Hackaday Links: Sunday, November 29

November 29, 2009 by Mike Szczys 47 Comments

Sometimes we wonder if we’re making good choices with PCB layout when using EagleCAD. Watch how the pros do it with a video of an hour-long Adafruit PCB layout session compressed into seven minutes.

[Elijah] documented his RepStrap build. This is a chicken-or-egg project in that RepStrap machines are built without the assistance of an already existing RepRap.

Here’s an ASUS concept from CeBIT this year for a laptop that has two touch screens and no physical keyboard. Isn’t this just the DS project we saw this week but in a nice case?

[James] conjured up a physical realization of the Spinning Wheel of Death for an art exhibit. We can’t stop smiling when looking at this artful hack.

I’m sure nobody will raise an eyebrow when you pop out that roll of duct-tape and affix your phone to the airplane window. That’s what [floe] did to make this airline flight time-lapse video with an Android phone. Aren’t you supposed to turn off all electronics for takeoff?

Hackaday Links: Sunday November 22

November 22, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 12 Comments

Hacklab’s laser cutter got the customary musical treatment. You can see it play the theme from mario brothers here. It’s nothing new to us, but we still enjoy seeing it done.

Ever been curious how a pole transformer is made? Quench that curiosity with this educational video. [via HackedGadets]

Here’s a quasi humanoid robot that is designed to be your workout trainer. He’ll show you the exercises, give you motivational and encouraging pep talks and even play games with you. We think the idea sounds good, but in execution, he flails his arms and randomly says creepy insincere sounding things like “I’m having fun. I could play this game all day long. I’m having too much fun.” That’s just creepy.

[Mr. Nelson] got sick of walking all the way down the hall just to see if there was anyone in the bathroom. His solution was to build this massively overdone indicator light system. It uses a proximity sensor located in each bathroom to determine occupied status and has a fantastic industrial look.

If you’ve ever wanted to get into 3d photography you’ll be pleased to see this writeup on how to build a simple rig and compile the images for different viewing methods.

We were amazed by these beautifully crafted brass machines. The one in this video is solar powered and seems to run pretty smoothly. Not bad for something that was all hand crafted from sheets of brass.

Be careful with this one folks. This video shows how to melt a beer bottle in your microwave. We’re not sure why you would want to, but we sure enjoyed watching it happen. Maybe that’s reason enough.

Hackaday Links: Friday The 13th, 2009

November 13, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 13 Comments

Thecoolingcoil1 (Custom)

This wort cooler looks beautiful. No, it’s not for removing warts, it’s part of the brewing process for the nectar of the gods. Even if it wasn’t meant to create alcohol, we would be drawn in by those pretty copper curves.

rc900 (Custom)

We’re not surprised at all to see this remote-controlled bowling ball. We’ve seen remote-controlled spheres several times and this just seems like the logical conclusion. We wish there were some build details though. [via neatorama]

_live_media_site577_2009_1106_20091106_070015_TN00-PanAm-sh11 (Custom)

When [Anthony Toth] an aircraft enthusiast, decided remodel his garage, he shot for the sky. He has recreated the first class cabin of a Pan Am 747 circa the 1970s. It took him nearly 20 years to scavenge the parts and over $50,000 to pull it all together. [via makezine]

F9BRC5KG1QWAWR9.MEDIUM (Custom)

This super cheap simple cable tester caught our eye. There’s nothing complicated here, pretty common sense really. Why didn’t we think of it?

ph11 (Custom)

Over the years, Asimo has become a household name. At least in geek households. We’ve seen him go from crazy looking walking microwave prototype, to giant scary space man monster, to the lovable little guy we know now. You can see the full evolution of Asimo in this picture series.

Untitled-1

Got an old box camera? Want to use it with modern 35mm film? Here’s a guide to getting it to work. It mainly just involves making a simple mounting bracket.

galaxydress_1 (Custom)

We like LEDs a lot, but this is getting ridiculous. This dress has 24,000 LEDs. They power it with iPod batteries spread throughout the dress. This cuts down on the bulk and helps distribute the weight.

temperature-controlled-mug-pcm (Custom)

Coffee cup technology hasn’t changed much in the last bazillion years. We’re pretty sure cave people carved them from stone, and now they’re made from ceramic which really isn’t that different. Some researchers are changing all that, and designing a coffee cup that is supposed to regulate its temperature in a new way. This mug is manufactured with internal convection channels and is made from a material known for its temperature regulation called PCM. Interesting, but it will probably cost much more than a simple insulated thermos. [via neatorama]

Welcome Back, HackaDay Links

November 5, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 32 Comments

links

While browsing the web for new and interesting hacks to show you guys, we run across all kinds of interesting stuff. Often, we would love to share them with you, and get your thoughts, but they just simply don’t have enough information or aren’t hacks at all. This is where HackaDay Links come in. Occasionally we’ll gather up some interesting stuff and post it all at once. These probably won’t be hacks, so if you’re not into seeing other interesting stuff, just wait for the next post.

We used to do these posts from time to time, and we’ve decided to start again. Without further adieu, here are the links:

1.Medgadget has a pretty cool crutch system which uses your upper leg for support instead of your arm. Seems like a better way of building support for digitigrade legs to us.

2.VR pods sure are looking funny now days. Seems like you could do this on your own pretty easy with some simple dome projection.

3.We were unaware of The Gadget Show, till we saw this post on DVICE. For those that don’t want to sit through it all, they do two projects. One is a wearable computer jacket with a projector built into the sleeve, the other is a set of iPod controls built into some horribly gaudy high heels. We shouldn’t judge the fashion though, they probably know fashion better than us.

4.These massive robotic arms have been all over the net for the past few weeks. The video is sort of neat, with cool cgi effects, but all he does is wave them around somewhat lethargically. We do hope to see something more soon.

5.Princess Leia, sunbathing. We had to share. Thank us later.

6.You could win [Ben Heck]’s PS3 laptop. Unfortunately you have to spend a bunch of money at the score. Just in case you’re curious, they value it at $7500