A few years ago I was looking for a gift for my friend Karen. She had mentioned that she liked the USB memory sticks that looked like sushi, but I couldn’t find one in time for her birthday, so I decided to make a silly memory stick myself.
I found a small animatronic bird that was light activated and modified it’s photo detector circuit to trigger from the activity on the USB stick. I powered the bird from the 5v usb supply that was a little bit more than it originally was designed for. The result was a very hyper bird!
Archive for April, 2009
USB Memory Stick Bird Hack
Thursday, April 30th, 2009Floppy Drive Analog Audio Recorder
Thursday, April 30th, 2009I’ve received several emails asking me to help modify specific types of floppy drives to record analog audio, but since all drives and taped decks are different the best I can do is explain the basic things to look for.
Enable the drive: Ground the motor pin, both select/enable pins to start the spindle motor.
Stepping the head: Tie the index pin on the connectors to the step pin.
Head direction control: Attach a switch between ground and the direction pin. This allows you to step the drive in or out.
Erasing the disk: While the spindle is turning move a strong magnet over the surface to erase the data on the disk.
Attaching the head: Try to trace the flex cable wires to one of the heads and check continuity on the pins. Attach the tape deck head wires to a pair of pins with continuity and try it out. If it doesn’t seem to work try another set of pins. I’ve also recorded audio to the disk by hooking an audio amplifier to the head.
Questions About The Ninetendo/C64 Purse
Thursday, April 30th, 2009I’ve been receiving many questions about the purse, so I thought I’d answer some of the popular ones here.
Produce: At the moment I don’t have plans to produce the purse, although being a toy designer I’m not apposed to designing this for mass production if a toy company approaches me about it.
Sell: FMCG has decided that most of the prototypes will be sold for charity. We’re not sure when this will happen exactly.
The Idea: I’ve always liked mobile computing and wearable computing, so ideas like this are always on my mind. I actually acquired the purse while at a second hand store when a creepy acting guy came up to me and handed it to me. I politely took it and moved away from him. While I continued to shop I realized that it was the perfect dimensions for a screen and controller.
Room inside: I have enough room in it for small items like credit cards, lipstick, etc.