Everything for Electronics

Projects

Turn a Typewriter into a Printer

I bought a Smith-Corona PWP 78DS typewriter from Good Will for under $20. The daisy wheel print quality was perfect, and it included a self-contained word processor. However, there was no way to use it as a printer. I decided to emulate a membrane keyboard with an Arduino Nano Every, so that either an added serial port or the existing keyboard could input text.

Build an Electronic Tic-Tac-Toe Game

The game of Tic-Tac-Toe has been around for centuries. With all the electronic games kids play with today, it’s unlikely that you’ll see “gamers” stampeding to play an old pencil and paper game. So, let’s update the old game a bit to make it a little more attractive to the “blue screen” generation – young and old.

Build a DIY Heart Sound Analyzer Using Your Laptop

Listening to the heart (cardiac auscultation) is a frequent first step in diagnosing heart disorders. Here, we describe a very inexpensive system for digital cardiac auscultation (digital phonocardiography) using a Windows laptop computer, freely downloadable software, and a low-priced USB microphone.

Build a Motion Activated Nightlight

Light up your living space with a customizable motion-activated nightlight. Use this as a working product in your home to safely light your way in the dark, or as an educational project for your children or grandchildren.

Build a Farmer, Fox, Chicken, Corn Puzzle

Do you remember the logic puzzle about the Farmer who wanted to transport his animals and produce across a river without them eating each other? The puzzle was deceptively simple. Well, I’ve created an updated version of this popular game using an Arduino, plus added my own bells and whistles.

Build a General-Purpose Raspberry Pi Data Logger Hat

This article describes the process of designing and building a custom Raspberry Pi HAT circuit board. This HAT works with a Python script to record and live plot battery voltage, temperature, and capacity. The ability to log data over an extended period is an included useful feature.

Build the Lambda Harp

This article describes the theory, construction, and final project functionality of a musical circular harp that utilizes an off-the-shelf concert organ which provides 160 possible instrument sounds and full MIDI capability. Plus, it looks really neat.

BUILD A ONE INCH SCOPE

What could be more fun than building a miniature oscilloscope? Not one with an LCD screen, but a scope with a real live cathode ray tube just one inch in diameter. All the parts -- including two 6AU6 vacuum tubes -- will be housed in a 5” x 7” x 2” box.

BUILD A SOFTPOT RIBBON CONTROLLER FOR ANALOG SYNTHESIZERS

The last few years have seen a massive resurgence in the popularity and availability of voltage-controlled synthesizers. The very simple ribbon controller we’ll construct in this article will be used to control any of the myriad voltage-controlled modulation opportunities provided by the typical voltage-controlled synth.

Build a Vintage Radio Sweep Alignment Instrument — Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, I covered basic sweep alignment theory and construction/operation of an all-in-one sweep alignment instrument I dubbed the WhippleWay Sweep Alignment Board (or WSAB for short). In Part 2, I’ll describe sweep alignment procedures for AM and FM radios and give an actual example of each.