Robot madness - LucidScience gallery projects

Check out these gallery projects:

Remote spy bot

Goober

Micro spy bot

Oberon

Coming soon: 

Micro Spy Robot - DIY gallery project

This tiny spy robot can send audio and video and includes night vision

After building my two large video controlled robots (Oberon and Goober) as well as the small sized all terrain spy robot, I wanted to take the militarization process as far as I could using inexpensive components. A spy robot needs to have a rock solid video link that is good for at least 500 feet, crystal clear amplified sound pickup, silent motor operation and night vision, so that is a lot of stuff to pack into a small area. Also note that this project was built in 2004, when affordable miniature cameras and video transmitters were kind of a rare thing to find.


I decided to build this project when I finally found a source for an ultra tiny composite video camera with a low lux CCD element that would be good for night vision. I also had a tiny 250mw audio and video transmitter that was hacked from a security system into its absolute minimum size, so the project could finally come together. This version is just a simple proof of concept prototype and will eventually be made less than half the size and have the ability to survive a throw through a window into the target location for stealthy surveillance missions in a hostile environment. The final version will also have some onboard autonomous intelligence so once it is dropped or thrown into the target location it can quickly sneak into a dark hiding spot much like the way a fleeing insect.

Since I now had the small video camera and the tiny gearbox drive motors on order, I could experiment with some possible layouts and battery pack sizes using a computer CAD program. I originally planned to use very small lithium batteries, but it was found that the current draw from all of the subsystems made the video drop out when the motors were activated, so I decided to go with sub-AA sized rechargeable nickel batteries as these were commonly available for small RC aircraft use. The next version will use a custom made lithium ion battery pack similar to the ones used in cell phones for much smaller and extended run times, but for now the goal was cheap and simple.

I also intended to have a four wheel transmission system with possible a track drive, but in later experimentation it was found that only two wheels were needed as the little motors had more than enough power to just drag the back of the robot along. The final version will probably have a custom track drive though, as the two wheels would sometimes fail to pull the tiny robot over large carpet runners due to slipping easily on the smooth surfaces. 

I originally made my own small video transmitter but it lacked audio and was very unstable as the robot moved around or when the batteries began to drain. This video transmitter is the output block of a small security camera reduced to its absolute minimal components, allowing it to send 900MHz audio and video back to a down converter. The small transmitter was very stable for several hundred feet, had very clear audio, and ran just fine from any DC power source from 6 volts to 12 volts. Having the video transmitter on a high frequency band will also help stop interference between it and the drive remote controller, which operates on the low 49MHz band.

Figure 2 - This is a tiny half inch square audio and video transmitter

It was very difficult to find a suitable micro video camera in 2004 for this project. The camera had to be black and white for use with the invisible infrared night vision LEDs, have a CCD imager rather than CMOS for clarity, and also output a standard NTSC composite signal rather than a serial bit stream. I eventually found this extremely small high resolution black and white composite camera and did a little hacking in order to remove the onboard power supply, which was 4x the size of the actual camera. This camera was perfect for this spybot now that it was reduces to only 1/4 inch square and able to run from 8 to 12 volts DC power.

Figure 3 - A micro sized NTSC composite video camera with low lux CCD

<< More on this and other DIY electronics projects: 
http://www.lucidscience.com/gal-showall.aspx  >>

Spy robot with night vision - LucidScience gallery project

This simple to build spy includes night vision and payload delivery

This small remote controlled spy robot can traverse practically any outdoor terrain, controlled via audio and video link from a portable base station. The spy robot also has an infrared LED array and a low lux camera for great night vision, allowing it to see in complete darkness for several hundred feet. Combined with a very high gain microphone and preamplifier, the small spy robot makes a great drone to send into areas that are too dangerous to occupy or when complete stealth is necessary. The spy robot can also carry small payloads and drop them under remote control by activating a solenoid.

