Ian wrote a nice instructables how-to on building a USB thermometer using a PIC 18F2550. It’s surface mount, but that’s doable with a very fine tip and all parts are available through-hole. The controller provides all the I/O needed for the USB interface and the data collection. It looks like a great intro for building USB interfaces to your projects. He also wrote up how to syndicate the data for the web.

Dylan Field sent us our first Chumby hack tip. Oh, and I got a new daughter too. (So I’m a little tired.)

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Project parts aren’t cheap. Scrounging them from old hardware presents some challenges. Derek Anderson pointed us to this short but sweet how-to on hot-air desoldering using a heat gun from Home Depot. Looks like a great way to fill your parts bins.

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We’re fond of Team Hack-A-Day, so I wanted to point out the AOL CD lamp that Team Hack-A-Day member Figgy built. CD lamps are a fairly popular project: If you don’t have a cold cathode, you could build a compact florescent version. I really like the clean look of Neil’s version. Russel Jone’s added an external power connector to his Antec case to power his lamp.

I wonder what will happen if I combine the power of the AOL cd tesla generator and the AOL CD throne…[Sorry about the lack of comments, They’ll be back ASAP.]

Continue reading “Cd Lamps, Etc” →

The guys at invent geek posted their latest project. They

I’ve been known to modify an innocent kitchen appliance or two, but Derek Bradford has me beat. Derek is on the third iteration of his ‘uglyroast‘ coffee roaster. Since the nearest Home Depot is a continent away, he’s limited to simple parts and tools. The beans are heated with a gas stove. The second version used an electric fan and a camp stove. The latest one has a dedicated motor and sits over a gas range.

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Cupric chloride is generally considered a better etchant even though it is not as well known as ferric chloride. [Rolan Yang] has a photoset of the process. Cupric chloride is usually sold as a photography chemical. The best feature is that the solution can be regenerated so you won’t be disposing of nearly as much etchant. I found a great page detailing the process for the hobbyist.

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Want your home automation system to know the exact position of your garage door not just whether it is open or closed? Then the ultimate garage door monitor is for you. There has got to be at least one person that needs that, right? Well for the rest of you it is a handy guide for how-to implement analog sensors (like this potentiometer) into your home automation by way of an analog to digital converter.

[thanks ledtester]

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