Tom’s been working on a dc power supply using parts from his junk box. I really enjoyed the aesthetic of this project. He had a few that he was finishing up at the last open hack. He cut up a can of root beer to create a heat sink, used a board and nails to wire up the connections between the components and wing nuts for good solid connections for both power in and power out.\n<\/p>\n
This project reminded me of an episode of Collin’s Lab<\/a> which looked back to the history of the breadboard a bit. Collin used a real wooden breadboard and nails much like Tom did. The method is basically the same and results in a simple, but custom prototyping space that has a lot of character and can be more permanent than a typical breadboard.\n<\/param><\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\nIn any case, it is a nice little idea to stick in your back pocket. We played around with the idea of using this project as a workshop project to help teach a few things about electronics. If there is some interest we’ll explore that more fully.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tom’s been working on a dc power supply using parts from his junk box. I really enjoyed the aesthetic of this project. He had a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,19,33],"tags":[42,24,40,41,39],"class_list":["post-94","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-member-projects","category-skill-collecting","category-things-to-learn","tag-dc","tag-electronics","tag-heat-sink","tag-power-supply","tag-root-beer"],"yoast_head":"\nMake Lehigh Valley :: Everything is Better with Root Beer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tom's dc power supply with root beer heat sink\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Josiah\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Josiah\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7dcb494cb3bd4c14f4e1c49492d8a9ca\"},\"headline\":\"Everything is Better with Root Beer\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-10-25T17:37:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-10-25T17:40:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/\"},\"wordCount\":192,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-gePeBhlY98U\/TqbdlkBQUvI\/AAAAAAAAAwY\/GJLWTrp-g5E\/s400\/IMG00375.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"dc\",\"electronics\",\"heat sink\",\"power supply\",\"root beer\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Member Projects\",\"Skill Collecting\",\"Things to Learn\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/\",\"name\":\"Make Lehigh Valley :: Everything is Better with Root Beer\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-gePeBhlY98U\/TqbdlkBQUvI\/AAAAAAAAAwY\/GJLWTrp-g5E\/s400\/IMG00375.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-10-25T17:37:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-10-25T17:40:56+00:00\",\"description\":\"Tom's dc power supply with root beer heat sink\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-gePeBhlY98U\/TqbdlkBQUvI\/AAAAAAAAAwY\/GJLWTrp-g5E\/s400\/IMG00375.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-gePeBhlY98U\/TqbdlkBQUvI\/AAAAAAAAAwY\/GJLWTrp-g5E\/s400\/IMG00375.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Make Lehigh Valley\",\"description\":\"Make Hardware, Make Software, Make Art\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Make Lehigh Valley\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/MAKELV-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/MAKELV-Logo.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":396,\"caption\":\"Make Lehigh Valley\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7dcb494cb3bd4c14f4e1c49492d8a9ca\",\"name\":\"Josiah\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3944073615cbc080c411cacbbed69aa73a3be94c63920787aef94b96cb4ee51e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3944073615cbc080c411cacbbed69aa73a3be94c63920787aef94b96cb4ee51e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Josiah\"},\"description\":\"I like to learn. When I first heard the term \\\"skill collector\\\" it really resonated with me. I want to know how to do as many things as I can and I learn by putting my hands to a task. There is little more thrilling than working hard at something for a long time and seeing it finally come together, knowing you've mastered that little bit of knowledge. For me, MakeLV is about having more experiences like that with other people.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/about.me\/josiah\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/josiahritchie\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/author\/josiah\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Make Lehigh Valley :: Everything is Better with Root Beer","description":"Tom's dc power supply with root beer heat sink","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Josiah","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/"},"author":{"name":"Josiah","@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7dcb494cb3bd4c14f4e1c49492d8a9ca"},"headline":"Everything is Better with Root Beer","datePublished":"2011-10-25T17:37:24+00:00","dateModified":"2011-10-25T17:40:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/"},"wordCount":192,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-gePeBhlY98U\/TqbdlkBQUvI\/AAAAAAAAAwY\/GJLWTrp-g5E\/s400\/IMG00375.jpg","keywords":["dc","electronics","heat sink","power supply","root beer"],"articleSection":["Member Projects","Skill Collecting","Things to Learn"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/","url":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/","name":"Make Lehigh Valley :: Everything is Better with Root Beer","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-gePeBhlY98U\/TqbdlkBQUvI\/AAAAAAAAAwY\/GJLWTrp-g5E\/s400\/IMG00375.jpg","datePublished":"2011-10-25T17:37:24+00:00","dateModified":"2011-10-25T17:40:56+00:00","description":"Tom's dc power supply with root beer heat sink","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/everything-is-better-with-root-beer\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-gePeBhlY98U\/TqbdlkBQUvI\/AAAAAAAAAwY\/GJLWTrp-g5E\/s400\/IMG00375.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-gePeBhlY98U\/TqbdlkBQUvI\/AAAAAAAAAwY\/GJLWTrp-g5E\/s400\/IMG00375.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/","name":"Make Lehigh Valley","description":"Make Hardware, Make Software, Make Art","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Make Lehigh Valley","url":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/MAKELV-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/MAKELV-Logo.png","width":1200,"height":396,"caption":"Make Lehigh Valley"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/7dcb494cb3bd4c14f4e1c49492d8a9ca","name":"Josiah","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3944073615cbc080c411cacbbed69aa73a3be94c63920787aef94b96cb4ee51e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3944073615cbc080c411cacbbed69aa73a3be94c63920787aef94b96cb4ee51e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Josiah"},"description":"I like to learn. When I first heard the term \"skill collector\" it really resonated with me. I want to know how to do as many things as I can and I learn by putting my hands to a task. There is little more thrilling than working hard at something for a long time and seeing it finally come together, knowing you've mastered that little bit of knowledge. For me, MakeLV is about having more experiences like that with other people.","sameAs":["http:\/\/about.me\/josiah","https:\/\/x.com\/josiahritchie"],"url":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/author\/josiah\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":109,"href":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94\/revisions\/109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/makelehighvalley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
In any case, it is a nice little idea to stick in your back pocket. We played around with the idea of using this project as a workshop project to help teach a few things about electronics. If there is some interest we’ll explore that more fully.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tom’s been working on a dc power supply using parts from his junk box. I really enjoyed the aesthetic of this project. He had a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,19,33],"tags":[42,24,40,41,39],"class_list":["post-94","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-member-projects","category-skill-collecting","category-things-to-learn","tag-dc","tag-electronics","tag-heat-sink","tag-power-supply","tag-root-beer"],"yoast_head":"\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-gePeBhlY98U\/TqbdlkBQUvI\/AAAAAAAAAwY\/GJLWTrp-g5E\/s400\/IMG00375.jpg\" "\\"Root")
<\/p>\n