url stringlengths 37 208 | title stringlengths 4 148 | author stringclasses 173
values | publish_date stringclasses 1
value | categories listlengths 0 12 | tags listlengths 0 27 | featured_image stringlengths 0 272 | content stringlengths 0 56.1k | comments_count int64 0 900 | scraped_comments_count int64 0 50 | comments listlengths 0 50 | scraped_at float64 1.76B 1.76B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/09/jeri-ellsworths-shooting-gallery/ | Jeri Ellsworth’s Shooting Gallery | Caleb Kraft | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"game",
"jeri ellsworth",
"pinball"
] | Back with another interesting vidoe, [Jeri Ellsworth] once again brings us an
amusing and educational hack
. This time she’s made a “shooting gallery” in the style of the old arcade games that actually used projectiles. In her version however, she’s using LEDs in the targets which are detected by the gun. In an effort to keep the feel the same, she rigged up a pinball bell to ding at the appropriate times and it is quite effective.
As usual, she does a great job of breaking everything down and explaining how it all works. She shows us around her prototype so you can see how it is constructed, if you can make it through the solder gun shootout in the beginning. If she were to continue with this project beyond the functional prototype stage, we’d love to see small video clips being displayed for the targets
pepper’s ghost
style. Maybe we’re just having fond memories of
Time Traveler
. | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "391948",
"author": "Kenneth Finnegan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:40:47",
"content": "The entire row of booths at ESC must have hated Element14 for having this. There was always a huge crowd of people playing it and blocking the entire isle. It was a lot of fun, but it suffered q... | 1,760,377,195.943239 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/09/a-friendly-spiderbot-named-chopsticks/ | A Friendly Spiderbot Named Chopsticks | Mike Nathan | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"ir",
"octopod",
"polymorph",
"robot",
"servos"
] | After seeing his fair share of hexapod-style bots on the Internet,
[Russell] decided he wanted to build one of his own
. One of the downsides to building these robots is the cost. He often saw them constructed from laser cut parts and very expensive servos. Rather than blow hundreds upon hundreds of dollars on the bot, [Russell] decided he could a lightweight bot on the cheap using chopsticks and polymorph modeling plastic.
His octopod robot is aptly called “Chopsticks” and utilizes 28 different servos to control its motions. 24 servos are used for its legs, 3 more are reserved for head movements, while a single additional servo manipulates the robot’s mandibles. The robot’s legs and main structure are composed of chopsticks, while the polymorph is used for feet, servo mounts, and pretty much anywhere else chopsticks just wouldn’t do.
[Russell] even added a set of eye stalks to complete the spider theme, arming them with IR compound eyes for object tracking. The robot is quite interactive as you can see in the video below.
Keep reading to see a video of Chopsticks,
or swing by his Let’s Make Robots site if you get a chance
– he has a pretty detailed construction journal as well as plenty of videos showing his spider bot in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hG6Amnb9Mo&w=470] | 12 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "391938",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:16:31",
"content": "If I built something that looked like that, I’d have to unhook the battery and pull the micro from the socket before I could even think about going to sleep.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"re... | 1,760,377,196.520441 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/09/roll-your-own-capacitors/ | Roll Your Own Capacitors | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"capacitors",
"diy",
"experiment"
] | Rolling your own electronics components can be fun, but can also help in explaining how certain items actually work. [Addie] from The Toymakers recently
set off to figure out how capacitors work, by making her own
.
She understood the general concept behind capacitors and how they are constructed, but she wanted to see how it was done first-hand. To construct her capacitor, she selected aluminum foil as her conductor, and saran wrap as the dielectric. She admits that her first attempt was a failure, but undaunted, she carried on. Friends suggested that her conductors were a bit too small to hold any reasonable charge, so she tried larger sheets of aluminum foil to no avail.
She kept at it and found success after using several feet of foil to construct her capacitor. She charged it with a handful of AA batteries and was excited to see her multimeter come to life when she touched the leads to the cap.
While you likely wouldn’t use a hand-made capacitor in your next build, it is a fun experiment to do with children interested in learning about electronics.
[via
Adafruit blog
]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlqmUVw5iZE&w=470] | 30 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "391899",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T16:20:07",
"content": "Cool video! Now I want to try rolling my own… Guess I’ll have add “capacitor supplies” to my grocery store shopping list! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id... | 1,760,377,196.353356 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/08/synkie-the-modular-synth-for-video/ | Synkie: The Modular Synth For Video | Brian Benchoff | [
"Musical Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"synth",
"video"
] | The folks at [anyma] have been working on an analog video processor called
Synkie
for a while now, and we’re amazed a project this awesome has passed us by for so long.
Like a Moog or Doepfer synth, the Synkie was developed with modularity in mind. So far, [anyma] has built modules to split and combine the sync and video signals, and modules to invert, add, subtract, mix, filter and amplify those signals. The end result of all this video processing produces an output that can look like a glitched Atari, art installation, and scrambled cable station all at the same time.
The Synkie’s output reminds us of the
original Doctor Who title sequence
, and actually this idea isn’t far off the mark – both use video feedback that will produce anything from a phantasmagoric ‘flying through space’ aesthetic to a fractal
Droste effect
visualization. We’re impressed with Synkie’s capabilities, but we’re astounded by the [anyma] crew’s ability to control a video signal in real time to get what they want.
Check out a video of the Synkie after the jump. There’s also more footage of the Synkie in action on the
Synkie Vimeo channel
.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/23081064%5D | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "391620",
"author": "smx",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T18:55:51",
"content": "Nice one!There’s alsohttp://www.milkymist.orgyou might like to post. It’s digital however :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391639",
"author": "Johan... | 1,760,377,196.289084 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/improve-charlieplexing-performance-with-interrupts/ | Improve Charlieplexing Performance With Interrupts | Mike Nathan | [
"LED Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"charlieplexing",
"led",
"micro controller",
"pic"
] | [Dmitry] was shopping for LEDs and accidentally pulled the trigger on the wrong type. Since he didn’t want to be wasteful, he figured he should at least take the time to build something with them.
A LED matrix display was the obvious project choice, but he only had a PIC16F688 at his disposal. Since the micro controller only has 11 output pins, charlieplexing was the only way he would be able to light the entire matrix.
While testing his LED array, he found charlieplexing to be a bit disappointing
. The fact that the LEDs can get relatively dim, depending on the number of units lit at any particular time struck him as annoying.
In order to improve the performance of his charlieplexed array, he first decided to scan through all of the LEDs rather than just those that needed to be lit. This ensured that all of his LEDs had the same 1/110 duty cycle and were always as bright as possible. He also chose to use interrupts when lighting the LEDs. This meant that his code does not need to take into consideration any specific timing requirements to maintain persistence of vision. He also double-buffers the display to help reduce flicker.
He says that he ran into certain constraints with the PIC chip he chose, so he used a handful of lookup tables to ensure smooth operation of his display. He was quite satisfied with the results, and we think that the interrupt-driven display looks like it works just fine from where we’re standing as well.
Be sure to stick around for a quick video explaining and demonstrating his single-chip LED matrix.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRYOYJx8LsI&w=470] | 20 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "390953",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T16:04:11",
"content": "Note to haters: This is the same guy who rewrote the Palm TX ROM to take out most of the suck and replace it with nifty. What’ve you done that’s half that awesome?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,377,196.003691 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/usb-minecraft-portal/ | USB Minecraft Portal | Kevin Dady | [
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"lcd",
"micecraft"
] | [Sprite_tm] had heard some time ago that middle of the road Nokia phones had some really interesting LCDs, they are 2.4 inch TFT’s with 320×240 resolution. He immediately got 3 beccause they are pretty low cost as well, and started working with them. Apparently these LCDs are self contained, meaning they have all the driver chips and memory on board, you just need to know the pins and commands. This too is fairly easy as they are somewhat standard setups and datasheets for similar models work in a pinch.
Once the things were working, what do you do with them? [Sprite_tm] decided to make a
desktop minecraft portal
. Since the animation is a bit complex in micro controller worlds, he grabbed one of the STM32F101CBs for their beefy cpu and got to work. Getting the texture from minecraft proved to be a bit of a bear as they are not static images, but are calculated on startup. A bit of C code on the PC quickly generates an appropriate pattern and is exported to the micro controller for display in its final home.
The case is made out of wood and once finished looks just like the “real” thing giving a presentation any “blockhead” would love to have on their desk. | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "390905",
"author": "Koolguy007",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T13:28:04",
"content": "Anyone who would want this on their desk obviously hasn’t met a ghast before. Otherwise this looks really well done.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id":... | 1,760,377,196.052119 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/digital-audio-on-the-parallax-propeller/ | Digital Audio On The Parallax Propeller | Brian Benchoff | [
"digital audio hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"digital audio",
"parallax",
"parallaxpropeller",
"spdif"
] | [Beth] had the idea for transmitting digital audio over S/PDIF on a Propeller a few years ago, but only just got around to a
writeup
. For that, we thank her.
The writeup has a marvelous walkthrough of the S/PDIF protocol and the problems associated with with generating the signal. S/PDIF is a relatively resource-intensive protocol – the signal is clocked at 64x the audio sample rate. That signal is doubled for
biphase mark code
, keeping everything in sync. [Beth] says the microcontroller would neet at least 24 MIPS of processing power just to generate the S/PDIF signal – processing audio would be another task altogether. Because of the processing power needed, and the
weird
clock rates needed, [Beth] decided to go with the Propeller. The implementation uses only one core of the Propeller, leaving another seven cores available for sound synthesis or even a visualization over VGA.
[Beth] admits this could be done with just about any microcontroller (although it would need to be clocked at a multiple of 4.096 MHz for a 32kHz audio stream), but we really appreciate the work that went into bit-banging this signal.
Video of [Nick] at Gadget Gangster playing around with digital audio on a Propeller after the break.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/19992819%5D | 12 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "390896",
"author": "Toumal",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T12:11:24",
"content": "Dzihan and Kamien, the man has taste ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390920",
"author": "Life2Death",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T14:07:59",
... | 1,760,377,196.154746 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/mini-light-table-fits-inside-a-briefcase/ | Mini Light Table Fits Inside A Briefcase | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"briefcase",
"light table",
"portable"
] | Hackaday forum member [Mike] was looking for project ideas when his girlfriend, an art major,
suggested that he build her a light table to help with her various assignments
. Having seen a few of these projects pop up from time to time, he figured he was up to the task. He started hunting around at his local thrift stores and finally came across what he was looking for – a hard-sided Samsonite briefcase.
He ripped out the bottom lining of the briefcase and proceeded to paint the inside white in order to properly reflect the lighting he would be adding shortly. A pair of under-cabinet lights were installed, and wired to be easily toggled on the outside of the case. He located some white acrylic to serve as the top of the table, trimming it to fit snugly in the case without any need for fasteners.
His girlfriend loved the table, though we would be interested in seeing a more portable version – it is built into a briefcase after all. We would love to hear your suggestions on how he might make this more portable, so let us know in the comments. | 38 | 36 | [
{
"comment_id": "390672",
"author": "Nick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:54:37",
"content": "Just out of curiosity, how is a briefcase NOT portable? I mean, if there are insane gobs of wiring coming out everywhere, yeah, sure, it’s hardly portable, but… It is a briefcase… Something DESIGNED with p... | 1,760,377,196.424536 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/modular-security-system-is-portable-too/ | Modular Security System Is Portable Too | Mike Nathan | [
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"alarm",
"atmega",
"matrix keypad",
"security"
] | Hackaday reader [Oneironaut] wrote in to share
a modular, portable security system he built for himself
.
He likes visiting the Caribbean, but his favorite vacation spot is apparently rife with cat burglars. He enjoys sleeping with the windows open and wanted to find a way to scare off ne’er do wells. At home, there are a few different buildings on the property he owns, and he was looking to keep curious trespassers away.
The alarm system was built using a matrix keypad that interfaces with an ATMega88 micro controller. The micro controller handles all the logic for the system, triggering an attached “pocket alarm” when ever the sensor is tripped. Like most household alarms, it is armed and disarmed via the keypad, giving the user 60 seconds to enter the disarm code if the alarm has been mistakenly tripped. A wide array of trigger methods can be used, from mercury switches to motion detectors, since his alarm uses a simple plug interface that accepts any two-wire sensor.
Now, no one is claiming that this is high security by any means – the alarm addresses a couple of specific scenarios that apply to [Oneironaut], which may also be applicable to others out there. At the end of the day, the alarm is more meant to scare an intruder into fleeing than anything else, and in that respect, it works perfectly.
Continue reading to see a quick video demonstration of his alarm system in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k20qBRfN_hw&w=470] | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "390661",
"author": "jwrm22",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T22:20:05",
"content": "Nice project. But why doesn’t the potential thief just hit the off button?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390668",
"author": "kernelcode",
"ti... | 1,760,377,196.470314 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/tiny-atari-810-disk-drive-upgrade/ | Tiny Atari 810 Disk Drive Upgrade | Mike Szczys | [
"News"
] | [
"arm",
"atari",
"cortex m0",
"floppy disk",
"lpc1114",
"microsd"
] | Everything gets smaller as technology improves. [Rossum] reduced the space needed for an Atari 810 disk drive by
building this tiny replacement
. Of course it doesn’t use floppy disks, but takes a microSD card instead. And it doesn’t stand in the place of one floppy drive, but can emulate up to eight different drives. The best part is that [Rossum] went to the trouble of designing an enclosure and having it fabricated via 3D printing in order to look just like a doll house version of the original hardware. It uses an LPC1114 ARM Cortex-M0 microprocessor to translate data transmissions to and from the Atari hardware, storing it on the 8 GB card.
As usual, you’ll soon find the schematic, board artwork, and code up on
his git repository
soon. | 25 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "390632",
"author": "Seth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T21:20:14",
"content": "What’s so awesome about this is that the original Atari 810 was HUGE. Even for the time period people would make fun of my Atari 810 disk drive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},... | 1,760,377,196.105352 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/dabbling-with-cpld-generated-vga-signals/ | Dabbling With CPLD Generated VGA Signals | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"Altera",
"cpld",
"dac",
"EPM7128SLC84-7N",
"resistor",
"vga"
] | It seems like all the cool kids are leaving the 8-bit hobby microcontrollers in the parts bin and playing with more advanced parts like Complex Programmable Logic Devices. [Chris] is no exception to the trend, and
set out to generate his own VGA signal using one of the beefy semiconductors
.
It seems that he’s using the acronyms CPDL and FPGA interchangeable in his post but according to the parts list this setup uses an Altera EPM7128SLC84-7N CPLD. In order to generate the VGA signal he needed a way to convert the digital signals from the chip into the analog values called for in the video standard. He chose to build a Digital Analog Converter for the RGB color values using a resistor network which he calculated using
PSpice
. The other piece in the puzzle is a 25.175 MHz oscillator to clock the CPLD. As you can see after the break, his wire-wrapped prototype works exactly as designed. The example code generates the rainbow bars seen above, or a bouncing box demo reminiscent of a DVD player screen saver.
Want to know more about programming CPLDs?
We did a tutorial on the subject
a while back.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc572ygU70o&w=470] | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "390617",
"author": "Thane",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T20:12:33",
"content": "I bet he had to replace the caps in that samsung monitor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390641",
"author": "JuggaloStoopid",
"timestamp": "201... | 1,760,377,196.572414 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/light-painting-still-shots-and-animations/ | Light Painting – Still Shots And Animations | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"light painting",
"record player",
"stopped motion",
"turntable"
] | [Kim Pimmel’s] been doing some really interesting
light painting with an Arduino
. In the past we’ve seen several light painting projects which use
long exposures to capture moving LEDs
, or
moving LCD displays
. But [Kim’s] stepping it up a notch, using cold cathode flourescent lamps, electroluminescent (EL) wire, and lasers. The vibrant colors put out by these sources make for some great photos, but that’s not all she’s got up her sleeve. After accumulating a ton of still photographs from various shoots she decided to edit them together into stopped motion videos.
After the break you can see that one method she used to make these images was to spin the light sources on a standard audio turntable. An Arduino is controlled through processing via Bluetooth in order to move the stepper motor-mounted lights while the record player spins. Add some futuristic music thanks to Daft Punk (which is exactly what she did) and you’re in business.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/14980662 w=470]
[Thanks
@littlebirdceo
via
Arduino Blog
] | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "390595",
"author": "Blackrifle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T19:17:54",
"content": "That was really awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390624",
"author": "tapius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T20:54:50",
"content": "f... | 1,760,377,196.701073 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/gitbrew-brings-otheros-back-to-the-ps3/ | Gitbrew Brings OtherOS Back To The PS3 | Mike Nathan | [
"Linux Hacks",
"Playstation Hacks"
] | [
"bootloader",
"dual boot",
"firmware",
"otheros",
"ps3"
] | Instead of simply watching the days pass by while the PSN network continues to be unavailable, why not do something useful with your PS3 console? [MS3FGX] wrote in to share some news regarding efforts to bring the OtherOS option back to the PS3.
The team at gitbrew.org have been diligently working to bring Linux back to the console for a little while now, and
have released a dual-boot firmware they are calling OtherOS++
. This firmware has two huge benefits over Sony’s original attempt at Linux support for the console. It can be run on the original “fat” PS3s as well as the newer “slim” models – something that was not possible until now. Additionally, it gives the Linux install full access to the PS3’s hardware rather than running the OS inside a virtual machine.
The project is relatively new, so the installation procedures and associated documentation are not suitable for the less experienced individuals out there, so consider yourself warned.
We love that there are people doing all they can to bring this awesome feature back to the PS3 – it’s a huge step in the right direction.
[Image via
gitbrew
] | 62 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "390523",
"author": "woutervddn",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T16:18:03",
"content": "s*ck on this sony.. Although I wonder if it would result in yet another lawsuit.btw, I thought there already was a way to run the original ‘fat’ ps3 firmware on the ps3 slim. Or am I wrong here?",
"... | 1,760,377,196.885774 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/arduino-home-statistics/ | Arduino Home Statistics | Kevin Dady | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks"
] | [
"automation"
] | [Mike] is doing a little series that is about DIY smart homes. While these wont turn your house into a Hal 9000 (and hopefully wont try and kill you), they are fun and fairly easy to carry out. Parts 1 and 2 focus on the bathroom, part 3+ is in the works. Lets go ahead and look at what is done already.
