Monthly Archives: December 2015

Keep people away with an automated paint ball sentry

Posted on December 31, 2015 by robertwilkie

I have seen these builds in the past. This is nice one if you are into paintball (you could put it in a defensive spot). It uses an arduino for the motor control and a webcam to target/detect movement. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Arduino, robots, Security, weapons | Comments Off

Robot Controlled ball

Posted on December 30, 2015 by robertwilkie

The author takes the hamster ball, and puts RC controls in it and puts a b-ball shell around it. For a remote controlled basketball. Nice build. My 2 cents, maybe I could re-use an existing R/C car…. http://www.instructables.com/id/Remote-Controlled-Basket-Ball-Robot/?ALLSTEPS

Posted in robots, Teaching and Learning | Comments Off

Use a drill motor motor for a generator for wind turbine

Posted on December 29, 2015 by robertwilkie

OK I know the write-up is for the entire setup, but what got me interested in this build is the use of the drill motor (old cordless drill). This is nice since its geared, the author reverses the chuck so … Continue reading →

Posted in Cheap, Misc-Life, Teaching and Learning, Wind | Comments Off

Simple to build windpower

Posted on December 27, 2015 by robertwilkie

The author uses a bicycle bottle dynamo, a car radiator fan, and a funnel to make a simple, and effective wind power generator. Oh an a bike axle can be used to help the thing move around. This can be … Continue reading →

Posted in Cheap, Misc-Life, Teaching and Learning, Wind | Comments Off

kidwind, good kid building windpower

Posted on December 26, 2015 by robertwilkie

KidWind, which also sells a kit, has a nice write-up on building a PVC stand wind turbine. The nice bit with this build is they use gears to increase the power from the turbine. http://learn.kidwind.org/learn http://learn.kidwind.org/files/manuals/GEAREDTURBINE_MANUAL.pdf

Posted in Teaching and Learning, Wind | Comments Off

Simple wind turbine for kids

Posted on December 24, 2015 by robertwilkie

In-case you haven’t noticed, I am on a wind kick again. This write-up the author intended to build a wind turbine for camping. My 2 cents, better build for kids. I like this build (got more like this coming up), … Continue reading →

Posted in Cheap, Teaching and Learning, Wind | Comments Off

Make an anemometer

Posted on December 23, 2015 by robertwilkie

One way to get an idea on if you should even thing about putting up wind power is to measure the wind in your area. Well you could buy an anemometer, or take an old hard-drive motor, a bike speedometer, … Continue reading →

Posted in Cheap, Wind | Comments Off

Interesting opensource vertical wind turbine

Posted on December 23, 2015 by robertwilkie

Directions (in pdf) are pretty good to build a vertical based wind turbine from parts, including the generator. Me…little too much work for my taste for a small return. But its still worth looking at. http://www.applied-sciences.net/library/zoetrope.php

Posted in Cheap, Wind | Comments Off

Learn about the 555 timer

Posted on December 22, 2015 by robertwilkie

One of the basic building blocks for a cheap circuit design are 555 timers, which can provide a clock, or other basic logic REALLY CHEAP! Good intro for anyone looking to learn about circuits. http://www.instructables.com/id/learn-about-the-555/

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Quick and cheap (ish) christmas gift for that office party

Posted on December 22, 2015 by robertwilkie

Get a copper scrubbing pad, a glass christmas bulb (clear) and bam…you have a cool decoration. Want to take it a step further…add an LED to the bulb. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/these-copper-scaled-glass-ornaments-are-a-great-diy-gift-226762?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+apartmenttherapy%2Fmain+%28AT+Channel%3A+Main%29

Posted in Cheap, Misc-Life | Comments Off

Monthly Archives: December 2015

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