Great project on i-hacked.com. Using a simple laser pen pointer, a few misc parts, and about 15 minutes, you can make a simple laser communicator that converts a sound source into light that travels across a room, and back into sound with very little quality loss. Link.
Brain sent in this handy D-link Access Point Case Mod. One of my hacks in the past that I’ve taken time to write up. Like most everything else in my house, the D-Link AP I had was dissassembled to see what was inside. The result: not much, meaning that the plastic case it was in had a lot of wasted space. So, I decided to see if I could make it any smaller. Link.
The ELP Laser Turntable plays records by beaming the laser at the grooves (no needles touche the record). There are a total of five lasers: two for the left and right groove walls, two for tracking groove pitch, and one for tracking groove warp. Sounds amazing, until I saw it was $18,999. I think we’ll need to a Make version! Link.
For the CandyBlog– Ecoist.com offers hand-made handbags designed by Marisa Rey, made from recycled candy wrappers, food packages, and soft drink labels. The bags are excellent, and range in price from $27 (for the coin pouch) to $285 (for the large basket). Plus, whenever one of their bags is sold, those nice folks plant a tree! Link.
Keith Moloney writes “I have successfully modified a 2.0 Megapixel camera (Polaroid PDC2010) to take infrared pictures using similar methods to the tutorial listed in the previous entry. The main difference is that the Lens assembly was sealed, so the infrared filter required more than a little persuasion with a brutish whack from a needlenosed pliers, and the sound of shattering glass“. Wow, Hi-Res IR photos! Link.
exogenous writes “A full-size working harpsichord made from Lego”. With the exception of the wire strings, this instrument is entirely constructed out of LEGO parts–the keyboard, jacks, jack rack, jack rail, plectra, soundboard, bridge, hitch pins, tuning pins, wrestplank, nut, case, legs, lid, lid stick, and music stand are all built out of interlocking ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene) plastic bricks and related pieces. There’s even a MP3 of it playing. Link.
Caya sent this in- “This is a lovely old book I found online today. It outlines how to make all the old amusements kids used to enjoy- how to make many kinds of kites, how to catch frogs, and many, many other fun things. It is very low-tech (late 19th century in fact) but it is very “how to” perhaps your team would enjoy reading it, or maybe Make readers would enjoy it also“. Link.