The spy robot is built around a remote controlled toy 4x4 truck, utilizing the original drive electronics and transmitter to control the base. A powerful audio video transmitter is added so that the operator can control the spybot up to a mile away from a portable base station. Other features included on the spybot are: night vision LEDs, a panning camera head, high gain audio preamplifier, halogen light system, and a mechanical payload delivery system. Being small yet agile on hostile terrain, this spybot can sneak into restricted areas and just hide silently, sending back a clear audio and video signal even in complete darkness.

<< More on this project: http://www.lucidscience.com/gal-showall.aspx  >>

PCB Heaven Tech Blog - Oberon the interactive Robot

PCB Heaven Tech BLOG

Oberon the Robot project - LucidScience.com

Oberon is a remote controlled robot for long range exploration

Oberon The Robot takes the ROV concept to an entirely new level, able to traverse just about any terrain and operate almost a mile away from the base station. Oberon also sends back color video, allows me to speak through the robot, and has an articulated head that can pan or tilt to survey the surrounding area. Being as tall as a person and having a helmet for a head, Oberon is not just an ROV, but also a humanoid actor, or robotic avatar that can be controlled from the comfort of my office chair.

A long range all terrain robot controlled via video link and remote control.

One of my very first robotics projects was a crude ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle). This was really just a toy RC truck with a video camera and transmitter mounted to the top so that I could sit in front of a monitor and explore the backyard as if on some kind of deep space mission. Although this idea seemed pointless at first, the resulting ROV was a huge amount of fun to operate, and gave the sense that some vast alien landscape was being explored. The received video looked so different on the monitor than just walking around, and the little RC robot was good for the distance of the backyard and some of the laneway. I was now hooked on remotely operated vehicles.

Oberon takes the ROV concept to an entirely new level, able to traverse just about any terrain and operate almost a mile away from the base station. Oberon also sends back color video, allows me to speak through the robot, and has an articulated head that can pan or tilt to survey the surrounding area. Being as tall as a person and having a helmet for a head, Oberon is not just an ROV, but also a humanoid actor, or robotic avatar that can be controlled from the comfort of my office chair. The mechanics used to create Oberon are taken from a discarded electric wheelchair and mixed together with a welded frame, some standard RC parts and other components purchased from various sources. Building a robot like this is actually fairly inexpensive if you are good at salvaging junk and hacking things together.

<< More on this project:  http://www.lucidscience.com/gal-showall.aspx >>

Build the REMOTE HIJACKER

This hidden device can intercept remote control signals and play them back! This fun project lets you take control away from the person holding the remote control by intercepting the invisible signals as they travel through the air so you can play them back to the TV or video machine. You can also "train" your Remote Hijacker by recording certain button presses directly from the remote so that you can play them back later on, taking total control over the target appliance. Because this project records the remote control pulse stream directly, it will work on any infrared based remote control, able to learn a few button presses. This project uses a very simple microcontroller program that just times the pulses coming into the infrared decoder and then stores them in the internal SRAM for later playback. The source code is made as simple as possible, allowing for plenty of room for modifications and alterations to suit your evil genius agenda. Because no interrupts are used, the C program could be ported to just about any microcontroller, and will work on all of the Atmel microcontrollers as is. Larger internal memory allows more button presses to be stored, with the Amtega88 (1K SRAM) allowing about three button presses to be recorded and played back.

Read more and see the videos: Build the REMOTE HIJACKER

Remote control hijacker video

This electronic prank lets you hijack a TV by stealing the remote control signals out of thin air for later playback.

 

Tech News - PCB Heaven

AVR to VGA D-Sub interface final

posted November 10 2010 6:11.08 by kammenos

Tech News - PCB Heaven

Thanks, Giorgos!

VGA Video Generator using AVR microcontroller - LucidScience project - NEW

Added : November 03, 2010

Generate VGA graphics using an AVR microcontroller
and an external frame buffer 

Microcontrollers are well suited to display information on analog
VGA monitors
 

If you have been working on microcontroller projects for any length of time, then you know that it can be difficult to display a large amount of data, especially when it contains more than just plain text. There are limits to how much useful information you can display on a basic character LCD, or even a dot matrix LCD, since most have low resolution, no color, and a poor refresh rate. I came up against this problem when working on a robotics project that needed to display a color image captured from a small camera and decided to see how much effort it would take to create an image on a VGA monitor using only a microcontroller to "bit bang" all of the necessary signals.

