Get Your Bits Fit FitBit is evolving, from both a hardware and software perspective. In October 2011, the clip itself was upgraded and renamed the FitBit Ultra. The Ultra has the same features as the original FitBit, with one major addition: an altimeter. With the altimeter, Ultra knows how much elevation you lose or gain […]
Basic Idea Behind Fax Machines Most of the early fax machine designs involved a rotating drum. To send a fax, you would attach the piece of paper to the drum, with the print facing outward. The rest of the machine worked something like this: There was a small photo sensor with a lens and a
How Fax Machines Work Read More »
Building Up to NFC Back in 2004, three big companies — Nokia, Sony and Philips — got together with the goal of establishing a standard for near field communication technology. While these companies worked to standardize NFC, the technology that makes it possible dates back much further. And it all begins with the relationship between
How Near Field Communication Works Read More »
Electrostatic and Dynamic Transducers To hear what’s recorded on a record, cassette, CD, DVD or MP3 player, data stored on the medium must be converted into sound waves. This requires that the stored information be turned into an electrical signal, which then must pass through a transducer to convert the transverse electrical wave into a
How Noise-canceling Headphones Work Read More »
The Mechanics of the Air Multiplier There are blades in the fan — you just can’t see them. The pedestal hides the blades. A motor rotates nine asymmetrically aligned blades to pull airinto the device. According to Dyson, these blades can pull in up to 5.28 gallons (about 20 liters) of air per second. The
How the Dyson Bladeless Fan Works Read More »
Cycle related gadgets are always of interest to Gadget Master, so I was interested to see an article on New Scientist about a “vibrobelt”, described as “sat nav for your waist”. Basically, it’s a belt to help guide cyclists, with actuators indicating the relative direction to take – left, right, and forwards
Vibrobelt buzzes cyclist in right direction Read More »
Welcome the new Arduino – the Esplora ! It’s shaped like a game controller, and it’s designed to be used out of the box as it comes with many sensors and actuators already on it (you can add a couple of extra ones). In more detail, the Esplora combines a light sensor, a temperature sensor, a 3-axis accelerometer, a joystick, a set of pushbuttons, a slider, an RGB LED, and a buzzer, together with a Arduino-compatible processor (ATmega32u4).
Enter the Esplora, Arduino game controller Read More »
This project is a broadband field strength sensing probe that has a 15cm antenna. It is able to detect radio energy and read the output on a common multimeter millivolts scale. It can be used to test 4MHz, 35 MHz, 55 MHz, 100 MHz, 384 MHz, 900 MHz, cell phone, and microwave oven. The meter is
Are you being spied – A Simple Field Strength Indicator (field strength meter) Read More »
The UK’s first Raspberry Pi Hack Day has been held, with the winner of “Best Overall Hack” being a virtual board game suitable for educational use within schools. The 24-hour bake-a-thon, hosted by CPC in Leeds, focused on programming solely using the credit card-sized Raspberry Pi, and the winning team – Spooks – developed a board game which encourages players to experiment with programming
Computerised board game wins Raspberry Pi Hack Day Read More »
What is Stun Gun An electroshock weapon is an incapacitant weapon used for incapacitating a person by administering electric shock aimed at disrupting superficial muscle functions. One type is a conductive energy device (CED) fires projectiles that administer the shock through a thin, flexible wire. Other electroshock weapons such as stun guns, stun batons, and electroshock belts administer an electric shock by direct contact.
What is a stun gun – How to Make Stun Gun Read More »
