October 2011

Alarm Clock Build

Ben Heck shows how he designed his Super Alarm Clock in the video above. I like the use of the simple push button rotary knob that is used to adjust the time. Gone is the array of small buttons along the top which have lettering so small it takes longer to figure out how to adjust the time than it does to actually make the adjustment. Having the clock know

Name the Thing Contest - 188

The prize this week is a solar flashlight, if you want to use this as a flashlight you better charge it during the day and not keep it hidden in a drawer. 🙂 I am thinking that the housing could make for a very small surface mount project. Not sure if the solar cell would have enough power to energize a very low current circuit but I would think it

Fun with Gallium

Lots of you know that there are different materials in LEDs to allow them to emit the color you desire. For example Gallium is used in many blue LEDs and other electronic devices. I had never seen the property that Gallium has to weaken metals though. In the videos below Nerd Rage demonstrates how a small amount of Gallium can disrupt the strength of some metals and allow it to

PS3 Temperature Display and Fan Controller

If you want to have more fun playing with the case of your PS3 than you do playing the games have a look at this PS3 Temperature Display and Fan Controller hack. A ton of LEDs are used to display the temperature and the speed of the fan. A bunch more LEDs are used to make a Playstation logo which can jive to the music. 🙂 Nice thing about this

Timing Chain Clock

The simplicity of this Timing Chain Clock is great. The large chain is slung over a sprocket, gravity pulls the chain loop downwards. A geared motor is used to slowly turn the chain to display the time using the acrylic laser cut numbers. Unfortunately Henry Stafford has sold the clock but notes that he will be building more in the future. I think having 3 of these side by side

Steve Jobs the Hacker, Maker, Visionary is Dead

Most of you already know that Steve Jobs has passed away. He will be greatly missed in the technology field for the changes and innovations he has brought us. He was a maker and hacker at his core, never settling for second best. The video above is from his Stanford Commencement Speech back in 2005, you can tell that the entire audience is hanging on his every word even though