Arduino Project Box on-the-cheap

So, I've finally gotten around to picking up an Arduino to play around with. I've owned a couple books on programming/interfacing them for a while now, just to see if it would be something I would be interested in. So I finally took the plunge and bought a Mega 2560.

I have a black-box SDR (software defined radio) that I would like to control without a typical computer, and I think the Arduino should fit the bill.

However, I didn't like just having the Arduino "out in the open", I wanted to protect it a little, give myself a semi-permanent breadboard prototyping area, and be able to take it to work easily to work on it in my downtime. So I came up with this:

It's just a cheap clear plastic box! It should give a somewhat safe/stable area to prototype, with room for my large hands, and some extra components, wires, etc.

I cut out holes for the USB and power connections. This also acts as a "mounting point" for the Arduino. You could even mount some buttons, switches, pots/encoders, etc. in the lid or side.

I drilled a couple holes in the bottom of the box and used machine screws/nuts (and a dab of hot glue on each) to secure the two boards. Now I'm ready to play!

Vacuum tubes on display

I got this idea from an article in Make magazine about Wunderkammers. (http://makezine.com/17/wunderkammer/) Sure it's just a simple knick-knack type display, but that's where the inspiration came from.

I bought a lot of 50 new-old-stock tubes on ebay for less than $20, and found the curio cabinet at a thrift store for less than $5.

Disposable spice grinder hack

So I ran out of pepper in one of those "disposable" grinders (the kind "they" want you to throw away and buy another). I had some bulk peppercorns from a grinder I used to have. I had been wondering for a while if removing the top and refilling it was possible. Well, tonight when I finally ran out of the "disposable" one, I decided to try it.

First thought was "can I just pry the top off with a butter knife?" Luckily the answer was, "yes!"

Work your way around the bottom of the grinder top with the knife tip. There's a small lip you'll need to get the top over.

Top is off! Now fill with what ever you need to grind. Pepper, salt, custom blends of spices, etc.!

After filling, place top on and turn over. Press down on the bottom of the bottle and the lip of the glass portion should slip into the plastic top. Not much force is needed.

Success!!!

This too shall pass

With the passing of my wife a few months ago, I'm in a very strange place - emotionally, mentally, and physically (my now changing housing situation, which as of now doesn't have a great place to tinker).

I feel I need to take a break from the circuit bending thing (and a few other things) for a bit, do some soul searching, etc.

That being said, I want to help promote circuit bending and the general D.I.Y. mindset, so I'm releasing my Circuit Bending for Beginners video for free on YouTube.

Here is the link to Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqE2u5JjO0U

-J.R.

My wife, Bianca B. Escarcega

Friends-

After seven years to the week of being diagnosed with breast cancer, my beautiful wife and best friend who I've known for nine and a half years Bianca B. Escarcega, passed on to the other side on July 7, 2009, at the much too young age of 36. Your thoughts, prayers and support have been greatly appreciated. She and I couldn't have made it this long without them.

While your cards and condolences are appreciated, Bianca said instead of sending flowers, she would prefer you to make a donation to a charitable organization. Some include: any animal shelter – preferably a no-kill shelter, www.breastcancer.org, The Wellness Community @ www.twccaz.org, Hospice of the Valley @ www.hov.org, and during the last seven years she read literally over a thousand books, so a donation to your local library is an option too.

Thank you all.

-Jesse Rutherford

Audio breakout cable for ipod/iphone

(update) I inadvertently said I got the 4 conductor plug at Jameco - it was Mouser, and is listed correctly, with the part number in the blog.

Have you ever wanted to plug in a professional studio mic to your ipod touch/iphone? There may be a commercial solution, but I couldn't find one. Even if there is one, I figured I could build one cheaper than a ready-made one. You could also use this for a line-in (my original reason for the project), but the source really needs to be taken down to mic level from line level for good sound quality.

The hardest part was finding the 3.5 mm 4 conductor plug (found it at Mouser, #171-7435-EX). The soldering to the plug was a bit tricky too. I needed a cable with at least 4 conductors inside, and I wanted to build this for next-to-nothing, so I used some CAT5 ethernet cable I had. CAT5 has 8 conductors, so if you know of any other common cable with at least 4, you can use that.

I've included a rough wiring diagram below.
***UPDATE: Thanks to PTM for pointing out the ipod/iphone's audio input is meant for an electret mic. Therefore, there is 2.7 v across the input. However, there is only .73 mA of current. If this concerns you and you want to get in the habbit of doing it the right way, you should put a 1 - 10 uF cap like this one in-line to block the dc. If you don't know how or want to do this, the current probably won't do any damage, but be warned.***

The sound quality with a Shure SM58 plugged into the ipod touch was way better than a very good pair of Shure earbuds/mic. When you look at the files in Sound Forge etc., the noise floor was about -60dB with the SM58 and about -50dB with the ear buds. The SM58 had way more dynamic range and obviously less background noise too. Not that surprising, since it's a professional mic, but more proves that for serious recording, this is well worth doing.

