Gutenberg Clock Keeps Time By Reading Books

August 13, 2014 by Eric Evenchick 16 Comments

We’ve seen a wide variety of hacks that keep time, but [ch00f]’s latest build takes a new spin on counting the seconds. The Gutenberg Clock keeps time by reading books on a scrolling LED screen.

The content for the clock is sourced from the Project Gutenberg, which releases books with expired copyright for free. The library on the clock consists of around twenty thousand such books. Read at eighty words per minute, the clock won’t repeat a passage for the next thirty-three years.

While the clock doesn’t display time itself, it is synchronized to time. Two identical clocks should display the same text at the same time. To get the time, [ch00f] first tried hacking apart a cheap radio clock, which is synchronized to NIST’s 60 kHz broadcast. After reverse engineering the protocol with great success, stray RF energy from the display turned out to cause too much interference.

With the cheap solution out the window, [ch00f] built a custom breakout for an Adafruit GPS module and used it to get the time. This was his first RF board, but it worked out fine.

Books are loaded onto a FAT filesystem on an SD card, and [ChaN]’s FatFS is used to interpret the filesystem. A microcontroller then sends the text out at a constant rate to a serial port on the display which he hacked his way into.

The project is a neat mix of art and electronics. Stick around for a video overview after the break.

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VR Bowling Game Combines An Oculus Rift With A Wii Remote

August 13, 2014 by Matt Terndrup 5 Comments

[marclar83] was given an Oculus Rift so that he could prepare for an upcoming conference presentation. He began to download demos, getting familiar with the VR interface but was disappointed to find out that someone hadn’t developed a good virtual reality bowling experience yet. This prompted him to design a VR game that integrates a Wii Remote, recording the movements of the controller and sending accelerometer data to his computer.

The game he created is similar to Wii Sports Bowling but with the added bonus of being immersed in a virtual world with the Oculus Rift. The D-pad on the Wii Remote was programmed to switch stances and bowling methods, allowing the user to choose whether they want to throw the ball down the middle or curve it a long the way. Pressing the trigger button on the back started the swinging motion, and when released, the bowling ball shot down the alley at a high rate of speed crashing into the pins at the end.

Because the game was designed on the original DK1, the resolution of the images was a challenge that needed to be addressed, but [marclar83] solved this problem by implementing two user interfaces on the side of the screen that showed replays and depicted how many pins remained; proving to be a better experience for the gamer. This free public alpha version was made available for Windows, Mac, and Linux on the official VRBowling website. A video describing the project can be seen below. Continue reading “VR Bowling Game Combines An Oculus Rift With A Wii Remote” →

Hydroforming In The Garage With A Pressure Washer

August 13, 2014 by James Hobson 74 Comments

Ever heard of hydroforming? It’s a manufacturing process used to form sheet metal into shapes using water at extremely high pressures. Not something you can do at home… unless of course you’re [Colin Furze].

Hydroforming works by evenly distributing pressure via water (conveniently, in-compressible) against sheet metal inside of a mold. Many automotive parts are created in this fashion. Typical systems run at around 15,000 PSI.

After building a giant pulse jet engine (complete with butt) to fart on France, [Colin] got the idea from a YouTube comment to try to do hydroforming at home — bending the sheet metal for the giant derriere wasn’t that easy. Hydroforming on the other hand is a surprisingly simple process. Weld some sheet metal together, add a pipe fitting to connect your cheap pressure washer and boom — hydoformed metal parts.

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Hackerspace Tours: Pasadena City College

August 13, 2014 by Matt Terndrup 5 Comments

Pasadena City College is putting together an amazing combination of tools, education techniques, and innovative projects pinning them on the map as one of the best hackerspaces in the Southern California area. Led by [Deborah Bird], the Director of the Design Technology Pathway at PCC, and Sandy Lee the DTP Faculty Chair, this Fab Lab provides students with cutting-edge workshops and internships that will define future jobs.

