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November 18, 2009

DIY bike repair stand

We love bikes, just check out all our bicycle related entries. Unfortunately, sometimes our bikes break, and when they do it's a lot easier to repair them if you have a stand. Too expensive? Then make you own bicycle repair stand with a few parts form the hardware store.

I've needed a repair stand for a long long long time now. But....damn those things aren't cheap. Thankfully, I've got more than my share of blue collar blood in me....so I decided to build one. The process couldn't have been easier. I did a quickle google search on home made repair stands and saw some interesting solutions. In the end, I went with my own variation.

Posted by Marc de Vinck | Nov 18, 2009 01:00 AM
Bicycles, DIY Projects | Permalink | Comments (0) | Suggest a Site

The vibrobots of Norway

Nifty video (in Norwegian) of DIYer Morten Skogly showing off some of his vibrobot creations on a Norwegian TV show.

Vibrobots (Tekno S03E04)

Introducing the Multixylophoniomnibus, an augmented xylophone

Spotted in the MAKE Flickr pool:

ITP students Hana, Ania, and Greg built this augmented xylophone, the multixylophoniomnibus. Despite having a basically unpronounceable name, the project looks nice and they have a very in-depth review of the process that they went through in order to produce a working product. Nice job!

They also have a large number of photos available in their Flickr photo set.

Make an LVDT with soda straws

It's the McLVDT, a linear variable differential transfomer, made from McDonald's straws. The creator writes:

I made a primary coil on a normal sized straw, and made two secondary coils on the outside of the larger McDonald's straw. Since the McStraw is large-bore (perfect for those thick high calorie shakes), the smaller straw with the primary winding fits nicely inside. The position of the inner straw can be determined by examining the amplitude and phase of the combined signals of the secondary coils, which is shown in raw form on the oscilloscope.

"Mc"LVDT

Car launching!

Now why didn't we think of this?

Bill Gurstelle writes:

It is exactly what it sounds like. This year several cars, trucks, and two school buses were launched. I'm absolutely going to be there next year.

Car Launching

"Polaroid" mini-vase

From designer Jung Hwa Jin, the "Polaroid Flower Vase:"

...a small planter that recalls the nostalgic form of polaroid, with the plant becoming the focus of the "picture." The planter is suspended with a clothespin on the end of a cord, with a small embedded lamp illuminating its subject.

[Thanks, Ellie!]

Homemade transistor from a photocell?

Like many of us, Nyle Steiner has long aspired to building a homemade transistor. While considering possible way to achieve this, he stumbled upon the interesting idea of building a FET transistor from a cadmium sulfide photocell.

Normally used to detect light, the photocell is pretty close to what one would need to make a transistor. The device consists of two pieces of metal that are separated by a very thin layer of a cadmium sulfide semiconductor. The semiconductor is normally an insulator, which means that no electricity can flow from one of the metal legs to the other. However, when light (photons) hit the surface of the semiconductor, they knock electrons free, and allow some current to flow across the semiconductor. To make a transistor, though, the device needs to react to electricity, not light. Nyle realized that the photocell could be used as a transistor if an insulated gate was added to the top of it. A bit of scotch tape and water later, and he claims to have a working transistor.

Of course, this isn't a truly homemade transistor, it's more of a DIY transistor conversion. The device appears to be functional, however it requires fairly high voltages to work, and only acts as a power amplifier instead of a voltage amplifier. Even so, it looks like an interesting way to experiment with transistors at home. I'd like to build one, and vary thickness of the insulator (scotch tape) to see what the results are. Anyone else have experience with this?

Open source hardware and the web...

Limor Fried and I spoke at the Web 2.0 Expo New York 2009 today... Here's a description of our talk and our slides!

Open source hardware is a term slowly working its way into many new projects and efforts, but what is it? There are a few definitions, some of which come from “open source software,” which is usually considered software’s “source code under a license (or arrangement such as the public domain) that permits users to study, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified form.” So how does this translate to hardware? This session will focus on electronic hardware, the layers they can be divided into, different document types, licensing concerns, and a show-and-tell of hardware. Because of the openness of the movement it is increasingly being tied to Web 2.0 services.

Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest launches today!

