Although all photo-emitting displays rely on human eye/brain persistence of vision, some exploit it more than others. When it comes to hobby projects, there are very few feasible display options. One tedious option is a rectangular matrix of LEDs. The overhead of soldering each LED becomes a major component of the project with clever multiplexing and LED driving methods becoming a secondary task. One of the other options for a hobby display is to spin a single row of LEDs to make a display that truly relies on persistence of vision. The projects described here subscribe to the latter display method to produce 2D and 3D displays.

Nowadays, drones can simply be purchased or assembled by plug and play kits. These options run the gamut of affordability and functionality, but are consistent in their obfuscation of the relatively complex control theory implemented by the drones. The computing power of modern microcontrollers and sensors allows drones to hover and remain level so effectively that stability appears to be an inherent trait of quad-copters. This is anything but true; with six degrees of freedom, only four input sources, and minimal motion dampening provided by air, quad-copters are not trivial to keep motionless. There is a reason that all commercial and industrial drones are digital, and it is the same reason that an analog drone is a project worth taking on.

Out of all analytical chemistry instruments, a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer makes one of the best to try to make from scratch. When pondering instruments to try making, optical spectroscopic methods were ruled out due to the need for well aligned optics, a photo-multiplier tube, CCD/CMOS/PD array, stable light source, or interferometer. These projects seemed to put purchased (expensive) parts, or access to precise machining which are not ideal attributes for a hobby project. Mass spec was ruled out to difficulty of most ionization methods and achieving a high vacuum even though a quadrupole ion trap would be great fun. Similar reasons ruled out SEM, TEM, and STEM. NMR stands out as a cheap option with relatively simple construction requirements. The main challenge comes in the planning of the project which makes for a great hobby project. Described is my jab at making a NMR with the goal of analysing things such as acetic acid in water/Ethanol (vinigar, kombucha, acetification of wine), methanol in ethanol/water (poorly distilled spirits or denatured alcohol), or ethanol in water (spirits) with C or H NMR.