When I shoot concerts, I often record audio off camera with a portable recorder. I needed a way to attach the recorder to the stand when I use a mic on top of a light stand. This bracket is made out of PVC pipe fitting, and will clamp onto the stand. If I extend the stand to get the mic 6' up, the recorder can still be lower so I can check settings easily.

Read more about the DIY: Stand clamp for portable recorder

The fourth day of 7 in 7 at ITP revealed Seasonal Salad Dress, Spammed!, Face the Web and "Cheating" Book Cover. Click on a picture to read about each one-day project in the 7 in 7 blog.

Days: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Instructables user avik writes:

I got my first Vespa about a year ago and have loved tooling around New York on it. From day one though I wanted to be able to listen to my iPod as I zip around but the idea of riding with headphones on in all that trafiic seems crazy. When I read on a Vespa forum that there is a secret compartment behind the two knee pads that are above the glove box I saw the opportunity to do a really cool mod to my scooter.

This instructable covers circuit design, custom 3D modeling, and modding existing components, all in order to tote some tunes on your ride.

Well, it won't win any awards for high-fidelity (or even middle-fidelity), but this Instructable, which turns a Hallmark audio greeting card and a mini cereal box into an iPod speaker, might be a fun kids project.

Make an iPod Speaker from a Hallmark Music Card

Adding a mobile interface to systems that traditionally required a user to be sitting at their desk will open up many new opportunities. The new touch screen interface will also change how we interact with those systems, creating all new ways to use technology.

As an example, traditional surveillance systems use a joystick or mouse to control camera positioning. With the iPhone, the user has the potential of a much more intuitive interface to drag the camera around and zoom in on things by pinching the picture.

via - tuaw - iPhone controlling surveillance equipment

This prototype digital radio, called "Olinda" uses modular hardware that is customizable for each user. The interesting aspect of the project is that it has social networking built in, showing exactly what your friends are listening to, similar to the way that iChat on the Mac lets you put your current iTunes song into your status line.

Olinda Construction, [via]

Packing up for Maker Faire, I was debating whether to bring my old iPod as a back-up to my iPhone. That got me thinking about ways I might make use of my iPod besides just insuring music and address book redundancy. On TravelHacker, I found this round-up of 75+ tutorials on everything from turning it into a guitar tuner to using it as a universal remote, to an ebook reader, to turning it into money (ah, as in selling it...).

How to: Turn Your iPod Into Anything (75+ Tutorials)

In this Instructable, the author shows how he put modern haedphones into a Soviet-era SHZ-84 flight helmet.

Hacking a SHZ-84 Soviet aviation helmet

Finally on-the-go zen for today's busy traveller, the Buddha Machine from FM3 plays nine different drones successively, with lengths ranging from 2 - 42 seconds long -

The machine has its own built-in speaker, in case one would like to fill a room with the drones, but there is also a headphone jack for more personal meditative experiences. There's a switch on the side that allows for traversal of the tracks, and a DC jack (though an adapter is not included) for those who would like the Buddha Machine experience be truly endless.

Related:

Buddha statue made from pills

Phone book Buddha

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

Porkshank's Dieselpunk Headphone Mod - Link

Related:

• The Ambiance Enhancer (retro MP3 player) - Link

Here's a quick how-to on creating a composite video display from a cheap Cyberhome DVD player. There's even instructions on where to tap the circuit for audio playback. [via]-Link

Too bad some of the PCB images are so blurry - if only the author hacked his camera into taking macro shots . . .

Do-It-Yourself Macro lens -Link

VideoNow Color Mod Uncut Cdr [Thanks, Craniac!] - Link

This serene little pocket amp circuit was submitted by MAKE Flickr pool member Abie Ringman.
The Mint-Tin/CMoy headphone amplifier costs around $20 to make and therefore is a very attractive alternative to similar commercial amps which can run upwards of $100. Get more info on this popular project in MAKE Volume 4.

Pocket amp circuit on Flickr - Link

From the pages of MAKE:

Mint-Tin Amp MAKE 04 - page 141. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition or get MAKE 04 @ the Maker store.

