Make Your Own Cigar Box Guitar / Mp3 Player Amplifier

I've wanted to create a Cigar Box Guitar and Amp for quite some time, and it seems like the Instructable Sound Hack and Battery Powered contestst were just the extra incentive I needed to give it a try.

This Instructable shows how to create a Cigar Box Amplifier, of course it can also be used as an MP3 player or Phone amplifier. I decided to build the amplifier before the guitar since it's certainly easier, but hopefully a Cigar Box Guitar Instructable will follow soon!

If you haven't heard of Cigar Box Guitars, you should check them out. YouTube has lots of videos demonstrating amazing sound from these 3 stringed instruments. 

Here's an example of a CBG in Action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIIEhH7xOXg

Actually they don't all have 3 strings, but hey this is about the amplifier anyway,
let's build one!What's Needed for this Guitar Box Amplifier Instructable?
Cigar Box - I have a friend who occasionally smokes a cigar, he tells me they are all legal (at least somewhere in the world ;-) ). I noticed these can also be found at Yard Sales, on eBay and sometimes for free in Tobacco Stores. LM386 chip based amplifier circuit - I got a kit for this from http://tymkrs.com/, (some sites sell pre-soldered kits as well) but you can likely make your own. Parts needed are: Potentiometer, LM386 Chip, Resistor, 2 Capacitors, 9V battery connector and Guitar jack. 8 Ohm Speaker (I got mine from an old projection TV) Switch (optional) - didn't come with the kit, but I thought it would be handy to save on batteries. Wire Miscellaneous parts for decoration, most important is something to cover the speaker, (I used the plastic which originally covered the speaker on the TV). Optional: Handle, Legs, battery holder, Something to cover keep the box closed,  Tools Needed for This Instructable: Drill  Soldering Iron and Solder (unless you buy a pre-soldered kit) Hole Saw (optional) to cut the speaker hole (or use a drill and Dremmel or X-Acto knife) Now that you have your parts... 
Step One is to solder together the kit, as seen in the picture below. 
(It's a good idea to get a general feel for where all the parts are going to be installed before you actually start cutting wire and soldering. You'll notice I left way too much slack on my speaker wire)

View the original article here

DocTrackr Encrypts Documents, Notifies You When Someone Opens Them

docTrackr encrypts your documents before you share them with others, and lets you set privileges so only your intended recipient can open and read them. You'll also get notifications when someone has received and opened the document you shared, so they can't play the old "I never got it!" game with you.

If you've ever wanted to send something confidentially to a friend, family member, or coworker, but you also didn't want to jump through hoops to make sure they could decrypt it, docTrackr makes it easy. You can also set privileges and permissions for the recipient, so they can read it but they can't just forward it to someone else, for example. Just upload the document you want to secure, add your recipients, and select whether you want those people to be able to view the document, view and print it, or edit and print it. (You can see all of docTrackr's supported file types here.)

When your recipient opens the document, you'll be notified, and you can visit the document's page in docTrackr to see how many times they've viewed it, if they've made changes, if they've tried to forward it, and even where they've viewed the document from. If you're sharing a sensitive document with multiple people, you can even see all activity on the file. We tried the service out, and it works as promised—sharing documents is easy, the security controls worked as promised, and it was fun watching exactly when someone opened the file you sent to them.

docTrackr definitely has a business edge to it, but it's useful for individuals too. If you need a secure way to send your receipts and tax documents to someone doing your taxes, for example, or if you're a freelancer who needs to send your SSN and financial info to a client, the service can be useful. Even if you just work with someone who's notorious for pretending they "never got your email" with the files you need them to work on, it can be a lifesaver.

Best of all, it's free for individual users, up to 10 documents per month (You can see all of their plans here). docTrackr can even integrate with Box.net. Hit the link below to find out more.

docTrackr

View the original article here

Cheap, Sturdy, 1-Hour Quadcopter

You've got some flexibility in ordering parts.  You can pay more or less for things like the radio and flight controller.  We'll cover some cheaper options at the end of this instructable.

Frame

arms: 3/4" x 3/4" fir stick (approx 5 ft)
center plates: 1/4'' or 5mm Plywood (approx 6"x18”)
Machine screws & bolts, and washers 
landing gear: 4 wiffle balls
zip ties
battery mount: 3/8" x 3/8" stick (approx 1 ft)

Power System

battery: LiPo 3S 3000-4000mAh
4x 40A Turnigy Plush ESC (motor controller)
4x NTM 35 1100 KV motors
2 10"x3.8" or 10"x4.5" APC SF Props, 2 CW and 2 CCW
double-sided velcro (approx 18'')
power distribution board or homemade power distributor
Bamboo Skewers
Piece of soft foam about 1/2'' thick, slightly bigger than your flight control board

Radio System (remote controller)

HobbyKing 9xr
FrSky module and receiver

Flight Control Board

Ardupilot Mega  ($234)

Equipment

saw, drill, hot glue gun

TODO: double check (and provide links?)

View the original article here

Litho Lamp

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Filipino Eggrolls... Better than any made in a restaurant

Ok...to be perfectly honest, i am not sure if this recipe is Filipino or if they even make eggrolls in the Philippines for that mater. I do know that my friends grandmother, who taught me how to make them, was direct from Manila, so i'll take her at her word. the photos of this Instructable are courtesy of Tatiana Rene Photography. Hope you all enjoy them,A list of ingredients making about 21 eggrolls
are as follows: (all can be found at your regular grocery store)
-1 pack of eggroll wraps (in produce. near tofu)
-1 qt of vegetable oil
-2 chicken breasts
-1 average size head of cabbage
-1 bunch of leeks
-3-4 stalks of bok choy
-1/2 a carrot
-1/2 can of water chestnuts
-1/2 can of bamboo shoots
-1 Large bottle of soy sauce
-1 large bottle of teriyaki sauce
-1 jar of hoisin sauce
-1 egg
- various dipping sauces (pictured; sweet & sour, hot mustard)

View the original article here

Valet Remembers Where You Parked, Even if You Forgot to Open the App

Android: Whether you parked on a side street downtown or in a huge lot at a stadium, it's not always easy to find your car at the end of the day. Valet is an elegant app that gets you back to your vehicle without any confusion.

Once you park, just fire up Valet and click "Park My Car," and the app will drop a pin on your current location. From here, you can set a timer to warn you if your meter is running low. When you're ready to get back to your vehicle, the app will also show you turn by turn walking directions to help you out. These features by themselves make for a decent app, but Valet has a secret up its sleeve that makes it worth the $1.99 price tag.

If your car has a Bluetooth audio system, pair it to your phone, and enable Auto Parking in the Valet settings menu. Now, the app will monitor when you leave your car by detecting when the phone loses its Bluetooth connection, and automatically mark it as parked in the background. If you own an Android phone and car with Bluetooth, there's no good reason not to download this app.

Valet - Automatic Car Locator ($1.99) | Google Play via Beautiful Pixels

View the original article here

Digitize Old Photos Better with the Negatives

Whether you're scanning old photos yourself, or sending them off to a scanning service, it's always better to use the negatives if you can find them.

JKastnerPhoto, a former photo lab technician on Reddit, offers up this tip and includes a dramatic side by side comparison, which you can see above. The negatives include far more detail than any prints, they haven't been cropped by an overzealous photo printer, and they can give you much more accurate color reproduction and tonal range than simply scanning an old print. A lot of you probably knew that negatives could produce better prints, but seeing the difference side by side really underscores how big a difference it can make.

While you can get an entry-level negative scanner for around $30 online, this previously-mentioned hack lets you use any flatbed scanner to do the same job for mere pennies.

LPT: If you are interested in scanning old family photos, scan negatives instead of the prints to achieve higher quality images | Reddit

Related Film and negative scanners are expensive. DIY options are sometimes complicated. This option only costs you only the price of a piece of A4 silver… Read…

View the original article here