tech.nocr.at » diy

DIY: Boost Your Laptop’s WiFi

Frank — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 13:43:11 +0000

Even with the hardware of today you can still experience horrible wireless reception. Dead spots have become all too common and if your wifi access point happens to be on another floor, you know how much of a pain it can be to stream media when your signal sucks.

Sure you could go out and buy some massive transmitter that could cook bacon, but not only is it dangerous it’s also really expensive. By using some velcro, an MC card connector and a Dremel, you can create this Frankenstein of signal boosters for your laptop. You can easily ~~steal~~ borrow the wifi signal from your neighbours place.

If your not crazy about building something like this and want something easier then check out the wifi wok.

[Link to Hook Up]

DIY: Boost Your Laptop’s WiFi originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/02/10. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Macro Lens

Frank — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:07:45 +0000

Macro photography can be beautiful. Close up shots of tiny objects, their detail shines through so crisp and vibrant. The problem is that you aren’t going to pull off those incredible shots with your iPhone, you won’t even be able to pull them off with your standard DSLR lens. Special macro lenses can be quite expensive, usually well out of the reach of amateur photo-bugs.

Instructable user Sneipiller has a great write up on how you can build your own macro lens on the super cheap. You won’t actually be building a lens, but a tube extension for you current lens. By extending the focal point of a standard lens you can achieve some great shots like this one:

The project is super easy and all you really need is a tube (like a gift wrapping paper roll), a Dremel, black electrical tape and a hot glue gun. A full write-up on the project is over on Instructables.

DIY: Macro Lens originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/02/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Infrared Light Converter

Frank — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 05:12:30 +0000

Infrared lights can come in handy. Trying to be discreet when shooting video in a dark place is the first example that comes to mind. Purchasing dedicated IR lights can be very expensive. By using some old floppy disks or a roll of film you can convert an average flashlight or incandescent light bulb to be a very powerful infrared light source.

As you can see from the video above, video passes through the given materials almost flawlessly yet any light source passing through it is almost invisible to the naked eye.

You can find a full write up on the experiment and examples of creating your own infrared lights at lucidscience.com

DIY: Infrared Light Converter originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/02/03. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Wind-Up Cellphone Charger

Frank — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:18:18 +0000

Here is a great project that will keep your cellphone going when you have no outlet to charge it with. Ben Heck from the Ben Heck show took a cheap wind-up flashlight, added a small diode, resister and a female USB port to make a hand-crank charger for devices that charge via USB.

I wouldn’t recommend using this to completely charge your phone as it would take hours of continuous cranking to get it there, but you can easily get enough juice for a call on a cell phone with just a few minutes of cranking. Its perfect for emergencies.

[Link to The Ben Heck Show]

DIY: Wind-Up Cellphone Charger originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/25. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Lock Your Door Via Text Message

Frank — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:44:53 +0000

Billy Chasen thought that using keys to open his office was so 2000 so he decided to build a door lock/unlock system via text message.

Using a servo motor, a tiny web server, and some piping claps from Home Depot he built a unit that can lock or unlock a door via a text message. The system uses a white list of allowed users so people can’t randomly open his door.

As you can see from the video above, the unit works well. Some clean up and maybe a project box for the unit is in order, but it doesn’t take away from the unit’s functionality. If your not up to using SMS you could always consider the WiFi Door Opener or the Secret Knock Door Lock.

[Link to Opening A Door Via Text Message]

DIY: Lock Your Door Via Text Message originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Quiz-O-Tron 3000

Frank — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:16:27 +0000

Instructables modder RoysterBot has a dilemma over the holidays, build a quiz system for a party he was headed to. He needed the buzz-in buttons to be sturdy and responsive so his obvious choice were Staple’s “Easy Button’s”. Super easy to hack, all he needed to do was add an Arduino and some custom software and the project was complete.

The custom Arduino software is super responsive and locks out other players once someone has buzzed in. This ensures that multiple people can’t buzz in and avoid arguments ensuing as to who buzzed in first. Now you can play [Insert Favorite Game Show Here] with all your friends.

[Link to Quiz-O-Tron 3000]

DIY: Quiz-O-Tron 3000 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Camera Flash Softbox

Frank — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 21:15:10 +0000

Diffusing light is the key to warm, soft shots. If you do a lot of portrait photography then you know how valuable a softbox can be, but the cost can sometimes be prohibitive. You can add a white card to your flash to diffuse light, buy a diffusing cap for your flash or you can buy a Komplement collapsable fabric box from Ikea for a few bucks and build yourself one kick ass softbox.

Crafty hacker Thomas from Denmark picked up one of these fabric boxes (they come in various sizes, he used the 20cm x 20cm one), cut a hole in the side for his flash and using a flash cord had himself a cheap softbox.

He added some support to the cut-outs to hold his flash in place and as you can see from the pictures it collapses down nicely for stoarge.

This DIY camera softbox and the DIY FlashRing are a perfect addition to your photography toolkit.

DIY: Camera Flash Softbox originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/10. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Mini MAME Cabinet

Frank — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 01:47:14 +0000

We have showed you in the past how you can build your own MAME arcade cabinet, but if you are lacking space for a monster arcade machine this mini MAME cabinet would be perfect for you.

Modder Ed had an old netbook lying around and decided to slap this together as a Christmas gift for some family members. Using an Asus eeepc 901, some Happ Controls buttons and a joystick, and an iPac 2 Player controller Ed drafted up some plans and started cutting.

The mini cab runs Maximus Arcade which an awesome front-end for multiple game emulators, not just MAME. It makes running a cab a snap; it installs on Windows and does everything for you including auto starting and hiding the Windows interface.

Check out the video of the mini MAME cabinet in action. I don’t have the space for a full size cab in my house with all the kids toys but I defiantly have space for this.

DIY: Mini MAME Cabinet originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/09. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2011 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: ac, arcade cabinet, asus, asus eeepc, book, cabinet, christmas, control, controller, diy, ds, eeepc, emulator, game, house, id, joystick, loa, Mac, machine, make, mame, mini, mod, modder, netbook, pc, rc, space, tech.nocr.at, tor, toys, ui, video, wind, windows | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

DIY: Twittering Coffee Pot

Frank — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:44:57 +0000

You can use Twitter for just about anything these days and thanks to an Arduino you can now schedule your coffee from Twitter.

This is a simple hack and a great one if you have been wanting to play with an Arduino but felt a bit intimidated by it. The idea behind the project is to have the Arduino turn on an AC device; this doesn’t necessarily have to specific to the coffee pot. You could have it turn on a radio or TV or anything that connects to an AC outlet.

