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gmat of JNSForum has a job that requires him to travel all over Tokyo (lucky git!); he also has an eye for great trackside detail photography. He recently passed by Akihabara Station, and took some amazing detail shots for me. And he’s got plans to take more. Thank [...]
 Test-type in Cylon training school.
A couple of nights ago, I hooked my custom LED Driver up to an Arduino running some custom software, and 16 LEDs. And, who’d have thunk it: Worked on the first try! So many things could have gone wrong between the circuit design, the hand-soldering (jumpers, burn-outs), and the programming. But [...]
 The boards I received in the mail, about two inches long by one-and-a-half wide.
I built a prototype. Then I designed a PCB. This weekend I received a set of my very first custom-designed circuit boards. It’s quite a thrill to hold an item manufactured to your own specifications. Best of all, I ordered two, but [...]
 LED Driver Prototype 1
So, what is this monster power supply going to power? LEDs, and lots of them. Some of these LEDs will always be on; some will be on under certain circumstances (e.g., on a day/night cycle); many will have special effects (e.g., traffic lights). To accomplish all of this, I have been working [...]
Time to catch you up on what I’ve bee doing lately.
Homebrew power supply
The title is something of a mixed metaphor, but it will serve. An important step for installing a ton of LEDs into a layout is having a solid power supply. So a couple of weeks ago, I converted an old ATX power supply [...]
Hand-soldered SSOP microchip in breakout board
I suppose that not all is bad, previous posts notwithstanding. Illness has conspired to prevent me from sharing much of what I’ve done lately, but as I’m feeling better now, here is something new.
Tonight I discovered that I can solder SSOP SMD components by hand with a RadioShack fire-starter, which [...]
I’ve been out of commission for a while, haven’t I? My wife had jury duty nearly all of this past week, which made me primary care-taker for our little daughter. I understood in only an abstract sense the amount of work Amy does in caring for our child; I understand now in a much more concrete sense. I also know that I would be a terrible single father. I really rely on her, and I’m incredibly thankful to have someone I can rely on as my partner.
Thank you, Amy.
This weekend, however, I’ve gotten quite a lot of modeling work done; here is a brief overview (with, perhaps, more detailed posts to follow over the coming week). Continue reading…
Stock photograph of the BBB Arduino Rev E (mine's actually a Rev D)
This weekend, I completed assembly of my first Arduino, a BBB (Bare Bones Board) kit from Modern Device Company. Thanks to Chip for the board! I haven’t tested it yet, because I don’t have, as it turns out, a suitable power supply, nor [...]
Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?
During my most recent visit, my brother-in-law very generously gave me some of his tools he didn’t need anymore, including one of his airbrushes, a Paasche VL (whose past life is on display). And for Fathers’ Day, my delightful wife gave me a compressor to drive it.
Continue reading…
The Streets of Akiba
I’ve very nearly completed modeling the streets surrounding the north-west corner of Akihabara Station. The photo may not look like much, but the street outline—meticulously cut from scaled satellite imagery—is fringed with scale curbs and pedestrian ramps. I have still a bit of cleanup to do, and I also have yet to [...]
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