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Arduino based Drum Loop Machine
2008-02-13 12:16:00
Matt Mets is on a quest to make lots of cool hacks day after day! This Arduino based Drum Loop Machine is simple but nice and clever. Using a bunch of scavenged parts (the best kind) and an Arduino microcontroller he has made a drum recording device that will play back the same sequence that ...

The Balloon Project - Berlin
2008-02-12 12:05:00
  What a great idea to get some cool aerial pictures on a small budget. The uncontrolled flight aspect of the balloon adds to the excitement since no one knows exactly where the rig is going to go. With aerial RC plane videos everything is under control and there is little left to chance. As shown ...
More About: Project , Berlin , Balloon

X-Y Table Built from DVD Players
2008-02-11 12:45:00
  PraeMortem shows off his X-Y Table that is made from some DVD players. Now is the time to get out some of those old CD-Rom drives to make your own. See the second video for the surface scanner that he made. Have a look at this coin scan result.   "I´m trying to build a 3-axis cnc ...
More About: Players

Etched Door lit by LEDs
2008-02-10 13:11:00
Smilodon has found a great use of some LEDs!. To make the Etched Door LED lighting effect, the light travels from the edges of the glass and is not seen until it hits the etched portion. Using two LED colors really makes the end result pop!  "I also used a 4 layer glass. Two outer layers ...

Sweeping Radar System - using a GP2D120 IR Sensor
2008-02-09 12:11:00
  Want to make a cool project that uses one of those IR distance sensors that are found everywhere? Have a look at this Sweeping Radar System which has many uses. "The goal of this project is to create a working ir radar system. The system will only be required to measure close proximity at an angle ...
More About: Sensor

Name the Thing Contest - 38
2008-02-09 07:02:00
  Congratulations to the last contest winner. The prize again week is a portable hard drive enclosure. The color may vary, last time they were out of blue… This contest will run till mid next week (February 9 - 13, 2008) . Ending time is based on central standard time. To enter, identify the item pictured above and ...
More About: Contest , Contests , Thing

Wiimote Nintendo Gun Mod
2008-02-08 18:19:00
  If you own an Wii and miss the old Nintendo gun action this Wiimote Nintendo Gun Mod will bring back those memories…  "The Nintendo Gun provided a better point and shoot mechanism than the add on modules that are available for the Wiimote. This hack allows you to adapt one of the original Nintendo Guns to ...

HP Printer Prank - Change the LCD Display Message
2008-02-08 12:23:00
  Office pranks, ah these can be quite fun. They can actually become quite competitive also, employees always trying to outdo the other. I have come across some very unique and fun pranks, but this one has to be one of my favorites. Scott from OdeToCode.com decided to "hack" an office HP Laser Jet Printer . His ...
More About: Prank , Change , Display , Message

They can have my Geiger Counter when they pry it from my glowing hand
2008-02-07 23:35:00
OK, NYC has it’s reasons to be a little careful but Richard Falkenrath, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for counterterrorism may be just a little bit too careful. As the Village Voice reports that the city is just a little worried that the good citizens might just report too many false alarms. If you read through the comments, a couple of people had the same thought I had. Smoke alarms give false alarms very, very often, and if you have an alarm system the firetrucks are coming just in case. Don’t some smoke detectors measure radiation increases?  Plus in the greater New York area you can’t sell a house without a Radon Test and in some houses there is a powered radon detector so you get a warning if the abatment system fails. So if I can’t have one of these. Can I use this?   (I had one of these as a kid. Of course back then we thought nuclear energy would save the world. ) It’s not a ""Geiger" counter but de...
More About: Hand , Counter

