ElectroFrank

I have never seen one of these before ! Please would you add a section to the introduction explaining what it is and how it is intended to work ? A picture of the device in use would be very helpful !

Oven temperature: is that Fahrenheit or Celsius ?(Please add an F or a C to the sentence.)Thanks !

And when you're in a hurry, and you forget what's sticking out on the other side . . . ?

In the Bruce Lee movie "Enter the Dragon", the evil crime lord has a very similar steel hand - very deadly indeed !

Door handles are normally rounded, so that if a door is opened when someone is on the other side, they will not be injured.It appears to me that this metal hand is likely to cause injury to someone when a door is opened against them.Serious injury would result if a child was on the other side, and the fingers poked them in the eye.This hand handle is an amusing idea, but definitely unsafe.

I have never before heard of "bead forming". Your video does not show what is happening to the workpiece. Wikipedia only relates it to woodworking, but you appear to be doing something (I can't see what !) to a piece of metal.Please would you explain what bead forming is, add a video, or provide a link ? Many thanks !

Have you grasped that through a telescope, camera or binoculars of even moderate size, the size of the objective lens makes the image brighter ?More light from the sun is gathered by the large front lens and focused into a small area (your retina), so that the output brightness is greater than when you are simply viewing through a plain filter.

5V LED strips are available in 5 metre rolls, cool or warm white (I use them for quite a few things and get them on Ebay), and (I am fairly sure) in different levels of light output (and therefore current consumption).As this is for normal conference viewing (not an actor's make-up mirror !), I think a strip up each side of the screen would provide enough light (and much less dazzle).I find that my laptop camera works fine with a low light levels on a zoom call.And in practice, I think the colour rendering is probably controlled to some extent by the camera hardware & software in the laptop, just as a digital camera has a setting for daylight, indoor light and auto adjust. Do the people you talk to notice any apparent error in the colour rendering of you with different types of whit…

5V LED strips are available in 5 metre rolls, cool or warm white (I use them for quite a few things and get them on Ebay), and (I am fairly sure) in different levels of light output (and therefore current consumption).As this is for normal conference viewing (not an actor's make-up mirror !), I think a strip up each side of the screen would provide enough light (and much less dazzle).I find that my laptop camera works fine with a low light levels on a zoom call.And in practice, I think the colour rendering is probably controlled to some extent by the camera hardware & software in the laptop, just as a digital camera has a setting for daylight, indoor light and auto adjust. Do the people you talk to notice any apparent error in the colour rendering of you with different types of white LED ?But if you wanted to be really clever, you could get RGB strips and adjust the colour balance to your preference !

You can get 5V LED strip for direct USB connection, and a matching PWM controller.To avoid any flickering, you could also add a large capacitor across the supply output terminals.Modern phone and laptop cameras have good sensitivity, so that only moderate illumination is necessary. One LED strip will be more than enough !

For the benefit of those of us who are not familiar with steam engines, please would you explain what this does and how it works, preferably with a diagram ? Many thanks !

Or at least a diagram of the mechanism ? My mental idea of how it should work does not agree with the pictures.

At first glance, I was sure it was a jackalope.

At first glance, I was sure it was a jackalope.

I suggest it would be better to put the epoxy down the hole in the handle, then press the shaft in, to avoid bubbles.But wouldn't it be better to cast the shaft directly into the original resin mould, using the drilled wooden block you started with to keep it vertical ?

The electrical circuit is only: battery(+) ------ switch N/O ------- switch N/C -------motor ------- battery (—).1) Fit a thin long spindle to the motor shaft - it winds up a thread to pull up the structure. (Probably opening the card lifts starts to lift the structure.)Use very thin flexible insulated wire to connect components. (The motor only takes a tiny current.)The first switch (Normally Open) is two pieces of bent bare wire that connect together when the card is opened fully. The second switch (Normally Closed) opens to stop the motor when the structure has raised. There may also need to be a motor de-activation switch to allow the card to close as the motor spindle unreels the thread.2) Another similar motor can rotate the wheel, with a gearing down by means of a rubber ban…

The electrical circuit is only: battery(+) ------ switch N/O ------- switch N/C -------motor ------- battery (—).1) Fit a thin long spindle to the motor shaft - it winds up a thread to pull up the structure. (Probably opening the card lifts starts to lift the structure.)Use very thin flexible insulated wire to connect components. (The motor only takes a tiny current.)The first switch (Normally Open) is two pieces of bent bare wire that connect together when the card is opened fully. The second switch (Normally Closed) opens to stop the motor when the structure has raised. There may also need to be a motor de-activation switch to allow the card to close as the motor spindle unreels the thread.2) Another similar motor can rotate the wheel, with a gearing down by means of a rubber band and little pulley.It will not be perfectly flat. To accomodate the motors, make the card with a double fold at the hinge, so it is like a book, perhaps up to a 1/4" thick.You will have to devise the details of the mechanism according to your design.I am an electronic technician, I fix all kinds of things, but I am just contributing ideas off the top of my head to this project.

