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War Torn District 9 PC Case Mod

dean — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 07:35:07 PST

District 9 was a popular film which has spawned numerous DIY project such as the District 9 rifle we featured previously. The latest we have come across is the superb PC case mod above which started with a stock ATX case which was fabricated with custom parts and then painted in true District 9 style.

Build Video:

First, they cut holes in the side of the case to accommodate the various components. The ‘D-9’ logo was made in a CNC machine and attached to the case and a custom paint job was applied. Finally, they bored holes in the Plexiglas and pieces of the metal casing were gorged out and stressed to add an authentic look. Finally, some airbrushing gave it an abandoned look.

More Case Mods!

DIY Fully Functional SteamPunk Weapons

Joe L — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:21:59 PST

Steampunk gadgetry is sometimes looked down upon since majority of steampunk devices don’t actually work. These retro-looking weapons, including a “black powder” pistol and rifle break the common stereotype because they fire rubber balls as well as ping pong balls.

See our collection of Steampunk Projects

Steam Punk Rifle:

Below is a video of the “blunderbuss” rifle shown above. It shoots small rubber balls which penetrate cardboard from a modest range.

Steam Punk Pistol:

Here we have the “black powder” pistol which fires ping pong balls and confetti paper.

Top SteamPunk Projects:

Netbook Converted into Giant Touch Screen Phone

dean — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:00:21 PST

Although the iPad may not have the ability to take pictures, make calls, or multitask, but this Chinese hacker managed to create his own huge touch screen phone by modding a netbook. It’s actually bigger than the iPad and works just like a normal phone.

To build this, he took a Dell netbook and stripped it down its bare bones. Using what parts he could salvage, he magically integrated mobile phone technology and made the screen touch sensitive. We say “magically” since there are no details provided with the rather sketchy video. There are aftermarket touchscreen kits available you can purchase to accomplish this though.

More Mobile Phone Hacks:

DIY House-Wide Music Sytem via Phone Jacks

dean — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:06:43 PST

Streaming audio around your house, such as podcasts, Internet radio or just some music is a great way to relax and can come in useful when throwing a party. But it’s expensive. Use your pre-existing telephone wiring to run a house-wide audio system on the cheap!

See Also: DIY Multi-Room Wireless Music Remote

The Innards:

The “master” jack which is pictured beside his laptop above, has an extra port which is for input. This takes the audio from the laptop and feeds it into the network. All the rest, which are stationed around the house accommodate 3.5mm headphone jacks. This means you can plug in big stereos or iPod earphones, whichever you prefer.

Probably the coolest thing about this hack is that the power to run the stereos is also supplied through the network via the Cat-3 telephone cable. This saves having two wires for each stereo running from each socket. You can see how simple the wiring is in the picture above – that is the insides of a wall junction box with basic circuitry and soldering required.

Popular Audio Hacks:

Wifi Detecting Bumper Sticker For the Geek on the Road

Saikat — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:11:10 PST

By using electroluminescent parts from ThinkGeek’s epic Wifi-Detection shirt ($20), this modder created a sweet wifi-detecting bumper sticker. It’s a super simple project you can build yourself an EL bumper sticker in a few hours with outstanding results.

More El-Wire! DIY Electroluminescent Daft-Punk Clothing

The Wi-Fi sensing T-Shirt is $20 at ThinkGeek and you can pick up some El-Wire and El-sheets fairly cheap on eBay.

The power for the display is provided by the car’s 12v supply using a USB 5v adapter. The power connectors go through the tail lights so it only lights up at night. All that’s left is attaching the whole EL display to the rear window with some fabric double stick tape.

Popular EL Wire Projects:

DIY Photography: Incredible Laser-Triggered Camera Rig

Joe L — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:55:42 PST

Learn how to build an incredibly photography rig to take detailed macro photos of insects, water drops, or anything else you desire. The project was built by (believe it or not) a grandpa who goes by “fotoopa.” The entire setup is detailed on his Flickr page as well as collections of his insect and waterdrop high-speed photograph collection.

Don’t Miss: Our entire photography collection

The setup obviously yields incredibly results, but it’s quite complex. If you’re looking for a more simple solution, check out the Arduino laser triggered camera rig.

Camera Rig Setup:

Insects:

He has literally thousands of photos of all sorts of insects both in flight and still. A massive collection of superb photography.

Water Droplets:

The classic water drop shots catch stunning visuals of colored droplets which are trigged by the droplet breaking a laser beam.

Popular DIY Photography Projects:

Poor Coverage? Make a Cell Phone Range Extender

Joe L — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 01:03:25 PST

While there are a few various DIY ways to to extend the range of your cell phone signal such as using tin cans, this is an entirely new, far more powerful method for super powering your signal. A 16 year old from New Mexico created the device shown above which allows cell phone communication from 1,000 feet below the earth’s surface. You could adapt the technology to create your own cell phone range extender.

Don’t Miss: Collection of Cell Phone Hacks

“The device is something like a computer attached to a ham radio. It transmits data using low-frequency radio waves that can penetrate rock more easily than high-frequency transmissions, like those in FM broadcasts.” An awesome discovery and fun communications project to explore.

Popular Cell Phone Projects:

How to: LED Hard Drive Clock using Arduino

Joe L — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 01:20:34 PST

Ah…the Arduino. The super powerful, easy to program microcontroller brings us another fantastic DIY project. We’ve seen a few hard drive LED clocks in the past, but this one looks outstanding and is easier to create. It uses POV (persistence of vision) to create the illusion of a clock while the drive is spinning. The code will be released soon and you can also view more details about the project. You can buy dirt cheap LEDs for your projects in our store.

Useful Links:

Superb LOST Themed PC Case Mod

Saikat — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:11:47 PST

This Lost inspired case mod is ready to go for the sixth season of the hit TV show. Made by Brazilian fans of the adventure series, the case mod takes the idea from the DHARMA Initiative on the show. All the details are included – From the octagonal shape to the photo of the 1997 DHARMA team pasted inside.

The distinct touch is given by the LCD monitor that plays videos from the show. The added jungle touch ups in tropical green do a fine job of creating the Lost atmosphere.

Not a lot of details are available, but it looks like a serious gaming PC with water cooling extras.

Unfortunately, no specs are available from the creators. However, there are even more photos available for your inspiration if you decide to build your own Lost tribute. Another quality build to add to our huge Case mod collection.

Popular Case Mods:

DIY Bat Man Tumbler – For the Ultimate Fan

Saikat — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:36:56 PST

This man built his own Bat Man Tumbler from the film Batman Begins. It’s a jaw dropping accomplishment for one man and we all wish it was parked on our driveways. He built the tumbler completely from the wheels up modeled directly from the film to be as accurate as possible.

Don’t Miss: All of our Bat Man projects

The car sits on a steel chassis and the body plates are molded from epoxy reinforced with fiberglass matte. The suspension system was scratch built. Under the hood you can hear the throb of a Chevy 350 HO Deluxe engine. It’s a heavy duty motor, normally meant for off-roaders. The 44-inch Super Swamper tires are of course, store bought. From the front wheels to the rear, the Tumbler is 15 feet long, 5 feet high and 9.5 feet wide.

Definitely a superb build to add to our DIY car projects collection.