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PVC sprinkler = summertime fun (MAKE Magazine)

Recycled plastic bottle sculptures resemble sea creatures — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:00:00+0100

Carl Morris from Orlando combined misting water jets with ever-versatile PVC pipe to create 100% brushless Kidwash 2 - Keeps kids clean and refreshed! - KidWash 2 : PVC Sprinkler Water Toy

Check out the instructable for the lowdown on how to build your own - KidWash 2 on Instructables

What MAKEs America great - Happy 4th of July from MAKE (MAKE Magazine)

4th of July fun: Make your own smoke-bombs — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 08:00:26+0100

I asked the authors of the MAKE blog what they thought made America great for this 4th of July holiday, here's what they has to say (and please post yours in the comments, I'll pick a few and send you out something awesome from the Maker Shed Store!).

Marc -

What makes America great? One word.....Jell-O!

Here are my top 10 reasons, and projects, that make JELLO a great American invention:
San Fran in Jell-O.
Rainbow Jell-O.
Jell-O Shots (Caffeinated variety).
Stapler inside Jell-O.
Jell-O Shots (Alcoholic version).
Jell-O - Inside a banana.
The Jell-O Museum.
Flickr Photo Pool of Jell-O.
Jell-O Body parts.
Tons of Jell-O recipes.

Jonah -

American flag DIY coffee table project!

Becky -

Strawberry rhubarb pie, recipe is from the Joy of Cooking, another American classic.

Patti -

In his book, American Gods, Neil Gaiman wrote that in other countries, when people find what he calls places of power, they build temples, or cathedrals, or stone circles. But in the USA, when people find those places, they build roadside attractions. When I was thinking about what is great about this country, I was surprised to find that sometimes I really value our lack of tradition. At its worst, it leads to really shallow places in our culture, but at its best, it gives people the freedom to express their ideas and inspirations in really strange and wonderful ways. I love shrines and cathedrals, but I also love places like House on the Rock.

Brian -
It's the land of the weird. There's some kind of strange current that runs through the soil, rocks, and water here. Stand on the soil, climb the rocks, drink the water, and you'll be compelled to try something different.

Gareth-
You know that old saying: "How can I miss you if you won't go away?" It's when I leave the U.S. that I start to really see, and admire, its character. And it's the combination of the do-it-yourself, pioneering spirit, which I think is part of the very folk-soul of this country, with a sense of limitless possibility; that whole "land of opportunity" thing. You see a rather unfortunate side of this spirit during the tryouts for shows like "American Idol," where people's sense of "can-do" can seem downright delusional. And when they take polls in schools and a significant percentage of the students expect to be famous or supremely wealthy. But when you couple that almost Utopian sense of possibility with hard work, innovative thinking, and dogged determination, you get... well, you get America.

Collin-
Cultural variety! From music to macram�, this country's diversity of culture is a blast to experience. From where I live I can walk to a Polish dance-club, a Mexican bakery, or an Italian street fair with twenty minutes!

Phil -

America, for me, is a place where anyone can do what they love if they're willing to work hard. Sometimes they're entrepreneurs, business owners, hobbyists, makers - it doesn't matter really, we have the freedom to create, build, succeed and even fail spectacularly. If we're lucky we'll do enough of each, it's more fun that way.

Oh, and cheese sculptures in Times Square.

Makers, post up what you think makes America great and we'll pick a few of the good ones and send you out some stuff from the Maker Shed Store!

Weekend Project: Soda Bottle Rocket (PDF) (MAKE Magazine)

Weekend Project: Soda Bottle Rocket — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:00:00+0100

With a few empty soda bottles and some PVC pipe, you can build a high-performance water rocket. From Make Volume 5 by Steve Lodefink. The basis for this project's launcher design is the Martinet Launcher PDF

Weekend Project: Soda Bottle Rocket (MAKE Magazine)

LED fireworks — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:00:00+0100

With a few empty soda bottles and some PVC pipe, you can build a high-performance water rocket. Original project by Steve Lodefink. The basis for this project's launcher design is the Martinet Launcher

To download Soda Bottle Rocket MP4 click here or subscribe in iTunes.

Check out the Soda Bottle Rocket article MAKE 05 "Soda Bottle Rocket" & You can see that in our digital edition.

Water balloon slingshot (MAKE Magazine)

Instructables' BBQ PDQ contest — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:30:00+0100

Here's a simple but effective design for a water balloon launcher using surgical tubing - Make a wicked cool catapult that shoots water balloons really well without them exploding right away! You can buy water balloon shooters in stores, but they never work well and explode the water balloon as soon as you let go. - Water Balloon Catapult

VUW students create 3D printers (MAKE Magazine)

The brains behind "The Image Fulgurator" — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 17:00:12+0100

Nice round up of VUW student work - creating 3D printers @ Ponoko via Beyond the beyond.

Last week the 3rd year Industrial Design students at Victoria University presented the prototypes of the 3D printers they had designed. The challenge was to design and make a ?green? 3D printer in 4 weeks with a limited budget. The students innovative thinking looked at ways to make use of waste material and repurpose it into new objects. ?Stack? used the waste paper from generated by a bank and a ?steampunk? sewing machine to create layered forms based on an interpretation of the banks statistical data. More: Kiosk - Sci-Fi tale of 3D printing, fabbing and more.

What a 3D Printer can't do...

Fabaroni: a homemade 3D printer.

The Evil Mad Scientist 3D Printer Project.

Make - Volume 14 - Three-Dimensional Printing Methods...

Sci-Fi objects and more made with a Spectrum Z510 3D printer ...

3D Printer made from a Glue Gun and Meccanno.

Throw a "kabob pit" party (MAKE Magazine)

Sophisticated cigar box guitar — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:08:08+0100

Here's an idea I got from Alton Brown on Good Eats that I sketched up in my Maker's Notebook. It's for throwing a self-serve shish kabob party using a temporary fire pit made from bricks, sand, and charcoal. You make the width of the pit so that your skewers fit over it and the handles rest on the bricks. You then have a table with skewers and all of the components and let people fix and cook their own.

For dessert, you can serve grilled fruit skewers over pound cake. In case you can't read my recipe for the dessert glaze, it's:

1 vanilla bean (stripped)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 - cup juice of lime
Pinch of salt

Heat until sugar melts. Let cool and transfer to squeeze bottle.

The miles per gallon illusion (Miles per gallon vs. gallons per mile) (MAKE Magazine)

VUW students create 3D printers — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:00:50+0100

Bunnie has an interesting write up about AAAS's Science publication "The MPG Illusion" he writes...

Here?s an interesting question.

Suppose you had a household with two cars, and each car needs to be driven 10,000 miles per year. One car consumes 34 MPG, and the other car consumes 18 MPG. Since gas is expensive, you want to replace one car. Because of utility constraints, you have two choices:

Replace the 34 MPG car with a 50 MPG car ? a 16 MPG improvementReplace the 18 MPG car with a 28 MPG car ? a 10 MPG improvementWhich car replacement would save you the most gas?

Normally, I consider myself not bad with quantitative comparisons like this, yet initially I picked the answer of replacing the 34 MPG car with the 50 MPG car based on the superior 16 MPG improvement. Another seemingly more analytical approach also leads to the same conclusion: 50 + 18 MPG giving a 34 MPG household average seems more efficient than 34 + 28 MPG giving a 31 MPG household average.

This very interesting article in Science, ?The MPG Illusion? by Richard P. Larrick and Jack B. Soll at the Fuqua School of Business in Duke University (Vol 320, June 20, 2008, p. 1593), points out the mathematically obvious truth that gas used per mile is inversely proportional to miles per gallon, which means that you have a steeper slope at lower MPG ratings, and diminishing returns at higher MPG ratings.

More @ Bunnie's site. At first glance it seems counterintuitive, but here's an interesting thought...

Relatively small MPG improvements in the most gas-hungry vehicles pay off greater than larger improvements in already efficient cars (hence, it does make sense to offer tax breaks for modest improvements in SUVs versus tax breaks for hybrids, which typically replacing already gas-efficient sedans). Ok makers, what do you think? Post up in the comments!

The brains behind "The Image Fulgurator" (MAKE Magazine)

More robot parts from Shapelock — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:00:45+0100

Here's a follow up to our first post about "The Image Fulgurator" from Wired, more details, history and discussion of this project...Julius von Bismarck's 'Image Fulgurator' projects stealth images into the photographs of strangers, while keeping those images invisible to human eyes. Depending on whom you ask, it's either a clever hack or an obnoxious intrusion. Naturally, we had to find out more.

Yesterday, von Bismarck's device made its premature debut on the internet. Today we met him in his hometown, Berlin, to talk about the device, the thinking behind it and the inevitable deluge of e-mails from viral marketers wanting use it to smash their way further into our brains.

But first, about that name: According to von Bismarck, 'Image Fulgurator' comes from the Latin for 'lightning' (fulgur) and means 'Flash Thrower'.

Stair climbing challenge at RoboGames 2008 (MAKE Magazine)

An Afternoon at Maker Faire - Dallas/Ft. Worth Area, July 19th — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:00:00+0100

Climbing stairs. Not as easy as it looks. I know this from personal experience. I like how the winning approach is to favor one leg. That's how I did it, before my hip replacement. I did NOT however slide down stairs sideways!

RoboGames 2008: Stair Climbing Challenge

Sophisticated cigar box guitar (MAKE Magazine)

Rubik's Cube costume hat — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:00:17+0100

Ronnie Hinton of Florida made a tunable six-string cigar box guitar, base on the project in MAKE vol. 4. As the video on his site shows, he can play a decent tune or two on it!

From the pages of MAKE:

Cigar Box Guitar by Ed Vogel in MAKE volume 4 - preview online (digital subscribers can read entire article)

Skeletonizing leaves (MAKE Magazine)

MAKE Magazine — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:00:00+0100

As long as you're still hanging around outside, esprit cabane has an easy tutorial for skeletonizing leaves. (I'd skip the bleach step.)

Singing sock puppets (MAKE Magazine)

Breadboard VU meter — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:30:00+0100

These musical hand puppets by Matthew Irvine Brown look irresistibly fun to play with. Sensors in the puppets mouth measure how wide it's open and that data is converted to a musical scale. These puppets can be tuned to sing in any scale or mode. At the minute their voices come from a small Max/MSP patch and some very basic electronics, but he can also be rigged up to be a MIDI controller.

They can help illustrate relatively complex musical theory - such as the differences between blues, chromatic and pentatonic scales - through play and storytelling - Head over to the site and scroll down for some video of the puppets in audio action.
- Singing Sock Puppets

Sew your own aviation goggles (MAKE Magazine)

OpenMoko - Open source phone — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:00:00+0100

Patrick Wilson made a template from his father's WWI aviation goggles and made from it generated his own pair. He shares the template and plans below.

Scale drawings of my father's aviation goggles (WW1)

Sanela Jahic's POV art (MAKE Magazine)

Hyperbike: Like swimming on land — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:00:01+0100

Sanela Jahic POV (persistence of vision) sculptures, she writes... I named my fourth larger kinetic object Pendulum, 2007-2008. This machine again uses the POV's ability of producing an almost holographic illusion. It shows a photo of drags writing in the subject's body. Kafka wrote of an old institutions' apparatus in his The Penal Colony (In der Strafkolonie, October 1914).

A Slovenian company in Tr?i? developed the software and electronic part for the object, based on POV during the years 2006-2007.

More:

MiniPOV- An Inexpensive Persistence of Vision - The 3rd generation MiniPOV is perfect for beginners who are looking to learn how to solder, how to program microcontrollers, or make LED blinky toys. Because the programmer is built into the kit, you don't need a special "microcontroller programmer". This version can be used with PCs (Linux/Unix or Windows) and Macs (running MacOS X and with a USB/serial converter).

World's most dangerous digital clock - POV combat robot.

POV chair (Persistence of vision chair).

Rubik's Cube costume hat (MAKE Magazine)

What MAKEs America great - Happy 4th of July from MAKE — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:00:32+0100

Instructables user peterthehun made this costume hat replica of a Rubik's Cube. Oddly disturbing, and I wonder how he can see out of it!

Recycled plastic bottle sculptures resemble sea creatures (MAKE Magazine)

PSP hack mixes live sound editing and collection with GPS navigation — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:00:00+0100

This used plastic water bottle lamp (one of a series of recycled lamps by Lisa Foo and Su Sim) resembles a sea creature from movies like "The Abyss" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". Really interesting craftsmanship with these lights that will really fool you into thinking they are made of more expensive materials. Check out really nice 2-liter bottle cap lamp on the site as well.

[via], LISA FOO & SU SIM BLOG

Quadcopters video (MAKE Magazine)

Orientation aware camera build info — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:30:00+0100

Via DIY Drones comes this video of the Stanford STARMAC (Stanford Testbed of Autonomous Rotorcraft for Multi-Agent) quadcopters:

STARMAC, the Stanford Testbed of Autonomous Rotorcraft for Multi-Agent is a testbed of 6 quadrotor helicopter unmanned aerial vehicles that fly indoors and outdoors to experiment with autonomous agent algorithms. This video presents an overview of the control system, the vehicle capabilities, and the experimental applications for the testbed. Results of many experimental flights are shown, along with some fun flight results that push the limits of what the vehicles should be able to handle.

Stanford quadcopters rock!

Patriotic paper pinwheel printouts (MAKE Magazine)

Sew your own aviation goggles — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:45:00+0100

Natalie at CRAFT points out an easy project for kid-friendly patriotic fun.
Just print, cut, fold and fasten - Patriotic pinwheels [via CRAFT:Blog]

PSP hack mixes live sound editing and collection with GPS navigation (MAKE Magazine)

Guerilla gardening - seed bombs (of love) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:00:00+0100

The "Oterp" by Antonin Fourneau is a prototype sound editor built inside a PSP console with an integrated GPS that allows you to manipulate sound in real-time based on your location on earth. The device also collects new sounds when it detects that you have arrived at specific pre-programmed locations on the planet, with the end goal of mixing the reality of our natural environment into video game music sounds. Pretty interesting idea and we will definitely be seeing more of this type of project with the advent of iPhone 3G and the addition of GPS into its digital audio, gaming, and video capabilities.

Oterp @ Media Lab Prado

Orientation aware camera build info (MAKE Magazine)

Throw a "kabob pit" party — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:00:00+0100

Andrew was kind enough to post additional info on his excellent USB camera project including wiring diagram and source code. I started this project without really having any idea where it would end up. I started off by deciding it could be interesting to build a device that would sample a 3-axis magnetometer and a 3-axis accelerometer and send that data to my computer via USB. Devices very much like that are often sold as a 'tilt compensated compass', and go for $250-500. I made mine for about $150. - Orientation Aware Camera

OpenMoko - Open source phone (MAKE Magazine)

Skeletonizing leaves — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:00:57+0100

The open source Linux phone - the Neo FreeRunner fromopenmoko is now on sale... It's open source software (not hardware) to be specific, but they *do* have the CAD files which is a great first step! ... Currently there isn't a 100% opens source phone yet (that I know of). Openmoko, developer of the first open mobile computing platform today announced it will open the online store for purchase of the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner, a mobile device that the company says will help to enable ubiquitous computing for the 21st century.

The Openmoko Neo FreeRunner utilizes GNU/Linux and comes with core software for dialing, SMS and recording contacts. Openmoko will supplement these features with periodic downloads beginning with a software suite that takes full advantage of the phone's hardware platform. The new software, debuting at Linux world in August, will provide exciting new location based applications.

Two versions of the phone will be available: 850MHz or 900 MHz Tri-band GSM to match frequencies in different countries. Black, oval-shaped and weighing 6.5 ounces, the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner features a 2.8" 480 x 640 VGA touchscreen, Wi-Fi (802.1 1b/g), AGPS, GPRS 2.5G, Bluetooth 2.0, two 3-axis motion sensors and comes with 128MB WSDRAM and 256MB NAND Flash.

Open Mobile Free
Openmoko frees developers from constraints of closed mobile architectures so they can apply the power of mobility and a flexible development platform to create mobile applications for specialized markets. Using the Openmoko mobile platform, the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) community and developers can create unique versions of the FreeRunner phone, modifying the way the phone operates and even the way it looks. CAD files publicly available under a Creative Commons license make it easy for industrial designers to change the appearance of the Openmoko Neo FreeRunner and select alternate materials and finishes to tailor the phone's look and feel.

Noise generator ... generates noise (in your browser) (MAKE Magazine)

Modular sound toys — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:30:00+0100

Load page, adjust filter, enjoy the isolating benefits of on demand noise. - Simplynoise

NES-in-a- cartridge (MAKE Magazine)

Quadcopters video — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:00:00+0100

Hack a Day points out this sweet portable NES project using a cartridge as enclosure - (I'm guessing it wasn't a classic title) more pics on the Ben Heck forums - My first but awesome NESp

More robot parts from Shapelock (MAKE Magazine)

Stair climbing challenge at RoboGames 2008 — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:00:00+0100

This enterprising builder is constructing a humanoid robot from little more than Shapelock plastic, card, curtain rods, rings, and finials, and bargain basement electric screwdrivers for the motors. I'll be interested to see how this progresses.

Android 10 [via Hacked Gadgets]

Modular sound toys (MAKE Magazine)

Singing sock puppets — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:00:00+0100

Designed for preschoolers, these Interlocking sound cylinders are loaded with samples via software and can be used individually or combined in stacks. Hack/bend-ability seems an obvious potential here but beyond that it's an appealing take on physical sample sequencing.

Mmmmm ... modularity. - Alle Meine Kl�nge [via Synthtopia]

LED fireworks (MAKE Magazine)

HOW TO - Make beer can chicken — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 21:00:00+0100

For those without a good view of the traditional pyrotechnics - consider a more modest electronic approach.

Ooooh ... Aaaaah!

Instructables' BBQ PDQ contest (MAKE Magazine)

Patriotic paper pinwheel printouts — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 23:00:00+0100

In case you didn't know, Instructables has been running a BBQ/grilling contest. Deadline for entry is July 6, so if you want to entry, you'll need to hurry. You can see all of the entries to date at the link below.

BBQ PDQ Contest

Hyperbike: Like swimming on land (MAKE Magazine)

Convert your shed into an office — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:00:00+0100

The Hyperbike, by Curtis DeForest, tries to create a human-powered vehicle that will be faster than traditional bicycles. I can see how the rider can input more energy, but that thing has to weigh a lot more than a 10 speed!

In creating the HyperBike, DeForest tried to remedy the flaws of the standard bicycle. For one thing, it has no seat; the rider stands upright. Also, the arms are used for additional power. DeForest describes pedaling the HyperBike as "swimming on dry land." Motor vehicle speeds of at least fifty miles per hour are easily attained.

Hydraulophone: Water pipe organ (MAKE Magazine)

Cheap oscilloscope built from Arduino and Processing — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 11:00:00+0100

This Hydraulophone is located outside the Ontario Science Centre. I would love to know more about how it works because it sure looks, and sounds, great. I wonder how they play it during those long Canadian winters? Hydraulophone video

Presently the world's largest hydraulophone is the main architectural centerpiece out in front of the Ontario Science Centre, one of Canada's landmark architecture sites. It is also Toronto's only freely accessible aquatic play facility that runs 24 hours a day. (Wikipedia)

Learn more about the Ontario Science Centre

Update:
Check out Matthew's comments below for a lot more information. (PDF links)

How To: Photograph Fireworks (MAKE Magazine)

Art made with rocket fuel, gunpowder and bullets - Happy 4th of July! — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:00:00+0100

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Sebastian Szyszka has a great write-up on how to photograph fireworks. He covers the delicate balance of ISO and aperture settings along with everything else you need to know. In the end, it seems to be fairly easy to do if you use a tripod and a decent camera.

Honda Element bed promotes good night's rest (MAKE Magazine)

Binary father's day cross-stitch — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:00:38+0100

Rishi Oswal (of in and around San Diego, CA) lives in his car. Now, what separates him from that guy in his van down by the river is this totally incredible custom bed platform he made to go inside his Honda Element. He documented its creation insanely well on his blog, with every little detail explained. Even if you don't live in your car, this would make for a roadtripper's dream! (Thanks, Lisa!)

