Technology

From DeArmond to Photoresistors, the Optical Tremolo Box Looks and Sounds Great!

From DeArmond to Photoresistors, the Optical Tremolo Box Looks and Sounds Great!

The Optical Tremolo Box was inspired by Charles Platt’s “Stomp Box Basics” article (MAKE Volume 15, page 82), which theorized using a light sensor to read patterns on a rotating disk to create a tremolo effect. Taking the project from theory to reality, MAKE Technical Editor Sean Ragan used a cadmium sulfide photoresistor to provide us with our light sensor. Watch the video to see – and hear! – this project in action.

Continue Reading Nick Normal14
DIY Hacks & How To’s: Laser Tripwire Alarm

DIY Hacks & How To’s: Laser Tripwire Alarm

No security system is complete without lasers. We have all seen movies where the main character has to get past a high tech security system and there is always a room full of lasers somewhere.

So in this project, I show you how to build a laser tripwire alarm. All you need is a cheap laser point, a couple of mirrors, and a few dollars of electrical parts. With this you can cover an entire house with an array of light beams. If any one of them is crossed it sets off your alarm. And unlike in the movies, these lasers are practically invisible.

Continue Reading Jason Poel Smith8
Let’s Make Some Noise

Let’s Make Some Noise

Ray Wilson has been interested in analog synthesizers since the first time he heard “Switched On Bach” back in 1968. After working at U.S. Steel, Intec Systems, Siemens Pacesetter, and Telectronics, he now runs his popular web site Music From Outer Space (MFOS) full-time. Most of his electronics learning has been hard-won and experiential, with hundreds of hours devoted to reading, breadboarding, experimenting, and appreciating analog synthesis.

Ray presents a free, one-hour webcast on the topic, ‘Using TL07X Op Amps in Analog Synthesizers,’ on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 10am PT.

Continue Reading Gretchen Giles6