RSSArchives: August 2007
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August 21, 2007
EMS Labs' review of Forbidden LEGO
Windell of Evil Mad Scientist Labs got a copy of the new No Starch Press title "Forbidden LEGO." He explains the idea behind the book:
Forbidden Lego is written by a pair of Lego master builders, who used to work in designing advanced Lego sets (e.g., Mindstorms). While they obviously got to work on lots of cool things while they were there, there were certain projects that just turned out not to be suitable to be made into kits released by the Lego company. They wrote the book to give some kind of a tantalizing hint at the kinds of things that go on behind the scenes at Lego, and the kinds of neat things that might get released in a world without product liability suits.
To try out the projects in the book, he built the "High Velocity Automatic Lego Plate Dispenser," seen in the above video. He built it within a few hours of getting the book in the mail. His verdict on the book? "Yes, you want a copy."
Book Review (and build!): Forbidden Lego - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 21, 2007 08:00 PM
DIY Projects, LEGO, Reviews, Toys and Games |
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An extremely affordable device for better asthma care (Better breathing with origami)
Better breathing with origami -
More than 8 million children in Mexico suffer from asthma. These children and their families travel up to several hours to urban hospitals where they endure long waits to get relief from acute asthma attacks. More troubling still, these families are sent home from the hospital without the means to prevent further attacks. This all but ensures a vicious cycle of frightening and expensive returns to the hospital, and leads to a national asthma fatality rate that is the 8th highest in the world (1.45%).Respira!: An Extremely Affordable Device for Better Asthma Care - Link.The physicians in Health Centers, which provide nearby, free primary care to uninsured Mexicans, can recognize asthma and have access to the medication necessary to treat asthma attacks, but they lack effective, affordable devices to deliver that medication. Mexican Health Centers are stocked with asthma inhalers, which inexpensively create aerosol particles of medication, but these devices are not sufficient to deliver the medication to a child's lungs. Successful use of an inhaler requires that a child coordinate a deep breath with discharging the inhaler. This is challenging for a young child, particularly one gasping in the midst of an asthma attack. As a result, medication does not reach the lungs but is instead absorbed in the mouth and throat, where it causes undesirable systemic side effects.
To overcome these problems, inhalers are used in combination with a device commonly called a "spacer." A spacer is a chamber that attaches to an inhaler, captures the discharged medication and holds it until the patient inhales it. In spite of their effectiveness, these devices are unavailable in Mexican Health Centers due to their cost (~ $50 plus distribution). Using paper and a precise system of cuts and folds, we have designed a spacer that can be produced for approximately 25 cents, a cost reduction of more than 99%. Furthermore, the device can be distributed as a flat sheet to be folded into a usable form on-site, so hundreds can be sent for the cost of a stamp.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 07:00 PM
Paper Crafts |
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Motherboard power light
HackedGadgets.com:
Bill from DSE GLOBAL has created a tool called the Case Light that will ensure you don't forget to remove power from your motherboard before you work in the case. Modern motherboards are still live when your computer is shut down and some don't have any LED indication of the lurking power...
Case Light - ATX Power Supply LED Power Indication - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 21, 2007 06:00 PM
Computers, DIY Projects, Electronics, Toolbox |
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Bingo! on your TV
Here's a DIY electronic Bingo! game for your TV - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 05:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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In-line headphone amp
Here's an inline headphone amp using a MAXIM MAX9725 surface mount chip and some smd capacitors. Feel free to make yours look prettier than this one.
In-line headphone amplifier - [via] Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 21, 2007 04:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Instructables, Portable Audio and Video, iPod |
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CCRRFD (Cheap creative rascals ring flash diffuser)
George writes -
My dad is quite inventive. He loved the Canon S2 IS camera that I had purchased for myself. So he got himself one a long time back. Of course being the rascal that he is it had to be improved. When trying to take close up macro photos the flash would burn out anything you were interested in. Here are his solutions. These do work on many cameras. He made two varieties of the CCRRFD. The first is made of bowls and the second cups. You cannot not find expensive professional products that produce results this good.CCRRFD (Cheap creative rascals ring flash diffuser) Thanks Steve! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 03:00 PM
DIY Projects, Imaging |
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Back to school giveaway - POCKET REF!!
