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DIY Solar Powered Walkway Weekend Project

dean — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 18:05:39 +0000

Having your pathway light up is a great conversation starter and amuses everyone that comes over. Learn how to use glass blocks and sun jars to create a cool attraction in his front garden. He stocked up blocks and set up the power harvesting equipment (just some solar panels from Home Depot). He then wired it to the glass blocks that have LEDs in sun jars attached to the side.

This is a great project that will add something different to your garden or backyard. What’s more, it’s really cheap to do. Solar panels and wiring can be harvested from existing products such as garden lamps.

As many others commented on the guide, there are a hundred and one ways you could mod this project or use the idea in a different way such as interior design or to illuminate another fixture or fitting.

More Lighting Ideas:

HacknMod’s Most Popular DIY Projects of 2009

Joe L — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:48:55 +0000

Another year behind us! HacknMod will turn 4 this June and we’re still growing strong. We’ve nearly trippled our traffic in the last year and we’re glad to have you along for the ride. Oh! You can show your HacknMod pride through your very own HacknMod tee (about $22 after discount codes). Without further delay, here are our top 10 posts of 2009:

10. Top 25 Outstanding DIY Dorm Projects

School is back in session shortly for most college students. While you could be an average Joe and and buy all your back to school goods, you’ll be far better off building your own DIY projects to pimp your bland dorm room. These fantastic tutorials will walk you through creating custom, outstanding dorm rooms to show off your DIY skill. Read full post >

9. Incredible, Sleek Blue LED Case Mod

Combining his incredible carpentry and circuitry skill, this modder created a fantastic, modern LED case mod design. Based on a Beijing building, it incorporates sleek, circuitry-like lines creating a fantastic ambient effect. The full tutorial will take you step by step through the modding process. Read full post >

8. How to: DIY Star Wars Lightsabers & Replicas

Using some spare parts from eBay (a Graflex flash bulb) and a bit of ingenuity the guys at Systm show you how to create your own legit lightsaber (using actual parts they used in the movies). Read full post ->

7. How to: DIY Cable Management on a Budget

In just a few minutes and for less than $6, you can transform your workstation into a cable free sanctuary. If there is one thing that really annoys people about computers it is the ridiculous amount of cables that need to connect everything together, especially if you have scanners and printers close by. Thankfully there is a simple way to fix that. Read full post >

6. Dirt Simple Office Supplies iPhone Stand

Holding your iPhone for hours while watching a movie can be an annoyance. Using five pencils and a few rubber bands, you can easily construct a makeshift iPhone stand. So easy a noob could do it. Not much of a hack, more of a simple, useful tool. Read full post >

5. How to Make your Own Ringtones

Are you one of those people who changes their ringtones frequently? If so, you may be surprised to learn that there are many online tools that allow you to create your own ringtones within a matter of minutes. To get started… Read full post >

4. How to: iPhone as a Wireless Router for your Laptop

Transform your iPhone into a wireless router, allowing you to connect your wifi deprived laptop to the internet anywhere phone service is available. It’s also perfect when you’re browsing the web but the small screen is too cramped. Now you can easily switch over to your laptop for a larger viewing window. Read full post >

3. How to: DIY Solar and Wind Energy Tutorial

Mother nature provides us with countless ways to produce our electricity. The tricky part is harnessing it. Learn how to install solar panels and wind turbines to generate all the electricity you’ll ever need. Read full post >

2. DIY Arcade Style Joystick Controller

We’ve seen some giant NES controllers in the past and even an Xbox 360 arcade controller. Now we have a coffee table style controller custom made for arcade games like Street Fighter 4. The first controler is basically a wireless Xbox 360 controller with larger buttons substituted for the standard ones. Read full post >

1. Top 40 Arduino Projects of the Web

Since we love the ever-popular Arduino, we’ve scoured the vast reaches of the interweb and unearthed the best Arduino projects just for you. The Arduino is an open source programming platform which allows you to easily control electronics with a microcontroller. Read full post >

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iPhone Controlled Tank using Arduino

Joe L — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:18:50 +0000

Here’s a neat project featuring an iPhone controlled tank which has an Arduino for a brain. The data is transferred wirelessly to Processing and then to the Xbee wireless serial communication module. Oh, and did we mention it’s solar powered? Awesome! A great Arduino project to add to our collection.

Related iPhone and Arduino Projects:

Build a Wifi Enabled Spy Robot

dean — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:50:40 +0000

Building a WiFi spy robot actually isn’t as difficult as you may have imagined – or at least it isn’t when it can be built in “a couple of hours” according to this guide. These guys show you how to build a WiFi spy-bot using a basic RC car, a wireless router and a camera. It basically involves stripping the car of it’s plastic covering and mounting the wireless router and camera equipment on top.