It took some time to learn how the five signals used on an analog VGA connection made an image appear on the screen, but the end results were much better than anticipated, providing a crisp 256 by 240 image on the monitor in 256 colors. Although it does take some intensive cycle accurate assembly programming, the basic coding is not very difficult to understand once you have learned what the monitor expects. In fact, making a microcontroller drive a VGA monitor is much easier than creating a video signal for a television because the VGA monitor does all of the difficult color coding for you as long as you send the video signals and sync pulses at precisely the right time. "Precisely" is the key! 

The final version completed on a solderless breadboard

<< More on this project:  http://www.lucidscience.com/pro-vga%20video%20generator-1.aspx  >>

How to Make VGA with any AVR - thanks AVR Freaks!

Thanks to the cool folks at AVRFreaks.com forum for posting Brad's VGA Video Generator in their tutorial section:  http://www.avrfreaks.net/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=99805

 Generate VGA graphics using an AVR microcontroller and
an external frame buffer 

If you have been working on microcontroller projects for any length of time then you know that it can be difficult to display a large amount of data, especially when it contains more than just plain text. There are limits to how much useful information you can display on a basic character LCD, or even a dot matrix LCD, since most have low resolution, no color, and a poor refresh rate. I came up against this problem when working on a robotics project that needed to display a color image captured from a small camera and decided to see how much effort it would take to create an image on a VGA monitor using only a microcontroller to "bit bang" all of the necessary signals.

It took some time to learn how the 5 signals used on an analog VGA connection made an image appear on the screen, but the end results were much better than anticipated, providing a crisp 256 by 240 image on the monitor in 256 colors. Although it does take some intensive cycle accurate assembly programming, the basic coding is not very difficult to understand once you have learned what the monitor expects. In fact, making a microcontroller drive a VGA monitor is much easier than creating a video signal for a television because the VGA monitor does all of the difficult color coding for you as long as you send the video signals and sync pulses at precisely the right time. "Precisely" is the key!

This project is more like a tutorial, and is far from being perfect. The idea is to show how any microcontroller can be made to create a rock solid VGA image once timing parameters have been calculated properly. I am using an Atmel ATMega324 and ATMega644 for this project, but just about any microcontroller will work, once you understand the basics and decide on what type of image you want to display. This project will start off with a very minimal display system running from a single microcontroller and will progress up to a fully double buffered system that will display flicker free animations with a resolution of 256 by 240 and with 256 colors.

Any VGA monitor with a 15 pin analog connector will work, but the old-school glass CRT monitors will probably display the "nicest" image due to having round pixels and a truly analog horizontal line. Newer LCD monitors will work just fine, but there may be a slight "banding" effect on horizontal lines if you cannot adjust a setting called "pixel" clock. Nonetheless, the image will be very clean, crisp, and colorful on any VGA monitor.

I would like to thank the community on the AVRFreaks Forum for suggesting this tutorial and for all of the help that has been offered over the years by the many knowledgeable members. I hope this small project inspires those who want to generate video with a microcontroller and look forward to seeing what others can do to improve and modify these ideas!

<< More:  http://www.lucidscience.com/pro-video%20game.aspx >>

DVD player autopsy tutorial - LucidScience Electronics from the Fringe

The dissection of an older DVD player showing the useful parts that can be salvaged.

 

Broken DVD players contain many usable electronic and mechanical parts

As a mechanical and electronic appliance, a DVD player includes many useful parts for electronics and small robotics projects. Most DVD players have at least two motors, many gears and mechanical bits, a power supply circuit board and a large main board. Although modern manufacturing has reduced the size of the circuit boards on most every day appliances, using as many large scale semiconductors and surface mount components, it is still possible to salvage many of the larger through-hole mounted semiconductors for your own use.

Older electronic appliances usually have more salvageable components inside, but never pass up an opportunity to collect new, old, broken or working electronic devices for addition to your ever expanding junk pile.

