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July 26, 2007
MakeShift
The creator of MacGyver challenges you to retrieve your keys from the bottom of a 15-foot crevice in the desert.
The Scenario:
Thinking you could use a new hobby to get you off the couch, your significant other gifts you with a metal detector for Christmas. After digging up loose change in your backyard and at the beach for a few weekends, you decide it's time for a real prospecting adventure. So, after loading up your SUV with the metal detector, a pick, a shovel, pry bar, and enough snacks and water for the day, you both drive 80 miles out into the desert to poke around some abandoned gold mines you've heard about.
Finally reaching the end of the road in the middle of nowhere, you ask your partner to unload the car while you head for the rocks to survey the landscape. But as you climb through some old barbed-wire fencing to look for a trail, your keys - attached to your Swiss Army knife - fall out of your pocket and skitter off across the rocks before they disappear into a deep, six-inch-wide crevice between two boulders. (Don't you just hate when that happens?) Needess to say, neither your cellphone nor your OnStar system gets reception out here, and the fancy anti-theft option you went for makes hot-wiring your SUV all but impossible.
The Challenge:
Without transportation, you're stranded. To avoid the daunting prospect of walking back out to the main road - as well as "never hearing the end of this" from your mate - you're going to need to recover those keys.
The boulders are too massive to be moved in any way and you don't have a direct sight line to your keys. But you are able to ascertain that the depth of the narow crevice can't be more than 15 feet. It's about noon now, so you've got at least 6-7 hours of daylight to work with before it gets dark. Surely someone with your skills and ingenuity can get those suckers out of there in time to get you home safely, if not still salvage the outing, no? As the wheels start turning, your mate appears and asks, "Is something wrong, honey?"
Here's what you've got:
In addition to everything mentioned, there's a basic tool kit in the car: hammer, screwdriver, adjustable wrench, snippers, pliers, etc., as well as 100 feet of nylon rope. Because this is an old mining area, there may also be some small pieces of wood and metal lying around.
Send a detailed description of your MakeShift solution with sketches and/or photos to makeshift@makezine.com by Aug. 17, 2007. If duplicate designs are submitted, the winner will be determined by the quality of the explanation and presentation. The most plausible and creative solutions will each win a MAKE sweatshirt. Think positive and include your shirt size and contact information with your description. For rules and solutions to previous MakeShift challenges, visit makezine.com/makeshift.
MakeShift - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 26, 2007 02:23 PM
Make Challenge |
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February 22, 2007
MakeShift: Castaway
Tomorrow is the last day to turn in solutions to the MakeShift challenge from volume 08!
The creator of MacGyver challenges you to survive on a deserted island.There are few fears more primal than being cast away on a deserted island in the middle of who-knows-where. Maybe it's a throwback to our eviction from the Garden of Eden, or the nagging realization that Earth itself is just such an island in the endless ocean of space. Whatever the reason, it has been and remains a mainstay of the collective imagination.
The Scenario:
You are on a small sailboat in the South Pacific when a freak wave of Biblical proportions swallows your craft. You awake to find yourself on the rocky, sandy beach of--what else?--a tiny deserted tropical island. As the fierce equatorial sun beats down on you, you realize that the boat is gone, but a large section of the white, waterproof nylon sail has washed up on thet beach.Relieved that you are alive and have sustained no major injuries, you quickly scout out the island. There is a cave for shelter, an abundance of vines and vegetation, but no trees to speak of. You see enough sea birds and marine life to provide a subsistence diet, but there is no source of fresh water! And the rainy season is still months away.
The Challenge:
Come up with a reliable way to produce potable water until you are rescued--or the meaning of life is revealed to you, and being rescued no longer matters.Your items:
You have only the nylon sailcloth and what you were wearing when you washed ashore: a dark, waterproof windbreaker; a T-shirt; and shorts, in which you find your Swiss Army knife (or Leatherman tool) and a pack of waterproof matches. If it provides additional motivation, feel free to be cast away with the fantasy celebrity of your choice--but this person is still counting on you to provide drinkable water. And if you're looking for extra points here, forget the pack of matches.Good luck, and rest assured that we're all out there looking for you.
