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Welcome to Stefan Vorkoetter's web site! I'm a full-scale and model aviation enthusiast, slide rule and calculator collector, electronics hobbyist, Hammond organ enthusiast, and software developer living on a Fjord horse farm in Ontario, Canada. This page is a gateway to the ever growing collection of articles I like to write describing my projects and hobbies. If your interests coincide at all with mine, I'm sure you'll find something useful here.

Electronics Reviews

Batteries and Chargers

• Pre-Charged (Low Self-Discharge) Rechargeable Battery Roundup
• Tenergy Centura Low Self-Discharge 9V Rechargeable Battery
• Choosing and Using Nickel-Metal-Hydride (NiMH) Rechargeable Batteries
• Sanyo's USB Powered NiMH Charger
• Testing Sanyo's Eneloop Low Self-Discharge Rechargeable Battery

Gadgets

• HP 35s Programmable Scientific Calculator
• The Ultra-Portable 'MoGo' Laptop Mouse

Battery Charger Projects

• BattMan II: A Computer Controlled Battery Manager
• USB Powered AA NiMH and NiCd Battery Charger
• High Speed NiCd Charger for Electric R/C
• Low Cost Thermal Peak Detection NiCd Charger

Projects for Radio Control Hobbyists

• LED Bargraph Optical Tachometer
• Analog Bar Graph Expanded Scale Voltmeter
• High-Rate Electronic Speed Control with BEC and Brake
• High-Rate Speed Control with Battery Eliminator Circuit (BEC)
• High-Rate Electronic Speed Control with Brake
• On/Off Motor Controller with Brake
• BattMan II: A Computer Controlled Battery Manager
• High Speed NiCd Charger for Electric R/C
• Low Cost Thermal Peak Detection NiCd Charger

Electronic Music Projects

• Rejuvenating and Expanding a PAiA Stringz'n'Thingz Synthesizer
• Retronome - A Versatile Analog Drum Machine for My Hammond Organ

Projects for Aviators

• Handheld GPS Glareshield (or Dashboard) Mount with Power Supply

Miscellaneous Projects

• Make a Dual-Boot IDE Cable

Techniques and Theory

• How Permanent Magnet Electric Motors Work
• Making Excellent Printed Circuit Boards
• Op-Amp Oscillator Design with the HP-67 Programmable Calculator
• Low-Sensitivity Sallen-Key Filter Design with the HP-67 Programmable Calculator
• Op-Amp Gain and Offset Design with the HP-67 Programmable Calculator

Construction Projects and Reviews

• Electrifying the Great Planes SlowPoke
• Sig Riser 100 Electric Conversion
• Flit! A Speed 280 Four Channel Aerobat
• Sig Kadet LT-25 Twin Electric Conversion
• Trials and Tribulations of an Ace Pacer Electric Conversion
• Spectra-V: A Modified Great Planes Spectra
• GravelMaster - a Cheap Tough Speed 400 Fun Plane
• A Speed 400 PuddleMaster Flying Boat

Power System Selection

• Choosing a Power System
• Speed 400 Upgrades
• Powering Sailplanes
• 3D Aerobatic Power
• Model Aircraft Power System Selection Using Your Computer: A Tutorial Introduction to MotoCalc
• Electric Flight Rules of Thumb
• Fourteen Cell Fun

Motors, Gearboxes, and Propellers

• How Motors Work
• Motor Math
• Demystifying Gearing and Gearboxes
• Propeller Basics
• Speed 400 Upgrades

Batteries, Speed Controls, and Connectors

• NiCd (and NiMH) Battery Care
• Using 1100AAU Cells for Speed 400
• An Electronic Speed Control Primer
• The Battery Eliminator Circuit
• To BEC or Not To BEC
• Electric Flight Power Connectors
• What About the Wires?
• Electric Flight Wiring
• On Fuses

Design and Construction

• Always Ready to Fly
• ARF Upgrades
• Scale Electric Design
• Conversion From Glow to Electric
• Motor Mounting Methods
• Battery Mounting Methods
• Building and Installing Skis on Your R/C Plane

Electrical Techniques and Theory

• Measuring Up
• Electromagnetic Interference Reduction
• Let's Do the Twist
• How Motors Work
• Electric Flight Terminology
• More Electric Flight Terms

Flying and Field Equipment

• Caring for Your Lead-Acid Field Battery
• What to Put in Your Field Box
• E-Flying at High Elevations
• Winter Electric Flight

Electronic Projects

• LED Bargraph Optical Tachometer
• Analog Bar Graph Expanded Scale Voltmeter
• High-Rate Electronic Speed Control with BEC and Brake
• High-Rate Speed Control with Brake
• High-Rate Speed Control with Battery Eliminator Circuit (BEC)
• On/Off Motor Controller with Brake
• BattMan II: A Computer Controlled Battery Manager
• A High Speed NiCd Charger for Electric R/C
• A Low Cost Thermal Peak Detection NiCd Charger
• Getting the Most from Your Radio Control System

R/C Aerial Photography

• A Collection of Aerial Photographs
• Summer Aerial Photos of My Farm - July 5, 1998
• Winter Aerial Photos of My Farm - January 21, 1999

