Of all things Americans are… We are Makers. With our strengths and our minds and spirit. We gather, we form, we fashion. Makers and shapers and put-it-togethers.
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Original post by Phillip Torrone
Call us biased, but we still prefer Ben Heckendorn’s portable ColecoVision over this one, but that’s not to say we don’t deeply respect the immense amount of work that went into the mini ColecoVision. The seller of the unit stripped a ColecoVision PCB from an original casing and got to modding; when all was said and done, the miniaturized version still operated fine and required a lot less floor space. ‘Tis a shame the bidding just ended — now you’re stuck with Atarimax’s oh-so-similar (but not nearly as satisfying) MulitCart as you embarrassingly attempt to relive the past.
[Via technabob]
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Original post by Darren Murph
Great collection of clips from TV science teacher Julius Sumner Miller “Why is it so?”
Why is it so? - the ground-breaking TV series with the enigmatic Professor Julius Sumner Miller - ran on the ABC from 1963 to 1986. Professor Miller’s infectious enthusiasm for physics delighted, educated and entertained generations of Australians, most of whom have at some point asked each other ‘Why is it so?’ in the characteristic Julius Sumner Miller voice.
The Lab has found some of the funniest, most entertaining segments from the Why is it so? series, and made them available for twenty first century enjoyment - over both dialup or broadband connections. Now you too can watch some ‘enchanting experiments’ with the good professor!
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Original post by Phillip Torrone
When I was a teen, I used to salivate over all of the Heathkit ads in the teen media I consumed (popsci and sci-fi mags, comic books, adventure mags, Boy’s Life, etc). A few friends had built their own Heathkit stereos and I envied their electronics prowessm and the depth of their piggy banks.
All of the kits I couldn’t afford to build back then are available to drool over again — now with the added nostalgic appreciation for their homely space age design — at the Heathkit Virtual Museum. The site has info on each kit, histories of the company, links to most of the manuals and other tech resources, and links to fan sites.
Heathkit Virtual Museum [via Dinosaurs and Robots]
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Original post by Gareth Branwyn
I’ve been obsessing recently over the 1963 Chrysler Turbine, a concept car Chrysler Corp made 55 of, loaned out to select customers for testing (and lots of breathless publicity), and then they unceremoniously destroyed all but a few of them (as can be seen in the last horrifying video above). As far as I can tell, there is only a single vehicle owned by an individual car collector in Indiana. The rest are in museums (with the motors hobbled) and Chrysler has a working one at their Proving Grounds. Short of stealing one, I don’t know how I’m ever going to get my hands on one, but a boy can dream…
Mister Jalopy posted about the Turbine on D+R today, so I guess I’m not the only Maker who covets this crazy-cool car.
Here’s a nice piece on Allpar about the Chrysler’s turbine cars and engines.
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Original post by Gareth Branwyn
Via Brass Goggles comes a pointer to a round-up of amazing antique diving suits and boats.
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Original post by Gareth Branwyn
JR writes in -
I thought this was a cool story that didn’t get wide pickup. I like #9 especially: IBM SELECTRIC TYPEWRITER… Because the Selectric coupled a motor to a mechanical assembly, pressing different keys caused the motor to draw different amounts of current specific to each key. By closely measuring the current used by the typewriter, it was possible to determine what was being typed on the machine. To prevent such measurements, State Department Selectric typewriters were equipped with parts that masked the messages being typed.
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Original post by Phillip Torrone
NYTimes on some nicely modded Model Ts…
Thousands of people gathered last week in Richmond, Ind., for the centennial celebration of the Ford Model T, the machine that made the automobile a Main Street technology, with 15 million produced from 1908 to 1927. As a product, the Model T has long been seen as a classic example of no-frills, mass-produced standardization. It had no gas gauge. Even a windshield was an extra-cost option originally.Yet the gathering in Indiana showed another facet of the Model T’s history — how much owners tinkered with and modified the car. Among the 800 vintage automobiles brought by collectors were ones that had been converted to snowmobiles, racing coups and tow trucks. That was only a glimmer of the many innovative changes made by Model T owners, for uses Henry Ford never had in mind. They transformed the cars into tractors, pickup trucks, paddy wagons, mobile lumber mills and power plants for milling grain. An itinerant preacher converted his into a four-wheeled chapel.
