Technabob » diy

LED Matrix Glasses: That Hack Cray

Lambert Varias — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:00:19 +0000

Someone call Kanye West. I know he’s a very busy man but he has to know that Garrett Mace has made the best pair of shutter shades of all time. Mace’s LED Matrix glasses have flashing lights just like Yeezy on Graduation.

Mace wowed crowds at the Maker Faire with his dope glasses, sick rhymes and tycoon showers. Perhaps the last two were exaggerated but these glasses really are cool. The 20 x 6 matrix of LEDs are “driven by SPI from an integrated Arduino-compatible” board mounted on the right temple and powered by a Lithium-polymer battery mounted on the left temple. Charging and code downloading are done via USB. Swag is attained by wearing the glasses.

You can see more pictures of the shades on Mace’s Lytro profile. Mace said he’s planning to sell a kit of the glasses on his website once he’s polished the device; he seems to be having trouble with the hinges. He also said that if he can’t find a low cost solution he might turn to Kickstarter. It would be funny if Mr. West backed and filled up the fundraiser on his own.

[via Hack A Day & Reddit via MAKE]

Mechwarrior Cat Playhouse is Meow-velous

Conner Flynn — Thu, 24 May 2012 13:00:51 +0000

If cats ever wanted to lay waste to dogs they could do so. Yes, the war between cats and dogs is as old as the animals themselves, but it could come to an end tomorrow if our feline overlords so wished it. The proof is in the image below.

Cats don’t have little fingers and a thumb, so they can’t build weapons of war. But all it takes is one human sympathetic to their cause to build them their first mech. After that things will happen swiftly. Beagles will be beaten, collies will be cauliflower, pitbulls will be pitted, pelted and pummeled.

Yes, this war may finally have a victor and it will not be pretty. It will usher in a new age of feline domination. After the dogs are gone, they will take over the cat food factories. Once their food is secured, it will be our turn. You should have given fluffy more love… Lasers and string will not help you.

[via Obvious Winner]

Mad Max Motorcycle Built from Car that Broke Down in the Desert

Conner Flynn — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:00:16 +0000

For most of us, if our car broke down in the desert, we would have no choice but to just walk or pray for rescue. Most of are not so technically inclined to take our cars and build something else out of the parts. Well, Emile Leray is far more resourceful. When his Citroën 2CV car broke down in the middle of the Sahara Desert, he supposedly converted the car into a Mad Max style motorcycle.

The desert he was in was somewhere in northwest Africa. He got stopped and was told to go any further due to some military conflicts in the area. He decided to go around, through the desert. It wasn’t long before he snapped a swing arm on his vehicle, leaving him stranded. He did what any manly man would do. He disassembled his vehicle and created a motorcycle from the parts.

This guy is officially the real world MacGyver. Unless this is some kind of a hoax, he did this totally un-prepared. It seems like he managed to drill holes by bending metal and sawing at it, then un-bending it to be flat again, which makes sense. It took him twelve days to construct this vehicle. Sure, it sounds fishy, but like Fox and Mulder, I want to believe.

[via Reddit via Hack A Day]

Turn an Old G4 iMac into an iPad Stand

Range — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:00:02 +0000

Have you got an old iMac G4 laying around? Well I don’t, but Reddit contributor cwtfozzy bought one and decided that it would make the perfect iPad stand. I have to say that it looks like a match made in heaven.

Cwtfozzy rescued this old iMac G4 from eBay for £50 (~$80 USD). He basically gutted the iMac G4 and then fiddled with it so that his iPad would fit into the screen area. It’s surprising how good this looks.

He didn’t spend too long customizing it and the results speak for themselves. If you want to try this for yourself, you can probably find a cheap, broken one on eBay, like cwtfozzy did.

[via Cult of Mac]

DIY Star Wars Toys from Old 3.5″ Disks: The Floppy Strikes Back

Technabob — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:27:54 +0000

Got some old floppy disks lying around? How about a little spare time? Are you a Star Wars fan? If you answered yes to all three of those questions, here’s the perfect project for you – a Millennium Falcon, X-Wing Fighter and Death Star cobbled together from old floppy disk parts.

Instructables contributor Jetpack5 has put together a tutorial showing how you can make these fun desk toys using old 3.5-inch floppies, and a couple of everyday tools like needlenose pliers, a hammer and a nail. Oh, and the Death Star requires a bunch of rubber bands too. Both the Falcon and the Death Star are made identifiable by the round metal floppy spindle, while the X-Wing is comprised mostly of those metal shutters which used to protect the delicate floppy disk innards.

I think these little models manage to capture the spirit of the originals, despite their relatively primitive shapes. If you’d like to make some for yourself, use the Force and head over to Instructables for the full instructions.

