JD Presents | Development In Reach

Mars, Mars, Mars

Mars is vastly further than the ISS, and trips are fewer and further between. Every trip, every move and voyage are a piece of history unfolding. I have been watching these pieces unfold for the better part of 20 years. I even went to IMAX back in 2006 to watch the documentary about Spirit and Opportunity rovers.

The Dive - blah blah blah and a yackity smackity

The Dive is a proverbial junk drawer of ideas and projects. Since this area ranges widely in interests, some contents of either blog or projects may be disagreeable or in contrast to your own view or desires, please continue respectfully. Thank you. -JD

My Halot Mage 8k Experience

3D printing with resin, also known as stereolithography (SLA) or digital light processing (DLP), is an additive manufacturing process that uses liquid resin to create three-dimensional objects layer by layer. In this technique, a light source, such as a laser or projector, selectively cures the liquid resin, solidifying it to form each layer of the object.

Maker Friendly

Dale Dougherty is the leading advocate of the Maker Movement. He founded Make: Magazine 2005, which first used the term “makers” to describe people who enjoyed “hands-on” work and play.

Merch & Swag!!

Come and get it!!! Building a brand for fairs, events and promotions is important and now it’s fulfilled. If you are interested in getting any JD Presents merchandise like shirts, stickers, magnets, and all that fun stuff that I put out, it’s going to be handled by Tee Public from here on out.

Halot Mage 8k Resin Printer

I got a Creality Halot Mage 8k Resin 3D Printer a couple of months ago directly from Creality on an email blast that gave me a great deal on the printer, washing/curing, extra FEP and 5L of resins to start. It was a pretty good deal, but quickly became something resembling a nightmare.

City Foraging

Some years ago, we had a site that highlighted our rides around the city and country, and though the site isn’t up still, it’s because I got all the bootstrap practice out of that version that I could, not because we stopped riding. This year our new locations are foraging based, rather than geocache centered. Foraging is a topic we discussed at length. For example, the best locations, ideal timing, recipes, canning techniques, and recommended apps or websites to use.

Will It Work? Vista vs Linux

I have an old Toshiba laptop that I wanted to re-purpose, and now I figured it as good as any; I’m back from a nice trip, so I have plenty of new patience to burn trying to make an old electronic device useful again. As flows the sands of time on this episode of… (lol)

P2 Opening

Finally, I have been waiting for the final version, and now I have a P2 (at least the latest version). A friend of mine sent me one so I could play with it alongside him. I helped him get started with the P1 when I was working at Parallax, so it's safe to say, I might be of some help.

PC Case Repair

I thought getting a new case with all the fans, that heat wasn't going to be an issue anymore. How sadly I was mistaken. I take you through a short journey repairing a "fashion over function" issue that the computer industry has embraced.

Motion Contolled Bathroom Light

This project was a present to my wife who enjoys lighting throughout the house. I knew it had to be something that it couldn't interfere with any daily functions and had to be reliable. It started with including a toilet light, which looked really cool, but I will need to get another toilet seat and use some epoxy for that to be finalized and moved over to using the wall unit only. The lighting is mellow and had become a staple for early AM showers and bathroom visits.

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Breakfast

From Middle English brekefast, brekefaste, equivalent to break +‎ fast (literally, "to end the nightly fast"), likely a variant of Old English fæstenbryċe, (literally, "fast-breach"). Cognate with Dutch breekvasten (“breakfast”). I enjoy breakfast a lot more than I used to. I have become the breakfast-making champion in the house.

A/C Controller

I think this is my favorite project yet. I have wanted to build a controller for 120VAC devices being controlled by 3.3V DC or 5V DC devices for years. The circuit is easy enough, but this time I wanted to build a PCB, have it manufactured and use it as a finalized product. This concept has been around since early the 80’s and there are numerous ways to do it, and no doubt it will continue with the ramp-up of Internet of Things (IoT) and home automation. We have not caught up to The Jetsons yet, but I have no doubt that things will continue to get closer. This is one of the products I sell in my store, if you want to control X-mas lights or house appliance with an Arduino, Raspberry Pi, Propeller, BASIC Stamp or even a computer, this board is something that can help you in a big way.

