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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2008-02-24, 23:37

I recently got a shipment of a few square meters of polystyrene to start my next long-term project.



Any other creative buildery-craftery going on here lately?

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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2008-05-04, 22:39

Did someone say bump?



I guess I'm no WLP, though.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2008-05-05, 09:46

You're like an evil genius or something.
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2008-05-05, 13:04

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0 View Post
You're like an evil genius or something.
Evil? Certainly. Genius? Not until my cyclotron is complete!
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2008-05-21, 22:29

So, I'm determined to practice my fledgling component electronics skills to implement some blinkies in my not-so Top Sekrit project this summer. Today I got a box full of resistors, capacitors, LEDs, ICs, and other assorted goodies from AllElectronics.com and I jumped right in with the standard 555 + 4017 combo for scrolly lights.



Anyone else here have much experience with wiring up little projects like this? It seems to be a dying art, or at least as would seem that way given how impossible it is to find parts. Except for Radio Shack, which is literally a magnitude overpriced for many parts, I couldn't find any local parts stores in the Raleigh/Cary, NC area. Maybe I just don't know where to look? Any tips from you pros?

turtle? WLP? It looks like you guys have some basic EE skills.
Attached Files
File Type: mov blinky.mov (442.3 KB, 9 views)

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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2008-05-21, 23:23

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad View Post
...

Anyone else here have much experience with wiring up little projects like this? It seems to be a dying art, or at least as would seem that way given how impossible it is to find parts. Except for Radio Shack, which is literally a magnitude overpriced for many parts, I couldn't find any local parts stores in the Raleigh/Cary, NC area. Maybe I just don't know where to look? Any tips from you pros?

turtle? WLP? It looks like you guys have some basic EE skills.
That's gonna look very cool on your project I'm sure.

In my area I use Priest Electronics. I avoid Radio Shack at all costs unless no other option exists and time is critical which is rare. On the site for Priest they list covering the Caraolinas so you might have something local. Plus, with that area being what it is, I find it hard to believe there isn't a good local electronics supplier. A quick Google came up with Allied Electronics. You might want to give them a shot.

My biggest tip for you would be to start of with projects and build up from there. As you're doing these things you'll gain the understanding of what is going on. Electronics can be very daunting if you get into the engineering side without a clue. So the quick projects (like your lights here) are a great way to get started and build up from there. You can get projects from the web or book/magazines.

Sadly, this does seem to be a dying art. I'm sure it because most things are "black box" now. Most things aren't user serviceable and are just thrown away or whole modules replaced rather than repaired. It's a whole lot of fun though, IMO. Especially when you mess up, troubleshoot it, and fix it! I love that victory.

Louis L'Amour, β€œTo make democracy work, we must be a nation of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.”
Visit our archived Minecraft world! | Maybe someday I'll proof read, until then deal with it.
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2008-05-23, 19:43

Quote:
Originally Posted by turtle2472 View Post
In my area I use Priest Electronics. I avoid Radio Shack at all costs unless no other option exists and time is critical which is rare. On the site for Priest they list covering the Caraolinas so you might have something local. Plus, with that area being what it is, I find it hard to believe there isn't a good local electronics supplier. A quick Google came up with Allied Electronics. You might want to give them a shot.
Thanks for the pointers. I actually already found Allied Electronics (and it's only a few minutes drive from my home!), but I drove by there earlier to find that it's just a small office with no actual retail setup. Same goes for Powell Electronics, Inc in Cary. I have a couple other places I found from Google, but their locations lead me to believe they'll be more of the same when I get around to driving about town. *sigh*

Quote:
Originally Posted by turtle2472 View Post
My biggest tip for you would be to start of with projects and build up from there. As you're doing these things you'll gain the understanding of what is going on. Electronics can be very daunting if you get into the engineering side without a clue. So the quick projects (like your lights here) are a great way to get started and build up from there. You can get projects from the web or book/magazines.
Yup! I remember some, but not all, from an engineering physics class and a circuits class I took at university a few years back. I remember the really basic stuff like calculating resistance, capacitance, Ohm's law, logical gates, etc. and how to properly wire up components on a breadboard, but I know there's a lot more I want/need to learn. Lately I've been following the Make Magazine: Electronics and Evil Mad Scientist Labs blogs for inspiration and ideas.

