My Projects
God Bless America!!
Updated:
08/24/08
remove the word SPAM from above email link
8-03-08
Snow Blower Repair
I sucked up a few bricks into my chute on the
old snowblower and also had the blade wear
out on one site so I had to fix it. I can't drill
square holes so cutting off the bad and then
welding on a new piece of flatstock sounded
like a better idea and here are the pics of the
repair.
7-27-08
Larry's XBox 360 Fix
ok, I usually post fix titles after I actually fix them
but this time I'm going to post as I go and just
hope I can fix it. So far I got it ripped apart and
now need to clean up the cpu's before going any
farther.
Update:
7-30-08
IT WORKS!!! I added washers to the bottom of the
motherboard before the Xclamp, overheated the
processors and let them cool and presto! functioning
again. I played it for over an hour with no trouble at
all. Here are some pics after it was working
7-22-08
Tak-40 Kit (KD8DFL version)
I'll be starting the construction of my Tak-40 radio
kit soon and will post info here as I go.
update:
7-23-08
I got my kit today and started looking over
the parts. Looks pretty cool so far.
update:
7-27-08
I found a couple of errors in labeling that
wasn't documented so I fixed those and
now I'm going to make an lcd/button panel
which I got the original design from K0DKT
Here are his origninal pdf files that I got
his permission to make available. I'm
also making available the bmp file I used
to make mine which is only single sided.
Version 2:
this bmp file removes 2 unused solder pads
and lowers the resistor & cap to better fit
by the lcd.
update:
7-30-08
I got the display board etched and drilled
and now I need to get the parts installed.
update:
8-6-08
It's working!! Somewhat, I only have the digital
board and the display board done and powered.
So now I can verify that my single sided bitmap
version of Wayne's display board is working.
Here are some more pics of what I have.
update:
8-8-08
Caution! I hooked the up encoder to the wrong
plug so don't go off of my pictures for encoder.
Encoder should be under display board which
it is now so all future pictures after (8-8-08)
will be correct! I had hooked it up but never
tested to see if it works and of course it didn't in
its current location but I have it working now.
It is getting more exciting now the closer I get!
Encoder is wired in wrong spot!
Black wire should be red!
update:
8-8-08
I now have the VFO board done and the coil
wired up temporarily. I used jumpers to wire
it as I don't want any permanent connections
until I know what box it is going in. The ones
I find that I like are $26 and I'm hoping to get
a cheaper one.
update:
8-9-08
I now have a functioning VFO. I had the
transistor in backwards as the silkscreen
was for a different part # and my guess
was wrong(see above). I looked them up and had to
turn them around. I also missed the + jumper
for the transistor. I got it all setup, wound
for the correct range and need to move on
to the next step. Here are some pics of
my progress so far.
update:
8-12-08
I got my last 2 boards finished and a
cable wired. Now all I need to do is
get it working and on the air.
bifiler winding check (9 turns)
update:
8-14-08
How to clean toroids of varnish with a big
soldering iron and some solder. No sand
paper required. This makes it really easy
to clean varnished wires and also tins them.
update:
8-18-08
Bummer!
Ok, now I have all the boards done and
no audio output. So I guess I got a bit
of troubleshooting to do. I got a bit of
a signal on my O-scope but I will need
more work to find the problem.
update:
8-24-08
Got some help on voltages for different
pins and found a wrong size component
and replaced it and also calibrated the AGC
but now I'm hearing an oscillation in the speaker
so I may just have to add my shielded wires I was
avoiding until I got a box for the rig.
7-11-08
Suzy Laptop Repair
Yet another bad design for laptop power.
I fixed the power plug on the laptop on another
laptop. Here they are.
7-9-08
Halo 2 PC/Vista
I uploaded the 2 files I used for achievements
for h2vista which you load for the Halo 2 dedicated
server. Even a silver account can host the file. Just
start h2server load the custom playlists and wait for
2 other players to start the game. Get through all of them
and you have a new achievement. Then do the other one.
I couldn't fine one on the internet so I created it and I hope
someone gets some use out of it.
7-3-08
Battery Adapter
Here I used an old battery charger adapter
as the basis for an adapter so I can use my
18v battery with 12v equipment.
