A friend has a problem with a noisy phono preamp. He asked me to have a look at it and to try to fix the problem. Today I’m going to try to find the source of the noise.
Sabaj PHA1 teardown
I have talked about the Sabaj PHA1 headphone amplifier before. Let’s open it this time and see what makes it tick.
Stereo stepped attenuator
I am using a Sabaj PHA1 headphone amplifier with my Sennheiser HD555. The sound quality is OK, but the amplifier gain is too high for the relatively sensitive and low impedance HD555. To be able to use the full volume range, I decided to build a stepped attenuator to reduce the audio signal received by the amplifier.
Honeywell HCM-6009 humidifier review and improvements
I have been using the Honeywell HCM-6009 humidifier for one year to increase the relative humidity in my apartment during winter. Here is my review of the device and the improvements I made over time to make it more tolerable.
Continue reading “Honeywell HCM-6009 humidifier review and improvements”
Battery powered window fan prototype
The window extractor fan previously built worked so well that I decided to build another one for my bathroom, battery powered this time.
Recycling an Xbox 360 Slim power supply
Like so many people, my Xbox 360 suddenly died. The console itself was unusable (Red Ring of Death), but the power supply seemed OK. Unfortunately, it uses a proprietary connector, making it hard to reuse. To avoid putting it in the garbage with the console, I reverse engineered the connector and built a custom enclosure to reuse it as a dual voltage benchtop power supply.
Weekend project : Window exhaust fan
I live in an old apartment where there is no fixed ventilation, not even a range hood. In the summer, when I want some fresh air, I simply open the windows. But in the middle of winter in Montreal, getting a blast of -20°C cold air each time you want some fresh doesn’t seem to be the best option… To fix the situation, this weekend I built a custom window exhaust fan.
Weekend project : Wall mounted headphone hanger
I have been using Sennheiser HD555 headphones for many years. They sound great and are comfortable, but like many large headphones, they take a lot a place on my desk and the long cord is often in the way.
![](http://dieselpowered.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/DieselPowered_20170104_1-2-150x150.jpg)
I decided to take care of this situation last weekend and build a wall mounted headphone hanger to hold my headphones when I’m not using them. The design is simple, a thick piece of wood that is used as a base plate to hold three pegs on which the headphones will rest.
Continue reading “Weekend project : Wall mounted headphone hanger”
Wrapping a shovel
I’m sure you’ve had this problem before : the cold season is upon us and you want to offer a shovel to your loved one as a gift but don’t know how to wrap it… I just ran into this exact problem and here is how I solved the problem.
Mystery Box build guide
Today I will present build details behind the Mystery Box. To recap, the Mystery Box is a big cardboard box with large question marks on four sides that glow white when the box is closed. Once the box is opened, the question marks and the inside of the box flash red. Watching the build timelapse can be helpful to follow along.