RSS
Archive: Something I want to learn to do...
January 7, 2009
Robotify a remote control car
Recently I have been taking apart and rewiring some remote control cars that I picked up at the town dump or local yard sales. Some of my students have also been in on the fun, and we are aiming to make them into programmable robotic cars. Take a look at the photos and see what is inside the cars.
Currently, we are working with the yellow Lego RCX's, but it seems like this idea could be worked out with just about any processing platform. Make Controller, Basic Stamp, Arduino, ATTiny or...We can give them sensing abilities by using photocells, pressure switches and other sensors. One of the thoughts that brought this on was the desire of students to go beyond the Lego system, looking to work with other materials.
The Lego connectors are good, but not very universal. By using aluminum or copper tape, it is relatively easy to make a more compatible wire connector. Students can get some experience with soldering and working with systems without having to make the entire vehicle themselves. It seems that the yardsale or dumpscore cars are a good place to start, but often they have other issues from being played with. Often the worst of them have been driven on the beach with some pretty heavy salt water corrosion. By getting a good collection of relatively inexpensive cars, there can be a good level of consistency in materials, and a greater level of compatibility in parts.
This project seems like it has some good long term potential. The gear train for the rear drive wheels is much more sophisticated than would be realistic to make in most shops, the steering assembly is pretty solid and proven, and the chassis is a great way to hold the thing together. Some of the issues to resolve are: What else can be done with the remote control radio transmitter and receiver? How can you drive larger motors with a small microcontroller?
Have you messed about with remote control cars? What success stories do you have of controlling dc motors with microcontrollers? Do you have documentation of great projects done with your students, kids or on your own? What are the possible pitfalls in a project like this? What is the best way to program the Lego RCX, Interactive C, LeJos, Logo or something else? If you had access to a group of students and a few or dozens of small, cheap remote control cars, what would you do with them? Add your thoughts and comments below and contribute your photos and videos to the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Jan 7, 2009 03:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, hacks, Kids, LEGO, Robotics, Something I want to learn to do..., Toys and Games |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email Entry
January 6, 2009
Ready for digital TV?
In our house, we haven't had cable tv for about 6 years. When we moved in, there was an antenna on the roof and coax cable to a bunch of locations where tvs could go. In the basement is a signal amplifier that seems to help all the equipment find the signal. It took some getting used to, but most of what we watch is on over the air broadcast anyway. Free over the air broadcast is the way it should be. The 40ish year old antenna on the roof was recently replaced with a fresh one from the dump.
Most of what is on tv is useless, so why pay for the mind numb? Well, I am not the only video consumer in the manse, so when the big date for Analog to Digital broadcast comes along, I will have to do something.
At this writing, a few stations are dropping their analog signal. A football game here, morning cartoons there, public service announcements hinting at what is to come and eventually the screen will go blue.
So not everything can be watched online, though there are some great resources for watching.
Hulu, youtube, Vimeo, PBS and lots of other online outlets will help keep you up to speed with lots of good video based information.
Make:TV may be reason in itself to get a digital converter box for every tv in the house.
The most useful piece of information on the change from Analog to Digital I have seen is a show on PBS. They have a half hour segment where the hosts go through a neighborhood and help check out the houses' digital connectivity. Take a look at the show and see where you stand.
What is your plan for the great Analog to Digital changeover? Where do you get your information? What do you like about digital tv? How do you record tv shows now that video tape is just about extinct? What are your solutions to surviving and prospering in the digital tv age? Add your comments to the discussion and contribute your photos and video to the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Jan 6, 2009 02:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Gadgets, Something I want to learn to do..., Telecommunications, Wireless |
Permalink
| Comments (8)
| Email Entry
SliceModeler - fantasy to physical
Asteronimo writes about SliceModeler for Sketchup:
Based on TIG's Slicer script I wrote a plugin that slices a solid 3d model along 2 axes, f.i. an X- and a Z-axis. You can enter separate parameters for each axis. After the slices have been created it calculates the slots for each intersection which allow the cross sections to interlock in an open cell framework, like an egg crate. This process is used in rapid prototyping and can be used to create molds for casting or forming parts.
