DIY archive
Friday, February 22, 2008
DIY: Checking You Home Drinking Water Quality
Posted: Friday, February 22, 2008
Recently my brother-in-law had a reverse osmosis system installed for their drinking water. The installer left him a water quality meter which is a digital TDS meter that measures the Total Dissolved Solids in the water. What this means is that it measures the total amount of substances in the water other than the pure ...Read
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
VIDEO REVIEW: Nobu N8 In-wall Touchscreen Computer
Posted: Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Here is the video review of the Nobu N8WTS10 (I know it’s a long name, try memorizing it!). Overall, this is a great product. I know a lot of people have suggested a Tablet PC or a UMPC over the Nobu, however, those units are not design to be used 24/7 and are not rated ...Read
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
VIDEO REVIEW: Planet Waves Cabling System
Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2007
If you are a musician you’ve probably heard of D’Addario & Company, Inc. They acquired the Planet Waves line in 1998 and I think it was a smart investment. Planet Waves really revolutionizes the way one terminates audio/video cables… I have a full video review, so check it out! For more information check out Planet ...Read
Friday, July 13, 2007
DIY: Patio Waterfall Feature — Copper Panels Installed.
Posted: Friday, July 13, 2007
Update: Here is a video of the fountain running! In my previous post about the DIY: Patio Waterfall Feature I was waiting for the copper panels to arrive from Zappone. The panels and caps arrived on Monday and I installed them last night. The installation went very easy (I might post some of those photos) ...Read
Thursday, July 5, 2007
DIY: Patio Waterfall Feature — Copper Panels Coming Soon!
Posted: Thursday, July 5, 2007
Part 1 Part 2 - The Panels Installed The weather here in Seattle has been great this last week, in the mid 70’s, even 80’s — great weather to work on landscaping. I have a back patio that I needed to finish, I installed “cobblestone” pavers a couple weeks ago and it was time now ...Read
Sunday, March 18, 2007
DIY: Part II — Replacing Front Rotors and Brake Pads on a Land Rover Discovery II
Posted: Sunday, March 18, 2007
In Part I, I changed the rear rotors and pads of my Land Rover Discovery II. Last weekend, I tackled Part II, changing the front set. The process isn’t much different than the back except that the caliper and pads are much bigger.The only additional tools you will need from the rear change is a ...Read
Monday, March 5, 2007
DIY: Part I — Replacing Rear Rotors and Brake Pads on a Land Rover Discovery II
Posted: Monday, March 5, 2007
I used to take my truck into the dealer to get it serviced, which over charged me and coincidently would cause other things break. Now I try to do most work myself. The brake pads and rotors (front and back) on my 2001 Land Rover Discovery II needed replacement. I ordered genuine parts from the ...Read
Saturday, December 2, 2006
DIY: Outdoor XM Antenna (Terk XM6)
Posted: Saturday, December 2, 2006
A weakness of XM Radio is the reception. Here in Seattle we have terrestrial repeaters so reception is not terrible, however, if your equipment (tuner) is in a basement, like mine, you might have reception troubles which translate to either no audio or drop outs. To combat the problem, I ordered a Terk XM6 outdoor ...Read
Thursday, September 14, 2006
DIY: Automate Your Shades with Lutron QED
Posted: Thursday, September 14, 2006
Mavromatic reader, Michael, recently had all his windows and doors replaced in his house and it was during that process he decided to redesigned his den which required him to replace the blinds in there. That’s where all the fun begins… Michael writes:Never shopping for blinds before, I did not know what to expect. Checking ...Read
Thursday, September 7, 2006
Filmscreen Aspect Ratio Screen Masking Controller
Posted: Thursday, September 7, 2006
I have made huge progress on my filmscreen masking controller. The PIC code, complete with independent controls/sensors for the top and bottom masking is done. The system has been working accurately for a few days now, but I still need to be 100% sure it’s perfect, so a little more testing is required before I ...Read
Wednesday, June 7, 2006
DIY: Fiber Optic Star Ceiling
Posted: Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Yikes, I just realized it is almost two years since I first blogged about my retractable roof! It has taken me that long to complete all the other areas of the house… I have the sickness know as Perfectionism :). Most people would do everything at once, but I didn’t… I wanted to be able ...Read
Sunday, June 4, 2006
HOW TO: Using a Cat5e Jack (RJ-45) for use with a Telephone Connector (RJ-11)
Posted: Sunday, June 4, 2006
I had a gentlemen write me for instructions on how to use an extra Cat5e jack with a telephone. I thought the information might also be useful to others out there so I’m posting it here. I use the T-568A wiring standard for home use. So, if you want to use a Cat5e (RJ-45) jack ...Read
Wednesday, May 3, 2006
Google SketchUp… It’s the Best!
