RSSArchives: January 2008
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January 17, 2008
Sonic Wargame joins mob rule to live performance
In an attempt to make the often crowded and unwieldy dance club scene more engaging, "Sonic WarGame" by Dutch musician and maker, Xavier Van Wersch, allows four single players or two teams of two players each to compete in a collaborative sound installation. The aim is to vote for other players (or musicians) using this custom built console and in turn create a sonic composition based on how many votes each artist receives. Think of it as "Rock Band" meets "Survivor" where all the votes count in order for the composition to continue. The project will be in action at the "Club Transmediale 2008" this February in Berlin. Pretty interesting concept for an interactive performance, we just wonder how melodic the end result turns out.
Sonic Wargame - Link, Photos, [via]
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jan 17, 2008 10:00 AM
Music |
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Connectors Demystified
Ryan made this guide to different common electronics connecters. He writes:
Online vendors, particularly sites like Jameco and Digikey, tend to be targeted at engineers who already know exactly what they're looking for. If you don't know the right search terms, finding the right part can be a bear. Since I made my start in electronics a few years ago, Octopart has made finding parts much easier, but you still have to know what you're looking for! In hopes of helping people who're building their first homebrew boards know what to look for, I've tried to compile a bit of what I've picked up.
I can never remember things like pin spacing and various other attributes of components, so this is a handy reference! - Link.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Jan 17, 2008 09:00 AM
Electronics |
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RJ45 connector & Mac RS422-plug his and her rings
Jana's RJ45 connector & Mac RS422-plug his and her rings. Thanks WisePig! - Link.
Related:
Ring round up - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 17, 2008 08:00 AM
Arts, Crafts, Remake |
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Understanding electricity (water analogy)
Beginner overview of electricity, using the water analogy... What do you think?-
Electricity seems very difficult for most people to understand. You can't properly see it, you can't properly feel it and you can't taste it or smell it so what is it? It travels quite well through metals and generally poorly through non-metals. It doesn't behave quite like anything else.4QD-TEC: Understanding Electricity - Link.But this is not quite true: fluid flowing through a system of pipes can behave in many respects like electricity flowing in a circuit. The 'obvious' exception to this is that if you pierce a pipe full of water, the water comes out.
Try piercing the insulation and touching the conductor: you will soon find the electricity coming out! The main difference is that water will fill any space whereas electricity will 'fill' only a conductor. Yes - the analogy is not perfect, but it is helpful and understanding will come not only from the similarities but also from the differences.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 17, 2008 07:00 AM
Electronics |
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Sci-Fi objects and more made with a Spectrum Z510 3D printer (photo gallery)
RoboGeek sent in this great set of photos of Spectrum Z510 3D printer objects he made.
First, I love Make! I saw your Christmas wish (a Spectrum Z510 3D printer) and smiled. I had the job/privilege to work with one of these at a previous job. I am an AutoCad and MicroStation drafter and the company used it to rapid prototype parts for bath accessories. I named or Z510 "Gwyneth" because, like Ms. Paltrow, the results of her work were visually stunning, but she's kind of high maintenance. :-D I don't suppose I have to tell you about the costs of the materials, but I will say that I felt, after using and cleaning one for 2 years, that there was some room for design improvements in the areas of maintenance and overall robustness of the device. Please don't get me wrong - if I win the lottery tomorrow, I'm buying one of these right away!Whenever we had to reset the system or replace the print heads, we would run a test file through. My boss at the time, a science fiction fan like me and a general all around cool guy, let me run some .stl files of my own as tests.
One of the objects is a "metatron" by Bathsheba Grossman. The red polyhedral sphere is the work of George Hart (http://www.georgehart.com/rp/rp.html) and is actually 7(!) nesting spheres, I assigned a different color to each one. I hope one day to print that one out of plastic. When you take an object out of the "build tray", you place it in a dust cabinet and blow off ant excess powder with a needle tipped airbrush. Then you CAREFULLY "infiltrate" it with cyanoacrylate. I did this by dipping one of those little red coffee stirrers you find in office kitchenettes, and applying it one drop at a time. Having a touch of OCD helps this procedure. ;-) We used Loctite 408, as it was less expensive than buying replacements from ZCorp. MicroMark sells little paint/glue brushes that are small plastic handles with fuzzy flocking on one end. The Serenity is from a poly mesh sent to me by Sean Kennedy, aka Treybor in the 3d computer modeling community. I don't recall where I got the Hawk Mark IX mesh from. The Z510 can print from vrml models. None of these are painted; the Z510 prints in color. Good joke: the software comes with a jpg of the IniTech (Office Space) logo! Note the logo on the command cabin of the Hawk Mark IX. The Lego gears I designed in AutoCad 2002. The yellow one is a replica of a 40-tooth Lego Technic gear, the largest they make. The others are 56 & 96-tooth, I designed for use as parts in an all-Lego clock.
