This isn’t perfect, but it’s been built almost entirely from offcuts of 12mm and 9mm plywood, along with a pair of old 6x9 speakers I had sitting on a shelf.

It runs on a Raspberry Pi Zero W using Raspberry Pi OS Lite. On startup it automatically resumes the last digital audio stream that was playing over WiFi, and currently has 6–7 preset stations that can be selected remotely.

The missing right-hand knob will eventually become the station selector dial. The existing knob controls the master volume on the amplifier. The unit can also be controlled from a phone through a custom HTML interface which allows remote station selection, volume control and safe shutdown.

It also supports AirPlay streaming, automatically switching over from internet radio when a device connects.

The main power switch is mounted on the side facing away from the front panel, and the unit is powered using an old PSU originally used for a 3D printer.

The whole thing was built as a low-cost self-contained workshop stereo using mostly reused parts. This all started because I ran Cat6 cable to the garage so I finally have WiFi and can now stream.

This is a warning so you don’t do something as stupid as me. I was desoldering this button cell rechargeable battery with the hot air gun, i wanted to avoid the risk of shorting it with a normal solder iron. I kept the air too close, it was not going out, then it exploded and everything flew across the room, some tiny bits touched my eye too.

I never wear eye protection when soldering but now i might do, are there other components that can explode?

https://i.imgur.com/MUURpQ8.jpeg

My microwave was omitting a burning smell when in use, so I took the cover off to see if I could find the cause. There was a plastic piece around the wire that connects to the transformer that was burnt to a crisp. I broke it off with my wire cutters, and then scraped off the charred remains from the connector blades with a screwdriver. Then I used the wire brush tool in my cordless drill to buff and clean them more thoroughly. I unscrewed the transformer from the base and tipped it on its side to get better access.

It was at this point I decided to look up if it was safe to solder the wire back onto the transformer and discovered that no, no it is not. In fact, none of this was safe to do! Yikes.

I have this 70s? Regulated power supply. I can't find anything related to JDP. Anyone know this brand?

Bought this locally from facebook marketplace. Decided I'd rather refurb it than buy a chinese box. Ebay'd the voltmeters and ammeter. Modded the middle one so the silver switch selects either 3.3v or 5v. Bought cloth wrapped wire for the aesthetics. The old Radio Shack Electronics Learning Lab was mine from years ago. Deleted the batteries and hard wired the breadboard to the power/ground bolts.

Been working on this for about a year and wanted to share what I learned - both the hardware design decisions and the mistakes.

The idea was simple - instead of a separate carbon or plastic frame, the PCB arms are the airframe. An ESP32 sits at the centre as the flight controller. Four brushless motors clip directly to the board corners.

What worked:

1. Integrating the structural and electronic functions into one board saved significant weight

2. Copper reinforcement around the motor mount holes handled vibration better than I expected

3. Soft mounting the MPU-6050 IMU made a huge difference to flight stability

What was harder than expected:

4. PID tuning took about two weeks of test flights to get stable hover

5. Weight distribution matters a lot - ESP32 module placement affects centre of gravity

6. Trace routing around the arm cutouts needs careful planning to avoid stress points

The firmware:

7. PID loop for pitch, roll, and yaw stabilisation

8. MPU-6050 IMU integration

9. WiFi telemetry streaming to a browser dashboard

10. All written in Arduino C++ - open source on GitHub

The drone is part of a larger embedded learning kit I've been building - but happy to answer any questions about the PCB design or the flight controller firmware specifically.

Anyone here built an integrated frame PCB before? Would love to know how you handled the motor mount stress points.

I have this cheap bluetooth speaker which had its micro usb charging port broken by people using it while I was away. No repair shop near me was willing to repair it. So I'm left with no choice to either toss it or repair it myself.

I thought about repairing it and took it's board out which was relatively easy. But now I'm stumped on how to desolder it and replace it with a new one. I've ordered a cheap hobbyist soldering set to try it. But any and all knowledge and advice would be greatly appreciated. Even pointing me towards the right channels, videos, and guides etc would be lovely.

So, I'm testing my personal Peltors during some radio work at my unit, and I can hear transmissions, but not broadcast. I popped the ear cup off and I'm seeing/feeling what appears to be some kind of super glue and exposed wiring where the mic wiring leads connect to the boom. Are these in the correct orientation, or am I going to have to cut away the glue and flip the wires? I've got no clue what I'm doing as far as electronics go aside from replacing the occasional home circuit breaker.

Edit: I'm aware of the solder points in the connector for the boom, working on sourcing a soldering iron and some solder currently. Just need to know the following: when looking at the connector point with the tray cover removed and the lead to the actual mic oriented to the right, what's the left-to-right order of the yellow and black wires?

I’m working on a DIY cooling setup using an Eight Sleep Pod 5 King cover that I currently own (no pod) as the mattress-side water grid, but replacing/bypassing the Eight Sleep hub with my own external cooling loop.

The goal is cooling only for now. I don’t care about heating. I also don’t want a permanent bucket/reservoir sitting in my bedroom, so I’m trying to build this as a mostly closed loop with fill/bleed/drain ports.

I’m posting because I’d like people to tear this apart before I buy everything. If there’s a flaw in the flow rate, pressure, tubing assumptions, pump choice, chiller choice, noise, condensation risk, etc., I’d rather find out now.

What inspired this

The main inspiration was this Truffle Security post:

https://trufflesecurity.com/blog/removing-jeff-bezos-from-my-bed

They used an Eight Sleep cover and connected the tubing to an aquarium chiller. That made me realize the useful part of the Eight Sleep system, for my purposes, is really the water-circulating cover.

I also looked at a bunch of other DIY / repair / teardown posts:

• The 1/8th Sleep https://near.blog/the-1-8th-sleep/ What I took from this: keep the system modular and serviceable; don’t overcomplicate the mattress side.
• TechTeamGB DIY bed watercooler/heater https://techteamgb.co.uk/2024/11/18/i-made-a-custom-bed-watercooler-open-source-diy-bed-cooler-heater-eight-sleep-type-thing/ What I took from this: external cooling hardware can work, but building the entire pad/control system from scratch is more complexity than I want.
• Homemade EightSleep Reddit prototype https://www.reddit.com/r/EightSleep/comments/1heaeh2/homemade_eightsleep/ What I took from this: the concept is doable, but I’d rather use the real Eight Sleep cover instead of making my own tubing pad.
• Update to Homemade Eight Sleep https://www.reddit.com/r/EightSleep/comments/1nc50rr/update_to_homemade_8_sleep/ What I took from this: custom controls are interesting, but I don’t want to design a full appliance right now.
• Pod 2 teardown / repair discussion https://www.reddit.com/r/EightSleep/comments/1dnjut4/pod_2_teardown/ What I took from this: don’t trust zip ties as hose clamps. Use real clamps. Leak prevention matters more than saving $10.
• Pump swap / repair post https://www.reddit.com/r/EightSleep/comments/1i4ulwv/swapping_a_pump/ What I took from this: the Eight Sleep pump class seems to be closer to a small 12V brushless DC circulation pump, roughly 7 L/min / 3 m head / 6–7 W, not a giant aquarium or pond pump.
• Tubing material discussion https://www.reddit.com/r/EightSleep/comments/16s07wz/what_material_do_they_use_for_tubing/ What I took from this: making the pad from random tubing is probably the wrong path. Heat transfer and comfort are hard. Better to use the actual Eight Sleep cover.
• Watercooling / mattress chiller thread https://www.reddit.com/r/watercooling/comments/1mjqoa6/been_looking_at_mattress_bed_water_coolers/ What I took from this: compressor chillers can work, but condensation and noise are real issues.
• DIY compressor-cooled mattress pad discussion https://www.reddit.com/r/vandwellers/comments/rj63ei/diy_compressorcooled_water_mattress_pads_air/ What I took from this: compressor cooling seems more practical than a weak Peltier setup if I actually want meaningful cooling.

Why I’m doing this

I like the Eight Sleep cover concept, but I don’t love being locked into the official hub/cloud/subscription ecosystem. I’m mainly trying to get a reliable cooling setup that is:

• quiet enough for a bedroom
• cooling-only
• serviceable
• leak-conscious
• not wildly expensive
• not dependent on a permanent open reservoir/bucket

I looked into thermoelectric/Peltier options because they’re closer to how Eight Sleep seems to work, but most DIY-friendly TEC setups look either underpowered, inefficient, noisy once fans are included, or expensive enough that I might as well use the official hub.

So I’m leaning compressor chiller.

Proposed build

Basic loop idea:

Eight Sleep Pod 5 cover outlet
-> small 12V brushless inline pump
-> aquarium compressor chiller
-> Eight Sleep Pod 5 cover inlet

Service ports:

High point:
T-fitting -> valve -> capped fill/bleed tube

Low point:
T-fitting -> valve -> drain hose to bucket

I do not want a permanent reservoir. I’m okay using a bucket only when filling, bleeding, or draining.

Proposed shopping list

Chiller

Poafamx / AL-160 / 42 gal / 1/10 HP aquarium chiller

Amazon examples I found:

• https://www.amazon.com/Poafamx-Aquarium-Chiller-Temperature-Constant/dp/B08C2X26S2
• https://www.amazon.com/Poafamx-Refrigeration-Compressor-Hydroponics-Freshwater/dp/B0C2Y22M1J
• https://www.amazon.com/Poafamx-Refrigeration-Compressor-Temperature-Hydroponics/dp/B0D17MKM3M

Reasoning: It’s a compressor model, relatively affordable, and some listings claim under 35 dB. I’m skeptical of that number, so I’d test it myself and return it if it’s loud.

