Measuring Magnet Strength with a Dual Sensor Gauss Meter
ever wondered how strong your magnets really are?
The post Measuring Magnet Strength with a Dual Sensor Gauss Meter appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.
Posts with «tools» label
Upcycle a Microwave into a Spot Welder
Long-time Maker Matthew Borgatti recently completed work on a homemade spot welder, built from a scrapped microwave and a few other parts.
The post Upcycle a Microwave into a Spot Welder appeared first on Make: DIY Projects, How-Tos, Electronics, Crafts and Ideas for Makers.
6-Axis Robot-Arm 3D Printer Runs on Arduino, Slings Spiderwebs
Most industrial robots run on proprietary systems, but this experimental KUKA arm uses an Arduino MEGA to 3D print in 6 axes, mimicking the shapes found in nature. Despite the size of this KUKA arm with a custom toolhead attachment — a 3D printer extruder — carefully looking at the […]
Altoids Tin Network Analyzer
Network Analyzers are frequently used for measuring filters, making them extremely valuable for building radios and general mucking about with RF. They are, however, extremely expensive. You can, however, build one in an Altoids tin with an Arduino Nano, a small screen, and an AD9850 frequency synthesis module picked up on eBay.
The basic idea behind a network analyzer is to feed a frequency into a device, and measure the amplitude coming out of the device, and plot this relationship over a frequency. [Bill Meara] has been a human network analyzer before, changing frequencies and plotting the output of devices under test by hand. [DuWayne] (KV4QB) build a device to automate the entire process.
The block diagram is easy enough – an AD9850 sends a signal to the device, and this is measured by the Arduino with a small amplifier. The signal is measured again when it comes back from the device under test, and all this is plotted on a small display. Simple, and [DuWayne] is getting some very good readings with a lowpass filter and crystal filter made on a small solderless breadboard.
Filed under: Arduino Hacks, tool hacks
Bluetooth Thingies at Maker Faire
In case you haven’t noticed, one of the more popular themes for new dev boards is Bluetooth. Slap a Bluetooth 4.0 module on a board, and you really have something: just about every phone out there has it, and the Low Energy label is great for battery-powered Internets of Things.
Most of these boards fall a little short. It’s one thing to throw a Bluetooth module on a board, but building the software to interact with this board is another matter entirely. Revealing Hour Creations is bucking that trend with their Tah board. Basically, it’s your standard Arduino compatible board with a btle module. What they’ve done is add the software for iOS and Android that makes building stuff easy.
Putting Bluetooth on a single board is one thing, but how about putting Bluetooth on everything. SAM Labs showed off their system of things at Maker Faire with LEDs, buttons, fans, motors, sensors, and just about every electrical component you can imagine.
All of these little boards come with a Bluetooth module and a battery. The software for the system is a graphical interface that allows you to draw virtual wires between everything. Connect a button to a LED in the software, and the LED will light up when the button is pressed. Move your mouse around the computer, and the button will turn on a motor when it’s pressed.
There are a few APIs that also come packaged into the programming environment – at the booth, you could open a fridge (filled with cool drinks that didn’t cost five dollars, a surprise for the faire) and it would post a tweet.
Filed under: hardware
Rocket Scientists Are Arduino at Heart
This is the story of a group of college students who moved to the Mojave Desert, bought a house, painted it white, and turned it into a make-shift lab. Then they went out to launch rockets.
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