DIY Solar Refrigerator Water Heater
2008-02-07 18:29:00
  With millions of people’s wallets being drained by household appliances and heating/cooling, energy saving mods are very popular these days. Mother Earth News .com and Miles Free elaborated with each other to develop a cheap but very awesome household mod.   "So the boys pulled the liner out of the Hotpoint’s door and replaced it with the heat exchanger. Then a couple of holes were drilled through one end of the door and a couple of pieces of scrap copper tubing (also scavenged from the refrigerator) were used to extend the exchanger’s coils through the insulated wall. (It was exceptionally easy to slip the recycled 3/8-inch tubing right over the ends of the 1/4-inch plumbing and solder the "splice" into a watertight junction.) Next, six holes were drilled through both the exchanger plate and the "back" of the collector box (actually, through the main body of the old re...
More About: Solar , Water

Sacramento Police Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Program Gaining Altitude
2008-02-07 12:05:00
  If you are in the Sacramento area in the near future you may be looking up wondering what that buzzing noise is. Sacramento will be getting a new eye in the sky to help out law enforcement. Not sure how well it will be received, I can just imagine this thing crashing into a crowd of people buying a hot dog at an outdoor vendor. "The Sacramento, Calif., Police Department announced its Urban Unmanned Aerial (UAV) Vehicle Program and showed off its unique homegrown version of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle at the Versadex Conference in downtown Sacramento. The mini airplane on display was one of two aircraft in the development stage designed to enhance the department’s existing airborne technology program. The current program consists of two helicopters with video downlink communications that stream video to mobile data terminals in police patrol cars and to mobile command vehicles."   Via: Robot Gossip  
More About: Gaining

Ping Pong Ball Inkjet Printer
2008-02-06 12:21:00
  So we have all thought about making a custom Ping Pong Ball Printer right? Well maybe not, but this is one cool project. A hopper holds a bunch of balls, one is removed and spun in front of a Parallax Inkjet Printer. The printer sprays text onto the ball as the ball continues to rotate. ...
More About: Ping Pong

Drawing with LED Lights
2008-02-05 18:03:00
  LEDs are wonderful items, they don’t need much power, they are cool to the touch and come in many colors. This is the perfect combination for drawing with them. If your camera has a long exposure mode you are in luck. Just like the long exposure pictures we have all seen of city streets showing ...
More About: Drawing , Lights

Paper V-12 Engine
2008-02-05 12:09:00
  When I had a pilot’s license and more disposable income I wanted a Hawker Hurricane. Sure The Spitfire was more famous and sexier but both planes had the Rolls Royce V12 Merlin engine. Now that I no longer have a licenese and a lot less cash I have to settle for paper airplanes. At least I ...
More About: Engine , Paper

TV B-Gone Gun
2008-02-04 18:52:00
  If you want some serious power when it comes to turning off TVs look no further. This TV B-Gone Gun that Hacked Gadgets Forum member Ferry built is sure to turn off any TV that you can see. Project Details TV-B Gone Kit "I took 30 IR leds and wired them up, a ...

Old Electric Motor
2008-02-04 12:06:00
  HartfordTommy has put together a great look at some old motor technology that we all take for granted today. The video goes through the different systems of the motor in some interesting detail. I wonder what the safety people would say about the motor power disconnect switch these days…   "The very first plug-in motor. Battery motors ...
More About: Motor , Electric , Electric Motor

Hang Drum Experimenting
2008-02-03 12:25:00
  Never heard of a Hang Drum before. It is a very interesting instrument. I am thinking that a piezoelectric element on a similar device processed with a microcontroller could also produce some interesting results.  "Hang means "hand" in the Bernese language, and is pronounced "hung or hong". The Hang was developed in Switzerland. It was the ...

Touchless Monitor Interface
2008-02-02 12:22:00
  Have a look at this cool looking monitor interface, no mouse needed just a finger!  "Elliptic Labs is paving the way for use of computers and screens without touching, simply with the finger or hand in the air. Manipulate images, play computer games, control robotics or use touch screens without touching or without holding a hardware ...
More About: Monitor , Interface

Name the Thing Contest - 37
2008-02-02 08:53:00
  Congratulations to the last contest winner. The prize again week is a cable tester since many people expressed their wanting to win it and that it was one of their favorite prizes. Thanks for the feedback by the way! This contest will run for this weekend only (February 2 - 3, 2008) . Ending time is ...
More About: Contest , Contests , Thing

