Ringtones and text tones can be annoying, so my iPhone is almost always set to vibrate on silent mode. Unfortunately, that causes me to miss phone calls and text messages when the device isn't in my hands or pockets. While I hate missing alerts, I'm still reluctant to switch t ...more
I have owned quite the plethora of electronics in my life. A commonality between most of these devices' screens is frozen or dead pixels. This is probably the most annoying thing about buying new hardware—your LCD, or worse, LED display has one or more pixels that continues to ...more
Tired of getting speeding tickets? Not prepared to start driving by the letter of the law? Well, this instructional video shows a way to con the speeding radar. Regular LED lights can be modified with infrared LED bulbs and will avoid speed detection by the police. Learn how t ...more
I'm the type of person that rarely has an audible ringer enabled on my phone. Haptic feedback (vibration) is enough for me... most of the time. When my phone isn't in my pocket, I become the type of person who frequently misses calls and texts—and no one likes that person. A ...more
Like Russian Matryoshka dolls, the features on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ often have hidden components within them that add to their functionality. The phone's flashlight is a great example of this since there's a hidden shortcut within the "Flashlight" Quick Settings tile that let ...more
Though many were hoping for it, a notification indicator around the Galaxy S10's front camera punch hole never came to fruition. Since then, we've been finding other uses for the camera cutout, from turning it into a circular battery meter to using creative wallpapers. Thankfu ...more
For the craftsters & LED lovers, great idea by Johanna Hyrkas. The LED carpet-light: a simple, yet novel DIY project. A single strand of LEDs is encased in a knit tube; the knit tube is wound together to form a carpet. Brush up on your knitting skills, and get creative.
When ringtones and vibration alerts miss the mark and fail to grab your attention, causing you to miss an important call or text, LED flash alerts are a great backup plan. While we already showed how to activate this on Samsung devices, the apps shown below make this feature e ...more
One of the many perks of being a Nexus user is that Google bakes in all sorts of goodies for use on its dessert-themed OS. From an easily unlocked bootloader, to a smooth and well-crafted "stock" UI experience, to being one of the first devices to receive updates straight from ...more
Samsung just announced the Galaxy S10 lineup, but we already knew each device's every nook and cranny. Thanks to leaks and hands-on demos, we know the OEM kept the coveted headphone jack, but omitted one treasured feature in its place — the notification LED. Why did Samsung st ...more
I know what you're thinking. Why spend time talking about another flashlight application when there are literally thousands of them scattered throughout Google Play? As it turns out, there is a void in the realm of flashlight Android apps. Flashing lights, strobe lights, cop l ...more
The notification light on phones and tablets is slowly disappearing. The once staple feature is now only found on a few devices, and a bevy of other notification systems have sought to fill the gap. The most popular of these systems is Ambient Display, which has grown in popul ...more
If you want something more than the standard white flash from the LED on your iPhone 4, sure you could take it apart and replace it with a new colored LED or cover it with colored material, but why would you want to do all that when you can do something a lot cheaper and A LOT ...more
While the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 has an integrated LED for notifications, it only works for a few things, like charging and low battery, and it only flashes two main colors (red and blue) when the screen's off. As someone that usually has their phone on silent or vibrate, it's ...more
The Nexus 6 uses an Ambient Display notification system that was heavily inspired by the Active Display feature on the Moto X. Essentially, the device shows a black-and-white version of the lock screen whenever you receive a new notification or pick the phone up. This is all m ...more
Ever thought your flashlights weren't giving out enough light? Well, change that; watch this video tutorial to see how to make the world's brightest LED flashlight. You will need a vohm meter (volt-ohm meter), wire, thermal paste, a Dorcy flashlight, a soldering iron, and a 90 ...more
Take a tour through the world of the light-emitting diode. Learn - who invented it, how to use it, and how to make your own. A light-emitting-diode (LED) (pronounced /??li?'di?/),[1] is a semiconductor diode that emits light when an electric current is applied in the forward ...more
The beauty of a grilled cheese sandwich is that even a mediocre one still tastes pretty good (I find the same is true with pizza). However, chefs and cooking pros have come up with some great tricks that will turn a regular grilled cheese sandwich into something sublime. Once ...more
The Nexus 6 has an AMOLED screen that uses virtually no power to display black pixels. To take advantage of this feature, Google included an Ambient Display notification system that shows a black and white version of your lock screen when you get a new message. As a result, th ...more
A cool way to test a LED bulb emitter! Plug it in to your multimeter and see it light up. It's really cool!
