Make: Online: Altoids and tin cases Archives

Archive: Altoids and tin cases

June 26, 2009

Altoids tin tacklebox

If fishing is in your weekend plans, you can whip up this quickie Altoids tin tacklebox! It uses an old gift card and some popsicle sticks to make compartments and a stacking tray.

June 15, 2009

Minty kalimba

This Altoids tin electric kalimba appeals to me as a highly portable but still simple musical instrument, and you can plug it into an amp, too! Learn to make your own thanks to Deansrds' tutorial.

March 10, 2009

Mint tin trickle charger

This Instructable shows you how to build a lighter-based 12v battery trickle charger made from a laptop power supply, a LM317T regulator, and an Altoids tin (and some other misc components).

Car Battery Charger from Spare Parts in Mint Tin

January 13, 2009

How-to Tuesday: Maker's Notebook & contest

This week I have 3 modifications of the Maker's Notebook. I started out by adding a small pocket inside the book to keep a pen. Next, I added a snap closure to keep everything secure. Finally, I added a pocket to the back of the book for keeping acetate film to use as overlays for my sketches.

Since I did 3 mods to my Maker's Notebook, I decided it would be cool to give away 3 Maker's Notebooks. All you have to do is post your modified Maker's Notebook in the MAKE Flickr photo pool and tag it "mymakersnotebook". Next Tuesday I will ask everyone at Make to help me pick our favorite 3 modifications. The winners be announced next week and they will receive a new Maker's Notebook to hack up all over again!

Subscribe to the MAKE podcast | Download for iTunes

Good luck, and I'll see you next week with the results!

In the Maker Shed:

Pick up The Maker's Notebook ($19.99) for all your big ideas, diagrams, patterns, etc. Exclusive to the Maker Shed: Sticker sheets and a band closure to customize your book.

January 1, 2009

Minty soldering jig

Bob Hickman, Minty Amp maker, sent us a howto on making a jig for small form factor soldering projects.

I often have to solder up a bunch of PCBs that are the same size, but have a bunch of fiddly components on them.

To save time and frustration, I decided to re-purpose a used chewing gum tin to make a jig so I could solder multiple boards at once and keep my components from moving about.

His hack allows you to place all of the components and then solder them all at once, which is pretty handy even if you're not soldering a bunch of boards at the same time. The trick is to cram a bunch of flame retardant foam inside and close the top cover, sandwiching the components onto the PCB. You can then move things around as you please and your hands are free to work the solder and iron.

Simple Soldering Jig

December 28, 2008

Reader built fume extractor from the MAKE blog

One of my first builds for the MAKE blog was the mint tin fume extractor. I was hoping someone would make a version and post it on the web, and it finally happened. Thanks for the link Phil, and a big Thank You to Shawn for posting a video of your mint tin fume extractor.

More about a Reader built fume extractor from the MAKE blog

Did you ever make a project from the MAKE blog? If so, send us a link so we can share it with our readers. Thanks!

More:
1 fe_smoke2.jpg
Make a Mint tin fume extractor

December 6, 2008

MAKE Project Tin button box

In one episode of the Make: television show I do an Input >> Arduino >> Output demonstration to explain how the microcontroller reads a button press and plays a light pattern on some LEDs. To keep things clear visually, I mounted the buttons in one MAKE Project Tin, the Arduino in the middle, and the LEDs in another tin. I also used one of these tiny breadboards to wire it up (I ran out of time to solder anything). All hail the humble Altoid tin!

July 24, 2008

Pocket Synths by James Watt

James Watt, maker of the Solar Thereamin I build a while back, has another really cool project. This time he created 2 pocket synthesizers inspired by the Atari Punk Console and a post on the Voices of Saturn Synth kit. I really hope he turns this into a kit like the solar theremin. [Thanks Jim]

Since I appear to have a lot of altoids tins kicking around I wondered what other musical toys could be housed in 'em. The mention of The Voice Of Saturn on the Make blog a few weeks back got me onto the 'atari punk console' so I put one of 'em + power and a clock into one tin and a simple analogue sequencer in another tin and I've got the heart of a modular synth set-up up and running :) My sequencer was inspired also by the voice of Saturn sequencer but I simplified and modified it so it can run in series or parallel so you can have as many sequential steps as you like. Going to add an LFO next and maybe a solar power supply + whatever other nonsense I can think of.

A little more about Pocket Synths by James Watt

July 10, 2008

Lunch box guitar

A link to this was posted in the comments to yesterday's cigar box guitar post, but I thought it was cool enough to get its own item. Be sure to check out the builder's Flickr sets for his cookie tin banjo and his cigar box guitar.