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Yellowstone Art Museum

A couple days ago, my wife and I visited the Yellowstone Art Museum for a day date. The YAM as it is more commonly referred to, holds art exhibits regularly and on this day, the YAM was showcasing local talent with the theme “I refuse to be invisible”.

NEW Website Launched

This year started in a bit of a calamity for my family, as it did for many. On top of dealing with all the absurdity of COVID, there were plenty of issues going on the home front that needed my attention.

Tabletop Simulator

When I got some extra time on my hands, I wanted to start doing more crowd sourced projects to contribute to gamers and players alike. Enter Tabletop Simulator, it’s a platform that works in VR and regular mode that allows players to have up to 8 players at a time and you can play all kinds of board, card, dice games along side many others like monopoly and others. I think it’s a great way to bring people together and I wanted to add to their library. Oddly, there hasn’t been many players contributing to games, but there has been up to 36k players. I learned how to import games pieces and picked a game that has always been a favorite of mine since I was a teenager, Magic: The Gathering.

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Silhouette Box - Laser Cut

I was commissioned to make a silhouette box and wanted to make the face plate that blew her mind, and I created one in Photoshop and sent it to her, and she was over the moon about it. My carving and Dremel skills are good but with that type of detail I needed something far more accurate. I reached out to a local maker and had him laser cut the design and it came out perfect. I believe this is the final rendition (outside some special requests) that I can offer. This is a product that is in my store and is completely customizable.

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Gem Mountain

For one of our adventures we went and did some mining. This was the first time I have ever been mining, but my better half did some when she was younger and thought I would like it, and she was correct.

Arcade Joysticks

I have been a gamer for much of my life. Starting when I was very young playing Nintendo with a friend who had one and upgraded to the arcades as I got older, then a series of PlayStation consoles and eventually a PC. I have stuck with using a PC as my gaming because I have the most control over the performance and game play. Also, there is no replacement for a mouse for aim in a fast-paces First-Person shooter (FPS).

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COVID Test

I had to recently get one of those nose swab COVID tests before I could go visit my mom. She just got a couple surgeries and has a super low threshold for getting sick and I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t asymptomatic or in fact had COVID.

Desk Power Controls

Once I built my desk, I quickly found the need for custom power management. I do not like having parasitic power anywhere, a lot of power can be lost by devices on stand-by and I wanted to limit that. After finishing my A/C controller I wanted to put it to good use and allow me to completely turn off any device that I wasn’t using at the source. My new o-scope has a stand-by option where I can connect to it via LAN, but I only use it at my desk so at feature just keeps it on even if I’m not using it. I have 3 on/off outlets, 3 selectable and dimmable outlets and it snugs up neatly under my monitors.

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Finish & Start Strong

I wanted to finish 2020 and start 2021 with an easy success. That success for me was picking up 2 Geocache souvenirs. There was one for the end of 2020 called Last 2020 and another for the first 2021 souvenir appropriately named First 2021.

Astrophotography Tips

Ever since I can remember, I have been inspired by the vastness of the night sky; staring up into it gives me a calm and humbling feeling. I have explored more into astrophotography and here are some tips I have picked up along the way.

To Mars!

As Perseverance has made it to the halfway mark, I wanted to take this time to share some of my fondness of space travel and NASA's missions to Mars. I have been watching the exploration of Mars for many years with excitement.

Edison Light

Making lights are great projects that combine woodworking with electronics. I have made a couple décor lights and I wanted to make an official lamp. I went with the ever-popular Edison light design, which uses an Edison style light bulb and some sort of stand or carrier. I made these for our master bedroom nightstand, I made two in total and they can be used with regular bulbs or the Edison style, but I prefer the Edison because it creates a nice ambiance with the soft light.

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Atom Editor

I recently picked up Atom Editor, and it is a free and open-source text and source code editor for macOS, Linux, and Windows with support for plug-ins written in Node.js, and embedded Git Control, developed by GitHub.

Table Saw Sled

I think everyone who has a table saw makes one of these. It took me a few years before I got around to it, but it has made using my table saw so much easier. I can see why this is something woodworkers make within the first couple weeks after getting a table saw. It was an easy project, but one that change how I use commonly used tool in my shop.

