RSSArchives: July 2006
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July 22, 2006
HOW TO - Uni-Directional WIFI Range Extender
Tm36usa writes "Easily receive WIFI signals from far away using a standard USB WIFI adaptor and a bit of ingenuity. This Simple idea requires no modifications to a USB WIFI adaptor or your computer. A simple way to increase the signal strength and range of your WIFI. Plus it works with all USB WIFI adaptors" - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 22, 2006 07:31 AM
DIY Projects, Wireless |
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July 21, 2006
Candy wrapper bracelet
Don't toss your candy or gum wrappers. Make a bracelet out of them. From Cat Morley, "Recycle your old sweetie wrappers in to a cute bracelet. Here's a project that I use to do back in high school to pass the time. The best part is that you get to munch loads of sweets to do it." Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jul 21, 2006 07:26 PM
Crafts |
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Stitch N' Pitch wrap up
"Oops I dropped my yarn" (bottom left) could be the title of this photo that knitter Jen Greenwood (bottom right) caught on camera at last night's Stitch N' Pitch at the SF Giants. As a contract instructional designer for the Apple Retail Team, Jen's an also an avid knitter and SF Giants fan. Jen sums up her first Stitch N' Pitch, "The experience was fun. It's great to see so many knitters. Something that I haven't had a chance to experience since I moved here from Chicago last fall. The goodie bags were great, too. "
The CRAFT team was there in force to showcase a bevy of baseball related crafts and to meet all the crafters. Jamie Chan (Mary Jane's Attic and SF Craft Mafia) and Blas Herrera (Spindles and Flyers) showed off their yarn spinning skills both with spinning wheel and by hand. (Jamie's photos are here.) We also tried to brave the winds up outside on the 3rd level. As you can see, some ingenious use of yarn needed to be used secure the cross stitch frame, as well as a tape dispenser, safety pins, and stacks of cards.
At the CRAFT table we featured the following baseball crafts. You can check our their web sites for yarn, patterns, kits, and more information.
- Baseball Bat Scarf made from Banana Fiber Yarn by Randy Fong of the Knitting Yarn Store - Link.
- Knit Hat with Embroidered SF Giants logo (pdf of logo chart) - Link.
- Chris and Stitch Crochet Baseball Friends by Td Creations - Link.
- Counted Cross Stitch Baseball Nostalgia Sampler - Link.
- Hot Doggie Tote Bag by Moongirl - Link.
During the game, it was all about stitching and watching (or not watching) the game. Some people couldn't bother standing up for Barry Bond's 722nd home run for fear of loosing their place on their project. (I did stand but held on tightly to my crochet hook and yarn.) One of the highlights of the evening was the tongue in cheek Knit Off Competition displayed on the main screen. Two women were pitted to out stitch the other. All kinds of crazy knitting antics such as knitting with an apple in mouth, knitting covering eyes, and so on, culminating with the winner who was knitting with 2 baseball bats! (She's a master knitter, of course. Photos for that event will be up next week.) All in all a great time for all stitchers to get together, craft, and have a good time. A huge thanks to Barbara Paley and Libby Butler-Gluck, the Co-Commisioners of Stitch N' Pitch for TNNA, and thanks also to the SF Giants: Faham Zakariel, Jeff Gillingham, and Alyze Veliz.
There are 12 more games to go across the nation with the Seattle Mariners next week on July 25th. Check out the Stitch N' Pitch schedule to see where the next game is near you. If anyone else attends the other games across the country, please post up your photos to the CRAFT Flickr pool or email me. You can catch the rest of the stitching action for SF Giants game via the photos I've posted up on flickr. I'll be adding more photos as they come next week. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jul 21, 2006 05:34 PM
Crafts |
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Vector Generator Board: Tempest Etc. On Your PC
Ye olde vector games brought back from the dead on a new vector generating board.
After collecting vector games for years, the realization that you can never have them all sank in, and we looked for an alternative. Why not build a Vector Generator that would somehow attach to a standard PC and run all the games supported by an emulator, such as MAME, on a single vector monitor? It would be kind of a 30+ Vector Multigame! - Via - Link
Posted by Bre Pettis |
Jul 21, 2006 05:11 PM
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Weird Yano Doll Head Hack
Chuck told me that he has a "Yano" doll coming to him in the mail to hack up and pointed me to this robotic hack of the doll. I postulate that it is the child of yoda and a gremlin.
The main focus of this project had to do with creating an easy method for controlling the head from a computer. We did not want to spend time designing and building our own robot. Instead, we decided to use the head of children's toy Yano, designed as an interactive storyteller. This toy head suited the needs of our project well because of its particularly expressive face. - Link
Posted by Bre Pettis |
Jul 21, 2006 04:31 PM
How it's made |
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Make Podcast: Weekend Projects - Make a Rodent Powered Nightlight
The Weekend Projects Podcast continues with the Rodent Powered Nightlight!
