Everything Else
How To: Use the rattlesnake knot, square braid and other paracord braiding techniques
Paracord braiding is a popular technique used to make lanyards and ties for survival gear. There are many different techniques a braider can use - the most common are the rattlesnake knot and the square braid. This video shows you the nuances of both techniques, a few variations, and how you can decide when to use one or the other. You can also alter the appearance and tensile strength of your paracord braid by changing how tight you make your knots.
How To: Put Gameboy emulator (Gba) on your Blackberry Storm
Well your friend's won't stop dissing your BlackBerry Storm, and you need to show them it can actually play some games. This video shows how-to install the Gameboy emulator on your BlackBerry Storm so that you can play a whole host of cool video games. This method is pretty simple and requires your smart phone be connected to your PC, and that you go and get some software as described in the video. Give it a try and show them you ARE cool!
How To: Make home made night vision goggles
OK master spy, it's time to get your lurk on. If you're going to be spying, you'll need to be able to spy at night. This video will show you how-to make your very own night vision goggles so you can keep up with your mark well after the sun goes down. You'll need a 9V battery, an infrared LED, some wire cutters, a small screw driver, and some wire with a battery clip. You can easily find your needed infrared LED in any old TV remote control. Try it, and make some home made spy gear today!
How To: Unify a junk hard drive and glass vase into an exquisite makeshift table lamp
Junk is not usually known for its usefulness. That's why it's called junk. If it were called anything else, it might have a purpose, but junk… well… it's junk.
How To: Turn a pen and film canister into a rapid-fire airsoft machine gun
Make a homemade airsoft machine gun with Kipkay! You will need a basic ball point pen, a film canister or medicine bottle, and an assortment of Airsoft pellets (6 mm size pellets work the best). You'll also need access to a drill, and a hot glue gun.
How To: Use a laser to pop a batch of tasty popcorn
Lasers really can do everything! Next time you want some popcorn, don't reach for one of those microwaveable bags! You can mod a laser to make it the ideal tool for perfectly popping a delicious, fluffy batch of fresh popcorn.
How To: Hack Your Office Clock For Extra Lunch Time
Do you have one of those jobs where the minutes seems to stretch by like hours? Then shaving off an extra twelve might make all the difference. All you need is cunning (to kidnap the workplace clock for the night) and hacking skills (not to worry, creator Randy Sarafan will help you with that), and you'll be the office hero. Sarafan says:
How To: Start a single phase induction electric motor
OK, you've got yourself a single phase induction electric motor, but you don't know how to start it. Check out this simple how-to to discover a few methods of starting this motor up. You'll need to know this unless you want to burn out your motor!
How To: Make a rechargeable light / mobile charger powered by USB or solar panels
Samimy is at it again. And this time, his ingenuity has tackled a clever way to take something old and broken and restore it to something new and useful. What are we talking about? Modding a broken hard drive and some busted cell phones into a useful rechargeable USB / solar-powered light, which also acts as a portable mobile charger.
How To: Build an Illuminated Star Map
It's what every astronomy-loving geek has always wanted... a beautiful, twinkling home galaxy. As Instructables user MrTrick rightly warns, this project is no small feat. Be prepared to get schooled in:
How To: The history and technology of batteries
Learn about the history and technology of batteries in this informative video, and learn how to make your own voltaic cells at home, along with other scientific experiments. Jeri Ellsworth demonstrates how and provides several informative facts about the history and technology about the battery.
HowTo: Boost Your WiFi Signal With a Tin Can
Budget Hack's cheap Wifi range extender works off of the age old concept of adding tin foil to your TV's rabbit ears. The materials are cheap, and the project is relatively easy (if you're willing to pick up some soldering skills).
HowTo: Make a Trippy 3D Animated LED Cube
chrof Instructables boasts: "This is the most comprehensive step-by-step guide to build an 8x8x8 Led Cube ever published on the intertubes. It will teach you everything from theory of operation, how to build the cube, to the inner workings of the software."
How To: Prank your friends by scaring them in the middle of the night
This is a very easy tutorial - all you need is a chosen sound effect file (like a creepy growling animal or a person screaming) and a sneaky sound system. Play it during the middle of the night and freak out your friends.