~~~
Send a detailed description of your MakeShift solution with sketches and/or photos to makeshift@makezine.com by February 23, 2007. If duplicate designs are submitted, the winner will be determined by the quality of the explanation and presentation. The most plausible and creative solutions will each win a MAKE sweatshirt. Think positive and include your shirt size and contact information with your description. For rules and solutions to previous MakeShift challenges, visit makezine.com/makeshift.
makezine.com: MakeShift - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 22, 2007 06:00 PM
Make Challenge |
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July 13, 2006
MakeShift 05: Analysis, commentary, and winners
In 1960, Woody Norris read a contest announcement in a magazine that changed his life and set him on the path of being a world-class inventor. The announcement challenged readers to submit a plausible but fictional account of a supposed new invention to be published as an April Fool's joke. Woody took up the challenge. Here is the interesting part: during the process of trying to come up with a product that was both plausible but a bit "out there," he came up with what would ultimately be his first successful invention. The rest is history.
Coming full circle, Woody is now the one throwing down the gauntlet, challenging you to prove your makeshift mettle by staying alive for 48 hours in a bank vault with limited oxygen. Over 100 of you answered the call, and Woody and I had to break open the engineering and chemistry texts to evaluate a good number of the submissions. In the end, Woody selected two winners and two honorable mentions; to say that selecting two winners from the pool of entries was difficult would be to understate matters. It was flat-out hard.
It is interesting to note Woody's unique method of evaluation. Before he would evaluate any of the responses, he felt like he had to submit himself to the challenge and solve his own problem. He even set up an electrolysis apparatus in his lab so he could get empirical versus theoretical measures of power consumption and 0/H production. Then, he used his solution and data as reference points to evaluate the entries. Woody's Solution is included here for your review.
Thanks to the MAKE readers who took up Woody's challenge - check out all the winners here! - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Jul 13, 2006 11:43 PM
Announcements, Make Challenge |
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March 3, 2006
Can LEDs in refrigerators enhance the nutritional value of vegetables?
Creesto has a Make challenge - "OK guys, in my house we LOVE fresh fruit & vegetables, but cannot spend the time going to the store every other day to ensure that they are as fresh as possible. I remembered reading about a high-end fridge that had LEDs inside to keep the fruits and vegetables happier/healthier for almost twice as long as normal. I found this, the Mitsubishi Electric - Refrigerator - Folio Series:
"Increase Vitamins, Preserve Freshness In order to enhance vegetables nutritional value, Mitsubishi Electric has installed a photosynthesis LED in the crisper, creating the world's first refrigerator that utilizes photosynthesis to enhance the nutritional value of your vegetables. For the first time in the industry, we are introducing an amazing function that increase vitamins in vegetables. Vegetables are alive even after harvesting. LED lights is irradiated during preservation, and photosynthesis is encouraged, so nutritions such as vitamin C are increased and foods are preserved with vitamin C that are 1.5 times as good as before. Starting from the concept of controlling nutrition loss, we have been able to achieve increasing nutritional values in a totally new-concept refrigerator. Research showed that the light's color was important: The orange light creates chlorophll in vegetables without inducing them to grow. A small bank of LEDs in the roof of the vegetable drawer produces lights at a wavelength of 590 nanometers (orange). Mitsubishi Electric found that after three days, the vitamin C level in broccoli sprouts stored in their new refrigerator was 50% higher than in a conventional refrigerator."
Here's my question and subsequent challenge:
Can this possibly have value as claimed? I'm a bit dubious, as photosynthesis (as I understand it) cannot continue once the plant and fruit have been seperated (no leaves). But there may still be benefits, even if just to assist in efficacy.
So, if there is SOME benefit, this doesn't sound too difficult to make at home, as long as you know what you are doing: how to wire into an existing fridge, what LEDs to use, etc.
What do you think, is this a worthy challenge?
Makers, are Mitsubishi's claims possible? Post up if you think orange LEDs will actually make your veggies better, ideas on how to do this and test it.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Mar 3, 2006 05:50 PM
Make Challenge |
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February 24, 2006
Make a meat reddening carbon monoxide fridge?
Trehugger has a Make challenge that I think we'll pass on...you see, the Food and Drug Administration in the USA allows supermarkets to pack red meat in carbon monoxide gas so it appears red for longer, and then more people will buy it - so...the huggers threw down the loin chop challenge - "Here is a project for Make- connect tailpipe to refrigerator and have better looking food.". A little too gross and dangerous [via] Link. Thanks Nick!
Pictured here, random meat from the "Meat Identification test".
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 24, 2006 03:10 AM
Make Challenge |
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February 22, 2006
Making a $100 laptop for $75!
