Complete instructions for this episode of Weekend Projects can be found at
http://makeprojects.com/Project/Monkey-Couch-Guardian/2232/1
Combine an Arduino with a proximity sensor, and make an obnoxious device to discourage cats and other fur-shedding pets from jumping on beds and couches. This project will also introduce you to the SPDT relay, a fundamental component of hobbyist electronics projects.
John Graham-Cumming (JGC), author of The Geek Atlas, wrote in to let us know about a fun conversion he did with a cheap optical mouse: For a small robot project I’m working on I needed a way to measure the robot’s progress across the floor. There are various possibilities, such as: use stepper motors (expensive […]
Jason Poel Smith demonstrates four ways to use a power drill for everyday kitchen tasks, by attaching a cheese grater, whisk, scrubbing sponge, and my favorite, a pepper mill.
Stanley is a converted player piano that interacts with Twitter users to play their favorite songs. Users tweet at Stanley to request a tune, a computer searches through a vast MIDI library to find it, then the MIDI information is sent to a set of solenoids on the piano that plunk out the notes.
The always inspired Jeri Ellsworth outdid herself at this year’s Maker Faire Bay Area. Jeri is known for the phrase “Did you bring a hack?” and she lives by such sentiment — Jeri always brings a hack. This year, at Maker Faire, it was a Commodore 64 Bass “keytar” that makes use of the original […]
One of our favorite MAKE sayings is “Never buy what you can make, and never make what you can find.” Adhering to that logic, maker Steve Hobley was using a repurposed dining room table as a workbench, and it just wasn’t working — taking up more space that it was worth and lacking means of […]
My Little Pony enthusiasts are serious about their ponies. Apparently there’s a whole community of folks who lament the fact that the dolls have actual doll hair that you can brush and style, which looks nothing like the pony cartoon characters. Purists were up in arms. Leave it to a maker to answer their distress […]