Lunch Box Guitar

June 30, 2008

Cigarette tin "boom" box

Tiny "boom" box, built from a Lucky Strikes tin, an old MP3 player, an LM1877n-9 amp chip, and some garage sale speaks. It's dubbed the "Mobile Oppression Unit." Can it really be THAT loud? Or maybe it's the likely lo-fidelity when cranked that makes it oppressive.

Mobile Oppression Unit

June 16, 2008

Solar Theremin in an Altoids tin

James made another cool project. This time it's a solar powered Theremin powered by the 1381 solar engine. You can buy a kit on his website, but he even included the schematics (at the bottom of the site) if you want to go ahead and make one from scratch. Thanks James!

Read more about a Solar Theremin in an Altoids tin

Related:

An amazing Solar dragonfly

June 3, 2008

YBox2 Kit - DIY Set-top box

Ybox T
Caweather T
Ytwitter T
I had a chance to tinker around with the new kit available from Adafruit Industries the YBox2 Kit - DIY Set-top box - very fun, you can make your own stand alone Twitter viewer, weather widgets and more - and of course, fits inside an Altoids tin.

The YBox2 is a DIY networked set-top box. Connect it to your TV and you can design customized content to be delivered direct from the Internet.
This project is great for people who want a new platform to experiment with. The video and Internet cores are ready to go and easy to work with. We have some example widgets that demonstrate the YBox2's capability, and the whole project is open source so you can start hacking your own. If you've ever been curious about the Parallax Propeller chip, the YBox2 is a perky little platform with tons of accessories.

The YBox was first invented by Uncommon Projects, as part of Yahoo Hack day. Robert Quattlebaum is the main designer behind the YBox2.

Built using the new Parallax Propeller chip - 8 cores, 32KB of RAM running at 80MHz!
Works with any NTSC or PAL TV that has composite (RCA) input
Works with any network router that supports DHCP, just plug in an Ethernet cable and you're ready to go
Kit comes with an Internet-enabled bootloader, so you can upload new programs directly from your computer, without a special cable or prop-plug (Propeller chip programmer)
IR receiver for using a TV remote control
Full color status LED
Piezo Buzzer for generating beeps, alarms, and tones
Pushbutton for input
Lots of examples programs to try out
Fits in an altoids tin!

April 17, 2008

Arduino in an Altoids tin

TriggerDog has been doing the projects in Making Things Talk, and came up with a great way to take the Arduino on the go:

Small easy, and awfully unorigional. But, useful and free. Now I can bring my arduino with me in my laptop bag and goof around with it at lunch time at work or wherever. I am thinking I would put a breadboard in another tin of some sort and put a battery pack inside to run any projects I might feel inclined to proto.

Arduino + Altoids Tin

Related:
9780596510510 Lrg

April 2, 2008

How to: Candy tin fume extractor

1 fe_smoke2.jpg
A fume extractor uses an activated carbon filter and fan to remove the smoke, and noxious fumes, created from soldering. The average price of a small hobby version is about $100, this one will run you about $10. This fume extractor will not be as effective as a larger one, but it is better than nothing, and extremely portable. Remember, always work in a well-ventilated area.

Parts you need:

(1) 7812 - Voltage regulator
(1) Candy tin
(1) Switch
(1) 40 mm case fan
(2) 9-Volt batteries
(2) "Cheap" 9V battery connectors (see step 2 & 3)
(2) Pieces of screen
(1) Piece of activated carbon filter
Some heat shrink tubing
A few inches of Wire
Rosin core solder
Miscellaneous screws and washers
Paint (optional)

Tools you need:

Soldering iron
Dremel with cutoff wheel
Drill & small drill-bits
Fine tip marker
Various Screwdrivers
Wire cutters
Safety glasses

Step 1 : Build the circuit

I decided that that a quick mock-up might be a good idea. I am glad I did. At first, I thought that running the case fan off of just (1) 9-Volt would provide adequate power. In the end I decided that 12 volts "sucked" better, and in this case it's a good thing.

The final circuit uses a simple switch, (2) 9 volt batteries, a 40mm case fan, and a 7812 voltage regulator. The 7812 takes voltage from the (2) 9-Volts that are wired in series and steps the voltage down from 18-Volts to 12-Volts, which is what the fan requires.

Step 2 : Solder components
3 fe_soldering.jpg
Notice the battery connectors; they are the flexible vinyl version, not the hard plastic type. This allows them to easily fit in the case.
2 fe_soldered_up.jpg
This is a very simple circuit. Solder it according to the diagram, making sure to attach the component leads to the 7812 properly. Don't forget to use heat shrink tubing on the connections, this is in a metal box.....metal conducts electricity!