DIY smart home part 1
covers the kings throne. Through the use of an Arduino, ultrasonic rangefinder, Ethernet shield, and twitter account, whenever the toilet is used a counter goes up. Calculate that against your gallons per flush and you now have reasonable water tracker.
Diy smart home part 2
hits the shower with much of the same hardware and goals. Adding on to the Arduino software there is now a PIR sensor and another twitter account. Basing knowledge from a
Lady Ada
tutorial on PIR sensors, the additional Arduino code slides into place and some loose ends from part one are cleaned up.
We cant wait to see what is in store for the future and wish [Mike] the best of luck. | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "390456",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T14:02:47",
"content": "I can’t speak for everyone but my vision of the home of the future does NOT include twitter enabled anything.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390... | 1,760,377,196.937567 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/automate-repetitive-pc-actions-with-a-foot-pedal/ | Automate Repetitive PC Actions With A Foot Pedal | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"computer hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"foot pedal",
"linux",
"python"
] | Instructables user [bkovac] was sick of clicking the terminal icon on his desktop whenever he wanted to launch a terminal window. Keyboard shortcuts aside, he figured the easiest way to take the tedium out of the process would be
to launch terminal windows with a foot pedal
.
He grabbed a pedal that he had sitting around in his workshop and took it apart to ensure the switch contacts were configured for his particular use. The wires were run to an Arduino which talks to the computer over serial using a Python script.
While the setup works just fine, it’s definitely not the most efficient or simplest way of getting the job done. In fact,
we have seen other methods that are quite a bit simpler
, though they lack the potential versatility of this particular modification.
Rather than simply loading a terminal window on his computer, we would love to see this pedal enhanced to perform multiple functions – at which point the Arduino would be a pretty decent choice. We would probably start out by swapping out the full-sized Arduino for a Teensy, mounting it inside the pedal. Multiple foot presses could be used to trigger different events, based upon the number of presses that occur within a given time period. It could be made even more useful by using it to trigger gesture-based events, similar to those seen in plug-ins for Chrome and Firefox.
How would you enhance [bkovac’s] pedal interface? Let us know in the comments. | 41 | 40 | [
{
"comment_id": "390389",
"author": "Ferg",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T12:10:02",
"content": "I would love to see this enhanced to simulate the scroll wheel for reading.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390391",
"author": "maloushe",
"times... | 1,760,377,196.80141 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/05/awesome-fan-powered-frankenscooter/ | Awesome Fan-powered Frankenscooter | Mike Nathan | [
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"batteries",
"cool",
"fan",
"ridiculous",
"scooter"
] | We believe that some of the best things in life are built from half-assed ideas and held together with duct tape. Take
this fan-powered Razor scooter [Charles Guan] built, for example
– it’s chock full of both.
Having built a ducted fan-powered shopping cart in the past
[Charles] is no stranger to ridiculous ideas. After a friend sent him a mockup of a fan powered scooter, he felt that he couldn’t “…take such an absurd image not seriously.”
Determined to make his fan-powered dreams a reality, he hunted around for Razor scooter parts, and managed to scavenge just about everything he needed. Parts of three scooters were welded together, forming the wide-stanced trike you see in the picture above. He mounted a fan and some battery packs onto the scooter, both similar to those found on his Fankart. Once everything was in place, he hit the streets.
As you can see in the video below, the Fanscooter looks as fun as it is loud. [Charles] says they have hit a top speed of about 10 mph thus far, but they should be able to blow past that once they balance the blades and have a
victim
tester willing to suspend his babymakers over the fan duct. Keep your eyes on his site, we’re sure to see some tweaks and improvements over the coming weeks.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRZ5vBX2QNc&w=470] | 22 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "390377",
"author": "damox",
"timestamp": "2011-05-05T11:18:34",
"content": "LOL.The thing doesn’t turn – built for straight lines.Can we put in requests for the next iteration?I suggest rollerblades.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id... | 1,760,377,197.383825 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/applecrate-ii-doubles-the-cluster-computing-fun/ | AppleCrate II Doubles The Cluster Computing Fun | Mike Nathan | [
"Mac Hacks"
] | [
"apple iie",
"applecrate",
"cluster computing",
"mac"
] | Back in 2004, Apple hobbyist/guru [Michael Mahon] built a cluster of Apple
IIe
main boards dubbed the “AppleCrate” as an experiment in parallel computing. Now that a few years have passed,
he is back with a new iteration of the device, aptly named AppleCrate II
.
AppleCrate II was built to address some of the design limits
of his first cluster project
as well as to expand his parallel computing capabilities. His gripes with the first model were primarily structural in nature. The new system is organized in horizontal layers, using metal standoffs between each main board, rather than relying on a shaky wooden superstructure to keep things together. He also found his previous 8-processor configuration a bit limiting, so the AppleCrate II has 17 nodes – 16 slaves and one main board dedicated to running the operation. The cluster even uses his own homebrew networking stack known as NadaNet to enable communications between the boards.
The project is pretty impressive, so be sure to swing by his site if you want to learn more. He has a ton of technical details there, as well as copies of all of the software he used to get the cluster up and running.
[via
BoingBoing
] | 32 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "390138",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:45:16",
"content": "Holy F**king Sh*t",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390141",
"author": "Limey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T22:59:01",
"content": "Really surprised... | 1,760,377,197.008263 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/analog-projection-clock-so-simple-you-should-have-thought-of-it/ | Analog Projection Clock So Simple You Should Have Thought Of It | Mike Szczys | [
"clock hacks"
] | [
"analog",
"mirror",
"projection",
"silvering"
] | The image you see above is the result of a simple analog projection clock. It shows the time on the ceiling. We have one in our bedroom but it’s a red digital display which we don’t think is nearly as fun as this clever hack. Grab a cheap analog clock, a mirror, and a white LED and
you can build your own
.
The mirror is going to reflect light from the LED onto a ceiling or other surface. It acts as the clock face. The tick marks for each hour were made by scratching the reflective material (often called the
silvering
) from the back of the mirror. A hole is drilled at the center of the class and the analog clock is mounted with its hands on the business side. The one problem with this setup is that since the light is being reflected, the clock will appear to run backwards. Not a problem, if you just reverse the polarity of the coil which moves the clockwork the projection will move in the expected clockwise direction.
[via
Make
] | 29 | 27 | [
{
"comment_id": "390104",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T21:28:08",
"content": "Yep, my first reaction when I saw this on Make the other day was “Why did I think of that???”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390106",
"author"... | 1,760,377,197.122096 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/adding-ethernet-control-for-a-5-1-speaker-set/ | Adding Ethernet Control For A 5.1 Speaker Set | Mike Szczys | [
"digital audio hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"ATmega168",
"enc28j60",
"mains",
"outlet",
"RF",
"speakers"
] | [HuB’s] set of 5.1 surround sound speakers was gobbling up a bunch of electricity when in standby as evidenced by the 50 Hz hum coming from the sub-woofer and the burning hot heat sink on the power supply. He wanted to add a way to
automatically control the systems and offer the new feature of disconnecting the power from the mains
.
The first part was not too hard, although he used a roundabout method of prototyping. He planned to use the IR receiver on the speakers to control them. At the time, [HuB] didn’t have an oscilloscope on hand that he could use to capture the IR protocol so he ended up using Audacity (the open source audio editing suite) to capture signals connected to the input of a sound card. He used this to establish the timing and encoding that he needed for all eight buttons on the original remote control.
Next, he grabbed a board that he built using an ATmega168 and an ENC28J60 Ethernet chip. This allows you to send commands via the Internet which are then translated into the appropriate IR signals to control the speakers and a few other devices in the room. The last piece of the puzzle was to wrap an RF controlled outlet into the project with lets him cut mains power to the speakers when not in use. You can see the video demonstration embedded after the break.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coa74-hGV-Q&w=470] | 12 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "394942",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:17:38",
"content": "Might I suggest a power strip? You turn off the power strip when you do not have the speakers hooked up to your laptop.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id":... | 1,760,377,197.058233 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/ollie-the-socially-awkward-autonomous-blimp/ | Ollie The Socially Awkward Autonomous Blimp | Brian Benchoff | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"blimp",
"flying",
"robot"
] | [Pritika] is a user experience design student who just finished up an
autonomous blimp
project designed to react to voices and communicate, “his friendliness and eagerness to be noticed.”
The
instructable
[Pritika] posted goes through the build – a 850mAh LiPo battery powers an Arduino Pro Mini, which controls two 3.6 gram servos. While not much in the way of electronics, the real beauty behind this build is the implementation. From watching the video of Ollie interacting with people, we’re pretty sure [Pritika] met her objective of making her pet blimp friendly and unobtrusive.
With
quadrocopters
getting
so
much
attention
as of late, it’s interesting to see development in lighter-than-air robotics. Our back of the envelope math (which is almost certainly wrong) tells us that Ollie’s ‘body’ can lift 60 grams when filled with Helium, and double that with Hydrogen. While this isn’t much lifting capacity, it’s not inconceivable that a slightly larger blimp could have more sensors or a live video feed, especially considering the
16 gram ornithopter
we covered last year.
Check out a video of Ollie after the jump.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/23383025%5D | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "394883",
"author": "cde",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T19:55:42",
"content": "Being a bag of hot air is as socially awkward as you can be.Oh wait, being a hindenburg accident waiting to happen is even more so.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comm... | 1,760,377,197.174434 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/making-the-case-for-cool-project-enclosures/ | Making The Case For Cool Project Enclosures | Mike Nathan | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"box",
"enclosure",
"looper",
"luna",
"PICAXE",
"sound generator"
] | Quite often, we see project boxes that seem to be constructed more as an afterthought than anything else. That’s not to say there is anything wrong with stuffing your latest creation into a nondescript black box, or even cardboard if it happens to fit your needs. Sometimes however,
an enclosure embodies the spirit of a project
, making it all that much cooler.
[Adam] recently picked up a copy of Make magazine and decided to build their “
Luna Mod
”, a sound effects generator and looper based on a PICAXE-08M. Aside from the micro controller the Luna Mod includes a couple of pots, a switch, and a few LEDs – nothing incredibly striking. Once he had everything assembled on a strip of protoboard, he started working on his enclosure.
The enclosure is made from an old record, which after some trial and error, [Adam] got just right. The record was heated and cut, then bent into shape. While it’s not necessarily a hack, we think it looks pretty slick. It really fits the theme of the Luna Mod and is far more attractive than a plain plastic box.
Stick around to see his sound generator in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR-RXRlWtgg&w=470] | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "394848",
"author": "Rick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:35:16",
"content": "At first glance, I thought the case was just a CD on top of a black box.I don’t think that bending the record to become a black box adds much over a normal black box decorated with stickers, but beauty is in ... | 1,760,377,197.326516 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/chemical-wood-burning/ | Chemical Wood Burning | Caleb Kraft | [
"how-to"
] | [
"brand",
"burn",
"Chemistry"
] | Make: Projects has posted an interesting way to burn designs into wood. Instead of doing the traditional method of using a hot iron to hand draw or trace patterns on the wood, they show us how to
use a chemical process to make things easier
. They are using a solution of Ammonium Chloride, applied with a foam stamp, then heated. When it is heated it breaks down to ammonia gas and hydrochloric acid, burning the surface. The advantage here is that you can easily use a stamp to create patterns whereas doing it by hand might be difficult. They do point out that improvements could be made, such as adding something to keep it from soaking into the wood and blurring the edges. | 25 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "394824",
"author": "Oren Beck",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T17:26:44",
"content": "Pity it’s unlikely that most inkjet carts would not survive the caustic. Printing photos for “burning” would be way cool.. Hmn,,videojet style or similar, air over fluid tank type sprays and an ammonia r... | 1,760,377,197.445467 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/resurrecting-the-optigan-disc-format/ | Resurrecting The Optigan Disc Format | Mike Nathan | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"midi",
"music",
"optigan",
"orchestron",
"retro"
] | The Optigan and Orchestron were a pair of electronic organs built by Mattel in the 1970s which used swappable optical discs to store instrument information. The discs can still be found today, but the organs are extremely scarce, much to [Gan’s] dismay. After researching the organs for a bit, he decided he could probably
build his own MIDI-compatible interface
for the audio discs.
The discs have audio waveform data printed on them, which can be read using an LED on one side of the disc and an optical transistor on another. After successfully prototyping a reader that could interpret one of the disc’s audio tracks, he constructed a device to read all of the tracks simultaneously, just like the original organs.
His makeshift turntable was constructed on top of an old record player using acrylic discs and toy car wheels to keep things steady. Once the disc is placed on the turntable, he sets his reader in place, and via some custom circuitry, he is able to play the discs using his much more modern keyboard. It sounds pretty decent as you can see in the video below, though he does admit he would like to tweak a few things to make it sound even better.
[thanks Bryan]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmP-BKYvPzg&w=470] | 23 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "394792",
"author": "Sariel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:01:59",
"content": "very impressive. i loved the organ disc. reminds me of the old school organ music that you heard when you went to the circus in the mid to late 80s.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": ... | 1,760,377,197.501532 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/google-adk-project-shows-just-how-easy-it-is-to-use/ | Google ADK Project Shows Just How Easy It Is To Use | Mike Nathan | [
"Android Hacks",
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"android",
"arduino",
"google adk",
"led matrix",
"music",
"shiftbrite"
] | [yergacheffe] was able to get his hands on a shiny new Google ADK board about a week before it was announced at I/O, and got busy putting together a neat project to show off some of the ADK’s features. His idea was to
meld together the ADK and Google’s new music service
, two items he says complement each other very well.
He had a handful of LED matrices left over from last year’s Maker Faire, which he decided to use as a Google music metadata display. The base of the display is made from laser-cut acrylic, with a few spare ShiftBrites lighting up the Google music beta logo.
He says it took literally just a couple lines of code to get his Android handset to talk with the display – a testament to just how easy it is to use the ADK.
Pretty much anyone can walk up, attach their phone, and see their current music track on the display with zero fuss, which you can see in the video demo below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_bWOUUv8zo&w=470] | 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "394772",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T13:16:22",
"content": "$389.03? OUCH!http://www.rt-net.jp/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_4&products_id=1",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394777",
"author":... | 1,760,377,197.550033 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/destroying-an-arduinos-eeprom/ | Destroying An Arduino’s EEPROM | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"destroyer",
"eeprom",
"flash"
] | We’ve seen projects test the lifespan of an EEPROM before, but these projects have only tested discrete EEPROM chips. [John] at tronixstuff had a
different idea
and set out to test the internal EEPROM of an ATmega328.
[John]’s build is just an Arduino and LCD shield that writes the number 170 to memory on one pass, and the number 85 on the next pass. Because these numbers are 10101010 and 01010101 in binary, each bit is flipped flipped once each run. We think this might be better than writing 0xFF for every run – hackaday readers are welcomed to comment on this implementation. The Arduino was plugged into a wall wart and sat, “behind a couch for a couple of months.” The EEPROM saw it’s first write error after 47 days and 1,230,163 cycles. This is an order of magnitude better than the spec on the atmel datasheet, but similar to the results of similar experiments.
We covered a similar project, the
Flash Destroyer
, last year, but that tested an external EEPROM, and not the internal memory of a microcontroller.
Check out the hugely abridged video of the EEPROM Killer after the break. | 20 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "394752",
"author": "wardy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T11:33:29",
"content": "Presumably it then went insane and locked him in an airlock?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394753",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16... | 1,760,377,197.60298 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/diy-sunrise-alarm-clock/ | DIY Sunrise Alarm Clock | Mike Nathan | [
"clock hacks"
] | [
"alarm",
"clock",
"cortex-m3",
"diy",
"led"
] | As a project for an embedded systems class, [Alan]
recently built himself a sunrise-simulating alarm clock
. You are probably familiar with these sorts of timepieces – they gradually light up the room to awaken the sleeping individual rather than jarring them awake with a buzzer or the radio. Since many commercial units with this feature are sold for $70 and up, his goal was to replicate the functionality at a fraction of the cost, using only open source components.
An Arm Cortex M3 processor runs the show, displaying the time via a pair of 8×8 LED matrix panels on the front of the device. The clock is programmed to gently wake up its user by simulating a sunrise over a period of 5, 15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes. If the user has not woken up before the sunrise simulation is complete, the clock resorts to a traditional piezo alarm to rouse the heavy sleeper.
The project is nicely done, and after looking at his bill of materials it seems to be far cheaper than many sunrise alarm clocks you will find in stores. | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "390085",
"author": "NatureTM",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:54:11",
"content": "I don’t want to be negative, but if his goal was to be cheap, Arm Cortex M3 seems like a little overkill. Then again, maybe that was a class requirement, or just what he prefers to use.It looks nice thou... | 1,760,377,197.654168 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/cutting-paper-scrolls-with-frickin-lasers/ | Cutting Paper Scrolls With Frickin’ Lasers | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Laser Hacks"
] | [
"paper",
"scroll",
"servo"
] | This circuit illustration
adds a scrolling paper feeder to the bed of a laser cutter
. In the video after the break you can see that the actual assembly is put on the bed of the laser cutter. After the laser has cut out the specified pattern, the scroll is wound to move an un-cut portion into place. It uses a servo motor to drive one of the spools.
An Arduino Uno with a servo shield is being used for this application. It has one button which winds one spool for a pre-programmed period of time. There’s a few issues with this setup, namely that it’s not tied into the CNC program that runs the laser. There’s also a lack of precision when using a continuously rotating servo like this. If it were upgraded to use a stepper motor and patched into the CNC hardware this would make cutting new scrolls for your player piano a breeze.
Here’s a project that does the opposite,
it takes old player piano rolls and digitizes them
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UIKW_1kibo&w=470] | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "390068",
"author": "Awesomenesser",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:16:51",
"content": "I want to see what happens to a running servo when you cut it in half.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390074",
"author": "SparkyGSX",
"... | 1,760,377,197.712143 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/build-your-own-programmable-logic-controller/ | Build Your Own Programmable Logic Controller | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"atmega8",
"opto-isolated",
"plc"
] | [Q] is an Electrical Engineer who works in an industrial setting. He frequently uses Programmable Logic Controllers at work but had never built one himself. He decided to undertake the project at home and managed to
build a PLC that outputs 120V AC or 12 V DC and has optoisolated inputs
.
