Hacks, Mods & Circuitry Features
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: Jam Internet signals
This tutorial illustrates how a wireless pinhole spy video camera can jam wireless internet or WiFi signals.
How To: Get AC current from a nine volt battery
Mr.G shows you an experiment in which you can create pulse DC current (which mimicks AC current) from a nine-volt battery.
How To: Upgrade Your Old Stereo with Bluetooth to Play Music from Your Smartphone
Most of us have given up our big, bulky stereos in favor of smaller, sleeker models, but how many of us actually get rid of the old ones? If you don't like the idea of throwing out or giving away electronics you spent good money on, you can always upgrade them instead!
How To: Build a portable power pack
If you're a geek, then this power pack will give you a total techgasm. The power pack allows you to charge pretty much anything you can fit into a 12 volt power jack in your car (where the cigar/lighter receptable goes). The power pack is a portable battery, so no need for charging your gadgets - like your cell phone - at home first before you head off to work.
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: Use an old laptop battery for other things
Batteries are fairly expensive. There are a few tricks you can use, storing seeming depleted batteries in the fridge, etc. Take a look at this instructional video and learn how to use a battery from an old broken laptop for other things. The batteries in this video are 18650 batteries, the same kind in a tesla.
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: Connect different laser diodes to a power supply
Lasers are one of the coolest things that you can build yourself from a pure sci-fi fantasy standpoint. They're not easy though, but this video will help you somewhat by describing different types of laser diodes and how to connect them to a power supply.
How To: Remotely Bug Hacked Bluetooth Headsets
Tinkernut presents the Bluetooth headset hack! This video shows one of the vulnerabilities of some bluetooth headsets. To prevent this vulnerability, it's best to invest a little more money into a more secure headset and making sure your headset is turned off when not in use. You can find all of the links and scripts used in this video, as well as find answers to questions you may have at the link below:
How To: Make acrylic LED neon party lights and signs
This video compilation shows you how to create various LED and fiber optic hacks and projects the average Joe can assemble to create one hell of an awesome, wild party.
How To: Mod Your Old iPod 30-Pin Dock into a Bluetooth Speaker for Your iPhone 5
If you bought the new iPhone 5, you've probably been less than thrilled with the lack of cases and accessories that you can use it with. Docks are no exception—users were disappointed to learn that Apple has no plans to even make one for the newest addition to the Apple family.
How To: Construct a motion detector alarm system
Check out this video tutorial to see how to construct an alarm system, that's based on the principle of motion detectors, which work by touch. It's very useful to catch unpleasant visitors red-handed. So make sure your chocolate bar never gets snagged again, catch the bandits with a motion detector alarm! Or just keep you kids away from the birthday present closet where peeping is not allowed.
How To: Turn a Playing Card into a Super Simple Solar-Powered Battery Charger
You can do a lot more with playing cards than you'd think, like turn them into gift boxes, fling them like throwing stars, and make them levitate or disappear. You can even make them recharge your batteries. Instructables user Shawn Frayne was sick of having a bunch of dead batteries lying around, so he developed a cheap and easy way to always have a charged one within arm's reach by turning a normal playing card into a super simple solar-powered battery charger for rechargeable AA and AAA ba...
How To: Build your own burning red laser for less than thirty dollars
You can construct your own burning red laser very easily and very cheaply. All you need are a soldering iron, Phillips head screwdriver, an LPC-815 laser diode, and a RKCSTR driver. Once you have everything together, follow this video to build a burning red laser.
News: Sun + Plastic Bottle = Toy Car
Here's a DIY dream. Solar-power, recycled bottles, snap'n'go toy car! Simple. How easy to transform trash into toys.
How To: Build your own burning blue laser torch
This mod will run you about $130, but you'll have your own laser torch at the end of it. You'll need a high end flashlight, a Aixiz module, an AR coated lens and a blue diode. Then assemble according to the instructions, and get a laser at the end of it!
How To: Make a USB smoke absorber
This hack with a USB fan uses activated charcoal to clean air of harmful smoke. Now you can have a cigarette while using the computer and not worry about smoking up the room. Make a USB smoke absorber.
How To: Turn a Game Boy Advance into an Old-School Miniature Arcade Cabinet
No matter how advanced technology gets, there will always be room for classic video games in the hearts of nerds everywhere. Mini arcades became very popular, as they allowed users to take arcade games on the go. As Game Boys and other mobile gaming devices appeared, the mini arcade slowly disappeared. Well, believe it or not you can combine the best of both worlds! Metku user Japala wanted to make his old Game Boy Advance SP "look cool again," so he turned it into a mini arcade cabinet.
How To: Make a homopolar motor
Turn yourself into an electromagnetism maestro with one of the simplest motors known to man—the homopolar motor. It's the "simplest motor" because of its absent polarity change. The magnetic field does not change the direction or strength. It consists of only three parts; copper wire, round magnet and battery. It produces really low voltages, which means there's no real practical application for this motor, but it sure is fun to make! Try your hands at the homopolar motor—watch the video and ...
How To: Build USB power chargers
From Systm learn how to build a USB battery supply that can charge your cell phone.
