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 $1.99 set of electro-luminescent wire we found in a sale bin at Ikea. Originally intended for holiday lighting it gives off enough light to make our dark staircase. It’s a low power way of putting light into places traditional electricians can’t reach…” Link.
Here’s a pretty simple how to for making your own project screen… “Home cinema is a great way to spend piles of money quickly. The projector costs a packet to buy and then more to run (about 10p an hour) and so you really don’t want to be shelling even more money out on a projection screen. A custom made projector screen will cost you around £200 at least. I hear you cry foul. Why get a custom made projector screen – can’t you just buy one off the shelf. Well yes and no. If you are going for a small image you can buy one off the shelf.” Link. Also, check out the Tyvek version on Instructables.
Carpespasm writes “Here’s a tiny crt monitor harvested from a dead camcorder and hooked to a dvd player”. There are a dozen or so photos on the Flickr photo set to give you an idea of what’s involved – the procured CRT is powered from the DVD player’s battery. To watch the movie you look through a sight, it reminds me of the weird science computer Spock used. Link.
Dan writes “The idea for Project Rogue Server A.K.A. Project Silver was started after an interesting conversation I had with a friend of mine. I had this dead ups lying around and didn’t know what to do with it. So we threw some ideas back and forth and the one that stuck was a hidden rogue server. This could be used for both good and awesome. Just think of the possibilities. A hidden file archive, hook it up to your hacked tivo, mess with the RIAA when the come search your house….. (#$))_%$)*@&^( )%^@ (NO CARRIER)” Link.
Nick writes in via the MAKE forums – “Someone, quite probably our 3 year old Henry, was monkeying with the dishwasher basket (or whatever the heck that part is called) and one of the wheels came loose while the machine was working. I found it partially melted against the heating element of the Dishwasher when I unloaded the machine. I could have just chucked it and accepted that the basket might wobble, or I could have gone through the process of tracking down a replacement if one could be bought without buying the entire assembly. What I chose to do was make a replacement on my Taig lathe.” Link.
Not bad for $44 – lots of project to make with this – “We have found many different uses for this little kit! Applications ranging from the traditional ECG/EKG monitor to the ‘Newly-Wed’ Love Synchronizer! One of the main reasons we designed the ECG1 was to answer a long running debate here at the shop. We wired up the ‘Boss’ and finally confirmed he does not have a heart! Use the ECG1 to astound your physician with your knowledge of ECG/EKG systems. Enjoy learning about the inner workings of the heart while at the same time covering the stage-by-stage electronic circuit theory used in the kit to monitor it.” Link.
Excellent guide on replacing capacitors in old radios “Second only to power cords, capacitors are the most failure-prone components in old radios. In a professional overhaul, it is common to replace all of a radio’s large electrolytic capacitors and small paper capacitors. This article explains how to do just that. In many cases, this “recapping” is all that the radio needs to be restored to health.” Link.
