With the Lego NXT being such a versatile platform for building and maintaining projects, I figured I needed to mention this crazy design. Chris Anderson over at diydrones.com built a small RC plane that he transformed into a UAV with a Lego NXT controller and some Robot C code. Any follower of the Lego Mindstorm Series or anyone currently competing in or interested in FIRST robotics will really want to
You can build this DSLR Camera old Flash Adapter for a few dollars and still use your old trusty camera flashes on your new gear. Looks like a nice simple and robust circuit. "This instructable shows you how to make a really easy and simple circuit, that protects your new camera from high trigger voltages in old flashes. It is completely safe and will not damage the cameras circuits!
I love the look of the old fashioned Box Simpson Meters. Have a look at this project that turns three meters into a functional clock! If that wasn’t enough it even synchronizes its time using NTP. "Each meter driver is a single opamp used to sum two signals, scale them and output the result to the meter. One signal is a voltage set between -12V and +12V (actually less
Ahmad Masri has used an inexpensive ethernet chip called the WIZ5100 to create a simple but flexible ethernet based security system. The low cost of the ethernet chip makes connecting projects to computers or other microcontroller based devices very appealing. "I have constructed a TCP based security system using the Ethernet module offered within the contest , an ATmega16L microcontroller , a PIR as a sensor and few other
I have been thinking about some green ways of depending on the grid as much as I do. There are so many things that can be done but most are very expensive unless you use some build some of it yourself. Have a look at this solar and wind system that uses some home made sun tracking units. "The systems tracks the Sun using a controller from Red Rock
This project may not be needed for your everyday life but it turns a PIC Microcontroller into a DTMF Phone Dialer and there is code provided so next time you need to make some DTMF magic you can use this project as a starting point. " The dialer is operated this way: Storing a number. The device can store up to 12 numbers, identified by a bank ID. The ID
Looking for an inexpensive home automation system that can be controlled remotely? Look no further than Twitter and iLink INSTEON. "Using Twitter, a new social networking site, you can set up your laptop and connect it to your light switches (or any other electrical device) and control the device by sending text messages to your twitter account. It’s a fairly simple setup using this software which controls this hightech lightswitch"
