Archive for the ‘ Make-It ’ Category

Make-It: Ibanez Tube Screamer T-808/TS-9 Clone! (Phase 2)

I managed to find a bit of time to work on this little monster! So, I got the board ‘planned’… or almost all planned.

Previously, I had decided on the external location of the parts but had no clue about the board by itself. Now, I got all the little drawing done on the protoboard. This is going to be a sick-crowded board ! About 40-50 parts on a 3″ x 2″ board, as minimal jumper as possible. So here it is… ( Each black round around a hole mean that there is something that goes there… either a part lead, either a jumper lead or a wire).

UPDATE: For those out there who would have wanted to have a better view of the designed board, here’s the GIF version of the connections.

(End of update)

Sadly, I can’t finish it since I noticed that I’m missing some parts for it (and I don’t want to do a botched job while using wrong parts). But at least, here’s a few ‘progress’ pictures of how crowded the board will be.  (1st pic is about 1/2 of the parts, 2nd pic is about 3/4 of the parts; none have jumpers or wires yet nor potentiometers hooked).

2011
01/11
CATEGORY
Audio Pedal(s)
Electronic
Make-It
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Make-It: Ibanez Tube Screamer T-808/T-9 Clone! (Phase 1)

So I have found a schematic to replicate a Tube Screamer T-808 or T-9 made by Ibanez. After hearing the sound, I knew I wanted one (especially since I managed to borrow a small guitar amplifier from my father!)

the T-9 Vs the T-808 are fairly similar (the T-808 have a few more parts at the ‘end’ of the circuit) so my initial prototype will be to replicate a T-9 pedal. I already went to the Electronic Store to get the missing parts so, I’m ready to start.  I also have already planned the hardware disposition in the box (better than for the FuzzFace :P)

As far as it is advanced, I have some parts of the board/schematic planned out but it’s going to e a pretty crowded board when I’ll be done with it (tons of parts, especially if I do the T-808 version) on a small-ish board 😛  I’ll keep you guys updated!

2011
01/07
CATEGORY
Audio Pedal(s)
Electronic
Make-It
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Make It: “Fuzz Face” Clone Guitar Pedal

I recently got dragged into Guitar Pedals Schematics by a friend and It kinda gave me the ‘wants’ to make one for my father… so here’s the build log!

I started to research schems for the Fuzz Face Jimmy Hendrix used (there was quite a few in fact) and after a hint from my father (Arbiter), I knew what to look for. I have found some REALLY awesome info from the guys at Fuzz Central (Link) on the original Schems for the Fuzz Face with different version available. I decided to try my luck with the ‘Silicon Era’-type (using 2x “BC109” transistors in my case). I really went with the original design (that I tweaked a tiny bit). Oh and … FYI… this little monster did cost me less than 20$ to build ! and I had almost no parts (except resistances and caps).

Started by gathering the parts and making my proto board:

as you can see, I went for a sweet old-style Pot button 😛 Oh and, I ‘though’ I would do the proto like that… but we all know that things ‘change’ here and there once in a while 😛

Once all the electronic was soldered, I started to attack the casing:

On a side note, If I would redo the case, I’d put both In and Out jacks on the same side to save a bit of space inside and I would redo the wiring to have less. Right now, everything goes to the board even if it’s just 2 wires connected together… so It adds up a bit… and quite honestly, it adds up FAST !

So here’s the semi final of the box:

After a bit of looking at it, I decided to hack in my circuit to add a ‘Power On’ LED… which wasn’t too hard afterall… and I put the labels on what-is-what 🙂

Enjoy !

Afterthoughts:

-Use both jacks on the same side to free up some space.
-Add the bypass switch (couldn’t do it in this one due to space issue).
-Wire the cables directly to where they should go instead to ‘All-To-Board’ method.
-Get Countersinks screw for the board and some better holding system.
-Get some audio wires/jacks to test that kind of prototype… because Alligator clamps can be tricky to work with…

2010
12/30
CATEGORY
Audio Pedal(s)
Electronic
Make-It
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Make It: Mouse Wheel From VHS Motor

Yup, another project that I started.

