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Archives: November 2007

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November 30, 2007

Aleutia E1: 8-watt Linux box

After so many years of successively bigger, faster, hotter, less reliable, power hungry computer hardware, I'm really tickled to see that a lot of manufacturers are testing the waters with something altogether different. There's the OLPC, the Asus EeePC, and now the Aleutia E1, a little mini desktop that sips 8 watts and is packaged with a flexible solar panel.

200Mhz might hurt a bit for crunching a kernel, but with a lightweight linux distro and window manager, you can still have a really responsive interface for general PC use. The big deal is that it has no moving parts, including a CF card for a hard drive and zero fans due to its low power consumption.

It might be a fun exercise to use these recent devices as a reference model and attempt to source the cheapest configuration for a DIY low-power, small footprint, zero noise, solid storage system. If you add a mirrored raid configuration, you'd have the ideal desktop system for the majority of PC users.

Tiny Linux PC uses just 8 watts of power, can be solar powered - Link

Blip Festival 2007 - schedule for tonight!

Make Pt0113
Here's the schedule for tonight @ the Blip Festival 2007, I'm a fan of Loud Objects, see you there! ... - Link.

Make a Repstrap (Part 2) - Weekend Projects Podcast

In this Weekend Projects podcast I'll walk you through the different parts of the hardware on the reprap. You'll want to take a look at the pdf for parts lists and more detailed info to get started on the hardware for this project. The software is still in development and until then you should be able to get your reprap working as a McWire Mill until the code gets done. Remember this is an experimental research community project! I really like this design. It's solid, easy to take apart and put together. It's also relatively transportable.

Sponsored by Ponoko: Ponoko is a new concept that's perfect for Makeziners. Use it to make and promote your product ideas. Ponoko supplies the digital manufacturing technology and the materials, you supply the creativity. Plus you can sell your product ideas in their showroom. Ponoko is this week's sponsor of our weekend video podcast.
Make a design, upload it - have it cut on laser cutter and delivered to you.

If you're one of the first 10 Makeziners to make a product using Ponoko you'll get shipping for free.

Now *before* you grab up all the free shipping requests please please upload your designs and consider *making a product* a lot of folks out there uploaded designs but didn't get a product made (yet) that's ok - but ideally Ponoko would like to see more folks getting something made to take advantage of the free shipping, thanks.

Ok, click here to get going!

Bicycles that carry powerful beats

Bikes600
Great NY Times article about bike stereos, photo Tyler Hicks/The New York Times -

A new biker gang is roaming the streets of Richmond Hill, Queens. This crew of mostly teenagers can be seen riding along 103rd Avenue just west of the Van Wyck Expressway. The bikes roar, but the booming sound has nothing to do with engines — because there are no engines. They are ordinary bicycles, not motorcycles, although these contraptions look and sound more like rolling D.J. booths. They are outfitted with elaborate stereo systems installed by the youths.

Bicycles That Carry Powerful Beats, and Even a Rider or Two - New York Times - [via] Link.

Thump:
Fv5Bg221Knep280Gyz.Medium
DIY Bike stereo - Link.

218024516 62B510D6D0
Ultra-light/ultra-efficient pimped-out bike stereo system - Link.

Make a Repstrap (Part 2) - Weekend Projects PDFcast

Here's what the underside of the bot looks like. You can see the iron pipes that work as a base, the lasercut platforms, and the skate bearings that make it move silky smooth.

Zach of the Reprap foundation has done a lot of work to get ordering the Repstrap's parts organized. He's put together a really easy way to order the stuff from McMaster Carr. I chose regular shipping and it arrived the next day in NYC and then I brought everything to Europe to work on in a Pelican case. - Link

Photo Credit: Jay

In the PDF you can read about some of the obstacles overcome in making this bot, but those aside, the best part of this project was the awesome team that pulled together to work on it. The folks at Metalab, GRL Vienna, and Monochrom came together to make this project happen. At one time there were about 12 people all working on the project at 3 in the morning and the focus and excitement in the air was tangible. This project is on the same level as the drawbot and the near-space balloon. In all three of these projects, I've made great new friends out of sheer necessary and desperate collaboration. It's been super fun! I recommend doing ambitious projects as a team!

I got my steppers donated to me from Marius at the metalab. They were sourced from 2 broken printers and a scanner. The important thing when you are looking for bipolar steppers is that they have 4 wires coming out of them. This indicates that they are bipolar steppers.

There is more information about steppers for you to check out here. - Link

Dowload the PDF and start ordering up your parts to get your Repstrap robot hardware going! - PDF Link

LED Christmas Lights and how to fix them

Ledbulbs
David writes in -

Here's page & description of how LED Christmas lights work. I found this site while searching for a way to repair a string of LED lights. This answered a lot of questions I had, like why the LED lights flicker, and why there is no obvious transformer or voltage converter in the string.
They also have a page on incandescent Christmas lights and how to troubleshoot/repair them.

LED Christmas Lights and how to fix them - Link.

Paper craft space vehicles

Make Pt0108
Here's a page of ultra-detailed (free) and accurate card models of various space vehicles, including the Shuttle and ISS! Thanks Willem - Link.

DIY Meter information station

Sdsc01094-Full
Sdsc01125-Full
This is an implementation and expansion of the 'Net Meter Data' project from Tom Igoe. The original project can be found in 'Making Things Talk' and MAKE 11, nice work LeLand! - Link.

Oscilloscope clock

Jon sent in this nice oscilloscope clock that uses a four-tube oscilloscope with PIC and DAC for clock vectors - Link.

Related:

Scope-500
Oscilloscope clock - Link.

140646127 97Df0092Eb B
Oscilloscope alarm clock project... - Link.

Oclock-04-20-07-1
$35 AVR Oscilloscope clock kit - Link.

Img 1600-1
Img 1603-1
AVR Oscilloscope clock - Link.

DIY "Dirt-E" bike conversion

Rolling Chassis
Bike Assembled
Play In Snow
FrankG the prolific e-modder writes in -

This page details the initial mods and configuration of a low power Dirt-E Bike (electric powered). The central idea was to resurrect a trashed Kawasaki KE-175 that I salvaged from a scrap yard into a more modern ride.

DIY "Dirt-E" bike conversion - Link.

OK Go LED jackets

Portfolio - 126
Portfolio - 127
Portfolio - 128
Portfolio - 129
Portfolio - 130
Portfolio - 131
Make Pt0107
One of my favorite makers, Waldemeyer, made an AMAZING set of LED jackets for the band OK Go - Link & gallery to more of his stuff.

Photos and more from BLIP 2007

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2074575699 F147F361Ed
2075475746 7Fcf57058B

Day 1 of BLIP over - Here are some photos and couple videos to give you an idea of the electronic mayhem attacking my eyes and ears here - Link (photos tagged with blipfestival2007 in my photoset).

The stunning temples secretly carved out below ground by 'paranormal' eccentric

Hallmirrorsdm2111 468X340
Hallmirrorsdm2111 468X397
Amazing underground art, made by an insurance salesman! -

Nestling in the foothills of the Alps in northern Italy, 30 miles from the ancient city of Turin, lies the valley of Valchiusella. Peppered with medieval villages, the hillside scenery is certainly picturesque.

But it is deep underground, buried into the ancient rock, that the region's greatest wonders are concealed.

Few have been granted permission to see these marvels.

Indeed, the Italian government was not even aware of their existence until a few years ago.

But the 'Temples of Damanhur' are not the great legacy of some long-lost civilisation, they are the work of a 57-year-old former insurance broker from northern Italy who, inspired by a childhood vision, began digging into the rock.

The stunning temples secretly carved out below ground by 'paranormal' eccentric, thanks Stephen and Shawn! - Link.

DIY Can cooler mod

376612001 9574E314Cd
376612008 078E018564
Here's a mod for a can cooler using a rapid prototyping machine (a Genisys xs 3D printer) and a foam can cozy, thanks Ken! - Link.

Hacking the Tassimo single-serve coffee machine

Tassimo Pods2
Tassimo Placing Crema Barcode Small
Tdisc Brew Measurements Small
Chris writes in -

I've been working on reverse-engineering the Braun Tassimo T1200/T1400 hot beverage system from its barcoded T-DISC brewing pods. The barcodes are used to "program" the machine to make a particular beverage using a specific amount of water at a particular temperature and for a certain duration of time. My efforts have been directed at discovering a "map" between the barcodes and how the machine controls its brewing processes. I haven't been entirely successful yet - I've managed to decode the barcodes, and have run some experiments to try and surface some patterns - no dice! Nonetheless, I'd like to put the idea out to Makers to get their feedback and ideas.

Hacking the Tassimo single-serve coffee machine - Link.

Make 453
DIY Coffee collects five hot MAKE magazine projects to supercharge your java:

Home-Build Coffee Roaster
Bottomless Espresso Portafilter
Toaster Tea Popper
Perfect Espresso Temperature Hack
Web-Fired Coffee with X10 Automation

Got a jones for caffeine and technology? Mod your espresso machine to dial in the perfect shot, with precise temperature control and a filter hack that kicks out maximum tasty crema. Roast your own with a hand-built custom coffee roaster. Hack a toaster timer to perfect-brew your tea every time. And fire up your coffee pot from the internet using X10 automation. Using home-grown techniques and off-the-shelf parts, caffeine junkies will find everything they need to overclock the fix from their favorite shade-grown beverage - Link.

November 29, 2007

Hacking the Tassimo single-serve coffee machine

If you like coffee and a little cryptanalysis in the morning, here's a really interesting hack-in-progress: figuring out the coding used to program beverages in the Tassimo coffee machine.

Chris R. Chapman writes:

I've been working on reverse-engineering the Braun Tassimo T1200/T1400 hot beverage system from its barcoded T-DISC brewing pods.
The barcodes are used to "program" the machine to make a particular beverage using a specific amount of water at a particular temperature and for a certain duration of time. My efforts have been directed at discovering a "map" between the barcodes and how the machine controls its brewing processes.

I haven't been entirely successful yet - I've managed to decode the barcodes, and have run some experiments to try and surface some patterns - no dice!

Chris receives bonus points for using the infamous :CueCat to read in the barcodes placed on the top of each brewing pod. While he hasn't yet been able to determine exactly what the program controls, it does look like each program is composed of a 6 digit decimal number.

What does it mean? The future of DIY programmable coffee pods needs your help.

Hacking the Tassimo single-serve coffee machine - [via] Link

Blip Festival 2007 schedule

Blip Logo Header 02
The Blip festival schedule is now up! - Link.

Maker store shipping - get your gifts before Xmas!

Make Pt0106
Last year, we experienced a lot of packages which were shipped through US mail that were either lost or delayed around Christmas-time, which is why we will be suspending all USPS shipping methods, except Priority Mail in the month of December, and shipping mainly with FedEx. We will be able to supply every customer with a tracking number for their order and ship with guaranteed delivery times with FedEx, ensuring you will get your packages by Christmas. We will resume our regular postal service after the new year. Please note that FedEx does not ship to PO Boxes. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Christmas Delivery Recommendations- (US Delivery):
Order by Dec 18th for FedEx shipping.(Tracking available)
Order by Dec 14th for USPS Priority Mail (Not guaranteed, no tracking).

We have a ton of new stuff at the Maker store be sure to check it out and order soon to save on shipping! - Link.

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MAKE table @ BLIP!

Here's our home for the next few days at BLIP @ Eyebeam!

November 2007 Home | Next >

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