I've been bitten by the bug! I can't stop solving this cube! Read More...

This is a Sinclair Cambridge vintage calculator from 1973. It's not just any Sinclair Cambridge vintage calculator, but an original model 1. Read More...

It's been almost 8 months since I assembled my Mini OLED Clock. It's been sitting unfinished on my desk since then. All I needed to do was 3D print a case for it. Read More...

With all the clock code written and the audio stuff worked out, it was time to pay closer attention to some of the details. Like properly driving the filaments. Read More...

The progress that I've made on this clock over the past week is amazing. It also helped that there was a 4-day Thanksgiving weekend in the mix. All the clock code is complete, including the alarm menu and the audio. Read More...

It’s been at least 6 months since I last played around with this VFD. I had so many other projects in the works that I needed to finish first. I really want this clock to be something special, so I saved it for when all my other projects were complete. That, and I’m supposed to be saving my money since the holidays are right around the corner. Read More...

I haven’t picked up my guitar in years. It’s mostly due to the fact that it’s in its case tucked away in my closet. Out of sight. Out of mind. I’d really like to get back into playing, but every time I think about it, I never seem to get to the point that it comes out of the case. I got to thinking that if the guitar was in the computer room where I spend most of my time, I’d be more likely to pick it up and mess around with it. I decided to make a guitar stand for it. Sure, I could hop on Amazon and buy a stand, but what fun is that? Read More...

My son’s really into the game Starbound. The Matter Manipulator is the tool that you start off with in the game. He’s been making paper craft Matter Manipulators for weeks. I figured since he’s really into it, I’d have a go at 3D printing one for him. Read More...

I’m so thrilled that I finally completed my 15” LCD clock. It was so much work and it took a long time to complete, but it came out awesome. It's like they say... if it's worth doing, it's worth over-doing. Read More...

When starting a print on my ROBO3D R1 3D printer, I periodically get an error message that pops up just after the bed has leveled. The error message pops up and the printer just stops. I have to power cycle the printer, restart MatterControl, and enter M999 into the console. I posted an entry on the ROBO3D forums asking for help. The consensus was that the extruder thermistor was bad and needed to be replaced. However, I ended up frying my board during the repair and needed to replace the Arduino MEGA inside. Read More...

After some delays, I finally got the panels for the clock laser-cut. I thought I was going to just drop the electronics in and screw the back on, but I ended up having to redo a lot of the wiring to get things to fit. I’m still not done. As it turns out, I need to reorder some more panels to make the enclosure a little thicker. The wiring for the set buttons takes up more space that I had anticipated. So the clock’s not compete yet, but much progress has been made. Read More...

A friend of mine picked up a Robo3D. Right out of the box, he pretty much agreed with me that the stock spool holder could use an upgrade. He took it to the max and built a holder than can hold 4 rolls of filament. He was kind enough to pass along the design files so that I could make one for my pinter too. Read More...

With all the PCBs assembled, it was time to get to work on the 3D model and the laser-cut enclosure. Read More...

I really wanted this clock to be something special, so I spared no expense, took my time, and made sure everything was perfect. No shortcuts, half measures, or it’ll do’s. It came out better than I’d hoped. I just hope it shows in the final assembly. Read More...

After a month and a half of juggling multiple projects, the “Zorg Door Bomb” Clock has finally crossed the finish line. It came out great, and I’m really happy with the results. Read More...

With all the electronics complete, it was time to work on the enclosure. It took 15 hours to print, and a day or two for the stain to dry. I can’t believe this project is almost finished! Read More...

I was so excited when the board for this clock arrived. This is such a fun project; even if it is just for a laugh.
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My PCBs finally arrived! As parts and PCBs become available, I’m bouncing back and forth between this, my 3” LCD Clock and my Zorg Bomb Clock. It seems like all the PCBs showed up within days of each other. So much to do! Read More...

If you've been following along lately, you know I've been juggling multiple projects. It's probably not the best way to do things, but it all just sort of happened. After a few weeks of jumping back and forth between projects, things are really starting to come together. Some of these projects are finally starting to see a finish line. Read More...

