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5V Regulator Cap for 9V Battery
For quick portable projects and temporary hacks, it is often faster to reuse a simple 5V regulator circuit than to integrate a power supply into the device design.
My toolbox has an LED tester and magnifier light, so why not add a convenient 5V regulator cap to the collection?
There are nicer ones on the market that have surface mount components, but half the fun of an electronics hobby is creating something basic in your own style.
This double-decker board with flashing LED power indicator allowed me to experiment with flush battery snaps and board interconnects.
Mercury Battery Replacement Regulator
Several decades ago, mercuric oxide button cells were common consumer power sources.
Mercury was phased out due to environmental concerns, leaving behind vintage photographic equipment and watches that were incompatible with alkaline's wide voltage change or silver-oxide's slightly higher nominal voltage.
Tinkerers have come up with a variety of solutions for many devices.
Perhaps modern technology can address a few more with an itty-bitty 1.35V low-dropout linear regulator.
3D Printed Spool and Wire Soldering Holder
Buying new wire begs the question of what type of insulation to choose.
PTFE is selected since it doesn't tend to melt back as common PVC wire insulation does.
The new wire arrives without a spool, which necessitates printing a spool on a three-dimensional printer.
The spool is easy enough to model but consumes the day with a six-hour print time.
Soldering the newly acquired wire to another wire is frustrating with the classic misaligned 'helping' hands tool.
Thus, old-fashioned wooden clothes pin attached to a base become the project being worked on rather than whatever I needed that wire for in the first place.
Generating Waveforms with Paper Discs
In a pinch, you can generate square, sawtooth, sinusoidal, triangular, and noisy/static waveforms by playing a patterned disc on a record player or spare motor using a light sensor.
An LED illuminates the paper disc, which reflects varying amounts of light into the light sensor as the disc rotates on the turntable (see the video for a demonstration.)
The circuitry is fairly simple and uses commonly found parts.
Can you guess the waveform generated by the thumbnail image?
Resistor Forming Tool
Who hasn't looked at a classic red resistor lead forming tool and exclaimed "I could 3D print this!"
I took a shot at designing and printing a few variations.
The end result is a functional tool with a couple of improvements, but not as crisp, due to the limitations of home fused-filament resolutions.
Upgrading Magnifying Desk Lamp to LEDs
Circular T9 LED bulbs are available to replace fluorescent bulbs in desk lamps.
LEDs provide a broader spectrum of light, which is particularly important if you are shooting macro photographs, but is also easier on your eyes if you're soldering or inspecting boards.
Unfortunately, the commercial LED bulb I received was defective and had a flickering power supply.
Hacking in six additional smoothing capacitors and replacing a missing LED solved the problem.
Identifying Bad Capacitors
If your consumer electronic device is failing, it is often caused by old, overheated, or defective capacitors.
If you open up the case and inspect the capacitors, you may find some that are bulging, crusty, or are lifting off the PCB.
Here are some photographs of damaged CapXon brand aluminum-electrolytic capacitors found inside failing Samsung LCD monitors.
Also included is a photo of a good capacitor that has beneficial goop surrounding it.
How *Not* to Cast and Machine Bismuth
Bismuth is a high-density non-toxic metal that forms beautiful crystals.
Well, supposedly it forms beautiful crystals, just not for me.
See examples of clay casting failures and chipped surfaces as I muddle my way through trying to make anything out of bismuth.
Sun Tracker Failed Project
Sometimes you gotta know when to walk away -- which was eight years ago.
I dug up this robot that was supposed to emulate a sunflower tracking the sun.
Due to a design flaw in an overly complicated analog sensor bus, and general ugliness, this project got literally shelved.
Now it sees the light of day, if only to be a lesson to others.
Mounting an iPad for Desk-Based YouTube Videos
For many hobbies, an overhead shot of your desk or workbench is the ideal view for your videos.
This is unwieldy for tripods, but suitable for a desk swing arm.
Similar to a desk-mounted magnifier light, the camera can be quickly positioned at various distances, and can be swung away when not in use.
The single arm does not tend to block room lighting.
Take a look at my tablet-mount setup, and see how the arms were extended to fit a larger form factor.
Macro Photo vs Microscope
Fifteen years ago, I proudly photographed a PCB using an Intel QX3 toy microscope.
How well does that old microscope compete against a modern 16 megapixel camera with macro lens, extension tubes, tripod, linear table, linear slide, remote shutter, 28 LED ring light, and stacked photography software?
Can such a photo setup match the microscope's 200x magnification?
In fact, exactly small of details can we clearly see with a modern rig? Would you believe 10 µm?
3D Printed Trimpot Thumb Dial
Create your own colorful finger-friendly dials for common trimmer potentiometers.
With a little slot that press-fits into the screwdriver slot, and a dab of emblem adhesive, these home printed dials will make your projects much easier to adjust.
LED Tester with Display
Throw away your multimeter and spreadsheets, here is a self-contained current-limited LED tester that displays LED voltage drop, current, and recommended resistor.
With about $10 in parts and a 9V battery, this indispensible tool is tailored for the everyday tasks of the electronics enthusiast.
The TGIMBOEJ Curse
Remember that thing you were going to get to?
Well, it took me seven years to ship a package.
No kidding.
What's inside?
Are there more like that? (Yes, 144)
Come closer to hear the tale of The Great Internet Migratory Box Of Electronics Junk.
Replacing Broken Tip of IC Hook Probe
Arg! The multimeter measurements are wrong because the probe detached from the circuit because the IC hook tip broke, again!
I go through far too many broken IC hooks to keep throwing them away.
Is it possible to 3D print a replacement tip?
Is this an opportunity to improve the tip to be more robust?
Leveling A 3D Printer
How to accurately set the extruder nozzle height above the print bed when leveling a 3D printer.
Use a thickness gauge, magnet, and a multimeter in continuity mode to beep when the print head makes contact.
Includes a trick to clean the tip of the nozzle by scraping it with the zinc interior of a penny.
Printed Circuit Board Survey
What features do hobbyists, students, and small shops look for in a PCB manufacturer?
Do people care about lead free?
What about board shape and internal cutouts?
Is board color important enough to offer as an option?
Find out the results of the PCB survey...
PCB Motor Mount
If you don't have a home machine shop or 3D printer, you can make a motor mounting bracket from a PCB.
Printed circuit boards are strong, lightweight, precise, and are easily manufactured.
The PCB bracket can then be attached to your project using screws, straight solder, right-angle headers, or dual-row headers.
The video in the article shows you the process step-by-step, including how to make the board non-rectangular and how to place screw holes at angles.
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