Just like the garage computer explosion of the 70’s through the 80’s, which brought us such things as Apple, pong, Bill Gate’s hair, and the proliferation of personal computers, the maker movement is the new garage hardware explosion. Today, 135 million adults in the United States alone are involved in the maker movement.
Enthusiasts who want to build the products they want, from shortwave radios to personal computers, and to tweak products they’ve bought to make them even better, have long been a part of the electronics industry. By all measures, garage-style innovation remains alive and well today, as “makers” as they are called continue to turn out contemporary gadgets, including 3D printers, drones, and embedded electronics devices.
Making is about individual Do-It-Yourselfers being able to design and create with tools that were, as of a decade or two ago, only available to large, cash-rich corporations: CAD tools, CNC mills, 3D printers, low-quantity PCB manufacturing, open hardware such as Arduinos and similar inexpensive development boards – all items that have made it easier and relatively cheap to make whatever we imagine. For individuals, maker tools can change how someone views their home or their hobbies. The world is ours to make. Humans are genetically wired to be makers. The maker movement is simply the result of making powerful building and communication tools accessible to the masses. There are plenty of projects from makers that show good engineering: Take this Arduino board with tremendous potential, developed by a young maker, as example.
The maker movement is a catalyst to democratize entrepreneurship as these do-it-yourself electronics are proving to be hot sellers: In the past year, unit sales for 3D printing related products; Arduino units, parts and supplies; Raspberry Pi boards; drones and quadcopters; and robotics goods are all on a growth curve in terms of eBay sales. There are many Kickstarter maker projects going on. The Pebble E-Paper Watch raises $10 million. The LIFX smartphone-controlled LED bulb raises $1.3 million. What do these products have in common? They both secured funding through Kickstarter, a crowd-funding website that is changing the game for entrepreneurs. Both products were created by makers who seek to commercialize their inventions. These “startup makers” iterate on prototypes with high-end tools at professional makerspaces.
For companies to remain competitive, they need to embrace the maker movement or leave themselves open for disruption. Researchers found that 96 percent of business leaders believe new technologies have forever changed the rules of business by democratizing information and rewiring customer expectations. - You’ve got to figure out agile innovation. Maybe history is repeating itself as the types of products being sold reminded us of the computer tinkering that used to be happening in the 1970s to 1990s – similar in terms of demographics, tending to be young people, and low budget. Now the do-it-yourself category is deeply intertwined with the electronics industry. Open hardware is in the center in maker movement – we need open hardware designs! How can you publish your designs and still do business with it? Open source ecosystem markets behave differently and therefore require a very different playbook than traditional tech company: the differentiation is not in the technology you build; it is in the process and expertise that you slowly amass over an extended period of time.
By democratizing the product development process, helping these developments get to market, and transforming the way we educate the next generation of innovators, we will usher in the next industrial revolution. The world is ours to make. Earlier the PC created a new generation of software developers who could innovate in the digital world without the limitations of the physical world (virtually no marginal cost, software has become the great equalizer for innovation. Now advances in 3D printing and low-cost microcontrollers as well as the ubiquity of advanced sensors are enabling makers to bridge software with the physical world. Furthermore, the proliferation of wireless connectivity and cloud computing is helping makers contribute to the Internet of Things (IoT). We’re even beginning to see maker designs and devices entering those markets once thought to be off-limits, like medical.
Image source: The world is ours to make: The impact of the maker movement – EDN Magazine
In fact, many parents have engaged in the maker movement with their kids because they know that the education system is not adequately preparing their children for the 21st century. There is a strong movement to spread this DIY idea widely. The Maker Faire, which launched in the Bay Area in California in 2006, underlined the popularity of the movement by drawing a record 215,000 people combined in the Bay Area and New York events in 2014. There’s Maker Media, MakerCon, MakerShed, Make: magazine and 131 Maker Faire events that take place throughout the world. Now the founders of all these Makers want a way to connect what they refer to as the “maker movement” online. So Maker Media created a social network called MakerSpace, a Facebook-like social network that connects participants of Maker Faire in one online community. The new site will allow participants of the event to display their work online. There are many other similar sites that allow yout to present yout work fron Hackaday to your own blog. Today, 135 million adults in the United States alone are involved in the maker movement—although makers can be found everywhere in the world.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
LED Tree Brings Gravity to Christmas
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/10/led-tree-brings-gravity-to-christmas/
Here’s a fun entry into our coin cell challenge. The power source is the actuating force in [Frank]’s blinky LED Christmas tree, which takes advantage of the physical structure of coin cells and our old pal gravity to roll out some holiday cheer. Talk about forward voltage!
