troubleshooting

How to Make Your Own Emission Control Leak Detector

How to Make Your Own Emission Control Leak Detector

By Gareth Branwyn

Gareth Branwyn

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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Make a cheap smoke machine for detecting leaks in your emission control system.

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Build a Simple PantoProbe for High-Precision Electronics Troubleshooting

Build a Simple PantoProbe for High-Precision Electronics Troubleshooting

By Gareth Branwyn

Gareth Branwyn

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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3D print a PantoProbe, a simple device for amplifying your probe precision in electronics testing.

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Quick Tip: Tracing PCB Tracks with an Aluminum Finger

Quick Tip: Tracing PCB Tracks with an Aluminum Finger

By Gareth Branwyn

Gareth Branwyn

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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A quick and easy way of tracing connections on a printed circuit board.

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Projects with Ryan Slaugh: Simple Amplifier

Projects with Ryan Slaugh: Simple Amplifier

By Ryan Slaugh

Ryan Slaugh

Ryan Slaugh is a hardware and software engineer with over 15 years of experience designing and building different systems. While he has a few college degrees, his best training came from growing up on a farm and working with his father who was also an electrician. Ryan works regularly with woodworking, metal work, electronics, and software. Ryan also has a love of tools and collects as many as he can.

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Building upon my last video, I’ve decided to make a simple circuit using some op-amps.  One is the general op-amp LM741. The other is a specific op-amp, LM386, that is designed for audio amplification. This circuit can be used to amplify microphones or be used as a circuit sniffer depending on what you connect to […]

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Why Do Christmas Lights All Go Out When One Bulb Blows?

Why Do Christmas Lights All Go Out When One Bulb Blows?

By Gareth Branwyn

Gareth Branwyn

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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John Graham-Cumming asks this holiday lights question and provides a nerd-friendly troubleshooting solution.

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How-To: Repair Christmas Lights

How-To: Repair Christmas Lights

By Becky Stern

Becky Stern

Becky Stern is a Content Creator at Autodesk/Instructables, and part time faculty at New York’s School of Visual Arts Products of Design grad program. Making and sharing are her two biggest passions, and she's created hundreds of free online DIY tutorials and videos, mostly about technology and its intersection with crafts. Find her @bekathwia on YouTube/Twitter/Instagram.

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The low-down on Christmas tree lights and how to fix them.

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