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Siglent SDS1104X-E

Upgrades People!!! I have endured long enough with a scope I have; it has gotten to the point where my projects have outgrown it. I did research, spoke with friends, and tech support and customer services from various companies to find this solution.

Refurbished Desk

I took the trash out one day and I saw a really beaten up desk that someone was throwing away. I thought it was a shame and just needed some TLC to get back to looking good. I checked to make sure that it was made of real wood and that it could be refurbished and once I confirmed that it was, I saved it from certain destruction. I sanded it down, removed and polished the hardware and feet, and gave it a new coat of stain and now it sits in our bedroom as a stationing area for our day or just anything. I’ve thought about putting it up for sale, perhaps at a garage sell.

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Zero Hunger

The world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030. If recent trends continue, the number of people affected by hunger would surpass 840 million by 2030. Of all the goals I try to achieve, putting efforts to ending hunger locally and helping others is my most worthwhile.

Frame & Artwork

I wanted to make my mom a birthday present and after I little poking around, I learned that she has a recently found a phrase she has kinda as a motto. She didn’t have anything in mind for it, so I created a poster for her in Photoshop that as akin to that saying. Basically, it’s an evolution of a year including her favorite hobbies for each season and her new motto. I make a frame and cut a piece of glass for the front and mailed it to her a couple of states away. I was happy to see it hanging up when I went down and visited her.

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Marble League 2020

I am new to the whole Marble League fandom, but I am here to stay. I have been a watcher of John Oliver ever since the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I have to say, this is one of the best suggestions he’s come up with to pass the time. It’s simple and pure.

My New Desk

This project was a long time coming, I have re-designed and re-used pieced and parts to keep my desk alive, and I finally busted down and built one from scratch of a design that I wanted. I left a couple options open to continue as my needs grow, but for workspace and work area, this is exactly what I’ve been needing. The couple of must-haves, were lots of workspace, multi-tiered, and the ability to move it and assemble and disassemble it easily. I was able to get all those easily with just planning ahead and I have been very happy with this upgrade to my work space.

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To mask or not to mask

Everyone has heard about this debate to mask up or mask off. Many states have even gone so far as to require them if you leave your house. I don’t think there is a debate on if masks help or not, it’s how much do they help, and is it worth it.

Grant Imahara

Today is a sad day indeed for every maker and geek alike. Our kind has lost one of its most value players across many industries. He has inspired us through film, shows and just an all-in-all good person. Grant Imahara has died, and he will be missed by an untold many including me.

Clear Cache

Press the keys [Ctrl], [Shift] and [del] on your Keyboard. A new window opens, where you can setup the options to delete the cache. Select the period "since installation", to empty the whole browser cache. Check the Option "Images and Files in Cache".

Every Tool’s A Hammer

I started a book back on May 20, 2020 named Every Tool’s a Hammer by Adam Savage. The book is about a popular maker’s life from when he was a small child playing in his dad’s studio, to a full-grown adult with successes ranging all over the film and maker industries.

Added Features

I have added 3 featured materials to the homepage. A project, YouTube Channel that I feel inspires in some way, and an article I feel is worth sharing. Don’t worry if you miss one, I have an archive of all the YouTube Channels and articles that I have featured.

Birdhouse

With everyone stuck inside, I wanted to do something else with my time that could let me be outside and creating. Me and the lady have wanted to put up some bird houses since last year’s garden lettuce bug fest fiasco.

Garage Radio

This project was born out of necessity, I needed a radio in the garage and wanted to use the speakers I had and run everything off one power supply. The speakers I had were old computer speakers that I used while traveling around, and the box was from my solar radio that I just reused the parts from. It’s not the most beautiful thing but it’s gotten the job done. There are 3 saved stations, station scan up/down and volume up/down.

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DI.FM

It’s taking a while for me to realize it, but I’ve included so many tools and great programs on this site, I’ve forgotten one that I use more than any other, music. I am always listening to some type of music, and I have listened to DI since 1999.

