Technology

Robot Combat returns to San Francisco

Robot Combat returns to San Francisco

Tn Img 4984 JpgDavid from Combots writes “The best flame-throwing, high-energy, steel-crunching robots in the world come to SF for the championship (Sat/Sun, Nov 12-13, 2005). Biohazard, Sewer Snake, Megabyte, and other famous bots weighing up to 340 pounds will spew fire, flip their opponents, and spin hundred-pound weapons faster than Bruce Lee on meth – all competing for the $10,000 grand prize.” Link.

Advanced electronics kits?

Advanced electronics kits?

Sbrgb-WMichael is looking for more advanced electronics kits…“I love building electronics kits, but I have run into a slight problem: there aren’t many out there past the “solder these 20 things” level. I’d love a complicated kit (too bad Heath Kits no longer exists). I would love an article on complex kits you can buy (maybe highlight a few in each price range). The last kit I bought that I really loved was an RGB LED Blinky from Ramsey Kits. You assemble a little tiny SMT circuit board (that was challenging, quite fun) and the one LED (which is 3 in one) glows all different colors. Very cool to show off.” Link. Any suggestions?

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The $0.00 DIY battery extender

444Eb201 Jake writes “I am going home for Thanksgiving. The bus ride there will take at least 11 hours, and I hope to use my trusty (Dell PDA) X50v for entertainment along the way. Obviously the standard battery will only last a fraction of that and I do not know if the bus will have any sort of power terminals available to me. My solution was to build a battery-powered charger, which would normally present little challenge. Being several hundred miles away from my workshop full of tools and scavanged parts, however, made this a little more fun Well, here it is, in all it’s hackey glory.” Link.

Dizzy – an aware kind of robot

Dizzy – an aware kind of robot

DizzyRick writes “It’s difficult to approach Dizzy without him becoming aware of it. And he’ll let you know he saw you by `talking’ to you, in a way that seems to convey emotion. If you move about, he will join the action by exploring his `terrarium’. When he gets hungry, he goes to his feeding point to have a lunch brake of an hour or so. While eating, he continues to react verbally to motion around him.” Link.

One Time Use Astrophotography – CVS PV2 and your telescope

One Time Use Astrophotography – CVS PV2 and your telescope

Pv2 Manual Infinity Attachm.ThumbnailJason writes “In anticipation of the Mars proximity last Saturday, I put together a quick howto on using your hacked CVS camera (or any digital camera, really) with a telescope. I was planning to do a follow-up with some photos, but the sky has been overcast in Minneapolis for 4 days now. Hopefully, some Makers out there had better viewing conditions and can share their pics. As for me, it looks like I’ll have to wait for some other celestial event before I can try this out.” Link.