SliceModeler looks like it could be a neat resource. 3D landscapes, making physical models of data and more. Check out his project page for more info.
Slicemodeler is based on the work of John Sharp. You might want to check out this interview. Here are some photos that are also related to John Sharp's work. Sharp has a few books that have inspired these innovative ideas, Sliceforms: Mathematical Models from Paper Sections and Surfaces: Explorations With Sliceforms.
How do you turn your dreams into three dimensional reality? Are there any techniques or tools that your find essential? What inspires you to learn and create? Add your voice to the comments, and contribute your photos and video to the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Jan 6, 2009 02:00 AM
Arts, Crafts, DIY Projects, hacks, How it's made, Imaging, Paper Crafts, Something I want to learn to do..., Toolbox, Virtual Worlds |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
January 5, 2009
Wastricity
Wastricity is the use of electricity in a way that provides no personal or public benefit.
There is no public benefit to the money spent lighting streets and the exterior of buildings during the daytime. Who should you talk to when you see municipal money being spent on electricity or other utilities for zero constructive use? How will they respond when you point out that they are burning their budget? Are they planning on going in front of the voters asking for some emergency reprieve in the budget meltdown of the year?
By having devices use electricity and providing no value in return, we are squandering a public resource of fossil fuel derived and grid delivered electricity.
In our personal lives, we use wastricity whenever we leave our phone chargers plugged in to the wall when the phone is not attached. We also use wastricity by leaving gaming systems running while we are out of the house. Leaving lights on in the room when nobody is in the room is classic wastricity.
Do you have enough money in your household budget? Could you find some more money by hunting down wastricity? Does your school system or town have a policy about preventing wastricity? How can your kids or students join the fight against wastricity? Could you create an incentive for people to reduce wastricity?
Wastricity. What can you do to stop it?
Posted by Chris Connors |
Jan 5, 2009 01:00 AM
Culture jamming, Electronics, Green, Remake, Science, Something I want to learn to do... |
Permalink
| Comments (10)
| Email Entry
January 2, 2009
Takira shows the thermistor
Thermistors are pretty cool little items. They convert heat into resistance. By having the temperature available as resistance, you can use the value to control other things like circuits and programs. Photo cells do the same thing with light, and they are in lots of common devices from night lights to dimmers on clock radios.
How could you use a thermistor with your shiny new Arduino? What could you measure with a thermistor? Have you got any videos like this where somebody demonstrates an interesting device? This video came from a summer youth program in Boston. Does your community have a similar opportunity for teenagers to learn incredible things and work on neat projects? Show your ideas in the comments, and iinclude your photos and video in the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Jan 2, 2009 12:00 PM
Arduino, DIY Projects, How it's made, Interviews, Kids, Science, Something I want to learn to do..., Toolbox |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
Electricity Exploration Kit Concept
This morning, Ed Baafi, Amon Milner, Jacob William, and a number of the youth leaders at Learn 2 Teach, Teach 2 Learn developed an idea of how to teach electricity to youth with a new kit idea.
What we are looking to do is reinvent the Alternative Energy module in the summer program. The kit will be flexible enough that experimenters can have hands-on experiences with power generation, storage and output. We also hope that they will be able to add on various technologies as they become available to the experimenter.
The Electricity Experimenters' kit helps promote exploration and understanding of the ways that people can use store, and generate electricity. A focus is made on allowing the user to interchange a number of different modules for generating, making use of and storing small amounts of electric current. These modules will enable youth to gain hands on experience with creating, storing and using energy for personal exploration.
The result of exposure to this kit is that we want people to be able to think, say and believe:
I can make a choice between clean and nonclean generation and the electricity is the same.
and:
I can make my own electricity without harming the environment.
How do you teach electricity? What do you do to help people understand the systems in their lives? What could you add to this kit idea to make it better? What information would you want people to have when they do experiments with electricity? Do you have any existing projects that could be used with a kit like this? How would you make the physical objects? What activities would bring out valuable learning outcomes when experimenting with electricity generation, storage and use? How can we use modifiers like voltage regulators and resistors in ways that don't confuse experimenters? What do you tell or show people that helps them understand the workings of a multimeter?
