Author Archives: jimhannon

Barn Door Star Tracker

Posted on October 21, 2018

I wanted to take some star pictures with my DSLR and decided a barn door style star tracker would be a fun project to build. Early versions were nothing more than two boards connected by a hinge with a screw … Continue reading →

Posted in Amateur Science, Astronomy, DIY, Electronics, Imbedded Software, Photography, Software | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Building A Sand Muller

Posted on May 28, 2018

To do sand casting a muller is almost a necessity. It is difficult to mix up foundry sand either green sand or oil bonded sand without a muller. I have been thinking about how to build a muller for some … Continue reading →

Posted in Crafts, DIY, Machine Shop, Metal Working, welding | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

UVA UVB Sensor

Posted on March 1, 2018

I have a commercial UV Index sensor running but I found an IC sensor chip that would measure UVA and UVB separately and thought it would be interesting to see how the two UV bands varied with respect to each … Continue reading →

Posted in Amateur Science, DIY, Electronics, environmental monotoring, Imbedded Software, Nature | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

IoT Rain Gauge

Posted on February 2, 2018

On thing that is missing from my weather station is automatic reporting of rain fall. I have a manually read CoCoRaHS rain gauge which is more accurate than say a tipping bucket gauge but I thought it would be nice … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternate Energy, Amateur Science, DIY, Electronics, environmental monotoring, Nature, Software | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Laser Cut Gaskets

Posted on January 20, 2018

Now and then I need gaskets for one of my projects. Of course I could cut a gasket out of a sheet of gasket material with scissors or X-acto knife and use punches for the holes but using a laser … Continue reading →

Posted in CAD, CNC, DIY, Machine Shop | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

CoCoRaHS sign

Posted on December 24, 2017

I have wanted a sign for my weather station for some time. Signs for CoCoRaHS has just become available so I ordered one. They made the sign with room at the bottom to put your station number. This article is … Continue reading →

Posted in CAD, Crafts, DIY, environmental monotoring | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Bandsaw Stand

Posted on October 9, 2017

I have had a 4X6 inch horizontal bandsaw from Harbor Freight for years. It works reasonably well. I have cut a lot of metal with it. The stand that came with it however leaves a lot to be desired. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Machine Shop, Metal Working, welding | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment