Jumat, November 06, 2009

Swiveling Balcony Hoist


Swiveling Balcony Hoist
Take the sting out of a walk-up apartment by installing your own lifter
Matthew Russell | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 4 pgs | 1 mb
Apartment-style living has its
advantages, but getting a bicycle
off the balcony, through your
living area, and down several
flights of stairs just to go get
some exercise isn't one of them.

Carrying groceries up and taking
trash down several flights of stairs
isn't so much fun either, but you
can mitigate these pains by building
a swiveling hoist on your balcony.

The whole setup costs right
around $50, and takes only a
few hours from start to finish.

Stonemonkey Makes It Easier


Stonemonkey Makes It Easier
An electric motor linked to existing bicycle gears turns
any bike into a sell-your-car-already vehicle
Rick Polito | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 3 pgs | 1 mb
TODD FAHRNER DOESN'T WANT TO MAKE IT
easy for you. But he does want to make it easier.

A bike-centric, car-less existence has always been
possible for strong people with strong feelings. but
with Fahmer's Stokemonkey kit, it gets easier. With
an electric motor linked to existing gears and an
Xtracycle hitchless trailer to extend the wheelbase
and cargospace, the Stokemonkey scenario turns
any bike into a sell-your-car-already electric vehicle.
...

Net Data Meter


Net Data Meter
Tom Igoe | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 5 pgs | 1 mb
One thing that disappoints me about computers is
how little character they possess. Antique instruments
of information display, like Victorian pendulum
clocks, barometers, and compasses, and Babbage's
calculating engines, have a presence that modern
computers lack.

I dig the look of the iPod as much the next guy, but
even the best manufacturing design today doesn't
match that old brass-and-hardwood handcrafted
love. Desktop widgets replace the need for clocks,
barometers and stock tickers, and multipurpose
display hardware like the Ambient Orb also per-
form these functions. But because these things have
little presence and are so easily reconfigured, it's
easy to forget what information they're displaying.
Does the meter's sudden plunge mean my Gocgle
stock tanked, or that it's going to rain tomorrow?
...

Fetch the Weather with the Make Controller


Fetch the Weather with the Make Controller
This easy starter project displays your local forecast
Brian Jepson | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 3 pgs | 1 mb
In the expanding universe of microcontroller boards,
the MAKE Controller Kit fills the space between
the easy, cheap Arduino and the more complex,
powerful Gumstix devices.The low-powerArduino
runs 8-bit machine code and can only do one thing
at a time. The Linux-based Gumstix can do what a
Linux-powered PC can do.

The MAKE Controller has the advantages of both,
thanks to its FreeRTOS operating system; it can
run multiple tasks simultaneously but also lets you
allocate processor time more explicitly than you
could under Linux. Because you need to know C, it's
a little more complicated to program than Arduino,
but still easier to use than the Linux-based Gumstix.
...

Electronic Crickets


Electronic Crickets
Create a nighttime chorus by modifying solar yard lamps
Michael F. Zbyszynski | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 3 pgs | 1 mb
For this project. I wanted to make something
that reminded me of many beautiful phenomena
of summer nights: crickets, chirping frogs. and
fireflies. By day, the lamps seem ordinary; they sit
and charge their batteries like all their unaltered
cousins. But as the sun goes down, each one
starts blinking and chirping. The sound and rate
of their song are determined by the temperature,
the amount of sun they receive, and the natural
variance of their components. The emergent quality
of dozens together can be fascinating. This project
has a certain affinity to BEAM robotics (see MAKE,
Volume 06, page 76).

Retro R/C Racer


Retro R/C Racer
Frank E. Yost | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 13 pgs | 4 mb
RIVETING TALE
Using scrap sheet metal and pop rivets,
you can construct a model 1930s British
Midget racer that combines vintage "tether
car" styling with modern R/C capabilities.

Radio control (R/C) toys are fun, but their plastic bodies
are so obviously mass-produced. To create something
more interesting, I wanted to find a metal toy racer 10
inches or longer that I could transplant some R/C insides
into. I soon discovered that the best candidates were all
precious collectibles.
...

Bicycle iPod Charger


Bicycle iPod Charger
A sidewall dynamo powers both lights and tuneage
Mark Hoekstra | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 3 pgs | 1 mb
After buying an Pod mini a couple of years ago, I started experimenting with
ways of extending its battery life. First I tried the Perfectmate hand-cranked
flashlight/charger, only to find out that it takes up to 20 minutes of cranking
to generate just enough power to boot the device. As well as making me
appreciate how much power today's lithium-ion batteries can hold, this got
me thinking about otherways to human-power my Pod.
...

Free VoIP


Free VoIP
Got broadband? Add phone service for $0/month
Dave Mathews | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 4 pgs | 1 mb
These days, many people don't even have landline-
based telephone service; they get all their calls on
their mobile and office phones. But once I settle in
at home, I want people to be able to call me on a
nice, comfortable cordless phone, even if it's Iost in
the couch. At home, the cordless battery is always
charged, and it doesn't matter if I'm in a fringe
mobile service area.

If you already have a broadband connection, you
can get a home phone without paying for POTS
(plain old telephone service) cra Vonage style
digital phone service. Here's now to do it the easier
way, without having to run your own private branch
exchange (PBX) Asterisk server.
...

WII Will Rock You


WII Will Rock You
Bill Byrne | Make Vol. 14- 2008 | Pdf | 4 pgs | 2 mb
I grew up in the 80s with a Commodore 64, Game
Boy, and Nintendo Entertainment System, and
I feel more comfortable with an NES game pad
than a TV remote.

Many years later, the NES game pad has evolved
into a monster: the Wii Remote wireless game
controller, affectionately known as the Wiimote.
My wife, Suzanne, and I also perform and record
electronic music in a band called the Painful Leg
Injuries. I've played with numerous MIDI controllers,
but despite my years of childhood piano lessons,
nothing feels as natural to me as the Wiimote.
Blame it on all those hours with Tetris and Mario.

Here, I've written up 4 of the setups I'm using
to control music with this thereminesque, ether-
bending joystick.

Print-and Fold Ames Room


Print-and Fold Ames Room
This classic illusion makes objects --- and hobbits- -- seem to change size
Ranjit B. | Make Vol. 14- 2008 | Pdf | 5 pgs | 2 mb
An Ames room is a distorted box that creates an illusion, from one vantage point, of varying depth, distance, and size. Invented by American ophthalmol- ogist Adelbert Ames Jr. in 1934, setups like this were used to make the hobbits look small next to Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movies.

Here's how I constructed a miniature Ames room out of paper and card-board. I'll start by explaining how I derived the template that I used, which you can download at makezine.com/14/amesroom. You can make your own template using this explanation or just use my template to make your own room.
...

Rabu, November 04, 2009

Rock the Bike


Rock the Bike
Social biking with Fossil Fool and the Juice Pedale
Paul Spinrad | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 4 pgs | 1 mb
IF YOU'VE NEVER BEEN ON A BICYCLE
cruiser ride before, here's what happens. You and
your party gather someplace in town and maybe
have some beers and/or dinner. Then you ride. The
city and the night are yours. If you're lucky, one of
you is on a Soul Cycle, supplying the soundtrack.
...

Kitchen Floor Vacuum Former


Kitchen Floor Vacuum Former
Bob Knetzger | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 11 pgs | 3 mb
FORMING LASTING IMPRESSIONS
From take-out coffee lids to airplane
interior panels, vacuum-formed plastic
is everywhere. And for good reason:
vacuum forming makes light, durable,
and cool-looking 3D parts. Here's how
to cook some up in your kitchen.

Hammer Time


Hammer Time
Making the antiques of the future at Black Dog Forge
Kirsten Anderson | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 4 pgs | 2 mb

Big Blowhards


Big Blowhards
William Gurstelle | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 4 pgs | 2 mb
...
Punkin Chunkin (punkinchunkin.com) began
officially 21 years earlier, when its three founders
met informally to build hurling machines capable
of flinging leftover Halloween pumpkins. Little by
little, the hurlers improved their machines, and
every year the pumpkins flew a bit farther. Things
changed radically in 1995 when Trey Melson, one
of the co-founders of the event, upped the ante.
...
This competition isn't about money or trophies or
even the teardrop-shaped mass of gooey pumpkin
flesh a mile away in the middle of a Delaware farmer's
field. It's about pride. It's about being the best, about
setting a goal and achieving it. When told of the time
and money invested in making these guns, a lot of
people simply smile and shake their heads. But not
real makers. Real makers understand.

Cara Mudah Menentukan Grit Amplas



Salah satu problem klasik pengamplasan adalah menentukan kombinasi grit yang sesuai. Ini
pekerjaan gampang-gampang susah, bahkan mirip dengan pekerjaan trial and error.

Menurut Tandiono, Senior Support Engineer PT. Ekamant Indonesia, untuk menentukan kombinasi grit perlu diperhitungkan sejumlah faktor. Ini meliputi ketebalan yang hendak dikikis untuk satu sisi panel, jumlah mesin dan jumlah head masing-masing mesin, standar grit kehalusan terakhir, dan kekerasan material atau kayu yang digunakan. "Kesemuanya berpengaruh atas hasil pengamplasan," jelasnya.

Dengan mengetahui kesemuanya, penentuan kombinasi grit tidak lagi menjadi pekerjaan trial and error. Cara ini efektif dan lebih pasti. Standar grit finishing, menurutnya, bisa menjadi titik awal. Umumnya buyers menentukan standar grit kehalusan terakhir yang harus digunakan.

Dengan menjadikannya titik awal, diperlukan perhitungan mundur guna mendapat kombinasi grit sebelumnya. Tentu grit yang digunakan lebih kecil atau rendah dari grit finishing (Lihat Gambar 1, Kombinasi Grit). "Metode ini berlaku umum bagi semua produk amplas," lanjutnya.



Faktor lain yang juga membantu adalah mengetahui pengikisan maksimal masing-masing grit (Lihat Tabel 1, Daya Kikis Maksimal). Perlu diingat jika angka grit menunjukkan ketebalan pengikisan yang bisa diperoleh. Kian besar angka gritnya, kian kecil stock removal maksimalnya yang bisa dihasilkan.



Faktor berikutnya adalah berapa banyak sisi panel yang perlu diamplas. Tentu mengamplas satu sisi panel tentu akan berbeda dengan mengamplas kedua sisi panel yang sama. Untuk pengamplasan kedua sisi permukaan dari panel yang sama, dibutuhkan perhitungan yang lebih teliti dari pengamplasan atas satu sisi panel. Menurut Tandiono, hal itu tidaklah sulit karena bisa dihitung secara matematis.

Yang juga sering diabaikan adalah lunak kerasnya material yang akan diamplas. Kombinasi grit untuk mengamplas kayu Jati jelas berbeda dengan kombinasi grit untuk mengamplas kayu Pinus. Ini karena tingkat kekerasan keduanya berbeda. Mengabaikan ini jelas akan menimbulkan hasil yang tidak seusai yang diharapkan.

Faktor terakhir yang harus juga diperhitungkan adalah jumlah mesin dan jumlah head dalam masing-masing mesin. Katakanlah terdapat dua mesin dan masing-masing memiliki dua head, maka tersedia empat grit yang bisa dikombinasikan pemakaiannya.

Katakanlah bila diperlukan pengikisan sebesar 0,8 milimeter untuk satu sisi. Untuk mengerjakannya tersedia dua mesin wide belt sander yang masing-masing memiliki dua head. Sehingga terdapat empat grit yang bisa dikombinasikan.

Standar grit akhir yang diinginkan adalah P240, sedang jenis kayu yang digunakan adalah kayu Jati yang relatif cukup keras.



Berdasarkan Tabel Kombinasi Grit, diperoleh kombinasi grit yang akan dipergunakan adalah
P240, P180, P120 dan P80. Keempat kombinasi grit ini seusai dengan jumlah head dari kedua mesin wide belt sander yang tersedia.

Setelah itu perlu diketahui kekuatan pengikisan total dari keempat grit di atas.

Terdapat perbedaan antara pengikisan yang dikehendaki sebesar 0,8 mm dengan total
daya kikis maksimal sebesar 1 mm. Hal ini masih dibenarkan karena adanya toleransi
sebesar 20% akibat tingkat kekerasan kayu Jati.

Woodmag, Januari 2006
Magazine for Ekamant's Premier Customer

Selasa, November 03, 2009

Ball of Sound


Ball of Sound
Michael F. Zbyszynski | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 4 pgs | 2 mb
Acoustic instruments radiate sound in a wonder-
fully complex, 360° fashion, while conventional
loudspeakers project a boring spotlight of sound.
You can spend a ton of money on a fancy spherical
audio array, or you can build one for cheap out of
2 IKEA salad bowls and 8 surplus car speakers.

Tabletop Biosphere


Tabletop Biosphere
Martin John Brown | Make Vol. 10- 2007 | Pdf | 9 pgs | 4 mb
ECOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
The Tabletop Shrimp Support Module
(TSSM) is a fun demonstration of the
ecological cycles that keep us alive - and
an enticement to muse on everything
from godhood to space colonization.

Make04_2005: DIY - Mobile


Make04_2005: DIY - Mobile
Daniel Jolliffe | Pdf | 2 pgs | 1 mb
Throw your voice. Build your own anonymous megaphone.

Recycled Kaleidoscope


Recycled Kaleidoscope
Make a classic optics toy from an old CD case
Carolyn Bennet | Make Vol. 14- 2008 | Pdf | 4 pgs | 2 mb
The kaleidoscope was invented in 1816 by a Scottish physicist named Sir David Brewster, and it has intrigued people of all ages ever since. Through the years, kaleidoscopes have been made of nearly every possible material.
Now it's time to take the kaleidoscope green. Here's a simple one you can create from recycled materials and common household items. For the mirror elements, we'll use pieces of an old "jewel box" CD case backed with black paper or neoprene.

Covert Spy Sunglasses


Covert Spy Sunglasses
Kip Kedersha | Make Vol. 14- 2008 | Pdf | 3 pgs | 1 mb
Ever since I was a kid I've loved spy gadgets. From
Wild Wild West to Get Smart and Mission Impossible,
they have always fascinated me. I can remember
sitting in front of the tube watching the hidden
camera pranks of Candid Camera. Well, now I have
my own pair of sneaky sunglasses that are cheap
and easy to make.
...

Senin, November 02, 2009

Big Kid Night Light


Big Kid Night Light
Dan Weiss | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 2 pgs | 1 mb
Kids want night lights, they just don't want them
to look like night lights because that makes them
"babies." Here's a shining star made from things you
can pick up at a dollar store. Call it a "mood light,"
and no one has to admit that they use a night light.

Scanner Camera


Scanner Camera:
Mod a flatbed scanner to take photos that deconstruct time and motion
Mike Golembewski | Make Vol. 14- 2008 | Pdf | 9 pgs | 3 mb
Several years ago, I built my first scanner camera. The idea was simple: I would
use an ordinary flatbed scanner with a homemade large-format camera. The
camera would focus the image onto the scanner bed in place of photo paper or
film. I expected this to be a quick little art project made with a cardboard box,
the cheapest flatbed scanner I could find, and lots of duct tape.

But when I got it all to work, the results were wonderful. Stationary objects
photographed normally, but moving objects appeared twisted and distorted
into fascinating shapes. At first I thought there was something wrong with my
contraption, but then I realized that the movement of the scan head was
meshing with the movement in the recorded scene. The distortion is similar
to the effect created by moving an original on a photocopier mid-copy, but
extended into the real world.
...

Orange Crate Racer Project


Orange Crate Racer Project
Mister Jalopy | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 2 pgs | 2 mb

DIY ECGs


DIY ECGs
Dr. Shawn | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 3 pgs | 1 mb
THE HEART'S PUMPING ACTION IS DRIVEN
by powerful waves of electrical activity that
cause weak currents to flow in the body,
changing the electric potential between different
points on the skin by about one thousandth of a
volt (one millivolt,1mV). Hidden within that activity
is an enormous amount of information about what
the heart is doing, and anyone who can detect it
can peer into the workings of this incredible organ.

Fortunately, you don't have to be a cardiologist
with expensive equipment to pick up and decipher
that signal. Anyone can do it with this homemade
electrocardiogram (ECG) device. an analog-to-digital
converter (ADC) to digitize the signal and send it to
a computer, and a remarkable book that I'll tell you
about later.

