RSSArchives: June 2007
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June 28, 2007
HOW TO - The Perfect Light
Garry writes -
The perfect LED light is designed for cavers who want an efficient, uniform and constant bright light for caving. This article contains some very specific technical information and it is assumed the reader has a basic understanding of electronics. To build the light, the reader also must have some experience soldering, drilling, wiring and cutting small objects. The list of required tools include a multi-meter, Dremel drill and soldering station. The electronics are available from major semiconductor manufactures has "evaluation" kits, but nothing should prevent the reader from "rolling their own" design. The principle cost of the light is the white LED's. The best white LED's are made by Nichia Corporation and are expensive. However, it makes no sense to undertake the project without starting with the best LED's available.The Perfect Light -Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 11:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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Explosives camp
Arwen writes -
I heard a great piece on Explosives Camp on NPR - It's loosely affiliated with the University of Missouri--Paul Worsey, a mine engineering professor, started it to basically give teenagers an outlet for their desire to blow stuff up as well as get them interested in the profession of mine engineering, which is facing some pretty serious shortages once the current crop retires. It's worth listening to the piece--it's maybe 5 min. long. I really liked Worsey's attitude--he seemed to be having as much fun as the kids! "One of the good things about it is that we manage to attract the kids that might otherwise get into a little bit of trouble," Worsey said. "[We] give them a good outlet and an opportunity for a career."...NPR : At Camp, Teens Blow Stuff Up, As They're Told - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 10:00 AM
Events |
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Soundgin - sound chip in a PIC
This looks neat - The Soundgin is a serially controlled Sound Synthesizer in a PIC. It can produce complex sound effects, synthesizer style music and English speech. Thanks Kevin - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 09:00 AM
Electronics, Kits |
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Sound-Making Felt + Circuits
Peter writes in -
"Squeezy squeak-ish" sound-making felt creations are here! Brian Crabtree and Kelli Cain, co-creators of the open source Monome multimedia controller, have long had an interest in alternative, sustainable materials for music and multimedia. They recently shared some of those ideas at a felt + circuits workshop in Los Angeles. From turning wool into felt to making copper-etched circuits, the whole project was a from-scratch electronics-building journey.Felt + Circuits, for Sound and Enjoyment, From Happy Sheep - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 08:00 AM
Crafts, Electronics |
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Nixie Tube kits
TubeClock has a really nice selection of Nixie tube clock kits, any makers buy and build one of these from them? Post up in the comments... Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 07:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Kits |
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OLED lighting
Anil @ GE's research blog has an interesting overview of OLED lighting, it's really good to see the research group at GE blogging like this, nice work - Link. Check out the video of the OLED getting hole-punched.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 06:00 AM
News from the Future |
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Sonny Rolle's wire art
Jason writes in -
Sonny Rolle is a Rhode Island artist who works with wire - among other materials, he's also an illustrator. These images are all made from strands of flexible, coated wire. The detail is amazing, considering the medium.Rag & Bone Blog: Sonny Rolle - Link & gallery.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 05:00 AM
Arts |
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HOW TO - Make a temperature-based fan controller without a thermistor
Nick made a temperature-based computer fan controller that use a reverse-biased diode for temperature sensing -
From a design standpoint, the only complaint I have about my Shuttle small form factor desktop is the extremely fragile on-board fan controllers. All three have died over the past two years after being used to regulate the single on-board fan with respect to the system temperature. The last one gave up the ghost a few days ago as my machine suddenly shut down and a red light came on inside.μblog: engineering from the trenches » How to make a temperature-based fan controller without a thermistor - Link.Figuring that I should just go build a more substantial fan controller myself, I promptly went to the lab to look for a thermistor. Unable to find one, I settled for the next best thing: a diode.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 04:00 AM
Computers, DIY Projects, Electronics |
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The K'NEX computer
Matt Donahoe, Jeff DeCew, and Olek Lorenc are students at Olin College trying to build a computer entirely out of K'NEX parts for their Computer Architecture class...