Gravity Assisted Blinking Coin Cell Christmas Tree
https://hackaday.io/project/28793-gravity-assisted-blinking-coin-cell-christmas-tree
The Blinking Coin Cell Christmas Tree runs entirely off the power of a coin cell with a bit of a gravity assist.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Graphene Putty Makes Super Sensitive Sensor
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/23/diy-graphene-putty-makes-super-sensitive-sensor/
It is sort of an electronics rule 34 that if something occurs, someone needs to sense it. [Bblorgggg], for reasons that aren’t immediately obvious, needs to sense ants moving over trees. No kidding. How are you going to do that? His answer was to use graphene.
Actually, his super sensitive sensors mix graphene in Silly Putty, an unlikely combination that he tried after reading (on Hackaday, no less) about similar experiments at Trinity College resulting in Gputty. The Gputty was highly sensitive to pressure, and so it appears is his DIY version called Goophene.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Goophene-Hypersensitive-Graphene-Sensors/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Shah Selbe: Science in the World’s Wildest Places
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/22/shah-selbe-science-in-the-worlds-wildest-places/
When we think of building research hardware, lab coats and pristine workbenches come to mind. Shah Selbe used to do something kind of like that when he was engineering satellite propulsion systems. But after putting twelve of them into space, he ditched the office gig and took his gear to some of the wildest places on earth. He’s an explorer and fellow with the National Geographic Society, and at the Hackaday Superconference he shared his experiences building research hardware that gathers data in incredibly remote places.
Wild Hardware: Adventures with Ecological IoT and National Geographic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N37QWl4DIk&feature=youtu.be
Shah Selbe is building and deploying hardware to help monitor ecological problems in the wildest places on on Earth. He’s built sensors to monitor ocean fishing practices, watch the movements of glaciers, and to gather real time data about the Okavango Delta in Botswana. The experience has led him to begin work on an open hardware monitoring platform that can be widely use by the research community.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Stepper Motor Robot Arm Has Smooth Moves
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/22/stepper-motor-robot-arm-has-smooth-moves/
Even removing the microcontroller and trying to work with the servo’s driver-IC and potentiometer from an Arduino Nano didn’t get him satisfaction.
Then he found the very affordable 28BYJ-48 stepper motor. After some experimenting, he came up with a smooth moving robot arm with four steppers controlled from an Arduino Mega and A4988 stepper motor drivers. Rather than write a bunch of stepper motor code himself, he installed and ran a four-axis fork of grbl on the Arduino, turning it into a stepper motor controller.
Small Stepper Robot Arm
https://electrondust.com/2018/01/21/small-stepper-robot-arm/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Three Ways to Etch Snazzy Brass Nameplates
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/25/three-ways-to-etch-snazzy-brass-nameplates/
It’s the little touches that make a project, and a nice nameplate can really tie a retro build together. Such badges are easy enough to make with a CNC machine, but if you don’t have access to machine tools you can put chemistry to work for you with these acid-etched brass nameplates.
The etching method that [Switch and Lever] uses to get down to brass plaques will be intimately familiar to anyone who has etched a PCB before. Ferric chloride works as well on brass as it does on copper, and [Switch and Lever] does a good job explaining the chemistry of the etching process and offers some tips on making up etching solution from powdered ferric chloride.
three different masking methods.
Acid Etching Brass Plaques
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Op6H0C18tM
Tomi Engdahl says:
Etching Copper Badges & Nameplates Without Acid!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANwnmT1PLH8
In this video, I show one method of copper etching called Electrolytic Etching. Using an electrolyte solution of copper sulfate dissolved in water, you can etch copper by applying power to it from a DC power supply.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Using Lasagna to Make Cost-Saving Molds
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/25/using-lasagna-to-make-cost-saving-molds/
Building a one-off prototype is usually pretty straightforward. Find some perfboard and start soldering, weld up some scrap metal, or break out the 3D printer. But if you’re going to do a production run of a product then things need to have a little more polish. In [Eric Strebel]’s case this means saving on weight and material by converting a solid molded part into something that is hollow, with the help of some lasagna.
What [Eric] walks us through in this video is how to build a weep mold.
Transforming a Solid master part into a Thin Walled Hollow cast part, Lasagna Trick & Eclipse Bonus
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DDQnM3y2FA
Tomi Engdahl says:
Home Brew Solar Cells for the Chemically Curious
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/26/home-brew-solar-cells-for-the-chemically-curious/
The idea of making your own semiconductors from scratch would be more attractive if it weren’t for the expensive equipment and noxious chemicals required for silicon fabrication. But simple semiconductors can be cooked up at home without anything fancy, and they can actually yield pretty good results.
