Category Archives: Ideas

The Awkward Engineer AWK-105 Analog Meter Clock

Posted on March 7, 2016 by jwk

A few years back, I did a roundup of the various meter clock projects which were floating around the Internet those days. Some were really intricate: I’m a bit late to the party, as this came out a few years … Continue reading →

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Watch: a home machinist makes a clock from scratch, right down to the screws and washers

Posted on February 25, 2016 by jwk

This is up there with Claude Paillard creating early 1920s-style triode vacuum tubes entirely by hand in his home workshop: Chris from Clickspring is building a skeleton clock from scratch using a home machinist’s shop, and documenting it in lavish, hypnotic … Continue reading →

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Old rocker complains about new technology

Posted on July 15, 2015 by jwk

According to Rolling Stone, Neil Young is pulling his catalog from all streaming music services over complaints about the sound quality. I don’t see this impacting me personally since I don’t listen to him and indeed can’t even name a … Continue reading →

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Keurig 2.0 Hack: Make Any Coffee You Want

Posted on December 20, 2014 by jwk

I’m a bit late to the game for this particular trend on the Internet, but it’s definitely worth sharing. If you drink coffee in the mornings, you’ve probably heard of Keurig and their single-serving K-Cup style of brewing coffee. Pop … Continue reading →

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How Speakers Make Sound

Posted on December 3, 2014 by jwk

If you’re looking for a great visual primer on how speakers convert electricity into the music you hear, check out this fantastic animated infographic by Jacob O’Neil at Animagraffs  How Speakers Make Sound

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DIY Replacements for Vintage Couplets and Printed Electric Circuits

Posted on October 9, 2014 by jwk

Starting in the ’50s, they’d figured out how to start miniaturizing components. “Couplets” and “printed electric circuits” started showing up in equipment around then. These components were combinations of several resistors and capacitors in a single package. Like most components … Continue reading →

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September Update

Posted on September 4, 2013 by jwk

Welcome to KF7LZE! I’m an amateur radio enthusiast and freelance electronics technician. I write this site with a goal to make it easy and enjoyable to put together electronics projects and perform your own repairs to save money, have fun, … Continue reading →

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Introducing Easy-Kits!

Posted on July 3, 2013 by jwk

I’m proud to announce a new venture from KF7LZE in partnership with KF7LZR! Easy-Kits strives to provide easy to find parts to complete the projects you find on my site, not to mention offering other interesting projects and parts to … Continue reading →

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Partsim: Circuit Simulation Made Easy

Posted on June 17, 2013 by jwk

I came across Partsim, a free and easy to use circuit simulator that runs in the web browser, and would definitely encourage you to check it out if you’re looking for a tool to design and simulate circuits.   It … Continue reading →

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July Projects

Posted on July 6, 2012 by jwk

July is always a pretty busy month – it’s finally summer in the Pacific Northwest and so my attention is divided between my electronics work and spending time in the great outdoors. I have a few things in the pipeline for … Continue reading →

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