It's here! The Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest launches today! Put on your thinking caps and dream up some awesome gadgets! To celebrate the release of the newest Alex Rider book, Crocodile Tears, and the Kids of All Ages edition of MAKE (both at bookstores today), we're thrilled to be running this contest.

All of you adventure-seekers and gadget lovers out there are invited to join in. If you were Alex Rider, what gadget would you want in the upcoming adventure "Crocodile Tears"? Design your dream Alex Rider gadget, inspired by an everyday object (i.e. an iPod, toothpaste, a pen). The winning gadget will be built right here at the MAKE Labs. Send us a schematic of what your gadget is made from and how it works. (Your schematic can be a diagram, a drawing or an explanation by you). Remember that the winning gadget will be inspired by an everyday object that one could realistically build (as much as we wish we could create a pair of scissors that could fly us to the moon)!

So what do you do? Dream up a gadget, of course! And what could you win? We're so glad you asked:

Grand Prize (one winner):

A signed collection of hardcover Alex Rider novels
iPod nano with a personalized message from author Anthony Horowitz
A backpack full of goodies and gadgets from the Maker Shed
The opportunity to have the winner's dream gadget produced in MAKE Labs and featured on Make: Online

Runner-Up Prize (two winners):

A signed hardcover copy of Crocodile Tears
An Alex Rider t-shirt

With prizes this good, how could you not want to enter?! The Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest is open to kids ages 8 to 18, so get your kid, nephew, niece, grandkids, and yourself involved!

Need some inspiration? Check out these gadgets and book excerpts from previous Alex Rider novels to get those brain juices flowing:

Alex Rider book giveaway: Crocodile Tears

The Alex Rider Dream Gadget Contest launches TODAY! We're giving away two copies of the newest Alex Rider book, Crocodile Tears, by Anthony Horowitz! The book comes out today as well, so win one here before others have a chance to scoop them up in stores. Just leave a comment in this post and tell us why you or your kid(s) needs one of these books. That's all you need to do to enter! Please make sure you include your email address in the comment form field (it won't be published). All eligible comments will be closed by Noon PST on Sunday, November 22nd. Good luck!

More:

Tetris meets Arduino

Like Tetris, but tired of playing it alone in the dark on your Game Boy? Well, now you can rejoice, for Luyza Pereira and Bettina Hiel have brought Tetris into the era of physical computing with their installation Tetris meets Arduino. The result is about what one would expect, and with the addition of a tilt sensor to turn the blocks, looks like a pretty fun game. Unfortunately, there don't seem to be any details of the build available, however it should be pretty straightforward to re-make. [via dudecraft]

SPARK Project #3, Post #1

XBee Master.jpg

For my third and final SPARK project, I'm going to continue building on lessons learned from Project 1 and Project 2. I've found Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 to be a powerful tool, but getting started is not a trivial process. Despite a sophisticated IDE, configuring and building running systems can be challenging, especially when the hardware isn't working as expected. So I'm going to continue where I left off with Project 2, and create the building blocks to control external devices using a serial interface.

A number of my projects have required wireless communications. I've tried many wireless systems, and one of my favorites is the XBee transceiver from Digi. They are easy to configure and use, and there is a wealth of example code to drive them from a wide variety of computing platforms. The high-power version can transmit over long distances, and at 250kbps, the data rate is excellent. I frequently use the devices as a simple wireless serial link, although they are very effective for point-to-multipoint and multipoint-to-point communications.

Follow my exploration of Windows Embedded CE driving xBees on the Microsoft SPARK site!

How-To: Upright electric bass from a 2x4

2x4 electric bass.jpg

Mark just boinged a link to this cool magazine how-to from 1961 (.pdf) by Roy L. Clough, Jr. It's hosted at Cigar Box Nation. [via Boing Boing]

Make: Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Santa Claus Machines

Santa's got the coolest tools. How else could he and his elves build all those gifts in time? Now, thanks to custom fabrication services, we can all get access to the Santa Claus Machines. From bespoke action figures, to interplanetary terrain models, from one-of-a-kind sneakers, to tailor-made machine parts, there has never been a better time to harness advanced fabrication tools to build objects of your own design! In this gift guide, we'll look at some of the leaders in the Santa Claus Machine revolution.