Remember the $100 laptop post/challenge we had on MAKE? We used an Apple eMate and hand crank (all less than $100) to see what was possible to put together with eBay, Freecycle and Craig's list. MAKE pal Mark Hoekstra of bicycle iPod charger fame picked up where we left off and built his own - here's how he did it - Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 22, 2006 07:46 PM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Make Challenge, Retro |
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Hack this CMOS tiny camera module and win...
Sparkfun electronics has a pretty good Maker-style challenge - "This is a 640x480 pixel resolution CMOS camera used in the Samsung E700 cellular phone. While 0.3 mega pixels may not sound like a lot, this module is one of the smallest, lowest cost CMOS imaging modules currently available to the embedded market...We would like to announce a $200 prize to the first user capable of capturing an image on the new CMOS digital camera. This 640x480 camera is extremely small, low cost ($19.95), and based on proven cellular technology. Unfortunately we don't have much technical info to go with it. Up for a challenge?" Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 22, 2006 03:40 AM
DIY Projects, Electronics, Imaging, Make Challenge |
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February 9, 2006
DC Power Station for a lot of Cell Phones?
SpiderWrench has a Maker challenge! "Ok, I really need help with this. I have several prototypes without power, (or rather, I have been forced to use an AC power strip with 30 individual, ugly chargers and a mess of wire everywhere) here is the situation: I need to be able to charge 30 new cell phones on a single power supply. Through some risky experimenting on my part, I have been able to charge 3 cell phones off of a single wall transformer, and I know I need more power to get 30 up and charging. I have thought of using a modified laptop/PC power supply, and I think it will work, but I do not want to risk blowing up 30+ $300 cell phones which are not mine to blow up." Post up ideas in the forum! Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 9, 2006 03:24 PM
Cellphones, DIY Projects, Make Challenge |
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Ideas for crazy messy wire-wrangling
Great discussion in the MAKE forums! Leenwebb writes - "Like many of us, my house is filled with wires. And until we get the Broadcast Energy Transmitter from the GI Joe movie working, I need the wires. But here's the thing: they're ugly. And, often, in the way. So I am putting a call out to all Makers: What do you use for wire-wrangling?..." Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Feb 9, 2006 04:24 AM
DIY Projects, Make Challenge |
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December 13, 2005
Incredibly tiny RC controller helicopters...
Scott writes "Alexander Van de Rostyne has been designing and fabricating ever-smaller micro-helicopters out of advanced materials, batteries and remote control systems for the last six years or so. The latest has 4 channel control and weighs in at 6.9 grams ( 1/4 ounce ) with battery." Link. The site has tons of photos, details on the miniaturization efforts and hamster comparisons.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Dec 13, 2005 08:50 AM
Make Challenge, Robotics, Wireless |
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December 6, 2005
Playing movies on a camera?
Emlodnaor writes "i have a toshiba pdr-m700, and was wondereing if it is posible to somehow convert movies into the same format as the camera uses, too see them on the camera.. i've tryed some, but can't seem to figure it out... any help would be nice." Have any suggestions? Post them up! I've tried this with a few cameras and usually they store another file that you can't replicate to play the movie you put on the camera. Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Dec 6, 2005 06:25 AM
Imaging, Make Challenge, Portable Audio and Video |
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November 28, 2005
IR control from USB?
Gene is looking for a scriptable USB-IR controller - "So far I have not been able to find such an animal. I bought the first generation of Robosapian. The robot from wowwe toys. It comes with a real crazy remote control. You have to press many keys in certain combinations to make the robot do anything. If I could program a dynamic IR device with the codes and then create scripts.. It would be possible for me to make my robot do all kinds of neat things. Also I am into doing time lapse videos. That is where you setup a camera and let it run for about an hour.. I throw the video into my computer and use the editing software to speed things up. That is fine.. But I have an Olympus 8mp digital SLR camera. It also has an IR control out. A programmable IR device as I described above would really help me out with my camera. I could setup a high resolution picture every 15 seconds using a laptop on location replacing the IR controller. This would produce a very high quality time lapse once I put it in my editing software." I think the USB-UIRT might be a good start, any other suggestions for Gene? Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 28, 2005 02:32 PM
Imaging, Make Challenge, Robotics |
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November 20, 2005
MAKE Challenge: Auto gain amplifier
Charles is looking for some help with a project, read the challenge and post up in the comments if you have ideas! "When you listen to music or speech in a noisy environment you have to constantly, continuously adjust the volume control: boost the gain when the sound level is low, reduce the gain when the level is high. For example trying to listen to a movie in an airplane, or to a program in a car. What's needed is a gadget that automatically changes the gain of the amplifier, as a function of the average sound level, to reduce the dynamic range of the sound source -- an audio compressor."
