Soldering

It's believed that most iPods carry the Wolfson Microelectronics WM8975 codec and although it does a great job converting the digital audio on the iPod's drive into analog audio, the iPod's amplifiers don't make the sound loud enough to hear through your headphones. Take a loo ...more

Put the newspaper down on a work surface. Pick up the 5 MW green laser pen and unscrew the battery cap. Remove the batteries and put them and the battery cap aside. Hold the back of the laser pen with your left hand and the front of the laser pen with your right hand. Twist ...more

This week on Make Magazine is a project with parts from the Arduino Starter Kit. Skip over building the Proto Shield. Otherwise, it's a simple build that doesn't require any soldering. Arduino is a speaking control for robotics. It can be used in other Make kits or robotic pro ...more

Tinkernut demonstrates how to hook up your exercise bike to Google Maps. Using a stationary bike can be good for your health but it can also be boring. You can spice up your exercise regiment by using Google Maps. You will need a USB keypad with arrow keys, a magnetic contact ...more

This scorpion toy was constructed by Make Magazine with a Twitchie Robot Kit. If you're afraid of real life scorpions this friendly toy might help you get used to them. His plush body is made from some fabric aiming to make him look like an Arizona bark scorpion, which are tan ...more

Take a look at this instructional video and learn how to build a powerful pocket amplifier for your headphones out of a Altoids mint case. To make this contraption, you'll need a circuit board, jumpers, soldering tool, two 220 micro fahren caps, and two 10k resistors.

In this tutorial, we learn how to make light using a stepper motor generator. First, take the motor out of an old printer that you don't use anymore. After this, find a few LED lights. You will need to solder the LED lights, then connect them with a soldering iron to the print ...more

Watch as Novastar and Gundamaniac demonstrate detailed wiring for a crystal focus board for Star Wars Lightsabers! Making your very own Jedi Light Saber may be a daunting task if you don't know what you're doing, but this four-part video tutorial will save the day from evil fo ...more

How to circuit bend a 80's Radio Shack toy synthesizer. Open up any device and play around with the internal audio devices. Circuit bending is done on mostly old cheap toys. This is a circuit bend demonstration on a toy piano. Get out your soldering iron and rip open toys. Thi ...more

Combine your iPod and a laser to send your music on the beam. Easy project that anyone can do, with the help of a little soldering. You will need your iPod, a solar cell, a laser, and a soldering tool. Watch this video circuitry tutorial and learn how to hook up an iPod to a l ...more

Create a nighttime chorus of insect sounds by modifying a solar yard light! You'll need some components, and the circuit board is not for the timid. It's pretty complicated with resistors, capacitors, thermistors, amplifiers, and some transformers. If you can manage all of thi ...more

This video tutorial will show you how to take an old computer keyboard and use its circuitry as a physical computing input device. Once you have this device, you can then use it to interface with programs that you write using software such as pure data processing, MAX/MSP, and ...more

How to take off the iPhone earbuds and replace them with whichever ones fit your ears and sound best. This can help because you keep the button and the 1/8" jack that slips into your iPhone. You need a soldering iron to remove the earbuds.

Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to install an automatic shut off valve for a water heater. Steps: 1 Turn off the water to the water heater. 2 Drain the water heater using an electric pump and garden hose. 3 Shut off the gas, then disconnect the gas line from ...more

Some basics of removing and repairing an arcade monitor including: disconnection, tools for soldering, boards and caps.

Electronics are the most important new thing people have created in the last hundred years, and learning how to use them will make you much more able to function in modern society. If you want to learn about electronics without going to a class or anything so formal, this exce ...more

Don't know a soldering iron from a curling iron? In this how-to, you'll learn how to get good, glitchy Speak & Spell sounds without having to circuit bend your toy (or even open up the case).

In this tutorial, we learn how to fix an Xbox 360 Phillips Benq Drive. First, you will open up the broken drive using a Philips head screw driver. Next, desolder the chip from the broken drive with a soldering iron. After you do this, you will be able to slide out the motherbo ...more

In this soldering tip video brought to you by BEST, Inc. Bob Wettermann demonstrates the repair of plated through-hole printed circuit boards.

