Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show! - build

BAMF Demo: Arduino Laser Tripwire

TechNinja — Sun, 22 May 2011 17:16:11 +0000

At Bay Area Maker Faire (BAMF) 2011 (and now at Maker Faire KC) one of our demos is how to build your very own laser tripwire to help guard your room!

Inspired by action_owl's version at instructables, Sylvia and I made up our very own version with audio feedback for calibration, and authentic alarm sounds!

Get the code at Github to copy and paste into your Arduino IDE right here!

More instructions, build details and the like to be updated after our Demo today.

Update: Alrighty, so our demo didn't go quite as planned, with our cheap laser diode falling to pieces during the presentation, but we did our best with what we had. We're quite sure that with more time we'd have had everything working great! Not that it matters to much, as there's always time for you to get out there and try it yourself!

As the code explains hints at, for this build you only need a few things:

An Arduino (any version will do)
A small cheap red laser diode (a small laser pointer will do)
A small piece of mirror, or something else flat and reflective
An infrared LED from a remote control (or something else to sense the light from the laser)
and last but not least, a speaker (if you want a noisy alarm)

For the code as it stands, plug your laser's positive lead into pin 13, one lead of the speaker into pin 10, and the positive lead of the LED into analog pin 0. All the other leads go to ground. When powering up, the laser gets ~3volts from pin 13, which should be enough to light it and send it's photons off toward the mirror, where they will bounce off. If aimed correctly they should find their way back to the infrared LED.

When infrared light hits the LED, it sends very tiny (but measurable) voltage back through to analog pin 0. On our LED, this was read at around 115, or about 0.5v. Without the laser, this came down below 100 reliably, so we set the alarm threshold at 95. If the LED's value stays above that number for more than 5 seconds, the alarm is considered "Armed" (it gives a nice beep every second to let you know, then a double beep when it's armed). If the beam is broken (and the LED value drops below the threshold), Woop woop! Alarm!

A serial signal is sent at the same time, and if you have a program on a computer listening for this, you can trigger any action you want! Maybe a twitter message for every intrusion, or perhaps an email or text message silently alerting you!

We may just want to go ahead and do a quick video on this cool little project in a bit, with all the bugs worked out this time :)

Leave a comment if you've got questions! Thanks!

Update: For our Maker Faire KC demo, we took out the middle man mirror and replaced the Arduino powered laser diode (which gave us problems galore!) with a simple laser pointer pointed directly at the LED. This is an invisible modification and doesn't require any code change, so you can make yours either way.

All about Mod Podge

Dadmin — Fri, 20 May 2011 17:13:14 +0000

Full

Mod Podge! The amazing, dries-clear, do-it-all sealant for every craft project under the sun can make your art sparkle, your delicate scrap-booking or photos touchable and permanent, and even wood and fabric better than ever.

In today's episode, we delve into the amazing and crafty depths of Mod Podge! Showing you how to make three cool projects: A storybook puzzle set, a custom chess/draughts/checkers board, and a "you" inspired plaque.

All of them are cheap, fun and so easy you'll be crazy not to give them a try! Go on.. get out there and make something!

Links for this episode:

Storybook Puzzle:
http://sn.im/modpodge-puzzle

Custom Game Board (not a link to the thrifty chick blog post, as it's no longer available):
http://sn.im/modpodge-gameboards

You inspired Plaque:
http://modpodgerocksblog.com

Ep. Number

Season

Sylvia builds the Adafruit MiniPOV

Dadmin — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 05:14:26 +0000

Mini

In the latest episode of Sylvia's Mini Maker Show, she's at it again with this classic MiniPOV build and persistence of vision demonstration.

Ep. Number

See this post on MakeZine.com

Favorite Comments

Insignia96This is what happens when Makers have children. The result is kind of scary, but awesome. This kid will likely go to a great college and do very well. I wasn't able to build this kit until I was 11, and I still haven't ever gotten it to smoothly program.
MARSHOMEWORLDSylvia= WIN!
philipkoo2This kid is awesome, especially if she can use Linux and solder.
89HuskerThis wasn't so bad actually. It's a cool project. :)
hacktheplanet90all school children should watch these videos
TechBoywiiBRAINSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Setobear 2o_o This girl is going to be a NASA engineer some day...
melancholyidYou know, you see so much stupidity out there that it disenheartens you to the point of depression. Then you see something like this, and it renews your hope for humanity and its intelligence.
I really needed to see this.

Season

Sylvia shows how to do Basic Screen Printing

Dadmin — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:27:41 +0000

Mini

Ever wanted to design your own cool t-shirt, or maybe wanted to put your awesome doodle on a bunch of different stuff like birthday cards, jackets or your backpack? Today we'll show you how you can do all of that with super simple screen printing on Sylvia's Super Awesome Mini Maker Show!

