unKool.com » diy

Cheap iPad Study Stand (Staples $4)

thuyla — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 22:39:05 +0000

Finally I got an iPad 32GB Wifi off someone in Toronto last week. First accessory I’d get is the stand for my iPad. I’ve seen it on TUAW and I knew it the right one I want. So I visited my local Staples store and got it for around $4. I also have some flexible water tube around and did a little tubing around the wire study stand for scratching protection. Anyways, showing some photos below:

Magnet Tool Hanger

thuyla — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:42:49 +0000

I have some rare earth (neodymium) magnets laying around the house. I decided to put them in use as a tool hanger, using a hot glue gun and glued the magnets onto the bookshelf. Whooolaaa… Pretty cool stuff…

Little cool setup for a Mac Mini

thuyla — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:23:28 +0000

Wow, it’s been a long time I haven’t done anything here. Recently I’ve got a Mac Mini and I’ve found this thing run a little hot for my concern. iStat Pro read the CPU temp around 50℃ with 1500rpm fan speed. People is saying this is normal temp for this kind of Mac Mini. Well, for me it’s not a good temperature in the long run. I had a 120mm case fan laying around, so I decided to do little mod and soldering the fan with a USB cable and connected to the back of the Mini. I could see some temp cool down a bit… It’s kinda fun huh?

DIY Paracord Lanyard

thuyla — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:20:02 +0000

Parachute cord (paracord) is one of my favorite cord to play with when I was little kid, although at that time I only could tie a round sinnet. I got into Stormdrane’s Blogs and I was impressed with his tying. So I went out and bought about 150 feet 550 type 3 paracord yesterday at Beavers Army Surplus local store. I couldn’t wait to learn some of these new knots and braids, I learned diamond knot and a solomon bar as my entry level.

DIY “Ceiling Stand” Flashlight

thuyla — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:33:51 +0000

My new tiny flashlight is a stainless steel Fenix LD01 limited edition. This flashlight is really compact and nice in my pocket EDC keychain. After few weeks lurking around at CPF (Candle Power Forums) and I’ve found some great ideas you could do with this little torch.

With a single rare-earth (neodymium) circular magnet, I could make the flashlight stick to any metal surface. I’m positive the magnet will NOT damage your flashlight. Items used:

1/4″ diameter x 1/10″ thick circular magnet (fit perfectly inside the LD01 tail)
Super glue (be careful once you glue, it sticks forever)
Fenix LD01 flashlight

Little flashlight and neodymium circular magnet (1/4″ diameter x 1/10″ thick).

Close-up shoot at the tail light.

The “Celing stand” flashlight is hanging onto my kitchen fan.

Horizontal stand on the wall hanger.

Enjoys.

DIY Charger Station

thuyla — Sun, 31 May 2009 00:33:31 +0000

Wondering how to organize all your battery charger in one nice place like a box or a carton? There are plenty of ways how to make yourself one with little cost. Here is one of my DIY charger box. Here is what I use:

clear Really Useful Boxes (4 liters)
TENERGY charger (for my Li-ion RCR123A batteries)
UltraFire WF-139 charger (for my Protected Li-ion AW 18650 batteries)
Panasonic BQ-396 charger (for my Ni-MH / Ni-Cd AA and AAA batteries)
UltraFire Battery Protective case (case for my RCR123A and AW 18650 batteries)
Globe 8 Outlets Power Bar (hidden inside the box)

Basically, I hid an outlet power bar inside the box and drilled all the necessary holes for the wires going through. I’ve found some good videos out there with instructions how to do it yourself.

Canon Speedlite 430EX for DIY Ring Flash project

thuyla — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 04:02:32 +0000

It’s my addition photography gear. I’m planning on a DIY Ring Flash project this long Family Day weekend and it would be fun. I got the flash just today. It’s pretty much used when I got it, but it does look minty like brand new. I’m new to flash as well, not a clue how to use it.

The DIY Ring Flash is required an off camera shoe cord which I don’t have at the moment. I’m looking to buy it off someone for cheap. This is going to be fun for collecting all the parts together, I’ve got hard time finding some of the parts at my local Home Depot store. The parts are:

10.5″ Clamp Reflector Light
4×5″ Vent Coupler
1/4 x 1/8 x 36″ metal bar
1/4″ thumb screw
3/16″ screws, nuts and lock washers
JB weld epoxy
Black paint and primer
some tapes

The 10.5″ clamp reflector light is nowhere to be found in Home Depot. I’ve tried 2 stores and all they have was 8.5″ one.