Granted, [Simplifier] has been working on the method detailed in the video below for about a year, and a look at his post on copper oxide thin-film solar cells reveals a meticulous approach to optimize everything. He started with regular window glass, heated over a propane burner and sprayed with a tin oxide solution to make it conductive while remaining transparent. The N-type layer was sprayed on next in the form of zinc oxide doped with magnesium. Copper oxide, the P-type layer, was electroplated on next, followed by a quick dip in copper sulfide to act as another transparent conductor.
Optimized Solar Cell
https://simplifier.neocities.org/optsolar.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Tiny Motor is Built into a PCB
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/24/this-tiny-motor-is-built-into-a-pcb/
Mounting a motor on a PCB is nothing new, right? But how about making the PCB itself part of the motor? That’s what [Carl Bugeja] has done with his brushless DC motor in a PCB project, and we think it’s pretty cool.
PCB Motor
A smaller and cheaper brushless motor.
https://hackaday.io/project/39494-pcb-motor
The PCB motor is my solution for trying to design a smaller, cheaper and easier to assemble brushless motor.
The motor’s stator is a 6 spiral PCB coil in a star configuration. Although it has less torque compared to an iron core stator, it still suitable for high-speed applications.
The current prototype has a 3d printed rotor with a 16mm diameter.
My PCB-Motor is made from a 6-pole stator printed on a 4-layer PCB and a 4-pole 3d printed rotor. Its has an outer diameter of 16mm and is rated at 1 watt.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Current State of the Black Market: You Can’t Buy Vantablack
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/25/the-current-state-of-the-black-market/
Vantablack has the current crown for being the blackest black currently available, absorbing 99.965% of visible light. However, before you get too excited, it does have some drawbacks. In its original form, it has to be grown on materials at temperatures of 400 °C in laboratory conditions.
It does also come in a spraycan format, requiring only 100 °C to cure, however. But perhaps the biggest pitfall is that for the vast majority of users, it simply isn’t available.
Coming in a close second is Singularity Black, by Nanolab. This consists of carbon nanotubes in a polymer binder which breaks down upon exposure to temperatures above 300 °C. Absorbing up to 98.5% of visible light and with similarly strong performance in IR, it’s perhaps the most high-performing alternative available. Application isn’t easy and is somewhat hazardous
Another option is Aeroglaze Z306, used by NASA as a coating behind space-based imaging sensors. At 97% reflectivity, it’s very black
If you’re looking for the darkest black you can get without leaving the comfortable, familiar realm of things that can generally be considered “paint”, never fear — Stuart Semple’s Black 2.0 is the answer. Estimated to absorb between 95-96% of visible light, it’s a simple acrylic paint that’s been absolutely loaded with pigment, which means application is as easy as brushing it on and letting it dry, all at room temperature.
https://culturehustle.com/products/black-v1-0-beta-the-world-s-mattest-flattest-blackest-art-material
Tomi Engdahl says:
Amazing Mechanical Linkages and The Software to Design Them
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/26/amazing-mechanical-linkages-and-the-software-to-design-them/
Most of us are more bits-and-bytes than nuts-and-bolts, but we have the deepest appreciation for the combination of the two. So, apparently, does [rectorsquid]. Check out the design and flow of his rolling ball sculpture
There’s no way [rectorsquid] designed this on paper, right?
Of course he didn’t (YouTube). Instead, he wrote a simulator that lets him try out various custom linkages in real time. It’s a Windows-only application (sigh), but it’s free to use,
Linkage Mechanism Designer and Simulator
http://blog.rectorsquid.com/linkage-mechanism-designer-and-simulator/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Travel in Style on an Electric Air Sled
https://hackaday.com/2018/02/01/travel-in-style-on-an-electric-air-sled/
Sledding normally takes place on hills, but [Peter Sripol] is no slave to the terrain. He’s built an air sled to conquer the barren wastelands of unplowed parking lots. Air sleds aren’t as outlandish as you might think — the Soviet Union had decades of success with them.
The motor, of course, comes from his DIY electric plane project.
The motor itself is quite a beast. It’s a 150cc equivalent brushless outrunner motor from HobbyKing. It’s not cheap either at around $450 USD. The motor is controlled by an equally beefy brushless controller wired into a standard R/C car receiver. A pistol grip transmitter makes a great wireless throttle for the system.
Steering is a much more mechanical affair.
DIY Snow Air Sled
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hNvBr83bFE
Tomi Engdahl says:
Twitter Celebration of Scientist Hacks For Lab And Field
https://hackaday.com/2018/02/01/twitter-celebration-of-scientist-hacks-for-lab-and-field/
If you like reading about scientists creatively using household objects for their work, you will enjoy browsing Twitter hashtag #reviewforscience where scientists are sharing stories of repurposing everyday things for their lab and field.
