Getting rid of telemarketers with a Banana Phone

Banana

The Federal Trade Commission really doesn't like robocalls and other telephone solicitors selling you vinyl siding or home security upgrades. The FTC is even offering $50,000 to anyone who can do away with these robocalling telemarketers, and [Alex] looks like he might just claim the prize. He developed The Banana Phone, a device that eliminates those pesky telemarketers. The basic idea of the … [Read more...]

Open source Android thermostat

Android-thermostat

Put that old Android phone to good use by mounting it on the wall as a smart thermostat. This open source hardware and software project lets you replace your home's thermostat with an Android device which adds Internet connectivity and all that comes with the increase in computing power. The brunt of the hardware work is taken care of by using an IOIO board which makes it easy to interface any … [Read more...]

Galaxy SIII hack puts Android in your dashboard

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Here's how you can have a hands-free, no worries about the battery, Android experience while you drive. [Steve] removed the head unit from his car and replaced it with a Samsung Galaxy SIII Android phone. The look is pretty nice, but we do have a few suggested improvements if you try this one for yourself. It started simply by removing the factory stereo which left a double-height opening in … [Read more...]

Using old phones as an intercom in your VW bus (or anywhere else)

IMG_2541

In case you haven't noticed from my many comments on the subject, I drive a VW bus. It is a 1976 Westfalia camper with sage green paint and green plaid upholstery. I absolutely love it and so does the rest of my family. We go for drives in the country as well as camping regularly. We have found that the kids have a hard time communicating with us while we're going higher speeds. These things … [Read more...]

A Smartphone Dock for your Arm? Why Not?

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Why not that is, if you have a prosthetic arm. Although it's hard to believe we haven't seen this before, [Trevor Prideaux], according to [The Telegraph's] article, "has become the world's first ever patient to have a smartphone docking system built into his prosthetic arm." [Trevor] was born without a forearm, and, as he puts it, he's used to adapting to things.  However, he thought others … [Read more...]

Candlestick phone goes modern.

candlestick3

[Adam Ben-Dror] recently tipped us off to a project that he worked on recently. In this build he gutted an old candlestick-style phone and added modern technology to make it work as a cordless phone. We really liked this project because he married together new and old technology into an elegant package. There are a few hacks that he had to perform to get this to work. One was converting the rotary … [Read more...]

Vintage phone has a dirty Android secret

android_based_vintage_phone

Instructables user [apple_fan] likes vintage telephones from the early 1900s, but while they are nice to look at, they’re clearly not too useful nowadays. He decided to change that, and retrofitted an old operator-dialed telephone with some modern amenities. He gutted the phone, stripping out the large electromagnets and capacitor that were once used to facilitate placing and receiving calls. … [Read more...]