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I have used some X10 modules in the past and they work like magic, just plug in the module and you have instant remote control of lighting and appliances. In my case I was controlling the boiler of a 30 suite apartment block and it worked great. “The ActiveHome Professional SDK provides you with OCX server DLLs that run on Microsoft Windows PCs. This allows you to script or program the CM15A transceiver from any scripting or programming language that can interface with ActiveX controls. I used Borland Delphi Professional 6 for the utility I created for this article. X10 commands are simple English text strings that begin with a command type, followed by a module ID, and then by a command verb—although sometimes there may be a few other parameters after that. For example: sendplc A1 on The command type here for the first two commands is “sendplc” which is used when you want to send a power line command. For the third command it is “sendrf” since the X10 camera turrets respond to RF for movement control. This script would be handy for turning on the lights and the camera and then centering the camera in one fell swoop, possibly for remote viewing at night.” |
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Martin sent in a video of his Hard Drive LED Clock which is based on the original Hard Drive Clock that I built quite a few years ago. Martin is going to change the color of the LEDs and mount all the electronics into the hard drive. |
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Thanks to X-mi for sponsoring the contest this week. They will be providing a X-mini MAX II Capsule Speaker (PDF) to the winner. Have a closer look at the speaker by going here and clicking on the X-mini MAX II at the top. If you are looking for music on the go these should work just great for you. “Technical Specifications This contest will run for one week (January 23, 2010 - January 29, 2010) . Ending time is based on central standard time. To enter, identify the item pictured above and give an example of what can be done with it. Please do not give the answer in the comments. Send an email to contest @ hackedgadgets.com with “Name the Thing Contest” as the subject, and the message body consisting of:
The winner will be chosen at random from all of the correct entries. ———————————–———- Added Feb 6, 2009 The item to guess was a Brushless Electric Motor The winner is Matt C. ————————————–———- Below are some pictures of the prize.
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This robotic platform can be drive from the web. It uses an ioBridge IO-204 to link things together. “The robot uses a pair of serial bluetooth adapters to form a wireless link with the ioBridge IO-204. The serial levels of the IO-204 are TTL and a circuit using the MAX-232 was required to allow the serial interface work properly. On the robot is a set of serial servo drivers that control the steering and speed.”
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Bradley Rigdon who owns Print To 3D shows us how he can print a cool bearing with his 3D printer. This printer is a bit different than the Makerbot that we have featured here before. His Dimension 3D printer uses uses 2 types of material, one that makes the structure of the item and a second material that can be dissolved after the model has been printed. See the videos below for an inside view of the system. The last video illustrates the power of having a dissolvable second plastic material, a functional Rubik’s Cube like game is printed with no assembly needed! Bradley is an avid RC hobbyist, he shares some video of his collection here and here.
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I have seen some other face tattoos before, some simple and others were quite elaborate. But this one is quite funny since this Permanent Eyeglasses Tattoo doesn’t look like a tattoo. Via: SandU |
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How luck are you if you can find a CNC machine like this one for a few hundred dollars! That is exactly what happened to Dave Kush of BuildYourIdea.com. It wasn’t a fully functional machine so like any huge machine like this that’s sold as is who knows if it will take $10 or $10,000 to get it up and running again. Well thankfully Dave designs stepper drivers so he has more than a step in the right direction in resurrecting this beast. You can read all about the Shizuoka ST-N 3 Axis CNC Machine Rebuild here. After looking at what this beast can do I am glad that I started with my Fireball V90, but look forward to move into something bigger in the coming years! “Well, I finally found a good deal on a piece of vintage Japanese iron: the Shizuoka ST-N 3 Axis CNC milling machine w/ Bandit control circa 1970’s. The machine itself looks like it hasn’t been used all that much and has been sitting idle for the last 10 years or so in a machine shop up in the California foothills. Apparently the machine was parked due to a bad axis and was given to the machinist to store in his shop. Time passed and the original owner never returned to claim his iron. Now, the machine shop is struggling so the owner is selling off some of the equipment. I found his ad on Craigslist for two machines and decided to drive up for a look. The AN-S model, which is in nearly showroom condition is much too big for my use and weighs in at 4500 lbs. But the ST-N model is 3000 lbs and is easier to move around with a small forklift. I made the owner a ridiculous offer hoping that he would laugh or just not respond. Time passed and he accepted my ridiculous offer. Now I’m on the hook to get this beast out of his shop and down into my garage.” |
