Hiatus, or .. I'm sorry, but.

Firstly, I'd like to point out that: This blog was never indented to be anything about me in person, my life, health or other personal issues. I have wanted to document some old projects of mine, make some new hacks , repair various things and do/write similar tech geeky stuff.

But, with this prolonged inactivity I feel the need to open up the situation somewhat. And thus I'll write this short post of things gone and happening.

As of now, I don't have any official diagnose for this, but as far as I can describe it: I'd call this a something similar to CFS . Amongst the major problems related to this blog are, lower cognitive skills (esp foreign language), excessive sleeping and lack of energy to do anything above the bare essentials. And unfortunately, making this blog (and videos) are really something I have had no energy whatsoever.

This is not anything new, the basic symptoms have been around for years now, but the intensity of the exhaustion has been really bad at last winter. At the moment I can't offer any guarantees that my condition will get much better in near future. I do hope that there will be some new insight to the situation due med specialist I met last week, but only time will tell if there's any new clues to be found on those numerous vials of blood I have donated to the cause.

So, for those reading this. I'm truly sorry for letting you down.

Joanna

(update 12 september 2013)
I have decided to open Some Quick Notes (my long abandoned blog) for more personal stuff.. Latest is: Hiatus aka still alive

Happy new year: 2012 summary (+ meta-meta)

Hi, and welcome to my last post at 2012. This blog entry will be mostly a summary of things happened at 2012 while making some announcements and vague promises of the upcoming posts.

Ir controlled 4 channel mini helicopter, opened for modding.

Firstly: I know that I have not been nearly as active as I should have been, and I have not even bothered to write a decent Meta about it. Sorry, but I thought that it would be too distracting of the main material to start ranting about things that had not happened. For that, I have now (finally!) decided that I revive my older, long-died blog channel Some quick notes , which I have been neglecting since late 2008. I will post a longer explanation there, and try to limit Meta at this channel to minimum.

One of those 720*480 keychain video cameras.

At these pictures you'll see one of the meny non-finished projects from 2012. It's an remote controlled (4 channel) mini helicopter and miniature video camera, both taken apart for modification. I got this idea of combining these two for couple years back. All this said, I'd expect to get them together someday early 2013 for the first test flight footage.

Of other projects, the Pic based thingy I mentioned back at this entry has not moved a bit since last March or so. Overall it's still valid thingy, and I have not seen similar anywhere. So, with some luck, I'll be getting it ready too, someday.

Besides these two, I have had some practical 'Fix-them, don't trash them' articles in mind with practical real world ideas of renew/recycle. Like repairing everyday items with the materials one could expect to find from electronics-tinkerer's workshop. Also more uses of Sugru, for example repairing and tuning shoes, zippers and coffee mugs.

Also, I still have the unpublished hour-long interview of @Jeri Ellsworth , which I shoot with my mobile phone a year ago (Alt Party, Helsinki). The raw video footage is quite ok, but the sound quality were bad since I didn't have any external microphone with me and the site was LOUD. I have not yet decided what to do with it, releasing it at youtube could be one option.

So, all in all. I do hope that 2013 will be more active year for me with this blog. I'll hope I will get some backlog cleared and the new projects going.

Rebuilding old Power pack (Hitachi B-2 for DRC-10K)

Hitachi DRC-10K... Slightly used, like 30 years

My father has this three decades old Hitachi DRC-10K cordless drill and against all odds it has proven to be nearly indestructible. Unfortunately rechargeable NiCd batteries tend to wear out and thus need replacement sooner or later. Even thought 3rd party power packs are still available those tend to cost around 40 Euros (50USD) before delivery, taxes etc.. And quite frankly you can purchase all new cordless drill with price like that.

B-2 type power pack (once opened)

So.. Alternative is to replace the battery elements inside power pack. It's actually quite easy to do and saves easily over 30€ when compared of purchasing new pack. Of course it'll take some time and effort, but for someone willing to DIY and values recycling, it's the right way to go. 

Six new NiMh cells soldered together

First part of project is opening the battery pack and checking what type and size the batteries are. Opening the pack depends a lot of the pack itself. Hitachi's original B-2 battery is sealed with some kind of glue, so you'll need to use some real force and mechanical tools. I had opened this particular pack earlier (10+ years ago?) and by the looks of it, I must have used tools like hacksaw, sharp knife and screwdrivers. In the end the tools don't matter so much, as long as you don't break the cells inside pack or hurt yourself.

Heatshrink protecting joints

After opening the pack one has to check what size the rechargeable cells are. At B-2, there are six sub-C elements (size approx. 40*20mm). For this purpose it's convenient to use cells with metal tabs on them. Easiest way to get cheap replacement cells is to search net sellers from sites like Ebay. Unfortunately I can't really recommend any of those stores, since they tend sell whatever is available, thus there is no real guarantee of the quality or capacity of the cells.

After opening the power pack you'll need to unsolder the power wires from old batteries and start preparing the new ones.  First duplicate the layout of the batteries and solder metal tabs together. As these differ for each pack I can't give more explicit guide here. Just be sure to check polarities and cnnect the batteries just like old ones were and it will be ok.

