Solar Altoids iPhone/ iPod Charger I love my iPhone 4 to death. I really do. Even if it sucks juice faster than a 1st grader at snack time and I often find myself on low power with a long train ride ahead of me. I originally made my Altoids USB Charger to use with my iPhone, only to find that Apple being Apple doesn't let it's products play nice with generic USB chargers. It's a cheap and easy project to put together and a great gift to give. *** Update: I've since retired this kit.
The Homebuilt Dynamo - Introduction The following is taken from the introduction to The Homebuilt Dynamo Why this book? 1969: Decided to live the simple life. Bought a few acres of steep land very cheaply - most of it nearly straight up and down, hard to find a flat spot that wasn't marsh or swamp. did find one big enough to erect a 12'x12' tent which we lived in for a year while building a small house at the bottom end of the property. 1970: Electric power people wanted lots of money - in advance - to put in power poles to house. To make a long story short, we couldn't find that book. This book is a picture-diary of how we build our dynamo, with some practical information and advice along the way for anyone following our steps. To some people, this book may seem to go into too much detail; for others, perhaps not so experienced in electronics or shop techniques, the extra details of how I made The Homebuilt Dynamo will be welcomed. Having no such directions ourselves, it took us a while. What this book contains.
Minty Boost We like to feature the most innovative and inspirational Do-It-Yourself projects out there. This sharing serves multiple purposes including encouragement for the creator and our beloved function as curator. This particular project exceeds all expectations of usefulness. Nowadays, between phones, tablets and eReaders most people have an item that charges via a wall adapter and USB cord. This thought candy gives you an easy way to take the wall out of the equation and a fantastic cover up. We present to you, a USB charger in an Altoid tin. For less technologically innovative minds, we defer to electricians. Tags:Charge, Charger, charging station, diy, ereader, iPhone, make yourself, phone, portable, tablet, tech, technology
How to build an electric Longboard with phone control Electric longboards are awsome! Update #1: Grip tape installed, some tweaks to the speed controller have meant I have got more speed out of the board but range has stayed the same! video coming soon. Working on nunchuck controller as well. Links: Motor, Esc: hobbyking.co.uk Trucks/motor mount/ drive train: diyelectricskateboard.com So I thought I would stray a bit from multirotors for this post and write a log of how I built my electric longboard. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. WARNINGS: The code and app are not perfect by any means, they are very much still in beta. Disclaimer: I am not responsible if you fall off your board and/or hurt yourself in any way because the acceleration or braking or speed is too aggressive due to my app/code/any part of this “tutorial”. please visit my blog and check out the other stuff that I make! my youtube channel:
Amp Up a Laser Pointer From Wired How-To Wiki Illustration by Lab Partners Your laser pointer could be doing so much more than highlighting PowerPoint slides and blowing your cat's mind. It could be sculpting ice, sparking campfires, or searing one bad mofo on your leather jacket. Here's how to give a standard pointer a power upgrade. This article is a wiki. 1 Disassemble the unit by removing the batteries, opening the housing, and taking out the laser module. 2 Search the circuit board for a variable resistor. 3 To intensify the beam, use a small screwdriver to gently tighten the resistor. 4 Reassemble and aim your potent pointer at safe targets like ice, wood, or plastic. Contributed by Terrence Russell
Digital DIY Project: Electronic Bookplates One of the problems with iPads, tablets and ebook readers is that, while normal books cost just a few dollars, their electronic counterparts can set you back several hundred. The loss of a book can be irritating, especially if it has sentimental value, but it pales in comparison to the nerve-racking annoyance of losing one’s tablet or phone. In addition to their monetary value, the electronic devices we carry every day are stocked not only with reading material, but also photographs, contact lists, e-mails, notes and ongoing games of Words With Friends. To accidentally leave such a thing on a subway seat or in the back of a taxi can mean hours of agonizing regret and proverbial self-kicking. Fret not, dear readers. In addition to using the fabulous Find-My-iPhone/iPad features that Apple has introduced, it can be incredibly useful to take a page from ye-olde paperbound books in the form of custom bookplates that grace the heretofore unused space of electronic lock screens. Materials 1.
Paintball Minigun HK-1 I have been wanting to build a Paintball Minigun for a while and I decided now that I have the resources to make it happen I should get this thing finished. PLEASE, if you like this Instructable vote for me up in the top right hand corner to show your support so I know you are watching and I will keep the projects coming. Also please ask me if you have any questions, I would be more than happy to help. Thank you, and happy building! To build this Minigun a bunch of the parts that I needed were not available so I had to design them myself and 3D print them. The video above was the first time taking this bad boy out for a spin.
Lesson Plan for Making a Speaker Laboratory ©1995 The Regents of the University of California by Regan Lum Introduction: A speaker is a device that converts an electronic signal into sound. The speaker you will build (see figure 1) consists of a Styrofoam or paper cup, a coil of wire, a permanent magnet, and a signal source. The electronic signal goes through the coil and creates a varying electromagnet. figure 1 Purpose: In this laboratory, you will explore how a speaker works. Materials: 1 permanent magnet 2 feet of wire 1 pencil tape or glue 1 Styrofoam or paper cup 1 signal source (tape player) 1 plug with alligator clips for tape player Procedure: Assemble material as shown in figure 1. Leaving about 10 centimeters on the end, wrap the wire around a pencil to make a wire coil and tape or glue it to the bottom of the cup. Conclusion Does the volume control on the tape player work on your speaker? Return to CEA Science Education Home Page
Ipad Case Tutorial (For Personal Use Only) My husband and I are Mac fanatics, so when the Ipad first made its appearance I knew it was only a matter of time before it made its way into our home. The only problem… the cases are not my style. So I decided to make my own. What you need: 2 pieces of 9 1/2 X 12 1/2 inch outer fabric 2 pieces of 10 X 13 inch batting 2 pieces of 12 1/2 X 20 inch inner fabric 11 1/2 inch zipper Sewing machine Needle & thread 1 binder Directions: Cut the binder as shown. Cut the binder pieces to 8 1/2 X 11. Place outer fabric with right sides together. Pin the pieces together. Start 1/2 inch from the top of the outer fabric (shown), you will need the extra space for to attach the zipper at the top. Do not remove the excess material around the stitches. Cut of the corners. Turn inside out. Sew along the outer edge of the case. Attach the zipper as shown. Turn right-side out. Take inner fabric and wrap around the binder piece. Take the two pieces pin & sew together. Add any accessories and voila!
Building an Exoskeleton for the Google Science Fair I would like to share a project that I've been working on for the last few months. Its an Exoskeleton that uses artificial muscle to move instead of hydraulics or servos. In this Instructable I aim to explain my build process and talk about my project. The Google Science fair is a global science competition aimed at getting kids excited about science. Its is obviously sponsored by google as well as other sponsors like National Geographic, Scientific American, Lego Education, and a few others. Its free to enter and all entrants have a chance at winning some great prizes like a $50,000 grant to pay for furthering the winners education or developing his/her project. For my project I built an Exoskeleton that uses nylon Artificial muscle which can be made from Fishing line. Thank you for all your support, and tips to help me improve my instructables.