Review: 400W Digitally Controlled DC/DC Step-Up Boost Converter - Far from Perfect Jim Conner 2026-09-25 | Review: 400W Digitally Controlled DC/DC Step-Up Boost Converter - Far from Perfect
Sonographers - Off World Jim Conner 2023-10-11 | My friend Ryan (who made the music for my videos) and I spent over a year making an Ambient Electronic Album - Here's a sample for you to enjoy - Hope you like it.Hear the full album at soundcloud.com/sonographers/without-bordersMaybe even buy it if you like it at sonographers.bandcamp.com/album/without-borders
Frankensteins Strawberries Jim Conner 2019-05-28 | Noticed these very very weird strawberries in my greenhouse. I think it's something about the particular species of strawberry 'Malwina'. They seem to grow these super-dense clusters of leaves and then form a strawberry in the middle. Has anyone else seen this before? What is it called when plants do this?
Digital Sky Project - Part 4 - The Software Jim Conner 2019-04-30 | Part 4 in the Digital Sky project videos. This video is the grand unveiling and demo of the software I've been putting together to control all of the lamp modules. Although the software isn't finished, it's now at the stage where it's usable and works well enough to be used for a 'live' demo. I hope you all like what you see here.Although I built this software specifically to drive my lamp modules, it will happily drive regular RGBW addressable strips too.The Digital Sky controller software is built using the python Twisted asynchronous event framework from Twisted Matrix Labs. The twisted framework makes it easy to add support for web interfaces, message buses and SSH protocol in an efficient and convenient way. twistedmatrix.com/trac The rpi_ws281x library from jgarff is used to push data to the LEDs.github.com/jgarff/rpi_ws281xThe voice interface is provided using Snips.ai voice recognition system for the Raspberry Pi.snips.ai
Digital Sky Project - Part 3 - Building the Lights Jim Conner 2019-03-14 | Part 3 in the Digital Sky project videos. In this video show the build process used for completing the first seven lights, test the power consumption of the whole rig and give a very quick demo of some of the lighting effects that are possible with a Raspberry Pi running the show.
Digital Sky Project - Part 2 - Fixing the flicker. Jim Conner 2019-02-02 | Part 2 in the Digital Sky project videos.My goal is to make the lighting in my office capable of matching the different lighting conditions provided by the sky outdoors. In part 2 of the series, I diagnose the cause of the flickering strips and proceed with getting a few more units constructed.
Digital Sky - Part 1 - What is a Digital Sky? Jim Conner 2019-01-27 | The official Part 1 video for the Digital Sky project. I started this project around four and a half months ago, but only recently reached the point where I became certain it wasn't going to become another half-completed, never-to-be-finished hair-brained idea.In this video I will explain why I want a Digital Sky on the ceiling of my office, and take you through some of the different LED lighting modules that I've tested out. I explain the reasoning behind circuit choices for power supply and communication protocol, calculate the power requirements and work out a strategy for controlling arbitrary lighting loads without having to write my own micro-controller code. A list of all of the components, where I got them from and what they cost will be placed in the description of the last video in the series. (I won't know the full list until the project is finished.
Mystery Project - Digital Sky - Part 0 Jim Conner 2019-01-24 | An electronics mystery - Whatever can Jim's new project be? Can you guess the function from watching me put the printed circuit board together ?I'm finally far enough through this project that I don't think I'm about to give up and leave it part finished. You'll be joining me a few months into this project, but I'll make a Part 1 video really soon to explain what it's all about.
