Modernize your home with a new ceiling light fixture. That old, traditional ceiling rose with the decorative chandelier or light fitting might just not look right anymore, with all of your modern furniture and appliances. The best thing… replace it.
Systm is the Do-It-Yourself show designed for the common geek who wants to quickly and easily learn how to dive into the latest and hottest tech projects. They will help you avoid pitfalls and get your project up and running fast. In this DIY episode, see how to share Internet access at highway speeds.
Learn how to make a DTV antenna & a steadicam. Digital converter box? Check! Great reception? Not so much. John Park shows how to take a fistful of wire coat hangers and make a TV antenna that gives great digital reception. While he’s at it, he also makes a video camera stabilizer using metal piping and counterbalance weight; great for at-home moviemaking.
Want a great, inexpensive, 3D movie experience in your bedroom (and have an aversion to the perennial red/blue anaglyphic glasses)? Sean Hellfritsch from Encyclopedia Pictura shows how to make the Vizard, a home 3-D viewing station. This podcast from Wired Magazine is a creative and whimsical hack with both modern and nostalgic technology perfect for watching a flip book style movie in 3D. The Vizard is a polarized stereoscopic display. It's not a red or cyan filter. LED has a natural polariz...
Reach the lights at the end of the tunnel, or better yet... be the lights at the end of the tunnel. Check out this video tutorial to see how to install off-road lights onto a Toyota FJ Cruiser. You will see exactly how to install Baja Designs' off-road lights onto that Cruiser in preparation of running the Baja 1000 Course. These lights only make things stronger and more clear. Forget simple automobile headlights, do you want to see that tree up that hill or not? This will take some time, mou...
Make a solar cell from a condom with this video tutorial. Solar energy is plentiful and better for the environment, so why not take an easily accessible commodity (like a condom), and use it to harvest the power of the sun. To replicate this hack at home, you'll need the following materials: 12 iron hairpins, 2 pennies (pressed before 1982), 2 electrical wires, 1 sheet of aluminum, 2 strong magnets, a condom, and mineral water. For more on making your own condom-based solar cell, watch this h...
As far as the world of consumer electronics goes, it doesn't get much greener than recycling solar panels. In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to solder together broken solar panels, giving them new life as a functional AA battery charger, which produces about 6 volts in direct sunlight and about 3 volts indoors. In order to get started on this hack, you'll need a number broken solar panels (which can be had cheap for cheap on the Internet), a low-temperature soldering iron, silver-beari...
You are stuck in the middle of nowhere and can't see a thing. Luckily you have pencil and your car battery. You can create 20 minutes of bright light using the graphite from a regular pencil, wired to the positive and negative of your car battery. Basically, the graphite serves as a bright filament for your emergency light. Follow along with this how-to video tutorial to learn the step by step process of turning a pencil into an emergency light.
The bumper for bObsweep Pethair and Standard are installed the same way. It holds the sensors that allow Bob to see any obstacles in his path. If a repair of the wall detection sensors is needed, the steps for replacing the whole bumper are the same when working on either bObsweep model.
The dryer’s idler pulley provides tension to the dryer’s drum belt so the belt won’t slip when the drum is turning. It can become faulty over time due to increased friction. If your dryer is making a squeaking or squealing nose then the idler is probably faulty. Replacing this pulley is a simple project. Repair your noisy dryer with this step-by-step tutorial!
In a previous article, I demonstrated an Arc Welder made using parts from old microwave ovens. Video: .
Okay, you can't really become the king of the world by stacking three pistons. For that, you have to stack four pistons.
Turn a 'toy' radar gun into the real thing! Cops don't even have one like this! While this is a completely new and different design, the inspiration for this video is from an article by Ken Delahoussaye in MAKE Magazine. Just watch this video tutorial on how to hack a toy radar gun into a real one.
In this how-to video, you will learn how to add movement to still images using Final Cut Pro. Click on the view mode button in the canvas window. Set the mode to Image and Wire Frame. Move the canvas play head to the clip you would like to affect, and select the time line. To control the scale, grab the corner to shrink or enlarge. Reposition the clip by clicking on the image and dragging it around. To rotate the clip, move the mouse over the edge and click and drag it to spin it. Select the ...
Circuit bending an audio device typically involves removing the rear panel of the device and connecting any two circuit locations with a "jumper" wire, sending current from one part of the circuit into another. Results are monitored through either the device's internal speaker or by connecting an amplifier to the speaker output. If an interesting effect is achieved, this connection would be marked for future reference or kept active by either soldering a new connection or bridging it with cro...
Chef Jason Hill tells us how to open a champagne bottle without much noise safely. Before opening the bottle make sure it is chilled to about 45 to 50 degrees. You can fill a bucket with half ice cubes and half chilled water and chill it for 30 minutes or you can refrigerate the bottle for 3 hours .When the bottle is chill remove it and dry it with a towel and carefully remove the foil with the wired wood intact. Grab the neck of the bottle with your left hand and place your thumb over the co...
It can be very difficult to see underneath wall cabinets. The cabinets and your body can cause a lot of shadows and make it very hard to see. Getting light under the cabinets is very easy. The answer is to install thin profile fluorescent lights that are made to go under the cabinets. Remove the diffuser and bulb from the lamp and you will expose the screw holes. Put the lamp up under the cabinet in the location that you want them to hang. You want to install them as far forward as possible. ...
This video shows you the proper way to clean your spark plug to ensure it is working efficiently. A step by step written guide.
The USDA recommends that adults eat 2 to 3 cups of vegetables a day. Make it easier to enjoy the taste of fresh garden vegetables year round by freezing them.
