nqtronix

Indeed. This is especially true if you require parts from overseas and/or custom made parts such as PCBs. It's not uncommon that a single project takes several months from the first idea to the final result.

Good write-up! Favorited for future reference :)

Pretty cool! Its refreshing to see how complex projects can be build from so few (mor or less) discrete components. While it is likely impractical for daily use, I like this instructable for the educational value alone. It proves that even without a micro one can do soo much more than what seems possible (at least to me, a member of the microcontroller generation).

When I clicked on the thumbnail I thought this was done with either EL-wire or some LED strip, either would have been a nightmare to mount and wire up. So I'm pleasantly surprised with the glow-in-the-dark pain and UV LED solution you've come up with. As a bonus, the light is way more even than it would have been with EL-wire or an LED strip. Thanks for sharing!

When I clicked on the thumbnail I thought this was done with either EL-wire or some LED strip, either would have been a nightmare to mount and wire up. So I'm pleasantly surprised with the glow-in-the-dark pain and UV LED solution you've come up with. As a bonus, the light is way more even than it would have been with EL-wire or an LED strip. Thanks for sharing!

Very cool! Recently I found a few filaments in my electronics drawer and thought about turning them into a seven segment display similar to yours. I have to admit that my idea can't compete with the elegance of your "free-floating" design. Thanks for sharing!

This could have been just a beautiful watch, but you've decided to take it to another level with a rechargeable battery and wireless charging. Kudos!I think we can close the contests now, this will be hard to surpass :DOh, and do you wear this watch on a daily basis? Did people notice that is was custom made an not store bought? Just curious :)

It has evolved on step further! In the end I'd say it didn't matter that the refractive indexes didn't match perfectly, it still turned out gorgeous :DThe 3D sand animation is a nice visual effect, now I feel like implementing some similiar algorithm on my cube, too :) I'll let you know when I'll get around to do that!

Looks disgusting, I love it! :D

I've seen something similar a while ago - but it used some bubblegum wrap as the conductor. Glad to see that there's now a fancier version of it!

https://github.com/ThomasVDD/

This might be the smallest diy power supplys I've seen so far. I like the custrom pcb-based front panel, It make it look really professional. Do you have measured the performace of it (accuracy, max. power out, output ripple)?

I've seen quite a few component sculptures over the years (I've even made a few myself), but this is the first time it is a working circuit, too! I like it :)

I somehow expected a electric heater and wondered how it could provide enough heat. Using a lighter is an unusual, yet clever approch (although it might be a tad dangerous).Best luck for the contests :D

You definitly earned a breack after finishing long put-up projects. Enjoy the summer :D

I'm impressed with how quickly you make, document and publish quality projects. The golden inlay to keep everthing in place is a clever adition, I don't think I've seen that before. Glad I'm subscribed :D

That's an impressively neat and tidy build! I like the combination of the original top of the controller with the custom 3D printed bottom - you get the professional factory look PLUS much freedom of how the internal parts are arranged and mounted. And you've made good use of that, every tiny part seems carefully designed and though-trough! Even the wires got extra attention and are twisted.Best luck in both of the contests :D

I used to struggle with hot glue drips/string until I upgraded to a (rather expensive) one made by dremel. Their glue is garbage though, I'm using the standard pattex branded stuff instead.Next time I encounter frayed-edge cardboard I'll try the sandpaper trick!

Looks great! I particularly like that all details are made by choice and arrangement of complonents, and not by painting over them or similar.

Wow, your cube turned out super pretty! If I'm completely honest I prefer the more spacious look of your cube, the LEDs in mine always looked a bit too crammed for my taste.Using glass as a substrate is a super clever way to get rid of the most annoying part: Soldering wires to each LED individually. I think casting the whole thing in resin could produce a stunning result, especially if the refractive index matches and the LEDs and copper foil seem to be floating mid-space. Of course, testing this theory beforehand would be smart.I voted in both contest, I wish you the best of luck!