On the circuit board you’ll find an ATmega8 and an EEPROM for extra data storage. Six outputs are controlled by relays since they are able to output either alternating or direct current. There are eight inputs which use optical isolators as buffers to protect the microcontroller.
So what did he end up using this for? It was part of his Christmas light setup last year. The image above shows the PLC in a water-tight electrical box with extension cords running to each of the devices he wishes to control. The example code is what he used on the X-mas setup, but it should be enough of a guide to program this to work with just about any application. | 28 | 27 | [
{
"comment_id": "390067",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T20:16:25",
"content": "So…basically he wired some relays and extension cords to an ATMEGA chip?A device without an intended use is just pointless. Even if you can occasionally plug Christmas lights into it for fun.",
"paren... | 1,760,377,197.890252 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/meet-mr-clappidoo/ | Meet Mr. Clappidoo | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"ir",
"leds",
"toys",
"zilog"
] | [Laurence] tinkers around the house quite a bit, making all sorts of fun interactive toys for his children to play with.
Mr. Clappidoo is a toy that he finished a while back
, which bears a striking resemblance to
one of his projects we recently showed you, Papydoo
. This is not a coincidence, as Papydoo was created after Mr. Clappidoo was built, borrowing many features from his predecessor.
Who is your daddy and what does he do?
It’s a good thing you asked. Mr. Clappidoo uses an IR motion sensor to detect nearby objects, waking up and interacting with whatever crosses his path. He is capable of four different random moods ranging from angry to flirty. He projects these moods by changing the color of his LED-lit eyes as well as playing simple sounds. A balsa wood chest makes up Clappidoo’s body, and he repeatedly claps his
lid
mouth open and shut using a small servo, hence the name.
Like his other projects, [Lawrence] has focused his efforts to ensure that the three AA batteries used to power Clappidoo last as long as possible. He says that with moderate usage the device can run off the same set of batteries for a few months before needing replacement.
It’s a fun little contraption, sure to please the kids. Stick around for a quick video of Clappidoo in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOuF3pvDrug&w=470] | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "390027",
"author": "boku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T17:34:36",
"content": "And he winks too ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "390043",
"author": "kaoD",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T18:34:57",
"content": "Oh my god the ... | 1,760,377,197.998539 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/usb-keyboard-prankster/ | USB Keyboard Prankster | Kevin Dady | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"keyboard",
"prank",
"usb"
] | Being a long time prankster, [cyclonite] came up with this pretty clever hack in an
old USB flash drive
.
The drive was removed from its case, and the stock memory and controller was removed. On the back, an attiny 2313 is glued to the pcb, while resistors are swapped to work with the VUSB library. Wirewap wire is used to jumper all the needed points to the new micro controller on the back, and a temporary ICSP header was fitted on the end to load software.
What your’re left with is an innocent looking usb drive that, when plugged in, sets itself up as a keyboard then proceeds to toggle the caps lock on your victims computer every few minuets. Classic.
Join us after the break for a quick video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYB36Ds8Y8Y&w=450] | 26 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "389981",
"author": "t11r",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T15:08:33",
"content": "Nice trick to play on your coworkers :)to bad the video is blurry and only has readable text in fullscreen, maybe use a bigger font in notepad?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
... | 1,760,377,198.122725 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/led-matrix-helmits-inspiried-by-you-know-who/ | LED Matrix Helmits Inspiried By You-Know-Who | Jesse Congdon | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"Arduino Pro",
"costume",
"daft punk",
"leds"
] | Here is a
post
from [John’s Projects]. For the insane, satirical, and incredible 2011 Omaha
Groundhog Prom
[John] and his buddy fabricated helmets reminiscent of our favorite robot rockers. [John] needed something harder, better, faster, stronger than the competition and wound up creating LED matrices that mount behind aerodynamic motorcycle helmet visors.
The helmets were constructed in about a weeks time and in a similar fashion to the real helmets. [John] sourced some cheap motorcycle headgear and mounted the LEDs, their driving transistors, and ballast resistors to a 1/32″ (flexible) plexiglass sheet that sits face to face with the wearer. [John] walks through the whole process starting with a half inch grid drawn onto a paper template. The template is cut from the plexi using tin snips, then LED holes are carefully drilled in the thin plastic using various bits up to 13/64″. The 90 some odd LEDs are, one more time, fitted then hot glued in place and soldered in vertical columns to simplify things and prevent any short circuit. An
Arduino Pro
(via common emitter 2n2222 on/off circuits) provides some digital love to the 18 LED columns and is connected to a Velleman Sound-to-light kit which modulates the brightness of the whole visor based on da funk. Two pots are also wired to provide sensitivity and pattern selection to the human after all.
We can’t imagine the technologic setup is fresh after being subjected to the steam machine, high life, and whatever else for too long. Oh yeah, Some brighter LEDs could give the helmets night vision and make the whole thing come alive with emotion. Something about us is burnin to know what powers the helmets. Nice work [John]!
If you are looking to do some homework on these high fidelity rock’n roll outfits in the prime time of your life check out
this
very detailed
example
, a helmet
construction video
, or finish the costume off with some
EL wire
.
Check out some videos of these superheros rollin’ & scratchin’ after the jump!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzHQuwTD4rQ&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGzPo0fAWR8&w=470] | 17 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "389967",
"author": "Roboguy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T14:29:25",
"content": "Way to show some Emotion, Jesse!I guess the people at Hack a Day are Human After All.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389968",
"author": "Michael ... | 1,760,377,197.949948 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/real-time-robotic-arm-control-with-blender/ | Real-time Robotic Arm Control With Blender | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"arm",
"blender",
"python",
"robot",
"servos"
] | Last year, [Justin Dailey] was coming down the home stretch of his senior year as a Computer Engineering student and needed to build a final design project.
He always wanted to construct a robotic arm
, and figured that there was no better way to legitimize such a project, than to claim that it was “homework”.
While he originally wanted to control the arm with a joystick, he had been messing with Blender quite a bit leading up to his final project, and thought it would be pretty cool to let Blender do the work. He started out by testing his ability to control a single servo with Blender, then slowly increased the complexity of the project. He prototyped the arm using cardboard, and satisfied with his progress thus far, began constructing the arm out of aluminum.
Once he had all six of his servos attached to the arm’s joints and wired to his Roboduino, he got busy constructing a 3D model in Blender. Using a few Python scripts, the movements inside Blender are translated to serial data in real-time, which is relayed to the Roboduino in order to control the arm.
Check out his site if you get a chance – there’s plenty of code to be had, as well as several videos of the arm in various stages of construction and testing. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "389943",
"author": "EFH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T13:12:53",
"content": "That is sweet. Nice project!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389946",
"author": "jeicrash",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T13:15:07",
"content": "No... | 1,760,377,198.174455 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/old-computer-parts-demonstrate-how-particle-accelerators-work/ | Old Computer Parts Demonstrate How Particle Accelerators Work | Jesse Congdon | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"physics"
] | [Ameres Valentin] writes in to let us know about his DIY
particle accelerator model
. The model, made mostly out of old computer stuff, mimics a linear high-energy particle accelerator which use drift tubes to toss particles around. Drift tubes work by first attracting a particle (in this case, ball bearing) until it crosses a charged plate (in this case, coil), then flipping the charge polarity and repelling the particle. In this case the accelerators function more like a multiple
coil gun
, as they can’t exactly push the bearing away. Regardless of the specifics the model is an excellent visual aid.
As the bearing rolls along the rails of the CD spindle it shorts bits of foil tape placed just ahead of the magnets. This (appears) to flip a relay that switches on the magnet. Once the magnet coil is energized it pulls the bearing towards its center, accelerating it. The foil stops just before the point where the magnet would pull back the bearing. We are not sure if [Ameres] is using any trickery to get the magnets to individually power, as schematics are not available. The circuit should be simple enough to figure out with a couple relays. In the video [Ameres] adds a lamp to the coils to display when they are powered. Nice work! This could make a fun
distraction
desk accessory, better than those clicky Newton’s cradles.
Check out [Ameres]’
site
for a video of the model in action. | 12 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "389595",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T11:49:14",
"content": "i’m sure listening to a ball bearing run around a plastic dish would get old just as quickly as a Newton’s cradle.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389614... | 1,760,377,198.057992 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/adding-remote-touch-control-to-the-kaoss-pad/ | Adding Remote Touch Control To The Kaoss Pad | Mike Nathan | [
"digital audio hacks",
"iphone hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"guitar",
"iphone",
"kaoss pad",
"max msp",
"midi",
"touchosc"
] | [Munki] enjoys using his Kaoss Pad MIDI controller to add a new dimension to his music while playing guitar. The only thing that bothers him about the Kaoss Pad interface is that it can be difficult to trigger or alter effects in the middle of a bitchin’ guitar solo. He started looking around to see if there was a way to control the Kaoss Pad wirelessly via a touchscreen
and found that with a little tweaking, his iPhone was a perfect candidate for the job
.
He grabbed a copy of TouchOSC from the AppStore and configured it to communicate with his computer. After building an interface for his iPhone, he taped it to his guitar and gave it a try. Everything seemed to work pretty well, but he didn’t stop there – he also wanted to control Ableton Live and Max MSP from his iPhone. It took a bit of research and some tinkering with the Live API, but he eventually got everything working together nicely as you can see in the video below.
If you are interested in trying this out yourself, he has several useful links throughout his article, and he has made his TouchOSC/Max MSP patch available for download as well.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/23049259 w=470] | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "389397",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T22:58:18",
"content": "I’ve used TouchOSC a lot in the past, it’s a great app.Just thought I’d mention it might also be pretty easy to use this apphttp://ciaoapp.com/…with an Arduino and Midi Shield to do someth... | 1,760,377,198.368548 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/quick-hack-disables-ipod-dock-auto-standby/ | Quick Hack Disables IPod Dock Auto-standby | Mike Nathan | [
"digital audio hacks"
] | [
"dock",
"dso",
"ham radio",
"ipod",
"oscilloscope"
] | [Aaron] wrote in to share with us
a quick hack that has made his life a little easier
. He bought a Rocketfish RF-HV3 portable iPod dock to listen to his music, but he wanted to utilize it as an alarm clock as well. He also found that the speakers worked quite well when he hooked up his Yaesu handheld transmitter to the dock.
The only problem he had with it was that the dock would automatically power down when there was no input for 5 minutes. That’s fine when the dock is running on batteries, but if [Aaron] was going to use it as an alarm clock or to listen to his HAM radio, that simply wouldn’t do.
He pulled the dock apart and started poking around with his DSO Nano scope. He found that if pin 16 stays low for 5 minutes, it turns off the dock even if there is a signal coming through. His fix for the problem was actually quite simple – all he did was solder the VDD pin to the pin in question, and the 5-minute timeout was disabled.
We’re glad that [Aaron] was able to solve his problem in such an easy manner – it just goes to show what you can do with a scope and a few minutes’ time. | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "389358",
"author": "DM",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T21:18:38",
"content": "So it won’t go on standby when using battery power anymore? If so, a little more poking around could have yielded a solution to disable standby only when using wall power. Thoughtful hack nonetheless.",
"pa... | 1,760,377,198.223516 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/thrift-strore-hard-drive-enclosure/ | Thrift Store Hard Drive Enclosure | Kevin Dady | [
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"hard drive",
"usb"
] | [Ken] visited our site looking for case modding stuff a little while back, but more importantly he came back to show off his latest project. Using a jewelry box found at our favorite place, the thrift store, he converted it into a
2.5 inch USB drive enclosure
.
Almost instantly he found that this particular jewelry box is a perfect fit for a 2.5 inch SATA laptop drive. Taking that as a sign he whipped up some acrylic mounts and cut some holes for power and USB . The electronics are provided by another enclosure with a dead drive, again acrylic is used to insulate the drive from the decorative metal box and some rubber washers were used to help cancel out vibrations and noise.
The end result is a classy looking 150gig usb drive that looks nice on the desk, and a little reminder that if your not hitting up your local thrift / second hand stores, you could be missing out on some real gems. | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "389329",
"author": "Jeremy C",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T20:07:32",
"content": "Dollar stores/Hobby stores have some good stuff for cheap too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389334",
"author": "JD",
"timestamp": "2011-05... | 1,760,377,198.413402 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/scout-the-autonomous-transatlantic-boat/ | Scout, The Autonomous Transatlantic Boat | Mike Nathan | [
"Robots Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"autonomous",
"boat",
"gps",
"solar",
"transatlantic"
] | Sailing a small boat across the Atlantic ocean is quite the daunting task. As many have discovered, it is a journey often fraught with perils, typically ending in failure. A team of four college students decided the best way to get a small boat across the ocean would be to remove the human element from the process,
so they set off to build an autonomous craft to take on the task
.
Like most projects, this one started as a handful of wild ideas exchanged between friends [Dylan Rodriguez and Max Kramers]. As they thought about it more, they decided that turning [Max’s] sailboat into an autonomous ocean-going craft would be pretty awesome, so they got to work. Recruiting help from their friends [Brendan Prior and Ricky Lyman], the project started to quickly take shape, and Scout was born.
Scout is 8 feet long and consists of foam core covered in carbon fiber. It is filled with various electronic components such as a SPOT tracker, a battery bank that will power the boat for up to 25 hours, and the various servos and motors which will be used to pilot the craft.
It’s a rather ambitious project, though the boat is nearly complete – just in time for their launch, slated for May 29th. We’ll certainly be keeping an eye on this project as the launch date approaches – good luck guys!
Head on over to their Kickstarter page
to see a promo video introducing Scout. | 22 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "389289",
"author": "max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:04:17",
"content": "this would make a nice drug vessel.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389290",
"author": "Vinh Vu",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T18:07:16",
"content... | 1,760,377,198.475353 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/3d-printed-strandbeests-made-to-order/ | 3D Printed Strandbeests Made To Order | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"3d printing",
"art",
"cnc",
"strandbeest"
] | If you love Strandbeests but don’t have the patience to build your own,
Dutch artist [Theo Jansen] has you covered
. You might remember him from
a story we ran last year
, detailing his awesome beach-going strandbeest creations.
His beach walkers are typically built out of PVC conduit and plastic tubing, towering over their creator. For the time being however, he is focusing his work on a much smaller scale. [Theo] has recently teamed up with a 3D printing shop in order to offer miniature working replicas of his creations to the public. The current models can be had for $105, which seems like a pretty steep price to us. Then again, these models come fully assembled and are composed of 76 individual pieces, which is nothing to sneeze at.
That said, considering how easily a Strandbeest can be
created with a stack of thick paper and some free time
, we imagine that an enterprising individual could build one using readily available plastics at a fraction of the cost. Anyone out there up for giving it a shot?
Continue reading to see a video of the Strandbeest creation process.
[via
Gizmodo
]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nt8oHv09e_k&w=470] | 27 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "389275",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T17:23:51",
"content": "Seriously, somebody needs to connect these with a differential so they can turn.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389277",
"author": "andrew",
"... | 1,760,377,198.542259 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/isolation-transformer-101/ | Isolation Transformer 101 | Kevin Dady | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"Isolation Transformer"
] | [Todd Harrison] has released a ~50 minute video covering everything you want to know about
Isolation Transformers
for protecting yourself and your costly equipment. Admittedly I have not given the subject much thought, but if you need to measure high voltages you should probably watch this video.
[Todd] Explains the differences between different types of transformers, including cost, why you would want one, safety and plenty of theory. Whiteboard in hand, all the details are clearly explained. If that’s not enough to convince you, there are some fun “don’t try this at home” experiments that hit the point home.
He has a pretty beefy 8 amp 40 lb monster that cost a fairly large amount, though its worth it to be safe. Unless you think you’re going to need that type of amperage, you wold probably be fine with a smaller model. The product shown in the video is a hospital grade, and requires a mod to make it safe for your bench. [Todd] explains that mod as well. Even if your not planning to do this, its still cool to see a transformer bigger than your hand. Plus it makes a pretty cool sound.
Join us after the break for the video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Yve2ijWyk&w=450] | 23 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "389185",
"author": "Tweeks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T13:26:27",
"content": "Important stuff for working on things light HV flyback circuits (old TVs, monitors, neon signs, etc).. but it CAN still kill you with the potential from circuit to circuit ground. You’re just not as vulnera... | 1,760,377,198.623312 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/04/a-weighted-companion-cube-worth-saving-from-the-incinerator/ | A Weighted Companion Cube Worth Saving From The Incinerator | Mike Nathan | [
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"blinkm",
"cnc",
"led",
"mill",
"portal",
"video games"
] | It’s honestly sad that Valve has not released any official Portal-related items to the masses, as a market for them clearly exists. As the saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention”,
and [Jamie] needed a Weighted Companion Cube in the worst way
.
Actually he constructed his Companion Cube in order to test out some modifications and upgrades he performed on his homebrew CNC Mill. Judging by how the cube turned out, and the fact that he was able to keep tolerances within .005”, we would say that his mill is working just fine.
The cube was designed in Solidworks, and passed through the BobCAD plugin to generate the GCode for the mill. The base of the cube was machined out of a 3” solid block of aluminum, hollowed out on one side to give him access to the cube’s innards. He milled out heart shaped openings on each side, covering them with frosted Lexan.
He added a BlinkM to the mix, mounting it on the cover plate he milled for the open side of the cube. Once lit it cycles through several colors, including the pinkish tone anyone who has played Portal is quite familiar with.
We would say that it’s a great job, but it doesn’t do his work justice – it’s absolutely stunning. We’re not just saying that because we want one, though we do want one…badly. | 19 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "389923",
"author": "wardy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-04T11:12:52",
"content": "I really hope Valve are enlightened enough to be cool about it and not (eg). whack him with a C&D). This is so well built, very impressive.Actually, I thought this thing looked huge from first glance. I gu... | 1,760,377,198.684815 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/3d-render-live-with-kinect-and-bubble-boy/ | 3D Render Live With Kinect And Bubble Boy | Jesse Congdon | [
"Kinect hacks"
] | [
"3d modeling",
"blob",
"processing",
"rendering"
] | [Mike Newell] dropped us a line about his latest project,
Bubble boy
! Which uses the Kinect point cloud functionality to render polygonal meshes in real time. In the video [Mike] goes through the entire process from installing the libraries to grabbing code off of his site. Currently the rendering looks like a clump of dough (nightmarishly clawing at us with its nubby arms).
