Check out this cool DIY Pandora Player called the PandoraBar that Jianyi Liu built. His inspiration was the Mighty Ohm radio that we saw back in 2009. The initial thought was to use a router as the main processor but in the end Jianyi used the Beagle Board since it had the processing power needed to run the device. The case looks great, and it looks like it works
We have seen lots of these word clock builds. Our friend Muris has just completed his word clock build, he is using a ATmega328P microcontroller to command the 248 LED matrix to show the time and a little something special (watch the video at around the 32 second mark). Atmel AT42QT1011 touch sensors add a nice way to interface with the clock and I am impressed by the professional
Youtube user TopCityGear has really gone all out in this PVC Nerf Air Gun project. A used cordless drill provides the ergonomic handle for the gun, the trigger of the drill activates a sprinkler solenoid which releases the air and propels the projectile down range. I have always been surprised how well sprinkler valves work with high air pressures since it isn’t what they were designed for. The video
If you shoot video with a small pocket camcorder you might wish you could get some depth of field like you can get from a DSLR. Dan Colvin sent in his latest project that solves that problem with a pair of cheap binoculars and a home made bracket. The binoculars held up to the small lens of the camcorder gives you the depth of field that you have been
Instructables user bennelson shows us how you can make a Smart Grid using an old UPS. This allows him to charge his 48 volt electric motorcycle using a discarded UPS. When the power fails he can also backfeed his garage or house using his UPS system which would then draw current from the motorcycle battery to generate AC power. He unplugs the UPS AC power from the wall, connects
If you have one of the new Raspberry Pi microcontrollers there may come a time where you need to print something. Tobias sent in his Raspberry Pi Printer Interface project where he does just that. He built a method of capturing web sites as an image which allowed them to be printed. Tobias has made the code available for you to have a good starting point for your printing
Andy Rawson built an open hardware Thermal Imaging Device for use with Smart Phones (the code and details will be posted soon I am assuming). We have seen the commercial version of these Thermal Imaging Cameras used on home renovation shows to pinpoint insulation issues. As Andy mentions these cameras are much more than the average home owner could afford to spend to learn where his house is lacking
