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Submission + - Schematics and Circuit Simulation in the Browser (circuitlab.com)

Submitted by compumike
compumike writes: CircuitLab today released a browser-based schematic editor and circuit simulator for the online electronics community. SPICE-like device models and mixed-mode simulation support allows engineers and hobbyists to tackle a wide range of board-level design problems. While most EDA software is Windows-only, CircuitLab is 100% web-based, Windows/Mac/Linux cross-platform, and requires no installation or plug-ins. Instead of today's typical forum posts with static screenshots from different desktop tools, the online electronics community can now use CircuitLab to share useful URLs (as well as PNGs and PDFs) which link directly to interactive, editable, runnable schematics. In just a few clicks, another designer can open that circuit, make a change, simulate it, and post the new version back to the community.
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Homemade Robotic Xylophone Plays Holiday Melodies

Submitted by compumike
compumike writes: Just in time to add a bit of geeky holiday cheer to your office, this video demonstrates how to build a robotic xylophone featuring handmade solenoids and aluminum bars, and shows it playing several classic holiday tunes. New songs can be programmed in with C macros, and this project could even be extended to perhaps play a melody when a new e-mail arrived or a software build has finished compiling!
Hardware Hacking

Where To Start In DIY Electronics? 301

Posted by Soulskill from the hold-off-on-the-homebrew-lightsaber dept.
pyrosine writes "I've been thinking about this for a while and have no idea where to start. I have little or no previous experience in electronics — just what is covered in GCSE physics (wiring a plug and resistors — not much, I know). The majority of my interest lies in the wireless communication side of the field — i.e. ham radios and CB — but I am also interested in how many things work, one example being speakers, simply to better understand it. I would preferably like to start with some form of practical guide rather than learning the theory first, but where I would find such a walkthrough eludes me."
Hardware Hacking

Open Source Hardware Projects, 2009 77

Posted by kdawson from the hard-way dept.
ptorrone writes "MAKE's yearly open source hardware guide is now online with over 125 projects in 19 categories. The creators of all of these projects have decided to publish completely all the source, schematics, firmware, software, bill of materials, parts list, drawings, and 'board' files to recreate the hardware. They also allow any use, including commercial. In other words, you can make a business making and selling any of these objects. This is similar to open source software like Linux, but hardware-centric."
Science

Science Gifts For Kids? 368

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the explosives-always-go-over-well dept.
beernutmark writes "I have two science-loving kids ages 7 and 9. My youngest knew Neil deGrasse Tyson's name at age 4. With the holidays coming up, I am looking to get them some quality science-related tools. Two items on the list are a quality microscope and/or a real rock-hounding kit. I am looking for any other gift suggestions for this year or future years (or even for younger kids for other readers) and hints on good sources."
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Google Voice Controls Giant LED Display (thedavisblog.com)

Submitted by
compumike
compumike writes: "What geek among us has never sat and thought about how cool it would be if you could call your computer and have it do stuff? Josh Davis put together a quick video demo and source code of his Voice Controlled LED Marquee, powered by Google Voice speech recognition and a DIY LED Array Kit. Imagine using the same display for monitoring server uptime, or RSS feeds!"
Education

How To Make Science Popular Again? 899

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the push-church-and-state-apart-again dept.
Ars Technica has an interesting look at the recent book Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future, a collaboration between Chris Mooney, writer and author of The Republican War on Science, and scientist Sheril Kirshenbaum. While it seems the book's substance is somewhat lacking it raises an interesting point; how can science be better integrated with mainstream culture for greater understanding and acceptance? "We must all rally toward a single goal: without sacrificing the growth of knowledge or scientific innovation, we must invest in a sweeping project to make science relevant to the whole of America's citizenry. We recognize there are many heroes out there already toiling toward this end and launching promising initiatives, ranging from the Year of Science to the World Science Festival to ScienceDebate. But what we need — and currently lack — is the systematic acceptance of the idea that these actions are integral parts of the job description of scientists themselves. Not just their delegates, or surrogates, in the media or the classrooms."
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - DIY Microprocessor Sound Level Meter Demoed at MIT

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: A Piezoelectric Sound Level Meter was demoed at MIT's Battle of the Bands last month, borrowing its display from the do-it-yourself USB LED Marquee that was the subject of a previous Slashdot story. This video tutorial describes in detail both the analog electronics plus the C code that runs the system. If this is your first experience at the intersection of digital and analog systems, don't be scared!

Comment Use the online DIY community (Score 1) 314

by hevans66 (#27261421) Attached to: How To Get High-Schoolers Involved In Real Science?
Getting kids excited about science can be quite a challenging task. I have been in the business of getting kids excited about science and electronics for several years now, and we have found the best way to inspire is to show them things that they could actually do (and understand) themselves. Our approach has been to be as thorough as possible as possible in explaining what happens in our projects, while still leaving some room for independent thought and creative thoughts. Striking that fine balance is key. The DIY community on the internet can be a great resource. My suggestion is to just point them at websites and give them credit for "expanding" on any project they find. Make sure you don't just give them credit for copying a project, they have to add something of their own. We have some ideas on our website which tkjtkj mentioned above (mostly microcontroller based) at http://www.nerdkits.com/videos/. A good friend of ours has more mechanical based projects at http://www.crazybuilders.com./ The Make blogs and Sparkfun have some good stuff too, but it tends to be a bit too advanced for the true beginner.
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - Hackable Microcontroller-Powered Valentine's Card

Submitted by compumike
compumike writes: If you have a significant other to impress this Valentine's Day, consider putting your programming skills to use. This video tutorial shows how to build an LED Heart Valentine's card, powered by a microcontroller running C code, with a neat randomized "twinkling" effect in an interrupt handler. Think about it: how many ladies can say that their Valentine's card runs at 14 MHz?
Hardware Hacking

Submission + - DIY LED Array Marquee for your PC

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: Ever wish you had one of those big LED displays to keep you up to date on e-mails, stock quotes, server uptimes, or weather? Here's a new video tutorial showing how to build your own computer controlled LED array. You can code your own data feed, and just send it over a TCP socket. This looks like a fun weekend project for someone looking to get started with electronics by building something useful.

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