Video: DIY Laser Lighter

Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Mods / Hacks, Videos

I’m not a smoker, and I don’t carry a lighter around in case anyone needs a light.  However, I could totally see myself with a miniature laser lighter.  In fact, if you want to build one, feel free to grab a BIC Lighter, a blue laser diode, two 1.5 cell batteries, two magnets, and check Instructables for details on how to assemble a Cheapy Laser Lighter Burner. 

Read More | Instructables

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Video: USB Cigar Flash Memory Drive

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, USB, Storage, Videos

There is a never ending run of USB drives, many of them made out of everyday objects that have been gutted. This one, made by “laxap,” is composed of a real cigar, a small flash drive, some wire, 2 red LEDs, a resistor, and extension cable, paper and tape. When in use the end turns a bright red. You can get step-by-step instructions as well as a sample of his other USB creations that include the use of a highlighter, Slim Jim can and light bulb.

Read More | Instructables

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DIY Truth Wristband Kit

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Misc. Tech

Find out what your date is really thinking. The Truth Wristband kit measures the galvanic skin response which is used in larger lie detector tests, and turns from blue to red when the wearer gets nervous. All the parts you need are included: an etched PCB, finger strap, Velcro wristband, TRUTH face plate, batteries and instructions. You need to do some soldering but for $44.95, we figure it should pay for itself after the first transgression.

Read More | Maker Shed

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HTPC Building Series: The Final Tally

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Music, PC / Laptop, Software

Check out out HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

The challenge presented at the beginning of this process was for us to build a great home theater PC while sticking to a budget of $1,000. We knew we were up for the challenge, and wanted to walk you through that process with us. Here’s what we’ve done, as a refresher:

• Let’s Build a Budget HTPC
• Selecting Our Hardware
• The MSI 7411 Motherboard, and Why It Rocks
• Achieving Great 5.1 or 7.1 Surround Sound
• Driving multimedia content to the HTPC
• The ATI TV Wonder 650
• Laying Out All The Components

So, now that we have reached the end of this process, we need to take a look at how we did, right? Were we able to stick to our budget? Let’s see how we did…

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HTPC Building Series: Laying out all the components

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, PC / Laptop

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

In our quest to build the ultimate inexpensive hoome theater computer, we’ve walked you through selecting all the major components that will power our labor of love PC. I’m talking about things like why we picked our chosen motherboard, the MSI MS-7411, a look at how we will drive 7.1 sound from the HTPC to our receiver, and the smart way that we will move content to the HTPC so it’s displayed on our television.

But what about the rest? The pieces that, although not major, are still required to have a - you know - functioning HTPC? Well, that’s where this article comes in. We are going to be giving you a quick rundown of the smaller components that you will need in order to get this thing built, before we do our wrap-up in our next article.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: Laying out all the components

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HTPC Building Series: The ATI TV Wonder 650

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, PC / Laptop

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

We’re starting to wind down the layout of all the parts that are going into our Home Theater PC. First, let’s recap some of the main components that we’ve thrown into this project this far:

• The process of selecting the hardware for the HTPC
• A closer look at our chosen motherboard, the MSI MS-7411
• A look at how we will drive 7.1 sound from the HTPC
• The way that we will move content to the HTPC so it’s displayed on our television

We’ve come a long way to far. In this article, though, I wanted to talk about the TV card that we’ve chosen. Since we are doing this on a budget, we are hoping for a nice balance of good performance at an inexpensive price. This is why we’ve chosen the AMD TV Wonder 650. Amazon has it for 43% off of the retail price. This card supports both over the air HD broadcasts, as well as ClearQAM cable TV.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: The ATI TV Wonder 650

Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget

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PVC Camera Mount

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Cameras, Design, Hot Deals, Misc. Tech

Need a quicky camera mount for use with a mic stand? “mnwingnut” wanted to create something that was cheap, easy, secure and small. He finally picked up both a non-threaded female to male PVC adapter and threaded PVC cap, added a nut, wingnut and bolt, some flexible water hose and he had himself a mini-mount. Although the mount can pan and tilt, it is somewhat limited in its ability to make angle adjustments. A step-by-step guide is available for the $4.00 gadget.

Read More | instructables

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HTPC Building Series: Driving multimedia content to the HTPC

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, PC / Laptop

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

Continuing our quest to build the ultimate, while inexpensive, home theater PC, the one thing you need to consider when talking about media is how you are going to actually get the media to the computer. After covering the main mission, carefully going through our selection of hardware, giving you a first hand look at the MSI motherboard we chose (and explaining exactly why we chose that one,) and then bringing you up to speed on how we are going to drive 7.1 surround sound from this thing, you were probably thinking that the brunt of the thinking was done, right? Well, while that may be the case, there are still some important considerations that need to be taken into account.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: Driving multimedia content to the HTPC

Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget

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HTPC Building Series: Achieving great 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, PC / Laptop

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

In previous posts, while talking about building up our Home Theater PC, from the ground up, and on a budget, we’ve focused on a few goals. Things like what we want to see the system, as a whole, do for our home entertainment experience. We’ve talked, in general, about some of the hardware we plan on ordering to put into this bad boy. We’ve even gone into detail on the one essential piece that is going to drive everything - that being the motherboard. Today we want to focus on how we are going to get amazing sound out of this system.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: Achieving great 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound

Read More | Series: Building an HTPC on a Budget

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HTPC Building Series: Choosing the MSI 7411 motherboard

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Movies, PC / Laptop

Check out our HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.

In this installment of the Home Theater PC building log, we wanted to focus on the core of our system. Previously, we took a look at the process of selecting hardware along with a look at the overall mission to build the best HTPC we can, on a budget. To understand what we are aiming to do, though, I thought it would be best if we were able to take a look at what’s going to be at the center of everything: the MSI MS-7411 Media Live DIVA 7.1 motherboard.

That’s a mouthful, we know - but it’s also an amazing centerpiece for our system. The foundation is MSI’s MS-7411 micro-ATX motherboard featuring AMD’s 780M chipset with UVD support and side-port memory for smooth 1080p playback. This motherboard can be ordered with either pre-amp or amp audio card solutions (one purchase package) directly from your distributor of choice. Note that this motherboard uses the mobile variant of the 780 for additional power savings features that are useful in a home theater environment. It pulls less power, and it doesn’t get as hot, which means much less fan noise. Nothing kills a movie experience like fan noise, seriously.

Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: Choosing the MSI 7411 motherboard

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