DIY – Page 36 – Dangerous Prototypes

DIY solderpaste stencil etching

Here’s how to etch a solderpaste stencil. The process is similar to the UV photo etching method used for DIY PCBs. This is all well and good, but commercial stencils are expensive, and are massive overkill for prototype boards. Here is a method for producing a “good-enough” stencil using aluminium sheet via a method similar […]

Tweeting cat door

Let your cats be part of the social media explosion! The tweeting cat door project tweets a message every time a cat passes through the door. The project is based around the Electric Imp which is a Cortex M3 processor and a WiFi transmitter packed into an SD card. A breakout board for the Electric […]

29C3: Safecast – DIY radiation monitoring project

In this presentation from the ongoing 29C3 Chaos Communications Conference in Hamburg, Germany, Sean Bonner shares his experiences overcoming technical and bureaucratic obstacles while attempting radiation monitoring in the wake of the March, 2012 Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant disaster. His observations led to the development of the Safecast DIY radiation monitoring device. The project’s […]

DIY portable CNC machine

Want to show of your cool DIY CNC machine, but it’s just to cumbersome to take it with you? Here’s a portable DIY CNC machine (machine translation). Enclosed inside the plywood box is the CNC, along with a computer running LinuxCNC, a monitor, and an interface controller. The work area is 120mm/40mm/80mm in the X/Y/Z […]

DIY Theremin

Erdabyz want’s to build a DIY Theremin. This is a musical instrument controlled without direct physical contact. The device has two antennas which in conjunction with the operators body (representing the capacitance) complete two LC oscillators. By moving your hands closer or farther from the antennas, pitch and volume of the tone are controlled. My […]

Safe enclosures for solid state relays and mains current

Solid state relays can switch everyday mains-powered devices like lamps, but there’s danger inherent in working with household AC voltage. Victor wrote a tutorial on how to enclose the SSR in an old laptop power supply case. It’s simple to build, and it keeps you and your fingers safer than a bare board. For a […]

DIY indoor thermometer and moisture meter

Raj designed an open hardware DIY indoor thermometer and moisture meter. It’s based on the PIC16F688 coupled with the DH11 temperature and humidity sensor. The 7-segment display has auto brightness correction depending on the lighting conditions. This project is about building a microcontroller-based digital room thermometer plus hygrometer that displays temperature and relative humidity on […]

DIY PCB tutorial

Jianyi Liu wrote a tutorial on PCB fabrication at home. He states, “A few years ago, I started experimenting with homemade prototype PCBs as an alternative to professionally fabricated PCBs from board manufacturing company. My company was flexible enough to give me some resources and time to explore the subject matter. What I discovered was […]

Nintendo 64 handheld console

Want to play your Nintendo 64 games on the go? Travis took a N64 board, relocated the cartridge slot, and slapped on a 7” TFT & a battery. All of this is enclosed in a ABS plastic case with the original joypad buttons added for the interface. The build photos are 3 minutes into the […]

How to Add Custom Ringtones to a Wireless Doorbell

Want your doorbell to play prerecorded messages or tunes? This hack at instructables replaces the original speaker in a wireless doorbell with a 9 volt recording module. Most doorbells just make a simple generic tone. But I thought that it would be fun to modify a door bell so that it has a customizable ringtone. That way […]

TP-Link WR703n as telemetry link and camera broadcasting tutorial

Here is a guide on how to setup the cheap TP-Link WR703n router to act as a telemetry link and an USB camera broadcasting server. The guide is in three parts, starting from flashing the OpenWrt firmware, adding a USB hub and extending the memory with a USB flash drive, and finishes with explaining how […]

Stovetop toner transfer tutorial

One of the most common techniques in DIY PCB etching is the toner transfer method. Tom added a twist to the standard method by adding the use of a stovetop in the toner transfer process. He wrote a tutorial describing in depth how you could recreate his results. I have been trying out a new […]

ISPtouch – header-less ISP connector for AVRs

Tired of headers for programming? Here’s a header-less ISP connector for AVR microcontrollers. It’s based on the AVX 9188 Staggered SOLO Stacker connector, which is spring loaded. You simply line up your connector withe the guide holes and press down to program. Via the comments.

DIY mechanized surface mount tape feeder

In relation to the previously posted Resistor cutting robot, here is a DIY mechanized surface mount tape feeder. The project is mostly made from CNC milled plastic. It’s open source so all the design files are available. This is a simple proof-of-concept of a SMT tape-and-reel part feeder design. The main parts are a stepper […]

Resistor cutting robot from .:Oomlout:.

On our Shenzhen trip we were joined by the Oomlout team. While discussing a reel-to-strip cutting robot, Aaron mentioned that he has a resistor cutting robot. It’s built from laser cut MDF and acrylic, with a bunch of servos attached to load and cut the resistor tape. The project is open source, so all the […]

DIY Ferric Chloride etchant

Here is a guide on how to make your own Ferric Chloride etchant. It’s a relatively simple process that only requires some iron, hydrochloric acid, and air. As the process uses acids please be careful, and do this only if you feel comfortable with it. Get 20g of iron. This can be in the form […]

Rubidium frequency standard enclosure

Kenneth builds an enclosure and power supply for a “cheap” rubidium frequency standard. Rubidium standards are used for high precision clocks, and time keeping with a drift of only 6ms a year. Normally, rubidium standards are very expensive, but it is possible to find these modules on eBay for $50-$100 as they come out of decommissioned equipment […]

DIY manual pick ‘n’ place machine

Bored with having to pick up every component with tweezers, and having them always fall off at unfortunate moments. Build a manual pick ‘n’ place machine. Basically it’s a suction cup on X and Y movable axis, with a USB camera attached for higher precision. If you are dealing with tiny SMD parts (e.g. 0402 […]

DIY electroplating and CNC milling PCBs

Here’s a video made by Cpirius of DIY electroplating and CNC milling of PCBs. The electroplating process he uses is good for down to 26mil vias. It looks like cpirius has made a video of his entire PCB prototyping process: Drilling holes, electroplating, mechanically etching and cutting out the board. Read more about the electroplating […]