6-21-08
Sound Card Interface
I took a circuit board for the packet sound
card interface and made it so I don't have to
use wires tied to the board. I added jacks all
the way around it.
update:
7-9-08
I uploaded pics of finished project which should
work on echolink or packet as described in the
above link for the original board. I have tried this
board using simplex repeater software and
it worked very well. His main site is here.
drawing
6-03-08
LC Meter with LCD Display
I etched some boards for construction of an
LCD type LC Meter. More info as time goes on.
5-23-08
Circuit boards!
I etched some more circuit boards. A really
simple sound card interface, audio amps and
a couple cw indicators.
I made some boards for audio amps, frreq counter,
and line out for my k2.
5-9-08
K2SP Elecraft EC2 Speaker
I started work on my external loud speaker designed
by N0SS and I'll have info here as time goes on.
update:
6-03-08
Drilled holes for front speakers. got boards etched
for pcb audio amps. My brother talked me into adding
a woofer on the bottom to handle the lower tones when
used with a pc.
5-4-08
Simplex Repeater
I bought this thing from here. I got 1 of 2 beta units
and of course I tore it apart to see what was in it.
Very clean project and so far works pretty good.
The cable I got with it didn't work with my radio
so I made an adaptor to try things out until I get
a cable made that works and looks nice.
4-27-08
CW LC Meter
A kit I bought from here so I don't have to look up
numbers for capacitor/inductor sizes. Pictures to
follow.
4-16-08
Elecraft EC2 packet station
I'm installing my Kantronics KPC-3 into an ec2 case
along with my HTX-202 from Radio Shack. I will also
be adding a sound card interface to the box as it is
similar in function. I got pics of the face of the station
but will upload later.
update:
6-29-08
Added power switch, power jack and antenna connection.
3-25-08
Echolink interface
After 2 weeks of work on a bitmap I could just print
out on Press-n-Peal to make my own circuit boards
I finally got started building the circuit. I found the info
from here which is open source and is also a pic project
and I like both so I decided to go with it. Too bad there were
no pics of a finished project on the site.
Now if I could only find my drill bits!
updated:
4-16-08
Transformers to Rob from Modem
update:
5-20-08
Here is a converted bitmap of the
one I used converted by someone
and emailed to me. converted from
the 21meg file down to under 1meg.
bitmap I used converted(<1meg)
3-18-08
Wii Guts
I got a Wii to play bowling with my Mom and she is
actually playing. Not doing too bad even. Of course
any time I rip something apart with or without a reason
I usually take pictures and here they are.
2-25-08
Digital Camera Repair
I got a Digital camera from my nephew's girlfriend
to see if I could fix it. It was dropped on its lens and
wouldn't open up.
9-5-07
Led SWR Indicator for qrp
Made the 5w led qrp kit but haven't tested it yet.
I got it from here.
9-1-07
New Spouting and Down spout
Here are pics of my spouting repair work.
8-26-07
K2PSU - RS Power Supply in an EC2 case
I'm going to use the Radio Shack 25 amp switching power
supply to put in the EC2 case to power my K2 and my K2PC
along with my Amp when I build it. I am starting on making
my own custom volt meter and amp meter using a pic
16f877a or 16f877 to run everything. I have the code done
to give me a top line and the bottom line will read the volts
and amps and maybe have a serial port to customize it.
update:
8-31-07
No luck on the current sensor giving me enough voltage
to drive my ADC. I tried a current sensor from TI but it
didn't work. I now ordered some free samples from
Maxim for a current amplifier so I'll try it when they
get here.
Update:
9-5-07
Good news, I got a current amplifier chip from Maxim
which is the Max4376. The 5 pin chip just takes 2 pins
for the sense wires, plus voltage, ground and the
output pin goes to the pic adc input. I chose the 100x
multiplier to get 0-50Amps from only the 50mV input
for the current meter....Here is my test circuit.
Update:
9-9-07
I got all the radioshack power supply parts installed
in the new case and so far it is coming out just fine.
Now all I have to do is finish my LCD meter
and get it installed along with a hole in the back
for the cooling fan.
update:
10-15-07
8-9-07
Softrock 6.2 Radio 40m/80m band
Here are pics of my softrock radio with is a 40/80 meter band
software defined radio. It uses the sound card of a computer
to work.
