So a couple disclaimers before we get started. This is just what I did to accomplish my design goals of controlling AC current; I do not share it for you to copy, but maybe introduce you to some concepts if this is totally foreign to you. In fact, I do not recommend you trust my […]
Archive for the ‘How Tos’ Category
Temperature Controller
June 20th, 2011
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Suppose you want to keep something (e.g. a room, sous-vide steak, autoclave) at a certain temperature with, say, an immersion water heater; you could use an off-the shelf temperature controller, OR save some money (but not time), and build your own from the ground up. If, like me, you’re cash poor, time rich, and intellectually […]
Move Mod
April 24th, 2011
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This is definitely the most invasive hardware hack I’ve ever done; even though it is not particularly difficult, it ended up being quite the undertaking for this noob. I’ll share a little bit about it to save anyone else who might try something similar some grief. It all started when the PS Move came out, and […]
Flickering Flame
February 14th, 2011
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This would be more appropriate as a Halloween post, and in fact, that’s what I intially intended, but I want to give you a head start; you need something to do now that Valentine’s Day is over! I enjoy a jack-o-latern like anyone else; however, candles are consumable and potentially disastrous. I wanted a simple […]
Using a Thermistor
September 20th, 2010
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A thermistor, as the name indicates, is nothing more than a resistor, whose resistance value is sensitive to temperature. Like a normal resistor, it has no polarity, that is, you can’t hook it up backwards. Depending on the type of thermistor, the resistance may increase or decrease with increasing temperature. To use a thermistor to measure […]