"If there was just one tool that no (back to school) Maker should be without, what would it be?" This may just be the tool we'd pick. This great little book is a concise all-purpose reference featuring hundreds of tables, maps, formulas, constants & conversions and it still fits in your shirt pocket! Packed with mathematical formula, tables, standard conversion ratio, scientific fact, technical specification, electric wire size vs. load, resistor color codes, Morse code, sun & planet data, earthquake scales, nail sizes, geometry formulas, currency exchange rates, carpentry, automotive, physical science, water friction losses, charts for battery charging, lumber sizes & grades, floor joint span limits, insulation R values, periodic table, and as they say, much, much more! It's no wonder The Pocket Ref was featured in MythBusters...
To win one TODAY 8/21/07 - post a sentence or so in the comments how and why you'd use it at the end of the day (11:59pm PDT) and I'll pick one, make it good! If you missed out today, we'll do this again soon - or just get a Pocket Ref in the Maker store... Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 02:00 PM
Announcements |
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Ride tricked-out Big Wheels for charity
Scott Beale, of Laughing Squid, points out that The Almost-Annual Matt Armbruster Memorial Big Wheel Rally is happening this Saturday (August 25th) in Boulder, CO. The event is a benefit for Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation. If you're interested in participating, there's still time to register.
The Almost-Annual Matt Armbruster Memorial Big Wheel Rally - Link
Related:
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Aug 21, 2007 02:00 PM
Announcements, Bicycles, Events, Toys and Games |
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Make your own desktop volcano
Alex sent in this Russian "Make your own desktop volcano" instructional site, if anyone knows a little Russian post up in the comments, the google translate isn't working out so well... Link & translation...
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 01:00 PM
DIY Projects, Science |
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Berlin Hacker Spaces
I'm back from Defcon, Chaos Communications Camp, and a hacker space tour of Germany and Austria. I'll be posting this week about the places. Did you notice that last weeks podcast was taped in Berlin? - Link
A long time ago, a space station from the future crashed in Berlin. A group of hackers discovered this station buried in the depths of a building and formed a collective to reverse engineer the ship so that it can be resurected... and then make it to the future to return again! C-Base is a hacker space with an awesome mythology to it. With over a hundred members, events happen every night to work on different projects. I had a chance to check out this touch-screen, rear-projection table top which has IR sensors to detect touch. One of the great things about this space is that there is an artistic atmosphere. DJ's can play in the main area and the entire place just looks awesome. Different groups work on projects different nights of the week. - Link
Photo by jonasj
The Chaos Computer Club is also in Berlin, but I didn't get a chance to visit them since they were working on breaking camp down. I did get a chance to learn a lot about the CCC and I'm working up an article about the history of CCC. - Link
Another hacker hangout to visit in Berlin is Esch. There are these awesome creature contraptions that appear to be hydraulic powered and coin operated! - Link
Posted by Bre Pettis |
Aug 21, 2007 12:46 PM
Makers |
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Make-It-Yourself PONG systems
Pekar sent in this collection of "Make-It-Yourself PONG systems" outstanding! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 12:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Gaming, Retro |
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The K'NEX computer
Wow, these students are trying to build a computer completely out of K'NEX parts, here's a calculator...
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 |
Aug 21, 2007 11:00 AM
Computers |
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| Comments (3)
HOW TO - Make a chinese finger trap
Sam writes -
The chinese finger trap is a novelty toy which traps the index fingers of an unsuspecting victim inside a small cylinder.How to make a chinese finger trap - Link.
The harder the victim tries to escape, the more the finger trap tightens. As such, the chinese finger trap has become a metaphor for struggle and offers a simple life lesson: things are sometimes more easily accomplished if one does not try too hard. I have been looking everywhere online for instructions on how to make these, but could not find anything. The finger trap I describe here has not been reverse-engineered: I have no idea how the toy is normally made (though I suspect it probably is very similar).
