I had a very simple business card for years, but I was just plain tired of it. It was too bland and looked like all of the other business cards that I had amassed over the years. I was catching up on the Amp Hour podcast and in one of the episodes Dave Jones mentioned something that really caught my attention: bring your projects to social events. Most of my projects are not pocket-able, so I decided to make the best of both worlds and create a PCB business card.
I found a broken 3 axis gimbal in ewaste in desperate need of repair. Ironically, the carrying case was intact and without a scratch, but the yaw axis motor was missing, the roll axis motor had a bent shaft and the gimbal controller was buried in a birds' nest of wires. There was a whole slew of random carbon fiber bits, accelerometers, and controllers scattered about the case, so clearly someone was having fun with stabilization. This is my journey toward getting this gimbal back up and running.
Growing tired of the skipping keys on my worn out Dell multimedia keyboard, I needed a suitable alternative. I checked out the Microsoft Surface Studio a few months back and really enjoyed using the included keyboard, so I figured I would start there. I enjoy typing on laptop-style keyboards, but I truly wanted a wired backlight keyboard, as I enjoy working late into the night. Not being able to find a keyboard that includes all these features, I decided to hack the Surface Studio keyboard into something more personal.
I built what would become my showcase scooter, featuring everything and the kitchen sink. I stuffed the battery cavity full of electronics, pushed the drive mechanics a bit too hard and broke far too many items to remember. I applied everything I learned from my first scooter build to this scooter with hopes of greater success and dependability. That was my original plan at least. The months following colored a totaly different story.
Remember those chunky yellow flashlights that inhabited every convenience store in the early 90s? Yes, I'm talking about the telltale $5 Eveready lantern flashlight whose claim to fame was buoyancy and ruggedness. Sure they were robust, and who knows maybe they did float - but they were dim excuses of flashlights. Here is a guide on how to make these flashlights usable again yet retain that stock 90s vibe.
Sometimes you just want to go fast. Well, at least faster. This project involves upgrading a once underpowered recreational electric scooter into a full-fledged transportation machine. Using custom batteries, modified controllers and a bit of electromechanical know-how, I was able to create every college student's dream get-me-to-class-now daily driver.
Ever wanted to make your own weird and oddball lenses for your camera? Tired of using Duct tape and cardboard tubes to make DIY optical assemblies? This guide includes the CAD, technical drawings and renderings of the Micro Four Thirds mount so you can keep creating to your heart's desire.
Have you ever lusted after a brighter lens for your camera, but couldn't quite afford it? Here is an all-inclusive guide to adapt an old scientific/TV lens to the Micro Four Thirds mount. Don't have a spare Micro Four Thirds mount? No problem! This guide includes the CAD, technical drawings and renderings of the Micro Four Thirds mount, along with machining tips and a whole other wealth of information.
This is an accurate CAD model of the 27w Round LED Work Light 30 Degree Spot Light, available on amazon for ~$10 each. It is an inexpensive LED unit which is decently constructed and moderately weather sealed. I have seen these used on everything from Jeeps to ATVs to scooters and even as auxiliary reverse lights on larger medium duty trucks. I modeled the version with the 30 degree projection angle. I have designed this to be as realistic as possible with photoview 360.
Repair of an '89 HP oscilloscope to factory calibration. Originally recovered from an ewaste bin while I was attending my Alma mater. This repair entails replacing the CMOS clock chip by soldering in female pin headers and sourcing a replacement. Calibration was reset to factory standards using HP service manuals.
The RPI Game Design Club features an arcade machine in the Union Game room, full of home-grown student created games. This arcade machine has been down for quite some time, and through collaboration with the Game Design Club, I was able to bring the arcade machine back into commission.
This project focuses on the creation of an open source camera slider & intervalometer. Basically, this device will allow the capture of moving timelapses, and still retain the ability to be used manually. This project will be designed for use with a wide range of cameras: from basic Point & Shoots to high end DSLRs. Designed an open source modular camera slider which uses universal standards to keep costs low and ease in assembly.
For Introduction to Engineering Design there two main projects, a mini project and a large group project. The mini project offered a selection of projects to build: a line following car, a mouse trap car, or a marshmallow launcher. For the mini project, my partner and I decided to build a marshmallow Trebuchet. Here is our Trebuchet.
Luckily I was able to win another broken micro four thirds camera on ebay! This time I found a GH1 with a stuck shutter. The straps were removed as well, so the GH1 had a stuck shutter and sounded like a box of nuts. This is a guide on how I was able to get the camera back to 100% working order.
To add to my broken camera buying spree, I won my first Panasonic Lumix GH1. It apparently suffered from shutter problems. What surprised me the most was that they sold the camera and the 20mm f1.7 lens in the same auction.
Being halfway through sophomore year of college, I finally realized that I needed a phone. Yes, I could go on using Google voice until it stops being free, but I realized I needed something more practical. Carrying a 15.6 laptop around to receive calls is a bit absurd. Using Google voice for so long, I really didn't feel like shelling out big bucks to pay for a phone. Thus, I went with an all time classic: a broken Nexus One.
This is a guide on how to fix a water damaged Panasonic Lumix GF1. In this case, I wasn't the unlucky one who dropped the camera in a body of water, but rather one who bid on this poor camera in hopes of bringing it back to life.
Realizing my flashlights were far too dim for my needs, I set out to build a practical, yet affordable high-power flashlight for everyday use. This project digs into the nitty-gritty behind making your own high power LED flashlight.
When I saw this light spectrometer in the electronics bins, I simply could not pass it up. One: it had two lenses on it; Two: it was built like a tank; Three: it had adjustable feet. In my opinion, those characteristics spell out one thing: an amazing digital projector.
This project focuses on rebuilding an ultra-rugged Dolch laptop. I plan to upgrade the inner hardware and design custom boards for power management, battery monitoring and other operations.My main goal is to build an ultra durable laptop for extended use, with long battery life and outdoor capabilities.
I noticed this cassette recorder in the ewaste bins, and I just could not pass it up. I simply couldn't get over the build quality of this piece and the fact that it was made in Norway! The first thing that came to mind when I thought of a practical application was a midi controller, since linear potentiometers are an essential part of commonly used midi controllers. In this article I delve into the insides of this cassette recorder and attempt to build a practical and cost effective midi controller.
This project focuses around the implementation of (3) 24x16 sure electronics LED grids as a large information display board.
I needed a place to put my headphones, and just laying them on my desk wasn't satisfying enough. I felt my headphones deserved to be left in a more desirable place: on a headphone stand.
This project is for those who want a cheap and easy solution to make a power adapter for their DMC-GF1 without having to pay the $40 premium.
The one thing that hasn't changed much in the past few decades is the usefulness of lenses! In this case, I found (2) early 90s shoulder mount camcorders which used HI-8. Unfortunately, HI-8 has been a dead format for years and years. However, the optics are still great! In this article I go through the disassembly of a Ricoh and canon camcorder to salvage the lenses for potential use on micro four thirds.
Documentation on how to transform an old Apple IIC Floppy Drive into a modern day external esata Hard Drive.
I decided to build another window fan with (2) 115v axial fans I had salvaged from the ewaste bins at my college.
A guide on how to make your own dorm room fan out of a blower from an old microwave.
A guide on how to replace the battery in an 80GB Zune.
How to build an external USB hard drive out of an old data switch shell, a power supply, and an IDE hard drive.
How to repair a broken Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). How to fix the classic NES security chip issue.
Documentation on my Eagle Scout Project, Completed with Troop 206 at Woodhull Intermediate.
This is a guide on how I approached the 2009 Boston University engineering competition.
How to build a slide projector out of an outlet box, a slide projector lens, and sheet metal.
A guide on how to replace the problematic knotty USB cable on a Logitech G5 mouse.
A guide on how to install Windows XP on a laptop too small for a CD drive: an Eeepc.
How to build a custom microatx form factor computer, or Minifridge.
This is a guide on how to build a make-shift hot shoe viewfinder, which is quite useful for advanced point & shoot cameras and compact mirrorless cameras without any type of viewfinder.
This is a guide on how to diagnosis problematic LCD's through analysis of backlight issues, digital display board issues and power supply issues
This is my first real electronics project. It involves using a really cheap mountain bike, a retrofit treadmill motor, some various through-hole salvaged components and a capacitors bank for temporary energy storage. Oh and did I mention it featured a 2x16 char LCD with GUI? For a 9th grade high school science project, I think that is pretty cool.