I've seen quite a few 'wearable' touch input methods, but so far this one has the most potential. Thanks for going the extra mile to turn the scientific work into maker-friendly documentation & code!It's unfortunate that the instructables staff doesn't consider this frontpage-worthy. I myself have only seen it by chance over on hackaday, despite lurking almost daily here.

Quite a bit different from your usual content, but creative & neat nonetheles! Glad I subbed :)

Although I have no need for one of these glasses, they might be super helpful for those who do. Considering how expensive healthcare can be, I'm glad to see that you've selected low-cost and widely available parts for the build! Using the microcontroller for the charge pump is very clever way to generate the high voltage required without any specialized IC.For future projects you can consider to remove the gate resistors, the inrush current is limited by the IO output resistance of the microcontroller (which is about 30Ω @3V VCC) or pull-up resistors.Do you still have the original PCB from the glasses? I am wondering whether the whole new circuit could fit into the glasses.

I wouldn't have thought toothpaste could be suitable polishing compound, especially as ceramic is a hard material. My phone has a different kind of fingerprint sensor, so I won't use this soo, but I'll keep it in mind!Thanks for sharing your experience! (and risking a broken phone in the process) :D

Uhh, I guess i can miss out on those fun times. On the other side this has to be one of the most personal gifts ever. You can proudly claim "I made this!". Reminds me a bit of this comic: https://i.imgur.com/7UREjKh.pngOh, and welcome to instructables :D

You really know how to make great circuits affordable by choosing the right components. PCB layout is neat and tidy, traces are as short as they can be. I like this, a lot! :DThat said, I noticed two minor things: The B340A diode for the load sharing circuit has a fairly high leakage current and might drain the battery fairly quickly. Unfortunately this is common for schottkey diodes. Second C4 could have been place a bit better to make the loop C-L-IC a little smaller. But yeah, that is absolutely nitpicking ;)

Spend far more time reading this than I thought I would. Your writing style is weirdly entertaining, I like that.And I voted. But only for the gift contest. You should've been more specific with your requests :P

I second this!

So simple and yet so pretty. Love the geometric shapes :D

This is what 3D printing is made for :D Using part of the power bank as the grip is a clever idea as it makes the overall size significantly smaller. Good luck for the contests :)

I don't think I've seen a charging stand with a detachable qi charging pad, although it seems so obvious in hindsight! The integrated battery pack is a smart addition: not only make it charging truly wireless, but also adds the necessary weight for a docking station. Best luck in the contests :)

Wow, even though I'm not such a HP fan, I gotta say this is a incredible detailed replica and an entertaining read! But I think I know someone who'd like it even more... So I'm definitely going to make one :DWhats the best way to re-scale this for a Din A4 printer? Adobe Acrobot has a "fit-to-size" option, but it unfortunately doesn't include any clearance (about 5mm on all sides) for the printer :(

Although this contains so much reclaimed materials, it looks like all parts were made for just for this purpose. For the overall cuteness-factor the eyebrows play a massive role, solder wick is just perfect choice for this.Best luck in the contests :D

The bold and underlined sub-headings break down the text into small bits which makes reading a lot easier. When I see a screen-filling wall of text I often find myself scrolling by instead, although the content might be actually interesting. Everyone uses the "steps" a bit differently and I don't think it has a huge impact on the overall quality, but feel free to experiment with that, if you want to :)The 5:4 ratio describes relation between the width to height of the picture. I've attached a crudely annotated a screencapture of today's front page for reference. Of course your pictures can be any size, but it's nice if the title picture fills the thumbnail :D

Wow, this is a real clever engineered solution to a very specific problem. Normally I'd shy away from anything similar to google glas - simply because it make everyone around feel uneasy - but this could be indeed a game changer for some people!To prevent slicing your fingers you can get bare micro USB connectors for cheap, it't less than 1$ for 10pcs. from china (including shipping). The further improvents you mention are all nice, but none of them is really required from the typical user point-of-view. Integrating a battery onto the other side might be the most interesting to balance the weight (as you've mentioned already). Apart from that you might want to make it look a little nicer: the cables could be a bit shorter (most flet flex can be folded one, but no guarantees for that) an...

