RSSArchives: May 2007
May 31, 2007
Gas mask sawdust respirator
While working on a school bus to RV conversion Jake developed an allergy to pine sawdust so he made this nuisance dust mask with a military style respirator, a blower from a disk drive array and an automotive air filter - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 05:00 PM
DIY Projects |
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Blogged - BASIC stamp based art installation gets bigger as it is blogged!
Bill writes in with a fun art installation that gets bigger the more it is blogged...-
"Blogged" is an interactive installation artwork and one day net event dealing with the concept of being 'blogged'. It attempts to pop 6 feet in diameter red balloon by using traffic from blogs linking to http://billshackelford.com/home/portfolio_blogged.Blogged | billshackelford.com - Link.It runs on Thursday May 31, 2007 live from The Ohio State University Art and Technology show "Digescape". During this one day event I will suggest a link for consideration to this installation to a number of blogs in hopes that they will blog it on their sites and include a link back to this page (http://billshackelford.com/home/portfolio_blogged). My web site will then monitor the traffic coming from these blogs and run an air compressor for 1 second for each visit, filling up and then pop the 6 feet in diameter red balloon live on the web. Visitors will be able to monitor installation with a live video feed where they can watch and listen to the air compressor fill up the balloon and then pop it if enough traffic is received.
The idea comes from a previous experience when my artwork was fortunate to be blogged by several blogs. I found it interesting to see how quickly artwork spread from blog to blog. It was also interesting to see as time passed and the posts about my artwork would fade into the blog archives, that the traffic to my site dried up almost as fast as it arrived. I think Blogged expresses the joy I felt when my artwork was blogged by other sites with the filling of the balloon with air and then the dose of reality that hits when the traffic dries up with the potential popping of the balloon.
How It Works
Blogged works by counting a visit for each unique IP address and URL referral combination to this page. For example if you followed a link from the blog Bit Babble to this page, then your visit would be counted. If you went back to Bit Babble again and clicked a link to this page, then your visit would not be counted the second time. But if you where to click on a link to this page from a different blog other than Bit Babble, then that visit would be counted too. Other blogs linking to this page are listed to the right.
The visits are logged in a MYSQL database and then used to determine how long to run the air compressor based on the total number of visits. Then the Parallax Basic Stamp with a Netburner network adapter receives the running time from the database and then switches the air compressor on using a solid state relay for the given running time filling up the balloon.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 04:00 PM
Arts, Electronics |
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MAX - headphone amp
Jon writes -
The Millett Hybrid Maxed, or Millett MAX, or MAX for short, is a vacuum tube and solid state hybrid headphone amplifier. It is the latest refinement in a series of headphone amplifiers that began with Pete Millett, its namesake. This is a fantastic headphone amp. The design even includes vacuum tubes illumniated by blue LEDs!! Colin Toole is currently taking names and quantities for a group buy of the custom PCB designed for the MAX amp. The expected cost is $12, however, it could be less if enough people place orders. Orders can be placed until June 3rd. More than 253 have been spoken for so far.MAX Overview - Link & here's where to get the PCB.
More:
Altoids headphone amp - Link.
From the pages of MAKE:
Mint-Tin Amp. MAKE 04 page 131. Pocket amplifier punches up headphones. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition or get MAKE 04 @ the Maker store.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 02:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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LM555 Tick tick tick
Dave writes in -
I wanted to see how few parts I could use, from what I had on hand, to build this clicking blinking LED device based on a 555 chip.uC Hobby » Blog Archive » LM555 Tick tick tick - Link.This article was submitted by Lee Bornifield as part of the "Hobby parts for articles " program. Write something of interest to electronic hobbyist and receive parts for your next project.
Probably the most expensive part is the 9V battery. There is no circuit board, and no additional wires; just bending the leads of the components provides enough connections.
The earphone clicks and the red LED blinks at a constant 137 times a minute. The exact rate depends on the value of the resistor and capacitor. That rate will be maintained very precisely for the life of the battery. It's not forever, but listening closely I could still hear the earphone faintly clicking after 6 days of continuous operation.
Related:
555 timer - five boro bike tour time lapse- Link.
555 timer origami- Link.
More 555 timer projects- Link.
41 LED Flasher circuit using 555 IC- Link.
From the pages of MAKE:
The Biggest Little Chip. MAKE 10 page 62. An introduction to the versatile 555 timer. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition or *BLOG SPECIAL* subscribe to MAKE (use code CMAKE for $5 more off USA + free digital edition!).
