What's New

February 25, 2023    Added a downloadable files for making zoetrope animations and a downloadable template for making a pinhole camera from poster board.
February 21, 2023    Added a downloadable template for making the corona motor v2.
November 24, 2022    Added details about Izzy, an artificial intelligence robot I'm working on and my changes to the darknet neural network framework.
March 10, 2022    Added an MIT paper with a theoretical model for how a lifter (ion propulsion device) works.
February 15, 2021    How to communicate between a Raspberry Pi and an Arduino using serial USB.
October 31, 2020    Added videos for designing and making low and high voltage capacitors.
September 12, 2020    New DIY multi-range gauss/mT meter for measuring magnetic fields.
February 3, 2020    Added more tips and tricks page for getting your crystal radio to work.
September 28, 2018    How to convert an ATX/computer power supply to one you can use, including with USB.
August 31, 2018    How to make a zoetrope, a simple and fun to make animation demonstration.
July 26, 2018    Downloadable templates for corona motor (as requested) and pinhole camera at new RimstarOrg store.
June 30, 2018    Generating hydrogen using an electrolyzer for filling a balloon.
May 31, 2018    Added a video on the poster board pinhole camera, including more tips for using it.
May 20, 2018    How to make a pinhole camera from a single sheet of poster board.
April 24, 2018    Details added about power when using servo motors with a Raspberry Pi and a Maestro board.
April 18, 2018    How to make a coil gun using an electric fly swatter.
March 31, 2018    Very useful 3D printed magnetic holder for helping hands I came up with.
March 7, 2018    By request, added a schematic to the Tesla coil page.
February 28, 2018    Created and added a detailed video on how a Wimshurst machine works.
February 1, 2018    Added a video about my CR-10 3D printer: how it works, setting up, stuff printed.
January 24, 2018    My amazing CR-10 3D printer, a useful tool for future projects.
December 22, 2017    How to control a servo motor using a Raspberry Pi and a Maestro board.
December 3, 2017    How to make a USB power cable - good for powering electronics projects.
November 20, 2017    Make a gauss meter to detect magnetic fields and their polarity.
November 13, 2017    Simple to make LED flashlight, the RattleGen.
November 4, 2017    By request, added some dimensions for making the tomato can Stirling engine.
October 31, 2017    New page all about working with pin headers when making circuit boards.
October 26, 2017    More details about calculating the area on the coil design page.
October 19, 2017    Added Visual Studio for Windows support to the backpropagation neural network example.
September 21, 2017    Completely rewrote the page on attaching BB-8's head due to many improvements.
August 12, 2017    Ion wind rotor - how-to-make and demonstrations.
July 23, 2017    Electronic circuit on a potato chip - a macrochip instead of a microchip.
July 11, 2017    Details of a 500kV Van de Graaff generator.
July 3, 2017    How ion propulsion works in lifters and ionocraft.
June 19, 2017    New page that answers what ground is, household ground in this case.
June 4, 2017    Replaced the remote control for BB-8 with an Android phone app Bluetooth one.
May 21, 2017    Major enhancements to the section on neural network frameworks and services.
May 9, 2017    Added how to find the dimensions the orange circles on BB-8's ball.
May 6, 2017    Added new page about my curie temperature motor.
April 26, 2017    Added a video showing the LC circuit resonance in action and doing example calculations.
September 28, 2016    New capacitance calculators page for parallel plate and crylindrical caps.
July 2, 2017    Added a video about detailing, lighting and painting BB-8.
March 24, 2017    Added more calculators to the page about LC resonant circuits.
March 11, 2017    How to connect to a Raspberry Pi via WiFi/wireless.
March 5, 2017    Added a video of the Pepper's ghost in action along with how-to-make instructions.
February 28, 2017    Pepper's ghost on a smartphone.
February 22, 2017    How to connect a Raspberry Pi to a modem via Ethernet.
February 8, 2017    New Raspberry Pi section begun - How to connect to a Pi directly.
January 21, 2017    Added to and organized the electronic symbols page.
January 14, 2017    By request, added dimensions for the gravity light's wooden frame.
December 14, 2016    Added demonstrations of loading and saving the neural network to the backpropagation example.
December 10, 2016    Added more tips for making Kelvin water droppers.
December 6, 2016    How to grow a large crystal from a small seed crystal.
November 25, 2016    Big gyroscopes using vinyl records and a gyroscopic precession demonstration.
November 21, 2016    Added full details of detailing, lighting and painting BB-8.
