Garage Door… Packet Sniffer

October 3, 2009 by Jake W 46 Comments

Some type of logger or sniffer exists for almost every form of electronic communication. Your keystrokes, phone conversations, and wireless networks could all be monitored. In this awesome proof-of-concept project, [James] expanded that array to include garage door openers. After receiving a piece of chain mail which stated that criminals have the technology to record any remote code and play it back, [James] wondered if he could build such a device that would work on at least his opener model. Continue reading “Garage Door… Packet Sniffer” →

Growing Algae With An Arduino

October 2, 2009 by Matt Schulz 58 Comments

algae_grow

We’ve seen automated grow boxes of all shapes and sizes, but all were for growing plants. [Jared] over at Inventgeek wanted to do something similar for his algae. He started off with an Arduino-based solution that allows the controlled pulse of LEDs connected to his standard bioreactor as a prototype. Once he determined his proof of concept worked, he began work on a design based on the Arduino Pro Mini that has more advanced features such as temperature monitoring and algae culture density monitoring via some fancy IR voodoo. The code is open source and the hardware is easily obtainable, all that remains is the desire to grow algae.

Halloween Prop: Portable Black Light

October 2, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 6 Comments

blacklight

[Joshua] wrote in to show us this great Halloween tip. He wanted to take his 4 foot long black light along with him on Halloween. You can buy portable versions, but he realized he had enough parts laying around to slap together a portable one himself. He pulled the inverter from a scanner light and wired it up to a couple of 9 volt batteries. Knowing he would probably need a fresh set during the night, he actually wired in some extras with a switch to control which was powering the unit. We know this isn’t the best solution, but you could probably toss this together in just a few minutes.

Batcave-style Entrance (on A Budget)

September 29, 2009 by Jake W 8 Comments

buttonhead

Want to enter your hidden lair in style? Well [Jimmy] simply wanted to create a cool prop for his school’s homecoming dance. This project includes some obvious inspiration from Wayne Manor. [Jimmy] wired up the automated entrance with a 12VDC motor. In order for it to be able to push the door , the motor had to be attached to a gearbox, which directly powered a wheel. Current consumption issues were solved by using a wall-wart. Because a real bookshelf would still be too heavy, [Jimmy] dressed up a regular door with some patterned wallpaper to give it the right look. Coupled with a Shakespearean bust concealing the button, and some other cosmetic touches, this project was sure to impress any student who knew its secret.

The Incredible Breakfast Machine

September 28, 2009 by Matt Schulz 11 Comments

A lot of us skip breakfast in the morning, be it because we don’t have time to make something, don’t have the patience, or for some other reason. Yuri Suzuki and Masa Kimura are aiming to make your breakfast a little easier, a little quicker, and a lot more interesting. Their latest project is a Rube Goldberg-like machine that does everything from fry your eggs to brew your coffee. The coolest part about this project is it was built with the help of the public. The two designers put out an open invitation for people to come help in constructing the device at Platform21, a publicly accessible design forum in Amsterdam. Now if someone would tie this into an alarm clock, we could all wake up to the smell of toast and coffee instead of the super loud 140db alarm clock or the confusing (albeit effective) wake up machine.

Halloween Props: DMX Controlled Skeleton

September 28, 2009 by Caleb Kraft 12 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TSbxErzhkI]

[scarylady] has posted this video about her setup. The skeleton was rigged up to a rotating base with a single pneumatic solenoid to jostle it. She then goes on to show how she has it all connected to her computer with an explanation of the software setup. Though some of us might feel she could have accomplished very similar results with a simple oscillating fan, this is a decent intro to DMX.

We also had several people submit this fantastic list of Halloween projects, The Halloween monster list. There is enough information there to keep you busy for quite a while. We were going to list our favorites, but there are so many fantastic ones, we think you should just go look at them all. Remember to send us more of your projects.

Open Source Weapon Makes You Puke

September 28, 2009 by Devlin Thyne 44 Comments

[Limor] of Adafruit Industries and the Ice Tube Clock has made her own open source non-lethal weapon: The Bedazzler. After attending a conference by the DHS where she saw the big-budget Dazzler, she decided to make her own. Thirty-six LEDs, six switching FETs, a Boarduino, and a former flashlight later, the Bedazzler makes a better rave toy than a weapon. It doesn’t work as-is, but we figure it will only be a matter of time before someone hacks this to make people… umm hack. See the video after the break.

Continue reading “Open Source Weapon Makes You Puke” →