What other Star Wars creations do you think you could make from old floppies? I think you could probably make a pretty cool Darth Vader helmet from old black 5-1/4″ floppies. Any volunteers?

8-Bit Pop Up Cards Invade Birthdays and Other Special Occasions

Conner Flynn — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:00:48 +0000

Hallmark cards are fine, but they usually aren’t very geeky, so stop giving them your hard earned money. Make some cards yourself like these 8-bit cards instead!

These pixel art cards were created by Kate Lilley, a blogger and author of crafting books for kids. Obviously she loves retro video games. After getting a ton of positive feedback for an 8-bit heart popup that she created, she was inspired to make these cards. There’s the alien from Space Invaders and the skull from The Legend of Zelda. These beat store-bought cards any day and besides, I’m a sucker for all things Space Invaders.

If you want to make these yourself all you need is a sharp crafting knife, and be prepared to supervise your kids if you plan on letting them help. A sharp knife is being used after all. Check out Kate’s blog for the templates and directions.

[via Geek via Geeky-Gadgets]

2012 Wall-E Toy Controlled by a 1983 Portable Computer

Conner Flynn — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:00:31 +0000

Old technology meets new technology here, and in this case they can actually interface very well despite their age difference. YouTuber Aliencurv modified an old 1983 TRS-80 portable computer with 20kb of memory to control a 2012 Wall-E robot. I hear ya. That’s crazy and pointless you say. I agree. And it’s still awesome.
With the easy addition of a Bluetooth module, it can intercept the TRS-80′s keyboard input and beam it somewhere else. After that, it just took a terminal program and some extra code to turn the keystrokes into information that Wall-E can use. With that in place, you have yourself a remote controlled robot.

That computer is almost 30 years old. If not for this mod, it would be a useless paperweight. It is proof that by thinking out of the box, we can use some of our old gadgets and rescue them from obsolescence, while doing some cool things.

[via Hack A Day via Geekosystem]

MIT Student Constructs Mario Kart Racer, Cafeteria Runs out of Bananas

Conner Flynn — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:00:06 +0000

Charles Guan, an MIT grad student, has created a working replica of the vehicles from Super Mario Kart. It is powered by four motors attached to the wheels and can reach speeds upwards of 26 mph. It can also do some crazy turns when the driver leans into the curves.

Even more amazing than the kart itself is how quickly he made the thing. He fabricated it in just three weeks. The vehicle, called the “Chibikart,” is built to be as lightweight as possible. The frame is just 30-inches long and 18-inches wide. Check it out in action in the video clip below:

So, how did he make it so fast? Guan installed a 32-volt battery and electrical system along with an e-bike controller from China to run the power plant of the vehicle. Installed underneath the seat, this drives each of the electrical motors installed in the four small wheels. Sweet. Now he needs to build more and hold Mario Kart races once a year.

[via Kotaku via Geek]

R2-D2 Rain Barrel Collects Water Without Swimming through the Dagobah Swamp

Shane McGlaun — Fri, 11 May 2012 18:00:30 +0000

I live in an area where being green and recycling isn’t really a big thing. In fact, I lived here for 10 years before I knew we even had a recycling center. In some communities, though, the push to be green is much more substantial. Case in point – in Knoxville, Tennessee, each year they hold a contest for The Water Quality Forum where geeks and artists get to create rain barrels for the collection of rainwater.

The purpose of the rain barrel is to capture rainwater runoff to be used for outdoor irrigation instead of turning on the hose. That would probably be a very good thing to do in Texas, if we didn’t go months without getting any rain. What may be the coolest rain barrel in the history of rain barrels was created specifically for this contest… The R2-D2 rain barrel.

The rain barrel was primed and painted in full and accurate R2-D2 likeness by artist Curtis Glover. Better yet, the R2 barrel is up for auction with proceeds going to charity. While it can’t project holograms or hack into the Death Star’s security system, I think the R2-D2 barrel will still bring a pretty penny.

[via boingboing]

It Doesn’t Hate You, But This DIY Portal Turret Will Still Shoot You

Conner Flynn — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:00:53 +0000

Sure, we’ve seen the odd Portal turret here and there, but this one actually shoots. It was created by a Penn State University student for his Advanced Mechatronics class’ final project. Just like in the game, it tracks its victims using a camera and shoots at them.

Though in this case it just shoots Nerf bullets, so there is no way that you are getting hurt. You’ll notice that it has no frame, but he’s working on one. That will make it look more like the turrets we know and love.

You’ll also notice that it even talks in that weird creepy voice. It’s an awesome project and i can’t wait to see the frame when it is added.

[via Kotaku via Joystiq]

Turn Apples into Master Yoda, You Will

Conner Flynn — Wed, 09 May 2012 23:00:13 +0000

You know what they say. An apple a day keeps Darth Maul away. Especially when the apples in question are Yoda apples. These adorable Yapples are made by Jill of Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons, who uses the force to make food fun.

