Everything Else — Page 3 of 26 « Hacks, Mods & Circuitry

How To: Make a DTV antenna & a steadicam

Learn how to make a DTV antenna & a steadicam. Digital converter box? Check! Great reception? Not so much. John Park shows how to take a fistful of wire coat hangers and make a TV antenna that gives great digital reception. While he’s at it, he also makes a video camera stabilizer using metal piping and counterbalance weight; great for at-home moviemaking.

How To: Solder a wire onto a switch when building circuits

This is an instructional video featuring Doug Prime, founder of the Future Engineers Center at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Strip the wire and make sure the wire is tied on tightly before soldering. Don't drip balls of solder. Make sure the tip is clean. Then hold it on the joint to be soldered for 4 seconds. Then poke the solder on the surface and it will melt with the heat.

How To: Hack Smart Cards for satellite TVs

Notorious hacker Chris Tarnovsky opens his underground laboratory to WIRED, providing a peek into the world of satellite television smart-card hacking. This complicated process involves nail polish, a pin head and various acids -- so don't try this at home (unless you're Chris Tarnovsky)! Chances are you won't even know what's going on here, but that's not going to stop you from watching this video tutorial on how to reverse-engineer a satellite TV smart card, is it?

How To: Build an eco-friendly directional WiFi antenna

Learn how to build an environmentally friendly directional WiFi antenna with this simple video guide. To follow along at home, you'll need the following things: a copper wedge, an N-type connector, some screws, a clamp-on N plug, a pigtail, and a wireless card. You'll also need a drill, screwdriver, and soldering iron. For comprehensive, step-by-step instructions on hacking your own directional WiFi antenna from a tin can, watch this video tutorial.

How To: Hack a satellite dish into a WiFi signal booster

There are many ways to recycle a satellite dish and this is one of them. In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to hack an old satellite dish into a biquad WiFi antenna. For detailed, step-by-step instructions on building your own audio signal booster, take a look!

How To: Understand the basics of electronics with a 28-280 kit

In this five-part video tutorial series, you'll learn the fundamentals of working with electronics. To follow along, you'll need a 28-280 Electronics kit from RadioShack.

How To: Hack a dead laptop battery

Is your laptop not holding a charge anymore? Don't buy a new one, hack the old one! Laptop batteries can cost upwards of a hundred dollars, but with new lithium batteries and some soldering tools, the new one works just as well. Watch this video computer circuitry tutorial and learn how to hack a dead laptop battery.

How To: Make a Toilet Paper Launcher

Shoot streams of toilet paper in midair with this ultimate TP machine, the Streamerator. Take a look at this instructional video and learn how to make a toilet paper launcher with a generic, electric yard blower. This gadget is extremely easy to make. First, you need a steel rod about the same length as the blower, the rod has to be bent at 90 degrees. Two ground clamps are used to mount the steel rod which will serve as a roll holder. A flat punched piece of metal is measured and screwed int...

How To: Hack a transistor radio to hear Air Traffic Control

Normally, when standing outside your local regional airport, you'd need a special radio or scanner to pick up the transmissions coming from that Air Traffic Control tower. Well, not anymore.

How To: Hack a WiFi USB Adapter for Better Reception

This video tutorial demonstrates a simple hack for improving the WiFi reception of a USB adapter. To replicate this hack yourself, you'll need the following materials: (1) a WiFi USB adapter, (2) a USB extension cable, (3) a metal strainer, and (4) a pair of scissors. For detailed, step-by-step instructions on improving your WiFi adapter's signal levels, watch this how-to video.

How To: Make a floppy disk USB flash drive

Here is a video tutorial on how to make a USB Drive from a Floppy Disk.

How To: Build an awesome electric motor

This is a sweet video showing you how to make a sick electric motor! You'll need some wood, a battery, and some PVC pipe, along with a few other things, and you'll be on your way to making that perfect electric motor of yours.

How To: Make the coil for the Bedini motor

See how to make a simple bifilar coil for the Bedini motor, otherwise called the SSG or schoolgirl motor. The Bedini motor can create some free energy. Watch this video tutorial and learn how to build a coil for the Bedini motor.

How To: Build a Cheap USB Spy Telescope to Take Covert Digital Photos from Far Away

The first thing anybody really thinks about after watching Rear Window is how much they want their own telephoto lens. These days, they aren't cheap, so how do you go about spying on your neighbors without putting down so much dough?

How To: Make a solar-powered plastic bottle toy car

Watch and learn how to make this awesome DIY toy car that runs off solar power. This makeshift mini-vehicle is made from a plastic bottle, small motor, tires, supports and a solar panel. See if you can replicate this interesting solar toy, or see if you can come up with a better and cheaper design!

How To: Make a clock projector

Time flies. Particularly when it's projected. The magical box in this how-to uses light and mirrors to project the image of a working clock face on any wall. To build your own working clock projector, you'll need the following materials: a mirror, a jeweler's loupe, a clock and a flashlight. For detailed, step-by-step instructions on the assembly process, and to get started on this Daliesque hack yourself, take a look!

