DIY

New Music from an Old iPod

Installing free software turns your MP3 player into a musical instrument

I'm a non-geek, a non-Linux user and a non-male. I had never hacked anything in my life. And I had no plans -- or foreseeable need -- to do so.

Then, I discovered PureData. When an audio engineer friend mentioned the open-source programming language that uses rectangular boxes to build audio, video and graphics, I was intrigued.

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PopSci.com 5-Minute Project Video: Insta-cool Beer Chiller

The dust can wait, it’s time for a frosty one

Editor Jake Ward demonstrates how to use an old plastic container and a can of air to take a beer from lukewarm to mountain-stream cold in just a few seconds. (For another video of this project, visit sonicIntoX’s channel at Metacafe.)

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PopSci.com 5-Minute Project Video: Integrated Circuit Cufflinks

What Bond would wear if he could program an Arduino

Editor and sartorial nerd Doug Cantor fires up the soldering iron to show you how to turn spare buttons and leftover circuits into some genuine geek chic. There are several versions of this for sale on the Web, but we were tipped to the DIY take by Alex Beharrell’s Flickr page.

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PopSci.com 5-Minute Project Video: Nut & Bolt Keychain

Downsize your pocket cargo with a custom-fit keychain

Downsize your pocket cargo with a custom-fit keychain. Editor Sean Captain ditches the ring and uses more tool than necessary to trim a small bolt to just the right size for his set of keys. (For a slightly different take on the project, see the site that inspired us: carlitoscontraptions.blogspot.com).

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PopSci.com 5-Minute Project Video: Floppy Disk Pen Holder

Give your desk a little retro-tech vibe while cleaning out the old office junk drawer

Editor Doug Cantor demonstrates how a drill and a few zip ties can transform a stack of old floppies into a handy box for holding those even older data-recording devices: your pens. For more detailed instructions, head to the original Instructable for this project, courtesy of completegeek.

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PopSci.com 5-Minute Project Video: Cereal Box Spectrometer

Why recycle when you can reuse? Editor Mike builds a Smurfberry Crunch spectrometer

Satisfy your scientific curiosity and your craving for some Frosted Flakes. Editor Mike Haney shows you how to use an old cereal box and a CD to build a device that reveals the hidden rainbow inside any light source. Find more examples of DIY spectrometers over at Wikipedia.

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PopSci.com 5-Minute Project Video: CD Dumbbell

Trash those CDs? Never! Let Bjorn and his 5-minute dumbbells pump you up

In the age of mp3s, most people have a lot of old CDs lying around. Instead of throwing them in the trash, though, you can put them to use in a way that's both eco-friendly and healthy. Thread the discs onto the ends of a thin metal rod and secure them in place with bolts to make a usable (and cool-looking) dumbbell. Tape up the middle of the rod to provide a comfortable grip, and you'll be all set for a workout.

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Build It

Polyphemus Demonstration and Evaluation Kit

Build your own Arduino demo board

Every AVR programmer worth her weight in ATmegas knows about the AVR Butterfly--a ridiculously low cost ATmega169 demonstration and evaluation kit. Lamenting the lack of such a kit for the ATmega168 drove me to design my own demo/eval kit for the Arduino microcontroller family.

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You Built What?!

Straight to Video

A card table that turns any game into the World Series of Poker

Every Friday night, about 10 regulars gather at my place in Perth, Australia, to play Texas Hold 'Em. I'm the co-founder of a technology-services company, L7 Solutions. I'm also a chronic tinkerer and a poker lover.Last fall I decided to up the ante, so to speak, and started planning a table that could generate a video display showing what cards each player has, how much they bet, and their chances of winning the hand. It makes our humble games look just like the tournaments you see on TV.

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Gray Matter

Homemade Titanium

With heat and common chemicals, the author turned ore into metal

An iron crowbar costs about $8; one made of titanium, $80. Solid-titanium scissors start at $700, and don't even ask about the titanium socket wrench. Titanium must be a rare and precious substance, right?

Actually, as raw ore, titanium is 100 times as abundant as copper. Nearly all white paint is white because of the titanium dioxide found in the ore. Something like four million tons a year go into paint, sunscreen, toothpaste, even paper.

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Ask a Geek

What's a Good Way to Send Myself Reminders?

Our geeks have the answers to your toughest tech questions

It’s a fine time to ditch paper for good and move to an all e-mail- and SMS-based system. Start with Google’s online calendar (google.com/calendar), which lets you set up multiple alerts for one event—for example, a text message one week before Mother’s Day, then another the day before in case you still managed to put off sending flowers. New event pop up while you’re away from a computer? Add it to GCal from your cellphone by texting the event details to GVENT (48368).

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DIY Gas Mask: A PopSci Fan's Step-by-Step Guide

Instructables.com member TimAnderson uses a 1942 Popular Science article as a guide for creating a DIY gas mask.

It's official: Santa showed up a little early this year. The unveiling of the Popular Science archives on Google was, last week, a very big deal. Our readers and fans can now search and browse over 136 years' worth of the future then and now whenever they damn well please.

Ever resourceful, PopSci DIY-ers are already doing what they do best. Instructables.com member TimAnderson created a gas mask using instructions in a December 1942 Popular Science Article. How awesome is that?

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Complex Sound Generator IC is Back

Versatile sound effects generator chip is back in stock

After nearly a 30-year absence from the hobby electronics market, the Texas Instruments SN76477N Complex Sound Generator IC is now for sale at BG Micro. It's just like 1973 all over again. Bomb blasts, propeller sounds, snare drums, and sci-fi sound effects will all be back in vogue with the return of this super synthesizer chip.

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This PIC Packs a Punch

A new dev board is an I/O smorgasbord

I/O, I/O, it's off to develop I go!

Sure, it might sound cheesy, but the new UBW32 is a low-cost development board that sports 78 I/O pins! Roughly the size of a big stick of gum, the UBW32 is literally ringed with I/O pins.

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Kitchen Alchemy

Making Vinegar at Home

Turn sour old wine into a beautiful holiday gift -- thanks to science

Vinegar is one of those ingredients that people don't think of as often as they should. It is mostly just seen in salad dressings and pickles, which is a shame, because there is a whole world of flavor there just waiting to be tapped into. There are often times, especially during the holidays, when there is leftover wine after a festive dinner. Many of us will cork the bottle, with or without various safeguards to preserve the contents, and set it aside for the next day.

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