Unfinished projects.. The Support Group/Encouragement Thread

[opt2not]

This thread is depressing for me. 

1. Finish my Alpha One project
2. Figure out why my all of my Baby Pac's flippers and solenoids decided to not work anymore
3. Robotron caberet has been down for a while -- fix the constant resetting on boot-up (original PS needs a rebuild)
4. My Jamma Console Box had a grounding issue a while back, so I pulled it apart, with the intent of fixing and transferring the innards (UVC and 2x PS360's) into a nice project enclosure...
5. Look into a few product ideas I want to get manufactured - don't even know where to start
6. My OG Xbox's Clock Capacitor needs to be removed/replaced.  Also the power connector has been acting up
7. Palm Sander needs a new power switch...currently it's wired without one, so it's always ON when plugged in
8. Vectrex needs new caps
9. SNES power connector is broken, need to order and replace
10. Dreamcast VGA mod ( i already ordered the VGA board)
11. Install another silent fan in my second CPS2 A-board
12. My 2 Astro City cabinet monitors need new caps installed
13. Update my demo reel/portfolio, look for a new job
14. Replace the cartridge in my kitchen sink faucet

Ability to get these done is not the issue, finding the time to dedicate to them is. Most of my free-time is being soaked up by artwork, but after these couple I have committed to are done, I'm going to take a sabbatical on taking new art commissions and concentrate on chipping away at this list.

Jenn, if you do #10, you can make him do #11 (PS, its easy peasy)

This idea is working !!!! , I went down and bought a new welder, and got a date with the young guy selling them. (Yes Jennifer flirted him) ... So now on the date, he can weld up some  paint booth duct/door. Now to find a plumber too.

Yes, every man loves a first-date where the girl asks him to come back to do handyman work around the house...I think I've seen this in certain "movies" several times.    

[jennifer]

   Hmmm... Thats a good point, Im just sitting here looking at this welder, (Hobart 90amp 110 volt wirefeed) It doesnt look so hard, Maybe just watch a few Utubes, and get some of those welder mittens, Yes Jennifer can do this...I think.

[Nephasth]

   Hmmm... Thats a good point, Jennifer's just sitting here looking at this welder, (Hobart 90amp 110 volt wirefeed) It doesnt look so hard, Maybe just watch a few Utubes, and get some of those welder mittens, Yes Jennifer can do this...Jennifer thinks.

FTFY. Slacking these days...

[CoryBee]

   Hmmm... Thats a good point, Jennifer's just sitting here looking at this welder, (Hobart 90amp 110 volt wirefeed) It doesnt look so hard, Maybe just watch a few Utubes, and get some of those welder mittens, Yes Jennifer can do this...Jennifer thinks.

FTFY. Slacking these days...

Subtle....I like it.

[BadMouth]

Truck stereo install done: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25643351@N07/sets/72157634736035245/
(just dumped the pics, so they might not be in order or the correct orientation yet)

It's nothing fancy, but it's a solid install.  The grill for the subwoofer is on backorder (the box is bolted in using the same mounting points as the factory jack, so it isn't going to move forward and hit the seat).  The sound deadening may look like overkill, but it was necessary.  The plastic panels on the back part of the cab would benefit from it, but I'm happy with it for now.

[wp34]

Those speakers (I assume they are tweeters) you installed in the post look fantastic.  That is really impressive.

Truck stereo install done: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25643351@N07/sets/72157634736035245/
(just dumped the pics, so they might not be in order or the correct orientation yet)

It's nothing fancy, but it's a solid install.  The grill for the subwoofer is on backorder (the box is bolted in using the same mounting points as the factory jack, so it isn't going to move forward and hit the seat).  The sound deadening may look like overkill, but it was necessary.  The plastic panels on the back part of the cab would benefit from it, but I'm happy with it for now.

[BadMouth]

Those speakers (I assume they are tweeters) you installed in the post look fantastic.  That is really impressive.

Yeah, that was the only real custom part.  There aren't any good pics of them installed because the first one I clearcoated turned hazy because it was too humid.  I just repainted them yesterday, but didn't clearcoat them because apparently it's monsoon season.  They are back in the truck, but I haven't taken new pics yet.  I'll get them added tonight.

[Howard_Casto]

Yeah I know right?

The stupid paint on my car is alternating between runny and orangie.  Adding a lot of extra sanding to the process.

[Ond]

@ Badmouth - nice work on the custom speaker fittings!

Well I might as well declare my to-do list here, ironic really as I'm not going to be around here for a few months while I concentrate on getting on with it all.

EDIT:  Ticking off the list as I complete each item

1.   Help my eldest daughter complete her short film assignment for year 12 school submission (and re-claim our Home Theater – which is now her temporary film studio!) DONE

2.   Complete remaining artwork for BYOAC members DONE
3.   Complete Home Theater re-build and re-fit
4.   Complete all rooms’ interior walls surface repair (plastering) and undercoat and paint.
5    Build Laundry and Family Room shelving
6.   Re-grout and silicone bathrooms
7.   Install network cabinet and rack to garage, terminate cat-5 into patch panel
8.   Complete retaining walls/landscaping/Garden beds/lawn to rear garden
9.   Begin prep for outside paving (install drainage pits/connect storm water/lay road bed)
10. Lay outside concrete paving
11. Get repairs to my Alfa Romeo done and sell the car
12. Complete my Astro arcade cabinet
13. Complete my Xenolix arcade cabinet
14. Complete my Astro Rising animation

[jennifer]

      Saint you gotta spill the details of your project... Its making Jennifer crazy, up all night, What is it? A scale model of the "Titanic", a wall of monitors complete with a Dr. evil lounge chair and white cat?... Recessed floor lighting?

[darthpaul]

Unfinished projects.. where do I start?
Bubbas Arcade.
Lucky 8 Lines bartop.
Gayles JukeBox (a juke for my sister).
Lean-to on my shed to supply storage for my trailer.
Replace doors on the house (sun damage).
Pressure wash the house (the vinyl looks like crap.)
Start building a garage with extra shop area.

Software:
Finish up "Control Choose" plugin for Mala.
Put final touches on my "PCFE", a front end for your desktop PC that allows you to test games and play them on your PC. I have it to the point where it works, now that I can use it Ive gotten lazy on putting all the final touches on it.

Hey Ken, don't forget we still have to finish up my rotating control panels 
Same here with pressure washing the house and building a lean-to onto my shed.
Turned most of my garage into a Home Theater, which I have to say is very near completion along with the Ticket Booth and Concession Stand.
And of course, the Automated Arcade Cabinet.

[jennifer]

    "Start building a garage with extra shop area.".... That sounds kinda awesome, Like a big takeover the garage kinda thing ?

[DaOld Man]

Darth, Im anxiously waiting to get back on that rotating panel project of yours (or "chomping at the bit", as an old farmer friend used to say).

Jennifer, you know you can never have enough storage space. Im beginning to think it might be better to have the alternative to storage: yard sale, or neighborhood giveaway. I wonder if I could call the American Pickers guys? Probably dont have anything they would want, but I could get myself on TV.
Good luck with that boyfriend search, heres a little tip: act like you dont know how to do any  of those around the house jobs, the guy will be more than happy to do them then.
Plus if you act like you know more than him (and you probably do), it might chase him away.
Of course this could have a different strategy, if you dont like the guy, just show him how you can do the job better than him, be sure to point out his mistakes, he will soon grow tired and leave.
AFWIW: A toilet is very easy to change out UNLESS the floor is rotted from a leaky toilet, then it gets to be a nightmare.
Just be sure to install the wax ring in the proper direction (buy a new ring, most of the time you cant reuse them).
But if the toilet is going to be removed for a while (going to get parts, etc) be sure to cover the hole in the floor, or you may come home to a smelly house.
If you can find a guy that dont mind talking about these sort of things, better keep him.

