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These tins are inexpensive, well shielded, easy to work with, and least but not least they enable you to make experimental circuits that are sturdy enough that they can be reused later.
Pictured here is a collection of projects I have built over the years with the hope that they may inspire others.
To the left:
- AVR Butterfly morse keyer (KD1JV)
- AVR Butterfly Digital SWR / Power Meter for low power transmitters (KD1JV). Actually this project was built in the slightly larger Whitman's tin.
- 50 MHz to 14 MHz receive converter (WA3ENK) with a low-noise preamplifier
- Pixie II QRPP transceiver for 30 m
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- SM6LKM’s 4053 HCMOS converter from 137 kHz to 20 meter band.
- A 50 MHz test oscillator for testing 6 m receivers
- A switch mode power supply that converts 15 Volts into 4.5 and 30 Volts for a WWII miniature Sweetheart shortwave receiver. Design inspired by SM0VPO/G4VVJ's practical voltage converter.
- Maxim Tutorial 946: Disposable Metal Boxes Make Excellent Shielded Enclosures (via Dangerous Prototypes)
- Getting Started - Top 10 Small and Fun Electronics Projects - DIY Electronics
- Curiously Hackable: 8 Awesome Altoids Tin Hacks
- Altoids tin prototyping board (Make blog)
@la3za Wow! My Altoids projects featured on the @dangerousproto blog today - http://dangerousprototypes.com/2012/09/17/more-projects-using-altoids-tin-boxes-as-enclosures/ #hamr
ReplyDeleteAs the Altoids tins are not so widely available either
ReplyDeletehere in Finland, I have used Fisherman's Friend boxes
instead. They are exactly the same size and their availability
might be better.
Here's my RockMite in a Fisherman's Friend box
http://www.qsl.net/oh3kav/RockMite.html
Few months ago my local supermarket had several flavours of Altoids available in their U.S. groceries department, but it was seemingly just one batch.
73 de Ari OH3KAV / OH7KA
Hi Ari. Thanks a lot for the input, I'll certainly look for Fisherman's Friend here as well. Here is a clickable link to your nice RockMite
ReplyDeleteHi Sverre,
ReplyDeleteI actually came across your blog when searching suitable Altoids box layouts for a Pixie-2. Yous seem to have found quite a compact solution.
Penguin Mints have also same size tin. Seems to be available from some other webstores slightly cheaper.
73 de Ari OH3KAV / OH7KA
My Pixie-2 was originally in an Altoids tin but I found that it was too cramped so I repackaged it into a larger tin after a while as you can see in my Pixie-2 write-up. I plan to show more projects on the blog that I have in these clear top tins in a while.
ReplyDeleteUnless you really want those curiously strong mints, adafruit make the tins and sell them for $2.50 each.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.adafruit.com/products/97
That's nice. They are even bare metal without the Altoids decoration. Here's a clickable link to Adafruit
ReplyDelete@la3za My Altoids projects featured here: RT @adafruit Altoids tin projects http://t.co/y6XHkWIG
ReplyDeleteAnyone have any ideas as to how to cut proper holes in Altoids and similar tins? I have a DSTAR GMSK modem with DB9 and USB receptacles that must be readily accessable. It occurs to me that conventional methods of cutting or drilling, although effective, would make for some ugly aesthetically-displeasing holes. How does one make neat/professional style holes of various sizes in these tins without specialized/expensive tools?
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Gary, K7EK
I have used a hand drill with larger and larger bits. However, the holes don't always become round in this way. I always use a wooden block inside the Altoids in order not to dent the tin too much.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I have heard of others who have used a Dremel, punches, and nibbling tools ...
An Ebay search today Aug 24, 2014 turned up 422 results for ''Altoids Tin"
ReplyDeleteHere is the link http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Altoids+tins&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=
love the site.
72/73
Adrian KF7DYU