[Mike] is looking for suggestions on more efficient mesh and point cloud code, as he is unable to run any higher resolution than what is in the video. You can hear his computer fan spool up after just a few moments rendering! Anyone good with point clouds?
Also, check out his video after the jump.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/22542088
w=470] | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "389746",
"author": "ArF",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T22:50:04",
"content": "Rendering a solid from a point cloud is a pretty well documented problem. One nice technique is described in this paper from NVIDIA :http://developer.download.nvidia.com/presentations/2010/gdc/Direct3D_Effects... | 1,760,377,198.739757 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/marble-machines-roundup/ | Marble Machines Roundup | Mike Szczys | [
"Roundup"
] | [
"marble",
"physics",
"solidworks",
"virtual"
] | [Denha’s] been building marble machines for years and
decided to look a back on some of his favorite marble-based builds
(
translated
). There’s a slew of them, as well as some thoughts about each. Our favorite part is the digital simulations of the projects. For instance, the image above shows a flip-flop marble machine that was built in a physics simulator. This makes it a lot easier to plan for the physical build as it will tell you exact dimensions before you cut your first piece of material. Both of these images were pulled from videos which can be seen after the break. But this isn’t the most hard-core of pre-build planning.
SolidWorks
, a CAD suite that is most often used to design 3D models for precision machining, has also been used to model the more intricate machines.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4uQJ4vxSls
[via
Make
] | 16 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "389714",
"author": "isama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T20:20:52",
"content": "fascinating! i’d add a piece of plexi on the front and a chain/belt and a motor on the back and hang it on the wall. could watch it for hours :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}... | 1,760,377,198.795457 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/building-your-own-router-lift-out-mechanism/ | Building Your Own Router Lift-out Mechanism | Mike Szczys | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"closet",
"rails",
"router",
"table"
] | Adjusting the bit height on a router table can be a pain in the butt. Traditionally you needed to get into the cavity under the table top in order to make these adjustments, and it’s hard to make the adjustment and measure the height at the same time. Modern routers now offer the option to adjust height through a hole in the plate that sits in the router table, but this is usually only found on the more expensive models. Rather than buy a new tool [Urant]
built his own router lift
.
He’s using recycled closet rails to give his rig some smooth operation. These are the rails and runners that let closet doors hang from the top jamb. He saved them when replacing the closet doors in one of his rooms. There’s a triangular gantry which hosts the router, allowing it to move vertically on the three sets of rails. The threaded rod in the foreground of the picture above lets the woodworker adjust bit height by turning the nut at the top. Once mounted in the router table the nut is accessible through a small hole in the table surface. | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "389705",
"author": "Friction57",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T19:18:10",
"content": "Ooohhhhh!! ROUTER… I thought… you meant… you know, like… a router.Sorry. Got it.Moving on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389706",
"author": "... | 1,760,377,198.844794 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/led-matrix-glasses-keep-all-eyes-on-you/ | LED Matrix Glasses Keep All Eyes On You | Mike Nathan | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"leds",
"matrix",
"PICAXE"
] | Instructables user [llopez-garcia] was looking for something that would make him stand out at music events or clubs, and decided that
an LED matrix built into a set of sunglasses would do the trick
.
He grabbed some LEDs and the biggest pair of sunglasses he could find at WalMart, then he got down to business. He had no experience in programming micro controllers, so he chose a PICAXE 20X2 to run his glasses, figuring that it would be easier to program in BASIC for his first project than C.
He drilled holes in the lenses and wired up two 5×5 LED grids, connecting them to the PICAXE as a single 10×5 array. That setup was chosen because the 20X2 limited him to 15 usable pins and he wanted to avoid using a shift register or LED driver to keep the part count down. The rest of the build is relatively straightforward with resistors in all the right places, and a pair of AAA batteries to power it – one strapped to either temple.
We think these are pretty cool, though we’re not sure if he can see anything while wearing them. Then again, who cares? You don’t need to be able to see with glasses this awesome.
If he had to do it all over again, [llopez-garcia] says he would beef up the LED structure a bit, as well as choose a different micro controller that can be programmed in C since he felt the PICAXE was a bit limited by BASIC.
Stick around to see a quick demo video of the glasses in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69aoLjXfhdQ&w=470] | 17 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "389684",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T18:06:57",
"content": "Just be careful you don’t trigger any seizures with the strobe function! Also you could program them to have show “eyes” [winking, angry, squinting, smiling, rolling & etc.]Nice job!",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,377,199.817184 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/large-remote-controlled-game-of-life-display/ | Large Remote-controlled Game Of Life Display | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"LED Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"adafruit",
"arduino",
"conway",
"game of life",
"led",
"leds",
"xbee"
] | Sometimes it’s just plain fun to over-engineer. [Stephanie] gets a warm fuzzy feeling when she successfully adds way more electronics components to a project than she really needs – just because she can. We can’t really argue with her if that is the intended goal, nor can we find fault with
the sweet Game of Life display she put together
.
She started off with six Game of Life
kits from Adafruit
, but she quickly caught the LED bug and her collection grew until she had 20 kits (that’s 320 LEDs for those of you keeping count). After piecing them all together, they were mounted in a wooden frame and placed behind a dark piece of acrylic. It looked great and worked just fine, but it wasn’t overdone enough for her tastes.
In the end, she added a small Arduino and Xbee module to the Game of Life display, which enables it to be controlled by
her network-enabled thermostat we featured a few weeks back
. The thermostat was fitted with an Xbee unit as well, which allows it to turn the Game of Life on and off at whatever times [Stephanie] specifies.
We’ll take two please.
[via
Adafruit Blog
] | 5 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "389674",
"author": "pablo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T17:35:11",
"content": "these kits use a lot of pins on the controller. hmm. I wonder if a version could be produced that charlieplexes the LEDs to add more features or use fewer controllers. Bonus points for making a module tha... | 1,760,377,199.122601 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/03/egg-clock-its-egg-ceptional/ | Egg Clock (it’s Egg-ceptional) | Mike Szczys | [
"clock hacks"
] | [
"18m2",
"7 segment",
"egg",
"PICAXE"
] | Easter is over and with some plastic eggs still on hand, [Franspaco] was looking for something to do with them. He decided to
use an egg as an enclosure for a digital clock
.
You can see that the finished project uses just one 7 segment LED display to show the time. A scrolling number method is used to delineate each digit of the 24-hour time readout. The display will go blank, followed by two numbers for the hours, a dash as a separator, and finally two more digits for the minutes. A PICAXE microcontroller drives the clock, but for accuracy a DS1307 does the timekeeping.
[Franspaco] etched his own circuit board that is sized to fit perfectly, housing the two chips, an LED, and a programming header. The on-board LED blinks at 1 Hz, giving some inner glow to the plastic shell. He accomplished most of his goals, but was unable to fit the batteries inside of one egg, prompting the need for a tethered power-egg. If he moves to surface mount components for the next generation of this device we think he’ll have no problem fitting a small battery (like an A23) inside. | 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "389639",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T16:12:52",
"content": "Well that’s just plain cute.Nice!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389646",
"author": "EFH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-03T16:32:22",
"cont... | 1,760,377,199.008651 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/02/flinging-birds-and-slaying-pigs-with-your-thoughts/ | Flinging Birds And Slaying Pigs With Your Thoughts | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"angry birds",
"emotiv",
"epoc",
"games",
"mind control"
] | [Rafael Mizrahi and Anat Sambol] decided that
Angry Birds was missing one crucial element – mind control
. They grabbed a copy of the game for their netbook and [Rafael] strapped on an Emotiv EPOC headset to see if he could play it without using a mouse or keyboard. While he was able to move the cursor around with his thoughts, he found that Emotiv’s EmoKey software lacked any sort of mouse button support. Undaunted, they turned to the Internet for help and found that he could map the Emotiv’s output to his mouse via another application,
GlovePie
.
As you can see in the video below their efforts were successful, though we doubt [Rafael] will be completely giving up his mouse just yet. With some more refinement, we imagine [Rafael] will be blasting pigs to kingdom come in no time.
If you are interested in trying this yourself, be aware that only the SDK version of the EPOC headset can be paired with 3rd party applications, the standard consumer version is locked into using solely authorized software.
Continue reading if you would like to see a video of their Angry Birds neural interface in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDgkZZYSVPo&w=470] | 28 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "389158",
"author": "Tech B.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T11:55:35",
"content": "+1 for GlovePieI first came across it when I was working with interfacing with a Wii mote.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389159",
"author": "Rat... | 1,760,377,199.076465 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/01/papercraft-strandbeest-is-a-great-rainy-day-project/ | Papercraft Strandbeest Is A Great Rainy Day Project | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"paper",
"paperclip",
"papercraft",
"strandbeest"
] | Here in the Midwest it sometimes seems like Spring will never, well…spring. We get that “April showers bring May flowers”, but nearly all of the last month has been cold and rainy around these parts. While things are improving, we think it’s always good practice to have a few fun projects at the ready, just in case your plans with the kids get rained out.
We think that Hackaday reader
[Dombeef’s] papercraft strandbeest is a perfect idea for a rainy afternoon
. The supply list is pretty short, requiring little more than some scissors, pliers, paperclips, and glue in addition to the thick paper that makes up the body of the strandbeest. The paper is cut into pieces according to the PDF template he includes in his Instructable, secured to one another via small pieces of paperclip.
Once the legs are all constructed, a main axis is built from one of the remaining paperclips, and everything is joined together under the main portion of the strandbeest’s body.
As you can see in the video, the legs work quite well, though the strandbeest can probably benefit from a hand crank in the short term. [Dombeef] plans on adding a small motor to his creation, which should get the strandbeest moving about quite rapidly once completed.
If you are looking for more fun projects to do with the kids, look no further than this
papercraft gyroscope
or these
squishy circuits
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q78s7UCArqU&w=470] | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "389000",
"author": "JeremyC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T01:07:06",
"content": "Hey very cool… Looks like a fun water-jet project too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "389009",
"author": "Crusty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-02T... | 1,760,377,199.162026 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/01/racing-wheel-guided-rc-car-with-video-feed/ | Racing Wheel Guided R/C Car With Video Feed | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"bluetooth",
"car",
"remote control",
"video"
] | Instructables user [Kaeru no Ojisan] enjoys constructing R/C kit cars and wanted to build
one that could be driven using a PC racing wheel
he had on hand. Not satisfied with simply guiding it with the racing wheel, he added a web cam to the car so that he can monitor its location from the comfort of his desk chair.
The car is loaded down with all sorts of electronics to get the job done, requiring four separate battery packs to keep them online. An Arduino controls the motor and the steering servos, receiving its commands wirelessly via a Bluetooth add-on. The camera connects to a USB to Ethernet converter, which enables the car’s video feed to be transmitted via the onboard wireless router.
The racing wheel interface seems to work just fine, though we don’t doubt that the whole setup can be easily simplified, reducing both weight and battery count. While [Kaeru no Ojisan] says that the car is in its concept stages and there are a few bugs to work out, we think it’s a good start.
Stick around to see a quick video of the car in testing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idqzfV-16yo | 12 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "388981",
"author": "Drew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T23:39:00",
"content": "It’s virtual virtual reality.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388984",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T23:59:06",
"content... | 1,760,377,199.211091 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/01/diagnosing-diseases-like-macgyver/ | Diagnosing Diseases Like MacGyver | Mike Nathan | [
"Medical Hacks"
] | [
"battery",
"circuit",
"diagnosis",
"led",
"pancreatitis",
"test"
] | If you ever watched MacGyver as a kid, you know that given any number of random objects, he could craft the exact tool he would need to get out of a sticky situation. If he ever made his way into the medical research field, you could be sure that
this test for Acute Pancreatitis
would be among his list of accomplishments.
Designed by University of Texas grad student [Brian Zaccheo], the Acute Pancreatitis test seen in the image above looks as unassuming as it is effective. Crafted out of little more than foil, jello, and milk, the test takes under an hour to diagnose patients while costing less than a dollar.
The test works by checking the patient’s blood for trypsin, an enzyme present in high concentrations if they are suffering from pancreatitis. Once a few drops of the patient’s blood is placed on the gelatin layer of the test, it is left to sit for a bit, after which sodium hydroxide is added. If elevated trypsin levels are present, it will have eaten through the gelatin and milk protein, creating a pathway for the sodium hydroxide to reach the foil layer. If the foil is dissolved within an hour, a circuit is formed and a small LED lights up, indicating that the patient has acute pancreatitis.
The test really is ingenious when you think about it, and will be a huge help to doctors practicing in developing countries, under less than ideal working conditions.
[via
PopSci
via
Gizmodo
] | 28 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "388785",
"author": "JSN",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T15:21:42",
"content": "MacGyver isn’t a disease.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388789",
"author": "Jay",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T15:29:43",
"content": "Awww… I wa... | 1,760,377,199.279357 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/01/lm386-altoids-tin-amp/ | LM386 Altoids Tin Amp | Mike Nathan | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"altoids",
"amplifier",
"audio amp",
"hack a week",
"lm386"
] | Hacker [Dino Segovis] is back again with the fifth installment in his “Hack a Week” series. This time around he has put together
a 1/2 watt audio amplifier
that would make for a great weekend project. He’s a big fan of the LM386 amplifier chip because it does so much in such a small package. Since it is so versatile, he used it as the centerpiece of his Altoids tin amplifier.
Now an audio amp inside an Altoids tin
isn’t exactly a new concept
, but [Dino] takes the time to discuss the circuit in detail, which is great for any beginners out there who are looking for a fun and relatively easy project. After a high-speed video of the assembly process he walks us through the completed amp, then treats us to a couple of short demos.
One thing that makes his amp different than others we have seen in the past is the addition of a 1/4” guitar jack, which allows him to use his amplifier as a combo amp/distortion effect box.
It’s another job well done, so be sure to keep reading if you’d like to watch the latest Hack a Week episode in its entirety.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KyBrAoHMX8&w=470] | 30 | 29 | [
{
"comment_id": "388764",
"author": "Keith",
"timestamp": "2011-05-01T13:47:24",
"content": "Dino is just too cool! Glad to see he got a scope, I’m sure he’ll make good use of it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388770",
"author": "Nomad",
... | 1,760,377,201.679279 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/30/hackaday-links-saturday-april-30th/ | Hackaday Links: Saturday, April 30th | Mike Nathan | [
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"ebike",
"electronic bike",
"laptop",
"portable",
"xbox"
] | Custom EBike with a 200+ km range
[Doctorbass]
constructed an awesome electrical bike
back in 2008 from a Mongoose bicycle. The bike boasts a top speed of 76km/h and a total range of 210 km on a single charge. Some car company needs to hire this guy STAT.
[via
Make
]
Build to order Xbox 360 laptops
[Ed] recently got his hands on a CNC machine and immediately constructed
an Xbox 360 laptop
. They look pretty sharp, and he’s willing to make a custom laptop if you are interested. We’re thinking someone needs to organize a contest between [Ed] and [Ben Heck].
A portable GameCube to rule them all
It’s no secret we enjoy portable console hacks around here, and
this portable GameCube is quite the looker
. Clearly a lot of thought and work went into this mod, and it shows.
[Thanks, Samjc3]
Ultrasonic backup sensor for the parking impaired
If you decided not to spring for those backup sensors on your new ride,
[Eric’s] got you covered
. He walks us through how he created an ultrasonic backup sensor using an Arduino and an add on programmable logic board.
Mega laser construction begins
Europe’s Extreme Light Infrastructure project is set to start building
the world’s most powerful laser measuring in at 200 petawatts
. Scientists are betting on the laser to be able to tear apart the vacuum of space and time itself, if only for a fraction of a second. Seems like a solid plan to us – what could possibly go wrong?
[Thanks, KonaStar] | 23 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "388486",
"author": "Campos",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T16:35:30",
"content": "that’s a waste of power.for time travels you just need 1.21 gigawatts..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388489",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestam... | 1,760,377,201.558035 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/30/help-identify-this-vintage-electronics-component/ | Help Identify This Vintage Electronics Component | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"board",
"electronics",
"mystery",
"vintage"
] | [Windell] over at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has reached out
in order to help them identify a mystery piece of electronics equipment
they came across a few years ago. Discovered at an electronics surplus store, the mystery component looks like a cross between an over-sized chess board and a breadboard. Failing to identify it they eventually disposed of the board, snapping a couple of pictures for good measure before it was gone for good.
Recently while visiting a local electronics flea market, they came across what looked to be a similar, though much smaller board. This piqued their curiosity and compelled them to dig out the pictures of the mystery board in hopes of finally discovering what it was. Using markings on the new board they found, the team at EMSL located some images of a patchboard cartridge that looked quite similar to their mystery object. Upon closer inspection however, they think that the two pieces might be related, but are not quite the same item.
Swing by their site and chime in if you happen to have any good leads – we’re sure they will appreciate it. | 45 | 44 | [
{
"comment_id": "388422",
"author": "DarkArmyOfOne",
"timestamp": "2011-04-30T13:59:31",
"content": "Exactly what part of the board is electronics related? i looks to me like an oversized breadboard. but im surethose gents wouldnt be asking our help if thats what it was. ive seen these before, but ... | 1,760,377,201.759619 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/bbc-covers-an-old-school-hacker/ | BBC Covers An Old-school Hacker | Brian Benchoff | [
"classic hacks",
"News"
] | [
"media",
"news"
] | Yesterday, the BBC
posted an article
on [Julian Skidmore]’s AVR-based
homebrew computer
.
[Julian]’s project uses an AVR and a derivative of Forth to recreate the capabilities of the 8-bit computers of yesteryear. With 8kB of RAM, [Julian] got a TV-out up and running, and even included code for a Lunar Lander game.
We’re happy for [Julian] getting some notoriety as an old-school solder monkey, but we’re wondering why the BBC is covering a project not unlike the something that could be seen on hackaday once a week. Could it be the first inkling of respect for the hacker and DIY community in the general public’s eye?
