Wireless headphones can be a wonderful way to help clear up the clutter inherent in most desktop PC systems. However, after plugging a wall wart in, and the headphone jack into the computer, the number of wires used has actually doubled. After [Parker] found an old set of JVC 900 Mhz wireless headphones (and a generic 900MHz transmitter), he ed open the case to see what he could do with them. Realizing that the transmitter used a 12V DC source, he powered it with an unused floppy connector (which provides +12V, +5V, and two ground lines). He also wired…
Capacitive buttons control all life
Projects involving Conway’s Game of Life and utilizing a Nokia 3310 screen are quite popular with electronics hobbyists. [Droky] put these two together and went one step further by adding capacitive sensors to control the Game of Life. His work is a great example of how to use the Atmel QTouch capacitive sensor (QT100a datasheet). This chip does the heavy lifting that we’ve seen in other touch sensitive solutions. It operates from 2V-5.5V, requires only three capacitors and a resistor, has a one pin active high output, and sells for around $1 in low quantities. One thing [Droky] overlooked…
Homemade UAV
[Terence Bordelon] sent in his impressive UAV (Unmanned Arial Vehicle). The hack is a culmination of his other projects. It can be turned to y automatic at the flip of a switch. It will fly itself to gps way points, land, and take off. The UAV has a range of 100km thanks to his home built RF Unit which runs on ham bands. The brains of the setup is his custom IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit). The unit is controlled by his ground station which either allows him to fly it normally or toggle through the various modes. [Terrence] is…
Is Facebook Taking Over Southeast Asia? No Wonder Friendster Is Trying To Sell
Friendster has been slowly losing grip of their social network dominance to Facebook who, like a game of risk, has been steadily increasing its reach in countries around the globe. Bernard Leong recently posted about the growth of Facebook in Southeast Asia and while the most recent world map of social networks shows Facebook running into some trouble in Asia, some numbers are beginning to suggest that they are at least gaining some ground.
So what numbers are these based on? The latest numbers, as presented by Bernard Leong, are based on Alexa ratings which appear to be somewhat wrong…
Tech leaders enlisted to help the newspaper industry
It is pretty obvious to everyone that the newspaper industry is in a tiny bit of trouble. They have thus far failed to reach the rapidly changing landscape of news, online news at that. They must do something to keep our interests up, or end up flailing on the ground. Microsoft and Google among others have recently entered the picture with solutions to the problem and some fresh eyes from a digital perspective.
Leading edge tech companies enterend the picture with a plea from the Newspaper Association of America on how they can monetize content online through transactions or…
USB Isolation
[Oleg] over at Circuits@Home has made a USB isolator for his hacking needs. This isolator separates the signal, ground, and power lines of a USB host device, such as a PC, from a USB device like a USB oscilloscope or logic analyzer. This might be useful for board sniffing, ECG, EEG or diagnosing the control system on the positive ground of your autonomous Ford 8N. What other applications can you come up with for this tool?
Is The Amazon Kindle Ready to Battle the Sony PRS-600?
Many people acknowledge the amazon Kindle as the king of e-readers. However, as the Sony PRS-600 and 300 are about to be released, the challenge has began. Although the details are not that elaborate yet, there are things that have already been confirmed. First, the existence of the devices has been established by Sony. Then some details about what they offer were also given. This is what should make Amazon a little bit concerned about the situation.
As a consumer, the price would be your utmost concern. Kindle 2, which is known for being an older model ever since Kindle…
The Blind Juggler
The Blind Juggler is a robot that juggles or bounces balls in a controlled manner without any sensory input. It is basically just a linear actuator with a paddle on the end to smack the ball back into the air as it returns to the ground. The crazy thing is, it is doing this based purely on pre programmed math. There are no sensors telling it to make any adjustments. While we could envision this functioning, we would never have expected it to be as stable as it is. You can see in the video above that they can…
The Right Blog Software Can Make A Blog Stand Out from the Crowd
Blogs are an easy way to get your voice out onto the Net. Forthe Web-It-Yourselfer, custom blogs are a great way to learnabout web technologies and create something from the ground up. With a little bit of tech savvy anyone can create their owncustom blog. When choosing blog software or a blog serviceconsider the following: Support -Implementing new software will create a lot of questions. Doesthe software have a support siteforum? How large is the usercommunity? Is the user community helpful? Is it Free? – Therereally is no need to pay a lot of money for either the softwareor a…
Modified RX7 dimmer control
We were a little surprised when we learned the Mazda RX7’s high beams were controlled by ECU, compared to typical cars using just a toggle switch. Ubermodder [Trent Bruce] realized how much of a pain in the rear end this can be if the ECU ever burns out, meaning no brights. By using a D-Flip Flop setup in a toggle configuration, he is able to control his once lost high beams. He also points out that if you plan to do any other electronic modifications to the RX7, you should be sure to pay attention to the unusual ground…
Hitch Source LLC Announces a New Line of Softride Bike Racks
Hitch Source LLC announced today that they have released a newline of <a hrefhttp:www.hitchsource.comsoftride.php>Softridebike racks<a>. The bike racks are trailer hitch mounted andcarry up to four bikes. The Softride bike racks incorporate apatented, parallelogram folding mechanism that keeps the bikesperpendicular to the ground throughout the entire range ofmotion. The <a hrefhttp:www.hitchsource.comsoftride.php>Softridebike rack<a> line offers a wide range of improvements overtheir predecessors. First, the bike rack arms have beencompletely redesigned to incorporate a one piece bike cradle.This improves the durability and lifetime of the bike rack.Second, newly designed rubber straps offer enhanced life andstretch. Third, the entire line of <ahrefhttp:www.hitchsource.comsoftride.php>Softride bikeracks<a>…
Go Kart Frames – Choosing the Right One for You
Karting enthusiasts emblazon the image of the perfect chassis intheir minds: lightweight, yet powery durable materialcapable of launching a kart forward without the slightest wearor tear. Rare material that comes with the likes ofprofessionally built popular race-cars like the illustriousMcLaren. What about karts that could rip through side turns atspeeding bullet speeds without raising a wheel a centimeterabove the ground, gliding swiftly like a falco such as thefuturistic cars in I, Robot? And along with perfect frames comesperfect tires, tires ‘grooven’ to perfection providing thefinest traction and downright freakish controls when running thecurve.Let’s discuss the intricacies and place a perspective…