The code is pretty straight forward and you probably don’t have to do much changing to get it to work. Check out the video after the break of it in action.

[Link to Tweet-a-Pot]

DIY: Twittering Coffee Pot originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Bike Powered USB Charger

Frank — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 04:43:33 +0000

Here’s a perfect project for the upcoming summer; a bike powered USB charger to keep all of your gadgets charged while you ride.

The USB bike generator works by placing a rotating wheel against the rim of the rear wheel with a heavy spring. The attached wheel turns a stepper motor to generate an AC current that is changed to DC via a rectifier (which is nothing more than 4 diodes). The DC power is then feed into a USB car adapter to charge your gadgets.

It’s a really simple project that produces great results, best of all, it’s really cheap to build and put together.

[Link to USB Bike Generator]

DIY: Bike Powered USB Charger originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Skate-wheel Dolly

Frank — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:22:30 +0000

Looking for an inexpensive dolly for your smartphone or small camcorder? Flickr user eok.gnah put together this dolly by using some skate wheels and a GorillaPod tripod.

As you can see from the video it offers a nice smooth shot, perfect for those aspiring filmmakers who don’t have big budgets.

[Via Make Magazine]

DIY: Skate-wheel Dolly originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: FlashRing

Frank — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:33:19 +0000

Adding a ring flash to your DSLR is a real nice way off adding a soft glow to your portrait images. Problem is that professional ring flashes can cost you a lot of money.

DIYPhotography.com has a simple solution if you want to play around with a ring flash but aren’t ready to commit the money to buying one, a cheap DIY papercraft ring flash that can be customized to any camera. Just plug in your camera and flash specs into the ring flash template creator, print out the pdf, then put it all together with come cutting and glue. A great way to get started.

DIY: FlashRing originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Snail Mail Notifier

Frank — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:17:44 +0000

How did we ever live without push notifications? Email, SMS, IM; we get notified each time one of them is updated. What about our old analog world? Make Magazine show’s us just how we can get push notifications for an older form of mail, snail mail.

This awesome project uses an Arduino to trigger a prowl notification. The project can be adapted for any use like a garage door or door bell. A little electronic know-how is needed and if you want the prowl notifications to work you will need a PHP server. You can do away with the need for a server if you opt to have it send you an email or direct twitter message instead.

[Via Make Magazine]

DIY: Snail Mail Notifier originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/03. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Coolest DIY Lightsaber

Frank — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 00:41:00 +0000

Bradley Lewis of Sloth Furnace has created easily the coolest homemade lightsaber ever. Since we are still quite a ways away from having an actual lightsaber this will just have to do.

This saber is the brightest replica I have ever seen. It lights up almost instantly and has some sweet detail in it’s construction. Check out the video after the break of it in action. There is a complete gallery or pictures and videos over at SlothFurnace.

Coolest DIY Lightsaber originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2011/01/02. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Word Clock

Frank — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 20:17:35 +0000

Have you looked at the qlocktwo word clock yet? It’s a sleek time piece that displays the time using words. The only problem with it is that it costs well over $1000, not really an affordable way to tell time.

scottbez1 put together an affordable version of the qlocktwo by using an Arduino and a whole bunch of LED’s. The whole thing should cost you just under $70 and the full build plan is up on Instrctables.

Inspired by drj113′s great instructable on making a word clock , I wanted to make my own. After seeing the (extremely overpriced) commercial “qlocktwo” word clock, I decided to borrow its smooth glossy black design while basing the innards of my clock on drj113′s design.

[Link to Sleek word clock]

DIY: Word Clock originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/12/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Top 10 Of 2010

Frank — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:51:37 +0000

Another year is almost behind us and thanks to our dedicated and loyal readers our 3rd successful year bringing you the latest in gadgets, gaming, technology and the bizarre.

We have brought the monkeys in (by monkeys we mean a crafty worded perl script) and have compiled the the most viewed posts here on tech.nocr.at. This list doesn’t just contain posts from 2010, it contains the top ten most viewed posts this year regardless of when they were created.

Without further ado, tech.nocr.at’s top 10 posts of 2010:

Let us know in the comments what were your favorite posts of 2010.

Top 10 Of 2010 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/12/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2010 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Tech News | Explore more in: 2010, ac, cable, cat, comments, distro, diy, door, ds, ea, game, Gaming, id, ipod, key, keys, knock, led, leech, linux, loa, lock, mobile, nginx, open, os, pen, press, ring, rip, secret, sega, shuffle, speed, tech.nocr.at, technology, vga, wifi, wordpress, wp super cache | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Cheap WiFi Radio

Frank — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:56:33 +0000

Looking for a cheap way to stream your tunes all around the house? Then look no further than this cheap DIY WiFi radio.

Video blogger Tinkernet shows us how to build one by using an Asus WL-520GU and a USB sound adapter, and best of all it will cost you less than $50. The video shows the steps involved in putting it all together using Windows. If you want to use a different OS then simply visit MightyOhm for detailed step by step instructions.

I always have my laptop connected to my stereo, now, when I build one of these I can just stream directly to my stereo. Best of all, I can control it from my iPhone!

Cheap WiFi Radio originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/09/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

$3.50 DIY TV-B-Gone

Frank — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 05:20:40 +0000

Since it’s initial release the TV-B-Gone has quickly become a fan favorite spawning many a clone. Now you can build your own tiny TV-B-Gone with about $3.50 in parts.

Instructable user Dark Sponge built this TV-B-Gone clone thats about the size of a quarter. With the click of a button you will be able to turn off any TV in sight.

Take a peek at his write up on Instructables and if you aren’t up for the challenge you can always pick up the commercial version here and have fun the next time you are in the bar.

$3.50 DIY TV-B-Gone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/08/23. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY ROV Submarine

Frank — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 02:54:00 +0000

This yellow submarine isn’t exactly the same one as John and Paul sang about but it is an extremely impressive DIY ROV submarine with built in camera.

Made completely out of PVC pipes with some pumps tossed in to help it move and sink, this project and easily be put together by anyone with some spare cash and time.

The entire sub is controlled by an Atmel Mega32 microcontroller. The video fee and system control is fed to the surface using a cable (they say that wireless video as well as leak detection and torpedos is a future add-on).

This is a great project that will bring you hours and hours of fun.

[Link to DIY ROV Submarine]

DIY ROV Submarine originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/03/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Roll Your Own 3D Video For Under $300

Frank — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:53:08 +0000

You’ve gone out and seen Avatar and now your ready to summon your inner Cameron and shoot the next blockbuster 3D movie but you just can’t seem to come up with the millions of dollars needed to purchase the camera gear you would need, fear now more because you too can now create a super-duper 3D film for under $300 (how was my infomercial pitch there?).

