It's the little things...

I added a couple of posts today: one in the Misc. Builds page, and an update to my Laptop to All-in-one project page.

I also added quick references to EVERY project page, so that you can skip to the newest updates from the top of the page. It took a while, but I think it will be worth it in the end and I hope you guys like it.

Here's some pretty tubes to look at:

As always, check out the project pages for the full story, click on some ads, and thanks for reading!

Cleaning up

I decided, after taking a photo of my workstation, that I reeeeeealy need to get it sorted out... I had two separate organizers I picked up to do just that, but they've been sitting empty for over a month now. So I spent today hacking through my main work table. I'm going to do my computer desk tomorrow. 

 Before:

I love my one armed chair lol

My iMac build and what's left of my bench 'pi

My all-in-one build is in there somewhere :)

After:

I'll post a picture of the other desk when I get it done too. 

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

iMac Update

I added a new update to the iMac Hacking II page (update #3) Check it out!

Here's a preview:

As always, check out the main project page for full details, pics, etc.. and click on some ads for me :)

New Projects! New Pages! Go read them!

I added a new page for some of the wood-based projects I've been working on! There are more of these in the works, so keep an eye out! Here are a few sample pics: as always, make sure you check out the individual page for the full details!

I also got to try out that soldering tip I re-tinned!

It's super-fine pointed, which made it perfect for this:

My USBasp didn't have any jumpers to enable the slow modes. In fact, it didn't even have traces coming from the jumper pins to add jumpers on. So, I soldered in a jumper wire from the correct pin, directly on the chip, to a ground hole that served as a via. According to the original schematic and code I flashed it with, this should enable slow mode for older avr's.
Here's a close up:

I didn't see any point in adding this to the misc. builds page, because it's not really a build or project, just something cool enough I felt I should share.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading! Click on some ads so I can make make money! I'm kidding, there's a paypal button for that ;)

GitHub

So I have a GitHub page now, where I've added a few of my arduino codes. The link is with the pages over there------->

or in the drop-down box on mobile up there ^

Touch Lamp!

So I made a touch-sensitive lamp a few days ago, so I did a write-up on it. It's on my  Misc Builds page, so go there for the detailed write up and pictures and a video and whatnot.

Also, I really like Caytee's nails this week and a big thank you to her for helping me get these shots!

AVR programming

I spent the better part of my day today attempting to repair a cheap USBasp I got on ebay last year. I say repair, but that's not really the best word, seeing that it never worked in the first place...

I am using my Arduino Uno as the programmer, running LadyAda's USBasp, which has served me well, but I have this thing so I wanted to make it work.  

I found a solution a while back, which seemed pretty reasonable. (Click here to see it!) but when I tried it, it kept not working for some reason and I couldn't figure it out.

Today though, I had a realization that I could tie the reset pin directly into the programming unit and solder it to the usb key. So I got it all hooked up and it threw a "unable to sync" error... The nice thing about the LadyAdaAvr, is that she included a manual clock on pin 9 of the arduino, which is very handy when you burn your fuses before you have the clock circuit attached. Not that I would ever do something that dumb ;)

Knowing this from all the times I've needed it, I made a jumper from the crystal pin to pin 9 and Boom! It still didn't work...

As a last ditch effort I did a full chip erase, burned the fuses (again), and then flashed it, with all this still hooked up, and It worked! It seems all it needed was a good erasing lol. 

So I have a working USBasp now, as I realize that I have no chips I need to program right now...

I'll let you all know how it goes when I get a chance to try it out!

More iMac progress!

I got the iMac to boot up! It's pretty cool :) read about it on the main page!

Updates and consolidation

I condensed some of my pages into a single page: Misc. Builds. I have also added a new project to that page as well so check it out. 

I have also updated my iMac Hacking Part 2 page with some more progress of that build as well.

Here's some previews:

More coming soon: 

I'm working on some reeeeeeeeely cool stuff this weekend, which I will post as soon as I get to a stopping point. 

As always, check out the individual pages for more, follow me on G+, click on some adds and feel free to donate via Paypal. Anything at all is greatly appreciated!

Quick update!

I found the adafruit Eagle libraries earlier, so I was able to re-design the Randy Savage OOOOOOOHHH YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH button PCB from scratch, using a micro SD card. This is going to save me a lot of space and make the board that much cheaper when I order it.

Without further ado, here is what I did today!

What do you think? 

New stuff and updates!

I've added a new project page (iMack Hacking part II) with some really cool stuff I've been working on. I've also added a short bit to the end of the Randy Savage Button page with my progress on that.

