RSSArchives: July 2007
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July 25, 2007
Rosie's Girls - Welding Program in Vermont
"Half the point of welding is not being afraid of getting dirty or burning a bit of your toe." - Link
Posted by Bre Pettis |
Jul 25, 2007 11:46 AM
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Green steam
Our pal I-Wei Huang, of Crabfu SteamWorks, sent us a link to this "green" steam engine, a super-efficient two- (or more) piston engine that is allegedly easy and economical to build. It has a very ingenious way of converting reciprocating movement into rotary movement, the action of which you can see in an animated GIF on the site. It's amazingly efficient, (freewheeling at a mere 2 psi).
Green Steam Engine Home Page - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jul 25, 2007 11:03 AM
DIY Projects, Retro, Transportation |
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Of Moonbeams and motorcycles
The Boston Globe has a brief piece on Jory Squibb, a Camden, Maine handyman, who deconstructed two Honda Elite scooters and used them to create this three-wheeled vehicle he calls the Moonbeam. It gets more than 100 miles to the gallon and goes a stop and smell the roses speed of 35-40 MPH.
One Gallon, 100 Miles - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jul 25, 2007 09:07 AM
Green, Makers, Transportation |
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July 24, 2007
Successful High Altitude Balloon!
Jean-Sébastien Busque launched his own balloon and got pictures!!! Wow, these are great!!!
Via email:
I love your weekend projects. After I saw your ballon launch I had to try it. So last week I launched a hellium ballon with a video camera, a still camera, gps and a ham radio and guess what? It worked! Balloon got to 28km +/-. It traveled about 100km east from the launch site (100 km south east of Montréal, Canada)
Related Blog Entries:
Read full story
Posted by Bre Pettis |
Jul 24, 2007 10:42 PM
DIY Projects, Weekend Projects |
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Tools you didn't know you needed
EMS Labs has a nice little rundown of five tools you might not know about, but that can come in very handy in your day-to-day electronics work. A fellow DC Dorkbot-er, David Rickert, who's currently building his own analog synth, hipped me to the Lead Forming Tool (top) at the latest Dorkbot DC BEAM Building Workshop, and it's definitely going in the shopping cart of my next online electronics order. I'm not good at judging the bends in the leads in my resistors, and there's nothing more unsightly than kinky components. One of the other items in the piece is an IC Lead Straightener, something that anyone who's ever tried to put, say a 20-pin chip, into a PCB or a DIP socket can duly appreciate.
And adding the convenience of these tools is not expensive. The Lead Forming Tool is a mere $2.80 at Jameco, an IC Straightener is $7.70, also at Jameco. The Vacuum Suction Pen (seen above) goes for $6 at Stan Rubinstein.
Five Electronics Tools You Might Not Know About - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jul 24, 2007 05:30 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Toolbox |
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Make @ OSHKOSH
Make was at the OSHKOSH Air Show on Tuesday and we'll be back there on Wednesday. Associate Publisher Dan Woods and Contributing Editor Bill Gurstelle are with me at the event. The size of the event is impressive -- with a fly-in community pitching tents next to their airplanes. We also watched the air show in the late afternoon.
If you're a maker in attendance or exhibiting, send me an email if you'd like to meet up and chat. We're trying to meet makers at OSHKOSH. We met with Make subscriber Sebastian Heinz of Zenith Aircraft whose company develops kit planes.
Posted by Dale Dougherty |
Jul 24, 2007 05:07 PM
Flying |
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Rocket cars!
Mark writes -
Last Sunday about 50 DIYers in Sydney got together to put amateur rocket motors onto an assortment of vehicles. Hilarity - and some lessons on aerodynamics - ensued. (Check out the pictures and the YouTube videos.)rocketcar day 9 - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 24, 2007 02:11 PM
DIY Projects, Events |
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Personal blimps
Thushan Amarasiriwardena sent MAKE this video that accompanied a piece he did in yesterday's Boston Globe. In it, a dynamic duo from Amherst, MA talk about their efforts to build and perfect the personal blimp. Is this the next MAKE corporate vehicle?
Personal blimp sails over fields of Amherst - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jul 24, 2007 12:55 PM
Makers, Retro, Transportation |
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| Comments (7)
Wii telescope control
This enterprising stargazer figured out how to control his Orion Atlas EQG telescope mount with a Wii controller.
Fun with an Atlas. Video inside. - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jul 24, 2007 07:07 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Gadgets, Science |
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July 23, 2007
BEAM bots with complex behaviors
I just realized that Bruce Robinson's impressive analog robots have not been blogged here on MAKE. His articles on "The Application of Human Motor Control Theory to Robotics" and "Learning Robots" blew my mind when I first read them years ago. People are always asking me how far BEAM concepts can be taken. I point them to these articles, Bruce's robot experiments, and to the Wow Wee robot family (designed by BEAM inventor Mark Tilden), which employ many BEAM concepts. "Learning Robots" describes how short and long-term memory can be created using all-analog components. It's a shame he hasn't updated the site in years. He seemed to be interested in really pushing the envelope on analog control.
