Welcome
Dale Doughtery
Page 06
MAKE 37: Drones
MAKE Volume 37 takes a look at the evolving technologies that allow makers to do amazing things with both traditional R/C and self-piloting drones. Get a handle on terminology with a drone anatomy diagram, check out how to get amazing photos and videos using quadcopters, and get tips on using first-person video to put yourself in the pilot seat. Then build your own quadrotor airframe from hardware store parts and trick it out with stabilized onboard video and autonomous flight.
Beyond drones, you’ll learn to easily integrate GPS into electronics projects, light up your style with the full-color LED sneakers that react to your moves, use an Arduino and the closed-caption feed on your TV to silence culture personalities, and annoy your neighbors with the surprisingly loud CNC Air Raid Siren. All this and more in MAKE Volume 37!
Table of Contents
COLUMNS
Reader Input
Page 08
All Art is Made by Makers
Don Undeen
Page 10
Hackschooling
Logan LaPlante
Page 11
Made on Earth
Page 12
FEATURES
Shifting Gears
Alex Carrillo and Joseph Zinter
A student-built, world-class race car.Page 20
Radically Cheap
Paul Spinrad
Building machine tools from car parts to save the world.Page 24
Inkjet Maniac
Bob Parks
Hacking printers for the sake of art.Page 28
DRONES
Flight of the Drones
Nina and Georgi Tushev
The multicopter revolution is coming. Are you ready?Page 32
Anatomy of a Drone
Rob Nance
Find your way around a modern multirotor UAV.Page 34
Aerial Videography
Eric Cheng
Make fantastic videos from your multicopter or drone.Page 36
World of Drones
Drones are already hard at work, from the pyramids to the polar ice.Page 40
Quadcopter Photogrammetry
William Grassie and Mariano Ulibarri
R/C aircraft helping restore historic buildings in Cuba.Page 42
HandyCopter UAV
Chad Kapper
Build a cheap quadrotor airframe with video and autonomous flight.Page 44
Drone Buyer's Guide
Sean Michael Ragan, Nick Parks, Mike Senese, Craig Couden, and Eric Weinhoffer
Take a peek at the new wave of drones available to buy now.Page 49
FPV Fundamentals
Steve Lodefink
Pilot your drone by seeing what it sees, with first person view.Page 50
Custom-Crafted Multicopters
Anna Kaziunas France
Homegrown drones — you can build your own!Page 52
No Man's Land
Ryan Calo
The legal gray area facing drones and their pilots.Page 53
Quad Squad
Jason Short
These expert drone pilots are making quadcopters even cooler.Page 54
SKILL BUILDERS
Finding Your Way with GPS
Mikal Hart
Precision location data, via satellite.Page 58
Calling Out Around the World
Mikal Hart
Communicate with your projects anywhere they can see the sky.Page 62
Sensor Smörgåsbord
CPlatt
All-in-one sensing devices are cheaper & easier to use than ever.Page 64
PROJECTS
Luminous Lowtops
Clayton Ritcher
Snazzy sneakers with full-color LEDs that respond to your moves.Page 66
Salt and Pepper Well
Len Cullum
Woodworking with a twist — use your drill press as a lathe.Page 70
Library Box
Jason Griffey
A mobile, anonymous wi-fi file server from off-the-shelf hardware.Page 74
Zombie Flashlight
Chester Winowiecki
Revive a dead battery to make this powerful pocket flashlight.Page 75
License Plate Guitar
Nick Normal
A “resonator” guitar with a hand-wound electromagnetic pickup.Page 76
Remaking History
William Gurstelle
Build the simple plane that defined modern aircraft.Page 80
Three-Day Kimchi
Wendy Tremayne
Piquant, fiery, and fast to make.Page 82
123: Glider Launcher
Rick Schertle
An inexpensive launcher that yields impressive flights.Page 83
The Amateur Scientist
Forrest M. Mims III
Track heat islands with data loggers and DIY sensors.Page 84
Chameleon Bag
Kathryn McElroy
An interactive messenger bag that reacts to your RFID-tagged objects.Page 86
Toy Inventor's Notebook
Bob Knetzger
Stop ants from getting into the hummingbird feeder with a DIY moat.Page 89
Enough Already
Matt Richardson
Use an Arduino to mute annoying celebrities on your TV automatically.Page 90
Bass Bump
Ross Hershberger
Build this circuit to boost low frequencies and make your MP3s go boom.Page 92
123: Self-Filling Pet Water Bowl
Skyler Tiffin
Keep your pet happy and hydrated with this simple build.Page 93
Bamboo Hors d’Oeuvre Tray
Phil Bowie and Larry Cotton
A few clever cuts and you’ll be serving in style.Page 94
Mini Blind Minder
Nick Normal
Train your blinds to automatically open when it's cold and close when it's hot.Page 95
GPS Cat Tracker
Ken Burns
Find out exactly where kitty wanders all day.Page 96
CNC Air Raid Siren
Dan Spangler
It's loud, annoying, and fun!Page 97
Glow Plug 3D Printer Extruder
Adam Kemp
Make an extruder by hand using only a few tools and a diesel glow plug.Page 98
Howtoons
Howtoons
Build a nifty ripcord rotor copter with an emery board propeller.Page 99
Homebrew: Pinball Machine
Tom Kuehn
One man's journey to build a pinball machine from the ground up.Page 112
TOOLBOX
Tool Reviews
MAKE's recommendations for useful maker tools and materials.Page 100
Books
Text tools for your bench or bedside table.Page 104
New Maker Tech
On the horizon for 3D printing, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi.Page 106