Some previews:

Check 'em out and let me know what you think!

I've also added the option to follow me on Google+ so follow me to see my updates!

Help me buy a new oscilloscope!

I started up a fund on GoFundMe this week, in an effort to help fund the acquisition of an oscilloscope for my workbench. I would appreciate your support in this endeavor, if not by donating, at least resharing it so others will. 

The link is http://www.gofundme.com/43rqc8

Any help is very greatly appreciated!

Check this out

So I stopped by my old house this week, only to find that someone had tossed out an original Apple II monitor!!! Needless to say, I snatched that up. I took it home, cleaned the mud and dust off of it, plugged it up, and it fired right up!

Check it out:

It is now helping me troubleshoot my poor little BabyPi, which keeps forgetting it's permissions... I'm guessing the SD card is going out, because I keep getting bad sector warnings. I'll pick up a new SD card next payday and see what happens lol

Moving

I'm in the process of moving, so it will be a little while before I get back into full swing posting on here. I won't be working on much till I get settled in at the new place, except for the BabyPi, since I finally have a test subject :) Expect a new post about it in action soon and I'll see if I can get you a video of the system working, since I'll be using it regularly, even during the move.

Wish me luck, I hate moving...

My newest creation

This is a project my girlfriend and I have been working on together for the better part of a year and I'm proud to say. We've finally completed it! And as such, we've added a new member to the staff here: 

Meet Yuki, my newest creation and little helper :) 

Once we get settled back in at home I'll update the BabyPi page with the system in action!

Updated Baby Pi

I've updated the BabyPi page with some more progress and pictures. 

Here's a preview:

Check out the page for more details! 

It's over there ------>>>

Or ^^there^^ on mobile

A few new things

I have started a new project, which has spawned 2 new pages here on the blog:

iMac Hacking and DFP to DVI-D Monitor conversion

Both are pretty cool in their own right, but spawned as a result of my iMac project.

I also am in desperate need of a new Raspberry Pi. I managed to fry the HDMI processor on my old bench 'Pi so I need a new one. If you would like to help out, I have donation buttons in the side bars, or at the very least click on an ad or two. I don't make much from the ads, in fact, in the life of this blog so far, I have made less that $10 from ad traffic, but every bit helps.

Anyway, I hate talking about money, so here's a preview of the new pages:

New Stuff

Today, I received a valuable addition to my work bench!

I had to do some minor repairs to the water reservoir, but it was FREE!!!! It came with about a hundred filters and a massive jug of Maxwell House. The coffee side of this thing works fantastically now that it's not draining water everywhere... I'll pick up some espresso next time I'm at the store and test that side of it. 

So yeah, TLDR I got a new coffeemaker.

Updates!

I was rather bored today and got an astonishing amount of things done! It may have something to do with the amount of coffee I had earlier, but that's irrelevant. I have some cool things for you today!

First, I started a new side project and added a page for it accordingly. I am building a new bench power supply! Go check it out! 

Second, I made this thing:

I'm not sure what it is, or what I'll do with it, but it's cool and I made it so here!

and lastly, (thirdly? I don't know English is weird...) I started a Wii transplant project. I haven't had the chance to write that one up yet, so keep an eye out for updates on that one! I had intended on putting it into a toaster, but the toaster I was given was too small inside to work with... But more on that when I get to it! I should have that full write-up within the week. (knock on wood) 

So for now, I need some suggestions on what to put this Wii into! Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Bench 'Pi Repair

Today, I had the privilege/displeasure of doing my first repair to my bench-side Raspberry Pi.

 You might recognize this guy as the one I was using in my BabyPi project. This little guy has been my bench-test 'Pi for nearly all of my Raspberry Pi prototypes and projects. Because I use it so often, it doesn't surprise me that it would need some repairs eventually. I always assumed the USB power connector would be the first to go. (it looks a lot flimsier than it really is) 

Anyway, I was hooking it up at Caytee's Dad's house to watch some programs on Raspbmc. When I hooked up the analog audio and video, I heard a pop come from the video connector... I made it work but it was very sensitive. When I got back home, I opened it up and found this:

Both of the main supports holding the connector to the board had broken free.

  

Here is a little better of a view from of the problem: 

Luckily, this is an extremely easy thing to fix. A little soldering and it's good as new! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've also done so more work on my Raspi64, so I've updated that page and added some new content there so go check it out!

