Make It

I started out with 3D cad working on a computer model for a prototype. The first version was not quite strong enough for the 100+ kilograms that were sometimes hauled with the bike and trailer. So more rienforcement was necessary.

One of the main requirements of the design was that it accomodate two different trailer connections. One for a higher trailer with 20in wheels and one for a large capacity trailer with 16in wheels.

I built a second version which attached to one of the frame bolts. This model required more precision in order to line up with the bolt and multiple frame tubes. You can get construction drawings (here).

The final design had enough connection points that it could stand up to the forces of a fully loaded trailer and a bike that sometimes fell over. The hitch gets used every week and it's held up through rain, snow and various mishaps.

Once all the heavy lumber was laid out then I leveled the ground and set a series of flat stones at each corner and midway in the long dimension. I double-checked that these were level with each other before setting the four vertical posts. Each post had temporary diagonal braces to keep it straight until the deck could be built.

Here the deck pieces are being set in place. You can clearly see the 4x4 pieces on the bottom supporting the posts and the floor structure which is made from a flat 2x4 along with a 2x6 edger to connect the individual 'joists.'

Once the main structure was finished, then I put in diagonal bracaing to rienforce the corner connections. On top of the floor structure I laid flat boards in the long direction and strips of plywood in the short direction to make sure that there were no large gaps. The surface of the floor was going to be a repurposed strip of roofing and I didn't want it to sag, since any depressions would allow water to collect.

Here you can see the floor deck more clearly. As much as possible I used solid wood because it would survive the wet/dry cycles where plywood couldn't. It turned out to be of little concern because the roofing material does a great job of keeping the space below nice and dry. The whole deck was sloped away from the house so that excess water would run away from the foundation. This has the added effect of making sure that the front barrels have the most water.

Here you can see the completed stand with the barrels on top. I had six barrels connected together which held 300 gallons for a total weight of 1135kg (2500lbs). I later added a pre-filter at the bottom of the downspout to keep debris from the gutters from building up in the barrels.

I used old flexible tubing to connect the rainbarrels in place. I only had to buy a few elbow connectors for the project. I then used some plumbing tape between the tube and connector and a set-screw to keep the tubing in place. To protect the plastic from sunlight I wrapped each one in a length of bicycle tube which does a great job. More recently I bought flexible hose (often used under sinks) for a screw-on connector that has a built-in rubber seal.

I started out with 3D cad working on a high gain yagi antenna. This multi-element design was expected to pull in a signal from pretty far away.

Part of this process involved drilling a series of holes precisely along a length of oak. The spacing between each set of three is based on the wavelength of the 2.4Ghz frequency. Then I pushed the parasitic elements into place through each hole. (link)

What makes the antenna so effective is the 3 elements on top of each other rather then just one. The angle here is open to interpretation, as long as there's enough space on the spine for connecting everything. But because the wires do flare up and down, some blocks of wood were added to keep each set of parasitic elements in the same plane. The picture here shows the wood spine with the parasitic elements and the looped driven element held within the holes that I drilled.

Once all the copper wires were cut and bent into place, I had to figure a way to point the antenna at the wifi source. I used a small tripod and built a custom mount for that. Once it was done, this antenna could pull a signal from about 40 meters away. But this wasn't strong enough for my needs.

So the next step was to construct a longer range biQuad yagi antenna which is the first antenna Prof. McNeil tested that looks to work at distances beyond 70 meters. One key to constructing an antenna was to use non-conducting materials. It's important that the antenna's structure doesn't interfere with the signal amplification. The first version was made of plywood because I was testing it indoors.

But this one was expected to be out in the elements and so I used a sturdy plastic to hold the plates at the right distance (Prof. McNeil used printed PCBs). I used copper tape to create the exact pattern and put electrical tape to insulate the overlapping path.

Another challenge with this was to solder the copper elements to the very tiny wires of the SMA connector. (link) This takes patience and a good magnifying stand. Once I completed the antenna, I found that it pulled in a wifi signal from a full 150 meters away. If you would like to try this one, feel free to download the biquad dimensions here. The drawing is based on the pdf which Professor McNeil's provides on his channel.

The light panels were meant to be attached with a glue that wasn't very strong. Since they didn't have any physical mounting hardware and there was no space around the part to put a screw, I designed a connector that would sit in the thin gap between light points.

In order to get the right size piece, I cut some angle-steel and ran a small dremel wheel to cut out the material so it would have enough mass holding the light and two tabs for screw holes. This picture shows the cut pattern.

With the mounting brackets finished, I wired the light to a rocker switch and then to a 9V transformer. It lights just one burner perfectly.