Tangent Audio ← Electronics, Software and Mechanical Projects

Web Site Facelift

Mar

2013

I’m happy to announce that we are now live on a new and faster hosting server, with a whole new look and feel. In addition to those much-needed changes, I have also made a significant dent in documenting my older projects in a portfolio. You can find these in the drop-down menus at the top ...

AZIZ! Light! 16

Mar

2013

In an earlier post back at the beginning of this month, I described the beginnings of my DIY microscope illuminator project, dubbed Project AZIZ. At that point I had just sent the PCB off to OSHPark for fabrication. I’m happy to report that in the weeks since, I not only received the boards back, but ...

More Microscope Hacking: Camera Output!

Mar

2013

Apparently hacking around with my microscope has turned into something of an obsession. The other day, I wondered if I could easily add a camera output to my microscope. I had a tiny composite video security camera lying around in my parts bin, and somewhat by accident also had a collection of C-mount lenses that ...

Powder Coating Experiments: Round 2 (Video)

Mar

2013

Now that I have had a couple of weeks to get my powder coating process tuned up, I decided it would be good to put together a video that details it. In the video I discuss: Off-the-shelf Craftsman all-in-one powder coating gun Home-built powder coating booth with air filter Temperature-controlled toaster oven using an industrial ...

Diansu DS-982 Solder Paste Dispenser 2

Mar

2013

I did a review, mini-teardown, and test of an imported pneumatic solder paste dispenser that I picked up on eBay.

Project Aziz 2

Mar

2013

My recent acquisition of a stereo microscope for the electronics lab has brought about a couple of side-projects. One of them is the custom boom stand that I built a couple of weeks ago. Another is this custom LED ring light, which I’ve dubbed Project Aziz (named after the poor kid holding the mirror from ...

Powder Coating Experiments: Round 1

Feb

2013

I was intrigued by the idea of powder coating the parts of the microscope arm project, as well as other items. So, I decided to do a little bit of shopping to get outfitted with a beginner setup. I started with the somewhat ubiquitous Craftsman powder coating gun, which seems to be available on closeout from ...

Epic Builds: Articulated Stereo Microscope Arm 2

Feb

2013

I’ve wanted a stereo microscope in my home lab for ages. In the last couple of years, it’s become an increasingly urgent need as I’ve hit the age where my eyesight is beginning to change. Soldering and inspecting fine-pitch SMD work is becoming difficult without the aid of magnification. So, I finally picked up a ...

Benchtop Multimeter Repair: ebay Bargain Hunt

Feb

2013

I picked up a broken Agilent U3402A Digital Multimeter on ebay for a good price, taking a gamble that I’d be able to fix it. I put together a video where I tear the meter down, diagnose the problem, and come up with a working hack to fix it, all in “real time.” It’s a ...

Embedded Hacking Weekend 2

Feb

2013

I’ve gotten back into the ARM Cortex M3 embedded stuff (yes, again), specifically with the NXP LPC1768 chip. I’ve had this Blue Board development board hanging around for a couple of years, and I’ve made a couple of attempts at getting some of the open source toolchains (e.g. CodeSourcery Lite) working with the Eclipse IDE ...