Adding Dual E3Dv6 Hot Ends to the Velleman Vertex K8400 Jim Conner 2017-09-04 | The Velleman Vertex K8400 is a great little printer, but it would be better if it could handle higher temperature filaments. In this video, I print and install Boris Maisuradze's (aka Logmett on Thingiverse) fantastic design for holding dual E3Dv6 All Metal Hot Ends, with a slight modification for better fan speed control.A big thank you to the distributor Reichelt for sending me this printer. This printer has been keeping me entertained for weeks with the modifications and improvements I've been making to it.Here's some links to Reichelt's website.Reichelt Website (UK): http://rch.lt/GcVelleman K8400 Product Page: http://rch.lt/GbThings on the Thingiverse:E3D on Vertex K8400: thingiverse.com/thing:2177331
Velleman Vertex K8400 - Adding a Heated Print Bed Jim Conner 2017-08-19 | The Velleman Vertex K8400 is a great little printer, but the addition of a heated bed would allow it to work better with some of the more hard-to-print filaments out there. The Vertex motherboard has the connectors ready for a heated bed, but due the vertex having a 15V power supply, finding a suitable heated bed PCB is not easy. In this video, I add an extra 24V psu and power expansion module to the printer, and find an alternative way to clip the glass plate onto the build platform with the added thickness.A big thank you to the distributor Reichelt for sending me this printer. This printer has been keeping me entertained for weeks with the modifications and improvements I've been making to it.Here's some links to Reichelt's website.Reichelt Website (UK): http://rch.lt/GcVelleman K8400 Product Page: http://rch.lt/GbThings on the Thingiverse:Drilling Guides: thingiverse.com/thing:2491485Trash Can with PSU cut-out: thingiverse.com/thing:2491512
Velleman Vertex K8400 - Adding Dual Extruders and RGB LEDs Jim Conner 2017-08-14 | Continuing on with modifications to the Velleman Vertex K8400 3D printer I was recently sent, in this video I add on the dual extruder and RGB LED lighting kits, and have a go at printing using Innofil Innosolve PVA support material. It took a lot of fine-tuning to get the PVA printing correctly, but after a few days of playing around, I managed to get something to print correctly.Here's some links to Reichelt's website.Reichelt Website (UK): http://rch.lt/GcVelleman K8400 Product Page: http://rch.lt/GbA big thank you to Reichelt for supporting my projects and sending me this 3D-printer kit to review.
Velleman Vertex K8400 3D Printer Review Jim Conner 2017-08-07 | There are good 3d printer kits, and there are bad ones. Thankfully Velleman Vertex K8400 is one of the good ones. After around 80 hours of printing and numerous tweaks, I feel I'm ready to give a full, thorough, painstaking review of this 3D printer. It took quite a lot of fine-tuning to get everything running nicely, but the results are pretty fantastic for a kit I built myself. Full disclosure - I was sent this printer by Reichelt - a German electronics distributor, and I get to keep the printer at the end, but I am under no obligations to give a positive review - I also spent a fair amount of my own money on accessories and supplies just so that I could review it, so if it was a load of rubbish, I'd have been more than mildly miffed.Here's some links to Reichelt's website.Reichelt Website (UK): http://rch.lt/GcVelleman K8400 Product Page: http://rch.lt/GbA big thank you to Reichelt for supporting my projects and sending me this 3D-printer kit to review.USA people might find the Velleman USA store to be a more useful link, so here's a link for them too. vellemanstore.com/en/velleman-k8400-vertex-3d-printer-kit
Velleman Vertex K8400 3D Printer - Assembly & First Impressions Jim Conner 2017-08-01 | In the middle of my 3d-printed spot welder project I was contacted by Reichelt - a large distrubutor similar to Farnell, CPC or RS. They have been trying to make inroads into the UK market, and I'm all in favour of that as having more choice is always good for us consumers. They offered me the chance to review one of their products and as I was bottlenecked by my current 3d-printer, I asked them if I could take a look at the Velleman Vertex K8400 3D-Printer kit. Thankfully they agreed, so in the future I will be able to get my 3D-printing projects completed in half the time.Reichelt Website (UK): http://rch.lt/GcVelleman K8400 Product Page: http://rch.lt/GbA big thank you to Reichelt for supporting my projects and sending me this 3D-printer kit to review.
Battery Tab Spot Welder - Extras 1 - Electrode Assembly Jim Conner 2017-07-10 | Just a really quick video showing the electrode assembly as George asked for more details in the comments on Part 3.
