[Distracted by Design] loves gear from the 1980s, though some of it isn’t as useful as it used to be. He happened across a cheap old FM radio with a great look, but wanted to repurpose it into something more modern. Thus, he set about turning this cheap piece of old electronics into a stylish […]
You’ve probably seen Lichtenberg figures before, those lightning-like traces left by high-voltage discharge. The safe way to create them is using an electron beam to embed charge inside an acrylic block, and then shake them loose with a short, sharp tap. The usual technique makes for a great, flat splay of “lightning” that looks great […]
Polaroid cameras have been very popular for a very long time and are especially hot gifts this year. Fresh film is easy to find but relatively expensive. In contrast, Fuji’s Instax line of instant film and cameras aren’t as well established, but the film is easy to find and cheap. You might like to shoot […]
These days, you get a fantastic camera with the purchase of just about any modern smartphone. [Abe] missed some of the charm of earlier, lower-quality digital cameras, though, and wanted to recreate that experience. The way forward was obvious. He built a nostalgic digital video camera from scratch! [Abe] figured he could build the entire […]
These days, Internet connectivity is ubiquitous, so you can look up live weather data on just about any device around you. Regardless, [Jozerworx] wanted a simple, clean, independent weather display, and came up with this simple design. The build is based on the Lilygo T5 EPD devboard, which combines an ESP32-S3 microcontroller with a nice […]
[joppedc] wrote in to let us know that the Formula 1® season is coming to an end, and that the final race should be bangin’. To get ready, he built this ultra-sleek logo light box last week that does more than just sit there looking good, although it does that pretty well. This light box […]
Wago connectors are somewhat controversial in the electrical world—beloved by some, decried by others. The company knows it has a dedicated user base, though, and has established the Wago Creators site for that very community. The idea behind the site is simple—it’s a place to discover and share unique little tools and accessories for use […]
Hydrofoils are perhaps best known for their application on boring ferries and scary boats that go too fast. However, as [RCLifeOn] demonstrates, you can also use them to build fun and quirky personal watercraft. Like a hydrofoil bike! Only, there are some challenges involved. Hydrofoils work much like airfoils in air. The shape of the […]
Save a bunch of files on a good ol’ magnetic hard drive, leave it in a box, and they’ll probably still be there a couple of decades later. The lubricants might have all solidified and the heads jammed in place, but if you can get things moving, you’ll still have your data. As explained over […]
If you work on simple digital projects, just about any bench supply will offer the voltage and current you’re looking for. However, if you’re working with valves, you’ll often find yourself needing much higher voltages that can be tricky to source. [Chappy Happy] has shared a design for a simple HV power supply that should […]