Author: Heidi Ulrich
When your homebrew Yagi antenna only sort-of works, or when your WiFi cantenna seems moody on rainy days, we can assure you: it is not only you. You can stop doubting yourself once and for all after you’ve watched the Tech 101: Antennas webinar by [Dr. Jonathan Chisum]. [Jonathan] breaks it all down in a way that makes you want to rip out your old antenna and start fresh. It goes further than textbook theory; it’s the kind of knowledge defense techs use for real electronic warfare. And since it’s out there in bite-sized chunks, we hackers can easily put…
Ever pried apart an LCD? If so, you’ve likely stumbled at the unassuming zebra strip — the pliable connector that makes bridging PCB pads to glass traces look effortless. [Chuck] recently set out to test if he could hack together his own zebra strip using conductive TPU and a 3D printer. [Chuck] started by printing alternating bands of conductive and non-conductive TPU, aiming to mimic the compressible, striped conductor. Despite careful tuning and slow prints, the results were mixed to say the least. The conductive TPU measured a whopping 16 megaohms, barely touching the definition of conductivity! LEDs stayed dark,…