Category Archive: hard hacks

May
11

A quick note on “ATX” Power Supplies

After our recent activity making the emergency ATX power supplies, I got a call one evening from one of the hams who couldn’t get their salvaged 24-pin power supplies to work.  It turns out that many of the larger computer manufacturers use their own proprietary pinouts.  In this case, he got bit by a Compaq …

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Permanent link to this article: http://blog.curioussystem.com/2011/05/a-quick-note-on-atx-power-supplies/

Feb
14

A Valentine Example for Blinking Lights

For Valentine’s Day my son needed to make a “mailbox” for his kindergarten class. He & his mother made a rocket out of an old oat container. Since this was a family project, I decided that my contribution would be lighting it up. My son was quite excited when I told him that I was …

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Permanent link to this article: http://blog.curioussystem.com/2011/02/a-valentine-example-for-blinking-lights/

Jan
10

Preventing Accidental Shorts on Prototypes

Many of the boards that we make never end up in an enclosure.  Whether for prototyping at the office or projects for home, it is just extra work we don’t want to mess with.  If the board ends up needing a little more protection due to lots of loose wires or it is given to …

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Permanent link to this article: http://blog.curioussystem.com/2011/01/preventing-accidental-shorts-on-prototypes/