In any event, we love the initiative shown in [Julian]’s quote at the bottom of the BBC article: “Building the machine is a way to learn the essentials of what a computer is all about.” If you want to understand something, you’ve got to build it yourself. Truer words… | 19 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "388089",
"author": "mowcius",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T20:31:14",
"content": "Unfortunately they didn’t use the word ‘hacker’ or ‘hack’ so the general public still has no idea what a ‘hacker’ is.The BBC does its own features so they wouldn’t simply link to a website like hackaday. T... | 1,760,377,202.055553 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/build-a-real-life-eschers-waterfall/ | Build A Real-life Escher’s Waterfall | Jesse Congdon | [
"how-to",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"fake",
"illusion",
"perspective"
] | Instructables user [GuokrDIY] has provided a
translation
of a detailed guide on making one of our favorite Escher inspired illusions. Unlike the
previous
speculated solutions to Escher’s waterfall this one manages to keep the water path coherent up until the top level. The trick of the whole setup is very carefully controlling perspective to overlap the water source and outlet. We say water but for some reason the builder is actually using “toilet detergents” as the liquid… At any rate, the
liquid
is allowed to flow downhill until it reaches the fourth corner, which does not exist. The liquid actually falls off the end of the table (out of sight) and into a basin. A carefully timed pump in the basin pushes liquid up to the top of the waterfall through one of the model’s pillars, where it then cascades over the wheel.
Using sketchup to model the various structural components of the waterfall the design is fashioned out of PVC and ABS plastic, then skinned with mapped textures to ensure that everything looks coherent. The visual details are fine tuned by viewing the whole setup through a camcorder. The hardest part of the illusion seems to be modulating power to the pump in order to time it with the liquid’s flow.
We just hope that thing about toilet detergent was a mistranslation or some kind of sarcasm from the
original
Chinese article. Check out the model in action after the jump!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbi8-L-TJkA&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8leA2SWBzc0&w=470] | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "388068",
"author": "sungam",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:23:39",
"content": "This is the “toilet detergent” thinghttp://www.google.com/search?q=洁厕宝&tbm=isch",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388081",
"author": "Scuzz",
"ti... | 1,760,377,201.949778 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/mini-quadrocopter-is-crazy-awesome/ | Mini Quadrocopter Is Crazy Awesome | Mike Nathan | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"awesome",
"cortex-m3",
"miniature",
"quadrocopter"
] | Quadrocopters are all the rage lately, and while we have seen our fair share of large devices, [Arnaud Taffanel, Tobias Antonsson, and Marcus Eliasson] have been dutifully working to buck that trend.
Their CrazyFlie is a miniature quadrocopter
that uses its PCB as the main structure of the device.
Since the goal was to use a PCB as its frame, the copter’s footprint from the edge of one motor to the other is a modest 8cm, and it weighs in at a measly 20 grams! The entire platform runs on a Cortex-M3 CPU that takes input from an accelerometer and pair of gyroscopes to help keep its balance. Wireless communications are handled via a 2.4Ghz radio transmitter, and the quadrocopter’s power is supplied by a tiny 110 mAh LIPO battery pack scavenged from an R/C plane.
All of the control and telemetry is handled by a PC, which relays control messages it receives from the pilot’s game pad to the CrazyFlie. We’d love to see if they could retain this small footprint if everything was handled by the quadrocopter itself. Either way, this thing rocks – we most definitely want one!
Stick around to see a quick video of their mini quadrocopter in action, and be sure to check out
our coverage of U. Penn’s quadrocopter creations
if you are interested in seeing more.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=XRuWf2h7_5Q&w=470] | 51 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "388036",
"author": "Truth",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T18:17:46",
"content": "I’d love to see a video of “The components on the PCB are soldered using a frying pan” – from one of the comments on the blog.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment... | 1,760,377,201.84838 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/eeg-assisted-hand-control/ | EEG-assisted Hand Control | Mike Nathan | [
"Medical Hacks"
] | [
"brain control",
"eeg",
"emotiv",
"ipsilateral",
"orthosis"
] | [Sam Fok], an engineering student at the Washington University School of Engineering
wrote in to share a project
he and his classmates [Raphael Schwartz, Mark Wronkiewicz, Charles Holmes, Jessica Zhang, Nathan Brodell, and Thane Somers] have been working on as their entry in the 2011
RESNA Student Design Competition
. Their project, IpsiHand, is designed to help rehabilitate those who have suffered a stroke or other Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
Most motor functions in the body are controlled by the opposite hemisphere of the brain, a process called contralateral motor control. When a patient suffers from TBI, they often lose control over some portion of the body opposite the injury. Recent studies have shown however, that while most motor control is contralateral, hand movements also create ipsilateral brain activity. This means that the uninjured side of the brain can effectively control both hands, with a bit of mechanical assistance.
Their process uses an
Emotiv Epoch EEG headset
,
which we have discussed before
, to monitor the patients’ brain for activity. The data is sent wirelessly to a computer which processes the data, singling out ipsilateral brain waves. The computer then actuates a modified hand orthosis to control grasping in real time.
We think their work is fantastic, and the team’s creation has a wide array of applications in the field of therapy and assisted living. We wish them luck in their competition, and hope to see this technology put to good use in the future. | 5 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "388069",
"author": "Don",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T19:27:26",
"content": "This looks like it could really help people. Hope they get it produced.Don",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388157",
"author": "crashsuit",
"timest... | 1,760,377,201.893621 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/real-time-digital-puppetry/ | Real-time Digital Puppetry | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"3d",
"arduino",
"digital",
"puppets",
"realtime",
"video"
] | If it sometimes seems that there is only a finite amount of things you can do with your kids, have you ever considered making movies? We don’t mean taking home videos – we’re talking about making actual movies where your kids can orchestrate the action and be the indirect stars of the show.
Maker [Friedrich Kirchner] has been working on an application called MovieSandbox, which is an open-source realtime animation tool. A couple of years in the making, the project is cross-platform compatible on both Windows and Apple computers (with Linux in the works), making it accessible to just about everyone.
His most recent
example of the software’s power is a simple digital puppet show
, which is sure to please young and old alike. Using sock puppets fitted with special flex sensors, he is able to control his on-screen cartoon characters by simply moving his puppets’ “mouths”. An Arduino is used to pass the sensor data to his software, while also allowing him to dynamically switch camera angles with a series of buttons.
Obviously something like this requires a bit of configuration in advance, but given a bit of time we imagine it would be pretty easy to set up a digital puppet stage that will keep your kids happily occupied for hours on end.
Continue reading to see a quick video of his sock puppet theater in action.
[via
Make
]
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/22761859 w=470] | 4 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "387998",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T16:20:45",
"content": "Just think of Bob and Judy, happy as can be, inventing situations, and putting them on TV o/`",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "388012",
"author": "d... | 1,760,377,201.494067 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/hdd-unlocking-on-the-mitsubishi-multi-communication-system/ | HDD Unlocking On The Mitsubishi Multi-Communication System | Mike Szczys | [
"Security Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"hard drive",
"hdparm",
"mitsubishi",
"mmcs",
"password"
] | It’s a few years old, but [Brian360’s] method of
unlocking the hard drive on his Mitsubishi Multi-Communication System
is quite interesting. Mitsubishi describes their
MMCS
as a human-vehicle communication tool. It’s basically an in-dash screen and controls to display navigation maps and play music. [Brian] found that the hard drive for the MMCS in his 2008 Lancer was locked, and could not be cloned and swapped out for a larger drive. Sound familiar to anyone? Hard drive locking has been used in many systems, including the original Xbox, which we’ll get back to in a minute.
The setup seen above was used to grab the hard drive password from the system itself. A custom adapter card was built and plugged in between the hard drive and the MMCS hardware, with test points for each of the data line. [Brian] attached a digital storage oscilloscope, and after a bit of poking around, found a way to trigger the scope when the password was requested. He explains the process of converting the captured data into an ASCII string password.
With that in hand how would you unlock the drive? The favorite tool for this is hdparm, a tool which was used with early Xbox unlocking but which is
still in use with other hardware today
. Now brian has a disk image backup and the ability to swap out for larger hardware.
[Thanks Traitorous8] | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "387986",
"author": "Chris Muncy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T15:44:01",
"content": "Between doing hacks like this and intercepting CAN-BUS communications it makes me wish I had a new car to try this stuff with….Good job.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
... | 1,760,377,201.608105 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/a-beginners-guide-to-led-matrices/ | A Beginner’s Guide To LED Matrices | Mike Nathan | [
"classic hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"led",
"matrix",
"multiplexing",
"persistence of vision",
"pic",
"tutorial"
] | [Rajendra Bhatt] wrote in to share a tutorial he put together demonstrating
the basics of using LED dot matrix displays
. While this subject might be old hat to many out there, his helpful walkthroughs are geared more towards beginners who are exploring various electronics concepts for the first time.
He explains the theory behind LED displays using a PIC-driven 5×7 matrix as an example. He discusses persistence of vision and how tricking the human eye can save you quite a bit of time and a whole lot of pins. Multiplexing is broken down into its most basic steps, which [Rajendra] illustrates by showing how a letter would be drawn on the LED display one column at a time. The use of a ULN2803A Darlington Array is also discussed, and he details why it is used when pulling the five columns of LEDs to ground.
The only portion of the tutorial we thought could be expanded upon was the programming section. While he does show how each letter of the alphabet can be displayed via a series of five hex values, he does not cover the “why” part of the process. Obviously while anyone familiar with binary and hex can figure it out in pretty short order, we think that it would be a great place to pause and expand the readers’ knowledge even more.
Overall it’s a useful tutorial, and most beginners would likely find it quite helpful. | 4 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "387945",
"author": "Andrew Garza",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:19:41",
"content": "Great tutorial. I just recently watched another video on LED Matrices by Colin Cunningham of Make magazine. Beginners should check that one out as well.http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/03/circuit... | 1,760,377,201.99516 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/phillip-torrone-pleads-for-companies-to-open-source-discontinued-projects/ | [Phillip Torrone] Pleads For Companies To Open Source Discontinued Projects | Mike Szczys | [
"HackIt"
] | [
"open source"
] | [PT] just published an editorial calling on manufactures to
transfer knowledge about products they are discontinuing by making them open source
. He makes his case on the basis that millions of dollars and innumerable man hours go into developing these products, only to be lost when the company decides that the project is no longer (or maybe never was) profitable. We have to say he’s got a point. Granted the answer to “why not?” is that companies don’t want to give any help to their competitors. But just think of the opportunities lost to society when we can’t build on the work of others.
Now [Phillip] doesn’t stop with his plea for new policies. He goes on to list and defend a few products that are already dead and buried, for which he wishes the secrets had first been shared. These include the Palm V personal data assistant, IBM’s Deep Blue, Sony’s robotic toys/pets, and several others. For what it’s worth, we can think of one company that’s a shining example of this;
the source code for Doom
, which id Software released for non-profit use more than a decade ago. Good for you id! | 48 | 48 | [
{
"comment_id": "387907",
"author": "KanchoBlindside",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T13:08:46",
"content": "Software companies, especially.Ahem. AUTO ASSAULTThey refused to even SELL me the code for 25k, which is more than what their entire final year brought in. Great game, they killed it with dozens of... | 1,760,377,202.141061 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/chonotune-listen-to-radio-by-year-not-by-frequency/ | ChronoTune: Listen To Radio By Year, Not By Frequency | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Hackerspaces"
] | [
"isd",
"radio",
"rotary encoder"
] | The ChronoTune is
a radio that plays sounds from different eras
. This project was developed as an entry for the Redbull Creation Challenge by some members of
i3Detroit
, a hackerspace in the motor city. It allows a user to turn the dial to tune in a new moment in history, but they can also listen in on the present day. They’ll be greeted with the sounds of a tuning radio, followed by music or audio clips common to the period displayed on the dial.
As you know from
the last contest entry
, each project must use an Arduino to qualify. It reads a rotary encoder attached to one of the knobs on the front of the case. This doesn’t directly move the tuning needle. Instead, it’s attached to the guts of an inkjet printer to move it back and forth. This lets the radio tune itself if need be.
The audio is played from several sources. There is an MP3 module that allows for longer clips, but there are also some ISD voice recorder chip modules that play back shorter clips. If the dial is tuned to present day, an FM radio module tunes in a station over the air.
Having trouble reading that dial? Don’t worry, there’s a simulated Nixie tube display sticking out the top of the case to provide a digital readout of the currently selected time period. Check out the video after the break to see the team walk us through each part of the ChronoTune.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/user/i3Detroit#p/u/2/udy-7MA6aWw&w=470]
[Thanks Duncan] | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "387880",
"author": "fred",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T12:10:09",
"content": "typo in title – “Chono” ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387899",
"author": "Eric",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T12:48:14",
"content": "what vid... | 1,760,377,202.240542 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/29/the-start-to-finish-of-an-interactive-exhibit/ | The Start To Finish Of An Interactive Exhibit | Mike Szczys | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"capacitive sensing library",
"capacitive sensor",
"shiftbrite",
"xbee"
] | [Andrew & Deborah O’Malley] were tapped to created an interactive exhibit. The mission was to show that social problems take continual support from a lot of people before they can be solved. The piece needed to be architectural in nature, and they ended up building this
touch-sensitive model building with individually lighted windows
.
The project log that the [O’Malleys] posted shows a well executed battle plan. They used tools we’re all familiar with to achieve a highly polished and pleasing result. The planning stages involved a virtual mock-up using Google SketchUp. The details needed to order the shell from a fabricator were pulled from this early work, while the team set their sights on the electronics that shed light and that make the piece interactive. The former is provided by a
Shiftbrite module
for each window, the latter comes from the
Capacitive Sensing Library
for Arduino. Despite some difficulty in tuning the capacitive grid, and getting all of those Shiftbrites to talk to each other, the exhibit went swimmingly. It’s not hard to imagine how easy it is to start a conversation once attendees are attracted by the seductive powers of touch sensitive blinky lights. | 7 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "387884",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T12:21:43",
"content": "They should have used 120 iphones.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387953",
"author": "Andrew O'Malley",
"timestamp": "2011-04-29T14:29:36",
... | 1,760,377,202.188823 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/a-visual-history-of-the-computer-mouse/ | A Visual History Of The Computer Mouse | Mike Nathan | [
"News"
] | [
"history",
"mouse",
"visual"
] | As we all go about our day to day activities, it’s easy to get lost in technology and take for granted things that have slowly evolved over long periods of time. Take for instance the mouse on your desk. Whether it’s a standard 2-button mouse with a scroll wheel or a magic mouse with no buttons at all, we’re all a bit spoiled when you think about it.
Dvice recently published a visual history of the computer mouse,
which is quite interesting. The first pointing device that relied on hand motions to move a cursor was created by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1952. This trackball device, which is predates all other mechanical pointing devices, was crafted using a 5-pin bowling ball and an array of mechanical encoders that tracked the ball’s movement.
As time went on, other mouse-type devices came and went, but it was 30 years ago yesterday that Xerox unveiled the world’s first optical mouse at its PARC facility. The mouse used LEDs and optical sensors along with specialized mouse pads to track the user’s movements. The tech is primitive compared to today’s offerings, but it’s a nice reminder of the humble beginnings something you use every single day.
Be sure to swing by the Dvice site and take a look at how the mouse has evolved over the years – it’s a great way to kill a few minutes. | 18 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "387593",
"author": "Stryker",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T20:46:15",
"content": "I can’t believe you didn’t mention gyro mice. :(",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387594",
"author": "YT2095",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T20:49:0... | 1,760,377,203.163461 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/wooden-bike-hopes-to-set-world-record-not-catch-fire/ | Wooden Bike Hopes To Set World Record, Not Catch Fire | Mike Nathan | [
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"bike",
"wood",
"world record"
] | [Michael Thompson] has been hard at work for well over six months
building a bicycle made entirely of wood
. The project started as a bet between two friends, and has become much more over the last few months. The SplinterBike, as it is being called, has been constructed solely from wooden parts, as well as glue and paint – but not much else.
The bike uses many different woods in its construction, each chosen to fulfill a particular purpose. The axles are made from hardwood ekki, while all of the gears, wheels, and frame parts were constructed from birch plywood. Oiled ironwood was chosen to serve as a replacement for metal bearings wherever moving parts came together due to its durability. Other parts were constructed with random scraps that [Michael] had sitting around in the shop, such as the handlebars which were cut from an old broomstick.
Now that the bike is complete, [Michael] and his friend [James] are gearing up to set a wooden bike land speed world record. It should be doable, as they have calculated that the bike should hit about 31 miles per hour provided [James] can pedal fast enough. A date for the record attempt has yet to be set, but keep an eye out – it’s likely to be an entertaining show.
[via
Gizmodo
] | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "387552",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T19:03:10",
"content": "The article says it’s never been out for a test ride for lack of a smooth enough surface to ride on for any distance.Maybe they can ride in one of the tunnels here:http://www.slac.stanford.edu/",
"paren... | 1,760,377,203.105753 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/frankensteins-lawnmower/ | Frankenstein’s Lawnmower | Kevin Dady | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"lawnmower"
] | [phantompinecone] has an electric mower that worked great for about 4 seasons, and then the battery started to die. A replacement was installed but it started being a pain after the first season. Since the battery was brand new (and probably costly too)
there must be something else
.
Checking the brushes, which were fine, the next logical place was the switch.These mowers are just a battery, motor, and switch. Yanking it apart there was indeed a problem, they were chewed up and corroded, not allowing full electrical contact. So [phantompinecone] replaced the simple mechanical switch with a MOSFET.
Electrically there is an IRF1405 MOSFET, some resistors to pull signals around and a couple diodes to A) keep the back emf from the motor in check, and B) drop the voltage going into the fet from 24volts to 12. Problem solved, and the motor should not have anymore trouble caused by a junked up switch. | 22 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "387458",
"author": "xeracy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:06:29",
"content": "why not just replace the corroded switch?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387461",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:17:14"... | 1,760,377,202.920346 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/the-concepts-behind-robotic-maze-solving/ | The Concepts Behind Robotic Maze Solving | Mike Szczys | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"l293",
"pololu",
"rbbb",
"reflectance"
] | [Patrick McCabe’s] latest offering is
a well-built maze-solving bot
. This take on the competitive past-time is a little more approachable for your common mortal than
the micro-bot speed maze solving we’ve seen
. Don’t miss seeing the methodical process play out in the clips below the fold.
