Hackaday Links: October 4, 2011

Playing Snake on a MIDI controller


While you’re waiting for your bandmates to finish arguing/making out/their beer, you can play Snake on your MIDI controller. Luis wrote a Snake game for an Akai APC40 controller. Everything is built with Processing and should provide a great distraction from (for?) your 14-year-old groupies.

Cheap & simple PCB holder


[Robert] sent in a tip for a very simple PCB holder. Take a neo magnet, embed it in oven-hardening modeling clay, and use it on a steel worktop. Check out the pics he sent in (1, 2). It’s too simple not to work.

Lose weight by running people over


[binaryhead] is using a stationary bicycle to play Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. (Spanish, Google translate here). A pot and magnet/reed switch is connected to an Arduino that outputs keys to San Andreas. There’s no word on an ambulance simulator yet.

Giant Android tablet


[Martin Draskov] made a 23 inch Android tablet. He used off the shelf parts (multitouch monitor and a small PC) with the x86 Android port. There’s a video that doesn’t include Angry Birds. Sad, that.

T-shirt bleaching for the modern fabricator


With t-shirt bleaching, you can put a custom design on clothes without a screen printing setup. Reddit user [Admiral_Noosenbaum] used a CNC machine to make templates. Now if only we can find an .SGV file of Che Guevara. Video here.

15 thoughts on “Hackaday Links: October 4, 2011

    1. The clay I used (Fimo) is baked at around 120C so the magnet will handle it just fine. I believe other types of modelling clay like this (Cernit for example) are baked at similar temps so there shouldn’t be any trouble there either.

      Also, never thought my little project would get posted, nice surprise :)

    2. You could just press the magnets where you want them and remove them using another magnet, leaving the imprints behind. Then just use the adhesive of your choice to hold them in place after baking.

      I love the idea of it though! I’ll have to try this one out.

      1. The clay is a bit too sticky and soft for that I think. You wont be able to get the magnet out without mangling the imprint pretty badly. It might work if you put some baking paper or something between the clay and magnet. But really, there’s really no need, you wont bake it near hot enough to affect it.

  1. I wouldn’t be caught dead in that guy’s “art is wrong” shirt. Not only is it a strange thing to say to the world, it looks like he sprayed bleach on it. The paw print one is way better.

  2. the simple pcb holder is a great idea.I would probably suggest making corner pieces too and maybe using something rubbery to support other shapes more unusual shapes. but all in all its a great idea. Seems it would work much better than my cheap solder helping hands

  3. doesn’t bleach weaken the fabric? I had a shirt that got stained by some diluted bleach and after a few wearings the material just disintegrated.

    also, I like the comments on that instructable page that recommend you “neutralize” the bleach with acid. yeah, try that. :)

  4. Maybe instead of using clay sugru could be used? I dont know how strong it is but it seems like a great application for it and it would avoid the problems associated with heating the magnets.

    1. Sugru would work great as well, only downside I can see would be the limited work time. But, again, you really don’t need to worry with these types of clay since you burn it at an extremely low temp, hell I’ve seen people take saunas at the same temp.

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