DIY Life

We've reported on Bug Labs before. They make a sort of gadget LEGO system so you can easily build stuff like a GPS-enabled alarm clock. Not useful? Ask the guy who kept missing his train stop by falling asleep!

I spoke to Bug Labs founder Peter Semmelhack about what the company is up to, and how the future of DIY is shaping up.

As a matter of convenience, I don't always carry a purse. In the event I have to run an errand or go somewhere where all I need is some cash, my driver's license, and maybe my check card, I'll forgo the bulky bag and just put essential items in my pockets, clasped together with a money clip.

I didn't know that I could make the magnetic strip on my check card unreadable if I also put my cell phone in the same pocket. Rather than put everything in different pockets, I always keep them together, but now I want to keep them separated with a magnetic money clip made by Scott Amron.

For a mere $12, you can purchase a pre-made magnetic money clip, or for $9, Scott will send the materials for you to assemble your own money clip. The kit contains two circular steel plates, sealer, and a thin neodymium disc magnet.

While I think that the kit is a great way for those who have no time or patience to make their own magnetic money clip, I am sure that DIY'ers will want to gather the materials to make the easily crafted clip themselves, me included. The clip would also make a great gift!

[via: Boing Boing]

As a man, getting up and going to the bathroom in the dark is much better than turning on blazing lights to do the same thing. Of course, there is the problem of missing the bowl. That's where this little built night light for the toilet by Robbtoberfest (me) at Instructables comes in handy.

Lift the seat and it shines a dim red light into the bowl, just enough for aiming, but not so bright that it ruins night vision. Drop the seat and it automatically turns off. A good gift for Father's day -- or any "man day" occasion.

You'll find the instructions after the break!

The other day, Make:blog mentioned the new 5.0 release of Eagle. Cadsoft Eagle is the most popular circuit design and layout software among DIY'ers, and the program I use in all my projects. Today I designed a project with Eagle 5 and journaled my favorite updates. I also tested compatibility with the current and beta versions of Eagle3D, a 3D circuit board rendering program.

Cadsoft Eagle 5

Eagle 5 installs to dedicated version 5 directory -- the new version won't overwrite a previous install. You still have full access to your original stuff if anything goes wrong.

When I start Eagle 5 it attempts network access; this might be an auto updater or license checker. It didn't complain when I permanently blocked access.



All my old schematics and circuit board files from Eagle 4.16r2 load in the new version. The board layout editor got a minor makeover with "web 2.0" pastel color shades.

Say goodbye to the awkward ALT+Backspace undo, because Cadsoft joined the rest of the world and standardized on CTRL+Z!!! Need I say more? Oh happy day!



Eagle now has right-click context menus in the schematic editor and the board layout editor. While context menus are ubiquitous (does your browser have it?), previous versions of Eagle pretend the right mouse button doesn't exist.

Another great feature is the properties editor. Component or connection properties can be configured in one place. These features were previously scattered over dozens of menus and icons.

Eagle3D 1.05 compatibility

Like a Firefox upgrade, it's important that all your favorite Eagle add-ons are compatible with the new version. For me, that's the ultra-cool 3D rendering script, Eagle3D. The 3D renderings that accompany my projects are made with Eagle3D 1.05, but I'll also test a new 1.1 beta version with Eagle 5.

First, I installed Eagle3D 1.05 in the same folder as Eagle 5 (C:\Program Files\EAGLE-5.0.0\Eagle3D). I also installed POVray (try MacMegaPOV for Mac) to render the files created by Eagle3D. If you're not familiar with how to use Eagle3D, or run .ulp files with Eagle, see the Eagle3D documentation and this illustrated tutorial.

I loaded a circuit board file and rendered it using the Eagle3D .ulp file intended for Eagle version 4.1. It worked normally, and generated a POVray compatible file.

New users often run into this error when rendering the their first Eagle3D .pov file with POVray:
Parse Error: Cannot open include file tools.inc.
File: C:\ ... DIYLife.com - MSP430 voice recorder - vc.pov Line: 117
Parse Warning: Check that the file is in a directory specified with a +L switch or 'Library_Path=' .INI item.

This means that POVray can't find the Eagle3D component libraries. You need to add Eagle3D to the POVray search path:

1. Open POVray and make sure you have a .pov file open.
2. Go to tools->edit master povray.ini. Povray.ini opens in a text editor.
3. Add the path to your Eagle3D files at the very bottom of povray.ini. This is the folder where Eagle3D was installed earlier. I added this line to the end of my poyray.ini, but use your own install location: Library_Path="C:\Program Files\EAGLE-5.0.0\Eagle3D\povray"

My board rendered perfectly after this minor configuration change.

Eagle3D 1.1 beta compatibility

Next, I upgraded to the new 1.1 beta version of Eagle3D. The beta version was released on the Eagle3D mailing list.

I deleted my old Eagle3D folder and copied the new version to the same location. If you use a different location, update the Library_Path you specified in povray.ini. Be careful not to include multiple search paths for different versions of Eagle3D, the result will be unpredictable.

The interface of version 1.05 and 1.1 are nearly identical. The new version optionally generates SVG formatted vector graphics.

Eagle3D 1.1 generates a list of components it wasn't able to match to the 3D parts library. This is a helpful new feature that will help diagnose why certain parts don't render correctly.



Functionally, the new version performs similarly to version 1.05. It didn't render any more parts on my test board than the last version. The new version (above, right) excludes the water background, and I don't know how I feel about this yet -- the old background (above, left) was getting tired, but white is a bit jarring.

Verdict

I'm tentatively using the new versions of Eagle and Eagle3D. They've been solid for a few days, and backwards compatibility seems good. The new features in Eagle 5 make it much easier to use and more intuitive for beginners. Both versions of Eagle3D are compatible with Eagle 5, but I highly recommend the new 1.1 beta version. Eagle3D 1.1 is several years newer than its predecessor, has a larger parts library, and generates helpful reports.

Related links

Draw electronics schematics with cadsoft Eagle.
Turn your eagle schematic into a PCB.
Render 3D images of your PCBs using Eagle 3D and POVray.

Salvaging electronic parts is a must for any DIY'er. You save big on shipping charges, and recycling is good for the environment. Hack-a-day dissected an old computer mouse and found some useful components.

What useful parts are inside an outdated PC mouse? There are a bunch of sensors and buttons, including rotary encoders that can be used to measure movement in robotics projects. My favorite find is the microchip that glues the sensors to a computer. Learn about all these parts in detail, in the how-to.

Hack-a-day doesn't delve into the proper techniques for removing parts, but there are a ton of tutorials that can help you get started. It's possible to remove many parts with a simple soldering iron and an absorbent copper braid, called solder wick. Many use a solder sucker to vacuum solder away from parts, or a special desoldering iron. Surface mount chips can also be removed, but they may require the gentle embrace of 400 degree air from a hot air rework station, or the crude gust of a heat gun.