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Archive: DIY Projects
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February 15, 2008
HOW TO - Make a physical email notifier
A glowing plastic cube that lights up when you have mail in your Gmail inbox, via a Boarduino MCU:
The following guide is deliberately fairly high-level, because the exact details will vary depending on your operating system and particular hardware setup. I did this with my Mac, but hopefully there'll be enough information here for you make it work on your system, perhaps with a little Googling.If you don't happen to have a glowing cube lying around, you can modify this to work with almost any output device you could think of, from a simple LED, or a buzzer, to something far more clever like moving a servo (Gmail Notifier Robot, anyone?)
How to make a Physical Gmail Notifier - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Feb 15, 2008 11:00 AM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Electronics |
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| Comments (5)
Simulated woodgrain for metal boxes
An anonymous reader pointed out this strategy for enclosure design -
This instructable shows how to prepare a metal box using a buffing technique that can simulate wood grain, birdseye or other finishes. The technique gives dimension to the box that adds visual depth to the surface.A good approach to keep in mind when trying to make that new effects pedal stand out from the herd. -Link
Related:
Build Your Guitar Effects Clone -Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Feb 15, 2008 10:00 AM
DIY Projects |
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Box organ + breath controller
From the MAKE Flickr pool
Ranjit returns with another compelling artifact on red, this time reusing a box formerly occupied by some smoked fish -
The keyboard is copper tape cut to shape. It's tuned (approximately) to the twelve tone Just scale based on 2's, 3's, and 5's. When the little red plug is plugged into the "No breath" jack, the thing plays at full volume without the breath controller.Hmm, I wonder if he considered naming it "Fish-Breath"? Hit up Flickr for further details and a sound sample -Link
Related:
HOW TO - Build an electric organ -Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Feb 15, 2008 05:00 AM
DIY Projects, Music |
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USB Memory Pill
From the MAKE Flickr pool
Here's another creative flash drive housing from Divine Harvester using a metal pill travel container -Link
Related:
USB Flash Cassette Mod -Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Feb 15, 2008 04:00 AM
Computers, DIY Projects |
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| Comments (4)
How to: SMT Desoldering Station
SMT desoldering stations can be very expensive. So what are you suppose to do? Make your own, and that is exactly what Alfredo did with surprisingly good results. For those of you that are wondering, YES, that is a soda bottle in there! Now that's recycling!
Working with SMTs (surface mount technology components) is quite difficult without an smt hot air pencil. The prices of smt stations are too high, so I decided to build it by my own. The result is very impressive. Anyone with basics electronics can try to build it, it's made with common materials.
Make your own desoldering station - Link
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Feb 15, 2008 02:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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DIY Simple oil lamp
This is a really simple oil lamp made from a metal spacer and some rolled up toilet paper. This would be a great emergency light while camping.
This is a simple but very sweet project. I was playing about with oil and wicks on new years eve 2006 and came up with this idea for metal candles that can be re-used, and burn ordinary cooking oil or other suitable fuel like liquid paraffin. It basically involves an easy to roll paper wick and a sleeve that holds it together and allows it to wick the oil up while retaining a constant burning area.
