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February 27, 2008
Speaker cans
An anonymous reader sent us a link to these neat speakers made from used cans. Oddly enough they convey a rather chic sense of style. The instructions are written in german - but you can pretty much infer the necessary steps from the supplied images. I'm guessing they may sound a bit "tinny"? - Link
Related:
Fold-Up Speakers - Link.
From the pages of MAKE:
Make - Volume 12 - Styrofoam Plate Speaker (DIY: Music) (Page 131) - Link.
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Feb 27, 2008 01:00 PM
DIY Projects, Green |
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| Comments (15)
February 26, 2008
Build your own water quality tester
In response to our item about the commercial TDS (total dissolved solids) water testing tool, somebody sent us a link to this homemade meter, which tests for TDS, EC (electrical conductivity), PPM (parts per million).
EC/TDS/PPM Meter On Limited Budget - Link
Related:
- Testing your own drinking water - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Feb 26, 2008 11:00 AM
Green, Science, Toolbox |
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| Comments (3)
Electric Motorcycle
Todd Stiers has made one awesome looking, and sounding, electric motorcycle. Let's hope this becomes more of a "normal" thing to see riding around the streets. Now, let the debate about the batteries and the source of power begin. - Link
Related:
Make Podcast: Todd Kollin's Electric Motorcycle - Link
Marque Cornblatt - DIY Electric Motorcycle Conversion - Link.
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Feb 26, 2008 01:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Green, Transportation |
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| Comments (2)
February 25, 2008
Testing your own drinking water
On the DIY projects blog Mavromatic, Danny Mavromatis writes about a home water tester he just bought:
Recently my brother-in-law had a reverse osmosis system installed for their drinking water. The installer left him a water quality meter which is a digital TDS meter that measures the Total Dissolved Solids in the water. What this means is that it measures the total amount of substances in the water other than the pure H2O. He joked that this was the first time ever that he had a gadget that I didn't... so to keep with my reputation, that night I ordered my very own TDS Meter.
DIY: Checking You Home Drinking Water Quality - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Feb 25, 2008 04:00 PM
Green, Toolbox |
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| Comments (3)
Wind-proof toes
From the MAKE Flickr pool
Nick shares his remedy for sneaker draftiness -
Biking in NYC winters can be very cold and windy. It's easy to wear a million layers on almost every body part, but we can't usually add layers to our feet. The solution: wind-proof toes, made from dead innertubesReusing bicycle waste materials to enhance future biking - good stuff. -Link
Related:
HOW TO - Bicycle Frame Protection - Link
HOW TO - Make an inner-tube wallet - Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Feb 25, 2008 02:00 PM
Bicycles, Green |
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| Comments (1)
HOW TO - Make a PCB (printed circuit board) binder and other circuit board projects
Here's how to turn some old circuit boards in to a handy dandy ring binder, the Instructable says it - but we'll say it again, PCB dust is nasty stuff take precautions when cutting, drilling, etc - Link.
Related:
Motherboard PCB bracelet - Link.
PCB key fob - Link.
Circuit board earrings - Link.
Circuit board art - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 25, 2008 06:00 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Green |
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| Comments (3)
February 21, 2008
59 Opel gets 376.59 mpg
Treehugger points us to this story about a 1959 Opel T-1 that, in 1973, got in the Guinness World Record book by achieving 376.59 mpg. The car was recently rediscovered (moldering away at Talladega Raceway) and bought by a Seattle car dealer.
Some of the "tricks" used to achieve this amazing mpg were to make the car as light as possible, greatly narrow the rear axle, use super-hard low-friction tires, a chain drive, and to drive a steady 30 mph.
Hybrids, meet your rival -- it gets 376.59 mpg - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Feb 21, 2008 04:28 PM
Green, Transportation |
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| Comments (7)
February 20, 2008
Technojunk salvage tips
Here are some useful tips on salvaging components from old electronics. I especially like the idea of using the bottoms of water bottles to create clear, stackable parts bins.
Tool Tip: How to Salvage PCB Parts - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Feb 20, 2008 02:00 PM
Electronics, Green, Instructables |
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| Comments (4)
February 19, 2008
OWI kits - Solar, robots, bugs...
OWI robots was @ The NYC Toy fair 2008, this is another company that I've never seen in person but have seen their kits online before. They have a lot of variations of a solar cell with a motor - aerial cable cars, solar cars, viking ships, solar climbing monkeys in addition to nicely machined metal bug kits and my favorite - their line of giant robotic arms.
More:
- OWI robotics - Link.
- More photos of OWI kits @ Flickr - Link.
- Giant set of NYC Toy fair 2008 photos @ Flickr - Link.
- MAKE's coverage of the NYC Toy Faire 2008 in one place! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 19, 2008 07:30 PM
Green, Robotics, Science, Toys and Games |
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| Comments (1)
Venus fly traps and "grow your own lilypad" kits
@The NYC Toy fair 2008 Dunecraft had it's meat eating plant kits as well as the "grow your own lily pad" products. There are three types of meat eating plant kits, Pitcher Plant Predators and Sundew Savages. It's fun to imagine lots of people planting harmless seeds and growing them in to vicious bug-eating monsters.
More:
- Dunecraft - Link.
- More photos of Dunecraft @ Flickr - Link.
- Giant set of NYC Toy fair 2008 photos @ Flickr - Link.
- MAKE's coverage of the NYC Toy Faire 2008 in one place! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 19, 2008 05:30 PM
Green, Kits, Science, Toys and Games |
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| Comments (4)
HOW TO - Build an ambient air fridge
It seems so obvious. If you live in an area with a decent winter, you can create a fridge on the outside wall of your kitchen that opens to the elements to create an "ambient air fridge" (AAF). If you're wondering what you do on an unseasonably warm day, the builder keeps a few jugs of water in a snowbank as an emergency ice source. Living in Vermont, he's able to use his AAF from mid-November to early-April. Obviously, YMMV in different locales.
DIY Super Energy Efficient Refrigerator - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Feb 19, 2008 05:00 PM
Green, Retro |
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| Comments (5)
Pyramid "Dream Car"
Crazy electric pyramid "Dream Car." I guess the pyramid shape is supposed to keep the driver sharp.
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Feb 19, 2008 11:00 AM
Green, Made On Earth |
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| Comments (11)
Thames and Kosmos - great science, bio, electronics and DIY kits
@The NYC Toy fair 2008 I toured the Thames and Kosmos area, one of the best of the entire Toy Fair. Thames & Kosmos currently offers 55 science kits on: Energy, technology, electronics, chemistry, biology, physics, natural history, earth science and others. Pictured here, the Radio Ace DIY tube radio kit.
Computer Systems Engineering kit - Link.
More:
- Thames and Kosmos - Link.
- Kit listing here - Link.
- More photos of Thames and Kosmos @ Flickr - Link.
- Giant set of NYC Toy fair 2008 photos @ Flickr - Link.
- MAKE's coverage of the NYC Toy Faire 2008 in one place! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 19, 2008 01:30 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Green, Kits, Science, Toys and Games |
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| Comments (2)
Make a super colossal cubby house
Remember building forts out of old boxes? I do, but mine were nowhere close to being as cool as the Super Colossal Cubby House. It is made from 100% recyclable cardboard, and the pattern is available online for free. [via] Link
Related:
HOW TO - Build a cardboard spaceship - Link
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Feb 19, 2008 01:00 AM
DIY Projects, Green, How it's made |
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| Comments (0)
ÜBERSTIX - You need to recycle to use these kits/toys
@The NYC Toy fair 2008 I met with the ÜBERSTIX folks, they make toys/kits that you need to recycle other things to build. Straws, ice cream sticks, paper clips, water bottles, egg cartons and more. Pictured here is a ship you build and use tossed cups/bottles to make it float, along with other trashed items to build the sail and more. It's called the Scavenger, nice.
They also make ÜBERARC" - it's for budding architects, students and engineers - you can construct giant "emerald city" looking structures, unlike other building systems you get real blueprints in a tube.
More:
- ÜBERSTIX - Link.
- More photos of ÜBERSTIX @ Flickr - Link.