Make sure to check out the previous post full of instructions. This project can be found in the print or digital version of Make: 06. The article in the magazine by William Gurstelle, was inspired by the folks over at otherpower.com who came up with a hamster powered generator.
Click here to get the video (MP4) delivered automatically with iTunes. This video will play on PC/Mac/Linux/PSPs and iPod video devices. Also for your viewing pleasure - HD, 3gp, and Blip.
Posted by Bre Pettis |
Jul 21, 2006 06:00 AM
MAKE Podcast, Weekend Projects |
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Weekend Project Instructions - Rodent Powered Nightlight
Make sure to download the PDF for this project and print it out to look at as you make this project. Also make sure to watch the video that goes along with these instructions!
To begin, I needed a rodent wheel. I chose the mouse wheel, because when I visited the pet store, the mice were running on the wheel while all the other rodents were busy sleeping.
Then I affixed magnets to the side of it. After significant trial and error, I used a shower drain that turned out to be the perfect size and affixed them with superglue. This is trickier than it seems because the magnets are powerful. Be careful because these magnets can pinch your fingers. I used 1/2" Neodymium magnets from Amazing Magnets. but in retrospect, the 3/4" magnets recommended in the article might provide more power. Once the magnets were on the drain-plate, I attached the drain-plate to the side of the wheel with more superglue and zipties.
I used sewing bobbins to wind my coils and they worked great. Once you get a coil all wound up, give it a coat of superglue to make it behave. I made 6 coils and went through three containers of superglue and two rolls of 30 gauge magnet wire on this project, so make sure to stock up!
I re-used the structural wire-rods being used as a base for the axle. I used a hot-glue gun to hold the coils in place. I used a bit of 2x4 left over from the workbench I made two weekends ago.
Now that I'm done with it, I want to add a bicycle computer to see how far Annika runs in a day and track her progress. I'm also planning on adding some ball bearings to make the wheel quieter. I tried adding some silicon dust lube, but it didn't help. I'd also like to learn how to make a mouse-cam and give these mice a home on the web!
Posted by Bre Pettis |
Jul 21, 2006 05:00 AM
MAKE Podcast, Weekend Projects |
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July 20, 2006
Roombongle! A Roomba USB dongle
Todbot writes "The RooStick by RoombaDevTools.com is pretty cool. It's tiny and it's USB, which is about all you need for me to bring you home. But if you want to hack together something similar and you don't want to build a huge honking Roomba serial tether, you could build the Roombongle!" - Link.
Related:
Photo set - Link.
Roomba projects - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 20, 2006 05:17 PM
Robotics |
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LED Position lights for experimental aircraft
Killacycle has an interesting LED project for airplanes - "After looking at the prices of certified position lights for my RV-7 (about $200 a pair) I looked into the possibility of building my own using high-brightness LEDs. After doing a bit of research into the FAA requirements and then into the available high-brightness LEDs, (These are NOT ordinary LEDs.) I concluded it could be done for less than the cost of "store bought" position lights. I then made a computer model of the FAA candlepower distribution requirements and the light distribution of each LED. After a bit of tinkering, the model produced the proper layout for the array of LEDs needed to meet the FAA specifications." - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 20, 2006 03:29 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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Homemade tornado machine
Nanajmm writes "Hi All, I built a tornado machine using plans from www.weather-photography.com and did some of my own modifications. Here is a site with a video of it in action and some nice pics." - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 20, 2006 11:51 AM
DIY Projects |
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HOW TO - Make homemade practice poi
Hydra writes "Welcome to my little tutorial on how to make some poi. First of all, to those who don't know what poi is: Quoted from Homeofpoi.com ""Poi" is the Maori word for "ball" on a cord. The Poi was used, many years ago, by the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand to increase their flexibility and strength in their hands and arms as well as improving coordination. Wahine (female) dancers perform the Maori Poi, a dance performed with balls attached to flax strings, swung rhythmically. " - Link.