 

 Several circuit boards salvaged from an older DVD player

<< More:  www.lucidscience.com/tut-dvd%20player%20autopsy-1.aspx >>

Desoldering Basics tutorial - LucidScience.com

A DIY tutorial showing how to remove electronic components from a circuit board.

 

Most of your parts inventory can be salvaged from old circuit boards

In order to build an electronic circuit from plans or from scratch, you will need a number of semiconductors and components. Often, these individual components cost only pennies new, but in order to purchase from a large supplier there will be a minimum order number or price level that has to be met. It would seem crazy to pay $25 in shipping to receive a few 10 cent capacitors or resistors, especially when you can salvage them from just about any old circuit board. Almost all of the components I use are salvaged from old boards. I don't think I have ever had to order an odd value resistor or capacitor as I have always found what I needed by scavenging my huge junk pile.

A few dead TV or VCR circuit boards will net you enough raw components to fill an entire electronics parts bin, and allow you to experiment with varying values as you breadboard a new or published circuit from a schematic. Almost any discarded appliance that includes a power cord will become a great source of raw semiconductors, so tell everyone you know not to throw out their broken appliances, send them to your mad scientist lab for dissection!

<< More: http://www.lucidscience.com/tut-desoldering%20basics-1.aspx  >>

New to the LucidScience builders forum

Hello, thought I would join the forum after having a look at some of your electronics projects."

Read more and join the discussion: http://www.lucidscience.com/forum/tm.aspx?high=&m=115&mpage=1#116

DVD Autopsy 001 - LucidScience DIY tutorial on salvaging electronics parts

Six videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZGIAgVKcI8

Getting started tools - LucidScience electronics forum

"In addition to those items mentioned above, it would be a good idea to have some sort of screwdriver set that includes: #0 - #3 phillips bit, 1/16" - 5/16 flat blade wire cutters, and wire strippers. A good substitute for cutter/strippers is..."

Read more and join the discussion: Getting started tools

Diy lab equipment - LucidScience electronics forum

"On the other hand, I just love DIY stuff and DIY lab is just another awesome thing to do.. "

Read more and join the discussion: Diy lab equipment

Some of my spy gadgets – LucidScience forum « LucidScience Electronics Blog

“Hi, as this is my first post, I will introduce myself. I purchased Brad’s book 101 Spy Gadgets For the Evil Genius two years ago, since then I have made several projects.
Here are some.”

Read more and join the discussion: Some of my spy gadgets – LucidScience forum

I have started building the IR Night Vision kit but I'm doing it a tad different...

Read more and join the discussion: I have started building the IR Night Vision kit but I'm doing it a tad different...

Marx Generator ROCK DISAGGREGATOR – LucidScience.com Gallery Project

LucidScience – Gallery Project : ROCK DISAGGREGATOR – Page 1 of 18

Build the 2 transistor Spy Transmitter - LucidScience.com

Radio frequency projects can seem more difficult than most electronics projects because most of the time you cannot build them on a solderless breadboard and there may be parts used that are not easy to source such as coils and adjustable capacitors. This project is focused towards those who have not yet attempted to build any kind of RF project, and it is laid out in such a way as to make it easy to explore the basic principles of RF circuitry and ensure a successful final product.

This simple 2 transistor audio transmitter will send the sounds picked up in a room to any FM radio tuned to the same frequency as the transmitter, somewhere between 80 and 100 Megahertz. The expected range will be at least 100 feet and could be substantially longer depending on the parts used and the quality of your final product.

This circuit is based on one that has been around since the 1960s and published thousands of times, so it is tried, tested and guaranteed to work if you follow the instructions. Performance is "OK", but since this is the one of the most basic transmitter circuits possible, don't expect high quality or rock solid performance.

You can salvage most of the parts needed from an old radio.

<< More on this project:  http://www.lucidscience.com/pro-basic%20spy%20transmitter-1.aspx >>

500KV Rock Disaggregator - Marx Generator

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAQabaA2DWE

This experimental rock disaggregator is powered by a pole pig transformer connected in reverse to charge a bank of five 50KV capacitors up to 500KV. The resulting high energy discharge is sent into an explosion containment vessel.

