https://bobadams5.com/ Recent content on Bob Adams 5 Hugo -- gohugo.io en © 2026 Bob Adams Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/esd/ Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/esd/ Why ESD bags are the best static safe storage solution and nothing else comes close https://bobadams5.com/posts/wheelbrightz/ Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/wheelbrightz/ My kid’s used bicycle came with this controller and he ripped the LED string off. He wasn’t interested in putting it back so I tore it apart. https://bobadams5.com/posts/stihlkids/ Fri, 02 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/stihlkids/ After many years of using Fusion 360, I have started to learn FreeCAD to support open source options and to get around the 10 editable designs limit. In this post I walk through my learnings from the first project I finished with FreeCAD. https://bobadams5.com/posts/grokworkout2/ Thu, 27 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/grokworkout2/ At the end of August, I set out on a 12-week fitness plan generated by X’s Grok AI to improve my running time. In this post I review the results. https://bobadams5.com/posts/usbflashdriverepair/ Fri, 21 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/usbflashdriverepair/ This post covers a quick repair that I did for a family member who had mechanically damaged their USB Flash Drive. https://bobadams5.com/posts/hopanalysis/ Fri, 05 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/hopanalysis/ In 2021 I was given the opportunity to take the hop harvest from a family friend’s house. To check the efficacy of my drying process, and to evaluate the suitability of the hops for my beer recipes, I sent a sample of one variety to Advanced Analytical Research in Madison, Wisconsin to evaluate. https://bobadams5.com/posts/grokworkout/ Fri, 29 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/grokworkout/ Due to some personal circumstances, I have found myself in need of a more rigorous fitness regime. Since the internet is full of fitness data, I hope that Grok is well trained and can provide a good workout plan. This post introduces the plan and goes over the starting data. https://bobadams5.com/posts/labteckeyboard/ Mon, 19 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/labteckeyboard/ A brief investigation into an early 2000s era keyboard. https://bobadams5.com/posts/homeserver/ Wed, 16 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/homeserver/ After three years of accumulating parts, I finished a home server for hosting media, git repositories, and backups. In this post I go through the overall hardware & software setup. https://bobadams5.com/about/ Mon, 31 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/about/ https://bobadams5.com/posts/ghm1/ Sun, 09 Mar 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/ghm1/ A first step into reverse engineering the electronics of the Google Home Mini https://bobadams5.com/posts/3dpsocket1/ Fri, 31 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/3dpsocket1/ One of the more frustrating things when extracting flash memories is finding so many footprints that don’t have off the shelf sockets. In this post I go through some thoughts and calculations on what it would take to make a 3D printed socket for a BGA part. https://bobadams5.com/posts/gridfinitydrawer/ Sun, 29 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/gridfinitydrawer/ Turning a pile of batteries into a neatly organized drawer. https://bobadams5.com/posts/trashpile2/ Thu, 21 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/trashpile2/ Starting with the most unresponsive devices, it is time to start taking them apart. https://bobadams5.com/posts/3dprinterweek/ Fri, 18 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/3dprinterweek/ A summary of what I printed, my first impressions of 3D printing, and my general thoughts on the machine. https://bobadams5.com/posts/trashpile1/ Tue, 24 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/trashpile1/ With two-year cell phone replacement timelines, there is a large amount of electronic scrap floating around. I bought 5 lbs. of it to see what I can do with it. https://bobadams5.com/posts/rideontoyrepair/ Mon, 16 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/rideontoyrepair/ This post is a quick overview for a fix I had to implement on a toddler ride-on push car. My son’s toy had two of three buttons fail, with only the music button retaining functionality. https://bobadams5.com/posts/rootvc/ Thu, 22 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/rootvc/ I have been fascinated by Root VC for a while due to their relatively large number of investments in companies that make physical hardware. They also happen to have a neat website that emulates a terminal interface, but what sort of companies do they invest in? https://bobadams5.com/posts/56k/ Mon, 29 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/56k/ Relegated to the free bin of a 2023 garage sale, what is inside this decades old piece of technology? https://bobadams5.com/posts/yadadashcam/ Mon, 22 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/yadadashcam/ I picked up this camera for $0.50 last year and was curious about what can be found inside. https://bobadams5.com/posts/babymonitorrepair/ Mon, 05 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/babymonitorrepair/ When my toddler knocked over the baby’s camera unit it stopped powering on. This post documents the solution to that problem. https://bobadams5.com/posts/notes/ Fri, 14 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/notes/ In this post I go through my thoughts on two different note taking apps as I have used them to keep notes on homebrewing, electronics, daily to-dos, etc. https://bobadams5.com/posts/brewwater/ Sat, 09 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/brewwater/ This post gives the results of a brewing water analysis performed on water samples from my tap as well as from my Berkey water filter. The intention was to baseline the well water available at my house and confirm the arsenic filtering of the Berkey. https://bobadams5.com/posts/books2020/ Fri, 08 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/books2020/ Although I did not explicitly set out to read a book per month in 2020, it worked out to be roughly that amount based on the habits I built in 2019. In this post I analyze the works I consumed in 2020 and compare it to the 2019 books. https://bobadams5.com/posts/controleo2020/ Sun, 30 Aug 2020 12:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/controleo2020/ This post provides guidance for people who need to swap elements between TO1303SB toaster ovens while building a Controleo3. These modifications may be necessary if the oven was damaged during assembly or if a boost element upgrade is being implemented. https://bobadams5.com/posts/books2019/ Sun, 22 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/books2019/ One of my goals in 2019 was to read at least one book per month. This post is a retrospective of that effort. https://bobadams5.com/archives/ Tue, 28 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/archives/ https://bobadams5.com/about.ru/ Thu, 28 Feb 2019 00:00:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/about.ru/ https://bobadams5.com/posts/ccr/ Sun, 24 Feb 2019 09:30:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/ccr/ This post covers my implementation of MIT’s Coffee Can Radar project. In this implementation the original mini-circuits RF components are used and a custom PCB is developed to replace the breadboard originally used. https://bobadams5.com/posts/courserareview/ Sun, 03 Jun 2018 21:15:00 +0000 https://bobadams5.com/posts/courserareview/ In this post, I will go through and review my experiences with Coursera over the last three years. This review will cover amounts paid, my thoughts on the format of assignments, and what lasting benefit I think I’ve received.