Gaggia Classic Boiler Replacement
This article documents the replacement of a boiler from a Gaggia Classic. It is a 2005 model, and whilst it has generally been serviced well over the years, the boiler has, over the past year become unserviceable. This is mostly in part due to corrosion from the aluminium dispersion plate that has become welded to […]
Mazzer Super Jolly Refurb
Following 7 years of using a Carimali G1 grinder I bought two Mazzer Super Jolly grinders to refurb and modify to doseless versions. One SJ came from a Café in Corby that had upgraded to digital dosed grinders, whilst the other one was from a home user on Facebook Marketplace. Both Grinders had a few […]
The Great Expobar Grinder Refurb
This page documents the complete refurbishment of a Cunill (Expobar) commercial coffee bean grinder. Purchased from Facebook Marketplace for £80 the machine is in reasonable condition and appears to be working. I don’t believe it has seen much maintenance through its life, and there is evidence of enormous build up of coffee oils and grinds […]
Brought back from the Dead! The Gaggia Baby Dose MAJOR repair
A friend recently bought a ‘new’ coffee machine from eBay for 35 pound. This was a Gaggia Baby Dose which typically, when working sell for between 120-250 pound. When purchased, the seller advertised it as ‘tripping the electrics’ when switched on. This is often caused by a water leak sending current away; so he took […]
Everlasting ‘Flashing!’ Light
A light that will shine from the moment you are born until you are 18? One single AA battery? Not possible? The Everlasting light is powerered using the circuit commonly known as the JouleThief. The Joule Thief came to fruition in 1999 when an article by Z. Kapernik was published in the November edition of […]
Jacobs Ladder
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REPRODUCE ANYTHING IN THIS ARTICLE. DANGER OF DEATH. HIGHLY DANGEROUS PROJECT. Project of the month: Build a high voltage device that will arc bolts of electrical discharge from one electrode to another. This arc should rise up to the top of the device and dissipate before another generates itself at the […]
Microwave Body Sensor
The microwave body sensor has been well documented on the internet and tested multiple times. How it works remains a mystery to many, but the set up of this device is very simple. the tiny circuit board has a regulated output, a ground, and a switched live. When the microwave sensor detects a body within […]
Door Lock Combination Device
The purpose of this project was to put the 4017 to a use other than driving LEDs. The IC counts and outputs logic high signals to any number up to 10. In this project the outputs would send 4 outputs from 4017s to a 4 input AND gate. The 4017 would be advanced manually with […]
Daisy’s Dock Lamp
Daisy’s Dock shone across the bay to West Egg. The slow flashing green beacon switched on and off every few seconds to guide boats in. A sort of domestic LightHouse. In this example we use a twin coil suppression coil wired together to form the Joule Thief. This is driven hard by a small resistor […]
The SuperComputer
The project was an exercise in counting. Utilising 5 4017 ICs (of which only 4 were ever wired up) and 4 x 74LS90 ICs. The 4017 counts sequentially from 1-10 in its purest configuration passing its tenth logic signal to its neighbouring IC as the input. In this manner the 4 processors counted to 10000. […]
The Internet
As a massive fan of the IT Crowd it made sense to create an identical replica to the box that provides the entire internet to the world. Ideally situation on the top of Big Ben (for best reception) this wireless device is to be handled with absolute care at all times. It’s a perfect talking […]
Digital Egg Timer
A good friend in my other life is retiring soon and needs a suitable home made present. She is passionate and putting some thought into gifts so I decided to build something electronics based and home made. A digital egg timer. The device would be based around two electronics IC. The 555 and the 4017 […]
IKEA Yellow House Nightlight Power Supply
This item was brought to my attention by an old friend who had one of these for his son. This small light emits a soft yellow glow at night and is controlled manually by a switch on the underside. The batteries are 2 x AA and these power a single coil boost circuit which when […]
Bobs Cat Bed
Our Kitten bob has been very poorly. In a year he has suffered with Cat Flu, Feline Herpes, gone almost blind, and required the removal of his right eye. 🙁 He battles on in reasonable spirits but required a new cat bed to relax and rest away from the perils of our larger Maine coon. […]
Light for Will and Dan
I was chatting to an old friend who has two young boys. Both own a night light from Ikea. The light in question is a small yellow house (SOMMAR product code) that glows using a single yellow LED. This light draws 20ma and drains the battery flat over a period of around 10 days. You […]
LED Love Light!
The LED Love Light consists of a PCB populated with dozens of 3mm red LED bulbs. These are driven by a variable power joule thief power supply regulated at five volts and powered by 1 or 2 AA batteries. The light will run for several weeks non stop or months when used intermittently.