Category Archives: Tinkering

Good Tutorial on Current Limiting Diodes

Posted on May 20, 2014 by robertwilkie

Nice video tutorial on limiting diodes to switch a regular bulb light in a car dash to LED. http://hackaday.com/2014/01/06/current-limiting-diode-use-and-tutorial/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hackaday%2FLgoM+%28Hack+a+Day%29  

Posted in Teaching and Learning, Tinkering | Comments Off on Good Tutorial on Current Limiting Diodes

Build a paintball mine

Posted on May 20, 2014 by robertwilkie

Summer is coming, and with it comes paintball (OK some folks like to do it in the snow too). Here is a series of instructions on how to make tripwire based paintball mines to get your opponents.  Looking at the … Continue reading →

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Graffiti sand printer

Posted on May 20, 2014 by robertwilkie

Interesting robot printer combo that prints out words with sand and the medium.   This was an article on it from a while back, but I never got a chance to look into it til now.  Cool looking bot, but … Continue reading →

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Looking back at CNC

Posted on May 20, 2014 by robertwilkie

Its been a few years since I have had a chance to get back into my CNC projects.  Since I was rebuilding everything anyways (I took everything apart a few years ago to move to a new house).  I thought … Continue reading →

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Printrbot makes a CNC

Posted on May 19, 2014 by robertwilkie

Looks like Printrbot is moving into the CNC world.  It looks like a nice little CNC, but no word on price, which could be a big deciding factor for alot of folks.  If its under a grand, it may stand … Continue reading →

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Cool Cheap water table for Kids

Posted on May 19, 2014 by robertwilkie

Nice simple water table for kids to play in.  I could totally see myself building one of these. http://www.instructables.com/id/Water-Table-for-the-Kids

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Want to make your own RFID security system

Posted on May 14, 2014 by robertwilkie

Well check out Open Access.  Its a arduino based board to control a security system (RFID doors, etc) that is open source based.  The “board” is $200, which if you look at solutions from other companies, is pretty cheap.  The … Continue reading →

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Build a pulse sensor

Posted on May 14, 2014 by robertwilkie

Nice build with IR to figure out your pulse.  The video is pretty good and it looks like a simple build with an AVR (arduino) to translate the signal.  It could be a little cheaper by using non-radio shack parts, … Continue reading →

Posted in Arduino, Cheap | Comments Off on Build a pulse sensor

Project to make programmable flickering lights

Posted on May 14, 2014 by robertwilkie

I stumbled on this arduino project where the author built a system to “flicker” his lights during Halloween.  There is lots of documentation but only circuit diagrams for pictures. http://flowcon.us/td/hwmach/

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Build your own password manager (hardware)

Posted on May 14, 2014 by robertwilkie

Based on an ATiny, its a hardware tool that you can use for a password manager.  It sounds interesting but not sure how robust it would be.   Its cheaper than other solutions, well except if you already have a … Continue reading →

Posted in Arduino, Cheap, Security | Comments Off on Build your own password manager (hardware)