Ken Moore, a user experience designer at Google, created a very convincing Theremin simulator using a Wiimote and a Roland JV-1080 synth.

I've seen a few Theremin simulators that use accelerometer data, in both Wiimote and iPhone form, but this is the first I've seen that does a good job of recreating an authentic Theremin experience in all its 50s sci-fi awesomeness. Using some IR gloves and the Wiimote's CCD, one hand's horizontal movement controls pitch and the other hand's vertical movement controls volume.

At just $35, the Wiimote is an AMAZING piece of technology. It has an infrared camera in it which tracks the position up to 4 infrared light sources. So I bought a pair of leather gloves, wired up a couple infrared LEDs to 1.5 volt batteries, and poked an LED through the tip of the index finger of each glove.

Then, I connected my Wiimote to my computer (the Wiimote also supports Bluetooth connections): building on top of Brian Peek's Wiimote hacking software library, I wrote a program which detects the two infrared gloves and converts the vertical position of the left hand to volume, and converts the horizontal position of the right hand to pitch. That information is then sent via MIDI to the synthesizer which creates the actual sound.

One of the more interesting possibilities with this setup is that by adjusting the synthesizer, you can use a Theremin-like interface to control a huge number of effects, not just the standard sci-fi sine wave. I wonder if Léon Theremin would approve.

Wii Theremin

Here's a reminder that all craft kits in the Maker Shed are 10% off until the end of November! There are great gifts in there for your kids, your friends, and any other crafters you know. Use promo code CRAFTER at checkout to take advantage of this deal.

MAKE & CRAFT photo editor Sam Murphy points us to this kit for making your own pepper mill. It includes all the complicated grinding hardware and a walnut blank. Lathe not included.

When I need to photograph a small object with my iPhone, the fixed focus lens makes for a pretty horrible image. Inspired by this post, I took a 50mm lens from an old SLR and started using it as an improvised macro lens by holding it in front of my iPhone.

I decided to make a mount for the whole contraption. I realized that the little plastic coffin from the iPhone packaging would work pretty well. I cut a piece of mousepad to cushion things, and mounted it all with a couple of zip-ties and a rubber band. Now, I just slip my phone into the thing and snap away! Here's the Flickr set for larger photos.

With only three months to go until the digital TV conversion, the Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC) today released its new TV Recycling Report Card, grading the major TV manufacturers on their efforts to establish national programs to take back and recycle their old TVs. More than half of the 17 companies ranked scored a failing "F" grade, because they have no recycling program in place. Sony received the highest grade, a B minus, with other companies scoring C's and D's.

The recycling vs. reuse / consumer vs. manufacturer responsibility debates are interesting and seem worth having. Just make sure you're not throwing your TV in the garbage in the meantime! Here's a good way to find your nearest electronics recycler (in the U.S.)

Let's get started!

Thomas J. Glover Pocket Reference
We kept asking ourselves, "If there was just one tool that no Maker should be without, what would it be?" This may just be the "tool" we'd pick. This great little book is a concise all-purpose reference featuring hundreds of tables, maps, formulas, constants & conversions, and it still fits in your shirt pocket! Packed with mathematical formula, tables, standard conversion ratios, scientific facts, technical specifications, electric wire size vs. load, resistor color codes, Morse code, sun & planet data, earthquake scales, nail sizes, geometry formulas, currency exchange rates, carpentry, automotive, physical science, water friction losses, charts for battery charging, lumber sizes & grades, floor joint span limits, insulation R values, periodic table, and as they say, much, much more! It's no wonder The Pocket Ref was featured in MythBusters! All the reference information anyone needs on virtually any subject is right at the fingertips in this handy pocket-sized guide. Its tables, charts, drawings, lists, and formulas will be especially useful for contractors, students, travelers, electronics hobbyists, craftspeople, and engineers and technicians in virtually every field.
Price: $12.95

We had been using ProDesktop by PTC, to learn how to design mechanical parts. He was doing the tutorials along with his classmates. He worked out the idea in Lego parts. He studied the existing mechanism available from Park Tools. He designed the individual parts, and made an assembly in ProD. When he had the system Then he took the drawings and laid them out on wood and cut using traditional woodshop tools. The full assembly and process are visible on his wiki.

Michael did this project while he was a freshman or sophomore at Duxbury High School. It showed me both the incredible power of the design process, and the amazing things that can happen when you put powerful design tools into the hands of a motivated student. He is now a Senior in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering at Umass Amherst. Graduate school and a promising career figure are just a few of the things in his future. When he did this project many years ago, I could see many possibilities for the techniques and the student.

How do you use Make and Craft to help teach? Have these publications changed the way you see projects and education? Do you have success stories of students who have created amazing things or gone on to fascinating careers as Designers or Makers? Give them and your program a plug by posting into the comments or adding photos and videos of their work in the Make Flickr pool.

All in all although it did take some work I now have a pretty rad LED Clock in my living room now. And I can tell people I hacked it together myself!

As I said before my only warning....would be these LED's are bright....really bright. Check out how they mess with my camera's lens below. If your interested in buying this kit, check out the Maker Shed to order it. More photos after the jump.

Close up of LED Clock Kit in it's box. It all looks so simple with the happy father and his kid looking so content. Will I be so happy at the end of this?

On this episode of Bre Pettis' "Things," Adam Mayer shows off the Model 15 teletype machine from the 1930s he's been working on.

Things - Adam Mayer Explains The Teletype Model 15

Make: television will premiere on Public Television stations and here on www.makezine.tv in January.

Each station programs slightly different schedules, call your Public Television station and ask for "Viewer Services" -- they'll tell you when it will be on.

Let us know what you think in the comments.

Today, Trossen Robotics announces:

Trossen Robotics is proud to be the first in the United States to offer the new MechRC Humanoid Robot! This new ready-to-walk robot is a breakthrough in price to performance. High torque metal gear servos, LiPo batteries for longer run times, a fluid 3D visual software programming interface for easy custom motions, and a remote control unit are included. Everything you need to have you own walking robot is included in this ready-to-walk kit! With over a hundred pre-installed motions and sounds you can get this robot throwing some dance floor shapes or some killer fighting moves straight from the box.

I'd have to spend some time with this bot to see if it's really worth the $600 price relative to, say the I-Sobot, which is only $96 (but obviously doesn't have the sophisticated programming capability of the MechRC, at least not out of the box). Sadly, the I-Sobot has also been discontinued, so get one while you can. The MechRC is definitely cheaper than other fully programmable mini humanoid-type bots, such as the Robonovas and the KHRs, which run in the thousand dollar range.

MechRC

Windell of Evil Mad Scientist Labs is this many, expressed in a binary candle. He shows you how to make your own. Do you know how old he is?

(BTW: I don't think today is really his birthday, but let's play along. He *is* 0100010.)

Binary Birthday

Of course, you have the added benefit of the odd looks you'll receive when you explain that you sprout food in your bathroom!