Podcasting since 2005! Listen to Latest SolderSmoke
Saturday, February 24, 2024
Innovations and Inventions in Garages and Basements
Tuesday, February 6, 2024
Pine Boards, Analog VFOs, and Homebrew BITX Transceivers -- AG5VG's Magnificent Creations
This is amazingly cool. WE ARE NOT ALONE! There are others out there breaking the tyranny of the Si5351, building BITXs with analog LC VFOs. And using copper clad boards affixed to pine boards. Plywood cabinetry! And medicine bottle coil forms. Really great. And what a wonderful workshop. Thanks Michael.
Good Afternoon Bill,
Saturday, January 20, 2024
K0IYE's Thoughts on Homebrewing and Workshops
I like Frank Harris K0IYE's book so much that I don't mind posting about it frequently. "From Crystal Sets to Sideband" is must-read material for all homebrewers.
The picture above is especially significant. I first came across it in the old pulp-style magazine called World Radio. The picture, like Frank's book, is truly inspiring.
This week I stumbled across a relatively new chapter in Frank's book. Chapter 3A deals with his approach to homebrewing (Luddite, analog, HDR) and his advice on how to set up a home ham-radio workshop. There is a lot of wisdom in this chapter.
The opening paragraph of Chapter 3A really grabbed me. Check it out here. Click on the text below for a better view:
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Andreas HB9BLA's Ideas on Building a Lab or Workshop
Lots of great ideas on workshop or lab design from Andreas, the guy with the Swiss accent. Andreas is HB9BLA. I liked all of this, especially his idea on books.
A while back Andreas was interviewed by Eric Guth on QSO today: https://www.qsotoday.com/podcasts/hb9bla
Thank you Andreas!
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
A Marine's Home Workshop on Okinawa
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Other Workshops: Genius Girl Fixes (Re-builds!) Old Tractor
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Other Workshops: A Twin Cylinder Solenoid Electric Motor and some Very Cool Craftsmanship
Maceij's YouTube channel has many other projects, many like this one: https://www.youtube.com/@maciejnowakprojects
Thanks to HackaDay for the heads up.
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Marb Builds a Replica of Michael Faraday's Motor
Thursday, September 14, 2023
Building Nixie Tubes for a Hiroshima Project
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Homebrew Transistors
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Boom! Small Electrolytics Blow-up in a Big Way. MAGIC SMOKE RELEASED!
Monday, April 24, 2023
Tim Hunkin on Drilling Holes (Secret Life of Components Video)
I guess that aside from being a great video, this is something of a test of technical nerdy-ism. If you find this hour long video really interesting, well, you know...
Really cool stuff from Tim Hunkin:
-- I liked the angle driller. Need one.
-- The placement of the magnets near the hole to catch the shavings was really cool.
-- Tim's reluctant admission that it is just better to buy new drill bits (as opposed to sharpening old ones) is good advice.
-- WD-40! Yea!
-- Note: No white "Boffin" coat for Tim. Just "overalls." But as I watched I found myself thinking that he could probably have used an armor plate or at least a Kevlar vest amidst all that flying metal. Perhaps a bit more eye protection too...
-- Fiddley. A useful tech term.
--Swarf: Another useful tech term: the metallic remnants (shavings) of drilling.
-- The digi readout on the milling machine looked really useful.
Finally, I loved the sign that Tim has posted in his workshop:
SMALL HADRON COLLIDER
Sunday, April 16, 2023
Inside "Open Circuits"
Sunday, February 19, 2023
Antoine's Home Lab in Paris
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Curious Marc's Lab and Workshop
Monday, January 9, 2023
Other Workshops: Building a Flying 21:1 Scale Airbus A-380
Sunday, November 27, 2022
Mr. Carlson's New Lab and Workbench
Thursday, October 6, 2022
How to Tap an Aluminum Heat Sink: Pete Juliano Shares Tribal Knowledge
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
The Workshop and Bench of the QRP Home Builder, Todd VE7BPO
Monday, September 12, 2022
Workbench and Workshop Tips -- Please Put Suggestions in the Comments
During a recent visit to Barnes and Noble I picked up Adam Savage's book (please use the Amazon link in the righthand column) about Making and workshops. Adam's book reminded me of the importance of giving thought to the organization and set-up of your workbench or workshop. I found more tips on YouTube:
Wow, watch the KatVoltage video (above). Unlike the person in a recent unfortunate advertisement, Kat clearly knows which end of the soldering iron to grab. She is setting up a good workshop -- you can tell from how she is organizing the bench. I wish her a lot of luck. htt(s://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NcVzTu7TbE&t=54s
Andreas (the guy with the white glove and the Swiss accent) has some good ideas:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inW57njiq1A
The EEVblog guy has a good guide to the basic stuff that you need to build an electronics workshop. It is a bit dated (2011) but the guidance is still very good (I wouldn't go with the homebrew or kit-built power supplies): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_PbjbRaO2E
Van Neistat has a very good Top Ten List of things NOT TO DO in a workshop. NO FLATHEAD SCREWS. I'm with you Van. NO HOARDING. etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?