Any good summer electrical projects?

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by JamesCH95

I'm not a fancy electrical type, but I have an interesting project you might try:

I was trying to microwave popcorn last night, and I had to listen to the kernels pop and stop the microwave after I started hearing 2 seconds of silence between pops. This was pretty annoying because I had to sit there for 4 or 5 minutes hitting "add 30 seconds" on the microwave. I bet you could make a device that would hit the required keys on a microwave (+30sec and stop) and use a microphone or some audio device to recognize pops. Maybe throw in a couple 555 timers (one to check time between pops, one to keep the microwave running by hitting +30sec), logic gates, a relay or two (controlling solenoids that press the microwave's buttons), and you've got a reasonably complex circuit to perfectly cook popcorn.

Best of luck in your summer projects.

This reminds me of my college days... A good example of how engineers can over complicate things very quickly...

The back door to the house we were renting had a very annoying habit of not latching when it was closed... and on those cold Cleveland nights it would blow open and waste a ton of heat before someone woke up, realized what happened, and closed it. Our solution... a small magnetic switch, timer circuit, and speaker... If the door was open for more than 30 seconds, the whole neighborhood knew about it!

In retrospect, we could have fixed the latch... but that wouldn't have been nearly as much fun.

[MrForbes]

hmmmm....I just got done putting together a computer, which involved some welding, as well as assembling an electronic kit (the clock).

http://www.selectric.org/ibmpc/atxpc.html

Several years ago I built a "homebrew" Nixie clock, but I have sources for old parts, which you may not have available.

http://www.selectric.org/nixie/index.html (scroll down to the bottom of the page).

You might not want to get into this high voltage stuff until you understand the necessary safety precautions.

When I was young, we had Heathkits available, although we never had enough money to buy them ourselves. Dad bought a TV kit that my brothers and I put together when we were in Jr. High, I still have the TV, it still works.

My guess is that getting into electronics now, is not the same as it used to be....everything now is so small! All the ICs are surface mount, etc. And vacuum tubes are pretty much gone, even as displays.

[Zholl]

Originally Posted by squirrel

hmmmm....I just got done putting together a computer, which involved some welding, as well as assembling an electronic kit (the clock).

http://www.selectric.org/ibmpc/atxpc.html

Several years ago I built a "homebrew" Nixie clock, but I have sources for old parts, which you may not have available.

http://www.selectric.org/nixie/index.html (scroll down to the bottom of the page).

You might not want to get into this high voltage stuff until you understand the necessary safety precautions.

When I was young, we had Heathkits available, although we never had enough money to buy them ourselves. Dad bought a TV kit that my brothers and I put together when we were in Jr. High, I still have the TV, it still works.

My guess is that getting into electronics now, is not the same as it used to be....everything now is so small! All the ICs are surface mount, etc. And vacuum tubes are pretty much gone, even as displays.

That's really cool! I'd love to do something like that, but I don't think I have a good way of getting any nixie tubes...

anyway, I think I've got a decent idea of what I'll be doing this summer, and I also found my dad's old EE texts, so I should be good for the next couple months. I would like to know if there's a particular model of Arduino I should get if I should go in that direction, or if it's really more of a "what fits my budget" kind of deal. either way, I'm making a parts run tomorrow

[kgzak]

Originally Posted by squirrel

hmmmm....I just got done putting together a computer, which involved some welding, as well as assembling an electronic kit (the clock).

http://www.selectric.org/ibmpc/atxpc.html

Several years ago I built a "homebrew" Nixie clock, but I have sources for old parts, which you may not have available.

http://www.selectric.org/nixie/index.html (scroll down to the bottom of the page).

You might not want to get into this high voltage stuff until you understand the necessary safety precautions.

When I was young, we had Heathkits available, although we never had enough money to buy them ourselves. Dad bought a TV kit that my brothers and I put together when we were in Jr. High, I still have the TV, it still works.

My guess is that getting into electronics now, is not the same as it used to be....everything now is so small! All the ICs are surface mount, etc. And vacuum tubes are pretty much gone, even as displays.

I am interested in what you have done but for some reason I cannot get to the web pages. Is there any reason for this? I have tried on 2 of my computers with 2 different web browsers. I also tried at different days/times.

[MrForbes]

Oh, my hosting company seems to have some DNS issues....sorry!

You might try it from a different internet provider, perhaps at some place that has free wifi.

[MishraArtificer]

Originally Posted by Zholl

So to all you more experienced electrical types, what kind of electrical projects or learning resources can you recommend to a high school student like myself?

I would welcome you to come out to Monroe, and help me wire in the power windows that I'm trying to transplant into my car. I need help!