Add your comments to the discussion, and post your photos in the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Jan 2, 2009 01:00 AM
Electronics, How it's made, Interviews, Kids, Kits, LEGO, Remake, Science, Something I want to learn to do..., Toolbox |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
December 29, 2008
Soldering- where to start?
Certainly there are lots of electronics and kits that have entered Makers' lives lately. Some people already know how to solder, but many people are just getting started. Amy posted a comment voicing her frustration at learning the seemingly guild like skill of soldering.
Below are my notes to Amy, which seemed like it would be handy information to others as well.
It can be done, this soldering thing.
Here are a few things that I try to keep in mind.
Workspace
Setting up on a reusable board or thick cardboard (not the corrugated kind) is good, because cleanup will be easy, and you won't run the risk of messing up the table.
Soldering iron
A decent iron is nice, but a cheap one can do. Turn off the cheap irons when not in use, because the tip seems to dissolve if left on. You don't need to spend lots of money on a fine expensive tool if you are just figuring it out. You can learn how to do it on a cheap or borrowed iron, then when and if you can recognize the difference and value, then spend the money or talk somebody into gifting you a good one. Lots of people like the temperature controlled ones from Weller.
Keep the tip clean. A wet sponge works, but I like steel wool better. Wipe the tip periodically. The sponge will cool the tip when you want it to be hot.
A soldering iron stand is good, but at least keep the business end of the iron from burning a hole through the board and onto the table.
Solder
Thin, lead free solder is good. Try to stay away from the lead based stuff. See the earlier comment about metals and the badness they cause.
Safety glasses
Most people only get one set of eyes. Replacements are difficult to have installed. You are better off to take care of the pair or one you have, than to get them repaired later. Wear your safety glasses while doing dangerous stuff.
Recognize the components:
Pretty much all electronic components have markings on them. Mostly they are done in small white print, but resistors are indicated with color bands. Look at the parts list, and search the markings on any components you are not familiar with. If you put a single diode or LED in backwards, that could be the problem that makes your circuit not work. Check and double check. Search for the things you have, and look at pictures of them. Check the documentation that comes with any kit you have for notes about what the components look like and how to handle them.
Looking at the pdf for the kit Amy mentioned, there are a few things that could slip you up. LEDs, transistors and capacitors are all polarized in this circuit. Make sure they are all in the right orientation. The transistor might be exotic, here is a page that has datasheets for it. l According to this page, you could use a 2N3904 to replace the BC547. The 3904 is a pretty common transistor, you should be able to harvest one out some junk device like a radio or toy.
Resistors are not polarized, but the color bands are completely essential to get right. Resistors regulate the flow of the current in the circuit. Electricity will always follow the path of least resistance. If you have a high value resistor in a place that calls for a low value one, electricity will not flow where it should. You can read them by looking at the colors. There are lots of great resistor color code calculators. Here is one that looks good, but there are many more online.
Multimeter
Resistance is measured in Ohms, often symbolized by an upside horseshoe, greek symbol for omega. If you can get your hands on a meter, you can set it for Ohms, and check your color band calculations against the numbers the meter will show. A multimeter is also handy to be able to check continuity and voltage. See this page for some info on how to use a multimeter.
Technique:
You are heating up the parts, not the solder. When the parts are hot enough, the solder will flow onto them. Touch the iron to the junction between the board and the component, let it heat up, then touch the solder to either the board or the component. Dumping it onto the tip will melt the solder, but often results in a cold solder joint.
Less is better in soldering
You should have the very least amount of solder needed to hold the component to the board. If you have blobby solder joints, you will likely have trouble with bad connections called cold solder joints.
Practice soldering
Sometimes it is a good idea to practice on junk. You can try soldering a wire onto a coin, US pennies work pretty good for that, they are mostly zinc with a bit of copper. Lots of other countries have other alloys, often with lots of aluminum in them, so I don't know about that. Aluminum wicks the heat too fast, so it probably wouldn't work.
