Homemade Electrocardiograph
Raphael writes in with a follow up to our post about an ECG kit – “I was feeling faint and had to wait two days for a doctors appointment, and I got a weird idea in my head that I needed to have a look at my heartbeat. Paranoiac imaginings were driving me crazy. What would the maker’s natural reaction be? To google search “make own EKG”. I was greeted with this wonderful website! Charmingly written and very informative, it can get you looking at a satisfying wiggly line that means you are indeed alive. Within a day! “ Link.
Aaron writes “Most of us cannot afford fancy 7.1 surround sound systems or feel that we do not utilize the computer’s audio functions enough to reap the benefit of one. However, most of us have stereos. That and a few cables is all you need to enjoy a nice audio system without damaging your bank account. In this article, I will show you an easy way to use your stereo as computer speakers for a nice sound system at a very low cost.” Thanks Star! 
Jakob writes “I saw the article on Boffer weapons 
Heyrocker writes “This is a coffee table built from the playfield of a pinball machine. It is pretty easy to build and best of all, it lights up! It was inspired by a bar in Seattle called Shorty’s, which has tables similar to these in its booths.” Complete how-to on Instructables! 
Simon writes “In case of emergency, floor-level lighting will guide you to the exit” – here’s the stairwell lighting my wife and I made from a $1.99 set of electro-luminescent wire we found in a sale bin at Ikea. Originally intended for holiday lighting it gives off enough light to make our dark staircase. It’s a low power way of putting light into places traditional electricians can’t reach…” 
Here’s a pretty simple how to for making your own project screen… “Home cinema is a great way to spend piles of money quickly. The projector costs a packet to buy and then more to run (about 10p an hour) and so you really don’t want to be shelling even more money out on a projection screen. A custom made projector screen will cost you around £200 at least. I hear you cry foul. Why get a custom made projector screen – can’t you just buy one off the shelf. Well yes and no. If you are going for a small image you can buy one off the shelf.” 
Carpespasm writes “Here’s a tiny crt monitor harvested from a dead camcorder and hooked to a dvd player”. There are a dozen or so photos on the Flickr photo set to give you an idea of what’s involved – the procured CRT is powered from the DVD player’s battery. To watch the movie you look through a sight, it reminds me of the weird science computer Spock used. 
