We know it's fun to break stuff, but Santa sure isn't going to be as good to Michael Tompert next year. The San Francisco digital imaging and CGI artist destroyed a whole slew of brand-new Apple gadgets as a statement on "our relationship with fetish, fashion, freedom, and bon ...more
Hak5 isn't your ordinary tech show. It's hacking in the old-school sense, covering everything from network security, open source and forensics, to DIY modding and the homebrew scene. Damn the warranties, it's time to Trust your Technolust. In this episode, see how to build a w ...more
It's 2017—new year, same us. We vow to keep scouring the net for the best how-tos and feature the makers and doers who create mind-blowing projects. And what a great year it's been so far because boy did we find an amazing tutorial. Inspire to Make is a YouTube channel run by ...more
Trick Life demonstrates how to make a lamp out of a USB cable. To make the lamp, cut the end off the USB cable, strip the wire and separate the black wire from the red wire. Attach the wire to a box using a soldering iron. Attach a six volt bulb to the wires. Insert the appara ...more
In this video, we learn how to build a magnetic stirring device. First you will need: a block of 1 inch thick Styrofoam, a piece of cardboard, 2 magnets, a small electric motor, a piece of non-magnetic metal, a hot glue gun, and a soldering iron. First, draw the shape of your ...more
If you discover that your Guitar Hero guitar is having some difficulties, check out this video for instructions on how to rectify the problem! This is especially useful if you discover that your keys stop working, or something of the like. To do this, you will need a solder, ...more
Start with just a few hula hoops, and then get some polyethylene film and a small soldering iron. Fit the film to your hoops, then gently mod your soldering iron and make a few spot welds. Be careful not to melt anything! Make a few vent bubbles, and you now have a pool warmer!
In this how-to video, you will learn how to perform basic circuit bending. You will need a screw driver, alligator clips, solder, a soldering iron, wires, a wire stripper, a button or switch, and a drill. Open up the device you want to circuit bend. Once the side of the board ...more
PEX, or cross-linked polyethylene, is a common alternative to copper piping. If you're looking to save time on your project (or have an aversion to soldering), PEX might be for you. In this tutorial, you'll learn what PEX is and how to decide what type of PEX is best for your ...more
ThreadBanger's Decor It Yourself shows how to made mid-century mod inspired wall art out of your leftover aluminum cans. Talk about a great way to recycle! Be good to the environment, while creating a three-dimensional metal sculpture to decorate your wall with a little solder ...more
Project 5 from Popular Science's 5 minute Projects with Craftsmen Tool is '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 ...more
Watch this video from This Old House to learn how to install an outdoor shower. This project requires basic plumbing skills which includes soldering. Install an outdoor shower. Click through to watch this video on thisoldhouse.com
Since its creation, Arduino has been growing exponentially more popular as DIY enthusiasts and Makers alike realize its potential. As new versions of the device are released, many easy-to-use peripherals are showing up on the market also. One of the more important features of ...more
In this video, Richpin demonstrates how to install a trunk override light switch in a Saturn car. When you open the trunk in a Saturn, the light turns on and there's no way to turn it off. Thus you must have a switch in the circuit so you can turn the trunk light off. Select a ...more
Guitar pedals add character to your playing. However, musicians still say that certain pedals by themselves don’t live up to its promise of a perfect sound. Therefore, instead of replacing your guitar pedals with new and expensive ones, you can modify your pedals using differe ...more
Warning: this video does not demonstrate the actual instructions for making this spooky Halloween LED light up pumpkin that blasts a truck horn. Check out http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/10/howto_tuesday_scariest_pu.html for more information and a complete build process. ...more
This gift will give the recipient a nice little zap when they open it! All you'll need is some basic electronics that you can find at any retailer like Radio Shack, and a soldering iron for a little bit of detail work.