How To: Make a DIY XBox 360 Wi-Fi adapter
In this tutorial, we learn how to make a DIY. XBOX 360 Wi-Fi adapter. First, go to your network connection properties on your laptop or netbook. From here, you will disconnect from any connection you have going. Then, select both connections and right click 'bridge connections'. Once finished, reconnect to your Wi-Fi network. Now, you can take one end of your cable and connect it to your computer and then your XBox. From here, you should be able to connect to XBox Live and play any game you'd...
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: 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: Build a Leyden jar and use a capacitor
Simple yet effective, capacitors come in a dizzying array of forms and materials, vital to so many circuits for storage, timing, and filtration - the mighty capacitor!
How To: Craft a Homemade Digital Music Box with a Cheap MP3 Player
Musical boxes are best known for their kitschy designs and somewhat trivial renditions of musical masterpieces. They tend to frequent the dresser of young girls or elderly woman hanging on to their youth, and for the most part, they remain cutesy and harmless, but when featured in movies like The Silence of the Lambs and Black Swan, they become downright creepy.
News: Teens Pulled Over in Their Almost Street Legal (And Totally Cool) DIY Wooden Car
Getting pulled over sucks, even when you're in a normal car. Just imagine how these teenagers felt when they were pulled over for driving their wooden car without a license! They also got a citation for not having a speedometer or side indicator lights, but if that's all that's keeping their DIY vehicle from being street legal, I'm already impressed. Photo by WTF.nl/Zaanstreek-Waterland Police
How To: DIY a portable handheld Nintendo 64
Nintendo 64. It's the classic video game console and probably houses a bunch of your fond childhood memories. Well, now you can relive those tender moments AND play Super Mario Brothers on the go by hacking your Nintendo 64 just a wee bit.
How To: Build a powerful tazer from a disposable camera
This video will give you shocking results. Find out how to make a couple of alterations using paper clips and a screwdriver to turn a disposable camera into a taser.
How To: Build a PIR (passive infrared) motion alarm with MAKE
Want to build your own infrared motion detector? It's easier than you think! So easy, in fact, that this video tutorial from MAKE can present a complete overview of the build in under five minutes! For more information, including a full list of materials and detailed, step-by-step instructions, and to get started building your own passive infrared motion alarm, take a look.
How To: Make the world's simplest oscilloscope in 5 minutes
What is an oscilloscope? Well, it's an electronic instrument that produces traces of color on a cathode-ray tube that corresponds to oscillations of voltage and current. Check out this video to learn how to make the world's simplest scilloscope. The best part? You can do it in five minutes.
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: Make inexpensive solar panels from broken ones
As far as the world of consumer electronics goes, it doesn't get much greener than recycling solar panels. In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to solder together broken solar panels, giving them new life as a functional AA battery charger, which produces about 6 volts in direct sunlight and about 3 volts indoors. In order to get started on this hack, you'll need a number broken solar panels (which can be had cheap for cheap on the Internet), a low-temperature soldering iron, silver-beari...
How To: Light Up Your iPhone's Apple Logo in Old School Rainbow Colors
As far as logos go, few are as iconic and instantly recognizable as Apple's old-school rainbow emblem. No matter how sleek their products get, people are still nostalgic for the old, colorful logo, and this mod from Adafruit basically proves it. If you have some pretty decent soldering skills, you can make the Apple on the back of your iPhone light up like the old rainbow logo. In the video below, Becky Stern from Adafruit uses a kit with a replacement glass back, tweezers, screwdrivers, and ...
How To: Build a remote-controlled camera mount
Kip Kay, from Make Magazine, shows you how to take your radio controlled vehicle and turn it into a spy car, by mounting a camera onto it. Follow Kip, as he shows you how to remove the body from your radio controlled car, mount the camera inside the chassis using the triPod mounting screw hole on your video camera, and put it all back together. In just few short steps you, too, can have your very own radio controlled spy car.
How To: Make an LED floatie balloon
Light up your world with these beautiful and easy-to-make illuminated LED balloons. You will need:
How To: Make a rat trap security system
Have you ever been the victim of theft? It sucks. Why would these lazy scumbags rather steal from us than work hard like everybody else?
How To: Construct a simple magnet and battery powered homopolar motor
Motors. The word screams of complexity. They're everywhere and in everything, from car engines to airplanes to toys and electric wristwatches. But sometimes the most complex things can be really simple, as in the case of the homopolar motor, where the main point is a magnetic field. The only items you'll need to make a DIY homopolar motor are a AA battery, copper wire and a rare earth neodymium magnet. This tutorial will show you how to build this simple motor.
How To: Send secret messages with a laser
Secretly shoot your voice across the room in stealth mode on a laser beam in this fun and easy project! Make Magazine and Kipkay present this cool spy trick. Build a simple laser communicator that transmits your voice across a room. You need an amplifier, radio, laser pointer, battery pack and a solar cell.
How To: Hack a camera
If you are a photographer and are handy with a screwdriver and electrical tape, this is a really cool project to do. Basically, you "Frankenstein" a camera, taking a camera apart and rebuilding it with different lenses and the like, which makes for really cool photo effects.