How To: Make a battery with a nickel, penny and vinegar
Generate electricity using only a nickel, a penny and a mild household acid like lemon juice or vinegar. Make a battery using an alternating stack of these coins and create enough electricity to power a desktop Christmas tree. Follow along in this instructional video and learn how.
How To: Wire your home mailbox to send push alerts to your iPhone
You can get push alerts to your iPhone from lots of things online like Facebook and Foursquare, but now here's a way to get push alerts sent to your phone from everyday household objects like the mailbox or the refrigerator. In this Arduino project, a mailbox is wired so that a push alert is sent to the iPod when mail is delivered.
How To: Back up important computer files online and on external storage devices
Back up your computer data and save your time, money and valuable information using these helpful tips. There are several options to backing up and storing your important data, ranging from tiny keychain USB drives to backing up your files online. This informative and lighthearted video from Kipkay shows you how.
How To: Untether a tethered jailbroken iPhone 4, iPod Touch or iPad
If your iPad, iPhone 4 or iPod Touch is already on a tethered jailbreak, this is the tutorial on the new Redsn0w release for all you experienced users. An untethered jailbreak is a type of jailbreak where the device does not require rebooting with a connection to an external jailbreak tool to power up the iDevice. Jailbreaking allows users to get root access to the command line of the operating system, to download otherwise unaccessible extensions and themes, or install non-Apple operating sy...
How To: Make a flexible aluminum electroluminescent display
Make a flexible aluminum electroluminescent display using aluminum foil, EL phosphors and a simple electrolytic etching bath. This video shows the chemical process behind etching foil in an electrolytic bath, and develops it into a practical application for it by creating an electroluminescent caution display.
How To: Make an IR detection device and measure temperature w/ quenched phosphors
Phosphors are great for lighting up areas where fire will not burn, and also for keeping humans alive in very small quantities. Quenching phosphors allows you to use them for all sorts of cool projects, and this video will show you how to make an IR detection device with quenched phosphors and also how to measure temperature with thermally quenched phosphors.
How To: Make an electrophorus and use it to create electricity from your cat
An electrophorus is a type of capacitor that generates electrostatic energy. Most of you probably know this force as static electricity, the domain of door handles and polyester shirts. It can be used for all sorts of other fun science experiments though, and this video will show you how an old hard drive, some plastic, Styrofoam, foil, a cat, and other simple materials can be used to make a a simple functioning electrophorus.
How To: Use various methods to detect greenhouse gasses
In this informative video series, Jeri Ellsworth explores several methods that can be used to detect greenhouse gases, including building a homemade mass spectrometer and mid-Infrared absorption. Jeri provides a comprehensive overview of the science behind IR absorption, the mass spectrum and ion filtration.
How To: Make your own EMF detector for under ten dollars
An EMF detector will help you find invisible electromagnetic fields, and you can make an inexpensive one for under ten dollars. This will only detect the presence of a field, you will need other tools to be able to measure its strength.
How To: Make an EMF detector out of an Arduino
An EMF detector lets you pick up on electromagnetic fields, a useful tool if you're into amateur ghosthunting. To make this, you will need some wire, a resistor, and an LED. You will also need an Arduino to use as a controller.
How To: Hack a Sony Handi-Cam to be able to film in infrared
Start with a Sony Handi-Cam (or any other camera that allows you to film using night vision) and then add in a special infrared filter and a little extra hardware. Now you can film completely in infrared and film in X-ray vision!
How To: Make a Ticklebox as a gag gift for holidays or birthdays
This gift will give the recipient a nice little zap when they open it! All you'll need is some basic electronics that you can find at any retailer like Radio Shack, and a soldering iron for a little bit of detail work.