I am also going to recommend a wood floor (over an air gap) over the concrete. You may lose an inch or so of height, but in the winter, warm feet will help your general enthusiasm.

I have seen these in the pound shops (dollar stores in the US ?) in the run up to Christmas, for DIY tree baubles.

Just some thoughts you could try:1) Use a lathe to make the track in a wooden disc, then sand it smooth. (Something like a bowl shape.)2) Heat a length of plastic pipe with hot water or hot air to bend a section into a circle around a circular object, cut off the straight ends and join to make a loop. (Inner diameter should be larger than the ball, as it will flattem slightly.) (Different plastics soften at different temperatures, research & experiment.)(A perfect circle may not be essential.)Use a rotary tool with a small circular saw blade to cut out 45 degree angled half section windows for access to the inside. As with cable trunking, the ends would need to be joined by a tube of some kind to maintain alignment, this could be the location of one of the coils.3) A circular plas…

Just some thoughts you could try:1) Use a lathe to make the track in a wooden disc, then sand it smooth. (Something like a bowl shape.)2) Heat a length of plastic pipe with hot water or hot air to bend a section into a circle around a circular object, cut off the straight ends and join to make a loop. (Inner diameter should be larger than the ball, as it will flattem slightly.) (Different plastics soften at different temperatures, research & experiment.)(A perfect circle may not be essential.)Use a rotary tool with a small circular saw blade to cut out 45 degree angled half section windows for access to the inside. As with cable trunking, the ends would need to be joined by a tube of some kind to maintain alignment, this could be the location of one of the coils.3) A circular plastic washing bowl could be hacked to insert coils, the centrifugal force of the ball would keep it at the edge of the bottom.4) There are places that will do 3D printing to your design.

I think you might enjoy getting your input from a variable frequency oscillator, and watching to see what frequency works best with different abrasive formulations (perhaps with a wide range speaker).

Just a thought: there needs to be something like oil or paint on every interface between steel and aluminium (or any two metal parts), otherwise anything outdoors will suffer dampness and thus a lot of corrosion at that point.

I second that idea. Magician's invisible thread is very useful but very fiddly to use, I need my strongest reading glasses to see what I'm doing.Also sold as kevlar thread (looks like cotton thread), you unravel a single strand which is virtually impossible to see, and will support about 20 grams.

Make a peg on the axle, wind the rubber band around it by turning the wheels in the opposite direction, and you have an engine working from stored energy !If the dimension from the peg to the axle is just greater than the band, it will then release and the car will continue by inertia.

You can cheaply buy the tiny 4mm diameter, 8mm long electric motors that are used in phone vibrators. Run that from a CR2032 battery, with a simple switch made from bent wires that connect when the card is opened. It winds up a thread on spool that pulls up the structure.Search EBay or AliExpress or google "phone vibrator (or vibration) motor"

Now if the axle was a wire rod, and you added a tiny electric motor and coin battery, a switch that turns it on when it erects itself . . .

Or even that erects itself by motor when the card opens . . . ?

Why would you want to leave a chalk line ?To make it easy for the police to follow you ?However, a little sparking at night could show you up for safety.

Yes, Jeremy, but . . . ! Apparent repetition can come from randomness ! If you throw dice repeatedly for long enough, it becomes increasingly likely that you will eventually throw six sixes in a row, or even 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 in sequence. (In fact it is equally likely to be the first numbers you throw !)

It would be good to have a cable (and sofware) that would plug into a PC, to communicate the generated random numbers automatically, perhaps into a spreadsheet or other computer program.

I am thinking, there must be a way to have the calculation done in a spreadsheet and transfer the values to a graphics program to print out the tape automatically (and very precisely). Can anyone figure out how to do this ?Also, as has begun to be suggested, all three scales, circumference, radius and diameter, can then be included on one tape, above each other, like slide rule scales.

Would it be a good idea to add the function of outputting the number to a PC ?This would save you from 1) manual copying, 2) manual errors, each time a number was generated.