An accelerometer/gyro goes onto an Arduino board and transmits the angular motion of the skateboard via Bluetooth to a virtual reality game I made for Android phones and Google Cardboard. DIY Virtual Reality Skateboard Video: . This is a really fun and easy project that can b ...more
In this tutorial, we learn how to repair the Vivitar 285's Flash Foot. First, remove the flash foot using a soldering iron. Melt the solder just enough, don't ruin the wires or the backing. Now, set the iron down and then short the wires out, you will see the flash go off when ...more
This video shows the correct procedure to dismantle a first generation iPod Nano. The presenter starts by using a putty knife (aka the iPod take apart tool) and separates the casing. Next, the presenter removes the battery from the internal circuit board by using a soldering i ...more
Stand out from the high street fashion clones with stuff you’ve fashioned yourself. It’s easy to take old pieces of electronic junk and transform them into all sorts of fun ‘n’ funky geeky accessories. Like a totally useful tote bag, a what-on-earth-is-that wallet and a bedazz ...more
This video tutorial is in the Electronics category which will show you how to make a Beetlebot from your parts bin. The Beetlebot project can be found in Make Volume 12. You will need a couple of small motors, 2 momentary switches, 2 AA battery holders, a piece of metal, a sma ...more
In this soldering tip video brought to you by BEST, Inc. Norman Mier certified master instructor for Soldering Skills demonstrates removal of plated through-hole flat leads.
In this video, we learn how to build a computer. First, you will need to make sure you have all the appropriate parts for your computer. You will need to have the hard drive, cables, ram, video card, motherboard, sound card, CD burner, etc. When you start to build your compute ...more
In this soldering tip video brought to you by BEST, Inc. Norman Mier demonstrates the dry tack method for surface mount chip component preparation.
In this soldering tip video brought to you by BEST, Inc. Norman Mier demonstrates the wet tack method for surface mount chip component preparation.
This is one of a series of videos offered on iPod Nano repair. This video describes how to replace the battery on an iPod Nano. The instructor cautions that this process is for advanced iPod users only. The techniques he demonstrates are good for four generations of the iPod. ...more
In this soldering tip video brought to you by BEST, Inc. Norman Mier demonstrates the installation of a TSOP32 component using the multi-lead method.
In this soldering tip video brought to you by BEST, Inc. Norman Mier demonstrates pad preparation for surface mount items using the wicking method.
In this soldering tip video brought to you by BEST, Inc. Norman Mier certified master instructor for Soldering Skills demonstrates multi-plated through-hole tweezer method, also known as SOIC tweezer method.
Circuit bending an audio device typically involves removing the rear panel of the device and connecting any two circuit locations with a "jumper" wire, sending current from one part of the circuit into another. Results are monitored through either the device's internal speaker ...more
If you've recently joined the ever-growing ranks of the cable cutters, you're far from alone. More and more people (myself included) are getting fed up with service providers' outdated subscription models and absurd pricing—and canceling their service. And why not? There are ...more
Your smartphone stays with you everywhere you go, so it's only a matter of time before you spill coffee all over it or drop it on the ground. For some of you, it has already happened, perhaps even multiple times. That's why we thought it was important to find out which flagshi ...more
There's a lot that goes into making a nice crystal radio set, so this is going to have to be broken down into two parts. The first part is the actual making of a functional radio, and the second part is making the whole arrangement look nice. In this part, I'm actually going t ...more
In this article, I'll show you how to build a simplistic circuit to generate negative ions. Negative ions have been known to contribute to fresher air, happier mood, and general health benefits. However, they also look amazing in the dark (check out the photos below, purple pl ...more
Dreams are like an internal human holodeck. Inside your mind, anything is possible, from your grandest wishes to your worst nightmares. This is all well and good, but what if you could control your dreams and become the omniscient god of a handpicked reality whenever you go to ...more
Fire. It’s everywhere— always has been. From the Ordovician Period where the first fossil record of fire appears to the present day everyday uses of the Holocene. Today, we abundantly create flames (intentionally or unintentionally) in power plants, extractive metallurgy, i ...more
Microsoft has had a pretty bad wrap with their Xbox 360 gaming console. Right from the start, the console has suffered a multitude of different hardware failures and design flaws. These problems cause the parts to get too hot and become faulty. I'm sure everyone who's had an X ...more
One of the hardest parts about jewelry making is the knot-tying. It's an intricate process, much like jewelry making in general, which is meticulous and dexterous. Working with leather is also more difficult because of it's thickness and un-malleable contour. This demonstratio ...more
