Hi!  i need and automatic potentiometer it has to works max 5v i thouhgt about that and i can make it manually but it's to big and to weird  i want to ask you a form to make  it whit electronic components or a component ho can makes it i want to make a motor acelerates and desacelerates whith a soft curve and if its posible put the time of the cycle (example 40 seconds acelerat.... and .. desaceler...."cycle" or similar) Thanks Sorry for my bad english! Thanks! 

I'm looking for a way to trigger an intermittent misting spray of water (indoors). Any ideas?

Does anyone have a automatic chicken coop door diagrams. 

Hello, I was wondering how I would make an automatic pump, that pumps OUT water, just something like, checks to see if water level is too high then starts pump, something simple and effective. Anyone have an idea?

Hi everyone i'm building an automatic swing gate (for my project) which uses a pneumatic actuator to open it but i'm struggling to determine how the gate is going to close, as the actuator does not have a longer stroke. i only have two and half weeks left for my due date, any help would greatly be appreciated. thanks

I am looking to build a drawer that will automatically open and close by the flip of a switch. What would be the easiest way to set it up? The drawer will only need to hold several pounds up to ten at the most. Any suggestions?

This is my fully automatic knex gun that I have had since October although I have been working with the rack and pinion mechanism since last year, the system that it uses works well however I can't seem to get a good green rod magazine on it. Can you help me please?

I had an idea to make a new (i think) type of knex machine gun. it is like knexwizard's semi auto rifle but it has a single shot trigger from viccie.b's crossbow. i made it but it fired its whole magazine (20 grey connectors) in one shot! after modifiying it to put tonnes of friction on the wheel that holds the bands i got it to fire its mag in two shots- still not good enough. can anyone help me?

Hi,  I ve been looking all over (www), and I can't find any useful tips, tuts, ... about modding an existing sliding door into an automated one.  This without ordering a ready-made system, which costs many $$$$. I 've had this idea for a while already, and I admit seeing https://www.instructables.com/id/Air-Powered-Star-Trek-Style-Door/ brought the brain to bubble again.. If anyone has some experience with this or can share some interesting links ? (re-use an old engine from something..., controls.., touchpad/sensor, ...) would be great. thx D

Does anyone have a crossection of an automatic center punch and a description of how one works?

I would like to build an automatic starter for my generator for my travel trailer. I would like for it to start automatically when the temperature reaches a preset level and then, shutdown when the temperature lowers to a preset level. The Air conditioner would be on when the generator is on and also, the battery charger would be on to charge the batteries. The batteries would power an inverter so AC would be available when the generator wasn't running.

}}}ok... weird request, but desperetly needed! I work in a sales office where after hours first person who pushes the button when the RED light lights up gets the call and hopefully sale... I have learned that by repeatedly pushing the button you automatically get the call. I need help finding a device that constantly pushes the button for me (automatically). I have tried everywhere and am not creative enough to find the solution. The button is approx the size of a shirt button. Can someone please help me???

I am very frustrated. To the point of telling Instructibles to ....  Well, one more chance.  On Dec. 20th,  Pro membership automatic payment went through my paypal.  Still received "Pro Membership expiring" emails. And then, Pro membership cancelled. Three un-answered emails to service@instructables.com and info@instructables.com over the last month.  Not even a "hey we got your emails and are looking into this".  Nothing.  WTF?  Is there customer support or just mindless robots?

Hi , I need a little help on programming a arduino to complete a college project , I've to get a barrier to raise 90 degrees to allow a toy car to pass automatically, i would like to use a the motion sensor and a servo to do this but I dont know how to get one to trigger the other. I would like to know where to look up to get a idea of how to do this . This is my 1st post so sorry if this is in the wrong forum Thank you

Its kind of a spin off on tet's but with alot less exotic pieces and alot easier to build, i plan on making a video or taking a picture soonhttp://img204.imageshack.us/img204/8594/ideavr7.png sorry about image shack instructables thing is kinds retarded right now

I stumbled upon this little gadget...and thought I'd share it with you all. It seems like something that a lot of you could make pretty easily. The concept is simple, it plugs into the wall, and your device plugs into it. As soon as it detects your appliance/device is in standby mode, it cuts the power. Just a simple way to save the power that your junk sucks in when you're not using it. As NachoMahma pointed out to me, one big improvement would be automatic reset. Anyways, if someone wants to give it a shot, i'd love to see the instructable on it.

Hey guys, i was looking around and found out that people have been trying to develope a knex automatic weapon, so meanwhile i was lloking around on airsoftmegastore for a gun and any info on what type of gun i should get. anywho, i looked in the player resource center and under what gun is right for me. What does this have to do with knex? well i found this gif. diagram and thought i would share it with everybody to get a possible idea of how a real automatic gun works to develop a knex version. i figured it wouldnt be to hard to convert almost a similar version to knex, if some one more experienced could make it with this info. i would be highly appriciated, if not i would only be able to try this in the summer cause of school. heres a link to see the gif. mech move: http://www.airsoftmegastore.com/kb_results.asp?ID=4 hit ctrl+ a couple times to see the pic better, and ctrl- to zoom out. you will have to scroll down a bit to see it. 

