PCBs without any substrate

pcb-without-substrate

[Kimio Kosaka] is taking the concept of free-formed circuits to the next level with O'Baka Project No.7. It's a fully functioning Arduino board, without the board. The traces are there and provide all of the support for the rest of the hardware. You can imagine the fragility of the package so it won't be a surprise to learn that O'Baka Project means 'stupid' project. We don't think this … [Read more...]

The ElectroAxé Full-Body Percussion Suit

drumsuit (Custom)

Carnival in Salvador, Brazil is arguably one of the biggest and craziest parties this world has ever known.  With millions in attendance for what is already an incredible audio and visual display, performers are faced with the daunting task of continually bringing something new and fresh to the masses. One could always add more fireworks or visual displays (never a bad thing), but it will only … [Read more...]

[Jason Scott] gets a job in a candy factory — kinda

jason-scott-gets-new-job

Remember when you used to have to dial into a Bulletin Board System to connect with others through computers? How about those fond memories of phone phreaking? If you find that the details are fading in your mind you'll be happy to know that [Jason Scott] is making sure they'll never be forgotten. And now he's landed a new job that will make this mission even easier. We're most familiar with … [Read more...]

Using TouchOSC with your projects

using-touchosc

[Marcus] wrote a guide to using TouchOSC to control your projects. He sent a link to us after reading our feature about using Open Sound Control for Arduino without an Ethernet shield. He's been using that method for quite some time now, but takes it one step further by using a smartphone as a control device. He designs his own user interface for the iPhone using TouchOSC. This is a package which … [Read more...]

Snuggle up with the softer side of hacking

led_quilt

Not all hacks need to be made up of servo motors, wireless radios, and PIR sensors. Sometimes hacking has a softer side, of which [Katie] reminds us with her latest creation. Her LED quilt incorporates 64 hand-sewn LEDs, all of which were painstakingly attached with conductive thread. The same thread was used in a sewing machine to build the conductive grid that powers the LEDs. One half of the … [Read more...]

Oscilloscope thinks it’s a video monitor

scopevid

There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. Where would we be if we listened to advice like that? [Eric] writes that with a fairly simple circuit, he's able to split a composite video signal into its constituent X and Y ramp signals for display on his trusty Tektronix 465m. A LM1881 IC does the bulk of the heavy lifting. After running the signal … [Read more...]

“Stupid expert” builds a machete slingshot for the impending zombie apocalypse

machete_slingshot

Sometimes people build things for the simple challenge of building. This is one of those cases. The gentleman you see in the image above is [Jörg Sprave] of The Slingshot Channel. He is a self-proclaimed "Supid Expert" on the subject of slingshots and has taken his love of flinging things at absurd velocities to a whole new level. His latest creation is a machete slingshot, which is really … [Read more...]