Day: September 17, 2008

Control Your Camera Remotely With A DS

September 17, 2008 by 9 Comments

Using a custom built cable connected to the lower GBA slot and a copy of Canon’s SDK, [Steve Chapman] has come up with a very clever way of taking pictures remotely with a Nintendo DS Lite.

Currently the software supports bracket shooting as well as bulb mode. [Steve] points out that he is currently testing an audio based trigger system using the mic built into the DS and the software is still a work in progress.

While the weight saving benefits of using a DS instead of a notebook are obvious, there are things you do give up going this route. Traditionally, when you tether a camera to a computer the photos are saved directly to the computer where you can view the image on a much larger monitor. With the DS, it seems all you can do is remotely trigger the camera. Given the size and resolution of the screens maybe that’s all it can do.

[via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Old School High Voltage Capacitance

September 17, 2008 by 29 Comments


What would MacGyver do if he needed a high voltage capacitor but only had some foil, tape, water, salt, a nail and a plastic jug?  He would build a salt water Leyden jar, that’s what.  The Leyden jar is a very simple capacitor. Invented in 1745, it has been integral to many scientific experiments. Check the wikipedia entry to learn more about the history.

This specific type is quite easy to make. It uses a salt water interior instead of foil on the inside and outside. That means you could slap one of these together in a few minutes to impress your friends and/or electrocute yourself accidentally.  Please be careful as this is high voltage.

Multi Platform Plug’n’Play System Update

September 17, 2008 by 6 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22yI_nk09Fc]

[Bacteria] sent us this sweet video of the Multi Platform Plug’n’Play system running his new GameBoy Advance module. He’s made an addon for his unit that allows him to play his GameBoy Advance cartridges as well as GameBoy ones. Watch the vid for the details and some views of the insides.