Plasma TV's are awesome but extremely fragile. If all that happens when you turn your plasma set on is a blinking LED light or it works for a while then turns off, you may have a blown capacitor on your power supply board. This video will show you how to fix the problem yourse ...more
We previously showed you how to make your Android's LED notification light dance to music, but the app itself was limited in customization options, the devices it worked on, and the music apps and services it worked with. Now we'll be showing you a similar app that supports mo ...more
You must have seen some expensive mp3 players and CD players which have LEDs fixed on them and they dance to the tune looking really pretty. Imagine you could make your own LEDs and configure them to dance to Daft Punk or Swedish House Mafia. I’m going to tell you how it can ...more
Have you become a Jedi in your Star Wars delusional mind? If so, break out of the the asylum with a Jedi lightsaber. Oh, but you don't have a lightsaber yet, okay. Well, this video tutorial will show you how to make a very inexpensive LED light saber with the most basic parts ...more
Want to liven up your game of beer pong? You could always add more cups or play with paddles, or you could make your own custom table with 500 LED lights that flash in sync with your favorite tunes like Redditor did. Video: . First come the lights. This one was done by hand, b ...more
This video compilation shows you how to create various LED and fiber optic hacks and projects the average Joe can assemble to create one hell of an awesome, wild party.
Bikes are a great form of transportation. They use human energy more efficiently than any other machine. You can keep it in your closet or hallway. You can even take it on the train in a pinch. However, this portability is also the bike's biggest draw back. If you own a bike i ...more
If you want an electrical circuit to send power to an object, like a light, you're going to need resistors. This video, part of an excellent series on basic electronics by Scotty, will teach you how to make a circuit with resistors and an LED light, a real function piece of el ...more
The Pixel 5's beautifully slim and symmetric bezels don't leave much room for extra hardware like a notification LED. But with the Ambient Display feature and an inventive app, you can turn the display cutout for the front-facing camera into an animated notification indicator. ...more
Give yourself the hottest PS3 controller out there by modding it and adding some sweet LED flashlights. The LEDs will light up in accordance with your game play for a whole new level of enjoyment. This three part video series will take you through the whole process every step ...more
By using LEDs that only put out a little light the eyes can be lit in dim room light but still appear white, the moment the eyes are in shadow they glow bright red. Watch this video tutorial to see how to make glowing LED creature costume eyes for your film or costume project. ...more
Want to put some electronics into your terrain piece or diorama? LED lights are great. You can use tiny watch batteries, which are small and efficient. LED lights are cheap, they come in colours, and you can find them in all kinds of broken gadgets. Watch this instructional vi ...more
Light up your world with these beautiful and easy-to-make illuminated LED balloons. You will need: 1 ten mm non-diffused LED balloon duct tape two CR2032 3v Lithium coin batteries optional: helium These LED balloons are awesome. Cool for parties.
Want to play Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" on the ukulele? Learn how with this free video ukulele lesson from Ukulele Mike. Whether you play the ukulele or bass kazoo, there is no better way to improve your chops than by learning to play your favorite songs. Not only is ...more
In this clip, learn how to make super powerful 9 volt LED flashlights using things you most likely already have around the house. You will make these mini-lights out of things like batteries and scrap wires. So, dig around in your garage and see what you can find to get starte ...more
Using my Nexus 7 tablet as a flashlight to light my path on the way to my room late at night is difficult, and honestly, useless. It doesn't have an LED flash for pictures, so using it as a flashlight is essentially just me brightening the display as high as it can go. If you ...more
In this video clip series our expert, Kyle Saylors, will walk you through all the aspects, parts and options for LED lights and how to use them. He will offer tips on how to work around damaged lights and how to fix them as well as how to set up preset patterns for a light sho ...more
This is my homemade led light system. The main unit has a total of 228 LED's, the corners are using super wide angle LED's to maximize visibility. There are also 48 LED mini lightbar, 5x 16 LED mini modules. The main controller is controlling the light bar as well as the indiv ...more
Update 10/23: The hits just keep on coming. We're now seeing reports of a "smearing" effect when scrolling through apps on the Pixel XL 2. We'll expand on that at the bottom of this article, but it's still worth reading the background information on issues with LG's new POLED ...more
In the far away land of Japan, gold is out, glow-in-the-dark is in. LED "grills" were recently conceived of by two Japanese designers/hackers for a winter advertising event at clothing store Laforet Harajuku. The LED teeth attachments quickly became a hot item. Foreseeably, on ...more
Sometimes shopping at old department stores or thrift shops can lead you to a gold mine of possibility. Everything there can either be worn for its intended purpose or it can be altered to fit what you think it could be. In this case, taking a long skirt and transforming it in ...more
After poor sales of last year's HTC 10 and the terrible reviews their first 2017 flagship received, HTC really needs the HTC U11 to succeed. But they're not taking things lying down, as they've come up with some interesting tech for their latest handset. The biggest new featu ...more
This OzLabs video demonstrates how to build an LED sign using their flatheaded LED strips.
