Volume 23: Gadgets

In this special GADGETS issue, we show you how to make a menagerie of delightful machines: a miniature electronic Whac-a-Mole arcade game, a tiny but mighty see-through audio amplifier, a magic mirror that contains an interactive animated soothsayer, a self-balancing one-wheeled Gyrocar, and the Most Useless Machine — the creepy mechanical box whose only purpose is to turn itself off (as seen on The Colbert Report!). Plus: how Intellectual Ventures made their incredible laser targeting mosquito zapper, how to use the industrial-strength microcontrollers called PLCs, and a lot more.

View a list of all links referenced in this volume

Our New Tool for Community Collaboration by Mark Frauenfelder in Welcome
Make: Projects (makeprojects.com) is our brand new beta library of project instructions written by you, the readers. Page 1

Reader Input in Reader Input
Rosy CupCakes, router safety, shocked kids, and pirate booms. Page 10

Smiley Face Technologies by Saul Griffith in Making Trouble
I have an antidote that keeps me upbeat, something special and beautiful that keeps me optimistic about the human condition ... people share their ideas with me. Page 13

Walled Gardens vs. Makers by Cory Doctorow in Make Free
Making is about sharing. The reason we can make so much today is because the basic knowledge, skills, and tools to make anything are already on the ground, a loam in which our inspiration can germinate. Page 16

Rolling Like Luke by Keith Hammond in Made on Earth
Daniel Deutsch built his own full-sized, drivable landspeeder. Page 18

Bright Lights, Big Installation by Laura Kiniry   in Made on Earth
Firefly 1440 is an LED display of dancing light patterns based on the wind's force, timing, and direction. Page 20

Shelter from the Bus by Bruce Stewart in Made on Earth
Sculptor Christopher Fennell created a bus stop shelter out of actual retired buses. Page 21

Living Walls by Jeanne Storck in Made on Earth
Rufus Butler Seder creates animated glass murals. Page 22

Hardcore Thread by Shawn Connally in Made on Earth
Theresa Honeywell covered an entire motorcycle in knitwork. Page 23

DIY Truss Telescope by Bruce Stewart in Made on Earth
Dale Sander built a "truss telescoping telescope." Page 24

Come On, Sweat! by Laura Kiniry   in Made on Earth
Waste to Work is a project that explores sweat as a catalyst for energy. Page 25

The Infrared Thermometer: An Essential Science Gadget by Forrest Mims III in Country Scientist
While I've spent 20 years measuring sunlight, haze, the ozone layer, and the water vapor layer using various homemade insruments, a couple of IR thermometers are among the most important gadgets in my science toolbox. Page 26

Summer's Here by Dan Woods in Maker's Corner
Time to get serious about that long-overdue MAKEcation. Page 29

Kid Robot by Dale Dougherty in Maker
Young makers are seizing breakout opportunities on the wild frontier of Detroit. Page 30

58 Bagley Ave. by Marc Greuther in Maker
The workshop where Henry Ford made his first car. Page 37

Slag Social by Joe Sandor in Maker
The art and community of the DIY iron pour. Page 38

Hacking Club-Mate by John Baichtal in Maker
A popular hacker energy drink gets homebrewed. Page 40

Stone Age Telegraph by Jamie O'Shea in Maker
Armed only with information, I turn rocks and sticks into an electronic signal. Page 42

Maker Faire 2010: Going East in Maker
Born in 2005 as a maker meetup, Maker Faire (makerfaire.com) is the world's largest DIY festival, celebrating homegrown technology from robots and rockets to food, arts, and crafts. Page 45

Beam Weapon for Bad Bugs by 3ric Johanson
How to make a Mosquito Defense Shield. Page 48

Magic Mirror by Al Linke
Make a know-it-all animated reflection that talks back. Page 54

Mystery Electronic Switches by J. Tregre
Page 60

My Favorite Gadgets by Larry Cotton
Three handy gizmos that snap, magnify, and play. Page 62

One-Way Ticket by Jon Thorn
Pressurize with a plunger that pushes but doesn't pull. Page 68

Squelette, the Bare-Bones Amplifier by Ross Hershberger
Squelette is a see-through amplifier that sounds ridiculously good while showing off your soldering (it looks nothing like a typical audio product). Page 70

Gyrocar by Matthew Gryczan
Outfit a toy gyroscope with an electric motor to make it run continuously, and add an adjustable drive wheel that lets it chug along a monorail, balance on a string, circle the rim of a pot, and perform other tricks. Page 84

The Most Useless Machine by Brett Coulthard
Make a machine that, when you flip the switch on, an arm reaches out of a door to turn the switch back off. Page 94

Fruit Picker by Nicholas Barry in 123
Here's how you can make your own collapsible fruit picker in about 5 minutes. Page 103

Building with PLCs by Tim Hunkin in Skill Builder
Programmable logic controllers never fail. Page 104

Hypsometer by Cy Tymony in 123
Using simple trigonometric principles, you can closely estimate the height of objects with an easy-to-make-hypsometer (hyps means height in Greek). Page 110

