Ben shows us how to get rid of phantom power to save a few bucks. Thanks for the tip Stephanie. “In this environmentally friendly episode, Ben channels his inner “Captain Planet†persona and provides viewers with simple energy-efficiency tips. Using recycled parts, Ben also creates a new version of a wall wart that can power several devices simultaneously, such as cell phones, computer monitors and Arduino boards, while still
 Thanks to Black and Decker for sending in this 20V Lithium Drill for review. This drill would be perfect for the average DIYer who is tinkering with projects in the basement on the weekends and evenings. It is nice and light so you won’t need to work out at the gym before a session of drilling. That being said, if you are planning on building a deck or
 The prize this week is a non contact AC test pen. This pen can be used to test if AC voltage is present in a wire without needing to touch the bare conductor. This contest will run for one week (April 22 – 27, 2012). Ending time is based on central standard time. To enter, identify the item above and what it can be used for. Please do
 Bruce sent in a link to this cool picture of a very old display in this 1901 picture (top of the tallest building in the picture). It looks to be a primitive 16 segment display. The building is The Great Coal Mine, Coney Island. I wonder what the display was used for? Below you can see the modern version of this display. “The Great Coal Mine was a
If you like stair lighting as much as I do you will want to have a look at this. Geert built his RGB Stair Lighting using an Arduino Uno and TI TLC5940m PWM Chips. He uses 3 of the TI TLC5940m chips to allow to control 3 channels of light on each of his 12 stair steps. Geert now has some cool lights on his stairs and his next step is
This Interactive Mirror project by OpenGadgets is based on the IOIO Microcontroller which looks like it is very flexible. A 32X16 pixel matrix display is mounted behind a 2 way mirror, this display is connected to the IOIO microcontroller and talks to the Android phone using bluetooth. With the current implementation you are able to send things such as low resolution pictures and video to the display. There is
  If you have ever had a motorcycle you know that being seen by other motorists is always on your mind. Pete Mills recently purchased a motorcycle and installed a custom brake light to combat this issue. His DIY Motorcycle LED Brake Light was inspired by a flashing brake light of an ambulance. His design flashed quickly when it is activated and then goes on solid. There is also