Posted: Wednesday, May 3, 2006
I have received quite a few emails from people asking what software I used to create the 3D image of my home theater. It’s called SketchUp and it’s free! Google recently purchased @Last Software in attempts to have people easily design 3D objects for Google Earth. I’ve never been able to get the hang of ...Read
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
HOW TO: Setup A Satellite Dish In 15 Minutes
Posted: Wednesday, January 4, 2006
I’ve installed a few Satellite Dishes for friends, family, and myself — I really hate it. Most of the installs I have done involved setting the Dish up on a roof or far from the receiver, thus rendering the tone and display generated from the Dish Setup screen useless. I have bought all the standard ...Read
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Thames & Kosmos - Radio Ace Kit
Posted: Tuesday, December 6, 2005
This is a great Christmas gift for a kid or even an adult! The Thames & Kosmos Vintage Radio Kit not only looks good, it’s a real fully functional vacuum tube radio, like the ones from the 1930’s. Don’t think you or your kin can put the kit together? Don’t you fret, the radio comes ...Read
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
DIY: I’m a Welder.
Posted: Tuesday, November 29, 2005
The Millermatic for Mavromatic A shot of my workshop First up, thanks to all of you that wrote in and told me that welding is fun and easy… you were all right! Man, I love it! Once you get the hang of it, it’s a piece of cake… however, you all failed to tell me ...Read
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
DIY: Ingo Maurer Zettel’z 5
Posted: Tuesday, November 22, 2005
My version.Original version.UPDATE: I’ve been busy learning to welding (read: building my railing), but I had a chance to take a photo (sorry for the bad photo) of my version of the Ingo Maurer Zettel’z 5. I’ll try to post a full HOW-TO soon.I was in the market for a chandelier and my girlfriend ...Read
Sunday, October 9, 2005
DIY: Readers Inwall LCD Touchscreen
Posted: Sunday, October 9, 2005
Mavromatic reader, Michael, sent in his modern version of my DIY: Inwall 15” LCD touchscreen. The screen is a 15-inch elo touchscreen he bought off of ebay. The touchscreen is located in his basement, which is his game room (mame arcade-DIY project, pool table, darts, air hockey). Michael wanted the ability to play my digital ...Read
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
HOW TO: Wire An Ethernet And Phone Jack Using A Single Cat5e Cable
Posted: Wednesday, June 22, 2005
It’s all to often I hear about people buying a new home that is “wired for the future”… meaning it only has a single Cat5 cable to each room. I don’t know why builders cut corners with this since cabling is cheap and you can pull two at a time. When I was building my ...Read
Sunday, May 1, 2005
DIY: Outdoor Wireless Access Point/Signal Repeater
Posted: Sunday, May 1, 2005
In my previous post, I went over how I created a weatherproof Wi-Fi camera rig. I decided to write a separate entry about how I got Wi-Fi signal to the camera during the construction process of my new home. This project was installed about a year and a half ago and has been functioning since. ...Read
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
DIY: Wireless Weatherproof Outdoor Camera Rig
Posted: Wednesday, April 27, 2005
UPDATE: So I had someone comment about power being a problem with most setups. So I got to thinking… why not use solar power to run the camera during the day and charge a 12v gel cell battery for night use. This will also solve the problem of someone cutting your power cord. I’m going ...Read
Sunday, April 10, 2005
DIY: Inwall 15” LCD touchscreen :: Part 3 (The Finished Piece)
Posted: Sunday, April 10, 2005
UPDATE: Our friends over at Gizmodo wanted to see a few photos of the touch screen in operation… well, here they are! The interface is designed in Flash and communicates with a server I wrote in VB.net. The pocketPC interface I posted a while back is based on this full size interface. I currently have ...Read
Sunday, April 3, 2005
How To: Classic Copper Leaf Foil Lettering On Glass
Posted: Sunday, April 3, 2005
