/diy/ - Do It Yourself

At any rate I would like anyone who wants one of these to be able to have one, so it looks like an Instructables entry is in order.

As for the blog I will be shutting it down along with every other project blog and doing my best to vanish as completely as possible. I apologize to anyone who enjoyed them. It goes without saying that I can't post here anymore. I very much appreciated your input and encouragement over the years.

>>214995

Yes, I have an ED. So does every webcomic guy. So does Steve Jobs. His says he gives gay handjob orgies to his employees. Hopefully you realize that is not factual information.

I briefly dated a 17 year old when I was 24. It was apoor choice but not illegal and not "fucking children". The content of the ED is, as with every other article on the site, written with the intent to defame. In this case, largely by an ex of mine (CalvinandHobbes on the contributor page).

All I wanted to do was provide something interesting and cool for the members of this board. I have not wronged you personally in any way that I know of. However the existence of that page has prevented me from holding down a job for longer than a month or two at a time for several years now as eventually employers find it and I'm dismissed soon after. It has prevented me from havingany sort of lasting relationship for the same reason. I have been struggling with depression and occasional suicidal thoughts but electe dnot to show it as I know that only makes me a more tempting target.

I don't know what you want from me exactly but if you tell me what it is I will try to give it to you. It's difficult to live like this.

>>214973

A line of affordable underwater hamster habitats for use in aquariums.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFJ8ajzY5KI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TC4frzQQ9TI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7JujUQkLfQ

I wanted to mass produce these things so everyone could have one. But they denied it, same as my low cost solar/battery powered diving helmet.

What now? Just provide clear instructions on the blog so people can build their own?

So do you spray the roots manually or have you automated it? Is there a central feed for nutrients or do you refill a bottle for each plant? Have you paired it with an aquaponics kit with fish and algae?

Right now I have the big panels charging the main battery and the small ones charging the gps and my laptop in the trunk. Both panels have a 12v female socket. I realize with a ton of adapters I could hook them up in parallel to charge the battery faster. Is there a single off the shelf adapter with two male 12v plugs at one end and one female 12v socket at the other end? Such that the panels would be connected in parallel, keeping the voltage the same but with increased amperage and therefore faster charging, I can always make one but I'd rather be sure they don't sell them someplace I've overlooked before I start cutting cable.

>>200765

>I think he has a chance of liking something different.

He's got an electric motorcycle I bought and then customized for him. He charges it from the solar panels on top of his neighbor's RV. Last Summer I took him helmet diving on the bottom of a nearby river.

He is a bad ass motherfucker and this is exactly the kind of thing I know he'd enjoy.

Ideas for chest fillers:

Cheap replica coins
http://www.cheaptreasures.com/

Foreign currencies that are a lot less valuable than the dollar also work well for this and make for a cooler option as they seem exotic and not immediately obvious as being without much value. He can also exchange these for US money afterward if he chooses.

Quartz crystals in bulk:
http://mysticmerchant.com/quartzpound/

Acrylic gems:
http://www.allstarco.com/shopping/acrylic_stones.htm

Ideas for chest fillers:

Cheap replica coins
http://www.cheaptreasures.com/

Foreign currencies that are a lot less valuable than the dollar also work well for this and make for a cooler option as they seem exotic and not immediately obvious as being without much value. He can also exchange these for US money afterward if he chooses.

Quartz crystals in bulk:
http://mysticmerchant.com/quartzpound/

Acrylic gems:
http://www.allstarco.com/shopping/acrylic_stones.htm

Some ideas for items:

Tree climbing boots/hand grips. These, found in a large chest, will enable him to go back and retrieve from tall trees small chests affixed to a high branch he could not reach before.

http://www.sherrilltree.com/Professional-Gear/Buckingham-Steel-Tree-Climbing-Spurs

The Tunic of Breathing: Micro scuba bottle containing 57 breaths of air. Only recommended if your little brother/nephew is scuba trained. Dress it up a little with waterproof metallic paint and perhaps adhesive gems. This will allow him to retrieve a key inside a waterproof, weighted down case at the bottom of a nearby lake.

http://www.sherrilltree.com/Professional-Gear/Buckingham-Steel-Tree-Climbing-Spurs

Treasure map: This is a template only. Draw based on Google Earth photogaphy of the "adventure area" and indicate only the locations of things like potions and the "stater chests". These contain keys to other chests, plus map fragments. Map fragments are torn pieces of what look like the whole map you provide, but with additional chest locations indicated on it. He can use a pencil with him to add the info from these fragments to the main map. PRO TIP: Fry the map a little in a pan to make it yellowed and brittle like a real treasure map.

http://www.2020site.org/templates/images/treasure-map.jpg

Next step is potions. Red, green and blue kool aid in funky looking jars. I had some trouble with these turning nasty when he didn't find them for several days so these should be clearly marked on the map:

http://www.medievalcollectibles.com/p-5641-3-bottle-potion-pouch.aspx?utm_medium=shoppingengine&
utm_source=googlebase&cvsfa=2951&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=4d43492d323231382d426c6b

Obviously you'll need swords. A wooden sword to start with, and possibly cheap metal replica swords in large chests later on as upgrades. A bow and arrow goes well with puzzles designed to require him to hit a target high up in order to release an item that will then fall to the ground so it can be retrieved (a key to a particular chest for example).