Wow, this is a real clever engineered solution to a very specific problem. Normally I'd shy away from anything similar to google glas - simply because it make everyone around feel uneasy - but this could be indeed a game changer for some people!To prevent slicing your fingers you can get bare micro USB connectors for cheap, it't less than 1$ for 10pcs. from china (including shipping). The further improvents you mention are all nice, but none of them is really required from the typical user point-of-view. Integrating a battery onto the other side might be the most interesting to balance the weight (as you've mentioned already). Apart from that you might want to make it look a little nicer: the cables could be a bit shorter (most flet flex can be folded one, but no guarantees for that) and the back of the pi could be covered with self-adhesive black foil (it's lighter than a 3D printed case). But, yeah, I guess one is not nitpicking when some tech significantly improves ones life :DIf you hadn't mentioned I wouldn't have noticed that this is your first 'ible. The quality of the documentation is outstanding, probably somewhere in the top 5%. Stick to the intentional formatting; it sure is a bit of work, but makes reading so much mor enjooyable. If you care about how many people actually see your work, you may want to spend a bit of extra time on the pictures, especially the cover picture: the important parts should fit a 5:4 ratio (size of thumbnails), close-ups should be in focus and the white balance should be adjusted.Hopefully I (or any relative for that matter) won't need this anytime soon, but if it ever happens it's nice to have some options on hand :)I'm curious what you come up next with! :D

Wow, this looks so professional, I wouldn't even consider that is is selfmade! Great project and welcome to instructables :)

This is a realy neat project; the zip-tied cables, the individually hot glue sealed electronicy and the high quality knob all look professional. Also a great use of the little digispark board! Best luck in the contests :)

I'm always fascinated by the ways in which on can shave off bulk and build compact, yet powerful things. I don't need the computing power, for now I'm ok with my notebook's 2x1.7Ghz i5, but I'd still read the your next instructable. Consider entering this this instructable into the First time author contest :)

"The brain of this project - except for me, of course - in an arduino nano[...]" I hope you won't be mad at me, if I'll steal this phrase, it's just too good :DI need to add the MAXIMUM gate source voltage is ±20V, the maximum drive level I'm aiming for is about 16V, to keep a bit of a safety margin. The easiest way would be to get a logic level rated mosfet, they can be interfaced from somewhere between 5 to 1.8V gate voltage. Also an OPAMP as Comparitor as a gate driver is a kinda bad idea, you want a dedicated driver for power applications like this fot fast switching times.Otherwise it's a nice design and I'll be patiently waiting for part 2 :)

Usually I'm not a fan of PCB-less circuits, but this time it's very well designed and fits the "easy-to-make" scheme. I also like the way the batteries are used as weight to keep the robot standing upright. Well done! :)

This is a very sexy lloking little speaker. It definitly can compare against any store bought one, but has it's own unique touch to it :)

Agreed! Inductors and mechanical devices are often the most expensive parts for a project. I also like to get the power electronics (transistors, FETs, regulators) as well, they are easy to salvage and quite useful :)Great tutorial!

Wow, a power supply with some real electrictal engeneering in it! It's a refreshing break from all the 78XX regulator based builds. :)The way the negative rail generated is pretty clever, especially as it fits the low current requirements of the opamps. That building block definitly makes a nice addition to my repertoire.Best luck in the contests! :)

☑ Solves a real problem☑ ESP8266 fits purpose well (not just slapped on because it's trendy)☑ Straight forward schematic☑ Well designed custom PCB (compact, but with good mains-to-circuit spacing)☑ Simple, yet functional software☑ Interesting and detailed write upHonestly I can not think of anything I could do better, this is a very well executed and documented project! I don't have a need for such a timer (yet), but I'll remember when I do!Best luck in both of the contests :D