posted Sep 14th 2009 2:00pm by
Mike Szczys
filed under:
misc hacks,
tool hacks
posted Sep 12th 2009 12:44pm by
Mike Szczys
filed under:
home entertainment hacks

[Niclas] sent us his home made tube amplifier. For the case he used a computer power supply unit, took out the guts and replaced them with the amplifier board. He based this build off of an existing design but took a more minimalist approach. The wooden face plate has an on/off switch, an audio jack, and volume control. Apparently, the tubes are floating loose inside of the case. We’d recommend a more secure mounting method for these delicate parts.
posted Aug 25th 2009 11:32am by
Mike Szczys
filed under:
tool hacks

SparkFun has released a breadboard power suppy that can provide regulated 3.3v or 5v. Unlike the supply we saw from adafruit industries earlier this summer, this one is based on an lm317. This small device features on/off switch, voltage selection swith, and appropriately spaced pin headers to plug into both the top and bottom rails of a standard breadboard. Rather build it yourself? Take a look at the schematic provided (PDF).
posted Aug 24th 2009 9:01am by
Matt Schultz
filed under:
pcs hacks,
tool hacks

Every electronics workbench could benefit from having a bench power supply. Converting a PC power supply works, but often, it involves splicing wires and limits the supply to only bench use, and building one from scratch is definitely an undertaking. To counter this, [silic0re] and his father came up with a detachable adapter that simply plugs into the existing connectors. The adapter provides posts for four different voltages and can be built in no time. It’s nice to see a solution that will let you use any power supply laying around without having to worry about the dangers of opening it or cutting it up.
[Thanks silic0re]
posted Jul 9th 2009 6:21am by
Caleb Kraft
filed under:
pcs hacks

Some companies insist on using proprietary pieces. It can be really frustrating when there is no apparent reason other than consumer lock in. It irritates us to feel like we’re being forced to buy their pieces. This is one of the more popular reasons listed when you ask a hacker or modder what got them started. This project takes us through making a normal power supply work with the compaq proprietary 14 pin plug found in some smaller desktop PCs.
Aside from the plug itself being different, the motherboards require a 3.3v standby voltage. A normal power supply usually only has a 5v. Though there are even simpler ways of bypassing the issue, he chose to put an inline voltage regulator. Schematics are available on the site.
[via Hacked Gadgets]