MightyOhm

A glimpse at Electronics Workbenches around the world…

Jeff — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:45:00 +0000

Since creating the Electronics Workbench Flickr group last November, I have received lots and lots of really amazing submissions from electronics hobbyists and professionals around the world.

My two biggest takeaways so far? I do not own nearly enough test equipment, and my shop is not nearly as well-organized or space-efficient as it could be (I need to use all available wall space and build up).

Here are a few of my favorite images from the group:

Click any of these images for a larger version!

Joe Grand (of Prototype This! and Grand Idea Studio) and his awesome electronics workshop:

(Nice scope, Joe!)

blalor turned his BMW into a temporary workshop, and his passenger seat is the electronics workbench (note the laptop perched on the dash):

eschlaep (Eric Schlaepfer of tubetime.us) submitted this moody shot of a CRT project in progress:

Senke2 has a nice home lab with a lofty feel:

Looks like *someone* has a Tektronix fetish. Beautiful setup by Alan (W2AEW):

More scope envy, of both the oscillo- and micro- kinds (Thanks Mgburr!):

embeddederic sent in this picture of his workbench. Note the Tek 491 spectrum analyzer up top, 10MHz – 12GHz with 1950s(?) technology:

And lastly, check out this awesome workbench panorama by anachrocomputer (best viewed large):

See if you can spot the Tektronix 575 curve tracer!

There are lots more great photos in the group photo pool.

Do you have an electronics workbench that you’re proud of? Snap a photo and share it with the group!

New Flickr Group for your Electronics Workbench

Att Löda Är Lätt! (Soldering is Easy – Swedish (Svensk) Translation)

Jeff — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:07:31 +0000

Christopher Eriksson sent in this Swedish translation of the Soldering is Easy comic book. Thanks, Christopher!

Soldering is Easy Comic Book now available for the Kindle

Jeff — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 19:38:29 +0000

bloo just posted a Kindle version of the Soldering is Easy Comic Book on the forums. You can upload this file to your kindle with the send to kindle application or by e-mailing it to your Kindle’s e-mail address (unverified).

Cool! Thanks bloo!

Edit: Direct link to the Kindle version.

Saldare E’ Semplice (Soldering is Easy: Italian Translation)

Jeff — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 04:13:31 +0000

Michele Maffucci sent in this Italian translation of the Soldering is Easy comic book. Thanks, Michele!

New European Distributor: hackable Devices

Jeff — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 03:48:21 +0000

hackable Devices is now selling Geiger Counter kits. This should mean significantly faster delivery times for customers in Europe! To place an order, visit the hackable Devices website.

Processing sketch displays realtime Geiger Counter data

Jeff — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:29:50 +0000

Paul Allen sent in this neat Processing sketch that displays data collected by my Geiger Counter kit in real-time. Counts per minute is displayed in both linear and logarithmic scales, and CPS is also shown (the white trace in the plot above). Nice work, Paul!

The only change I had to make to get this to run on my PC was to change the COM port number on line 43 (I had to set it to COM13 on my machine, yours will probably be different). I haven’t verified operation on operating systems other than Windows.

(By the way, you’ll need an FTDI TTL-232R-3V3 USB-serial cable to connect your computer to the Geiger kit!)

Geiger Counter Workshops at #28C3

Jeff — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:28:19 +0000

There will be 30 kits allocated for each workshop. The sign-up sheet is down right now, keep checking back. And if all else fails, we’ll fill the workshops as people show up. Come early to get a spot!

The cost for the workshop is 100 EUR, which includes the geiger kit, case, geiger tube, batteries, and 2 hours of instruction.

Det Er Enkelt Å Lodde (Soldering is Easy: Norwegian translation)

Jeff — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:33:24 +0000

HSPalm sent in this Norwegian translation of the Soldering is Easy comic book. Thanks, Henrik!

Geiger counter triggered non-religious holiday lights

Jeff — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 23:20:30 +0000

There is no technical information available about this project by artist Nikki Pugh, but Sol Invictus is clearly triggered by one of my geiger counter kits.

via Make:

Update: There is now an Instructable, and an article about the project @ Wired UK.

No shipments 12/25/11 – 1/11/12

Jeff — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:49:47 +0000

Due to my upcoming travels to 28C3 and NYC, I will not be shipping any kit orders between December 25th and January 11th, 2012.

I plan to resume shipping by 1/14 at the latest. If there are any unexpected delays (eg. getting stuck in NY due to another snowpocalypse) I’ll post to the blog.

28C3

Jeff — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:08:05 +0000

Yes! I will be at 28C3, which takes place in just under two weeks, from Dec 27-30th, 2011 in Berlin.