Simple and sweet oil lamp - Link
Related:
Candles from scratch, CRAFT Vol. 04, page 124 - Link
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Feb 15, 2008 01:00 AM
DIY Projects |
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February 14, 2008
HOW TO - Build a flashing heart
Latest Gadget Freak from Design News, a special Vday one! -
Looking for cool way of wowing that special someone on Valentines Day/birthday/whatever? Build her a flashing heart made from LEDs driven by a programmable microcontroller. Les' gadget is simple to build and made from easily-obtainable parts. The unique thing about this design is the LEDs are in an X-Y matrix so each LED is addressable. This allows an unlimited combination of displayed patterns for the heart — not like some other designs out there! Source code and schematics are all available here and if you're not into hand wiring, even the PCB can be had for a small fee. Diamonds may be a girl's best friend but gadgets are forever.HOW TO - Build a flashing heart - Link & how-to.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 14, 2008 01:35 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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Lamp facelift
Rob sent in the latest gadget freak, he writes -
Seeing great potential in a normal, off-the-shelf product, Pete Griffiths designed a circuit he popped into the lamp to give it a new lease of life. His design combines a PIC and three constant current buck converters to create the RGB LED controller. This controller drives the high power 350mA LEDs using PWM to control the LED brightness. By driving the red, green and blue LEDs with varying pulse widths the controller can generate up to 16 million colours using fades, strobe and static effects. Who says you can't give the humble lamp a nip and tuck?Lamp facelift - Link & RGB LED PWM driver.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 14, 2008 09:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Gadgets |
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The man who unboiled an egg
Fascinating story about Hervé This, cooking scientist -
He can measure the pressure inside a chip and has worked out how to produce 24 litres of mayonnaise from a single egg...The man who unboiled an egg - Link.His specialism is the science of cooking. For him, every foodstuff is 'a chemical mixture'. 'When aromatic compounds are formed on the surface of a roast,they are the result of a chemical reaction. When mushrooms turn black after being chopped, it is the fruit of a chemical reaction.'
Over the years, his musings on chemical reactions have led to a number of discoveries. He has worked out how to uncook an egg. He has calculated that you can produce 24 litres of mayonnaise with a single yolk. He has invented a Béarnaise sauce by replacing butter with melted chocolate, as well as 'chocolate chantilly' (a form of whipped chocolate prepared in the same way as crème chantilly). He's baked an egg for an hour at 55°C, managing somehow to leave the yolk 'exceptionally smooth and tender'.
Related:
- Food hacking with the Food Jammers - Link.
- Food hacking with Marc Powell - Link.
- Hervé This - Link.
- Hervé This, Food chemist - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 14, 2008 08:00 AM
Crafts, DIY Projects, Science |
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2-channel RF Transmitter
Here is how to make a 2-channel RF transmitter and receiver that works on the 418 MHz frequency. Unlike IR remotes, this one can work through walls and at a greater distance too. It's perfect for closing the garage door or anything else that you are too lazy to get up and do. - Link
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Feb 14, 2008 02:30 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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| Comments (4)
YALBlinkie - (Yet Another LED Blinkie project)
Daqq writes -
I wanted to play with a simple RGB LED, to see how colors would mix, change and stuff. So I build my own LED and "controller". It fades in and out a set of 9 LEDs (3 RGB LEDs) into random values.Yet Another LED Blinkie project - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 14, 2008 12:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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February 13, 2008
Build the handheld "8038 Audio Generator"
The Thomas Henry 8038 Audio Generator device -
The audio generator operates in the the range of exactly 20 Hz to 20 kHz. It features sine, triangle and square wave outputs. The frequency control set consists of a coarse and fine tune arrangement - the coarse control obviously will move the frequency in greater increments, and the fine control allows one to set the frequency exactly at the desired point.Altogether it's a very cool device and handy tool for audio/music use. Check Scott Stites' site for schematic, parts list, and PCB image.
In addition to the front panel frequency controls, the audio generator also accepts an external control voltage in the range of 0 to +12V. An input attenuator is provided to scale this voltage to the desired range of control.
Finally, the schematics include a +/-12V power supply to power the audio generator, so that the audio generator can operate as a completely stand-alone unit.
The designer, Thomas Henry, has written a number of books on the subject of electronic sound synthesis. He has become well known for his ability to push an IC's ability beyond the manufacturer's specifications. When it seems a chip is unable to fully perform a desired function, he begins to experiment - as with the ICL8038 in the Audio Generator:
As it turns out, what the 8038 needed was a good change of diet. Instead of junking out on positive voltage rails, Thomas fed it a steady diet of good old fashioned negative rail. For +V Thomas gave it a nice vitamin enriched ground potential, and for the pin formerly known as ground, a nice fibery -12V. That alone catapaulted the 8038 from mediocrity to true A Number One function generator-hood.He's used similar techniques with the 566 function generator chip, for more info see his book "Making Music with the 566".
