Experimental

MIG WELD ATTEMPT

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#72 Learning to MIG weld

While living on the farm I couldn’t help but notice the necessity of a welder. From fixing gates to fixing vehicles and setting up fences. Creating burglar guards and security gates. These are all musts especially in the dangerous rural areas in South Africa.

So I endeavored on my welding journey, looking for the best welder for a beginner. After months of research I decided on the MAC AFRIC 180 A IGBT (MIG & MMA) Industrial welding machine. It has (120A=100%, 150A=60%, 180A=35% ) duty cycles.







I purchased the machine from Adendorff

After setting up and practicing a few beads I got the hang of it, Just need to improve my bead and reduce splatter. More practice.

My first bead… quite a hot mess.
Second bead (on the other side) much better but still needs work…




Very happy with this option as a first timer welding steel.

Electronics, ESP32, Experimental

ESP32-CAM

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#71 ESP32-CAM WiFi & Bluetooth Dev Board

The ESP32-CAM, is a fine product of Espressif, and features WiFi + Bluetooth with an onboard Camera and even a built-in flash for complete solutions to IoT, so you can give your IoT systems eyes to “see”, in addition to the many Sensors that allow them to “feel”.

The camera included with this development board is the OV2640 camera, which is surprisingly high quality for the low price that it’s typically offered for. However, the board also allows use with the OV7670 camera too, allowing you to use whichever camera best suits your project – with more than enough computing power to operate a range of different tasks, and multiple sleep modes for impressively versatile power consumption.

This product is comprised of two parts, one of which is the Development Board while the other is the OV2640 camera module. This allows you to utilise these separately, or as a single unit, giving you more freedom to take your projects in whatever direction they need to go.

ESP32 Technical Reference Sheet.pdf
IOTESP32C – Datasheet.pdf
OV2640 – Datasheet.pdf
Experimental, FreeTAKServer, Programming

FREETAKSERVER MANAGER

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#70 FreeTAKServer Windows Manager Concept

FreeTAKServer manager control panel concept.

Just a quick C# working example of a FreeTAKServer Manager application for the Windows OS.

WinForms & WPF versions are supported.

The FreeTAKServer Manager C# application was created to make using the current v1.7 of FreeTAKServer more user friendly.

FreeTAKServer Manager has the ability to Start, Stop, Restart, Install and Uninstall the FreeTAKServer & FreeTAKServer-UI.

It can also start on startup, send alert emails, let the user test the API (localhost & custom), allow quick MainConfig.py & config.py edits, Open a portforward testing page.

The App requires Admin privilege in order to run cmd commands effectively.

Remove all previous Python environment variables (if you have them) because they mess up the paths.

N.B the application has been created with the microsoft Visual Studio 2019 Community IDE. (https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/vs/)

API testing form

https://github.com/Cale-Torino/FreeTAKServer_Manager

Experimental, FreeTAKServer, Server Install

FREETAKSERVER ON WINDOWS

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#69 Installing FreeTAKServer on Windows 10

UI running on windows using Flask

In November last year I had a client that was looking for a geospatial situational awareness ecosystem for their security guards. Upon researching I found out the the ATAK (Android Team Awareness Kit) system was released to the public earlier that year (2020)

ATAK is just one team awareness kit medium of many. Other mediums which are integrated into this TAK solution are WinTAK and the FreeTAKServer these are all available to the public at this time. Check out the awesome FreeTAKTeam Github here.

FreeTAKServer works as the connector between the ATAK-CIV and WinTAK-CIV platforms. As of the date today FreeTAKServer is still in development and wonderful new features and plugins are being developed to be shared with the Github community.

The definition of ATAK according to the wiki is as follows:

Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) is an Android smartphone geospatial infrastructure and military situation awareness app. It allows for precision targeting, surrounding land formation intelligence, situational awareness, navigation, and data sharing. This Android app is a part of the larger TAK family of products.

For more info on the FreeTAKServer check out the YouTube video series by * DA-B6 * here also please check out the ATAK MAP YouTube page here

Other links:
https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/tactical_awareness_kit_508.pdf

https://www.cofiretech.org/index.php/feature-projects/team-awareness-kit-tak

FreeTAKServer_Windows_Install_Tutorial.MD
Guns

COLOR FILL GLOCK

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#68 How To Easily Color Fill Glock Mags

Right: Glock 19 magazines Left: Glock 19 Airsoft Gun

Recently I completed my proficiency training and acquired my competency certificate in order to apply for a firearms licence. When looking at my options I decided on a Glock 19 hand gun. While waiting for my license I bought an airsoft version of the firearm to practice safety drills with.

When I received the airsoft gun I noticed It was hard to read the labeling as there is an absence of light color on a dark finished firearm. Upon investigating options to improve this situation I came across old articles and videos referred to as “color filling firearms”

Below is my attempt to color fill using a cheap nail varnish, some alcohol, non acetone nail polish remover and some cotton swabs.

