Maker Project Lab
March 27, 2018 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: News Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Makers of Alt.CTRL.GDC 2018

The annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco is a wonderfully outrageous, high tech fantasy land where corporations like Microsoft, Facebook, Sony and Google, hold court with their latest zombie-blasting simulators and VR headsets. But it has a secret.

Off in the back (technically in a whole separate building), away from the buzz and hustle of the main show floor, is a small cluster of 20 curated, one-of-a-kind games under a banner labeled “alt.ctrl”. Here, the creators of these games encourage people to come over and play their project. They call themselves Developers, but I see them as Makers like myself. People who take their fun from mixing equal parts Art and Engineering. 

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March 14, 2018 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: News Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Barcelona is for Makers [Maker Update #74]

This week on Maker Update, a mechanical hummingbird, the 2018 Hackaday Prize, a tour of Fab Lab Barcelona, casting metal from 3D prints, and getting started with Arduino without an Arduino. This week’s Cool Tools is 3M Virtua CCS Protective Eyewear.

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June 1, 2017 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: Project Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Making the Kitty Grabs Back Electric Go Kart

If you’ve never seen or heard of Power Racing Series, start here and come back. It looks like crazy fun, right? People take a second-hand kid’s ride-on car (or build one from scratch), turn them into full-on electric go karts, and race each other for fun and glory.

And every year at Maker Faire Bay Area, I’ve watched these racers from the sidelines, laughing and cheering and thinking to myself that someday I might just build and race a car of my own.

Season 8 Power Racing Series Trailer from Power Racing Series on Vimeo.

At the 2016 Maker Faire, freshly unemployed from my year as Make magazine’s Project Editor, I decided there was never going to be a better time to try building my own car.

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January 25, 2017 AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: News Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Asus Tinker Board Challenges Raspberry Pi [Maker Update #18]

This week on Maker Update: the classic bristlebot gets an upgrade, Eagle CAD drops a bomb, ASUS takes on Raspberry Pi, musical domes, hacked Furbys, vape tech, and Chi-town gets a big ol’ Maker Faire.  

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July 28, 2016 0 Comments AUTHOR: Donald Bell CATEGORIES: Kits, News, Project Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tap Sensor Kit Blends Vintage Circuit With Fresh Design

Tap Sensor PCB with backlight
The Tap Sensor from Boldport. Photo by Donald Bell.

Boldport’s Tap Sensor project is a beautiful refresh of a project that first appeared in the premier issue of 1974’s Elektor magazine. The organic lines of the circuit board traces — a hallmark of Boldport’s design aesthetic — look right at home on this retro project, which is largely unchanged from the original ‘70s design.

The kit includes the bare board, a few stickers, a printed link to project information, and all of the electronic components you’ll need to complete the board. In order to functionally demonstrate the project you will also need three LEDs, a breadboard, some hookup wire, female-male header wires, and a 5v power supply. If you’ve completed Boldport’s Cordwood Puzzle project, you can also hook the Tap Sensor directly to it with some header wires and skip the breadboard and LEDs.

Boldport Tap Sensor Kit Contents
The Boldport Tap Sensor Kit comes with the beautiful custom PCB and all of the components you’ll need to complete the project. Photo courtesy of Boldport.

Because Boldport’s boards are so thoughtfully labeled on the underside with component outlines and reference numbers, the project basically revolves around correctly placing and soldering things, with bonus points for clean, tight work that can complement the beauty of the board.

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