The Silicon Underground

Home

Coax cable TV antenna you can make yourself

Dave Farquhar DIY January 23, 2020January 5, 2020 0 Comment

You can make a surprisingly good digital TV antenna out of a piece of unused coax cable. While not suitable for pulling in distant signals, inside a metro area, this homemade antenna you can make in 15 minutes pulls in dozens of HDTV channels.

You can make a simple TV antenna by stripping off the last six inches of insulation off a standard coax TV cable, folding back the shielding, and leaving six inches of bare copper wire. Where I live, 10 miles from the St. Louis city limit, this simple antenna pulls in 40 channels. If you live outside a major city, you’re better off with a Gray-Hoverman design.

Liquid Nails vs wood glue

Dave Farquhar DIY January 22, 2020January 4, 2020 0 Comment

Which is better, Liquid Nails or wood glue? It depends on what you need to stick together. And there are times when Liquid Nails is more convenient, but wood glue will give a stronger bond, long-term. So let’s look at Liquid Nails vs wood glue.

Construction adhesives like Liquid Nails give a strong bond with quick grab, and they work well on dissimilar surfaces. But for some applications, wood glue is better, especially if you use a premium wood glue.

Is St Louis dangerous?

Dave Farquhar St. Louis January 21, 2020January 19, 2020 0 Comment

Is St Louis dangerous? It’s a little more dangerous than places most people consider safe. But the dangers of St. Louis are at least slightly overblown, and they are certainly manageable.

St Louis crime rates are often reported in ways to make them sound larger than the actual risk. But beyond that, the rule in St Louis is that if you don’t go looking for trouble, trouble probably won’t find you.

Openoffice vs Libreoffice

Dave Farquhar Software January 20, 2020January 20, 2020 1 Comment

If you need a free, open source office suite, the leading choices are Openoffice and Libreoffice. And if you’re comparing, the two may seem more alike than different. The apps all have the same names, the user interfaces are really similar, and so are the feature sets. It’s not a coincidence, but there are some differences. Let’s take a look at Openoffice vs Libreoffice.

Libreoffice is derived from Openoffice, so that’s why the tools are so similar. However, there are some minor differences between the two that may be important to you.

What does diecast mean?

Dave Farquhar Toys January 17, 2020January 11, 2020 0 Comment

What does diecast mean? Does diecast mean metal? Diecasting is a manufacturing process involving a metal alloy and a two-part mold, called, predictably, a die. It was originally invented in 1838 for creating moveable type for printing presses. But in the 20th century it became popular for making other goods, especially toys.

Diecast, in the modern meaning of the word, refers to materials made specifically of zinc alloy and cast in a mold. It’s an inexpensive process that yields very good detail and strength.

Is the Honey Chrome extension safe?

Dave Farquhar security January 16, 2020January 13, 2020 0 Comment

Amazon took some people aback when they said Honey, a company recently bought by Paypal, was a security risk. That raised some questions. Is the Honey Chrome extension safe? Is Honey a security issue? Let’s dig into it.

While it may be difficult or impossible to pinpoint any specific security issue in Honey, that doesn’t necessarily give it the green light. Regardless of how secure it may be, Honey definitely has privacy concerns, and that’s why security experts have concern about it.

Can you paint vinyl siding?

Dave Farquhar DIY January 15, 2020January 12, 2020 0 Comment

If you’d asked the question a couple of decades ago, the answer probably would have been no. But thanks to advances in paint, these days you can paint vinyl siding. Not only that, there sometimes are compelling reasons to do so.

The point of vinyl siding was for it to be maintenance free over the course of its life. But vinyl siding has a usable life of 25-30 years, so if your vinyl siding is reaching that point, painting it is a way to extend that usable life.

Monitor for Commodore 64

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing January 14, 2020January 11, 2020 0 Comment

What was the most popular Commodore 64 monitor? What’s the best one today? Those aren’t quite as straightforward questions as they might seem. While there are a small number of clear-cut favorites, the truth is there were lots of different monitors C-64 users used in the 80s. And there are lots of options today too.

The “proper,” period-correct monitor for a Commodore 64 is the brown 1701 or 1702 for the breadbin-style C-64, or the beige 1802 for the streamlined C-64C. But there were lots of other third-party monitors, and many people used television sets.

How to remove super glue

Dave Farquhar DIY January 13, 2020January 11, 2020 0 Comment

Super glue is permanent, right? Actually it’s not, and it’s not necessarily as strong as we think it is either. In some cases, super glue is extremely strong and worthy of its name. But sometimes it’s a pushover, and that can be a good thing. That means you can get rid of it when you need to. Here’s how to remove super glue.

Super glue dissolves readily in acetone, or you can use specialty debonders sold in hobby shops, or use a couple of my other tricks to break its bond. Water will not help, as moisture accelerates its bond.

Zinc pest: What it is and what to do about it

Dave Farquhar Toys January 10, 2020January 17, 2020 0 Comment

In metallurgy, zinc pest is a problem that occurs when impurities are introduced in the process of diecasting. The problem causes the metal to crack and disintegrate, in extreme cases crumbling to dust. It mostly affects products made in the 1920s-1950s.

Zinc pest or zinc rot was discovered in 1923 and well understood by the 1930s. It is relatively uncommon today, but can still occur due to sloppy manufacturing processes.

← Previous