Make: Online: Kits Archives

Kits Archive: Kits

November 5, 2009

Deluxe LED Menorah Kit from EMSL

You can get 'em from the Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories webstore. Update: Also available from The Maker Shed.

November 4, 2009

In the Maker Shed: Gennai Hiraga's Spark Generator

Hiraga Gennai (1729-79) was an Edo period Japanese pharmacologist, physician, author, painter, and inventor who is well known for his Erekiteru (electrostatic generator). The Gennai Hiraga's Spark Generator kit by Gakken replicates his early work in creating static charges. Easy to build -- instructions are in Japanese but feature highly detailed assembly pictures (sorry, no English translation at this time).

MAKE is proud to be the exclusive distributor in North America for these brilliant kits from Gakken.

November 1, 2009

In the Maker Shed: Chumby Guts

We still have a few more Chumby guts ready for you to hack, modify, or just make a cool enclosure and enjoy. What's a Chumby? Glad you asked! It's an amazing little piece of technology that lets you get what's best on the web and delivers it right to you on it's 3.5" touch screen LCD. You can play games, check the weather, twitter, news, music, and even watch YouTube videos. All of this is done via you home's wireless Internet connection. Get 'em while you can, we have limited stock and we will not receive any more this year...if ever.

Here's what comes in each kit:

3.5'' LCD (320hx240v 16bpp TFT) with Touch Screen
Texas Instruments TSC2100 Programmable Touchscreen Controller with Stereo DAC
Plastic Front Bezel
Gasket
Aluminum Frame
4 x Screws to attach Aluminum Frame to Front Bezel
350MHz Freescale iMX21 MC94MX21DVKN3 ARM9 controller Motherboard Circuit Card Assembly with Samsung 64MB SDRAM on 32-bit data path and Hynix HY27US 64MB NAND Flash ROM
Kionix KXP74-1050 3-axis accelerometer
Daughtercard Circuit Card Assembly
Three USB 2.0 full speed ports, one internal, two external
Chumbilical Flex Cable from Daughter card CCA to Motherboard CCA
Wifi Riser Circuit Card Assembly
USB Wifi Dongle based on the Xterasys 3135G 802.11g USB Wifi adapter (ralink chipset)
Flex Cable for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
3 x Screws for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
3 x Standoffs for screws for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
2 x 2W StereoSpeakers
4 x Screws for Speaker to Plastic Speaker Holder
Plastic Speaker Holder
Switch for Bend Sensor
Plastic Switch Holder
2 wire cable with 2 pin connector (from Daughterboard CCA to switch)
2 x Screws to Attach Switch to Plastic Switch Holder
12 V DC 1A Power Supply
Built-in microphone

(Note: actual parts may vary slightly due to manufacturing and availability)

October 28, 2009

In the Maker Shed: Danger Shield kit

The Danger Shield kit is a shield for the Arduino micro controller. It's has a variety of fun, and useful components including: 3 linear sliders, pushbuttons, temperature and light sensors, 7 Segment LED, a piezo buzzer, a knock sensor, and more!

October 26, 2009

New in the Maker Shed: ProtoShield for Arduino Kit

The ProtoShield for Arduino kit is an open-source prototyping shield that makes developing new ideas on your Arduino even easier. The shield has plenty of room for attaching a breadboard, DIP components, headers, and more.

October 25, 2009

Maker Shed weekly wrap-up

This week we added a few new products to our lineup. One of our favorites is the Ethernet Shield for Arduino. It's a great way to connect your Arduino (think Twitter) to the web. Also, we added a quick video demo of the Cross Copter EX from Gakken. Are there any kits in the Shed that you would like to see us demo? Let us know in the comments. Thanks!

October 23, 2009

In the Maker Shed: Arduino Ethernet shield

The Arduino Ethernet shield allows an Arduino board to connect to the Internet using the Ethernet library. Connect the shield to your computer or a network hub or router using a standard Ethernet cable (CAT5 or CAT6 with RJ45 connectors).

October 21, 2009

The Drone Lab cometh …

Casper Electronics is currently taking PCB & kit pre-orders for the 4 voice synth/rhythm generator/effects processor beast better known as the Drone Lab. The v2 design sports 25 board-mount pots - good news for those who tire of tedious panel wiring. Knowing the designer (Pete Edwards), I'm guessing this'll be a fun one to mod/hack/bend as well.

Related:

Build a drone synthesizer

October 20, 2009

45 Seconds in the Maker Shed: Gakken Cross Copter EX

The Gakken Cross Copter EX has two contra-rotating rotors, driven by one small electric motor that's connected via a cord to the hand-powered generator. Build one of three different configurations, or try one of your own!

Easy to build -- instructions are in Japanese but feature highly detailed assembly pictures (sorry, no English translation at this time). MAKE is proud to be the exclusive distributor in North America for these brilliant kits from Gakken.

Note: The original video is 45 seconds long....YouTube seemed to add a second just to make us look silly!

October 19, 2009

New in the Maker Shed: Plug-in Breadboard Power Supply 3.3V/5V

This is very simple breadboard power supply kit that takes power from a DC wall wart and outputs a selectable 5V or 3.3V regulated voltage. The .1" headers are mounted on the bottom of the PCB for simple insertion into a breadboard.

October 15, 2009

Custom case for Chumby Guts

My friend Joe Bowers bought a Chumby Guts kit. Step one: get it up and running. Step two: give the poor, naked thing some clothes. Joe designed a case for it and asked me to laser cut it for him. It reminds me of an old television set. This is an early prototype; we plan to refine the design, add some etched graphics, and more. Maybe some rabbit ear antennae?

Clever trick alert: Joe put the Chumby on a scanner and traced the rounded-cornered bezel in CorelDraw to get an exact fit. It pops in there beautifully!

In the Maker Shed:

Chumby Guts

Joe's blog

October 1, 2009

Larson Scanner Kit

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories, pioneers of the Cylon Jack-O-Lantern, just released a new Larson Scanner kit!

Today we're releasing a new open-source project and kit, which is an updated approach to the "Larson Scanner." The Larson scanner is named in honor of Glen A. Larson, the man responsible for producing both the original Battlestar Galactica and Knight Rider television shows, and consists of a set of red LEDs that scan back and forth.

Three years ago, we showed how to make a Cylon Jack-O-Lantern, in what has become one of our all-time most popular tutorials. The circuit for that project was based on a 555 timer, driving a 4017 decade counter, and has 6 pixels of resolution. To create the incandescent fading effect, we added low-pass transistor drivers. We also wrote up a version of that article for the 2007 MAKE Magazine Halloween special, which included a slightly nicer version of that same circuit.

And while it's been popular, we've always had some nagging reservations about it, and in particular its battery life. This year, we decided to do something about it and made a much better version of the Larson Scanner, and so here it is!

The kit is open source and designed to be hackable. Read more about the kit in their announcement.

From MAKE magazine:

DIY HALLOWEEN from MAKE & CRAFT!

DIY HALLOWEEN from the editors of MAKE and CRAFT brings you 40-plus DIY projects for the holiday that's made for makers. From the craftiest costumes to amazing animated props and the latest in computer-controlled haunted house effects.

September 26, 2009

Exorcising Billy Mays with the TV-B-Gone

Last week I was stranded in a waiting room. The old magazines didn't really bug me, but listening to infomercials did. However, what really bothered me the most was when Billy Mays tried to sell me from the beyond the grave. Right then, I made a solemn vow not to endure that sales pitch ever again.

Fortunately for me, Maker Faire Rhode Island was just a few days away. I knew that I'd be able to get my hands on a TV-B-Gone kit and build it at the soldering workshop. Maker Faire RI was a blast, and towards the end of the evening, I settled down with the iron and got to work.

Read full story

September 9, 2009

Drawdio videos!

Two great Drawdio videos from Ars Electronica Festival via leobard & Jay! Kit is available in the Maker Shed too!

September 7, 2009

Inkjet PCB kits

Full Spectrum Engineering is selling a parts kit for printing circuit board etching resists. The kit includes -

Stainless Steel PCB CD Stencil

Special Inkjet PCB Resist Prefilled Inside a Black Refill Cartridge for Epson Artisan 50, Stylus RX580, RX595, RX680, R260, R280, R285, R290, R380

10x Double Sided 3.5"x2.5"x1/32" Copper Clad

Hmm, looks tempting. Be sure to leave a comment if you used it or know of other ways to simplify the process.

September 3, 2009

Pattern kits for Gingery machines?

So here's a random idea I had.

Most readers are probably familiar with Dave Gingery's series of books on building a set of homemade machine tools. The technique, basically, involves building an inexpensive homemade charcoal furnace and crucible for melting aluminum, then using traditional green-sand casting techniques to mold the various machine parts from wooden patterns. Much of the content of Gingery's books details the construction of these patterns.

As I have recently discovered, however, lost-foam casting is a much more accessible metal-casting technique than traditional green-sand. It requires no special flasks, no special sand, and no consideration of parting-line placement in designing patterns. Basically you make your pattern from styrofoam, bury it in sand, and pour hot aluminum into it. The foam vaporizes and diffuses into the sand, and you're left with a perfect aluminum duplicate. The only downside is that the pattern itself is destroyed, so if you screw up the casting or want more than one copy of a part you need a new pattern.

Here's what I'd like to see: Some enterprising soul with a CNC foam cutter could sell kits of the Gingery machine patterns ready-cut in XPS foam.

Then, if you wanted to build the Gingery tools, you wouldn't have to spend a lot of time learning the art of green-sand casting, or building the special tools required, or carpentering on the patterns themselves, most of which will only be used once anyway. You'd just buy a few ounces of pre-cut foam patterns in a kit, bury them in sand, and start pouring hot aluminum right away. Depending on sales volume, it might even be practical to make the foam patterns in conventional molds, the same way styrofoam packaging inserts are produced, at lower cost than CNC machining.

If you're interested, supportive, or (for your own unfathomable reasons) furious, feel free to sound off in the comments.

September 2, 2009

Tactile metronome

Twin Cities makers Adam Wolf and Matthew Beckler have created an interactive metronome kit that lets you tap your own beat directly on the PCB!

The Tactile Metronome is a tap-controlled metronome and "beat looper." "Syncopation machine." "Metronome with an attitude."

You tap the piezo speaker to set the frequency. The display shows the beats per minute, and the two buttons adjust the speed.

"Ehhh." "Boring," you say. Not so fast!

You can tap patterns into it, currently up to 11 beats long. As long as you tap the pattern in three times, it jumps in and continues beeping in that rhythm. The metronome can beep in three different tones, so you can play with more than one at a time.

Kits are available at the duo's web site wayneandlayne.com.

August 31, 2009

Rocketboom visits Adafruit

In this video, Rocketboom Tech correspondent Ellie Rountree visits with Limor at Adafruit!

August 27, 2009

Cool punch-out posable robot kits

I really like these "Metabots" posable mecha kits from EnjoyMobil. They are inexpensive but well-made, and the coolest part is that each of the seven printed designs is also available in an all white "prototype" version so you can decorate it yourself.

August 26, 2009

Möbius strip music box

Ranjit Bhatnagar took one of those punched-strip programmable music box kits, put a half-twist in the strip, and looped it back on itself to make an endlessly-looping Möbius strip music box. The melody plays through once, and then a second time with the ordering of the notes on the scale reversed. An interesting compositional challenge, if nothing else.