I am looking for someone who is McGuyver-like and able to show me how to build an outlet that allows me to plug in a power tool like say a miter saw and a shop vac. When the outlet senses a power draw from the saw, it`ll power the vacuum to start as well then when the miter is stopped so will the shop vac. I know Craftsman makes this very switch ( http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00924031000P?keyword=auto+switch ) however since it cannot be brought in to Canada, any makers out there?

Guys, I'm dyin here, this should be such an abvious creation! I need to create a simple mechanism to repeatedly push a button on a Playstation 3 controller. Doesnt have to be quick at all, even every few minutes would work, be it has to be able to repeadedly press a button for a few hours at a time. I figured I would go Homer style and grab myself a trendy little dipping or drinking bird, but figured it would be reliable enough to keep up for a few hours. Seems terribly trivial, but that's whats driving me so crazy to figure out a solution?! Any crafty McGuyver's out there want to take a stab at it?

Ok folks, am trying to make a nifty dispenser for condoms (what can I say, we're newly weds and getting through them!) - should be pretty easy as they're a nice predictable size. Can anyone point to similar things or come up with ideas for a solution that might be spring-loaded, elastic banded etc to 'push' them when one's removed?  Am struggling to work out how a spring might work as there's no hole in them like a staple.  Elastic bands will probably wear out over time. Any smart ideas? (ideally I'd like it to work horizontally, so gravity fed's out) - Currently have a square tube of wood about 1 1/2 ft long. Many thanks in advance!

I recently bought a mini pc for $60 on amazon. It is quad core @1.6Ghz and runs Android 4.2 (But I'll put in an XUbuntu sd card for it to boot off of). I want to use a 7" photo frame I have as a monitor for this tiny computer. I don't think it is possible at all (At least in what I will be willing to do). The only way I can think of using it as the monitor is having the mini pc stream new images to a modded sd card so that the image it streams will change 10 times a second (For example). The photo viewer will then read the same image, but, the image will be changing. This looks like a long shot. Some problems I am thinking of occurring are so: 1) Getting a modded SD card that attaches to another SD card or USB 2) Having the photo frame reread the photo as it changes 3) The refresh rate of the screen (Thinking it is maybe 5-15 FPS). Any solutions? There is no USB port on the frame btw. My photo frame model: SP70EWB

Hi everyone, I am in desperate need of your help! I have a camera that I need to record for around 2 hours. I have a big enough SD card and enough battery power BUT the camera (due to import regulations) is restricted to only filming 29 minutes of footage at a time! I've had a think about several ways to get round this but to no avail. It's a Sony camera which means they are they strict about letting the user customise the settings. No firmware or hacking kit here. :/ I was wondering if anyone had any ideas about making a small device that could 'pinch' the record button at half hour intervals or maybe pinch it twice at 20 minute intervals. Once to stop recording and once to start again. It can be powered by USB if needed and also, needs to be fairly light (around 50g). If anyone thinks they could help me or even help make a device (due to a huge lack in electronics intellect), that would be great. If anyone wants to know what I'm doing with my camera....well I'm sending it into near Space. Have a look: www.joshingtalk.com You could have your device sent to near Space too and be one of the first people to ever do this.... Thanks, Josh.

Hey people! im thinking of making an awsome fully automatic knex gun but im not sure what to make it look like or to model it after a gun.... so got any ideas?

Hi, I am thinking of putting together something that will able to automatically open and close my blinds as the darkness outside dictates. Ideally, I am hoping to attach the opening/closing pole to a DC Motor, which would be controlled by a light sensor. I was also toying with the idea of powering the system with a rechargeable 9V battery that could be topped up with a small solar panel attached to the window. Is this idea doable and, if so, any advice on parts and putting it together would be very much appreciated.

I want to make a pet food dish that rations out pet food at specific intervals. Something similar to this http://www.petronic.com/sixday.htm it doesn't have to be a circle, I could probably figure out how to do it with a pulley system and motor if it was straight, but I need to find a timer to trigger the motor. Does anyone know where to get a timer like that, or what I should search for. I've never built anything before, so I don't know anything, or what to search for. Thanks for any help.

Is it possible in the technological day and age to force a computer controlled automatic transmission to start in a higher gear like second.  About 90% of people will never need this, however out on the farm in a big diesel truck with 800lbs of torque you need it.  By starting in a higher gear it allows us to get through snow much better and this becomes extremely difficult with an automatic transmission.  Sure we can set the highest gear it will go into, but we can't lug through the snow and mud like we would like to.  Do any of you know of a chip out there already, or one you can make that will let you pick and chose your lowest gear.