Read full story
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 17, 2008 06:00 AM
Arts, Gadgets, News from the Future |
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DIY USB Switchblade
MAKE Flickr photo pool member Andrew made an awesome USB switchblade, he writes -
I bought this knife kit from bladeplay.com, it's called the NATO Tomb Raider (they don't carry it anymore) I think it cost like $5 or something. I wanted to understand how my $300 Microtech Ultratech worked, but I didn't want to take that one apart.DIY USB Switchblade - Link & more.I figured out how it worked, so after serving that purpose I reworked the innards, machined a new sliding mechanism and attached a 2gb USB drive to it. James Bond still carries a regular flash drive around, like a loser.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 17, 2008 05:00 AM
Gadgets |
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WANTED: Maker who can curate the MAKE Flickr photo pool
WANTED: A Maker who can curate the MAKE Flickr photo pool - The MAKE Flickr photo pool is MASSIVE 3,000+ members, about 20,000 photos with amazing projects, hacks, mods, etc getting added each day. So - we're looking for someone who is active in our pool or is a fan. Lots of folks have it in their RSS feeds as well as other devices for DIY inspiration, we'd like to publish more of what goes on in the photo pool here on MAKE. We have budget so we can pay you, we also might have a weekly "maker award" for people who are adding interesting things to the photo pool, you might run that too. Email me if you're interested, ideally send me some sample text on a favorite photo (with link).
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 17, 2008 04:30 AM
Announcements |
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AirMail: Felt / homemade Manila envelope laptop sleeve for MacBook Air
Jeez, these makers moved fast! Here's the AirMail a homemade manila envelope laptop sleeve made from upholstery-grade vinyl and lined with fuzzy, soft fleece for the MacBook Air - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 17, 2008 04:00 AM
Computers, Crafts |
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Art made from plastic bags
Artist Virginia Fleck has an incredible portfolio of work made from plastic bags. Thanks Dan! - Link.
Related:
Plastic Bag Crafts - Link.
Crochet Necklace from Recycled Plastic Bags - Link.
Plastic Bag Tiaras - Link.
Plastic bag fabric - Link.
HOW TO - Welding plastic bags - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 17, 2008 03:00 AM
Arts, Crafts, Green |
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Flame gun makes winter work a lot easier
I want a flame gun that "takes the work out of winter" (and has 1,000 and 1 uses) - Link.
More:
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 17, 2008 02:00 AM
Retro |
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Super nightvision headset hack
Kipkay writes -
We have all seen the webcam nightvision hacks and other ways to make nightvision cameras but this will blow you away! This a Super Bright Nightvision Headset that lets you walk around in total darkness AND record what you see! My inspiration for this project came from Brad Graham & Kathy McGowan Watch the video and see the Test Results and then build your own! I hope you enjoy this Instructable as much as I enjoyed making it!Super nightvision headset hack - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 17, 2008 01:30 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Imaging, Instructables |
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The future of science...Is art?
Seed magazine has a great article about the future of science... It's writes -
In the early 1920s, Niels Bohr was struggling to reimagine the structure of matter. Previous generations of physicists had thought the inner space of an atom looked like a miniature solar system with the atomic nucleus as the sun and the whirring electrons as planets in orbit. This was the classical model.Seed: The future of science...Is art? Link.But Bohr had spent time analyzing the radiation emitted by electrons, and he realized that science needed a new metaphor. The behavior of electrons seemed to defy every conventional explanation. As Bohr said, "When it comes to atoms, language can be used only as in poetry." Ordinary words couldn't capture the data.
