October 2009

Halloween Hanging Mobile Project

  The Halloween Hanging Mobile Project was lots of fun. Hand drawn images were cut out using a Fireball V90 CNC machine as pieces of the spooky mobile. You can see more details of the V90 CNC machine here. Here are the basic steps of what was done: Drawings were made on sheets of paper The drawings were scanned into the computer and touched up using MS Paint Artcam was

Gyrowheel - Next Generation Bike Training Wheel

  The goal of Gyrowheel might be to enable our children to learn how to ride a bike as well as MURATA BOY. The Gyrowheel will probably not spell the end to normal training wheels because of the increased complexity and therefore cost. But it certainly has many advantages over conventional training wheels so I would not be surprised to see it come as standard equipment on small bikes in

Spooky Bat Dropper using two Servo Motors

  In the video the Spooky Dropper is setup to deliver a bat right in front of the victim. It could drop a spider, ghost, rat or anything else you can dream up! It can reset itself automatically using one normal servo and one that has been modified for continuous operation. This is begging to be hooked up to a motion detector or even the door bell circuit to launch

RGV Laser System

  Remember Carl that made the Spinning RGB LED Ball Display? He has also built a wicked RGV Laser System! I can just imagine using this at the center of a big party. You would have to pass out eye protection though. 🙂 "Three laser beams in primary red, green and violet are combined with the optics harvested from an HD-DVD drive to make white. The total output is 350-400mW,

Guitar Hero DIY Repair Guides

  Guitar Hero is very popular these days but like any piece of equipment that gets tons of use it will break or wear out. The basic warranty is only 90 days so fixing it yourself will become necessary in many situations. Have a look at the Guitar Hero DIY Repair Guides from the guys at 5FRETS for some great tips. "Unfortunately, the Guitar Hero World Tour guitar has notoriously

Surface Mount LED Array

  I shudder at the thought of soldering up this Surface Mount LED Array from bear24rw. Have a look at the build, the circuit board was designed and etched by hand and the picture documentation is very good. These are the same guys that made the RFID Doorm Room Unlocker. Thanks Max. "The driver we choose to design was highly inspired from this one. The basic idea is that you

555 Timer based Servo Tester

  Gadget Gangster has a new project called the Simple Servo Tester. It allows you to plug in up to two servo motors and test them with a simply turn of a dial. You can purchase the project in kit for here if you are interested in adding this to your test equipment. "A little bigger than a postage stamp, the Simple Servo Tester lets you control two digital or