[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btUh–1xbls]
[iboucher] wanted to do some crazy Christmas light choreography. Finding the cost of the off the shelf system to be way too much, he set out to build his own. After a visit to eBay to pick up some cheap 1 amp relays, he was ready to get started. Using a Basic Stamp2 that he had laying around, he was able to put together a fairly complete 16 port system. Great job [iboucher]
[via Hacked Gadgets]
Cheap radio controlled toys can provide countless hours of amusement, especially when friends have one too. You can’t always plan ahead enough for everyone to have a different frequency and sometimes, it just isn’t an option anyway. There is a solution, and it isn’t very difficult. [frickelkram] takes us through the process of changing the frequency that the toy runs on. He starts with the simplest way, which involves replacing one piece in the controller and simply adjusting the receiver. He notes that this often fails as the receiver just isn’t built to be adjusted easily. He continues to show how to get it done even if the first method fails.
Robot Magazine has a great article about how to machine custom robot parts. In this article [Matt Bauer] shows the basics of making custom robot parts and skeletal brackets for his humanoid robot creations using a CNC mini-mill. He uses a custom jig overlay designed to make cutting thin sheet stock much easier and to protect his equipment. This template concept creates a platform for many other custom parts going forward. [Matt] includes the .nc g-code files as well as a “how-to” PDF in a ZIP file.
Sometimes, a little bit of noise can be fun. This little noise synth called the Nandhopper, is a quick simple project to get started. The parts list is pretty short, mainly material for the sensors and a 4093 Quad, 2-input Schmitt trigger and NAND gate. You end up with an easy to use, fairly small 1-Bit synth. If you don’t know what a 1-Bit synth sounds like, watch the demo video. Sure, it just sounds like noise to us, but that’s music to some people.
Atanua is a real time logic simulator to help people learn some of the basics of electronics. Focusing mainly on logic, as opposed to power, this is a fantastic tool to learn with. They have done a fantastic job of making it easy to use as well as good looking. We can see this as being a must have piece of software for any hacker. There is a free version available as long as you aren’t using it commercially.
[Thanks ellisgl]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlukl5fLi7s]
[Stuart.Mcfarlan] is back. This time he has added Wii Nunchuck control to his servo bot. You may recall servo bot, or SERB, from a few weeks ago. Now the little bot can be controlled by either the joystick, or the gyroscope in the Nunchuck. Too bad its wired though, wireless is the next step right?
[gmgfarrand] wanted to be able to measure the current being pulled through his USB. He realized that even though he could just cut open the wire and measure at any point, a permanent tool for this would be quite useful. This is a simple modification that shouldn’t take long. All you need is a spare USB cable and an enclosure. He ultimately filled his enclosure with glue to keep everything in there and solid. lets hope his soldering holds well.