Lazarus-64 Retro Game System prototype

Figure 25 - The data bus switch from the host processor

One of the other parts of the VMS that has not been mentioned is the data bus switch, which includes a pair of 74LS245 bi-directional buffers and another 74HC157 to switch the output enable (OE) and write enable (WE) from the host processor to the dual memory banks. Each 74HC245 takes one of the memory data busses and then combines them into one bi-direction input/output which is fed to the host processor. The direction of the bus traffic is controlled by the state of the output enable pin, making the switch seem like a single bank of memory.

It was necessary to use the 74HC245 buffers in this part of the VMS as traffic is bi-directional from the host processor data bus into the memory banks. To write to the memory, the AVR sets the data port for output and then sets the OE and WE pins accordingly. To read from the memory, the processor port is set as an input, and then data is read after a small delay to allow the turnaround cycle to complete. This bus turnaround cycle is necessary when switching an AVR from output to input in order to avoid a bogus data reading. At 20MHz, only 2 dead cycles (NOPs) are needed, so it's not a lot of wasted time.

<<More Lazarus-64 and other LucidScience projects>>

Ruuvipenkki.fi highlights LucidScience DIY camera taser project

 

Thanks to Lauri Jämsä of Ruuvipenkki.fi, the first and the biggest electronics and embedded devices related web page in Finland. Kiitos, Lauri!

English version of the web site:

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=auto&tl=en&u=www.ruuvipenkki.fi

Ruuvipenkki.fi

Lazarus 3D upgrade

This project was built over a span of a few years, getting only a little attention on the odd weekend. This was also my very first microcontroller assembly project, so it was a lofty goal indeed! I was not interested in seeing an LED flashing; I wanted an entire video game system! The journey was both rewarding and frustrating at times due to the intense learning curve, but the results were well worth the effort. The completed Lazarus-64 Retro Game System is the ultimate platform to fine tune one's embedded programming skills since it allows the connection of any microcontroller and the use of any programming language. Oh, and it's also a great retro video game platform!

Join the discussion Suggest New Projects and Kits: Lazarus 3D upgrade

Build the CAMERA FLASH TASER - LucidScience.com

This project shows you how to turn 1.5 volts into almost 400 volts, creating a hand held device capable of charging high voltage capacitors or delivering a low current high voltage shock. Using only the tiny circuit board from a cheap disposable camera, you can step up the voltage from a single AA battery to a level that is three times higher than the voltage coming out of your AC wall outlet! Of course, the output current is extremely low, but make no mistake - the high voltage output from this handheld taser/zapper is painful enough to make anyone jump up to the ceiling.

This circuit can also be used to make a small florescent light inverter, front end charger for a Marx generator, or any other device needing several hundred volts of high frequency power. Voltages over 1000 volts can also be generated from this circuit by increasing the DC power supply or by changing the single transistor to one that can handle a higher current. Of course, the circuit shown here will deliver more than enough voltage to make you afraid to test the device on yourself more than once! 

<< Read more:  Build the CAMERA FLASH TASER >>

Build the LAZARUS-64 PROTOTYPE - Lucidscience.com

The following pages detail the concept and creation of the original Lazarus-64 Retro Game System prototype. This project was built over a span of a few years, getting only a little attention on the odd weekend. This was also my very first microcontroller assembly project, so it was a lofty goal indeed! I was not interested in seeing an LED flashing; I wanted an entire video game system!

The journey was both rewarding and frustrating at times due to the intense learning curve, but the results were well worth the effort. The completed Lazarus-64 Retro Game System is the ultimate platform to fine tune one's embedded programming skills since it allows the connection of any microcontroller and the use of any programming language. Oh, and it's also a great retro video game platform!


Read more:  Build the LAZARUS-64 PROTOTYPE

Build the LASER SPY SYSTEM - LucidScience.com

The Laser Spy System is considered by many to be the Holy Grail of high tech spy devices because it can give the user the ability to listen in on conversations that take place in a distant building without having to install a bug or transmitter at the location. The Laser Spy System was said to be invented in the Soviet Union by Leon Theremin in the late 1940s.