With the prototype working, and the code 99% complete, it was time to put together a PCB and get to work on an enclosure. I really want this clock to look sweet. Read More...

My first attempt at making an 18650 battery charger for my Mini OLED Clock was a disaster. I made some silly mistakes on the board, and needless to say, I let the smoke out. I hope this new board works. Read More...

The Talking Clock is coming along pretty good. However, I wanted to add a little flare to it. When the clock annunciates the time, I thought it would be really cool to have some LEDs come on. Maybe fade in and then fade out. With all the buttons that I have, the audio amplifier, and the VS1053 breakout board, I’ve pretty much run out of I/O. How am I going to PWM multiple RGB LEDs with only 1 pin left? The answer was Neopixels. Read More...

It’s the Zorg Door Bomb! The Fifth Element is one of my all-time favorite movies. I watched it again the other day and as soon as I saw Zorg’s Door bomb, I said to myself, “I’m so building that!” Read More...

It’s only been 3 weeks since I got my hands on some 3” LUMEX LCDs, but already I have made some fantastic progress with this clock. All the PCBs have been designed and ordered. It’s just a matter of waiting for the PCBs to arrive, designing the enclosure, and putting it together. Read More...

I’ve had a 74154 4-to-16 Decoder/Demultiplexer sitting in my parts organizer in a drawer marked "Random Chips" for 15 years. So what's it do? Let's find out! Read More...

In my last post for these awesome 3" LUMEX LCDs, I left off by concluding that I'd need some dedicated LCD driver chips. Well, I have the drivers now, and the displays look sweet! Read More...

Back in the early 2000s, I got it into my head to build a clock. On a whim, I picked up this vacuum fluorescent display a little before I realized I was in over my head. Needless to say, it sat in a box for over 10 years. It’s time to figure it out.
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My Multi-Function OLED Clock PCBs arrived. I hit a few snags putting it together, but in the end it came out fantastic. The battery board that was supposed to go with it is a different story. Read More...

In my last post for the VS1053 breakout board, I left off with simply playing an MP3 by pressing a button. Basically a "Hello World" for the breakout board. Now it's time to dig in and see what it'll take to make a talking clock. Read More...

This is going to be sweet. I got my hands on Adafruit’s VS1053 MP3 Breakout Board. Making a talking clock should be pretty easy with this! Read More...

I picked up these sweet LUMEX S101D22TR 7-Segment LCDs the other day. They were only $3.50 a piece. Read More...

Time for some PCBs! This clock is going to look pretty cool once it’s assembled. With a 3D model, I can get a better idea of what it’ll look like. While the PCBs are being manufactured, I can get to work on coming up with some kind of 3D-printed enclosure. Read More...

OK, so maybe I’m not quite ready to design the PCB yet. Although I was very happy with the way that the clock and alarm features came out, I felt that it needed more. I only used about 15K of the 328’s 32K, so there was definitely room to add some more goodies. I decided to spend another day on the code and implement a timer and stopwatch function. Read More...

I’ve been meaning to make an OLED clock for a while, I just haven’t gotten around to it. I managed to score these super tiny 64x48 OLED displays from eBay for $10 bucks each. Read More...

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Wow! It really works! And it looks great! Could the case be better? Yes, but I think it looks pretty good. I am really surprised at how fast I cranked this one out. Granted, all the code (with the exception of the two new set buttons) was already written. It was just a matter of taking what I had already accomplished with version 1, and making it better. Still, I completed this project in only 2 weeks. That has to be a record for me. Read More...

This is going to be cool. I’ve always wanted my own reflow oven. Read More...

The Word Clock 2 is coming along great. It’s almost complete. This is the most SMD components that I’ve ever soldered onto one board. It was a little challenging, but not impossible. All in all, it took just about 4 hours to assemble and test everything.
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I had to get through the busy holiday season before I could get the ball rolling again. I've taken a long enough break from my hobby stuff. One project I've been meaning to revisit for well over a year is my Word Clock. I think it’s time for a tiny all-SMD version 2! Read More...