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# Ruben Fixit

Fixing, building, and having fun

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://rubenfixit.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [Exploring the Galaxy of Lightsaber Props](https://rubenfixit.com/2025/01/14/exploring-the-galaxy-of-lightsaber-props/) - Crafting Lightsaber Props: A Galactic Journey Unveiled
- [Controlling a Robotic Arm with an Xbox 360 wireless controller](https://rubenfixit.com/2014/12/11/controlling-a-robotic-arm-with-an-xbox-360-wireless-controller/) - I've always wanted to get into robotics, and building a robotic arm is a great place to start. But what can we do with a simple robotics arm kit? I've got to start somewhere, and when learning a new skill it helps to start simple. So for this project, I wanted to figure out how
- [DIY USB-C Hub](https://rubenfixit.com/2021/04/14/diy-usb-c-hub/) - USB-C is all the rage these days. Most people welcome it, some people absolutely despise it. And I get it, for the everyday user you only need one cable to rule them all, but it is certainly a headache for engineers to have to deal with all the regulations packed into one port. I find
- [Mark Rober's Creative Engineering Course](https://rubenfixit.com/2021/04/27/mark-robers-creative-engineering-course/) - Even though I'm a seasoned engineer, I thought it would be fun to take Mark Rober's Creative Engineering Course on studio.com, to see what his approach was to teaching the principles of the engineering process, and share them with my kids. So I signed up with my brother and dove right in. Overall, I enjoyed
- [Millennium Falcon Waffle Maker](https://rubenfixit.com/2023/06/18/millennium-falcon-waffle-maker/) - My kids got me this for Father's Day!
- [Binocular Lens Holder with OpenSCAD](https://rubenfixit.com/2023/09/25/binocular-lens-holder-with-openscad/) - In preparation for the October 14, 2023 Annular Eclipse, I wanted to use my binoculars to get a close look at the sun during the eclipse. I could buy premade solar filter lens caps at $50 a piece, that may or may not fit my binoculars. Or I could buy a sheet of solar filter
- [Pump Sprayer Upgrade](https://rubenfixit.com/2021/05/05/pump-sprayer-upgrade/) - I use this pump sprayer only for water, as it is my water supply for a water bottle rocket launcher. I got tired of constantly having to manually pump the water container when I was already using an air compressor to fill and pressurize the water bottle rockets. This is when I took on the
- [Remote Firework / Rocket Igniter](https://rubenfixit.com/2021/07/03/remote-firework-rocket-igniter/) - Have you ever wanted to remotely launch a model rocket, or some fireworks safely? I know I sure have. So I came up with this method using an RC airplane transmitter, receiver, and an Electronic Speed Controller (ESC). By using the built-in ESC safety feature, that requires the throttle to be raised, lowered and then
- [Mega Button Remote - Wireless charger](https://rubenfixit.com/2021/06/18/mega-button-remote-wireless-charger/) - As a simple upgrade to the Megabutton Universal Remote Mk II+ / Adaptive Universal Remote, here is a simple way to add wireless charging to almost any project. Parts USB Wireless Charger Receiver Wireless Charger By attaching the wireless charger receiver to your device, you can then use it with a compatible wireless charger. In
- [Star Trek Away Mission Escape Box](https://rubenfixit.com/2022/04/29/star-trek-away-mission-escape-box/) - I've been wanting to build this for a log time, and I finally did it! And as a bonus, I won the 2022 Hackaday Sci-Fi Contest Winner! You can read all about it in my Star Trek Shuttle Console Hackaday project page. FAIR WARNING: it contains several SPOILERS to any of you that may want
- [Smart Chicken Coop Light](https://rubenfixit.com/2016/12/11/smart-chicken-coop-light/) - When we first got chickens, we were trying all kinds of things we read online to get the most out of our laying hens. This project was one of those silly ideas to try and provide more "daylight" for the chickens year round, so they would lay eggs year round. I threw this together on
- [LED RGB Stars](https://rubenfixit.com/2015/12/09/led-rgb-stars/) - It is nearing Christmas time again. Last year, I was in an apartment that was doing a Christmas Light Decoration Competition. The first three winner received a discount on the next months rent. So I decided to order some RGB LED strips from banggood.com and make some really cool IR controllable stars. The process was simple,
- [Adaptive Universal Remote](https://rubenfixit.com/2020/09/22/adaptive-universal-remote/) - AKA Universal Meagbutton Remote MK III I finally was able to make another revision of the Universal Megabutton Remote. My brother-in-law Jacob has been insisting for some time for me to upgrade his current box. Unfortunately the modification of the Logitech Harmony 200 didn't hold up to constant use over 3 years. The USB extension