You can also break apart an old radio or other device, cut some wires, get some parts and just solder some stuff together. After a bit you get the hang of it.
If you use the search box on any of the Maker Media sites and put in the word soldering, there are loads of resources that should help you get started.
You can watch the Make Weekend projects podcast on soldering, which is great.
Make Volume 1 had a primer on soldering.
Check out the post about a photo gallery of soldering basics.
Check out this great project for building your own fume extratctor.
There is lots of great information on soldering at Instructables.
This is not some mystical skill that people get handed to them from the tinkering gods. You learn it by doing it. You do it because you want to make something. You keep doing it because you want to make more interesting things. Learning this is just a process of getting some skills, and improving them by using them. Eventually, you can get to the point of designing your own circuits, but you can do lots of great things by following the path established by others. There are a small handful of tools that you can use with soldering and electronics. This kit has pretty much everything you need to get started.
Good luck, keep at it, and by all means, let us know about your progress.
You may have other tips for people who are new to electronics, kits and soldering. Please contribute your techniques and ideas in the comments. If you have photos and video, add them to the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Dec 29, 2008 04:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, How it's made, Kits, Something I want to learn to do..., Toolbox |
Permalink
| Comments (11)
| Email Entry
December 27, 2008
This kid can solder, can you?
Brad sends this about his son's gift project:
For Christmas this year, Lucas made his grandmom a battery powered amp for her guitar. This was a big project - first time with a soldering iron. Worked out well with only one minor burn. He did 80% of the soldering and drilled all the holes for the pots and LED. He turns 6 in Jan - seemed he should learn one last skill while he was still 5.
Great project! Parts to love: scrounging parts out of otherwise dead or useless devices...teaching new skills to kids...making something that couldn't be bought...online documentation...photos...
What have you made lately? Did it work right the first time? Did you catch some pictures/video/audio of the process? What is your experience teaching kids about electricity, electronics, soldering, programming, hacking? What should people do or not do when they venture out into projects with kids? What workspace, tools or materials would you suggest? Show us your stuff! Add your comments and park your photos and video in the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Dec 27, 2008 05:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Holiday projects, How it's made, Kids, Music, Portable Audio and Video, Something I want to learn to do..., Toolbox |
Permalink
| Comments (10)
| Email Entry
December 25, 2008
Hackable Christmas: cheap devices
How is your holiday hacking going? If you have been good, Santa has stocked you up with lots of clever goodies to keep you and yours entertained.
Below are a few things that I found in my stocking and am looking forward to fussing with:
Disposable battery/charger for cellphones.
At two dollars (frugal Santa), if this is what it might be, it could be really awesome. What I am hoping to find in here is a case that can be cracked open, batteries replaced and if I am really lucky a voltage regulator. Sort of like a Minty Boost, but cheaper. Will it work? Maybe. The fitting to the charge booster is proprietary, aimed at a Samsung phone user, but with a cut off a USB mini B cable fitting, it should fit most of the rechargeable devices in my life.
Kingston 8 Gig micro SD mobility kit
8 gigs will make my phone have pretty much unlimited storage (for now). It would also more than double one of my mp3 players' capacity. Probably the most happy thing about this kit is that it comes with a host of micro SD adapters. As more things move towards the Micro SD format, lots of adapters will be handy. They never seem to be around when things need to be uploaded. Between that and really high capacity cards, too many pictures are staying on the camera too long.
Sandisk M2 2 Gig adapter
Sony annoys me how they make everybody bend to their proprietary flash card format. If you want to jack up your PSP's storage, you have to do something like this. Video, audio, lots of applications, home brew apps, gotta have a memory card for the PSP.
Adhesive copper sheet
This stuff is neat for making circuits on the fly. Basically, it is wire with glue on the back. It can be cut with scissors, torn, scored with a knife and other wires can be taped to it or soldered into place. If you have access to a vinyl cutter, you can make a design in Gimp, open office or whatever and cut it mechanically. It seems like an easy, almost magical way of making circuits. No soldering if you don't want to. This may be a good way of getting kids into circuits without the safety issues of soldering.