1) If the clip arm were extended, moving the mirror further out away from the camera, the total effective distance (lens to subject) would be increased, giving a wider field of view, but then the mirror itself would then need to be a bit larger.(Obviously a science teacher can easily calculate this from the laws of optics !)2) An auxiliary plug-in USB camera could obviously be mounted in any convenient position, on or beside the computer, and there is probably some software that could incorporate the image as required.3) The cheap little stick-on telephoto and wide angle lenses sold for use use on mobile phones might be useful for something like this. Perhaps someone can develop that idea ?

It will work on DC layouts whilst the track voltage is above (about) 7 Volts.If you replace the capacitor with 4 NiCad or NiMH cells, it will charge when the track voltage is sufficient, and remain on when the voltage falls.

I have thought of a simpler method: Take a large flat board, stand it vertical and hang a rope or chain from the top corners, trace it to make the catenary shape.With the board horizontal, add angled (for easy release) tube supports.Add the tube and fill it with water.When frozen, carefully tilt the board upright and support the arch.Tilt the board away from the arch to release it.Or, advancing from what others have suggested, hang and fill the tube inverted against the vertical board (with tube supports), and when frozen, rotate the board 180 degrees.The board could be centrally pivoted on a mobile frame to ease the process.

Tail ? TaiL ? TAIL ? Spiders don't have tails ! ! ! That is the Abdomen !

Ah yes, well done ! I wondered how long it would take you to spot that.

Please may I suggest, it is essential to have constant lighting when cycling at night.If your lights go off when you are waiting at a junction, you are in danger.(Speaking from experience - I was hit by a car when my dynamo lights were off when stopped at a crossroads !)So I that recommend that all your night bike lighting is on constantly during the trip.And have a good number of reflectors aimed in all directions.Also, coin and button cells have a very tiny capacity - ok for a keyring torch that does occasional flashes, but no good for safety lighting that may be on for hours.A rechargeable lithium-ion cell will be best for your bike lighting.And as someone said before, it needs waterproofing ! Electronics don't like water !

This the sort of thing I am intending to build for when I get a Prusa.Air vents - why are there two ? Why are they different ? As they are not propelling anything, are the "propellers" intended as airflow indicators ?You might consider some kind of thermostatic control for the interior air temperature, as I understand it affects the print quality.You may find this interesting on the subject of printer table stability:

As several people have already mentioned, it is totally unsafe to have a bare spring as your probe. Please cover this spring with 2 layers of heatshrink at least, extending well past and closed at the end, in case of accidental contact with a live lire.Many people on this site are not electricians, and do not fully understand electrical safety (yourself included). This is not an insult, it is a safety warning.Look at all commercial products of this type, and you will see that the probe is fully insulated to prevent any possible contact with the AC circuit.

Very beautiful. May I suggest for further illumination at night, add UV LEDs below, or above, to increase the light output from the fluorescent pigment ? Perhaps discreetly built into the base, or in a table lamp as an alternative light source ? In the dark, try shining a UV flashlight on the table from different angles and distances to see what effects you might obtain !

Also known as Piano Wire, it is very springy.

I use a set of drills to measure the sizes of holes and gaps. However, some drills are slightly under-size, perhaps because they tend to make a hole slightly larger than the nominal size. If you want greater accuracy, check the size of your drills with a micrometer or vernier (or digital) caliper, and make a chart of the actual sizes.

When other things fail, I use modeller's paint stripper, available from model shops. This is designed to remove many kinds of original paint without harming the plastic underneath.It is quite strong stuff, so protect hands and don't breathe it.

To stabilise a four wheel base on an uneven floor, you would only need to have one adjustable height castor. I would also suggest increasing stability by having some kind of brake on all wheels.

I am so desperately keen to see this rise up automatically by pressing a button on a remote control !Perhaps just a gas strut from a car tailgate each side, and some kind of foot operated catch ?For improved cooling, put in some picnic ice packs in the top section, slots in each floor for air circulation, and have clear perspex doors for each compartment ? (You can get perspex tubes in various sizes.)

In all fairness, I think we must ensure that the display is placed where the hamster can clearly see it whilst exercising.

Please may I correct the description of Uri Geller ? He is a stage illusionist who formerly claimed to be a psychic. His stunts were duplicated by other stage illusionists. And some of his tricks you could very easily figure out if you paid attention in science class at school.

