RSSArchives: January 2008
January 31, 2008
DIY tractors in Poland
The Żak Gallery in Berlin has an exhibition up with an extensive collection of 1960s Polish homemade tractors (photos only, unfortunately). - [via] Link.
Related:
MAKE: Volume 11: Alt Vehicles - Link.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Jan 31, 2008 09:00 PM
Arts, Transportation |
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Automated SMD component cutter
Check out this nifty automated strip cutter for surface-mount components built by some Dutch students from printer parts (stepper motor and LCD display), an Atmel ATMega8 controller, and a servomotor.
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jan 31, 2008 08:00 PM
Computers, Electronics |
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The Owl by David Ellis
David Ellis made this owl instrument, inspired by a player piano. - [via] Link.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Jan 31, 2008 07:00 PM
Arts, Music |
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Custom playing card boxes
Here's a site with PDFs for making custom cardboard boxes for Poker-, Bridge-size and "big deck" playing card boxes. There's also a link to an app for generating custom-size "tuck box" templates. I have some tarot decks that could use a new home. It'll be fun to design custom art for them.
Making Custom Card Boxes - [Thanks, Patti!] Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jan 31, 2008 06:00 PM
Crafts, Paper Crafts |
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Mooninites, from one of the Duo
Here's a note from Sean, one of the people who were in the media last year for the Mooninite event, he sent this in... post in the comments with you thoughts! -
Hi, I'm Sean Stevens, From the infamous Mooninite Madness of 1-31-07. Unfortunately I've been totally buried in work and other things so I didn't have a chance to "celebrate" the anniversary... But if you would, please send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has remembered the day. It's a scary world where the people in Office don't understand the need to change things, Make them how we want. But it's a basic desire. The desire to Create. The desire to Make things Better. The fact that people have created Bushinites and Binladenites.... Even a Zebblerite! And put them all over Boston...In some of the same spots even... To me it's a real show of strength and civil disobedience. Of course, I know it's all in fun too... That's all it was ever meant as. (Though I prefer the "LOLz" spelling personally) Anyways, I hope that more people will put effort into trying to understand things that they don't... Fear of things that aren't understood that is the root cause of Terrorism. Until more people start thinking for themselves and stop letting the government/media tell them what is truth I'm afraid we are stuck with that fear. Government and Police can only write laws and try to stop those who break them. Then they can publish stories of their "Success" and hold press conferences... To make us think we are safe. But we aren't. Rely on yourself. Rely on Community. Live your life, be aware of your surroundings. The only thing worse than loosing one's life is giving it up for false safety-Sean Stevens
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 31, 2008 05:27 PM
Events |
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Computational, generative art
Jared Tarbell is an artist and programmer who does gorgeous computational art, coded in the Processing language. And not only are the finished pieces amazing (and available for purchase), but you can also "run" the art, see it grown in a pop-up applet.
Generative Artifacts - Computation Gallery [Thanks, Patti!] - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jan 31, 2008 04:00 PM
Arts, Computers |
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Fuzzy logic guitar effects pedal
Here's a unique circuit for guitar effects builders. It uses readily available SIP sockets to allow easy transistor swapping. Experiment with different values for a personalized sound - and change it up on a whim. You can also recreate a bunch of popular pre-existing fuzz distortions with it:
Some of the fuzzes you can make after building this layout are the Basic Fuzz Face (with R.G. Keen Mods, Roger Mayer Mods, Fuller Mods), the Vox Tone Bender 5/67, runoffgroove.com's Sili-Faces, fuzzcentral.com's Axis Face Germanium and Silicon, Joe Gagan's Easy Face, Aron Nelson's Hornet, the Gus Fuzz Face, Tim Escobedo's Many Faces, the Boutique Fuzz, and the Miss Piggy.
Guassmarkov's site has some great tutorials on using op-amps and other basic electronic parts. There's a boat-load of schematics, PCB images, and Eagle CAD files on there as well.