Some great weekend hackers have put together a shopping list of materials needed to pull this off.

A couple Kodak Zx1 Digital Camcorders
L-Shaped bracket
Some nylon washers, wingnuts and screws
A basic tripod

I’m sure you could use other cameras and adjust the bracket to suit, but the concept is pretty simple. They have a full write up on how the pulled it off including all the editing that is needed to produce the stereo image. Check out the video after the break of some home made 3D footage.

Roll Your Own 3D Video For Under $300 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/02/22. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY RJ-45 Cable Tester

Frank — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:14:00 +0000

Cable testers can be super expensive, but if your trying to trouble shoot a cable drop or run then you know how valuable one can be.

Our favorite kids over at Instructables have a great how to on building your own on the super cheap. A quick trip to your local big box home improvement store and your favorite electronics store (hell even radio shack should it all) and a few bucks is all you will need to build this.

Besides your basic DIY hacking tools you will also need the following …

8 LED’s
20cm of Cat5 Cable
9V Battery Clip and Battery
Wall Mount Box
2 RJ-45 Female Jacks
220ohm Resistor
Female RJ-45 Mount Plate

Once you have all your components assembled head on over to Instructables and make your way through all the sets.

DIY RJ-45 Cable Tester originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2010/02/21. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2010 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: 2010, ac, battery, cable, cable tester, cat, cat5, cheap, diy, ds, ea, electronics, ethernet, expensive, follow, hack, hacking, id, instructable, jack, led, loa, make, pen, radio, rip, rj-45, tech.nocr.at, tool, tor, tron, ui | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

DIY: Cool Arduino Clock

Frank — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:10:03 +0000

People build all sorts of cool things with Arduino. Take the Twittering Doorbell or the Bedazzler but how about something as simple and useful as a clock? And an eye catching one at that!

The clock build requires a few simple materials; a laser printer, some LED’s and a few connectors. The instructions are super easy to understand and the only artistic skill you will need is knowing how to use a stencil (as you can see from the picture above).

Being an Arduino project, you will also get the source code from the project website to get you clock going. Along with the code you’ll also get a detailed PDF schematic and a template for the stencil. With the holiday season right around the corner, making a few of these and giving them to your geeky friends might just be the perfect gift idea.

[Link to Instructables]

DIY: Cool Arduino Clock originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Pirate TV Station

Frank — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:14:42 +0000

Miss the good old Analog TV days? If so, you can build you very own low-power analog television transmitter and join the underground. I’m not too sure on the legality of it, but now that all the networks (at least in the US) have vacated the analog spectrum you might not be harassed.

Tired of the blocky, JPEG-like resolution of digital television? Do you long for the days of RF modulation and regulated-yet-unregulated content? Do you simply have the desire to toss your converter box out the window and make use of those rabbit ear antennae that are just lying around? If so, then you might be interested in becoming a savior of analog television! This Instructable will show you how to create your own fully-fledged low-power analog television channel, with any video source(including your computer) as a source of content.
We created one that went live the minute analog tv went dead. We’re still the only analog station in NYC, but please join us in making more!!

[Link to Instructables via Make]

DIY: Pirate TV Station originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

In Case You Missed It: Week 44 Round Up

Frank — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:22:01 +0000

Another week another bunch of stuff that we posted. In case you missed any of it we have everything from Videogame Alarm Clocks to Secret Knock Door Openers. Enjoy.

Gadgets

A Cell Phone For Grama
USB Boobie Warmers
Fuel Cell Charger
Batteries For The Web 2.0 Generation

Gaming

Videogame Alarm Clocks

Hacking and Security

DIY: Star Trek Bluetooth Communicator
Turn A Dead 360 Into A PC
DIY: Auto Tracking Sentry Gun
DIY: Arduino AppleTV Remote
Secret Knock Door Lock
DIY: Digital Mixtape
Build A Real Working Tricorder, Sort Of
Build An Annoying Beeping Thing

Mac

MacHeist Nano Bundle: $154 In Apps 4 Free
Hacker Hacks Jailbroken iPhone
10.6.2 Kills Off Atom CPU Support
iPhone Safari Bug Could Cost You Cash

Tech News

Google Voice Invites
Woops: 10.6.2 Doesn’t Kill Atom Support

In Case You Missed It: Week 44 Round Up originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/09. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2009 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Tech News | Explore more in: 10.6.2, 360, ac, alarm, alarm clock, apple, appletv, apps, arduino, arm, atom, batteries, beep, bluetooth, bug, bundle, case, cash, cat, cell phone, charger, clock, communicator, cpu, dead, diy, door, ds, ea, fuel cell, game, Gaming, google, google voice, gun, hack, hacking, hacks, id, invite, iphone, jailbroken, knock, loa, lock, Mac, macheist, mixtape, nano, open, os, pc, pen, phone, remote, roundup, safari, secret, security, sentry, star trek, tap, tape, tech.nocr.at, tor, tracking, trek, tricorder, ui, usb, video, web 2.0, weekly | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

DIY: Star Trek Bluetooth Communicator

Frank — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:15:24 +0000

How could a week go by without us talking about some sort of Star Trek reference or gadget? Now if you really want to ~~be singled out as a dork~~ show your love for Star Trek why not build yourself this bluetooth Star Trek communicator? I’m not talking about those wussy TNG communicators, I’m talking about the old school plastic molded with mesh screen original series communicators. (Check out the video after the break).

Makezine has a great detailed write up on build your very own super geeky handset.

I thought it would be fun to have a Star Trek: The Original Series Bluetooth communicator for a cellphone. I worked with Dave Clausen to hack one together from a toy Star Trek communicator, a Bluetooth module, and a microcontroller.

If you pair this us with a phone that does voice dialing then you could easily walk around town with you phone nowhere to be seen. Imagine all of the ~~beatings~~ looks you will get as you walk down the street talking into this iconic device.

[Link to Make a Star Trek Bluetooth Communicator]

DIY: Star Trek Bluetooth Communicator originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Auto Tracking Sentry Gun

Frank — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:22:08 +0000

Every wanted to build you very own auto tracking sentry gun? No? Me either, but now that I take a look at it I do want to build one. Not one that fires bullets or anything, but one that would have a water gun on it to keep people out of my office.

