For et rush det var å ha stand på Maker Faire i år! Vi hadde byttemarked og kreativt verksted, og det var til tider så fullt av folk (mest skoleungdom) på standen at det var umulig å bevege seg, bokstavelig talt. Helt rått!

Spesiell takk til NRK for donasjoner av spennende elektronikk!

Opplegget er i grove trekk å finne kreative måter å gjenbruke “søppel” på, og gi ting andre kaster ett nytt liv. På Maker Faire gjorde vi flere ting:

1. Byttemarked og loppis. Dette ble veldig populært, det var tilløp til hysteriske tilstander! Bytt noe du har i noe annet fint, etter “harde” forhandlinger. Vi solgte også smykker laget på stedet.
2. Skru selv delemarked. Også her var det mulig å bytte. Målgruppen er mer teknisk interesserte og folk som lager musikk og instrumenter. Se en del du liker, skru den ut selv, og kjøp den eller bytt. Eller få den gratis, dersom vi er i godt humør (og det er vi jo som regel).
3. Få ting reparert, alt fra klær til ting. Lær å sy og lodde.
4. Lag små figurer (vi kaller dem “økokrigere”). Kreativt gjenbruk med limpistol og masse humor. Veldig populært under Maker Faire! Litt barnslig, men vi hadde “barn i alle aldre” innom.

Konseptet er veldig åpent, men det handler hovedsakling om kreativitet og å lære (og tørre) å lage ting selv, av ting andre vurderer som verdiløst.

Her er noen bilder fra standen, tatt av Maker Faire og Sofie som stod på standen sammen meg meg, Silje og Camilla. Good times, må gjentas!

Har du lyst til å ha besøk av vårt “Postapokalyptiske supermarked”? Eller har du lopper du vil bli kvitt? Send en epost til morten.skogly@gmail.com.

Inspirert av Redd Barna sin flotte julekalender :)

Take a colorful page from an old comic or magazine, round off the corners an then cut it into a long ribbon that you can hang or drape over your table.

I’ve done this for my kids birthdays for a few years, and it’s a fun fast way to save both money and the environment.

I had a small soft, fluffy pink bathrope that my daughter had outgrown, and some stuffing from a cheap ikea pillow that got torn apart during washing.

I cut off the seams, and tried to get the most I could out of the material, and and ended up with two cute Japan-inspired teddybears and a little pillow.

I chose the shape, and my daughter the buttons for the face.

All hand stiched, using only left over materials. The fluffy material is very forgiving, so even if your sewing skills are pretty bad, you can’t really notice.

I made the second one for the daughter of a friend. She is younger, so instead of buttons the eyes are made with cloth from a pair of pants, sewn on, to make safer for a toddler. It also has a tiny picket for hiding candy from mom and dad :)

The tail and ears are made from the bathrobe belt.

Søte pinnefolk laget av ungene i barnehagen.

Liker også denne karen laget av min datter:

A picture of my first experiment with creating an acoustic laptop, which basically is miked wooden box with a interesting soundgenerating objects inside.

Really easy to make, all you need is a piezo element (you’ll find them in those cheap birtdaycards that play music, or you can order them online.

The piezo element is soldered to a headphone jack and then glued to a wooden box. Plug the box into an amp, I used my guitar amp, and you’re all set.

Video: Acoustic laptop in action

Lydeksperimentklubben 14.12.10 from Arnfinn Killingtveit on Vimeo.

When used in this way the piezo turns into a really sensitive “microphone”. If you stroke a feather over the wooden box, you will hear it as clearly as if you did the same inside you ear, it is quite exiting the first time you try it!

The piezo works by picking up vibrations and turning them into electrical signals, so the fun part is finding interesting objects to put in the box, like I have here. Springs and rubber bands are obvious choces, but the fun part is just rummaging through drawers looking for weird stuff and trying them out.

Here are some of the things I tried in my box:

-Pink wine bottle cap with a heart on a spring. Makes a deep and rytmical sound when you hit it with you finger. Sawed off and glued to the bottom of the box.
– Two rubber bands, creates a melodic bass sound.
– Large metal spring, has a very deep metallic sound, scratch it hard with your nails and it’s almost like a bass guitar with extreme fuss.
– Brass lion face, sounds like a bass drum when you tap it carefully.
– Three needles, simply pressed into a joint of the wood. These are my favorites, they have different tone depending on how far into the wood you press them, and rings almost like glass when you pick them with your nails.
– Wind up toys! These where a huge success, creating rythm and drama. You can eighter just let them loose, or hold them in your hand and touching them to the different objects.
– Electric cappuccino mixer. This was really a must, it gives you control and is also really loud as you let it vibrate next to an object! Must be heard to be believed!

I had so much fun making these, hope you’ll try it too!

Will try to put up some audio or video soon.

A little less clutter:

Simple DIY project, using two empty tin cans, the back covers of two old issues of Computer arts, and the roots from tall grasses growing at our local beach to tied it all together. Doesn’t get much greener than this :)

DIY tin can bonanza

DIY tin can bonanza

DIY tin can bonanza

DIY tin can bonanza

Parts: Voice recording pen

Taking apart the pen

Circuit liberated and photoresistor added

Donor doll: Action man

Action man closeup

Improving audio

Snip snip

Borg!

Mini-DIY: Homemade BORG!

Solder complete

Borg fashion

Borg, side view

Recording button

Hello, My name is Borg

Resistanse is futile!

I sessongens siste Tekno-sending lagde jeg en handfull “vibrobots”, små vibrerende skapninger satt sammen av veldig enkle deler. Her er en video som viser hvordan de oppfører seg. PS: Den observante seer klarer kanskje å se hva noen av vibrobotene er laget av ? :)

Vibrobots, eller vibrerende roboter om du vil, er muligens et litt misvisende navn, men de har blitt et lite nettfenomen, sikkert fordi de er så ukompliserte å lage, og derfor er et passende nybegynnerprosjekt for folk som vil leke med lettbeint diy elektronikk.

Episoden kan lastes ned i HD via BitTorrent:
Tekno Sesong 3 episode 4 – 1280×720 (”HD-Ready”)
Tekno Sesong 3 episode 4 – 1920×1080 (”Full HD”)