Electronics

  • Hacking: Put a larger battery in an APC Back-UPS ES 350 or 450
    Introduction In the video below I cover adding a larger battery to an APC Back-ups 350 or 450. Items You’ll Need A 12V 9Ah lead acid battery A Dremel tool with cut off wheel. The Hack The hack takes advantage of the fact that the 350, 450 and 550 APC UPSes use the same enclosure.  … Continue reading →
  • Notes: Wiring an 8 Wire Stepper Motor
    Introduction I’ve been working on a project that required 3 stepper motors. Well Ebay is the best place to get them cheap. Not many of them are 8 wire these days. Superior Electric M061-FD-6102 Specifications Leads: 8 Voltage: 11.2V Current: 0.44A Step: 200/rotation Wiring diagam drive 1 ———[red]—–) (—–[green]———— drive 4 ) ( ) ( … Continue reading →
  • Build a Small 10W LED Grow Light for Plants
    Introduction We like to garden inside as well as outside. And wouldn’t you know it, we don’t get much sun in the house. I built this grow light to use on a 4 plant hydroponic garden I built. My test subject for this light will be herbs. Overview The colors we are interested in for … Continue reading →
  • Build a Small 5V and 12V Power Supply with Optional PIC Programmer
    Introduction I needed a bench top power supply for prototyping PIC microcontrollers. I also had my PIC programmer looking for a home. Well combining the two together created a nice piece of equipment. The PIC programmer is an old parallel version.  It can still be useful for many people.  I have upgraded to a USB … Continue reading →
  • Build A 30W 50 Ohm Dummy Load
    Introduction For testing out transmitters every ham should have a dummy load. The project I’m describing here is useful up to 30W. The parts used could allow up to 50W but there is no vents in the chassis. The Parts One small metal box One chassis mount BNC connector 26 1.3K 2W resistors. Construction The … Continue reading →
  • Modding And Hacking A Christmas Light Controller
    Introduction For under $10 you can buy christmas light sets that flash the lights in different patterns. These sets have a small controller that animates the lights. The light set I chose cost $7.99 and were purchased from Big Lots. The lights can be removed from the controller and plugs installed. Disclaimer This project works with … Continue reading →
  • Build A POE Injector To Remotely Power Your Gear
    Introduction Information on building your own POE adaptors. I didn’t want to install UPSes everywhere in the house. My access point is centrally located in my house. It has a plug right by it but no UPS. My home office on the other hand has a couple of hours of backup. Since I already ran … Continue reading →