“Electronics workbench” by John Croudy on flickr
The Electronics Workbench Flickr Pool contains over 200 photos of electronics workbenches and workshops. Whether you’re looking for inspiration for your next bench or just want to see where other electronics enthusiasts work on their projects, check out the group photo pool!
If you have a cool electronics workbench or workshop, we’d love to see it! Post a photo to the pool!
Last week, while visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, I had a chance to visit the Computer History Museum.
Continue reading An Analog Life: My pilgrimage to the workbench of analog guru Jim Williams
Interested in setting up a cool screensaver that will display a continuously changing collage of photos from the Electronics Workbench and Printed Circuit Boards flickr pools?
Here’s how to do it in Windows:
First, install Picasa. This should install the Google Photos Screensaver.
Next, open the Windows Screen Saver Settings control panel. (Type “screen saver” into the Windows 7 search bar, open the Windows Control Panel and navigate to Appearance and Personalization->Change screen saver, etc.)
Select the Google Photos Screensaver and click Settings…
Set the Visual Effect type to Collage, and adjust the Change picture every… slider to taste – I suggest starting at 3.0 seconds.
Uncheck all options except Photos from public sites, then click Configure…
Copy and paste each of the following RSS feeds into the Additional photo feed sources dialog, and click Add after pasting each one.
http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne?id=812901@N20&lang=en-us&format=rss_200 http://api.flickr.com/services/feeds/groups_pool.gne?id=1767402@N25&lang=en-us&format=rss_200
After adding both feeds, make sure the entries for each them are checked and click OK. Then click OK again to return to the Windows Screen Saver Settings window.
Click Preview and photos from the Electronics Workbench and Printed Circuit Boards flickr pools should start appearing on your screen. If so, the screen saver is working.
Click OK to close the control panel and you’re done!
If you’re interested in setting this up in OS X, the process is very similar – just add the RSS Feeds to your screen saver settings as documented here.
Have fun!
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:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57440811@N08/6473039935/in/pool-1767402@N25/
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!