Turn two leaf charms into elegant, autumn-themed earrings with a few green and white crystals, jewelry wire and an earring base! This tutorial shows you how to make a pair of beautiful seasonal earrings for yourself, using two separate styles!
Minecraft is a pretty addicting game, and building your own fortress is half the fun of the game itself! If you're wondering how to use the redstones to make wires and create operational objects, look no further! In this video you will learn how to use redstone circuits to build useable gates in the world.
Have a lot of left over rope that you don't need? Looking for an easier way to store your extension cables and the like without getting them all tangled up? Then learn how to make a sailor's chain! This great video shows you the basic steps that you'll take to creating an endless set of slip knots that'll keep your wires, cables and ropes all tidy without.
First of all you have to watch the screen for two bars. One bar is situated in the right side of the screen and the other bar is on the bottom of your screen. First you have to start by following the ‘side bar’ which has the four strings separated by different sections. It also shows red color buttons which are depicting the movement that you need to do by pressing the strings with your fingers. At the start you have to press the second section of the second, third and the fourth strings. The...
Dana Plazyk shows how to make a beautiful ‘Christmas Bow’, in this video. All that is required to make this bow are the following:•A decorative Ribbon•Toothpicks•A rectangular piece of foamShe begins by making a whole twist, near one end of the ribbon. The twisted part of the ribbon is placed right behind a toothpick, fastened on a rectangular piece of foam. She then fastens the ribbon at that point with a second toothpick, to hold it in place. A small central loop is created on the free end ...
Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai shows Bonsai beginners how to make interesting trees from relatively available materials. He first details the history of the specific tree he will be working on. He points out that this specific specimen has small, compact foliage, branches that support itself, craggy bark, and a nice taper in the trunk. He begins to shape the tree by cutting the small amounts of foliage that are dead or weak as well as the foliage grows beneath the branches. He then uses hand ...
This video shows us how to make lilies for a dollhouse just in time for Easter. First you take a toothpaste cap and some copper metallic paint and paint it. This is your flower pot! Make the flower heads and set aside. Take some clay and stick it into the flower pot. Then take some wire, the length of what you want for stems, and stick one end into the flower bloom and the other into the cap. To make these flowers, you take some clay and roll it into a ball. Lengthen your ball into a cone lik...
To begin take a 28 gauge copper sheet and cut out a pattern that you wish your earrings to be. Your pattern can be any shape that you wish. Cut out both earrings. Next sand your two earrings so that a texture will begin to arise on the copper sheet. Then you can color the copper with colored pencils to add the colors that you would like. Now with a break machine feed the copper sheet into the break in order to form the texture on the earrings. Then take a pair of pliers and exaggerate your pa...
Richpin demonstrates how to clean the throttle body on a Saturn S-series car. First, remove the accelerator cables using a tool like a pen. Next, remove the top hose. Remove the wires from the throttle position sensor. In the back are wires for the idle control valve. Remove them. Remove the 10 millimeter nuts and bolts and brackets by the EGR. Once the hardware is removed, tap the top with a screwdriver and the throttle body will come off. From the throttle body, remove the throttle position...
The video begins with a guy saying that his Ford F-150 is making a weird sound. He turns the truck on and lets us hear the sound. The truck is then taken into a workshop and we find out that the engine has blown the spark plug.
You can learn to make a beautiful chain mail bracelet by watching this video. The bracelet is easy to make and affordable too. Start by sliding two silver jumper rings onto a paper clip. Two copper jumper rings are passed through the silver rings and twisted to complete the loop. Next, two silver rings are passed through the copper rings and twisted to complete the loop. Next, place the silver rings on either side of the copper rings and pull them up from between the copper rings, as shown in...
Crimp can be made easily and covered to the jewelry by using the following instructions. First purchase the proper supplies of crimping tool. This tool acts like pliers and is used by placing the bead in the appropriate slot at the tip and then squeeze the handle together. The multiple slotted tips are the key to the tool, and are needed to create a proper crimp. Then, select the proper crimp bead. The thin metal crimp beads come in a variety of materials and sizes. This will be used to secur...
Most use wireless computer mice these days for their computers, but there are still people stuck on wired optical mice, especially in an office environment. Those people are our targets. As pranking someone's computer may be frowned on, peripherals are fair game, and this prank from Kipkay takes their wired optical computer mouse and turns it into a foul-smelling smoke machine.
The days of asking mom to wrap your presents are over! In this tutorial, learn how to tie a perfect bow for your present out of ribbon.
Cookies might be delicious already without any additives, but icing is a must have. This video shows you how to ice your cookies to add to the deliciousness.
When you need an eye-catching boutonniere for a special occasion, you don't have to spend a fortune at the florist. Make your own!
A great pair of sunglasses can make you look like a celebrity. Follow these steps to choose the best style for your face.
Watch this video tutorial to learn how to calculate your carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is an equation that estimates just how much you, personally, are contributing to global warming—and all you have to do is plug some info into an online calculator. Figuring out how to make your footprint smaller, of course, is another matter.
Learn how to spot a dishonest contractor for home repair. It’s no accident contractors have such a bad reputation – they get more fraud complaints than any other workers! Here’s how to find a reputable one – and skip the scammers.
In this video tutorial, go into the world of Harry Potter and learn how to make your own Harry Potter magic wand. For this magic wand project, you'll need an LED, copper wire, colored markers, plaster, and a straw. Sure, it's not the best magic wand ever, but it's nice and cheap and easy to make... a good project for the kids.
If you’ve got an old floppy disk, you can create a tiny replica of the Starship Enterprise. You will need an old floppy disk, sturdy scissors or a wire cutter, and invisible thread.