COVID-19

So, it has some to this, it’s 2020 and we are all locked up by government mandate to try and “flatten the curve”. A worldwide virus started in lab halfway across the globe in China has us all locked in our homes. It started as hitting the elderly hardest, but the virus has upped its game

Gmail Launched 2004

Do you remember when the email game changed? I do, it was when I was invited to use Gmail and have used many Google services over the years. I used iGoogle, Labs, and countless others over the years, and they have grown to unimaginable size and influence, for better or worse.

Solar Powered Weather Station

After building my first weather station and learning all the details about it, I wanted to make one that could be used as a satellite station. For that to happen, I would need to power it by solar. This thought excited me because I have never built anything that would completely run on it’s own outside the house and that posed a whole host of issues, dealing with inclement weather, flawless operation, ability to save and use data later and a structure that could endure it all.

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Github

I finally made the move over to Github. I have used my domain and various project forums to share my projects for years, but there has been a solid community move to using Github on top of those sites.

Convert

While making a list of very functional programs that I have found along the way, I forgot about one that I use all the time, and it's an easy, free program that I have used for years. It's a converting program created by Josh Madison.

Why CPR?

I wanted to renew my certification for CPR once I learned that Udemy.com offered it at free of charge. I first got my CPR certification from Parallax back in 2008 and wanted to renew it since it's a great use of a couple hours.

RS 200 in 1 Kits

Radio Shack (Tandy) came out with various kits for kids to teach them about electronics while building projects with it. When I was around 10, I got a 200-n-1 kit and it was awesome and set me in a direction to work in programming and electronics.

Udemy Academy

I have always been a big fan of learning but not always a big fan of school environments. I have attended a couple colleges, American River College and University of Phoenix and I learned quickly that “learning” wasn’t the main focus.

Parking Pass

I was commissioned to make a much larger commercial version of this project for a company down in Texas for a hotel garage of theirs. I made a smaller personal version for my brother and myself and called it The Parking Pass. It’s a device that uses high frequency to detect a vehicle and give light indication (red/yellow/green) depending on the set point during installation. There is a button on the side where you can set when the stop (red) light turns on, and the other two areas are pre-set distances. This was a project I found years ago in a tech magazine and just never got around to building until I needed to.

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Refresh the Rims

This was my 3rd time attending the annual Refresh the Rims event to clean up an area that locals frequently visit. It is hosted by Billings Park and Rec and MSUB leadership program. We get to clean up one of Billings best areas to play recreationally and has great views of the town.

Lets Robot.tv

Let's Robot is a new kind of live-streaming telepresence platform for controlling robots and other devices through the internet. You can build and share your project with others and have people interact with your robot.

Raspberry Pi 4

I started early with Raspberry Pi’s and this is the latest and greatest they offer. I was eagerly awaiting this release because I had a perfect project for it. I have been building a Retro Pi and the 3B+ that I have was almost powerful enough to run everything.

Adobe Tutorials

There are many options and places to get help with Adobe products like Photoshop and Lightroom, but personally I like to start at the source. Adobe offers tutorials and in extension classes that you can be an approved authorized user. Here are a couple tips that I have used frequently.

Hot Air Balloon Glow

Billings has an annual Hot Air Balloon event that sends off a whole host of hot air balloons and then in the evening they come back, which gives for some cool pictures. We plan on going again in the future because it was an east but nice outing.

Silhouette Box

I have seen a lot of décor lighting, but I have not seen anyone using shadow boxes for anything and wanted to explore a potential commissionable idea. I started with some parts that I have used before and built from there. I build a light bar using WS2812B RGB LEDS for inside lighting, a radar to pick up motion and controlled everything with a Propeller microcontroller. Getting everything working was the first step and then I needed to build a box with a silhouette image, and I ended up going with my local down skyline as the image. I think it turned out great and is currently in our spare bedroom.

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Endomondo

If you don’t track it, did you really even do it? This is a joke, but is a common thought when people share about their workouts or achievements. I have used Endomondo for a couple of years and overall, I have been happy with it.

Happy 4th of July

If anyone knows me, then they know that 4th of July is by far my favorite holiday. This year we found a new spot to light off a whole bunch of fireworks. I got to play with the camera and grabbed a couple fantastic shots.

