Tag Archives: cheap

DIY UV PCB exposure box

Posted on August 26, 2014

UV exposure boxes sell for hundreds of euros from vendors such as RS electronics and Farnell when they can be built at home for approximately 70 euro. I used a plant pot to build mine because it was the only … Continue reading →

Posted in Hardware, Making PCBs, Projects | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Cheap and nasty ‘powered’ usb cable

Posted on May 15, 2014

I was trying to connect a wifi adapter to a raspberry pi today but the pi’s usb ports could not supply enough current to the device. A powered USB hub would be the ideal solution to this problem but I … Continue reading →

Posted in Hardware, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

2d mapping using a webcam and a laser

Posted on January 30, 2014

Following on from my previous blog post using a webcam and a laser as a rangefinder, it’s now mounted on a cheap 3 euro stepper motor and used to make a 2d map of the surroundings. As you can see … Continue reading →

Posted in 2d mapping, C, Hardware, Microcontrollers, Projects, Python | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Second attempt at making an x-y plotter (TinyPlotter)

Posted on November 23, 2013

This plotter was built using parts from cd disc drives. The parts that actually control the motion are the steppers in the cd drives. The steppers are normally used to move a laser diode back and forth over the disc … Continue reading →

Posted in C, Microcontrollers, pic microcontrollers, Plotters, Projects | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments