Edward Snowden: Can a Refrigerator Function as a Faraday Cage?
In a counter surveillance measure, Edward Snowden told some lawyers to put their cell phones in a refrigerator to block out surveillance. Does this really work?
Technology
Make a Glass Nixie-Like Display with LEDs
You know those nixie tube displays? Well, 14-year-old Spanish maker pinomelean made an edge-lit glass nixie that consists of ten etched glass plates stacked atop each other, with SMT LEDs lighting them up individually — similar to this display we blogged last year.
Flyer-Delivering Lego Robot
High school student Leon Overweel built this sick flyer robot to hand out leaflets Rye High School science fair. It uses an ultrasonic sensor to detect a visitor, then pulls a flyer off of a pile and hands it to the visitor. My favorite details are the Fergelli linear actuators and the Mindsensors Flexi Cables. […]
Our Newest Training Camp: Making for Moms
M2 Bootcamp is designed to “reconnect” you with your inner Rosie the Riveter through discussions, worksheets/journal prompts, and projects straight from the MakerShed. This 3 week course of projects with the theme of “Connecting” will take students on a incremental journey through painted circuits, soldering, and a final wearable keepsake.
Soldering Surface Mount LEDs on a Through-Hole PCB
EMSL customer Peter T. painstakingly soldered surface-mount LEDs (tinier than a grain of rice) onto the through-hole PCB of a Peggy matrix. Peter soldered 625 separate LEDs onto the board with the help of a jig, and Peggy worked perfectly with the surface-mount LEDs.
Lego-and-Wood Cable Car
This cable car is cool — it uses a Lego Mindstorms NXT brick loaded with RobotC, Lego servos, and a bunch of laser-cut wood parts. The robot scrapes up shapes and haul it up an inclined wire, and dumps them out at the top. This is the result of a project our team had to […]
Google Glass Privacy Hack
As a newly-inducted member of the Google Glass Explorer Program, I was very concerned about the privacy implications of Google’s new wearable computer. But with just $10 in materials, I was able to make a quick hack to alleviate my own concerns. I don’t want to totally ruin the surprise for you, so just hit […]