Fresh hacks every day
Halloween may have come and gone but thats no reason not to take a look at this neat little special effects setup. Basically it uses an analogue circuit to monitor an audio signal and triggers some camera flashes using 5V relays. The idea is that you can play lightning strikes and other spooky sounds, and the system will trigger camera flashes to coincide with the lightning strikes. … [Read more...]
[haqnmaq] admits that he suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and on occasion, can be found washing his hands up to 20 times an hour. Very distrustful of cloth towels, he exclusively uses paper towels to dry his hands, to the tune of 2-3 rolls a day. In an effort to lessen the impact his OCD has on the environment and his wallet, he decided to build an automated hot air hand dryer using a … [Read more...]
[Eric] recently built an AM radio based on a 555 timer, and posted a few pictures to the Hack-a-Day Flickr pool. He used the 555 timer as an AM demodulator and power amplifier in order to drive the speaker. A hand-wound inductor is used to tune the signal which is then superimposed over the ramp signal produced by the circuit he built. [Eric] points out that he chose a CMOS 555 timer because of … [Read more...]
[Jason] sent in two 555 timer driven items that were worth sharing, both of which are entries in the 555 Design Contest. The first item is a circuit that automatically resets an infant swing. [Jay], who built both items, has an infant swing for his daughter that spins a mobile and plays music. It's great but it only works for 7 minutes and 15 seconds before a button push is required to trigger … [Read more...]
[Jeri Ellsworth] sent over a 555 design contest entry that struck her as particularly interesting. The Synthanola is a three-channel music synthesizer that accepts input from an old Heathkit paper tape reader. While this hack might seem overly retro, it's actually an extremely appropriate use of technology, as the Heathkit H-10 and the 555 timer were both popular tech in the 70's. This … [Read more...]
While it is only the middle of February, it might be a good time to start thinking about your plans for April Fool's day. [Dino's] Screamer Doll is his submission to the upcoming 555 Contest. This fun little circuit can be used to easily annoy your cube or house mates and is perfect for all of the April Fool's day pranksters out there. He fit all the components into a small plastic toy, … [Read more...]
[FightCube] wrote in recommending a very helpful piece of circuit simulation software for those of you still constructing entries for the 555 design contest. LTSpiceIV, available from Linear Technology, allows you to construct moderately complex 555 driven circuits including common components such as capacitors, resistors, diodes, FETs, and more. Once you have constructed your circuit, you … [Read more...]
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