Let’s face it, technology has been good to us, but it also has taken away many classic art forms. For example, before we had computerized vinyl cut lettering, we had classic sign painters. These people were amazing, they could paint numbers and letters perfectly… without stencils or templates. Before I started working for The ...Read
Thursday, March 31, 2005
DIY: Inwall 15” LCD touchscreen :: Part 2 (The Frame)
Posted: Thursday, March 31, 2005
UPDATE: The touchscreen model I’m using is a 15” 3M MicroTouch ChassisTouch LCD Monitor. In Part 1 of the DIY: Inwall 15” LCD touchscreen, I talked about the parts I’m using. I ended up going with a commercial 15” touchscreen chassis instead of the NEC display I initially posted about. I didn’t want to ...Read
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Walk Of Fame Star Replica :: Part 4 (Finished Product)
Posted: Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Based on your emails, you guys are probably wondering where I have been for the past few weeks… I’ve been working in the Mavromatic labs finishing up a bunch of things. Remember the Walk of Fame star I posted about back in August? I finally got around to taking a couple photos of the finished ...Read
Friday, January 7, 2005
DIY: For The Love Of NIXIE
Posted: Friday, January 7, 2005
So a few posts back I wrote about how I was getting into NIXIE’s (Numeric Indicator eXperimental-1). Well, I took the easy way out and bought a CHRONOTRONIX IN-18 NIXIE Clock. My friend Stephen Lodefink, or as I like to call him, “Lode Fizzle Televissle”, has designed and built his own NIXIE clock case (pictured ...Read
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Film Screen Masking & Curtain Controller :: Part I
Posted: Tuesday, November 30, 2004
I’ve made some progress on the second prototype of the screen masking controller during Thanksgiving break. The first prototype was a proof-of-concept but it was missing something, a curtain controller. Check out the photo above, you’ll see a few devices I’m using to create the controller, a Tini board (runs JAVA VM and has full ...Read
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
$300 XGA Projector…
Posted: Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Well, kind of… the guys over at Tomshardware.com are always up to something… this time they took a 1024x768 LCD panel from a cheap LCD monitor and placed it over a 350 watt overhead projector. It’s not pretty, but if you only have a few hundred dollars and some time on your hands, you too ...Read
Monday, November 15, 2004
Home Theater Backlit Mylar Sign With LED Display
Posted: Monday, November 15, 2004
I sometimes go overboard on things, heck, I installed my very own Hollywood Walk Of Fame Star in my lobby (final photos to be posted soon). It’s great to see there are others going to great lengths to bring the local cineplex decor to their home. Jason over at MAX-HEADROOM.COM bought an old ATM LED ...Read
Monday, August 16, 2004
Walk Of Fame Star Replica :: Part 3 (The Terrazzo)
Posted: Monday, August 16, 2004
Part 1: Making the Mold (Completed) Part 2: The Brass Lettering/Star outline (Completed) » Part 3: Terrazzo mix and color (In Progress) Part 4: Finished Product (Not Yet Started) UPDATES » Monday, August 16, 2004 After a few different formulas, I have found a good mix for the black terrazzo. It’s a ...Read
Monday, July 19, 2004
This Isn’t Your Average Pinhole Camera…
Posted: Monday, July 19, 2004
Update: The Ovnipan camera is all hand made and will set you back about $400 (325 euros) plus shipping. It’s not everyday that I give perfect 5-star ratings… but today seems special… you all need to check out this sweet camera (and more) over at CASADOPINHOLE. The Ovnipan (pictured) is one of the coolest looking ...Read
Thursday, July 1, 2004
Walk Of Fame Star Replica :: Part 1 (Making the mold)
Posted: Thursday, July 1, 2004
UPDATED: Received the final medallion… check it out! After seeing the 12x12” ceramic tile based Walk Of Fame stars produced by skyman00 on the AVS Forum… I decided I wanted to attempt to replicate the original… down to the brass casting of the projector. I started this thread to capture the process I took to ...Read
Walk Of Fame Star Replica :: Part 2 (The Star Outline)
Posted: Thursday, July 1, 2004
UPDATED: Lettering is here!!With Part 1 officially completed, my venture to create a Walk Of Fame Star for my home theater continues. Part 2 will cover the star outline and lettering. What are you waiting for? Click the read link below!Read
