Projects and Toys, Old and New
The Firefly
The first production firefly October 2000
Firefly Prototype
The first firefly has LEDs on wires and simulates fireflies out by
the back fence.
Fiber Optic Firefly
Another design used fiber optics that may be woven into clothing.
This Prototype fits in an Altoids mint box.
A collapsible ten inch scope
I Built this to fit on the back of my motorcycle, when carried in a
car it packs up
with any accessories in a round washtub which it sits on to get it
up
out of the dust and put it at a comfortable viewing height
Rocker box and base
Lifting the rocker box and rotating it allows the RB to sit
snugly in the base. Then the eyepiece holder and mirror diagonal
and eyepieces etc. fit in the mirror box on top of the mirror
on some stand-offs. The arm is left on the box as a flagpole...
A radio built using a WW2 receiver
as a tuneable IF
A very hot receiver in its day.
I took this picture just after it was built.
I built this 30 some years ago and gave it away after about ten years
with instructions to give it to a Ham if they ever got rid of it.
About 5 years ago I saw it at a Hamfest
and bought it back for $5.
It still works fine.
A radio transmitter built as
a seven inch cube
Using a single 6146B to put out about 50 watts on 7 Megahertz
A cw only transmitter I built around 1970.
A Scope that I used to help
build
I tested more of these things than I care to remember.
I found this as navy surplus for $200 last year.
Its still a great scope after 20 some years
and is now in use on my workbench.
Guess we made quality stuff.
Quick Cam
A Quick cam pro was disassembled and the part that keeps the lens from
being unscrewed
was removed. Now its easy to remove the lens so the camera can be attached
to the telescope.
A cut down film canister and some plastic electricians tape worked
fine.
The picture was taken on a very hot day, the lack of focus is due
solely to the heat waves.
The picture gives an idea of the magnification available. The pole
was about 500 feet away.
A vortex ring generator
Made from a mini-woofer and a Tuna Can.
Attached to a audio amp it with the bass boosted and everything else
turned down it puts out invisible waves like smoke rings.
Startles cats from a distance of 8 feet.