Battery Tab Spot Welder - Part 3 - Finishing the Project Jim Conner 2017-07-09 | In the final part of the series, we fix the timing issues with the code, add an NPN transistor to drive the output relay from a 5V supply and add a thermistor for temperature monitoring. We assemble all of the components into the 3D-printed case and then set to work on designing a suitable welding head. Finally, we weld together a battery pack at 5x speed so you can see how well it all works.The music used during the pack welding part of this video was a collaboration between myself and a friend. I'm afraid I can't tell you what it's called because we never named it, and you can't buy it anywhere either... Sorry.This project is released under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License.Messing around with mains electricity is dangerous business and there are risks of death by electrocution and fire. This series of videos is intended to show you what I did - not to be a defacto guide on the best way to do things. If you decide to undertake your own similar project, I accept no responsibility or liability for anything bad that happens to you.Do not even think about replicating this project unless you are fully competent in all areas covered and fully understand exactly what you're doing and the risks involved.There is also an element of danger in welding to batteries, so once again, if you decide to do that, you're doing it entirely at your own risk. If you melt holes in your batteries and they burst into flames, then it's not my fault.With all of the caveats above, I'd love to see someone else make one the same, or even better make an improved version and contribute back code tweaks or 3D design improvements. For changes to the code, please raise a pull-request on github. To collaborate on the 3D-model, you'll need to message me with a Fusion 360 username so that I can give you edit permissions.Here's the relevant links:The LUA Code: github.com/jimconner/NodeMCU-Dual-Pulse-Weld-TimerHere are the STL shape files for 3D-Printing: youmagine.com/designs/battery-tab-spot-welder-projectthingiverse.com/thing:2429361The Autodesk Fusion 360 model: http://a360.co/2sEro9YWhere to get components:I chose the components for this project almost entirely on the basis that they were lying around on my desk, or not tidied away correctly into component trays. I only actually ordered two parts specifically for this project (the illuminated power switch and the 35mm crimp terminals.), but as I was asked to provide ebay links, here's some now:The OLED Display : ebay search for 'arduino oled blue yellow i2c'. Sort by lowest price+p&p. Choose the cheapest one which has 4-pin connector (you don't want the 7-pin SPI version)The Solid State Relay: ebay search for 'solid state relay 40A'. Choose the cheapest one. Fotek brand (I'm told that they're fakes/clones, but they still work OK)The Power Swtich: ebay search for 'Mains Snap-In Illuminated Rocker Switch 15A 250V'. They are a standard size to fit a 22x28mm coutout. Nickel strips for welding: ebay search for 'nickel strips battery 100pcs'Copper bar: ebay search for 'flat copper bar 15mm x 3mm'Copper rod: ebay search for '3mm copper rod'NodeMCU board: ebay search for 'NodeMCU LUA'Rotary encoder: ebay search for 'Arduino rotary encoder'. They all look the same to me.Thermistor: ebay search for 'TTF 103'Thermal Cut-out swtich: ebay search for 'Thermostat Temperature Thermal Control Switch 20°C~150°C'. I used a 45C version because PLA softens at 60C
Battery Tab Spot Welder - Part 2 - Electronics Testing & Designing a Case Jim Conner 2017-07-02 | In part 2, we test out the electronics which we built to see if the work properly, and with the help of a little magic smoke escaping, we find that there are some improvements still needed. We also cover the 3D design work in Fusion 360 and have a look at some 3D-printed parts and more than a few failures.
Battery Tab Spot Welder - Part 1 - Dual Pulse Timer with NodeMCU Jim Conner 2017-06-29 | Insired by the spot-welder that Creative Channel made a few months ago, I'm finally getting around to making a battery pack spot welder. In this video I cover the dual-pulse timer modules which I build from bits I had lying around on the desk - A NodeMCU microcontroller, a 40A solid state relay, a rotary encoder for setting timings, and a microswitch to trigger the weld cycle. The reason for the dual pulse weld cycle is to get more consistent results - the first short pulse slightly warms and softens the metal allowing the welding electrodes to make a better contact, and the second longer pulse is to actually melt the meal and form a weld. I've put my code up on GitHub at github.com/jimconner/NodeMCU-Dual-Pulse-Weld-TimerAnd here's a link to the Creative Channel video which inspired this project.youtube.com/watch?v=tPuKu5J-_64
Showing off the Strawberries and spider mite signs. Jim Conner 2017-06-22 | Just a really quick video to show off the first harvest from my healthy strawberries in greenhouse no.2, and to give someone an idea how to spot the early signs of spider mite infestation.
Ridiculously over-complicated bedtime reading lights Jim Conner 2017-05-16 | "I want a better light for reading in bed" - It all seemed so simple to begin with... just some LEDs and a power source... but the easy things often turn out to be more difficult than expected... For this project, I went through a variety of lighting options, worked my way through two different off-the-shelf battery banks (none were quite right) and ended up building my own 'perfect' solar-charging battery bank.Getting the battery bank just right was no mean feat either... 'All' it took was four different voltage boost converters, two different charging circuits, an MPPT controller, a low-voltage/short circuit protection board and some 3D printing.Finally there's a little aside into modifying LED lights to throw their light in the right direction.Phew.. I'm calling this project finished now... after a ludicrous six-month build time. Perhaps I just suck at this kind of thing... but well.. I was busy with other stuff too.