If you’re like me and wanted to make one of these you would probably ran into the same issues I have. So to help all you poor suckers out the software we developed is open source and freely available on the website. The only reservation we have is that you make it a point not to hurt anyone or anything, we take no responsibility for anything.
The point of making it open source is to encourage joint development of the software and hardware possibilities.
If you follow the instructions properly you will end up with exactly what you wanted. After collecting all the hardware you will probably spend a long weekend putting it together. It doesn’t take a genius but it helps to be able to solder and do some basic handcrafts.

You can head on over to his website where he has detailed instruction on building one and all the software you will need to make it work.

DIY: Auto Tracking Sentry Gun originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Arduino AppleTV Remote

Frank — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:19:25 +0000

Not happy with the limited ability of Apple’s remote control? Build yourself your very own by using an Arduino.

Besides the obvious fact that this will act as a remote control for not only your AppleTV but also your Mac, you can easily build projects to automate tasks via the remote control.

This is a great first step in adding some more functionality to Apple’s “Hobby” hardware. This is also great for remotely getting your AppleTV to work when your out of town and your wife can’t figure out how to work the damn thing. It’s to AppleTV what MythWeb is to MythTV. Awesome.

[Link to Instructables]

DIY: Arduino AppleTV Remote originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Digital Mixtape

Frank — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:36:01 +0000

Remember the good old days? When you wanted to impress a girl you’d spend all night creating her a mixtape? No, you don’t? Maybe I’m just old.

Justin Cole wanted to relive the good old days while still using modern day technology so he decided to mash together a digital tape adapter and a flash drive.

My new design uses a small mp3 player that I disassembled and placed inside a cassette tape adapter for an iPod. This allows for mp3′s to be played back through a tapedeck. This has all of the ease and technology of an mp3 player with the retro coolness of a mix tape.

[Link to Digital Mixtape]

DIY: Digital Mixtape originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

In Case You Missed It: Week 43 Round Up

Frank — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 13:35:51 +0000

In case you missed anything last week; we have everything from Metallica on your iPhone right through to a $1200 Mouse. Enjoy

Gadgets

Remote Controlled Tissue Box
Electronic Guitar Shirt
Sucker Alert: $1200 Mouse
Sucker Alert: Wattgate 381 “Audio Grade” Socket

Gaming

Nokia Kills The N-Gage – Are You Shocked?
Nintendo DSi Get’s Bigger
Quickdev16: SNES Developers Cart
Soccer Hero

Hacking and Security

Use Your iPhone To Control Your Car
Mr. Wake – The Uncatchable Alarm Clock
Crush Your Cans With Electricity
3D Video With One Camera
DIY: Tesla “Spooky Spirit” Radio
Phaser Boasts 300mW Laser
iPhone App To Crack Combination Locks

Mac

Tap Tap Revenge Metallica For The iPhone

Tech News

XBMC on ARM
Install 59 Apps Quickly And Easily
Water Drops At 2000 FPS

In Case You Missed It: Week 43 Round Up originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/11/01. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2009 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Tech News | Explore more in: 3d, ac, alarm, alarm clock, apps, arm, audio, camera, car, cart, case, cat, clock, comb, control, diy, ds, dsi, ea, gag, Gaming, guitar, hack, hacking, id, iphone, ir, kde, laser, led, loa, lock, Mac, metal, metallica, mouse, n-gage, nes, nintendo, nintendo ds, nintendo dsi, nokia, os, phaser, phone, radio, rc, remote, remote control, rip, roundup, security, shirt, snes, soccer, sucker, tap, tap tap revenge, tech.nocr.at, tesla, tissue, tron, ui, video, water, weekly, xbmc | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

DIY: Tesla “Spooky Spirit” Radio

Frank — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 05:01:06 +0000

A crafty Instructables user has written up a how-to on creating Tesla’s Spirit Radio, it even creeped out Tesla himself. The Spirit Radio uses a simple crystal radio circuit that us connected to a line-in jack of a computer to generate spooky sounds from all kinds of electromagnetic sources.

“My first observations positively terrified me as there was present in them something mysterious, not to say supernatural, and I was alone in my laboratory at night.” – Nikola Tesla 1901
“The sounds I am listening to every night at first appear to be human voices conversing back and forth in a language I cannot understand. I find it difficult to imagine that I am actually hearing real voices from people not of this planet. There must be a more simple explanation that has so far eluded me.” – Nikola Tesla 1918

Check out the video and decide for yourself if it’s science or supernatural. Halloween is around the corner, this will make an awesome party toy.

[Link to Spirt Radio How-To]

DIY: Tesla “Spooky Spirit” Radio originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/27. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

In Case You Missed It: Week 42 Round Up

Frank — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 05:49:12 +0000

In case you missed anything this past week, we have everything from cooling with mineral oil to video editing on your iPhone. Enjoy.

Gadgets

Asus Keyboard PC

Gaming

Cool Your Xbox With Mineral Oil
PS3 Smashing Into A TV At 80 KMH
Open Source DS Bluetooth Adapter
Black Wii For The Brits
Rock Band For iPhone Now Available

Hacking and Security

Remote Control That’s Impossible To Lose
DIY: Build A Solar Power Station
PS3 Laptop
Hard Drive Lock Pick

Mac

Dead: ZFS For The Mac
Rebel EFI: A Thorn In Apples Side
ReelDirector: Video Editing For Your iPhone

Tech News

Project Eagle Claw: Taking Out The Scammers
Skype And Chrome Go Portable
Microsoft’s App Lab
Windows 7: Will You Upgrade?
B&N Nook Officially Released
Super Fast Robot Hands

In Case You Missed It: Week 42 Round Up originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/25. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2009 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Tech News | Explore more in: ac, amp, apple, asus, band, bluetooth, case, chrome, control, dead, diy, drive, ds, ea, editing, fast, Gaming, hack, hacking, hard drive, id, iphone, ir, key, keyboard, laptop, loa, lock, Mac, microsoft, mineral oil, nook, open, open source, os, pc, pen, phone, portable, power, ps3, rc, rebel efi, remote, remote control, robot, rock, rock band, roundup, rss, scammer, security, skype, smash, solar, tech.nocr.at, tor, ui, video, weekly, wii, wind, windows, windows 7, xbox, zfs | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

DIY: Build A Solar Power Station

Frank — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:36:06 +0000

Why lug around a generator when you could go green and build yourself a portable solar power station? Okay okay okay, so you’re not gonna the the juice out of this thing that you would out of say a 1500 watt gas generator, but if what you require is less than 400 watts of power then this is perfect for you.

The portable power unit has a solar panel that charges a 12 volt deep cycle battery which then in turn feeds a 400 watt inverter. This will also save you money in the long run. Besides the initial investment in the hardware there is no operating cost to use it. The only thing you require is sunlight, which last time I check is still a-plenty. Especially during the day.