More:
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 17, 2008 01:00 AM
Arts, Science |
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| Comments (2)
Homebrew toy blaster
Steve writes -
I am learning about electronics by building a toy laser gun. This is the sound and light effects circuitry in development. The top board has a 555 monostable timer, which turns on a bright red LED, a laser, and the sound effect. It also triggers a second board, which has 555 oscillator which is triggering a 4017 decade counter chip. That circuit is the blue LED chaser. I have it timed so that it goes one cycle during the time that the trigger from the first timer is high. Whew! a lot of work to turn on a couple of blinky lights.Homebrew toy blaster - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 17, 2008 12:00 AM
Electronics, Toys and Games |
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January 16, 2008
Bay Area "Yuri's Night" call for artists, scientists
Our pal, and MAKE contributor, Xeni Jardin posted the following on Boing Boing:
Each year, a string of Yuri's Night World Space Parties around the globe celebrate humankind's first foray into space. That first human was Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961. The events are a lot of fun (I hosted one in Texas, had a blast!), and the 2008 Bay Area edition is calling for artists and scientists -- deadline is February 8.
See the Boing Boing post for more info.
Yuri's Night Bay Area 2008 call for artists, scientists - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jan 16, 2008 08:00 PM
Events, Science |
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Solenoid concert
Here's a "software-sequencer which controls 8 solenoids that knock on different things and therefore produce rhythmic noise. Made with Puredata, an Arduino and a homemade relayboard to control the solenoids".
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 16, 2008 05:00 PM
Arduino, Music |
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| Comments (9)
Rubber band super gun
Sayeth the builder:
Forget the rubber band Gatling gun. The DISINTEGRATOR is the most incredible rubber band gun ever built, capable of firing more than 40 rounds per second (2400 rounds per minute) from its 24 revolving barrels. This is the twin Vulcan cannon of the rubber band gun world!
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jan 16, 2008 04:00 PM
DIY Projects, Toys and Games |
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Making furniture interactive - The cameleon lamp
Greg's "cameleon lamp", he writes -
Concept: To design a light that mimics a color if shown to it. Design: lamp driver. LEDs are very efficient as they only emit one frequency of light, and because of this the light produced could be perceived as flat and lifeless. Instead i used tungsten bulbs because unlike LEDs they aren’t flat and lifeless. Because the Arduino cannot provide enough current to power a tungsten bulb without damaging the Arduino chip, I had to use transistors to turn a separate power source on to power the bulbs. This also meant that the lamp wouldn’t draw too much current from the laptop. To do this i connected the pwm pins to base of the transistors, and grounded the transistors to the Arduino’s ground in series with diodes to prevent current flowing back through the tungsten bulbs from the Arduino. Because i used the pwm pins i could dim the bulbs the same way one can dim LEDs in the Arduino code.colour sensor. Because I wanted the lamp to detect colors and mimic them, I prototyped a simple color sensor.Making furniture interactive - The cameleon lamp Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 16, 2008 03:00 PM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Electronics |
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| Comments (3)
Cigar box universal battery
This radio ham built a universal battery box out of a cigar box to power his tube projects.
Build a Cigar Box Battery Box for Tube Radios - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jan 16, 2008 02:00 PM
Instructables, Retro |
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CircuitWriter conductive ink & pen
This looks great! Draw your own circuits -
Apply instant traces on most surfaces (epoxy, glass, plastic, metal). Draw traces on circuit boards, repair defective traces, make jumpers and shield electronics, design prototype circuits and repair rear-window heater traces.CircuitWriter conductive ink pen - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 16, 2008 01:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Kits, Toolbox |
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| Comments (13)
HOW TO - Make your own metronome
Daniel writes -
...some days ago I have made a simple project in which I created a metronome using some simple parts you can find in any electronic shop. And I decided to share with everyone this blog. So if you are interested, so let’s start!HOW TO - Make your own metronome - Link.Hmm, what is a Metronome?
“A metronome is any device that produces a regulated audible and/or visual pulse, usually used to establish a steady beat, or tempo, measured in beats-per-minute (BPM) for the performance of musical compositions. It is an invaluable practice tool for musicians that goes back hundreds of years.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 16, 2008 12:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Music |
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| Comments (5)
Page 15 of 26 << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 >>
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.
Make store - Blinky bug kit - Blink!
Make store - Loud Objects Noise Toy Kit
Makers - MAKE Flickr pool contest. Win cool stuff!
Makers - Join the MAKE Facebook page - Meet other makers.
MAKE on Twitter - Tweet! Tweet!
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Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
Tel: 707-827-7311
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Robot Maker
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Becky Stern
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CNC Maker
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