Hybrid Wicking NFT Net Pots & Starting Strawberries for 2017 Jim Conner 2017-03-06 | I've always found tranplanting plants into my NFT setup has been a bit hit and miss as the roots don't always manage to make their way down to the nutes before the plants shrivel up and die. I decided to try 3d-printing some extensions for the net-pots to allow them to work as a wicking pot. I also transplanted some strawberreis into the new pots.
Engineer Inc Neji-Saurus PZ-58 Screw Removing Pliers Review Jim Conner 2017-03-04 | Engineer Inc's Neji-Saurus PZ-58 Screw Removing Pliers have a different jaw pattern to most pliers. They can bite onto the heads of screws which have been mangled by a screwdriver so that you can still remove the screws without having to break out the dremmel to cut a new slot in the screw head. I was sent a pair for free to take a look at and have a play around with.
Measuring Lithium Ion Battery Internal Resistance (ESR) to quickly identify bad cells. Jim Conner 2016-12-12 | I've recently stubled across a channel called Nerdville - The Nerdville chap has a mountain of 18650 Lithium Ion cells (About ~7000 of them). Having watched his plans for building an automated charging/discharging/measuring solution, I had an idea for a possible way to quickly identify bad cells before the lenghty charge/discharge cycles begin that I thought I'd share.The milliohm reading this technique gives will be wildly inaccurate due to using the wrong test frequency (100Khz instead of 1Khz), but relative measurements from one battery to another will be consistent.
Hydrponic Greenhouse Update - December Tomatoes and Windfall Apple Silliness Jim Conner 2016-12-04 | A quick look at how things are growing in the greenhouse in December, and some silliness with a windfall apple and thermite.
Heltec Touch Module - Latching Capacitive Touch Switch Jim Conner 2016-10-17 | I spotted an interesting looking Capacitive Touch Switch module on the isctation.com website and asked them if they'd send me one so that I could take a look and have a little play around. It's a cap touch swtich, with built in LED and light spreader/diffuser. It'll work through a few millimeters of plastic and it struck me that it's a great way of desiging switches into 3d-printed enclosures without having to worry about incorporating switch cut-outs with the associated problems of 3d-printing overhangs.Here's a link to the product: http://www.icstation.com/htds-capacitive-touch-switch-button-module-p-7049.htmlHere's a link to the Chinese datasheet. If you download the PDF and then Google for 'google translate pdf' you'll get to their PDF converter which will take the PDF file and give you a text-only english version. I got some weird SSL errors the first time I tried to download the datasheet, but it worked OK after a retry.Datasheet (Chinese): http://www.heltec.cn/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/%E8%A7%A6%E6%91%B8%E6%A8%A1%E5%9D%97%E8%AF%B4%E6%98%8E%E4%B9%A6.pdf
3Doodler 2 0 Teardown & Modification Jim Conner 2016-09-28 | A teardown of the 3Doodler 2.0 3D printing pen followed by an attempt at a modification to improve it's performance. Unfortunately the modification only gave a very very slight improvement and my 3doodler is still unusable with ABS.Thanks to reichelt.com for sending me the 3doodler to review. If you're looking electronic bits and bobs, test gear, soldering irons, multimeters etc, then it's well worth taking a look at their website.
3Doodler 2.0 Unboxing & Review Jim Conner 2016-09-24 | An unboxing and review of the 3Doodler 2.0 3D Printing Pen.Please note that although this looks nearly identical to the '3Doodler Create', it is not the same thing. I love my '3Doodler Create', but as you can see in this video, the 3Doodler 2.0 just didn't work properly.Reichelt were kind enough to send me a 3Doodler 3D printing pen to have a play around with. Reichelt are a large German-owned distributor who have opened up shop in the UK this year, and have many products up to 20% cheaper than elsewhere in the UK. Thank you Reichelt for sending me things to review, and for providing an alternative to the big three electronics distributors we've had for decades.The 3Doodler works in a similar fashion to a glue-gun, but with a motorised and temperature controlled extruder. It can print in both PLA and ABS, and also use flexible materials such as Ninjaflex... or so it claims. You can find Reichelt's website at http://www.reichelt.co.uk If for some reason after watching this review, you still want to buy a 3Doodler, then here's a link to the product.:http://www.reichelt.com/3DOODLER-2-0/3/index.html?ACTION=3&LA=446&ARTICLE=156874&artnr=3DOODLER+2.0&SEARCH=3doodler
Quick Hydroponics Update - Strawberries, Apples & Rabbits Jim Conner 2016-09-18 | Just a really quick update from in the greenhouse as I haven't done one for about a quarter of a year... Things are starting to wind down for the season, but the strawberries and tomatoes are still growing well. Pyrethrum keeps my pests under control. Far too many apples in the garden... and a quick hello to the rabbits.
