Here’s an Arduino-compatible GI-SP0256-AL2 speech synthesizer module that I’m finishing up. It’s a great 1980’s-era allophone speech synthesizer chip that was used in Intellivision expansion modules and sold at RadioShack stores for years for about $12. You can still find…
We finished up PopsicleBot StickBot with a couple of 555 timer circuits to allow it to roam freely and untethered. It was a lot of fun to build, and even though it’s not the fastest walker or the simplest design, it…
The goal was to crawl on the cheap, and what’s cheaper than popsicle sticks craft sticks and fishing line? Next we’ll wire up a 555 circuit so it can roam untethered, but until then, here’s how to make one of your…
Here’s a great video from Phil Levchenko over at Jumper One that explains how to convert a computer ATX power supply into a bench-top power supply. I’ve had an older ATX supply by my desk here for the past couple…
To mark the 63rd anniversary of the first stored computer program to run (June 21), I rewrote the original code in C# last night, both using the original algorithm (that was never intended to be efficient) and using a more…
Here are a few pictures of a gray fox and four pups that have been hanging out in back recently. The pups were a lot of fun to watch, and they stayed for an hour at least. They were *very* active…
I’m still not fully convinced of the wisdom of a wooden soldering station clamp/vise, but it’s been serving me well nonetheless. It’s my DIY PanaVise! Why buy something if you can make it yourself, right? 🙂 The frame is made…
We ran across a picture of a little pig online and my little girl fell in love with it, so we grabbed a sheet of paper and tried to make it. Here’s how it turned out. Below the photo is…
Here’s a list of common abbreviations for electronic components on circuit boards (PCBs). AE Aerial (antenna) B Battery BR Bridge rectifier C Capacitor D, CR Diode DSP Digital signal processor F Fuse FET Field effect transistor IC integrated circuit J…
If you happen to have a soccer team called the Grasshopper Pirates, then this fanwear is for you. If you don’t have a soccer team with that very specific and unusual name, then you might want to wear this stuff…