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Hot Hacks, Mods & Circuitry How-Tos

iOS 18 Tips, Tricks, How-Tos, News

How To: Make a 200mw burning laser

Don't use a perfectly good DVD burner to get your laser that will pop balloons, light matches, and burn stuff. Just buy a laser diode at mfgcn.com and also a laser housing, and you won't be tearing a computer DVD player apart. This is the easy way to make a 200mW burning DVD laser. Use a Mini Maglite and some rechargeable batteries so you don't burn out the laser.

How To: Make Arduino circuit boards for robotics

This week on Make Magazine is a project with parts from the Arduino Starter Kit. Skip over building the Proto Shield. Otherwise, it's a simple build that doesn't require any soldering. Arduino is a speaking control for robotics. It can be used in other Make kits or robotic projects. This is a circuit bending and circuit board project that involves basic circuitry and wiring.

How To: Solder wires like a professional

This is an instructional video featuring Doug Prime, founder of the Future Engineers Center at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Melt the solder to connect wires for switches and permanent circuits. Heat the surface before you put the solder on it. Don't drip the solder for it is too much and not necessary. Make sure you wash hands and have a ventilated room because solder sometimes has lead in it.

How To: Cut and strip wires safely

This is an instructional video featuring Doug Prime, founder of the Future Engineers Center at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Use wire strippers where they are like scissors. To cut off the wire's insulation and strip it you need to know the wire's gauge. Check the gauge on both the wire and the stripper.

How To: Solder to a metal strap

This is an instructional video featuring Doug Prime, founder of the Future Engineers Center at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. If you want to make a homemade switch watch this video on using solder to tie the wire. Use sandpaper to clean where you will solder.

How To: Make a laundry detergent lamp

A nifty step-by-step guide to making your very own laundry detergent lamp. Upcycle that recyclable detergent bottle and gain a swell lighting fixture for your home! This involves some basic circuitry and wiring of a cheap lamp fixture. You use the laundry detergent bottle as the base of the lamp. It's a bit arts & crafts project and a bit conservation! Help our mother nature with this nifty at-home craft decoration project!

How To: Build a Mini Hovercraft

Create a miniature hover craft from the fan, polystrene or Styrofoam plate, batteries and double-sided scotch tape. It really works. Powered by two 9 volt batteries you can use paper plates for the body of the hovercraft if need be. This is a cool cat toy or just a household hack.

How To: Make a cheap lucid dream mask

Did you know you can stimulate yourself to have a lucid dream? Well, it may take a little bit of practice first, but this sleep mask can certainly help you have the most interesting and realistic dreams of your life (yes, kinda like "Inception.") Just check out this video to learn how to make a super cheap lucid dream mask out of two LED lights and a pair of goggles.

How To: Solder electroluminescent EL wire

Looking to find out how to solder EL or electro luminescent wire? This is a great tutorial on cutting the jacket and soldering the 40 gauge corona wires. They're very fine wires and you don't want to nick them while stripping them. You also need copper tape to help join the wires.

How To: Make noise canceling headphones and an LED light

Let Forbes help you make a few do-it-yourself projects in record breaking time. This video tutorial contains information on how to make three various projects. Learn how to make your very own noise canceling earphones out of junk old headphones, make an LED light, and make a simple marshmallow shooter. This projects are not only easy and quick to make, but fun. Make noise canceling headphones and an LED light.

How To: Do some basic soldering for electronic equipment

Need a little help soldering? If you can't quite figure out how to solder for your electronics and wires, maybe it's time you took a soldering 101 class. Well, no need to pay any expensive tuition, just watch this video tutorial to see how to do some basic soldering for electronic equipment or whatever you need it for. It's as simple as getting some solder and a soldering gun. The rest comes naturally, believe me. This explanation is more that enough to get your started in the world of solder.

How To: Illuminate a regular computer keyboard

Light up your keyboard with this illuminating tutorial from Make Magazine's Kipkay. To get started on this hack, which should take roughly a half an hour and cost no more than $5, you'll need the following: (1) a regular computer keyboard (most any model will do), (2) a screwdriver, (3) a drill, (4) telephone wire, (5) heat shrink tubing, and (6) two 5 mm high-brightness, white LEDs. For comprehensive, step-by-step instructions on building your own light-up keyboard, simply watch this hacker'...

