The Popular Science Hacker's Manual

by The Editors of Popular Science

Overview

Have you ever wanted to improvise a planetarium in your own home, boost a wi-fi signal, or turn a bike into a unicycle? The innovative projects in this guide include home improvements, gadget upgrades, and tweaks for fitness and sports. Readers will learn how to use basic woodworking tools, laser cutters, programming, and more to help build these hacks. Ranging from five-minute fixes to challenging, multiday projects, this manual ranks each project in terms of time, cost, and difficulty, while also emphasizing safety protocols for the most complex hacks.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781502644688
Publisher:	Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	12/30/2018
Series:	Popular Science Guide for Hackers and Inventors Series
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	686,272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

Table of Contents

Foreword Jacob Ward 8

Introduction Doug Cantor 10

How To Use This Book 11

Put Together a Soldering Kit 12

Learn Soldering Basics 13

Study Circuit Components 14

Build a Circuit 15

Choose a Microcontroller 16

Program an Arduino 17

Know Basic Woodworking Tools 18

Make a Straight Cut in Wood 18

Master Woodworking Joints 19

Dad a Hole 19

Suit Up with Metalworking Tools 20

Cut Metal Pipes and Sheets 20

Learn to Weld 21

Geek Toys

Freeze LEGO Ice Cubes 24

Cook a Hot Dog with Electrical Current 24

Mod Your Toaster for Far-from-Average Toast 25

Wield a Potato Launcher 26

Improvise a Planetarium 28

Put On a Liquid Light Show 29

Jam Out to a Sound-Reactive Light Box 30

Wave an LED Lighter at a Concert 31

Party with an LED Glow Stick 31

An LED-Lit Disco Dance Floor 33

Make a Sonic Tunnel of Fire 34

Turn Your Campfire Green 36

Hold a Flaming Ball in Your Bare Hand 36

Set off a Spinning Fire Tornado 37

Ignite a Homemade Sparkler 37

Wreak Havoc with the Ultimate Squirt Gun 38

Make a Mini Catapult 39

Play with a Bike-Part Spirograph 40

Turn Junk Mail into Pencils 40

Set Up a Turntable Zoetrope 41

The Real Iron Man Suit 42

Mix Magnetic Silly Putty 43

Cook Up Ferrofluid 43

Catch a Thrill on a Backyard Coaster 44

Set Up a Pinball Game at Home 46

Play DIY Skee-Ball 46

Build a Mint-Tin Racer 48

Shake Up a Limeade in a Mint Tin 48

Strum a Mint-Tin Guitar 49

Carry a Pocket Billiard Set 49

Build a Mini Arcade Game 50

Cinch a Nintendo-Controller Belt 51

Set Up a Supersize Came of Operation 52

Play Giant Checkers 53

Make a Reflection Hologram 54

Wield a DIY Light Saber 55

Hack Your Magic 8 Ball 56

Co Anywhere with Virtual-Reality Classes 57

File-Share with a USB Dead Drop 57

Build a Bristlebot 58

Make a Mini Whirling Motor 58

Rig an Animatronic Hand 59

The Electric Giraffe 60

Create Audio Art out of Cassette Tape 62

Scratch a Pizza-Box Turntable 63

Pirate a Vinyl Record 63

Craft a Boom Box Duffel Bag 64

Make Your Tie Glow in the Dark 64

Put Headphones in Your Hoodie 65

Use a Clove on a Touchscreen 65

Pump Jams through an Old-School Phonograph 66

Amplify Music with Paper Cups 67

Make Custom-Fit Earbuds 67

Put a New Spin on an Old CD 68

Get Your Air Drum On with Electrified Drumsticks 70

Amuse Yourself with a Flipperdinger 71

Play a Pocket Theremin 72

Home Improvements

Customize Your Welcome Mat 76

Organize Your Entry way with Recycled Cans 76

