AKSchaefer – Life in Motion

Category: Projects

  • Simple and effective Folded Dipole Antenna

    I wanted to share a simple yet effective antenna design that you can easily build at home with minimal tools—along with tips on how to optimize it for your specific location. My previous antenna worked great, it just was a little big and bulky for the living room. This new design is generally smaller and works just as good.

    While UHF channels are generally easy to pick up with almost any antenna, VHF channels (2-13) can be much more challenging to receive. In my area, Channels 7 and 9 were still being broadcast in the VHF spectrum, so I needed an antenna that could reliably capture those signals. If you’re in a similar situation, this design might be the perfect solution for you!

    I found this website that does the calculations for you: http://pencho.my.contact.bg/start/comp/anteni/dipole_folded.htm

    First figure out what frequencies are broadcasted in your area. Note: Don’t assume if your stations is channel 2, its actually broadcasted on channel 2, use a website like https://www.tvfool.com/ to verify.

    If you are targeting two different channels ones, I would suggest using the frequency number. Anything less then channel 6 will require a larger antenna.

    Channel NumberFrequency in MHz
    Channel 2 54-60
    Channel 360-66
    Channel 466-72
    Channel 576-82
    Channel 682-88
    Channel 7174-180
    Channel 8180-186
    Channel 9186-192
    Channel 10192-198
    Channel 11198-204
    Channel 12204-210
    Channel 13210-216

    Now I bought low gauge copper wire from my local hardware store for about $10 and shaped it to match the dimensions. As you can see the total length is about 26.75″, I was targeting channel 7, and used 176 MHz, which give you a Length C of 23, and the radius R, 1.83 for each end, and add those up and you get 23+1.83+1.83 =26.66

    Here I bought some large electrical connectors to attach to the wire and use some bolts to attach those to the antenna balun.

    Congratulations, you now have a TV antenna to go try out. Overall the cost was around $15 when I made the last one in 2020.

    The bottom antenna is my newer one and the top one is an older one. As you can tell the copper wire isn’t as thick and needed some wood dowel to give it strength, the newer one holds it own shape.

    With a little effort you can hide this antenna is various locations. Luckily when we build our new house I put it in the attic and then ran a wire to the basement, which then I can split to all the rooms.

    IMG_20151025_160613

  • Custom built tool box for garage

    As my tool collection was starting to grow and outpace my toolbox, I decided was going to build a tool box that custom fit the location in the garage where I wanted it. I didn’t realize it was going to take me 2 years to finish this project. It was pretty difficult to get everything lined up and being busy it wasn’t always my highest priority. My requirements were, it needed to fit the garage space against the wall, below the electrical outlet, I could still access the hose spigot, and has wheels (with locks), so I can move it as needed.

    I started off using google draw to get a visual idea then figured up my dimensions. The final drawing looked like this

    From there, it was time to purchase the lumber. This isn’t a blueprint plan for it, but I will roughly share the type of lumber I got for this project. I was trying to save weight and built the frame out of 1×4’s, however if you look at the pictures in many spots I doubled up the lumber for strength (but it also negated the weight savings). For the outsides, I used a finished plywood that was thicker (probably 5/8 or 3/4), in the middle for support I used a normal piece of plywood, then for the back, I used 1/4 finished plywood.

    For the drawers I wanted to use hardwood to make sure it would last (vs using softwood, like pine), and use poplar and then MDF for the bottom of the drawers (sorry don’t have any photos). Then bought some ball bearing drawer slides from amazon, approx 16″ or 18″ in length. Then finished up the front also a poplar finish.

    For the top, I used pine boards as the base layer, then used a variety of different hardwoods that my neighbor gave me that we ripped into smaller pieces. This was an unique collection that he got from his relatives and I am not sure what they are all, but think one was hickory and unsure what the red one is, but its beautiful. Here I was dry fitting pieces and getting them cut to the right length.

    Had to clamp and glue the top together.

    All done gluing and rough sanding finish. I wasn’t going for a smooth finish as it a tool box and going to get beat up.

    Here is the final product, with drawer handles installed and rolled to its final location. I decided to not finish the wood with any stain or clear at this time. There is a couple of drawers that could have been better aligned, but this is my first large fine wood working project. Overall I was happy with the result.

  • Entertainment Center built for custom space

    I wanted to make an entertainment center to hold my receiver, computer/htpc, PS3, Xbox, SNES, and NES to fit a custom space. I started with taking measurements of the computer as it was the largest item and then took my design from there.

