Author Archives: Fernando Gomes

Flash a Light Bulb, Win a Prize

Posted on June 26, 2017 by Fernando Gomes

How many geeks does it take to flash a lightbulb? Judging from the list of entries in the 2017 Flashing Light Prize, so far only seven. But we suspect Hackaday readers can add to that total.

The goal is almost as simple as possible: build something that can flash an incandescent light bulb for at least five minutes. The system actually has to power the bulb’s filament, so no mechanical shutters are allowed. Other than that, the sky is the limit — any voltage, any wattage, any frequency and duty cycle, and any circuit. Some of the obvious circuits, like …read more

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Posted in contests, flasher, incandescent, light bulb, multivibrator, news, oscillator | Leave a comment

Hackaday Links: June 25th, 2017

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Fernando Gomes

There will be no special badges for DEFCON. Everyone will still have badges — and our expectations are tempered because of the one year on / one year off schedule for electronic badges — there just won’t be mind-bending puzzles wrapped up in the official badges. What this means: it probably won’t matter if you’re late for linecon, and someone in the DEFCON hive mind still has a Facebook. Also, DEFCON is canceled.

In the past, we have decried the very existence of fidget spinners. It’s what the kids are into, after all. However, an electronic fidget spinner is …read more

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Posted in ESP32, Hackaday Columns, Hackaday links, hunter2, password | Leave a comment

Hackaday Prize Entry: Modular Circuits with SnapBloks

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Fernando Gomes

[Ekawahyu Susilo]’s twist on the modular circuit kit, SnapBloks helps you create circuits by stacking components on top of each other with the help of three magnetic contacts that not only keep the modules stuck together but also deliver power, ground, and data to each part.

[Ekawahyu] envisioned it as a prototyping kit, used to whip together an idea without a lot of hassle. It could also be an educational aid, used to teach Arduino coding while skipping the confusing tangle of wiring. You can stack a sound module on top of a power module to make a buzzer, or …read more

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Posted in 2017 Hackaday Prize, modular electronics, The Hackaday Prize | Leave a comment

Another Helping Hands Build

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Fernando Gomes

[Punamenon2] wanted a soldering station with integrated helping hands. He couldn’t find one, but he decided it would be a good 3D printed project. In all fairness, this is really 3D printing integrating several off-the-shelf components including a magnifier, a soldering iron holder, a soldering iron cleaner, a couple of “octopus” tripods, and some alligator clips. Total cost? Less than $30.

In addition to holding the Frankenstein monster together, the 3D printed structure also provides a storage tray with special sloped edges to make removing small screws easier.

We were a bit surprised at the use of the cell phone …read more

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Posted in 3d Printer hacks, gorilla pod, helping hands, soldering station, tool hacks, tripod | Leave a comment

iPad, not Flux Capacitor, Brings DeLorean Back to the Future

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Fernando Gomes

Add a flux capacitor and a Mr. Fusion to a DeLorean and it becomes a time machine. But without those, a DeLorean is just a car. A 35-year old car at that, and thus lacking even the most basic modern amenities. No GPS, no Bluetooth — not even remote locks for the gullwing doors!

To fix that, [TheKingofDub] decided to deck his DeLorean out with an iPad dash computer that upgrades the cockpit experience, and we have to say we’re impressed by the results. Luckily, the space occupied by the original stereo and dash vents in the center console is …read more

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Posted in back to the future, backup camera, bluetooth, BttF, car hacks, dash computer, DeLorean, Flux Capacitor, gps, ipad, relay, transportation hacks | Leave a comment

3D-Printed Rover Rolls Light and Looks Right

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Fernando Gomes

[Rick Winscott]’s RO-V Remotely Operated Vehicle instructable shows you how to make this cool-looking and capable robot. The rover, a 1/10th scale truggy, sports a chassis printed in silver and black PLA. It’s got a wireless router mounted on the back, and a webcam in a 2-servo gimbal up front. [Rick] made his own steering rack and pinion out of 3D printed parts and brass M3-threaded rods which he tapped himself.

The simplified drive system nixes the front, rear, and center differentials, thereby saving [Rick] on printing time, complexity, and weight — he was able to include a second 4000 …read more

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Posted in BeagleBoneBlack, drone hacks, robot, rover, truggy | Leave a comment

A Goldmine Of Radio Shack Goodies Is Up For Auction

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Fernando Gomes

Where did you buy the parts for your first electronic project? That’s a question likely to prompt a misty-eyed orgy of reminiscences from many Hackaday readers, if ever we have heard one. The chances are that if you are from North America or substantial parts of the English-speaking world, you bought them from a store that was part of the Radio Shack empire. These modestly sized stores in your local mall or shopping centre carried a unique mix of consumer electronics, CB radio, computers, and electronic components, and particularly in the days before the World Wide Web were one of …read more

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Posted in auction, misc hacks, news, radio shack, realistic, tandy, trs-80 | Leave a comment

Hackaday Prize Entry: A 3D Printer Management System

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Fernando Gomes

Since the first desktop 3D printers, people have been trying to figure out a way to manage desktop 3D printers and turn them into tiny little automated factories. One of the first efforts was a conveyor belt build plate that was successfully used by MakerBot until it wasn’t anymore. Octoprint has been a boon for anyone who wants to manage a few printers, but that’s only half the solution.

For his Hackaday Prize entry, [Mike] has come up with a solution that turns a desktop 3D printer into a completely automated factory. Not only does this project take care of …read more

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Posted in 2017 Hackaday Prize, 3d printer, 3d Printer hacks, Octoprint, queue, The Hackaday Prize | Leave a comment

12-Foot Guitar Takes The Stage

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Fernando Gomes

Musical festivals are fun and exciting. They are an opportunity for people to perform and show-off their art. The Boulevardia event held this June in Kansas City was one such event, where one of the interactive exhibits was a 12-foot guitar that could be played. [Chris Riebschlager] shares his experience making this instrument which was intended to welcome the visitors at the event.

The heart of this beautiful installation is a Bare Conductive board which is used to detect a touch on the strings. This information is sent over serial communication to a Raspberry Pi which then selects corresponding WAV …read more

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Posted in 12-foot, arduino, bare conductive, cnc, guitar, large, Musical, musical hacks | Leave a comment

Fail of the Week: Tracking Meteors with Weather Radio

Posted on June 24, 2017 by Fernando Gomes

It’s not hard to detect meteors: go outside on a clear night in a dark place and you’re bound to see one eventually. But visible light detection is limiting, and knowing that meteors leave a trail of ions means radio detection is possible. That’s what’s behind this attempt to map meteor trails using broadcast signals, which so far hasn’t yielded great results.

The fact that meteor trails reflect radio signals is well-known; hams use “meteor bounce” to make long-distance contacts all the time. And using commercial FM broadcast signals to map meteor activity isn’t new, either — we’ve covered the …read more

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Posted in dongle, Doppler, Fail of the Week, fm, forward scattering, ionization, meteor, noaa, NWS, propagation, radio hacks, RTL-SDR, sdr, weather radio | Leave a comment