There have been many threads in which Dopers have asked for advice in building or repairing various odd devices. I’d very much like to see what the inventors, electrical engineers, machinists, and mad scientists of the SDMB can do.
I propose a contest.
First, we need to agree on a project.
It should be something that doesn’t focus too much on one skill ( theremins, for example, would require electrical knowledge and not much else).
It should be something that doesn’t require a PhD, and is within the ability of the average hobbyist tinker after they spend a few days with the right books.
The necessary materials must be inexpensive and readily available.
After the project is agreed upon, a deadline can be set depending on the complexity. Then, we all post pictures and descriptions of our work. The Dopers vote (mentioning only whose device they like and why- no trashing of the contestants or their work). The winner shall be crowned Grand Master Of The Gadget.
Perhaps this should be incorporated into an upcoming Dopefest. Ever seen Battle Bots on TV? I think that’d be a lot more interesting than just posting pictures.
Oh goodie, this sounds like fun (this coming from a guy that´s been pondering all day about building a miniature metal lathe from scratch)
One idea that´s quite funny was the design challenge at the industrial design school over here, you have an unboiled egg that has to be dropped from a height of 10 meters, the challenge is to build a gadget that makes it land undamaged, no bungee cords allowed.
Anything else goes, from a retro-rocket pack to a jelly pool on the ground.
Boyo Jim, here’s a little more on the Therimin. It’s an electronic instrument with 2 sensors, one operated with each hand. One is for volume; get your hand closer, and it gets louder. The other is for pitch; the tone gets higher and lower as you move your hand. There were a few classical artists who got very good at playing it. Another inventor (can’t remember who, dangit) added a note scale on the pitch side so that anybody can play it without two years of study. That’s the version you hear on the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations in the signature lick.
Many years ago, there was a plan for a theremin in the You Can Build Your Own Gee-Whiz Stuff section of Electronics Illustrated. I didn’t build one, but I built a ticking box when I was at the U. of Evansville, and I mailed it to myself. The folks at the front desk freaked out. :eek: The clerk handed it to me very carefully, and quickly backed away.
Boyo Jim I want to avoid any project that requires too much equipment. Nor do I think any of the above projects require a lot of equipment. Besides several soldering irons, I own only one other tool that plugs in.
Yes, some Dopers will be able to carve housings out of fine wood using programmed lathes. Others will fashion molds and cast them out of metal. And some folks will be able to make fine looking exteriors with empty milk jugs, scissors, glue, and spraypaint.
Theremins-
Several of the Simpsons halloween episodes feature a theremin. (OTTOMH ‘Don’t blame me! I voted for Kodos!’ then cut to credits with the theme played on a theremin.). You also hear one in the episode where Artie Ziff goes to jail (Homer-That’s it! Nobody plays my theremin!).
Those things rock!
We use to have one of these in our music store.
That one is made by Moog (pronounced Mogue, like rogue with a long o) same as ours, but ours model was a little different.
It was a Mooger Fooger.
Sounds to me like a bong building contest. :dubious:
I’m in!
Only if the resulting bongs are motorized, studded with flashing LEDs, or programmed for sound effects.
I’d also prefer a project which isn’t in such a murky legal area. But, you really do seem to see what I’m getting at- a project which is accessible to everyone and whose primary requirements are ingenuity and imagination.
Re Theremins
Actually, considering some of the electronics wizards we have on the board, I’d like to see a Let’s Build A Theremin Thread in which they find a simple schematic and help guide all interested Dopers (from ‘Should I use a phaser cutting mosfet npn transistor here or a reciprocating opamp logic gate?’ to those who are eager to learn but have to ask ‘what’s an ohm?’) in building that theremin.
Ok, how about some sort of Junk War, where everyone has to build a gadget that does a specific work/action/whatever out of junk; nothing big, there should be a size limit, for example build an XYZ that fits inside a box of 10x10x5 inches.
For a BattleBot class robot, that’s true. However, there are other kinds. You can get started in sumo bots for about $500 (I have one that’s half built)
DancesWithCats I know that you know you’re way around a toolbox. I’d like to see some serious suggestions from you. Surely your experiences as an EMT and firefighter have given you some gadget ideas.
Something that requires a home made siren perhaps?
Here’s a semi-serious suggestion: What about a siege-engine contest, where the goal is to hurl a relatively small object, say a grapefruit, the furthest? Piano flinging is fun, but a trebuchet needed to do that is a permanent structure and has a 75’ beam.
The idea is to do something smaller and relatively portable. There would be a restriction, like a 6’ beam on a trebuchet. A manganel would have to be of similar size. All devices would have to be able to be delivered in any form to the contest location in a vehicle no larger than a single 1/4 ton pickup truck.
The reason for the size limit is to keep things affordable. We could also do the actual contest online, such as a report-in contest. Actual rules to follow.
