DIY ring light takes its cues from fiber optic toys

the_ram_ring_light

DIY ring light setups for DSLR cameras are nothing new around here. While most of them rely on an array of LEDs or a mirror-based light tube, [Wolf] had a different idea. He figured that since optical fibers are made specifically for transmitting light from one place to another, they would make a perfect medium for constructing a ring … Read the rest

DIY emergency lighting system

diy_emergency_lighting_system

When the power goes out at home, what do you do? Most of us probably scramble around the house looking for a flashlight. [Gigawatts] wanted a better solution, so he built an emergency lighting system based off a standard household UPS. A while back he had constructed a relay-switched outlet box to help periodically restart his cable modem which would … Read the rest

DIY Ultrasonic range finder for $5

After finding some ultrasonic transducers online for a dollar each [Kerry Wong] decided to create an ultrasonic range finder. The result is much like parallax’s PING))) sensor but much cheaper. His post is not only a good way to save some money, but also does a good job of explaining how ultrasonic sensors work.  The transmit circuit is essentially … Read the rest

Ride fly: Segway DIY

The video above is the final working DIY Segway from [sb-scooter]. The website and build log don’t have a lot of information at the moment, but you can still gawk at several pictures of the construction (and a picture is worth 1000 German words).

For those looking for the nitty gritty, with some quick math we figure its two 500 … Read the rest

Humble Homes, Simple Shacks

[Derek] puts the “hack” into the word shack.  We really enjoyed his “little yellow house” videos and shared them with you. After that, we discovered that he has published a book. No, he didn’t have it published, he published it. This guy is DIY through and through. “Humble Homes, Simple Shacks, Cozy Cottages, Ramshackle Retreats, Funky Forts (And Read the rest

How-to: DIYDTG

For those unaware, the little acronym above stands for Do-It-Yourself-Direct-To-Garment printing. In layman’s terms, printing your own shirts and designs. Commercial DTGs can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 which for the hobbyist who only wants a few shirts is ridiculous. So you would think this field of technology would be hacked to no end, but we’ve actually only … Read the rest

DIY circuit etching video tutorial

toner-paper

Circuit-bending blog GetLoFi has posted the best tutorial yet on home-made printed circuit boards using the toner transfer method.

We’ve covered homebrew PCB fabrication techniques about a billion times before. What sets this tutorial apart is that it collects many bits of knowledge otherwise scattered all about the web, and then depicts the entire process on video, from initial … Read the rest