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Dead Computer Contest Winners

Instructables is happy to announce the winners of the Dead Computer Contest!

We put out the call for your dead computer creations and you have answered with over 100 spectacular new projects. As you can see from the winners below, the Instructables community has once again pushed the boundaries of what is possible to make with a discarded computer.

Also, don't forget to check out all of the other great entries on the contest page.

A big thank you goes out to 62 Projects to Make with a Dead Computer for sponsoring the contest and helping judge. Don't forget to buy Randy's book! Thank you to our other judges, bekathwia, Lindie, chocolaterobot, gleuch and GRL Houston.

CRANE GAME by marc.cryan

Upgrade your original 1984 Macintosh to run OS X Snow Leo… by gmjhowe

BECOME A MAD CYBORG... part human, part dead computers (U… by M.C. Langer

Centrally Controlled Digital Picture Frame by siliconghost

radio_HEAD soundbox multi-purpose hub. DEADCOMPUTER CO… by gsxd14e7

DIY DJ Turntable from old Computer Parts by iurmarius

YaHookah! The computer you can smoke by kirkfog

Make a Cat Bed from a Computer Monitor by AlpineButterfly

"Turn your Dead PC into an Aquarium" by pbecker83

Crazy Mouse by vahid_you2004

Turn a Dead Printer Into a Shredder by laxap

Hard Drive After Life by botronics

Colorful Classic MacPlanters by heySkippy

36 comments

Apr 3, 2010. 5:50 PMMehehehful says:

AWW CAT BED ONE SHOULD HAVE GOT FIRST D: but good job to all!!

Jun 19, 2011. 6:16 AMmustachedude64 says:

true, they should have won, but why did nobody make the actual screen into an aquarium

Apr 12, 2010. 11:56 AM

AlpineButterfly says:

Awww, totally sweet of you! I wouldn't have minded... but really just had fun getting it out there. Plus I now have a swanky T-shirt my students can be jealous of.

Apr 14, 2010. 3:08 PMMehehehful says:

xD yeah

Apr 12, 2010. 10:56 PMWario says:

this is REAL late but congrats to everyone, my faves all got first, especially the Cyborg and the claw machine, those two can be hybrided to have a Cyborg with a clawshot :D

Apr 13, 2010. 7:12 PM

M.C. Langer says:

Thanks Wario!!!!!!!! It's a good idea!!!

Have a great night,

Mario.

Apr 3, 2010. 12:10 AMeshan says:

I think being a cyborg is silly

Apr 12, 2010. 3:43 PM

M.C. Langer says:

It's silly really!!!!

Mar 23, 2010. 2:39 PMjayhawk67 says:

i don't concur

Apr 10, 2010. 1:56 PMmike patterson says:

"i don't concur"

in general? or with a specific project---there was the odd oversimple project, mine, but most of these are great projects and very imaginative, so I am not trying to be rude when I question your comment, just seeking a little more info.....thanks

Mar 26, 2010. 9:49 AMdrresearch says:

I liked the one about turning an old CRT monitor into an oscilloscope, I thought of trying to make it myself since I have two old broken CRTs but as I suspected they are too broken (when I connect them to the computer the LED becomes green but the screen stays black). :)

Mar 26, 2010. 6:26 PMIW5 Industries says:

Thank you! i really think the dvd roofing concept, rubix cube, and hot -plate should have won. Im not really sure what your problem is though. do you have any more detailed info?

Mar 27, 2010. 1:36 AMdrresearch says:

All I can say is that normally when the monitor is off (I mean the kind of stand-by state), the led should be yellow and become green when the monitor turns on. But here it becomes green, but the screen stays completely black. Also if I open the box there is no glowing at the end of the CRT as there usually should be.

Mar 27, 2010. 7:02 AMIW5 Industries says:

Hmmmm. It sounds like the wires that deliverer the power to the crt are damaged. I would be careful with that thing because every time you turn it on, it will be live with energy in those wires.

Mar 27, 2010. 10:36 AMdrresearch says:

Yeah, I'll be careful, but which wires did you mean? The high voltage one?

Mar 27, 2010. 6:37 PMIW5 Industries says:

Yes, but if thats not cut, it could be a number of things: the flyback transformers dead, maye a soldered lead on the board is disconnecyed from the transformer, ect.

Mar 29, 2010. 7:44 AMdrresearch says:

It doesn't look like there is anything disconnected on the board, and the big fat red cable seems to be intact. Do you know what else could it be?

Apr 4, 2010. 6:45 PMxtremd says:

Dead transformer board?

Apr 4, 2010. 10:55 PMdrresearch says:

Don't know. Anyway that monitor was a whole piece of junk and I dismantled it. I still have the CRT from it which I think should still work. Any idea how to drive that? I don't need too much, just as long as SOMETHING appears (even if it is just all blue, etc.), then I can still use the X/Y axis as shown in IW5 Industries' instructable. I would not want to throw it anyway knowing that there is a good chance it might still work! But then I still need a HV source, in case where do I get that? And how do I find out the pinout on my CRT? I read that if you give power (around 6V) at the filament pins and you apply high voltage, you should already see some bright spot on the screen, and you can move it with the X/Y axis thing. Is it possible to do something like that?

Mar 27, 2010. 5:14 PMxbox1kid says:

congrats winners

Mar 26, 2010. 6:03 AMvivibolivar says:

Mr Mad Cyborg you're one of the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pretty cool!

Mar 26, 2010. 4:55 PM

M.C. Langer says:

Thank you very much, Miss Bolívar!!!!!!!

Mar 24, 2010. 7:11 PMBurnsides says:

Excellent work!

Mar 24, 2010. 5:31 PM007dna says:

Congrats to EVERYONE who entered.

DOUBLE congrats to winners!

007dna

Mar 24, 2010. 2:22 AM

MichelMoermans says:

Congratulations to the winners!

You all deserve it!

Mar 24, 2010. 6:46 AM

M.C. Langer says:

Thanks Michel!!!

Mar 24, 2010. 3:14 AM

laxap says:

Congrats also to the non-winners.

I like the Sudoku Rubik's cube, and the SGI fridge. IMHO they deserve a prize, more than my shredder!

Mar 24, 2010. 6:45 AM

M.C. Langer says:

The Sudoku Rubik's cube is awesome!! I miss it in the winners group.

Mar 24, 2010. 3:56 AMhunterbait93 says:

i would have liked to get a prize, but there are already a lor of ipod docks out there i spose, maybe nex time the winners can be australian :D, good work though everyone!