electric cats, a simple question for you: I have an electric guitar with a 5 way switch (2 dual humbuckers, 1 single coil). The 5 way switch is wired such that positions 0, 2, and 4 are neck humbucker only, single coil only, bridge humbucker only.

I swapped them out recently and those positions work 'fine' (except I think I soldered the wrong pickups to the wrong position, but hey, it's symmetrical, who cares?).

Positions 1 and 3 are a combination of a single pickup from the humbucker (split) and the middle single coil, and these are much more compressed and lower volume than the other positions. I think I fucked up the soldering and suspected I did something like swap the hot and the ground wires for each humbucker.

My question: A, without pictures or more information, does that make sense/seem plausible? B, would this be an easy to answer question if I gave more info and some pictures? C., ... what would this phenomenon even be called so that I might be able to look it up more in depth to see where I went wrong? It's like they're almost perfectly out of phase, or something; the reduction in volume and compression reminds me of destructive addition.

I wasn't able to find exact wiring diagrams for the new pickups (some inexpensive licensed duncans that are apparently duncans in name only) but the Ibanez wiring diagrams are easy enough to find. Any help or insight anyone can give would be super appreciated! It's still quite playable, as I largely just avoid positions 1 and 3 right now.

Thank you! reboosting totes appreciated

#electricGuitar #ibanezGuitar #pickupWiring #pickups #electronics #electronicWiring #soldering

I've been looking to get into PCB design a little more recently. I have a pretty solid grasp of the actual theory/design process and experience with KiCAD, but it's the actual logistics that I'm stuck on. Specifically, where is the best place to buy components?

Do you buy them in bulk? Alongside each other in the same shipment from some vendor? How do you deal with having enough of the many different types of SMD caps/resistors? I feel like getting stuff from say aliexpress in individual shipments of each component type is not very cost effective.

Today we're dropping a @defcon teaser AND running a Pre-Order Sale for Designing Electronics That Work – the book that answers "which capacitor should I actually buy?""instead of explaining what a capacitor is for 50 pages.

Use code PROTIPS for 30% off through 7/28, or stop by our booth at the convention for a special edition (and maybe the author's signature? who knows!)

https://nostarch.com/designingelectronics

Can anyone help me out with this? I’ve tried soldering wick, flux and extra tinning to try and get rid of it! I just want clear holes to put my switches pins through! I’ve tried both sides too #electronics #soldering

Glider antennae for the FLARM collision alert system ... where to put them?

I have three antennae to worry about: GPS, ADS-B, and FLARM A. (FLARM B is an external antenna on the bottom of the fuselage.)

They can't be too close to each other. The blue strip of aluminum taped to the nose shows the notional canopy inner surface, so there is not much height available. Fortunately, the instrument bay top cover is fiberglass is radio transparent. If I have to drill a hole to set the tallest antenna a bit lower, that's not all that terrible.

Note, for proper antenna polarization the dipoles must be vertical.

Considering all the other antennae I have (transponder and its GPS, radio, infotainment system, SSMIS download and HAM relay), I'm starting to feel like this airplane:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_RC-135

At least I don't need a long wire HF antenna. Or do I?

Phil's Lab published a really good video about inductors in practical designs, and as always it's very much worth a watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZwqQL80ELg

No, I didn't solder a very clearly marked polarized electrolytic capacitor backwards across the power rails of my project board tonight, causing it to smell funny, emit a loud POP, and spit its guts across the room.

Not that you can prove, anyway.

Hmm, this ebike has a LM342N embedded in it. It has no connection to the controller, it has has a momentary switch only connected to jt. Did they really go to all this trouble just for the annoying buzzer?!?! #ebike #electronics #hacking

I'm looking for #opinions from #electronics #hobbyists or professionals.

When I'm using a #solderless #breadboard to prototype circuits, resistors can be frustrating. If you just keep re-using the same well-worn ones that look like a pretzel, you have to leave the leads long for the unknown next place you want to use them, and you can accidentally short something else against the leads.

Over the years I've frequently thought "Someone must make #jumper wires with inline resistors so they're easy to reuse", but I've never seen them for sale. [1]

So I made a bunch. And wow, it's labour-intensive to make them well. That explains why no-one's selling them.

Would other people be interested in buying and using these? Anyone can make them, but a lot of people would rather use their limited #hobby time to make their projects, not make things they need to make their #projects.

I've reduced the amount of time to make them and will keep trying, but I would have to charge at least US $30 for a pack of ten. There are ways to reduce it further, but they require a significant investment in equipment, so I'd have to be selling quite a few.

I make them with good materials - silicone 26AWG #wire for flexibility, name-brand 1% metal film #resistors, total length 24cm.

Would anyone want these?

[1] Closest thing I've found is https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1438.html but they're rigid so you need to use an additional wire anyway if you're not connecting exactly that distance through clear space.

The Denon PMA-500V is almost ready to find a new owner: blown PS caps replaced; all mechanical switches and pots deep cleaned; resoldered all stressed joints; replace thermal compound with Silpads; bias current adjusted; DC offset checked.

Now running a load test at 100W to see the temperature change on the main heat sink.

Love this project from mikeselectricstuff to replace barrel jack sockets with an all-in-one USB-C socket and PD trigger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BElU9LPbaA8

The glider's transponder (TRIG TT22) has been successfully tested in the garage. Woo hoo!

After configuring the device, I put it through some initial tests.

Even in the garage the GPS antenna can get a position fix.

Applying higher or lower pressure to the static port on the transponder shows a corresponding change on the displayed altitude.

Applying pitot tube air pressure to the squat switch changes the transponder mode from ground to airborne, which is what we want.

Note: I can't test the radio/antenna/transmission capabilities in the garage. And anyway, I need to get the transponder checked at an avionics shop...they have specialty test equipment.

I finished up teaching 2 week neon and STEM class at Urbanglass on Friday. The high schoolers were from all over NYC with varied backgrounds/ schooling and they all made such fun things!
Along with my two TAs (Caroline and MolMol) we taught them not only how to wire and bend neon tubes, but also how to solder (SMT and through hole) and the very basics on programming captive portal ESP32 chips for blinking neon with phones.
We played games, Including making a 30 foot mega straw for fruit punch, competing with three glass an food coloring "rollercoasters" as well as numerous "drop test" contests to test/ build bend/ weld strength.
Overall they learned about planning, pereeverance and some the hard lessons of loss that glass can teach so well when the thing you make breaks.

One student quoted Don Quixote "Without hardships there can be no Adventure!" - couldn't have said it better myself :)

My latest blog post: Back 2 Basics - NMOS Switch

https://mikecoats.com/back-2-basics-nmos-switch/

The latest in my 'back to basics' series. Toggle high-ish voltages and currents from a microcontroller using an N-channel enhancement mode Field-Effect Transistor, also known as an NMOS Switch.

New blog post! TOG member Hussam Alhayek built a full aquarium automation system with water changes, sensors, and more. Dive into how it all came together.

https://www.tog.ie/2025/07/aquarium-automation/
#AquariumAutomation #Hackerspace #DIY #Electronics #Makers