Warranty void

Projects Projects everywhere, but I never post….

May 9, 2023 Greg Thompson Comments 0 Comment

Again, it’s been ages since I have posted. There’s been a lot going on. I started a new job and have been studying PCB design, CAD design, and programming.

My new job has given me the ability to design and build a few test rigs. I design and make the PCBs and wire some Arduino/Python code to automate the testing.

I have also been working on some projects at home.

I’ve been playing with an Elegoo Mars 3 Pro for both making models and building PCBs.
Additionally, I built a new large-format 350×350 Voron-style printer.
I have also upgraded my hobby CNC once again

Autonomous vehicle platform

June 20, 2022 Greg Thompson Comments 0 Comment

Over the past few years I have been really interested in automating stuff, I have been learning python to do the software stuff, and using Arduino to do any hardware related stuff.

With that in mind for the past 4 years, I have had an idea in my head to build a simple 4 wheel drive rover with a pixhawk / mission planner to allow me to upload GPS waypoints and run missions.

Late last year I started buying the parts needed.

Raspberry pi b3+
Pixhawk 2.4.8
USB Wifi module
FS-iA6
FS-i6 Remote <- picked up faulty on eBay
sabertooth 2A motor controller
5200mAh battery
4x gear motors

Ugh

June 20, 2022 Greg Thompson Comments 0 Comment

It’s depressing how many posts I start and never get around to posting. I have been making more Youtube videos than I would like due to work but I am to post more on both sites!

So stay tuned!

2021 End of year update what a Crazy year

December 30, 2021 Greg Thompson Comments 0 Comment

Geez what a crazy year,

Work and study have been keeping me away from posting, I have done some little projects, done some upgrades to my ender 5, added liner rails and new highflow hot end to improve the print speed.

Anyway As I always say I do really want to give back to the community, I have learned so much from other sites/blogs, I really want to keep an active blog hell even if its just so I can remember what I did in some of my old projects…

So in 2022 I will aim to post 1 Video a month and blog as much as I can regarding what I am working on.

Thanks

Greg

New year new machine!

January 29, 2021 admin Comments 0 Comment

With corvid floating about and all the problems it has caused I have been super busy at work building various boards to help fight corvid.

So I failed my plan to create projects/videos every month, over Christmas I was given a new machine by my lovely wife <3.

She got me a Chinese 3018 CNC, my main use for it will be to mill PCB *or MCP milled circuit board, I have been working in KiCad for the past year and had a few PCBs ordered from china.

Working as an engineer and building circuit boards as a full time job its really cool to see professional PCBs I designed to show up, and to my complete surprise the even work!.

I but some times I really want to be able to just design and make a simple PCB to test an idea before I order a PCB and wait 2-3 weeks, I have done the toner transfer-Iron-acid method to make PCB’s and it works fine but I find it to be such a pain to get everything set up.

I have ordered a few upgrades for the CNC and over the next few weeks, I will be installing them.

Planed upgrades

End stops.
The case for the motherboard.
New Spindle/milling upgrade
Bearing upgrades.

Raspberry pi 4 Repair

July 26, 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

Astro wars retro repair

July 9, 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

I came across a cheap retro 1981 Grand stand Astro wars console on ebay, I had a nice idea about reusing its shell as a new console, as the listing said the screen was cracked.

Looking at the console the front plastic lens is cracked so there was some hope for the VDF screen inside being ok, I hooked up my bench power supply and hooked some algator clips to the + and – leads on the battery connectors, i flicked the power button on the front and the unit seemed dead no noise nothing.

I removed the 7 screws holding the case closed and it reviled 2 pcbs a speaker and a VFD screen, the screen looked fine and had no cracks, I applied power and using my multiemeter I probed about on the first green power in PCB and I had no voltage, I then looked for shorts and found the 9+ and GND pins on the green board where shorted.

The board being a simple single sided board it could not have a short on this side of the PCB

Removing the black shield over the screen revels the main pcb, most of the brains are under the screen, I did some more voltage checks and I found that SO2 and NPN transistor had its Base and emitter shorted.

I have a large horde of random electrical components, looking at data sheets for SO2 and NEC N882P, I did some digging in my stash of transistors and I found a ST ED136 wiht the same specs as the old NEC part

After swapping them out and applying power the unit sprang to life, with the screen working fine, its still nice a bright.

Its pain to get a good photo of the unit working but as you can kind of see the space ships are displayed on the screen.

Not a tearribly hard repair but its another item saved from the scrap pile.

Hand held gaming Parts list

July 3, 2020 admin Comments 0 Comment

This is the list of parts I have used in the Raspberry pi Hand held gaming build Prices are only a rough guide, I will also be updating this list as I go so please don’t buy anything and think its going to be part of the final build.

I will Also try and make a build Log with more details regarding the parts used+