CEM DT-9989 Multimeter - Teardown & Review Jim Conner 2016-09-18 | An 'in depth' review of a waterproof multimeter. This video is an unboxing, teardown and review of the CEM DT-9989 Multimeter - an IP67 rated Water-resistant TrueRMS Multimeter / Oscilloscope with data logging and Bluetooth connectivity.I was reccently contacted by a large electronics distributor who I'd not heard of before called Reichelt. They're a German-owned retailer who have been around since 1969. In March 2016 they opened up shop in the UK, so we've now got a market leader with competitive pricing and good stock levels to compete against RS/CPC/Farnel. Hooray for another player in the market and more choice for us customers :-) They mostly concentrate on tools and soldering equipment, but I found lots of interesting items when I was browsing through their site. They offered to send me anything I liked from their catalog (up to a certain price limit) for review. I'd been thinking of getting myself an OLED-screen multimeter for a while now, so I jumped at the chance to get my hands on a very capable looking meter and have a play around with it for a few days. Check out their website at http://www.reichelt.co.uk This video is rather a long one, but there were a hell of a lot of features on this multimeter to cover. It took me several days (and about 10 hours of filming) to try out all of the different things that this multimeter can do, and then another entire day to edit down all the footage into a watchable video.Here's some links and datasheets for the multimeter.Specifications: http://www.cem-instruments.in/pdf/DT-9989.pdfWhere to buy: http://www.reichelt.com/CEM-DT-9989/3/index.html?ACTION=3&LA=446&ARTICLE=147806&artnr=CEM+DT-9989&SEARCH=DT-9989Datasheet for the Hycon HY3131 multimeter frontend chipset: http://www.hycontek.com/attachments/DMM/DS-HY3131_TC.pdfDatasheet for the Texas Instruments Microcontroller: http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tm4c123gh6pm.pdfEnjoy!!
IC Station LED Heart Kit and EV1527 Rolling-Code Transmitter Jim Conner 2016-09-06 | ICStation.com contacted me and asked me if I'd like to take a look at a couple of products. They suggested a flashing LED Heart kit, and a 433Mhz transmitter. When I realised that the 433Mhz transmitter was not the normal data-modem module, but was actually an EV1527 rolling-code remote control transmitter (for garage doors and electric gates etc) I thought I should take a look.Here's the two items that they sent mehttp://www.icstation.com/433mhz-wireless-transmitter-ev1527-code-encoded-arduinoavr-p-7518.htmlhttp://www.icstation.com/heart-shaped-flash-light-p-3289.htmlICStation also gave me a discount code to share with you all, so if anyone fancies 10% off an order, then you'll find a code below.Code:JimicsDiscount Amount: 10%Max Use: 1 (one for per user)No Min OrderStarted Date: 30th August, 2016Ended Date: 30th October, 2016
Kosbo Round VFD Clock Kit - Building, Troubleshooting & Making a Case Jim Conner 2016-08-30 | I stumbled across the round VFD clock kit from Kosbo.com whilst browsing everyone's favorite auction site, and was attracted to it's unique style. Building the kit goes smoothly until the clock fails to power on correctly, which leads us into a closer look at the circuit diagram and a troubleshooting-101 exercise. With the clock finally up and running properly it's time to build a nice woodne case for the clock to live inside.In this video you also finally get a look at the CNC woodworking router that I built back in 2008 from rackmount server rails, threaded rod and MDF.
Bentley Walker Tooway Self Install Satellite Internet (without the instructions) Jim Conner 2016-08-03 | Up on the West coast of Scotland the Internet coverage is patchy to say the least. I was up visiting my parents recently and the first job they had for me when I arrived was the installation of a Bentley Walker Tooway self-install Satellite Broadband system for them. Things were tougher than they should have been as we couldn't access the CD-Rom containing the instructions or plug the network cable into our shiny new laptops which were both wifi-only, but with a bit of cleverness we managed to get everything up and working without needing the instructions.