This latest creation was made for her five-year old who is also a Star Wars fan. To make these yourself, you just need an apple, a marshmallow, 2 chocolate chips, peanut butter and a toothpick. Those are pretty easy to find right? The lightsabers are pretzel sticks with red and blue Fruit Roll-Ups wrapped around them.

If you’d like to make some Yapples for yourself, just head over to Yodalicious Apple Snack for Jill’s detailed directions. It’s perfect for kid’s birthdays. Adults too. Frankly, you are never too old for geeky treats.

[via Edible Crafts via Bitrebels]

R2-D2 Fingernails Have a Secret Message to Deliver

Jack Kieffer — Sat, 05 May 2012 14:00:29 +0000

These nails are not especially beautiful without their Star Wars coating, but with tiny astromech droids painted on them, they became wonderful! Plenty of people have painted their entire bodies to look like R2-D2 (what?) but not many have been able to pull of R2-D2 nails like this. I would have passed out from the smell of the nail polish by the time I was done with my index finger. ”That’s just because you tried to paint your face with it.” GO GO GO! *Rambo camo on face, jumps out of a second story window*

R2-D2 is that spunky robot with a personality that makes the ladies swoon. ”He’s not that cool.” Yeah, well next time a beautiful woman paints your body on her fingernails, call me. And then call the police and get a restraining order, because you have a serious problem that you need to nip in the bud.

The detail of these nails is pretty impressive – better than I can do, anyway. I was at a loss when I tried to find who is responsible for these beauties, so if anyone reading this would like to take credit, go ahead. Then, for verification, we’ll need to send you a glove to try on. ”It does not FIT! YOU MUST ACQUIT!” Oh, no, O.J. I am going to make this glove fit your hand if it is the last thing I do. Get the WD-40 and the shrink ray. ”We don’t have a shrink ray.” DON’T ARGUE, JUST GET IT DONE!

If you love these nails, then you’ll be infatuated with the R2-D2 Ballerina Costume and the R2-D2 Short Shorts. We love short shorts! *Clapping* I love short shorts! *Clapping*

[via: Geeks Are Sexy]

Jack Kieffer owns Cool Gizmo Toys, a one-stop-shop for geeks of all kinds!

KegDroid: The Beer Serving Robot!

Conner Flynn — Fri, 04 May 2012 13:00:24 +0000

Life doesn’t get any better than having a robot that serves up some beer. It’s even sweeter when that robot is shaped like Google’s Android mascot. KegDroid dispenses beer through the use of a Xoom tablet running Android ICS as its main input/control system.

Perfect for your neighborhood geek bar, which I’m sure would also serve up some ice cream sandwiches just to keep with the theme. This guy created the robot because he was bored with regular beer. Not anymore. The Kegdroid makes it fun again.

Just use your NFC badge on the card reader, which is attached to an Arduino and this little guy will reward you with beer. It’s pretty awesome, and I wish I had thought of that. You can check out the Kegdroid in action over on YouTube.

[via HardOCP via Geeks Are Sexy]

PIP-Boy Prototype Has Practical Functions, Sadly V.A.T.S. Not One of Them

Lambert Varias — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:00:35 +0000

As crude as Fallout‘s post-apocalyptic technology seems, it’s proven quite hard to replicate the game’s PIP-Boy in real life. We’ve seen one prototype that looks exactly like the PIP-Boy 3000, but it appears to have no real world application. Meanwhile here’s another prototype that does have practical features but leaves a lot to be desired in terms of appearance.

As you can see this prototype looks nothing like any of the PIP-Boys from the Fallout games. Except for its user interface that is, which is the most important part of the gadget anyway. Made by Instructables vault dweller Aleator777, this prototype has a GPS navigation system, an RFID reader (with which it can track tagged items, thus mimicking an inventory), a flashlight (i.e. the screen with its brightness turned up) and most appropriate of all, a Geiger counter. Almost all of these functions are rudimentary, but nonetheless they are there.

Those of you with high stats in Repair and Science should check out Aleator777′s guide on Instructables to see how you can make your own PIP-Boy prototype. Perhaps Aleator777 and MyMagicPudding – the dude who’s working on the other prototype – should combine their skills to come up with a better device. We might need it soon; it is 2012 after all.

[via The Verge]

Guy Creates Star Trek Phaser, Sets It to Stun… a Balloon

Conner Flynn — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:30:38 +0000

We are well on our way toward a real working Star Trek phaser with a stun setting as evidenced by the video below. This guy created a working phaser in his garage and it is amazing. He gets -2 points for not drawing a Klingon face on that balloon that he kills, but that’s okay because he gets +10 for complete awesomeness.

