I really love DIY projects and proof of concepts with electricity and radio so when I saw this little project using soda cans, cardboard, copper wire, sand, and saltwater to build a battery, I was all over it. (video from rumble.com, an alternative to YouTube’s increasingly anti-free speech platform) Instructions: Cut the tops off of …
Category Archives: Homebrew
Soft-Start Circuit Design to Stop Inrush Currents
Some appliances or components like solar inverters can trigger circuit protection to kick in when they care first connected. The reason is that often they have large capacitors inside that can really spike current use while they are charging up on start-up. In the video below, the Great Scott YouTube user, an electrical engineer from …
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DIY 3D Arduino Powered Printer Build
3D printers are all the rage these days, and are coming down in price gradually, but are still a bit out of reach for many. So many capable electronics and maker hobbyists have turned to re-purposing all sorts of things to build their own 3D Printers on the cheap. Here’s one great example (though he …
DIY Portable Power Box Solar Charge Upgrade
Recently I finished building my first portable power box in an “ammo can”, and have been charging phones and testing radios with it. However… now it’s time to top the battery off, so I’m upgrading the box with a charge controller, and external port to plug in a solar panel. Here’s the video tutorial I’m …
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Reviving Lead Acid Batteries with Epsom Salts
In this tutorial video from Car Groves, you’ll learn how to rejuvenate a dead lead acid battery by using Epsom salts to get rid of the scale that builds up on the battery plates over time. This is a bit time consuming, but good to know in case the civilized world goes boom and you …
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Powerwall Battery Pack Construction with BMS
There’s a guy named Jehu Garcia in California who’s made it his mission to recycle laptop and other batteries in the United States instead of sending them back to China. One of his ongoing projects is building DIY power walls (similar to the commercial ones made by Tesla at a premium price) using these reclaimed …
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Antenna Theory – UnUn Transformers for Impedance Matching
Baluns and UnUns come up frequently when discussing antennas of different types and matching feed point impedance so you don’t burn up the final stage transistors in your expensive radio. This video contains one of the best explanations I’ve seen so far of wave propagation in antennas, and how to build a transformer to convert …
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Homemade Soldering Iron Tutorial
Just found this great tutorial on how to make your own soldering iron from bits of wire, fiberglass tubing, nichrome wire from a hairdryer, and a rough cross section of a branch. When I was searching to find the video again to place it above, I found that there are MANY MANY different versions of …
WSPR: Weak Signal Propagation Path Reporting
WSPR (pronounced “whisper”) stands for “Weak Signal Propagation Reporter”. It is a protocol, implemented in a computer program, used for weak-signal radio communication between amateur radio operators. WSPR implements a protocol designed for probing potential propagation paths with low-power transmissions. Transmissions carry a station’s callsign, Maidenhead grid locator, and transmitter power in dBm. The program …
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Build a 12v Portable Power Box for Your Mobile Ham Radio Gear
Ham operators often take their gear to different locations out in the field and need a battery to power up their radios and other gear. The video below shows one way to put together a mobile power battery box using an inexpensive Plano field box. Parts Needed Plano Field Box Battery – Amstron 12V/12AH Sealed …
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