The map should only guide him to the first few chests, which contain information he can add to the map with a pencil. If elaborate enough, this adventure could last multiple days, weeks, even all Summer.

I used to play Zelda with my favorite nephew when he was younger; this amounted to running around in a field/forest finding "treasures" I had hidden like small toys in shitty little wooden chests (with a map to find them) and pretending to being Ganon, which meant dealing with him pummeling the shit out of me with a toy sword or oversized wooden hammer.

He's 13 now so obviously that won't cut it as far as entertainment goes. He's got Xbox 360, running around in a forest doesn't really hold a candle unless there's more to it. I was thinking, as a Summer surprise, to develop a much more elaborate irl adventure for him.

The first step would be to buy more of the cheap treasure chests:

http://athames.com/containers-chests-bags-1/boxes-chests-cupboards/wooden-dome-treasure-chest.html?s
ource=googleps

Also, a handful of larger, nicer treasure chests for the big ticket items like new weapons or coins:

http://www.quickwayimports.com/wooden-leather-treasure-chest/

>>195348

Yes, it's just one of four buildings.

It's been a while since we had one of these. I've been working on a proper "city" comprised of four separate habitats. Three are under construction but so far only one is complete:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlxCd4PUK8M

I made them individual and unconnected so that I could surface each one as needed for food/water resupply, and since unrelated sibling groups have to be kept apart from one another anyway. The largest habitat will house 3, the rest will house 2 each for a total of 9. Every habitat will offer separate, private space for each occupant, as they need to have someplace to take refuge after conflicts. They are sort of like primates, behaviorally, at least in that regard.

Just buy a cheap external battery pack. You can get them up to 21,000mah on chinavision. Cells are low grade and die fast, but easy to replace, they are just typical commodity cells. Contains all the electronics needed to do what you want.

>>176045

Hey bro. They sent back the money right?

>>167908
>http://www.lowes.com/pd_21482-33599-P200+3/4_0__?catalogId=10051&productId=3353864&UserS
earc
>h=21482&Ntt=21482&N=0&langId=-1&storeId=10151&rpp=24

Heyyy, now we're talkin. That would work perfectly. I'd only need them for a very large permanently emplaced habitat with some kind of biome inside the take care of the waste of course, but this is useful to know, I'll file it away for future use.

>>167847
>I see. Anywhere I can see how its progressing?

Yes, here: http://hampture.blogspot.com/

>>167818
>If I was to start a project similiar to this, would you still recommend using hamsters or is there another easier to maintain animal? Like a rat?

I chose dwarf hamsters because they are small and suited to living in networks of tunnels and chambers. Mice would probably also work well.

>>167822

>why not get closed loop life support working on these things?

I tried. I built a large algae bioreactor. But then winter came and the algae died. I may try again this Summer.

>>167649

>Can I get an update on your current project?

That's what this thread is.

>Are you going to place the next Hampture deeper, in a lake?

Already did that twice, with the Mk.2 and Mk3. This new city will be in a lake as well.

>Have you thought about indefinitely self sustainable ways to feed and clean the tanks?

Yes and I have tried several methods. None seem to work as well or for as long as simple silica gel litter.

>Have thought about putting come basic electronic circuits in there to regulate shit? (airlocks/cleaning etc)

Yes, the Mk. IV has a built in power distribution box that splits the incoming electricity to LED lights and the heater pads. I do not yet have any designs for a workable double door airlock hence this new design for a simpler self purging single door airlock/moonpool hybrid.

>Also if you could modify an RC sub to dock with Hampture that could be a neat way to deliver food/take away refuse.

Yes, that was the idea behind the development of Hamsub, although the Mk.1 was really just a proof of concept and could not dock to anything.

To clarify; I know everyone really, really, really loves the idea of a food repleishing tube to the surface. It seems very clever. But it has serious problems in practice, and is completely unnecessary; The limiting factor in terms of time is not food, hamsters eat relatively little and I can fit more than a month's supply in there easily.

The limiting factor is needing to clean the litter. I tried soil, it became overgrown with grass and then developed mold. I have switched to silica litter for it's dehumidifying properties and the fact that it can be used the longest of all types of litter; this permits one month 'missions', likely to remain the practical maximum. Because I need to surface these habitats once a month for cleaning anyway, I can just resupply them with food at the same time.

>>167613

>Translate that into your habitat design.

I already have a habitat like that, Hamlab II. Pic related.

I could of course modify any of these designs to add a moonpool in the floor, but as I have mentioned in prior threads, the hamsters no longer have their natural fear of water and will gladly swim out of any open moon pool. I could add a cover to it, but then, that's basically what's in the OP, just designed for ease of access.

>>167609
>Have you considered making the cage/box/whatever watertight? What would happen if the air pump fails for some reason?

Of course I have. But watertight is not binary, it comes in degrees. If i limit the entire living space to only one container I can use a very reliably watertight scuba drybox, but it does't give the hamsters much elbow room. The minute I cut into it to add a tunnel to some other module, I have compromised the watertightness and added places it can leak from if there is a loss of pressure.

In the event of a pump failure, the backup pump kicks in. In the event of a power failure, the battery backup kicks in. All life support critical systems are redundant.