The ghetto mod thread

[goontron]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

nice dim bulb tester.

[Agent24]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

Congratulations, your 10 EE points are in the mail...

[momaka]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

While on that topic, here's mine:


and the back:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1414452772
I still haven't put a power cord on it yet, but now that I have a lot of jumper leads on my disposal, I don't use it too much.

As one might guess, the switch is used to control power. The top plug is where I plug in the current limiting device (usually desk lamp with incandescent bulb, but sometimes other high-power resistive devices too, like a toaster oven), and on the bottom is where I plug the device I want current to be limited to (so the two plugs are in series, basically). Technically, I can swap the devices, but the top plug limits current through Live, so if the device has any non-isolated surfaces connected to Neutral for any reason, that might not be a very good thing.

Ground is the same for both devices and properly connected to ground.

[goontron]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

While on that topic, here's mine:

img>

and the back:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1414452772
I still haven't put a power cord on it yet, but now that I have a lot of jumper leads on my disposal, I don't use it too much.

As one might guess, the switch is used to control power. The top plug is where I plug in the current limiting device (usually desk lamp with incandescent bulb, but sometimes other high-power resistive devices too, like a toaster oven), and on the bottom is where I plug the device I want current to be limited to (so the two plugs are in series, basically). Technically, I can swap the devices, but the top plug limits current through Live, so if the device has any non-isolated surfaces connected to Neutral for any reason, that might not be a very good thing.

Ground is the same for both devices and properly connected to ground.

i raise your two socket my eleven. made in the usa. both had a UL listing, until i got ahold of them. and chopped out there MOVs

[momaka]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

^How many devices do you test at the same time to need that?!

[Jooo]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

DIY screwdriver holder with leds

[momaka]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

^ Very cool blue light.

Now, I haven't posted anything that is "proper" in a long time. So...

Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves!
I present you the next generation of headphone and headset design:

Yes, that head-strap piece consists of two pieces of crude steel wire twisted together and bent to fit over the head. The wire for the right ear piece is twisted around that.

This is how the ear pieces are held on the wire:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1415496679
Basically, a small piece of thin galvanized sheet metal (30 AWG maybe? if not thinner) was cut and folded around a screw driver. It is held on each ear piece with a single screw (the screws were actually part of the original headset there - they held the behind-the-neck strap to the ear pieces). The clear tape on the steel wire is to kill some of the loose fitting, because I made the holes on the steel sheet straps too big. I could have used electrical tape to try to "match" the color of the steel wire, but electrical tape is not good for places where a lot of movement is anticipated. Plus, I hate the sticky residue it leaves after a year or so. Masking tape was considered too, but it tends to catch hair and dirt too easily, so was rejected. Thus, mailing tape it was .

Now, onto the ear cups for the ear pieces. Originally, my idea was to make big "stylish" ear cups, just like on many modern headphones . The white plastic is actually thin vinyl. It was cut from some leftover vertical vinyl blinds scraps (due to a former roommate trashing our old dorm apartment ). The fabric that goes on top of the ears is made from a pair of shorts I used to wear for many years (those shorts finally gave out about two years ago and ripped to pieces, so I stashed them in the garage to use as a "rag"). The fabric is simply hot-glued to the vinyl piece. Finally, all that was left to do was to find a soft filling material to go between the fabric and the vinyl piece. It would have been nice if I had some cotton or scrap foam... but I didn't. However, thanks to my sloppy former roommate again, there was a lot of fluff accumulation in the dryer's fluff collector. Yeah . So... there goes that . If this is not ghetto enough for you, I don't know what is.

That said, the results came out surprisingly good. First off, those ear cups are quite soft and comfortable. They also seem to do quite well at blocking outside noise. Moreover, I think the "fit" is what made it work this well. The steel wire does have some springy-ness to it, but not too much. As a result, the headset fits well on the head - not too tight and not too lose. And the steel sheet straps that attach the ear pieces to the steel wire allows the ear cups to rotate up and down freely around the ear. Here's what I mean:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1415496679

The only sad part is that headset makes for some very poor headphones. But this was so prior to my handy work. The drivers are just run-of-the-mill standard 32 Ohm impedance cans. Bass response is not great (though not as bad as on some other sets I've seen), the mids are muddy, and the highs are nearly non-existent.

So why all of this work then?
Simple: I needed a headset with a mic to use with Skype, and since I already knew we had this crappy set in our house doing nothing (the behind-the-neck strap was broken), I decided to make something out of it. And also free time and the desire to create something shitty .

Hope that brought you all some joy as much as it did to me when I made these. I almost literally made this as a bad joke. Except, now I am using that .

[Agent24]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

Awesome! And since telephony has shit audio bandwidth anyway, those drivers are a perfect match!

[momaka]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

Awesome! And since telephony has shit audio bandwidth anyway, those drivers are a perfect match!