HOW TO - Make beer can chicken (MAKE Magazine)

Water balloon slingshot — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:00:00+0100

Want to make the best dang chicken you've ever eaten? Try a beer can chicken on the grill. It's pretty simple. You first cover the chicken with your favorite spice rub. I use Steven Raichlen's basic BBQ rub of brown sugar (1/4c), sweet paprika (1/4c), pepper (3tbs), sea salt (3tbs), garlic powder (2tsp), onion powder (2tsp), cayenne pepper (1tsp). Then, you shove a can of beer (you can also use a soda) up the chicken's butt with half of the liquid left inside. Poke extra holes in the top of the can and put a few spoons of your rub inside the liquid. The bird is then placed on the grill, resting tripod-style, on the base of the can and its two legs. And yes, it does look like it's sitting on the toilet, and yes, your guests, your kids will get a good laugh out of how goofy it looks (but they won't be laughing after they start eating).

Place the chicken on one side of the grill with the opposite side burners on (i.e. indirect heat). Cook for about 1-1/2 hours, or until 180-degrees internal. You'll need to turn the chicken around every 1/4 hr so so that it cooks evenly. Some people like to use a drip pan underneath to catch and revaporize all of the liquid. Also: If you're concerned about the aluminum can and its paint, etc., you can use a soup-type can with the paper label removed (just make sure it's the kind that doesn't have a white plastic lining).

Note: Some people stuff the neck cavity of their chicken with meats (sausage) or fruit/vegetables (onion, apple). To me, this diminishes the chimney effect that the beer can method is designed to take advantage of. The organic chickens I get usually have a big skin flap at the neck. I use that to close off most of the hole so that all of the juices don't vent away.

Below is one Instructable for beer can chicken. There are others and lots of other resources online about it. Everyone has their own variation.

Beer Can Chicken

HOW TO - Make a handbag of holding (MAKE Magazine)

Cardboard bike — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:00:00+0100

This week's project on Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories is an awesome D12 handbag... er bag of holding. While I'm not... man enough to carry a manpurse, I'd love to have one of these to hold by ginormous dice collection. Awesome work, Lenore!

DIY d12 Handbag (of Holding)

Guerilla gardening - seed bombs (of love) (MAKE Magazine)

The miles per gallon illusion (Miles per gallon vs. gallons per mile) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:00:00+0100

I'm a big fan of guerilla gardening - neglected or abandoned urban spaces can be pretty bleak, it's neat when people take the time to brighten things up. Heavy Petal Gardening has an easy recipe for Seed bombs - make sure you use seeds that are native to your area. (I especially like the way these look - people will think there have been dung beetles around.)

Dynohub multi-pole alternator (MAKE Magazine)

Noise generator ... generates noise (in your browser) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 22:00:00+0100

Gotwind is a Ben Jandrell's (Shropshire, England) DIY site for renewable energy projects. The site has a number of cool projects and technical info and tutorials. Here's an excerpt from his page on the Sturmey Archer GH6 Dynohub:

The Sturmey Archer GH6 Dynohub was designed as a means of generating electrical lighting power for bicycles during the second world war. It seemed to me as the perfect 'off the shelf' small scale experimental alternator.

It was in production for almost four decades, first making an appearance in 1943.

It was a 6 volt 3 Watt unit incorporating a 20 pole ring magnet with a stator having a continuous winding.

The GH6 was withdrawn from production in 1984, but can still be found at scrap yards, established bike shops or eBay.

The main feature of the dynohub was that it reached it's rated output at only 12 mph (with a 26" wheel) this equates to a mere 60 rpm, as compared to other alternators requiring 200 + rpm to get any where near there rated output.

This low speed design was ideal for use in small scale wind production, along with it's excellent bearings, it could be mounted easily on one side of the unit.

The name dynohub is a little misleading suggesting that the unit is a dynamo - it is actually a multi pole alternator that would produce alternating current, fine for lighting bulbs, but not so for battery charging. A bridge rectifier would be needed to convert the alternating current (AC) to a more useful Direct current (DC).

He also has a page on servicing the Dynohub, useful if you buy one on eBay that needs some refurbishment.

