Alright folks, the moment all you graphic designers, dabblers, photoshophiles, and avatar-makers have been waiting for!

DIY:happy does not have a logo. Some folks think we do (the little TV-looking thing), but we don’t. However, we’d like one! We’d even be willing to throw in some incentives, because we’re nice and fabulous like that.

Here are the regulations (not rules, for all the Libertarians):

1. The logo has to be a good size. Nothing too small… it has to be made in all kinds of sizes, and we wouldn’t want to distort your masterpiece by resizing it, right?

2. It has to be a-okay for us to print it!

3. We’d rather not having anything offensive, mean, rude, terrible, or violence-insighting. 

4. Those things said, anything goes.

 DIY:happy loves you. So, whomever wins the contest will win:

• A $20 GIFT CERTIFICATE, care of the wonderful LadyAda. Good for anything in her online store (linked here), which is a cornucopia of DIY electronics kits, components, and all kinds of fun stuff for hobbyists, electronic engineers, and weekend DIY fans!
• Buttons with the logo YOU designed on them! Good for a resume, especially for designers!
• Every button you sell will have your signature at the bottom, so you don’t have to convince anyone. Just point at your sig.
• You’ll get three free buttons, as a sample of your work!

The suspense is over, let the games begin!

SUBMIT TO: Kristi@diyhappy.com or TIPS@diyhappy.com!

Projected End Date: September 13th at 11:59 PM (CST).

 UPDATE: 14 SUBMISSIONS AS OF 10:00PM, 08-11-07.

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Why have one monitor when you can have eight at 8x the price? This ultimate workstation setup is a perfect setting for all your wargame, command center, global terrorism, and hacking needs - or you could just use it to tinker with several computers at once. This KVM-supported setup can support anywhere from 8-32 computers. We just wish they would have sprung for the 30 inch displays!

2 Instructionals until the contest details… and LadyAda prizes!

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This DIY electric bike is not only more efficient and more powerful than commercial models, it’s lighter and less expensive too! Maybe more of a proof-of-concept than an actual finished project, this guide will help you get ideas for your own electric bike designs. The setup is very minimal, will fit in a sidebag, and is capable of going up to 60mph.

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I like this idea of a keychain holder made from old USB hubs. To hang your keys, simply plug your thumbdrive into an open port. Go the extra mile and wire it to your computer for the ultimate USB hub/key station. Apparently this is from gerrysart.de, but I couldn’t find it through all the annoying flash (flash: looks pretty, but makes extremely useless websites /end rant). I saw it here first.

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Some of you may remember Jason Bradbury’s original Back To The Future style hoverboard. Now Bradbury is at it again with a new version of his hoverboard that he claims will even hover on water (without anyone on it). This one looks to use four leaf-blower motors and an air filled bag underneath to accomplish its lift. This is something reminiscent of those “BUILD YOUR OWN HOVERCRAFT!” ads in the back of Boy’s Life many years ago - except you don’t have to send away with $5 and a SASE for these plans.

Note: Besides the schematic above and a bit of description, there doesn’t appear to be any in-depth how-to here.

Technorati Tags: hoverboard, hovering, transportation, boy’s life

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Unfortunately there aren’t any step by step instructions here, but this would be a really cool project to figure out. A record player made completely out of paper. Even the speaker (cone) and turning mechanism are paper. It is powered manually by turning a, you guessed it, paper crank.

Paper Record Player.

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Here is a truly amazing concept - creating animated works using a series of long-exposure light painting stills. Basically you leave the shutter open on your camera long enough to draw a character of some kind with a small flashlight. Then you do this about 30 more times. When you’re done, you have an animated image made of light.

The website is not instructional in nature (or maybe it is - who knows because its in Chinese), but the process is straightforward enough. The images will help get you started on some pictures of your own.

Animated Light. [via]

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Like the Dirkon of yore, the new Domokon is an experimental paper SLR camera. Yes, you read that right, the Domokon is a single-lens reflex camera. You can change lenses, make aperture and DOF adjustments, and use standard 35mm film. It’s not going to win any awards for photo quality, but it does take unique pictures, and hey, it’s made of paper. Unfortunately there is no printable plans like we had for the Dirkon, but there may be enough info here to get started on your own. [via]

Domokon Paper SLR Camera.

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The spray can handle is an essential for anyone who plans on painting with spray paints for very long. Not only does it keep you from getting your fingers all covered in paint (saving you awkward conversations with police officers), but it will keep your hands from cramping up after holding the cans in such a naturally awkward way. The handle was salvaged from an old library cart and appears to use the brake mechanism to trigger the nozzle. Perhaps a brake handle from a walker would work too?

Update: Doh! It appears the handle was purchased from a store and made for this purpose. Not exactly DIY but still a good tip.

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Here is a real Powerbook for all you Mac fans out there. Yes, this is a regular old hardcover book that has been modded, it appears, to house an iPod. What would make this even more interesting would be to add 5V USB ports, a couple standard plugs, and some other power sources. Then it would be a really real powerbook!

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There’s not too many notes here on this particular project, but it would definitely be a cool one to tackle. Using a rotary switch, a small gearbox, and a motor you can create a mechanical sequencer. There are three channels and 3 steps for each channel, controlled by small switches. Everything is made from recycled parts (Except the switches and jacks).

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…and Haunted Mansion singing bust. What I’m interested in here is not the creepy singing head, but the video projector created from a $29 PS2 controller with an LCD in it. Do PS2 controllers even have such a thing? A bike light is then used for the projector bulb and a lens from an old projector is used. Some more information on the projector would be really interesting here. I’m making one for my phone so I can watch movies on the go. That’s one cheap projector.

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This looks like an interesting project. It’s a Wifi antenna made out of a simple cable and a baby food/coffee can. Construction involves punching a hole in the bottom side of the can and running the cable through. The end of the cable is attached in the center of the can. No details on how well it works, or if it works at all, but it looks simple enough to try without much risk. Let us know of your results and if this works better or as good as the famous Pringles can antenna.

Baby Food/Coffe Can Wifi Antenna.

Note: There’s only two pictures, and one more if you count the baby who presumably ate the can of food.

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I’m absolutely in love with the idea of using garden faucets as coat hangers.  Mount them up on your wall, or incorporate them into a coat rack made of plumbers piping.  I recently stumbled across a few photos on Flickr that showed one such coat rack that also incorporated a lamp into the top.  They used a flicker bulb for maximum effect.
There’s no how to, unfortunately, but the pictures are enough to show you how to do it.

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After a recent trip to the hospital, I wondered how easy it would be to clone those security cards people have to get through certain doors. I really don’t have any malicious intent, I’m just curious. Well, today I read an article that inspired me to go from just curiousity to actually trying. I’m going to give a few links to different sites that talk about how to build an RFID skimmer. I’m sure there are multiple ways to do this so I just want to supply a few and then try them out as time and money permits.

Here is a site that talks about skimming proximity cards. (like those used at the hospital I was at)

This is an academic paper that discusses skimming RFIDs and how to build them. (download PDF at the bottom)

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