Wilderness Workshop by Charles Platt in DIY: Workshop
Build your own inexpensive yet sturdy worktables and shelving. Page 111

CD/DVD Parts Container by Steve Stofiel in DIY: Workshop
A new twist on the old baby-food jar organizer. Page 115

Compressed Earth Block Floor by Abe Connally, Josie Moores in DIY: Home
Lay your own earthen brick floor for about $60. Page 117

The Microdoodle by Mister Jalopy in DIY: Science
Convert an old-school microfiche reader into a magnifying machine. Page 120

Time-Lapse Photography by Nir Yariv in DIY: Imaging
Make mini movies from a command line. Page 122

Solar Car Subwoofer by Henry Herndon in DIY: Music
Self-sufficient station-wagon sonic splendor. Page 124

Easy Pitch Control Hack by Peter Edwards in DIY: Music
Make audio circuits sing higher and lower. Page 127

Lily Pad Pool Warmers by Edward Hujsak in DIY: Outdoors
Use hula hoops to heat your swimming pool using the sun. Page 131

College Bike Trunk by Frank E. Yost in DIY: Outdoors
Make a lockable carry-all box from sheet metal. Page 135

Crash! ... and Burn? by Lee D. Zlotoff in MakeShift
The creator of MacGyver challenges you to get an unconscious person out of a crashed car. Page 138

Zap-a-Mole by Charles Platt in Electronics: Fun and Fundamentals
The first of a series of columns for readers who have relatively little knowledge of electronics and would like to know more. Page 140

Guitar Amp Bulletin Board by Bob Knetzger in Toy Inventor's Notebook
Use a piece of vintage speaker cloth to make a mini "guitar amp" bulletin board. Page 147

Howtoons: Musée du Dodecahedron by Saul Griffith in Howtoons
Depicting a subject from multiple viewpoints gives it greater context. Page 148

Droid Factory by John Baichtal in Workshop
Milwaukee's Firefly Workshop Page 158

Fooling Around with Pulleys by Donald E. Simanek in Toys, Tricks, and Teasers
MAKE readers hope that the things they make will work as intended. That doesn't always happen. Meet the fool's tackle. Page 160

Gadget Brothers Reunion by Michael H. Pryor in Aha!
Gadget Brothers Reunion Page 163

Tree Moving by Tim Anderson in Heirloom Technology
Transplant a big tree with a giant two-wheeled dolly. Page 164

Drive a Car by Gever Tulley in Dangerous Things
Take command of 5,000 pounds of metal. Page 166

Samuel Morse and the Telegraph by William Gurstelle in Remaking History
Despite the fact that Morse had little knowledge of electricity, he plunged ahead as only a man in the throes of a serious midlife crisis could. Page 168

Pennywhistle by Tom Parker in Make Money
Sometimes it costs more to buy it than to make it from the money itself. Page 171

My Embedded Entertainment System by Luis Cruz in Homebrew
In October 2009, just one year after I started studying electronics, I decided to build my own video game system, applying everything I'd learned about microcontrollers and game programming to a single system. Page 176

MAKE: Amends Errata for this volume.

Where it appears

Squelette, the Bare-Bones Amplifier, Page 73

The error

The Materials list describes the wrong perf board; the correct one is RadioShack #276-147, which has solder pads on one side and measures 4-1/2" x 6-5/8". Also, the total materials cost was estimated at under $50, but this figure assumes that you have common components (resistors, capacitors, switches, etc.) already on hand. The cost will be significantly higher if you buy everything new and in small quantities.

The size of components can be important, as the PCB is a tight fit. We recommend choosing parts with these dimensions:

Capacitors, electrolytic (voltages can be higher than indicated):

C201, C202: 4,700µf 25V, 7.5mm lead spacing and 18mm diameter (2)

100µf 25V, 2.5mm lead spacing, 6mm diameter or smaller (4)

22µf 25V 2.5mm lead spacing, 5mm diameter or smaller (2)

1µf 25V or higher, 15mm lead spacing (2)
0.1µf 25V or higher 10mm lead spacing (4)
0.22µf 25V or higher, 9mm lead spacing (2)

1 ohm, 1 watt metal film or metal oxide, 10mm body (2)
22K (4) any type, 6mm body or less
220K (2) any type, 6mm or less
1K (2) any type, 6mm or less

Where it appears	Zap-a-Mole, Page 143
The error	In Volume 23's "Learning Electronics" column "Zap-a-Mole," the descriptions for the 4078 chip's pins 8 and 13 were mistakenly reversed in Figure F. Pin 13 is the NOR output and pin 8 is unused. The corrected detail is included here; to download the full diagram PDF, click on the image on this article page. This correction is also in the MAKE Digital Edition.

Where it appears	Fooling Around with Pulleys, Page 160
The error	The the load in Figure A is supported by 5 rope segments, not 6. The leftmost segment in Figure A(1) -- which is also the rightmost segment in A(2) -- doesn't "support" the load.

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