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get your t-shirts!
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posted 9 days ago
The speaker in an old telephone makes a great lo-fi mic. Just wire a 1/4 inch jack straight up to the speaker and enlarge the telephone jack hole to mount it. A small piece of towel helps to muffle some of the air noise. An audio sample and picture of the insides are in the main blog entry. Made by recompas (profile) and friends.
posted 16 days ago
Travis, in recompas, did a set featuring the VOS synth and sequencer, along with a drummer and bunch of other stuff: minimoog and drumset, fender rhodes, roland space echo re201, mig muff pi, univibe clone, ibanez pt909. Here's some audio. You can keep up with his shows at his blog. He's also been playing with zoroaster, the loudest band ever, and should be featured on their upcoming album. Lastly, final prototypes of the next VOS module are in pcb manufacturing now. It will be called the ~MODULATOR and have a function generator, voltage controlled amp and a simple attack-release envelope generator.
posted 18 days ago
If you've ever tried connecting more than a few parts with normal jumper-type wires on the bottom of a solder-type proto board (basically a grid of holes), you know how ugly the wiring can get. This instructable shows how to use a home-made needle-in-pen dispensing tool to route enamel coated wire. Making a few wraps on each pin also saves you from using up nearby holes. Will all enamel just melt off when soldered, or would you have to sand off the end? Another question, how well does a normal wire-wrap tool work on regular length leads?
posted 20 days ago
Contestants compete to see who can put together a TV-B-Gone kit the fastest... I think the winner is the person who can actually turn off a TV in the room first in case you're wondering how they know who really is the fastest.
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from the guides: Is 63/37 better than 60/40 solder?
63/37 refers to the weight ratio (tin / lead) and is a eutectic mix as opposed to 60/40 solder.
A decade or so ago, most of the manufacturers paid an increase of about 5% in cost to switch
over to 63/37 (more tin is more expensive). We've been told that the switch was done mainly
to achieve better yields with mass-scale surface mount soldering, but is it any more effective for
hand soldering? Chime in on our forum thread.
What is a eutectic mix? One where the entire mixture solidifies at the same temperature. Unlike water, 60/40 solder solidifies over a range of temperatures where it becomes a "pasty" mix of solids and liquid. This can lead to a longer freezing time when it's important to keep a joint from moving to avoid leaving cracks. Is the increase in freezing time significant for hand soldering? Even in a freezing cup of eutectic water, there is a mixture of solids and liquids as the colder portions freeze first.
more info in our intro soldering guide (click expand at alloy).
What is a eutectic mix? One where the entire mixture solidifies at the same temperature. Unlike water, 60/40 solder solidifies over a range of temperatures where it becomes a "pasty" mix of solids and liquid. This can lead to a longer freezing time when it's important to keep a joint from moving to avoid leaving cracks. Is the increase in freezing time significant for hand soldering? Even in a freezing cup of eutectic water, there is a mixture of solids and liquids as the colder portions freeze first.
more info in our intro soldering guide (click expand at alloy).
about:
A group of electrical and mechanical engineers from Georgia Tech... starting a company to help hobbyists, researchers and anyone else making a prototype or one-off project... (expand for a little more)
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