Maker Project Lab
July 11, 2019 AUTHOR: Christine Cain CATEGORIES: News Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Something in the Air [Maker Update #131]

This week on Maker Update, a desktop air tester, a drill press table lift, art from particle collisions, working with black & white TVs, EL Neon, and diffraction finishes for 3D prints.

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December 3, 2018 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Opening Up the Alexa Billy Bass

Hey I’m Donald Bell for Maker Project Lab and in this video we’re going to take a look inside the new Amazon Echo Alexa-compatible version of the Big Mouth Billy Bass talking fish. I got this for around $40 on Amazon. I’ll leave a link in the video description, but you may want to watch this whole video and hear my opinion before picking one up.

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February 8, 2017 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: News Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DIY Spy Camera and IoT Valentines [Maker Update #20]

This week on Maker Update, a cheap, DIY spy camera, manufacturing with Voodoo, the Billy Bass Alexa gets fully realized, an internet valentine, printed pangolins, a guitar stompbox development rig, friction welding plastic, and Maker Faire Kuwait. SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE 

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November 30, 2016 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: News Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Time to Print the Ornaments [Maker Update #12]

This week on Maker Update: a payphone that calls the 90’s, a moon for your nightstand, a way to finally get your fish talking, a mini NES with NFC, 3D print ornaments, a sewing machine for makers, a ridiculous amount of maker contests, and the first Maker Faire in L.A.

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November 18, 2016 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: Project Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Hack Alexa into a Billy Bass Talking Fish

As many of you know from watching my Maker Update video series, I’ve been obsessed with hacking together a Billy Bass novelty talking fish and Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant. About a month ago, an artist named Brian Kane published a viral video showing a Big Mouth Billy Bass novelty singing fish, seemingly voiced by Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant. The internet went nuts for it, and so did I — but mostly I just wanted to know how it worked so that I could make my own.

After a few weeks tinkering with it and collecting the components I needed, I’ve come up with a workable hack. The project documentation and code are available on Instructables. I encourage you to provide feedback and ideas on how to improve it.
Make an Amazon Alexa talk through an animatronic Billy Bass singing fish.

November 9, 2016 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: News Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Let’s Hack Alexa into a Fish [Maker Update #10]

This week on Maker Update: making your own Alexa-Powered Billy Bass, the rise of the modular swarm bots, DIY candy dispensers, 3D printed Thanksgiving accessories, and a good excuse for a blow torch.

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