Hack # 50 is all about hackin hardware. It’s a spontaneous hack conceived and shot in less that 30 minutes. A cool little robot comes out of it all. It’s doesn’t do much except walk foraward, or left… and well, right sometimes…. but it walks… and it has some great music by Tom Woxom found on freemusicarchive.org backin it all up!
keep on hackin!
My girlfriend’s Honda needed front brake pads so I’m sharing a little repair information on how it’s done.
This basic front brake caliper set up is common to many cars on both front and rear brakes. Disc brakes offer much better braking force than drum brakes and are much easier to service.
Enjoy the video and pay attention! This may help you decide if the quote you got for front brake service is a fair price.
Keep on hackin!
I was given a Sony Handycam several months ago and I stashed it away knowing that one day I’d pull it out and hack it in some way, probably multiple ways. I salvaged some pretty nifty bits from this camera but the coolest was the 20x zoom lens. It has focus and zoom controlled by two stepper motors.
When I removed the CDD I realized that the lens could easily be attached to a different CCD from another camera. Well it just so happens that I had an extra Logitech Quickcam someone gave to me and since I had been inside them before, I knew it would be a good candidate for this hack. With just a bit of modification to the mounting holes on the circuit board, I was able to mount the lens with two screws, nice and solid.
I was pleased with the results and I’d like to take the project a step further… pun intended, and connect the stepper motors to a controller so I can get finite adjustment of focus and zoom.
Enjoy the video…
keep on hackin!
The most horrible noise was coming from my girlfriend’s clothes dryer and she asked me if I’d take a look at it for her. I had recently replaced the heating elements so I was familiar with gaining access to the dryer’s innards. Prior to that repair I had no idea how the dryer came apart. There was a lot of trial and error, removing screws and panels that weren’t necessary. I’m sure there are many other DIY repair people out there like me that could use this video as a guide so this week’s hack is a how-to on dryer repair. This one is a GE but I’m thinking they all come apart in a similar fashion.
Once the front cover is removed you have access to replacing the motor, drive belt, belt tensioner, heating elements, felt seals, drum bushings and give the inside a good cleaning of excess lint.
Follow along now as we discover just what the hell is making all that noise in Lisa’s dryer!
Til next time, keep on hackin…
Wow this is the latest blog post yet! A few days late due to my week and weekend time being consumed by building a gizmo and writing a how to article for Make Magazine! The deadline was this weekend so no time for a hack this week.
I thought it would be a good time to give a little tour of my work shop. There IS a small hack, sort of, in the video good for a laugh.
I get a lot of people asking how I keep my work area so clean. Easy. Clean up a mess when you make it, put tools back when you’re done with them and stay organized.
till next time, when I get back to a real hack…
keep on hackin!