Fuzzy logic effects pedal -Link
Related:
Walkman guitar distortion pedal -Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Jan 31, 2008 03:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Music |
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Sports car from canoes
Is your canoe too slow? Just add - one car, duct tape, ladder, ironing board, and copious amounts of dry land - Enjoy!
(WARNING: Do not sit in upside-down canoe)
Sports car from canoes - Link
In the Maker Store:
Art Cars book @ The Maker Store - Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Jan 31, 2008 02:00 PM
DIY Projects, Transportation |
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Etched hobby train signage
From the MAKE Flickr pool:
Toner-transfer and PNP film transfer etching can be used for more than just circuit boards.
Ed Hume shares images of these etched brass signs used to accent his recreation of the Climax 3/4" locomotive. Visit the full photo set to enjoy some maker zen.
Etched hobby train signage - Link
Climax scale locomotive photo set - Link
PNP transfer film @ All Electronics - Link
From the pages of MAKE:
MAKE 09 - page 123 -Link
Printed Circuit Boards. Step-by-step instructions for making your own PCBs at home. MAKE 02 - page 164. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition or get MAKE 02 @ the Maker store.
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Jan 31, 2008 01:30 PM
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1-31-07 Memorial throwie
From The MAKE Flickr Pool:
Kthxema wore this LED throwie/pendant today in support of technological awareness. - Link
Related:
Aqua Teen Hunger Force shuts down Boston - Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Jan 31, 2008 01:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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HTML as sound
Ever wondered how HTML and image data would sound as beat samples?
Bill writes:
I've written a Firefox addon that makes it possible for a monome or arduino to interact with your browser. The url below is a video of me "playing" the raw data in the NYTimes homepage using a monome 40h. The project is called Lily and its a Max/PD style patching language that hooks into the browser and allows you to build multi-media projects (including physical controllers) on top of Firefox.
Each link highlighted actually makes for a nice percussive sound. This makes sense given that many percussive voices are synthesized using noise generators - and web data sounds similarly random to our ears. Awesome project, thanks Bill!
Lily project - Link
Related:
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Jan 31, 2008 12:00 PM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Music, Open source hardware |
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Never forget 1-31-07 memorial kit - assembled (build photos)
I just finished making the excellent "Never forget 1-31-07 memorial kit" from Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories - they did a great job on this unique and fun LED art panel. Complete photo set of the kit here - Link & more details on the kit.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 31, 2008 11:30 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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LED art all over Boston today
This is interesting - it seems that a group of artists have celebrated 1-31-07 in their own way and have created a series of political themed LED art sculptures and (you guessed it) placed them all over Boston. Pictured here, Bush & Bin Laden... Click on through to see more images and if you're in Boston the locations are listed to go on an art tour. Get there before the robots do.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 31, 2008 11:00 AM
Arts |
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Pause button mod makes lazy gamers even lazier
Here's a nice project that shows you how to insert a pause button into your existing Sega Master System console game controller. Simply add a few resistors and a new button that simultaneously pushes the left and right directions at the same time to send a ground signal to a 4071 gate IC. This then grounds the new button and pauses your game. More details at the link below...
Pause Button Mod - Link
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jan 31, 2008 11:00 AM
Gaming |
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The trials of the jet pack
Popular Mechanics has an informative piece on the many trials and tribulations of the fledgling "jet pack" industry, starting with the deceit in the name itself:
Then there's the bad news. First, these jet packs aren't what they seem: Jet-powered devices are in development (and models were tested as early as the '60s), but all models on the verge of availability are, in fact, jet-free and called, officially, rocket belts. Second, while last year there were two commercial rocket-belt manufacturers--Mexico's Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana (TAM) and Colorado-based JetPack International--there are now three: Thunderbolt Aerosystems, based in California, plans to start selling its ThunderPack TP-R2G2 rocket belt to customers this summer. Why is another entry in the fledgling human-flight business bad news? After all, three companies might be just enough to spur the kind of innovation that a healthy niche industry needs.Well, that's the problem with so-called jet packs: everything...