Previous:
LED Poi - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 20, 2006 10:46 AM
Instructables |
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Seattle Power Tool Drag Race & Derby this Saturday
From the MAKE flickr pool, Seattle's Hazzard Factory is sponsoring a Power Tool Drag Race & Derby this Saturday, July 22 from 3pm to 9pm. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jul 20, 2006 10:45 AM
Events, Transportation |
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July 19, 2006
Make your own knitting needles
Whip Up's got a cool collection of tutorials on how to make your own knitting needles, even circular ones. Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jul 19, 2006 11:32 PM
Crafts |
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HOW TO - Make a low power FM transmitter
Rod writes "It is designed to use an input from another sound source (such as a guitar or microphone), and transmits on the commercial FM band - it is actually quite powerful, so make sure that you select an unused position on the dial! The FM band is 88 to 108MHz, but is getting fairly crowded nearly everywhere, but you should be able to find a blank spot on the dial somewhere. " - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 19, 2006 08:57 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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Bluetooth stereo headphone conversion
MAKE Flickr photo pool member Rautiocination writes - "I bought a pair of OMIZ bluetooth headphones with included usb/phono dongle, with the intent of combining the bluetooth parts with my favourite pair of heaphones. Here's how it went down..." - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 19, 2006 08:55 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Wireless |
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Solvent transfers
DIY:Happy has a good round up of ways to do solvent transfers (pictured here one from a moleskine gallery)... - "Doing a solvent transfer is probably the quickest, easiest way to get an image onto a T-Shirt, Moleskine, or other surface. Like screen printing, the image is applied directly the surface. Unlike screen printing, this can be done quickly, cheaply, and without an extra equipment." - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 19, 2006 08:49 PM
Arts, Crafts |
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Replacing lithium batteries?
MAKE pal Tom A. writes in with a bit of battery discussion regarding a recent (potential incident) with lithium batteries, he writes "Please check out (this PDF) especially the pictures of blown-up electronics. This report has some great pictures of what can go wrong with lithium batteries. Ordinary lithium batteries have 1/8 the energy density of TNT (in their electric charge alone, not counting the energy you get from burning lithium), and are headed towards 1/6.
I think the 1/8 and 1/6 energy density fractions are interesting (and inflammatory!) Here is the reference for the energy density of lithium batteries - Link.
Here is the article with the energy density of TNT - Link.
Here's what it has to do with Makers: Can you replace the batteries in your own device?
Gadget capability is limited by the tradeoff between safety and battery energy density. Exploding counterfeit batteries make this tradeoff especially painful, which is giving rise to 'battery authentication' chips, that purport to establish that batteries are legit. Consumers perceive these chips as a way for a vendor to lock in a high-cost replacement battery. I paid $30 retail for a little cell phone lithium battery that I know "should cost" about $10. But it seems like they are addressing a real problem, assuring that my cell phone will not explode. Now I predict that there will be another crypto war, this time between battery authenticators and imitators. Read this article about the battery authentication chips - Link."
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 19, 2006 08:15 PM
Electronics |
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Breath Control Car
Matthew Irvine Brown's "Breath Control Car" project - " This is a standard remote control toy car with a mouthpiece the player blows into to control steering. The car measures controlled change - blow gradually harder and it steers to the right; blow gradually softer and it steers to the left. At least 80% of the technique of singing or playing any wind instrument is concerned with controlled breathing. This toy replicates many traditional breathing excercises in a context of play, whilst preserving the ethos of 'practice makes perfect' - providing clear goals and requiring a degree of mastery through repeated practice. " [via] - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 19, 2006 07:17 PM
Made On Earth, Music |
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Meet us at the Stitch N' Pitch on Thursday
The MAKE/CRAFT team will be at the SF Giants Stitch N' Pitch Game this Thursday. Doors open at 5:15pm and the game against the San Diego Padres will start at 7:15pm.
I spent some of yesterday afternoon at the SF Giants offices helping them stuff tote bags for the giveaways. Here's Alyze of the SF Giants working her double tote bagging magic. We all had our special assembly line technique and hers really worked. Please come out early to the ballpark to get your totebag, grab a beer, and meet some of the MAKE/CRAFT team -- Dan, Heather, Arwen and I will be there along with our Baseball Crafts table. We will also have yarn spinning demos by the spinning group, Spindles and Flyers: Jamie Chan , Blas Herrera, and Elaine Matsui. Jamie also heads up Mary Jane's Attic and is Director of the SF Craft Mafia. We are excited to meet all the crafters who will be coming to the event. We are sitting in section 332 during the game if you need to find us. Tickets are still available online via the giants website. Link.
Photos from last week's game at the Minesota Twins are in and I love the knitted flip flops. Link.
Related:
Baseball Crafts and Stitch N' Pitch: projects for the ballpark - Link.
Posted by Natalie Zee Drieu |
Jul 19, 2006 06:50 PM
Crafts |
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Orchestral instruments on a mesh network
It looks like some folks are getting development versions of the $100 laptop, MAKE Flickr photo pool member Curiouslee is working on a music project, he writes "At the time of this photo, about 150 boards have been seeded out to developers. This one was running a version of Barry Vercoe's Csound which will conduct any number of laptops each as a different orchestral instrument via WiFi on mesh network." - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 19, 2006 05:16 PM
DIY Projects, Music |
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