As some of you Mad Science readers will remember, we recently covered the separation of water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis. Passing a current through water can rend it apart, but we can also recombine that oxygen and hydrogen to make electricity! This is the pri ...more
Struggling to keep up your wireless signal? If you're struggling to stream Hulu from the backyard DocZee's got an idea. Pull that old DirecTV satellite dish off the roof. Mod it into a 2.4GHz 802.11 WiFi booster antenna. Oh make that an antenna, that swivels! This hack is a ...more
Fans of Doctor Who know that the sonic screwdriver is the ultimate tool. It can unlock doors, turn on lights, detect life forms, solder wires, and sabotage weapons. Presumably, the sonic screwdriver creates sonic vibrations to achieve whatever the doctor wants by vibrating th ...more
The USB Rubber Ducky is a well-known hacking device in the cybersecurity industry, but it needs to be preprogrammed before it can be used. That means it's not easy to issue commands to a target computer since you can't interact with it from afar after plugging it in. And if yo ...more
The original iPhone SE was, for some, the perfect iPhone. It brought back the popular one-handed form factor of the iPhone 5 but packed in the internals of the then-new iPhone 6S. Now, the second-generation iPhone SE is here for 2020, but can it live up to what made the first- ...more
Whether you're in an airport, restaurant or waiting room, the insidious grip of televisions on human life is omnipresent. Sometimes it's nice to talk to other human beings while looking at them directly—actually hearing what they have to say. Thankfully, there's a DIY device ...more
Connecting to your headless Raspberry Pi on the go typically requires a network connection or carrying around bulky peripheral hardware like a screen and keyboard. With the help of an old-school connecting standard, though, you can log into your Pi from any computer using a si ...more
In a previous project, I showed how to build an electrical Jacob's ladder using an old microwave oven transformer (MOT). In this project, I modified the secondary coil on the MOT, which converts it from a high voltage/low current device into a low voltage/high current metal me ...more
In this video tutorial you will learn how to make a pair of high tech night vision sunglasses. You will first need a pair of 100% clear sunglasses with nothing but UV protection. Then two sheets of theatrical photo gels, one congo blue and one primary red. Using the gasses as ...more
The DIY industry is booming, despite the desperate blackmailing of society by finance capitalists. Companies like Adafruit and Makerbot are grossing well over a million dollars a year, and Evil Mad Science Laboratories just recently dedicated themselves to running a full-time ...more
In this video, we learn how to build a portable personal heater. This is a great weekend project that is easy to make and will keep you warm during a freezing winter. You will need: two double a batteries, charger, twin double a battery charger, winding wire, and balsa wood. F ...more
Clumsiness is the great equalizer when it comes to smartphones — it makes no distinction between the most expensive flagship handset and cheaper mid-range models. A hard drop onto pavement will usually result in a shattered screen, regardless of how pricey your device is. And ...more
Computer viruses are terrifying. They are undetectable, dangerous, and operate constantly right under your nose. For the average computer user, there are only a few repair options. You could buy expensive antivirus software that causes more problems than it fixes, you can wipe ...more
Build an infrared pen fast, cheap and easy, just check out this how-to video! There's no need to solder anything. You need scissors, tweezers, an infrared LED, and a light LED pen. Check out this video tutorial and make a fancy infrared pen.
Most of us have given up our big, bulky stereos in favor of smaller, sleeker models, but how many of us actually get rid of the old ones? If you don't like the idea of throwing out or giving away electronics you spent good money on, you can always upgrade them instead! PC486 ...more
The Pi-hole project is a popular DNS-level ad blocker, but it can be much more than that. Its DNS-level filtering can also be used as a firewall of sorts to prevent malicious websites from resolving, as well as to keep privacy-killing trackers such as Google Analytics from eve ...more
Arachnophilia and technosexuals rejoice. This whimsical, skittering robot takes only 5 minutes of tinkering. This simple toy is made possible with a bit of solder, AAA battery, copper wire and an old mobile phone's vibrating motor. Like the EvilMadScientist's Bristlebot, this ...more
No matter how advanced technology gets, there will always be room for classic video games in the hearts of nerds everywhere. Mini arcades became very popular, as they allowed users to take arcade games on the go. As Game Boys and other mobile gaming devices appeared, the mini ...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
Back in 2008, media artist Kyle McDonald created a 3D interface that could track movement, which he turned into a virtual Tic-tac-toe game. Video: . In this tutorial, MAKE teaches us how to build one at home using cardboard, aluminum foil, an Arduino, and some basic parts from ...more
If you've ever been inside of a real laboratory, you probably noticed how expensive the equipment is. You'd never be able to afford even just one of those ultra high-tech machines required to splice genes or split atoms. Even the lesser machines can be prohibitively costly, in ...more