Twist, test and solder power connector

With B-2 power pack it made sense to build two sets with 3 batteries each and bend them so that they fit into existing enclosure. I decided to use soldering which is ok, as long as on don't burn the batteries with overheat. I also decided to cover connections with heat shrink tube.

Next is soldering the power connector wires to batteries (remember polarity) and stuffing these renewed innards inside existing power pack enclosure. I decided to use some hot glue to keep power pack safely closed.

Rebuild powerpack alongside modified Hitachi charger

For testing I did charge the battery pack with modified hitachi charger. The original charger (30 years old) was designed for using with NiCD only. Since NiCD are harmful to environment I have lately been using NiMh batteries instead. With NiMh batteries there was need for new type smart charger (with Delta-V detection). As a bonus this new charger is also faster and can handle both types of batteries.

Old NiCd batteries I've used years ago

After a couple hour recharge, the power pack was inserted to drill and tested to be on working condition. I have not done any power tests so I have no idea how good these new batteries are, but I'll expect to hear comments as soon as my father needs the drill next time for some tinkering project he has.

And that leaves the last part, trash disposal. Making sure that those old used NiCd batteries I had used years ago at previous Rebuild will be properly handled and processed as an special garbage. I have no idea how harmful NiCd batteries really are, but at least in EU area those are under strict control, so one has to be careful how to dispose them.


Meta:

I know... I have not been making these updates as often I ought to, for keeping this blog interesting. So sorry, not having any good excuses either, no mystic NDA projects, no family issues etcetc..

New year, old stuff, aka: Short intro to Polymorph

With all interest to 3d printing I've been neglecting some other ideas way too long. So now is high time to start introducing some older stuff. And I think Polymorph is a good start.

Polymorhph, as sold, white granules

Polymorph: Also known and sold with names like Friendly Plastic, is a relatively new plastic polymer that softens at the hot water. At room temperature it's while and feels a lot like Nylon, a bit flexible and not at all brittle.

When heated to 70 Celsius (or so) it becomes clear, a bit sticky putty that can easily be shaped by hand. There are many ways you could do the heating but I prefer pouring some freshly boiled water atop and let it melt for a while.

Home made phone-tripod adapter

One of the first things I did with Polymorph was a tripod adapter for my smartphone. For some reason, even though most of today's phones have video recording capabilities, there seems to be no way to connect these to tripods.

Making my own  tripod adapter was quite simple: Firstly I covered relevant part of my phone with clear packing tape, so I can be sure the melted pastic don't take too much hold.

Attached to desktop tripod

Then I took the heated, flexible polymorph, removed the excess water of it and started to shape it around my phone while making sure I don't cover anything important, like touch screen, connectors or buttons. 

As soon as polymorph was at the desirable shape I pressed it (along my phone) atop of my tripod head, so that plastic got around the 1/4" bolt that's used for fixing the camera, and I let the plastic cool back to room temperature.

After some wait, I then removed camera from the now white solid part and removed the protection tape of the phone.

The adapter works well, and keeps phone steady for making videos. At the same time: This adapter was/is a quick hack, so there's definitely not much hope winning any industrial design awards with it. ;-)

All in all, I have used Polymorph quite few projects so far and I like the speed I can use it to make the unique objects I need. It's also good for making low temperature molds of existing objects and repairing things.

New year coming, new directions to blog (Meta, Video)

Happy holidays.. It's meta-time just before new year hit's all of us. 

Now, I think that it's about to give up posting short notes of various 3d printed items. After all, I've been making them quite a while, and even though I have lost count of the trinkets been made, I do know that I have spent over two kilos Pla-printing material. So what I was saying, is that novelty of the printing just for printing's sake is gone, and from now on I'll be using it as a tool for other projects. Projects that have been on back-burner due this new printer.

But before giving up entirely I decided to write a bit intro of couple items.

This on is nice 20 mm wide and cable guide made from 12 printed pieces. I'm planing to install to my Huxley printer so that it'll protect those heated bed wires. The main idea is to stop the cables connections breaking apart from stress caused platform movement during printing.

And: What's 3D printing without some shapes that are next to impossible manufacture with other types of machinery?

This Alien Egg, an abstract design, that is hollow inside. It weights very little compared to it's size and strength.



Of 3d design.. I'll get to the point, if there ever was a point. Point reminding me that I'll need to widen the coverage of the blog. During these first couple months (7 weeks)  of blog/vlog I have made just one teardown video, no reviews, and only electronics related stuff has been about me soldering the electronics board of the Printer.

So what I have at the list.. Some talk and examples about Polymorph, yes it's plastic too, but somewhat different material. Reviews of couple nice and useful electronics tools/meters. Some ideas of electronics, using old and new chips and components. Also some work with lasers and combining various building technics. Fixing various items and hacking something new from those that can't be repaired to original use.