Quote:
Originally Posted by turtle2472 View Post
Sadly, this does seem to be a dying art. I'm sure it because most things are "black box" now. Most things aren't user serviceable and are just thrown away or whole modules replaced rather than repaired. It's a whole lot of fun though, IMO. Especially when you mess up, troubleshoot it, and fix it! I love that victory.
Hear, hear! I did my first-ever desoldering and soldering last night, removing a tiny, crappy mic and speaker from a board and replacing with wires to hook up to my Mac's audio out for recording and wires to a better speaker for output. I didn't quite get it right the first time, but that made fixing it and getting it working right the second time feel even better.

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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2008-08-05, 23:54

I had put his project aside for a while, but the past few nights I've spent some time testing circuits, cutting plasic and boards, and soldering and finally I have a working prototype.



/me needs a bigger work area... computer desk + 2 TV tray tables = not enough

Video (attached) never quite does justice. That light at the tip is actually strobing at about 40 hz. It's a blinding thing of beauty.

Behind it, my joule thief has been powering 4 white LEDs off of an old "dead" AAA battery and has been going strong for so long that I lost count of the days.
Attached Files
File Type: mov sekrit2.mov (714.2 KB, 21 views)

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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turtle
Lord of the Rant.
Formerly turtle2472
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Upstate South Carolina
 
2008-08-06, 00:09

Very cool Brad. Did you find a good parts supplier in your area or are you still having to order online?

abb, hows the trailer coming?
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2008-08-06, 00:15

Still just ordering online, unfortunately.
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2008-10-31, 23:24

Well, I finally finished my big year-long project.



And here's one of the prop photos from a Planet Hollywood I used for reference:


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  quote
Partial
Stallion
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Milwaukee
 
2008-11-03, 23:58

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad View Post
Well, I finally finished my big year-long project.



And here's one of the prop photos from a Planet Hollywood I used for reference:

Are you catching ghosts?
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Mac+
9" monochrome
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: πŸ‡¦πŸ‡Ί
 
2008-11-28, 06:21

Brad - that ghostbusters contraption looks awesome.

I've been working on this for the past month.

Spoiler (click to toggle):


Paid off - won an award for a certain type of mo' style too. Mission accomplished.


Mo'vember rocks!


All I want is a simple life
twitter
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Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2009-10-08, 00:08

Since it seems I never posted the whole Ghostbusters getup in this thread, I fished a few photos out of Flickr to post here for posterity...



I do loves me some Halloween.

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Partial
Stallion
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Milwaukee
 
2009-10-08, 00:13

That is incredible. That is very high quality right there.
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-10-08, 00:19

Random thoughts:

1) Awesome

2) Awesome

3) Mountain Dew? Seriously? Yuk.

4) Awesome

5) Is that a Gryffindor scarf I see?

6) Awesome

7) Those are some very shiny shoes.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-10-08, 00:20

WAIT WHAT THE HELL IS NEXT TO MY NAME?

OMG Brad

To everyone else: There was this PM, see...
  quote
Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2009-10-08, 00:30

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roboman View Post
3) Mountain Dew? Seriously? Yuk.
Mountain Dew: fueling late-night programmers everywhere since 198x.

(Actually I rarely drink soda and when I do it's usually root beer, but hey, I'll take what's available.)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Roboman View Post
5) Is that a Gryffindor scarf I see?
Sported by none other than the company founder and CEO.


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Robo
Formerly Roboman, still
awesome
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Portland, OR
 
2009-10-08, 00:36

I'm still mesmerized by the luminosity of your shoes.

But that's pretty sweet. I love the wand

Ooh, and the tie matches too. Your CEO is an expert tie-picker-outer. You should tell him I said that.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
  quote
Brad
Selfish Heathen
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Zone of Pain
 
2009-10-08, 00:40

Quote:
Originally Posted by Partial View Post
That is incredible. That is very high quality right there.
Why does this make me picture The Waterboy? "Now that's some high quality H2O."
  quote
Capella
Dark Cat of the Sith
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Rochester, NY
Send a message via AIM to Capella  
2009-10-08, 08:03

Wow. Fantastic costume, amazing attention to detail; you look very authentic!
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