[Link to Portable Power Station]

DIY: Build A Solar Power Station originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/22. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Front Door Opener

Frank — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:39:41 +0000

Ever wish you could open your front door the same way you open your car door? With a small key fob? This crafty (maybe even lazy) college student did just that.

We are talking some serious ass hardware hacking required to pull this off, but it’s one fun project to build, maybe not the nicest looking, but cool never-the-less. As you can see from the video it works well. I just wonder how safe this is. I use to have a car with a key fob that opened a neighbors garage. It was funny as hell. I’d lock my car and his door would open, i’d unlock it and his door would close.

[Link to Add a key fob to your door]

DIY: Front Door Opener originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/16. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Drill Powered Outboard Motor

Frank — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:15:11 +0000

This is a ridiculously simple way to create a drill powered outboard motor. Another crafty Instructables user shows us how he uses his cordless drill to power his boat. The drive shaft is a 10 mm wire rod that is connected to a right angle drill which drives a 3-blade propeller.

Drive time might be limited since running a drill at full tilt for prolonged periods will quickly drain your battery so you’ll have to extend it’s life by adding an external battery. Then all you will need is some solar panels to change that external battery and you’ll be set.

Drill Powered Outboard Motor originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY Image Stabilizer

Frank — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 05:03:59 +0000

A crafty Instructables users has figured out that by using a pair of spining hard drives you can create the same gyroscopic effect that the pros use to keep their cameras nice and steady. A camera stabilizer is perfect for taking those steady shots when your conditions might be less than favorable for doing so, like driving in a car or running (think paparazzi).

Although I wouldn’t say this is a beginners project, it’s not too hard to pull off and your materials list can probably already be found around your house.

Needed: 2 discarded harddisks (HDs)
Some old discarded computer, or parts
The part in the old computer which holds floppies en HDs at a 90 degree angle…
A wooden box or plywood etc..
A hand grip
One or two strips of aluminum
A camera screw
3 or 4 car USB phone chargers
A 12 V power source (lead acid cell, a discarded NiCd cell, or (rechargeable) batteries)
Some rubber washers and a piece of inner tire
Contact glue

A little bit of soldering experience, some free time and $50 in parts you too can build yourself this image stabilizer. Just remember, if you plan a career change and decide to become a paparazzi, everyone else around you will give you some weird looks if you run around with this thing.

[Link to Gyro Image Stabilizer]

DIY Image Stabilizer originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2009 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: ac, air, batteries, camera, car, charger, computer, diy, drive, ds, ea, eff, experience, hard drive, hd, house, id, images, instructable, ir, loa, os, phone, power, rc, ring, rip, stablizer, tech.nocr.at, time, ui, usb, weird | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

Bedazzler – DIY Non-Lethal Weapon

Frank — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:18:08 +0000

No, this isn’t the original Bedazzler stud rhinestone machine but an open source non-lethal weapon. Modeled after The Dazzler (a $1 million sea-sick flashlight), the Bedazzler can be built for under $250 and will easily cause nausea, dizziness, headaches, flash-blindness, eye pain and vomiting. Based on that don’t be an idiot and point it at people, use it in self defense situations only.

This is a great Arduino project for all of you out there who really love blinking LEDs. All of the schematics and PCB files are up on Instructables

Mad props to ladyada for the deisgn.

Bedazzler – DIY Non-Lethal Weapon originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2009/10/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Turn An Old Cell Phone Into A Skype Phone

Frank — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:45:41 +0000

In todays age of smart phones we all have an old cell phone laying around somewhere. Some of us might even have 3 or 4 laying around cluttering up their desks and work spaces like I do. So why not turn one of them old brick units into a functioning Skype phone, it’s not like you will use it for anything else.

JFDuval on Instructables lays out how to do just that. Now, you won’t get any wireless action out of this unit and some soldering skills are required, but from what the author says you should get some great sound quality out of the device.

[Link to SkypeCell]

DIY: Turn An Old Cell Phone Into A Skype Phone originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/09. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: 30 Watt Laster

Frank — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:59:34 +0000

Commercial laser cutters can cost anywhere from $10,000 right up to millions of dollars. Although there isn’t much info on how this crafty hacker went about building his very own 30 watt laser that can cut through steel, the Australian maker is answering questions in the comment section of the video. Maybe if we all ask really really really nicely he might put together a page detailing all the steps he took to put it together.

My 30 watt ULS powered Laser table with 54x30x9 dimensions. Still a few things to add like a rotary attachment and a martensitic stainless steel top.

DIY: 30 Watt Laster originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/04. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: USB Geiger Counter

Frank — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:58:47 +0000

Ever feel the need to check your surroundings for radiation? Me either, but if you ever have then this somewhat complex DIY project is right up your alley.

The geiger counter is a pretty simple device to detect radiations. Many forms of radiations from radio elements (alpha, beta, gamma) can be detected but it is more sensitive to beta and gamma radiations. The Geiger-Muller tube is a simple device, it’s a tube filled with a gas with two electrodes. A high potential is applied betweens electrodes. When a ionizing particle arrived, it create a temporary conductive path between electrodes. The resulting current can be detected by an electronic amplifier.

[Link to USB Geiger Counter via Make]

DIY: USB Geiger Counter originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/10/01. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Wifi Wok

Frank — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:24:53 +0000

What happens when you put a Wi-Fi dongle and a Wok together? The Wok-Fi of course. My favorite how-to site Instructables has a write up on mashing up a dumpling strainer and a Wi-Fi dongle. The writer claims to have gotten a boost of 60% when using this. Plus, everyone can whip out a cantena. Imagine driving around with a Wok out your window. Imaging the geek-cred you’d get with this at the next Hope conference.

[Link to Wok-Fi]

DIY: Wifi Wok originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Softbox

Frank — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 03:55:35 +0000

A Softbox is used to create soft diffused light by directing light through a white diffusing material. Photographers choose to use a softbox because it help to create a nice soft even light on a given object.

A Softbox can generally run you some serious coin, but with the help of this DIY project you can build your own to help you achieve that professional look next time you need to shoot something small.

The purpose of this project is twofold. First it allows for the testing of a new idea for mounting a DIY softbox to a light stand and secondly it lets me answer a question in the comments on my previous Large DIY Softbox about the best type of lining material to use when ‘doing it yourself’.

