MIDI Air Drums Let You Play Anywhere

July 29, 2011 by Mike Nathan 26 Comments

[Maayan Migdal] wrote in to share a really cool drum kit he constructed that has one special twist – no drums at all. Using a simple MIDI device and an Arduino, his “Air Drums” look pretty sweet.

The hack makes use of a pair of garden rakes, which serve as his drum sticks. The rakes were cut down and modified to allow the addition of accelerometers and some USB cables. The left stick contains a single accelerometer for registering hi-hat hits, while the right stick is armed with a pair of the modules, which are used to trigger snare and crash symbol strikes. He modified a pair of sandals to fit better while drumming before adding a sensor to each shoe. The left sandal contains an accelerometer to register bass drum hits, while the right shoe uses a light sensor to simulate the use of a hi-hat pedal.

We think that the results are awesome, but feel free to check out the video below to see what we mean. If Guitar Hero wasn’t ~~dead in the water~~ on hiatus, we think this sort of setup would make a great replacement for the flimsy drum set that comes with the game.

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A Pill Reminder Box To Be Proud Of

July 29, 2011 by Jeremy Cook 37 Comments

Not satisfied with the traditional daily pill boxes, [Ryan] set out to build his own. According to his article, these particular pills had to be taken every three days, and he wanted a solution that required “zero effort.” Although one might question whether his solution actually took this amount of effort, the build came out very well.

The result is a box that reminds one to take a pill from one or two bottles using a blinking LED. When the pill bottle is picked up, consumption is assumed and the timer is reset. The main components consist of an Arduino, real time clock, and a battery backup. Additionally, two picture frames are used to form the project enclosure along with some LEDs and other assorted hardware to finish everything.

This project combines some basic electronics hacking and programming with a very nice looking cover. The results are a very clean looking build with a good write up. For another example of a well finished project with great pictures, check out this N64 portable build.

Automated Water Distiller Gets An Overhaul

July 27, 2011 by Mike Nathan 19 Comments

automated_water_distiller_stillduino_v2

One thing we love about the hacking community is the drive that most people have to revamp and rework their “finished” projects. A few weeks ago, we wrote about a water distilling rig that [Kyle] hacked together, which allowed him to automate his distillation process. He took his project back into the workshop and tweaked a few things, giving us the heads up when he was finished.

He got his hands on a new distillation unit and decided that he wanted to transfer over his automation setup. He cleaned things up by ditching most of the components from his first distiller, including the toy clock tower dial (which we happened to think was pretty fun). The same relays and Arduino were used in the second version of the still, but he reworked all of his code to make use of his new control interface.

The new model sports an LCD panel that allows the user to interact with the machine via a push button rotary encoder. Now he can easily navigate through a series of menus that enable him to set the distillation quantity and start time, leaving the distiller to do the hard work. The still also does a quick safety check each time it starts up, to ensure that things are in good working order before firing up the heating element.

[Kyle] says he will continue to tweak the distiller, though we think it looks great already.

Continue reading to see a quick video of his Stillduino v2 in action.

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How To Build Your Own Quadcopter, Step By Step

July 27, 2011 by Mike Nathan 54 Comments

DIY-er [Russell] wanted a quadcopter, and like many people out there, he knew the satisfaction that would come from building it himself. Rather than purchase a kit or follow a set of online instructions, he spent a lot of time researching quadcopters, and eventually put together a thorough tutorial himself.

His Arduino-based quadcopter is named Scout and runs about $1,000 to $1,200 depending on which parts you choose to buy. [Russell] has a complete parts list available on his site, including plenty of alternate component choices for builders on a budget.

He covers the construction process in great detail, discussing frame fabrication and component placement as well as how to program the Arduino for the copter’s first flight. He also takes the time to break down his component list item by item to explain how each piece is part of the greater puzzle, which is great for first time builders.

We love seeing this level of detail when discussing a build process, and as you can see by the video embedded below, his quadcopter looks great!

[Thanks, Willow]

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Arduino Powered 2.4 GHz Spectrum Analyzer

July 25, 2011 by Jesse Congdon 8 Comments

[Fred] dropped a note in our tip line to let us know about arduino forum user [bilbo]’s latest project: A 3-in-one spectrum analyzer, oscilloscope, volt-meter combo. The build consists of an Arduino, radio board and Nokia 5110 LCD breakout board. The (thin) video after the jump shows the rig in action. Though soldered to a full sized perf-board we can see later, smaller, battery powered versions prove useful in rooting out wayward bluetooth signals, or just finding that lost microwave oven. Although [bilbo] uses the same radio board as similar builds his creation boasts several different display modes, as well as doubling as a volt meter and miniature-oscilloscope. There is no shortage of previous spectrum analyzer builds, but this one is the first one we have seen running on an Arduino.

Thanks for the tip [Fred]! If you feel like wedging some frequency scanning capabilities into your next project don’t forget to check out [bilbo]’s forum posts for source code!

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Pass The Bomb Electronic Drinking Game

July 24, 2011 by Mike Szczys 9 Comments

[Ragnar] and his friends were getting tired of the usual Friday night drinking games. They went through dice games, card game, and TV show based games before [Ragnar] retired to his workbench to whip up an electronic solution that would randomly pick a player and assign a certain number of drinks. That’s a novelty at first but not really a game. After letting the project sit for some time he revisited it and came up with a more advanced solution. The box seen above is his second attempt; a game called pass the bomb.

The case is a black aluminum project box. The user interface includes a 20×4 character LCD and three buttons. Check the video after the break for the menu system as well as english translations. Once turned on you can set the sensitivity for the accelerometer and choose the game. For now, pass the bomb is the only option – a game that counts down to a digital explosion. Carefully pass the device to the next player without upsetting the accelerometer or it’ll go BOOM and you’ll have to drink.

We’d prefer to enjoy a nice frothy beverage rather than searching for reasons to throw back some shots, but whatever floats your boat.

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Using An Arduino To Measure Inductance

July 24, 2011 by Mike Szczys 24 Comments

Measuring an inductor is not something that most multi-meters can do. You usually need a high precision resistor (1% or better) in series with the inductor, a function generator to put a signal through the circuit, and an oscilloscope to measure the result. But what can you do if you don’t have these tools on hand? [Andrew Moser] has a method that lets you pull it off with an Arduino and an LM339 quad comparator.

The circuit works by feeding a signal in from the Arduino. This waveform is affected by the LC circuit, filtered by the comparator chip, then read back out the other side by the Arduino. That resulting signal is a square wave, which is an easy target for the Arduino to measure. That timing measured from the square wave can then be used to calculate the inductor’s value.

This is quite handy if you’re winding your own inductors. Now you can precisely tune that Joule Thief you’ve been working on.

[via Dangerous Prototypes and Adafruit]