Make Your Own Odometer From Scraps

January 19, 2011 by Greg R. Jacobs 11 Comments

For those out there who would enjoy a quick and interesting weekend project, this odometer made by [PeckLauros] is for you. Featured on Instructables it is made from the simplest of materials including some cardboard, a calculator, wires, glue, hot glue, magnetic drive key, an old CD and a reader, and a rubber band. The magnets, when attached to the CD work in a calculation to add 0.11m to the calculator when a magnet closes the circuit. [PeckLauros] points out that since it is a homebrewed device, it does have flaws such as adding 0.11m twice when the CD is rotated too slowly. It is easily fixed by simply running faster. The video is below the break.

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CES: Where Are They Now? CES Of Course!

January 7, 2011 by Greg R. Jacobs 10 Comments

CES is a time for showcasing the latest and greatest innovative products. While the crowd milled around the iLounge there was one company who stood out amongst the rest. [Mike] from CableJive is making his debut on the biggest stage for innovation this year. Many of you will remember [Mike] from a post back in 2006, where he was fed up of with all of the good docks being for the apple products exclusively. He set out to fix this and, when talking with him, attributes his success to the coverage Hack a Day did on his project. CableJive has become so popular that he has hired staff that help him produce his products. All detailed information for their products can be found at their website. The finished product is displayed after the break.

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CES: Microsoft Hacks Up Next OS As SOC

January 6, 2011 by Greg R. Jacobs 76 Comments

With the Pre-CES Keynote made by [Steve Ballmer], the announcement came that the next iteration of their operating system being available in SOC specific form. This will lead to windows being able to run a very diverse hardware set in a much more efficient manner than it does right now. Microsoft displayed 4 different versions of what the next generation prototypes are from 4 different manufacturers but there has been no work done yet on the GUI for SOC as [Ballmer] was very clear to mention that more than a couple of times. Some photos of the prototypes can be found after the break!

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Timelapse Photos For All!

January 4, 2011 by Greg R. Jacobs 7 Comments

Find yourself wanting to do some timelapse but lacking the equipment? Why not build your own time lapse rig as seen in instructables how to by [Constructer]. To accomplish this, all you will need is a little wood, screws, a motor, and some batteries. The how-to says you can add extra voltage to speed up the rate of taking photos, or conversely reduce voltage to slow it down. We especially like the simplicity of this mechanical approach. No timers, no programming, only a motor. One downfall of this simplistic approach, however is that your “gap” between pictures will increase as your battery dies.

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Cell Phone Endurance Tests

January 1, 2011 by Greg R. Jacobs 31 Comments

Gone are the days when a phone would last you a lifetime and enter the days of glass covered mobile phones built to be sexy and sophisticated. With these new phones come new testing methods. Companies like Nokia are still dedicated to making the best phones possible and making them durable through vigorous testing. The example shown in the article, is simulating a phone dropping from a shirt pocket onto the floor. Nokia claims to use 200 endurance tests encompassing temperature, extreme usage (use this button pusher for you own test), physical drops, and exposure to humidity on each new model in their product line. Makes one wonder what other companies are using for their endurance tests. There’s video of the Nokia N8 Drop Test is after the break, and don’t forget to leave a comment if you know about other interesting test methods.

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MIT Inspired Impromptu SegStick

December 27, 2010 by Greg R. Jacobs 15 Comments

If many of the readers out there longed for a Segway for Christmas but Santa didn’t bring you one, you are in luck. The aptly named Seg-Stick by [scolton] is a great way for cheap transportation. It uses a broomstick, along with two DeWalt cordless drills to power this bad boy on 6” wheels. Like articles done before on Hack a Day this is an awesome although rudimentary example of the things that can be made with a short amount of time, some determination, and a few power tools. Great job [scolton].

Didn’t See The Lunar Eclipse, Make One!

December 22, 2010 by Greg R. Jacobs 5 Comments

Lunar eclipse simulator

Last night was a lunar eclipse meaning that most people would have been out gazing up at the sky watching it. For some the eclipse evaded them using cloud cover, but instead of giving up, they got innovative. [Garrett] decided to build a moon simulator to keep track of the eclipse using a few spare parts and some quick code. The parts that were required for this project includes an Arduino UNO, a singular ShiftBrite Shield, a ShiftBar, ChronoDot and a Satellite Module 001. This is the perfect project for the Arduino to be used in because he had to toss it together very quickly and it is meant to be a temporary solution. If he were to make this permanent, we would guess that he would make a smaller and more cost effective version of the electronics. He documents his experience on Macetech.com in more detail and the outcome is pretty amazing. Code is yet to be posted but hopefully it is forthcoming soon as well as a video of the simulator working.