The K'NEX calculator stands over 10 feet tall, and can perform 4 bit addition and subtraction operations in about 30 seconds. The slowest part of the operation is the user entering the balls. From there the balls trickle down, computing the result of the operation, and then sending that through a 4 bit decoder, which flips a flag that tells the user the answer. Since it is 4 bit, we can add and subtract numbers from 0 to 15.The K'NEX computer - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 04:00 AM
Made On Earth |
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World's oldest car for sale
The world's oldest car is up for sale, low miles, only two owners... steam powered -
A steam-powered car, billed as the oldest car in the world that still runs, will be sold in a Pebble Beach, Calif., auction in August.World's oldest car for sale - Link.The car was built in France in 1884, about a year before Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz of Germany built their first experimental gasoline-powered cars (The two were working independently of one another.) Henry Ford, the man many Americans mistakenly believe invented the automobile, built his first car 12 years after this one.
The four-wheeled De Dion-Bouton et Trepardoux, nicknamed "La Marquise," was originally buit for the French Count De Dion, one of the founders of the company. The car has had only two other owners since, according to auction house Gooding & Company, which is handling the sale.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 03:00 AM
Retro, Transportation |
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CDC-Disease cards
The CDC made a series of cards you can collect, trade and share... of diseases. They were created to get middle school kids interested in science and health. Apparently they're out of stock, but you can go to the site and download the files to print out. Here's some West Nile.
More:
- Sick Idea: CDC Hands Out Disease Trading Cards - Link.
- Get the cards here! CDC-Global Health Odyssey - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 02:00 AM
Science |
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Exploratorium: Maker Saturdays (live and webcasts)
We'll be doing a Maker Saturday program, starting at 1pm at the Exploratorium, beginning this Saturday, June 30 for six weeks ending, August 4. You can come and watch the live half-hour program in person or watch the webcast, which will be available on the Exploratorium's website. Each Saturday, Dale Dougherty of Make and Craft magazine and organizer of Maker Faire will introduce a Bay Area maker and talk about his or her projects. In addition, we'll have a "cooking-show" segment where the makers shows us how to make something.
We'll kick off the series with Paul Cesewski who has built his own train car to ride abandoned rails in the North Bay. A self-described shop-nerd, Paul can be found working at the Shipyard in Berkeley as well as building rides for the Cyclecide Bike Rodeo in San Francisco. Come learn how Paul makes train wheels for his dual-powered train car and talks about the joys of "reverse pioneering" - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 01:00 AM
Events |
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Clive had an engagingly surreal stage presence...
Karen sent in the latest (and new) GadgetFreakUK -
Special effects designer Clive Mitchell's electric match controller is intended for producing small-scale special effects like a confetti rainstorm.Clive had an engagingly surreal stage presence (Gadget Freak) - Link.An electric match is a common device for firing pyrotechnics on stage - it works by passing a current through a thin nichrome wire, which in turn ignites a surrounding bit of pyro compound that fires the main effect.
Clive's device adds simple features like a firing button (a big red one, of course), a keyswitch for safety, and a test LED that shows when an active device is connected to the unit.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 28, 2007 12:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Halloween |
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June 27, 2007
The making of a pinball game
Here's an excellent walk through about how a pinball machine is made! -
The following is an unabridged version of a short presentation that Pat Lawlor Design did at Pinball Expo 2001, showing the history of the MONOPOLY Pinball project from start to end.PLD presents The Making of the MONOPOLY Pinball Game, Thanks Drew! - Link.MONOPOLY Pinball was a special project in a lot of ways, especially because it was 4 guys working outside the confines of a pinball company designing and prototyping a game from the start almost all the way through to the end.
It was new territory for almost everyone at both companies, and after letting so many other pinball projects go by undocumented we were determined to make this one count.
Related:
HOW TO - Make a Pinball Coffee Table - Link.
Pinball hall of fame - MAKE @ Vegas - Link.
Homemade Futurama pinball machine - Link.
The LEGO pinball machine - Link.
Emulate Pinball with PinMame-HW - Link.
Pinball photos - Link.
Pinball Hall of Fame, Las Vegas, NV - Link.
