Talking Joystick Mouse

February 10, 2011 by Caleb Kraft 8 Comments

Instructibles user [Shadowwynd] shows us a great way to build a joystick/mouse device for people with special accessibility needs. When faced with a case that involved a man with very limited mobility as well as a limited budget, [shadowwynd] set out to find a cost effective solution to computer navigation. They found that his client could use a commercial joystick mouse, but the cost was quite high at over $400. So instead of just purchasing that, they bought a USB game pad and built their own version. They managed to reduce the cost to roughly $45. While extending the buttons and joystick from a gamepad might not be groundbreaking, we feel that this project is the epitome of hacking. Great job [Shadowwynd] keep up the good work.

Paintball Chronograph

February 6, 2011 by Caleb Kraft 20 Comments

This slick little chronograph can tell you how fast your paintballs are going, as well as what your firing rate is. In this instructible by [Klash69], you can see how to build one for yourself for less than $40. Chronographs themselves aren’t usually too interesting, but we thing he has done a great job here. You have a nice compact package with a big bright display. All it really needs now is a smooth enclosure. As far as the tech details go, he’s using IR sensors spaced 4 inches apart for detection, at the barrel. We’re not experts, but we think this might not work as well on a gun due to muzzle flash, someone who actually knows should let us know in the comments. The brains are a PIC18F13k50 and you can download a full parts list and schematic on the instructible.

You can see a video of it in use after the break.

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Microsimon

February 6, 2011 by Caleb Kraft 7 Comments

[Simoninns] is hoping to compete in the Sparkfun Microcontroller Contest with this cool little Microsimon instructible. The parts list is pretty small, at around 20 components. At the heart is a PIC 12F683 microcontroller. The whole project is very well documented with schematics, PCB layouts, code, and great pictures. This is a great project that you could put together really quickly and is a perfect introduction to charlieplexing. We find that, especially when teaching a new person, games are often a good project to learn from. The interactive and competitive nature of the finished product usually keeps people interested a little longer. You can catch a video of it after the break.

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8×8 LED Infinity Mirror

February 5, 2011 by Caleb Kraft 6 Comments

[chromationsystems] put out a couple instructibles on building infinity mirrors. One with an 8×8 array of LEDs and one with a 32 LED ring. These are very well documented covering the construction of the mirror enclosure as well as the circuit and code. The effect is quite nice. The 8×8 array is interesting, we haven’t seen that before. These would make a fine addition to any geek cave/electronics lab. While it looks like these were basically advertisements for a product he sells, you can definitely make your own from his instructions. We like this kind of advertising.

ENIAC Was First, Right?

February 3, 2011 by Caleb Kraft 46 Comments

Well, no. Many of us who went to school and have degrees in various computer related fields instantly think of ENIAC as the first “computer”, but we’re all wrong. We know some of you are already familiar with the Atanasoff-Berry computer, and we are too… now. However, when we learned about it, it was long after our school lessons were over, and it felt like learning Santa wasn’t real, or the pilgrims didn’t really have a fancy dinner with the native Americans. [Jane Smiley] is releasing a book telling the whole story, and it should be fairly interesting. She gave an interview with Wired about the book. In the interview she talks about how fascinating the story is and even addresses [Alan Turing]’s role.

Harvesting Ultrasonic Sensors

February 3, 2011 by Caleb Kraft 25 Comments

With many modern cars coming equipped with an array of ultrasonic sensors mounted in the bumpers, it stands to reason that many junk yards have them too. [jimk3038] points out that, unless they’re crushed, they’re probably good. The list of features on these is pretty long, including being short proof, water proof, EMF proof and fast. These tough little suckers can be used in a multitude of projects and can have a range of roughly 2 meters. [jimk3038] documents in great detail how to use these things as well as offering some sample code to get you started. Why didn’t we think of this?

Simple Touch Sensor And Other Lessons

February 3, 2011 by Caleb Kraft 21 Comments

[HankDavis] sent along this link to a video showing a tutorial on how to make touch sensors using a “darlington pair”. In the video we are taken through the idea and how we’re going to construct it. [Thad]explains in detail how this works in simple terms and illustrates it clearly. Unfortunately they don’t show an actual constructed system, but this is so simple you could toss it together quickly and see for yourself. This is a great lesson on how to get a simple touch sensor into your projects. This video appears to be one of a series of class visuals, and you can find several others on youtube under this account.

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