Technabob » gakken

Gakken Mini Electric Guitar Kit Rocks

Technabob — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 03:50:15 +0000

The guys at Japan’s Gakken Otona no Kagaku Magazine are at it again, this time, they’ve created a really cool kit that lets you build your own mini electric guitar. Now, I’m not talking about the type the comes with Rock Band or Guitar Hero either. This smaller-than-life guitar actually has strings, a fret board, a pickup and electronic circuitry for playing real analog music.

The short-necked 4-string electric guitar kit includes everything you need to build your own electric guitar, along with detailed photographic assembly instructions (in Japanese!) From what I can tell, it sounds like there’s a tiny built-in amp and speaker, but you’ll really want to plug it into a regular guitar amp with a standard 1/4-inch connector if you want to rock out.

The guitar comes with the December 17th issue of the magazine, and if you happen to live in Japan, you can order from the Gakken Shop for ¥3675 (appx. $42 USD). The rest of us can pre-order the kit over at VeryCoolThings for $59.99 (USD)

Gakken Gmc-4: 4-Bit Microcomputer Kit Won’T Play Crysis

Technabob — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:22:26 +0000

Sure, you might have just gone off and bought yourself a brand new 27-Inch iMac this week, but if that system seems like overkill for your needs, you could can always go to the opposite extreme. This computer kit not only doesn’t run any programs that you’d ever care to use, it doesn’t let you post to your Twitter page or play Youtube videos either. Blasphemy!

This simplistic 4-bit microcomputer kit from Gakken is really designed as a retro educational plaything, and not any sort of computer you’d ever want to be stuck using. Ever. The GMC-4 computer features a 20-key keyboard with hexadecimal characters, a single red 7-segment LED display, and 7 additional LEDs. That’s it. No big-screen, no Blu-ray drive (same as that iMac), and it doesn’t run any operating system.

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Still, it somehow manages to play simplistic games like “whac-a-mole” and tennis, and also offers a basic sound generator for playing monotonous music. Keep in mind that this kit does require assembly, and the instructions are entirely in Japanese – and they show pictures of components that don’t come with the GMC-4, So that should increase the challenge a little bit.

You can get your hands on the GMC-4 microcomputer kit over at the MakerSHED for $39.95 (USD).

[photo via HobbyMedia]

Gakken Mm Circuit Micro Race Car Drives Around the World to the Left

Technabob — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 12:00:55 +0000

This diminutive race car from Japan does one thing really well – it drives around in a circle, over and over again.

While it’s not quite as exciting as watching hillbillies turning left a NASCAR race (sarcasm), at least you get a front-row seat to this tiny little race whenever you want.

Just load the Gakken MM Circuit race car into its special wheel-revving charger for 5 seconds, then drop it into the bowl-shaped racetrack and it spins round-and-round (like a record baby, right round, round, round) at a breakneck pace of 0.6 seconds per lap. It’s also adept at tooling around a deep serving dish or a goldfish bowl if you happen to have one lying around.

The teensy little car measures in at just 2.5cm long (less than an inch) and weighs less than 3 grams, so be careful not to lose it. And definitely don’t let the cat eat it.

Here’s a brief video of the racer in action in case you don’t have enough of an imagination to visualize what a tiny car spinning around in circles might look like:

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You can grab the MM Circuit racer, including charger and race track for $53 (USD) over at the Japan Trend Shop. If you happen to live in Japan, you can score one for less than half the price (¥2280 / $23 USD) direct from Gakken.

Gakken Kagaku No Tamago Sound Activated Ufo Robots Dance to the Beat of a Different Drummer

Technabob — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:55:35 +0000

These little UFO-shaped robot dudes respond to the sound dance around your place, guided by the sounds they hear.

The Gakken Kagaku No Tamago UFO Robot (say that 10 times fast) comes in easy-to-assemble kit form, and is controlled not by a traditional remote, but by the sounds you make – think of these guys like a robot version of The Clapper.

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What’s that you say? You don’t have something to make noises with? That’s okay, just crack open the box the UFO ‘bot shipped in and use it as a drum. As the UFO cruises around the floor, a little alien guy pops up to say hello. Oh, hi there.

You can find the Gakken UFO robot over at the Japan Trend Shop for $55 (USD).

Gakken Sx-150 Analog Synthesizer is a Hacker’S Delight

Technabob — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:30:21 +0000

The Gakken SX-150 is a little analog synthesizer kit that came packaged in a recent issue of a Japanese DIY science magazine. Now, these funky mini synths have started to show up around the globe, leaving all sorts of interesting beeps, blips and squeals in their wake.

Originally included in an issue of Otonanokagaku (Science for Adults), the compact synth offers up a variety of basic sound adjustments including attack, LFO, pitch, attack, decay and cutoff. A metal stylus provides you with a decent range of expressive control over the sounds produced.

And since the synth lets you plug in an external analog audio source and then modify those waveforms, the sky is the limit for the sounds you can produce. A built-in speaker means the SX-150 can produce totally self-contained audio madness.

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A simple search over on YouTube for “SX-150” turns up all kinds of crazy and creative sounds coming from the rudimentary analog synth. Here are a just a few of my favorites…

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And with such a simple circuit design, it’s proved to be really easy to hack. Check out some of these creative uses for the SX-150…

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The good news is that with a little luck, you can still get your hands on one of these compact audio wonders over on eBay from about $50 to $80 bucks.

[photos via Flickr]

[SX-150 assembly manual]

Your Own Mini Theremin

Technabob — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 04:02:02 +0000

The Theremin is quite possibly the strangest musical instrument ever made. Invented in 1919, it was one of the world’s first electronic instruments. The Theremin produces its otherworldly sounds without ever touching it.

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Soon, you’ll be able to get your own miniature Theremin to put on your desktop.

Japanese science kit maker Gakken has created this miniature replica of the weird instrument that’s just about 3″ wide by 5″ tall. It runs on batteries and cranks out the same science fiction wails as the original.

For some reason, I can’t get the Star Trek theme out of my head now.