Guitar Hero Whammy Bar Hack
2008-02-01 12:12:00
  Ryan Sturmer from Googlemarks has come up with a creative way to increase your score on Guitar Hero with the help of a small electronic hack! "The idea of this hack is to enable the controller with an "auto" mode that simulates the constant jostling of the whammy bar at all times, maximizing the points ...
More About: Hack , Guitar Hero , Whammy

DIY - High End Flash Slave
2008-01-31 17:35:00
Hello All, I have been battling this cold and flu stuff and loosing.   Here is a pretty cool article on how to build a high-end flash sync.  Most non-powered flash syncs only work up to around 100 feet and are only sensitive to infrared light.  The designer of  this unit is a cave explorer and has ...
More About: Flash , High , Slave

PIC Tengu - 18F2455 Microcontroller
2008-01-31 12:27:00
  This PIC Tengu by jfmateos is based on the 18F2455 Microcontroller is based on the Tengu that was made by Crispin Jones. It looks like lots of fun, this is a very ambishious project but the results are great. Thanks to jfmateos for the great detailed English details are shown below.   "When I first saw ...

Light Fires with a Flashlight - Worlds most Powerful
2008-01-30 19:05:00
  If you are looking for something to take with you on your next wilderness trip you should consider swapping out your normal flashlight with the Worlds most Powerful Flashlight . The guys over at Wicked Lasers have done it again, they still produce some fantastic lasers but now they also make the coolest flashlight around. Need ...
More About: Light , Fires

Wii Hacked - Full Access to Hardware
2008-01-30 12:12:00
  Looks like very soon we will be seeing some new games available for the Nintendo Wii. I have a strong feeling that these games will not only be very good but will also be totally free! Michael Steil and Felix Domke demonstrated their success in hacking into the Wii memory at 24C3 in Berlin to ...
More About: Hardware , Access , Full , Hacked

Wire a NES Controller to a Computer to play NES Emulator Games in Style
2008-01-29 12:15:00
Hacked Gadgets Forum member Turd wanted to go all out to play NES emulator games. Instead of just playing the old NES games on a PC using a keyboard or modern joystick why not wire in one of the original NES joysticks and play the games like they were meant to be enjoyed! He wired ...
More About: Games , Computer , Play , Style , Wire

Nightclub LED Lighting System
2008-01-28 12:14:00
 Have a look at this cool Nightclub LED Lighting System . If I owned a nightclub this system would be one of the first enhancements that would be added. The company has done quite a few 3D models of their designs which provide a great idea of what the end result will look like. I would ...

First Stun Gun was a Glove
2008-01-27 12:11:00
Shaking hands with this glove could be a shocking experience! Looks like the stun guns we see today had some interesting beginnings. "MORE punch than can be found in a box-glove is contained in a new electric glove invented by Cirilo Diaz of Cuba for use by police while handling rough characters or in quelling riots. ...
More About: Digg

Easy to build CNC Machine
2008-01-26 12:11:00
    Interested in building a CNC machine for little money? Have a look at the one that Tom McWire put together. There is some real creative use of common parts here! Video after the jump. "Here is a way to make a computer controlled milling machine. That puts the real power of a computer control machining into the ...
More About: Machine , Easy , Build

Name the Thing Contest - 36
2008-01-26 09:27:00
  The winner for the last contest will be announced soon. The prize this week is a cable tester that will let you make sure your ethernet project cables are functioning properly. This contest will run for this weekend only (January 26 - 27, 2008) . Ending time is based on central standard time. To enter, identify ...
More About: Contest , Contests , Thing

Milk and Legos = 3D scanner
2008-01-25 18:17:00
  Good, fast and cheap. This is a real headslap idea once you see it. Just take some Lego, milk and a web cam to make a 3D scanner. Then use the software from Moviesandbox to input the image to your computer. I guess you might have to switch to chocolate milk for a light ...
More About: Milk , Scanner