Related:

RC4560-based headphone amplifier - Link

The Beat Case is a portable audio system built to help the Palestinian rappers Dam and PR, here for the movie Slingshot Hip Hop, perform around Park CIty. The Beat Case includes a microphone and line level inputs, is battery powered, and all fits inside a Pelican case. An Instructable for the Beat Case will be coming soon. You can see more photos and hijinks at the Graffiti Research Lab web site. - Link

I bought a pair of vintage Cannonball Empire headphones off Ebay and I disassembled and gutted them. I then transplanted the working parts of a Sony MDR-006 (that I randomly found on the ground at a bus stop 2 days ago!) into them, and voila! Cool looking 'old' headphones that work just fine with my MP3 player ^ _ ^

figuring out how to get the speakers into the Cannonballs was not easy. I actually ruined the prototype trying to do it in an overly fancy way with a different pair of Sony headphones.

So then I decided I needed some way to get my MP3 player to match my steampunk daily wear.

First I hand sewed a little cover for the MP3 player and attached the brown leather protection pad to it. Then I took a raw sheet of Brass and cut out the form, bending it into shape carefully and adding the lynch pins and strapping last. I wanted to be able to wear this on my jacket as well, so I created a little latch on the left arm of my jacket so it can be put on and off easily.

Voila! Retrofuture goodness...

The Ambiance Enhancer - Link

Related:

• Steampunky goodness on Make: Blog - Link

Project: Wired to wireless headphones - Link

Related:

• Bluetooth stereo headphone conversion - Link
• HOW TO - Headphone Hack - Link
• ShufflePhones - DIY iPod Shuffle II headphones - Link

Really cool custom built digital camera based 3D stereoscopy device made by one of our Scrapyard Challenge workshop participants. Update: This is the work of James G. Watt - check out his website here: www.clockworkrobot.com and a video of our workshop taken with the camera here.

The Ridiculously Clever Dock - Link

Op-amp headphone amplifier - Link

Related:

• In-line headphone amp - Link
• MAX - headphone amp - Link
• Altoids headphone amp - Link.
• AVR based headphone amp - Link
• Altoids and tin cases Archives - Link

From the pages of MAKE:


Mint-Tin Amp. MAKE 04 page 131. Pocket amplifier punches up headphones. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition or get MAKE 04 @ the Maker store.

iPod nano 3rd Generation - [via] Link
iPod Classic - [via] Link

Little gem - Link
Little Gem Circuit Diagrams - Link

Related:

• Mousey the Junkbot PDF - Link
• Weekend Projects: Mousey The Junkbot - Link
• Mint-Tin Amp PDF - Link

From the pages of MAKE:

Project: The $5 Cracker Box Amplifier. Small box, big sound. Read this article in MAKE: 09: Fringe, Page 104. To get MAKE, subscribe or purchase single volumes. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition!

In-line headphone amplifier - [via] Link

Earbud cord wrapper in 5 minutes or less! - [via] Link

Dorkbot Vienna #3 - Link

There is a solderless way to hack an aux input for the Sounddock.

(1) Go to Wal-mart (or elsewhere) and buy the Griffin Dock Adapter for iPod Shuffle (~$20) and a Belkin Speaker and Headphone splitter (~$4). (The Belkin splitter is needed in order to fit properly over the Shuffle plug on the device, but other cables/adapters might work.)
(2) Remove the existing adapter plate and replace it with the Dock adapter.
(3) Set the switch to speaker. (Very Important!)
(4) Plug in one end of the Belkin adapter and you are ready to go! Any input signal automatically activates the Sounddock. Now you have a fully functional female and male stereo headphone input for your Sounddock.

-->Total cost ~$25 and no soldering required.

Hack A Day - Link
Street Tech Bose SoundDock review - Link

I have a Palm Tungsten E2, which comes with RealPlayer and an earphone jack. The jack works just fine until you put the Tungsten in a Palm hard case. An unmodified case will not close with a pair of earphones plugged into the Palm because there is no hole for the plug to pass through. This situation makes it a bit difficult to put the case in your pocket when your listening to tunes or a podcast. Dremel to the rescue!

Related:

• DIY Shuffle headphones - Link.
• MP3 headphones - Link.
• Shufflephones 1.0 - Old Skool Edition - Link.
• Shuffle Headphones - Link.