Ep. Number

See this post on MakeZine.com

Favorite Comments

shihankevThat was the best screen printing lesson I've seen. Sylvia, you are awesome.
death2linkI was amazed by the pop up ninja face idea. I am actually considering making one now just for that
PyurTekI...want..that...NINJA FACE SHIRT!!!
AbusiveMeerkatHell yeah, I always wanted a Mushroom on my T-shirt
derman077DON'T PANIC. lol I'm showing this to my neice. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, best book/movie ever.
jimmykinkadeif kids learn to screen print their own t-shirts, they are going to outfit their secret tree fort clubs in uniforms.
OniLinkSword"Get out there and MAKE something!"
Yes Ma'am!
tofuninja5489i never knew hammerstaplers existed. life is awesome

Season

Sylvia builds Mousey the Junkbot

Dadmin — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 19:48:03 +0000

Mini

Ever wanted a pet but your parents wouldn't let you? Why not try Mousey the Junkbot! Today we'll be highlighting the build for this little light seeking bot, from spare parts and an old computer mouse. Lets go!

Ep. Number

See this post on MakeZine.com

Favorite Comments

TheMorningshadowsTony Stark's daughter.
dummerbubeThe first maker-video in a very long time that I liked
fenixzI thought I was pretty smart... until I stumbled upon this kid's videos.
belisariusorbI notice quite a few comments from parents saying they'd rather buy a toy or a pet than spend time doing this with their kids. Try it! Remember your own childhood? What do you remember most, your favourite toys or the times you spent with your parents doing something fun?
And you might find it's a lot more fun than football games on the TV.
khisanth75Jeri Ellsworth has a rival in the making!
SkidTheSamuraiI am thoroughly amazed. All of the girls at my old high school would avoid the engineering and programming classes like the plague. In fact I can only think of maybe three who were actually interested in engineering from the FIRST team I was on.
sparkybaz77Shes more intelligent then some of the 50 year old engineers i work with, no joke.
niceguypantsContinued thanks to Sylvia and the Ninjas for fun videos, inspiring young makers. Keep up the great work!

Season

Sylvia Molds and Casts with Composimold

Dadmin — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 23:14:13 +0000

Mini

Did you ever want another of your favorite action figures? Or maybe you want to try something crazy with a toy but didn't want to ruin it? Well today we'll show you one super awesome way to clone your own toys with simple Molding and Casting for Toy Duplication! Lets Go!

Ep. Number

See this post on MakeZine.com

Favorite Comments

DragonboyVNYOh cool. The Turtle baby in a shell at 0:20. Mom got that for me as a kid (like 15 years ago). Were they popular back then? Aside from the Teenage Mutant Hero/Ninja Turtle thing :) Now to make an edible version of them...
riothero313Less hardener in the resin will cause less heat and be less likely to melt the mold but it will take longer to cure.
TheBioBizketWell now! you are a very smart young lady! I expect to see you in Mythbusters one of these days! Keep it up.
AresExodusYou are so good at instructing. Im genuinely amazed at your skills and sophistication. 50%+ of adults dont speak as smoothly as that.
fronkenpoopThat was the best project you have done to date. Interesting and extremely high quality. Thank you.
MARSHOMEWORLDHey Sylvia, this is your dad's pal Chris here. I'm SO proud of you guys! The show is wicked awesome, and you're doing such a great job with it.
awildermodeI have experience in molding and casting. This video is a great intro to the hobby. Very informative.

Season

Sylvia's Simple Arduino Projects

Dadmin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:25:56 +0000

Full

Ep. Number

Super Awesome Sylvia builds two different super simple Arduino Projects: The "Randomly Influenced Finger Flute", or R.I.F.F., and an Adjustable Strobe! For these easy projects, all you need are a computer, an Arduino, and one or two other common parts. Super simple at it's best.

Don't forget one of the most Super-Awesome places to get all things Arduino on the web:
http://makershed.com/arduino

Project 1: Super Simple Adjustable Strobe
---------------------------------------------
http://sylviashow.com/strobe

Direct code link on github:
http://github.com/techninja/adjustable_strobe-learning/raw/master/adjust...

