Eddie over at Bantam Tools shared detailed instructions of how to build this DIY overdrive effects pedal: This project shows you how to make your very own effects stompbox! We’ll go through the steps of downloading the .brd file, loading the file into our software, milling the board on the Bantam Tools Desktop PCB Milling […]
Category Archives: DIY
Arduino controlled Dual Mono AK4490 DAC (part 1)
This article is the first of a series detailing the design and build process of an Arduino controlled Dual Mono AK4490 DAC by DimDim: The design goal was to do a dual mono design so as to maximize SNR and channel separation. A 4-layer PCB design was chosen so as to have a very solid, low […]
Simpleceiver Plus version 2 SSB transceiver
An update on Pete Juliano’s (N6QW) Simpleceiver project we covered previously: Version 2 — What is it? V2.0 is the Simpleceiver Plus SSB Transceiver Architecture with the following changes: A GRQP Club 9.0 MHz Crystal Filter is used in place of the homebrew 12.096 Four Pole Filter. This gives the advantage of acquiring the matching […]
DIY through hole plating of PCBs
Jan Mrázek documented his experience experimenting with DIY through-hole plating of PCBs: I’ve been thinking about though hole plating for several years. The general procedure is simple – you have to activate non-copper surfaces (make them conductive) and then you apply standard electroplating procedure. You can find many tutorials on the internet, however, most of […]
Simulating 3-phase AC for energy monitor testing
Tisham Dhar blogged about his 3-phase synthesizer: Finding 3-phase is difficult, convincing the owner of the said supply to test some home made hardware is even more so. After building a 3-phase energy monitor my testing options for it appeared very limited. So I set about making my own low-cost 3-phase energy monitor calibration system. See […]
How to build your own RS232 to TTL converter
A how-to on making a DIY RS232 to TTL converter by Jestine Yong: As I read many pages on the internet I saw there is a sort of adapter so called “USB to TTL adapter” who can communicate through with the uC. I had not the time to order one but I give a try […]
Building a 12V 110Ah battery bank using 80 32650 LiFePO4 cells
Kerry Wong built a DIY battery bank using eighty 32650 LiFePO4 cells: During the past couple of weeks I have been busy making a large battery bank using the eighty 32650 LiFePO4 cells I bought on eBay. The battery bank I am building is a 12V (13.2V nominal) 4S/20P one. With each cell rated at […]
Build your own testing/programming jig
Sjaak has published a new build: Inspired by an old article from sparkfun and some tests I conducted myself I came up with a PCB that holds the pogopinholders and an lasercut acrylic fixture for the PCB on top. Using the dirt(y)cheap services from dirtypcbs.com the cost for this jig, including pogopins and their holders is […]
Network cable tester
Dilshan Jayakody writes, “This is an automatic Cat6 / Cat5 network cable tester designed using NE555 timer and 4017 decade counters. This unit test all 8 wire lines of twisted pair network cable and indicate pass/fail status with single LED. We design this unit to test network connectivity issues in Cat6 / Cat5 cable systems […]
DIY ISA game control adapter with parallel IO
Dr. Scott Baker has published a new build: My Xi 8088 homebuilt PC is a testament to the spirit of DIY and customization. Just as I am aiming to streamline my PC by combining the functions of a game control adapter and an 8255 PIO board into one slot, I appreciate the efficiency of platforms […]
Building a high capacity battery bank
Kerry Wong has been working on building a high capacity battery bank using his DIY tab welder. More info on his blog here.
The Boat PC – a marine based Raspberry Pi project
Domipheus has published a new build: In late 2015 I was doing my usual head-scratching about what gifts to get various family members for the holiday season. My wife mentioned making something electronic for my father-in-laws boat, and after a few hours of collecting thoughts came up with an idea: A Raspberry Pi computer, which […]
Precision voltage source – voltage calibrator
Mare writes, “What I missed in my workshop is nifty small programmable precision voltage source which can be used as calibration voltage source for testing and calibration purposes. I decided to make one, because instruments which have word “calibrator” have price with same digits as there is vocals in this magic word.” More details at Mare […]
Yet another CXA1191 FM radio receiver
Dilshan Jayakody has published a new build: This is simple, but very high quality CXA1191S based FM radio receiver system. In this design we use Sony CXA1191S as FM tuner and TDA2003 as an audio amplifier. This receiver system is designed to work with 12V DC power source and it delivers approximately 6W audio output […]
HydroBot: Prototyping new modules
Matthew Reed writes: ProtoModule is a HydroBot module designed to easily develop and test new monitoring or control functions that may someday go into a HydroBot module. It has 11 GPIO pins and the power rails broken out on a 0.1” pin header for easy breadboarding or interfacing with ribbon cables. The provided pins give […]
Halogen floodlight SMT reflow
David Sanz Kirbis built his own reflow device with an halogen floodlight, that is available on Github: First test was to check the speed of the temperature rise inside a standard halogen floodlight. Reflow soldering temperature curves are quite demanding, and some adapted ovens can’t reach the degrees-per-second speed of the ramp-up stages of these curves. […]
Controlling speakers with RADAR
Speaker power controller made with a RADAR module from Scott Harden: I just finished building a device that uses RADAR to toggle power to my speakers when it detects my hand waiving near them! I have some crummy old monitor speakers screwed to a shelf, and although their sound is decent the volume control knob (which […]
YouTube channel IoT view counter
Kenneth Finnegan built this YouTube channel IoT view counter, inspired by Becky Stern’s IoT counter: I’ve wanted an Internet connected read-out for some time now, inspired by the awesome shadow box IoT projects Becky Stern has been doing (weather, YouTube subscribers). I’m certainly not to the same level of packaging as her yet, but I’ve got […]
Dual purpose spot welder with pulse duration control
Kerry Wong published a new build: I had wanted to make a spot welder for a while. Most of the DIY spot welders use a momentary switch the primary side of the microwave oven transformer (MOT). Due to the simplicity of this design, it is very simple to make. This design however, has some inherent […]
Arduino data logger update
An update on Edward Mallon’s Arduino data logger project we covered previously: If you need a logger with a cheap durable housing, it’s still hard to beat the Dupont-jumper build released in 2016. But sometimes I need more of a bare-bones unit for bookshelf test runs while I shake down a new sensor. I can […]