The earbuds/mic aren't terrible. It's more a question of "how good" do you need to get? On a pair of normal home computer speakers, there may not be as much of a difference, but I'm listening through a $1400 pair of Event studio monitors.

Here's the sound files to compare. They were recorded with the free Griffin iTalk app at 44.1k and file transferred directly via wifi :

Shure SM58 into ipod by jrutherford

Shure earbud mic into ipod by jrutherford

via Make: Online : Video doc highlights Montreal hackers

Make: Online : Video doc highlights Montreal hackers

via GetLoFi - Circuit Bending Synth DIY » Blog Archive » Eraser - Bent 2008 Minneapolis

GetLoFi - Circuit Bending Synth DIY » Blog Archive » Eraser - Bent 2008 Minneapolis

via Make: Online : The Fuzz box documentary

Make: Online : The Fuzz box documentary

via Make: Online : Jeff Duntemann's shop tips

Make: Online : Jeff Duntemann's shop tips

via Make: Online : Wired reports on the rise of the hackerspace

Make: Online : Wired reports on the rise of the hackerspace

Cheap Photo Studio in a Box

With all the pics I've been taking, I've been looking into getting a Portable Photo Studio. Depending on the make/model they can cost from $50-$100 (way too much for me). And where to store it all? I made my own for less than $20, and it'd be cheaper/free if you already have parts on hand.

Here's my parts list:
plastic storage bin
2 desk lamps
construction paper
tape

Make sure the bin is translucent, not transparent, or opaque. This is for proper diffusion of the light. This can be hard to find. Mine has transparent middles near the handles, but it still works fine. Alternately you could line a transparent bin with white tissue paper to make it translucent, or use diffusers on your lights.

I used tape to keep the construction paper in place.

I set this up on the edge of my kitchen table so I could use a regular size tripod and not have to buy one of those mini tripods.

When you're done, everything can be stored in the box!

(photo taken with this homemade photo studio box)

Key Knife

Recently I bought myself a Utili-Key for about $12. I loved the idea, but after a week, it had fallen off many times, and there was no good way to modify/fix it to solve the problem. The feature I used the most was the knife blade (pretty much the only useful feature).

So I decided to make my own. I bought a blank LED style key from the hardware store for less than $4 w/tax, and filed down the top edge to be mildly sharp (use some common sense).

I've carried it on my key chain for a couple months now, with no holes in my pockets, cut fingers, etc., and used it to open boxes, mail, cut/strip wire, light my way in the dark (it's surprisingly bright), etc.

You could do this for less than $2 without the LED, but I figured I might as well have a 2-in-1 tool. Also, you might be able to cut out a bottle opener shape on the under side, or file the tip flat to have a screw driver?

Maker Faire Austin '07

Found my vids from Maker Faire Austin '07

Part 1

Part 2

Ammo Box Synth video

Video of the ammo box synth/sequencer I built.

The big 50!

Just sold the 50th copy of my Circuit Bending for Beginners video!

New TV I bent

Built a new synth.

Built a synth/sequencer in an ammo box. Speaker, 1/4" out, and theremin style pitch bend. Smaller black knobs randomize the chaos/pitch of the sequence. Also good for shutting down the city of Boston.

TV I circuit bent

Finally took a video of my circuit bent TV. Audio input modulates the tube.

Thinking about starting a Phoenix Area dorkbot group

At www.dorkbot.org It says there's one on they way, but I'm going to look in to it further. If anyone would be interested in this please let me know so I know if it would be worth the trouble. Thanks!

Here's some info from their site:

dorkbot: people doing strange things with electricity

What is dorkbot, exactly?: Each dorkbot is different and is driven by the needs and interests of people in the local community. But generally, the main goals of dorkbot are: to create an informal, friendly environment in which people can talk about the work they're doing and to foster discussion about that work; to help bring together people from different backgrounds who are interested in similar things; to give us all an opportunity to see the strange things our neighbors are doing with electricity. dorkbot isn't really a forum for formal artist talks or lectures, but rather a chance for diverse people to have friendly conversations about interesting ideas.

$$$: dorkbot is a non-$-oriented organization. dorkbot meetings are generally free events, so you need to be careful about spending lots of money to produce them! Several dorkbots sell beer and/or food at the meetings to help cover their costs. Make sure you talk to the venue before selling anything. dorkbot.org donates web space, email lists, etc. to the local dorkbots, so there is no administrative cost associated with setting up a new dorkbot.

Meeting Format: dorkbot meetings are rather informal. There are usually two or three presentations (about 20-30 minutes each) per meeting and sometimes very short "lightening" presentations from audience members. The specific format is up to each organizer to decide. You'll probably have to play with your format for a few meetings until you find something that works well in your context. One thing to keep in mind is that the dorkbot format works best for informal, conversational presentations on a particular work or topic, rather than formal artist talks or lectures on a body of work. 30 minutes isn't much time, so focused presentations work best.