We were invited to the space by Joan Horvath, the VP of Business Development over at a local 3D printing store called Deezmaker, after meeting her at an Arduino electronics class taught by a young, talented maker named [Quin]. When we arrived, we were greeted by several students who were working on a 3D printed portable map for the blind which was created for an elementary school nearby. The team behind the design attempted to step out of the visual world and into unfamiliar unsighted territory. One of the members gave us a tour of the space showing us the tools and resources they had made available to PCC students. A variety of 3D printers, ventilators, CNC machines, laser cutters, metal lathes, and even a chainsaw were found inside.

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A Homemade Bubble Robot For The Kids

August 13, 2014 by Bryan Cockfield 10 Comments

bubbles-machine

Kids generally can be amused pretty easily, but when jangling keys stop holding their interest you might want to take a look at [drenehtsral]’s new project. He’s created an automatic bubble robot (YouTube link) that keeps the kids endlessly entertained!

The project started as an idea at a festival where one of [drenehtsral]’s kids took great interest at a bubble machine. [drenehtsral] had never heard of a bubble machine before, but it turns out that it’s pretty simple in practice. All that’s required is a tank of soapy water, a motor to turn the bubble wands, and a fan to form the bubbles and make them waft gently through the air.

[drenehtsral] also used a 12V battery for power, some other hardware to hold it all together, and a 5V regulator and some other control electronics for the fan and the motor. He notes that he could have bought a bubble machine but in true hacker style found it fun to build himself. The next step in this project could be something to vary the size of the bubbles, or perhaps a set of wheels for the robot so it can entertain the kids on the move!

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Upgrade That Cheap-o Laser Cutter!

August 13, 2014 by James Hobson 44 Comments

Laser cutters are perhaps one of the most useful tools in a hackerspace’s arsenal of tools, rivaled only by 3D printers and CNC mills. The problem is they’re quite expensive — unless you get one of the cheap little ones from China that is! Unfortunately, you get what you pay for. Lucky for us though they aren’t that hard to upgrade!

[Dan Beaven] just finished upgrading his 40W CO2 laser to use an Arduino Mega 2560 and RAMPS 1.4 — wanting to share his knowledge he’s posted a guide to help others do the same. The upgrade itself isn’t that difficult, although can be a bit messy for wiring. In the future [Dan] hopes to design a PCB with all the connectors so it’s as simple as plugging it into the RAMPS board.

To control the laser he’s using firmware from the Lansing Makers Network (GitHub) designed for use with marlin electronics. He’s modified it a bit for his own purposes (Google Drive) including a low output LASAR activation signal.The cool thing with setting up your laser with this hardware is that you can use a laser output plugin right in Inkscape!

Electric Longboard Roundup

August 12, 2014 by Marsh 21 Comments

ev longboards everywhere!

Everybody and their grandmother is longboarding electric-style these days: here are some of the most recent developments in the world of kickless cruising.

First up, [comsa42] has punched up an excellent step-by-step visual guide for first-time EV hopefuls, detailing the basics of a battery-powered longboard setup and thoroughly explaining the particulars behind component choices. His build is relatively straightforward: combine a board with a low(ish) kV outrunner motor, some LiPo batteries, an ESC (Electronic Speed Controller), a transmitter/receiver, and a few custom parts for gearing and mounting. This build should be commended not only for its simplicity but also for its frugality: [comsa42] estimates a final cost of around only $300, which is a staggering difference from commercial alternatives such as the Boosted Board and newcomer Marbel.

[comsa42’s] other significant contribution is a low-key and low-cost cover to house the electronics. He simply fiberglassed a small enclosure to protect the expensive internals, then mounted and painted it to blend seamlessly with the rest of the deck. You can find loads of other useful goodies in his guide, including CAD files for the motor mounts and for the wheel assembly.

But wait, there’s more! Stick around after the jump for a few other builds that ditch traditional wheels in favor of a smoother alternative. There’s also a smattering of videos, including comsa42’s] guide overview and some excellent cruising footage of the other board builds doing what they do best.

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