A journal of hobbies
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 →
Back in the late 80's I built a kit that is a reminder for taking out the garbage. It was an interesting project that I originally built as a reminder to take tablets, although since then it has been mostly used as a garbage reminder. This a picture of it in the original plans. While... Continue Reading →
I'm not much of a gamer. I usually get bored with them easily, but in the madness of 2020 I purchased European Truck Simulator 2 and a Logitech G920 steering wheel and pedals. I enjoyed playing for a while but found there were not enough buttons on the controller for all functions. Some controls had... Continue Reading →
My main Arduino project for the last few months is trying to design and build a monitor that wirelessly sends an alert to the house when mail has been delivered in the mailbox or a vehicle goes through the front gate. I wanted the sender unit to be solar powered and use an ESP32. Reed... Continue Reading →
If I said I lived in a small city you would probably have a misconception about the size of the place. While it is called a city it only has a population of around 20 000. In most places of this size it would be considered a rural town. There are some advantages and disadvantages... Continue Reading →
Most of my projects are fairly simple, low powered and run off 5V. Until recently I've used a cheap USB hub plugged into an old iPad charger. This actually worked fairly well, other than the hub connections being a bit dodgy. However, I wanted to be able to switch individual items on and off. You... Continue Reading →
Some years ago, the director of our area at work purchased a bunch of sound effects toys and gave them to staff. We had a lot of projects going on and I presume she wanted to add a bit of fun in the office. These effects toys are produced by NPW and is called the... Continue Reading →
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