Author Archives: robertwilkie

Make a Joule Thieft without a Ferrite

Instead the author uses a bit of a drill.  All you really need is to build a circuit that oscillates to get the voltage up. http://www.instructables.com/id/Make-A-Joule-Thief-Coil-Without-A-Ferrite-Toroid/

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Study parallel computing with RPi

Good article to go over parallel computing experiments on the cheap with a couple of Raspberry Pi’s. http://www.meccanismocomplesso.org/en/cluster-e-programmazione-in-parallelo-con-mpi-e-raspberry-pi/

Posted in Cheap, Software Development | Comments Off on Study parallel computing with RPi

See if your garage door can be cracked easily

Good video to see if you have problem or not. http://lifehacker.com/test-if-your-garage-is-vulnerable-to-a-hack-that-opens-1710108565

Posted in Cheap, Security | Comments Off on See if your garage door can be cracked easily

Mini dust collector for finding small parts

Clever idea, the author built a mini dust collector (typically big ones you use to get sawdust before it goes into your shopvac) to find small parts that he dropped.  I like the bug screen addition to the build and … Continue reading

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Dad puts turbo on kids cart

I always wanted to do this to my kids little cars.  He basically replaces the crappy motor with a high end one from an RC car and bam…watch it take off.  I like the “safety feature of the remote controll … Continue reading

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Making an Resin printer for under $60

I have to say this is a pretty cool build.  The authors took an old CDROM, projector, and some legos to build a small cheap resin 3D printer.  Would I do this?  Nah…too much work/time and I don’t have the … Continue reading

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Make a laser cut sphere bot (eggbot)

I looked a printing out the parts for an eggbot, and …well its alot of plastic for something that is “flat”.  The author here has a laser cut set of plans that looks like it would be easy to convert … Continue reading

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Convert your 3D printer to be portable

Nice build where the author converts his little printer to run off a battery.  Down side…well the driver (typically a computer) will need a battery too and STAY ON while the print is working.  Which could be hours.  I also … Continue reading

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Cool laser cut and 3D printer based business cards

A bit bulky, but nice looking.  One thing to add…an LED. http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printed-Business-Cards/

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Turn inner tubes into a bouncy seat

I thought this was funny, the author took some old bike innertubes and basically made an under 100 lb bouncy seat with them.  Cool idea but you may want to wash the tubes first to keep your clothes from getting … Continue reading

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