Bluetooth-enabled Talking Chicken

February 28, 2011 by 4 Comments

bluetooth_chicken

[Jeri Ellsworth] sent us a video walkthrough of a hack she did a few years ago using a toy chicken with a motor operated mouth. She wired up a Bluetooth headset’s audio output to a LM386 audio amplifier, which drives the speaker she added to the chicken. The output of the audio amplifier was also connected to a 555 timer in bistable mode to activate the motorized mouth. The motor simply opens the mouth when activated, allowing the built-in spring to snap it shut when the 555 is reset.

Obviously Jeri didn’t send us an old project just for kicks, she wanted to remind all of our readers that the 555 Design Contest comes to a close tomorrow night, March 1st at 11:59 EST. If you haven’t submitted an entry yet, get something started while there is still time!

Keep reading to see Jeri give a quick video overview of her talking Bluetooth chicken.

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Punch Tape Musical Synth

February 16, 2011 by 26 Comments

synthanola

[Jeri Ellsworth] sent over a 555 design contest entry that struck her as particularly interesting. The Synthanola is a three-channel music synthesizer that accepts input from an old Heathkit paper tape reader. While this hack might seem overly retro, it’s actually an extremely appropriate use of technology, as the Heathkit H-10 and the 555 timer were both popular tech in the 70’s. This retro-focused synth uses fourteen 555 timers, twelve of which are dedicated to synthesizing audio. If this entry does not win the contest, it certainly must be a strong contender for most 555 timers used.

[Thrashbarg] gives a detailed explanation of the logic used to drive the music playback from the punch tape, as well as full circuit diagrams for his entry. So far he has encoded MP3s of Bach’s Invention and Fugue in D Minor to tape, with hopefully more to come. In order to truly appreciate his efforts, the Synthanola should be seen as well as heard. Stick around for a pair of videos of the synth in action.

If you’re interested in seeing more 555 contest entries, be sure to check out some of our previously featured projects.

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A-Z Of Electronics – Capacitors

February 15, 2011 by 15 Comments

a_to_z_electronics

[Jeri Ellsworth] recently released another video in her “A-Z of Electronics” series – this time Capacitors are the subject. As a penance for my boneheaded AC Capacitor suggestion yesterday (I swear it was lack of sleep talking), [Caleb] suggested that I be the one to write this article. Since I’m not an electrical engineer (I majored in Comp Sci), I enjoy watching these videos, and I share them with individuals who are new to electronics. [Jeri] always presents the subject matter in a clear and concise manner, so the subjects do not seem daunting or intimidating.

She briefly discusses the early development of capacitors, including Leyden Jars, then focuses on modern capacitors and their usage. She covers wiring capacitors in circuits, demonstrating the difference between series and parallel configurations, as well as how electrode distance affects capacitance.

If you have a spare minute, be sure to check out her current video as well as those she has previously released.

555 Design Contest, Win $1500+ In Prizes!

January 25, 2011 by 35 Comments

Sure, microcontrollers are useful, easy to apply, and ubiquitous, but where is the fun in the easy route? Well, for those of you out there with a little imagination and a 555 timer sitting around, there could be rewards in store. Brought to you by such famous personalities as Jeri Ellsworth and Chris Gammell, the 555 contest has prizes and awards for a number of different categories, such as over the top designs as well as awards for most minimalistic. To top it all off, they are even selling T-shirts to benefit engineering education charities.

The craziest (and possibly coolest) part of the entire contest is that the it has all been put together by the hacking community, with no exclusive sponsorship deals or payment to the organizers being accepted. In the spirit of giving, we will be adding some Hack a Day merch to the swag pile, so keep an eye out for the skull and wrenches. Currently the prize list includes a pair of Beagle Boards, a custom hacked Commodore 64 Joystick from Jeri, as well as a number of other project parts and lots more. The sponsorship list is still growing, so all of our information is tentative (and exclusive!), but be sure to check out the complete list so far after the break.

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Let Paper Dolls Teach You Science

January 13, 2011 by 21 Comments

Remember how fun it was studying chemistry and physics in high school? Well we guess your recollection depends on the person who taught the class. Why not have another go at it by learning the A-to-Z of electronics from one of our favorite teachers, [Jeri Ellsworth].

You know, the person who whips up chemistry experiments and makes her own semiconductors? The first link in this post will send you to her video playlist. So far she’s posted A is for Ampere and B is for Battery, both of which you’ll find embedded after the break. Her combination of no-nonsense technical explanation, and all-nonsense paper-doll history reenactment make for a fun viewing whether you retain any of the information or not.

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How To Work With EL Wire

December 7, 2010 by 17 Comments

As you can see, [Phillip Torrone] has a nice start on his Tron costume for the movie premiere. Electroluminescent wire is what makes these costumes glow and if you’ve never worked with the stuff before you’re in for a treat. Adafruit posted a tutorial explaining how to work with EL wire. The process isn’t hard, but they’ve got a few nice tips, like using copper tape as a platform for soldering the corona wires. There is also a discussion of the math involved with properly powering your setup.

In this case, Adafruit is using ready-made power inverter units. If you’ve interested in hacking together your own inverter take a look at the background information from [Jeri Ellsworth].

Make Your Own TSA “Naked” Scanner

December 3, 2010 by 82 Comments

Have you ever wanted to ability to see through objects? Perhaps you have been looking for something special for your own personal TSA role playing adventures? Well, [Jeri Ellsworth] has your back. She has managed to cobble together her own millimeter centimeter wave scanner using a hacked set of Feed Horns (like from a satellite dish) to create the image. By reversing the power transistor on one of the Feed Horns, one of the horns is made into a transmitter, while one of the other horns stays as a receiver. This data is then fed into a FPGA by way of an A2D converter, where an image is assembled when the scanner is moved over a surface. X and Y axis tracking is handled by an optical mouse also controlled by the FPGA, and the whole setup is output to a monitor.

Right now there is no text write up, or any specific details as the hack will vary by whatever Feed Horn is available. However, the video does a great job of explaining some of the electrical concepts, as well as some very useful schematics. Be sure to watch the whole video after the break, and don’t blame us for any health complications, whether the radiation is ionizing or not.

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