuits
I ran across this most excellent xkcd comic the other day: It’s just so funny on so many levels, if you’re a EE. Let’s just go clockwise around the page, starting at the top left. I love that the battery voltage is a square root. Just so obscure and mathematically nerdy. Gluing open the switch? …
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Cell phone connector fix
My good friend James contacted me with an electronics problem. Seems his daughter’s cell phone was on the fritz. So I agreed to take a look. She has a Pantech P7000 flip phone, but it stopped charging. I asked a few questions first to understand the nature of the problem. For instance: James gave me…
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iPod jukebox (phase 2): prototype
You remember the first phase of the iPod jukebox, yes? To jog your memory, the basic goal was simple. How do I make these dust-collecting components: …work with my iPhone in order to have music in my workshop? Simple concept, not so simple electronics. The project is mostly a connectivity issue, i.e., there are tons…