Descaling my Water Cooled PC Jim Conner 2016-07-18 | My water-cooled editing PC has been blue-screening when rendering videos for the last few months. I was pretty sure that the cause was going to be limescale build up inside the cooling system, so I went on a 11-hour mission to strip everything down, clean it all and put it back together again.
Hydroponic Greenhouse Update - 10th July 2016 - Harvest Time Jim Conner 2016-07-10 | It's harvest time in the greenhouse with tomatoes, strawberries, onions, broccoli and golden berries all ready for eating at the same time. Come and join me for a look around the greenhouse on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Electric Spray Bottle & NFT Improvements Jim Conner 2016-06-27 | As I've now decided that I'm going to spray with pyrethrum for the rest of this season to keep the spider mites under control, I thought it was time I improved my spraying setup. Plus... After my moaning about NFT clogging up last week, I received a comment from Charlie Sills who said he'd solved the problems in his rail by sliding a tube full of holes down underneath the roots. This sounded like a great idea so that's exactly what I do in this video.
Hydroponic Greenhouse Update - 22nd June 2016 Jim Conner 2016-06-22 | It's been over a month since the last update as I've been busy with other stuff for a while, but now, armed with a new camcorder and wireless mic, I'm back. If this doesn't stop people complaining about the audio, nothing will. Problems with aphids and spider mites once again are setting back the strawberries and peppers, but everything else is growing well. We've been harvesting fruit every few days.
Doughnut Cannon Jim Conner 2016-05-22 | Doughnut Cannon - Who wouldn't want one of these. This is the sort of thing that happens when the conversation at work turns to silly ways of delivering doughnuts to hungry workers in a hurry. As I sat at my desk, it dawned on me that I already had all of the parts I needed at exactly the right sizes, and after 20 mins on a Sunday afternoon, the Doughnut Cannon was born...
Hyrdoponic Greenhouse Update - 15th May 2016 Jim Conner 2016-05-18 | Over the last couple of weeks, the plants have been growing well, but I've stopped treating them with Phrethrum so that I don't kill off my aphid predators, and now the spider mites are back again (sigh)... This is just a quick look at how the plants are getting on, and an introduction to the two new baby bunnies we got a week ago.
Hydroponic Greenhouse Update - 1st May 2016 - Strawberries Everywhere Jim Conner 2016-05-02 | The strawberries have been loving life out in the greenhouse and over the last couple of weeks I've been snacking on strawberries every day. My plants are still plagued by aphids, so it's time to try out an alternative liquid pyrethrum mixture to see if it's any more effective than the powedered version.
Hydroponics Update 17th April 2016 - Smoke bombs in the greenhouse Jim Conner 2016-04-19 | The never ending battle against aphids and spider mites continues with more pyrethrum poweder, some gadlic smoke bombs and a new set of spider mite predators. The plants have been appreciating my pest control attempts and the strawberries are thriving. Greenhouse No.2 is nearly ready for use with it's new NFT rail up and running... plants will follow soon.
Hydroponics Update - More Timelapse Seedlings & Transplants Jim Conner 2016-04-04 | It's been a couple of weeks, so it's time to take a look at the plants once again to see how things are growing and get a couple more transplanted out to the greenhouse. Whilst I was out there I noticed that the latex diaphragms I made for my air pump have failed, so I finally bit the bullet and swapped it for a different pump. Hurricane Katie destroyed about a dozen panels from greenhouse no.2, so I replace them with some polycarbonate sheets too.
Panel meter modification & 3d-printing a new front panel for my variac Jim Conner 2016-04-03 | The old front panel on my variac really wasn't safe for use, so I decided to make a replacement which would do everything I wanted. I bought a cheap 4-reading energy monitoring panel meter from ebay and then set about modifying it so that the power supply to the panel meter could be seperate from the voltage beaing measured. Once the panel meter worked the way I wanted, I designed and 3d printed an new front panel for the variac, with all of the input and output connections and switches I desired.
Hydroponic Greenhouse Update - Seedlings Timelapse and planting in DWC - 20th March 2016 Jim Conner 2016-03-20 | The seedlings have been sprouting and growing in the office for nearly a month, and now thanks to the wonders of timelapse photography you can see exactly what's been happening. A few of them are now so big that I needed to finish off the new DWC system by adding some rain-collars and mixing up masterblend fertiliser in metric.
