DIY ring LED light for macro photography
Before we start This particluar post is from my old blog. Back then it ran on WordPress the first time, but since I swapped my hosting provider from a Linux based one to a Windows based on, all the old posts were lost. Most of it didn’t matter, but it appears that one particular post were fairly popular elsewhere since several sites were linking to it. Because of this I’ve decided to repost it so others might benifit from the information. I’m afraid the full size images were lost in the process as well, but small pictures are better than no pictures at all. Here goes… Let’s get started Want to improve your macro photography just a little? Then you simply need better light. Unfortunately the different ring flashes for macro work is quite expensive. That’s why I came up with this design for a DIY macro ring light. Now, I can’t take credit for this idea at all. There are plenty of great DIY ring flashes and lights out there, some made with LEDs as I...
read moreIntel D510 as a server
Going green I’ve recently swapped my old server in the attic for a brand new Intel D510MO setup and wanted to share the experience. Since these are green times and electricity is damn expensive here in Denmark I decided that it was time to go green. Some years ago I ran my server on a Via mini-itx board back when they first showed up. I remember it being quite slow, but doable. After a year or so I went for an AMD64 3500 setup, which I underclocked to save power. Still with two hard disks it used around 100 watts an hour, which is somewhere along 870 Kwh a year – in Denmark that amounts to 1500 Dkkr or roughly 300 dollars a year. Queue the Intel D510MO Then one day I stumbled upon this board in the news. The Intel D510MO. With a dual core 1,66 Ghz brand new CPU and everything you would need for a server rig, all built into a tiny motherboard in the mini-itx form factor. Reviews were quite good, power consumption almost rediculously low and the price equally so. I had...
read moreDIY flash battery
Just a quick post of my new homemade 6 volt battery for my small portable flashes (Canon 430, 550, 580, 580 EX II, Nikon Sb-24, SB-26, Sb-28 etc) The battery The battery is made of an empty aluminum case measuring 153 x 82 x 50 mm. Inside I put a single 6 volt 4Ah lead battery. Since batteries like these can carry a lot of current – enough to melt the wires and perhaps start a fire if shorted, I put in a 5 amp fuse as close to the + side of the battery as I could. From there the wires go to the on/off button and from there to the male recessed plug. The other pin of the male recessed plug goes to the battery’s minus side. I believe this type of plug is ordinarily used for microphones, but I’m not sure. I chose them because the plug is recessed so there is little risk that the + and – will be shorted and the female and the male are screwed together so they don’t get loose by accident. The plug also has a small groove so I don’t accidently put the...
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