There will be Geiger Counter kits for sale in the Hardware Hacking area, and I will be giving several workshops.

If you know me from the blog or just want to learn how to build a geiger counter, come say hello!

More details to come…

PS: Conference streams will be available, see the Fahrplan for scheduled talks, and no nerd left behind means that even if you cannot go to Berlin, there might be an event in your area.

New call sign, RIP KF6PBP

Jeff — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:23:09 +0000

I got my amateur radio license on December 31st, 1997.

I was an undergraduate at the time. My friend and classmate Tony (KC6QHP) had been trying to convince me to get my ham license for months.

I finally decided to go for it over winter break. I picked up a copy of Now You’re Talking! from a local bookstore (remember those?) and crammed for a week. I took the test the following weekend and passed with a perfect score, 35/35. (The morse code requirement for the Technician license was eliminated in 1991.)

That Christmas I got a Kenwood TH-79A/D, a very modern-looking radio at the time. (I still think it looks great, but it has aged poorly, the controls are scratchy and the battery becomes disconnected easily.) I nervously waited for my new call sign to show up in the FCC database. (This was before the ULS existed, but there was a website where you could see the call signs that were issued each day.)

Imagine my horror when on December 31st my name came up listed next to the call

KF6PBP

What’s wrong with that, you say? Sound it out. K F 6 P B P. Imagine trying to make a contact on the air with that call. PBB? BPP? PPP? I have even had operators struggle with the phonetic version (Papa Papa Bravo? No, Papa Bravo Papa. Easy, right? Wrong.) I remember some old-timers trying to console me when I first got my license by coming up with clever mnemonics such as “Peanut Butter Pretzels”, which I still chuckle at.

Admittedly, my frustration level has always been kept in check by the fact that I have never been very active on the air, and most of the contacts I have made have been with friends who had memorized my callsign anyway.

This year, after having the callsign KF6PBP for over 13 years, I finally decided to do something about it. I applied for a vanity call sign.

But which call to apply for? I’m an Amateur Extra now (I tested for General and AE in 2009 and 2010, respectively), so I could have tried to get one of the much-fought over 1×2 or 2×1 callsigns (like K6RF, W6TC, etc). I didn’t see any that were worth fighting (and waiting) for. So, I decided to take a different approach and searched for an easy-to-get 1×3 callsign that reflected my personality or interests. I found a few that I liked and narrowed them down to 2 candidates (one favorite and a backup in case someone else applied for the same call and I didn’t get it).

As luck would have it, I got my first choice. Last night, I was granted the new call sign

It feels a little bit weird to be saying goodbye to the call sign I’ve held for so long, but I’m looking forward to operating with my new call with fewer corrections. (The phonetic version has a nice ring to it – Whiskey 6 Oscar Hotel Mike.)

I’m getting back into amateur radio these days, so expect to see more posts on the subject. Maybe I’ll even get to chat with some readers of the blog on the air?

(Are you a ham? Leave a comment!)

Geiger Counter and HV Rescue Shield kits are back in stock!

Jeff — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 15:22:56 +0000

A quick update: Geiger Counter and HV Rescue Shield kits are back in stock, just in time for the holidays!

New Flickr Group for your Electronics Workbench

Jeff — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 00:03:44 +0000

Ahh, the electronics workbench – shrine to the electron, the diode, the transistor, the soldering pencil and flux pen.

You can learn a lot about someone by looking at their workspace. Note the way that they store components (in pullout drawers or plastic organizers?), hang test leads (on hooks or wire racks, or on a nail?), and keep spools of wire at the ready for repairs and new projects.

A look at someone’s electronics workbench gives you a small glimpse into what is usually a fairly personal space – a space where visions become reality and electronics projects are brought to life.

While there are quite a few electronics workbenches on flickr, I determined after a quick search that there had been no attempt to bring all of these glimpses into a hobbyist or engineer’s soul together into one place.

And thus was born the Electronics Workbench flickr group:

Have a photo of your bench? Add it to the group!

No? Then go downstairs into your basement, out into your garage, or up into the attic and take one!

And don’t spend too much time cleaning it up first – noone will believe you that your workbench is that clean when we’re not looking.

Also, a shoutout: This group was inspired in part by the Workbench of the Week (WOTW) page over at The Amp Hour. I don’t think WOTW has been a feature on the show for several months. Maybe we can get Chris and Dave to bring it back??

Happy soldering!

- Jeff

www.flickr.com

Spotted on Facebook…

Jeff — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:52:40 +0000

Comic by Mandor. Thanks to Bryan Currey for bringing this one to my attention.