[darthpaul]

Ken, glad to hear you are not too busy to still work on my project.
There is still one other projest I need to do, it's install a Mini Split system. I need to cut down on my use of coal to heat my house, it's not the bargain it used to be and it's a pain in the neck to use it. I'm hoping the mini-split will handle my heating requirements except for the coldest months.

[DaOld Man]

Ken, glad to hear you are not too busy to still work on my project.
There is still one other projest I need to do, it's install a Mini Split system. I need to cut down on my use of coal to heat my house, it's not the bargain it used to be and it's a pain in the neck to use it. I'm hoping the mini-split will handle my heating requirements except for the coldest months.

Ok, what is a mini split system?

[ark_ader]

I'm staring at my fix it felix/monkey island weecade, and it just started raining outside. 

Bonfire night is approaching...

[darthpaul]

Ken, glad to hear you are not too busy to still work on my project.
There is still one other projest I need to do, it's install a Mini Split system. I need to cut down on my use of coal to heat my house, it's not the bargain it used to be and it's a pain in the neck to use it. I'm hoping the mini-split will handle my heating requirements except for the coldest months.

Ok, what is a mini split system?

It's a ductless heat pump. The condenser hangs on the wall and the compressor sits outside. This is the one I'm considering getting http://www.friedrich.com/sites/default/files/Retail_Breeze_Room_Air_Conditioiner_Brochure_2013_%287-13%29.pdf

[jennifer]

     Well I got busy and worked on everything on my list... I split 17 hour days between them all, [still didn't finish any yet.] The welder is way fun and quite relaxing, seems the trick was to push into the weld as you go. It has certainly given me new conceptual ideas for the future...RE: The Old Man, Yes you correct, tricking a boy like that however tends to catch up to me by the end of the 2nd date, or when Jen slaps him on the back of the head for just being lazy [or stupid] 

[rpgposer]

I have cleaned and leveled the mud room floor in preparation for tile.  I also went off the list, into the basement, vaccumed all the nasty 200+ year old dirt, removed the nasty semi-rotten shelves and replaced them with new, primed planks.  It smells a lot better down there now.
Daughter is visiting for a week or so, rest of the projects are on hold.
Did Jennifer hit her date?

[jennifer]

       Well kinda I guess... I got this one by "accidently" crashing my cart into his at the frozen isle, After be quite cute and apologetic Jen got a date out of him for next Fri., If he"s an idiot then I bang him on the head. 

[jdbailey1206]

[Malenko]

If he"s an idiot then I bang him ..........

Yeah yeah Im with ya go on go on......

........ on the head. 

and you lost me. 

[jennifer]

      You guys are so horrible to baby....Btw, I did get the bathroom floor in, OMG, the boards under it were like 1x6 so I had to replace all of those with 2x6 [doubled every 8 ft] and covered it with 3/4 ply. It was a miserable experience, and had to get the neighbor to help drag those heavy boards. After I recuperate its the pvc pipe and install toilet.

[DaOld Man]

Jenn, if it don't work out with this guy, come visit me, I got tons of work and wont be ashamed to let you do it.
Bring your welder.
And when all the work is done, I will take you out for a movie and a steak dinner.
(Sorry DaOld Man does not like to be hit on the head, or just about anywhere else).

[CoryBee]

Jenn, if it don't work out with this guy, come visit me, I got tons of work and wont be ashamed to let you do it.
Bring your welder.
And when all the work is done, I will take you out for a movie and a steak dinner.
(Sorry DaOld Man does not like to be hit on the head, or just about anywhere else).

How I imagine DaOldMan & Jennifer from now on

[DaOld Man]

Nah, I look better than that guy.

[CoryBee]

I figure I would share some of the projects I am working on or need to start working on again. This will also serve to help me get back on them.

