Archive for the ‘Electronics’ category

Wireless Digital Picture Frame Webcam Mod

January 29th, 2010

Ryan from New-Zealand is at it again, slowly turning his home into Bill Gate’s mansion with video screens everywhere.

This time, he hacked a picture frame into a video monitor displaying the live image from a webcam.

Have a peek.

iPhone-Inspired Kitchen Computer

January 27th, 2010

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Ryan from New-Zealand send us a nice writeup about his custom-made kitchen computer that apparently made his wife real happy.

Check it out.

Usual disclaimer: Please remember that as with any project involving mains power, make sure you know what you’re doing and  do it safely, or don’t. Also respect your local laws and building code.

Ikea lamp theremin noise device

December 16th, 2009

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This cool project turns a boring Ikea lamp into a theremin-like synth. Pretty cool. I really like the updated instructions — but real instructions would be nice too. I guess this is more a show piece than a how-to. Nonetheless, it can still inspire someone so I’m posting it anyways.

One thing I’d add is a switch so that the lamp can still be used as a plain lamp. Flick the switch and it would turn into a noisy monster.

Sunnan Synth / ikea hack from Jan van Nuenen on Vimeo.

Macbook Mod

December 8th, 2009

Tyler needed a Mac to do some iPhone development. Instead of running to the Apple Store, he recycled a used/broken Macbook and repackaged it in Linksys browser cases. Look it up…

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[ part 1 ] [ part 2 ] [ part 3 ] [ via ]

USB to Serial Converter

November 25th, 2009

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A nice USB to Serial Converter that you can build in your projects instead of using standalone external converters.

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DIY LED Ring Light for your Digital Camera

November 24th, 2009

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“Ring light is basically a light that is placed around the objective. In close-up and macro photography it covers the subject with even light that seems to come from all around the lense. This removes all the shadows from the surface of the object. A great thing if you are shooting a photo for a ring that you want to sell on ebay or some hardware close-ups for a review article.”

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Cupric Chloride as a PCB etchant

November 21st, 2009

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Thinking of building the Moog VCF I posted yesterday? You might want to check out this post about using Cupric Chloride to etch PCBs.

Usual disclaimers apply.

[ link ]

Moog Low-Pass filter clone

November 20th, 2009

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Robert Moog, may he rest in peace, invented a legendary voltage-controlled filter (VCF). It’s the low-pass filter that gives the MiniMoog its characteristic sound. YUSynth has published the schematics, parts list and PCB layout for the MiniMoog VCF.

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DIYLILCNC, a open hardware CNC mill

November 18th, 2009

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“Artists Chris Reilly and Taylor Hokanson appear to be getting some impressive results from their DIYLILCNC. They certainly aren’t the first to develop an open source CNC mill, however their build looks particularly nice. They claim that the whole thing can be assembled for around $700, including the stepper motors and drive electronics. Want to get in on the action? CAD drawings for the parts and build instructions are available on their site, under the Creative Commons license.”

[ link ] [via ] [ via ]

LED-Powered Sundial.

November 16th, 2009

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Inspired by sundials, Taufeeq created a “Circle of Light” bulbdial clock. that uses shadows instead of hands to show the time. In theory, if you could use LEDs that have a perfect diffusion pattern, you could end up with a clock that has a white face and three hands: one cyan, one magenta and one yellow. In practice, you still end up with something that looks cool.

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