Give a Doorknob a New Spin 77

Set Up a Secret Door 78

Make Invisible Speakers 79

Monitor Your Home with a Laser Security System 80

Snooper-Proof Your Wallet 81

Install an Electrical-Outlet Wall Safe 82

Carry a Film-Roll Keychain 83

Make a Musical Stash for Your Cash 83

Turn Your HDTV into a Magic Window 84

Craft a DIY Digital Photo Frame 85

Give an Old TV a Rerun 86

Hack the Perfect Gaming Chair 87

Make a TV Oscilloscope 88

Hack a TV Console into a Seat 88

Install an Aquarium in an Old TV 89

Build a Boob-Tube Cabinet 89

Set Up a DIY Drive-in 90

Hang a Liquid Lamp 92

Mold a Retro Lamp Base 93

Create a Mesmerizing Persistence-of-Vision Clock 94

Tell Time with a Dart Clock 95

Make a Modern Mag Rack 96

Sew an Easy eBook Reader Case 97

Turn a Printer into a High-Volume Document Shredder 98

Sort Mail with Old CDs 99

Improvise a Postage Scale 99

Turn Your Roomba into a Sentry 100

Make a Robotic Artiste 101

Remove Rust with Electricity 102

Clean with a Toy-Car Broom 103

Rig a Superpowered Scrub Brush 103

Track Your Food's Freshness 104

Mod a Crumb-Collecting Cutting Board 104

Harvest Fridge Magnets from an Old Hard Drive 105

Do Stuff with Bottle Caps 106

Avoid Burning Your Mouth with a Smart Coaster 108

Potan Old Coffee Can to Good Use 109

Dinner to Go in a Nitrous-Injected-Dining Table 111

Improvise a Sous-Vide Cooker 112

Build a DIY Smoker 113

Set Up an Umbrella Solar Cooker 113

Construct a Toilet-Powered Zen Fountain 114

Double Your Showerhead Action 115

Craft a Toilet-Paper Dispenser 115

Hang a Magnetic Stud Finder 116

Turn Your Hard Drive into a Tool Grinder 116

Capture Screws with a Magnetic Wristband 117

Rig the Poor Man's Laser Level 117

Kit Out an Instant-Charge Screwdriver 118

Make a Mini Screwdriver 119

Remove a Stripped Screw with a Rubber Band 119

Make a Rubik's Cube-Inspired Chest of Drawers 120

Sand Tiny Trim with a Razor 121

Make Duct Tape Do Double Duty 122

Create a Life-Size Cardboard Cutout 124

Lounge in a Cardboard Hammock 124

Chat on a Cardboard Telephone 125

Hang Up Cardboard Blinds 125

Man's Best Friend Gets a High-Tech Home 126

Make an Automatic Pet Feeder 127

Build a Cat Door 127

Put Together a Homemade Wind Mill 128

Hook Up a Solar Charger 129

Make a Geodesic Dome out of PVC Pipe 130

Rouse an Old Garden Hose 131

Makefile Lazy Man's Mower 132

Set Up DIY Grow Lights 134

Build a CD-Case Greenhouse 135

The Ultimate Snow blower 137

Gadget Upgrades

Rig a DIY Polygraph Test 140

Listen In with a Foxhole Radio 141

Tack Up a Dipole Antenna 142

Craft a Cell-Phone "Cantenna" 142

Boost Wi-Fi with a Steamer 142

Hang HDTV-Antenna Art 143

Mod an Xbox 360 Controller into an Smartphone Case 144

Make a Phone "Bounceable" 145

Build a Hands-Free Phone 146

Make a Remote Display for Your Computer 147

Rig a Smartphone Projector 148

Charge a Phone with Solar Rays 149

Make a Smartphone Tripod 149

Torn Your Old Netbook into a Touchscreen Tablet 150

Fashion a DIY Stylus for Your Touchscreen Device 151

Protect Your Touchscreen with Thin Vinyl 151

Stash a Flash Drive in a Cassette 152

Make a Pink-Eraser Flash Drive 152

Fake it with a Sawed-Off Flash Drive 153

House a Flash Drive in a LEGO 153

Hack a Foot-Operated Mouse 154

Trick Out Your Computer Tower with Engraving 155

Turn Your Laptop into a Whiteboard 156

Dye Your Laptop 156

