repairing a suitcase

Due to my work I'm traveling a lot.
Once I got a huge suitcase but it did not survive the first trip.
They had used a thin tin-tube as an axle.
So I replaced it with a massive M8 one and secured everything with bolts, locking bolts and large washers.
I did not replace the already worn down wheels yet but will do so in the future (and add wheels with ball bearings in the process.).

H4n noise issue solved

I had a lot of noise in every recording made with my Zoom H4n.
Being an audio novice, I was not sure if that was normal for this price range.
After all, I could only notice the noise using good headphones but not with the usual laptop-speakers.

With lots of testing I finally found something by accident.
I notices that the compressor/limiter was set to "Compressor (General)".
A setting I probably did in the very first days.
When I tried to understand all it's features.

I switched the compressor to "off".
Instantly all noise was gone!
Internal microphone, external directional camera microphone and an extremely cheap external lavalier all where crystal clear.

I played around some more and now that the noise was gone I noticed that there was a clearly noticeable 50Hz humming when using the AC-adapter instead of running the H4n on batteries.
Up to now I always had camera and H4n on AC when recording at home because there was no reason to use batteries in my own home.
Update: It seems that the H4n power-supply is not grounded and this causes a 50z humming. A generic power-supply that is grounded is reported to solve this issue.

I hope this finding may help some of the other Zoom H4n users out there with similar noisy recordings.

• Update: humming issue

Freibyte II

Wow....doing some audio takes a LOT more effort then I though it would.
I recorded that Freibyte -part I was asked to do yesterday.
Couldn't use the very good Zoom H4n internal microphones because my hotel room has a lot of echo to it.
The clamp of the Lavalier was missing, so that one rubbed against my clothes and was unusable.
Leaving only the Sennheiser MKE-400. A directional mono-microphone intended as a good replacement for camera-internal microphones in video.

Turned out it was very good at not picking up the echo.
The slightly higher noise-floor compared to the more expensive H4n was easy to reduce using audacity.
But it DID pick up lots of other, unwanted sounds that came from my direction.
Me inhaling between sentences and some noise from my clothes and water in my mouth.
Luckily I spoke loud enough so they are only noticable in the pause between sentences.
It's a lot of work though to manually go through each and every sentence to remove these by hand. :(

Spider mount for H4n field recorder (inner part)

With the H4n attached to my shoulder rig or camera I noticed that it does pick up some impact noise from my hands on the other side of the rig.
(Most of the time it's not noticeable.)

Background
For a microphone you usually counter this with a spider mount.
However such mounts seem to exist only for conventional microphones.
Not for field recorders.
Using the microphone-stand adapter of the H4n was no option as the high center of gravity only allows for stationary mounting of the recorder.

About
This is only the inner part.
Feel free to design outer parts according to where you mount the recorder to.
I'll do one for my shoulder rig one of these days.
Other options are e.g a mount for the tip of a sound-pole
or directly to a camera to get a small package.

Details
I left access to the headphone-port open. The cable hitting things is not an issue. You need not worry about that.
Same for the access to the speaker on the lower side. So you can play your recording to the speaker/actor without dismounting the H4n.
I did design easy to access holes to reach the recording-level and playback-level. However these features are not included in the STL export.
This is because it makes the thing stronger and I strongly suggest to use
the RC04-remote for the H4n. Touching buttons on the device while recording would, after all, defy the purpose of this mounting.


* see this design on thingiverse
* the photo album of this project
* my notes in my personal wiki

The project that didn't happen

There was a very cheap workbench in the hardware store.
It had been reduced in price twice already.
I thought about getting it and modifying it to fit into my car.
Removable with foldable legs.

However
a) it didn't quite fit and
b) I decided that to be used just once every two years on the Chaos Computer Club - Camps this wouldn't warrant the effort.
No matter how much fun it would have been to build this.

Tools while traveling

With my ThingOMatic on its way,
I just got myself one of these battery powered Dremel for cheap.
So I can have the 3d printer in a large bag
and a Dremel to clean the printer parts...

Freibyte

I was just asked to do the next Freibyte show.
(A regular show from 2 guys of the CCC Freiburg.)

Checking out the past shows to see,
what I would get myself into,
I found that one of them had posted the preview-version of the introductory-video I did for my YouTube channel to the Freibyte-Site.
Not sure what to do about it.
Would have been nice to be asked about it first.

• CCC Freiburg
• Video
• All Videos (please subscribe)

HOWTO hand soldering 0.N mm pitch chips

Here on Easterhegg,
I was asked to record a 15min howto about hand soldering very small pitch chips.

I used 2 cameras and some vintage high aperture lenses as well as a professional audio recorder (using 24 bit 96KHz...more then will ever be required) and it turned out quite well.

I cut everything here on Easterhegg (lip-sync, intro, end, switching between cameras, cleaning up, ...) and gave it to the people who asked be for it.
They will finalize my cut and I asked to be allowed to present the final video
on my YouTube channel, when it is done.