Wireless Mouse and number pad
Maybe this could be something to make a soap controller out of, or maybe it could be a good controller for that Scratch game you create out of holiday wrappings and boxes. Or maybe it's just something to rig up to the computer.
12 volt to USB Mini B
Everything seems to run on Mini B lately. Now I can charge on the road. What I have been using is totally inefficient, 12 volt DC to AC 10 year old inverter to ac power adapter to DC. Too much conversion.
Little audio speakers
Frugal Santa does it again. $2 usd bought a pair of speakers with a little amplifier. It runs on 6 volts DC, and can be used with a battery pack or included AC to DC wall inverter. Certainly the speakers will be easy to use, with a stereo headphone jack, and they fold up nice.
Flashlight with a zillion white LEDs
Remember when white LEDs were like gold? Not anymore. Cheap enough at $15 usd, maybe this could be repurposed for photography lighting. maybe it could just be a big huge white light. It uses 3 D cell batteries, so at 4.5 volts, certainly something clever could be done with it. Underwater ROV lighting? Hmmmm.
Well there is certainly more to mess with under the tree and in the closets, but this is a start. What goodies are under your tree? If you aren't doing the Christmas thing, then how are you celebrating the hacking spirit lately? How could you use any of these materials and gadgets as classroom/school projects? What sneaky uses can you find for cheap stuff? What possibilities do you see in your holiday schwag? Add to the conversation in the comments and post your photos and video to the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Dec 25, 2008 05:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Gadgets, Green, hacks, Holiday projects, Kids, Remake, Something I want to learn to do..., Toolbox |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email Entry
Merry Fritzmas
Hopefully you have some free time over the Holidays. If you do, and you're like me, you might want to check out the new version of Fritzing. We covered it before, twice in fact, and here is the latest release. It has come a long way in just the past few months.
Fritzing is an open-source initiative to support designers and artists to take the step from physical prototyping to actual product. We are creating this software in the spirit of Processing and Arduino, that allows the designer / artist / researcher / hobbyist to document their Arduino-based prototype and create a PCB layout for manufacturing. The complimenting website helps to share and discuss drafts and experiences as well as to reduce manufacturing costs.
Download the latest version of Fritzing
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Dec 25, 2008 01:00 AM
Computers, Electronics, Something I want to learn to do... |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
December 23, 2008
Learning blacksmithing basics
(Image via Travelmuse)
Mother Earth News has an introduction to blacksmithing here. Check it out; via the comments, here's an introduction to building a forge out of a brake disc:
Also check out purgatoryironworks 35+ other videos here!
Posted by Luke Iseman |
Dec 23, 2008 04:00 PM
DIY Projects, Something I want to learn to do... |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
Celery stamped gift wrap
Looking for just the right salad fixings and wrapping paper at the same time? How about celery stamped gift wrap? If you plan it right, you can have your vegetables do double duty.
While you are at it, you might want to check out the rest of the referring site, a source of lots of great ideas, Curbly.com.
Vegetable printing, its not just for Potatoes anymore.
How do you make your own wrapping for gifts? What would the most environmentally and meal friendly inks be? Add your comments below and contribute your photos and videos to the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Dec 23, 2008 02:00 AM
Arts, Crafts, DIY Projects, Green, Holiday projects, How it's made, Kids, Paper Crafts, Something I want to learn to do... |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
December 18, 2008
Extracting images form the human brain
If true, this could prove incredibly awesome -
Researchers from Japan’s ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories have developed new brain analysis technology that can reconstruct the images inside a person’s mind and display them on a computer monitor, it was announced on December 11. According to the researchers, further development of the technology may soon make it possible to view other people’s dreams while they sleep.- Scientists extract images directly from brainThe scientists were able to reconstruct various images viewed by a person by analyzing changes in their cerebral blood flow. Using a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine, the researchers first mapped the blood flow changes that occurred in the cerebral visual cortex as subjects viewed various images held in front of their eyes. Subjects were shown 400 random 10 x 10 pixel black-and-white images for a period of 12 seconds each. While the fMRI machine monitored the changes in brain activity, a computer crunched the data and learned to associate the various changes in brain activity with the different image designs.