I have an emergency light in my room , the light turn on when blackout happen i wonder , can i make my room ceiling light like that ? when blackout happened , it's automaticaly switch to emergency power [ using deep cycle lead acid battery + inverter ] , but when electricity turn on again , the switch turn back using the normal electricity line , and charge the battery i have trouble design this , can somebody give me advice ?  the power to handle is 220V , 500W thanks Jeffry

Fully automatic 8 shot handgun/revolver features:8 shots, fully auto, challenging to make (but not to challenging) & good mechanism. i would like to thank mepain for the main idea and sypran for the clip (or whatever you call it). i hope this is an inspiration to you all, cause there aren't enough damn auto weapons out there. B.T.W modders are encouraged to mod and post this gun, over and over again

A friend of mine asked me today if I could help him construct an automatic crib for his newborn child. He wants to make a crib that automatically starts moving from side to side when crying sounds are detected. How do I make something to detect crying?! Where do I even start on this one.. ? :)

Ive been on instructables for a while now but it seems that the only peron who has ctually posted a semi automatic gun is oodalumps, Im jus askin if any1 could build a properly semi-automatic rifle (Semi-auto means that all you have to do is pull back the trigger to fire and it fires one at a time, so its basicly a 1 round at a time machine gun)

I get annoyed every time a see an answered question left unmarked, is there any way the computer could automatically mark the question as answered after a week? That would be helpful for sorting out people that need help from people that are lazy.

Hey, didn't know if anyone could help with this: I need to build a motorized platform for my tripod, that would automatically raise and lower itself, so I can get different vantage points as the motorized tripod head will pan or tilt. What's the easiest way for me to do this? Thanks for the help in advance!

I've been reading instructables for two hours now, I can click thumbnails to see full pictures, I can download PDF's, I can write comments... but each time I go to www.instructables.com/id/Reduce_motion_blur_in_The_GIMP/ I'm automatically logged out, I'm no longer able to enlarge thumbnails, I can't download the PDF an it doesn't even accept my correct login name and password. As soon as I go to another subject I'm logged in again automatically.

Why do the 'sponsored videos' (READ: advertisements) at the top of most pages start playing automatically? I can only hope this is a mistake, because it is wrong on many levels. 1. Loud 2. Obnoxious 3. Unwanted 4. Makes me want to avoid Instructables (NOOOOO!) Sorry if those are redundant, but on top of the recent site layout fiasco, Instructables seems to have become a huge, messy commercial. I could live with that if only those videos didn't play automatically.

I have a dc 12v winch that I want automatically open a lid of a feeder at a specified time, remain open for a spercified time and then reverse the motor to close the lid for a specified time and the procedure will repeat itself  the next day. I have a timer that will work but I want the motor to reverse automatically.Any info appreciated. Thanks

I am building an automatic sentry gun, where a nerf gun, using a camera, will target a moving object, aim and shoot at it. This is a course project and the professor said I need to add an extra feature, or make it more intelligent than that to get an A. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I can add to this system to make it cooler and more A- deserving. All ideas are welcome:D Thank you!

A while back someone posted a way to make ice cream, put your ice cream recipe mixture in a small coffee can, put that can in a larger coffee can and it surround the smaller one with ice and rock salt. You were supposed to roll it back and forth but I want something that will roll it automatically. I thought about an old toy rock tumbler or maybe I could find an old hot dog roller, anyone have any other ideas for something I could use?

I have a water tank as shown in Image, and a water pump which I need to start and stop manually. The water level is not visible from outside, so I need to check for overflow of water till the time it actually starts overflowing :( any ideas on how the overflow tripper can be made? Thanks

Hello Everyone, I am a fifth year B.Eng student due to complete my degree in Electrical and Electronics in April this year. I am currently working on a project which with your help I'll be able to complete it. Here is the link http://igg.me/at/automaticwaterdistributionsystem/x/5875198 Share it with friends and family. Thanks in advance

I was given a coffee cup warmer many years ago. What made it so great was that it only turns on when there is a cup sitting on the plate; remove the cup and the warmer turns off. The other great feature about it, is that it has a higher temperature than any I have purchased since. There is no name thereon so cannot check to see if they exist anymore - no luck with Google so far.   What I would like to do is either be able to safely adjust a current model so it is somewhat hotter or, preferably, also make it automatic. Making it hotter is the first priority. jackew@earthlink.net

I've tried, on Kiteman suggestion, to add into my last step-to-step "How to extend your photobank life" the links to the pages translated in some other languages, using Google translator. We think that Google translator has reach a good AI, and it could be nice see that service included in the instructables frame, maybe an idea for a future upgrade...