The playing field that [Patrick’s] robot is navigating is made up of a electrical-tape track on a white background. The two-inch tall double-decker bot is every economical. It uses an RBBB Arduino board to read an optical reflectance sensor array made by Pololu, then it drives a couple of geared motors using an L293D h-bridge breakout board. But we already know that [Patrick’s]
a talented robot builder
, this time around we’re happy to see his in-depth discussion of
how to program a robot to solve a maze
. In it he covers all of the different situations your robot might face and how to deal with them. Once you’ve dug through all of the concepts, dust off that bot you’ve got lying in the corner and start writing some new firmware.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FF6ceCI0kc&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLHeUEPLSAY&w=470] | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "387456",
"author": "zerobitjack",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T16:00:51",
"content": "This is really neat. Thanks for sharing how you did this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387469",
"author": "Esteban",
"timestamp": "2011... | 1,760,377,203.044628 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/blinkm-smart-garage-door-opener/ | BlinkM Smart Garage Door Opener | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"blinkm",
"led",
"Monitoring",
"status"
] | Calling Canada home, Hackaday reader [TheRafMan] has seen his share of bitterly cold winters. He also knows all too well how hard it is to get his cars started in the morning if somebody happens to leave the garage open. After the door was left open overnight for the second time this last winter, he decided that it was time to add
an indicator inside the house that would alert him when the garage had not been closed
.
Inspired by
our BlinkM Arduino coverage a short while back
, his circuit incorporates a BlinkM as well as several other components he already had on hand. He disassembled the garage door switch situated in the house and fit the BlinkM into the switch box once he had finished programming it. A set of wires was run to the BlinkM, connecting it to both a power supply located in the garage as well as the magnetic switch he mounted on the door.
The end result is a simple and elegant indicator that leaves plenty of room for expansion. In the near future, he plans on adding an additional indicator strobe to let him know when the mail has arrived, not unlike
this system we covered
a few months ago.
Stick around to see a quick video demonstration of his garage door indicator in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTBXdCHbMrI&w=470] | 9 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "387404",
"author": "Will",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T14:16:58",
"content": "Neat idea and all, but with the location of the button within a step’s distance to actually looking out the door to see if the garage door is open or not, I don’t see the huge functionality of it. Great idea,... | 1,760,377,202.699746 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/ide-bus-sniffing-and-hard-drive-password-recovery/ | IDE Bus Sniffing And Hard Drive Password Recovery | Mike Nathan | [
"computer hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"bus",
"hard drive",
"ide",
"openbench",
"password",
"recovery",
"sniffing"
] | shackspace member [@dop3j0e]
found himself in a real bind when trying to recover some data after his ThinkPad’s fingerprint scanner died
. You see, he stored his hard drive password in the scanner, and over time completely forgot what it was. Once the scanner stopped working, he had no way to get at his data.
He brainstormed, trying to figure out the best way to recover his data. He considered reverse engineering the BIOS, which was an interesting exercise, but it did not yield any password data. He also thought about swapping the hard drive’s logic board with that of a similar drive, but it turns out that the password is stored on the platters, not the PCB.
With his options quickly running out, he turned to
a piece of open-source hardware we’ve covered here in the past
, the OpenBench Logic Sniffer. The IDE bus contains 16 data pins, and lucky for [@dop3j0e] the OpenBench has 16 5v pins as well – a perfect match. He wired the sniffer up to the laptop and booted the computer, watching SUMP for the unlock command to be issued. Sure enough he captured the password with ease, after which he unlocked and permanently removed it using hdparm.
Be sure to check out
[@dop3j0e’s] presentation on the subject
if you are interested in learning more about how the recovery was done. | 34 | 29 | [
{
"comment_id": "387363",
"author": "Dean",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:18:43",
"content": "So…why not just plug the hard drive into another machine, dump data…and then format the disk. I’m all for creative solutions to inane problems, but this is a bit overboard, unless I’m missing something. A n... | 1,760,377,202.85929 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/hacker-typer-lets-you-turn-jibberish-into-useless-code/ | Hacker Typer Lets You Turn Jibberish Into Useless Code | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"hacker",
"hollywood",
"movies"
] | We generated the screen full of code seen above literally by bashing a hand on the keyboard repeatedly like a monkey. You know, just like how hackers are portrayed in the movies?
Hacker Typer makes you look like you know what you’re doing
even though you’re too lazy to do something real. It’s a pointless website that’s none-the-less worth a few moments of your time just for the sake of amusement. You’ll be greeted with a set of options. The first lets you decide what pre-determined text will appear as you type. The rest are for page title, foreground and background colors, and number of characters that will appear with each keystroke.
The default features start off with three characters generated for each keystroke, another annoying staple of Hollywood film making. Oh well, even movies that try really hard to get things right end up getting under the skin of someone. Case in point,
the Linux shell readout from Tron Legacy
.
[via
The Presurfer
] | 35 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "387322",
"author": "xMob",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T12:15:14",
"content": "All it needs to complete it is the bleep boop beep sound affects. ;o)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "662773",
"author": "Matt",
"time... | 1,760,377,202.988524 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/28/hack-a-day-links-april-27-2011/ | Hack A Day Links: April 27, 2011 | Kevin Dady | [
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"links"
] | Remaking the first video game
At the Revision 2011 demo compo, a museum project called [
MEGA
] won first place in the “Wild” category with their zero bit recreation of “tennis for 2”. Entirely made of analog electronics, the retro game completes its presentation on a round o-scope screen. You can see a video of it after the break.
Mint-tin bicycle computer
[Alexdlp’s] newest instructable is a attractive and compact
bicycle computer
running off of an Arduino, and sports the usual bike features. It does not stop there, adding in a 16×2 LCD gives more room for data in both numeric form and bar graph form, and adding in a pair of radio modems allows that data to be fed back home where it can be logged and compared, perfect for the more serious biker.
8085 Reference Card
If you enjoy retro computers, or would like to make your own, you will find this
Intel 8085 reference card
is a real treat. Based on a original reference card, it has been expanded to give more detail for additional interrupts, electrical reference, T-State timing, and undocumented instructions.
Connect a SNES controller to your Android phone
[Bruno] wanted to be able to use a
real SNES controller with the emulator on his HTC Android phone
, packing in an Arduino, 6 AA batteries, and a breadboard and mission accomplished! Hardly as portable as the phone, but we commend the “get it done” sprit. Join us after the break for a quick video.
Remaking the first video game
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K11UE_SLoRI&w=450]
Connect a SNES controller to your Android phone
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/22722692
w=450] | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "387318",
"author": "RBRat3",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T11:53:39",
"content": "Its all fun and games till the relays burn out.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387358",
"author": "Slanderer",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T13:08:... | 1,760,377,203.206808 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/wonderhowto-inteview-of-matthias-wandel/ | WonderHowTo Inteview Of [Matthias Wandel] | Mike Szczys | [
"Roundup"
] | [
"matthias wandel"
] | If you’re an avid Hackaday reader chances are that you immediately recognized [Matthias Wandel’s] name. He’s been featured many many times to go along with his many many talents. Most notably, his ability to do some amazing things with wood. But really, it’s the idea that counts, and he seems to have a duffle bag full of them. [Rachel adn Justin] over at WonderHowTo recently published
a full interview with Mattias
. In it he shares his thoughts on where some of these ideas come from, how he approaches his projects, and even shares some advice for those just getting started.
This is usually the time where we make a witty remark and try to work in links to feature articles from the past. If we were limited to just one it would be pretty tough (although there’s a special place in our hearts for
the wasp sucker
). Luckily we’re not limited, so here’s a list of some of [Matthias’] projects which Hackaday covered previously:
The Wasp Sucker
DIY disc duplicator
Ball bearing playground
How to build a bandsaw
LEGO domino placer
Wooden keyboard case
One-pin dot-matrix printer
Wooden binary adder | 2 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "387127",
"author": "jwrm22",
"timestamp": "2011-04-28T00:01:17",
"content": "Its great to see this on hackaday. I’ve been following woodgears.ca already for a couple years. Matthias Wandel makes great wood-machines I specially like the marble machines like the binary adding machine.... | 1,760,377,203.249219 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/playstation-network-breached-no-end-to-downtime-in-sight/ | Playstation Network Breached, No End To Downtime In Sight | Mike Nathan | [
"News"
] | [
"breach",
"playstation",
"ps3",
"psn",
"security"
] | If you are not a gamer, or simply a casual player, you may not have heard about
the recent breach of Sony’s Playstation Network
. In short, the network was infiltrated on April 17th, and the service was completely shut down on the 19th as a precautionary measure. Now, more than a week later services have yet to be restored, but
Sony is finally starting to talk a bit more about what happened
.
At this point, nobody knows the total extent of the data stolen, but stories are emerging that indicate just about everything that could be accessed was accessed. Sony admits that information such as names, addresses, passwords, and security questions have all been accessed by an unauthorized third party. They have also not completely ruled out the possibility that credit card data has been stolen as well.
It seems the situation has turned from a mere inconvenience to PSN users into a full-blown security and PR nightmare. After a breach like this with so many questions left unanswered, and the gaming network rendered completely useless, we have to ask:
When everything is “fixed” and back to normal, what could Sony possibly do to regain your trust? | 103 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "387056",
"author": "Kristjan",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:19:13",
"content": "As history (rootkit, anyone?) has shown, they don’t really have to do anything for the masses to keep buying their stuff.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_i... | 1,760,377,203.342963 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/be-lazy-and-get-somewhere-at-the-same-time/ | Be Lazy, And Get Somewhere At The Same Time | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"hammock",
"ps2",
"WheelChair"
] | Cruise the beach in comfortable Jamaican style with
this motorized hammock
. [Stephen Shaffer] and his friends built it for the
Red Bull Creation contest
which has as its number one requirement, the need to include an Arduino. We’re basically looking at a hammock frame made out of square pipe that has been put on wheels. Watch the video after the break to see the prototyping, construction, and final product. Looks like originally the electric wheelchair base that’s used for propulsion was centered below the hammock. One sharp turn and the rider/operator gets dumped out on the concrete.
The final version includes a couple of wheels that serve as outriggers, keeping the vehicle upright. A PlayStation 2 controller is used for steering and directional control. It’s polled by the Arduino, which then uses servo motors to control the original wheelchair joystick. At least that’s what we were able to figure out by watching the video.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/22826209 w=470] | 25 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "387050",
"author": "theodore",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:06:32",
"content": "Want",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387066",
"author": "Terry",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T22:34:06",
"content": "What’s that net over the... | 1,760,377,203.443308 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/data-scraping-and-visualization-with-python/ | Data Scraping And Visualization With Python | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"data",
"netuino",
"pachube",
"serial",
"server monitoring"
] | [Greg]
built himself a small indicator dial with his laser cutter
, and wanted to use it for visualizing server performance and load information. Before he started using it for server monitoring however, he thought he should test out his data parsing skills on a simpler data set.
Pachube has a wealth of information that can be freely used for whatever project you might have in mind, so [Greg] started looking around for something interesting to track. Eventually he located the data feed for a tanker ship and wired his dial to display the ship’s speed. He uses a Python script to interface with the Pachube API, which is fed to his Netduino board. A servo motor then changes the position of the dial based on the feed’s data. Since large tankers don’t change speed often, the experiment was a bit of a letdown. He searched for a bit and tuned into another feed that tracked wind speed in New Zealand, getting much better results.
His future plans include hooking it directly to his network and eventually using it to monitor his servers…at least once the novelty of tracking random data feeds wears off.
All of his code is available on GitHub, and he is happy to make a gauge for anyone who is interested, though he doesn’t currently list a price. | 8 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "387023",
"author": "Johannes",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T20:45:48",
"content": "Sorry for OT but I found the same Pocket Oscilloscope on ebay yesterday, and i was wondering if any of you hackaday’ers have had any experiences with it?Its dirt cheap, and maybe it is hackable too?",
... | 1,760,377,203.490496 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/server-room-light-and-temperature-monitoring/ | Server Room Light And Temperature Monitoring | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"thermostat"
] | [Jaren] is occasionally forgetful, and frequently wonders if he’s left the lights on in his server room. Not knowing if the lights have been left on drives him nuts until he returns to work the next morning,
so he decided he had to do something
. He figured it would be easy enough to build a small sensor that would allow him to monitor the status of the overhead lights, but he didn’t want to have his micro controller’s abilities go to waste by performing one simple task. Instead, he laid out plans to add an array of other sensors which will allow him to monitor the room’s temperature, sound levels, as well as the current draw of the servers.
Right now the project is in the beginning stages, but he already has part of his sensor network established. He hooked up a TMP421-based temperature module along with a TEMT6000 ambient light sensor to his Arduino, which displays the data on a small LCD screen he purchased. More sensors are on order, so we should expect to see more progress in the coming weeks.
Hopefully when everything is completed we will see a full set of schematics and code so that anyone can buld their own server room monitoring network from his designs. | 10 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "386996",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T19:20:42",
"content": "I know what plants you serving",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "387000",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T19:25:25",
"conten... | 1,760,377,203.747124 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/diy-lightbox-repurposes-useless-scanner/ | DIY Lightbox Repurposes Useless Scanner | Brian Benchoff | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"lightbox",
"photography"
] | [James] didn’t like losing detail when scanning in photographic negatives, so he
repurposed an old scanner
and turned it into a lightbox.
The
Flickr set
of the build shows [James] installing a compact fluorescent bulb in the body of the scanner. Aluminum foil reflects the light, and the scanner glass is painted white for diffusion. [James] is quite happy with the result, and is amazed by the detail seen in the negatives under magnification instead of scanning.
We’re trying to figure out [James]’s though process in deciding to build a light box, and the best we can come up with is the hackaday mantra of, “Of course I can do that myself.” Even though he seems happy with his project, we’re wondering how hackaday readers would improve it. Maybe several dozen red, green, and blue LEDs to adjust the
color temperature
? Post your ideas in the comments. | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "386978",
"author": "Gary",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T18:28:55",
"content": "I’m wondering if this could be adapted for photo transfer pc techniques",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386981",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp"... | 1,760,377,203.954219 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/motion-controlled-reddit-vote-sign/ | Motion Controlled Reddit Vote Sign. | Jesse Congdon | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Featured",
"how-to"
] | [
"accelerometer",
"arduino",
"i2c",
"led"
] | A little while back I attended the largest east coast gathering of folks from the ever popular social news site, Reddit.com. Those of you familiar with Reddit already know that it is all about link aggregation. Users post links to interesting websites and material, and can then vote up or vote down content based on interest or relevance. Through the magical site algorithms original and interesting content is, as implied, aggregated up to the front page. The whimsical nature of this big DC event lead many people to furnish signs of all types based on the culture of the site, internet memes, etc… The signs that really caught my attention were based primarily on the stylistic site layout, blowing up mail icons and other Reddit specific graphics.
The concept of using site graphics gave me the idea of being able to personally vote up or down other peoples’ signs. It was far too easy to just make a cardboard arrow, and I don’t have a color printer. I happened to have a shelved coffee table project involving orange and blue LEDs. Same colors as the arrows! Sweet. To make this project work I would have to work entirely from my project pile, there simply was no time to order anything from the internet. I managed to crank out a functional up/down voting sign in 3 days leading up to the gathering (and the morning of), here is what I did:
What I Had Around The House:
Orange and Blue LEDs – 124 each. Extras from a coffee table project that is currently shelved.
Breadboard – I have tons of this stuff lying around, surface mount friendly square flavor!
MOSFETs – Another shelved project, an electric motor controller so these could handle many amps.
Resistors – I only had SMD resistors in the values I needed, this turned out to be a huge hassle.
Arduino Nano – I keep this one kicking around project free for just such an occasion.
Trippe Axis I2C Accelerometer – I built a little breakout board and toaster oven soldered the thing a long long time ago. We only really need one of the three axises for this project.
SPDT Switch.
Voltage Regulator – The Arduino could technically make enough 5v to power everything, I decided to not risk it though.
A knife worthy of foam core board, I used a pen knife.
Tweezers, solder, soldering iron, wire, a steady hand, patience.
Stuff I had to get:
Poster Board – Craft store!
Hot Glue – Craft store!
9V battery clips – This was a snap decision, I got these the day of the event!
Layout The LEDs:
Now its time to recreate the pixel graphics. The site has a very simple low res graphics, below is a close up of the activated voting buttons.
Since I have far more LEDs than sense, I decided to place an LED at the intersections of the pixels. All these great ideas on how to diffuse the light were tossed around, wax paper and what not, they would have looked amazing but time intervened. I had to pick a strategy and go with it. I traced the pixel art onto peg board and used the holes as a guide, the total is 124 LEDs per arrow. In order to fit in one inch squares the arrows overlap one another. The design was drawn out onto peg board (again the coffee table project) and then transferred to some foam core poster board.
This left a nice guide for all the LEDs. There are companies out there that make very specific foam board hole punches, but my local craft store had nothing like it. So I was forced to use the pen knife to spoon drill the holes, all 248.
Once all the holes were drilled I had to press the LED into its slot, this was pretty labor intensive. 5mm LEDs can really damage your fingers.
I tried to get the arrow gradient by spacing out the last couple LEDs in the pattern, it went
okay
. Some resistor tweaking could produce a more convincing fade out. Dual orange/blue LEDs would have been even cooler. To protect all the wiring and LEDs I glued an arrow shaped section of foam core to the back of the sign (left over from diffusion experiments), this let a bit too much light through the back of the edge LEDs. I’d recommended cutting a slightly larger backing and attaching it with a weak adhesive or Velcro to allow future access to the electronics.
The Circuit:
Now that all of the LEDs are mounted I plugged a few variables about my setup into an
LED calculator
. I had to determine some values experimentally since blue and orange are slightly different, and I long since have lost any data pertaining to them. My source voltage is 18v, I used a multimeter to find the voltage drop and a power supply with a current meter to measure the forward current of the LEDs.
