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 →
While I don't have an Amateur Radio license, I do find radio interesting. I often listen to the Soldersmoke podcast and look at their blog. I became interested in the Direct Conversion Radio they had designed. The radio covers the 40-meter or 7-MHz amateur radio frequency band. It is fairly simple and deliberately uses discrete... 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 →
Sometimes I find that a project turns out to be much better and useful than I expected. Making coat racks out of railway spikes and old timber has been one of these surprises. I really like the aesthetic of these, and I find them to be quite practical. While we already had 3 sets, I... Continue Reading →
I've seen a lot of comments on social media about subscription software. All those I recall are frustrated with the change from being able to purchase outright and forced to a subscription model. I mostly agree, I'd much rather make a one-off payment than keep shelling out regularly. However, while sorting through old papers the... 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 →
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