From the pages of MAKE:
Follow the bouncing ball. Pinball's magic juju and the unanticipated effect of one thing on another. Read this article in MAKE: 08: Toys and Games, Page 11. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition.
Pinball, Resurrected. Restoring a crusty, beat-up Cyclone. Pinheads in Oddball Places. Inside the electromechanical underground, with Lucky Ju Ju and the Pinball Hall of Fame. Read this article in MAKE: 08: Toys and Games, Page 66. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition or get MAKE 08 in the Maker store - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 27, 2007 10:00 PM
Gaming, How it's made |
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Sew Useful contest
The Sew Useful Contest, a joint project of Etsy and Instructables just extended their deadline to July 16th, so there's still plenty of time to get in on the act! Bre and I will be among the judges.
Entries must be "useful" as well as posted on Instructables and Etsy. What counts as useful, you ask? The contest guidelines say: "We are keeping the definition of 'useful' loose because we want to see what you come up with. In general, we take 'useful' to mean something that makes life easier for humans. This could be a tool, a modification of some existing object, or an item that has some practical function." More info on the contest page - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 27, 2007 08:00 PM
Announcements, Crafts |
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Parallel Port clock
This is great! An analog quarts clock movement driven from a parallel port, Thanks Toby! Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 27, 2007 06:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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Automatic temp controller data logger for a slow cooker
Automatic temp controller data logger for a slow cooker from Circuit Cellar Issue 154 May 2003 --
Most chefs would argue that barbecuing is more art than science. Nevertheless, John introduced ATmega8-based technology to the procedure. The result? An automatic temperature controller that eliminates the need for constant vigilance when slow cooking.Circuit Cellar - Digital Library - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 27, 2007 04:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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Arduino Arduino Arduino @ MAKE!!
Ok gang we have Arduinos in the MAKE store! We have a limited number (and at great prices) so get'em while you can!
Arduino NG PLUS USB Board, fully assembled
Arduino is a tool for making computers that can sense and control more of the physical world than your desktop computer. It's an open-source physical computing platform based on a simple microcontroller board, and a development environment for writing software for the board. Arduino is open source!
Arduino Mini Board, fully assembled
This miniature Arduino board has an ATmega168 onboard, which offers twice as much program space as the ATmega8 on the other boards (16 KB vs. 8 KB). You can plug it in a breadboard or put it in a socket soldered into prototyping board. Like the full-sized Arduino boards, this runs at 16 MHz.
Arduino Mini USB Adapter, fully assembled
This board converts a USB connection into 5 volt TX and RX that you can connect straight to the Arduino Mini or other microcontrollers, allowing them to talk to the computer. It is based on the FT232RL chip from FTDI (drivers are included with the Arduino software).
All this and more @ the Maker store! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 27, 2007 02:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, MAKE Store |
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DIY Dali vinyl record clock
Here's how to make a Dali-esque wall clock using a vinyl (Barry Manilow) record... Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 27, 2007 12:00 PM
DIY Projects |
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LEGO build at World Children's Festival in DC
Lee writes in -
NCSU College of Design is at World Children's Festival at the National Mall in Washington DC this weekend (through Monday)... the Art+Design group is putting together flipbooks (custom Flash Applet) and digital comicbooks (Comiclife) for guests using real time color keying ala quasimondo.com.World Children's Festival « Advanced Media Lab - Link & more.The Lego team is right next door to us letting guests pariticipate in building a map of the nation block by block. They have 5,000 more 10"x10" blocks to go, so come on down...
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jun 27, 2007 11:00 AM
Events, LEGO |
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Page 2 of 17 << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 >>
Features and more @ MAKE!
MAKE @ The NYC Toy Fair 2008 - Covering DIY!HOW TO - Build the arms of assistance.
MADE in Japan - Part I.
MADE in Japan - Part II.
Make store - Blinky bug kit - Blink!
Make store - Loud Objects Noise Toy Kit
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Trebuchet - Best of Weekend Projects
mp4 | 3gp |3g2 | iTunes | blip.tv This week on the best of Weekend Projects with Bre Pettis, we join him in arms and learn how to make a trebuchet. With a trebuchet, you can smash your enemy's...
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