- Giant set of NYC Toy fair 2008 photos @ Flickr - Link.
- MAKE's coverage of the NYC Toy Faire 2008 in one place! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 19, 2008 12:00 AM
DIY Projects, Green, Kits, Toys and Games |
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| Comments (2)
February 16, 2008
20-Watt Solar Panel - A Primer @ MAKE
20-Watt Solar Panel by Parker Jardine in Primer. With a few solar-cells and a plastic case, you can utilize the sun's energy to power anything from a light bulb to your entire house. Page 158 - MAKE 12. Read this article now in the MAKE digital edition.
Or get MAKE 12 from the Maker store and/or subscribe to MAKE (use code CMAKE for $5 off USD).
You can view all our in depth Primers from MAKE here too.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 16, 2008 12:00 AM
DIY Projects, Green |
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| Comments (7)
February 11, 2008
Wind power for kids
From Geekdad:
The KidWind Project is run out of Michael Arquin's basement in St. Paul, MN, and is all about educating kids about wind power. One part of this is offering really cool wind turbine kits from their website for home assembly and use in science fair presentations.These kits look like great Geekdad family projects. I can especially imagine combining these with some kind of Lego build for a self-sustaining robot of some kind!
Welcome to the KidWind Project - Link
Posted by Gareth Branwyn |
Feb 11, 2008 11:00 AM
Green, Science |
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| Comments (3)
Build a bat-house
Birdhouses are quite nice and all, but isn't it about time we showed some love to nocturnal flyers? The design for a bat house is much different from the usual bird types -
You might be surprised: bats don't always live in caves. Some bats spend winter months in caves, but most bats spend summers in trees, under bridges or in old buildings, where they give birth and rear young. Your goal is to make a bat house that mimics the space between bark and a tree trunk. That would be the bats' ideal nursery. That's why the space inside a bat house is very narrow, unlike a bird house which would house a nest. Bats like tight spaces. They also need it nice and warm for the babies. That's why we paint the box a dark color in most climates and why we caulk the sides to keep the heat in. Also, you'll be using a saw to rough up inside the box. That makes it more like tree bark and easier for the bats to climb up.And hey, bats can consume 500 - 1,000 mosquitos in an hour. That's a welcome practice around most woodsy dwellings.
- Bat House(s) on Ben's world -Link
- Why I Built A Bat House - National Wildlife Federation -Link
- PDF guide, instructions @ Bat Conservation International -Link
Related:
Make Podcast: Weekend Projects - Batometer -Link
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Feb 11, 2008 05:00 AM
DIY Projects, Green |
Permalink
| Comments (2)
Cat5 Macramé plant hanger
Shog9 writes -
I was cleaning up around the house last Sunday evening... A drain had clogged, and in the process of getting it unclogged, things had become messy. Since I was cleaning anyway, I took the time to straighten up a few other areas, including some potted plants and cabling. When finished, I had a left-over mint plant, and forty-some feet of damaged Ethernet cable. Since I had plenty of other things to do, and didn't particularly want to do them, I spent a relaxing half-hour knotting a plant hanger with the cable.Cat5 Macramé plant hanger - Link.Twenty years ago, this would have been called "recycling". But in these enlightened times, I feel fully justified in calling it a "green" plant hanger. Even though it's blue.
Related:
MAKE, volume 1 - The 5-in-1 Network Cable - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 11, 2008 03:01 AM
Crafts, Green |
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| Comments (0)
February 10, 2008
Greener gadgets design competition results
The winner looks like a MAKE project, woo! -
The EnerJar took top prize of the design competition—both a favorite of the judges and the crowd at the Greener Gadgets Conference in New York City. The EnerJar is an easy-to-build, DIY device that accurately measures the power draw of electrical appliances. Sitting between any wall outlet and the appliance (think blowdryer versus laptop), the EnerJar helps users gain an understanding of power draw, investing them in the knowlege, and leading them to reduce their electricity use.Greener gadgets design competition results - [via] Link & the gallery!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 10, 2008 02:20 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Gadgets, Green |
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| Comments (7)
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