Electromagnetic Coil Gun

February 17, 2005 by 7 Comments

coil gun
remember greg the high voltage hacker that brought us the homemade night vision scope?  one reader commented:

Greg is a great guy with a ton of ingenuity. He is an inspiration for all high-voltage enthusiasts, and is the only person i know to have constructed a working Tesla coil out of nothing but junk. He is a Class-A hacker!

with a comment like that, and a few other tips i’ve recieved, i figured i should take a closer look at the other articles on his site.  his electromagnetic coil gun howtos are of particular interest.  on his site, they come in two sizes, small and large.

The total peak energy storage for this system is 1874 Joules, the same amount of caloric (not mass) energy found in 4.7 tablespoons of SKIPPY peanut butter. For reference, my other coil gun’s peak energy was 55 Joules or 0.14 tablespoons of peanut butter

Aluminum Can Backpacking Stove

February 16, 2005 by 21 Comments

pop can stove

i spent the weekend trying to come up with a design for a cheap, portable espresso machine.  what i ended up with was a caulk gun actuated pvc tube contraption.  you can read all about it over at engadget.  several users have written that pvc is not approved for hot water use and may be dangerous, so i’d recommend checking out cpvc (or something completely different and more eco-friendly).  there’s room for improvement, so beat me to the punch.  come up with a better diy espresso machine and send it in.  i’ll make sure to post it and you’ll make caffeinated hikers everywhere happy.

so, on the topic of hikers and diy portable gagetry, i just recieved a great link that i had to move to the front of the queue.  scott henderson wrote a great howto on making a nifty little backpacking stove out of a chimeric combination of pepsi and guiness cans.  it’s a simple, elegant design that really makes you think about how you can use every day items in creative ways.

these are my favorite kinds of hacks, bar none.  everybody thank bruce for sending this our way, and make sure to send in your favorite hacks.

Continue reading “Aluminum Can Backpacking Stove” →

Hackaday Links

February 16, 2005 by 5 Comments

hackaday links

more diy backpacking gear
an alcohol stove out of a cat food can
and how to feed the cats while you are off camping (another basic stamp project)

first ever geocamming scavenger hunt

when alt-tab just doesn’t cut it: a product that allows you to im in secret

nsa to be traffic cop for us networks?  will they be enforcing speed limits?

so far, it’s been an interesting week in security.

if you thought their old business model was bad

Peltier Desktop Drink Cooler

February 15, 2005 by 5 Comments

peltier drink cooler
i found this link in my inbox, courtesy of j. peterson.  we’ve posted a peltier beverage cooler before, but i think this one deserves mention as well.  it hasn’t had the finishing touches, so it’s not as pretty yet.  however, this one does come with a digital temperature readout.  more importantly, it’s big.  you could countersink a couple of these babies into your dining room table and start living the 21st century good life, as imagined way back in the mid-1900s.

just think, your home of the future, complete with soda-cooling, plate-heating countertops and a kitchen computer.

Continue reading “Peltier Desktop Drink Cooler” →

Hackaday Links

February 14, 2005 by No comments

hackaday links

learn more about the ps2 programming scene

high-quality and professional spit ball launchers.
kick start your new spit ball launching career.
spitwads not your bag?  how about a diy cruise missile?

this bar stool would go really well with your basic stamp kegerator

here’s a huge compilation of hacks using old computer parts.
it’s in german, but don’t let that stop you.
i’ll have to come back and post some of these individually when i am through reading them all.

this one, in particular, looked pretty incredible.

Continue reading “Hackaday Links” →

Hack Your Pstwo To Support A Hard Disk

February 14, 2005 by 50 Comments

pstwo hdd
so when sony announced that the pstwo would not support an internal hard disk, a lot of people were rightfully dissapointed.  games like final fantasy xi are not playable on the new system.  more importantly, owners of the pstwo would never get the chance to drive seamlessly from city to city in grand theft auto by running the game directly from the hard disk.  just think of all the people you could be running over instead of waiting for the next city to load.

well, some hacker who goes by the name of automan has rewritten pstwo history.  photos of a pstwo with an internal hard disk have been popping up in forums around the net.  the job is not for the faint of heart, and you’ll need a 12v power supply to power the hard disk, but to help get you started i’ve included the ide wiring images after the break.

are there any brave souls that want to give this a try and confirm that it’s legit?

Continue reading “Hack Your Pstwo To Support A Hard Disk” →