Sleemanj posted pictures of his simple DIY case from a corflute: So I wanted to put one of my handy dandy LM2577 DC-DC SEPIC’s in a box with some binding posts. Being of an incredibly cheap-ass nature genetically there is no way I’m shelling out for an actual project box if I can avoid it! […]
Tag Archives: DIY
Minecraft cube
Ryandiver shared his minecraft cube project in the forum: After my flowers went down a treat on Valentines Day I decided that I needed another project. A friends birthday is in April, so I figured that would be enough time to build something. While reading my usual news stuff I came across this and thought it […]
Another geek love: Valentine’s Day flowers with LEDs
Want to make your loved ones feel extra special with your handmade Valentine’s Day flowers? Nowait shows you how to make inexpensive electronic flowers: Long story short, I get alot of stick for not buying flowers (I think they are a waste of money) so I decided that I was going to make some that would […]
Another DIY programming pogo pin connector
Lately we’ve been experimenting with pogo pin connectors for programing our boards. Beth designed another DIY ICSP pogo pin connector using two PCBs to align the pogo pins properly. One board holds the pin connections, and the other stabilizes everything for alignment. In the end I decided to use two pcbs to make the pogo […]
Soda pop can DIY solder paste stencil
How to make solder paste stencils out of old soda pop cans. Applying the toner transfer method of etching and you can end up with a usable stencil. Via Adafruit.
re:load a cheap 0-3A general purpose dummy load
Nick designed re:load, a cheap 0-30A general purpose dummy load and posted it in the forum a few months ago. It’s got over-current, over-voltage, and over-temperature protection. While the circuit is similar to many other DIY dummy loads out there, the key to Nick’s safer solution is the usage of the BTS117 smart low side […]
DIY vacuum part pickup tool
Geir shared his idea on how to convert the AOYUE 968 fume extraction tube into a DIY vacuum part pickup tool. All you need is a cheap manual pickup tool, a small valve, and lots of tape (the universal tool). Via the forum.
Tips and tricks on how to tidy up your bench
If you’re like us then your desk is always a total mess of microcontroller programmers, prototype PCBs, wires, tools, etc… This article covers a few tips and tricks on how to tidy up your workspace. While the article is written for heavier tools and equipment than what we use, there are some cool universal tips […]
Double sided vinyl sticker PCB toner transfer
Mincior made a tutorial on DIY double sided PCBs using vinyl stickers as your toner transfer substrate. We wrote about his vinyl sticker method in an earlier post, but this one covers synchronization between the two layers as well. This is a different way of making a double sided PCB, having one feature in common […]
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 […]
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 […]
Silkscreen PCBs with vinyl stickers and toner transfer
Make DIY silkscreens using vinyl stickers, similar to making PCBs with toner transfer methods: Below I am going to detail the process of making the silkscreen, which is the side of the printed circuit board where we solder the electrical components. We will use the same method, vinyl sticker pcb.
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 […]
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 […]