Research papers focus on the scientific hypothesis and the results of testing it. It is very common for such papers to leave out details of tools and techniques as irrelevant. (A solid scientific conclusion should be reproducible no matter what tools and techniques are used.) This sadly meant much of scientists’ ingenuity never see light.
https://twitter.com/hashtag/reviewforscience
Tomi Engdahl says:
Junk Build Printer Uses Pencil To Print
https://hackaday.com/2018/01/31/junk-build-printer-uses-pencil-to-print/
Sometimes, it is interesting to see what you can build from the bits that you have in your junk drawer. [Dr West] decided to build a printer with spare parts including a hard drive, a scanner base and an Arduino. The result is a rather cool printer that prints out the image using a pencil, tapping the image out one dot at a time. The software converts the image into an array, with 0 representing white and 1 representing black. The printer itself works a bit like an old-school CRT TV: the scanner array moves the printer along a horizontal line, then moves it vertically and along another horizontal line. It then triggers the hard drive actuator to create a mark on the paper if there is a 1 in the array at that point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZrAjnPHzjQ
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Way I Work: Interview with Natasha Baker, founder of SnapEDA
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/max-teodorescu/articles/the-way-i-work-interview-with-natasha-baker-founder-of-snapeda
Natasha Baker is an electrical engineer and founder of the platform SnapEDA, a site she refers to as a “Google for electronic design.” Over half a million engineers use SnapEDA to build their circuit boards faster, making everything from medical devices to electric airplanes. But this wasn’t always the case; Natasha began SnapEDA from her kitchen table with no funds or team — just an idea. It now serves engineers in everything from small shops, to household names like Samsung and General Electric. This is her story. This is the way she works.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Raspberry-Pi DVB Transmitter: The Benefits of Open-Source Hardware
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/paul-dillien/articles/raspberry-pi-dvb-transmitter-the-benefits-of-open-source-hardware
Is this Raspberry-Pi-based device the world’s smallest DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) transmitter?
Lime Microsystems is one company that evangelizes an open-source philosophy and provides full details of its wireless chips. As a result, the open-source community has embraced the software defined radio (SDR) boards from Lime and is creating some exciting applications, which greatly extend the functionality of the device through the use of a natively enabled app store.
This digital TV transmitter, which is based on a combination of a LimeSDR Mini and a Raspberry Pi Zero, provides a perfect example.
This setup processes the camera output into a DVB2 compliant transport stream and onwards to the SDR, while the receiver features a decoder and display chain to drive an HDMI output (it also includes a spectrum analyzer). The demo uses RF tuned to 1.2GHz, which sits within the 10MHz to 3.5GHz range of the Mini. Designers can download the app to provide a DVB (Digital Video Broadcasting) video link and customize it to their exact requirements.
The open-source community is busy creating a wide variety of wireless applications using LimeSDR products, and then making these applications available for “app enabled” products. In addition to the video example discussed above, there are already designs for narrow and wideband FM transceivers, a spectrum analyzer using a UDOO X86 single board computer, a GSM base station using a Raspberry Pi and — with the addition of a Lime frequency range extender — the LimeSDR transmits and receives LTE signals at 10GHz.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tiny Brushless Motor Built from a PCB
https://blog.hackster.io/tiny-brushless-motor-built-from-a-pcb-5f4ac3640681
If you’ve purchased or played with certain micro-drones, you’ll notice that in some cases the motors are actually mounted to the PCB. While an extremely clever use, what if you took things further and actually made the motor out of the PCB itself?
Tomi Engdahl says:
IKEA’s New ‘Open Source’ Sofa Is Designed to Be Hacked
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-23/tom-dixon-s-open-source-ikea-delaktig-sofa-wants-to-be-hacked
The long-anticipated result of a partnership with industrial designer Tom Dixon is about to hit stores in Europe: the Delaktig couch is designed to be customized by owners, however they please.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Meet BOB, and See the Benefits of Open-Source Breakout Boards
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/max-maxfield/articles/meet-bob-and-see-the-benefits-of-open-source-breakout-boards
f you are intending to create a mass-produced product, then surface-mount technology (SMT) components — anything from discrete devices (resistors, capacitors, etc.) to motor drivers to microcontrollers — are the way to go. As compared to lead through hole (LTH) components, systems using surface mount devices (SMDs) are much smaller and lighter, thereby resulting in smaller, lighter circuit boards, which is a key factor when creating volume-limited products like cameras.