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 20, 2005 09:10 AM
Electronics, Make Challenge, Portable Audio and Video |
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November 18, 2005
MAKE Challenge: What to do with an old Tivo?
Daniel writes "I purchased a first generation Tivo unit a few years ago and used it in the "normal " way. But since then I have moved and I do not have a use for a landline. I am relutant to toss it because it is still good hardware. Which brings me to the question: What alternative use is there for a first generation Tivo unit?." Link to Tivo hacks...add your suggestions in the comments!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 18, 2005 04:34 PM
Make Challenge |
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November 3, 2005
Low cost wireless bridging?
Judah writes "We run free community events around the NY/NJ metro area, and have a great opportunity to have our events broadcast nationwide, via a cable modem to sattelite uplink. The challenge: some of these events take place in buildings with SLOW internet connections. After some research, I have found in every location a cable modem within about 1,000 feet (either in an office or someone's house) that we can use, but these cable connections can be across a busy street and/or a few buildings away. Attaching antenas to these buildings is not really an option. We need a free standing ethernet port (i.e. not a card in a computer - needs to be a port on a router, access point, etc.) to connect the polycom camera to so it can talk directly via IP to the sattelite uplink. My first guess was the Belkin pre-n routers, but it turns out you can NOT bridge them. Any ideas for a low budget solution?" Post up in the comments!
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 3, 2005 12:08 PM
Announcements, Make Challenge, Wireless |
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October 19, 2005
Maker Challenge: Prius - Music hack
Michael Tiemann here at OSCON has a challenge "Many car audio systems have a feature that increases the volume of the program to keep the signal level constant over the noise level. But with cars like the Prius, we can control the level of the noise based on the signal--a better approach. The first hack is to mod the Prius power management system so that in addition to battery level, acceleration, and speed, it takes GPS data into account..."Read full storyPosted by Phillip Torrone |
Oct 19, 2005 12:46 AM
Make Challenge |
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October 16, 2005
DIY Plasma pencil?
Janet sent this in and has issued a Maker challenge to build a "Plasma Pencil" - "The pencil generates a "cold plasma," which can be used to kill germs that contaminate surfaces, infect wounds and rot your teeth. In the future, it might be used to destroy tumors without damaging surrounding tissue. Laroussi, an associate professor at Old Dominion University, hopes the beam will soon find its way into doctors' and dentists' offices." Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Oct 16, 2005 12:25 AM
Make Challenge |
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October 13, 2005
MAKER CHALLENGE: DIY ventilators?
Stefan sent in this Maker challenge, seems like there's an opportunity to do something here..."in a dentist's office waiting room [reading in a] copy of TIME, that a full-blown Avian Flu pandemic would seriously stress the nation's supply of ventilators . . . those bellow-and-tube gadgets that keep your chest going up and down when you can't breath on your own. This suggests a topic for a MAKE Challenge: A DIY ventilator! Only for use in serious, horrible, unthinkable circumstances, but [stuff] happens and it would make for an interesting project. Extra credit if it runs off of a 12 V battery. (Or maybe not...a possible design I'm thinking of right now would use a windshield wiper motor set to intermittent).
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Oct 13, 2005 03:13 PM
Make Challenge |
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September 1, 2005
Show your benches!
MAKE Flickr pool member BenSinclair cleaned up his workshop area and has a challenge for all of us - show your work benches! My freshly cleaned work bench. Normally it looks like something exploded. Let's see some more benches from the MAKE group! Join in and post up! Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Sep 1, 2005 02:51 AM
Make Challenge |
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August 27, 2005
Maker challenge: Wiring a House
Here's a good tip from the comments on our Maker challenge: Wiring a House - I'm an architect, AND I recently renovated my own house from bare studs on up. I'm with the guy who said to run conduit. It's called ENT (Electrical Nonmetallic Tubing), some contractors call it Smurf Tube, cause it's usually blue. You run it from junction juntion box to box inside the walls and cover the standard boxes with a standard wall plate. You can then run any type of wire in them in the future and you can run the wire anywhere in the system by skipping from box to box. Even if you run structured cable, run it in smurf. Link.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Aug 27, 2005 03:20 AM
Make Challenge |
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