Tag Archives: diy

Grisbot to be laser-cut (a guided tour)

Posted on July 17, 2012 by engineerzero

Finally, the Grisbot’s acrylic casing is being laser-cut, possibly even as we speak. Here is a guided tour in Sketchup of what may actually come to be by the end of this week, starting with the front view: The ruler … Continue reading →

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TOR Systems List

Posted on March 29, 2011 by engineerzero

This picture identifies the major systems for the TOR. (TOR stands for Tele-Operated Robot.) Here is a preliminary parts list. 1. Arduino Microcontroller for input/output interface between communications and motor/servos. Easy to find, only $35. 2. Wireless Camera available on … Continue reading →

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Bottle Cap Buzzy Glow Toy

Posted on March 22, 2011 by engineerzero

Take a plastic bottle cap and make it buzz and glow. Flip it over and here’s the internals: The bottle cap I have in mind is the plastic one that comes on top of one-gallon water jugs. The 3 volt … Continue reading →

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Minor DIY surgery on a TV set

Posted on March 15, 2011 by engineerzero

My nephew bought a TV at Goodwill for just fifteen dollars the other day, so that he and his friend can play XBox games side by side with their own screens in my apartment. I’m such a pushover that I … Continue reading →

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Just to replace a laptop screen cable

Posted on March 12, 2011 by engineerzero

So my nephew’s T*sh*b* laptop screen was blinking when he tilted it, and now it doesn’t work at all. Most likely reasons, according to internet forum gurus, are the screen cable or the inverter. Okay, we’ll just open up the … Continue reading →

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Autofade with Fritzing (A review)

Posted on March 8, 2011 by engineerzero

From Fritzing.org: Fritzing is essentially an Electronic Design Automation software with a low entry barrier, suited for the needs of designers and artists. It uses the metaphor of the breadboard, so that it is easy to transfer your hardware sketch … Continue reading →

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Autofade Lamp Test Circuit Upgrade

Posted on March 7, 2011 by engineerzero

On Saturday, I reported that I didn’t have enough current gain in my autofade lamp test circuit to get a flashlight lamp to glow. The solution was to insert a second transistor, so that the circuit looks like this now: … Continue reading →

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Autofade Table Lamp on Youtube

Posted on March 2, 2011 by engineerzero

Here’s the autofade table lamp video that I posted to Youtube. Values of the capacitor and resistors are subject to tweaking, of course.

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Autofade Table Lamp Test Circuit

Posted on March 2, 2011 by engineerzero

So, as you recall from my previous entry, I wanted to build an autofade table lamp based on this circuit diagram: This is how the test circuit looks in reality (the hand, by the way, is my nephew’s): (Note that … Continue reading →

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Reed Switch and Transistor

Posted on February 10, 2011 by engineerzero
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