Make Lightning
I have been fascinated with arcs and sparks, bangs and pops ever since I created an arc with a busted power adaptor. One day I thought about making a proper “big boys’ toy” that would be safer and more convenient.
Soldering iron
The Autophenakistoscope
Motorize a phenakistoscope, a 19th-century parlor novelty that preceded motion pictures, and keep its frames synched to an LED strobe by using a sensor and an Arduino microcontroller. Invented in 1832 by Joseph Plateau, this device creates a moving picture from a sequence of stills arranged on a spinning disk and viewed through strategically cut […]
Custom LED Spiral Staircase Lighting
I needed a lighting solution for my spiral staircase. After looking at various options (such as direct lighting from above or below) I decided to create my own lighting using some cheap components and a bit of time. I’ll show how I designed and built my lighting rig. Hopefully I can help other people avoid […]
Energy Harvesting DC:DC Converter
Energy harvesting is all the rage, so bring on your lemon batteries, thermocouples, minuscule solar cells, dirt batteries, and tree batteries. This circuit can convert them all to useful voltages. This is still a new, cutting-edge circuit. There’s only one commercial integrated circuit out there that will do the same thing: the LTC3108. But, if […]
Take a Hidden Picture
Take a picture is a fine-art project by artists Brad Blucher and Kyle Clements. In the exhibit, the human eye see is only able to see blank surfaces (in our case, blank canvases). People walk up to the show space and see blank canvases hanging on the wall. They see absolutely nothing, then make some […]
Anti-Robber Pressure Pad
Use a simple circuit and paper crafts to make your own burglar alarm! Here’s how.
Networked On Air Light
You may have seen those “On Air” lights at film, radio or television studios. Now that anyone can broadcast video over the internet, it’s time to learn how to build your own “Now Streaming” light that even wirelessly checks to see if you’re streaming! This guide will show you how to: Set up the XBee […]
