Volume 07: Backyard Biology

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MAKE 07: Backyard Biology

Hack your plants, extract your DNA, 70's soapbox saga, build a videocam rocket, and head-mounted water cannon.

Unfortunately, copies of Volume 07 are sold out, but you can still view it in the digital edition.

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Made on Earth

» Made On Earth by Megan Mansell Williams, Bruce Stewart, David Albertson, Arwen O'Reilly Griffith, Xeni Jardin

Report from the world of backyard technology. Page 18 Download Sample PDF of this article .

1+2+3

» Penny-Powered LED by Matthew Ruschmann

Power an LED with some salty water and $1.21. Page 17

» Magnetic Switches from Everyday Things by Cy Tymony

Control many devices from afar with the magnetically sensitive Sneaky Switch. Page 51

Maker

» Mark Pauline's Machine Mayhem by David Pescovitz

For nearly three decades, Survival Research Laboratories has redirected the technology of industry, science, and the military to create the most dangerous theater on Earth. Page 28

» Digi-Comp Redux by Tim Walker

A maker in the middle recreates a kit classic. Page 49

» Arduino Fever by Daniel Jollife

The tale of a cute, blue microcontroller that fits nicely in the palm of your hand, and the expanding community of developers who love and support it. Page 52

Projects

» Rocket-Launched Camcorder by John Maushammer

Hack a $30, single-use camcorder to make it reusable, then launch it up in a model rocket and capture thrilling astronaut's view footage of high-speed neighborhood escape and re-entry. Page 78

» The Two-Can Stirling Engine by William Gurstelle

The Stirling engine has long captivated inventors and dreamers. Here are complete plans for building and operating a two-cylinder model that runs on almost any high-temperature heat source. Page 90 Download Sample PDF of this article .

» iPod Video Converter Cable by Erica Sadun

An easier way to watch iPod video on your TV. Page 123

» MIDI Control by Peter Kirn

Music equipment language isn't just for audio anymore. Page 158

DIY

DIY: Outdoors

» Head-Mounted Water Cannon by John Young

Use steel fire-extinguisher power to pummel plastic squirt toys. Page 111

» Weatherproof Wi-Fi Access Point by Will O'Brien

Outdoor router with minimal coaxial run maximizes network range. Page 114

» Convertible Jockey Box by Carlo Longino

Portable cooler taps and dispenses ice-cold beer from both kegs and mini-kegs. Page 119

DIY: Home

» Beepkiller: Parental Revenge by Erica Sadun

Three ways to silence annoying toys. Page 121

» Automate Your Voicemail Greeting by Dave Mabe

Program Asterisk to daily update your outgoing message in your own voice. Page 126

DIY: Computers

» USB-Powered Fan by Erica Sadun

12 easy steps to a cooler you. Page 127

» Installing Bluetooth Internally on an iBook by Timothy B. Hewitt

Tuck a USB wireless adapter inside the case. Page 129

» Thumb Life by Russ Ethington

USB keydrive lets you listen to, read, and play what you want on any machine. Page 131

DIY: Mobile

» El Cheapo Cantenna by Will O'Brien

"Mountain Grown" coffee can makes homegrown wi-fi range extender. Page 133

» Backup Power To Go by Erica Sadun

9V battery USB-compatible charger juices up portables in a pinch. Page 135

» Palm Pilot Notebook by Allen Wong

Modified hardback book contains extra-powered PDA and travel keyboard. Page 138

DIY: Imaging

» Scribbler Bot by Douglas McDonald

Homemade two-axis plotter finds work as a cariacature artist. Page 141

» How to Drink Beer on C-SPAN by Bill Barminski

Put yourself into somebody else's video. Page 144

DIY: Music

» Monster MIDI Detector by David Battino

Here's an easy-to-build MIDI detector packaged in a small Japanese action figure. Page 147

Maker's Corner

» Maker's Corner by Dan Woods

Advice and news for MAKE readers. Page 12

News from the Future

» News from the Future by Tim O'Reilly

Virtual meets real. Page 13

Life Hacks

» The Simplest Thing That Could Possibly Work by Danny O�Brien, Merlin Mann

Get more done by trying to do less. Page 14

Make Free

» A for Anything by Cory Doctorow

Creative destruction opens more doors than it closes. Page 16

Hands On

» The Interventionists by Bruce Sterling

The "creative class": tech geeks and fine artists are jostling onto the same page. Page 26

» Spinout by Colin Berry

Was building a Soap Box Derby racer my brother's last best chance at escaping his fate? Page 36

Heirloom Technology

» Shopping Cart Chair by Tim Anderson

Turn a shopping cart into a comfortable and stylish wheelchair. Page 40

Proto

» Garage Biotech by Bob Parks

For a safer world, Drew Endy wants everyone to engineer life from the ground up. Page 42

Making Trouble

» How To How-to by Saul Griffith

Use a head-mounted video camera to produce instructions for making things. Page 46

» Genuine Ingenuity by Dale Dougherty

True stories and authentic experiences at the first annual Maker Faire. Page 48

» Life and Death at Low Temperatures by Charles Platt

How to freeze and revive a garden snail. Page 54 Download Sample PDF of this article .

» A Sublime Machine by Mike Kuniavsky

Mike Wilder makes Lego robots for time-lapse 3D videos of carnivorous plants. Page 57

» Kitchen Counter DNA Lab by Dr. Shawn Carlson

Extract, purify, and experiment with the blueprint of life. Page 59

» Home Molecular Genetics by UBC Advanced Molecular Biology Lab

Extract, fingerprint, and replicate your own DNA. Page 65

» Hack Your Plants! by Robert Luhn

Play God in your garden--create custom fruits, flowers, veggies, and more. Page 72

» Home Mycology Lab by Philip Ross

Use an off-the-shelf home air purifier to make a laminar flow hood for your own miniature mycology lab. Then use it to culture and grow mushrooms, and to perform other experiments that require a clean-room environment. Page 102

Maker Trips

» Duct Tape and Cyclotrons by Michael Shapiro

Incredible machines at thte Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Page 152

Howtoons

» The Bugeye Lens by Nick Dragotta, Joost Bonsen, Saul Griffith

Water droplet lens with special bottle-cap twist focus. Page 154

MakeShift

» MakeShift by Lee D. Zlotoff

The creator of MacGyver challenges you to save a man stuck in a fissure filled with toxic gas. Page 156

Toolbox

» Toolbox

Create ant farm documentaries, play record albums with a plastic cup, and dosome pocket-sized instant messaging. Page 166

Retrocomputing

» Digital Spelunking by Tom Owad

Unearthing ancient Apple II files on AOL. Page 176

Aha!

» MAKE's favorite puzzles. by Michael H. Pryor

MAKE's favorite puzzles. Page 177

Blast from the Past

» Workshops, Big and Very Small by Mister Jalopy

Build a stowable mini workshop for modest tasks like lamp rewiring and scissor sharpening and soon you'll be building your dreams. Page 178

Reader Input

» Reader Input

Where makers tell their tales and offer praise, brickbats, and swell ideas. Page 182

Maker's Calendar

» Maker's Calender by William Gurstelle

Our favorite events from around the world - September, October, and November 2006. Page 186

Tales from the Web

» iTune In, Turn On, Make Stuff by Phillip Torrone

Looking for a weekend project or steam-powered robots? All aboard! Take a tour of the new video features, including projects, interviews, and virtual tours. Page 187

Retrospect

» Strange Love by George Dyson

Or, how they learned to start worrying and love to hate the bomb. Page 188 Download Sample PDF of this article .

Homebrew

» My Robosapien in a Can by Dave Prochnow

Page 192