The calculator told me I could string the oranges up in chains of 9, with a 1Ω resistor for each chain. The orange array would draw 448mA from the batteries. The blues each consume 4 volts and around 70mA (!!). The blues were wired in groups of four, with a 33Ω resistor on each chain. The blue LEDs draw 2.1A from the source. This is about when I decided on the heavy duty MOSFETs from an electric motor project. The leads of the LEDs were then bent down to wire them together. Since I only had surface mount resistors I had to run ALL of the LED positive wires back to the PCB using some wire wrap wire I had lying around, this is one of those cases where a through hole resistor and some thick bus wire could have made life MUCH easier. The LED grounds were created with some low gauge bus wire, and separated for the up/down portions of the sign.
Switches are fun, people love a good SPDT. They are robust, can handle lots of current… they are really good at toggling LEDs. You know what people
really
love though? Accelerometers. People love accelerometers, and I happen to have a whole hand full of these buggers in my pile of goodies. Somewhere in the solder smoke and endless wire bonding I had the insane idea to use my spare Arduino to control the arrows, and trigger them off some sort of gesture.
Below is the final circuit. The 3 axis accelerometer is extreme overkill, Cheap analog accelerometers are easily found soldered and coded for and I would go with one of those were I to do this project again. I also failed to include a potentiometer and code to fade the LEDs via PWM. Don’t judge me, I ran out of time! You may also notice that the voltage regulator is more or less tacked on haphazardly, I had a really nice switching regulator but the stupid thing had the
audacity
to explode! The nerve! At least it didn’t happen during the event.
Code:
The accelerometer I had on hand is the LIS3LV02DQ, which was offered by sparkfun back in the
stone age
. I found my own block of code to modify but the site is currently down, you can find a slightly more complete example of the original
here
and the sparkfun page also has code, this made life really easy. All I had to do was figure out what axis was vertical and set up a threshold to flip on either MOSFET. Gravity affects the axis facing down, so its threshold had to be offset by 1024. I also think the accelerometer was upside down since I wound up at a smaller negative number than positive, either way messing around with the serial output on really helps to dial in the values.
Testing also revealed that I needed some kind of ‘lock out’ timer. When you flick the sign vertically acceleration peaks on one axis but then reverses on itself as you pull the sign back down. I used 1 second although this value could be shorter. Here is the code, don’t forget to check out [Troy]’s
code
for more heavily commented accelerometer stuff:
#include <Wire.h>
// TWI (I2C) sketch to communicate with the LIS3LV02DQ accelerometer
// Using the Wire library (created by Nicholas Zambetti)
// http://wiring.org.co/reference/libraries/Wire/index.html
// This Code is modified to toggle two digital outs based on
// A sudden acceleration upwards or downwards on the Y axis
// -Jesse Congdon
//Modified code from http://research.techkwondo.com/blog/julian/279
//Thanks Julian.
#define OUTX_L 0x28
#define OUTX_H 0x29
#define OUTY_L 0x2A
#define OUTY_H 0x2B
#define OUTZ_L 0x2C
#define OUTZ_H 0x2D
#define XAXIS 0
#define YAXIS 1
#define ZAXIS 2
int downvote = 5; //pins 3 and 5 can handle PWM too
int upvote = 3;
int ledtoggle = 0;
int upgesture = 1800;
int downgesture = -1200;
int lockout = 1000;
boolean lockouttoggle = false;
void setup() {
Wire.begin(); // join i2c bus (address optional for master)
Serial.begin( 9600 );
Wire.beginTransmission( 0x1D );
Wire.send( 0x20 ); // CTRL_REG1 ( 20h )
Wire.send( 0x87 ); // Device on, 40hz, normal mode, all axis’s enabled
Wire.endTransmission();
pinMode(downvote, OUTPUT);
pinMode(upvote, OUTPUT);
}
void loop() {
int val[3];
// transmit to device with address 0×1D
// according to the LIS3L* datasheet, the i2c address of is fixed
// at the factory at 0011101b (0×1D)
Wire.beginTransmission( 0x1D );
// set the MSB so we can do multiple reads, with the register address auto-incremented
Wire.send( OUTX_L | 0x80);
Wire.endTransmission();
// Now do a transfer reading six bytes from the LIS3L*
// This data will be the contents of the X Y and Z registers
Wire.requestFrom( 0x1D, 6 );
while ( Wire.available() < 6 ) {
delay( 5 );
}
// read the data
for ( int i = 0; i < 3; i++ ) {
// read low byte
byte low = Wire.receive();
// read the high byte
val[i] = ( Wire.receive() << 8 ) + low;
}
//keep this in for testing
//Serial.print( " y_val = " );
//Serial.println( val[YAXIS], DEC );
//Now that we have a Y value, does it signify a jerk up or down.
if(val[YAXIS] > upgesture){
ledtoggle = 1;
lockouttoggle = true;
}
if(val[YAXIS] < downgesture){
ledtoggle = 2;
lockouttoggle = true;
}
//blue? orange? what are you trying to say to me toggle.
switch(ledtoggle){
case 0:
digitalWrite(upvote, LOW);
digitalWrite(downvote,LOW);
break;
case 1:
digitalWrite(upvote,HIGH);
digitalWrite(downvote,LOW);
break;
case 2:
digitalWrite(upvote,LOW);
digitalWrite(downvote,HIGH);
break;
}
//This allows me to pause the program to avoid debounce
//also you dont have to throw the sign and gently catch it to
//make it change.
if(lockouttoggle == true){
delay( lockout );
lockouttoggle = false;
}
}
Results:
Sucess! The batteries ran down on me several times (I learned four packs of 9v batteries are expensive). My battery issues stem from the long chains of LEDs. You can see in the above image that the oranges are already starting to die while the higher current blues are destroying the camera. Also note that the remaining 7 LEDs got their own chain and are, as a result, much much brighter. Therefore, smaller chains of diodes means that the LEDs can stay bright under lower voltages. Silly of me to not realize this sooner. The orange LEDs would become tough to see after about an hour of continuous use.
This was a really fun project, everybody got a kick out of it and I think I have invented a new form of crowd control.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptaiiarhj2Y&w=470]
Thanks for reading! | 14 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "386906",
"author": "xeracy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T15:41:46",
"content": "inb4redditcomments",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386938",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T17:02:39",
"content": "Too bad re... | 1,760,377,203.804158 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/googles-secret-perk-a-private-hackerspace/ | Google’s Secret Perk? A Private Hackerspace | Mike Nathan | [
"News"
] | [
"hackerspace"
] | Working for Google has always had many perks, and most of them are pretty well known. Google employees enjoy free food, on-site workout facilities, and one free day a week to work on whatever they like – but you knew that already. One Google perk however,
has been kept pretty quiet until just recently
.
Google has provided a hackerspace on their campus for about four years now, which is open to any employee that meets some pretty strict requirements. A written test is given before an employee can access the facilities, and even then they must be deemed worthy of working on particular pieces of equipment.
The idea behind the hackerspace was to help Google stay rooted in the philosophy that, “all good things start in the garage”. While a lot of the employees embark on fun personal projects, several pieces of familiar Google technology were born in the workshop. For instance, the Google Streetview “trikes” were created there, along with a few smartphone prototypes, autonomous car components, and even some secret projects Google declines to speak about at the moment.
It’s an unbelievably cool job perk, and we would be lying if we said we weren’t jealous. For now, we will just have to be happy with stale coffee from the break room.
[via the
Adafruit Blog
]
[Image via
AP
] | 39 | 39 | [
{
"comment_id": "386831",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T12:21:42",
"content": "+1 for photo choice. If we weren’t previously convinced that the Mountain View building is just a cover for the secret volcanic-island HQ where Google carries out its actual operations, we certainly will be ... | 1,760,377,203.699025 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/27/watch-hacking-one-day-at-a-time/ | Watch Hacking, One Day At A Time | Mike Nathan | [
"clock hacks"
] | [
"clock",
"inPulse",
"timepiece",
"watch"
] | If there is one thing hackers return to time and time again, it is clock/watch hacking. There are always creative ways to tell time, and with several “hackable” wristwatches on the market, there is bound to be no shortage of neat timepiece hacks.
[hudson] from NYC Resistor has decided to
take on a fun challenge for the next month
revolving around his programmable inPulse watch. Over the upcoming
30
27 days, he will design, program, and publish a watch face for the timepiece. He already has 3 days behind him,
and the results are pretty interesting
. The concepts are creative and functional, though due to time constraints they sometimes end up a little less polished than he would like.
All of the code is available on
his Bitbucket page
if you have an inPulse watch and would like to play along or improve on his work.
We think it’s a pretty cool project, and we are eager to see what he produces each day. Stick around to see a quick video showing off one of his 3D watch faces.
[flickr video=http://www.flickr.com/photos/osr/5647629954 w=470] | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "386815",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T11:34:54",
"content": "Nice! I just got my inpulse last week; this is rad, thanks!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386832",
"author": "g3cko",
"timestamp": "2011-04-27T... | 1,760,377,204.059395 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/enhance-your-key-fob-via-can-bus-hacking/ | Enhance Your Key Fob Via CAN Bus Hacking | Mike Nathan | [
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"can-bus",
"sniffing",
"vw"
] | [Igor] drives a 4th generation Volkswagen Golf, and decided he wanted to play around with the CAN bus for a bit. Knowing that the comfort bus is the most accessible and the safest to toy with,
he started poking around to see what he could see
(
Google translation
).
He pulled the trim off one of the rear doors and hooked into the comfort bus with an Arudino and a CAN interface module. He sniffed the bus’ traffic for a bit, then decided he would add some functionality to the car that it was sorely lacking. The car’s windows can all be rolled down by turning the key in any lock for more than a few seconds, however this cannot be done remotely. The functionality can be added via 3rd party modules or through manipulating the car’s programming with some prepackaged software, but [Igor]
wanted to give it a go himself
.
He programmed the Arduino to listen for longer than normal button presses coming from the remote. Once it detects that he is trying to roll the windows up or down, the Arduino issues the proper window control commands to the bus, and his wish is the car’s command.
It’s a pretty simple process, but then again he has just gotten started. We look forward to seeing what else [Igor] is able to pull off in the future. In the meantime, continue reading to see a quick video of his handiwork.
If you are interested in seeing what you might be able to do with your own car, check out
this CAN bus sniffer
we featured a while back.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JQyTYB3ZoA&w=470] | 30 | 29 | [
{
"comment_id": "386505",
"author": "neorazz",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T22:51:36",
"content": "I just did this on my bug but I just hooked up with a serial cable via dos",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386508",
"author": "Bill",
"timesta... | 1,760,377,204.184684 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/the-silicon-ic-50th-anniversary/ | The Silicon IC 50th Anniversary | Kevin Dady | [
"News"
] | [
"Robert Noyce",
"Silicon IC"
] | Today marks the
50
th
anniversary of the first silicon integrated circuit patent.
We should not have to explain how important the integrated circuit to this crowd, but it is the biggest thing in electronics since sliced bread.
[Robert Noyce] received the landmark patent on April 25
th
1961, and went on to found a little known company you might of heard of (along with [Gordon Moore]), Intel Corporation. He was not the first to invent the IC, that privilege goes to [Jack Kilby] of Texas Instruments, though that design was using a germanium wafer. Silicon has many advantages over previous technology and has become the main technology of IC’s even 50 years later fueling the electronics, computer and mobile industries.
Check out the little article above, and also be sure to check out this
video on IC construction
we posted about a few months ago from the other company [Robert Noyce] help co-found, Fairchild Semiconductor. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "386473",
"author": "John W",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T21:39:32",
"content": "Might HAVE heard of. Yeesh.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386483",
"author": "Ross",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T21:46:16",
"content": "anyo... | 1,760,377,204.1171 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/hacking-lgs-netcast/ | Hacking LG’s Netcast | Mike Nathan | [
"home entertainment hacks"
] | [
"jailbreak",
"lgtv",
"netcast",
"widgets"
] | LG released a line of Internet-connected TVs in both the US and Europe that utilize Yahoo TV widgets to bring interactive content to the living room. While it sounds like a great idea in theory, users have been disappointed to find that LG has approved a measly 15 widgets since the TVs were released.
OpenLGTV.org.ru user [xeros] has started working on
a project that aims to enable more useful content as well as homebrew widgets
. The project is known as OpenLGTV BCM, and not only covers LG television sets, but all sets based on the Broadcom platform.
A ton of progress has been made already, as they have been able to install their own busybox environment as well as open the sets to accept more widgets via some clever signature spoofing. The ultimate goal for the project is to completely divorce the sets from the Yahoo platform and replace it with their own open marketplace.
It’s a great start, and we can’t wait to see what sort of progress they make as time goes on.
[Thanks, T] | 13 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "386475",
"author": "wifigod",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T21:40:46",
"content": "Is there a published list of all the Broadcom-based sets out there? I currently have an older model LG Plasma with no Netcast capabilities, but I’m looking to upgrade my TV sometime this year; haven’t narr... | 1,760,377,204.004934 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/extending-the-battery-life-of-led-dominoes/ | Extending The Battery Life Of LED Dominoes | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"555",
"battery life",
"cd4011",
"cr2032",
"dominoes",
"nand"
] | [Fede.tft] wrote in to tell us about some work he’s been doing to
save battery life for LED dominoes
. He originally got the idea after reading
this post about the electronic gaming pieces
. That project was aimed at the 555 timer contest and therefore, used a 555 timer. [Fede.tft] calculates the battery life for the CR2302 battery in the 555 circuit at no more than about 80 days. That’s if you never use them and the LEDs are never illuminated. It makes sense to remove the batteries from the device when not in use, but a redesign to increase efficiency is definitely worth the effort.
This rendition does away with the 555 chip in favor of a CMOS chip. By building a circuit around four NAND gates of a CD4011 chip, the standby lifetime of the battery is calculated to increase to about 4.5 years. Not bad! Add to this the fact that replacing the 555 timer didn’t increase the component count, the price for the chip is similar to the 555, and you didn’t need to resort to a microcontroller. Yep, we like it. | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "386421",
"author": "ibedazzled",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:31:12",
"content": "isn’t 555 a CMOS chip?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386425",
"author": "Joe White",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:37:39",
"content": "... | 1,760,377,204.238892 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/color-matching-powder-coat-paints/ | Color-matching Powder Coat Paints | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"color matching",
"harbor freight",
"paint",
"powder coat"
] | [Zitt] is sharing some methods he’s honed for
color-matching powder coat paint
. He developed these techniques while
restoring a 1982 Star Trek coin-op machine
. The image above shows a paddle used for the game. The plate that houses the control was beat up, and he needed to repaint it but wanted to make sure it didn’t look out-of-place with the molded plastic that surrounds it.
He gets his powder paints from Harbor Freight, a favorite depot for hackable goods (like
drill motors
, or
metal carts
). Usually these paints would be applied by attracting them to the piece using electrostatic charges. [Zitt’s] not doing that, but applying them with a paint sprayer instead.
The first step is to match your color. He’s using
an electronic color matching device
which gives data to plug into a chart on the web for a color match. Once you’ve got a formula, mix up the powder coat, and then dissolve it into some Methyl Ethyl Ketone. This goes into the spray gun and is applied in an even coat. Before heading into an oven for curing, it’s important to wait for this coat to dry. [Zitt] observed some boiling MEK on a wet test piece that left an undesirable texture on the baked paint after curing. After running a few test pieces he picked the blend that was the best match and then painted all of his restored parts. | 11 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "386413",
"author": "thegreenpig",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T19:18:14",
"content": "Nice one! Not that easy to avoid metamerism in color matching.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386441",
"author": "triton",
"timestamp": "... | 1,760,377,204.29274 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/small-pov-device-shows-off-some-big-features/ | Small POV Device Shows Off Some Big Features | Mike Szczys | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"accelerometer",
"atmega48",
"Atmel",
"freescale",
"mma7660",
"POV"
] | We’ve already added the components needed to build [Rucalgary’s]
tiny POV device
to our next parts order. The little device sets a new standard for tiny persistence of vision boards. Instead of relying on the user to find the best speed and timing for swinging the board around, [Rucalgary] used an accelerometer. This is the point at which we’d usually groan because of the cost of accelerometers. We’re still groaning but this time it’s for a different reason.
The accelerometer used here is a Freescale MMA7660. It’s an i2c device at a super low cost of less than $1.50. The reason we’re still groaning is that it comes in a DFN-10 package that is a bit harder to solder than SOIC, but if you’ve got patience and a good iron it can be done. An ATmega48 drives the device, with 8 LEDs and one button for input. On the back of the board there’s a holder for a CR2032 coin cell battery and a female SIL pin header for programming the device.
Check out the video demonstration embedded after the break. We love it that the message spells and aligns correct no matter which way the little board is waved.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDQs6d8fqks&w=470]
[Thanks Paul] | 21 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "386350",
"author": "pr0cj0n",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T17:08:06",
"content": "This is awesome, I just could not belive what I’ve seen for a moment! Great job!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386353",
"author": "Robot",
"... | 1,760,377,204.350701 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/scart-hack-automatically-selects-tvs-av-mode/ | SCART Hack Automatically Selects TV’s AV Mode | Mike Szczys | [
"Xbox Hacks"
] | [
"scart",
"xbmc",
"xbox"
] | We’re sure there’s still a lot of folks using their original Xbox either for gaming or as an XBMC device. If you ever owned one yourself you’ll remember that you can’t turn it on with a remote control. If you have to get up and push a button on the front of the black box, as least
this hack will take care of tuning the television to the correct channel
. That is, if you are using a SCART adapter to connect it to your TV.
[Karl-Henrik] figured out that mapping a voltage to pin 8 of a SCART port tells a TV that the port is active, and allows it to select the proper aspect ratio. Check out
the Wikipedia SCART page
to see that pushing 5-8V is the signal for a 16:9 aspect ratio, and 9.5-12V translates to 4:3. So he added an audio jack to the back of his Xbox and a matching one on the plastic case of the adapter. Now just tap into the wires on the power connector for the hard drive inside, connecting them to the newly installed jack. There’s a 12V and a 5V line, just choose the one based on the aspect ratio you prefer. He uses a jumper wire with the appropriate plugs on each end to make the connection. Now the TV will automatically tune to the correct AV input when the Xbox powers up. | 21 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "386311",
"author": "Pup",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T15:52:23",
"content": "Slightly misleading title since this is selecting aspect ratio, not A/V mode.Incidentally, the only kind of SCART connections for games consoles that don’t do auto-switching are the A/V composite adaptors – th... | 1,760,377,204.562218 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/9v-ir-tester/ | 9v IR Tester | Kevin Dady | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"ir tester"
] | Whenever you are working with infrared, you sometimes need to see it, and thats kind of hard. Most people would jump up and say “camera”, but that is not always the best solution. For instance my phone camera is so filtered its near useless for IR, and my DSLR will only take a full blast source and present a dim glow. Wanting something a bit easier [Candymanproducitons] whipped up a little
IR tester that fits on top of a standard rectangle 9V battery
.
