Nicola Zocca’s brilliant heat-shrink joinery was one of our favorites from the Design Products section of the Royal College of Art final show, which opened last night in London (a must-see). The series is appropriately titled “Shrink.” The idea is wonderfully simple, and the execution precise and imaginative. Nicola describes it best: “So, just using hot air, it’s possible to build and fix chairs, bookshelves and tables.”
Slot cars, an old time hobby that is still kicking. Dave writes -
What better way to spend a hot, humid Sunday Brooklyn afternoon than checking out Buzz-A-Rama, a 1960’s era slot car parlor in Kensington? Inside this unassuming storefront are 4 or 5 large twisting tracks, where children and adults race cars about 3 inches wide by 6 inches long, much larger than the matchbox-sized slot cars I played with as a kid. Amateurs like us use slow cars rented from Buzz. The pros, however, bring their own custom lightning-fast cars and controllers, and they are quite serious about them.
Chumbicade, Hakko 851 hot air rework air station, Reverse engineering – Inside Apple’s battery charging methods (new MintyBoost preview) – larger video @ vimeo.
The ‘MIDI Piano Instructor’ is a tool aimed at improving the piano keyboard self-teaching experience with direct interaction between the student and software (or human, remote) teacher.
The new level of interaction is reached when the student is guided on the notes to play or exercise on visually with LEDs placed directly on top of the piano keys.
This month we’re looking at the Game of Life kit from adafruit industries, the team that brought us the SIM reader and other fascinating things. This kit is simple to construct, yet interesting to watch in operation, almost mesmerising. If you love blinking LEDs, this is the kit for you. Furthermore, it is very easy to construct which makes it a great kit for someone who is learning to solder.
If you’ve been following the saga of the fake Atmel ICs, you know what’s going on. If not, read back in time a bit: ATmega Slugs and X-Rays. So a few weeks ago, our writer Chris walks into my office and against all reasonable odds of coincidence in this world, Chris let’s me know that his very own father (Tim) works in the Failure Analysis labs at Atmel. What? Really? Where? In Colorado Springs about 2 hours away. You’re kidding?! Tim had kindly offered to have us come through the lab and analyze the ICs for us.
Just wanted to say your Ice Tube Clock kit was terrific. The step-by-step kit was NEARLY idiot-proof. Very well done. Please make more cool, retro kits! – Brent
The IBM 350 Disk Storage was a major component of the IBM 305 RAMAC (Random Access Memory Accounting) system, introduced in September 1956. The 305 was a flexible, electronic, general purpose data processing machine that enabled businesses to record transactions as they occurred and concurrently reflect each entry in affected accounts. It maintained records on a real-time basis, provided random access to any record, eliminated peak loads, and could simultaneously produce output by either print or punched cards.
ASK AN ENGINEER – LIVE TONIGHT 10PM EDT – 6/26/2010 ! Action packed week, an action packed show is ahead! Tons of stuff to show and share! What is “Ask an engineer”? From the electronics enthusiast to the professional community – “Ask an Engineer” has a little bit of everything for everyone. If you’re a beginner, or a seasoned engineer – stop in and see what we’re up to! We have demos of projects and products we’re working on, we answer you engineering and electronics questions and we have a trivia question + give away each week.
You may not have heard of Randy Regier yet, but you’ll be glad you did. This Maine based artist creates amazing works in a faux retro style that shows a high regard for the reckless optimism and futurism of post war America. Randy handcrafts toys and creates humorous packaging that exemplifies a bygone era in American culture.
As someone who dabbles in retro photo techniques myself, I am really impressed with his level of authenticity and attention to detail. Look at the photos — no softboxes here, it’s all high-wattage flood and spot lights. Awesome. Not to mention his ridic fabrication skills. Wow!
Reminder: This weekend, June 26-27th, is the ARRL Field Day 2010. Ham radio operators will be setting up stations across the US and Canada and inviting the public to come and experience ham radio. You can find your local Field Day using the locator. ARRL Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. Each year over 35,000 amateurs gather with their clubs, friends, or simply by themselves to operate.
ARRL Field Day is not a fully adjudicated contest, which explains much of its popularity. It is a time where many aspects of Amateur Radio come together to highlight our many roles. While some will treat it as a contest, most groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities. It is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Amateur Radio to local elected community leaders, key individuals with the organizations that Amateur Radio might serve in an emergency, as well as the general public. For many clubs, ARRL Field Day is one of the highlights of their annual calendar. From ARRL.org
Adafruit will be offering a 10% discount on their kits from June 26-27 for all licensed hams. Just enter code “HAMS” at check out and in the comments include your call sign.
By popular request – Adafruit now has a catalog – a printable PDF. We automagically generate it each time we have new products and also each month. It’s linked on every single page at the bottom of the left side navigation & product list – download / view it / print it / share it – Printable catalog (PDF).
Make: television is up for an Emmy award and the winners will be announced tonight! We’re up against Martha Stewart, This Old House, and two Style network shows. Wish us luck! Producer Richard Hudson, Make: publisher Dale Dougherty, myself and my wife Erin will be attending. I’ve got a tux and everything! I’ll be tweeting @johnedgarpark and try to get some photos.
Printable catalog (PDF) or (EPUB)
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