Daily DIY

Daaavid Fowwllerrrrr:
“Often when working on microcontroller projects you need a background function to run at regular intervals. This is often done by setting up a hardware timer to generate an interrupt. The interrupt triggers an Interrupt Service Routine (ISR) to handle the periodic interrupt. In this article I describe setting up the 8-Bit Timer2 to […]

If you’re one of the unlucky souls cursed with a bum strum button on their Rock Band guitar, you might not have to send it back to EA just yet. Ben Sones over at Quarter to Three got a gimped guitar and tore it apart to try to fix it himself. Apparently, the issue’s actually pretty minor: One of the strummer’s microswitches has just rotated out of alignment. A quick adjustment to the screw holding it in place and you’re ready to roll. The disturbing part is the uncertainty over whether it’s a production issue or a design flaw.

If it’s the former, the DIY fix—which Ben lays out in detail—should hold, leaving you time to pick up Joel’s five accessories for optimum rockage. And correcting it at the factory’s not a big deal. If it’s the latter, you could wind up strumming “acoustically” again. Worse, fixing a design flaw would probably cause delays in production if they have to shift over to pumping out redesigned controllers, and Rock Band’s not exactly easy to come by as it is.

On the bright side, you shouldn’t have to worry about any of the other plastic instruments strung all over your living room. And you can always use your GHII controller in the meantime. [Quarter to Three via BBG]

This mallet is the most ingenious thing I’ve seen for a long time. While not normally a fan of flat-pack stuff — the only thing I have ever assembled from scratch (a wooden shelving unit from Shabbycrap Habitat) was so wonky that I had to jam a cold storage heater against it to stop it toppling over — I can so see the point of this. Designed by Liam Ryan for Vert, the MC Mallet costs Aus$40 ($35 in your money) and can be used for cooking, DIY or as a toy. [Vert via MoCo Loco]

As a follow-up to my post on the LED Christmas tree lights, here’s a link to a DIY menorah for all you chosen people. The microchip serves as candle holder, and lights up the LEDs in the right order. [Make]

Well ladies and gentledudes, it’s that time of year where the holidays and computer problems become horrendously time-consuming. Wordpress hasn’t been behaving lately, and my personal schedule is downright frightening. But aaaanyway, enough about me, and more about Arduinos… back by popular demand - here’s David Fowler!
“This is the third in a series of articles […]

When the world finally goes all to hell and the missiles start flying, a Geiger counter will be a handy tool for anyone who survives the blast. Be prepared by building your own Mr. Fission radar detector. The device works with a standard Geiger tube, a high voltage power supply, and a design based around a Motorola MC68HC908KX8 microcontroller.

If you are interested in building one of these yourself, the designer is in the process of developing a simpler, cheaper version complete with detailed information and schematics. Until then, you can hit him up for some info on the project in the following link [N1VG via Hack a Day via Make]

It’s hideous. But it’s necessary that the DIY crowd has access to an all-in-one case. The Ion V2000 has a 19-inch LCD display, limiting 350-watt power supply, slim-profile optical drive bay, a media reader, two USB ports, a firewire port, and audio ins and outs. [RedFerret]

Fusible Webbing is a wonder-product found in the quilting section of your local craft store. It’s the perfect stuff for bonding fabric to paper to make these cute greeting cards. You can make them to send, or make up some sets to give as gifts.

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Here’s what the package looks like for one popular brand of fusible webbing. I get this at Fabric Depot, but have also seen it at Jo-Ann stores. You’ll also need some blank cards, and an assortment of lightweight cotton fabric in colors and patterns you like.

Next, you’ll want to decide what shapes to cut from your fabric. Cookie cutters are an excellent tool for this - you just trace around them!

Pull a sheet of fusible webbing from the package. It has a paper backing on both sides. Trace your shape onto one of them, using a pencil or a fine-point marker.

. . . And then cut a block out of the webbing sheet, around that shape you just traced.

Let’s take a closer look at that webbing now. Sandwiched in between those paper layers is a layer of the webbing itself — it’s basically a glue-mesh. It’s lightly sticky.

Carefully peel away the paper backing that you did not trace on, so you’re left with that webbing stuck to the paper backing with your tracing on it.

Now, take your fabric and lay it onto your work surface, with the wrong side facing you. Place your piece of webbing onto the fabric. That glue-mesh is now touching the wrong side of your fabric. Press it down gently with your fingers so it will stick.

Then, cut the shape out of the fabric and the webbing together.

Peel away the remaining paper backing. Now you have a fabric cut-out with the glue-mesh stuck to the back. You’ve essentially created a fabric sticker!

Place this onto the front of your card. You can peel it up and re-position it as you need to.

If you like, you can use the same steps to add some smaller fabric accents to your card. These red pieces have glue-mesh on the back, too.

When you have the whole thing positioned as you like it, cover it with a pressing cloth. (A pressing cloth can be an old dish towel, or a big piece of scrap fabric.)

Heat your iron according to the package directions for the brand of webbing you’re using. Press the hot iron over the card. This will melt the glue mesh and fuse the fabrics to the paper.

Be sure to press down with your iron rather than moving it around on the pressing cloth. Moving the iron around can cause the webbing to ooze out from under the fabric, and this gets messy.

Voila! Your card is fused and ready for embellishment. See how the iron has warped the card a little? This will sometimes happen — although the heavier your cardstock, the less warping. Put your card under some heavy books for a few hours, and it’ll be fine.

Here’s a little something to consider when designing your cards: if you have a design that you want to have face a particular direction . . .

. . . then you’ll need to trace it “backwards” onto the fusible webbing sheet.

Now, you can have a ball embellishing your card. Puff paint is fun, because it creates shiny raised surfaces on your card. (Make sure you give it lots and lots of drying-time, though!)

It’s also fun to run these cards through your sewing machine. A little decorative stitching looks really cute!

And keep in mind, you can also use fusible webbing to cover your entire card with fabric, and then stitch and glue on all kinds of details. I did some topstitching in two colors on this one, and then glued on some sequins.

And of course, there are always things like buttons, flat-backed gems, ric rac, and glitter. If you have some wide ribbon, you can even fuse that to your cards - just cut that fusible webbing into strips and attach it to the ribbon.

. . . So many possibilities!

Instructables has a neat if dangerous tutorial on how to quickly make a key copy by tracing the metal from a Coke can. It’s pretty obvious, and with that seed planted in your mind, there’s probably no need to read the instructions.

Let me go one step further and remind you that you can copy a key for like two bucks at the hardware store, and that combining scissors, a key, and the edge of a shiv of aluminum can, this tutorial might as well be titled “How to lose a finger.” Also, entering someone’s home with a key copy is probably still considered unlawful entry, regardless of the lack of shattered door frame. Having said that, I will try this later and let you know how it goes. [Instructables]

We’ve already seen the dangerous stuff that Mr Fix-It Rick can do with his Tesla-inspired CD turbine — you know, saw your fingers off, or saw your fingers off er, cut a Hallowe’en pumpkin. His new video is going out to those of a somewhat milder disposition. Using CDs, a CD spindle, a couple of neodymium magnets and glue, Mr Fix-It Rick has come up with an energy-saving device to keep salad eaters happy the world over. I love that fact that MrfixitRick’s “experimental test faciility” resembles a kitchen. I hate the fact that he’s not wearing his slasherflick-tastic black rubber gloves in this one. [YouTube via MAKE]