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Fixing a lense
I've had a Kiron macro zoom lense for quite a while. It's not a fancy sort, but it works nicely - especially for macro shots where I want good depth of field. Most macro lenses are close-focussing ones with a razor-thin depth of field. This beast works in macro mode at a fair distance, with the attendant advantages in depth of field. Granted, ( Read more... ) -
My Life as a Clip Show 2011
Back in 2009,I discovered I had some video editing software on my computer and used the "find video" function to find any video I had happened to ( Read more... ) -
Art does imitate life.
When I was watching The Dark Knight, I figured the description in the movie of a purported CIA invention called "Skyhook" wherein a person is yanked up into the air by a cable held aloft by a balloon and grabbed by a passing airplane was simply a Hollywood invention that made for a good stunt. But then I was reading a book about declassified CIA ( Read more... ) -
Water distiller repair
As I'm susceptible to kidney stones (I've had a few), I live in the "kidney stone belt", and the water here in P'ville is laden with minerals, I distill my drinking water. I use ordinary countertop stills that can process a gallon at a time. I wear them out. I think I'm on my third or fourth one at this point. However, I don't tend to give up ( Read more... ) -
Heaterizer XL 3000 FTW!
I decided to buy SparkFun's $10 Heaterizer XL 3000 Heat Gun to try for heat stink and desoldering duties. I'm getting more and more opportunities to remove surface mount parts from boards, and this looks like a more cost-effective approach than a surface mount rework station with a bunch of nozzles for different size and shape parts. Hey, it's ( Read more... ) -
Laser cutter, Part V: air assist
A worry with the laser cutter is fumes from the cutting condensing on the focussing lense, leading to all sorts of badness. Additionally, cutting materials like acrylic is improved by having an air stream to blow the melted plastic away. Accordingly, I decided to add air assist to the laser cutter. In short, this consists of adding a nozzle to ( Read more... ) -
Mill assembly
I went to put together my mill, only to realize that the "CNC ready" version didn't support manual operation without having dual-shaft motors installed. Oops!
I considered buying the motors from Sherline, but they want $65 apiece for their stepper motors.I knew I wanted NEMA 23 size motors, with reasonable torque, voltage, and current ratings, ( Read more... ) -
Alea iacta est.
Phone call made. Email sent. More later. Film at 11.
Originally posted at Dreamwidth.org
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A heavy box on the porch
When I got home Friday night, there was a medium-sized box waiting for me on the porch. It was very heavy for its size. ( have a look ) -
Insane shuttle launch viewing trip
While poking around on facebook, I noticed an event for the STS-133 space shuttle launch.This reminded me that I'd always wanted to see a shuttle launch ( Read more... )