- Dreams may no longer be secret with Japan computer screen
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Dec 18, 2008 05:00 AM
Science, Something I want to learn to do... |
Permalink
| Comments (5)
| Email Entry
December 17, 2008
Roadside blind welding in Malawi
Next to an intersection with the main road to Mulanje works a group of men with basic tools. One of them was actively welding with a scratch built arc welder.
Wire was wrapped around a group of metal plates, and the whole thing was housed in a basic wooden frame.
To turn it on, the power wires to the transformer were connected hook style to the AC electric supply coming out of the store room.
There was one guy doing the welding, and he was also alternating between bashing away at a brake disk from a Toyota, trying to remove a part of the wheel hub. The banging was what originally caught my attention. He was beating away at it with a hunk of steel, fatiguing the metal of the hub for removal.
While I was there, he repaired two bikes, one by welding the pedal post back on to the crank.
While shooting the pictures of him welding, I protected my eyes by looking at the display of the camera and shielding my eyes by placing the camera in the line with the arc. The welder used no goggles. US safety inspectors would not have been pleased if they had been with me. I didn't realize it until I looked at the photos afterwards, but his technique was to do 'blind welding' He would attach the ground to the bike, close his eyes, and scratch at the point he wanted to work with the electrode. When the current flowed and the electrode melted, he worked it until it was close, then would stop, open his eyes, check his work, and continue on or finish up.
Since most Malawians have little or no access to the energy of fossil fuels, people get around by either walking or using bicycles. These bikes are used for everything, carrying heavy loads, personal transportation and serving as taxis. They almost all have sturdy steel racks on the back. The bikes are made in China or India, Humber was a common brand name.
If you lived a life with very little access to the leverage of fossil fuels, like the people of Malawi and many other countries, how would you get things done? Have you seen or done a project like this? how could access to a tool like this change a person's or a community's possibilities? What are your safety procedures for welding? Contribute to the discussion in the comments and add your photos and videos to the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Dec 17, 2008 02:00 AM
Bicycles, DIY Projects, Makers, Remake, Something I want to learn to do..., Toolbox |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
| Email Entry
December 16, 2008
Cardboard slices of Millenium Falcon
Ryan is just a college student with his own robot hand and Millenium Falcon, right? Well, Ryan just happened to make his own with the help of a laser cutter and some Python scripting that he cooked up to make his Solidworks and Blender design real.
As part of the amazing class: How to Make Almost Anything, I came up with some cool software to process 3d models. The program, (written in python), slices a 3d model into layers, which can then be cut and assembled. As an extension, I wrote an add-on that fits each layer to a grid and generates assembly instructions from the grid. Using a custom press fit construction kit and the generated instructions; you can assemble a cool looking 3d representation of the original 3d model.
He is using Flickr and PictoBrowser to host his photos for the project, and his work in class. When you combine his finely crafted designs with the website and video on Youtube, it adds up to some fine project documentation.
At this writing, it is end of the semester crunch, so Ryan is a bit under water...
I will have some time over the break to clean up my code and hopefully share it with the world (GPL via gitHub, googleCode, etc) which is the vision for it... The current system cranks out 2d cross sections in pdf format, which works great with corel draw for the laser cutter. The pdf should import into other programs fairly painlessly and once imported, would work great with mill / shopBot / waterJet. I really want to see this thing take off, and would love to work with you. The next 48 hours are going to be final project hell, but I should have some time after. (trying to finish a robot suitcase that follows you around the airport, segway style...).
Thanks to * via Mit-ers for the tip.
If you could make anything, what would it be? Have you used Solidworks or Blender? How could you use Ryan's Python script to make three dimensional objects? Could you use other tools like a mill or Shopbot to create three dimensional objects from flat parts? What do you like to do when you document your projects? What is the effect of documentation on your making? Have you gotten positive responses about your work because of your web presence? What have you done with Personal Fabrication? Does your community have a Fab Lab, and have you had a chance to work in it?