Using a non-laser based infrared light source, Theremin's system could detect sound from a nearby window by picking up the faint vibrations on the glass surface. The KGB later used this device to spy on the British, French and US embassies in Moscow. It is also interesting to note that Leon Theremin invented the world's first electronic instrument, a wand operated synthesizer named "The Theremin" after him.

The Laser Spy System goes by several names such as the Laser Microphone, Laser Listener, Laser Bug, Window Bounce Listener and a few similar names. The Laser Spy certainly works well under ideal conditions, but it has many strengths and weaknesses that will be discussed in this plan. Building your own Laser Spy is by far the best way to experiment with this technology as you can adjust the design to suit your needs, rather than forking over hundreds or thousands of dollars for an assembled kit that will likely be far inferior to one that you can build yourself.

Many of the kits I have seen for sale over the Internet not only use dated technology, but they incorrectly state that the system uses a modulated laser beam to convert window vibrations into sound, which is simply not the case. Let's put the mysteries to rest once and for all and build a working Laser Spy System from the ground up and explore the functionality of each subsystem that makes a working unit.

We will be starting with an ultra basic proof of concept test system that will show you how the Laser Spy converts vibration into sound and how careful alignment of both the laser and receiver are required for optimal performance. Ironically, the most basic configuration may prove to be the most useful, and the $20 you spend in parts could create a system that works as well (or better) than some of the ones that are for sale on the internet for thousands of dollars. As you will find out, the key to spying with a laser beam is in the alignment and reception of the beam, not some magical black box full of fancy filters and optical components. 

<< LucidScience - Build the LASER SPY DEVICE project >>

LucidScience site and forum are online!

 Ugh - it's been a very long two months. Everything that could wrong did. We are actually two weeks late from our official launch date, but, we wanted to get as much done as possible on the main site and electronics forum right away to concentrate on putting up more projects, tutorials and videos for the rest of this month.

Time to reduce the caffeine intake for awhile and get some much needed sleep!

So, this is our official invitation to you to join our electronics community. Take a look around and be sure to join the forum. There will be more projects and tutorials online next week. Enjoy!

Subscribe to LucidScience newsletter and social networks:  http://www.lucidscience.com/subscribe.aspx

LucidScience.com's own DIY night vision project is featured on Hack a Day

This easy-to-build Night Vision Viewer lets you see deep into the night without detection. This covert system can light up a room as if you were using a flashlight, yet only you will be able to see the light. The performance of this Night Vision Viewer is as good as some commercially available night vision systems that cost a lot more. Using invisible infrared light, the Night Vision Viewer can see in total darkness, indoors and outdoors, and will operate from a battery pack for several hours. This device can also be used to detect other night vision systems or as a jammer to hide your face to most security cameras. Another interesting effect of the Night Vision system is referred to as "X-Ray Vision", which allows the user to see through certain materials (including clothing) that may be opaque to infrared light. If covert surveillance or countermeasures is your game, then this is one piece of equipment you will definitely want in your spy gear arsenal.

The Night Vision Viewer is built around commonly available parts, most of which can be found new at any electronics store, or taken from dead video appliances. This project is well within the reach of anyone with a desire to do a little hardware hacking, and even includes a basic guide to getting started in electronics. There is a lot of room to add your own modifications as well, so you can create your own unique spy gear in order to further your cause. The truth is out there, and now you will be able to see it even in total darkness!

Read the entire project:  http://www.lucidscience.com/pro-night%20vision%20viewer-1.aspx

What's LucidScience.com all about?

What is LucidScience?

LucidScience is a community of electronics enthusiasts from students to professional engineers. Our community is all about using one's creative energy to invent new gadgets or modify and hack everyday devices into unique creations. LucidScience is a place to come and learn, share, and become inspired and no degree is necessary. The only skill that counts around here is the motivation to do it yourself, with some help from other likeminded people who also want to further their own knowledge. We truly believe that anyone with motivation can create virtually anything on a limited budget using inexpensive components. We believe this statement because we are actually doing this ourselves!