A simple circuit containing nothing more than a LED, resistor, and a IR photo-transistor was assembled on some perforated circuit board, then mounted on top of a battery clip with some epoxy. The end result is a compact and robust tool that will be very handy in the shop, though we think a little spot for your scope probe would be super.
9 volt batteries, with their internal design and locking / polarized terminals are usually a mainstay of electronic tinkerers, and often pop up in cool and compact projects like my
lm386 amp in a battery shell
from last year. So what can you do with them? | 29 | 29 | [
{
"comment_id": "386269",
"author": "Hitek146",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T14:41:54",
"content": "Wow. I’ve never done this before, but this is just too much…“its near useless” = “it’s near useless”“a LED” = “an LED”“a IR” = “an IR”“rectangle 9V” = “rectangular 9V”Cool project, though. I did somethi... | 1,760,377,204.636839 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/papydoo-is-watching-you/ | Papydoo Is Watching You! | Jason Komp | [
"LED Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"led matrix",
"piezo sensor"
] | Papydoo
spends most of its time sleeping, but if startled by vibration it will wake up and stare you down with a cold and unnerving robo-gaze like you have not seen before. Or it might just do something crazy like display a scrolling Space Invaders character marquee. That’s the thing with Papydoo, you just never know.
Vibration sensing is accomplished with a piezo element harvested from an old horn speaker that is simply sandwiched between the project enclosure and the surface it is sitting on. A MCP601 op-amp is used to amplify the weak potentials from the piezo element and feed them to the ADC of a Zilog Z8F083A microcontroller. When sufficient vibration is detected, the MCU wakes up and displays one of a number of different animations on the front panel 32X8 LED matrix. The various display modes can also be manually selected using a small button on the back of the enclosure.
Power consumption is reduced to 150uA while sleeping by only briefly waking the MCU once per second to check the current vibration level. Nearly all of this power draw can be attributed to the op-amp, and although there are much more efficient models available, sometimes the best choice is just the one you already have on hand in your parts bin. Regardless, the power consumption is low enough to run the device off of a set of AA batteries.
We could imagine that similar setup could be used for a number of different low-powered messaging applications that would only “wake up” when someone was near enough to read and interact with. Add a loud speaker and this might even make a good alarm to keep pesky coworkers out of your “cube”. What would you do with a Papydoo?
Thanks for the tip [Laurence]! If you happen to read this, we are dying to know: why “Papydoo”?
Short video after the break. | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "386245",
"author": "gac",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T13:37:15",
"content": "Would make a great addition to Halloween decorations.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386408",
"author": "Stonehamian",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T1... | 1,760,377,204.497407 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/vintage-am-radio-restoration/ | Vintage AM Radio Restoration | Mike Nathan | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"radio",
"recapping",
"restoration"
] | Instructables user [knife141] enjoys restoring vintage electronics in his spare time, especially old radios. AM radios tend to pique his curiosity the most, and in this tutorial,
he discusses the restoration of an old radio from the early 1940s
.
While people would likely assume that the vacuum tubes in a radio this old are the source of poor performance, he has found that most units he repairs suffer from bad capacitors. He says that the old electrolytic, paper, and wax caps used in these radios were never meant to last more than a few decades, let alone 70 years.
He always starts the process off by discharging the caps and replacing the power cord, both as a safety measure. He was pretty sure the capacitors were bad in this radio, so he swapped all of them out, regardless of condition. All of the internal wiring was then checked over, and any damaged cables were replaced or covered with heat shrink tubing.
With that done, he powered on the radio and was happy to find that the distortion he previously experienced was completely eliminated. With the electronics taken care of, he tackled the radio’s asbestos insulation by encapsulating it with varnish. Attention was then turned to the exterior, where he cleaned and buffed the leather, refinished the face plate, and polished the dial’s cloudy glass.
While it’s not exactly a hack, we always like seeing vintage electronics given new life, and we’re always cool with saving these sorts of things from rotting in a landfill. | 13 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "386218",
"author": "Fallen",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T12:16:03",
"content": "Bad caps are my guess often. Cheaper to replace as well…So I usually just replace all the caps.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386221",
"author": ... | 1,760,377,204.743059 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/26/a-chicken-tractor-to-call-home/ | A Chicken Tractor To Call Home | Mike Szczys | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"chicken",
"coop",
"tractor"
] | [Dino] didn’t want to keep the baby chickens cooped up when he was at work, but he didn’t want them to escape, or become a juicy treat, either. His solution was to
build this chicken tractor
. It’s a complete chicken ecosystem with wheels, kind of like a double-wide trailer for our feathered friends. On one end is a small coop that contains food, water, and an incandescent light bulb for heat. The other end is a chicken-wire box that lets the young birds stretch their legs and get some fresh air.
It’s easy to see the wheels which flip down when [Dino] needs to move the contraption. Like we said, he puts it out when he goes to work, selecting different parts of the yard so that the grass gets evenly fertilized. It’s a nice solution if you don’t have enough area to dedicate to
an automated chicken coop
.
We’ve embedded [Dino’s] video after the break. He covers the beginning and end of the build, and fills the middle of the video with a time-lapse recording of the construction process.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbRTR24PD-Y&w=470] | 15 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "386225",
"author": "Sterling",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T12:43:57",
"content": "I am beginning to think that HaD needs to put a ‘chicken hacks’ section on the right side of the page.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "386227",
"... | 1,760,377,204.803536 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/hackaday-links-april-25-2011/ | Hackaday Links: April 25, 2011 | Mike Szczys | [
"Hackaday links"
] | [] | iPad2 combination case
[Jasn] wasn’t happy with Apple’s version of the iPad2 case, but an InCase Magazine Jacket didn’t meet his needs either. He broke the two apart and combined pieces of each to achieve
his perfect tablet enclosure
.
MIDI power tools
Enjoy the sounds of working in the shop thanks to [ArcAttack’s]
MIDI controlled power tool performance
. Our favorite part’s the outlet box stuffed with cords. [Thanks Ross]
Labeling cables
When we saw [László’s] tip about labeling cables we though “duh, we’ve been doing that for years”. But then we realized to this technique might be new to some folks. So haters gonna hate, but get out some tape and a marker to
make your cord mess a bit more tidy
.
The folks that run Facebook set out to build their own server farms in order to save money on both materials and electricity. They’ve open sourced the hardware and there’s a bunch of
information about the project
that we found interesting. [Thanks Wouter]
Manual mute ‘key’ for your netbook
[Randi] wanted a way to ensure he wouldn’t have startup sounds played in class when he booted up his netbook. He came up with this ‘mute key’ that is made from a ground-down headphone plug. He glued a piece of ribbon to it so that it can be removed again. The computer thinks there’s headphone plugged in so no sound plays through the speakers. Since it’s been ground down it’s extra-low-profile, and it’s as cheap as your last broken set of headphones. No link here, [Randi] just emailed us some pictures. | 45 | 45 | [
{
"comment_id": "385998",
"author": "FaultyWarrior",
"timestamp": "2011-04-26T00:20:59",
"content": "László’s wiring label method works….unless you’ve got nearly cables in a small space. I used this method when I built the first version of my car’s custom wiring harness, and it helps quite a lot, b... | 1,760,377,204.894228 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/single-chip-digital-audio-player/ | Single-chip Digital Audio Player | Mike Szczys | [
"digital audio hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"12F1840",
"fet",
"microsd",
"pic",
"sd"
] | [Dmitry Gr.] built
a simple circuit to playback digital audio
. At the center you can see an 8-pin PIC 12F1840 microcontroller. It’s pulling audio data from a microSD card which is read through a full-sized SD card adapter to which he soldered jumper wires for all of the necessary connections. There is one additional semiconductor, a FET which is used to drive the speaker seen to the left. Unregulated power is provided by a pair of AA batteries (four are seen in the picture above but only two are actually connected to the circuit). He’s planning to post his code package soon, but for now you’ll have to be satisfied with a couple of demo videos and a schematic. Both videos are embedded after the break, and we’ve also included a screenshot of the schematic which is shown in the second video.
This is very similar to
the 1-Bit Symphony CD
we saw almost a year ago in a links post. That one used a jewel case instead of the protoboard seen here, and had a headphone jack instead of the speaker.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRweAaubie0&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtMgx4yMETw&w=470] | 48 | 43 | [
{
"comment_id": "385918",
"author": "Dmitry Grinberg",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T21:15:22",
"content": "Except this one is not 1 bit :) the output resolution is adjustable and currently stands at 6bit in that video. Sampling rate is adjustable too, and is 44100 Hz in that video. The cool parts are: c... | 1,760,377,205.240942 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/motorcycle-turned-chicken-launcher/ | Motorcycle Turned Chicken Launcher | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"foul",
"launcher",
"motorcycle",
"rubber chicken"
] | Those who frequently work with them will tell you that rubber chickens are actually pretty heavy. You’re not going to do much damage chucking them by hand and that’s why
you need your own rubber chicken launcher
. This most-excellent magazine-fed foul-flinger was built by artist [Sean Pace] as a senior project while working toward his fine arts degree at UNC Asheville. He reused the rear end of a motorcycle, purposing the spinning wheel to grab the birds out of an in-feed channel and fling them much like a mechanical football launcher would. It kind of makes us wonder if you could do the same thing with
a pneumatic football launcher
?
[Sean’s] contraption is built on a stationary base, but in the video after the break you can see it firing from a flatbed truck. Seems somewhat like a whimsical warthog if you’re a Halo fan.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeXa58xHmsY&w=470]
[via
Neatorama
] | 19 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "385889",
"author": "Mooseral",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T20:11:27",
"content": "In the case of the chicken itself, I do believe that the desired synonym is fowl, not foul. Although I do imagine that fresh rubber chickens would also smell fairly foul. The perpetration of a chicken bom... | 1,760,377,205.137687 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/can-crusher-keeps-track-of-your-recycling-efforts/ | Can Crusher Keeps Track Of Your Recycling Efforts | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"home hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"crusher",
"recycling"
] | Instructables user [MRHint] was inspired by his friends’ recycling efforts, and decided to start recycling as well. The one thing he noticed was that they typically had no idea how many cans they had stored up, nor how much their bags of cans weigh. He figured that he could somewhat
automate the crushing process while keeping an accurate can count
using a handful of electronics and some elbow grease.
He started by designing a can crushing rig that would use an old windshield wiper motor he had sitting around the house. The motor is connected to a pulley, which drives a set of threaded rods connected to his movable crushing panel. When the motor is started, the panel is drawn against a stationary board, crushing the can.[MRHint] also had an unused Arduino hanging around, so he used it to control the crusher as well as keep track of how many times the crusher had been run.
From what we hear the whole setup works pretty well, but as with any project he sees plenty of room for improvement. Future changes may include a more powerful motor and a chain/sprocket setup in place of the belt and pulley he currently uses. Do you have any other suggestions for [MRHint]? Let us know in the comments. | 27 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "385872",
"author": "lolwut",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T19:36:30",
"content": "maybe adding a digital scale with tear weight to get just the weight of the cans, and then have either a microcontroller (or arduino but thats overkill) to show on a LCD what the weight X price of aluminum ... | 1,760,377,204.966555 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/diy-resin-cast-project-box/ | DIY Resin Cast Project Box | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Parts"
] | [
"diy",
"project box",
"resin casting"
] | [Rhys] wrote in to share a custom project box he built from scratch using polyester resin. He states that in New Zealand, he tends to have problems finding the perfect project box. They are typically too big or small to get the job done,
so he figured he might as well just build his own to spec
.
Using Google SketchUp, he designed his ideal project box, then got busy building wooden molds. He scored some free melamine scraps from a local company, which he used to build the base of his molding rig. Once the inner and outer molds were built, he secured them to his base and mixed up some polyester resin.
A few hours later, he pulled apart his molds and smoothed out his project box with some sandpaper. He drilled and tapped screw holes, then prepared to make a lid and base for the box.
He admits that the process is quite involved, but there is something to be said for building yourself an enclosure made specifically for the project it is going to house. If you are looking to do something similar be sure to check out his blog – he offers up some sound resin casting tips, as well as some pitfalls to avoid. | 26 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "385843",
"author": "Tex©",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:03:54",
"content": "this is a really great idea XD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385844",
"author": "eric",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T18:06:32",
"content": "Thi... | 1,760,377,205.309464 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/location-tracking-droid-does/ | Location Tracking? ‘Droid Does | Mike Nathan | [
"Android Hacks",
"iphone hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"android",
"iphone",
"location tracking",
"security",
"windows mobile"
] | Last week, the Internet was alight with stories of iPhone location tracking. While this wasn’t exactly breaking news in security circles, it was new information to many people out there. Lots of blogs were full of commentary on the situation, including ours, with many Android users chiming in saying, “Android doesn’t do that”.
Well, that’s not entirely true –
the playing field is far more level than most people would like to admit
.
Android does have the same tracking capability, as do Windows Mobile phones for that matter. Both companies also monitor the cell towers you have connected to, as well as which Wi-Fi hotspots you have passed by. All three companies anonymize the data, though they do assign a unique ID to your location details in order to tell you apart from other users.
Where things really differ is in regards to how much information is stored. Microsoft claims that they only store the most recent location entry, while Andriod systems store the 200 most recent Wi-Fi hotspot locations as well as the most recent 50 cell towers.
At the end of the day each vendor does allow you to opt out of the tracking services, and if you are seriously concerned about the data they are tracking, you can always periodically wipe the information from your handset, should you desire.
[Image via
TheTelecomBlog
] | 40 | 39 | [
{
"comment_id": "385791",
"author": "Joey Joe Joe Shabadoo",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T16:03:37",
"content": "Great, I can’t wait until this makes news headlines!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385793",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
... | 1,760,377,205.395124 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/25/portal-turret-plushie-is-cute-and-harmless/ | Portal Turret Plushie Is Cute And Harmless | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"chemistry hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"plushie",
"portal",
"toys",
"turret",
"video games"
] | As many of you are probably aware, Portal 2 was released last week, and gamers have been going crazy over it. Over the years, people have constructed replicas of their favorite in-game items and “characters”, including portal guns, companion cubes, and turrets.
After playing Portal 2 for a bit, [Jonathan]
wanted a turret of his own quite badly
. Rather than construct it from hard plastics and resins however, he decided he wanted to construct a cuddly turret that talked.
With the assistance of his friend [Leigh Nunan], he is now the proud owner of a plushie turret. It’s a bit smaller than you might expect, but it is packed full of turret personality. The plushie plays audio from the game, can sense motion near its face, detect if it has been tipped over, and also knows when it has been picked up. [Jonathan] added all of these features by stuffing an Arduino inside the turret, along with a wave shield for playing sounds. Proximity and motion sensing are provided via a trio of different sensors, enabling the turret to behave in the same way its in-game brethren do (minus the machine guns).
It really is a neat little toy, one we would no doubt be glad to have around. Keep reading to see a short video of his plushie turret in action.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/22804972
w=470] | 16 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "385770",
"author": "Sobachatina",
"timestamp": "2011-04-25T13:58:05",
"content": "That is inspirational! I want to make one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385773",
"author": "CutThroughStuffGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-04-... | 1,760,377,205.451838 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/24/adding-a-pedal-to-a-yamaha-dd35-drum-kit/ | Adding A Pedal To A Yamaha DD35 Drum Kit | Caleb Kraft | [
"digital audio hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"drums",
"midi",
"upgrades"
] | [Paul] Wrote in to tell us about a quick project that might be useful to others out there. He was having some problems with the DC jack on his Yamaha DD35 portable drum kit. Naturally, he did what most of us would do and just broke out the soldering iron and prepared to solder it back in place(hot glue it afterwards, that always helps too). That part isn’t a big deal, we’ve all seen it a million times. However, while inspecting the DC jack, he
noticed something silk screened on the board
right next to it. As it turns out, that was a kick pedal jack. After a few minutes hunting for a victim around the house that would be sacrificed for its plug, he got his hands on one. A few moments later he was jamming away with a kick pedal.
We absolutely love these super quick upgrades. [Paul] thought maybe this feature was left out at the last minute, and we’ve seen this type of thing for a number of reasons. Maybe that was a feature kept aside for a more expensive model, maybe there was some other reason it was left off. Frankly, we don’t care, we just think it is awesome that it works!
Stay with us to see a quick video demonstration.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXgQPAsuk98&w=470] | 3 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "385499",
"author": "Almost_There",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T19:41:45",
"content": "This type of thing is fairly common. With early VCRs you could enable features that were on the higher priced model just by throwing DIP switches, or cutting traces.I considered getting a drum machin... | 1,760,377,205.496999 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/04/24/the-vibrotron/ | The Vibrotron | Caleb Kraft | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"digital audio hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"music",
"pachinko"
] | Behold
the Vibrotron
! Constructed by the Carnegie Melon University robotics club, the vibrotron is a piece of a larger project called the robOrchestra. The mechanics in action here are quite simple. You have two reservoirs of small steel balls. One at the bottom, one at the top. The bottom ones are fed to the top ones using an
Archimedes’ screw
. Once at the top, they are dispensed through some tubing down to plink off of a vibraphone key. All of the timing is done via solenoids mounted at the end of the tubes. The final product reminds us of the
Animusic animations
that were put out a few years ago.
For this system, since they wanted this to be an automated and reconfigurable bot, they are using an Arduino to control the solenoids. This way they can change songs as they please. We have to admit though, we’d love to see one where the timing for the song was all done through tube length or some other passive system allowing it to be hand cranked and purely mechanical.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y66-KiC_Qro&w=470]
[via
Make
] | 18 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "385440",
"author": "Woodstock",
"timestamp": "2011-04-24T16:16:06",
"content": "Gameletron will assimilated vibroton!! If vibrotron resists it will be destroyed!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "385450",
"author": "Chish",
... | 1,760,377,205.553061 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.