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 10:00 AM
Crafts, DIY Projects |
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| Comments (1)
Making messenger bags - The "beta"
Chris writes -
Taking my queues from Bre's article on making messenger bags from trash bags I decided to make my own messenger bags. Here's my first bag, a "practice" bag I made out of cheap blue plastic tarp.Making messenger bags - The "beta" - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 09:00 AM
Crafts, DIY Projects |
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| Comments (0)
Developing a vehicle tracker with the Telit GM862-GPS module
Nick writes -
You recently put up a link to Alex's Mobile GPS tracker article - it used an extra microcontroller which was not strictly necessary since the GM862-GPS features an inbuilt Python interpreter. My article describes the process for developing with Python on the GM862-GPS, and also includes the source code for an application that allows the tracker units position to be queried / reported back via SMS.Developing a vehicle tracker with the Telit GM862-GPS module - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 08:00 AM
DIY Projects, GPS |
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| Comments (0)
HOW TO - Adding auxiliary input to a car stereo
Donn writes in -
This page shows you how to hack a cheap car stereo with the PT2313L audio processor integrated circuit to be able to accept an auxiliary input, say from an MP3 player. The need for such a hack grew out of my frustration with connecting portable music players to my cheap car stereo with those crappy FM transmitters.Adding Auxiliary Input to a Car Stereo - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 07:00 AM
DIY Projects, Transportation |
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| Comments (4)
HOW TO - Make a non-newtonian fluid oscillator
Ryan writes -
This weekend, I've quenched my thirst for adventure with my slap-together homebrew reservoir for playing with non-newtonian fluid. I powered it up, filled it with oobleck, struck a resonance, and had some fun! Details and more from the construction...Non-Newtonian Fluid Oscillator - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 06:00 AM
DIY Projects |
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| Comments (2)
PIC & electronic development on a shoestring
David writes in -
One of the many factors that can put people off learning how to use microcontrollers is the cost that can be involved. Steven show us how to minimize the costs for solid PIC microcontroller development environment for using free[1] (or very cheap) software.PIC & Electronic Development on a Shoestring - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 05:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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Mini arcade project
Tyler writes in -
My blog is intended to eventually become a resource for amateur robotics (with personal reviews and links to great articles on the subject), but I've included an arcade project that I thought readers of Make might be interested in. I've built 7 MAME arcade cabinets from scratch, the story of the most recent 5 cabinets is told on my blog. Thanks for a great magazine!My Mini Arcade Project -Link.
Related, you know we have a ton of these!:
1700 arcade manuals - Link.
Mini MAME arcade consoles - Link.
HOW TO make a Penny Arcade - Link.
Building a MAME (Retro arcade game cabinet) - Link.
MAKE a MAME / Arcade costume... - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 04:00 AM
DIY Projects, Gaming |
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| Comments (1)
The Jaldi charger
Pauli writes -
I was assigned to design and implement a battery charger for 12 volt lead acid batteries used to backup WiFi- routers in rural areas of developing countries. Doesn't sound very complicated a task in the first place, does it? At least that's what I thought before finding out the facts (most of them using trial and error- method) that makes this task challenging. First of all, in some places here in Dharamsala the mains power can be anything between 80-380Vac + 1000V surges. This big variation puts any kind of power supply under heavy stress. Secondly, I couldn't have any idea how hard it can be to find proper tools, equipments and components here in Himachal, not to mention the quality of some Indian- (hand) made components...Jaldi Charger - safe charging at a reasonable price - Link.Jaldi Charger V.1.1 (and newer) is implemented using custom design, one sided printed circuit board that can be quite easily produced using Press'n'Peel technique. All parts are easy to solder (big size, non-smd) and mostly easily available in India (except some of the surge protection diodes). The currently used power supply solution is heavy duty, robust linear transformer with rectifier bridge, big filter capacitor and varistors for surge protection. Charger unit is based on highly reliable, well protected L200 linear regulator, that can efficiently work in this implementation with input voltages between 17 and 26Vdc. LVD unit is based on low cost voltage dual comparator LM393 connected to provide hysteresis and delay on connection and disconnection of the load. Ethernet surge protection is implemented using ultra fast Transient Voltage Suppressor Diodes. All cable connectors used are high quality screw terminals.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 21, 2007 03:00 AM
Electronics, Green |
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| Comments (1)
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