This is a complex process, but the guys at Graffiti Research Lab have armed you with detailed written instructions and this video on how to create a night writer. This is a more complicated version of their LED throwies that allows you to catch a tag in lights. You'll never ne ...more
The SSC P7 Flashlight is a tactical torch that's pretty bright at 900LM. But, it's totally possible to make it just a little brighter. The SSR-50 LED puts out about 1200LM. The MET Light, SSC P7 C can be modified with a new SSR-50 LED. Using the SSR50 LED, brightness will be ...more
If you ride your bike at night frequently, you've probably had at least one close call with a car, pedestrian, or some other moving obstacle because of reduced visibility. Not only is it dangerous to ride at night without lights, it's illegal in a lot of places. Make sure no o ...more
We're living in uncertain times. The sudden outbreak of the novel coronavirus and subsequent self-isolation of roughly half the world's population has led to a massive reorganization of the economy, countless layoffs, compromised security networks, and a variety of other signi ...more
Are you unsatisfied with the dim green light that emanates from the big X on your XBox 360 controller out of the box? Don't live with it, fix it. This video will show you how to install new colored LED lights in your controller, making the big X a resplendent blue in this exam ...more
How to make deviled eggs while avoiding common mistakes There are a number of errors that people make when making deviled eggs. First putting the eggs directly into boiling water will cause the egg shells to break. Also not setting a timer while boiling the eggs can lead to o ...more
It looks like the dust is finally starting to settle on Google's POLED PR nightmare. The Pixel 2 XL — one of the most hotly-anticipated phones of the year — has been plagued by screen issues and worries. While it is certainly not without its faults, Google has created several ...more
Giveaway Tuesdays has officially ended! But don't sweat it, WonderHowTo has another World that's taken its place. Every Tuesday, Phone Snap! invites you to show off your cell phone photography skills. Submit your best shot to our weekly competition for a chance to win an awes ...more
This simple After Effects tutorial from Laurence Grayson will show you how to use CC Ball Action effect in AE to create a realistic scrolling LED signboard effect, like the ones you see at conference centers and football stadiums. Then end result can be altered to suit your pr ...more
This is a video tutorial on how to make a USB aquarium powered by a under-gravel LED bulb that is powered by a USB port. With a bit of simple engineering, build a circuit to provide elegant lighting to your aquarium. Connect the wiring to the air pump for a cool lighted bubble ...more
This step-by-step instructional video shows how to change the color of your optical mouse's LED light.
Science is most marvelous when it's creating an explosion, even at the tiniest of proportions. In the video below, Daniel Rosenberg from Harvard's Natural Science Lecture Demonstration Services reveals the secret to shooting a cork rocket over twenty meters using a little chem ...more
Giveaway Tuesdays has officially ended! But don't sweat it, WonderHowTo has another World that's taken its place. Every Tuesday, Phone Snap! invites you to show off your cell phone photography skills. Submit your best shot to our weekly competition for a chance to win an awes ...more
Organic LEDs (OLED) are even more efficient than their standard LED cousins, but does that mean they're harder to make? Perhaps somewhat, but no excessively. Watch this video to learn how to make a DIY OLED at home, allowing you to make really cool light-up displays.
In this article, I'll show you how to make a glowing orb. The orb is a fun, round flashlight useful for lighting your path in a magical way. Consisting simply of LEDs, a tennis ball, a battery and a switch, it's a great simple project for beginners with electronics. Here's a v ...more
Installing colored LED lights in the cases of various electronic devices is nothing new. People have been doing it to PC cases for years. THe XBox 360's massive size and power make it a particularly tempting target. This two-part video will teach you how to put some LED lights ...more
This detailed video series shows you everything you need to do to install an LED lighting gauge cluster in your Volkswagen MK4 (Jetta, Gulf, or GTI). Part 1 starts with disconnecting the battery, Part 2 has you remove the interior cluster, Part 3 you disassemble the instrument ...more