- [My First Car](https://rubenfixit.com/2009/10/24/my-first-car/) - 1980 Mercedes Benz 300D It was one of those cars that you buy from your parents because you don't have any money. Since it was such an old car it is a collectors item. If only it was in mint condition I could have sold it, or traded it, for half the price of a new car. So
- [Dell Laptop Puzzle](https://rubenfixit.com/2004/06/18/dell-laptop-puzzle/) - Before I became a network administrator assistant at my high school I had a reputation among my peers that I could fix anything. So when the IT crew ran into a problem they would usually ask for my help. In this case, they had to completely disassemble this Dell laptop to reset the bios. For
- [Ruben fixes everything!](https://rubenfixit.com/2011/06/24/ruben-fixes-everything/) - Let's see... I had an old dell which came to me used and with a few problems. It was at its deathbed several times. Ruben fixed the cd/dvd drive several times. And showed me how to use different programs on my laptop. He also helped me retrieve all of my files off that laptop when
- [3 ways to Free up unnecessary used HDD space on Windows 7](https://rubenfixit.com/2012/01/12/3-ways-to-free-up-unnecessary-used-hdd-space-on-windows-7/) - NOTE: These methods work best for systems that have a large amount of memory (RAM). 1. Hibernation Reserved Space Hibernation reserves HD space up to the amount of memory your system has. To disable hibernation and recover that drive space then type the following command with administrator privileges in cmd.exe. powercfg -h off 2. Decrease
- [No place like localhost](https://rubenfixit.com/2013/06/23/no-place-like-localhost/) - This just made me laugh. And I thought it was worth sharing.
- [Pinewood Derby - Propeller powered](https://rubenfixit.com/2014/03/16/pinewood-derby-propeller-powered/) - A week ago my brother invited me to join him for an Anything Goes pinewood derby race. I have great memories of building these cars with my Dad and wouldn't pass up an opportunity to relive those moments. First I designed my car in Sketch-Up, and then built the car from a standard derby kit.
- [Cell Phone Li-ion battery tester](https://rubenfixit.com/2014/05/15/cell-phone-li-ion-battery-tester/) - Li-ion Battery Tester While working at Macalegin Electronics I discovered that many times we need to verify the charge on a cell phone battery. We have a multimeter but is a little cumbersome to use especially when testing several batteries at once. So I had the opportunity of designing and building a Li-Ion Battery tester
- [Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset Hack](https://rubenfixit.com/2014/06/08/creative-fatal1ty-gaming-headset-hack/) - I've been using this headset with my Xbox 360 for a while now. But I always found it so cumbersome to use by running an extension from the end of the cable up to where I hold my controller. So about 3 months ago I modified them to be the perfect Xbox headset. I realize
- [Toothless Wings](https://rubenfixit.com/2015/10/28/toothless-wings/) - Nothing much to this costume. I just cut up a black fleece blanket into the general shape of toothless wings. Then used a sowing machine to sow the ridges. I was very lazy with the lights. I hot-glued some RGB LED strips to the wings, one on each side of the center ridge. Then wired
- [Circuirt Board Art](https://rubenfixit.com/2014/07/16/circuirt-board-art/) - While Cleaning up I came across some hardware that I'm sure I wouldn't be using in any project. So I decided to make my own bit of art.
- [Circuit Board Art - Functional Clock](https://rubenfixit.com/2014/07/20/circuit-board-art-functional-clock/) - So I did find a clock, that wasn't in use and the mechanism was just a tad bit too big, but I made it work. I think it turned out well. Now it is functional art.
- [LED Desk Lamp Hack](https://rubenfixit.com/2014/08/01/led-desk-lamp-hack/) - Here you can see all the components used in the lamp. It originally used E14 small screw 40w incandescent bulb. And has been modified to use 8 bright white LEDs. The circuit is pretty simple. I'm using the innards of a 120V AC to 6V DC transformer in series with an 8.2 ohm resistor to power the LEDs. The
- [Free Xbox Games with Gold workaround](https://rubenfixit.com/2014/08/02/free-xbox-games-with-gold-workaround/) - EDIT: Now you can start building your Xbox One games library from your Xbox 360. Just go to "Games with Gold" from the Gold tile on Home. For a while now Microsoft has been giving away free games to their Xbox live gold members twice a month. When the Xbox One came out they included the
- [Blue Screen of Death At the Pump](https://rubenfixit.com/2016/12/10/blue-screen-of-death-at-the-pump/) - This was just too funny. Apparently these additive fuel system are running windows. I don't know of any other OS that has the Blue Screen of Death.
