Paul Westaway wanted to make his solar water heater more efficient, so he created a cool gadget. He put together a differential controller to direct the circulating pump that sends the water through the solar panel or woodstove to the storage tanks. The controller turns on the pump when the temperature of the solar panel or woodstove coils is higher than the temperature in the storage tanks. When the temperature in the panels or stove is lower than the temperature in storage, the pump turns off.
The editors of Design News have handpicked your favorite Gadget Freak cases from over the years, bringing them together in a dynamic digital edition, complete with videos, which you can view here!
I grew up on Popular Electronics. Every project was very well documented with schematics and wiring diagrams and parts lists. I seem to see too many of these GF articles not even up to the standards of PE in the good old days - 50's and 60's.
This column needs to be presented with better editing. I agree that many of these GF cases are incomplete and have indecipherable or incorrect schematics and incomplete parts lists like this one and dead end links. Even Design News has had too many errors lately.
I know the audience is full of engineers but who needs to have work so hard to read the article? When these projects are presented with a half baked presentation it is disrespectful to the author and to the readers. And a pain in the @ss to read. It takes the fun out of it.
So PLEASE put a little time into editing and put everything, photos, schematics, BOM's etc into the article on the same page or have links that work.
Points well taken, George. I tried the link above the video for the build instructions and it's working. The build instructions also include the schematic.
If the link still doesn't work when you clink on it, you might try another browser.
We include build instructions, a schematic, photos, a BOM, and a video with every Gadget Freak. Those are the minimum requirements.
Gadget Freak Jr. is different in that it's more of a reported story rather than a full Gadget Freak.
The regular Gadget Freak is the presentation of a gadget that has been submitted to us. It includes a video, photos, a schematic, building instructions and a BOM.
The Gadget Freak Jr.s is when we find a gadget presentation online and we send along the presentation and links. It's more like reporting on gadgets out in the world.
Nowadays, I would update the power supply with a voltage regulator IC and update the op amp, but I think you'll like the simplicity. Hint: two precision thermistors, a 25-turn pot and a voltage comparator op amp.
If you revamp and update this device, you could submit it to the Design Gadget Freak column. We pay $500 for complete Gadget Freak entries. If you're interested, send me a note at rob.spiegel@ubm.com and I'll send along the details.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 3
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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