 I think I just figured out what I’m going to be for Halloween next year. I love these masks of the aliens from John Carpenter’s cult classic film, They Live. On Kiersten Essenpreis blog, she has process photos of the build. [via Dangerous Minds]
Obey – They Live Masks
 Inspired to make something for Halloween? Be sure to enter it in our MAKE Halloween contest to win cool prizes. Costumes, decor, food, whatever you create for Halloween, is welcome in the contest. Read our full contest page for all the details.  
A few weeks ago at Android Open, we held a Mini Maker Faire that featured Android-based projects from makers, research, academia, and yet-to-be-discovered entrepreneurs. One of the projects featured at the Mini Maker Faire was Ytai Ben-Tsvi’s IOIO, an Android hardware accessory kit that predated the Open Accessory Development Kit (ADK), and is a bit simpler to use: there’s no need to do any programming on the microcontroller, you can load firmware updates from the Android phone, and the Android programming side is pretty darn easy, too. On top of that, the IOIO supports a lot more phones than the ADK does: while the ADK requires Android 2.3.4 or greater, the IOIO will talk to a phone as old as the G1! Until recently, the IOIO had one of the same major limitations that the (ADK) had: not only did the Android device need to plug into the board, but the board had to supply enough current to charge the phone. I interviewed Ytai during the Mini Maker Faire, and as you can see in the video above, you can sidestep that limitation with the Ytai’s awesome hack: unplug the phone, connect a previously-paired USB Bluetooth dongle (the same kind you’d plug into a computer to Bluetooth-enable it), and the phone and IOIO just start talking to each other. Pretty amazing. And there’s one more thing: SparkFun’s Aaron Weiss gave us a sneak peek at their upcoming ADK board for Android: the Electric Sheep. That’s in the video, too, starting around 5:43. IOIO Over Bluetooth 
 
In the comments to an old post that Becky did in 2009, about Instructable user brokengun’s single-engine single rotor wind turbine (pictured above), a maker from India is trying to build a similar turbine and having problems:
I’m Mohammed from India, and I have been working to design a wind turbine (alternator), searched everywhere, but am not sure how to wire a coil. I don’t wanna give up, please forward me your email I will send an email of the rotor which I have made. It’s been a year, yet no progress. I tried all the possible ways to make such type of alternator (the one which you have made), I’m not getting any results, and have come to a conclusion that I need someone who can guide me on this. Please help (my email: ramzbis@yahoo.com).
Can someone reach out and try and help him? And Mohammed, can you attach pictures of your rotor here and describe the nature of the problems you are having? I will also contact “brokengun” and see if you can chime in here. More:
How-To: Single rotor wind turbine  
I stumbled upon these pictures of a homemade fire-breathing dragon by Memphis-based maker Early Ehlinger and I just had to share. This thing is so cool! It reaches 20′ into the air, from nose to tail is 40′ long, and is is accented with other props and decor in the surrounding yard. About the dragon’s construction, Early writes: It’s mostly wood frame, chicken-wire subskin, red cotton skin. The head is AC ductwork, with a custom-welded mouth. There is a lawn torch/flame thrower mounted inside the head.
You can see the welded mouth part below, and see how it becomes like a nozzle on the top of the dragon’s head. The other great detail I love is the nest of eggs and hatchlings, protected by the dragon’s tail. There are lots more photos on Early’s Picasa album.
Inspired to make something for Halloween? Be sure to enter it in our MAKE Halloween contest to win cool prizes. Costumes, decor, food, whatever you create for Halloween, is welcome in the contest. Read our full contest page for all the details.  
Got two iPad 2s? Mark Rober had a great costume idea: a gaping hole in his torso with the two iPads communicating by FaceTime.
Inspired to make something for Halloween? Be sure to enter it in our MAKE Halloween contest to win cool prizes. Costumes, decor, food, whatever you create for Halloween, is welcome in the contest. Read our full contest page for all the details.
 
Halloween Forum member Havok1919 built this Halloween gravestone he calls the Technological Tombstone of Terror. The tombstone itself is constructed from pink insulation foam, adorned with prop bones and pre-cut wood scrollwork. It was then was finished with acrylic paint applied using a paintbrush and an airbrush. For the flaming pentagram, he mounted an old LCD monitor inside the tombstone, which plays a video loop of flames. To achieve the laser effect behind the skull, he used a small mirror on a DC motor and pointed a green laser diode into it. A small fog machine and a few LEDs finish off the nice lighting effect. Luckily for us, he has documented his build in great detail. Nice work! [via Adafruit]
Inspired to make something for Halloween? Be sure to enter it in our MAKE Halloween contest to win cool prizes. Costumes, decor, food, whatever you create for Halloween, is welcome in the contest. Read our full contest page for all the details.  
Justin asked me to help get the word out about WyoLum’s 2011 innovation grant to promote open-source hardware, here ya go! WyoLum’s [http://www.wyolum.com] mission is to “Promote Open Source Hardware”. To that end, we are pleased to announce two $1000 (USD) grants to be awarded to the most qualified applicants. Entries will be evaluated on: - Innovation
- Originality
- Technical feasibility
- Commercial viability
- Planned use of funds
- Timeline (Projects with goals that can be achieved within six months after the grant is awarded will score more favorably.)
Qualifying projects will be 100% open source (hardware and software) from development through to production. WyoLum team members will be available for advice and assistance throughout your project. If you have a killer idea, but have never fabricated a PCB, programmed a micro-controller or designed an enclosure, don’t let that stop you from submitting your idea. If we can’t immediately assist you, we will learn it together. Submit completed applications to grants@wyolum.com by December 3, 2011. Applications will be excepted in a combination of video (encouraged), html, .odt, .doc, .docx, blogpost. We will make all reasonable efforts to receive and evaluate your application. About us [http://wyolum.com/bio.php]
WyoLum is a team of volunteers, learners and doers, who pool our resources and skills to make cool things. Our most successful project to date is ClockTHREE, a word clock that tells time in written language, derived from Doug Jackson’s Word Clock and Evil Mad Science’s Peggy 2. We would like to support the community that has supported us. Through our successful projects we have accumulated some funds that we would like to reinvest in the community by supporting innovative ideas in open source hardware development.
Good luck makers!  More Recent Articles | |
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