November 13, 2016    BB-8's now painted! Animated GIF uploaded of it in action.
November 1, 2016    New video about designing a coil for a specific inductance.
October 22, 2016    New page on coil design and inductance, including an inductance calculator.
October 3, 2016    Added inductors/coils and transformers to the electronic symbols page.
September 28, 2016    New electronics page about LC resonant circuits.
September 21, 2016    Added the schematic for the Cube flyback high voltage power supply.
September 20, 2016    New video - more demos and making measuring voltage for my smoke precipitator.
September 14, 2016    By request I did voltage measurements for my electrostatic smoke precipitator.
September 4, 2016    How to remove the motor and chuck from a cordless drill.
August 28, 2016    Added a list of the parts I had to buy for my BB-8 (v2) droid, giving an idea of the cost.
August 23, 2016    Added a video on the IMU/gyro for my BB-8 (v2) droid and demoing the result.
August 12, 2016    Added an IMU/gyro to help stabilize my BB-8 (v2) droid.
August 7, 2016    Added main neural network overview page: what are they, examples, libraries, ...
July 24, 2016    Neat demonstration of lightning in a bottle.
July 17, 2016    How to make a spiral coil for a small Tesla coil.
July 10, 2016    Making BB-8 (v2) - Part 3 video showing how I reattached the head to the new fiberglass ball.
July 5, 2016    Added a page with the BB-8 droid's dimensions to help anyone making one.
June 18, 2016    Added a low friction high voltage test rig.
June 11, 2016    Added a how to make an ornithopter video.
June 5, 2016    Curie temperature experiment - demonstration and the science.
May 30, 2016    By request, made BB-8 (v2)'s 3D model available for download.
May 21, 2016    New - ornithopter, a wing flapping flying machine.
May 15, 2016    Enhanced and moved the digital scale page to here.
May 9, 2016    How I added three layers of fiberglass to the BB-8 droid's ball.
April 22, 2016    Added a video explaining and demonstrating the backpropagation neural network.
April 14, 2016    Added the ability for you to try the neural network yourself!
April 9, 2016    Added parts list and assembly diagram for BB-8's drive electronics.
April 3, 2016    Added a neural network software libary I wrote for people to play with.
March 30, 2016    Added piezo buzzer receiver circuit diagram for wireless transmission of electricity.
March 20, 2016    New - How to make a bottle rocket.
March 8, 2016    Moved lifter/ionocraft pages to here.
February 27, 2016    Added new BB-8 (v2) droid video showing it in action and part 1 of making it.
February 21, 2016    New rollers for BB-8 (v2) and STL files for 3D printing BB-8's gears.
February 15, 2016    How I added magnets to the BB-8 droid so the head can stay on.
February 7, 2016    New tips and tricks page for getting your crystal radio to work.
January 30, 2016    New page all about BB-8's drive electronics and
a major reorganizing of and additions to all BB-8 (v2) pages.
January 25, 2016    The design and making of my BB-8's RC receiver to Arduino converter circuit.
January 15, 2016    By request, I added a section about where to get piezoelectric crystals.
December 27, 2015    Added a video of my BB-8 (v2)'s drive system inside the bottom of the ball.
December 13, 2015    Motors, batteries, gears, ... added to the BB-8 droid (v2).
December 7, 2015    Progress made on BB-8 droid (v2) - working motor drive system.
November 27, 2015    Photoelectric effect science experiment.
November 17, 2015    Added a parts list and more making details for the DIY laser communicator.
November 15, 2015    New how-to-make page for my big Stirling engine and
an excellent working Stirling engine from someone in Germany.
November 14, 2015    Added video explaining how powering using atmospheric electricity works.
November 7, 2015    Generating electricity from atmospheric electricity.
November 1, 2015    Added power and efficiency calculations to the gravity light pages.
October 23, 2015    Scarier sound for ScareDuino for halloween by using Adafruit's Audio FX Sound Board.
October 11, 2015    A ball cyclotron, including how to make it.
October 3, 2015    MOSFETs added to the electronic symbols page.
September 26, 2015    Added dimensions to the section on making a Wimshurst machine.
September 18, 2015    More details, including a how-to video on how the BB-8 droid (v1) was made and
added more details about the homemade amplifier for my laser communicator.
September 12, 2015    My first homemade BB-8 droid from the new Star Wars movies.
September 10, 2015    Started a gravity light gallery. More homemade gravity lights wanted!
September 5, 2015    New page devoted to Wimshurst machines in general.
August 28, 2015    Sunflower heat engine now running in sunlight... plus a how-it-works video.