How To: Make a simple lemon battery

This video will show you how to make a lemon battery. You use a copper penny and a zinc coated nail to create a circuit.

How To: Use a multimeter

Learn how to use a multimeter. Multimeters are amazing measuring devices that are an absolute necessity for anybody who wants to works with electronics. However, if you don't know how to use one, you might as well not have one, a problem this video remedies by teaching you various measuring methods and there purposes.

How To: Increase the speed of an electric toothbrush motor

Need to rev up the speed of that electric toothbrush? Try using some rare earth magnets to increase the speed of an electric motor. Increase the speed of an electric toothbrush motor.

How To: Program a Wiimote using the GlovePie GUI

You can connect your Nintendo Wii Wiimote to your PC using GlovePie input emulation software and a bluetooth connection. Learn how to program the buttons and directional pad on your Wiimote using GlovePie's GUI interface.

How To: Program Wiimote motion detection in GlovePie

You can connect your Nintendo Wii Wiimote to your PC using GlovePie input emulation software and a bluetooth connection. Learn how to program your PC to detect motion from the Wiimote using GlovePie.

How To: Program a Wiimote speaker with GlovePie

You can connect your Nintendo Wii Wiimote to your PC using GlovePie input emulation software and a bluetooth connection. Learn how you can program GlovePie scripts that will emit sounds from the Wiimote's built in speaker.

How To: Build a laser microphone

Listen to conversations over long distances with a homemade laser listening device. All you'll need is a laser pointer, tripod, old pair of headphones, photocell, a recording device, and the step-by-step instructions in this how-to video. The creator of this video tutorial does not mention the need for sophisticated software. But the principle is quite sound. If you can figure it out, you can eavesdrop and spy on whoever.

How To: Make an SMS Intruder Alarm

This tutorial shows you how to create an intruder alarm that sends you text message alerts when motion is detected. This may sound complicated but I am pretty confident any beginner with electronics should be able to do this just fine. The range sensor senses motion and tells your Arduino board to send the text (SMS). So you can leave the intruder detector at home, connected to your network, and still receive the SMS alerts, no matter where you are, as long as you have cell phone service.

How To: Make Music with Floppy Drives & LabVIEW

Video: . Project Overview

How To: Peel Potatoes the Fast Way

Today we show you how to peel potatoes with a drill! It's So Easy a Guy Could Do It!

How To: Make a Clothespin Gun

Today we show you how to make a very cool clothespin gun. Making this gun is So Easy a Guy Could Do It!

How To: Make an Arduino Shield

Two years ago, driven by a good friend of mine i decided to give it a try on timelapse photography. I had a DSLR camera but didn't had an intervalometer, so i assembled a small electronic circuit on top of an Arduino Uno, made some basic code and did my first timelapse movie. The result was awful, but for some reason I was hooked.

How To: Make a Homemade Air Conditioner That Runs on Batteries or USB Power

Hand made air conditioner made of a foam lunch box, 5 volt DC fan, 4 AAA rechargeable batteries, and some ice. This homemade AC can run on batteries and you can plug directly into any USB port.

How To: Scramble 4 Eggs Inside Their Shell at Once

Video: . Using this method is stupidly simple.

How To: Lock and Unlock a Safe

This is an easy step by step tutorial how to lock your jewels in a hotel room or in a public safe. Be aware that in a public safe it is more secure to use the second method of locking by a magnetic card, not by a PIN code that can be easily seen by someone nearby.

How To: Change the Pitch of Your Voice for Skype! (Mac)

This is for anybody using a computer that would like to change the sound of there voice to talk to people if you have any problems feel free to comment on the youtube video ! thanks!

How To: Integrate Two Computer Fans to Make You Chill

This simple contraption almost acts like a Rube Goldberg machine to give you that cold tranquility that you need during the summer.

How To: Start a Fire

This is for those people that want to create a fire in a camping situation, survival situation, flare type alert to other that you are lost, or simply for entertainment.

How To: Hack an Old LCD Monitor into a Secret Computer Screen That Only You Can See

No matter your reason, if you want to hide what's on your computer screen from prying eyes, there are plenty of ways to do it. You can get a privacy filter, install a panic button for your browser, or just develop super fast reflexes. But all it takes is the right angle or a too-slow reaction to blow your cover.

How To: Cool Down Your Apple Mac Laptop

Mac laptops, especially the older PowerBooks, often can become very hot when doing processor intensive tasks like movie rendering, YouTube videos streaming, database lookups, or just gaming. Often just lifting the machine from the surface is enough to cool it down without the need of expensive hardware or software tuning.

How To: Add Bluetooth Capability to Corded Over-Ear Headphones for Wireless Listening

Headphone cords are one of those things we all deal with because it beats the alternative (no music). But they can be so obnoxious—they're always getting caught on things, and they seem to be perpetually tangled. If you have ear buds, you can make a simple a cord container to keep them organized, but over-ear headphones are a little more tricky.