DIY on PCB Isolation

Building a standing desk with a charging drawer and cable tray

Sun, 04 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This standing desk features a drawer for charging electronics, a cable tray for managing cables, Blum drawer sliders, backlights, outlets on the sides, and a hidden desk-height controller.

Hardware

Frame - Topsky electric adjustable standing desk frame
Sliders - Blum 12″ and 15″ Tandem drawer slides
Outlets - Anker AC / USB-C outlet
USB charger - 112W Anker USB desktop charger-
Power strips - Amazon Basics 6 outlet surge protectors
Extension cord - TROND Flat 3 outlet extension cord, 10ft
Backlight dimmer - ALOVECO 12 Volt DC Dimmer
Backlights - COB 12V LED Strips, 3000K
Monitor arms - ErgoFocus Single Monitor Desk Mount
Monitors - Dell G3223Q 32-Inch 4K, 144Hz
Webcam - Anker C200 Webcam
Webcam arm - GorillaPod Arm Smart

The lumber cutlist can be found at the bottom of this post.

Fabricating a frameless cedar gate

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This gate has no exterior visible from the front and opens large enough for a vehicle and trailer to drive through.

Design

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Frame

The frame is made of 3/4″ angle iron at 1/8″ thick as the frame. I ended up double up on the angle iron (welding them back-to-back). I wish I would have used a thinner-walled square tube instead. It would have been much stronger for the same weight and price.

Making a dual jet ski trailer from a boat trailer

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I bought an old boat trailer and converted it into a dual jet ski trailer.

Boat trailer

Originally, someone stripped this boat trailer in preparation for making a utility trailer. They gave up on the project and I bought it for $250.

Design

In Solidworks, I added the rails for the jet skis to sit on and adjustable winching mechanisms.

London Good Delivery Bar Ingot Mold – Design Drawings

Sat, 11 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

London Good Delivery Bars define standards for gold and silver ingots. These are usually the ingots you see in movies. This post contains drawings I created for molds made from 1/4″ (6mm) mild steel.

Below you’ll find a pdf with the dimensions.

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See the creation of the molds below:

Wooden Garden/Wedding Arbor Plans

Sun, 16 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

This post contains plans for a wooden arbor or archway for a garden or wedding.

I used cedar for this arbor. The total cost was about $200. You can find the plans at the bottom of this post. Otherwise, read on for some notes and details about the process.

Building the arbor

The curved section is the most challenging part of the design. There are 3 approaches:

Option 1 - Steam forming/bending

This involves heating and steaming wood, then bending it into the right shape. I chose not to do this because of a lack of experience and equipment.

Waterproof, Sound Proof Generator Enclosure

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

For RVs and vans, generators are very useful but very loud. I wanted an enclosure that is both waterproof and noise dampening. It’s hard to find something like this, because it’s not easy to encase an engine and keep it cool.

In the end, I failed to keep the generator cool enough to for more than 2 hours.

I used a Wen 56235i generator. It is a cheaper variant of the Honda EU2200 series.

Integrate Zooz ZEN34 with Home Assistant

Sat, 26 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This overviews adding a Zooz ZEN34 smart switch to Home Assistant and using it to trigger automations.

This guide was written for HA 2021.6.6.

Prerequisites

Home Assistant
Z-Wave USB Hub
- I recommend either the Aeotec Z-Stick 7 or Z-Stick 5.
Z-Wave JS integration on Home Assistant
- See setup instructions here.
Zooz ZEN34 Smart Wireless Z-Wave Switch

Add ZEN34 to Z-WaveJS

Remove paper battery tabs from switch to power on switch
Login to Home Assistant
Go to Z-Wave JS and press “Add/Remove Device”

Fabricating Fold-Down Bench Seats for a Chevy G30 Van

Tue, 23 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This post details my process of building and adding fold-down bench seats to an old van.

I’ve been restoring a ‘91 Chevy G30. I want to be able to use it as a roadtripping and camping van, but not lose the ability to haul cargo and passengers. Ideally, my van would have 2-3 rows of removable seats that can fold down into a large bed.

Repairing and Adding Bluetooth to an 80’s – 90’s AC Delco Radio

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

AC Delco Model 16131355

This post details the repair of a early 1991 AC Delco stereo. AC Delco made many variants of this stereo for both Chevrolet and GM cars, trucks, and vans from the early 80’s to the mid-90’s. While many of the stereos have more or less features (cassette players, radio presets, etc), the amplifier section of the radio is fairly standard and unchanged.

