solar

See the Sun Through Different Wavelengths of Light

See the Sun Through Different Wavelengths of Light

By Nick Normal

Nick Normal

I'm an artist & maker. A lifelong biblioholic, and advocate for all-things geekathon. Home is Long Island City, Queens, which I consider the greatest place on Earth. 5-year former Resident of Flux Factory, co-organizer for World Maker Faire (NYC), and blogger all over the net. Howdy!

View more articles by Nick Normal
0

“This video of the sun based on data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, shows the wide range of wavelengths — invisible to the naked eye — that the telescope can view.”

Continue Reading
Elf Solar-Powered Bicycle Vehicle Rolls Forward

Elf Solar-Powered Bicycle Vehicle Rolls Forward

By Phil Shapiro

Phil Shapiro

Phil Shapiro is a maker and media maker in the Washingon DC area. He loves open source, digital storytelling and fixing up donated computers to deliver to people who need them. He can be reached at pshapiro@his.com and on Twitter @philshapiro.

View more articles by Phil Shapiro
11

The solar-powered Elf bicycle vehicle (velomobile) shows the future of zero emission transportation. It’s a fun vehicle to bike, too.

Continue Reading
What IF…Festival of Innovation and Imagination

What IF…Festival of Innovation and Imagination

By McKenna Lovejoy

McKenna Lovejoy

I am an engineer, a student, a teacher, a maker, and a mom with awesome maker kids. We love to make all sorts of things and just started a blog to help us keep track.

View more articles by McKenna Lovejoy

What IF… Festival: Don’t miss the geeky gadgets, DIY demos, cool experiments, new technologies, hands-on learning, and live performances! September 7th, 10am-4pm in Colorado Springs, CO.

Continue Reading
Pitches with Prototypes: Solar Tracker

Pitches with Prototypes: Solar Tracker

By Andrew Terranova

Andrew Terranova

Andrew Terranova is an electrical engineer, writer and author of How Things Are Made: From Automobiles to Zippers. Andrew is also an electronics and robotics enthusiast and has created and curated robotics exhibits for the Children's Museum of Somerset County, NJ and taught robotics classes for the Kaleidoscope Enrichment in Blairstown, NJ and for a public primary school. Andrew is always looking for ways to engage makers and educators.

View more articles by Andrew Terranova
22

To get the most efficient use of solar electric energy, you must keep your solar panel pointed at the sun. Manually moving the solar panel is impractical. An automated solution may be beyond the reach of many green energy enthusiasts or anyone who just wants to keep the lights on without developing robotics expertise. Hoping to fill that need is technology savvy Jay Doscher, with his prototype solar tracking robot. His tripod mounted, GPS steered solution is portable and could be used for emergencies, camping or any time off-grid power is needed.

Continue Reading
Tool Review: SunVolt Portable Power Station

Tool Review: SunVolt Portable Power Station

By John Baichtal

John Baichtal

My interests include writing, electronics, RPGs, scifi, hackers & hackerspaces, 3D printing, building sets & toys. @johnbaichtal nerdage.net

View more articles by John Baichtal
6

The SunVolt Portable Power Station is a portable solar panel that can be used to charge cell phones and tablets. There are actually two models, the SynVolt and the SunVolt Max. The first outputs 10 watts under optimal conditions, while the Max is rated for 15 watts, with 8-14.4 volts juicing your device. The SunVolt […]

Continue Reading
Toolsday Hangout on Air, Live and Online Today at 2pm PST/5pm EST

Toolsday Hangout on Air, Live and Online Today at 2pm PST/5pm EST

By Eric Weinhoffer

Eric Weinhoffer

Eric is a Mechanical Engineer with interests in machining, mass manufacturing, product design and kinetic art. While not building things, he enjoys skiing, cycling, and juggling.

View more articles by Eric Weinhoffer
0

Today is Toolsday here at MAKE, so you know what that means – a live Google+ hangout where we will be discussing our favorite tools and workspace essentials. The main topic of the hangout will be power, in various forms. We’ll discuss a few of the many possible ways to power your projects, whether it’s with a homemade bench-top supply, a solar panel hanging out of your window, or a kit like the Mintyboost.

Continue Reading
How-To: Solar-Powered Raspberry Pi FTP Server

How-To: Solar-Powered Raspberry Pi FTP Server

By Sean Michael Ragan

Sean Michael Ragan

I am descended from 5,000 generations of tool-using primates. Also, I went to college and stuff. I am a long-time contributor to MAKE magazine and makezine.com. My work has also appeared in ReadyMade, c't – Magazin für Computertechnik, and The Wall Street Journal.

View more articles by Sean Michael Ragan
16

This build uses a custom 3D-printed / hand assembled case from RPi hacker Cottonpickers, which comes attached to the back of a 300mA solar panel, and has a bunch of nice features already built-in. Once you’ve got your Pi running on sunlight, David Hayward over at CNET UK will show you how to configure the Pi so you can access an external hard drive attached to one of its USB ports via FTP.

Continue Reading