In this project, we’ll build a small, vertical-axis wind turbine, or VAWT for short. These are not as efficient as their horizontal-axis cousins, but they are better suited to urban environments where wind can come from all different directions. Normally, when you give electricity to a motor, it spins. The same is true in reverse: […]
One of my favorite things to do is talk with other ham radio operators through satellites or the International Space Station (ISS). To do this, I stand on a rooftop and tune a handheld multiband radio while tracing the orbit of a satellite or the ISS with my homemade yagi antenna.
Author Note: Since the release of the article in MAKE Magazine Volume 15 in 2008, the Compressed Air Rocket has been popular beyond belief. We’ve sold thousands of kits and Kip Kay’s Weekend Project on YouTube has over one million views! Now we’re rolling out a Version 2.0 of the launcher as well as the […]
With a few empty soda bottles and some PVC pipe, you can build a high-performance water rocket.
This project began when I read the following entry [#274] in Volume 1 of Popular Mechanics’ 1913 The Boy Mechanic: The round lead weight for shot-putting or hammer throwing can be cast in a hollow cardboard or pressed-paper ball, sold in department and toy stores for 10 cents. Cut a 1/2-in. hole in the ball […]
My girlfriend got a microscope packed in a really nice wooden box, which also provides space for all the additional lenses and working materials. But the uses for the microscope were really limited, especially because I rarely have transparent stuff to look at and there was no light bulb built in. It is a nice […]
Turn a Hot Wheels toy into a versatile
radar gun.