Does anyone know how to make an item that will let you plug in multiple 1/8" sources (radio, ipod, phone...) that auto switches to a single output by sequence, so the ipod is playing but when a call comes in the audio from the phone makes the switch bypass the ipod till the call is done then goes back to the music? i would love to get some help with this thanks Jake

I'm working on building an automatic vacuum toggle to use with power tools. I'm basing the design on what I found here https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Shop-Vac-Dust-Collector/ I have modified the base design to allow a little more flexibility and to make the switch box portable: https://wiki.jasig.org/display/~edalquist/Vacuum+Toggle The part I'm most unsure about is the simple RC network that is acting as a time-delay for the big relay. I've done a bunch of reading but it seems like ever RC delay diagram I find is different. I have the big parts on their way and will be stopping by a local place for the small stuff. I'm planning on posting a detailed instructable once I get the thing working.

For the past 2 days I've been working on a new fully automatic mechanism, and heres how it works. This new system uses a 'Rack and pinion' which starts off with the pinion pulling back the firing pin until it has no more teeth to grip to the firing pin with so it lets go and the firing pin goes flying forward shooting the bullet. after this the firing pin is returned back to its original position it is ready to be pulled again, this all takes around 2 seconds. Range: around 15ft(Blue rod) Firing rate: every 2 sec remember this gun is only a prototype so suggestions are welcome (needs a hopper), and remember that this gun only uses a weak motor so if you were to use a motor like the one a on oodalumps machine gun and with that you could possible double the range and firing rate! Enjoy:)

I have a problem in my apartment with an outdoor light right outside my window. If i dont close my curtains at night my room pretty much looks like daylight. I like to wake up to the sun though so I started looking at automatic curtain openers, saw the price and decided it cant be that hard to diy. My idea is to have a curtain that rolls up rather then goes to the side. I am trying to think of a way to make this simple cheap and quiet. really all I need is a rod and fairly quiet motor that I can plug into a wall. I was thinking a rotisserie motor would be pretty good but have never been near one to hear how loud they are. It might solve the problem of a rod as well depending on how long of a stick I can get for it. Anyone have any other ideas of a better way to do this?

- I've been using chrome for quite some time.  - When I was running Windows XP I had no issue with getting logged out of Instructables. - When I started using My new PC (running Windows 7) I had no problem with being logged out of Instructables. - Before the only time I needed to log in was if I reset my PC. - For the last week every time I've closed chrome window I get logged out. Just curious if anyone else is having this problem with Chrome? Thanks in Advance. Alphonsus

Hello instructables, i ran the code below in the arduino uno, (4 motors, 2 L293D driver chips) void loop() {   digitalWrite(motor_pin1,LOW);    //forward back   digitalWrite(motor_pin2,HIGH);   digitalWrite(motor_pin3,HIGH);      digitalWrite(motor_pin4,LOW);   digitalWrite(motor_pin5,LOW);    //forward front   digitalWrite(motor_pin6,HIGH);   digitalWrite(motor_pin7,HIGH);      digitalWrite(motor_pin8,LOW);   delay (5000);     digitalWrite(motor_pin1,HIGH);   //turn right    digitalWrite(motor_pin2,LOW);   digitalWrite(motor_pin3,HIGH);     digitalWrite(motor_pin4,LOW);   digitalWrite(motor_pin5,HIGH);   //turn right    digitalWrite(motor_pin6,LOW);   digitalWrite(motor_pin7,HIGH);     digitalWrite(motor_pin8,LOW);   delay (2000);     digitalWrite(motor_pin1,LOW);    //stop moving   digitalWrite(motor_pin2,LOW);   digitalWrite(motor_pin3,LOW);      digitalWrite(motor_pin4,LOW);   digitalWrite(motor_pin5,LOW);    //stop moving   digitalWrite(motor_pin6,LOW);   digitalWrite(motor_pin7,LOW);      digitalWrite(motor_pin8,LOW);     while (1); } by right, the motors should stop infinitely due to the while(1), but this is what happens instead : initial                 : loop1 12 secs later   : loop 2 1 sec later        : loop 3 1 sec later        : loop 4 .... why is it running more than once?

I wana make a machine for spraying some small articles , which can spray color automatic and paint the whole article by rotating it. please do reply me as i'm in need of it

I saw this while using StumbleUpon and thought I had to post it since it was so in the spirit of Instructables. What a brilliantly simple but clever hack! (Not to mention dangerous)

While I was writing a lengthy instructable my parts list step was somehow pasted to every other step erasing what I had previously written.  I had already saved my work before this so I thought I could just go back to my previous save.  Too bad my work was automatically saved.  This feature is terrible.  Please get rid of it, we all know how to use a save button. I suppose the actual bug was in my one step being copied over every other step wasting a ton of my time.