Excellent thinking ! This device definitely needs a good practical application !And of course, an aiming function based on eyeball tracking !

And now the mechanism can be discreetly positioned in the headpiece, with the air flow taken over the top of your head, and the exhaust coming out straight down the back of your neck. The heat produced by the motor is thus usefully recycled to keep you warm ! And in cold weather, it can be ducted to either side prevent your ears from freezing !In just a few years, your patented inventions will make hats completely obsolete !-)

Aha ! So it's for making wormholes ! There are strange little tubular creatures in my garden who do that.(But I'm not sure which planet they're from.)

I think the Monsoon umbrella is going to be my favourite - just hit the "Reverse Thrust" button and you will quickly fly home above the rain clouds.

For the benefit of us mere mortals, what on earth is a portal device ?A little bit of context for the project would be helpful, I suspect quite a large proportion of the human race are just as totally in the dark as myself.

I love this ! I can imagine small children wanting to climb in and see what's down there !A thought comes to my (slightly hyperactive) mind: what if you put in two (or even more . . ?) lower mirrors at suitable (probably precisely equal) angles, so that there are multiple shafts to go down ?

Mike, just trying to diagnose why yours didn't work: Did you put the lights inside the box (between the mirrors), or outside ?

For realy good heat dissipation, you could put copper plates (3mm ?) between each of the cells in the battery, sticking out a few inches each side for air flow.(Obviously, make sure electrical wires never come near them !-)(I am assuming the batteries do NOT have metal casings !)

Your opening statement: "This battery is meant to drive a 2500 Kilowatt Inverter . . ." That's a small power station ! I think you mean "2500 Watt" or "2.5 Kilowatt" !-)

I second this. Damp environments encourage corrosion of metal, and electrical contacts particularly, because different metals are in contact with each other.An airtight sealed case (ideally with a moisture absorber packet inside) would be best.(One of those waterproof mobile phone cases (zip plastic bag type) would probably work if you seal the holes you make for the wires.)If you use an RC car battery pack, make sure it is Li-Ion, as the Ni-Cad batteries will self-discharge in a month or so.

1) Although you briefly mention it, may I suggest that you very strongly advise that the device should be placed above any possible place the rising water might reach (until the boat is totally sunk), and the greater altitude of the aerial will also increase it's range and reliability.2) Fairly obvious, but also say that the sensor should be placed as low down as possible, or (if the boat is already known to be slightly leaky) as low as the water level is acceptable.3) If the bow section is leaking slowly, it may be some hours before it reaches midships or astern. So, to detect water in whichever part of the hull is first becoming leaky, it would be simple to fit several sensors in wired in parallel, one placed in each section of the hull.

I am very concerned about the safety of your fingers when working on the bandsaw. I suggest that every Instructable should encourage safe working in every way.

A very useful tool, but the correct term would be a Voltage Indicator, as it is indicating the presence of a voltage. It is doing exactly the same job as a voltmeter, just with less precision. (The fact that it takes a current is incidental to its function.)It does not detect a current in the car's circuit, but just like a traditional voltmeter, it takes a very small current from the circuit under test to power the indication.This is essentially the same thing that is sold in car accessory shops as a Voltage Tester, usually in the form of a screwdriver with a lead and probe.As ron1406 points out, regular LEDs have only a 5V reverse voltage tolerance, but just place a green LED in reverse parallel with the red one, and it will also show the polarity.

For the benefit of the very large proportion of the human race (including me) who do not know what a tailor's ham is (or what it does), please would you insert a reasonably full explanation in your introduction ? Many thanks !

With the base (alone) weighing 160 pounds, may I suggest putting it on castors ?Either drilled into the underside of the base, or with a wooden disc to make a dolly.In order to fine tune the spring strength, would it be possible to have a fixing that would slide along the pipe for adjustment ?Depending on the lamp type, it may only need an ordinary plug-in dimmer to adjust the brightness.

I am slightly concerned that I don't see anything about ventilation. If the secret room is (even close to) airtight, couldn't that be dangerous ?

Looking at the picture of your opened dump switch, wouldn't it be easier to just swap the positions of the two terminals ?

Thinks: if you lowered part of one of the L shaped sides, could you get a box with six different levels ?

There is a lot of room inside for motors and radio control gear. I would definitely include sound effects. There are probably ready made control units complete with all sounds made for radio controlled trucks. Don't forget the smoke unit for the exhaust !

Did you consider a handle for convenient carrying ?

The highest epitome of gnatty fashion.

