Category Archives: Hardware

New Toy: HP 143 Wide-Screen Oscilloscope Mainframe Restoration – [Part 1]

Posted on August 14, 2014 by jwk

At the risk of becoming a test equipment collector, I am picking up a few pieces of vintage test equipment that need some work, but will be very useful pieces of shop gear as well as interesting pieces of history … Continue reading →

Posted in Collections, Electronics, Hardware, Projects, Test Equipment, Toys, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

For Sale: The KN0CK and KF7LZE RTLSDR for HF Rev. 5!

Posted on January 28, 2014 by jwk

I’m happy to announce that Rev 5 of the KN0CK and KF7LZE RTLSDR for HF is now available for sale in its 5th iteration – now featuring Direct Sampling, while still keeping the familiar wide-band pre-amplifier! On account of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Gadgets, Hardware, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Coming Soon: KN0CK and KF7LZE RTLSDR Receiver Rev. 5!

Posted on January 6, 2014 by jwk

Edited 6/10/2014: Now for sale directly at KF7LZE.net! I’m proud to announce that in just a few days, Easy-Kits.com in cooperation with KN0CK will be releasing Rev. 5 of the popular RTLSDR Integrated Upconverter with a brand new design and … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Gadgets, Hardware, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bad Capacitors Strike Again

Posted on February 5, 2013 by jwk

I’m working on another Bose 901 Series 1 equalizer. It looks to be the same manufacturing run as the first one I wrote up last July, uses the same components, and those components look like they’ve had the same failure … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Hardware | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

A neat discovery to add more storage to a laptop.

Posted on November 3, 2012 by jwk

I acquired a few HP ProBook 4415s laptops which had been scrapped, and decided to rebuild them into working machines. I’ve been needing a new personal/media laptop for a bit, and these are capable little machines with an HDMI output … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers, Hardware | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Shortwave Radio Reception with the RTL-SDR Dongle

Posted on August 6, 2012 by jwk

Need your own upconverter? Click here! I bought and did a quick setup on my RTLSDR dongle using SDR# a few weeks ago, where I used it to listen to FM radio stations around my area and a few public … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Hardware, Projects, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Build Log and Review: Mable Audio VT-86PP Kit Hi-Fi Amp Project [Chinese Gear]

Posted on March 30, 2012 by jwk

About a year ago, someone left a comment that really looked like spam on one of my pages advertising a web store selling tube audio gear and parts for guitar and audio amplifiers. Against everything I’ve ever learned about behaving … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Hardware, Photos, Projects, Radios and Tubes, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Unboxing my Sharp PC-4501 classic Personal Computer

Posted on January 9, 2012 by jwk

It’s 1987 and I’ve been needing a new laptop. After a careful process of comparison shopping I settled on my Sharp PC-4501 from Montgomery Ward. Let’s open it up and take a look! For only $699.99, it’s a state of … Continue reading →

Posted in Commentary, Electronics, Hardware, Photos, Vintage | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Testing CCFLs [Salvaged Electronics]

Posted on August 26, 2011 by jwk

I scrounged these up a while back and just now decided to test them out as a part of another project I’m starting. They’re CCFL bulbs, cold cathode fluorescent lamps. Each driver powers two lamps; I have 8 connected. Naturally, they’re … Continue reading →

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Adventures in Dumpster Diving: Samsung 225BW LCD Repair

Posted on August 22, 2011 by jwk

I found a Samsung 225BW LCD sitting on top of my apartment’s dumpster, and figured I’d drag it upstairs. It’s a few year old model but it’s better than the current older Dell LCD that I’ve been using (1680×1050 versus 1440×900). … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Hardware, Projects | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments