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Animated Light Controller
Using a spare attiny2313 to control some solid state relays. Four channels total, two outlets are always on. Here is the schematic. The LEDs are mis-routed to the same path as the relay control wires. Turns out the LEDs sap current and don’t allow the relays to trigger properly. Leave the LEDs disconnected and all is well.
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Rockband Stage & Light Kit Mod
Sorry, I do not have full writeup for this project. Here is a photostream of the mod. Rock Band Mod on Flickr Pretty much what I did was take an off the shelf strobe light and swap it for the one built into the fog machine. Re-wired a ps/2 keyboard cable connecting it to the liberated rock band strobe light. Now I can use the strobe light with the game without dragging out the fog machine. Also added override switches on the fog machine so I could activate both the strobe and fog machine outside the game.
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Presenting the Halo Energy Sword~!
I knew what I wanted to do was design a circuit that would be similar in function to the star wars sabers that fans build. That meant animated lights running the length of the twin blades, an accelerometer to gather motion data, and sound playback for startup and swing sounds. What I ended up doing was designing a circuit around an ATMEGA32 controller chip. Hit more info for details. This is a summary page, additional notes are on the forum. Original Project Page Design I knew what I wanted to do was design a circuit that would be similar in function to the star wars sabers that fans build. That…
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Halo Energy Sword
If you read about that sort of thing, you may remember last fall Master Replicas announced a Halo Energy Sword that would feature similar functions as their ForceFX Lightsabers (powerup/down sounds, motion activated sound, animated lights). The promised release date was the holiday season 2008.There is another company that makes realistic Halo toys, this is the same company that made a plasma pistol and plasma rifle that are superb. They also announced an energy sword in 2007 with a 2008 release.Here we are in 2009 with no product from either company. I had to do some major digging to learn both these products were canceled and will never be released.…
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HTPC Project
A writeup of choosing parts for my black box media computer. Based on my htpc project from last year. Component List 2009 IN WIN Black Steel IW-BT566T.300BL Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case Intel Celeron 430 Conroe-L 1.8GHz LGA 775 35W Single-Core Processor Model BX80557430 ECS GF7100PVT-M LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7100 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card Sound Blaster Digital I /o Module Patriot Xporter XT 4GB Flash Drive (USB2.0 Portable) Model PEF4GUSB eDATA DEC-200B Vista Certified Infrared…
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Star Trek Communicator
Got the idea in my head after I finished watching all seven seasons of Star Trek Voyager for the second time that it may be possible to create a functional comm badge. It would function as a bluetooth headset of sorts for a cellphone. Their are plenty of micro sized bluetooth headsets, but they only work when close to your ear. I see three different ways to implement this idea: * First, take an existing micro headset pcb and add an amplifier. * Second, there could be a wire from an ear phone to the comm badge, the mic and controls would be in the comm badge. * Third, ditch…
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Use a PC Headset With Any 2.5mm Headset Jack
Create an adapter that will connect two stereo 3.5mm phone connectors (one speakers, one microphone) to a single 2.5mm connector. I plan to use a durable and comfortable PC headset to replace the terrible selection of xbox live headsets. Forum Link Usage: cell phones, handsets, xbox live The finished adapter will look like a Y adapter, but it is not. The adapter will connect the two 3.5mm plugs that are standard on PC headsets into the standard 2.5mm jack found on most handsets for connecting headsets. Note: Be careful with compatibility. Several cell phones now support stereo speaker headsets (4 connector plug). This guide will create a mono speaker headset…
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Ghostbusters Costume
This was a joint project between myself and my brother, Dale. I am good with electronics and he has access to sticker industry machines. Although I spent two months working on this costume, there is no reason it couldn’t be done faster and with less effort. Having said that, this costume did win me a costume contest in two out of four catagories. Best Costume Most Original Costume http://www.westaby.net/ghostbusters.html
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Coffee Table Arcade Machine
No end result here, just some concepts. Current research progress and link archive. http://www.westaby.net/coffee.html
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Halloween Construction
With halloween 2 months away I figure it is time to start working on a costume. My brother asked me to help with his Ghostbuster costume and also gave me permission to copy him so we can go together. Check out our current progress in the Costumes & Props section of the forum. Project Forum Update: November 3, 2008: Project complete, costume contest won, details and pictures available. http://www.westaby.net/ghostbusters.html