• Full Size Build
• 2 More Half Size Builds
• SAM - Stand Alone MAME CP System
• Petite\Micro LED Cocktail
• Upgrading an older bartop build with new sides, t-molding and a new laptop
• Finishing the custom pond in the backyard and getting some fishies in there
• Replacing panels on 7 used Macbook Pros and adding more RAM to get them ready for re-sell
• Finish dialing in a new setup for making Meed (honey wine)
• Adding electronics to a kayak and waterproofing everything for some relaxing Lake visits

There are some other things I am sure but those are my priorities right now

[shponglefan]

This Gundam model.  I think I started building it about 10 years ago.  I am now attempting to finish it.

[Monkeyvoodoo]

I have a full company of space marines that I need to finish assembling and paint. The arcade hobby kind of distracted me

[opt2not]

1. Finish my Alpha One project  In progress - Ordered parts, this thing is happening! Hopefully I'll have an update soon
2. Figure out why my all of my Baby Pac's flippers and solenoids decided to not work anymore   FIXED!  Stupid F5 fuse!  Should have checked the fuses right away.
3. Robotron cabaret has been down for a while -- fix the constant resetting on boot-up (original PS needs a rebuild)  FIXED.  I said "screw it" and bought a JROK board. Runs way more reliable.
4. My Jamma Console Box had a grounding issue a while back, so I pulled it apart, with the intent of fixing and transferring the innards (UVC and 2x PS360's) into a nice project enclosure...
5. Look into a few product ideas I want to get manufactured - don't even know where to start
6. My OG Xbox's Clock Capacitor needs to be removed/replaced.  Also the power connector has been acting up  DONE! Turns out the power header's plastic was also cracked and loose. Gorilla Glue rocks.
7. Palm Sander needs a new power switch...currently it's wired without one, so it's always ON when plugged in  DONE!
8. Vectrex needs new caps
9. SNES power connector is broken, need to order and replace
10. Dreamcast VGA mod ( i already ordered the VGA board)
11. Install another silent fan in my second CPS2 A-board
12. My New Astro City cabinet monitors need new caps installed  DONE!
13. Update my demo reel/portfolio, look for a new job
14. Replace the cartridge in my kitchen sink faucet  DONE! The wife finally struck my last nerve with the whining/nagging.

Got a bit of a motivation drive in the last couple weeks. Happy to have got some stuff done! 

[rpgposer]

This Gundam model.  I think I started building it about 10 years ago.  I am now attempting to finish it.

Love that box art.

[darthpaul]

Hey Ken, don't forget we still have to finish up my rotating control panels 
Same here with pressure washing the house and building a lean-to onto my shed.
Turned most of my garage into a Home Theater, which I have to say is very near completion along with the Ticket Booth and Concession Stand.
And of course, the Automated Arcade Cabinet.
[/quote]Mini Split is going in next week, the Automated Cabinet is up next.

[DaOld Man]

Ready whenever you are Paul.
About that lean too. I was off last week so I decided to start on it. First had to cut a bunch of limbs from a neighbors hedge apple tree that were hanging down almost to the ground on my side of the fence.
I decided it would be easier to cut them on the neighbors side of the fence, and leave them laying over there. (He already said it was ok, you know good neighbor policy).
I was almost done when my chain saw died and wouldn't start. So I threw it over the fence then commenced to climbing over to my side.
I was using a tree on my side that I had already cut down to about 3 feet off the ground as a step, when the limb of that tree I was putting my weight on broke and I went flying head first into my yard. But luckily for me, my face caught a couple of the cut off limbs and broke my fall.
I got a cut below my left eye and was bleeding like a stuck hog. I ran into the house, washed it and put a bandage on it. It wasn't as bad as it looked, but I got a cut and a big hickey looking red spot on my cheek. (Plus a couple more bruises and scratches on my back and left arm.)
I am glad I was wearing safety glasses, because the limb hit me right below the left lens, and could have hit the lens and glanced off, I don't know.
Anyway, the worst part of this whole show is having to go to work Saturday and explaining it 50 times to people who thought I had been in a fight. LOL.
I really am getting too old for these shenanigans.
And remember kids: always, always, always! Wear your safety equipment when you do anything that could get you hurt. I thank God I remembered to put those glasses on. When I fell, it happened so quick and there was nothing to grab hold too. (Another mark against my judgment, should have took the time to make sure I had an escape plan, but you guys know how it is when you get in a hurry and something out of ordinary happens like my chain saw dying. Recipe for disaster and I took my eyes off the target for just a second.)
Im ok, just needed to share. It could have been a lot worse.