Posted by Chris Connors |
Dec 16, 2008 12:00 PM
Arts, Crafts, DIY Projects, Flying, How it's made, Paper Crafts, Something I want to learn to do..., Transportation |
Permalink
| Comments (8)
| Email Entry
December 15, 2008
Amon's scratch pizza maker
Amon found the usual post party debris the one morning/afternoon and decided to Hook Up some of the stuff to his computer and make something useful. With some pizza boxes, cups, a computer and Scratch, he made a Skeeball type game. Just like the one at the arcade at the mall, but less hungry for quarters. Check out his Instructable for details on how to have your game create your pizza.
These steps will help you make Skeeball-inspired games from post-party materials (to satisfy the morning-after crafter in you). We'll recycle some party favors such as plastic cups, plastic bottles and pizza boxes to create something that gives you new ways to play and interact with your computer. The game that I use as an example in this instructable constructs virtual pizzas on a PC based on which hole a player rolls a ball into. Each hole has a label listing a pizza topping. When a ball rolls through a hole, the ingredient on its label is added to the on-screen pizza drawing.
Amon is one of the members of the Lifelong Kindergarten research group at the MIT Media Lab and involved with the development of Scratch. He also works with the Fab Lab group on creating new ways to make things.
As you look around your humble abode, what do you see that can help you invent a new game? How can you reuse materials for fun and adventure? Have you tried Scratch yet? Maybe your kids or students would like to learn to program with scratch. Since there is nothing in his design that you don't already have around you now, what could you do with this idea? Would you like to use fine craftsmanship or personal fabrication to improve on Amon's physical design and program and create something better? Add your comments, and post your photos and video in the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Dec 15, 2008 02:00 PM
Computers, Gaming, Green, How it's made, Instructables, Kids, Something I want to learn to do..., Toys and Games |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
December 13, 2008
Make electricity with the back shed
Brian sends this about The Back Shed, a great site with info about windmills and renewable energy. There is an excellent page about getting started with windmills. Particularly interesting isthe project for converting junker computer parts and pvc into a wind powered battery charger.
Home made wind generators have been around for decades, with designs as varied as the people who build them. But why would you build your own windmill? Why not use solar cells, solar cells are reliable and maintenance free.The answer is simple, cost!
You cant make your own solar cells at home, they need specialized equipment and complicated processes. But you can build your own wind generator, and for a fraction of the cost of a similar power sized solar array. Another advantage of a wind generator is it will generate power whenever there is a breeze, even at night!
Of course, it is always wonderful when people are so willing to share their information!
All information here is free, there are no "windmill plans" for sale. I'm not here to sell anything. The web site does earn a little money from advertising, enough to pay for hosting expenses and some funds towards my hobbies, but that's not why I put so much time into the web site. I do it for the common good, sharing information and helping other people get started in clean power generation.
How are you making electricity these days? add your ideas to the comments, and post your photos and video to the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Dec 13, 2008 01:00 AM
Computers, DIY Projects, Electronics, Green, How it's made, Open source hardware, Something I want to learn to do... |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
December 8, 2008
Quick Simple Problems
Probably the best way for you to make rapid effective progress on your project is to have a good idea of how you want the project to end up, and then identify the Simplest Problem that you can solve Quickly. In computer science, almost every first program is some variation on Hello World. Essentially, it is a surefire way to just show that it works. You know that you are not making some basic mistake. Once you can do something really basic, then you can work on doing something less basic. Hopefully the next thing you do won't be too crazy hard, or you are likely to just sit there frustrated and annoyed.
Quick Simple Problems
Quick Simple Problems may seem too easy, and may seem like they don't get you to your destination. What they will do, however is to get you moving. If the problems are truly quick and simple, you will have rapid successes on your project. You won't be sitting there wondering if it will work, you will know whether it works or not, and what the conditions that cause success are. One of the greatest asset you can create for yourself on a project is to feel good about the likelihood of the outcome. If you feel good about it, and feel like you are moving forward, you will have more ambition to try new experiments, which will also move the project toward success.