Photography Lighting Orbs

In my ventures into night photography and astrophotography trips, I have wanted to play with special lighting shots. A simple Google search and you can view some interesting and amazing images that use special lighting in long exposers, and those inspired me to explore with the idea. I was out taking some shots of the night sky and played around with writing in the air with them, and there is some other ideas that I want to try, but these add a nice touch.

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Highline & Pipeline Trail

It's summertime and that means outside adventures, Geocaching, Endomondo and finding new places and photograph. Today we found a new place we have not visited before and it’s awesome; theres a lot of trails.

GuruShots Contest

My first photography contest with GuruShots. I'm going for Newbie of the Week and Most Voted Photograph, lets hope I nail one of those.

Patio Garden

It's that time again, starting all the garden projects and seeing what veggies I can get going. I am doing a small "Food is Free" with seedlings this year too. I hope things go well and if they do, perhaps this will feed a couple neighbors with fresh foods.

Geocaching

I have been Geocaching since 2008, and it's a great way to get out of the house. I have used it many times when I wanted to go outside but really didn't have an exact place to go. It’s an adult treasure hunting adventure that the whole family can enjoy.

Free Hosting Solution

I spent a year researching the most cost-effective solution for web hosting while still being able to use up-to-date programming; find out how you might be spending more than you need in this summery.

Measure Accurate, Buy Once

Ever build anything out of wood and find out the measurements that are given to common pieces are anything but accurate? Me too. Let me share with you my initial experience when I believed that wood dimensions where actually what is advertised.

All Hail WD-40

Everyone knows of WD-40 and the 1001 uses that it gets used for other than the lubricating spray that it started out as. I personally have used it mainly for tools and keeping my bike and equipment running smoothly, but there are all kinds of uses and they keep coming.

PediPaws Conversion

This was a simple project but something I think might be so simple it stumps other builders that are not familiar with electronics. I converted this pet trimmer from battery to use a wall wart. I ran on batteries and my wife would blow through batteries which isn’t very environmentally sounds or cost effective. I used an extra A/C plug adapter to give the trimmer unlimited power so when the pets (3 dogs) a trim, she could without any bogging down of the trimmer. I made a simple tutorial so anyone could download the PDF and convers their pet tools too.

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RetroPie 1B vs 3B+

I started with a Raspberry Pi 1B, and quickly found the RetroPie, which I created my project JDIY3 - RetroPie. I finally got my hands on a Raspberry 3B+ and wanted to do a comparison between the two.

Local Guides

Google Local Guides is a project that I have been working on for the past couple years. It's a service that relies on open-community sources efforts. Anytime someone shares a review, edit, photograph, video, adds a place, provides an answer.

Notepad++ = A solid editor

Notepad++ is one of the greatest free solutions for programming I think there is on the market; it has syntax highlighting and allows multiple pages/documents to be open at once and has addons as well.

RetroPie w/ Rpi 1B

I think every gamer should have one of these. If you appreciate taking long nostalgic trips down memory lane for old games that are long gone, then this is the project for you. The Retro Pi is a build from the wizards in the EU and it’s has a huge fan base across the globe. The Rpi 1B really tops out at 16-bit Sega games in my opinion, or at least with my gaming standards, but is really easy to get up and running and super fun to play.

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No More Minwax at Home Depot

If you want Minwax stains and products, you had better act fast otherwise Home Depot will not have any more again; they discontinued the product in favor of the Varathane line.

Bootstrap 4

This is a great web development tool for anyone who is into building a site quickly and keeping up with technology trends.

TableTop Simulator

I wanted to focus on community focused projects the past couple of years and started building and importing games for TableTop Simulator on Steam. I have completed 15 games with have over 10k current subscribers.

Binary Clock & Weather Station

This started out as a basic binary clock desk toy and it turned into far more once it stayed home. I have wanted a weather station device from one of those Brookstone type stores, and instead I got to build one, which is even better. I learned a lot about regulations and requirements each weather stations and satellite stations go through before being able to be considered “scientifically accurate enough” for places like the Weather Channel and weather stations to use the data. I got to check off a couple to-do’s while building this project.

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Ring of Elysium

I had to put a blurb up about a new game that has captivated me for the last couple months. It's called Ring of Elysium on it's available on Steam.