You can assemble the circuit itself in an after-
noon for about $40. The ADC will cost a bit more.
between $50 and $300. But these devices open a
universe of opportunities to the home-based experi-
menter, and so every citizen scientist should invest
in one. (I've negotiated a great deal on one of these
devices especially for MAKE readers. Read on.)
...

Lensless Microscope


Lensless Microscope:
A webcam's image chip is an ultrafine shadow-imaging stage
Tom Zimmerman | Make Vol. 14- 2008 | Pdf | 7 pgs | 3 mb
Behind the lens of a webcam is an imager chip with thousands of tiny light sensors, each about 1/10 the diameter of a human hair. If you replace the lens with an LED light source, and place tiny objects on the imager chip, shadows will project onto the sensor, creating a lensless microscopic image. You can use the webcam's regular software to save pictures and video, or stream live images to the internet. Or use the imager chip from a security camera to see a colony of live plankton on TV.
...

Minggu, November 01, 2009

Make03_2005: DIY - Design


Make03_2005: DIY - Design
Pdf | 6 pgs | 2 mb
- Squeezable Nightligt
-Barebones Led Flasher

The Maker State


The Maker State
William Gurstelle | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 2 pgs | 1 mb
...
In a "nanny state:' somebody else - governments,
insurance companies, education administrators
- decides which projects makers may attempt and
which they may not. In the nanny state. experi-
menters and builders find themselves deprived
of the materials. tools, and information they need
to carry on their interests.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the "night
watchman state." Here, authorities try to keep thugs
off the street, keep the electricity on, and that's
about it. You're pretty much on your own.

Most of us prefer to live. work, and play some-
where in the middle. Let's call it the "Maker State."
In the Maker State, everyone takes reasonable
precautions and wears protective equipment. Safe
working practices, if thoughtfully incorporated into
the act of making things, can become a performance-
improving feature, just as athletes wear better
equipment to enhance their performance.

The Maker State provides freedom to attempt
projects on the edge. Still, laws of chance and sta-
tistics ensure that sometimes stuff just happens.
There are two fundamental realities of working in
the Maker State: risks can be reduced but not
eliminated, and not everything is somebody's fault.
...

Molecular Gastronomy


Molecular Gastronomy
Michael Zbyszynski | Make Vol. 14- 2008 | Pdf | 4 pgs | 2 mb
There is a movement in the cooking world called
Molecular Gastronomy. The term was coined by
Nicholas Kurti and Herve This, and it has become
associated with chefs like Ferran Adria at El Bulli
in Spain, Heston Blumenthal at The Fat Duck in
England, Wylie Dufresne at wd~50 in New York,
and Homaru Cantu at Moto in Chicago.

Essentially, it involves applying scientific techniques
to the cooking process. One of the more interest-
ing techniques is the use of common substances to
control the texture of foods, often in surprising ways.

You don't need a chemistry lab to pull off such
effects. With a few inexpensive tools and chemi-
cals. it's possible to use spherification to make
all kinds of "caviar" (and other shapes) in your
own kitchen.
...

Homebrew Digital 3D Movies


Homebrew Digital 3D Movies:
Build your own stereo vidcam and 3D viewer
Eric Kurland | Make Vol. 14- 2008 | Pdf | 8 pgs | 3 mb
I have two eyes. And because of that simple fact, I also have stereopsis, the ability to perceive depth. When I was about 7 years old, I gazed into a View-Master toy and saw an amazing three-dimensional picture, and I was hooked. Today, I create 3D videos, using various homebrew camera rigs and displays. I'll introduce you to a few of my devices, but first, a quick history lesson.
...

Spirits Guy


Spirits Guy
How Lance Winters went from basement moonshiner to celebrity vodka distiller
Benjamin Tice Smith | Make Vol. 11- 2007 | Pdf | 6 pgs | 2 mb
When most of us want some tequila, we run to the liquor
store on the way home from work. Lance Winters prefers
heading to Mexico to find the best agave cactus and
bringing it back to his laboratory in a 65,000-square-foot
aircraft hangar on a dormant naval base on the edge
of San Francisco Bay. Winters is a craft distiller at St.
George Spirits, whose vast workspace has three large
stills, numerous tanks, a bottling line, and many cases of
high-octane, high-priced hooch, including the top-selling
Hangar One Vodka.
...