Category Archives: Tinkering

Another mirror display, but this maybe easier than using see thru glass

Posted on June 8, 2016 by robertwilkie

Interesting build. I was thinking of something similar with a tablet. What I like on this one is the author uses regular glass with reflective window film. Much cheaper solution. http://www.instructables.com/id/100-Smart-Mirror-Pi/?ALLSTEPS

Posted in android, Cheap, Misc-Life, RaspberryPi | Comments Off

Laser show with CD Stepper Motors

Posted on June 8, 2016 by robertwilkie

Interesting build. I could see expanding on this for a cat/dog toy project http://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-Show-From-CD-Stepper-Motors/?ALLSTEPS

Posted in Cheap, CNC/3D-printing, Misc-Life | Comments Off

81 alternative embedded boards

Posted on June 7, 2016 by robertwilkie

So you looked at a RaspberryPi, like the price point but what a few more features, check this list out of hacker friendly boards (includes prices) for finding what you need. http://liliputing.com/2016/06/70-raspberry-pi-alternatives-one-convenient-list.html PDF http://hackerboards.com/misc/sbc-survey-june2016/hackerboards.com-june2016-sbc-survey-specs-table.pdf

Posted in Arduino, Cheap, Misc-Life, RaspberryPi | Comments Off

CNC your molds for pewter

Posted on June 6, 2016 by robertwilkie

Nice build, the author milled the molds on MFD board on a small CNC, then clamped them together and poured in the pewter (low melting point). http://makezine.com/2016/06/03/cnc-milling-students-create-pewter-casting/

Posted in Cheap, CNC/3D-printing | Comments Off

Simple video/instructions on building a toy steam boat

Posted on June 2, 2016 by robertwilkie

Pretty nice video on how easy it is to build one of these. Its on the list for this summer activities with kids. http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Steam-Boat-With-a-Candle/?ALLSTEPS

Posted in Cheap, Misc-Life, My Projects, Teaching and Learning, water | Comments Off

GeekMomProjects cool purse

Posted on June 1, 2016 by robertwilkie

I stumbled on this at hackaday, they interviewed the Mom (site below) that built the purse. It came out pretty nice. Exquisite LED Handbag in the Wild http://www.geekmomprojects.com

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Walgreens has developer API’s

Posted on May 31, 2016 by robertwilkie

Pretty neat, you can create your own app to interface Walgreens photo, rewards, store locations, etc etc with the Walgreens API. Walgreens extends its developer efforts with two new APIs

Posted in Misc-Life, Software Development | Comments Off

Nice write up on MQTT and IoT

Posted on May 27, 2016 by robertwilkie

Nice write-up that explains the basics of the two, and how they work (and how you can use it). Minimal MQTT: Building a Broker

Posted in Misc-Life, RaspberryPi, Tinkering | Comments Off

An unusual Mini CNC

Posted on May 27, 2016 by robertwilkie

This one is only part CDROM drive based, another part from a photo printer. Its an interesting build for a plotter. I still have not built one of these yet, but I have the materials together for it. Just haven’t … Continue reading →

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Wow, removing Wolfram and LibreOffice frees up a Gig on RPi

Posted on May 26, 2016 by robertwilkie

I will have to remember this one, I have a few RPis that could use some extra space, I already removed some things, but I didn’t realize how much those two take up. http://lifehacker.com/instantly-free-up-almost-1gb-on-your-raspberry-pi-by-di-1773831271

Posted in Cheap, Misc-Life, RaspberryPi | Comments Off