Internal Pinout and Schematic

Permanently Mounting a Rearview Mirror (No Mirror Glue)

Mon, 18 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

This post details a more permanent mounting for a rearview mirror.

I bought an old vehicle with a rearview mirror that was laying on the ground next to an empty bottle of rearview mirror glue. I bought a new bottle of 3M rearview mirror glue kit and reattached the mirror by devoutly following the instructions in a good weather. Still, the mirror fell off a few weeks later after I adjusted it too aggressively.

Swapping LEDs and PCB in a Dimmable Nightlight

Mon, 11 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve looked and been unsuccessful in finding household nightlights that meet my criteria:

auto on/off
dimmable
1800K CCT
decent CRI
uniform illumination
no flickering
power efficient

The closest I found was this nightlight. I like everything about it except the 3000K CCT. I believe it’s a bit too cool for a nightlight.

I ended up swapping the 3000K LEDs for 2200K LEDs. I would have preferred 1800K, but was unable to source them on Digikey.

DIY Prescription Scuba Dive Mask

Mon, 05 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This is a custom bracket for holding a pair of prescription lenses inside a scuba dive mask.

The goggles here are the Atomic Frameless 2. These goggles are great quality, have a wide field-of view, and have enough clearance to fit a pair of glasses inside.

I designed the bracket in Autodesk Inventor and printed it on a 3D printer. You can find my design files on Thingiverse here. If you want to customize this bracket to fit your specific glasses and mask, you can get a free copy of Autodesk Fusion 360 here.

How to Export STL File from Inventor to Cura for 3D Printing

Sun, 30 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This how-to is for exporting a part from Autodesk Inventor and importing to Ultimaker Cura for 3D Printing. Once you export a STL file, it can be used with programs other than Cura.

Step 1

Open your part in Autodesk Inventor

Step 2

Go to File->Export->CAD Format

Step 3

A “Save As” box should appear.

Click “Options”

How To Fix Axis/Rotation Orientation between Inventor and Cura

Sun, 30 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

This how-to is for correcting axis orientations or rotation issues when exporting a file from Inventor to Cura.

improper orientation causes this issue in Cura

Step 1

Open Inventor.

Export as an STL and import into Cura (how to export a STL here)

Do not rotate the model in Cura

Step 2

Rotate your view in Inventor to match the Cura model. This will make the next steps more intuitive.

Make Your Own Pedialyte 2.0 – Full Electrolyte Replacement

Sat, 22 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This ORS (oral rehydration solution) is 10 times cheaper than Pedialyte and contains a wider array of electrolytes. Gatorade, in comparison, is a low electrolyte, high sugar mix and has nothing on this ORS besides marketing.

I wanted something to mute hangovers or to drink after a long day of sweating. But I don’t want to spend $4 on Pedialyte or drink a gallon of sugary Gatorade. This ORS closely follows the nutritional profile of Pedialyte. The ingredients are similar too, excluding Pedialyte’s additives to improve solubility and shelf life. As a powder, it is more convenient. Compared to a $4 bottle of Pedialyte, 1 liter of this ORS costs about 41 cents!

Reflow Toaster Oven Build

Fri, 14 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This is a conversion of a convection toaster oven into a SMD reflow oven. I took a standard toaster oven then added insulation, ControlLeo2 controller, temperature sensor, cooling fan, and a front panel. It has excellent thermal properties and follows a reflow profile well.

I bought the ControlLeo2for the reflow controller. It features PID control and is overall good. Still has shortcomings. I had to heavily modify it to make it fit in the front panel. A different LCD (8×2 or 8×4) and a new PCB layout would make this board slim enough to fit. Additionally, I had some issues with LCD corruption and had to modify the software. I am also disappointed with the lack of PID control for the cooling fan.

How to Remove and Replace Keys on Lenovo ThinkPad T450s (with pictures)

Tue, 21 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This guide is for removing keys off a Lenovo ThinkPad T450s and should also work for the T430, T440, T450, and T460.

There are fragile retaining clips on the underside of each key. Repetitive removal will surely break them. Once the clip breaks, it must be replaced.

Key Removal

Wedge your finger underneath the upper left and pull directly up until you hear a single click.

Adding 18650s and DC Power to Hot Shoe Video LED Light

Thu, 22 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I use Neewer’s hot shoe LED lights for a variety of purposes - photography, video, and scanning negatives. The CN-160 is incredibly bright and dimmable. Unfortunately, it is designed to take 6xAA batteries. Or, if you have the right camera, you can attach your camera’s lithium battery to it. I don’t like either option.