A small update

So I had no internet access this past week, so to keep myself occupied I have been playing on my Millennium Falcon N-64. I have put in about 20 hours of solid gameplay and left it running overnight a few nights this past week. Much to my surprise, there have been no issues with it overheating at all, despite having removed about half of the heat-sinks! In fact I played for a few hours on a stock N64 this week, which actually ran hotter than mine! I am assuming it has to do with the sheer size of the airspace inside the 'Falcon.

Not any big news this week, but I thought it was cool :)

If you haven't seen that build yet, go check it out!

It's over there--------->

(or up there ^^^ on mobile I've discovered)

P.S. I almost forgot, I made this guy this week too:

and he lights up when you push his mustache! 

Randy Savage Update!

I've updated the Randy Savage button page with my progress so far. Good stuff check it out!

Sneak Peak:

Also, If you haven't noticed, I have added Paypal donation buttons to the blog. If you feel so inclined I would greatly appreciate it, as it would help me fund my future projects. I do this for fun, not money, but it can get expensive at times, so every bit helps. I'm not asking for money, but if you want to give it, it's there for you :)

New Stuff!

I've been woking on some cool stuff the past couple days, the first I've written about is modding my GameCube yesterday. It was pretty wordy so i made it it's own page. Check it out and tell me what you think!

I'll have some of the other stuff posted as I get a chance to write it up, so check back soon or follow my blog on G+

Edit: My girlfriend wanted you all to know that she helped by putting in 4 screws for me, so thanks hun :)

So I taught myself to cross-stitch this week...

I got pretty bored this week and, since I'm low on funds, I needed something cheap to work on. I saw how cheap cross-stitch materials were, and figured I'd give it a shot. I've been curious about embroidery for a while as well, so I grabbed some thread and got to work.

The process is a little slow and time-consuming, but it was a pleasant experience over all.

Anyway, this is about all I can say about it, so I didn't feel like it needed it's own page.

Without further ado, here's what I made this week:

A few new items for sale!

I've made some cool new stuff for sale, which is now listed on my Etsy page! Go and check it out!

Here's a sneak peek!

Baby Pi Update!

I have made significant headway on the BabyPi project and have updated it's page as such! Go read it!

Also, I'm considering doing a promotional coupon code for my etsy shop if you read my blog. If you would be interested, leave your comments below!

New Page Added!

I added a new page detailing my progress on a video baby monitor I've been working on, utilizing a Raspberry Pi and a webcam to stream over my local network. I'm calling it the "BabyPi" which, having just said that aloud, sounds a little cannibalistic, but it'll be ok.

I also have added  few things to my Etsy page and have a few more items completed that I will post tomorrow if I get a chance. So check it out if you haven't already, I make some pretty cool stuff lol.

Enjoy!

Update!

I updated the Randy Savage button page over there----->

Go check it out!

New etsy items!

I have added a few new items to my Etsy store from my recent venture into the world of sewing. I'll have a new page about that adventure when I finish the next part of that project. I just needed to see if I could sew before I started making things that heavily involve that skill. 

Here's a little preview:

I'm going to be making several more of these once I get a sewing machine (which you can help fund by buying my stuff lol) I am making prototypes for my little girl on the way. The finalized product is for her, and will have an embedded micro controller and speaker to play "Zelda's Lullaby" when it is pressed. But more on that when I get there! 

If you haven't checked out my Etsy store yet, go now and help fund my future endeavors :)

  CLICK HERE FOR AWESOMENESS!!!!

or hit my link in the sidebar one there ----->

Randy Savage Button

I added a page for my newest project; The Randy Savage "OOOOHHHH YEEEEAAAAHHH" Button.

It's a long way from done, so I'll update it as I get further along :)

It's going to be a lot of fun so go check it out. ============>>>>>>>

New Etsy Items!!!!

I made a bunch of new items available on my Etsy shop!!! Here's a sneak peek!

Go check them out!!!! The link is in the sidebar!!!!!! GO! =========>

Laptop to All-in-one project is finished!!! (for now at least)

I added a page for my laptop to all-in-one conversion project.
Check it out over there!       =======>>>>>

Etsy

I updated my listings on my Etsy page and adjusted my pricing! Go check it out!

CLICK ME!!!!

More new Stuff!

Added new projects to the sidebar ===========>

Enjoy!

Blog Updated

I added a new page to the sidebar check it out ======>

An Introduction

Hello and welcome, people of the interwebs! I am proud to present my new blog page, wherein I will be chronicling my past, current, and future projects! I will add new projects to their own respective pages and post here as they are updated, edited and so-forth. 

Check back often and I hope you enjoy!