Nate True's Time Fountain:
http://cre.ations.net/creation/the-time-fountain

Video of the Time Fountain:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvY7NGncCgU

Project 2: The R.I.F.F.
--------------------------------------------
http://sylviashow.com/riff

Direct code link on github:
http://github.com/techninja/riff-learning/raw/master/riff.pde

Tinker.it's soft-synth, Auduino:
http://code.google.com/p/tinkerit/wiki/Auduino

Auduino - The Arduino synthesiser:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LKmtJHSLF0

Music by The Wavers - Three Minutes to Escape [CC Sharealike v2.5]

Season

Favorite Comments

Bruce Sterling (via Wired's Beyond the beyond)*Holy cow, kid.
Tim Carmody (via Wired's Gadget Lab)...the video’s directorial style is so fine it makes Rushmore-era Wes Anderson look like a hobo. Just sayin’.
alexWiiDSThat was a great video. Not a great video for a kid. Just a great video. I'll be watching your other videos too. I'd love for my daughter to get into this stuff too. She's only 3 right now, so I think I have to wait a bit.
hiyori13ouch. Now I really feel bad about my freeduino/seeduino lying around. Sorry, sorry, I've been meaning to play with it, I have ideas for it, just haven't gotten around to it. Twenty hail buddas and 100 lines of coding.
huertanixEpic video is epic. I wish more kids were using Linux for programming Arduinos.
vxbinacaI'll have to pick up a Ardiuno now

Sylvia makes sidewalk chalk

Dadmin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:24:02 +0000

Mini

Welcome to our third episode of Sylvia’s Super Awesome Mini Maker Show! Hey! Bored on a hot summer day? In the mood to let out your inner "van Gogh" and make something cool? Then lets make some sidewalk chalk!

For this colorful build, we will need:

Plaster of Paris
An old bowl you don’t mind mixing plaster in
Powdered Tempera paint
Warm Water
Wax paper
Some short cardboard tubes, or something else to mold the chalk in
And some wide sticky tape for sealing the bottoms of the tubes

First, take your tubes and line them with some wax paper, then seal the bottoms of each tube with tape and put them in a safe container to catch any spill when pouring. Take note: once you mix the plaster, the clock is ticking to get it poured into your mold, as it won’t want to stay liquid for long! You have about 2-3 minutes before the plaster becomes twice as hard to pour, and anything after 5 minutes is almost a paste and will be very hand to get into a mold. Be sure and have your molds completely ready before mixing. Safety first: Plaster dust is bad for you! Pour it outside, or with a breathing mask and eye protection. Always read the safety warnings on the package before working with chemicals or other potentially hazardous materials.

Now mix in ¾ of a cup of warm water with 1½ cups of plaster of paris, along with whatever colors you might want. The more the better, but not too much! If your paint has any water content it will offset the mix. We originally tried with wet tempera paint, but it never dried and turned to mush! Oh well, Failure is always an option!

Now that you're mixed, carefully pour the plaster into your molds. The mix should be enough to fill about 1 to 2 cardboard tubes, to make the other colors just repeat the previous steps. Once you’ve all poured, leave them out in the summer sun, or wait overnight and in no time they’ll be dry and ready to start drawing with.

And that’s it! Try experimenting with different colors, different molds, or different paint types, like neon or glow in the dark. There’s a million different ways to have fun with this one, just be sure that you do. And remember, get out there and make something!

Music by The Wavers - Three Minutes to Escape [CC Sharealike v2.5]

Ep. Number

See this post on MakeZine.com

Favorite Comments

10secondrideSomeones been watching mythbusters cause failure is always an option
themaxxrayIs it just me or does Sylvia have the best theme music on Youtube.
brian940808OMG when i grow up i wanna be JUST like her!!!!!!!
WambliPetaMy 5 and 7 yr old girls Love these Mini Maker vids 8-) Thank you for share'n!!
ProfessorAlaskaThat little girl is sort of epic.
MacintoshUser1986"Safety First!" Haha, that was so cute! She's an awesome little scientist!
skippygirl959its really cool that makemagazine is getting kids out there for july! great job sylvia! :)
kickercaster18Awww...She's like a scientist, only miniture!
dreamfaeiry~Thanks for the 'how to' Sylvia, thats cool and I love sidewalk chalk! I'm gonna do that with my niece and nephew! I think I'm gonna try layering different colors in the tubes, and maybe see what happens if I add a little glitter to it also! Peace, love & :) !!!~
oddsourcelol... like how you did the last bit. Dads a techninja and mom is the Paint ninja.
wurxUnbelievably great! Keep making these videos...please!

Season

Sylvia builds a paper rocket

Dadmin — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:04:50 +0000

Mini

Super Awesome Sylvia shows you how to build a paper rocket in this MAKE video special MINI episode--

Welcome to our first Sylvia’s Super Awesome Mini Maker Show! Hey! Did you know you could be a rocket scientist in just one day? Well, a hobby rocket scientist anyways! The field of hobby rocketry is huge, ranging from $5 mini starters to multi-thousand dollar custom made giants that can fly thousands and thousands of feet. Today we’ll show you enough to get you up in the air and crashing in no time!

