A journal of hobbies
Around 1976 a friend and I became very interested in CB radio. The craze had not long taken off in Australia and it was still illegal to use them at that time. Dick Smith Electronics and later Tandy’s sold CB radios, antennas and accessories. Despite being illegal to use them, that didn’t stop a lot... Continue Reading →
Ever since I started tinkering with Arduinos I’ve wanted to build a shortwave receiver using a Si5351 oscillator to tune the frequency. When I saw and built the Soldersmoke Direct Conversion receiver I immediately saw a chance to give it a try. While I've dabbled a lot with Arduinos, I have never used the Si5351.... Continue Reading →
I was browsing Aliexpress the other day and came across this phone holder. It appeared in the Choice tab and at the time was only AUD$2.89, although it seems to have gone up a bit since then. I have an ANENG AN8008 multimeter. It was inexpensive and I find it quite good, but I have... Continue Reading →
I’ve never owned a proper set of helping hands for soldering, so I can’t tell you how good they are. I've tried using metal spring clams, but that didn't work well. For the last few years I've been using blu tack the Julien Illet way. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZygyqx6AOY It works well, but sometimes I just need to... Continue Reading →
I’ve been using a budget 6V solar panel to power my mailbox notifier. It’s one of those polycrystalline epoxy resin panels you’d usually find in bargain-bin solar lights. I should’ve known better, these things are just not up to withstanding the hot Aussie sun. After just a year’s use, the panel turned milky with a... Continue Reading →
I've made a few power supplies over the years. The first one was in 1978 or 79 when I was about 13 or 14, At that time what is now TAFE NSW (Technical and Further Education) in Australia ran short night courses for hobbyists. My mother went to quite a few including sewing, upholstery, carpentry... Continue Reading →
I have had one of those cheap ISD1820 audio recorder and player modules sitting around for a long time. I thought it may make a fun message recorder to leave on the kitchen counter and see how it gets used. I was thinking it may be used as an alternative to leaving written messages, but... Continue Reading →
We have one of those kits that converts a manual garage roller door into an electric remote control roller door. It’s been mostly fine, if you don’t mind doing a little dance in the house doorway to get it to open as it's at the limit of its range. Over time the rubber over the... Continue Reading →
I've been using these cheap storage compartments from Bunnings to store my ever-growing pile of electronic components and modules. They are inexpensive at only AU$5.50 each. I've now got 24 of them and had been storing them in stacks. They stack well but it was getting annoying as every time I wanted to grab something... Continue Reading →
I found this external computer power switch on AliExpress. It is designed to connect to the power button headers and power LED headers on a PC motherboard allowing the computer to be turned on from a more convenient location that having to reach down under a desk. I thought I would give it a go.... Continue Reading →
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