The big downside to SMDs is when it comes to prototyping. It is possible to hand-solder some SMDs with larger pitches, but finer-pitch devices would bring most of us to our knees.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Build a Tiny Hot Wire Foam Cutter
https://hackaday.com/2018/02/08/build-a-tiny-hot-wire-foam-cutter/
Let’s face it: cutting foam with a knife, even a serrated plastic knife meant for the job, is a messy pain in the ass. This is as true for insulation board as it is for the ubiquitous expanded polystyrene kind of foam used for everything from coffee cups to packaging material.
[Techgenie]’s handheld hot wire foam cutter is a simple build based on a single 18650 and a piece of nichrome wire.
How to Make Electric Foam Cutter
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-Electric-Foam-Cutter/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Injection Molding iPhone Cases from Trash
https://hackaday.com/2018/02/07/injection-molding-iphone-cases-from-trash/
by providing a centralized resource for individuals and communities looking to get into the plastic recycling game, they hope to put a dent in the worldwide plastic crisis. One of their latest projects is showing how plastic trash can be turned into functional iPhone cases with small-scale injection molding.
Once you’ve designed your mold on the computer, you need to turn it into a physical object. If you’ve got a CNC capable of milling aluminum then you’re all set, but if not, you’ll need to outsource it.
With the mold completed, all that’s left is to bolt the two sides together and inject the liquid plastic. Here [Precious Plastic] shows off a rather interesting approach where they attach the mold to a contraption that allows them to inject plastic with human power.
https://preciousplastic.com/en/creations.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
S.T.E.A.M. Fabrikarium Builds Assistive Tech in Mumbai
https://hackaday.com/2018/02/07/steam-fabrikarium-mumbai/
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Tachometer Inside Your Smartphone
https://hackaday.com/2018/02/08/the-tachometer-inside-your-smartphone/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Zen and the Art of Foam Core
https://hackaday.com/2018/02/10/zen-and-the-art-of-foam-core/
Some of our pastimes are so deeply meditative that we lose ourselves for hours. Our hands seem to perform every step, and sequence like a pianist might recite her favorite song. If [Eric Strebel]’s voice and videos are any indications, working with foam core can have that effect.
Foam core is a staple of art stores, hobby stores, and office supply stores. It comes in different colors, but the universal trait is a sheet of foam sandwiched between a couple of layers of paper. This composition makes a versatile material which [Eric] demonstrates well in his advanced tutorial making a compound surface and later on a speaker mockup.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Brazen Solution to Mounting Lixies (LED-Based Alternatives to Nixie Tubes)
https://www.eeweb.com/profile/max-maxfield/articles/a-brazen-solution-to-mounting-lixies-led-based-alternatives-to-nixie-tubes
Although Lixie displays look wonderful, they can be a tad tricky to mount on a cabinet. The split brass plate solution presented here addresses this issue.
a brazen solution to mounting the Lixies (LED-based alternatives to Nixie tubes) that are to be featured in my countdown timer
Tomi Engdahl says:
Repairs You Can Print Contest: Meet the Winners
https://hackaday.com/2018/02/28/repairs-you-can-print-contest-meet-the-winners/
Six weeks ago, we asked you to show us your best 3D printed repairs for a chance to win $100 in Tindie credit and other prizes. You answered the call with fixes for everything from the stuff everyone has, like zippers and remotes, to the more obscure stuff, like amazing microscopes scavenged from dumpsters.
It was hard to whittle down the entries we received into the top 20 because you came up with so many awesome fixes. A few of them had us thinking hard about the definition of repair, but are brilliant in their own way.
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printable Raman Probe
https://hackaday.io/project/33762-3d-printable-raman-probe
This a 100% 3D printed Transmission Raman Probe (low resolution) W/built-in cuvette holder/Raman filter
this Raman probe will provide a spectral resolution of approximately 15 cm-1
Nikon D3400 DSLR camera that I will be using as my Raman detector
it is clear from documentation that 200um fiber core is certainly the right size for Raman spectroscopy
The figure below is the collimation kit for the exit point to the spectrometer, this is pricey @ around $200.00 US but there is NO work around on this, even for a low resolution Raman probe @ 15 cm -1, this and the 2nd figure must be incorporated!
This is the low-insertion loss cable that attaches to my laser collimation tube assembly that fit to the front face of the probe.
