15-Watt

Treasure Finder

Treasure Finder

Who hasn’t dreamed about owning their own metal detector and searching for buried treasure, or at least a few dropped coins? In this project, we will build a metal detector based on a dual oscillator circuit. One oscillator is fixed, and the other varies depending upon the proximity of metal objects. The beat frequency between […]

Wearable Light Organ

Wearable Light Organ

This simple, wearable circuit uses an operational amplifier (or “op-amp”) chip to convert sound into light. An LM324 op-amp and a transistor boost input from a mini condenser microphone to light a series of LEDs. Watch it blink to the beat of your favorite music. Check out more Weekend Projects.

Solar USB Charger

Solar USB Charger

Charge up your USB devices with the power of the sun. By adding a small solar panel and two diodes to a standard USB cable, you can plug that cable into USB devices needing a recharge. It’s so easy. Let’s get started making a solar USB charger. Video shows the Solar USB Charger being tested […]

The Luna Mod Looper

The Luna Mod Looper

The Luna Mod is an easy and fun instrument that will have you making great-sounding loops in no time. Rather than sampling input like a traditional loop station, the Luna Mod synthesizes its own sounds, and you play it using two knobs and one button.