DIY
Get flash to fully experience Pearltrees
Pablo shows off his simple hack for testing the shutter speed of the old cameras he restores: A phototransistor from an old computer mouse, a battery, a flashlight, and a mono audio plug to his computer’s microphone port. He records the pulse in a simple audio recording utility and measures the time between the peaks. [Thanks, Billy Baque !]
Make: Online : Dead-simple shutter speed tester from old mouse parts
By Gareth Branwyn Here is the collected questions and answers I've processed, via email and online discussion, for the past several years related to Mousey the Junkbot, the light-seeking robot made from a computer mouse I featured in my book, Absolute Beginner's Guide to Building Robots , and in the Mousey project in MAKE Vol. 2 . If you have additional questions, feel free to ask them in the “Projects” topic of the Building Robots board in Shop Talk , our conferencing area. Image of Make:Philly Mousebot Contest Entries, Courtesy Jef Wilkins.
Mousey the Junkbot FAQ :: Street Tech :: hardware beyond the hype
Our editors have compiled a list of five creative uses for those old CDs you have laying around. If you have any other creative projects that we missed, please leave us a comment. Continue reading for the list. If you've got hundreds of old AOL discs laying around, why not put them to good use?
TechEBlog » Top 5 Most Creative Uses for Old CDs
The Most Useless Machine EVER!
The only design I could find uses a PIC microcontroller but I consider this to be overkill (not knowing how to write code for micros may have had some influence on my humble opinion...). Additionally, the microcontroller version really doesn't shut itself off. It's circuit remains powered even when the switch is in the off position.
Nothing says you trust someone like letting them tie you up. I've experimented with a few different designs, and these cuffs seem to be the best blend of style, strength, and practicality. They're easy to put on and take off quickly (unless you happen to be the one wearing them) and on top of that they're comfy to wear and will stand up to serious struggling. Some basic sewing experience is useful here, but there is plenty of wiggle room in the measurements and messy seams are easy to cover up.
Fabric Bondage Cuffs
The first think you should know is that TerminatorX runs on Linux. There is no windows version yet. I have tried it in Ubuntu and worked fine.
DIY DJ Turntable from old Computer Parts
What can I do with it? The Web Clicker can control any IR device (TV, DVD, Stereo, etc) simply by requesting a URL. There's also an AJAX based control page so you can use it with a web browser, like on your iPhone or computer.
Control Your TV with Your Phone
Considering that netbooks get outdated by model refreshes every few months, it’s quite likely you’ll find yourself with an old netbook lying around the house, catching dust. But there’s no need to let it go to waste. Instead, turn it into a Wi-Fi-enabled digital picture frame! We used an old Acer Aspire One for this project, but it should work with most netbooks. Disassemble the Netbook
9 Kick-Ass DIY Projects to Get Your Hack On - Page 8 | Maximum PC
When I recently moved from San Antonio to rural North Carolina, I found myself completely unable to get a wi-fi or cell phone signal where I live. The only way for me to get a cell signal at all was to drive over a mile in either direction from where I live. I first thought my problem was my cell carrier. I decided to change carriers so I had several friends check out their signal strength while they were visiting me so I could better decide which carrier to go with.
Repurpose An Old Dish Antenna to Boost Cell Phone / WiFi Signals
How-To: Build a WiFi biquad dish antenna -- Engadget
Wireless enthusiasts have been repurposing satellite dishes for a couple years now. This summer the longest link ever was established over 125 miles using old 12 foot and 10 foot satellite dishes. A dish that big is usually overkill for most people and modern mini-dishes work just as well. The dish helps focus the radio waves onto a directional antenna feed. We're building a biquad antenna feed because it offers very good performance and is pretty forgiving when it comes to assembly errors.Dust
While your best bet is to not lose your thumb drive in the first place, yesterday our readers expanded on our tip to name your thumb drive with your phone number with several pretty clever ideas. Tweak Your Autorun Message To start off, our favorite, from reader TuxRug involves editing the autorun.inf file at the root of your thumb drive which will display an "if lost, return to" message (in this case, a phone number) anytime someone plugs the drive: I just want to add that the max length of the label is 32 characters, including spaces. So you could label it "If found call (xxx)xxx-xxxx" which is 27 characters. We've suggested signing your portable media and highlighted clever photo messages for the finder in the past, but reader ddmeightball plays to our seedier impulses :
Four Solid Methods for Getting Back Your Lost Thumb Drive
Key fobs are handy for keyless entry to your car, but carrying around multiple key fobs makes for a seriously bulky keychain. With that in mind, tech blog Filear details how to program your keyless entry remote with multiple cars. The video above demonstrates the pairing process for GM automobiles, but the post offers instructions for Fords, various Dodge vehicles, Toyotas, Nissans, and JEEPs. It's generally a pretty simple process, and if you're a household with multiples of a specific make, it seems like you've got a good chance of consolidating your key fobs. In theory it's an incredibly handy little trick, but you'll also probably want to take extra care to make sure you don't end up accidentally unlocking both cars but not locking both.