[CreativeLab] bought a cheap arbitrary waveform generator and noted that it only had a two-pin power cord. That has its ups and downs. We feel certain the intent was to isolate the internal switching power supply to prevent ground loops through the scope probes or the USB connector. However, it is nice to have all […]
You have some fine pitch soldering to do, but all you have on hand is a big soldering iron. What do you do? There are a few possible answers, but [Mr SolderFix] likes to pull a strand from a large wire, file the point down, and coil it around the soldering iron. This gives you […]
Who doesn’t know the problem of glare when trying to ogle a PCB underneath a microscope of some description? Even with a ring light, you find yourself struggling to make out fine detail such as laser-etched markings in ICs, since the scattered light turns everything into a hazy mess. That’s where a simple sheet of […]
It’s always a pleasure to find a hardware hacker who you haven’t seen before, and page back through their work. [Bettina Neumryr]’s niche comes in building projects from old electronics magazines, and her latest, a function generator from the British Everyday Electronics magazine in April 1983, is a typical build. The project uses the XR2206 […]
When you think of a scope probe, you usually think of what is basically a wire with a spring hook and an attenuator. Those are passive probes. [Kerry Wong] shows off a pre-release active probe that sidesteps some problems with those ordinary passive probes. The trick is that passive probes have input capacitance that interferes […]
We aren’t sure what [theglassman] is working on, but based on his recent projects, we think it is probably something interesting. He’s been decapping ICs, growing oxide on silicon substrates, and has built a tube furnace capable of reaching 1200 °C. What would you do with something that can melt cast iron? We aren’t sure, […]
Often, we face tedious tasks with no way around them. Sometimes, you just have to grit your teeth and push through. But small tweaks can make the onerous task a bit easier to handle. [James Bowman] sent in his latest quick project that helps him fold small boxes more efficiently. To fulfill orders on his […]
By virtue of its triple bond, acetylene burns hotter than any other common hydrocarbon when mixed with oxygen, but it isn’t the only flame hot enough for welding. With the assistance of a homemade oxygen concentrator, [Hyperspace Pirate] was able to make a natural gas torch that melts steel, even if welding with the torch […]
CRTs don’t last forever, and neither do the electronics that drive them. When you have a screen starting to go wonky, then you need a way to troubleshoot which is at fault. A great tool for that is a pattern generator, but they’re not the easiest to come by these days. [baritonomarchetto] needed a pattern […]
Let’s face it, nobody likes scrubbing, but what option do you have? You can’t exactly break out the grinder to clean off the remains of last nights dinner… right? Well, maybe not a grinder, but thanks to this hack by [Markus Opitz], you can use an oscillating tool. It’s a simple enough hack: [Markus] modeled […]