How To: Make the ultimate LED glowsticks in any color you want
This is an easy and fun project that will add a little light to any night time celebration. Take a few LEDs in any color you want, some basic electronics gear and a hot glue gun. This will be more vibrant than any glowstick you can find in the store, and will last much longer
HowTo: See Yourself In the Third Person (No Drugs Necessary)
Ever wonder what you look like to someone else as you walk, talk? How it looks from above, behind, or to the side? Seeing yourself in a video flattens the experience into two dimensions, but this wireless camera rig experiment from Instructables member BigRedRocket brings it into the third dimension:
How To: Make a 'Dizzy Robot' out of a battery, tin, and a pager motor
When you think of robots, you probably think of things that have more than three parts. Not this robot! If you want a robotics project to try that doesn't require an MIT degree, watch this video for instructions on how to build a 'Dizzy Robot' out of only some thin tin, a pager motor, a button cell battery, and this template.
How To: Work with diodes, capacitors, potentiometers, photo cells, and power supplies
For most people, learning how to work with electronics is far from intuitive. Getting the diodes in your hands and working with them is the best way to go about it, and this video will teach you a great lab for learning about diodes, potentiometers, capacitors, photo cells, and power supplies.
How To: Learn about capacitors, diodes, voltage states, and potentiometers
Even basic electronics are pretty damn complicated. This video is near the end of Scotty's amazing series of electronics tutorials, and will teach you about adding a diode and a capacitor to a circuit, choosing a power supply, voltage states, and polarity.
How To: Build a basic circuit with LED lights and resistors
If you want an electrical circuit to send power to an object, like a light, you're going to need resistors. This video, part of an excellent series on basic electronics by Scotty, will teach you how to make a circuit with resistors and an LED light, a real function piece of electronics.
How To: Test a breadboard using a multimeter
If you want to start making a basic electronics project by placing power sources and such on a breadboard, you should make sure that the breadboard will work first. You can do this by using a multimeter to perform a continuity test on your breadboard, which this video will teach you how to do.
How To: Learn about resistance and Ohm's Law and how they help you work on electronics
Math scares a lot of would-be electronics lovers away from the field, and if you really hate math this is probably the video in this series where you stop. It will teach you how to use Ohm's Law to calculate resistance and how that applies to a basic circuit.
How to Learn basic electronics: electricity, a basic circuit, and breadboard
Welcome to part 2 of robotics teacher Scotty's introduction to electronics! the first video taught about the basic tools and components we need to start working with electronics. This one will cover the basics of electronics, from a primer on electricity and how it works to making a basic circuit and working with breadboard, the canvas of circuitry.
How To: Learn about the tools and components used in basic electronics
Electronics are the most important new thing people have created in the last hundred years, and learning how to use them will make you much more able to function in modern society. If you want to learn about electronics without going to a class or anything so formal, this excellent video series will teach you everything you need to know to get started. This video, the first in the series, will teach you about the basic tools and components you'll need to work on electronics projects, includin...
How To: Hack Battery-powered Christmas Lights Into Laptop Holiday Decorations
Christmas is the time to splurge— not just with presents and food— we're talking decorations. It's that time of year when verdurous fir trees take up half of your living room, when waving elf figurines silhouette your front windows, when Rudolph flies from the rooftops, Santa in tow. But more than anything else, it's a time when those Christmas lights double tour elctrical bills, dancing to the "12 Days of Christmas" for the whole neighborhood to see.
How To: Build a simple one-string electric guitar called a Diddley Bow
If you've ever seen It Might Get Loud, you probably remember the part where Jack White makes a one-string guitar out of household scraps. This type of guitar is called a Diddley Bow, after Bo Diddley, and is about the simplest and easiest electric guitar you can make. Watch this video to learn how.
How To: Build a blue laser ray gun that will burn things magnificently
If you've ever seen Goldfinger you've probably wondered when we're going to get access to lasers that could cut a man in half. This might be it. Watch on to learn how you can, with some electrical engineering skills, make a DIY blue death ray laser gun that will cut through all kinds of stuff. No word on whether it works on British secret agents.
How To: Make a high speed photography trigger with an Arduino
High speed photos are very artistic and look awesome, but taking them without special equipment is nearly impossible. Without this hack and an Arduino, that is. This video will teach you how to use an Arduino and other electronic components to make a DIY high speed photo trigger and take more awesome shots.