- [Megabutton Universal Remote Mk II+](https://rubenfixit.com/2016/08/20/megabutton-universal-remote-mk-ii/) - The story behind the box My brother-in-law, Jake, who happens to be the same age as me, was born with Cerebral palsy, and so has trouble using most everyday things. Even though he can't speak or walk, he can get around by a sort of crawl and is good at using pictures in a binder
- [Control RGB LEDs With the Wave of Your Hand](https://rubenfixit.com/2016/06/11/control-rgb-leds-with-the-wave-of-your-hand/) - This was a fun project I worked on for TangibleTec. A LeapMotion demo for an up coming Elementary Schools STEM night. For those of you who are unfamiliar with LEAP Motion, it is a hardware sensor device that supports hand and finger motions as input, analogous to a mouse, but requires no hand contact or
- [3D Printed Custom Name Plate](https://rubenfixit.com/2014/11/22/3d-printed-custom-name-plate/) - I wanted to put my name to my cube and do it with style. I'd like to thank my brother, Jon Kackstaetter, for lending me his talents in3D CAD design and 3D Printing. Check out more of his work at www.tangibletec.com
- [Mini Iron Man Arc Reactor](https://rubenfixit.com/2015/10/31/mini-iron-man-arc-reactor/) - This was a costume prop my brother and I made for our nephew Carter. Nothing special, just soldered a ring of white LED lights into a transparent 3D printed ring, and powered it all with a couple coin cells. Somehow we missed an LED and couldn't get it working. And since we welded the LEDs
- [Floodlight on Tripod](https://rubenfixit.com/2015/02/01/floodlight-on-tripod/) - I recently acquired an LED flood light to help shed some light on my projects. I found that it works best if it is mounted up high. To do this, without putting holes in the wall, I used my tripod. It has a quick release attachment that I find very useful. This quick release mechanism
- [Sparkfun Grocery Scanner](https://rubenfixit.com/2018/10/19/sparkfun-grocery-scanner/) - This one isn't one of my projects, but it was cool enough to share. My wife sent me this picture of the inside of a Grocery Scanner that was setup at the Children's Museum.
- [Power Wheel Hacks](https://rubenfixit.com/2019/07/12/power-wheel-hacks/) - We inherited this power wheels ATV from a dear family that moved out of state. It needed some "fixing" before we could have some fun with it. These are the things I've done to it since we got it. New Battery The original battery had long since died, and my 18V cordless drill batteries were
- [Growing up with a Space Ship](https://rubenfixit.com/2019/09/18/growing-up-with-a-space-ship/) - I was looking though my photos today, and I came across this one of a spaceship console my dad built for us kids. I remember it being one of the coolest things ever. It wasn't even anything too fancy. Most of if was the face of an old stereo, that he wired up to make
- [Finishing My Basement](https://rubenfixit.com/2019/10/05/finishing-my-basement/) - In case anyone has been wondering why I haven't been posting as much, I've been finishing my own basement for the past year and a half and counting. Just started on the bathroom today. I'll be sure to update this post with more details and lessons learned.
- [Repairing the AC](https://rubenfixit.com/2018/06/16/repairing-the-ac/) - Oh fun, the AC died on us in the middle of the hot season. It seems to want to run, but doesn't kick on properly. Doing some research online, I discovered that it must be either the relay, or the starting capacitor. Luckily I was able to find some replacements on Amazon. Those two days
- [Star Wars Thermal Detonator](https://rubenfixit.com/2017/11/15/star-wars-thermal-detonator/) - This is a repair job my brother came across. Apparently there were a few of these replica Star Wars Thermal Detonators made with lights and sound. Unfortunately, the one I was asked to look at, was completely dead. It didn't take me long to find out the problem. The owner of this prop made a
- [Let's Play Kerbal!](https://rubenfixit.com/2017/05/21/lets-play-kerbal/) - My brother and I love to play video and computer games together. Usually it's Halo, Sins of a Solar Empire, or more recently Kerbal Space Program. Tonight we decided to see how many big screens we could play it on. It worked out pretty well. Oh, and how do you play a single player game
- [Office Busy Signal Stoplight](https://rubenfixit.com/2020/03/26/office-busy-signal-stoplight/) - COVID-19 has forced many of us to work from and practice social distancing to flatten the curve. As a result, I've been spending a lot of time in my home office. Since I'll be working from home for the foreseeable future, I decided it was time to clean and organize my office. When I clean/organize
- [STEM Capsule - First Step](https://rubenfixit.com/2020/11/16/stem-capsule-first-step/) - I'm finally designing an interactive spaceship for my kids called the STEM Capsule. The cardboard mock-up looks promising.

