Welcome
This site represents one man's voyage of discovery into the world of electronics and micro-controllers.
I'm relatively new to this game: I only started playing with electronics in 2021, with playing being the operative word. So if you've come here in the hope of expert advice, it's time to click away now!
But, if you're learning too, stick around. You might learn from my mistakes.
Oh, and this is only one of numerous hobbies and interests of mine, so progress is usually sporadic - I do what takes my fancy each day. It's one of the many joys of retirement.
Projects
You can get to all my projects from the Projects menu, surprisingly enough. Here's a list:
555 Chip tester
Having wasted some time tryng to debug a circuit using a 555 timer chip only to find the chip was broken, I was pleased to come across a 555 chip tester circuit online. I've tweaked the circuit and built myself this little tester.
This has the honour of being the first project I managed to actually complete!
Completed
Automating & lighting a diorama
It was thinking about lighting a diorama I am building that got me interested in electronics in the first place, so it's no surprise that I decided to over-complicate things and automate the diorama. And so this project was born.
In progress
Gate Alarm
Every morning, before letting our dog out, my wife or I go outside to check that our garden gate is closed and bolted. Apart from frequently getting cold and wet, we're also concerned about the increase in dog theft and so want to know if anyone opens the gate.
This project is about solving that problem by sounding an alarm when the gate opens.
Completed
Electro-tongue drum
After a period of online research and ploughing through the (badly written) examples from the Elegoo Uno R3 Basic Starter Kit I was itching to get going.What I came up with for my first project was the Electro Tongue Drum.
This is a complex project for a beginner like me, so progress is slo...w. After a while it dawned on me I needed to cut my teeth on some simpler projects first. So whether this project will ever get finished I really don't know.
In progress
Guitar case humidity detector
My best guitars have been warping because of the high humidity where I live. So now I keep them in their cases along with some dehumidifier sachets. But how do I check how humid the air is in the cases without opening them and letting more moisture in? This project aims to solve this problem.
Not started
Rain sensors
When we've got washing out it would be very helpful to be able to detect rainfall and to have an alarm sound so we can get the washing in. And while we're at it, we might as well measure the rainfall just to show how wet it really is in West Wales. This project aims to do both those things.
In progress
LED Chaser Circuit kit bash
I bought a kit that I messed up building so decided to hack it into a circular LED chaser ornament that lives in a small perspex globe.
Completed
More to come...
I've got several more projects under consideration, some of which my even see the light of day!
Kits
Other than the LED Chaser Circuit kit bash mentioned above I've bought quite a few other kits. I've written up the ones I've built to date. You might find this interesting if you're consdering buying one of these kits. If you just want a laugh at my cack-handedness see the disastrous kit builds page.
Resources
As I've been plodding along I've come across some components that I've found difficult to find adequate information about - at least information I can understand. So I decided to share some of the information I've managed to pull together in case its of interest to others. Check out the Resources menu for more info.
Demos
Sometimes, when a new component arrives I'll create a simple demo to help me understand how to use it. Some of them are available from the Demos menu.
GitHub
There's a GitHub account associated with this site. It's where I keep the source code for my projects.
I'll be using open source licenses for everything.