I applied 2 layers of the nail varnish in an attempt to get rid of the bubbles forming in the text, however it seems that a higher quality nail varnish is required.

You can see the bubbles in the word “Austria”

Here you can see the difference in each magazine.

The final result pending a good alcohol rub…

Programming

7ZIP EXAMPLE AUTOMATION

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#67 7zipExample Automation Application In C#

Example Video

While creating a download page for a website I came across the problem where the browser would open a .PDF file instead of downloading it to the desktop of my PC when using the JavaScript window.location.href = "url/path/file.pdf"; function. A quick easy solution is to archive the .PDF document as a .ZIP file or .7z etc. Now when the function is called the file will be downloaded.

Using a quick C# WinForms application I was able to automate the process. Here I have included a small demo project which may be useful on windows machines.

The Main function is as below:

Example code of the main function.

A new process is started and Arguments are sent to the 7za.exe console application.

7za.exe can also be used in the CMD console as well as with scripting languages such as PowerShell or Batch.

7zipExampleDownload
Electronics, Uncategorised

CHARGE CONTROLLER

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#66 XH-M603 Battery Charge Module + Display

Charge controller board

The XH-M603 module is perfect for building a battery charging station, offering a range of protection features and easy to set min/max charging voltages. As soon as the desired battery float voltage is reached, the charging circuit is disconnected.

  • Input Voltage: DC 10-30V
  • Display Precision: 0.1V
  • Control Precision: 0.1V
  • Output Type: directly output
  • Voltage Tolerance: ±0.1V
  • Board Size: 82 x 58 x 18mm

Example of usage:

Plug into battery in order to power the pcb board.

Don’t connect the charge input yet…

–Start charge setting (left button)

Press and hold the left button until the LCD starts flashing.

Now press to choose the desired voltage.

Leave the button until flashing stops and the chosen voltage will be set.

–Stop charge setting (right button)

Press and hold the right button until the LCD starts flashing.

Now press to choose the desired voltage.

Leave the button until flashing stops and the chosen voltage will be set.

video example of usage

ESP8266

ESP8266 DEV BOARD

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#65 ESP8266 DEV BOARD

Board

This is an ESP8266 equipped with 32M of flash memory. It is compatible for NodeMCU board (Lua based ESP8266). The additional memory this unit has allows for bigger projects with complicated and large libraries. It features an onboard USB-TTL Serial converter (CH340G chip) and a Micro-USB female connector. It comes with two sets of 15 pins headers to give you the freedom of choosing whether soldering directly onto the pin holes for a more compact approach.

  • Capable of WIFI networking (IOT): Access-Point, station or Web Server etc.
  • Uses simple LUA based programming language
  • Supports Arduino IDE
  • Event-driven API for network applications
  • 9 GPIO pins D0 – D8 featuring PWM functionality, I2C and SPI communication
  • Operating Voltage: 4.9 – 9 VDC
  • Dimensions: 49 x 26 x 5mm
  • Weight: 10g
Pin out.
Useful links can be found here

Useful links

  1. Everything ESP8266
  2. ESP8266 WIKI HOME
  3. NodeMCU DRIVERS
Electronics

DIY VEROBOARD TOOL

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#64 DIY VEROBOARD TOOL

While working with electronics one of the easiest PCB boards I have found to work with is the horizontal stripboard. When using this type of board it is important to cut the tracks in a reliable fashion with adequate clearance veroboard cutting tool by Vero. This is a staple tool in the art of PCB prototyping but… it can be unnecessarily expensive. So I created a simple DIY version.

Factory made version.

Here is a small explanation of the process. Also take a look at this link which explains which are the best drill bits for a DIY veroboard trace cutter.

soft broomstick handle with 3.5mm drill bit epoxied in place.

Use a broom handle (or soft wood in a cylindrical shape) a 3.5mm drill bit and some epoxy.

In my case the price was 86.4% cheaper then buying one from the shop in South Africa.

Let the epoxy set in a smooth position (or as smooth as I could get it…)

ESP8266

ESP01 + RELAY MODULE

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#63 ESP01 + RELAY MODULE

ESP01 + v4 relay module.

While looking for a cheap wireles relay solution I found the ESP01 + relay module package.

This ESP-01 Relay Module based on AI-Thinker ESP-01/01S WIFI module. It is designed for smart home, internet of thing and others DIY project. With this smart relay, you will easy to DIY your smart switch to control any device by your phone anywhere using the popular ESP01.

The board is surprisingly small and has a thin PCB.

Code EXAMPLE
Files download
Relay module bottom.
Relay module top.
Close up.
Pin out
ESP01 pin out
ESP board types
Useful links can be found here

Useful links

  1. How to use the ESP8266-01 pins
  2. ESP-01S Relay v1.0 Schematic.pdf
  3. ESP-01S Relay v4.0.pdf
  4. ESP01/01S RELAY MODULE TUTORIAL
  5. ESP-01S-Relay-v4.0
  6. AT Instruction Set
  7. Microrobotics

Passionate about technology!

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