DIY Science and Electronics Projects

Astronomical Clock (based on PIC 16F877 microcontroller)

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:00:23 +0000

Astro Clock - Fox Delta version

A couple of years ago I designed a PIC-microcontroller-based clock for astronomical observations. Recently I found out that this design has been used by Fox Delta as a base for a similar project. It’s nice that somebody finds it useful. You can check the Fox Delta version of the clock at http://www.foxdelta.com/products/astroclock.htm and possibly buy the clock kit from them.

One thing I noticed was that on their site there are no complete instructions how to operate the clock. Assuming that not much has changed in the firmware, you can get the instructions from http://avtanski.net/projects/astro_clock/operation.html.

[ See the FoxDelta version ] [ Visit the original astronomical clock site ]

Air Force One

admin — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 01:03:20 +0000

Air Force One landing at SFO

On Feb 16th President Obama was on a fundraising visit to San Francisco. The approach for SFO’s Runway 28 goes right behind the office building where I work. I managed to snap a picture of Air Force One as well as to listen live to the SFO controllers guiding the plane down. You can hear the trimmed recording (long pauses were removed) here. Generally speaking, I think it was worth my tax money…

HP Overpackaging

admin — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:54:36 +0000

A tiny screw

Unpackaged

Here comes another nice overpackaging example. For some reason HP decided to put this single tiny screw in a separate plastic envelope and even provide an instruction guide booklet. The booklet basically says “screw it” in 12 different languages. Proudly printed in the USA.

GPS Visualization updates – selection by speed

admin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:48:51 +0000

I’m in the habit of always carrying my GPS, recording where I go hiking, biking, or driving. Yesterday, while on a walk, I though that it should be pretty easy when visualizing the accumulated track to use different color for each mode of transportation. So, today I modified my GPS visualizer scripts a bit adding parameters that allow selection by speed range.

On this image my trips are color-coded, based on the track speed:

Here, RED is Driving (or rather “likely driving” based on the speed range), GREEN is Biking, and BLUE is Hiking/Walking.

If somebody is interested, the visualizer scripts, some more images, and a sample video can be downloaded from here: http://avtanski.net/projects/gps .

[ Go to project ]

PIC Microcontroller Data Logger with Serial Interface

admin — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 19:51:22 +0000

Data logger

Some time ago I completed a data logger project and finally found time to document it and put the description online. The device amplifies and filters the analog signal from a sensor, then using a PIC microcontroller the data is digitized, encoded, and sent over serial (RS-232) interface to a computer. The project also includes scripts for processing and visualizing the data.

[ Go to project ]

Extreme Overclocking

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:13:40 +0000

AMD FX processor overclocking world record: 8.429GHz! Pretty cool (literally; it’s liquid nitrogen cooled):

Cat Elevator

admin — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:37:40 +0000

The ultimate cat luxury – an elevator:

Advanced 3D Printing

admin — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:14:33 +0000

This 3D printer looks more advanced than everything I’ve seen so far:

GPS Visualization Tools

admin — Fri, 13 May 2011 04:18:56 +0000

Many of today’s GPS units have capability to record tracks data. Here is a way to process all the data from your GPS track logs and turn it into a picture, like these:

[ Go to Project ]

Hackable Watch

admin — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:00:30 +0000

Here comes the ultimate geek accessory – a programmable and hackable wristwatch with a nice OLED display and BlueTooth connectivity, thanks to inPulse:

I already want one.