Do-It-Yourself

News, reviews and articles about products that help you make and fix things.

Hack your nightstand into a Qi inductive wireless charging station

Remembering all the interest in Julie’s recent Gadget Diary about the Qi inductive wireless charger, I know some of you will be interested in reading an article I recently found on the Huffington Post site.  They have an article about modifying a nightstand to turn it into a Qi inductive wireless charging station.  Basically, a

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Portabee – 3D printing gets cheaper and more portable

portabee

I have no idea what I would make if I had a 3D printer at my disposal, but I just know I want to play with one… The new Portabee 3D printer is an attractive option because it’s reasonably priced at $480 unassembled (don’t worry, there’s no soldering involved and only takes a couple of afternoons

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Add light wherever you need it with this battery-powered LED ceiling fixture

battery powered led light

Just as the title says, you can add a pendant lighting fixture wherever you need one without having to pay an electrician to run wiring to that location.  The Battery Powered LED Pendant Light from Solutions installs with the included bolts.  The shade cover and the ceiling cover are both stainless steel with your choice

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Eargear – Customize your favorite earphones for a perfect fit

eargear

Earphones are great because they are so portable. But the vast majority of them do not fit right or fall out easily. Eargear is a silicone based polymer that can be molded around your favorite earphones to create a custom fit. Similar to the professionally created ear monitors that your favorite musicians use, Eargear is

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Logitech Alert Commander now available for OSX

logitechalert

Last year I reviewed the Logitech Alert 750i Master System and continue to use it to this day to monitor both the interior and exterior of our home. One of my main Cons of the system was that its main control software was Windows-only. With Boot Camp running Windows to set it up and the

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How to: Google Play Store Greasemonkey script – scroll your installed apps and filter your free/paid apps

Grease Monkey App Store 1

While the Google Play Store is evolving slowly, one of the biggest pains is the way that it displays all the apps installed on a device in a set of pages. If you have a look above, I’ve got eleven pages of apps installed on my Thinkpad Tablet. Reviewing my apps means clicking on the

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Black and Decker 4v MAX Gyro Screwdriver review

black and decker gyro 01 e1349751086190

We all love power tools, but let’s be realistic:  Unless your tools are part of your job or you’re a serious handyperson, most power tools are overkill.  Yes, I’ve been guilty of using a $400 cordless uber-drill to tighten a cabinet hinge.  But what’s this odd-ball, palm-sized thing?  A Gyro?  Isn’t that meat eaten inside

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Make Your own Pen With a Hair Dryer and Plywood

diypen

The DIY Pen is a unique kit from Fraser Ross art & design studio who is based in Glasgow Scotland. The kit combines plywood, rubber heat shrink tubing and ballpoint pen components. The plywood sheet holds the individual parts that create the skeleton of the pen. It also doubles as a fixture for the last step which requires a

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NewerTech Power2U AC/USB Outlet Review

newertech usboutlet package

For a majority of us (especially those who regularly visit the Gadgeteer), the number of power-hungry tech-devices we must plug in is ever growing. Keeping those devices charged up while keeping the cable clutter down is a never-ending effort. To assist tech-toy junkies accomplish just that, NewerTechnology has released the Power2U AC/USB wall outlet, which replaces

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Schlage Keyed Entry Lock With Built-in Alarm Review

schlage1

We all probably have lock-sets on our entry doors, and I’ll surmise that most of those aren’t alarmed.  As a matter of fact, I’ve never thought it was necessary to have an alarmed door knob/lever.  However, Schlage is trying to change my opinion with their FE51 series of Keyed Entry with Alarm lock-sets.  Will my

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Red Bull is sponsoring a Maker’s Contest where you could win $10,000

redbull

If you are a builder, maker, inventor, hacker or a person who just likes to tinker, then you should consider trying out for the Red Bull Creation contest where you could end up winning $10,000 worth of tools and cash. The way it works is that you register on the Red Bull Creation site and

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