6.25.2009

Now News

Finally, after the long wait, the highly anticipated app, Now News is available in the App Store, and already shooting its way up the rankings. Here a link to it in the iTunes Store: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=318018153&mt=8

12.05.2008

Make a Fireball Shooter



Another great video from the Internet legend KipKay. Wow, I really want to do this because not only does it look fun but, it's simple and cheap. I just need to find a store around that sells flash paper and cotton.

12.03.2008

Make Your Own Motion Detector Alarm

Have you ever thought that it would be cool to make your own motion detector? Well now you can with some well written instructions. You need very few parts and the whole thing will only cost a couple of bucks. The parts that you will need are:

2 - Cds Cells (Photocells)
1 - 741 Op Amp
1 - Buzzer or alarm
1 - 9 volt battery breadboard
1 - 10K potentiometer

Not much huh? It really is actually really easy and quick to build. Much more than you would have originally thought. Click on the link for the step by step instructions.

12.01.2008

Make Your Own Homemade LED Christmas Lights

If you have trouble with all of your Christmas lights going out when only one bulb becomes burnt out or stepped on and if you feel up to the challenge, you can build your own strand of LED Christmas lights. Whats even better is that you will wire the lights in parelell which means that when one bulb goes out the rest will stay on. Not only is it cool to have Christmas lights that you made yourself but, the LED's last over 100,000 hours, they produce little heat, they use minimal energy, and the bulbs aren't hallow which makes them virtually indestructable. Check out the instructions on how to build them. However, you will need tons of LED's, (can be bought at your local electronics store) lots of resistor, some solder, and the ability to solder. Good luck!

11.30.2008

Can You Name The Video Game Systems


Many of us remember the days of NES and Sega gaming platforms. But, I bet that you can't name all 68 of them from the year 1972 to today. If you think that you are up to the challenge than why not play the game? But, oh yeah, you only have twelve minutes.

11.29.2008

How To Beat The Candy Crane Game?


Most of us have, at least once in our lifetime, played the candy crane game, and many of us have seen on the sign on the front that says, "play until you win." Well, that gave me an idea. I started researching how the machine detects whether you have won or not and have found that it uses an infrared LED sensor and once it no longer receives the signal from the LED (when the candy falls down the chute) it knows that you're a winner and makes you pay again to play. But, what if you bought an infrared LED and shined it at the detector. Wouldn't it keep on thinking that your a loser and letting you keep on playing while you start gathering a pile of candy at the bottom of the machine? I'm skeptical about it working but, why not give it a shot?

11.28.2008

Guy Builds His Own Jet Fighter

When Arthur van Poppel found some online plans on how to build a jet fighter he took them pretty seriously. He actually built the thing! While his homemade jet won't ever take flight he can actually drive it. The jet has a scaled down version of the real thing and has collapsible wings so that he can fit it in tight spaces.



"Apart from a crafty piece of machinery, the Jet Fighter is especially some spectacular entertainment, full of surprises! In the cockpit, one finds sound equipment and a monitor with surveillance cameras. Apart from this, the Jet Fighter has many sound effects and visual entertainment, such as smoke-, water- and confetti-effects, to surprise its audience again and again. These effects can also be controlled from a distance. The spectators will be amazed!"

Via- Muziekkunstenaar

11.27.2008

CNC Hexapod Robot



Matt Denon, a dedicated robotics expert has built the worlds first CNC machine that can walk on the material that it's getting ready to cut. He uses the Hexapod robot, which you can now buy at his store, played around with the programing, and added a drill bit. Although it only can go through styrofoam and high density foam right now, Matt is looking into the possibilities of it cutting wood and he plans on using a smaller drill bit for a clearer model. However, he has come a long way from when he first started because originally it used a marker to draw pictures. Way to go Matt!

11.26.2008

5 Minute Christmas Light Controller


Max from ZedoMax built an automated Christmas light controller. All that you have to do if you want one of your own is go to his website, copy the code that he already provides, and then send it to the CuSB22R board that is shown in the video. Here is a parts list:

1. CuSB22R from | cubloc.com
2. AC power cord (like the one for your computer or get it here: cubloc.com)
3. AC Connectors from Home Depot (You can get more depending on how many Christmas Lights you are trying to control,
remember you can also put Christmas lights in series per relay)
bunch of wires

In the video it shows him controlling only three strands of lights but, you can add up to seven more. Plus, you can have more than one set of lights in a strand. What's even better is that, if you feel the need to, you can edit the code for the lights to change the blinking rate or you can change it all together to make objects look animated.