It’s been a bit of a crazy week, but there’s more awesome projects then ever. Why not sit down this weekend and try one of these projects:
Retro Handset to Cellphone Modification
Retro Handset to Bluetooth Modification
Design and make your own PCBs for your projects
Mobile Infrared Transmitter (Traffic Light Controller)
With a name like Philo, this guy is not to be messed with. Especially when he can shoot AOL CDs at you with incredible velocity. No specific design instructions here, but plenty of pictures to get you started on your own. It uses legos, so if you don’t like it you can always take it aprt and build a pirate ship … or something. Check it out - the LEGO CD Thrower.
Other projects from Philo. (Thanks, Kris)
N
ow that you’ve tackled the Bluetooth Handset, it’s time to make a good ‘ol fashioned wired handset for your cellphone. This modification is almost just as easy as the bluetooth, except you need to deal with four wires instead of two.
There are actually two ways of doing this; Wiring a 2.5mm jack onto an existing cable or creating an adapter that will allow you to use any handset with your cellphone. I will cover them both in this article.
(Read the article)
Ready to make your own homemade Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)? This machine will output your heart signals to the screen of your computer. Using plans found on the net and a little elbow grease it’s actually quite simple.
First of all, to avoid any confusion: I am not an electrical engineer. I studied International Politics and Latin American Studies in college. I’m trying to break this down so that it’s simple enough for pretty much everyone to understand. The project is documented here, where we got the basic idea for this project… but I want to break it down a little differently.
As promised to all of you we ran into at the Maker Faire, here are instructions on making your own retro handsets for your cellphone. I apologize for the delay in posting - but one of you friendly Makers out in San Francisco was kind enough to share the black plague with me and I have been on the edge of death this week.
I will cover bluetooth in this article, and will post about wired handsets a little later.
The obsession with spy stuff continues…
Today I found a cool article about how to find a hidden camera. Very interesting!
So apparently the way to lower your power bill is to live in a windy sunny place. If you live in the latter (and I think we all get a least enogh sun to pull this one off) here are some directions on making a solar power generator with some pretty cool illustrations. (via)
Here’s a really cool idea to add some light effects to your next party. By taking an old hard drive (if you have any left after our many dead hard drive projects) you can add a laser and make some pretty cool effects. (via)
Blame it on the reading, but I’ve been very interested in how spy gear is made. (I am currently finishing up The Da Vinci Code . Good book!) I found instructions on how to make a phone bug. It says this bug is for educational purposes only. Isn’t education what spying is all about?
Pimp My Snack is devoted to bringing you recipies on how to make your own versions of popular candy. The greatest thing about the “pimped” version, is that they are freakin’ HUGE! Yes, this rolo is the size of someone’s head. They have recipies for many popular candies to choose from. [via]
Ever wanted to defy gravity and walk on walls? Well, so far you can’t, but you can build a sideways room that will create some pretty interesting and confusing photographs. Looks like a lot of work, but maybe it would be a good prank to do on your boss’s office. Better yet, why not just bolt all the furniture to the ceiling?
Too many achronyms in the title? Anyway… after you create a project on your bread board or tortilla board (whichever the case may be), perhaps you would like to make it look a little more professional or a little more robust. Making your own printed circuit board is just the way to do this.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by at the Maker Faire and for all the great ideas. We had a ton of fun there but it’s good to be home. Eating In-N-Out twice a day and sleeping in a car takes it’s toll! I’ve been mulling over some of your ideas on our long ride home. As promised the projects we showed at the Faire will be posted this week.
Feel free to send your suggestions on these or any other projects, we’ll post them as we do them.
sam@diyhappy.com
jake@diyhappy.com
Sorry folks, one more day with no updates. We are driving home from the Maker Faire today and won’t be getting home until sometime tonight. You can watch our progress home via GPS waypoint using JakeJack, or you can just tune in tomorrow when we will be updating as normal.
Okay, I know we promised you updates yesterday and today, but it has been crazy busy here at the Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA. Plus, the Internet has been crazy. Instead of regular updates on here, check out the DIYHAPPY Flickr Photo Pool to see some snapshots of awesome projects we have seen around the fair so far. Check it out!
Everyone please text maker115 to MOZES (66937) - it’s a cool new service that allows you to receive information about the booths here at the fair. It will send you a text back with more information. Try it out, and then go the mozes.com to make your own text codes and messages.
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