August 23, 2015    New sunflower heat engine using a coffee bag.
August 13, 2015    Got much better sound from my laser communicator and photoresistor setup.
August 8, 2015    New page on using my laser communicator to transmit to a photoresistor.
August 1, 2015    New page on how to make flat plate capacitors for Tesla coils.
July 26, 2015    How to make an alcohol stove using soda cans.
July 12, 2015    Added Hero's steam engine video - making it and showing it in action.
July 2, 2015    Very easy to make steam engine - Hero's steam engine.
June 27, 2015    New video on how I made the laser communicator.
June 21, 2015    DIY/homemade laser communicator.
June 12, 2015    Making DIY/homemade capacitors for the small spark gap Tesla coil.
June 6, 2015    How to transmit sound using sunlight - the photophone.
May 30, 2015    Added a photo and video of powering a TEA laser using a Wimshurst machine.
May 22, 2015    Making a spiral primary coil for the small spark gap Tesla coil.
May 16, 2015    Detailed video on how to make the small spark gap Tesla coil.
April 14, 2015    By popular request... a small spark gap Tesla coil.
April 6, 2015    Piezoelectric electrostatic generator made from a BBQ ignitor.
March 30, 2015    Extracting chlorophyll from spinach and fluorescing it with sunlight and my TEA laser.
March 15, 2015    Fun with arduino and a speech synthesizer.
March 14, 2015    Fuses and meters added to the electronic symbols page.
March 11, 2015    Added a schematic and more details to the DIY 24 volt power supply page.
March 5, 2015    Powering a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) using an electric fly swatter.
February 20, 2015    Using an electric fly swatter as a high voltage source.
February 11, 2015    Added details about making a Stirling engine's displacer using steel wool.
February 6, 2015    How-to-Make video for wireless transmission of electricity and a calculation spreadsheet.
January 26, 2015    Made a video explaining for how the triboelectric effect works.
January 22, 2015    New page about the triboelectric effect and with the triboelectric series table.
January 1, 2015    Added a transistor protection section to the 30kV high voltage power supply page.
December 21, 2014    Fun with DIY wireless transmission of electricity.
December 13, 2014    Added a test for the effect on water conductivity on the Kelvin water dropper.
December 7, 2014    How to make a pinhole camera for viewing the sun or just having fun.
November 15, 2014    How I made and how to make the Arduino controlled skull, including the source code.
November 8, 2014    ScareDuino, my shoulder mounted, Arduino controlled skull.
October 17, 2014    Make a hologram with a plastic pyramid - includes Princess Leia and pterodactyl holograms.
September 28, 2014    Joule thief circuit powering a clock, instead of the usual LED or CFL.
August 29, 2014    Many more details about the enhanced gravity light (v2).
August 22, 2014    Enhanced gravity light (v2) that runs longer and gives more light.
August 9, 2014    New video showing how the corona motor (v2) was made.
August 3, 2014    More powerful corona motor (v2) and explanation for how a corona motor works.
July 21, 2014    More symbols added to the electronic symbols for schematics page.
July 4, 2014    New resource page with electronic symbols and a video on how to read schematics
June 28, 2014    New video showing step-by-step how I made the nitinol wire inchworm
June 22, 2014    Made a nitinol wire inchworm that walks!
June 15, 2014    Huge update to using a PC monitor as a high voltage power supply
June 8, 2014    Experimenting with nitinol wire (shape memory alloy)
May 19, 2014    Lots more details to the multiplier section of my how-to-make a 30kV high voltage power supply page
May 17, 2014    Video on how to read music and to adapt it to the 555 timer music player and the straw trombone
May 12, 2014    New high voltage power supply with easier to find parts
April 19, 2014    Enhanced the gravity light to power three LEDs and run for 8 minutes
April 14, 2014    Gravity light (homemade) that powers an LED using a slowly falling mass
April 6, 2014    Making music instruments with drinking straws - a trombone and a trumpet
March 23, 2014    Moving things with sound - Helmholtz resonators
March 10, 2014    Cleaning up smoke with a DIY electrostatic/smoke precipitator!
March 2, 2014    Added Van de Graaff generator FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page.
February 13, 2014    Added laser diodes to Star Wars TIE Fighter and Star Trek Enterprise models.
February 9, 2014    The mysterious ball bearing motor - how to make one and how it works.
February 2, 2014    Video about fixing my 30kV high voltage power supply.

Projects

Power supplies

Resources

High voltage probes and other measuring devices

Miscellaneous

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