Spectroscopy on the Cheap
[Project 326] wanted to know exactly what gas was in some glass tubes. The answer, of course, is to use a spectrometer, but that’s an expensive piece of gear, right? …read more Continue reading Spectroscopy on the Cheap
Author Archives: Al Williams
3D Printed Jellyfish Lights Up
[Ben] may be 15 years old, but he’s got the knack for 3D printing and artistic mechanical design. When you see his 3D-printed mechanical jellyfish lamp, we think you’ll agree. …read more Continue reading 3D Printed Jellyfish Lights Up
Retro Gadgets: Things Your TV No Longer Needs
It is hard to imagine that a handful of decades ago, TV wasn’t a thing. We’ve talked a few times about the birth of television. After an admittedly slow slow …read more Continue reading Retro Gadgets: Things Your TV No Longer Needs
Blinking an LED Passively
It is a pretty common first project to use an Arduino (or similar) to blink an LED. Which, of course, brings taunts of: you could have used a 555! You …read more Continue reading Blinking an LED Passively
Stretch Goal: 300X Arduino
The Faboratory at Yale University has set a number of stretch goals. We don’t mean that in the usual sense. They’ve been making, as you can see in the video …read more Continue reading Stretch Goal: 300X Arduino
A Universal RF Amplifier
If you need an amplifier, [Hans Rosenberg] has some advice. Don’t design your own; grab cheap and tiny RF amplifier modules and put them on a PCB that fits your …read more Continue reading A Universal RF Amplifier
Tech in Plain Sight: Zipper Bags
You probably think of them as “Ziploc” bags, but, technically, the generic term is zipper bag. Everything from electronic components to coffee beans arrive in them. But they weren’t always …read more Continue reading Tech in Plain Sight: Zipper Bags
Replacing Selenium Rectifiers
Old radios often had selenium rectifiers to convert AC to DC. The problem is that the old units, dating back to 1933, are prone to failure and to release dangerous …read more Continue reading Replacing Selenium Rectifiers
Custom Mini-Neon Signs in 10 Minutes
Sometimes, you see a project that isn’t a technical powerhouse but just looks so good you can’t help but think about duplicating it. That’s how we felt with the mini-neon …read more Continue reading Custom Mini-Neon Signs in 10 Minutes
Where Did the Japanese Computers Go?
If you are a retrocomputer person, at least in North America and Europe, you probably only have a hazy idea of what computers were in the Japanese market at the …read more Continue reading Where Did the Japanese Computers Go?