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Our friends over at Gadget Gangster have released a funny prank that would make a perfect April fools joke. The Trickster Computer Mouse Prank circuit plugs into the victims computer and moves the mouse violently ever now and then. “1 – Compatible with all operating systems |
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Have a look at Penguin’s Lab for a great way to capture an event when you are not present. In this case the event they are trying to capture pictures of a cave flood with a Flood Triggered Automated Camera System. The system consists of a camera that is connected to a moisture sensor so that the a camera can start taking pictures when the sensor gets wet. Pictures will continue to be taken every 15 minutes until the moisture levels go back to normal. Since it is being installed in a remote location it needed to be self sustaining. The water sensor is an interesting design since it has the ability of killing the power to the entire system when the conditions are dry. This is done by using a Darlington transistor feeding a relay. |
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Next time you are going to be leaving your house unattended for a long duration why not allow your house to send you a text message if there’s an intruder? That is exactly what Noel Portugal did with an ioBridge module and a few motion sensors. If that wasn’t enough the ioBridge has been programmed to pan the camera in the direction of the motion. If you want an ioBridge for yourself have a look at the current contest where the prize is an ioBridge IO-204 controller. “I created 2 ioBridge messaging actions to send me a TXT message if any of the PIR sensor went to the ON position (note that I only activated this action while away to avoid receiving a huge amount of TXTs) and also a Digital input to servo position action to move the camera to the direction of movement.” |
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The guys at Openschemes got their hands on a Zero Plus Logic Analyzer, they purchased the cheap 16 channel version and soon learned that with about $5.00 in parts they could convert it into the same hardware as the more expensive 32 channel version. There are some very fine pitch parts to solder so this mod isn’t for the beginner solderer. There is also a final step of making the onboard firmware recognize the additional hardware inputs, Openschemes doesn’t get into that but I think this software is what you need. “The total cost is less than $5 in parts. We bought everything but the 74LVT16245 from HSC, so the prices listed are what we paid. We bought the 74LVT16245’s from Mouser because they don’t gouge like Digi-Key or Arrow. Here’s what you will need:
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What to do with a nice camera that is damaged beyond repair? The obvious answer is take it apart to see what makes it tick. This Sony Alpha A200 was completely non-repairable but the pictures of its dissection are absolutely wonderful. Via: English Russia 
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A Turing Machine is something that you just think about, it isn’t a physical machine. Well now it is! Mike Davey has spent some time to create one. Mike built his Turing Machine to look the part however inside you will fine a Parallax microcontroller as the heart. “A Turing machine is a theoretical device that manipulates symbols contained on a strip of tape. Despite its simplicity, a Turing machine can be adapted to simulate the logic of any computer algorithm, and is particularly useful in explaining the functions of a CPU inside of a computer.”
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Thanks to ioBridge for sponsoring another one of our contests, the last one they sponsored was lots of fun. This time they will be providing an IO-204 Monitor and Control Module to the contest winner, this product can be found on their online store. We have featured a ton of project on Hacked Gadgets that were based on the IO-204, remember the Chicken Coop Door Automation and Monitoring, Monitor Household AC Power usage using Clamp Meters and the Web Monitoring of Water Usage? “The IO-204 Monitor & Control Module helps bridge the gap between the physical world and the World Wide Web. The IO-204 module and online tools at www.ioBridge.com allow you to easily get your projects on the web. There is no need to run a home web server or track ever changing dynamic IP addresses. The IO-204 module takes care of the internet connectivity and the user customizable widgets on the ioBridge website remove the need for complex programming. Just plug in your IO-204 module, register on the ioBridge website and within minutes, you’ll be interacting with lights, switches, servos and sensors. A few features include
This week we are doing another fun guess what this isn’t contest. Simply reply in the comments what the device pictured above isn’t. Come up with something that is remotely plausible but not what it really is and sell us on it. Make your entry funny, crazy, weird… Just use your imagination. You can enter more than once if you come up with more than one thought. With a short vote the best comment will win the prize. Have a look at my first comment for an example entry. This contest will run for one week (March 27, 2010 – April 2, 2010) . Ending time is based on central standard time.
———————————–———- Added Apr 28, 2010 Lots of cool entries! The winner is Alex (#21) “Oh, c’mon, don’t you all se it’s a brand new, unused,Nuclear Isotope Radioactive Washingmachine. ————————————–———-
Below is a pictures of the prize.
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They offer kits for sale but have also released the code so you can burn your own chip and make your own.
