Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange
Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [diy]

Do It Yourself. Build, modify, repair something without the aid of trained professionals.

323 questions
23
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3 answers

What went wrong with my DIY project?

I have been teaching my son the basics of electronics by taking apart his old toys. We got to the level where we can fix things and put them back together. Last weekend we spent several hours putting the circuitboard of RC car #1 into RC car #2,…
Wapiti
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16
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9 answers

Cheap and safe way to dim 100+ 60W Incandescent bulbs

For my wedding reception, we are building ~25 lighting fixtures with 4 bulbs each (fixture per table for dinner). For aesthetic and budget reasons, these are 60w "Edison-style" bulbs which we want to dim in order to give a cozy, intimate feeling .…
JackTraore
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11
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2 answers

Why doesn't this DIY high-speed probe reflect signals?

I am reading The Art of Electronics, page 809 and 810, where they show this probe: Figure 12.32. Probing digital signals: […] Simple 20× passive “probe” for 50 Ω ’scope input: 953 Ω series resistor to coax This is a DIY probe made out of an RG-178…
mFeinstein
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11
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5 answers

How to get 20 V from a USB-C charger?

I want to power my DIY stuff with a MacBook Pro USB C charger. The label on a charger says that it can provide three different power profiles: 20.2V - 4.3A 9V - 3A 5.2V - 2.4A There is a ton of information about what USB-C power distribution is…
George
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9
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1 answer

Soldering BGA components DIY

If I understood correctly, current BGA components contain solder balls under the package. Do I still need additional solder paste to put on the board, or the amount of solder on the component contacts is sufficient?
Nazar
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8
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2 answers

Drill through PCB or just use glue to mount component?

For a one-off hobby project I want to add a potentiometer to an existing two-sided PCB. There is an unpopulated zone (as far as I can tell) on the PCB that looks ideal, but I'd have to drill mounting holes. The more I read about drilling holes in…
Your Uncle Bob
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8
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4 answers

What is "switched neutral"?

In the context of mains power, and wiring a light and switch. I thought I understood it, but what I'm thinking of I believe is something else called a "switch leg". Disclaimer: I'm a beginner with electrical.
jordan
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7
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1 answer

Diy 18650 4s battery pack [How to charge, how to build?]

I'm building a bluetooth portable speaker. However, I have some questions about building my first 18650 battery pack. I have 4 pcs of Panasonic unprotected NCR18650B 18650 3.7V 3400mAh. My goal is to build a 4s 18650 pack with these batteries, and…
BatPower
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7
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2 answers

Schematic for a lipo battery bleeder overcharge protector

OK, so I am building a 12v (really 11.1v) 10000mah lipo battery. I am going to use it on campouts to run things like 12v fans and car chargers and run other high-current devices that couldn't be run off of USB. Here is the problem I now have, how do…
Dylan 873
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6
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2 answers

Is it possible to make an OFET in a home lab?

Is there a way to build an OFET at home? (low tech, no deep vacuum and plasma, without toxic/hard to dispose chemicals) What can be the minimum budget for that? While conductive polymers are pretty cheap and easy to buy, prices for semiconductors…
Puh
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6
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6 answers

Techniques for building 'Bed of Nails' testing board

When testing a complete circuit board a 'Bed of Nails' can significantly reduce time and errors. What are some techniques for making a DIY Bed of Nails? Specifically, looking for what kinds of materials work best, how to trace the board properly to…
pzirkind
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5
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6 answers

How can I avoid twisting wires in a circuit that rotates?

I am working on a project where I used a hollow pipe whose one end has a circuit board so that the wires will go through the pipe to the other end completing the connections. That pipe has to be rotatable, too. Rotation speed will not be too high,…
Vinayak Rastogi
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5
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3 answers

How does this circuit in an electric mosquito swatter work?

I had an electric mosquito swatter lying around so I decided to open it up and check out how it works. I understood some parts of the circuit however I did not clearly understand how the rest of it works. I have posted the circuit of the mosquito…
Seb
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5
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10 answers

Film/TV question: How to build Foam Cutter from only household items

I'm writing a scene for television and I need to make a foam/rope cutter from household items. I've watched several videos, including this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM0lP2WCzY0, and determined that I need two sticks (can be anything), two…
Triple9Nickel
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5
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1 answer

Making a [4-Pole TRRS to 3.5mm Stereo & Mic Adapter (Male to 2x Female)] from an iphone headphone splitter jack?

I want an adapter that merges the microphone and earphone 3.5 mm jacks into a single 3.5 mm jack ( basically I want to build the blue adapter thingy): I have an earphone splitter for iphones that has a 3.5mm jack as shown below: The problem is how…
K. Rmth
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