Awesome Electronics

This unique clock by Bulduper displays the time on a hexagonal grid filled with 127 RGB LED hex-shaped pixels. It can also display colorful animations. Want one for your own wall? He posted a detailed build guide on Instructables, including the 3D models for its parts. The code repository is up on GitHub.

For the 2023 YouTube Makers Secret Santa, Sam from Look Ma No Computer drew Ali Spagnola’s name out of the gift-giving hat. Given her passion for music and fitness, he got to work building a unique drum machine that changes rhythm based on her heartbeat. Sam received a similarly awesome gift from engineer James Bruton.

Electronic geeks will get a kick out of these coasters from MODelivery. They’re made from real colored circuit boards with a thin layer of gold on the conductive circuit traces. The circuit design is based on a microcontroller board layout with “Place Cup Here” text printed on its edge. They’re sold in sets of two or six.

With this 112-bit driver kit from iFixit, you’ll never be caught without the proper tool for opening gadgets. It comes with 1/4″ and 4mm bit driver handles with magnetic bit sockets, knurled grips, swivel tops, and high-quality bits made from S2 and 6150 steel. And if anything ever breaks, it’s covered by iFixit’s lifetime warranty.

Over the years, there have been numerous different ways of storing data on physical media. The 8-Bit Guy went all out, finding more than 100 different information storage media, from early wax cylinders to punch cards and gigantic tapes used for mainframe computers. That 16″ vinyl record is crazy.

For years, Tokyo’s Akihabara district was home to one of the most amazing little shops. But after 43 years in business, Koichi Shimayama shuttered his tiny electronics shop under the tracks. After being gifted the remnants of the shop, Norm Nakamura from Toyko Lens (with the help of his supporters) paid a crew to dismantle and rebuild it inside his studio.

We hate when we get snack dust between the keys on our computer keyboards. This convenient kit includes multiple brushes for getting into cracks and crevices, along with a keycap puller, polishing cloths, a cleaning spray, and a lens cleaning pen for cameras. It all fits into a carrying case with a retractable main brush.

Digital assistants like Alexa are impressive, but they’re built into boring-looking devices. The AI we encounter in science fiction is more relatable because it has a face. Workshop Nation gave Alexa more personality by connecting an Amazon Echo to a vintage CRT screen that displays audio waveforms and topped it off with eye-tracking animatronic eyeballs.

Learn about circuits, soldering, and writing code with this duo of CircuitMess electronic music makers. The Synthia is a digital beat maker and sampler, while the Jay-D is a miniature DJ mixer with audio effects, built-in speakers, and a sweet LED light show. Grab the bundle for a special price in The Awesomer Shop.

These stainless steel rings have a high-tech, cyberpunk look thanks to a flexible circuit board wrapped around their middle. The circuit doesn’t just serve a decorative purpose – it has a built-in NFC NTAG213 chip that can wirelessly store data using a smartphone app like NFC Tools.

Integrated circuits are incredible examples of miniaturization. And while the chip shown in this video doesn’t represent the kind of complexity and density found in modern processors, it still provides a fascinating look at the interior of a circuit, as its silicon is removed layer by layer with a powerful fiber laser.

With enough power, lasers can engrave and cut materials. In this video from WIRED, laser expert Alexander Sellite explains the physics at work as a fiber laser works its magic, vaporizing designs into sheet metal. By adjusting its scanning speed, pulse length, and power level, it can mark different metals and even create colors.

The upcoming game Retro Gadgets from Evil Licorice challenges players to create virtual electronic gadgets in a digital workshop. The game will test your creativity and improve your electronics skills as you invent, build, and solder together your projects, then write code to make them work. Coming to Steam.

Brad from Fix This Build That shows how he fabricated a coffee table that’s great parties. He built the table from cedar and MDF, and it packs a beer cooler, Bluetooth speakers, and recessed LED lights that animate to the beat of the music. He had a few challenges along the way, but the end result looks great.

VCRs might be obsolete technology, but they still featured some pretty smart engineering. That’s why illustrator and educator Jared Owen put together this in-depth look at the mechanisms that lie behind the VHS cassette flap. It’s cool to see how VCRs loaded and unloaded tapes without tangling them… most of the time.

Soldering surface-mounted components on circuit boards can be challenging without industrial soldering equipment. But maker.moekoe shows off a method for soldering multiple components using soldering paste and a temperature-controlled clothes iron to melt all of the solder into place at once.

Googol is the mathematical label for 10 to the hundredth power or 1 followed by 100 zeros. If you tried to count to a Googol, even in milliseconds, you’ll never live to see the end of your count. Look Mum No Computer built an electronic counter that he hopes can be kept alive and running well past his time here on Earth.

This handy accessory turns Leatherman multitools into a portable battery tester. It takes advantage of the metal construction of the tools to conduct power and can display voltages from 2.5 to 30 VDC using a set of yellow, red, and green LEDs. It’s compatible with the Leatherman Signal, Wave, Skeletool, Surge, and Bit Extender.

With their green and copper color scheme, circuit boards have a distinctive look. It turns out that there’s a good reason that so many of them are the same color. Today I Found Out offers an in-depth explanation of how circuit boards are made, what they’re made from, and why they look like they do.

When you pump too much voltage into a capacitor, it will eventually fail by exploding like a tiny bomb. Gav and Dan of The Slow Mo Guys pushed too much power through some of these ubiquitous energy storage devices to see what they looked like as they failed. The footage tops out at an incredible 187,500 fps.

Even though we upgrade or replace our gadgets and computers regularly, only a small portion of old electronics ever get recycled. Business Insider takes us inside of Sims Lifecycle Services to show how they reuse, repurpose, and recycle up to 6-million pounds of e-waste every month.

To celebrate the holidays, software engineer Scottbez1 built a miniature replica of a Nintendo Switch to hang on his Christmas tree. The 3D-printed model is roughly 1:5-scale with a working LCD screen that plays animated GIFs of Switch games and has tiny clickable thumbsticks.

If there’s something strange in your neighborhood… who ya gonna call? DEVICES! Everyone’s favorite electronic orchestra is here with a special Halloween cover of Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters theme song. Anyone got a proton pack around here?