Thanks

Here's another ghetto-mod:

I found this piece of circuit board in the scrap pile of my friend's repair shop a few years ago. I saw the 2.5" PATA/IDE HDD connector, and though it must be some kind of a USB to 2.5" PATA adapter (or perhaps part of an external 2.5" PATA HDD).

As you can see in the upper-right corner, the power/signal connector must have gotten ripped off. Not knowing what it was, I simply desoldered a USB B-type connector out of a scrap HP OfficeJet logic board (becuase I didn't have anything with mini USB).
Some hot glue and scrap enamel wire later (enamel wire, because I'm too cheap to use proper wire and because my cup of "scrap enamel wire" pieces doesn't get much use otherwise), and this was the result:


Of course, it works fine too! Why else would I post it?

[goontron]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

Thanks

Here's another ghetto-mod:

I found this piece of circuit board in the scrap pile of my friend's repair shop a few years ago. I saw the 2.5" PATA/IDE HDD connector, and though it must be some kind of a USB to 2.5" PATA adapter (or perhaps part of an external 2.5" PATA HDD).

As you can see in the upper-right corner, the power/signal connector must have gotten ripped off. Not knowing what it was, I simply desoldered a USB B-type connector out of a scrap HP OfficeJet logic board (becuase I didn't have anything with mini USB).
Some hot glue and scrap enamel wire later (enamel wire, because I'm too cheap to use proper wire and because my cup of "scrap enamel wire" pieces doesn't get much use otherwise), and this was the result:


Of course, it works fine too! Why else would I post it?

your 10 ghetto mod points are in the mail!

[lti]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

I fixed the fan in my old HP laptop.

I've included the schematic for the new motor driver. R1 is a load I used for the simulation. That's actually where the motor winding is connected. Q3 is really a KSA1298, and Q4 is a KSC3265.

[TELVM]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

The OEM heatsink that comes with the AM1 Athlon 5950 (left one) looked a bit pathetic for my taste ...



... so I -modded an ole copper-core Intel heatsink from a P4 Preshott ...

[momaka]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

your 10 ghetto mod points are in the mail!

lol, thank you. I hope you didn't use ductape to seal the envelope, though. Probably would never come if you did .

I fixed the fan in my old HP laptop.

Cool mod. What was wrong with it, though? Fan didn't spin?

The OEM heatsink that comes with the AM1 Athlon 5950 (left one) looked a bit pathetic for my taste ...
... so I -modded an ole copper-core Intel heatsink from a P4 Preshott ...

Nice! Those Intel heatsinks meant for the Pentium D/4 Prescotts are very very good at getting rid of heat. I have a D830, and that thing is rated for 130W TDP (and peaks at 150W).

[TELVM]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

Momaka that USB to IDE concoction of yours is just epic!!!

[lti]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

Cool mod. What was wrong with it, though? Fan didn't spin?

That's correct. The fan wouldn't spin, and I found that the driver IC in the fan was dead. I actually had it connected to a motor driver IC from a CD-ROM drive for a while just to see if the rest of the fan was still good. That might have been more worthy of this thread since it was a 4-channel motor driver that was still soldered to the drive's PCB. It is now powered directly from 5V instead of being connected to the motherboard's fan header because it doesn't spin the fan until the CPU temperature reaches 80°C.

All of the components were removed from junk boards (and they're all surface mount), so it's definitely ghetto. It still doesn't beat your use of enameled wire as USB 2.0 cable.

[goontron]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

80s yamaha receiver driving vintage console radio speakers, drawer enclosure.

[kaboom]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

^- I like how the dynex is "accident prone."

What did you use to repair those speakers?

Now, I haven't posted anything that is "proper" in a long time. So...

Ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves!
.....


Hope that brought you all some joy as much as it did to me when I made these. I almost literally made this as a bad joke. Except, now I am using that .

What can I say? It sure beats leaving them as useless junk. Or, the audio you'll get from them still beats what that lousy skype codec delivers...

How do they sound for music? Beats me.



( me for the very obvious joke)

I've got ya tied for bad jokes. I once put a 6x9 car speaker in a cardboard gift box when I was much younger. What can I say- it sounded better than when it was free air... The bad-joke of bad-jokes was when I added a Radio Shack piezo tweeter to it. You can't say I didn't have fun with it!

[goontron]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

^- I like how the dynex is "accident prone."

What did you use to repair those speakers?

i've already had to resolder the main filter cap on that TV because it rattled loose.
i used RTV silicone, i really need to get those speakers reconed though.
remember Sanford and Son? heard of Mumford and Sons?
i bet you would like the sound of this song: https://soundcloud.com/demiansims/sa...mford-and-sons

[Junk Parts]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

The name Mumford is a part of my family tree...LOL for real.

[goontron]

Re: The ghetto mod thread

The name Mumford is a part of my family tree...LOL for real.

Cool! Booth is part of my family tree. (Yes, JWB)