Homemade E-Cigarette Vaporizer

September 13, 2014 by Matt Terndrup 157 Comments

Extensive research shows that tobacco kills. This is common knowledge as of late, which has prompted a flurry of anti-smoking ads to flood in. Regular smokers are now reconsidering their smoking patterns and are looking at healthier alternatives. Among those options are electronic cigarettes that vaporize flavorful liquid into smooth drags of smoke.

Prices for these devices can range anywhere from $40 to $240, which can be quite expensive for those on a budget. So instead of buying one, [MrRedBeard] decided to create his own DIY electronic cigarette contraption out of an Altoids can.

The approximate cost (not including batteries) is about $12. This covers the 5 Amp adjustable voltage regulator and the 500 ohm potentiometer that is best used for a rig like this. The wattage is what drives the heat giving it a more consistent vapor stream of cloud smoke.

For more e-cigarette hacks, check out these ones powered by an NES controller and this vaporizer that can send smells…in space!

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Hacked E-cigarette Vaporizer Can Send Smells…in Space!

July 23, 2014 by Matt Terndrup 1 Comment

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This 3D printed scent distributor was put together by eight people from three states during the 2014 NYC NASA Space Apps Challenge. The team went on to take 1^st place in the competition.

The project is called Senti8 and uses a FLORA Arduino micro-controller and a Neopixel LED strip purchased from Adafruit. A smartphone mobile app then remotely connects to the device allowing the user to choose which scent they would like to send to their friend, who is also wearing one of the wristbands.

They came up with the idea by simply asking an American astronaut named [Doug Wheelock] what he missed the most while travelling through the boundless reaches of outer space. To their surprise, he said that the thing he missed the most was his sense of smell.

Originally, the project was envisioned to be a wearable technology for space tourism. But over time, the project morphed into a wristband that would allow people to remember places or planets visited. Even memories unique to those places through scent could be experimented with.

One of the team members, [Brooks], was spotted wearing the Senti8 at the Wearable Tech LA conference in Pasadena, CA on July 17, 2014. The LED lights lining the outside could be seen all the way across the large auditorium as she chatted up with local Crashspace members as they prepared to present their design-oriented hacks to the public.

She gave an interview demoing the wristband which can be seen in the video posted below:

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E-cigarettes, Powered By An NES Controller

September 10, 2013 by Brian Benchoff 59 Comments

Electronic cigarettes are all the rage these days, and as with any new electronic bauble, someone is eventually going to stuff it in some old NES hardware. The NES controller e-cig has been done before, but [mastblast09]’s controller mod is one of the best ones around.

A bit of background before we dig into this: e-cigarettes are just any other *cough cough cough* vaporizer you might find, but instead of turning a solid into a vapor, these guys turn a nicotine-infused liquid into a vapor. As e-cigarettes are a bit more legal than some other magic boxes, there is, of course, an amazing amount of options out there for those that partake.

[Mastblast09] is using an off-the-shelf e-cig controller and charger board carefully placed them in a hollowed out NES controller. With the help of a few tact switches he made the B button on the controller light up the coil and the up and down switches change the wattage.

The real treat in this build is the addition of a very small LED voltmeter. With this, [mastblast09] can check out the voltage of his NES e-cigarette under load, a big help if you’re trying to perfect the perfect vape while the battery is under load.