I use 18650 batteries for my headlight and I want to use them here. I added a voltage monitor so I didn’t accidentally drain the batteries. I added a DC barrel jack for connecting to a wall adapter. This was for scanning thousands of negatives - I needed full brightness for many hours.

Flashlight Adapter for GoPro Mounts and Helmet Mount

Mon, 12 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

This how-to concerns making an adapter to hold a flashlight on a standard gopro mount. It allows you to mount a flashlight to a helmet or anywhere else you’d need a securely mounted flashlight.

There are a few 3D-printed gopro flashlight holders on thingiverse.com, but they all seem to be either bulky or fragile and all require a screwdriver for installation and removal. My design uses a gopro mount, is secure, and forgiving to abuse. It uses velcro to accommodate many different flashlight and makes removing the flashlight very quick.

How To Scan A Lot Of Film Negatives Using Your Camera

Wed, 07 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Most dedicated film scanners don’t scan negatives as well as your camera. If you spend anywhere between $50-$200, you’ll first spend a few hours reading polarized Amazon reviews and end up with a cheap plastic scanner with a little sensor and quite average resolution. For better quality you have to jump up to $500+ to get a professional quality scanner. They are usually quite slow and designed for scanning just a few pictures then bringing them to Photoshop to touch them up.

Kawasaki CSR 250 & 305 1979 – 1982 Manuals

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000

I had a hard time finding this online for free.

This manual is for the following models: Kawasaki KZ CSR 250 1979 Kawasaki KZ CSR 250 1980 Kawasaki KZ CSR 250 1981 Kawasaki KZ CSR 250 1982 Kawasaki KZ CSR 305 1981 Kawasaki KZ CSR 305 1982

Click here to download.

Enjoy

Simple Automatic Volume Control with Arduino

Tue, 20 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000

This was for a pair of outdoor speakers in front of KMNR, my college radio station. KMNR was receiving complaints for having the music too loud at night.

An Arduino checks clock and adjusts volume using digital potentiometers This post is a walkthrough of the design and implementation.

Design

I interfaced an Arduino with a RTC (real time clock) to get the time. The RTC is Maxim’s DS1307 and it should last 17 years on it’s backup battery. It communicates over I2C and you can find already written code here.

Motorcycle Seat Repair – Liquid Electrical Tape

Wed, 31 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The #1 vinyl repair kit on Amazon has 2.9 stars. And it’s not made to fix an 10″ split seam.

There isn’t a whole lot you can do to hide a 10″ split, which is a problem for my 83 Kawasaki 305. A friend had success using Liquid Electrical Tape to fix the seat of a Honda CBR1000rr.

There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of talk online about this. This is the repair for people who use close-enough nail polish to touch up body paint.

Motorcycle Brake/Turn Light PCB

Sun, 21 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

A stranger off eBay got me pulled over, from across the world.

I have a 1983 Kawasaki CSR 305 that has a hint of a cafe racer. For the look, I replaced the stock brake and turn lights with a LED brake/turn light combo from eBay. It was manufactured overseas, very cheaply.

typical cheap brake/turn light

Something failed and the lights went out…at night…while riding. This upset the local authorities.

2×15″ Home Subwoofers, Car Amp, & Server Power Supply

Thu, 23 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

After half a semester of college, I learned that my 8″, 40W woofer wasn’t enough. I wanted something bigger, but didn’t want to have to upgrade again in the future. So I decided on something reasonable for any 10’x15′ dorm room - two 15″ subwoofers powered by a 1000W car amp. My goals: keep it under $400, design it so one of the two subs can be placed in a car and be powered from a 12V source (like a car battery), and build them to be as durable as possible.

Designing and Building a CNC Machine

Mon, 20 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000

In May 2012, the end of my junior year of high school, I began to develop great interest in a personal CNC machine. A CNC machine is a beautiful thing, and the process of homebuilding a CNC machine emcompasses design, building, and utilization. The design demonstrates creativity and planning, building demonstrates an understanding of mechanics and craftsmanship, and utilization restarts the process at design again. A tool to make new things, limited mostly by one’s creativity.

Making a Computer Jog/Scrolling Wheel

Mon, 07 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000

The idea is simple, take the scrolling mechanism out of a mouse, and move it to a large, heavy spinning wheel of some sort. The benefits of this, scrolling long webpages and folders is tireless and editing video is a quicker process, as you are able to scrub easily and quickly. The more you use a jog wheel, the quicker and more painless navigating and using a computer becomes.