Abbe Diffraction setup
Posted in Hardware
Kurt Thorn shared the parts list for his Abbe diffraction setup. He describes how to use it in his blog post, but you can also check out his talk.
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OpenLabTools at Cambridge
OpenLabTools is a new initiative at Cambridge University, using engineering students to develop modular lab equipment.
The OpenLabTools initiative aims to provide a forum and knowledge centre for the development of low cost and…
Barrels XXVII
Posted in Uncategorized
The focus of the Barrels XXVII meeting is still very much on barrel cortex, but they’re generously permitting a bit of visual cortex work to be presented. Here’s more information (pdf link-but the…
Optomechanics and microscopy technical notes – many items
Posted in Hardware
Vojnovic’s group at Oxford has dozens of technical notes. Most are concise, and include software code, if applicable. SolidWorks files and PCB files are available on request.
Here are a few examples:
Cardboard for prototyping
Posted in Tips
Anonymous tipster Alfred shared this snapshot of a ThorLabs Quick Bites box repurposed as a project box.
Cardboard isn’t a bad thing to prototype things up with, for example:
Google’s stereoscopic goggles
Relatedly, here’s …
DIY Von Frey filaments
Posted in Hardware
FlyMAD
This tip comes from John Stowers. He and his colleagues developed an open source opto- and thermo- genetic system for targeting freely moving Drosophila with lasers.
He wrote a long post discussing some…
The vaguest journal title of all time
Posted in Uncategorized
American International Journal of Contemporary Research
Maybe even self-contradictory and redundant as well. Nice work.
It was started by the equally unfocussed Center for Promoting Ideas.
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3D Printing in Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 has some interesting built-in support for 3D printing. They’re treating it a lot like 2D printing, even including a print preview.
Labrigger still recommends outsourcing 3D printing because the technology is…
Air hockey for mice
Posted in Hardware
Mobile HomeCage is a different approach for awake, behaving experiments. It’s from Helsinki-based Neurotar.
Their marketing video is worth a viewing. You won’t regret it.
OSX features I wish Windows had
Posted in Software
Migrating back to Windows after years of using OSX, there are some features I miss.
Default Folder X (link)
Right click on the file name in the title bar to find out what folder that…
Voltset – a smart multimeter for your smartphone
Posted in Hardware
We’ve covered Voltset before. It’s a small multimeter with no display. It plugs into a smartphone for its user interface and logging data (there’s a Bluetooth module as well). This approach opens the possibility of developing interesting custom applications that are discussed on the video above,…
Unusual breadboards from Vere
Posted in Hardware
Vere is a smaller company that Newport, Thorlabs, or TMC. But they’re worth checking out for optical tables, breadboards, beam stops, dumps, enclosures, and whatnot. They have some interesting items.
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