How To: Strip insulated copper wire for electronics

This video tutorial explains how to strip insulated wire the right way. You'll learn how to adjust your wire strippers to make the process easier. Some people don't even use wire strippers, they use a knife or maybe even their teeth, but this causes nicks in the copper. To get the insulation off with ease and without gouges in the copper wire, use the proper sized wire strippers and adjust them right to fit the gauge of your wire. It's as simple as that. You don't need to go to vocational sch...

How To: Make LED and basic sink tube lightsabers

Have you become a Jedi in your Star Wars delusional mind? If so, break out of the the asylum with a Jedi lightsaber. Oh, but you don't have a lightsaber yet, okay. Well, this video tutorial will show you how to make a very inexpensive LED light saber with the most basic parts you could find. Novastar will shares his Jedi wisdom on LED light sabers, so pay attention, or you could never get out of that loony bin.

How To: Solder a pair of headphones

Find yourself faced with a dead channel on your headphones? Before them out, you might take the opportunity to see what you can learn from trying to fix them yourself with a soldering iron. The repair can often be straightforward. For detailed step-by-step instructions on resoldering a broken connection on your own cans, watch this headphone repair tutorial. Take a look.

How To: Build a simple MIDI controller

Do you need just a few more controls? Perhaps your wondering how hard it is to make your own controller? Then follow the steps in this 2 part series and build your first MIDI controller in about an hour for very little cash. Using only 8 electronics parts, a pre-made case and a DIY midi interface that is USB powered- you can build a controller and it wont require a degree in electrical engineering. For detailed, step-by-step instructions, on building your own DIY MIDI controller watch this vi...

How To: Hack a 9-volt battery

Want AAA batteries for cheap? Learn how to hack a 9-volt battery with this money-saving video tutorial from Make Magazine's Kip Kay. All you'll need to replicate this hack at home is a pair of needle-nosed pliers and one or more Energizer 9-volt batteries. For instructions on how to extract quadruple A batteries from an Energizer 9-volt, watch this how-to video.

How To: Make a hard drive speaker system

Looking to make use—if not necessarily good use—of your old hard drives? This how-to presents instructions for creating a hard drive speaker system to use in conjunction with an MP3 player. To follow along, you'll need an MP3 player (e.g., the Samsung YP-S3), at least one spare hard disk, wire, a soldering iron, and a screwdriver. For step-by-step instructions on hacking together your own hard drive sound system, take a look.

How To: Build a simple Van de Graaff generator

Want to build a Van de Graaf electrostatic generator? Who doesn't! This video tutorial will show you how. To follow along at home, you'll need the following items: a rubber band–the longer the better–, a small motor, a small glass object like a Christmas tree light, and some type of plastic roller. For simple, step-by-step instructions, watch this Van de Graaf-buildin' how-to.

How To: Solder the basics

Soldering isn't hard as you might think. This video will cover the basic soldering techniques for electronics and electrical wiring. It presents a comprehensive look at the soldering process, covering everything from choosing a soldering iron and solder to proper soldering technique. Get started soldering with this electronics how-to.

How To: Solder electronics the right way

New to soldering? This how-to video answers the questions for these common beginner soldering questions: what is flux? what tip should be used? do solder fumes contain dangerous amounts of lead? why regularly clean and tin the iron tip? Watch this video computer-circuitry tutorial and learn how to solder correctly.

How To: Solder Deans connectors

If you're a hardcore RC hobbyist, odds are you may have occasion to solder a Deans connector from time to time. This two-part video tutorial will show you how. In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to build an adapter to fit two batteries into a single female output using deans connectors. For more information, take a look.

How To: Circuit bend a battery-powered toy

Take your old electronics and make them scream with glitchy goodness. This an extremely easy project and makes a great project for first-time solderers. Circuit bending involves taking electronic devices that make multiple sounds and wiring in switches to set off glitches or loops. Using an out-of-tune toy, the first part of this video series demonstrates how to apply a basic pitch bend using a potentiometer. In the second part, you'll learn how to bend the same toy by applying body contact. ...