Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

Reasonably promising, then. The traces on my board are 0.2mm wide (8mil - the minimum as specified by batchpcb.com) so it might work. I think I can get the registration close enough - though I've never tried etching a board, so we'll see... Thanks for the info. I made that board with Press N Peel b...

By the way - can anybody tell me whether I could realistically be able to etch a board like this myself? I designed it with the idea of having it produced professionally - but I do have stuff for etching, so I could try it. I just don't know the limitations of home etching in general. For instance,...

1-Wire is simple in hardware but expensive in code & CPU time, especially if you have more than one device on the line and have to do a poll and ROM check. If your CPU is limited in ROM space and RAM space, it would be a poor choice. Each ROM ID is 8 bytes long and unless you're using a Maxim/Da...

At my old job, I made a 2D laser array for an experiment. I used 45 laser diodes that I hacked apart. We bought over 50 of them from American Science & Surplus. The quality varied. The older laser diodes had epoxy PCBs and the boards were masked. The newer ones were on cheap paper PCBs (epoxy im...

For acrylics, I run denatured alcohol through the brush, then disassemble the tip (but I don't take out the pin) and soak it in denatured alcohol, then use a microbrush to clean the tip out. That's how I've gotten 6+ years out of some of my tips. If the paint is really caked on, I soak in in acetone...

I got just what you're looking for. It doesn't have a built-in autorouter and I found the library to be really anemic. Otherwise, it's good for manual layouts. Clyde, the Mac version of Eagle is an almost straight port (interface-wise) of the PC version... but it at least runs on Macs! And while no...

Eagle CAD has a free version. The free version has some limitations (only two layers & the board size is limited to 100 x 80 mm (4 x 3.2 inches)). The size is pretty generous, actually. It also has a fairly good autorouter, and what is really the critical part of any PCB design software - it ha...

As in you connect an RS-232 port to it and program? Does that mean it uses the serial transmit/receive lines and you just send commands and data to it, or are you using the other lines (flow control, etc.) and bit-banging it? Just regular RS-232 data in and out and ground on the STK500. The other l...

What kind of interface do you use to program an AVR anyway? I mean, I'm sure there's a parallel port solution (there always is - but they rarely work in my experience), but what are the good options for a hobbyist who wants a reliable hardware interface for writing program code to their controller?...

For assembly language, the Atmel AVR series is far easier to understand than the arcane PIC architecture and assembly language. For higher level languages, it doesn't matter as much. You can get an Atmel AVR Butterfly for $19 . It has several A/D channels, an alphanumeric LCD display, speakers a lig...

Tower Hobbies has a good selection of paints. I get most of my acrylic paints from them.

The LED Center has two calculators the single LED calculator and a series/parallel array calculator. The second calculator is more useful, since it can do a single LED just as easily.

Frank

I would like to know how to eliminate clock noise altogether??? Please do tell. I haven't seen your circuit, but a 4.7uF Tantalum in parallel with a 0.1uF cap to ground at the power supply input to the board would be a place to start by eliminating noise coming in from the power supply. If you're u...

I have a question about an article I saw someplace about using Future as a sealer for home made decals. I don't remember where I read it though. Does anybody know about this article or has anybody used Future to seal their decals after they've printed them? Aaron, welcome to the board. I'll leave t...

I've noticed on some current jet fighters they have a slightly reflective, gold canopy. I've tried a number of ways to duplicate this but the following problem come up - any gold metallic I have - inks and acrylics - usually have too much 'grain' in them to be useful. I've asked on ARC forums, and ...

Has anyone ever used this stuff? http://www.sunshinecrafts.com/body_friendly_plastic.html There's an article over at ARC about using it as a mold making material. He used bondo for his casting medium, was wondering if something like this would work with resin or maybe just something like Aves. Anyo...

Rafael wrote:Found Amazing mold putty and bought a sample.
Rafa

Rafa, I'd love to see what you do with it!

What about MM Acryl? I don't need to shoot much metallic, but would like a good option for when I do! IMO, the Testors Acryls are the best commonly available acrylics around now; the Polyscale acrylics are very similar but harder to find. Tamiya and Gunze are easy to work with, but Acryl has a wide...

I painted the base of this Earth vs. The Flying Saucers dio with Tamiya gunmetal acrylic. You really have to mix the paint well. I thinned it quite a bit with denatured alcohol (don't remember the exact ratio - about 1:4 paint:thinner or higher). I also checked it in the cup to see if it was the con...

Goo gone may be a little too strong. I'd try 70% isopropyl alcohol on a foam applicator or cotton swab. Or, if it's a small canopy, just use your finger and saliva to wipe it off ! Isopropyl (or just about any alcohol) will remove Future. So will ammonia and ammonia based products and some petroleu...

Stu Pidasso wrote:
I'm more worried about the molds... :D

Why? I've baked RTV molds up to 200F with no problems. The 120 - 150F shouldn't be an issue for most mold materials. When I've cast clear parts, I leave them in the mold when they bake - less chance of them sticking to a sheet or warping.

I've used a type of silicone putty (polyvinyl siloxane) that's used by dentists to make teeth molds. The stuff is a 1:1 mix and you have a few minutes working time before it cures. They have two problems, compared to regular RTVs: 1 - cost (although the John Greer stuff looks good, and so does Amazi...

Does it work well? I've had one for a while and they work great - a really fantastic way to sand evenly. You can get cheap electric toothbrushes (like Colgate's ) for under $8. The battery is replaceable, too. I use a touch of hot glue to secure the sandpaper to the de-bristled toothbrush head; it ...

and, wow. the laminators sound like a grand idea, if they work that well. any particular suggestions? The one I mentioned in my article is no longer made. The replacement seems to be the H210 . Harbor Freight has a slave-made one that gets up to 275F for $43. Although it says 0.3mm per minute, the ...

also, regarding the toner transfer, i'm using some stuff designed for the homebrew circuitboard set called press n peel blue, available for about a dollar a sheet at techniks.com, i think it is. just google "pressn n peel blue" if i got it wrong... that stuff... ya just stick it in a lase...

power is not a problem. my dads a electrician and i've helped him out a few times.(been zaped a few too) so i know how to respect power,cause i know she don't respect you. If that's the case, electroetching might be a better bet. I haven't tried anything "serious" with it, but the results...

The place to start is with the IR detector. If you use a standard module, the software will be much easier. The Sharp GP1U52X was the old time favorite, but the Sharp GP1U581Y is newer and probably easier to find. A Google search for these two . For the transmitter, just use an IR LED and modulate a...

are you sure about that frank? (the chemical thing) i've got a functioning etching set up using nothing but saltwater, electricty and a laser printer to get the image on the brass... Electroetching doesn't have dangerous chemicals (copper sulphates probably work better than saltwater l...) but you'...

i know most of the chemicles involved are pretty caustic.but i've heard some of you mention that you have done your own at home. ho do you do that? is it compicated? or just to dangerous for the average person? Here's an article I wrote for Starship Modeler. Regardless of the method you use, there ...

Tower Hobbies has a great selection of paint, tools & supplies at prices that are often lower than Squadron or Micromark.