January 2011

Tiny Syndiant Pico Projector

In the latest Electronic Design magazine there is a great article about the latest small projector chips from Syndiant. If you are interested in how the technology works Syndiant has a write up about that here. Subscribing to the Electronic Design magazine is free as long as you are in USA, Canada or Mexico. If you are in Europe, there is a special European version or Electronic Design. Hacked Gadgets

Battery Capacity Measurement

Dave from the EEVblog has a great video about measuring battery capacity. Most of us will create a product or project one day that will run from batteries and this video will help you determine a good battery match. Check out the cool Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit Energy multimeter that Dave uses to get the battery readings! I don’t feel sorry for Dave sweating in the Australian heat since I froze

TI EVALBOT Nintendo Nunchuck Hack

Martin Hubacek took a TI Stellaris EVALBOT and interfaced it to a Nintendo Nunchuck. This lets the robot drive around using the accelerometer or the joystick.  If you’re interested in interfacing a Nunchuck to your TI EVALBOT have a look at the code and details that Martin has provided.

NortHACKton Etch a Sketch Computer

I remember spending way too much time doodling on my Etch a Sketch when I was younger. Martin Raynsford from NortHACKton wanted to bring something cool to Maker Faire UK next month and came up with this Etch a Sketch Computer, we have seen similar creations before but this one gets props for how simple it has been hacked together. “Two water bottle caps act as the knobs for the

Name the Thing Contest - 165

The prize this week is a cable tester, this will help you keep your home network working smoothly. This contest will run for one week (January 29 – February 4, 2011). Ending time is based on central standard time. To enter, identify the item pictured above and give an example of what can be done with it (more pictures below the prize images). Please do not give the answer in

DIY Electric Car Motor Controller

DIY Electric Vehicles are catching on, Instructables member MPaulHolmes has designed and built this 100 HP DIY Electric Car Motor Controller. You normally see the technique that Paul used when you make a circuit board on a CNC machine. But the reason so much copper was left on the board is because the board is used as power distribution within the controller instead of bundles of wires. So what sort

Smokey Amp Build

John from Crazy but Able built one of those Smokey Guitar Amps and demonstrates how it sounds with his guitar. The Smokey Amp plans are from Dirtbox and is designed to use those strip proto boards. With only a few components you could build it and be playing it in a few hours. Chances are you have all of the parts you need in your junk box. John modified the