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PROBLEM: Once or twice a year, this Lazy Old Geek could use a postal scale. Coming up are the elections. Colorado is set up so that I can always vote by mail. I am lazy so I do so. I think you may have to request to vote absentee. Now sometimes the absentee ballot tells you how much postage but often they’ll say to use appropriate postage. So is it over an ounce?
The miser in me figures this way: I live about five miles from the nearest town. That’s ten miles round trip. My car gets around 30 mpg, so a trip to the post office (or to a polling place) is going to take one-third of a gallon or a little less than a dollar. To my friend who is taking college Algebra, here’s an example of applied Algebra. So it’s actually cheaper for me to mail in a ballot, than it is to drive in and vote. (I would do it anyway. I hate waiting in line). But I also don't want to underpay or overpay.
Okay, so I thought, I bought an Arduino clone, how can I use it for weighing a letter? I found some sensors that could do it but they were quiet expensive, so I decided to go low tech. Another Instructable has a good postal scale:
Pretty Good Postal Scale from Old CDs
http://www.instructables.com/id/Pretty-Good-Postal-Scale-from-Old-CDs/
by Phil B
And it’s probably cheaper than mine. But I wanted something that looked more like a scale. Since I’m OLD and will probably only use it a couple of times a year, it has to be cheap and easy to build so I can amortize it over several years. (HA! HA!)
NOTE: This scale is designed for use in the U.S. Adjust accordingly for other countries.
The miser in me figures this way: I live about five miles from the nearest town. That’s ten miles round trip. My car gets around 30 mpg, so a trip to the post office (or to a polling place) is going to take one-third of a gallon or a little less than a dollar. To my friend who is taking college Algebra, here’s an example of applied Algebra. So it’s actually cheaper for me to mail in a ballot, than it is to drive in and vote. (I would do it anyway. I hate waiting in line). But I also don't want to underpay or overpay.
Okay, so I thought, I bought an Arduino clone, how can I use it for weighing a letter? I found some sensors that could do it but they were quiet expensive, so I decided to go low tech. Another Instructable has a good postal scale:
Pretty Good Postal Scale from Old CDs
http://www.instructables.com/id/Pretty-Good-Postal-Scale-from-Old-CDs/
by Phil B
And it’s probably cheaper than mine. But I wanted something that looked more like a scale. Since I’m OLD and will probably only use it a couple of times a year, it has to be cheap and easy to build so I can amortize it over several years. (HA! HA!)
NOTE: This scale is designed for use in the U.S. Adjust accordingly for other countries.
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Signing UpStep 1Parts and Tools
So after my annual visit with my shrink, I went across the street to the Dollar store and found a pretty-close-to-what-I-wanted ruler.
Parts:
Plastic ruler 3 for $1
2 Clips 10 for a $1
Dental Floss Free (my dental hygienist always gives me a sample)
Paper clip
5 quarters
Total cost per scale: 67 cents ( the quarters are refundable) since there are parts enough for three scales.
Tools:
Drill
Parts:
Plastic ruler 3 for $1
2 Clips 10 for a $1
Dental Floss Free (my dental hygienist always gives me a sample)
Paper clip
5 quarters
Total cost per scale: 67 cents ( the quarters are refundable) since there are parts enough for three scales.
Tools:
Drill
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I haven't used my scale more than once but it is nice to know it's available if needed.
LOG
I am getting OLD.
I will correct it.
LOG
LOG