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Archive: Kits
May 8, 2008
USB Boarduino
Love your Boarduino but hate that FTDI cable? Ladyada to the rescue again, with a new kit: a USB Boarduino kit, with the FTDI chip (surface mount) and USB port pre-soldered and tested for kit-assembling ease!
Related:
Boarduino - Breadboard-compatible Arduino clone
Posted by Becky Stern |
May 8, 2008 07:00 PM
Arduino, Electronics, Kits |
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May 7, 2008
Peggy 2.0 released
Our pals over at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories have released version 2.0 of their awesome Peggy LED pegboard display kit. I had the pleasure of seeing this thing in action at last week's Maker Faire. I want.
...Peggy 2.0 still does the same darn thing: it provides efficient power to a 25 x 25 array of LED locations. Peggy is designed to takes some of the sting, complexity, and mess out of playing with LEDs. It's a versatile and powerful light-emitting pegboard that lets you efficiently drive hundreds of LEDs in whatever configuration you like, without so much as calculating a single load resistor. You can install anywhere from one to 625 LEDs, and Peggy will light them up for you ... The biggest change is that the Peggy 2.0 hardware now supports simple animation capability with individually addressable LED locations. Besides the microcontroller, there are now four support chips that help to drive the rows and columns of the display. Now, we're not talking live video feeds or long movies here (speed and memory considerations will spoil that party), but you might be surprised how much you can do with a little AVR microcontroller.
Related:
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
May 7, 2008 11:00 AM
Arduino, Electronics, Kits, Open source hardware |
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First person RC flying kit
Jay writes in about his "First person RC flying kit".
PilotView FPV is our entry into the growing field for real time RC video. Everything you need is in one box and ready to do... All input appreciated!
Related:
Virtual pilot video rig for R/C plane.
First-Person View hobby site.
Virtual pilot video rig for R/C plane.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
May 7, 2008 07:00 AM
Kits |
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May 5, 2008
New Tengu clone in a PCB version
This Tengu clone (Tengu is a toy created by artist / designer Crispin Jones that responds to sound from your computer and makes appropriate facial expressions based on the output) uses a custom-designed PCB with some pretty detailed instructions on how to build your own at the link below.
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
May 5, 2008 07:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Kits |
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May 3, 2008
Arduino pocket piano in action
I just got a firsthand look at the Arduino Pocket Piano from Critter & Guitari. Looks like much future fun - expect to see more on it soon.
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
May 3, 2008 02:00 PM
Arduino, Kits |
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May 1, 2008
Battery powered paper horse
This papercraft horse kit is motorized for some very realistic movement - cool stuff. (the Cross Eye 3D image above is just fun to look at.) - Battery Powered Kinetic Horse [Thanks, Keener2u!]
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
May 1, 2008 01:00 PM
Kits |
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April 26, 2008
Noise Toy-in-a-box
Every good instrument deserves an appropriately cool enclosure. After building the Loud Objects Noise Toy kit, I decided to case it up with some added flare.
Read on for more pics & info.
Read full storyPosted by Collin Cunningham |
Apr 26, 2008 10:00 PM
Kits, Music |
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April 24, 2008
Game of Life kits - back in stock! Blinky fun cellular automata
The MAKE Game of Life kits are back!
In 1970, John Conway came up with a 1-player game called Game of Life. The Game of Life is a mathematical game that simulates 'colonies' that grow or die based on how crowded or lonely they are and is known for the way it creates a beautiful organic display out of randomness.
Here is a design for a simple electronic project that plays Conway's Game of Life. Make one kit and keep it on your desk, or attach multiple kit modules together to create a large display.
Originally created by Dropout Design, this revision adds a few extra features. You can build the boards from the schematic and open source firmware, or buy full kits. The kit is very easy to make and an excellent first electronics project. It is perfect for workshops since at the end everyone can connect their completed module together.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Apr 24, 2008 10:00 AM
Electronics, Kits |
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April 18, 2008
HOW TO - build the Noise Toy
The Noise Toy kit by Loud Objects is an easy build that delivers some impressive bit-bleeping goodness. After some simple soldering, you've got an excellent little synth-noise generator that can double as a programmable experimenter's board - great for those interested in microcontroller sound synthesis.
Next week, we'll go into more detail regarding such programming hackery - until then, onto the build!