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 12:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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HOW TO - Make a Pinocchio marionette
Andrew writes -
Master Replicas is planning to release an expensive ($300!) limited edition replica of the original Pinocchio marionette used by animators on the 1941 film as a reference model - you can see it online - but wouldn't it be much more fun to make your own?Puppetbuilding.com - How to Make A Pinocchio Marionette - Link.Someone recently sent in to my web site some beautiful scans of an old issue of Popular Science that explains exactly how to do just that. The article was part of Disney's original Pinocchio publicity campaign in the 1940s.
I've posted the scans on my site along with suggested resources for anyone who wants to try making one of these themselves (some of the materials mentioned in the original article are no longer available).
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 11:00 AM
Arts, Retro |
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Fake store front art piece in NYC
Arist Lisa Reynolds constructed a fake store front (called "Your inner self") along with "cloned" reflections of the store front in the Financial District of New York City, I watched hundreds of people walk by, glance briefly and no one noticed how truly odd it was upon further inspection here are a few photos and the NY Times has a pay only article, blah.. Link.
Update: Traci writes -- "Thanks for the heads-up. I think the artist's name is Beth Campbell though. And for all those NYers out there, according to the NYTimes "Potential
Store Fronts" will remain on view through June 24 at 125 Maiden Lane, Lower
Manhattan."
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 10:00 AM
Arts, Made On Earth |
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Photo viewer wrist warmer
Fridgehead took this $10-ish LED photo keychain gadget and made it (more) wearable... Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 10:00 AM
DIY Projects, Gadgets |
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Jtnimoy's brush for L.A.S.E.R tag
Jtnimoy has a downloadable version of GRL's L.A.S.E.R tag new brush style for their light / art projection system (source is on the site too) -
I coded this brush that turns a few mouse drags into a randomly generated bubbly blingy style. The brush code was then massaged into L.A.S.E.R. Tag. Here is the stand-alone version for your enjoyment and algorithmic plagiarism. I should quickly note for interested jttoolkit participants that this begins my attempted merging/joining/cooperating between OpenFrameworks and jttoolkit in hopes that they could eventually be one in the same ACU strain.jtnimoy - work - Link & photos.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 09:00 AM
Arts |
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They went completely Mentos
After Maker Faire it seems that our friends went on to create the largest Mentos Geyser in history for the Guinness World Records! (pictured here, some of the action by The Enquirer/Jeff Swinger).
A total of 504 Mentos geysers launched on Fountain Square this evening, pointing Cincinnati toward the Guinness Book of World Records for something no one previously had done.The Enquirer - They went completely Mentos - Link & here's how to make your own (PDF) - Link.The event lasted mere seconds. After a countdown, the hundreds of poncho-wearing participants pulled a toothpick from a tube that was holding six Mentos, releasing the candies into a 2-liter Diet Coke bottle.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 08:00 AM
DIY Projects |
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Musical graffiti
Regine has a write up of a couple projects presented at the Mobile Music Workshop - I really like Audiobombing project...
Audio Bombing... uses magnetic audio tape as its medium. Here's how the system should work: after having recorded on a cassette any information you want, you remove the tape and cut out the segments to be used. Then take your tape segments and go tag whatever you want in urban space. You can listen to the tag by running an augmented playhead spray over the magnetic tape.Musical graffiti - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 07:00 AM
Arts |
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Star Trek fan soldly goes...
Congrats to Tony for selling his Star Trek flat!
SCI-FI fan Tony Alleyne has sold his Star Trek-themed flat for an astronomical £425,000 -- FIVE TIMES its market value.The Sun Online - News: Star Trek fan soldly goes - Link.Enterprising Tony, 54, worked eight hours a day for two years and spent £30,000 turning his one-bed studio into the starship Voyager's flight deck.
Other flats in his block in Hinckley, Leics, have sold for a modest £80,000.
But Tony put his up for sale on eBay a month ago with a guide price of £130,000.
From the pages of MAKE:
In MAKE 07 we had a "Made on Earth" about Tony Alleyne's apartment turned-Star Trek starship renovation project. MAKE 07 page 18. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition or get MAKE 07 @ the Maker store.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 06:00 AM
Made On Earth |
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Electromechanical time lapse trigger
Here's another time lapse trigger, this one uses old servos to do the clicking/picture taking... Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 05:00 AM
DIY Projects, Imaging |
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HOW TO - Make "hot ice"
Hand warmers contain sodium acetate - here's how to make your own "hot ice" and bit about how it works [via] - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 04:00 AM
DIY Projects, Science |
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Stone sculptures
Kam writes -
These boulders are Hawaiian blue rock, a very dense & heavy stone. I find them in a small bay of my friends beach property. They have been tumbling around in the ocean for eons, tossed against each other by huge waves, smoothing & rounding them. I choose particular ones for their asthetic shape & lift them out with a crane. Most of them weigh several hundred pounds.cre.ations.net - Creation: Stone Sculpture - Link.I bring them home & live with them for a few weeks looking @ patterns, texture & color changes on the surface. The stone seems to show me the starting lines & then the design progresses from there.
