Plastic Gear Repair
We’ve seen several methods of repairing plastic gears. After all, a gear is usually the same all the way around, so it is very tempting to duplicate a good part …read more Continue reading Plastic Gear Repair
Author Archives: Al Williams
Ptychography for High Resolution Microscopy
Nowadays, if you have a microscope, you probably have a camera of some sort attached. [Applied Science] shows how you can add an array of tiny LEDs and some compute …read more Continue reading Ptychography for High Resolution Microscopy
Speaking Computers from the 1970s
Talking computers are nothing these days. But in the old days, a computer that could speak was quite the novelty. Many computers from the 1970s and 1980s used an AY-3-8910 …read more Continue reading Speaking Computers from the 1970s
Inexpensive Powder Coating
[Pete] had a friend who would powder coat metal parts for him, but when he needed 16 metal parts coated, he decided he needed to develop a way to do …read more Continue reading Inexpensive Powder Coating
Tech in Plain Sight: Shopping Cart Locks
Shopping carts are surprisingly expensive. Prices range up to about $300 for a cart, which may seem like a lot, but they have to be pretty rugged and are made …read more Continue reading Tech in Plain Sight: Shopping Cart Locks
Linux Fu: USB Everywhere
It is a common problem: I have a USB device on a computer out in the shop, and I want to use it from the comfort of my office. What …read more Continue reading Linux Fu: USB Everywhere
Tech In Plain Sight: Magsafe, and How To Roll Your Own
Apple likes magnets. They started out with magnetic laptop chargers and then graduated to a system that magnetically holds the phone, charges it, and can facilitate communication between the phone …read more Continue reading Tech In Plain Sight: Magsafe, and How To Roll Your Own
To Test a (Smart) LED
Adding LEDs to a project used to be enough to make it cool. But these days, you need arrays of addressable multi-color LEDs, and that typically means WS2812B or something …read more Continue reading To Test a (Smart) LED
Line Power with No Transformer
Normally, when you want a low DC voltage from the AC line, you think about using a transformer of some kind. [RCD66] noticed that an AC monitor meter must have …read more Continue reading Line Power with No Transformer
Unhacked Mattress Phones Home
[Dylan] has a fancy bed that can be set to any temperature. Apparently this set him back about $2,000, it only works if it has Internet, and the bed wants …read more Continue reading Unhacked Mattress Phones Home