Cassady's Not Terribly Fantastic Website -

Funlamp

autarchex — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:05:26 +0000

Once upon a time I was walking through the halls of the local Fred Meyer store and saw this "Funlamp" on sale for two dollars. This is a light bulb that cycles through a sequence of colors. I bought a couple to open up and play with. This is what I found...

Teardown: Magnetron

autarchex — Sat, 04 Nov 2006 07:00:00 +0000

Ever since I took apart my first microwave and got my hands on that little four inch cube that is directly responsible for the magic of the instant noodle cup, I've always wondered - what does a magnetron look like inside? Eventually free time and curiosity coincided and I hacked one apart on my workbench. This was my chosen victim: a Matsushita 2M204-M2. This is the gizmo in your microwave oven that emits ridiculous quantities of radio frequency energy into the cooking cavity to heat your food.

Teardown: Camcorder

autarchex — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 05:09:58 +0000

This is an RCA Camcorder VHS video recorder that I picked up for $2 at a Goodwill thrift store. It proved to be an absolute bonanza of parts, particularly components of value to hobby roboticists. Some I kept, some I gave to friends, and some I sold on eBay. Amusingly, these sold for a total of $14 not including shipping, for a profit of $12.

Teardown: Bread Machine

autarchex — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 07:00:00 +0000

My roommate gave me this dead bread machine to take apart. It would power on but probably failed some sort of internal diagnostic; it would not start a bread-making cycle. It had an awful lot of rust and burned-in crumbs in the cooking compartment.

Teardown: Cuisinart

autarchex — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 07:00:00 +0000

My roommate brought me a broken Cuisinart kitchen appliance to take apart. He wanted to investigate the possibility of installing the motor on an old bicycle and making a moped. I pointed out the difficulty of providing sufficient power to such an abomination, but I'm always happy to take things apart!