Freiburg becomes an Erfa-Kreis

I'm an old time member of Chaos Computer Club and one of the founding members of Chaos Computer Club Freiburg e.V. .
As such it's with great pleasure, that with a nearly unanimous vote, here on Easterhegg Freiburg has been declared an official Erfa-Kreis of the Chaos Computer Club.

improve rigidity of 3d printed shoulder rig

On Easterhegg I had an idea of how to further improve the rigidity of my 3d printed shoulder rig.

If, like me, you choose the path of using a Seagull as a glorified shoulder-pad,
then a specialized set of MiddlePiece -variations can replace the 3 default MiddlePieces below the camera-plate.
These are designed to clamp the part of the Seagull that has the mounting-hole and thus restrict any possible warping of the 15mm rods due to less-then-infinite clamping-force and the high counter-weight trying to shift.


* design files on Thingiverse
* photo album

---

Some photos of the shoulder rig

I was able to make some photos of the rig on Easterhegg today.
There are no counter-weight and follow focus mounted and the 1/4 nut on the front of the cheap Seagull is broken (thus the back is lifting)
but you get the idea.


* design files on Thingiverse
* photo album

Improvements to LPG/CNG Price Reporter

Project history 

1. Previous project: none
2. last step: none
3. current posting
4. next step: LPG Preismelder Android app updated again
5. Next project: Android App for Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

Wow...while the others are sleeping
I'm really getting things done here!

I just finished an improved version of my Android LPG/CNG fuel price reporter.
It should use much less battery now.
I'll test it on my way back after Easter and then release it.

improved 3d printable follow focus

With the addition of the cheap Matte Box to my 3d printed shoulder rig,
I found that with my short 50mm lens the follow focus would get in the way of the matte box.
So the night before EasterHegg I designed and printed a straight one.
It turned out that the hole for the trapped nuts was now long enough with the straight variation.
So now that everyone else is still sleeping, I corrected that and uploaded a Version 2 of my straight, 3d printable follow focus.
I found nothing else to be wrong with the first one, so it should work like a charm.
The first version works okay for the smaller skateboard wheels.
(I switched to softer inline-skate-wheels).

• design files on Thingiverse
• photo album
• UPDATE: geared follow focus

(EN) Thing-o-Matic delayed

I ordered myself a Thing-o-Matic as a birthday-present to myself.
It is supposed to cut down on printing time by being able to print one small part while my trusted Repman is busy printing another (possibly big) one.
Considering the extreme waiting times at Makerbox I should have guessed that I would have to wait.
Despite ordering at a british dealer who claimed to have some Thing-o-Matic already being on their way.

With Makerbot industries in the US and the shop being in the UK, for some reasons the Thing-O-Matic kit comes from DAGU in China and is stuck in chinese customs.

(EN) Added Flattr

As Thingiverse supports flattr and I wanted to support some other blogs anyway,
I just added a flattr button to this blog and to my Thingiverse-account.
I don't expect any income at all but it can't hurt. ;)

(EN) Display Viewfinder Adapter

I am using a 3" 4:3 "Digifinder" display-viewfinder on my Panasonic GH-1 but found that:
a) The way to mount it with a rubber band is ****
and
b) I can't see the edges of the screen where battery-level and other important information is shown

This adapter fits perfectly onto the screen of a GH-1, GH-2, FZ100, ... camera and can be attached and detached without any rubber band chaos.
It allows to mount the digifinder at a longer distance and thus see more of the display.
There is even enough room in the visible area to drill some holes and insert micro-LEDs as indicators for e.g. audio-level warnings or to have some feedback that the audio recorder is actually recording at the moment.



* design files on Thingiverse
* photo album

(EN) First video of my YouTube channel done

The first video of my YouTube channel is done!

It's an introduction to home 3d printing.
What you'll hopefully see in the future are:
* [HOWTO] instructions, tips and tricks on building cool things
* [REPORT] reports from CCC events, hackerspaces, fablabs and other interesting places
* [REVIEW] reviews of some of interesting gadgets

(EN) audio remote for shoulder rig

This time I designed and printed an attachment for the RC04 remote control to the well known Zoom H4n audio recorder.
With this design you can level all 4 audio channels with your left hand without letting go of the camera.
The LEDs on the remote will turn yellow and red to indicate when the level on one of the channels is about to spike.
Of cause you can also control the level of your monitor earphones/headphones, start and stop the recording and control playback instantly after the shot is made to check the recording.
(And possibly doing it again while you still can.)

* see this design on thingiverse
* the photo album of this project
* my notes in my personal wiki

(EN) extra strong T-connector for shoulder rig

I found that the left handle of the shoulder rig was subjected to very large forces when you hit a door or something else with the bulky rig.
This is due to the long levers the handle creates.
So I designed an extra strong variation of the T-connector to hold up to such forces.
So far it works very well.