And.. also more videos.. I think I'll skip the numbering and credit screens from videos that ain't so essential. Like that Alien Egg printing video, that lasts about 50 minutes, and has no texts nor voice over.  It's currently uploading to Youtube, and should become available at:

http://youtu.be/fYAaWnk5hgs

Zenithink ZT-180 ePad teardown, Video #6

This time I decided to make a quick teardown video of Zenithink ZT-180 ePad I recently purchased secondhanded. It's amazingly easy to open as soon as you know the trick. I have not yet bothered taking the logic board out since all essentials are shown as is. There are some oddities in this machine, like using cheap painters masking tape to cover and fix parts, but that may well be left there by some earlier user.

Meta: I have not lately been making these 3d-printing related updates. I have been occupied with other activities, so no new cookie cutters designed/printed yet.  I also need to do some repairs for the printer, there's a known weakness on one part and it hinders the printing process. Perhaps I'll make a video of that too while I'll try to think best feasible way to fix issue.

Video #1, Intro

Ok, so it's out there, in public, finally. At youtube, amongs millons of other videos.

A week of blogging

Well, it's been week with full of the Huxley and 3d printing. The first bundle of PLA filament is getting thin, so I had to make an order of new stuff. For a change, I decided to have big (2.3kg) roll of 1.7mm natural PLA.. It's not absolutely clear or colourless, but it'll be interesting to see how much material change affects the printer settings and print result.

As a part of upcoming development I couple days ago purchased parts for Frugal style glass printing bed. First version will be made of clip frame glass and some metallic holders.

Clear glass and holders.

I have heard that glass is a good material for heated bed. Printed parts tend to stick well, and the glass surface is nice and even. Biggest issue will be the sudden temperature changes, since those can well break the glass plate.

One reader asked about the videos.. Well, I have been so keen on testing the printer that I have not taken much video of the printing process itself. I'll try to take some this week and hopefully also get other material available. At the moment this blog looks way too much dedicated just to 3d printing. 

No more Dynamic template

For some reason the dynamic template messed up the entries so I had to move back to old-style blog.


Short update: The microcontroller board seems to be working fine, now wiring it to Huxley. I hope to get my first printing attempts later today.

Learn and improve Vblogging

There are plenty of things that definitely could be better, but at this time I'll try to keep on commenting my earlier attempt of Vblogging, which I tried to start at 9th. And with reasonably honest opinion I think that there were painfully obvious problems on Audio, Video, Content, Delivery and Production..
Easiest to fix to acceptable hobbyist level seems to be Video quality. Even though the camera (40eur 720p minithingy) makes ok video at bright, the indoors had way too little light. I'm sure there will be some color issues with those cheap lights I use, but getting rid of grain and noise in picture should help a lot.

Audio. One of the first things to do is to remember remove battery of the wall clock, it's way too close to optimal camera location. Also external microphone seems to be more-or less mandatory item for getting decent sound quality and isolation from background noises. As a stopgap I could try to use my home PC for sound recording and combine it with video at editor, but I think I'd prefer to have video camera with external microphone support.

Content, well the content is the King. And even though I do hope on having enough interesting ideas and stuff for plenty of blogging there may well be some work to do for organisation and definition. I have no intention to go as far as writing down the lines and read them from paper, since that would definitely ruin the feeling...

Delivery, especially the voice. I have 2 possibilities to think of. Use my native tongue (Finnish) with subtitles at English or try to get by with my exotic accent. I think I should stick to English, as it is much more widely understood and many native ain't too hot on subtitled material. Some words ain't easy, but I do hope my pronounciation is good enough.

Production. Like trying to learn how to use equipment and the software I have here. With frugal budget, one can't expect to have all premade or high end... so some improvisation, work and ideas still needed. Learning to use video editor better could definitely be a good idea, also should consider location/shoot backgrounds... I know that with this size apartment, it'll most likely require me to tidy up  -- So not all of this is a loss :-)

First Post

 ... and also first lame joke.. :-)

So, today is 11.11.11... I was supposed to start this blog couple days ago with an introduction video, but after spending hours with video editing software I decided that the material I shot at 9th november was definitely not good enough for any serious release. Perhaps I'll let you see it in some distant future at Blooper-reel, but not now.

What is this DIYTao and why it perhaps deserves a blog? Important quesiton I know, and I'm not sure if I even have any decent answer. Somehow the idea of this blog started while watching videos of EEVBlog, and thinking of ideas and projects I might share amongst other people. And since I also become interested on 3D printing (especially RepRap systems) and 3d object design I've decided that I might try to make some kind of publicly available lab notes of my projects.

Starting with RepRap.. I'm in middle of building my own printer, it's Huxley type (yet unnamed) machine, that I purchased via IndieGoGo. I have got most of mechanics and printing system in place, next project is to solder the micro controller board and do final system wiring and testing. I hope to get first usable prints (and videos) done within a week.

Besides 3D printing, I'm likely to talk/write will be hobby electronics, some board design tricks/trips, photography, some reverse engineering and hacking. Home made DIY fixes and frugal projects with various materials, recycling, repairing and renevation.

Links:
EEVblog
Indiegogo_eMAKER-Huxley