A communications speaker: Rescuing an AR-7 from the Tip Shop
We have developed a habit each Friday to go to our local Tip shop. They often have a few old speakers stacked in a corner. I don’t need any more but I always have a look, just in case there is something special that wants to come home with me. Normally there are a couple of things I look for. Firstly if there is just a hole with a cable hanging out, it loses marks. I’m looking for ones with proper terminals. Second, I look at the cabinet. If it is very light for its size, I presume it has…
Comparing MT6701 Modules for Rotary Encoder Replacement
I recently came across a discussion on Reddit about MT6701 working modes, where someone referenced my earlier posts on using a magnetic sensor as a rotary encoder. That prompted me to look more closely at the different MT6701 modules currently available and how suitable they are as drop-in replacements for mechanical encoders. What’s the point of the using a MT6701 module? My goal is simply to replace low-cost mechanical rotary encoders in Arduino projects, particularly where they get heavy use with something more durable, without changing existing code. The MT6701 can output standard quadrature (ABZ), so once configured it behaves…
Front Panel Designer: Free Software for Laying Out Project Panels
I have a great deal of trouble laying out items for project front panels, particularly where multiple holes have to be aligned. I don’t have a CNC router or other high tech tools. I just have old basic tools. I do have a basic saw bench but I think it is at least 70 years old. I also have a cheap small drill press. Front Panel Designer I started to look around for some free software to help out. I wanted something that was easy to learn and use. I came across Front Panel designer by Front Panel Express. This…
Explore Classic BBC Documentaries on YouTube
I watch quite a bit of YouTube and over time I have found some I recommend following. BBC archive is one of these. It is an official archive channel from the British Broadcasting Corporation that curates and publishes historical BBC television content. I like the calm, slow, deliberate style instead of the modern fast-cut media. I find it fascinating as it shows how people genuinely thought at the time. I’m also amazed at how much humour is in them. It may have you longing for a return to this documentary style. Here are a few I’ve enjoyed 1973: Checking the…
Thoughts After Building a SI4732 AM, LW, SW, FM Receiver
I’ve been working on a SI4732 radio for nearly two months and it’s finally finished. The SI4732-A10 is a cheap little IC that contains almost everything needed for an LW, AM, FM, and SW radio. It is controlled through an I²C interface. There are lots of radios out there based on this design, including the popular ATS-20+. There are also a lot of home built ones that use the excellent PU2CLR SI4735 Library for Arduino. The SI4735 is related to the SI4732 and the library supports both. I wanted to use that library to make a radio with: Here are…
Extending a Cheap Soil Moisture Meter
Water is precious in Australia. Much of Australia is very dry and regularly has droughts. From 2017 to 2019 we had a particularly nasty drought. Where we live, the long-term average rainfall is about 763 mm. 2017 and 2018 had lower rainfall and then in 2019 it dropped to only 314 mm. Everything dried out. Trees died in large numbers, and then the bushfires started. It became known as the Black Summer and was one of the most intense and catastrophic fire seasons on record in Australia. According to Wikipedia 24 million hectares (59 million acres; 240,000 square kilometres; 93,000…
Experimenting with AI to write a song to help memorize facts
Using AI as a Memory Tool I find it interesting how songs can get stuck in your head and how you can remember lyrics after decades of not hearing them. This got me thinking if AI could be used to write a catchy song for helping to remember facts. Of course it wouldn’t be the first song written to do this. The Sesame Street ABC song is a well known example. The Periodic table song is a good example but probably lesser known. Since relatively few songs are written specifically for memorisation, this seemed like a useful task to try…
Vintage Vacuum Cleaner Find: Potential Steampunk Project?
A while ago, during a visit to our local tip shop I saw this object. The moment I saw it I knew I didn’t need it, but the force was strong. This could become an integral part in a jet pack. Common sense prevailed and I left it there. A week or two later, I was back and it was still there, but I am strong willed and once again I overcame its draw. The following visit it was there again. Maybe I was meant to have it? I don’t believe in that sort of thing, but just in case…
Solar Garden Light Experiments: A simple light and a Crack in the Gate Post
Over the years I’ve tinkered with a handful of those inexpensive solar garden lights. One of my earlier experiments involved swapping the standard white LED for a red one, that ended up producing a surprisingly pleasing effect. This prompted me to revisit an old challenge, getting one to run a colour changing LED without instantly resetting to red. The red crack light I had a cheap (approx. $2.00) solar light, something like this one. Many years ago I replaced the white LED with a red one. It has worked well since then, but I had to replace the battery and…
Trying Out Suno: My First Experiments with AI Generated Music
I became aware of AI generated music a few months ago and began looking for examples. I was curious what it was like to use. This week I paid for a one month subscription to the AI music generator Suno to learn more. I’m not going to give my views on AI generated music. At the moment I’m not really sure what I think about it. One area that I see where it could be used is as background music for YouTube videos. I expect there are lots of YouTube creators that want to stop situations where a music copyright…
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