Whirr… buzz…. ZAP! ZAP! ZAP!

At least, that’s the plan.  It needs a little TLC before it’ll run.  The motor doesn’t seem to run smoothly, it could do with a new belt, and I need to fabricate some new brushes out of copper sheet.

And you all thought I’d given up on my projects!

I’ve spent the evening modifying disposable camera flash circuits (including doing things which are probably unwise, like moving the capacitors), wrapping them in gaffa tape and taping them to the inside of a cake tin.

I’ve already decided that there’s too much that could nibble your fingers in this project, so I won’t do a full writeup, instead I’ll stick to posting the schematics/stripboard layout for the opt-isolated trigger gubbins which means that this beast is safe to use with a DSLR.

Still todo:

• Move the charge-ready lights to somewhere visible for each board
• Build the battery pack
• Add a socket for the sync cable
• box up the trigger circuitry
• Find a better way of insulating and mounting the flash circuits

The picture above is the first test firing of the circuit, triggered by my Nik0n D80.  It didn’t die, and neither did I.  I count that as a success.

1. Circuit Bent Toy Train
   I bought a toy train in a charity shop for 75p.  It’s a pretty simple bend, no glitch potential as far as I can see but you can get some odd sounds out of it by putting body contacts across the speed resistor.  This will all make more sense when I’ve shot the video.  This one is finished, apart from the writeup/video.
2. Ring Flash built from disposable cameras (aka “Deathflash”)
   Designed and built the trigger circuit so I can safely fire 5 disposable camera flashes from a DSLR (The trigger voltage of a disposable camera is in the region of 230V which would do the DSLR no good whatsoever) – I now need to mount the flash units to the test rig, wire the whole lot up and fire it.  Then I need to buy something to use as the final reflector (time to start searching ebay for jelly/jello molds)
3. PVC Flute
   I’m building a flute out of PVC pipe.  The first attempt is now playable, although the tuning leaves a bit to be desired (especially if you like your notes to follow some form of scale).  I think I may just document the build and call it a day for this one.  The tuning seems to be too difficult to get spot on, and I don’t have enough interest in learning to play it anyway.  Still, it filled an empty couple of hours!

So none that I can cross off the list and call “done” just yet – but I thought I should post something to show I haven’t forgotten completely!

I’m a fairly visual thinker, and I also like to make lists.  I have a blackboard in my kitchen for things I need to buy when I next go shopping etc, but wanted a bigger one for my office – mostly to track the remaining 51 projects!

So project 01/52 was to make a blackboard.

Materials:

• Scap battening
• Blackboard paint
• Hardboard culled from the Ikea desktop that served as my desk for almost 10 years

The construction is fairly simple, the hardboard was cut to size and the battening chopped up to fit around the edge, and the chalk holder screwed to the bottom piece of battening from behind.  The frame is held together with nails on each corner.

Three coats of blackboard paint on the hardboard, sanded back to get rid of some visible brush strokes, then nail it all together.  Job’s a goodun!

I know the description is brief, but if you need more detail than that you have no business building one ;-)

So.  I have a plan!

52 projects, in 52 weeks.

2009 is to be the year that I finish all those little things I started work on.  It’s going to be the year that I build the “RS232 over tin-cans-and-string” thing, the year I build that ring flash out of disposable cameras, the year that I build a small scale AM transmitter so that I can tune the valve radio in my kitchen to the 1950s…

The rules:

• I have 52 weeks to complete 52 projects.
• Photos will be taken, build notes will be written up, software will be published.
• While I aim to average a project a week, completing two projects in a week then taking a week off is allowable
• Progress will be reported when it’s available, even if the project is as yet unfinished.

I’ll be maintaining a page which lists (and numbers) the projects, with links to the blog articles describing progress.  Wish me luck!