Make a Steampunk-Inspired Laptop Case 157

Turn On Your Computer with a Magnet Switch 158

Print Secrets with Invisible Ink 158

Fake Out Thieves with a Desktop Hack 159

Shield Your Screen from Prying Eyes 159

Set Up a Laptop Cooling System 160

Control Your Mouse from Afar 161

Make an External Hard Drive 161

Add Keyboard Thumbtacks 162

Rig a Superportable Keyboard 162

Create a Glowing Mousepad 163

Upcycle an Old Circuit Board 164

Make a Laptop Stand from a Binder 166

Build a USB Hub into Your Desk 166

Stash Your Printer in a Drawer 167

Mount Stuff behind Your Monitor 167

Organize Loose Cables 168

Make a Floppy-Disk Box 169

Get Pumped with a CD Dumbbell 169

Assemble a Cereal-Box Spectrometer 170

Rig a Super Simple Radiation Detector 171

Set Up a Plasma Globe Inside a Simple Lightbulb 172

Illuminate Sketches with Homemade Conductive Ink 174

Hack Infrared Goggles 174

Decimate Stuff with a DIY Laser Cutter 175

A 3D Printer That Runs on Sun and Sand 176

Shine a Mini Flashlight 176

Brighten Up a Standard-Issue Flashlight 178

Beam a Batman-Style Spotlight 179

Repurpose Foil for Techie Use 180

Improvise a Tripod 182

Mount a Camera to Your Bike 182

Build a Time-Lapse Camera Stand 183

Rig a Plastic Bottle Diffuser 184

Create a Peephole Fisheye Lens 185

Adapt a Manual Tens to Your DSLR 185

Snap a Self-Portrait with a DIY Remote Shutter Release 186

Set Up a High-Speed Audio-Triggered Flash 187

A Camera That Shoots Huge Photographs 189

Things That Go

Ride with a Grease-Free Pant Ley 192

Reinforce Your Tire with a Seat Belt 192

Stay Safe with a Bottle-Cap Mirror 193

Keep Your Handlebar Grips Tight 193

Bring the Party with a Bike Speaker 194

Stay Warm on Chilly Rides 195

Make a Unicycle Out of a Bike 195

Navigate with an Old-Fashioned GPS 196

Make Your Bike's Tires Snow Proof 197

Protect Your Bike Saddle from Theft 197

Reuse a Busted Bike Tube 198

Shred on a Fan-Propelled Skateboard 200

Give Your Motorcycle a Futuristic Vibe 202

Light Up Your Motorcycle Helmet 203

The Rooming Hot-Rod Hauler 205

Mount a Rad Hood Ornament 206

Hang a DIY Air Freshener 206

Black Out Your Taillights 207

Install Air Horns in Your Car 207

Fend Off Fender Benders with a Sonic Distance Sensor 208

Hack an Emergency USB Charger 209

Shift with a Custom Gear Knob 209

Build a Bed in Your Van 210

Ring a Camping Shower 211

Kit Cut a Solar-Charging Messenger Bag 212

Stay Cool On the Go with Ad Hoc A/C 213

Refill a Tiny Toothpaste Tube 214

Assemble a Collapsible Travel Hanger 214

Give Your Suitcase the Gift of Wheels 215

Pack Your Razor Safely 215

Take Aerial Photos with a Weather Balloon 216

Make a Mini Hovercraft 217

Launch a Mini Rocket 217

Build a Better Canoe Paddle 218

Upgrade Your Kayak into a Sailboat 219

The Incredible Amphibious Tank 221

Hack an Oversize Air Hockey Puck 222

Score with Ping-Pong Paddle Gloves 222

Assemble a PVC-Pipe Soccer Goal 223

Transform a Bike into a B-Ball Hoop 223

Serve Up a Tennis Ball 224

Turn Your Backyard into a Badminton Court 226

Make a Mini-Golf Course 227

Install an At-Home Rock Wall 228

Hang PVC Fitness Rings 229

A Tilting Ping-Pong Table That Throws Off Opponents 230

Organize Curds On the Go 231

Run in No-Slip Shoes 231

The Motorized Easy Chair 232

Glossary 236

Further Information 240

Index 241

Thanks To Our Makers 246

Image Credits 247

Acknowledgments 248

Disclaimer 248