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Original post by Phillip Torrone
Filed under: Portable Audio
Brace yourselves, dear readers. The item we’re about to explain just might be is most certainly the best thing to ever happen to the digital audio player market. ZVUE’s 1GB pre-loaded Journey MP3 player not only reeks of the early ’80s in design alone, but this thing actually arrives with 22 Journey tracks loaded on (11 new joints, 11 of your childhood favorites). It’s like buying Journey’s greatest hits and getting a DAP for free — go on, be good to yourself, it’s only $39.88. Jump past the break if you need some encouragement / discouragement.
[Via AnythingButiPod, thanks Dula]
Continue reading ZVUE’s 1GB Journey DAP comes with 22 tracks you’ll never delete
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Original post by Darren Murph
Filed under: Misc. Gadgets
Fair warning: this here post is nerdier than usual, and those who begin to feel nauseous at the mere mention of data-bending may want to refrain from continuing on. For you brave, hardened souls that are following through, feast your eyes on the “first piece of software ever sold by Apple.” The Apple I BASIC cassette wasn’t even included with all of the 200 Apple Is produced eons ago, but a few engineering souls have managed to extract the data and create an MP3 of the wave structure. Not surprisingly, the tone resembles that of a 1200 Baud connection, and if we should say so ourselves, would make for a wicked ringtone. Believe us, it gets even weirder in the read link, but you’ll have to determine whether venturing down is something your brain can handle.
[Via BoingBoing]
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Original post by Darren Murph
Dale Dougherty, editor and publisher of MAKE and CRAFT, is on the road this week and writes:
On a visit today to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, I got a quick tour of the collections, a place where objects not in active use are stored. One thing caught my attention: a wooden treadmill. I learned that it was built as a treadmill for a dog and its purpose (the big wheel) was to generate power. So a dog-powered generator, built and once used on a farm.
Thanks to Kathleen McCarthy for the tour. I could have spent hours there so I’ll have to come back.
Museum of Science and Industry
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Original post by Gareth Branwyn
At this year’s O’Reilly Foo Camp in Sebastopol, CA, a bunch of us took a field trip to Sturgeon’s Mill, a hundred year old steam-powered lumber mill that’s about five minutes from the O’Reilly offices. The mill was closed in 1964, but is now being restored and is open for scheduled demonstrations (see upcoming dates on their website).
The visit was a real treat. The mill is situated in a small valley of looming redwoods, lush undergrowth, and rocky creek beds. There was a real sense of excitement when the steam whistle blew, the mill chugged to life, and the sawyers went to work. The mill is powered by an Atlas Steam Boiler and Engine for the main saw (the “headrig”) and a Soule twin-cylinder engine to power the 4-gang edger.
A working 1924 Dorris lumber truck.
Besides the impressive mechanics of the mill itself, the grounds around it are strewn with the rusty ejecta of all manner of steam-powered cutters, movers, lifters, and the tools that kept them in business. Above is a 1905 Willamette Steam Donkey, a machine replacement for actual donkeys and mules (and lesser tractors).
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Original post by Gareth Branwyn
Filed under: Gaming
We’re not quite sure how Seth Sternberger, one member of 8 Bit Weapon, was able to pull this off, but he somehow compiled a number of old parts from local shops and eBay in order to transform an NES Power Pad into an instrument of awesomeness. Click on through for a video of Micro Boogie being performed on said Pad, and don’t be shocked to find yourself immediately overcome with the need to get one of these in your own house (only to remember that you can’t dance).
Continue reading Power Pad hacked into musical controller, DDR trembles
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Original post by Darren Murph
This little tutorial by Jingle Joe shows you how to light thermionic valves (a.k.a. vacuum tubes) with superbright LEDs.
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Original post by Gareth Branwyn
Randy has a round up interesting interactive packaging from the past - via NOTCOT.
I love packaging that actually does something—that changes or becomes part of the experience when you use the product. There are three classic examples of packages that I think do this. All were patented in the 1950’s or 1960’s and all are still in use today… 1. Stripe Toothpaste, 2. Jiffy Pop popcorn, and 3. Pillsbury spiral-wound refrigerated dough containers. I know there are other examples I haven’t thought of, but these are three that mean something to me.
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Original post by Phillip Torrone
Developages - Development and Technology Blog