Tomi Engdahl says:
When Dell does not want to sell spare parts… PCB making (PWJ87)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toEXLx1E48I
Tomi Engdahl says:
ESR’s Newest Project: An Open Hardware/Open Source UPS
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/18/03/11/0349235/esrs-newest-project-an-open-hardwareopen-source-ups?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Slashdot%2Fslashdot%2Fto+%28%28Title%29Slashdot+%28rdf%29%29
Last month Eric S. Raymond complained about his choices for a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply), adding that “This whole category begs to be disrupted by an open-hardware [and open-source] design that could be assembled cheaply in a makerspace from off-the-shelf components, an Arduino-class microcontroller, and a PROM…because it’s possible, and otherwise the incentives on the vendors won’t change.” It could be designed to work with longer-lasting and more environmentally friendly batteries, using “EV-style intelligent battery-current sensors to enable accurate projection of battery performance” (along with a text-based alert system and a USB monitoring port)
UPSes suck and need to be disrupted
http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=7839
I use a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) to protect the Great Beast of Malvern from power outages and lightning strikes. Every once in a while I have to buy a replacement UPS and am reminded of how horribly this entire product category sucks. Consumer-grade UPSes suck, SOHO UPSs suck, and I am reliably informed by my friends who run datacenters that no, you cannot ascend into a blissful upland of winnitude by shelling out for expensive “enterprise-grade” UPSes – they all suck too.
The lossage is extra annoying because designing a UPS that doesn’t suck would be neither difficult nor expensive. These are not complicated devices – they’re way simpler than, say, printers or scanners. This whole category begs to be disrupted by an open-hardware design that could be assembled cheaply in a makerspace from off-the-shelf components, an Arduino-class microcontroller, and a PROM.
How badly do UPSes suck? Let me count the ways…
I know people who hook up car batteries to salvaged UPS electronics and get 10 years of life out of the rig. UPSes could be designed with the kind of deep-cycle gel batteries used for marine applications like trolling motors to last even longer and be even more reliable. But noooooo.
Next: automobiles nowadays are are equipped with intelligent battery-current sensors that measure not just output voltage but discharge current and battery temperature. This is enough to do accurate state-of-charge and state-of-battery calculations
But are these intelligent current sensors deployed in UPSes? Why, no! That might add a couple of cents to the BOM and of course we can’t have that. Far better to inflict unexpected battery death on the customers who, you know, were paying money exactly so that sort of thing wouldn’t happen to them.
Now we get to what actually triggered today’s rant: the terrible user experience produced by the vendors’ grim determination to pump out least-possible-cost designs that ignore what users actually need.
What’s missing from this picture? A text error-message display, like you’d see even on a rather low-end printer or scanner, to tell me “Scheduled periodic dwell test failed – your battery is dead”.
It gets better. The tech support drones at my vendor’s call center couldn’t tell me what that alarm behavior meant either. Eventually they issued an RMA for a new battery anyway, but I couldn’t reconstruct what had actually gone down until discussing the whole sorry mess
Back to what is absolutely the vendor’s fault: all but the lowest-end UPSes have monitoring ports (usually USB these days) that, in theory, should let you get useful status information from the device
In theory. In practice, this sort of thing is such a pain in the ass to set up
The problem divides into at least two parts:
1. The wire protocols these things speak are generally undocumented. The vendors think it’s sufficient to provide a Windows binary blob that gives you a fixed-function monitor GUI.
2. That first problem might be surmountable if you could watch the port yourself and reverse-engineer the protocol by watching what datagrams come up the wire. And if it had been designed by anyone with a clue about how to do application protocols right they’d be in some self-describing metaprotocol like JSON or XML or at least NMEA0183-like text sentences.
But no. This never happens. UPS protocols are invariably cryptic, half-assed crap designed by an EE in a hurry who thinks every “unnecessary” byte transmission is a sin against nature. Fields have no names. Numbers, if they’re not binary-encoded in unspecified endianness, have no units. Opaque status codes abound. The protocol grammar is full of defect-attracting corner cases. The device never IDs itself or provides a protocol version. Discoverability: what’s that?
If this sounds like the same sort of mess that afflicts GPS reporting protocols, that’s because it is. Actually it’s worse here, because there’s no equivalent of NMEA0183 to even begin to address the discoverability problem.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ultimate lighting
https://hackaday.io/project/28674-ultimate-lighting
There has long been a dream of replacing all the floor mounted lighting with anything more practical.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Time for ‘Open Innovation,’ Not Just Open Source
Harnessing vision and creativity
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=1332998
Embedded open source software not only works; most our world runs on it today. That said, the real story is open innovation, of which open source licenses are simply one part.
We can all agree that open source revolutionized the software industry. The effect has been profound on every segment from enterprise software to search and social networking. But it wasn’t always that way. The late Jim Ready, founding father of embedded open source software, told me once that his early prospects told him that open source wouldn’t fly because they wouldn’t trust their code to a bunch of teenagers in some far-off part of the world.
Well, guess what? Embedded open source software not only works; most our world runs on it today.
