This is a rather simple, match-the-words switchboard style of puzzle. It has 6 vacuum tubes…. the old ones from the Cosmos rebuild actually… which light up every time you get a combination correct. The puzzle is made out of Batu timber, with an MDF switchboard plate and a piece of poly-carbonate in front of the…
A friend of mine is trying to find ways of turning e-waste into education devices, one source of e-waste that is ridiculously common while also yielding heaps of parts are desktop printer/scanner combos. You see them thrown out virtually everywhere. The neat thing about them is that they use optical encoders to drive DC servo…
I was gifted with four old bantam chickens when I moved into my house, they were about 7 years old, so a little dusty and wobbly, but still great egg layers. But some weeks ago my gold pekin hen and bantam rhode island red went broody, so obviously it seemed a good time to contact…
A few months ago I spotted a very interesting and attractive looking valve amplifier on gumtree that I couldn’t resist. The amplifier was being sold for repair or parts as one of the valves was red-plating leaving one channel dead. This really didn’t phase me as troubleshooting valve gear is pretty straight forward, and red…
Some years ago I found what I thought was a very cool electric clock in an opp shop. It was 240 volt powered and had rotating numbers as opposed to the usual flip down numbers. Upon getting it home I realized that the mechanism had seized, after disassembling the little geared engine assembly and re-lubricating…
I came across a set of Marantz hifi speakers while I was cleaning out the garage not long ago. I knew the deal, they were mass produced entry level speakers from the 80’s with a bubbling plastic veneer covering, expectations were low. I thought very little of them, but decided to hook them up to…
I used to work part time as a car audio fitter and auto electrician back when I was studying and needed a part time job. Somehow I ended up with a whole heap of warranty returns and ex demo gear given to me for free or at very low cost which I just couldn’t say…