7-10-07
Laptop Fixed
Here is a laptop I fixed for a guy at work. Well, sort of fixed.
The laptop didn't seem to want to charge the battery when
it was on without smocking some components. Whatever
caused it to burn up in the first place was still bad, so I fixed
the MB so it could be used with the AC adaptor or battery
but didn't want to do both....New motherboard anyone?
Well, here are the photos.
6-23-07
K2 DSP
Purchased my dsp for the k2 radio and here it is.
updated:
4-10-07
Hacked my ppc6700 phone cradle
I had to hack my cradle to get the generic power cable
to power the phone and to charge it as just using the
usb port didn't seem to give it enough power when the
battery was low. I found out that the power cable that
is supplied with the cradle normally has the negative
pin and the one right beside it shorted so the cradle
knows that it is plugged into power instead of usb.
It seems that the second negative pin turns on a
transistor which powers the led to show power is
applied. Works good now!
updated:
6-23-07
I did a second one and took pictures this time.
updated:
4-09-07
Tim's Furnace Control Board Repair
Here is a repair job request. Just found 2 cold solder joints
on the board. I removed both relays and resoldered them.
Now to install the board and test it!
updated:
1-17-07
K2pc Computer in a K2 case
Here is a project I started to install a pc into an
Elecraft K2 EC2 radio case. I got the idea from a link
I found on their website except I'm installing a DVD
drive into the case or maybe a burner. Unfortunately
the MB was DOA right out of the box, so it went back
for replacement. Project on hold until it makes it back.
update: 2-2-07
I got a new motherboard as the one from newegg.com came
DOA so I ordered one from logicsupply.com and not having
much luck with the new one. I can boot everything up as
long as I have a POST code reader installed in the pci slot
which makes no sense, but here are some pics of what it
looks like so far. I have a 1.2 gig via cpu with 1gig of
ram and a 30 gig hard drive and even a cd drive which
will be a dvd drive (burner?) once everything is working.
I even have room to add a fan if needed but that defeats
the purpose of a fanless system. I also have a wireless
network card to install yet. And I might add a serial lcd
display to the front along with the leds and switches.
update: 3-4-07
I got my new board installed and added lights to the front
left side and got my wireless modem installed also.
update: 3-18-07
I got my lcd installed and working.
update: 4-08-07
Now to install my RGB component output
jacks and front audio connector and internal
speaker. Also installed small fan to help
keep things cooler.
update: 4-20-07
I installed my component output jacks and still
need to do the audio. I decided to install the
audio jack in the back to disconnect the internal
speaker. Here are some new pics.
The component output looks really good now
that I found the right settings to make it work.
I have it hooked to my Sony 26" lcd widescreen
tv using 720p instead of the square screen that
the vga port was giving me.
Updated:
6-23-07
I added an IRDA port to the front of the case
after removing the led as it wasn't lined up
with the other 2 and I didn't feel it would look
as good.
updated:
4-19-06
Freq. Counter Pic16f628
Here is pics of my frequency counter I made.
The info I got it from is at this link.
I etched the pc boards which I slightly modified
so I could solder the two boards together. Now
I need to install the circuit for the input so I can
have a high impedance input. I also need to put
it in a box, but here is what I have so far.
updated:
02-12-06
Ipod, Fix the Ipod!
Here is my attempt at fixing an Ipod. Not mine,
but something to do I guess. I have pictures of
the guts of the thing and what the drive inside
looks like. The battery is showing on one of them
too. I'm also charging it up with a battery circuit
that I added a usb port to so I can charge usb
devices with it.
updated:
2-07-06
Telephone monitor
This circuit monitors my phone line and allows
me to turn on devices or enable my phone if
I turn it off to sleep but still allows those who know
me to still get a hold of me when needed. Without
all the telemarketers bothering me. This is just the
start of the project.
update:
2-15-06
I added more components and tested the ring detector.
Added the rest of the circuit and did some preliminary
tests to make sure the substitute parts work ok and to
make sure things are working as predicted.
so far so good.
original designer of this circuit and info can be found here.
