Daily DIY

This is for supplying power to a USB device even while it is unplugged from the host computer.



For example, it could be used to power a host of desktop toys which are programmed by a computer via the usb port, and then operates independently, while being still powered by the usb port.



This will allow the device to dispense with internal batteries, and therefore be of simple design.



The single cell Li-ion charger is detailed in this instructable: http://www.instructables.com/id/EMAV8NGTLXEV0G2TSC/



I have an idea of combining my USB hub, http://www.instructables.com/id/EEXHOBCAOEEUR4U24X/ , with this to have a battery powered four port UPS USB hub.



With a tweety bird theme, of course.



This used to be another similiar post to this one, but that seems to have disappeared.


By: neelandan

Create this cool piece of art from your electronic parts bin.


By: chr

Steve from Wicked lasers tried to sent us a zip file with the “making of” photos from the “Sonar Blu Ray laser” but big emails never work out, but pal Alan managed to get them posted up @ Hackedgadgets, check them out -

“By now I am sure all of you have heard about Blu Ray players. The heart of this innovative device is a special high power laser. Wicked Lasers is striving to bring cutting edge products to their customers. Steve over at Wicked Lasers was kind enough to show us how their new Sonar laser is developed. The crazy thing is that these lasers are so rare they must be harvested out of actual Blu Ray players. If you can afford one of these finely crafted lasers, I am jealous.” - Link.

Check out links for some how-tos on making your own…

Related:

• HOW TO - Make a DVD burner into a High-Powered laser - Link.
• Fun With Lasers (great resources) - Link.
• Transmit Audio with a Laser Pen - Link.
• Play Records with a Laser - Link.
• The Homemade Laser Saber - Link.
• Green Laser! - Link.
• Laser chess… - Link.
• The Homemade Nitrogen Laser - Link.

[Read this article] [Comment on this article]

Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest [via] - Link.

Here are a couple electronics related ones and toy imports - I’m sure over time regions deflate, then inflate to their current states…

Electronics imports- Whilst many people use electronic items as part of their day to day life, others have very little contact with electronics. This is particularly the case if someone has no electricity supply, or an insecure electricity supply The United States is a major net importer of electronics, people living there spend US$47 billion per year on imported electronics.

North American territories import (US$ net) almost half of all electronics traded worldwide. North African territories, with a similar total population size to that of North America, import only around 5% of the electronics imported (net) by North American territories - Link.

Electronics exports - Asian territories are the major world-supplier of electronics. In particular Japan, China, Taiwan and Malaysia. As 85% of territories import (net) electronic items, these exporting territories are from where these demands are met. These territories, with others, are sometimes referred to as Asian Tigers, or Tiger economies. This is claimed to be due to their high growth, rapid-industrialisation and export-driven trade strategies.

Worldwide, electronics exports generate 10.2% of all money earnt from trade in goods. Electronics include television and radio receivers, photography equipment, and electro-medical equipment - Link.

Toy imports - Most imports of toys (US$ net) are to the United States, followed by the United Kingdom. Toys are fun but not necessities. Thus toy imports give an indication of disposable incomes. The lowest imports of toys (US$ net) per person are to territories in Africa and also Tajikistan (in the Middle East). Central Africa, Southeastern Africa, Southern Asia and Northern Africa contain the poorest territories in the world. The highest imports of toys (US$ net) per person are to territories in Western Europe,North America, Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe - Link.

The site includes PDF posters for printing, Excel data files and Opendoc data files.

[Read this article] [Comment on this article]

In the 50’s and 60’s John T. Frye, W9EGV / Popular Electronics published a series of fiction stories called “The Carl and Jerry stories” - In each story the pair acquired new skills, got their ham radio licenses and used their knowledge of electronics to get out of a jam or solve a mystery - there isn’t a complete collection of all the stories that I know of, but there are some scans / text online. The stories are entertaining, fun and I can imagine how many engineers, scientists and Makers got their start from reading these wonderful tales - about & index.

In this story, Jerry built a long range sensor device, and also uses it to scare some kids from smoking…

“…I’m calibrating the temperature-reporting unit of our Tele-Tattletale,” Jerry explained with a teasing grin on his round face.

“It’s true and really rather simple,” Jerry insisted, as he removed some screws and took off one side of the box. “I use the spiral bi-metal unit out of an advertising thermometer to turn this easily working variable resistor. The resistor determines the frequency of a transistorized oscillator. I’ve calibrated the oscillator’s frequency as a function of the surrounding temperature; so I know from the note it puts out how warm the box is. Photocells are mounted behind the openings in each end of the box. The resistance of each cell depends on the amount of light falling on it, and the cells are connected in twin oscillator circuits so that their varying resistances separately control the frequen- cies of the oscillators. By noting the frequencies of these oscillators, I can tell how much light is falling on either end of the box.” “ - Link.

[Read this article] [Comment on this article]

Copyleft electronics ebook FEEE - Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, based on material originally written by T.R. Kuphaldt and various co-authors [via] - Link.

[Read this article] [Comment on this article]

This Instructable will show how to Get away from the highly addictive Instructables web site and get back to work.



Warning: www.instructables.com is a highly addictive website, and will drain countless hours from your otherwise productive day. It is best to use this website when you have nothing that you have to do for the next several hours, as it will suck you in.


By: pr3tard

Lint writes - “Hi, I took apart my wonderful Sony Reader for the world to see. Might be interesting to some of you Makers out there.” - Link.

Related:

• MAKE on the new Sony PRS-500 e-ink/ebook reader - Link.
• Sony responds to our Sony Reader questions - Link.

[Read this article] [Comment on this article]

Everything you need to know about electricity around the world… -

“There is no standard mains voltage throughout the world and also the frequency, i.e. the number of times the current changes direction per second, is not everywhere the same. Moreover, plug shapes, plug holes, plug sizes and sockets are also different in many countries. Those seemingly unimportant differences, however, have some unpleasant consequences.

While it is easy to buy a plug adapter or a new “local” plug for your “foreign” appliances, in many cases this only solves half the problem, because it doesn’t help with the possible voltage disparity. A 120-volt electrical appliance designed for use in North America or Japan will provide a nice fireworks display - complete with sparks and smoke - if plugged into a European socket.” - Link.

[Read this article] [Comment on this article]

One of the best collections of old electronic glassware, tons of history and photos! -

“On these pages you will find a lot of interesting pictures from a part of my tube collection. Together with some other pictures and links to sites who share the same interest I try to give you a trip through time. Let’s have a look at the first famous CRT and Camera tubes and its predecessor the Crookes Maltese Cross tube.

Also Roentgen (X-Ray), Geissler tubes and Ruhmkorff coils are part of this site. If you want to know more details about the topics, just follow the links on the pages to sites with in-depth information or biography from famous inventors.” - Link.

[Read this article] [Comment on this article]