Here’s a cool hack that shows you how to turn your regular old Kodak disposable camera into an emergency strobe light.  The hack does require some soldering but not too much work for some cool effects.

This instructable involves modifying a device that operates on 300v DC, so I am NOT responsible if you injure or kill your self and/or any body else from any of your actions messing around this device. So be careful what you are doing, be safe and have fun!

via instructables

If I had a million dollars, I’d make sure to get these light-up benches for my outdoor patio.  (which of course if protected by overhanging canvas from rain)

Better yet, add some solar panels and make it solar powered.

The bench is suitable for indoor and outdoor, and is weather resistant and rugged. Several benches can be combined together for a more dramatic look. It operates by an individually pre-programmed remote control that is simple and intuitive to use. Almost an art object, the Light Bench creates the right presence in creative and communicative environments.

via trendir

Wow, this has got to be the most stunning LED displays I have seen in a while.  It’s actually a bunch of LEDs attached to the back of the screen.  It’s not your typical 16 Million color LCD display but it’s a fun neat little LED painter that can do some minimal graphics and animations.

Video after the jump

Continue reading ‘DIY LED Wall Painter/Animator!’

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Here’s a very innovative bike turn signal jacket.  This could be really good for motorcycles.  When do these go in production?

via boingboing

Are you a chess fanatic and you need to play in the dark for some reason?  Then check out how to make your own DIY Chess Set here.

Video after the jump!

Continue reading ‘DIY - How to Make your own LED Chess Set!’

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Here’s a fun little DIY with high powered LEDs.

Now by the time that you start talking about blinking the high power LEDs– you shouldn’t be surprised if people start whipping out the heavy artillery: 555 timer chips, transistors, boost converters, microcontrollers, solid state relays, and/or dedicated LED driver chips. While each of those does have its place, sometimes it’s nice to have a simpler and much less expensive alternative.

via make

Need that Eec PC to be ultra-portable and the keyboard to light up when using at night?  Check out this DIY on how to add backlight to the Eec PC’s keyboard.

As we showed you in our May 2008 issue, Asus’s Eee PC has quickly become a favorite of hardware hackers around the web. Here, we offer the first installment of our Eee PC School series. Check back in the coming weeks for more tiny ultraportable tweaking.—Eds.

What good is that portable PC if you can’t type anywhere and anytime? With its ultra-compact keyboard, even touch typing pros will be hard-pressed to avoid frequent mistakes on when the lights go out. To say it’s a frustrating exercise in futility to locate the miniature F3 key in the dark is an understatement. Oops, you just lost WiFi contact by accidentally hitting F2.

Clearly, a keyboard backlight like those found in higher-end laptops is the answer to your nocturnal Eee PC typing woes. And for less than $15, such a backlight can be installed with minimal fuss.

via make

Here’s an interesting solar tree that collects energy during the day and emits pulses of lights at night.

Collects and stores solar energy during the day, emits controlled pulses of light at night. Pulse frequency: 0.2Hz

via make - ladyada

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Here’s an interesting DIY light bar controller that might interest your weekend hacking desires.

This device analyses the music it picks up via the electret microphone, then flashes the LEDs in time to the music. It’s encased in the box SparkFun sent me the microphones in, since the box was just begging to be used as a case for something! I’m sure that was intentionally designed.

via make - sparkfun

Here’s a creative way to make an RGB Door combination lock.  This will really confuse any intruders from breaking in.

Putting a custom designed electronic lock on your space seems like a geek right of passage. For our latest workspace, we decided to skip the boring numbered keypad and build a custom RGB backlit keypad powered by an Arduino. Instead of typing in numbers, your password is a unique set of colors. In today’s How-To, we’ll show you how to build your own and give you the code to make it all work.

via make