[darthpaul]

Glad to hear you are OK and now after hearing this I will start wear safety glasses. I know I'm contradicting myself now but I am very careful whatever I'm doing, building, playing ball..... The worst injuries I have ever had were minor cuts and bruises, now let me go find those glasses and stop tempting fate.  When you do start the shed, post some pictures, my lawn tractor needs a new home. 

[wp34]

I'm glad you are okay.  That had to have gotten the old heart rate up.

But luckily for me, my face caught a couple of the cut off limbs and broke my fall.

I have to admit (since you are okay) this sentence gave me a chuckle.  Taken out of context that does not seem like good luck.  Again I'm glad you are okay.

[jennifer]

     OMG... Thats a HORRIBLE story, It makes me think of safety things, I dont even have safety glasses, [but I do wear regular glassses, but I have to even take those off cause I cant see things up close], paint mask I got one but never know where it is... And all my fire extingushers are empty.

[wp34]

I picked-up these this summer and have been real happy with them.  They are comfortable enough I tend to wear them more and were only $10.

http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DPG82-11C-Concealer-Anti-Fog-Safety/dp/B000RKQ1NI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1379895858&sr=8-2&keywords=dewalt+safety+glasses

[Dervacumen]

And remember kids: always, always, always! Wear your safety equipment when you do anything that could get you hurt.

When I was about 6 my father built a shop in our backyard so he could have a space to double the size of our house.  The kids got to paint whatever they wanted on the drywall inside the shop, which was cool in retrospect because every time he was out in the shop working on something he was reminded of his reason for being there in the first place.... but I digress.

He painted this little poem on the wall right next to his table saw:
You can't grow back your finger
You can't grow back your arm
Remember: if you saw them off
You've done eternal harm

When I entered the required poetry contest in 5th grade when I was ten, I added that to my compilation of poems, including my addition:
You can't grow back your foot
You can't grow back your toe
Remember if you saw them off
You're in for eternal woe

While my 10 year old poetic style wasn't the best, in shows what an impact that message had on me.  Wear your safety gear.  Accidents are called accidents for a reason.

Anyway, here's my unfinished project.  A prototype of the Kitty Butler, a machine for cats to initiate self-petting while the owners are away.  It's been in progress since about 2002.  This is the second evolution that works off a 12V battery.  The first prototype was field tested by about 20 cat owners and got great reviews.

[ids]

My list, from what i can currently recall:

• 8x8x8 LED Cube
• Air hockey table
• Basement / Games Room
• Sound issues on Sega Manx
• Benders audio jack in the u360 bottom to support LEDs concept - almost completed this one
• Software driving the small monitor embedded in my control panel - currently working well, but the to-do list grows at a faster pace than the doing
• Micro cabs - w.i.p.
• Fight stick - almost done, just need to finish the engraved capacitive touch buttons in acrylic w/ LED lighting and ...
• Multi-williams bar-top
• An old turntable needs to fixed - not sure what to do with that one
• Find a way to fix that Pentranic 33" arcade monitor
• ....Then turn the generic blue showcase cab it's in, into a proper ....something
• ....and in that something, get the ultimarc guns going - they've spent enough time collecting dust
• New, next gen IDE, so sick of the limitations of Eclipse, IntelliJ, etc - it's like living in the dark ages, ffs
• Actually enjoy what I do have completed 

oh, and all that stuff the lovely wife wants me to do