Don’t miss: Make a UAV Spyplane Using the Arduino

The final few steps, which involve changing the IP address of the router and connecting components are quite easy with the level of detail in the instructions. You can view a video of the build and the robot in action below:

DIY Solar Powered Beam Robot Miniball

Saikat — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 04:47:41 +0000

This solar powered beam robot charges up a capacitor which powers motors and propels the “hamster ball” forward. The sphere runs in the direction of movement of the device inside and it’s also a basic example of what BEAM Robotics is all about. For those who don’t know, BEAM (Biology, Electronics, Aesthetics, and Mechanics) Robotics uses simple electronics with basic mechanical parts (no microcontrollers).

How simple is it? You can build a basic Solar Powered Miniball in less than 2 hours with the parts listed below. Most of them are sourced from Solarbotics kits.

Mechanical Parts

80 mm Transparent Plastic Sphere
High-efficiency Coreless Motor
Motor Mounting Clip
Rubber Wheels on Nylon Hubs
Paper clips

Electronic Parts

37 x 33mm Solarbotics Solar Cell
0.35F 2.5V Capacitor
6.8uF Tantalum Capacitor
3904 Transistor
1381 Voltage Trigger
Signal Diode 1N914, 1N4148

The build is a simple circuit powered by a solar cell that moves two rubber wheels. A small pager motor powers the wheels and the entire contraption sits inside a transparent plastic sphere. When the solar cells charge the capacitor, the wheels move and the robot rolls inside, the plastic sphere rolls with it in the same direction.

The project is covered step by step from putting the circuit together to assembling the robot inside the sphere. Put your own spin on it and make something unique.

More of our robotics projects:

10 Outstanding DIY iPhone Hacks

Joe L — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:59:03 +0000

The iPhone has so many built in sensors and functionalities, no wonder it’s a constant target for hacks and mods. Over the years, we’ve compiled dozens of iPhone hacks and mods and these are the best of the bunch:

DIY Multi-Room Wireless Music Remote

With the help of some external hardware and a handheld wireless device such as an iPhone or iPod touch, you can build your own wireless music remote. It’s a bit spendy if you don’t already have an Iphone/iTouch and a router, but there’s a step by step tutorial to guide you through the setup build.
DIY iPhone Controlled Car (Complete Control)

These guys took an iPhone and using a special app, the onboard GPS and Wifi along with some serious modding they managed to make a life size R/C car. I bet it was difficult to drive using the six-axis in the iPhone but it’s still a great mod. Learn how it was done in an upcoming post. Subscribe so you don’t miss it.
iPhone Controlled Mazda (without gas and break)

By tapping into his car’s onboard wifi and diagnostic systems, this hacker can control his car from anywhere in the world. He’s able to start the engine, pop the trunk, lock/unlock, and view all vehicle diagnostics from his iPhone. As seen in the video, electronic controls are housed in the trunk along with an Arduino to help process commands.
How to View your Webcam on your iTouch or iPhone

In this tutorial, we’ll be showing you how to watch a live feed from your webcam on your iPhone or iPod touch from anywhere in the world. Setup is pretty simple, basically just download and install a windows program and the necessary app and you’re ready to stream live.
Build a Solar-powered iPhone Charger

How many times has your cell phone died in the middle of the day because of its lousy battery life? You have several options: you could recharge via wall socket, via USB, through an external battery or the green way, with a DIY solar iPhone charger. Don’t forget to pick up any needed supplies for this build (including solar panels) at our store!
Make a Laser Matrix Projector for the iPhone

The idea is to add some kind of projector capability to mobile phone (e.g. iPhone) that isn’t too complex or expensive. Instead of using an expensive mini projector, I decided to use lasers instead to any bitmap font using a matrix of laser points, which is controlled by iPhone.
How to: iPhone as a Wireless Router for your Laptop

Transform your iPhone into a wireless router, allowing you to connect your wifi deprived laptop to the internet anywhere phone service is available. It’s also perfect when you’re browsing the web but the small screen is too cramped. Now you can easily switch over to your laptop for a larger viewing window.
RC Car Controlled Via the Web

Strap on a standard Linksys router to an RC car and you can wirelessly control it through the web from up to 1640 feet away. It’s also equipt with a webcam and operates through a brain comprised of PIC microcontrollers or the Arduino’s ATmega168. The in depth tutorial will guide you through the build.
Home Automation Using the iPhone and X10

Like most people, we’re huge fans of home automation. We’ve even covered quite a few ways people have used Twitter to automate your home. This time, however, we’ll be automating our homes by managing SmartHome’s X10 home automation modules using the iPhone.
The Rockband Robot iPhone.

This guy obviously wanted to break a world record in Rockband because he built a robot to attach to his iPhone that plays it perfectly for him. It works by light sensors telling the prosthetic fingers when a note is coming up and driving a motor to press the screen and thus play the note.

Honorable Mention: How to disassemble the iPhone and unleash your hardware hacking skill.

More iPhone Projects:

DIY Wind Energy: The Green Electricity Turbine

Joe L — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:09:46 +0000

Using a motor from an old exercise treadmill and some PVC pipe, learn how to construct your own DIY wind energy turbine. While the electrical power may not be enough to get your home off the grid, but the project clearly explains in simple terms the technology involved in turning wind into free electricity.