Wednesday, June 23, 2004
DIY: RC Car Laser Lap Counter
Posted: Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Home Theater and Automation gadgets are my passion… but I’m also a hobbiest. I’ve built a few model airplanes and own a couple nitro powered RC cars. GeekFreaks.com has a DIY Laser Lap Counter that will cost you less than $400 (in parts). A bit pricy, but it’s very cool and you can learn a ...Read
Monday, June 14, 2004
DIY: Retractable Roof For Your Home Theater
Posted: Monday, June 14, 2004
… Well, kind of. I’m in the process of building my home theater and one of the things I want in there is a star ceiling. Building a retractable roof a) isn’t cost effective b) not practical, because the theater is in the basement surrounded in a sound proof room and an open roof wouldn’t ...Read
Friday, May 28, 2004
DIY iPod Battery Replacement
Posted: Friday, May 28, 2004
I own two iPods, the first generation 5gb and the third generation 30gb model. I’m starting to notice battery life on my 5gb model go, but there is no need to worry because www.ipodbattery.com offers battery replacements for all iPods, even the new iPod Mini. If you’re not having battery problems, it’s still cool to ...Read
Upgrade The DACs In Your 49TXi or 59TXi Receiver
Posted: Friday, May 28, 2004
I love hacking my gadgets to make them better than what the manufacturer intended and Alex Hardware shares the same view. They have posted a “how-to” on updating your DACs (Digital to Analog Converter) in either the Pioneer 49TXi or 59TXi flagship receiver to ones that are used in much higher quality equipment. The 59TXi ...Read
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Make Your Own Wi-Fi Antenna
Posted: Thursday, May 13, 2004
I just saw this on TechTV’s The Screen Savers, and being a geek myself, I thought I should spread the word on how to make your own Wi-Fi Antenna. Point your browser over to http://www.freeantennas.com/ and download templates to create your very own Ez-12 12 dB Parabolic Reflector or the Ez-10 10 dB Corner Reflector. ...Read
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
The HandyMark
Posted: Wednesday, April 21, 2004
If you have ever hung drywall you know how much of a pain it is to mark and cut outlet and switch boxes. I stumbled across the HandyMark and thought to myself, why didn’t I think of that. The HandyMark is a very simple jig that is made out of ABS plastic with six stainless ...Read
Friday, April 2, 2004
The Niles Monorail
Posted: Friday, April 2, 2004
Kim Pedersen invented the world’s first rideable garden monorail known as The Niles Monorail. He thought of the idea back in 1969, but his Dad wouldn’t give him a permit to build one in their backyard… so 27 years later, Kim built one in his own backyard. The project took 5 years to complete, it ...Read
Sunday, March 21, 2004
‘MakingThings’ Happen
Posted: Sunday, March 21, 2004
I just found out about a company named, ‘MakingThings’. They have released a device called the Teleo, which has 4 analog inputs, 2 digital inputs, 2 digital outputs and 2 PWM outputs. What makes them different from all the rest of the robotic boards is that they have added Macromedia Flash support which means you ...Read
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Give em The Finger
Posted: Thursday, March 18, 2004
Do you have a repetitive one button task you want automated? Well, Michael Simpson over at Kronos Robotics shows you how to build a keyboard button pushing robot. I’ve used their DIOS line of microprocessors and if you want to build anything from a remote control transmitter to an automated cat feeder for a ...Read
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
DIY: Inwall 15” LCD touchscreen :: Part 1 (The Parts)
Posted: Tuesday, March 16, 2004
What is a home automation system without a 15” inwall LCD touchscreen? Exactly! I don’t understand why a raw touchscreen monitor without the base and plastic costs more than a standard 15” LCD monitor? Solution, take a 15” LCD touchscreen monitor bought off of ebay and turn it into a custom inwall touchscreen… I choose ...
Welcome to mavromatic! My goal is to bring to your attention the latest DIY projects, the greatest home automation and home theater products. As well as, the occasional offbeat entry, to spice things up a bit. 