Electric R/C Events

• 1998 Kingston Ontario Electric Fun-Fly

Miscellaneous Electric R/C Articles

• A Look at Slowflyers and Parkflyers
• My Fleet in the Spring of 1998
• My Airplanes Before 1998

Pilot Gear

• Aviator Sunglasses
• Checklists for the Cessna 172/152 and Diamond DA20-A1
• A Tale of Two Whiz Wheels: E6-B versus CR Wind Solutions
• Emergency Survival Kit

Aircraft

• Full-Scale Electric Powered Airplanes
• Aircraft Photos and Aerial Photography

Projects for Aviators

• Handheld GPS Glareshield (or Dashboard) Mount with Power Supply

Das Volksplane

• Introduction
• Inspiration
• Rudder Construction
• Stabilator Construction (1 of 2) - Stefan's Volksplane Homebuilt Airplane
• Stabilator Construction (2 of 2) - Stefan's Volksplane Homebuilt Airplane
• Fuselage Construction - Main Bulkheads
• Fuselage Construction - Firewall and Sternpost
• Fuselage Construction - Sides
• My Workshop

Repair, Maintenance, and Modifications

• Overhauling and Improving the Hammond M-100 Series Vibrato System
• Adding a Rotary Speaker to a Hammond M-111 Organ
• Retronome - A Versatile Analog Drum Machine for My Hammond Organ
• Window Seat Bookcase Tone Cabinets for a Hammond Organ
• Overhauling the AO-29 Amplifier in the Hammond M-100 Series
• Hammond Organ Tonewheel Generator Capacitor Replacement and Calibration
• More Hammond projects in the pipeline:
• Adding Foldback to the M-100 Series Spinet
• Adding Presets to the M-100 Series Spinet

Musical Theory and Techniques

• The Science of Hammond Drawbar Registration

My Calculator Collection

• Hewlett-Packard 19C Programmable LED Printing Calculator
• Hewlett-Packard 25C Programmable LED Calculator
• Hewlett-Packard 32E Scientific LED Calculator
• Hewlett-Packard 34C Programmable LED Calculator
• Hewlett-Packard 35s Programmable LCD Calculator
• Hewlett-Packard 41CX Programmable LCD Calculator
• Hewlett-Packard 42S Programmable LCD Calculator
• Hewlett-Packard 67 Programmable LED Calculator
• Sharp PC-1211 BASIC Programmable LCD Pocket Computer

Calculator Articles

• Repairing an HP-41CX

Programmable Calculator Software

• A Matrix Multi-Tool for the HP 35s
• Curve Fitting for the HP 35s

• Op-Amp Gain and Offset Design with the HP-67
• Op-Amp Oscillator Design with the HP-67
• Low-Sensitivity Sallen-Key Filter Design with the HP-67
• Resistor Network Solver for the HP-67

• Op-Amp Gain and Offset Design with the HP-41C/CV/CX
• Op-Amp Oscillator Design with the HP-41C/CV/CX
• Low-Sensitivity Sallen-Key Filter Design with the HP-41C/CV/CX

My Slide Rule Collection

• Aero Products Research E6-B9
• Aristo Darmstadt Nr. 867U
• Aristo Pocket Multilog Nr. 870
• Aristo Multilog Nr. 970
• Concise No. 300
• Faber-Castell Stadia 360° 111/38
• Faber-Castell 111/54A
• Faber-Castell 2/82
• Faber-Castell 2/83N Novo Duplex
• Faber-Castell 62/83N
• Hughes-Owens 1777 (Post 1460)
• Jeppesen CR-3 and CR-5
• Keuffel & Esser 4070-3
• Keuffel & Esser 4080-3
• Keuffel & Esser 4181-1
• Lawrence Engineering No. 10-B
• Pickett N600-ES
• Pickett N3-T
• Soviet SPZ Pocket 5161-57
• Sun Hemmi No. 259D

Slide Rule Articles

• A Tale of Two Whiz Wheels: E6-B versus CR Wind Solutions

Slide Rule Simulators

• Aristo Multilog Nr. 970 Simulator

Computer Science

• Software Portability by Virtual Machine Emulation - A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Mathematics in Computer Science. Stefan Vorkoetter, 1989.

Pens, Ink, and Paper

• My Fountain Pen Collection - Yet another of my hobbies is collecting fountain pens, primarily because I prefer them over ballpoint pens for writing. Here's an overview of my collection, complete with high-res photos.
• A Comparison of Fountain Pens, Inks, and Papers

 

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Last updated Sunday March 13, 2011.

E-mail Stefan

 

Disclaimer: Although every effort has been made to ensure accuracy and reliability, the information on this web page is presented without warranty of any kind, and Stefan Vorkoetter assumes no liability for direct or consequential damages caused by its use. It is up to you, the reader, to determine the suitability of, and assume responsibility for, the use of this information. Links to Amazon.com merchandise are provided In Association with Amazon.com. Copyright: All materials on this web site, including the text, images, and HTML mark-up, are Copyright © 2011 by Stefan Vorkoetter unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. You may link to this site or pages within it, but you may not link directly to images on this site, and you may not copy any material from this site to another web site or other publication without express written permission. You may make copies for your own personal use.