* design files on Thingiverse
* photo album

On the photos you can also see the newly arrived H4n audio-recorder and the cheap Indian matte box.
It looks more like Hollywood then a DSLR-camera now and the audio quality has drastically improved.
I'm even able to shoot stereo atmosphere and still have 2 channels left for me and an interview-partner.

(EN) some more CAD (audio remote for camera rig)

Well, I had a long evening in the hotel before I walked over to CCC Munic and did some more CAD work...

The first one is an adapter to attach this:


to this:

>

Without these cumbersome rubber-straps that come with the Digifinder and without loosing the outer 10% of the display (where e.g. the battery-indicator is shown).

So it looks like this:



and is supposed to simply clip onto the display.



The second design is an attachment to hold an RC4 remote for a the famous Zoom H4n audio-recorder onto the handle of my shoulder rig.

This way you can control the audio with your left hand while holding the camera-rig.




Both are not yet printed, so I do not post them onto thingiverse just yet.


Indeed, I may take the time to dismantle that remote (4 bolts on the back side)
and print myself a completely new case for it, that directly attached to the rig.

(EN) Vespucci finaly moved

After nearly 1 year Google support finaly managed to work a ticket we submitted mid 2010.
Back then I took over as the new maintainer of Vespucci.
The OpenStreetMap editor for Android.
It took Google a year and now finaly Vespucci is in my (Google) Android Market account and I can release versions.

A quick group call on the mailing list showed a concensus, that it is stable enough, that I can release a new version.
Hopefully this weekend.

(EN) Opened a shapeways shop

For all the people out there without access to a home 3d printer like a RepMan, RepRap or Cupcake I am offering my last designs on shapeways.
The prices are quite high compared to printing things yourself but it's an offer.

The first parts I uploaded are
* my simple shoulder rig and
* the follow focus attachment for it

(EN) Accessory holder for shoulder rig

The last part of the shoulder rig that I wanted to design this weekend was an attachment for accessories that come with a 1/4" tripod nut or a hotshoe (tripod to hotshoe-adapters are cheap).

* see this design on thingiverse
* the photo album of this project
* my notes in my personal wiki

(EN) Counter weight for shoulder rig

I just managed to construct and build a working counter weight for my shoulder rig.
A standard training weight is secured to the 15mm industry standard rig system using either 4 M5x16 wing-bolts or (if you live in imperial-hell) 2 1/4" wing bolts.

See:
* the design on thingiverse
* the original rig on thingiverse
* my project notes in my personal wiki
* photo album of the shoulder rig -project

(EN) My YouTube channel

After the current shoulder rig with it's accessories is finished,
I'd like to try something new and start a video-channel with howtos.

Content:
The content will be mainly things I make but maybe I'll also do reports of cool events like the camps and congresses of the Chaos Computer Club.

Quality:
I'll try to keep the quality up and the rate low.
With the video- and audio equipment I've build and gathered it should be possible.
I just don't know if I'll manage to actually pull this of.
I also don't know yet if I'll even be able to keep such a thing going.

Mission statement:
I'm a fan of DIY videos but often their visual, audio and narrative quality is lacking.
That's what I'm trying to improve by example using a proper script, green screen, lighting, color correction and audio leveling.


So, visit



THE CHANNEL
and hope that it will have some first content in the following weeks.


update:(2011-04-12) added the youtube-channel to the right side of this blog.
I'm still waiting for the final audio equipment but a draft of the introductory video is already done. (I'll redo all the talking when the audio equipment is here)

(EN) hackerspace for Chos Computer Club Freiburg

The Chaos Computer Club - Freiburg is looking for a location to create a Hackerspace for some time now.
Last night I was out, meeting 3 other club members at the local airport.
Aparently the amateur radio operators have a house there that we may use for events.
They are discussing it with thei administration and we with ours and in may or june there may be a decision.

(EN) more tools

I have more tools then I need but...
What should I say.....I couldn't resist after noticing how I could use these of these last night in my tiny workshop.
Now I no longer need them in my hand but I just couldn't resist.

(EN) Printing a gearless follow focus

The prototype of my shoulder rig worked fine so far.
Improvements to the T-connectors are possible but it works.

Now, inspired by this DIY Gearless Follow Focus on DVXUsers, I'm printing my own improvised follow focus for this rig.

update:
The follow focus works but the skateboard-wheel I tried first has little grip.
So I replaced it with a larger inline-skate wheel. That works much better.
+ softer wheel has better grip
- larger wheel means gear-ratio of about 1:1 instead if 3:1
- heavier wheel means printing the follow-focus again with 60% instead of 20% infill for added mechanical strength

I've posted the design on thingiverse for others to print and improve.
You can see all photos in my picasa album.

Update 2:
I also added a
* counter weight this same weekend

Update 3: The printed parts are also available on shapeways. (If you can't get access to a 3d printer yourself)

Update 4:

UPDATE: geared follow focus





















Update: The printed parts are also available on shapeways. (If you can't get access to a 3d printer yourself)

(DE) Handy zerbrochen

Heute ist irgendwie nicht mein Tag. :/