Big Blue Saw
If your gift plans call for something sturdier than wood or acrylic, you may need to move beyond laser cutters into a full-blown CNC machine shop. Enter Big Blue Saw. They have an intuitive browser-based CAD program where you can design your part, and then choose your material (aluminum, steel, etc.) and thickness. They'll fire up their water-jet machines, and in no time you'll have that rolled steel stocking stuffer in your hands.

Read full story

Build a clone of the MiniMoog filter

Yusynth has a nice PCB layout for building a classic voltage-controlled Moog filter. This particular iteration appeared in MiniMoog synths, utilizing Robert Moog's signature transistor ladder design for sweet, sweet analog sounds.

Arduino-compatible prototyping board

From the MAKE Flickr pool

Spikenzie Labs shares some glamour shots of the new Hardcopy Arduino prototyping board -

Designed to make a permanent version (or Hardcopy if you will) of your project once you have perfected it on a breadboard but without the expense of embedding your original Arduino into your project. The hardcopy also makes your project more reliable and robust. With the prototyping area integrated into the board with the microprocessor, your project will have fewer boards and fewer wires, and because of that, fewer mistakes and fewer shorts.

An interesting option for those who'd rather keep their Duemilanove for developing future projects.

MAKE, Volume 20: For Kids of All Ages

MAKE, Volume 20 is on newsstands today! Check out this preview video to get a tour of our best edition yet (we know, we say that every time)!

Want to know how to build a hydrogen rocket? How about a laser light show in a lunchbox? Or a simple remote-controlled videocam car? Or maybe you want to go old-school and build a wooden mini sailboat or toy car launcher? All this and tons more, plus revealing photos of Adam Savage's maker childhood, can all be found in MAKE, Volume 20, "For Kids of All Ages." Get your individual copy in the Maker Shed, or subscribe now to get access to our awesome Digital Edition.

Subscribe to the MAKE Podcast in iTunes, or download the m4v video.

Color thermal inkless printing technology

zink paper layers.jpg

My father recently drew my attention to an article in IEEE Spectrum about the so-called "Zink" printing technology commercialized by a group of former Polaroid employees. Zink, an acronym for "zero ink," uses special paper with three layers of embedded dye crystals activated by heaters in the print head. Solely by controlling the temperature and duration of heat pulses delivered by the print head, the yellow, magenta, and/or cyan layers may be selectively activated. It is essentially a refinement of the black-only thermal printing technology commonly used, for example, in cash registers and label makers. By eliminating the requirement for ink or toner, Zink promises to produce dramatically smaller and more portable color printers, and has already been incorporated in several "digital polaroid" style cameras with integral photo-printers, such as the Polaroid PoGo Instant Digital Camera. [Thanks, Dad!]

Random MIDI generator

Miketron converted his random MIDI note generation software(MAC/PC) into hardware form via an ATMega168 chip -

A couple of months I took my MAX/MSP code for Random7 and rewrote so I could embed it into a hardware version. Random7 Hardware Version 1 (R7H) is a very basic version of the Random7 software. The core element of R7H is still the same, the program pick from 7 different midi notes randomly. As of now the key R7H is preset to the key of A Major, and the only control is a potentiometer that controls the speed of R7H. Output for R7H is a midi port, an on/off switch, and there is also a red led the flashes everytime a note is sent.

More pics of the device can be seen over at Illuminated Sounds.

In the Maker Shed: 3pi Robotics bundle

3pi Super Bundle.jpg
The 3pi robotics bundle from the Maker Shed includes all the major components needed for programming this fun little bot. The Pololu 3pi robot is a complete, high-performance mobile platform featuring two micro metal gearmotors, five reflectance sensors, an LCD screen, buzzer, and 3 user push buttons, all connected to a C-programmable ATmega168 microcontroller. Just add a few AAA batteries and a USB cable to get programming!

The 3pi robotics bundle includes:

(1) Pololu 3pi Robot $99.95 value
(1) Orangutan USB Programmer $27.99 value
(1) 3pi Expansion Kit without Cutout $19.99 value
(1) Maker's Notebook $19.99 value

Learn how to program the 3pi:

Don't forget to read our How-to Tuesday: Getting started with the 3pi for a lot more information about this little bot.