Audio Generator build guide -Link
Thomas Henry books on Lulu.net -Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Feb 13, 2008 08:00 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Music |
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Homemade snake game
From the MAKE Flickr pool
Member Cibomahto constructed this charming Arduino snake game complete with screen diffuser and a corrugated bezel. Very DIY-cute and cool, but worth 50 cents a game? . . . . Ok, maybe just one round. -Link
Source code and video on Cibomahto's site -Link
Related:
Snoil - Snake game with Ferrofluid -Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Feb 13, 2008 02:15 PM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Gaming |
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| Comments (1)
DIY Valentine's day projects
We've rounded up some great techy and DIY projects you can make for Valentine's day - My favorite food one is the bleeding heart cupcake... Don't forget you can give MAKE and/or CRAFT and print out the card we included if you're looking to do something last minute - More after the jump!
"Peggy" A light emitting pegboard kit - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 13, 2008 01:30 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Holiday projects |
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| Comments (6)
DIY video camera handle
Sometimes you want to get your camera low to the ground for that great shot. Here is a low cost DIY handle that is really easy to make. Looks like they used the "lock bar" from a Craftsman toolbox? - Link
Related:
HOW TO - Make a cheap $5 camera handlebar mount for a motorcycle - link
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Feb 13, 2008 12:00 PM
DIY Projects |
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| Comments (0)
"Things To Make" by Archibald Williams
Sam writes in -
I found this little gem on gutenberg. there's probably some other stuff of value hidden in the archives, searching for 'craft' gets a number of good results too."Things To Make" by Archibald Williams - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 13, 2008 10:00 AM
DIY Projects, Retro |
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| Comments (2)
Doll house controller
Mark writes -
Presented is a control system for a doll house based on a PIC16F876 microcontroller. The elevator is driven by a DC motor and position is sensed by both a limit switch and optical encoder. The controller also handles control of lights for the dollhouse allowing toggle on/off functions for each pushbutton. Foyer lights are automatically lit when the elevator arrives at a chosen floor and all lights are on an auto shut-off timer which conserves power and lamp life when left unattended.Doll house controller - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 13, 2008 09:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
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| Comments (0)
Rattrap racer
From the MAKE Flickr pool
J.Maz has refined the mousetrap car design and upgraded to a higher gauge rodent altogether -
the motor has been upgraded to a full-sized rat trap, which I drilled pilot holes in directly instead of mounting it to the 6" 1x4. I also added a length of rod to the trap arm to increase the length of the arc and consequently the length of pull. This time I mounted the motor towards the front of the car, which reduces the torque while increasing the pull distance.Check his Flickr page for more details. Good to see revisions/updates made to some of the more classic projects. Thanks for sharing! -Link
In the Maker store:
Mousetrap Powered Cars & Boats -Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Feb 13, 2008 05:00 AM
DIY Projects |
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RSS/photo frame
From the MAKE Flickr pool
Member 007Ben put together a digital photo frame which displays RSS feeds against custom backgrounds. A great use for that old laptop now deemed too slow for active use. Now commenters on Flickr are all asking for a copy of the script he's using with it. -Link
There's a ton of DIY digital frame projects out there - Here's just a couple we've covered here:
Related:
Digital picture frame (from an old laptop) -Link
Cheap 'n easy digital picture frame under $100 -Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Feb 13, 2008 04:00 AM
Computers, DIY Projects, Imaging |
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| Comments (1)
Home automation with the Basic Stamp
Here is how to program a Basic Stamp for use in your home automation projects.
In this article we are programming the basic stamp to trigger a remote switch for your home lights or any other power switching device, like a garage door, fireplace and so on. We are controlling it through the web or the ipod (the ipod also has a web browser)
Home automation with the Basic Stamp - Link
Related:
HOW TO - Build a multimedia home control center - Link
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Feb 13, 2008 03:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics |
Permalink
| Comments (1)
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