Why Stop with Wind?

There are plenty of other ways to generate your own electricity and go green. Check out some of our DIY free electricity posts:

How to: Jailbreak and Unlock the iPhone 3.1.2

Joe L — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 06:32:52 +0000

Since Apple’s newest upgrade, not even the iPhone dev team (the group who is famous for jailbreaking the iPhone) has been able to crack it…Until now. Now you can crack the newest version of the iPhone OS 3.1.2 and you can jailbreak previous versions as well, allowing you to use the iPhone with Verizon, Sprint, T-mobile, or any network of your choice. If all else fails, you can actually unlock the iPhone by hacking the hardware, but that’s quite a bit more complicated.

*Update* Correction: You can jailbreak it and not unlock it quite yet.

How to: Run Your Gadgets on 100% Green Energy

Saikat — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:00:53 +0000

The power grid is our umbilical cord. All the gadgetry of our techie lifestyle makes it seem impossible to live without it. Well, almost…because PopularMechanics senior technology editor believes that technology can lend a hand when there’s a blackout. That and, alternative sources of energy.

To prove the point that it’s possible to live off the grid and keep all your gizmos going, he decided to put his family through an off the grid lifestyle challenge. This how to will show you how to live off the grid with all your gadgets switched on: computer, internet access, LCD TV, Wii, cold beer, and power tools. Should life grind to a halt because there’s no power? Not anymore.

Off the Grid Power Plan:

All the power he generated is stored by charging two orbital gel-cell deep-cycle batteries powering an inverter.

Green Powered Gadgets:

The Experiment:

The location: 17-acre farm in upstate New York. A site with abundant supply of sunlight and wind.
People: 3
The challenge: To live completely off the grid using only the electronics and alternative power sources.

Living off the grid: Day 1

Day one started well with their arrival at the location. Glenn and his family came equipped with all the gadgets and the batteries fully charged up. On arrival, the thermoelectric fridge was plugged in and stocked with cold beverages. The other battery run devices were also connected for a cycle of recharge.

Assembling the solar panel took half an hour but the wind turbine presented problems because of the weather. Internet connectivity was setup with an Acer netbook connected through Verizon’s MiFi 3G wireless hotspot. Stereo music was piped from a Tivoli mini boom box. Entertainment as movies came from a 22-inch HDTV playing a Blu-Ray disc of Wall-E.

Day one ends well without the batteries needing a recharge.

Living off the grid: Day 2

Day two begins with both the batteries running out and needing replenishment. The plan was to hook up one to the Yamaha generator and the second to the wind turbine-solar array combo. The Yamaha generator charged up one battery in two hours while the solar-wind combo took up six hours.

Logistically (and physically) it was a challenge as hauling the heavy batteries from the inside to the outside and back was grunt work.

Living off the grid: Day 3 and more

Glenn develops a cycle for recharging the batteries. The batteries were charged up alternately through the solar-wind station and later it was topped up by the generators when the sun set. To prolong battery run, they also toned down the use of the more power hungry gadgets. The TV and the projector consumed 35 and 41 watts, respectively but ran in shorter bursts while the fridge ate up 50 to 60 watts all day long. So, the fridge got unplugged at the end of the day.

After three and a half days, the fuel for the generator ran out and that was the end of the experiment.

Lessons learned:

Glenn’s ‘field notes’ show that it’s very possible to live off the grid with a mix of the proper equipment and calculated use. The use of alternative sources of energy needs to factor in the whims of weather but it is a vital source of power. Those willing to forgo a part of the high tech luxuries can easily maintain the remaining ones.

What’s your Armageddon plan?

Perhaps our green electricity can help you get off the grid for the day.

Make a DIY Electric Bike from Drill Batteries

Joe L — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 21:32:13 +0000

We’ve see plenty of DIY electricity and going green projects, and here’s yet another to add to the collection. Check out the video to learn how to build your own electric bicycle out of some old drill batteries and common ingenuity. Check out our other post on electric bikes and also electric cars.

Project Specs (from the designer):

I chose a full-suspension mountain bike frame because the roads and even the bike trails here are so bad. I wanted to isolate the batteries, controller and my butt from the shocks. I also jump off curbs a lot.
I wired pairs of 36-volt Dewalt power tool batteries in series to get 72 volts and then wired each of these pairs in parallel. I can carry two, four, or six battery packs, depending on how long the trip will be.
I replaced my 36-volt, ten-amp controller with a 72-volt, 35-amp version. It also has immediate start, which means the controller does not wait until the wheel is rolling before it puts power to the motor. This lets me get through intersections faster and safer (although I have to be careful or my front wheel lifts off the ground).
I used a rear wheel motor because front wheels here tend to get bent by potholes and fixing one can be expensive if you have a motor mounted in it.
- More info in this article about the project.

Don’t miss these electric projects: