News, Updates and Other Minutiae
Help wanted Can anyone help identify a piece of music from the 70's? See the home page for the details
November 2021 A desk lamp mod (well, more of a bodge) - halogen to LED conversion using LED strip. Find it under the 'Misc' category.
August 2021 The Simple DDS VFO has been updated to add band change functionality. It is on it's own page in the homebrew menu.
June 2021 Battery Monitor project updated and finalised.
May 2021 Added another Rant about the scabby manuals that come with stuff these days. Added page and files for a 3d printed box for the Noise Canceller courtesy of Gary VK6GS
January 2021 Paypal button added to Noise Canceller page. Updated the PK3 programming adapter - some spare pcb's available.
Privacy Policy uploaded. It may be viewed at the Privacy Policy link in the footer. As of October 2017, I will be asking for a donation in exchange for providing custom modified code for my projects to help keep this site available. GPDR and all that stuff In accordance with various bits of legislation around the world, either currently in force, about to come into force or proposed, you will now find that annoying "We use cookies" notice at the top of this website. The full Privacy Policy is available at the Privacy Policy link in the footer at the bottom of the page. (If you don't know what GPDR is, Google it. Real scary shit for ANYBODY with a web presence.)
Tips & tricks from the VK5TM workshop
I will put various tips & tricks I have used over time here. Some will be mine and the rest will either be ones I have come across somewhere or from those of you who have visited my website and sent an idea or two to me. Attribution will be given to those that I can identify where they came from, so if you see one without an attribution and know where it came from, please let me know so I can correct that. PCB Pin connectors - need pcb pins or sockets to connect to pcb pins? Find an old lead with DB style connectors that you no longer have use for and carefully remove the pins.
(Faulty) Breadboard jumpers - Did you buy a set (or more) of these breadboard/Arduino jumper wires only to find they lost any semblance of connectivity after just one or two uses? Here's how to fix that.
In my particular case, they just weren't manufactured properly, so you will need to disassemble them to fix them. First extract the contact from the housing by lifting the plastic tab with something fine like a small jewellers screwdriver and carefully pulling on the wire to withdraw the contact. Hold the tab up until the contact is out - yes, having more than two hands would be an advantage.
Although not easily visible in the pic below, on the what I will call the sides of the contact, are two pieces that should contact the header pin when it is inserted. They should be bent in, not straight.
To fix this, insert a header pin and use a pair of fine nose pliers to gently squeeze the sides in. Then remove the header pin and again squeeze the sides in GENTLY - you dont want to crush the sides in too far, just enough to apply firm pressure on the header pin when it is inserted. The reason for using a header pin first is to form an even bend on both sides before doing the final squeeze plus it will stop you caving the sides in if you squeeze too hard.
Now reassemble the contact with it's plastic bit by carefully sliding it back in, making sure that you have the correct orientation (you may have to push the plastic tab down into the housing a bit before you push the contact in). While this is not going to last forever, you now know how to fix them when they get loose again, rather than throwing them out.
