DIY Projects

Tic Tac mini synth

Unigamer points out Andy Gadget’s Instructable for building an ultra-portable melody/beat box – super cute! This tiny box will give you hours of fun composing your own tunes. You can vary the tune tempo and switch between a pentatonic and blues scale as well as producing a variety of percussion sounds. Load up a different […]

Chumbophone – antiqued Chumby Guts

Chumbophone – antiqued Chumby Guts

Etsy member AbrahamBook has been bitten by the Chumby Guts bug. He’s converted several ancient objects into modern wifi-enabled chumtainment devices. I asked him about what he was aiming for in this latest piece:

My Chumby creation started with an original Chumby although I have produced three similar devices from the Chumby Guts kit. I much prefer producing my devices with the Chumby Guts kit as it is always a messier build when having to undo a stock Chumby configuration. On the occasion that I set out to create the “Chumbaphone” I had used all of my “Guts” kits and Maker Shed had since run dry

Gelatin brain mold with arduino synapses

Several weeks ago, I had a spectacularly bad accident on my bike. There was a dog, a leash and a human. The leash acted kind of like a finish line ribbon, but without the breakaway segment they use in the marathons. I landed on my (helmeted) head. Hard. A few hours later I came to in the ER of the local hospital blabbering to my wife, asking the same questions over and over (and over). They ‘offered’ to let me stay there a while, so I spent the night.

For a long time, I have consistently worn a helmet on every bike ride. It always puzzles me to see adults and kids riding with out proper head protection. I also often see teens with skateboard helmets riding with the straps undone, as if having the protective gear perched on their head is enough to keep it there. Why not clip the straps? If I hadn’t had a helmet on and properly secured to my noggin, I’d still be on the hospital feeding program, if I even survived the crash.

As I was floating in the ER I got a vision: A brain with little toy objects suspended in it like ideas in a mind. Around the objects are blinking lights acting as synapses. As I recuperated in the days after my misadventure, the image continued to return for further refinement. One of the first things I did on return from the hospital was to order a gelatin mold in the shape of a brain.