Author: iopadmin

  • Parabolic Reflector Base for Lichtenberg Figure

    Parabolic Reflector Base for Lichtenberg Figure

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    I have a cylindrical acrylic Lichtenberg figure I have been displaying for several years on a turned cherry base I made…and never liked. I decided to improve the situation by building a system for more uniform illumination of the entire column. You can find the major files for this design at Thingiverse:5508486. My design uses…

  • 3D Printed Theodolite and Survey for Stellarium

    3D Printed Theodolite and Survey for Stellarium

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    iopadmin
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    For years I’ve wanted a theodolite but even used they are not particularly affordable. To support planning sky viewing a wanted to be able to survey the obscuration from buildings and trees in my front and back yards. Thingiverse offered the answer–a printable 1 degree resolution theodolite. I ended up remixing it and you can…

  • Pi Weather Station with InkyWHAT Health

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    I made a thing. This thing is–neh, this ensemble of things–is a Raspberry Pi 3 server with attached local sensors and an attached local eInk display. Furthermore this Pi uses an RTL SDR to collect information from my outside sensors and my neighbors’ weather stations. This post is about only the server’s mechanical structure. The…

  • Better Filament Dryer

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    The previous dryer only achieved a peak temperature of about 47C, which is much lower than the recommended 80C from 3devo. I made two upgrades: Wrapped the bucket in a moving blanket for insulation, and then because I was concerned about overheating, Connected a PID controller. I did not seriously try to run this at…

  • 3D Printer Filament Dryer

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    I built a filament dehydrator following the basic plan on Taulman3D’s site, which I expect to need for both PETG and nylon prints. PLA prints have never been a problem for me here in the high desert. Taulman3D suggests using a 40 W or 60 W lightbulb as the heat source, and that the 40…

  • Paper’s Effect on Fountain Pen Line Widths

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    I have noticed that when I’m writing scratch notes on the back side of waste printer paper with my fountain pen I get blobby lines. It usually feels difficult to write clearly, especially when I scribe crossing paths in a (pointless) attempt to clarify my handwriting mistakes. Of course there are many variables at play…

  • Direct Monitoring Amplifier

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    I like to use closed headphones. These often significantly attenuate outside noise but challenge me to hear my own voice. Typical attenuation of some relevant headphones or headsets are summarized by the following table. Headphone Attenuation Westone in-ear Monitors 23 dB Audio Technica ATH-M50 11 dB Hyper-X Cloud II 16 dB I want to use…

  • Hexagonal Blanket Dimensions

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    Look at the right-most figure in diagram. The small triangle defines the all the major dimensions of the hexagon. Assuming the user measures the edge-to-edge dimension $c$, he or she can calculate the rest of the measurements. A simple right-triangle expression gives the relationship between $s/2$ and $c/2$, and is readily solved for $s$ in…

  • Launch-o-Rocket

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    School, from our house as the crow flies, is 5.73 km. If we neglect air resistance and deal strictly with ballistic flight then we can materialize a wonderful fantasy. Starting in the backyard, extending over the top of the house, is a launch-o-rocket, a rail-like launcher that accelerates the school-bound student until he or she…

  • 300 Million Years Ago

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    This weekend my family came with me to hunt fossils in the Jemez mountains of New Mexico. We hunted fossils along Route 4, where I understand collecting is legal and ethical. The fossils we were looking for are quite common, mainly brachiopods (similar to clams), and crinoids (a kind of anemone). These fossils are common…