## Pages

- [Affiliate Disclosure](https://rubenfixit.com/affiliate-disclosure/) - [aal_disclosure]
- [The Cost of Running a PLEX Media Server](https://rubenfixit.com/plex-donations/) - PLEX is free software that makes it really easy to manage a collection of movies, TV shows, music, personal videos, and photos. I first started playing around with my own PLEX server back in 2013 running it on my own personal desktop. Since then the content managed on PLEX and the number of users has
- [Sudoku 8x8](https://rubenfixit.com/sudoku8/)
- [Shop](https://rubenfixit.com/shop/)
- [Terms of Service](https://rubenfixit.com/terms-of-service/) - Last updated on September 21, 2021 The following Terms of Service (“TOS,” “Terms” or “Agreement”) apply to your use of our website and all services, features and/or content provided by RubenFixit ("we", “us”, “our” ). By using our website, or purchasing one or more Services from us, you declare that you have read, understood and
- [Privacy Policy](https://rubenfixit.com/privacy-policy/) - Last revised on September 22, 2021 RubenFixit recognizes that privacy is important. This Privacy Policy ("Policy") applies to your use of applications on all platforms (the "Application" or "Applications"), the related services we provided ("Services") and the Site. RubenFixit ("us" or "we") has created this Policy to explain our privacy practices so you will understand
- [Contact Me](https://rubenfixit.com/contact-me/) - Get My Contact Info Let's Trade Contact Info! You can view my contact info after you've submitted this form. Thanks for helpping me keep bots from harvesting my data. Name * Email * Phone * Reason for request * reCAPTCHA Reveal Contact Info If you are human, leave this field blank.

## Affiliate Links

- [Thousand Oaks Optical 6"x6" Solar Filter Sheet for Telescopes, Binoculars and Cameras](https://rubenfixit.com/recommends/thousand-oaks-optical-6x6-solar-filter-sheet-for-telescopes-binoculars-and-cameras/)

## Categories

- [Uncategorized](https://rubenfixit.com/category/uncategorized/)
- [Games](https://rubenfixit.com/category/fun/games/)
- [Builds](https://rubenfixit.com/category/builds-hacks/builds/)
- [Hacks](https://rubenfixit.com/category/builds-hacks/hacks/)
- [Puzzle](https://rubenfixit.com/category/fun/puzzle/)
- [Wearable](https://rubenfixit.com/category/fun/wearable/)
- [Repairs](https://rubenfixit.com/category/repairs/)
- [Humor](https://rubenfixit.com/category/fun/humor/)
- [Builds & Hacks](https://rubenfixit.com/category/builds-hacks/)
- [Fun](https://rubenfixit.com/category/fun/)
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- [Home](https://rubenfixit.com/category/repairs/home/)
- [Gadgets](https://rubenfixit.com/category/repairs/gadgets/)
- [IT](https://rubenfixit.com/category/repairs/it/)
- [Learn](https://rubenfixit.com/category/fun/learn/)
- [Learning](https://rubenfixit.com/category/builds-hacks/learning/)

## Tags

- [RGB LEDS](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/rgb-leds/)
- [LeapMotion](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/leapmotion/)
- [Python](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/python/)
- [games](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/games/)
- [Xbox](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/xbox/)
- [Xbox One](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/xbox-one/)
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- [Circuit](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/circuit/)
- [Sparkfun](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/sparkfun/)
- [Light](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/light/)
- [LED](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/led/)
- [Temperature](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/temperature/)
- [Toothless](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/toothless/)
- [Costume](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/costume/)
- [Arduino](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/arduino/)
- [AC](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/ac/)
- [repair](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/repair/)
- [fuse](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/fuse/)
- [capacitor](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/capacitor/)
- [relay](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/relay/)
- [Star Wars](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/star-wars/)
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- [funny](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/funny/)
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- [Pinewood Derby](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/pinewood-derby/)
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- [disk](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/disk/)
- [flywheel](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/flywheel/)
- [engine](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/engine/)
- [spaceship](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/spaceship/)
- [Kerbal](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/kerbal/)
- [video game](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/video-game/)
- [bike](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/bike/)
- [bike trailer](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/bike-trailer/)
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- [Li-Ion](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/li-ion/)
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- [Laser cut](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/laser-cut/)
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- [robot](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/robot/)
- [raspberry pi](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/raspberry-pi/)
- [lightsaber](https://rubenfixit.com/tag/lightsaber/)