I am not sure why you call it a puzzle. It appears that each crystal goes in separately, so what is the mystery ? I was expecting a hidden mechanism, requiring some combination of crystals to have to be pushed / pulled / tapped / twisted to release them.Maybe next time ? :-)

Binoculars are gathering light from a narrower angle, therefore smaller binoculars provide a dimmer image than the naked eye would see. But what you say might apply to larger binoculars.

That's why (as the author stated) the dark glass must go in front of the objective lens, not over the eyepiece. It is designed to absorb light, so if bright light is focused on it, that part will overheat, expand and crack. In front of the objective lens, it is warmed evenly by the light, so does not crack.

I agree totally. The box needs to have individual slots to keep the cells separate, or they will certainly short each other out (and die and leak horribly).

Magnificent ! (But I really do want a drawbridge !)Now just get some suitable soldiers, and this will be ideal for when visiting friends bring their small children, to keep them amused and within sight !

For safety, as cardboard is flammable, I suggest only using this with LED bulbs, which stay fairly cool.

For attaching the triangles, I recommend getting a BIG needle, and sewing it together with string.(Push holes first with a spike.) This has the advantage that you can easily maintain / upgrade / dismantle the structure.

With all the weight at the top, isn't it desperately unstable ?Perhaps if the figure were a monkey with a tail behind, it might be more stable.And I suspect pots on the edge of a table are at risk of being knocked off regularly.

Hi Manoel, Here I am, making helpful constructive comments for improvement.And there is you, just complaining about it ;-)

Lovely project ! But please may I suggest this could be done in less than 33 steps ? One sheet of card showing the dimensions of all the pieces would be a single step, as would the assembly of the figure !

For keeping dust out of the USB socket, search "USB dust cap", The heatsink would benefit from being exposed to the air (ideally with fins), so that it can lose heat.Have you considered a zoom lens function ? I find this a very useful ability for a flashlight.

There are many free online electronics courses. And many educational books with titles like "Basic Electronics"

You say, "be sure to pour the greasy water outside, and not down your sink drain."Does your "outside" mean on the garden ? Won't aggressive chemicals poison the soil and water table ?

I looked it up on Wikipedia, and as it is used in food preparation, I would guess it is fairly safe.

I looked it up on Wikipedia, and as it is used in food preparation, I would guess it is fairly safe.

I have successfully used modeller's paint stripper (which is primarily for removing paint from polystyrene without damaging the plastic).

Slightly puzzled, I had to look up the word "lovebot" on Wikipedia. I was so relieved to find it was not what I had assumed it might be !https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovebot

3D printing is a very slow process, so not generally useful for commercial production.In many countries, there are community projects (maker spaces etc) which provide these facilities.In Britain, some public libraries have 3D printers for public use.

3D printing is a very slow process, so not generally useful for commercial production.In many countries, there are community projects (maker spaces etc) which provide these facilities.In Britain, some public libraries have 3D printers for public use.

Illuminate your flowers with ordinary UV LEDs. They are cheap and easy to use, but do not give out enough UV to be dangerous. 12V UV LED strip is also available. There are Instructables on connecting and using LEDs.Attached: simple circuit for 3 UV 5mm LEDs to connect to a 12V adaptor.Ensure correct polarity. The long leg of an LED is the + positive side. Use "strawhat" LEDs for a wide angle of light. Use a 100 Ohm resistor to limit the current through the LEDs. (Or they burn out.) Shield the LEDs from the viewpoint for best effect.

For simplicity, 5mm flashing LEDs are very cheap and available in various colours.You can get bags of 100 for a couple of dollars on Ebay or far east sales websites.(But may take a couple of weeks to arrive.)

I like it. This will fit perfectly on top of the nuclear power station I am planning for my model railroad layout.To animate: a variety of brightnesses of flashing & flickering red / yellow / orange LEDs at several places inside the cloud.And together with dick55's explosion, add an assortment of distant terrified screams.

Perhaps a catch to hold the gripper closed when walking ?

For both these and rubbish sacks etc, attack the side of the bag first, the folds separate much easier than the top.

Finally disproved: the old proverb that says,"You can't have your cake and eat it."So does anyone have a recipe for edible filament ?

The toy you are thinking of is the "Tower of Hanoi".https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_of_Hanoi

The trick I use is to cover clamps with food cling film to prevent them getting glued on.

The cup fitting hinges result in a door that only opens to 90 degrees. It is often much easier to use a cupboard if the door opens 180 degrees.