Step 3 : Make sure it all fits
4 fe_allfits.jpg
Everything can be stuffed into the tin, but make sure you use the cheap kind of 9 volt connectors. The cheap ones are the kind made of vinyl, not rigid plastic. The difference in thickness is minimal, but it is enough to stop you from putting both 9 volts in the case.

Read full story

March 26, 2008

Making the RuntyBoost

The MintyBoost has been a very popular project here at MAKE, most likely because it is a perfect kit for anyone interested in learning to solder or electronics. It also happens to be very useful for anyone who owns an iPod or any type of MP3 player that is charged via USB. This is my little how-to, with a few extra twists.

The things you need:

MintyBoost kit - available at the MAKE store
Soldering Iron
Rosin core solder
Altoids tin or any other small tin - available in the MAKE store

The things you don't need, but are great to have:

Arms of Assistance - Make you own
Helping hands for holding your parts
Fume extractor

This is not a detailed step-by-step build of the MintyBoost, but rather it's a how-I-made-one, and what I learned. If you buy the MintyBoost kit, make sure to check out the LadyAda website for the complete, and very detailed, step-by-step build instructions.

Step 1 : Take inventory

Spread out all the parts and make sure everything is there, and familiarize yourself with the parts. You can compare them to the parts list on the LadyAda website.

Step 2 : Parts placement

I chose to place, and solder, a lot of the components all at once. If you are new to soldering, or a bit rusty, you may want to only tackle a few parts at a time. I put everything, except the resistors and the IC holder, in and bent the wires so they would stay in place while soldering. Make sure you follow the polarity of the electrolytic capacitors (C2) and (C3) and the diode (D1).

Read full story

March 25, 2008

HOW TO - Altoids Tin Watercolors

Jean-Pierre Martineau made an instructable for making a pocket-sized watercolor set from an Altoids tin and some Fimo clay. Portable and practical!

March 24, 2008

Altoids tin guitar

Altoids Tin Guitar

March 10, 2008

The Minthesizer

The Minthesizer is a low voltage, low power, analog synthesizer. The board is almost entirely made from surface-mount components, so you better have a steady soldering hand if you try and make one for yourself. Check out the link for more information about the build, including the schematics. - Link

Related:

Matchbox Synthesizer - Link

February 25, 2008

Touchkeyer on Altoids-based HF radio

Check out this nifty touchkeyer (for CW or "continuous wave" Morse code) ham operator Jonathan Haynes ( KC7FYS) built into his Altoids-housed ATS-3b high-frequency CW radio transceiver:

I put whiteboard marker on my fingers and pressed them on a piece of paper to get this footprint. The idea of sculpting them from PCB material came to me when I was trying to sleep. Ha ha. Next time I'll use thicker copper with a thicker substrate.

Nice work on the whole project. The labels and green metalflake are swanky.

Touchkeyer Ergometrics - Link

January 27, 2008

Ybox 2 - Networked set-top box in an Altoids tin

Pic-1142-Medium
Pic-1135-Medium
Tarikh and Josh from Uncommon Projects write in about the new Ybox 2 (The ybox2 is the second-generation networked set-top box in an Altoids tin)

Hello friends and YBox enthusiasts! We have some exciting news to share. There is a new YBox on the block--the YBox 2!

The YBox made its debut as a quick and dirty prototype for Yahoo's first public Hackday. Then it reappeared as a kit, a series of workshops and a giveaway at last year's SF Maker's Faire. We had a great time sharing the project with folks, and so it's with real glee that we announce the YBox 2.

It was developed by Robert Quattlebaum a developer and classmate from the SF sessions. He's made a number of smart refinements to the project, including getting the cost down by replacing the Xport. Our secret (and admittedly improbable) goal was always to get this thing down to $10, and he managed to shave $50 off the cost with version 2! But there's more than just cost, including a speaker, a status light and countless tweaks. All in all a really exciting evolution. Congrats Robert.

Some of you have written to ask about new kits or to wonder why the wiki has been terrorized with spam. The kits are gone and we don't have time to make more. The good news is that the project continues and you can contact Robert if you'd like to purchase a new board or to download the board files and create your own Ybox 2. We'll work on getting the wiki cleaned up and we send a special thanks to all the folks who have put in countless hours scouring it.

OK that's it for now, happy hacking!

Ybox 2 - Networked set-top box in an Altoids tin - Link.

Related:

Ybox[1]
YBox in 60 Seconds - Link.