Electronic-Geek.com

Archive for the ‘Interviews’ Category

Designed by Hytekk.com.

We are so excited to be one day away from our first ever World Maker Faire, this Saturday and Sunday at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) in Queens. NYSCI has been a stellar partner, and of course they have some great exhibits in the works for us. We spoke with Dan Wempa, vice president of external affairs, for more insight.

1. Tell us about the project(s) you're bringing to Maker Faire.
Since NYSCI is the host site for Maker Faire, we are presenting several projects to give visitors a taste of the best of NYSCI. Our Instructors and Explainers will present a series of science demonstrations throughout the weekend, our Library will feature pop-up book makers, and several of our staff will contribute pieces to a NYSCI sculpture garden. But perhaps the coolest "Made by NYSCI" project is our Oobleck Pool. Oobleck is a non-Newtonian fluid that demonstrates properties of both a liquid and a solid. So you can step across the surface, giving the appearance of "walking on water." We want to see how many people we can get to cross over the Oobleck Walk during the course of the Maker Faire weekend, and maybe even set a world record!

Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Interviews | Digg this!

Life-long maker Matt Gryczan conceived of and documented the how-to for the Gyrocar in the current issue of MAKE, Volume 23, and I had the privilege of meeting him and his family at Maker Faire Detroit in July. Matt worked the MAKE booth with us all weekend, and his enthusiasm for sharing knowledge never waned despite the long hours. We recently asked him 10 questions about his inspirations, the Gyrocar design, and the future of Michigan. Here's what he shared with us.

1. Tell us about yourself. How did you get started making things?
When I was in fourth grade, my older brothers at Christmas got the Kenner toy kits for making things: the two that come to mind were the hydrodynamics set and the skyrail set. From then on, I was hooked on technology. Soon after, I followed instructions in an old book from the local library on how to build a battery and solenoid, and I've been making things from scratch ever since.

2. How did you go about coming up with and designing the Gyrocar?
I'd seen a photo of an antique toy of a jockey riding a horse that was kept upright by a string-pull gyroscope, and I thought it would be fun to make a contemporary version that was battery powered. Anyone who has played with a string-pull gyroscope knows how quickly they run down.

Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Interviews | Digg this!

Have you ever wanted to tour Bletchley Park, the headquarters of Britain's WWII codebreaking efforts? How about the Gutenberg Museum, dedicated to the invention of movable type? The Geek Atlas by John Graham-Cumming collects 128 of those "dream destinations" every one an important aspect of our geek heritage. In the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, you can view such famous vehicles as the Wright Brothers' plane, the Apollo 11 command module, the X-Prize-winning SpaceShipOne, and many others. So many famous airplanes and spacecraft cram this museum, any geek visiting the nation's capital has got to make a stop.

Like any proper geek, however, Graham-Cumming doesn't just want to view the site, but learn about the science that made the place famous. Therefore, for every entry, there's a corresponding scientific principle that relates to the site. For the Air & Space Museum, Graham-Cumming discusses pressure suits; famous suits worn by such luminaries as John Glenn and Sally Ride may be viewed at the museum. However, he quickly segues into the question of the temperature of space. He begins with an easy-to-understand explanation of why space is cold: it's a vacuum, and there aren't enough particles around to transmit heat. However, the author explains, space isn't at absolute zero because leftover heat from the Big Bang fills the universe. Graham-Cumming's explanation continues with Isaac Newton's and Gustav Kirchoff's explorations of the nature of heat and light, before arriving at the answer: the temperature of space is 2.7 kelvin. Not absolute zero, but super cold! Read the rest of this entry »

Ross Hershberger is an audiophile and maker who has contributed two projects to the pages of MAKE: the Econowave Speakers in Volume 20 and Squelette, the Bare-Bones Amplifier in the current issue, Volume 23. Other than being talented and passionate, Ross is a really nice guy. I had the pleasure of meeting him and working alongside him at Maker Faire Detroit a couple of weeks ago, where he tirelessly volunteered to help us at the MAKE booth for the entire weekend (thanks, Ross!). I interviewed Ross earlier this week to gain insight on what inspires him, how he comes up with project ideas, his advice for makers, what's great about Detroit, and how awesome his wife is.

1. Tell us about yourself. How did you get started making things?
I probably took apart my cradle as soon as I could get both hands on it. DIY is in our family DNA and culture. The Amish side of the family line probably has a large influence in this. We all make, fix, mod, create, design, and tinker as a way of life. I have five siblings, and they're all adept at various crafts and technologies. Middle sister is a painter with an MFA from University of Michigan. Little sister creates gorgeous woven beaded jewelry and decorations. Our youngest brother had two research patents issued this year, for a thermoelectric device and a metal hardening technique. Middle brother is a skilled carpenter restoring building interiors for Michigan State.

To some extent learning maker skills is just expedient. A jar of pickles or a tuneup on the car is a periodic expense. Learning canning or auto repair is an asset forever. I went to electronics school half days my junior and senior years in high school. In the 70s computer programming looked like a rising field so electronics became a hobby and I was a mainframer for about 20 years. I loved IBM mainframe systems and got to work with some genuine geniuses. Seeing someone's brilliant ideas elegantly implemented is still a great pleasure. Later I returned to electronics repair, then custom design and build. An eight month stint as a tooling machinist sort of jump-started my urge to create.

