Hello world!

Welcome to KookSay. My name is Maxview, and my nickname is Kook. So, you can understand the meaning of this website’s domain name. “Kooksay” means this is a little blog where I can talk to myself. This is my first “kooksay,” so let me introduce myself and share what kind of content will appear on this website in the future.

I graduated not long ago, and when I started working, blogging was very popular. I enjoyed blogging a lot back then, and through it, I self-taught quite a bit of computer-related knowledge and met many like-minded people. I kept up with blogging for about 5 or 6 years, treating it as a task.

Over time, as work became busier, my blog started to fade. Then Twitter became popular, but I found it difficult to systematize content with just short posts, so I didn’t quite like using it. After that, the internet seemed to enter an “accelerated era,” with new forms of content emerging continuously, leading up to today’s video-driven internet age.

I also created some video content, but compared to writing, I felt that video not only wastes my own production time but also wastes the viewer’s time. Reading text allows one to skim through content quickly and purposefully, whereas watching a video requires keeping pace with the playback speed. Therefore, I still believe that text is the most user-friendly form of information transmission.

For this reason, I decided to turn some of the videos I’ve made, as well as some that I wanted to make but never got around to, into “text versions” on this blog. And that’s how this blog came to be.

Recently, I’m working on a small product design, which mainly involves circuit design and assembly, so this blog will revolve around that product I’m making.

Since it’s a “self-entertainment” project, there’s neither a time plan nor urgent tasks, so I’ll take it slow and start from scratch according to my laid-back personality. The first topic is: How to complete the circuit assembly. Under this topic, the first question is: How to do manual soldering.

You can see from my first topic choice that I’m a very “slow-paced” person. I don’t want to start with things like circuits, products, resistors, diodes, NPN transistors, and oscillators all at once. Instead, I want to start from the very basics, step by step. I think that approach suits my personality better.

When it comes to soldering circuit boards, the first problem I faced was how to solder such fine pin headers, like 1.27mm pitch. In the process of encountering and solving this issue, I also had to consider the choice of soldering iron tips, solder wire, flux, and many other details. Just this one basic operation might take some time to explain comprehensively and systematically.

So, if you’re also a “slow-paced” person like me, feel free to bookmark my blog in your browser, and let’s talk step by step about how to make a small electronic product.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the product I ultimately aim to create is very simple. It’s just a signal generator, or more plainly, a buzzer. It will make a sound when the switch is closed. It sounds simple, doesn’t it? Actually, you can find ready-made products for just around $1 on platforms like eBay. But since I’ve decided to DIY it, I’m willing to “spare no expense.”

I’ve made a casing for this seemingly simple “buzzer,” and it doesn’t rely solely on an active buzzer. Instead, I use a passive buzzer and build my own oscillating waveform to drive it. To take it from a functional item to a product, I added a potentiometer to adjust the volume and powered it with an internal battery.

Since I’m using a rechargeable battery, I had to implement battery management, charge/discharge protection, and other circuit units in the design…

So, what started as a buzzer that could cost just $1 in the market ended up costing me over $30 to make. But the benefit of this approach is also clear—through this interesting product-making process, I’ve learned a lot of fun and valuable knowledge. The process of learning while doing, and doing while playing, is extremely enjoyable. Therefore, if you happen to come across this blog, I’d be thrilled to share my joy with you.