That said, the real story is open innovation, of which open source licenses are simply one part. Open innovation means looking outside traditional corporate silos to harness the collective knowledge of a global community of developers and using that community to create new and transformative things. Open innovation in software is enabled by many things: GitHub, app stores and crowdsourcing platforms like Topcoder (founded by our investor and director Jack Hughes) being just a few. Once enabled, though, the innovation potential of this crowd is mind boggling.
In many ways, hardware is now adopting the principles of open innovation. Maker Fairs are remarkable and visible manifestations of human creativity with participants of all ages and backgrounds. Hackathons are commonplace and innovative platforms such as Hackster.io are doing great things. That said, hardware is in the infancy of embracing the power of community to commercialize product. And semiconductors are still in the dark ages in this regard, with only the first rays of light shining on an alternative path forward.
Let’s view this open innovation dilemma and opportunity from the top down.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hacked 3D TV Glasses May Cure Lazy Eye
https://hackaday.com/2018/03/13/hacked-3d-tv-glasses-may-cure-lazy-eye/
http://www.instructables.com/id/High-Voltage-Alternating-Occlusion-Training-Glasse/
Tomi Engdahl says:
A DIY 5V-3V Switching Converter in the Space of a TO-220 Package
https://hackaday.com/2018/03/13/a-diy-5v-3v-switching-converter-in-the-space-of-a-to-220-package/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Automatic DIY Wire Stripper
https://hackaday.com/2018/03/13/automatic-diy-wire-stripper/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWS99SeBHX8
Tomi Engdahl says:
uCameraCube
https://www.hackster.io/delmans/ucameracube-c64263
Camera module built using uCube framework.
uCameraCube is a parametric camera module build using OpenSCAD uCube library. It is build with Raspberry Pi and Raspberry Pi camera and comes in three versions, which vary in the type of optics used.
Thin Lens version
M12 Lens version
T-Mount version
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Entrepreneur Dares You to Hack His Gadgets
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603819/this-entrepreneur-dares-you-to-hack-his-gadgets/
The author and activist Bunnie Huang explains how companies benefit when users modify their devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://opensource.com/article/18/2/5-steps-creating-successful-open-hardware?sc_cid=7016000000127ECAAY
Tomi Engdahl says:
3D Printed Magnetic Stirrer Could Hardly be Simpler
https://hackaday.com/2018/03/21/3d-printed-magnetic-stirrer-could-hardly-be-simpler/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Make A Steam Cleaner From A Broken Clothes Iron
https://hackaday.com/2018/03/20/make-a-steam-cleaner-from-a-broken-clothes-iron/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cvDjPULZWs
Tomi Engdahl says:
Curved Wood LED Lamp Needs No Fancy Tools
https://hackaday.com/2018/03/20/curved-wood-led-lamp-needs-no-fancy-tools/
Curved Wood and Acrylic LED Desk Lamp with Concrete Base | Bending Acrylic
https://creativityhero.com/diy-projects/wood-acrylic-led-desk-lamp-concrete-base-bending-acrylic/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Carrots In Space
https://hackaday.com/2018/03/22/carrots-in-space/
For this year’s Hackaday Prize, [will.stevens] is growing his own produce and now looks for a way to shield his endeavors from the perils of the British winter. To achieve this, he decided to grow vegetables in sealed containers. Inspired by prior art and backed up by research, his approach is a wild mix of applied laziness on one hand and reckless over-engineering on the other. The sealed containers in this project are PET bottles, chosen for their availability and the produce are carrots, mainly because they can be harvested through the bottle’s mouth. Carrots also feature a high energy density and can provide fibers for plant-based construction materials so [will] deems them ideal space colonist food.
Growing vegetables in sealed containers
https://hackaday.io/project/28618-growing-vegetables-in-sealed-containers
I want to work out whether or not it is possible to grow vegetables indoors in sealed, airtight containers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Combine Modified CD Optical Assembly, PSoC for High-Resolution Microgram Measurements
http://www.electronicdesign.com/analog/combine-modified-cd-optical-assembly-psoc-high-resolution-microgram-measurements?NL=ED-003&Issue=ED-003_20180327_ED-003_137&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_1_b&utm_rid=CPG05000002750211&utm_campaign=16162&utm_medium=email&elq2=77095be93d694dd6899af60598014ebb
Use a standard CD drive’s optical pickup head as the basis for a high-resolution mass-measuring scale, which can read down in the microgram range, in conjunction with a PSoC system.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What Could Open Government Learn from Us Open Technology folks?
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/what-could-open-government-learn-us-open-technology-folks?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+linuxjournalcom+%28Linux+Journal+-+The+Original+Magazine+of+the+Linux+Community%29
Open letter regarding Australia’s Open Government National Action Plan.
