When it comes to teardowns and repairs, iFixit is one of our favorite go-to sources. The site contains thousands of useful guides, and with the launch of its rebuilt Android app today, you can now start adding your own to …
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If you’re the sort of hardware geek that enjoys playing with the Raspberry Pi or building projects using Arduino, a new product is available for the Raspberry Pi that you might appreciate. The product is called the Raspberry Pi chipKIT expansion board. The expansion board provides 3.3V Arduino compatibility. The chipKIT is said to be […]
The Tooth Fairy is one busy lady! She flies from house to house every night, collecting teeth that kids have left under their pillows and leaving a dollar or two (or a special surprise) in exchange for it.
So that’s the story our parents told us, and I’m sticking with it.
But with the growing population, the Tooth Fairy is probably having a hard time keeping up. Awesome dad Jeff Highsmith wanted to make sure his kid’s teeth are received in a timely manner, so he built a vacuum-powered pneumatic tube system that’ll “send” them straight to the Tooth Fairy. An adult can hang out at the receiving station to return some cash or gifts back to the child waiting on the other end of the line.
Jeff built an easy-to-navigate interface using Hype and used Raspberry Pi to power the whole thing. Aside from the Tooth Fairy, other recipients to choose from include Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, so just think of all the wish lists and letters your kid will be sending when those holidays roll around.
[Make: via Hack a Day via Neatorama]
Ever thought it
impossible to gain attention in a market where the big dogs are spending
millions of dollars a year to interrupt people and put their names in
front of the masses? I know I have.
What we lack in capital,
we have to make up for in creativity, tenacity and effort. We have to
hustle harder than everyone else out there. We have to be the champions
of our cause – day in and day out.
Ads can be a buzzkill, especially when they’re so pervasive they become distractions. Luckily, Adafruit has a new tutorial that turns your Raspbery Pi into a WiFi access point that doubles as a mighty ad-blocking machine for any device — be it an iPad or an Xbox — that connects to it. All you need is a working internet connection, a Raspberry Pi booting Raspbian, a WiFi adapter, an Ethernet cable and the necessary software (which the tutorial breaks down for you). It should go without saying, but Adafruit also includes a reminder to whitelist the ad-supported sites you frequently visit. Blocking ads might improve your online experience overall, but it’s always a good idea to support the people who provide you with free content. To get started, check out the tutorial at the source link below.
Source: Adafruit
Hardware hacking often seems like black magic to the uninitiated, which is why 123D Circuits is so cool: it allows you to learn electronics using a virtual Arduino board and breadboard without blowing up capacitors or burning yourself with solder on your work table.
Created by AutoDesk, 123D Circuits is part of the company’s “sandbox” initiative that offers simple 3D simulators, 3D printing apps, and other tools for beginners and advanced users to take part in the Maker movement.
To be clear I have very little experience in breadboard design and I find Arduino baffling right now (I’m pretty good with my Raspberry Pi, though). However, as an entry-level system for creating circuits as well as electronics design collaboration this thing looks pretty good. You can even print your own PCBs using designs made in the app and it supports Arduino programming using a built-in code editor.
The service is free and upgraded accounts are available for $12 and $25 a month. The lower price point gets you 5% off PCB orders and unlimited public circuits (as well as 5 private circuits.) Twenty-five dollars per month gets you unlimited private circuits.
The app runs in the browser and offers a number of components, pre-made designs, and chips. You drag and drop components from a large library of simulated electronics and then “run” them, simulating the flow of electricity through the designs. In short, it’s like having a RadioShack on your laptop. You can also see other public circuits and play with them on the fly.
Circuits.io isn’t new – it’s been around since 2012 – but these entry-level Arduino tools help improve the product and make it easier for newbs to get into hardware hacking without zapping themselves.
If you have a knackered old SLR lying around, are game for a project and fancy adding a little quirk to your front door, why not think about creating a photography themed peephole?
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If you like DVDs but also like shelf space, have we got a project for you. Called Jack the Ripper, this Raspberry Pi-powered system takes DVDs from one pile, drops them into a DVD drive for ripping, and then tugs them out and onto another spindle. Ad infinitum.
Andy Ayre created the system when he realized that ripping his whole DVD collection would take way too much time. Like all good hackers, he designed and printed a complete solution using motors, microprocessors, and an old laptop.
You can download the project here and build your own or you can read Ayre’s detailed and well-written description of his project on his website. While I doubt any of us will need this thing anymore, it’s nice to know we can rip ourselves some DVDs using robots these days. What, I ask you, will they think of next?
The trick to make a paper airplane fly forever isn’t in the quality of the paper or the intricacy of the folding, it’s in using an electric stove to keep the paper airplane afloat in constant motion. Just watch the video above, the paper airplane keeps going in circles and circles and circles over the stove. Of course you may end up accidentally burning something but imagine the awesome points your childhood self would give your current day self. [ViralVideoLab]
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Instructables member blogsdo is a pretty awesome guy. He made this “quick and dirty” Landspeeder X-34 for his son’s 6th birthday party. He used a chassis from a pedal powered Original Kettcar and built the frame around it.
He did a pretty awesome job if you ask me. I like that he used flower pots for the engines. Hey, whatever you have handy is fair game as far as I’m concerned. The important thing is that the kids at that party had a lot of fun and now all want this guy for a dad. They’ve probably started calling his house Mos Eisley.
How cool would it be to ride this Landspeeder around the neighborhood on Halloween?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
