The real hard drive clock

In part 3 we take a look on how to build The real hard drive clock. Even though this clock might not fit into every home, it definitely has something about it that makes it nice to look at.

Hard drive storage box

In part 2 of ‘Things to do with 20 hard drives’ we will build a storage box out of one hard drives. The goal is to make the box look exactly like to original hard drive complete with screws and everything.

Things to do with 20 old hard drives

In this first part we go through the, maybe trivial but vital, task of taking the drive apart in its components without damaging anything.

Revive your old remote control

In this how-to we try to revive your remote by swapping the buttons around. Easier then you think actually.

Wireless audio in your car with Bluetooth

HP’s Bluetooth stereo headset (FA303A) is the base for this project as it’s widely available due to a flaw in the headband.
Dissecting it and moving the Bluetooth stereo receiver into an old mouse gets you a mobile Bluetooth audio receiver that can be connected into your car or your home stereo.

Outdoor Wi-Lan enclosure

Having your Wi-Fi equipment outdoors is not a problem as long as it’s designed for it.
But outdoor equipment is expensive so Dan built an enclosure to house is regular (indoor) equipment outdoors.

Build an egg timer wakeup clock

Rafael is going to bed at different hours every day and forgets to set his alarm. By building an egg timer wakeup clock he solved this problem.
Based on a PIC controller and an vibrating motor he describes in brief how to complete this project.

Build an record cleaning machine
 

Back in the good old days people very often had a fine brush to lift off the dust but they only work partially.
To really clean you record you first need to apply a special cleaning liquid, then brush it with the brush, and last suck off all the dust, fat and liquid.
Chris at Teres Audio made a record cleaning machine to solve this.

Mount your iPAQ in the car vent with pegs
 

I’ve tried suction devices, fixed holders, snap-lock holders, commercial vent mounts – and they’re never as good as you want them. The stable ones are expensive and often fixed to the vehicle, and the mobile ones are not stable.
In this article we’ll build our own vent mount that fixes the stability problem with four washing pegs.

Pointless is fun – three mobiles by Brian
 

Brian is a funny guy who likes to build mobiles… that actually don’t do anything interesting.Meet the Dancing bug, the Frog racer and the Spinning Bishop

Telephone tapping
 

By using an old laptop, a home made chat-cord and some parts from an old telephone you can build a telephone tapping device. Add Atropos to the mix and you have yourself an telephone call archiving system that will save all incoming and outgoing calls. 

Build your own Robotic Webcam
 

Ever thought about building a web controlled webcam? I sure have! Even though you can buy one today for not too much money, the challenge is still interesting.
Based on the parralax basic stamp starter kit 2, Jawed did just this. The project is mostly focused on the ‘difficult’ part (the programming) and you will have to use your own imagination for the attachment of the servo to the webcam.
You’ll need the starter kit, a servo from an R/C car and a couple of cables to get started. And oh, yes – a webcam can come in handy!

VoIP dect OSS Linux
 

Onny looked at the Siemens Skype project and said to himself: Hmm, what about continuing on this and build in a Linux SIP server and make the phone ring when I have an incoming call.
In five looong pages he describes in an amazing detail how he proceeded with his project, and this is not something for the faint of hart! It’s a lot of text!!!

Silence your mouse
 

Some people are immune to the sound of the clicking from a mouse, and some are not. Especially if you’re not behind the mouse, but like reading or something, then it can be very irritating.
Hayma is one of these persons that don’t like the clicke-di-click all the time so he decided to do something about it.
In a three page article he will take the mouse apart and modify the buttons that are responsible for generating the click.

Peltier beer cooler
 

Per Øyvind Arnesen writes:
While drinking certain dark beers in the sun, I came to think about how to keep the beer cold until I finished it.
Normally this isn’t a big problem as I usually finish them before they get warm, but on really hot days this can be a problem. Having some hardware lying around in my apartment, I decided to build something that could keep the beer cool.

Build your own tripod
 

Doug Nelle will show you how to build a cheap and very stable tripod in an afternoon using crouches.By taking three old-style crouches that he bought from a nearby recycling centre he made a stable tripod that can carry some serious weight.

Automated chicken feeder
 

You got to feed your chicken even when it’s raining!!!
And then you have people like Tom Boschman who rather sit inside with a nice cup of coffee on a day like this. He saw it as a challenge when his friend Tim came up with the idea.

In a three page article he will show you in detail how to build everything from the grain container, the transport for the grain and the electronics to make it work.
 

Make your own wearable LED display
 

In a 7 page article Leah Buechley will show you from a-z how she put together a ‘wearable led display’, perfect for club hopping! ( Or maybe… NOT! ) The purpose of the whole display is to show off the ‘Game of life’ which is a mathematical simulation of life. You can read more about the game of life here.

The project contains a lot of good close ups on her work in progress, and even a short movie where you can see the simulation running. I only wished that she would dance a bit at the same time.

Sexy hard drive – Place a window on the lid to see the magic in action
 

Cut through the lid of your hard drive with a Dremel and place a piece of Plexiglas there instead. This is an detailed article over what you should not do if you want to keep your warranty. But instead of the warranty you will have a one of a kind item to show off to your friends
Very nice end result! And oh, did we mention that this hard drive is fully functional after the surgery?

Mist cooling system for in the garden.
 

This do it yourself project will cool a spot in your garden 6°c (13°f) and takes 30 minutes to build using different things you’ll find in your kitchen and garage.

Build your own Chat-Cord
 

Ever wanted to connect a regular phone or a wireless phone to your computer to use with Skype or MSN?

Jeroen Theeuwes writes: “This whole project started with the fact that my girlfriend (we’re not living together) stopped using her home-phone
line (the contract became too expensive for one person), and I didn’t want to have to call her mobile every time, or using those stupid headsets. And as the chat-cord was not an alternative (not available where I live) I started thinking of building my own.�

Laptop on the wall – WallTop
 

Ever wanted to put a laptop in the living room, but the misses didn’t allow it? Have a laptop over and the guts to take it apart?

Then this DIY article is something for you. I will take you step by step though the process of converting an laptop into a WallTop to hang next to your other pictures. Making use of wireless takes away the cable problem, and with no hard drive makes it completely quiet.
And the result is astonishing. You need a laptop and picture frame and -the guts to do it-!!!

Build an Skype phone out of an old DECT phone. 

One day I was sitting chatting with a friend of mine by my laptop and a headset, but I really wanted to go around in the house while talking so I thought that I’d try to do a quick hack to get my old wireless phone connected to my laptop and use that for the voice chat. The result – very good, and I can walk several hundred meters from the house while talking over MSN and Skype.

Make an IR webcam with IR light.  

This project was awoken one night when I was sitting in my office in the evening in the dark. After reading an article at hackaday.com I got started, and here are my findings.

Make an IR webcam with IR light. Part 2

The previous project worked but was not that impressive so I did some research and ordered some new IR LED’s to test. The result – impressive!!