Update: Sound samples added!
Read full storyPosted by Collin Cunningham |
Apr 18, 2008 01:00 PM
Kits |
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April 16, 2008
Ponoko 10 day challenge - puzzles
Nat @ CRAFT writes:
Ponoko has a new 10 Day Design Challenge -- this time on Puzzles! Create an intriguing and entertaining puzzle on a laser cutter within the next 10 days. Up to $5,000 in prizes are up for grabs! Photo above is by jared who created an edition of 100 puzzle kits. Find out more on the rules and how to enter at the Ponoko Blog.
Posted by Becky Stern |
Apr 16, 2008 07:00 PM
Arts, Computers, Crafts, Kits, Toys and Games |
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April 2, 2008
Daisy underground
From the MAKE Flickr photo pool
Member Mchaceortiz built the Daisy MP3 player - London Underground edition. Nice job - mind the gap!
When a son or daughter asks for a new MP3 player, you can always chime in, "In my day we built our own MP3 players - soldering both ways, uphill! . . . Oh hey we can do make our own!"
Related:
MAKE Daisy open source MP3 player reviewed
In the Maker store:
Daisy MP3 Player
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Apr 2, 2008 05:00 AM
Kits |
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March 31, 2008
Arduino pocket piano synth - coming soon!
Coming soon to the Maker store - The Pocket Piano Arduino Shield, from Critter and Guitari -
This is a board for making the Arduino into a portable stand alone music synthesizer. It plugs directly into the Arduino board and provides 25 multiplexed keys (2 full octaves), 4 pots, status LED, reset switch, digital to analog converter IC, and a RCA audio jack. The Arduino board with its powerful AVR processor is more than adequate for a wide range of sound synthesis techniques. We have experimented with simple additive / wave-table synthesis, frequency modulation, ring modulation, sampling, polyphony, various arpeggiators. The whole thing can be powered over the Arduino's USB port for convenient experimenting.So very awesome - start planning that cool enclosure design, we'll keep you posted as to availability.
Related:
Arduinosynth alpha
In the Maker store:
"Critter & Guitari" Cellular Automata Video Synthesizer Kit
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Mar 31, 2008 03:20 PM
Kits, MAKE Store |
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March 28, 2008
New @ Maker store - LED Camera Light Kit
Great DIY kit for those who tire of ducking overhead lights to get those close-up shots -
Have you ever tried taking video using your digital camera but never seem to have enough light? Does your camera have trouble focusing in the dark? LEDs are cheap and so are resistors, so why not make your own LED Camera Light? With this kit from ProdMod you will transform a simple battery holder into a fully functional LED Camera Light that you can attach to your digital, film or video camera. It runs on 3 AAA batteries and lasts over 12 hours. It's so slim you can slip it into your pocket or purse and use it as a wide angle flashlight.'Some drilling implied' with this one, so be sure to have dremel/etc at the ready - ProdMod LED Camera Light Kit v1.1
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Mar 28, 2008 02:30 PM
Kits, MAKE Store |
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March 26, 2008
Only @ the MAKE store - Edison-Style cup phonograph kit
New @ the MAKE store - Edison-Style cup phonograph kit - From Gakken's Sophisticated Science Kit for Adults, this replica kit uses the same technology that Thomas Edison used, replacing Edison's waxed pipe and stylus, the kit uses a plastic cup and a needle, but the end results are the same! You record your own voice on a plastic cup -- and play it back! Here's how it works, your voice vibrates the air minutely when it gets into the horn. Then the vibration is conducted to the needle and is translated into a wavy movement of the needle and carves a groove onto the cup.
When replaying, the reverse is true, the waves of the carved groove vibrate the needle and the vibration is conducted to the horn and the sound is produced from the horn. Make is proud to be the exclusive distributor in North America for these brilliant kits. We only a few, get one now!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Mar 26, 2008 09:00 AM
Announcements, Kits, Retro |
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Lifelites - lights for LEGO
Lifelites - tiny lights for LEGO models via Boing Boing Gadgets. Here's what the founder has to say about them...
Hi, I'm Rob and I'm addicted to LEGO® products, little blinking lights, and caffeine. It all started back around, oh, when I was 3, but let's fast forward a bit shall we?In 2002 I was making headlines in the AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) world when I started putting LEDs inside little LEGO people called minifigs. I began simple and started honing my skills to become more advanced and more skilled in putting smaller lights in more places. As my skills advanced I added more components and more modifications to these LEGO minifigs and eventually opened Brickmodder Labs.
Never satisfied with my own work, I pushed forward until one day I learned about microchips and what they could do in very small sizes (thank you John Barnes). This led me on a four year quest to invent the perfect modular lighting system that could be used for lighting small scale models, model railroads, and of course, LEGO models. Sometime around year three, I stumbled upon Stuart Guarnieri, who programs microchips and also loves that little plastic brick and the rest is history.
We opened up a secondary website (LifeLites Products) and debuted our first generation eLite way back in July 2007. In March 2008 we debuted our second generation eLite kits that are compatible with the new line of Power Functions products.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Mar 26, 2008 06:00 AM
Kits, LEGO |
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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).
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Mar 26, 2008 03:00 AM
Altoids and tin cases, DIY Projects, Electronics, Kits, Something I want to learn to do... |
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March 25, 2008
DIY music box
Dug points out a cool mechanical music box over @ ThinkGeek -
This music box kit works like a miniature player piano. There are no pins, but a strip of paper, which you punch yourself. You can replicate your favorite tunes or compose new ones.Could be a fun project to build a classic-looking enclosure for.
In the Maker store:
New Edison-Style Cup Phonograph Kit
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Mar 25, 2008 04:00 PM
Kits |
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March 19, 2008
Vacuum tube radio kit
Ok gang, the Gakken kits from Japan are going quick, here's the next one we're releasing! The vacuum tube radio kit - From Gakken's Sophisticated Science Kit for Adults, this great kit allows you to put together a real, functional, vacuum-tube radio! Includes a pin straightener for the vacuum tubes, a testing microphone so you can make sure everything is hooked up correctly to produce sounds, rubber feet on the fiber board to minimize "howling," a variable condenser to allow for finer tuning, a recreation of 60-year-old circuits, and a more powerful transformer for better volume and sound quality. Runs on five 9V batteries and one "C" battery (batteries not included). Tubes are 100% functional NOS tubes. Make is proud to be the exclusive distributor in North America for these brilliant kits! Here's a build video to check out from 2006 (not ours, but the same kit).
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Mar 19, 2008 12:00 AM
DIY Projects, Kits, MAKE Store |
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March 17, 2008
Stirling engine kit - from Japan, now @ MAKE
Hey Makers, remember when MAKE visited Japan in late 2007? Well, we did and one of the goals was to bring back some amazing kits for our Maker store, and we did!
From Gakken's Sophisticated Science Kit for Adults, the Stirling Engine kit is as majestic as a piece of art, and is used to understand the basics of thermodynamics. You can try three different experiments: the generator, the fan, and the car. The kit takes about three hours to assemble and no additional special tools are needed. Make is proud to be the exclusive distributor in North America for these brilliant kits - We only have a few of these, get one now! Stirling Engine kit & more kits from Gakken @ the Maker store.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Mar 17, 2008 09:30 AM
Kits |
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March 14, 2008
PIR camera
Here's an interesting kit for a PIR sensor controlled camera. Though with only a 640x480 CMOS view, you may want a higher resolution to identify stealthy intruders -
When the sensor detects movement in a room it will take a burst of 10 photos with the digital camera. Each photo is taken at 0.5sec interval. After the 10 photos, the camera waits 3 seconds for further movement and if it is detected, the process is repeated until 80 photos are taken.Could be fun to keep in the fridge! - [via] Link
The photos can then be downloaded to your PC (via the USB connection on the board) for viewing.
Related:
HOW TO - Make a "Witness camera" - Link
In the Maker store:
High-Speed Photography kit - Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Mar 14, 2008 02:12 PM
Imaging, Kits, Photography |
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| Comments (1)
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Phillip Torrone
Senior Editor
Tel: 707-827-7311
Gareth Branwyn
Robot Maker
Kip Kay
Video Maker
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Senior Editor
CRAFT
Becky Stern
Culture jammer
Collin Cunningham
Sound Maker
Marc de Vinck
CNC Maker
Current Podcast
The Best of Maker Faire 2008
Check out all the fun and excitement at this year's Maker Faire in San Mateo, California. People from all over the world came to experience this amazing event. Take a look at some of the highlights and make plans...
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