Lapsun 14MP Digital Microscope - The recording bug is fixed. Jim Conner 2016-03-10 | Lapsun have just released new firmware for the 14MP microscope camera which fixes the recording bug, allowing recording over 30 seconds to work properly. The camera now records indefinitely until the SD card fills up, splitting the recording into 4GB chunks so that it can work properly with a FAT32 filesystem SD card.The firmware can be downloaded direcly from the Lapsun at http://www.lapsun.com/uploadpic/FWMDC.binIf you want a more legitimate URL, you can visit their downloads page directly and look for "14MP HDMI Microscope Camera System Updata File"Downloads page : http://www.lapsun.com/download.html
3D Printed Isolation Transformer Enclosure - Quick Show n Tell Jim Conner 2016-02-28 | Last year I bought myself an 'isolation transformer' to allow me to work on mains-voltage circuits with a bit more safety. The transformer came with screw terminals and without any kind of enclosure, so using it meant having mains voltage wires dangling all over the place. I decided to design and 3D-print an enclosure for it, and I'm so pleased with the results, I thought I'd make a short video to show off my work.The files for this design are available at youmagine.com/designs/isolation-transformer-enclosure
Hydroponic Greehnouse Update - New DWC Setup, Gardening with Kiddies. Jim Conner 2016-02-27 | Now we're past the worst bit of winter I decided that it was time I started my fruiting seedlings for 2016 - I dusted off the ultrasonic fogponics container and the multi-spectrum LED grow light ready for use, and I was joined then by a couple of helpers (my kids) for sorting out the seedlings. A week later after the first couple of them sprouted, I started building my new recirculating DWC setup.
Aoyue 2703A+ All-in-one Solder Station Teardown and Review Jim Conner 2016-02-13 | A few people have asked me for my opinion on my solder station, so to save repeating myself too often, here's a video dedicated to it. I take the unit apart for a look inside, and than rattle on for a while about my impressions of it. This video is probably only really interesting to you if you're thinking about getting a new solder station.
3D Printed Hailea Air Pump Repair with Ninjaflex and Latex Jim Conner 2016-01-23 | A few months ago, after nearly two years of continuous use, my Hailea 9820 air pump destroyed it's diaphragms and disc valves. It seems impossible to find the little 17mm valve discs as spare parts, so after my last bodged repair attempt (using puncture repair patches as valves), I decided to see what I could create with some flexible Ninjaflex filament on my 3D printer. It turned out that the printed ninjaflex parts were full of tiny holes, so I got myself some latex liquid rubber, filled the porous diaphragms and moulded some fresh valve discs... It's all working great... for now... but how long will it keep running?
Cycle Timers Revisited & Planting Onions Jim Conner 2016-01-10 | The cycle timers I put together last year have been failing on a regular basis as I've been overloading them with the big yellow pump. I didn't have a working one left to run my ebb and flow (flood and drain) growbeds, so I needed to make a new one to allow me to finally get my onions planted. I designed a 3D-printed enclousre to hold some new replacement Omron branded timers and a big clunking great 10 Amp relay which should be able to handle the current.... and then I planted my onions.
Ultimaker 2, Lemon Batteries and Mixologist Update Jim Conner 2015-12-24 | I knew that people would want to see more of the Ultimaker2 in action, so I put together this video showing what I've been making with it in the six days that I've owned it. I've had that machine running pretty-much 24x7 since it arrived. I've also added a small piece into this video about the lemon-batteries experiment I mentioned in the recent postbag video... and I've thrown in an update on the Mixologist project too as I keep getting asked about it.
Postbag December 2015 - Imp002, NodeMCU, PowerUp 3.0 and Ultimaker 2 Jim Conner 2015-12-23 | As I've had a pile of parcels building up on my electronics desk for a while, I thought I'd try my hand at one of these 'Postbag' videos.... I actually recorded most of this over a month ago, but it's taken me so long to do the editing that a few more parcels arrived by the time I'd finished it.
Hydroponic Greenhouse Update - 13th December 2015 - Still Growin Jim Conner 2015-12-13 | I've not been in the greenhouse much over the last couple of months, and have generally been neglecting my nutrient changes, but in spite of this things are looking surprisingly good in there. The strawberries are producing fruit nicely, and the tomatoes have decided that the middle of december is a great time to be flowering and putting out more fruit. Has nobody told these plants that it's December.