[Link to DIY: Softbox]

DIY: Softbox originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/26. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: WiFi Robot

Frank — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 05:01:46 +0000

Jon Bennett has created a WiFi controller robot that can be controller via the internet or from a computer up to 500m away. The robot is built from an RC car that he picked up at a thrift store, a Linksys WRT54GL router running the Open-WRT firmware, a network camera. The bot can be powered by two different type of micro-controllers: the PIC microprocessor or an Arduino. You can use whichever one your are more comfortable with. If you follow Joe’s guide, it shouldn’t cost you that much to put together. Check out the video after the break of the bot in action.

The goal of this article is to give a high-level overview of the project and provide some implementation details of the software and electronics. It is not meant to be a step-by-step how-to guide, but there should be enough information for someone with motivation and some background knowledge in electronics and software to be able to make their own Wifi Robot. All of the source code is being released under the terms of the GNU GPL v2, so by all means, use the code, and improve it!

You sure could have a lot of fun with this project. Maybe at some image processing code so that it can figure out where the sidewalk ends and can make it’s own decision to turn right or left.

[Link to WiFi Robot]

DIY: WiFi Robot originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/21. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2008 | Permalink | Comments | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: ac, arduino, camera, car, computer, control, controller, diy, ds, ea, electronics, firmware, follow, hack, hacking, id, ir, led, links, linksys, make, network, open, os, owl, pen, power, proc, rc, robot, router, tor, tron, ui, video, wifi, wrt54g | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

DIY: Laser Tag System

Frank — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:52:30 +0000

Remember all the fun you had as a kid playing with that Laser Tag system your parents got you from Consumers Distributing? Well you can now relive all of that excitement including point the laser at someone’s eye with the DIY Laser Tag system.

The homebrew system uses a few cheap laser pointers stuffed into a toy gun and a PIC16F628A micro-controller that connects up to a peizo transducer which produces different beeps. It even has a 5 pin header on the device that can be connected to a programmer fo in-circuit programming.

[Link to DIY Laser Tag System]

DIY: Laser Tag System originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: iPod Shuffle Cable

Frank — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:16:57 +0000

I own 4 different iPods. An iPod Video, a 1st gen Nano, an iPod Touch, and my beloved 2nd gen shuffle. Why you ask? They all serve different purposes. I use my Touch for Video, my Video for my entire collection, my nano for my wife, and my shuffle for my driving or running. You can imagine the plethora of cables one has to carry to satisfy this obsession.

That’s why sometime ago I decided to slim down what I needed. Now, my Touch, Video, and Nano can all use the same cable, but my shuffle required something different. So I built this super tiny USB dongle that would do just that, replace the bulky shuffle dock. Video after the break.

Here’s what you will need ..

USB Type A connector
4 Pole 3.5mm Connector
Wire
Soldering Iron
Patience

Connect the shortest length possible of wire between the points listed in the above diagram.

These contact points can be small and quite tricky so take your time with doing so.

Once you have soldered up the contacts use a multimeter to make sure that there are no shorts between the contacts. You want to make sure that no solder has spilled between the contacts, this would be bad and could cause a short and kill your ipod.

Use some heat shrink tubing to clean the whole thing up and make it look professional.

DIY: iPod Shuffle Cable originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/17. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY Pong Clock

Frank — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 04:10:56 +0000

This great geek Pong Clock comes to us via the Make Flickr photo pool.

User Funnypolynomial decided to put an old laptop to a good use and build his very own Pong Clock like we have seen floating around the net this pas week.

I rescued an old Thinkpad ages ago and began a project to install it in a picture frame. The original idea was to have it running things like Conway’s Life and the Mandelbrot set. But then I saw the Pong Clock on a blog and decided to just do that instead.

Interested? You can check out the photo pool and a video of how it was made.

DIY Pong Clock originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/17. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Passive Network Tap

Frank — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:18:30 +0000

Here’s a great Instructable that will allow you to monitor a network without the need to purchase any expensive equipment. It’s real simple to put together and will cost you less than $20 in parts at your local big box home improvement store.

Companies like Network Optics make incredible taps, for all sorts of media, but if you have 10/100 home network then for $18 in parts from home depot you can make a tap and send the output to snort/tcpdump/wireshark and see if any data is leaking that should not be.

[Link to Making A Passive Network Tap]

DIY: Passive Network Tap originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/10. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Add USB Ports To Your Alarm Clock

Frank — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 23:20:34 +0000

Every night I fall asleep listening to my iPod, and every morning I wake up with it dead as a door nail. This cleaver hack actually came to me via my wife. She said “You put USB ports in everything else, why not the alarm clock”. So I did. As you can see from an old episode of The Lab With Leo some time ago I demonstrated exactly how you go about adding some powered USB ports to your alarm clock to keep everything from your cell phone to iPod fully charged.

Here’s what your gonna need.

Alarm Clock with an internal power supply of 9–12V DC
PCB Mounted USB Port
+5V Fixed Voltage Regulator (7805)
Multimeter

First thing you want to do is open up your alarm clock and make sure that the internal power supply is giving out 9–12V DC using your multimeter.

Once we have satisfied those requirements, your going to want to find a suitable location to house the usb port, something that will not interfere with the internal componets of the alarm clock once you put it back together

With the USB port mounted you are going to want to wire the USB port and the 7805 as per the instructions that come with the voltage regulator. Make sure to leave enough slack with regards to wiring if you ever need to open the alarm clock back up again.

Voila, power to your usb device via your alarm clock.

DIY: Add USB Ports To Your Alarm Clock originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

© tech.nocr.at 2008 | Permalink | 2 Comments | Read more in Hacking And Security | Explore more in: 7805, ac, alarm, alarm clock, arm, cat, cell phone, clock, dead, diy, door, ds, ea, fix, hack, hacking, house, id, ipod, ir, iso, lab with leo, lock, make, open, os, pc, pcb, pen, phone, power, ring, tag, time, tor, ui, usb, volta, wire | Add to del.icio.us | Stumble it | Reddit

DIY: Pringles Can Macro Tube

Frank — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 14:10:47 +0000

Most photo buffs know they key to get a great shot of something up close is to use a macro lens. Unfortunately not every one has big bucks to spend on a piece of glass to achieve this. This is why the Pringles can macro tube hack is perfect for those on a tight budget. The Photocritic blog has a great how to on building your own macro tube so you can take seriously crisp shots of tiny things.

So, you like the idea of doing macro photography, but you think you can’t afford it? Think again – with less than £1 worth of equipment, a little bit of sweat and tears (and blood, if you, like me, are a bit on the clumsy side), and you can build yourself a surprisingly good macro lens. Don’t believe me? Well, have a look at the article, and think again!

