Southpaw writes “After reading the Dean Kamen (MAKE 04) article I wanted to learn more about stirling engines and stumbled upon this site which shows you how to build your own…out of marbles! Also of note is the NMRI homepage which shows off the firm’s 400m long tow tank and 35m long Ice basin (under “main facilities”).” Link.
This site has a bit of information about a paper microscope kit, they’re only sold in Germany, but it looks easy enough to recreate these and make your own…“Here’s a microscope, made from nothing but paper, two lenses, a plastic mirror and a drinking straw. Although this is not the kind of material you would expect to be used in an optical instrument, the facts are quite amazing: 50 x magnification, gear drive for focus setting, high quality plastic lenses, mirror to collect light for transmission view.” Thanks Joevennix! Link.
Excellent guide on procuring LEDs from a cheap and plentiful source – “They come disguised as “Christmas Lights” – the “Forever Bright” line is especially good. And they are the subject of this article. Why bother? Cost. A string of 75 BLUE LED lights costs $10 on sale – and up where I am there’s a $5 rebate per string for “Energy Saver” lights. So that’s five bucks for 75 LEDs – or about 7 cents per LED for the expensive BLUE ones. Cheap.” Link.
Great resource for wiring up your home for VoIP, in MAKE 03 we also have a guide “One obstacle to replacing traditional phone service with Voice over IP is that for your existing home phone jacks to work, it’s necessary to make a change to your inside telephone wiring. Fortunately, this change is very easy to make. In some cases it’s as simple as removing a plug from a jack. Still, a basic understanding of how telephone wiring works is useful before attempting to make such a switch.” Link.
Blue_Guy sent in this great collection of buses and trucks modded to RV’s. “Don’t look for any slick chrome-and-plastic Silver-Eagle RV’s converted by professional shops or retired backyard do-it-myselfers. All of the vehicles featured herein are original, one-of-a-kind creations which reflect the owner/builder’s lifestyle and architectural beliefs. True, some are little more than shanties on wheels, while others are an abrupt attempt to be liberated from stationary habitations, but at the upper end of the scale, you’ll find many which could be classified as genuine art.” Link.
Here’s how to make your own scratch off cards, fun for projects for kids and possibly an idea for starting your own lottery “For this 1 Minute Finger Tip you’ll need a piece of card, a green wax crayon, some green poster paint, a paintbrush and a black felt tip pen. And a spare minute, of course!” Link.
Why buy a Media Center PC when you can make your own – fun project for an old PC “MediaPortal turns your PC in a very advanced Multi-Media Center / HTPC. It allows you to listen to your favorite music, radio, watch your video’s and DVD’s, view, schedule and record live TV and much more. You get Media Portal for free/nothing/nada/nopes and best of all it is opensource. This means anyone can help developing Media Portal or tweak it for their own needs! “ [via] Link.