From the hobby store, you’ll need a complete launch kit (Launch pad w/launch rod & launch controller) plus a few size C-6 rocket engines and electric ignitors (the engines usually come in a pack of three, with safety plugs and ignitors). We could make some of these parts, but for safety it’s best to buy your first set. The only thing left is to build the rocket body itself, for that we’ll need:

White school glue
Thick legal size construction paper, or any other type of paper about that size
A little strip of of cardboard, about 2 inches long
A long cylinder or rod about 3/4” in diameter. Anything from a dowel to a broom handle
A thin plastic drinking straw
A file folder or fancy card stock
Some stickers, markers and other crafty things to decorate the rocket with
A paperclip (optional) to help secure the rocket engine
And some not too sticky masking or painters tape

First, take your paper and wrap it nice and tight around your cylinder against a flat table while you glue. Use tape to secure it if needed. Use the card stock to cut out 3 to 4 fins, and glue them on evenly around the rocket body (or fuselage). You can add more if you want, just go crazy! The minimum number of fins is 4, but there's no real maximum (within reason). We added 4 more tiny ones above the main fins on one of our rockets.

The entire assembly has to stay on the cylinder to dry completely overnight (otherwise there's a risk of the fuselage warping as it dries). Once it’s dry, roll up some card stock to make the nose cone and glue it on. Just be sure and trim off any excess nose cone paper to allow the launch rod to attach freely. Now draw a straight line down the fuselage and glue on two pieces of drinking straw for launch lugs.

To make sure your rocket engine doesn’t fly out through your nose cone when it launches, roll the cardboard into a tight circle, coat it in glue and use an engine to push it into the fuselage just far enough to have a tiny lip of engine sticking out. To ensure the engine doesn’t go anywhere before launch, you can either glue in the engine, or use a straightened paper clip sandwiched in the fuselage and bent over to hold the engine. Even engines that are glued in should have the cardboard engine block installed.

Once dried and decorated, your rocket is ready to launch! Find an open area away from trees and power lines, and set up your launch pad. Insert your ignitor with safety plug, attach the controller, get back to a safe distance, and launch! The greatest thing about these little rockets is they're so cheap to make, you won’t really mind the crash at the end. That’s it! Be sure and experiment with different fin shapes or nose cones. Have fun rocket scientists, and remember, get out there and make something!

Songs used during this mini episode (all licensed under Creative Commons Share-alike v2.5 license):
-The Wavers - Surfin' Mosquito

Ep. Number

See this post on MakeZine.com

Favorite Comments

onemanshow520Great project for kids. And great job by Sylvia
chrisradcliffSylvia is my new hero. Awesome introduction to model rocketry!
579093well no wonder they have honor classes and GT programs! :)
TopachulaNASA, if you're looking for another Capcom - here you have it
wlchaseSWEET! Great work! Don't know if they still do, but Estes, who pioneered the self-contained engines, used to have some awesome technical texts on rocketry math, like center of pressure/center of mass and aerodynamic drag! Keep up the good work, Sylvia!
themaxxrayThis girl is going places. Like to see her make more interesting stuff
laughordie72Great job Sylvia! I've got an old rocket kit I can resurect now thanks to your idea! Keep up the good work.
naturalist92683Go Sylvia! a role model for everyone!
captwasabiSylvia's voice-over on the closing credits is the new internet insanity test. I couldn't listen with out giggling. Awesome video! My son and I will be building some soon!
guns4goodThis little kid is cool! It's great to see young people getting involved with hobbies and crafts. At least she's not glued to her TV or Nintendo DS. Oh, And I'm sure she had parental/adult supervision through this whole process. That's kind of a no-brainer.
suprafanatic1984She could sell ice to eskimos
Loki95531Love your intro! I would give you all five stars if that was still the rating system. I am 40 and you made me want to build a rocket ! good job.
ProbewitchBest video of 2010.

Season

Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show!

Super-Awesome Sylvia — Fri, 21 May 2010 15:42:32 +0000

Sylvia builds the Drawdio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qmp-Qi7-ltY

Check it out, my first real show! Comment at youtube and let me know what you think.

Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show! - build

BAMF Demo: Arduino Laser Tripwire

Get the code at Github to copy and paste into your Arduino IDE right here!

Tags

All about Mod Podge

Links for this episode:

Ep. Number

Season

Sylvia builds the Adafruit MiniPOV

Ep. Number

Favorite Comments

Season

Sylvia shows how to do Basic Screen Printing

Ep. Number

Favorite Comments

Season

Sylvia builds Mousey the Junkbot

Ep. Number

Favorite Comments

Season

Sylvia Molds and Casts with Composimold

Ep. Number

Favorite Comments

Season

Sylvia's Simple Arduino Projects

Ep. Number

Season

Favorite Comments

Sylvia makes sidewalk chalk

Ep. Number

Favorite Comments

Season

Sylvia builds a paper rocket

Ep. Number

Favorite Comments

Season

Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show!

Sylvia builds the Drawdio

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