Basically, I scavenged some VHS motor from *D’oh, Captain Obvious* an old VHS and I though I could use that little monster to make a Mouse Wheel from it ! What a brilliant idea… except that I had no clue on how I would do this…  but, after a bit of trial and error, I … am back to nothing because I haven’t figured out an efficient way of knowing when the ‘wheel’ have moved and in which direction… but it’s a progress ! Here’s the build log:

Start from an old VHS motor:

Then, get the guts out ( for some reason, I can’t get tired of saying that ! xD ):

One of my try was to hack in the PCB and ‘find’ when the motor spin and which side… but…  failed 😦

at this point, I couldn’t get the MCU to detect whenever the little magnet was coming close to that sensor thinggy… so I had to forgot that idea

Then, I tried the microswitch approach, which might have some potential.

only issue so far is that the screw I’m using to do the trigger on the micro switches is a bit rough on the switches so, it might give a beatie to the switches… Another variation I’ve tried was to use a 3mm LED glued in but it’s a bit too long so the case cannot close properly (and that mean a no-go again).

The next plans are trying to see if I can use an optical reader and put something in the top part that will know when it moves but, i’m not sure yet how it’ll work… and, after that, I still have to hook it up to some USB mouse controller… so that’s not going to be done anytime soon… but I’m working on it 🙂

2010
12/30
CATEGORY
Electronic
Make-It
Mouse Wheel from VHS Motor
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Make-It: PS/2 “Party” Keyboard (Part 1 – Research & POC)

If you’re a bit of the ‘part collector’ kind, you probably are like me and have a few PS/2 keyboard at home that are doing what they’re best at: … collecting Dust 🙂 So, Why not take one and give it a new ‘life’ of awesome hawtness ?

After a bit of research online, I figured out that our lovely communication system used in Ps/2 system is a bit the same as I2C. 1 Data wire, 1 Clock and a 5v and a ground. Also, the max current that can be drawn on the 5v is 245ma. That’s a bit small but i’m sure I’ll be able to work with this. From what I read around the interweb, the Arduino chip by itself drain 10ma of current with a no biggie code executing. Add on top of that the LEDs and extra components added on each ports and you got the number. Wost come to worst, I might end up using an external USB connector to feed the power (since USB have up to 500mA).

Enough with the boring numbers… here’s some real life data ! 🙂 First, I found on the Arduino Playground (link) how to connect a PS/2 device to the Arduino & the necessary library for it. Very simple to use in fact ! Then, I figured out how I’d be connecting my Arduino and the keyboard. Next part was the keyboard slicing (which was fun I have to admit)! I started with this little guy (see picture) and got the board out. Notice the 4 wires coming in ? That’s where I want to hook my Arduino. 🙂

So, after a few curses and minutes, I managed to get my new ‘extension’ wire hooked up (got to love the recycled-from-another-board flat cables!). btw kids (and less kids), when you’re working with wires that have tension on them, make sure you’re wearing your protective glasses! you really don’t want to heat up the wire and get a miniature solder catapult out of the wire! I got really lucky that on the board, some holes were already drilled next to the wires so I didn’t had to do some ‘magic’ to get it hooked.

Then, come the plugging and testing part of the Arduino code… tons of fun as well ! Refer to the Arduino Playground page for the correct pin hooking on your Arduino 🙂 On my side, I modified the example to make it blink a LED when I push the numpad or Enter or Esc keys.

It worked so nicely that I carved another keyboard (the one I’ll be using for the party keyboard) to see where I could put the hack inside 🙂 So, as you might be able to see, 1- There is plenty of space for any hack to fit in, and on this following Kb, there’s a biggie IC that control the input so it might be a bit different to hack in it. On the bright side, I’m just ‘listening’ on the PS/2 data/clock wires so, If I hook my connection after the IC, I’ll be fine. Also, notice the ‘antique’ look of that keyboard… and it sound Awesome when the keys are punched in ! it’ll be perfect for the Party Keyboard !

I’ll keep you guys updated when I’ll have more time to ‘play’ with this guy 🙂

2010
12/21
CATEGORY
Electronic
Make-It
PS/2 "Party" Keyboard
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Make-It: Recycled PCB Lamp Idea (PCB Lamp) (Part 2)

As promised, I did work on this fabulous project !
I haven’t progressed a lot but at least, I know what to expect from the build. Don’t get me wrong, ” It Is NOT An Easy Project”. It will require patience, time and dexterity (a lot) but the end result will be stunning !

part 1: Get some templates
I start by drawing a “to Scale” Hex polygon and a rectangle that will be my Styrene cutting templates for the base ( not cut yet and please, do not consider the star pattern, it was just easier to make an Hex from the star and links the points 🙂 ). I also cut into a piece a cardboard (from the recycling bin) a 3.75″ x 7.5″ piece for my panels. Please note that the sizing is really your own preference and how much leftover PCBs you have at home.