Solve lots of Quick Simple Problems.
If you want to get further along, you can solve lots of problems. If you get impatient, and decide you want to chuck the whole project, then maybe you are trying to make leaps between successes that are too large. It could be that you just need more information than you are stuffing into your brain, so you are making mistakes that research could help you avoid. Perry has distilled the idea down to Think Solve Do in his process of creating Frankenstien Prototypes.
Set goals, but keep them realistic
One thing that often happens with people new to an idea or subject is that they see advanced work and think that they can just 'do that'. What they often don't realize is that to attain such a level of complexity you see in a mature product requires the solving of many many Quick Simple Problems, and is often done over large blocks of time by groups of very dedicated people. Some times you need to start as simple as, 'can you get an LED to light between two contacts?' If you can, then you could probably put a motor or something else between those contacts.
Make photos and video
As you work, it is also helpful for you to take photos of the process you are developing. Think about how you would explain what you are doing to somebody who is not there. What would somebody need to know if they were going to do what you have just done? A lot of this will be you answering your own questions that came up as you did the work. What were you wondering as you opened something up, or securing two things together? Were there certain tools that were useful or needed?
In pretty much every operating system, there is at least one way to make a screen shot, which can be cropped later for tighter reference. If you make these photos or screen shots while you do the project, you can often look back at the pictures later and the ideas behind them will come back and you can write up the process. The photos or video will help you remember.
How do you solve problems? Do you like to solve many Quick Simple Problems, or do you like to go after the big fish? Do you have examples of problems you have solved and process you have used to get through them? Add your ideas to the comments, and put your photos and videos in the Make Flickr pool.
Posted by Chris Connors |
Dec 8, 2008 01:00 PM
Arts, Crafts, DIY Projects, How it's made, Kids, Something I want to learn to do... |
Permalink
| Comments (4)
| Email Entry
MAKE gift guide for the CNC hobbyist
Here is our MAKE gift guide for the CNC hobbyist on a budget. There are literally hundreds of different types of CNC setups. We can't cover all the products out there, but we did manage to pick about 20 products that we think are great.
Read full storyPosted by Marc de Vinck |
Dec 8, 2008 01:00 AM
DIY Projects, Kits, Robotics, Something I want to learn to do..., Toolbox |
Permalink
| Comments (4)
| Email Entry
December 4, 2008
Lessons In Electric Circuits: Free textbooks about electronics
This is an amazing collection of textbooks that will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about electronics and electricity. OK, maybe not everything, but they are FREE! You can even download all the volumes, including source code, in a single click.
More about Lessons In Electric Circuits: Free textbooks about electronics
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Dec 4, 2008 03:00 AM
Electronics, Online, Something I want to learn to do... |
Permalink
| Comments (0)
| Email Entry
The online premiere of Make: television is January 3rd 2009, visit makezine.tv or iTunes to see the entire first episode! The broadcast premiere will follow shortly after depending on when your local Public Television station airs it.
Happy New Year from MAKE!
MAKE's 2009 New Year's message.What we're making in 2009.
MAKE's RSS feed is here.
Add MAKE to iGoogle - GoogleGoogle.
How to add MAKE to your RSS reader - Real simple.
Add MAKE on Twitter.
MAKE's fan page on Facebook.
Add MAKE on FriendFeed
Why advertise on MAKE?
Read what folks are saying about us!
Click here to advertise on MAKE!
Makezine authors!
Senior Editor
Tel: 707-827-7311
Twitter / AIM
Gareth Branwyn
Jonah Brucker-Cohen
Chris Connors
Collin Cunningham
Marc de Vinck
Mike Dixon
Peter Horvath(intern)
Kip Kay
Luke Iseman
John Park
Patti Schiendelman
Becky Stern
Jason Striegel
Current Podcast
Maker Profile - Bicycle Rodeo
Introducing Cyclecide, an inventive band of Bay Area performance artists who make creations out of materials from the junkyard. These Makers create everything from amusement park rides to outrageous bicycle contraptions to found-object sculpture. Plus, we take a historical...
More...