Pump

TOPSFLO TL-B10-A12-0703 or similar 12V brushless DC pump.

Target pump specs:

12V DC
~7 L/min
~3 m head
~6–8 W
continuous duty
inline capable
not dry-run safe

Reasoning: This seems closer to the pump class used in older Eight Sleep units than a big aquarium pump. I originally looked at Sicce Syncra pumps, but they may be overkill flow-wise.

Pump power

12V DC power supply, probably 2A minimum, ideally UL-listed.

Tubing

Silicone tubing, but I’m not buying final adapters until I physically measure the Pod 5 tubing ID/OD.

Service fittings

• 2x barbed T-fittings
• 2x small ball valves
• caps/plugs
• drain hose
• optional flow indicator

Clamps

Stainless worm-drive or Oetiker clamps on every barb. No zip-tie-only connections.

Leak/safety

• leak tray / boot tray under all wet hardware
• water leak detector, probably Govee or similar
• GFCI outlet or plug-in GFCI adapter
• rubber/foam isolation under pump/chiller
• soft tubing near pump to reduce vibration transfer

Fluid

• distilled water
• some kind of compatible loop treatment / biocide

Still undecided here. I don’t want to use anything that might damage the Pod cover or tubing.

Things I’m unsure about

1. Is the Poafamx chiller actually quiet enough, or are the “under 35 dB” claims fantasy?
2. Is a 1/10 HP compressor chiller the right size for a king-size hydronic mattress cover?
3. Is the TOPSFLO-style pump too weak, too strong, or about right?
4. Should I add a tiny inline expansion chamber even if I don’t want a reservoir?
5. Is running this without a reservoir going to be annoying to fill/bleed?
6. Any reason this closed-loop design would create pressure problems for the Eight Sleep cover?
7. What’s the best way to avoid condensation if I’m cooling below room temp?
8. Any recommendations for safe biocide / loop treatment that won’t damage the cover?
9. Has anyone measured the Pod 5 cover tubing ID/OD or connector type?
10. Am I missing a better quiet compressor chiller under/near $350?

Basically: does this look reasonable, or am I about to build a quiet-looking but actually loud/leaky mattress aquarium?

Would appreciate any criticism, especially from people who have torn down Pods, repaired leaks, built DIY chillers, or measured the noise on these aquarium compressor units.

I have an old magic trick box that uses a DH-30 kerosene igniter to light a flat cotton lamp wick that’s been infused with lighter fluid to produce a small flame. I don’t know my way around electronics and need help identifying the harness/mount holding the igniter, and the round parts where the wires connect on the underside of that harness (if that’s the right term). The wires connect to a small battery pack and switch. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi.

I’m new to electronics but managed to find what could be the issue on my broken laptop (asus X415JA)

It’s not starting and no led.

It have 19v on ite and mosfet except 2 near the ssd. They have ~1.8v.
The (mosfet ?) on center of the pic 2N-8E AON is really hot when I plug the charger (with ssd disconnected).

Is this mosfet shorted and i need to replace it or is there others things to check before ?

I am trying to declutter and I've had a bunch of these ICs laying around for the past 15 years, are they worth keeping?

It wouldn't be the first time i got counterfeit components from ali (that's what ya get for buying cheap electronics stuff)

I'm almost certain the one on the right, wich came in a sealed reel, got sanded and lasered, but what is your opinion. And if they're fake is there a way to estimate the current capability.

I intended to use 5 of them in parallel to switch the output of a big liion bank i built, since the irfz44n I've used before became lightening very quickly.

Hey, 12 days ago I posted my 4-knob LED pattern controller here and the response was way bigger than I expected.

What changed since then:

- Designed my first PCB in KiCad (PCBway sponsored the manufacturing after seeing the original post — huge thanks)

- Swapped all 4 potentiometers for rotary encoders with push switches

- Cleaner case design to fit the new PCB and encoders

- All files on GitHub: schematics, PCB artwork (Gerber), 3D models for the case, firmware

I also built a website and just wrote the first post on it — a long build log looking back at the whole journey, in both English and Korean. Wrote it today while pausing to think about where this is heading.

GitHub: https://github.com/engmung/PatternFlow

Site + build log: https://patternflow.work/journal/v1-30-days

If it's useful to you, a star on the repo would mean a lot.

I designed the board in KiCad using the image converter. The roads are copper traces, the water is solder mask, and the bare board is the land. An LED panel behind the board can draw locations and images.

I documented the whole thing with the design files and source code for the software: https://www.robopenguins.com/pcb-map/