2. Who are your inspirations?
So many. Especially Norman Crowhurst in electronics and horologst Dr. George Daniels, MBE CBE, in mechanics. Both mastered their fields completely. They have broad, deep comprehension and write clearly. I particularly recommend to makers Dr. Daniels' book Watchmaking. He describes the creation of a complete mechanical watch all the way from initial paper sketches and calculations to fabricating the pivot jewels, case, hands, and crystal. The result is a timepiece of uncompromising quality made entirely by hand with simple tools. Despite the unfamiliar subject and complexity of the work, every page is a model of clarity. I'll never make a watch, but Dr. Daniels' thoroughness and methodology set standards that I strive for. Study the masters of the craft. You may never equal them but some of the smarts may rub off on you.

3. How did you go about coming up with and designing the Squelette?
This project was designed especially for MAKE readers. After MAKE published my Econowave Speakers project in Volume 20, I proposed several audio-related ideas to MAKE Projects Editor Paul Spinrad. He liked the idea of a cheap, simple, high-performance audio amp so I started making prototypes. The aluminum and plexiglass version is more elaborate than my usual screwed-to-a-board chip amp builds, but I agree with Paul that it has visual panache. Chip-based amplifiers are all over the internet in hobby electronics discussion groups. Google "Gainclone" and you'll find thousands. With the high performance/cost ratio of these audio chips and the low parts count it's a no-brainer. The name "Squelette the Bare Bones Amp" is a bilingual pun that nobody seems to have gotten. Squelette is French for skeleton, a reference to 'skeleton' wristwatches with exposed workings and also to bare bones. Too subtle?

Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Interviews | Digg this!

Ross Hershberger is an audiophile and maker who has contributed two projects to the pages of MAKE: the Econowave Speakers in Volume 20 and Squelette, the Bare-Bones Amplifier in the current issue, Volume 23. Other than being talented and passionate, Ross is a really nice guy. I had the pleasure of meeting him and working alongside him at Maker Faire Detroit a couple of weeks ago, where he tirelessly volunteered to help us at the MAKE booth for the entire weekend (thanks, Ross!). I interviewed Ross earlier this week to gain insight on what inspires him, how he comes up with project ideas, his advice for makers, what's great about Detroit, and how awesome his wife is.

1. Tell us about yourself. How did you get started making things?
I probably took apart my cradle as soon as I could get both hands on it. DIY is in our family DNA and culture. The Amish side of the family line probably has a large influence in this. We all make, fix, mod, create, design, and tinker as a way of life. I have five siblings, and they're all adept at various crafts and technologies. Middle sister is a painter with an MFA from University of Michigan. Little sister creates gorgeous woven beaded jewelry and decorations. Our youngest brother had two research patents issued this year, for a thermoelectric device and a metal hardening technique. Middle brother is a skilled carpenter restoring building interiors for Michigan State.

To some extent learning maker skills is just expedient. A jar of pickles or a tuneup on the car is a periodic expense. Learning canning or auto repair is an asset forever. I went to electronics school half days my junior and senior years in high school. In the 70s computer programming looked like a rising field so electronics became a hobby and I was a mainframer for about 20 years. I loved IBM mainframe systems and got to work with some genuine geniuses. Seeing someone's brilliant ideas elegantly implemented is still a great pleasure. Later I returned to electronics repair, then custom design and build. An eight month stint as a tooling machinist sort of jump-started my urge to create.

2. Who are your inspirations?
So many. Especially Norman Crowhurst in electronics and horologst Dr. George Daniels, MBE CBE, in mechanics. Both mastered their fields completely. They have broad, deep comprehension and write clearly. I particularly recommend to makers Dr. Daniels' book Watchmaking. He describes the creation of a complete mechanical watch all the way from initial paper sketches and calculations to fabricating the pivot jewels, case, hands, and crystal. The result is a timepiece of uncompromising quality made entirely by hand with simple tools. Despite the unfamiliar subject and complexity of the work, every page is a model of clarity. I'll never make a watch, but Dr. Daniels' thoroughness and methodology set standards that I strive for. Study the masters of the craft. You may never equal them but some of the smarts may rub off on you.

3. How did you go about coming up with and designing the Squelette?
This project was designed especially for MAKE readers. After MAKE published my Econowave Speakers project in Volume 20, I proposed several audio-related ideas to MAKE Projects Editor Paul Spinrad. He liked the idea of a cheap, simple, high-performance audio amp so I started making prototypes. The aluminum and plexiglass version is more elaborate than my usual screwed-to-a-board chip amp builds, but I agree with Paul that it has visual panache. Chip-based amplifiers are all over the internet in hobby electronics discussion groups. Google "Gainclone" and you'll find thousands. With the high performance/cost ratio of these audio chips and the low parts count it's a no-brainer. The name "Squelette the Bare Bones Amp" is a bilingual pun that nobody seems to have gotten. Squelette is French for skeleton, a reference to 'skeleton' wristwatches with exposed workings and also to bare bones. Too subtle?

Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Interviews | Digg this!