[Link to building a Pringles macro tube]

DIY: Pringles Can Macro Tube originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/08. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: PSX to USB

Frank — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:40:05 +0000

Here’s a great project to make use of your old PSX controllers that you might have laying around the house. Izuna posted some details on building a micro-controller that is using an ATmega8 chip to convert the signal from a PSX controller to USB.

Sure, you can buy an extensor and cut the cable, but you can also buy a PSX to USB adapter for cheap if you want. This is not the point, the point here is make something yourself (and if you have the rights tools beforehand, this is cheaper than buying the adapter [At least I think it is in Brazil]).
[…]
The circuit is very simple, the Atmega8 do all the work, there is just some resistors and zeners to meet the standards for USB protocol, the oscillator crystal and some filtering caps

[Link to USBJoy]

DIY: PSX to USB originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/05. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: RC Helicopter

Frank — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:37:03 +0000

Building your own RC helicopter sounds like a hard tasl, but thanks to Ben Hui it’s as simple as building a few parts and following a step-by-step set of instructions.

Flying RC helicopter is really very exhilarating. Their versatility gives a RC pilot a complete access to the three-dimensional space in such a way that no other machines can! I have played RC helicopter for more than one year but still find that I have just learnt a few tricks that it can perform. There are generally two micro-helicopters ( indoor ) in the RC market. I have already planned to buy one of them as they can fly inside the living room and even take off on ours hand. Unlike those operated by gas, these electric helicopters are very clean and give out no terrible noise at all. In one nightfall, I visited a web site, which is about how to make a hand made RC helicopter. I was totally impressed and started designing my own helicopter.

[Link to Ben Hui's tips on building an RC helicopter]

DIY: RC Helicopter originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/09/02. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Neuros OSD – Take 2

Frank — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:00:48 +0000

We talked about the Neuros OSD earlier this year, well it now looks like the company has decided to mature the project and bring it into the HD age. The OSD2.0, which will be aimed at Linux PVR coders, will have an impressive list of specs.

D1(720×480) H.264 or SVGA (1024×768) MPEG4 + AAC/AC3/MP3 encoding
720P playback, up to 1080i with certain content
Support H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, WMV codec
Composite/Component Input: 2 composite input, 1 component input, all with dedicated stereo audio
Composite/Component/HDMI Video Output
RCA Audio I/O
2 USB ports in rear, 1 in front, and 1 internal to housing

The unit will be retailing for $249.99 and should be available by the end of the month.

Neuros OSD – Take 2 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/19. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: USB Switched Power Strip

Frank — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:26:23 +0000

Instructable user toymotorhead cobbled together this USB controller power strip to ensure that his devices turned off automatically when he shut down his computer as well as turn them on once he turned his computer on. All-in-all he spent about $30 on the contraption.

The unit consists of a solid state relay, some fuses, and some transient voltage surge suppressing diodes. The unit is also isolated from the motherboard to protect his computer from any unwanted nasty power spikes. The unit current just switches the power supply off and by by measuring the current of the usb connection and doesn’t use any fancy software to control the unit.

It’s a fairly easy project to build, but remember, your working with some high voltage here so make sure to take all precautions necessary so you don’t fry yourself.

[Link to building a USB switched power strip]

DIY: USB Switched Power Strip originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/18. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Blu-Ray Laser Phaser

Frank — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:36:37 +0000

If your a geek then you must have loved the old classic Trek episodes, the one’s with the red shirts that never made it, and what about those over sized phasers (compared to the later Trek series). Well, now thanks to Kip Kay you too can have a cool looking Star Trek phaser that emits a blue laser. By using a classic Trek toy phaser, a blu-ray dvd player diode, a resistor and switch he was able to slap together a phaser that actually fires off a blu(e)-ray.

As always kids, if you want to do this then don’t point the laser into your friends eyes. You could blind him and then be left to read to him comic books for the rest of your life.

DIY: Blu-Ray Laser Phaser originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/14. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Build An HDTV Antenna

Frank — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:02:43 +0000

Why spend money on purchasing something when you could just build it yourself, like this DIY HDTV antenna with some wood, tin foild, and a coat hanger.

If you don’t want to spend upwards of 70 bucks like I did on a not so great performing Yagi style antenna. Then build this one for almost nothing and get better results. … Swear to GOD! I am hitting 88 to 99 signal strength on all my channels now with NO DROPOUTS AT ALL!!!!

I can’t vouch for the builders claim of accuracy, but what do you have to lose? a coat hanger and some foil. Let’s us know if you build one and it works.

[Link to building an HDTV antenna]

DIY: Build An HDTV Antenna originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/13. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY: Balancing Robot

Frank — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:49:08 +0000

Here’s a great project to work on if your just getting into robots. The self-balancing robot doesn’t use any fancy accelerometers or gyroscopes, all you really need is a motor and some gears (with a few additional items you might have around the workshop).

This is a very simple robot that uses a simple switch as a sensor and stands on only two wheels with inverted pendulum mechanism. When the robot is going to fall the motor starts and moves the robot to the direction it is going to fall, so the motor torque about the center of gravity that is higher than the motor makes the robot balanced.

Link to building a Simple Balancing Robot

DIY: Balancing Robot originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/13. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY Flamethrower

Frank — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:05:32 +0000

For the love of God kids, don’t, and I mean don’t try this at home. Everett Bradford has been working on a Pyro like system (just like the one from X-Men) for his final project for a mechanisms class (what ever happened to building volcanos and the such?). This thing looks quite dangerous, but it does do a nice job of imitating the fire throwing ability of Pyro from X-Men.

The Pyro System is my final project for a mechanisms class in the spring of 2008. It gives me the power that the X-Men character Pyro has

UPDATE: Seems that the second video went missing. I have correct the post and you can now see the flamethrower in action

DIY Flamethrower originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/08/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Proper Electronic Enclosures

Frank — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:28:48 +0000

Picking the right enclosure for your next DIY electronics project can be daunting at best. Sparkfun electronics has a great write up about how to go about getting the right case for your project.

They give a great layout of how to get those holes for switches and button just right. They even explain how to add some plastic standoffs to secure your PCB down is the mounting holes in your case don’t line up. This is definitely a keeper for all of you DIY electronic fanboys.

Sparkfun’s Boxing It All Up

Proper Electronic Enclosures originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/06/07. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY Slingbox

Frank — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:32:20 +0000

Creative hardware hacker David laid out some steps on hacking together your own Slingbox. Using a Mac Mini, an old DV camera, and Quicktime Broadcaster he is able to capture the stream of his cable box with the DV camera then send it over to the Mac Mini via firewire, then using Quicktime Broadcaster he can multicast the single to any computer that has quicktime.