Part 2: Get some supply
You’ll then want to gather your components/tools. The PCBs, the “stitch” (simple metal wire), the dremel & bits, the electric components (wire, lamp, switch) & the pliers (2 pairs works best).  (( Yes, I am aware that I have “WAY TOO MANY”  PCBs 🙂 ))

Part 3: Tiling your PCBs & Marking them( Optional )
Only if you’re going the hard route (like I am doing), you’ll want to find the perfect tiling for your PCBs. Start by grabbing your template and put some pieces on it. Don’t worry if some are too big or have stuff getting out (notice the 1st picture? the ‘PCI card’ PCB stick out) because we’ll cut them later. If you encounter PCBs that have holes in them, you can either leave them open (if they’re not too big) or you can find a smaller board (or piece of board) to stitch in there! Once the tiling is done, you’ll have to figure out where you’ll want to put stitches. As a general rule I used, I wanted to have at least 2 stitches per side so that way, the PCBs does stick together more easily. Remember, it’s not because you have more stitches that the boards will hold better (in fact, you have more chances of breaking the board with many holes) but it’s how tight your stitches are that does the difference.

Part 4: Cutting, Drilling & Stitching
If you’re doing the hard way, you’ll have more stitches before attempting to stitch the assembled boards together but don’t worry, we’ll get there… eventually… 🙂 Now, Cut your board to make sure everything fit together. (Simple version will want to have a steady size for the cut. Use your template to draw and then cut the pieces with the saw. Harder version will want to have everything tiled but not overlapping, so make sure you cut pieces where it’s overlapping. ) Then, if you guys don’t mind, I’ll focus on the tiling/stitching part and get back to the simpler version a bit later. So, drill your holes with the dremel (Wear Eyes protection !!) and start to cut some pieces of wire to link them together. Bend one ‘leg’ of the wire, take a quick measure of the length and then, bend the other ‘leg’ and put them in the holes. Flip your board & bend both ‘legs’ down trying to keep them as tight as possible. Careful to not crack the board while doing this (Too tight is no good neither!). Once the stitch is in place, Solder up the 2 legs and cut the extra length of wire. Work your way through the entire board and be gentle with it because it can crack (and you don’t want this to happen!). Once you have a full panel assembled, give it a look in front of a light to see how great it looks and get ready for your other panels…

To Be Continued…
(( Honestly, I was fairly tired last night when I started this and that’s not the easiest project I’ve tried so, please, understand that It might take a few days for me to do it but for sure, it’s easily doable as a weekend project ))

2010
11/30
CATEGORY
Electronic
Make-It
Recycled PCB Lamp
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Make-It: Recycled PCB Lamp Idea (PCB Lamp) (Part 1)

Let’s take this… ‘fictive’ …. situation where you’re 1 week before the holidays and you forgot to get presents for your beloved friends/family & others…  Yes, very fictive… anyways, I have a project that will solve your issue! Plus, it’s super ecological since it’s using Recycled material !

Here’s a ‘design prototype’ for the lamp 🙂 The real assembly will follow up shortly in the upcoming days/weeks (as soon as I can find time to enjoy a good ‘building’ time).

So, the design by itself is very straight forward.

Gather the pieces:
-A scavenged light bulb : I got mine from an old Microwave I dismantled, 20w – ish ?
-A toggle switch : Should be able to handle the proper wattage ( remember, W = P * I  , which is in my case: 20w = 110v * ?A, then my ? is about 200mA ).  ( Optional, this could be integrated with the power cord if you have one ) )
-A Power cord ( Classic… )
-Some old PCB with all the components desoldered (I got tons of theses that I wanted to recycle 🙂 ).
-Either a container of some sort ( Plastic,Metal, Other ) or some leftover Styrene ( If you’re like me and have Plenty of it laying around… )
-Imagination ( Optional, but could lead to the best pieces of arts with it 🙂 )

Tools you will need ( or might need ):
-a Saw ( to cut the PCBs )
-a Dremel (to cut holes in PCBs to link them together and to carve holes in your container/Styrene )
-a Screwdriver ( depending on your lightbuld & socket & switch )
-a pair of Plier ( again, depending on your parts )

Make it:
… To be Continued with pictures and a very detailed ‘How-To’ 😀

2010
11/29
CATEGORY
Electronic
Make-It
Recycled PCB Lamp
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