2017: A Year of Hacking

Project Logs

Collapse

Week 38: September 24, 2017
Eric Moyer • 09/26/2017 at 05:48 • 0 comments

I received a wonderful shipment last weekend but with all my free time spent at Seattle Mini Maker Faire it took until mid-week until I could get around to getting my new laser engraver assembled and fully functional.

A couple weeks ago Hackaday posted a short article about using a laser engraver to create PCBs and based on some further internet investigation I really saw little downside in making a $200 investment to see if it would work and worst case I had a laser engraver.

You can find the article and the YouTube video here:
https://hackaday.com/2017/08/22/laser-etching-pcbs/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hFNj86L7sk

Here is the unit I ended up buying, they regularly run sales and the YouTube videos that review these products also post coupon codes. In summary wait till you can buy it under $200.

Banggood: https://www.banggood.com/2500mW-A3-30x40cm-Desktop-DIY-Violet-Laser-Engraver-Picture-CNC-Printer-Assembling-Kits-p-1003863.html?rmmds=search

Even if I can’t get this to help make PCBs, I will easily find plenty of uses for this laser engraver. The software is the biggest negative but it looks like that problem has already been solved: https://hackaday.com/2016/12/23/convert-that-cheap-laser-engraver-to-100-open-source-toolchain/
Week 37: September 17, 2017
Eric Moyer • 09/26/2017 at 05:39 • 0 comments
Another great Seattle Mini Maker Faire is in the books and I had an amazing time volunteering both Friday and Saturday. The rain on Sunday seemed to kill the crowds a bit but it was still a great day.

The maker movement has been growing in Seattle specifically it was great to see a ton of elementary and middle school aged kids in attendance. This year’s event continued a strong presence of exhibits specifically tailor for the young maker community.

A couple of my personal highlights from last week’s Seattle Mini Maker Faire….
- Home brew computer: https://hackaday.io/project/4237-mental-1-a-brainfuck-cpu
- Mathematically knit scarfs: https://knityak.com/
It’s events like this that I wish there were more regular events and/or meet-ups in the Seattle area. I go to almost any tech related event I can but most of them are very networking centric and not so much idea sharing. I had some time to talk to Jen Fox and I think we both concluded that more local maker meet-ups need to happen.

Sorry for the lack of pictures I took a bunch of pics Sunday however they just came out horrible.
Week 36: September 10, 2017
Eric Moyer • 09/12/2017 at 02:47 • 0 comments
End of summer....

This weekend marked the end of my summer with a camping trip to Deception Pass State Park. For anyone in the PNW and enjoys camping, Deception Pass is one of the best camping spots in all of Washington.

Last fall I construction a RF controlled waterproof LED strip to install in our tent to get effective light at night and this summer it worked great over our multiple camping trips. The basic BOM is:
- USB Battery Pack/Bank (recommend 10,000 mAh capacity and 1A output)
- RF Controlled 5V Relay
- Waterproof 5V LED Light Strip
The relay is just wired in-line with the LED pigtail and retains the male USB plug. I will posted details when I have some time free up this fall. I wasn't able to get a good "inside" of the tent picture but trust me it works. Here is what the tent looks from the outside with the lights on.

Start of fall..

In just a few days MoPOP (formerly EMP, right next to the Space Needle) will be hosting Seattle Maker Faire, September 16-17. For anyone in the Seattle area don't miss out. I should be there both days and if you are planning on coming please let me know if you would like to meet up.

https://seattle.makerfaire.com/

Keep an eye out for Tony DiCola (https://twitter.com/tdicola) from Adafruit speaking Sunday @ 2:30pm, local maker celebrities Jen Fox (https://twitter.com/jenfoxbot), Sophy Wong and Richard Albritton (http://www.richa1.com/RichardAlbritton/) and in my opinion a must see speech by futurist Pablos Holman (https://twitter.com/pablos) Saturday @ 1:45pm. Sophy is speaking both Saturday and Sunday. The entire schedule for the event can be found here: https://seattle.makerfaire.com/schedule/.

Finally, I have to plug the Hackaday Superconference in November in Pasadena, CA. If anyone is on the fence about going please posted question or contact me directly. I went last year and I don't see myself missing this event in the future.
Week 30: July 29, 2017
Eric Moyer • 07/29/2017 at 20:59 • 0 comments

Taking a nice long summer vacation and I have had the opportunity to visit Micro Center in Philadelphia a couple days ago and I was able to pick up a couple of great things including a new budget laptop I am typing this post up now. If you live near a Micro Center (even within an hour or two drive) it is worth the visit and you can spend a couple hours there easy.
Along with the laptop I was able to pick up a couple development boards I have been wanting to try out for a while now. I was able to get a Raspberry Pi Zero W, Microbit and a Digispark. The Digispark was on clearance for only $0.99, bonus.
The break from work has given me time to further organize all the stuff I have and I hope to post some pics on a new, dedicated work space soon.
Finally, Hackaday Superconference tickets are on sale and this is an event that has been on the top of my to-do list since I went last year for the first time. This is a jam packed weekend of talks, workshops, badge hacks and an all around amazing experience.
Week 27: July 6, 2017
Eric Moyer • 07/07/2017 at 05:08 • 0 comments

Way to much radio silence since my last post but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. For anyone still reading my updates thank you.
In the middle of May I was able to get down to Maker Faire Bay Area. I decided to volunteer for Friday which allowed me to better appreciate all the behind the scenes work involved to make such a large event happen. I was also surprised at how many people volunteer year-after-year. It was both an enjoyable and rewarding experience which I hope to volunteer again in the future. Saturday was all me time (and a perk of volunteering was a free pass) and I was just overwhelmed by all the stuff to see. The weather was almost to good and I have become soft after to many cool PNW summers. By 4pm I was cooked well done and spent the rest of the day re-hydrating. Next year I will plan on going down but hopefully extending my trip to include Sunday and ideally return home Monday morning. I was able to catch up with a few folks I met at Superconfernce last year (side note: they need to set a date and get Superconference on the books) and meet new friends.
If I find the time I will create a post just for my trip to SF.

