FM Stereo Transmitter

October 14, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 20 Comments

Reader [Mike Y] responded to our “What are you working on?” post with his stereo FM transmitter project. If you’ve ever used an FM transmitter for your portable audio, you know that even the best consumer level ones can be difficult to make sound decent.

He obtained an NS73M FM Transmitter module from Niigata Seimitsu Company, but it required a controller to handle pre-emphasis, modulation level, frequency, and power level. He decided on an Arduino which would also control his LCD.

His results were quite good, with decent range and superb audio quality. His total cost thus far is $35, but he still needs to put it in an enclosure. You can find complete schematics as well as source code and helpful tips on his site. You may also want to check out the regulations on broadcasting(pdf) as well.

Controlling A Doepfer Modular Synth With A Wiimote

October 13, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 4 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHOS2zg-0nI]

The Wiimote has turned out to be very versatile indeed. This video shows someone using it to control his modular synth. There is not a lot of artistic jamming going on, but explains in fair detail how to set it up. If you want to see Isadore getting down, check this out.

[thanks Louis]

Mounting An External Antenna On EeePC 900

October 13, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 13 Comments

[Terry Porter] added an external antenna to his EeePC 900. Initially, he mounted it on the side of the unit, but found that the location caused it to no longer fit in its carrying case, and made plugging in USB or Ethernet cables very difficult. His resolution was to move the mount to the rear portion of the case. His professional looking mount is definitely worthy of some attention. Check out the project for a breakdown and some great pictures showing the necessary modifications to make it fit.

If you’re going to crack open your EeePC, you may want to just go all out and add everything available.

Gas Powered Vacuum Sucks Hard Anywhere

October 10, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 36 Comments

[mdavis19] found himself in the middle of nowhere, with no electricity, needing a strong vacuum. That happens to us all right? His solution was to hack together a gas powered monster vacuum. He found a shop vac at a yard sale and promptly discarded the motor and filter. Some minor modifications to a leaf blower and a plywood mount finished the job. He now has absolute sucking power as long as he has fuel. He describes how this is going to be used for gold prospecting, though it would probably work just as well on pet hair. If you’re going to use one around the house though, you may want to find a way to mount a filter in it, and wear ear plugs.

Vocal Mouse Control

October 10, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 15 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXmccs4GIqI]

Absolutely fascinating. The University of Washington is developing a vocally controled mouse interface. We’ve seen vocal control of the computer before, but it is usally responding to specific commands and words to carry out tasks such as opening files. This system uses different vowels and sounds to create cursor motion. You can see the same system used in the video above to control a robot arm as well.

[via BotJunkie]

Buy An Eee Box And Get A Free Virus

October 9, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 22 Comments

Some of the Eee Box PCs have been shipped with viruses on board and ready to go. The virus was sitting on the D: drive, labeled as recycled.exe. As soon as that drive is opened, the virus is unleashed on the other drives and removable media attached. Strangely, Microsoft has come to the rescue as their Malicious Software Removal Tool detects it and removes it. This was only on some models, and apparently mostly in Japan.

Before you denounce ASUS for this oversight keep in mind that they make things that we really want, such as the touch screen Eee PC promised in 2009.

[via Gizmodo]

Wireless Accelerometer Controlled RGB LED

October 9, 2008 by Caleb Kraft 10 Comments

[Andlier] sent us this cool little project. He has built a wireless accelerometer controlled RGB LED lighting system. Based on what a mouth full that is, it sounds complicated right? The end result looks fairly intuitive. Simply pick up the controller and tilt your hand to change the color of the light.

The controller consists of an Atmel AVR168 microcontroller. He doesn’t specify what transceiver he is using, but if you look in the comments, he notes that he added an antenna to it to extend the range. The part that controls the LED is based off of an Atmel AVR169 microcontroller hooked to some shiftbright LED modules.

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