Of course I changed things to suit me and my needs.
update:
2-17-06
I finished the circuit, tested it on my phone line and
all works just fine. Now I can disable the phone when
I don't want bothered or am sleeping and those with the
right code can enable my phone, wake me up or just
bother me if it is important enough.
updated:
11-07-05
Ten-Tec QRP Radio Kit
This is a radio kit I'm doing for a friend. I only have
the latest pic so far where I'm actually getting some
noise out of the unit. I hooked the antenna up to my
other project which is an HF noise source where I
etched my own pc board and it all worked pretty
well so far.
update:
12-13-05
After finishing the parts installation, I thought
I'd hook it up to some power and listen to a
radio station or so. I actually found one but
unfortunately it was the tail end of the QSO.
I haven't messed with it much after this other
than setting up the offset for tx and making
a few adjustments. Still need to work out
the issue of no side tone which might be
the wrong part as the book called for 1 and
the actual one was another story. Here
is a pic of the somewhat final radio with
all my test leads hooked up.
Additional Photos
update:
1-23-06
Oh I finally got the side tone working. Wasn't
anything serious. I found I just forgot to adjust
the tuning can so the 7mhz oscillator wasn't
doing much until I moved the core in. Now for
final tune-up and setup.
update:
1-24-06
OOOOhhhhhh NNNOoooooo!!!
I learned a very hard lesson.....
don't talk on phone when setting up a radio!!!
I hooked up the radio backwards on my last
test...heard a loud pop! then I found a
transistor with the head blown off of it.
I think it fried the audio amp as it makes
strange noises now...I just figured I'd change
all the iffy components at a cost of about $3-5
plus shipping and tax I guess. So I think I'm
going to add a diode protection circuit to the
radio so it wont happen again....that and stay
off the phone while working on stuff!!
update:
1-28-06
Repairs have commenced. I got all
the transistors and IC's removed and
ready for the new ones when they
get here.
update:
1-29-06
I got repair parts installed and all works
except the only part I didn't find which is
the final amp. I ended up finding it at
halted.com so other than more expense,
I'm on my way to finishing this little radio.
update:
2-8-06
I got repairs done and radio all tuned up.
The radio was receiving from 7.0502 to
7.1217 and after putting the wax on the
coil to keep it from moving it now goes
from 7.0572 to 7.1280 and all seems fine.
updated:
11-07-05
Noise source generator
This is my noise source generator for testing
receivers for ham radio and setting up the filter.
updated:
11-07-05
Tenna Dipper Kit
This is a nice kit for checking the resonant
frequency of an antenna.
updated:
11-07-05
SWR/Power meter kit
This is my QRP power/swr kit that I put
together
updated:
11-07-05
Scantool ISO kit
This isn't finished yet, but I etched the board
and still need some parts to finish before I
order the chip.
updated:
9-30-05
Elecraft K2 radio mods
This is where I started making my own pc boards
for mods for the radio. I wanted to add a data port
and a cw tuning indicator circuit and couldn't find
anyone who sold the boards so I made them myself
from the drawings I downloaded off the internet. I will
post the final pictures and board layouts when done. I
had to redraw the mic extension/data port board as the
one I found showed 2 layers and the one layer version
drawing had the jumpers drawn on so I removed them
in order to make my boards. I got all the stuff I needed
to make the boards and now I have more boards than
I know what to do with so if you need one, let me know
and we can work out the details on price then if interested.
These are the bmp's I used to etch my boards.
Please note that I put my call sign on these as
I had to convert them to bmp so I could print
them out and am in no way trying to take
credit for the work. I figured I did the work
to convert them and wanted my call sign in
my rig after completion so I modified them.
You are welcome to use what I have or get
them from the original authors but this is just
what I'm into and wanted to share incase
someone wanted them also.
Please note that not all of these are to 1:1
scale. If you see a 1x in the filename or
see a 300 as in 300dpi then it is 1:1 and
can be printed as seen otherwise you may
need to do some scaling. I plan on fixing
all the files here as I make them so keep
an eye out on the page.
K2 Mic extension w/data port (source)
frequency counter bottom (source)
Frequency counter top (source)
Pics:
updated:
8-03-05
Elecraft K2 radio kit
This project will be an ongoing project as updates
to my progress will continue until the kit is built. I
bought the kit and got it in the mail 8-17-05 along
with my buddipole which is a really cool and
portable HF antenna that can be carried in a 24"
bag.
8-23-05
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