Category: Blog

  • Robots with my kids

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    johnnywmccown
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    By: J. McCown 6 Oct 2024 My eldest son has recently got interested in BattleBots, on Discovery Channel (HBO Max streaming). When he has some time to spare after getting ready for school, we spend it watching BattleBots. When your cool big brother gets into something, it peaks your interest, so my youngest son has…

  • 37 Sensor Kit

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    johnnywmccown
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    Last week Danielle was ordering some stuff off of Amazon, and I asked her to look up Ultrasonic Sensors, she did and they should be here latter this week.  But this is not about them.  Instead is is about a related item that we purchased at the same time.  A 37 piece sensor starter kit,…

  • FTC – First Tech Challenge

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    johnnywmccown
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    This week I started helping one of the local schools get ready for their upcoming FTC competition.  Well…as of right now I have not done much other then gathering my ideas.  It is a 4 person team, each with their own roles.  They are running Java to control their robot, using Android phones.

  • KiCad – PCB Design Software

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    Eagle Cad is my preferred PCB design software thus far.  Though its expense has encourage me to try out KiCad.  Back in Jun 2015 I started to use KiCad.  Below are a few notes that I have taken.   Let me know if you are interested in some videos on this software.  These notes are current…

  • CERTs for the Electronics Technician

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    johnnywmccown
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    As you may know I started my journey in Electronics through Ham Radio in the mid 90’s.  Then about 15 years ago I went through a trade school learning more about basic electronics.  After I was working for some time, I earned a BS in Computer and Information Science.  A lot of jobs/vocations prefer that…

  • My start with PCBs (Printed Circuit Board)

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    johnnywmccown
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    I have been making my own PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) for some time now.  First, I had to create the schematic using software like EagleCad or KiCad.  Most of my work has been done in EagleCad, though KiCad is free.  Then from the schematic I go to creating the board layout.  Dell-Ray got me stated…

  • Time Lapse Photogrophy

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    johnnywmccown
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    Time Lapse photography has been an interest of mine for a very long time, but I have not had the proper gear.  Some cameras, such as my Nikon Coolpix, have a time lapse feature built in, but it is limited on the intervals for taking the photos.  The professionals use a Intervalometer, also called a…

  • DIY SWR Meter

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    johnnywmccown
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    Looking at projects I could do.  Googled SWR + Arduino and this is what I found.  This could help me along with some of my projects.  One thing that would make it even better was if it could read Frequency.  Yes, you should know the frequency from your radio, but having this function can lead…

  • Solar Powered Hydroponics Garden

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    johnnywmccown
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    Last year I built my first hydroponics garden.  I was trying to do it all inside, and in doing so my lighting bill was eating away at my spending cash.  This summer I have decided to move the garden outside where there is plenty of sun light.  The only problem is I do not have…

  • W5BOB Transmit Converter

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    johnnywmccown
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    As you might have already seen from my previous post, I made my first 6 Meter Receiving Converter with Bob, W5BOB.  Well he gave me his 6 meter transmit converter and together we modified it to work with my TS-120s HF radio.  Knowing that I was new to ham radio, Bob typed up some simple…