Month: November 2005

HOW TO – The Apple iWipe

HOW TO – The Apple iWipe

IwipeGreat (and funny) instructable by sMoRTy71 “One of my co-workers was giving away and old Atari 800XL and Macintosh SE case. He had been planning to do a mini-ITX project, but had never gotten around to it. Always wanting an excuse to tinker with something, I decided to take them off of his hands. Well, as soon as I saw the Mac SE case, I realized that this one had the most potential. So this weekend, I bought a few things at Home Depot and got started making my Apple-powered, wireless, portable toilet paper dispenser — the iWipe. The whole project took a couple of hours and cost about $15.” Thanks Saul! Link.

MAKE Challenge: What to do with an old Tivo?

MAKE Challenge: What to do with an old Tivo?

Tivo-2Daniel writes “I purchased a first generation Tivo unit a few years ago and used it in the “normal ” way. But since then I have moved and I do not have a use for a landline. I am relutant to toss it because it is still good hardware. Which brings me to the question: What alternative use is there for a first generation Tivo unit?.” Link to Tivo hacks…add your suggestions in the comments!

Surface mounting with hand-soldering tools

Surface mounting with hand-soldering tools

Pcb3SolderpasteGood how to on surface mounting with hand-soldering tools. “Integrated-circuit (IC) manufacturers produce fewer new designs in dual in-line package (DIP), shrink dual in-line package (SDIP), or other through-hole forms. These are the classic looking chips that have legs that extend through the circuit board and are soldered on the other side. They’re easy to put into sockets and easy to use on solderless breadboards. Most of the new families appear only in surface-mount technology (SMT), surface mount device (Philips SMD), or surface mount component (SMC) packaging such as small outline integrated circuit (SOIC), small outline J-leaded (SOJ), small outline transistor (SOT), plastic leaded chip carrier (PLCC), quad flat pack (QFP), or thin small outline package (TSOP). Without special adapter (carrier) boards, surface-mounted components make breadboarding and hobbyist experimentation difficult.” Thanks Greg! Link.

HOW TO – Make a Digital Pinhole Lens

HOW TO – Make a Digital Pinhole Lens

Pinhole Camera“One of the oldest camera forms is the Pin-hole, or “natural” camera. The pinhole camera was mentioned as early as Leonardo DaVinci in his Codex Atlanticus and Manuscript D. The term Camera Obscura or “dark room” was first used by Johannes Kepler who used the term to describe a dark room or box with a small hole used by artists to draw landscapes, it wasn’t until the 1850’s that the first photographic pinhole image was created.” Here’s how to make one for you digital camera. Thanks Greg! Link.