    I also was looking for something that was had a bit more personality then just standard shelves. My goal was to blend practicality with a touch of style, ensuring the final piece would stand out as a centerpiece rather than just a storage solution. As always, I started with a basic concept and allowed the design to evolve as I worked through the details.

    Partially assembled to confirm it was level. Then from there it had to be taken apart and stained then polyurethane and reassembled.

    Here it is—the final product! While the photo makes the front-facing panels and stain appear lighter than they actually are, in person, the finish is rich and perfectly balanced. The entertainment center turned out even better than I envisioned, blending seamlessly with the space while still making a statement.

    The clean lines and tailored fit give it a polished, professional look that elevates the entire room. It’s functional, stylish, and truly one-of-a-kind—a piece that not only serves its purpose but also showcases the effort and thought that went into its creation. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!

  • Building a 4 tap kegerator with a chest freezer

    Want to enjoy your freshly brewed beer without the hassle of bottling? It’s time to build your own kegerator and pour the perfect pint straight from the tap!

    I wanted to share some photos of my adventures of building a kegerator. I started off with a RCA 7.1 Cu Ft chest freezer. I ordered it from Walmart, so it could be just delivered to my house. Its important to know the height of your kegs for this next part to determine how tall you want your collar (wood part that sits on top of the freezer) to be. Here I placed the keg in the freezer. With chest freezers there is the deep part and the shelf that the motor sits below, so take both of those into consideration.

    I then figured out what lumber I needed, I don’t remember the exact size, but something like a 1×8 or 1×10 hardwood board, like poplar or oak. As you can see, there is an inside and outside of the collar, I left the width of the board between them. Then lastly for installation, I used spray foam installation to keep the cool in and the hot out.

    From here, I figured out how far apart I wanted my taps to be. It would be good to have your taps for measurement.

    I was now able to drill all 4 holes and start preparing the food for finish.

    I stained it with a oil finish and a pretty light natural color, but here is your chance to customize it to what you would like.

    I now have the collar sitting on the freezer and also attached the lid to the collar.

    If you seen my toolbox post, you would see it has wheels. Well I decided to do something similar here, so I could move it easily in the garage (and clean around it).

    Since a freezer main purpose is to freeze, its important to use some type of temperature controller to manage the temperature. This one you plug the freezer into the controller, then set the temperature to your desired on and off, eg on at 38 degrees and off at 33 degrees. The controller would have a temperature probe that you need to also put in the freezer.

    Here is a photo of the gas regulator. It allows you to use 1 CO2 tank for multiple kegs. I then ran the gas lines to the kegs (red lines here), and the clear lines are the beer out lines to the taps.

    I ended up buying a CO2 regulator that would allow multiple pressures depending on your beer. I did dedicate one keg to root beer, so I typically ran higher levels of gas to that keg.

    Once again, this is the final product. I did find this project took a decent amount of homework, as I was starting with nothing. I had to purchase Kegs, the freezer, wood to build collar, CO2, gas regulator, gas distribution, taps, lines, and temperature controller. I am sure I forgot something in that list as well. Overall I am very happy with how the kegerator turned out and found it to be a very rewarding experience, especially when you can enjoy a nice cold beer.

  • 2017 Desktop build

    It’s that time again—time to build a new computer! My last build was way back in 2010 (check it out here: https://akschaefer.com/2010/03/11/my-new-desktop/), and it’s definitely starting to show its age.

    The first big decision was AMD vs. Intel, and from there, the rest of the parts naturally fell into place. As a long-time AMD fan, I decided to go with the AMD Ryzen series and chose the AMD Ryzen 7 1700—a solid 8-core processor that offers excellent performance for its price.

    For the motherboard, I opted for the Gigabyte GA-AB350-GAMING 3, which has plenty of I/O to meet my needs. To complement it, I selected G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2x8GB) of RAM, which provides great speed and reliability.

    When it came to the graphics card, I decided to reuse my Gigabyte NVIDIA GTX 960. Even though it’s a mid-grade card, it’s still holding its own and should serve me well for a few more years.

    For storage, I went with a Samsung 850 EVO 500GB SSD as the primary OS drive for its blazing-fast read/write speeds. For additional storage, I added a Seagate Barracuda 2TB drive, which offers plenty of space for files and media.

    Finally, to house all these components, I chose the LIAN LI PC-K6SX case in black. This case is both sleek and practical, featuring built-in sound-dampening materials for a remarkably quiet operation. The minimalist design and silent functionality make it the perfect finishing touch for this build.

  • Mario theme Cornhole set

    A little delayed on the post, but we built a cornhole set, followed one of the many online guides. As you can see, we painted it Mario themed, overall I think it turned out really good!

     

    IMG_20160702_191500 IMG_20160717_192159 IMG_20160717_192253 IMG_20160722_213447 IMG_20160723_204548

  • Retro Pi’s (Raspberry Pi B, Raspberry Pi 2, USB Hub, USB Hard Drive)

    I received a raspberry pi 2 for valentines day, so I set off on a new project. I found a Bentley Compu-vision at good will. Used this as the case for my original raspberry pi, usb hub, usb hard drive, and new raspberry pi 2.

  • FlatPi v2

    Just wanted to provide an update from my previous post (https://akschaefer.com/2013/08/11/flatpi/ ). I did a new layout which allows me to easily access the Power, Ethernet, and HDMI without any issues. The previous layout I had to get my hand in the middle to unplug the device. I also added a USB hard drive, the connector I used is from an xbox 360 transfer kit, I just removed the plastic cover.

  • FlatPi

    I have been working on my raspberry pi for a little while now, but finally completed the case for the project. I was originally going to use a pico-itx case I acquired, but with the layout of the raspberry pi board, it just didn’t work out. When I was looking online, I noticed some of the DIY plexiglass projects that I really liked. Due to the layout of my entertainment center and that is when I decided I was going to make my “FlatPi” project. One of the other things that bothered me with some of the cases I have seen is you are almost always required to use a USB Hub, so people create beautiful cases for just the pi, but then have a wiring nightmare when they add their hub. My goal was to make it all in one.

    Required Parts

    • Raspberry Pi
    • Pluggable Technologies USB Hub
    • 8×10 Plexiglass / Lexan .093 (2 pieces)
    • USB Cables (Monoprice is your friend)
    • Screws ( I used 1 1/4″ screws)
    • Spaces between boards ( I found some at the local hardware store)

     

    First time mounting the boards to the lexan.

    Working on the case

    Got the Pi and USB Hub mounted.

    The screws I used were from PC builds. I drilled small holes that would allow me to use the screws and make new thread in the plexi glass. Its not shock proof, but it holds the Pi and Hub in place.

    I had to make some countersunk holes where I mounted the hub due to the solder leads. I was having problems getting the hub to sit parallel with the plexi glass, once I drilled those holes I was able to get it to sit parallel.

    Took a few pictures to show the layout I chose for the boards. Back side the FlatPi.

    Bottom side of the FlatPi.

    Front side of the FlatPi.

    I listed USB cables above, I did buy 1.5ft cables to reduce the cable management. Plus you can’t go wrong with monoprice when cables are less then a dollar.

    The top cable is the power core (USB to USB Micro)

    The bottom cable is the hub connector, the hub did come with a cable, but it was 6ft long, so the 1.5ft cable worked out well.

    The middle cable is the USB Hub power connector

    Backside of the Flatpi.

     

    Wanted to show how much light the Pi/Hub produced.

    This is the side that sit against the wall, but here is the lights.

    Same picture just with the flash on.

    Due to limited space, I wanted this to mount vertically, here is where I am going to install it in my entertainment center.

     

  • First bottling experience – finished with a bang

    I just bottled my first 5 gallon beer YEAH. I have done several Mr. Beers in the past, but those were all using plastic bottles.

    Thinking it wouldn’t take more then an hour and a half, I started getting all my bottling supplies prepared. I got 54 bottles ready, sanitized them using star-sans, boiled my 5oz of sugar, transferred my Irish red from the carboy to the bottling bucket (sanitized). I started bottling, spilled a little here and there, but I thought overall pretty good.

    I ended up with 51 bottles, which I thought was awesome for my first batch.

    Took the first 36 bottles down stairs to my unfinished basement (had boxes from previous 12 packs). Then I was going to take the last of the bottles down stairs. I had 12 bottles which were in two 6 packs (in a plastic bag) in one hand, and in the other hand a 6 pack (3 full/3 empty). I made it about 1 step and the bottom of the 6 pack gave away. All six bottles went down the stairs, 2 of the full ones broke, and I think 1 of the empty ones broke. Beer and glass all over, good thing the basement is unfinished, but still made a huge mess and this is at about 10:15 at night, and I was ready to go to bed. Over an hour later, I am finished cleaning up the mess.

    I was too frustrated to take any pictures of the mess!

    The bad, I lost two bottles of beer.
    The good, I still have 49 bottles of beer.

    I put them all in totes just in case of bottle bombs, taking no chances with this.
    Just wanted to share my first bottling experience.
    The end