I take chalk & sketch on some rough lines & if I need to remove a lot of material, I'll cut some grooves with a diamond bladed skill saw & bust out chunks with a small sledge & chisel. I use a diamond encrusted bronze wheel on a vertical grinder to rough out the basic design, then polish it with progressively finer grit wheels. I always leave some outer natural surface to give contrast to the design.
I like to carve a bowl in the top of most of my pieces to catch water. It represents an offering dish to float flowers (or let the birds drink)
The first boulder shown is called "Whale" topping the scales @ 350 pounds.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 03:00 AM
Arts, DIY Projects |
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CMUcam3 - open source programmable embedded color vision platform
CMUcam3 is an open source programmable embedded color vision platform, you can get a CMUcam is a few places (listed on the site)... Including Seattle robotics...
The goal of the CMUcam project is to provide simple vision capabilities to small embedded systems in the form of an intelligent sensor. The CMUcam3 extends upon this idea by providing a flexible and easy to use open source development environment that complements a low cost hardware platform. The CMUcam3 is an ARM7TDMI based fully programmable embedded computer vision sensor. The main processor is the NXP LPC2106 connected to an Omnivision CMOS camera sensor module. Custom C code can be developed for the CMUcam3 using a port of the GNU toolchain along with a set of open source libraries and example programs. Executables can be flashed onto the board using the serial port with no external downloading hardware required.
Software - CMUcam - Trac - [via] Link & more.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 02:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Open source hardware |
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Arduino variant - Bare-Bones Board
This Arduino variant (Bare-Bones Board) looks great!
Modern Device Company is a modest website to make available some of the circuit boards and electronic projects that Paul Badger has designed for use in his physical computing classes. Right now the site is focused on a variation of the Arduino, called the Bare-Bones Board. More custom sensors, and boards will be added soon.Modern Device Company - Link.Arduino is an open-source microcontroller hardware, and software, environment, closely related to the Wiring and Processing open-source initiatives. The microcontroller uses an Atmel Atmega168 chip programmed with a bootloader, so no programming hardware is required.
Arduino is programmed in the "C" programming language, with an integrated development environment (IDE) engineered for beginning programmers. The language includes support for desirable microcontroller features such as 32 bit and floating point math, many standard C libraries. Projects that outgrow the Arduino's capabilities can easily be ported to the Wiring Board, which is based on the Atmega128 chip.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 01:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Kits |
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HOW TO - Make Tetris ice cubes & shelves
Here are a couple Tetris themed projects that just popped up in the MAKE instructables group --
How to make Tetris ice cubes! - Link.
Build a Tetris DVD (or book) shelf - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 31, 2007 12:00 AM
DIY Projects, Instructables |
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May 30, 2007
Home sweet motor home
One of our frequently featured makers was written up in the Littleton Independent, congrats!
Ever since Sean Slattery was a boy in Newton, he loved trash day. Or better yet, the evening before, when his neighbors would put out the stuff they wanted hauled away. He would get on his bike and pedal around the streets near his house looking for stuff he could reuse.Home sweet motor home - Littleton, MA - Littleton Independent - Link."When I was 14, I was the only kid around that had a 25-inch color TV set in my room," said Slattery. It was 1977.
He's all grown up now, a software professional with a job in Burlington, a wife and two children, but he never lost his love of free stuff, other people's discards.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 30, 2007 05:00 PM
Green |
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HOW TO - Make carbonated fruit
Tim and gang from Know How! are back with a tasty summer project...
Using dry ice, cut up fruit and a strong plastic bottle you can make carbonated fruit. It's refreshing, bubbly, and totally unique.Many thanks to Instructables user Argon for coming up with this idea and giving me necessary tips on how to make it.
**Warning, dry ice is cold to the touch and can hurt you if used inappropriately. Please exercise caution when working with it, wear proper safety protection, and use it responsibly.** Now on Know How! Click on the steps above for more details.
instructables : How to Make Carbonated Fruit - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 30, 2007 01:00 PM
DIY Projects, Instructables |
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HOW TO - Quick and easy electronic time lapse
Here's Trebuchet03's time lapse conversion hack on a cheap point and shoot camera (without a time lapse feature) - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 30, 2007 11:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Imaging |
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