The Sturmey Archer GH6 Dynohub

DIY: Air powered Bottle rocket (MAKE Magazine)

How To: Photograph Fireworks — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:00:00+0100

This bottle rocket does not require a match to ignite it. Although, it might take a bit of courage, since it looks like it could take off your head when the bottle is unscrewed? If you add a bit of water to the bottle it might work even better. Bottle Rocket

Convert your shed into an office (MAKE Magazine)

Hydraulophone: Water pipe organ — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:00:00+0100

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I have to admit, when I first saw this article I thought the office-shed wouldn't be that great. Then I saw the results, and I want my own office-shed! It's amazing inside. Even if you have a home office, it can be a great way to get away from other distractions.

Read more about Turning your shed into an office

Cardboard bike (MAKE Magazine)

Dynohub multi-pole alternator — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:00:00+0100

A product design student at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK wanted to address the problem of prevalent bike theft so he created this bike for around US$30. It doesn't say whether this was just for the frame or for everything. And no, it doesn't melt in a rainstorm. He used hexacomb board, which is waterproof. No much to look at, but if it gets your groceries home...

Cardboard bike aims to put brakes on theives [via Inhabitat]

Breadboard VU meter (MAKE Magazine)

Honda Element bed promotes good night's rest — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00+0100

Here's an Instructable on building a breadboard VU meter around the LM3916 (or LM3915/LM3914) dot/bar display driver chip. We even get treated to the pounded out volume units of that '80s Siouxsie & the Banshees classic "Peek-a-Boo."

LM3915/LM3916 VU Meter

Binary father's day cross-stitch (MAKE Magazine)

Sanela Jahic's POV art — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:00:01+0100

Jenny @ CRAFT writes:

Early Bird Special shares the geeky-cute cross-stitch she made for her pop on Father's Day--it spells "DAD" in binary code! Extra nerd points for the computer ram frame.

Art made with rocket fuel, gunpowder and bullets - Happy 4th of July! (MAKE Magazine)

Weekend Project: Soda Bottle Rocket (PDF) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:00:42+0100

Fourth of July fireworks might seem tame to Matt Stromberg via Gizmodo.

The Savannah College of Art and Design professor of foundation studies and sculpture uses rocket fuel, explosives, pyrotechnics, propellants and munitions to create earth-shattering art. These energetic materials are used to manipulate metal, wood and paper -- using destruction to create art.

Stromberg's creations include sculpted metal panels. He's also used a submachine gun to create pigment-infused solid rocket-fuel paint that is literally shot into stone.

"I think it stems from a long-term interest in energetic materials," Stromberg says. "Recently, with the birth of my daughter, my wife and I were thinking about what we are going to teach her. I want to encourage her to seek out things in life she finds interesting.

"I've always liked energetic materials," he says. "I think the risk-taking is a big part of it, which is probably a key element of being an artist."

Stromberg first began experimenting with energetic materials last year. It's not something for the faint of heart. "I would say it's very dangerous," Stromberg says.

An Afternoon at Maker Faire - Dallas/Ft. Worth Area, July 19th (MAKE Magazine)

NES-in-a- cartridge — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:00:00+0100

Calling All Dallas/Ft. Worth Area Makers - Join Us for "An Afternoon at Maker Faire" on July 19th.

Make Magazine, Craft Magazine and the Maker Faire team will be coming to Dallas to host an "Afternoon At Maker Faire" at The Museum of Nature and Science on Saturday, July 19th (from 9am - 5pm).

We will bring together Dallas/Ft. Worth area makers to exhibit their creative projects for a fun afternoon at The Museum. We are hoping to have cutting-edge DIY projects based around art, robots, electronics, alternative crafts, new music and interactive art and we are inviting all area Makers. If you are interested in being a part of this special event, please email sherry@oreilly.com for more information, and be sure to include some information about your project. And, if you know of any Dallas/Ft. Worth area Makers that we should be talking to, please be sure to send them our way.

4th of July fun: Make your own smoke-bombs (MAKE Magazine)

DIY: Air powered Bottle rocket — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 09:00:00+0100

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One of the first things people think about when 4th of July comes around is fireworks. This year you might want to go ahead and try making your own. It isn't a mortar shell, but it will still impress your friends when you toss out what appears to be a blob of peanut butter, and it fills the yard with smoke. This IS dangerous...you've been warned.

Learn more about making your own Smoke Bombs