Robinson's Hider robot (seen here) demonstrates two behaviors (light seeking and "fear" -- running away from loud sounds), using nine sensor elements. In his work with BEAM tech, Robinson even came up with his own First Law of Robotics: "The capability for complex behaviour is limited by the number of sensors."
A Dissident's View of Robotics (a.k.a. Robinson's Robots) - Link
Hider - Link
Related:
- HOW TO - Build BEAM Vibrobots - Link
- Solarbotics - Link.
- A Beginner's Guide to BEAM - Link.
- BEAM robot - flashing eyes - Link.
- Pummer! Part robotic plant life, part techno-sculpture, these desktop toys are easy and fun to make. MAKE 08 - page 84. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition.
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jul 23, 2007 06:10 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Robotics |
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Make a Samurai Costume
I've really been enjoying the Backyard FX podcast. Every week Erik shows you how to so your own special effects for videos. This week he shows how to make a samurai costume!- Link
Posted by Bre Pettis |
Jul 23, 2007 03:06 PM
DIY Projects |
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Game machine hacking at Vienna Dorkbot
The Vienna chapter of Dorkbot did a video of their last meeting, focused on game machine hacking. The hacks range from refurbishing and computerizing an analog pinball machine, to an electric guitar casemod (the NES Paul), to making music with the Nintendo DS. The meeting takes place at Metalab, an amazing playground for hackers in Vienna.
Dorkbot Vienna #3 - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jul 23, 2007 01:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Gaming, Portable Audio and Video, Retro, Toys and Games |
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Ordering PCBs from China
Julian Bleecker has a piece on his blog detailing how he goes about ordering cheap (and amazing for the price) custom PCBs from a company in China. Shown here are ten copies of six PCBs, all for $159. Sweet.
More PCB Stuff - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jul 23, 2007 11:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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Amazing homemade watches
Interview with Haruo Suekichi, creator of thousands of amazing watches - Link & site.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 23, 2007 09:00 AM
Arts, Made On Earth |
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Guerrilla flowerboxes
Instead of posters or graffiti these "guerilla gardeners" are planting flowers and shrubs around Kensington, Canada - [via] Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 23, 2007 08:00 AM
Arts, Green |
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Super Mario subwoofer
Here's a really nice subwoofer painted to look like a brick and coin box from Super Mario - [via] Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 23, 2007 07:00 AM
DIY Projects, Music |
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Power-Saving pedometer also measures speed
AVR based pedometer! -
A pedometer is a device that counts the number of steps taken by a person and calculates the distance traveled by multiplying the number of steps by the length of the step. Here's a design solution for building a pedometer using the AVR MCU. The circuit not only combines all of the features of the traditional pedometer, it saves power (low power consumption is a must for a portable device) as well. The design also includes instantaneous speed measurement.Power-Saving pedometer also measures speed - [via] Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 23, 2007 06:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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July 22, 2007
Merry-go round driven by hand
Kid powered merry-go round, Popular Science 1934 - Link.
More:
PlayPumps - Kid powered merry-go-round water pumps - Link.
Propeller drives homemade flying merry-go-round - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 22, 2007 12:00 PM
Modern Mechanix |
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| Comments (4)
Sharing lists of podcasts for the iPhone, iPod, iTunes... OPML, .pcasts and more...
Here's a quickie how-to on using and sharing "lists" of podcast subscriptions with iTunes - if you like science and news programs you might like this - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 22, 2007 01:06 AM
Cellphones, Computers, Gadgets, Podcasting, iPod |
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| Comments (0)
July 21, 2007
Maker Saturday Webcasts - Tools for Making Things with Jim Newton - 7/21/2007 1:00 PM PDT
Maker Saturday Webcasts - Tools for Making Things with Jim Newton - 7/21/2007 1:00 PM PDT -
Ever had an idea for something you'd like to make--but you had no idea what tools you might need for the task? While demonstrating how to build an electromechanical digital clock, Jim Newton will talk about different kinds of tools--low-tech, such as a drill press or a welder, and others more high-tech, such as laser and plasma cutters. Jim will also talk about TechShop, a community-based machine shop based in Menlo Park, California.Exploratorium: Maker Saturday Webcasts - Link.Jim is a lifetime maker, veteran BattleBots builder, and former MythBuster. In 2006, he co-founded TechShop with the goal of giving anyone interested in technology access to the necessary tools and a creative environment for creating individual projects.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 21, 2007 12:00 PM
Events |
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Features and more @ MAKE!
MAKE @ The NYC Toy Fair 2008 - Covering DIY!HOW TO - Build the arms of assistance.
MADE in Japan - Part I.
MADE in Japan - Part II.
MADE in Japan - Part III.
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Make store - Loud Objects Noise Toy Kit
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Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
Tel: 707-827-7311
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Robot Maker
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Current Podcast
AHAB High Altitude Ballooning - Best of Weekend Projects
mp4|mov|hd|3gp|3g2|itunes This week on Best of Weekend Projects, we look back at part two of the AHAB (High Altitude Balloon Adventure). In this epic Bre & Co. travel to Eastern Washington to launch a GPS and camera enabled balloon...
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