AppleCrate II doubles the cluster computing fun

apple_crate_II

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 Read the rest

Analog projection clock so simple you should have thought of it

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 Read the rest

DIY sunrise alarm clock

sunrise_alarm_clock

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 … Read the rest

Cutting paper scrolls with frickin’ lasers

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 … Read the rest

Build your own Programmable Logic Controller

[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 … Read the rest

Meet Mr. Clappidoo

mr_clappidoo

[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. … Read the rest

USB Keyboard Prankster

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 … Read the rest