[BTW: Here's a piece I did on the original Bell Rocket Belt many moons ago.]
The Inside Story of When Jet Packs Really Are Coming [via] Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Jan 31, 2008 11:00 AM
Flying, Science |
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1-31-07 LED display--soon to be a Make article
Dhananjay V. Gadre, author of the Kinetic Remote Control article from Make 12, has posted a teaser video of a project he's working on for an upcoming issue of Make. Look for it in an upcoming issue!
Check out Dhananjay's Kinetic Remote Control article in Make Volume 12 -- Digital Edition subscribers can read it here.
Posted by Brian Jepson |
Jan 31, 2008 10:35 AM
Electronics |
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Remembering 1-31-07
Last year around this time of the morning I was getting calls and emails from people asking "why did MAKE put LED sculptures all over Boston??? CNN says you did!!" it turned out that we (MAKE) had written about LED art projects on MAKE and when CNN Googled (or Ask Jeeves'd) they assumed it was us. It wasn't, and eventually the city of Boston was shut down because of an advertising campaign which used LED panels that looked like the cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I've rounded up all the coverage from last year here - it's interesting to read the comments and questions brought up. Some say the reaction wasn't appropriate, some were surprised how anyone could have thought the simple project could have been considered so dangerous - others wanted to give the guys who did this the death penalty (or worse). Post your thoughts in the comments.
One year later-- Today we have MAKE NYC meeting and I'm building a kit from Evil Mad Scientists, an LED panel that will be displayed in my office. I think this date for many people represents a chance to show that electronics can be art, not something to be feared or immediately considered a "hoax device" - it's up to us to show how great electronics can be and be responsible.
Boston Mooninite story as it happened last year on MAKE - Link.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force shuts down Boston - Link.
Mooninite-inspired LED projects - Link.
HOW TO - Make a LED T-shirt - Link.
Pocket Ignignokt - Make your own Mooninites - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 31, 2008 10:30 AM
Arts, Culture jamming, Events |
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Pocket Electronics - MIDI controllers, including the MIDI gun!
Check out the great gallery of projects that used this MIDI controller kit -
Pocket Electronic (abbreviation: "PE" in the following) is an universal electronics DIY kit to built your own MIDI control box. Up to 16 controlling elements can be connected to PE transmitting 16 different MIDI messages on different (or even the same) MIDI channels.Pocket Electronics- Link.Essentially it contains the electronics core of Pocket Control resp. Pocket Fader but without the 16 controls (i.e. without rotary potentiometers resp. faders).
Instead of this PE is used to connect up to 16 controlling elements (e.g. rotary potentiometers, fader/slider potentiometer, touch switches, toggle switches, foot switches, foot controllers). The controlling elements are not included but have to be added by the customer. The MIDI data range is 0...127 with 7 bit resolution.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 31, 2008 10:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Music |
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Web-based AVR interface for the non-wireless crowd
Here's a how-to on building a networked AVR interface called "the beast". Nevermind the tangle of wires in the picture, I'm sure they are working on a wireless version as well..
Web-based AVR Interface - Link
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Jan 31, 2008 10:00 AM
Arduino |
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The Slåttberg - Linux iPod'ed and cranked Norwegian music
Here's a preview of a custom built musical instrument by Espen Sommer Eide, artist and member of Alog and Phonophani. The Slåttberg will premiere at the Borealis Festival for contemporary music Bergen, Norway late february 2008 - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jan 31, 2008 09:00 AM
iPod, Music |
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Phillip Torrone
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Tel: 707-827-7311
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Sound Maker
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Not so lazy Sunday... Weekend Project - Ultimate LED fan sign
There's still time to start making or just watch this week's Weekend Project: Ultimate LED Fan Sign. You can view the video here, grab the PDF here and subscribe in iTunes to get all our Weekend Projects and PDFs...
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