It looks like this homemade phaser was made by combining a classic Star Trek phaser casing with a powerful blue laser unit. It’s a good bet that it is the laser module from a PlayStation 3 Blu-ray drive. At least that’s what some are speculating. So does popping a balloon qualify as a real stun setting?

Look, the balloon popped. I’m willing to bet that if you had been hit by that beam, you would have screamed and dropped to the floor like a Ferengi losing a latinum fortune. It would have at least hurt you a little. We aren’t sure if the sound is part of the weapon or added later, but it completes the effect.

[via Geek]

AT-AT Cat Condo Begs to Be Taken Down by a Ball of String

Conner Flynn — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 01:00:14 +0000

I’m not sure how many cats are Star Wars fans, but if your cat loves the movies, I bet he/she wishes that this was in their living room. Just look at that thing. It was made for cats to play in, but I want to play in it too.

Billy Appletini is that kind of friend. One of his friends is a Star Wars fan who has two cats, so he made this for them. That’s going way beyond the call of duty and makes Billy an amazingly awesome guy. It took him about a month to build it. And yes it is appropriately called a CAT-AT.

On the inside you’ll find some fake mounted bird heads and a little mini bar. These cats have it all now. I can’t wait for them to bat a ball of yarn around it’s legs and take this CAT-AT down.

[via Craftzine via Nerd Approved]

SNES Arcade Cabinet Loaded with 16-Bit Goodness, No Quarters Required

Technabob — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:00:50 +0000

Fans of the old Super Nintendo Entertainment System will immediately recognize the cartridge in the slot below as that of the classic The Legend of Zelda. But what’s cool about this custom-built arcade cabinet is that it plays any SNES cartridge, while looking awesome.

The cabinet was built by Reddit contributor Echoobrain, and it has a full arcade quality joystick and buttons built in. The system offers Link and Mario details on the side, along with a Triforce on the front – and it’s crowned with a proper Nintendo logo of course. While the arcade controller is limited to single-player gaming, there is a hidden controller in the front drawer that lets you play 2-player games too.

Echoobrain doesn’t say much more about the build, but it’s pretty great in my opinion. The only thing better would be if it could play ALL Nintendo games, not just the SNES – but sometimes less is more, and it’s not like the SNES didn’t have a ton of great games. Echoobrain does mention that he might add a small MAME system inside the cabinet that he could toggle to for other arcade games down the road though.

[via Reddit]

James Bond Theme Played on Floppy Drives: Double-Sided, Double-Density, 007

Conner Flynn — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:00:56 +0000

If you enjoy music and have a bunch of old floppy drives lying around, why not turn them into an instrument of sorts. For instance, you’ve probably always wanted to hear the James Bond theme played by some old floppy drives, right? Well, here is your chance to see and hear it.

In this video you will see not one, not two, not even a trio of old floppy drives playing the 007 theme, but eight. This project was built for display at Purdue University for the Association of Electrical Technologists club during their Technology Week.

It sounds awesome. In fact, it’s exactly how I imagine a cyberpunk James Bond theme would sound. There isn’t anything floppy about this tune. Put this in the new Bond movie now! It could be the work of some laughing DIY villain and is the perfect way to start the movie.

[via Geekosystem]

Papercraft Samus Aran is Taller Than You

Conner Flynn — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:00:51 +0000

Fans of the Metroid games will love this papercraft Samus Aran. The 6′-10″ tall model was created by Flickr user IAmThatOneGuy. Oh yeah, him. I know that guy. Believe it or not, this awesome Samus figure was made out of nothing but paper and glue. And dreams. Dreams of a tall white Samus.

He used the Samus model from Metroid Prime 2, of the Metroid Prime trilogy. Sadly, she doesn’t transform into a ball. Although that would be some impressive papercraft work. Try that with this figure and it will be destroyed.

The detail is pretty incredible and I have to say that this guy knows how to turn paper into something amazing. I wonder how much it cost him in paper. Besides paper cuts of course.

[via TDW Geeks via Geekosystem]

Video Game Mini Golf Course Not Just Par for the Course

Conner Flynn — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:00:49 +0000

Tom Scott, along with some friends ported some video games like Minecraft, Portal, and The Crystal Maze into a mini-golf game for some extra fun and it looks like an awesome time for all, despite the fact that there is no Super Mario anywhere.

This 12-hole course was built as part of Scott’s “10,000 days-of-being-alive anniversary.” He had help from all his hacker friends too. There are of course video game-themed holes as you would expect, but then there are other holes that don’t have a video game theme. One has a Wheel of Fortune theme and another has a Wii-nunchuck-operated ball-in-hole game.

If you happen to be located near the Derby Maker Faire on June 3rd, you can play this course. It’s weird and crazy and I love it. Too bad I won’t be in the area. We need more crazy mini golf courses like this one.

[via Geekosystem]