Sunset off the eastern coast of Caye Caulker in Belize.
Author: mwwalk
Photo Friday – Princes Pier
Princes Pier at sunset
Melbourne, Australia
iPhone 5S panorama, no filter
Photo Friday – Under the Sea
Great Barrier Reef – Australia, Dec 2013
Current Capacity of Wires and Traces
I’ve been looking at the maximum current ratings of both wires and traces and have had a hard time finding good numbers. So this is a collection of what I’ve found but limited to the ranges that I normally use. There are lots of very advanced calculators online but I had difficulty finding a nice clear chart. So I hope this helps others or at least helps me next time I need to look it up. Continue reading “Current Capacity of Wires and Traces”
ATtiny i2c Slave
I’m working on a project where I need several sensors that communicate back to a central processor. Since I’ll have several of these sensors I need them to be cheap and the ATtiny85 jumped to mind. The only problem is that I’ve never used i2c with the ATtiny series before. I read dozens of “tutorials” about it from around the web and couldn’t find a nice simple example. This is my solution.
Programming an ATtiny85 with the AVRISP mkII
I previously covered a method of programming the ATtiny85 using an Arduino Duemilanove. However, my Duemilanove board isn’t working at the moment and I need to work on a project so I decided to program it with an Atmel AVRISP mkII programmer. Here are the simple steps, mostly so that I don’t have to lookup the pinouts online next time I need to do this. Continue reading “Programming an ATtiny85 with the AVRISP mkII”
Easy and Cheap Reflow Soldering Without Solder Paste
I’ve recently gotten into SMD soldering and have been thrilled at how much easier it is than I imagined. However, there are some parts that are very difficult to solder because the solder pads are under the part. The obvious answer is reflow soldering, but I have no experience with it and it can be expensive and difficult to do. So this is my experiment in finding a cheap and easy way to do reflow soldering. Continue reading “Easy and Cheap Reflow Soldering Without Solder Paste”
Robot Tentacle/Trunk with Arduino – Version 1
For the past couple years I’ve had a vision of a robotic tentacle or elephant trunk. So, when I was having a particularly frustrating night of working on my thesis, I decided to spend a few hours on the tentacle for a mental break.
Continue reading “Robot Tentacle/Trunk with Arduino – Version 1”
Photo Friday – Caracol Temple
Mayan temple at Caracol in Belize
Uber Car Service Review
In June my girlfriend and I went to Chicago for a relaxing weekend. While the main goal was to relax and get away from the stress of school, I was excited about finally getting to try Uber, a new car service. Since no city in Oklahoma is large enough to warrant Uber, this was the first time I’ve been to a city with Uber since hearing about it several months ago. This is my review of the four experiences I had with Uber. Continue reading “Uber Car Service Review”
The Wandering Engineer 