It started when [Mitxela] was faced with about a hundred incorrectly-placed 0603 parts. Given that he already owned two TS101 soldering irons, a 3D printer, and knows how to use FreeCAD (he had just finished designing a custom TS101 holder) it didn’t take long to create cost-effective DIY soldering tweezers. Two screws allow adjusting the […]
We’ve got a love-hate relationship with discount tool outlet Harbor Freight: we hate that we love it so much. Apparently, [James Clough] is of much the same opinion, at least now that he’s looked into the quality of their outlet strips and found it somewhat wanting. The outlet strips in question are Harbor Freight’s four-foot-long, twelve-outlet […]
While low-cost professional PCB fabrication has largely supplanted making circuit boards at home, there’s still something to be said for being able to go from design to prototype in an afternoon. Luckily we aren’t limited to the old toner transfer trick for DIY boards these days, as CNC routers and powerful lasers can be used […]
The RTL-SDR dongles get most of the love from people interested in software-defined radio, but the Pluto is also a great option, too. [FromConceptToCircuit] shares code to turn one of these radios into a spectrum analyzer that sweeps up to 6 GHz and down to 100 MHz. You can see a video of how it […]
You don’t see them as often as you used to, but it used to be common to see “electronics trainers” which were usually a collection of components and simple equipment combined with a breadboard, often in a little suitcase. We think [Pro Maker_101’s] portable electronics workstation is in the same kind of spirit, and it […]
You can salvage lithium 18650 cells from all sorts of modern gadgets, from disposable vapes to cordless power tools. The tricky part, other than physically liberating them from whatever they are installed in, is figuring out if they’re worth keeping or not. Just because an 18650 cell takes a charge doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any […]
As everyone knows, no matter how many drill bits one owns, one inevitably needs a size that isn’t on hand. Well, if you ever find yourself needing to drill a hole that’s precisely 13 mm, here’s a trick from [AvE] to keep in mind for doing it with a 1/2″ bit. It’s a hack that […]
Toaster oven reflow projects are such a done deal that there should be nothing new in one here in 2025. Take a toaster oven, an Arduino, and a thermocouple, and bake those boards! But [Paul J R] has found a new take on an old project, and better still, he’s found the most diminutive of […]