Next, as part of the National Week of Making (June 16-22), I hosted an event at work for folks interested in the maker movement. I put together a hands on demonstration on how to make Oogoo which is a DIY version of Sugru. It went surprisingly well and thanks to the abundance of information out on the web I was able to learn from all the mistakes others have made. I successfully used both GE I and GE II caulk with corn starch to make a Sugru like material that cured in an hour. (mix 1:1 by volume, add corn starch until you get a play dough like substance).
As for my electronics projects some additional items for my outlet project arrive and I hope to post more on that project page.
Week 16: 4/19/2017 Part 2
Eric Moyer • 04/20/2017 at 02:49 • 0 comments

First, I need to thank Youtube user "You Can Fit It" for saving me a couple hundred dollars this week. My electric dryer stopped heating and after watching a video for my specific dryer on how to diagnose all the different components I was able to find the problem, order the $4 part (FYI shipping was $7) and 3 days later I had a working dryer. The high limit thermostat was bad and the video provide great step by step instructions on what to do. If you have a multimeter (and if you are like me you have more than one) there seems to be almost no reason why anyone should not be able to fix their own electric dryer if it breaks.
Okay, please don't forget to check out my new project which I have entered in the Hackaday prize.
I have already found a similar project that has netted me some great information. Please take a look at Squirco Smart Home System - Sensor Network. Steven has done an amazing job documenting his project and he gets into some areas I planned on not addressing in my project, specifically how to better determine human presence in a room.
Week 16: 4/19/2017
Eric Moyer • 04/19/2017 at 08:45 • 1 comment

I decided to submit a project for the Hackaday Prize tonight. https://hackaday.io/project/21295-enhanced-iot-light-switch
Please like this new project since there is still a few $$$ of funding available and every "like" earns me $1.
It's going to be a long stretch but at least it gives me a new challenge.
Week 12: 3/23/2017
Eric Moyer • 03/24/2017 at 03:22 • 0 comments

I made a quick video of my 3D printed beer bottle opener in action.
I also created a Thingiverse project page.
Week 12: 3/19/2017
Eric Moyer • 03/20/2017 at 03:32 • 0 comments

Work has been my life for the last few weeks and my days have been reduced to 1)work and 2)sleep. Today I have "almost" a full day off and thus decided to get creative and knock out a quick project start to finish in one day.
I have not be completely stagnate since the last post and I have been spending my rare free moments with my wife, catching up on a little TV and finally getting all of my Digistump Oak development boards connected to the cloud. It took much longer than expect but I now have all five(5) development boards connected.
Now back to what I completed today. I have been 3D printing up this great bottle opener for a couple years now. I have printed up dozens maybe hundreds of these since people seem to love them and they are a easy file to print up. I also have used these to benchmark changes to my 3D printer since if I had made a wrong decision I quickly know it. A friend I gave one to glued a small magnet on the bottle opener so he could attach it to his fridge, which I always thought was a great idea.
I recent saw a post on my Google Plus feed where someone printed a mesh Easter bunny and add small plastic eggs towards the end of the print. I have been unable to find the original post but I am pretty sure this was the 3D printer files. I have seen captive 3D printing before but this time around I instantly thought about inserting a magnet into the 3D printed bottle opener.
First was to update the design and thankfully Zach Hoeken posted some .dxf files with the profile curves for his bottle opener design. Next, was to fire up Fusion 360 to import the .dxf information and create my new design with a cavity for the magnet.
Since I needed to stop the my printer mid-print I had to create a small "ear" on the cavity to give a visual indication on when to insert the magnet. After I had a complete 3D model it was time to export an .stl which is surprisingly simple with Fusion 360.
Post processing the .stl using Repetier/Slic3r was pretty straight forward since I pretty much had the settings figured out using my Monoprice Select Mini (MPSM). The hardest thing about this print was keeping constant tabs on the progress since I had to manually pause the print. I have yet to learn how to program a pause in the G-code and then re-start on my MPSM.
In the end everything turned out great. I will create a Thingiverse project for this "remix" design and I plan on making a quick video to show it in use. There is one additional function that the magnet has and I will leave you guessing until the video is posted.
Thanks for reading my update and hopefully my next post will be much sooner.
Week 9: 2/26/2017
Eric Moyer • 02/27/2017 at 06:12 • 0 comments

Last night I was able to attend a meetup at the SoDo MakerSpace for the new Ultimaker 3. The Ultimaker community team gave a great presentation of all the improvements and changes.
One of the highlights of this machine is a dual extruder head that retracts the unused extruder. This seems like a great feature and I hope it works. I think the thing that shocked me the most was the $3500 price tag. There were lots of loyal Ultimaker 2 and 2+ owners in attendence so hopefully Ultimaker can expand their loyal customer base with this new model. I see this machine for the business crowd since the fit and finish is getting almost to an appliance level.
Today was spend getting ready for the work week after a week long vacation. I did find time to get some additional Digistump Oak development boards connected to the cloud. I was hoping to get the remaining four (4) connected now that I had the proper cable for my USB to serial converter. I got two (2) online with the final two causing problems along the way. Ever single board so far has present new issues and required different solutions to get them connected to the cloud. It's frustrating and challenging all at the same time.