Despite open government’s best intentions to prioritise collaboration, government bodies consistently duplicate each other’s effort. Collaborating as effectively as open communities is much harder than you’d think.
A number of us “open technologists” have drafted a paper describing the challenges government faces, along with our vision for how to address these. It is being presented as part of Australia’s updated Open Government National Action Plan.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Laser-Cut Mecanum Wheel for the Budget Roboticist
https://hackaday.com/2018/04/04/laser-cut-mecanum-wheel-for-the-budget-roboticist/
For the budding roboticist, omniwheels might be the next step in design patterns from your everyday “getting-started” robot kits. These wheels consist of tiny rollers that sit on the perimeter of the wheel and enable the wheel to freely slide laterally. With independent motor control of each wheel, a platform can freely locomote sideways by sliding on the rollers. You might think: “a wheel made of wheels? That sounds pricey…”–and you’d be right! Fear not, though; the folks at [Incubhacker] in Belgium have you covered with a laser-cut design that’s one-click away from landing on your workbench.
For anyone who’s tried to reliably mate flat laser-cut parts at an angle, we can tell you it’s no easy feat. The design here triumphs as both simple and reliable.
Omni wheel laser – MECANUM
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1771830
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Amazing Hacks Of World Create Day
https://hackaday.com/2018/04/04/the-amazing-hacks-of-world-create-day/
For this year’s Hackaday Prize, we started an amazing experiment. World Create Day organized hundreds of hackerspaces around the world to come together and Build Hope for the future. This was an experiment to bring community shops and workspaces together to prototype their entries for the Hackaday Prize, and boy was it a success. We had hackerspaces from Portland to Pakistan taking part, and these are just a few of the amazing hacks they pulled off.
https://hackaday.io/meetup/4-world-create-day-2018
Tomi Engdahl says:
Upgrade Your Mac With A Touchscreen, For Only A Dollar
https://hackaday.com/2018/04/05/upgrade-your-mac-with-a-touchscreen-for-only-a-dollar/
Imagine how hard it could be to add a touch screen to a Mac laptop. You’re thinking expensive and difficult, right? How could [Anish] and his friends possibly manage to upgrade their Mac with a touchscreen for only a dollar? That just doesn’t seem possible.
The trick, of course, is software. By mounting a small mirror over the machine’s webcam, using stiff card, hot glue, and a door hinge. By looking at the screen and deciding whether the image of a finger is touching its on-screen reflection, a remarkably simple touch screen can be created, and the promise of it only costing a dollar becomes a reality. We have to salute them for coming up with such an elegant solution.
Turning a MacBook into a Touchscreen with $1 of Hardware
https://www.anishathalye.com/2018/04/03/macbook-touchscreen/
Project Sistine is a proof-of-concept that turns a laptop into a touchscreen using only $1 of hardware, and for a prototype, it works pretty well! With some simple modifications such as a higher resolution webcam (ours was 480p) and a curved mirror that allows the webcam to capture the entire screen, Sistine could become a practical low-cost touchscreen system.
Tomi Engdahl says:
DIY Designer Wallet From Designer Bag
https://hackaday.com/2018/04/09/diy-designer-wallet-from-designer-bag/
Why do people drop hundreds of dollars on designer goods? The easy answer is that, in theory, the goods are worth the expense. The materials, craftsmanship, and attention to detail are all top-notch and culminate in the finest finery money can buy.
So, would you spend hundreds of dollars on a designer wallet? If you have leather crafting skills and a thrift store nearby, you could just follow [Corter Leather]’s example and make your own.
DIY Louis Vuitton Wallet
https://imgur.com/gallery/MhgxE
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dublin Knows How to Bring-a-Hack
https://hackaday.com/2018/04/09/dublin-knows-how-to-bring-a-hack/
When on the road, we love to stop by a local hackerspace and connect with the hacker community. On Friday, TOG Hackerspace in Dublin, Ireland opened their doors to host a Bring-a-Hack with Hackaday and Tindie.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Machinist’s Foray Into Jewelry Making
https://hackaday.com/2018/04/12/machinists-foray-into-jewelry-making/
Machinists are expected to make functional items from stock material, at least hat’s the one-line job description even though it glosses over many important details. [Eclix] wanted a birthday gift for his girlfriend that wasn’t just jewelry, indeed he wanted jewelry made with his own hands. After all, nothing in his skillset prohibits him from making beautiful things. He admits there were mistakes, but in the end, he came up with a recipe for two pairs of earrings, one set with sapphires and one with diamonds.
https://imgur.com/gallery/fSD3K
Tomi Engdahl says:
Mechanisms: the Spring
https://hackaday.com/2018/04/13/mechanisms-the-spring/
Making Springs At Home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAawhg6JtyY