It’s not the easiest or prettiest thing to get going, but it works. There are a few down sides to the project like not being able to change the channel remotely like you can with a slingbox, but if you have the hardware just laying around it works quite well. If you can get your hands on a quicktime streaming server you’d be able to send the signal out on the internets as well!

Link to DIY Slingbox

DIY Slingbox originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/06/06. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY Star Trek Communicator

Frank — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:30:14 +0000

I am really surprised that a Star Trek communicator has yet to become the norm amongst the geek-elite.

Chip Chick has this â€œexclusiveâ€ communicator replica, unfortunately you can only have conversations with sound effects or pre-recoded phrases. If your really hardcore maybe you could cram a cell phone into it and show off your geek-cred.

If that fails, you can turn your razr into a star trek communicator as well.

DIY Star Trek Communicator originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/12. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

How To Make A Jib

Frank — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:26:33 +0000

Joren has slapped together a great DIY article for all of you aspiring directors on building your very own low cost jib arm.

â€œI don’t know if the proper name is jib arm, boom, or crane. Like everything else in the world, there are at least three names for this. The basis for this design is a four-link system so no matter what the angle of the actual arm is at, the camera “basket,” as I call it, is always parallel with the ground. However, I designed a way to tilt the camera up and down, so you can get bird’s eye shots that change to be low angle shots, etc. Basically, I tried to anticipate any need I might have of a jib arm and make it as versatile as possible.â€

Link to making your own jib

How To Make A Jib originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/02/02. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Semi-Pro Light Kit For $75

Frank — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 04:34:52 +0000

A quick trip to your local big box hardware store and a few bucks and you too can turn that spare room into a professionally lit ~~porn~~ natural model studio you have always dreamed of having. That is of course, if you have some camera equipment to go with it. Itâ€™s going to be pretty hard to convince any woman that you are a famous fashion photographer if you donâ€™t have some big camera mounted on a tripod.

For about $75 you can slap together some work style flood lamps, some foil-covered windshield heat protectors and some daylight tinted bulbs, thatâ€™s a lot cheaper than the $1000â€™s you could spend on some professional gear. The results? Youâ€™ll get about 90% of the quality youâ€™d get from a pro kit (if done properly) for less than a fifth of the price.

The guys at shuttertalk.com have a complete breakdown on assembly this diy light kit. If you are on a budget, this canâ€™t be beat.

Semi-Pro Light Kit For $75 originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/21. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Improve Your Cell Phone’s Battery Life

Frank — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:09:05 +0000

Cell phone batteries generally fail on you when you need them most. You know, when your on the road traveling and can only charge your phone at night when you get back to your hotel room.

Wikihow has a great article on how to make your cell phone battery last longer. You can increase time between charges by turning the phone off at night when you go to bed, not using the vibrate function on your phone, and not searching for a signal when there obviously isn’t one to be found. You can prolong the life of your battery by fully charging a new battery before you use it, keeping the battery cool by not leaving your phone sit out in your purse in an overheated car, and by cleaning the battery contacts on both the battery and on the phone itself.

Most new batteries donâ€™t suffer from the same pitfalls that their predecessors did like charging memory, or burn out when overcharged, but most of the tricks in the article can help you squeeze the most juice out of that battery.

[Via DIYLIFE]

Improve Your Cell Phone’s Battery Life originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/21. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

How To Make A Mic Flag

Frank — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:46:08 +0000

You ever hit the door of a big conference with all of your gear only to be rejected as press because your index card press badge that you wrote with magic marker and stuck in your hand just wasn’t cutting it?

If your looking to pass as legitimate press, this microphone flag (as well as some decent clothes, less swearing, and a business card) will be your ticket through the door. This video show you how to put together a quality mic flag for your microphone just like the big boys use.

It’s a lot better than one made out of cardboard with a magic marker. I’m sure that will get you kicked out of the White House press room in a hurray.

[Via DIYLIFE]

How To Make A Mic Flag originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/18. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Cheap Photo Studio Lighting

Frank — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:47:10 +0000

I’ve always been a sucker for anything with a lens. Between shooting Digital Underground.tv and my amateur (and i mean amateur) photography hobby trying to get good at both costs both time and money. I can’t help you with the time factor, but this is a great money saver.

Lighting is always the get to any good shot. Professional lighting kits can easily cost you $1000′s and to boot most of us just can’t transform our houses or apartments into the photography studio of our dreams. So, what can you do about it? How about moving some furnature around when you need it (as a matter of fact, we completely empty out my living room when we shoot the show) and dig up some seriously cheap lights.

The guys at diyphotography.net have a great article on how to build a decent 3 light setup for about $100. They have some snaps of people where they used their cheap lights, and take it from me, they look great.

[Via DIYLife]

Cheap Photo Studio Lighting originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2008/01/14. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

DIY Toothbrush Timer

Frank — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 18:00:10 +0000

I’ve always had this fascination with Altoids tins. Combine that with good hygiene and you too can build your very own Altoids Toothbrush Timer. Okay, so it’s not a revolutionary hack, but it’s a great project if you want to get someone into electronic timing. Teach your son or daughter the joys of electronics while ensuring that they are maintaining good oral hygiene!

Link to the detailed how-to

DIY Toothbrush Timer originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 2007/12/30. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

Clean up cable clutter

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

How many of us have a cables cluttering up desks, tabletops and nightstands. Below is a video showing a simple and easy way to clean up the cable clutter. I would warn you that almost every powerbrick produces heat so make sure you don’t end up with a neat box that catches fire and burns you house down.

How To Make A CHARGER BOX Very Easy – No More Cable Mess! – Funny videos are hereLink: How to make a Charger Box via Lifehacker

Clean up cable clutter originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

How To: Build a Night Vision System

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s a great and cheap way to create your own Night Vision system for your video camera. You will need some cellophane and an old digital camera to pull it off, but once you do it’s quite impressive.

How To: Build a Night Vision System originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.

How To: Roll your own solar bag

Frank — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I’m all about making sure that all of my gadgets get the juice they need, whether it be in my car, on a plane, or even on the beach, yes the beach. The guys at Talk2MyShirt have a great two-part piece on how to make your own solar-powered device charging bag. A great thing to have if you spend many hours out doors. Next I’m going to work on building a solar charger that will use the glow of my monitor to charge my cell phone.

How To: Roll your own solar bag originally appeared on tech.nocr.at on 1999/11/29. Reproduction of content not allowed without consent.