The end of the ugly split ring and soldering jump rings has arrived! Jumplocks "are easy-to-use jumprings that "LOCK" into place! This video jewelry-making tutorial demonstrates this new product and the technique used to "LOCK" them!

Are you a "Tron" fanatic? Then this laptop case will blow your mind. Styled after the streamlined, glow-in-the-dark "Tron" cinematography, this laptop bag looks like a "Tron" suit and will shine even at night. Tote your Thinkpad and port your Apple in style with our custom TR ...more

Sometimes it's more than just inconvenient when your electronics lose power. Sometimes, losing power could be dangerous. Never worry about a dead cell phone again! Charge your portable electronics by harnessing the power of the sun. You Will Need *Solar-powered garden lights ...more

Watch this video to lean how to make a cool wave ring. Follow every step of measuring, sawing, annealing, soldering, sanding and buffing. Part 1 of 4 - How to Make a wave shaped ring. Part 2 of 4 - How to Make a wave shaped ring. Part 3 of 4 - How to Make a wave shaped ring. ...more

This video shows you how to disassemble a first generation iPod nano so you can replace the battery. You will need a soldering iron and need to do some electronic soldering so make sure you're comfortable with soldering or have practiced a bit beforehand. Be careful or you'll ...more

You like all things Xbox so instead of just playing with it try making your own stuff. You can make a your own Lite-on probe for your Xbox with items you can pick up at RadioShack or a comparable electronic store. Things you will need - DB9 serial connector - Female (pic abov ...more

Convert a Zoom h2 into a 4 track field recorder which cane record from 4 channels on a computer audio interface. You will need four 10 Kohm resistors, four 100 ohm resistors, two double pole switches, four RCA chassis parts, some wire, small screwdrivers, a wire cutter, a sold ...more

How to prepare a thermocouple for attachment to a printed circuit board (PCB) for profiling a reflow or wave soldering system. This is advanced PCB circuitry and you need to watch all videos in the series to understand all the steps of wiring a printed circuit board entails. P ...more

In this soldering tip video brought to you by BEST, Inc. Bob Wettermann demonstrates how to repair damages that have occurred to the based printed circuit board laminate materials as well as to PCB corners.

If you're fond of remote-controlled vehicles, you might appreciate this video tutorial on how to assemble a Traxxas high-current connector. To add a high-current connector to your Traxxas R/C model vehicle, you're going to need some pliers, wire strippers, flathead screwdriver ...more

If you have an extra speaker cabinet, a broken XLR cable and a little bit of soldering knowledge, you can create a functional kick drum microphone in just a few minutes' time. This audio engineer's guide will walk you through the entire process. For detailed, step-by-step inst ...more

Learn how to build a cold smoker from this video in simple steps . You will need: smoke pellets, a new soldering iron and a empty can. First leave the lid in the can partially attached and cut a hole in it for the soldering iron. Add you favorite smoke pellet to the can and in ...more

Repairs Universe demonstrates how to replace the battery on a Microsoft Zune HD. First, use a tri-ring screwdriver to remove the four screws on the back of the Zune. Then, remove the back cover. Next, remove the bottom cover by using your fingers to gently push it off. Then, u ...more

Remember the Wonder Twins from DC Comics? If you're familiar with the extraterrestrial superheroes, then you know all about those rings they wore. They would touch rings and says "Wonder Twin powers, activate!" to ready their superpowers. This homemade set of rings is reminis ...more

CIA360MODS teaches you how to change the LED colors on your XBox 360 power brick. You need pliers, tweezers, a screwdriver, a soldering iron and smds. Unscrew the screws from the power brick and then take out the fan from inside. Follow the schematics and use the tweezer to gr ...more

If you're a musician in need of some lessons, there's no better way to learn than with MusicRadar's so-called "Tuition" instructions. Although the title tuition is misleading, this video class is anything but costly, because it's free, right here. Whether you're looking for he ...more

If you are working with art glass to create stained art designs, learn how to prepare glass for soldering with this free crafting video about making stained glass projects. Part 1 of 21 - How to Prepare glass for stained glass projects. Prepare glass for stained glass projects ...more