LucidScience is about affordable and open source projects for the everyday electronics hacker. The word "hacker" is often associated with someone doing something malicious. That's not how we see it. It's not about patents, large budgets, or how much educational or professional designations someone achieves. Never underestimate what can be accomplished by a motivated individual with a box of junk, a low budget soldering iron and a "never quit" attitude! Electronics is the ultimate hobby for the knowledge junkie because it demands a never ending ability to learn new skills, try new solutions, and to be persistent after multiple failures. Having an open mind and being able to think out-of-the box are important, too.

Our electronics plans and projects are often "From the Fringe", including many spy gadgets, laser projects, electronic bugs, transmitters, night vision devices, high voltage projects, and many of the other cool devices often associated with spy plans and projects. We like anything weird, controversial, experimental, and evil genius oriented, so "Electronics from the Fringe" will be the main focus of our electronics plans, spy gadget kits, and general electronics tutorials. This web site is an ongoing project and new things will be added regularly, at least once a week.

Who is LucidScience?

Brad & Kat, 1971

We are just two people who enjoy exercising our creative abilities. Brad Graham (RadBrad) and Kathy McGowan (Trinity) run LucidScience.com and AtomicZombie.com from a small country home using basic tools and materials that are available to anyone. There are no head offices, engineers, board of directors, middle managers, or shareholders behind our operation and we aim to keep it that way!

We started this World Wide Web venture like many noobs - wondering what a web server was, how it worked and what we needed to do to build an online community of people who are interested in the same stuff we are. But, thanks to many late nights, large cups of java, and serious "hate to lose" attitudes, we're always moving ahead to make it all come together.

We are proud of the fact that all of our Web ventures are the results of the labors of two highly motivated individuals with very little previous training in electronics, welding, programming, or webhosting. We're proof that anyone with persistence and motivation can achieve whatever goals he or she set, regardless of background. I guess you could just call us both "hackers", because we look at a problem and just chip away at it one bit at a time until a solution is found, often learning so much more due to the trial and error process.

Personally, I have found that knowledge gained "the hard way" is always more valuable than a direct lesson as it forces the mind to wander "outside the box" and attempt solutions that may fail yet at the same time lead to extended learning. A true hacker may begin one project and end up with something totally unique and unexpected - invention by accident!

LucidScience is just Brad and Kathy...husband and wife, nerds and partners for life.

Why do we do this?

We do this because we can. Seriously, why else would a sane person want to rip the cover off a brand new electronic appliance only to rip out wires and contort it into something completely different? We were born this way, and most likely the majority of our visitors are also infected by this kind of the "hacker" bug. The satisfaction that comes from creating something unique using your own gray matter far exceeds any amount of joy that comes from knowing how much you paid for something, even if it may be lesser quality. Give a true hacker a black box with wires hanging out, an overheating breadboarded circuit and they will always find it so much more enjoyable than the equivalent factory made device with a 7 digit serial number! "I built it myself" trumps "I paid a lot for it" every single time in our world.

We run LucidScience.com and AtomicZombie.com because we love to inspire others to hack, create, lean, and share their creative knowledge. We are always in a constant state of learning, so an Internet community becomes the ultimate resource for like minded individuals. Our goal is to bring together those with a mind to create, learn, and share into one large worldwide space so that we can all benefit from each other.

Our community operates with an attitude that all participants are equal, and a that a person who has just started will soon acquire the skills that will allow him/her to help others. Many times, the solution to a difficult technical problem can be found by the "untrained eye" since the ability to examine variables that are "not in the manual" can be a powerful skill, a skill that all hackers have learned to trust.

We do this for the same reason you do - because you can!

How can you participate?

If you are the type of person who cannot resist pulling the cover off a black box in order to understand its inner secrets, then you are the type of person who we hope will stay and participate in our forums and gallery. Our site relies fully on word of mouth, so please pass our link around if you know of any other like minded individuals who may enjoy our free community. We are here to learn from each other and expand our knowledge.

We are always looking for like minded individuals to participate in our forum, and will do our best to ensure that those who are just beginning this hobby are just as welcome as those who are experts in their field. Our gallery is open to all types of electronics projects. If you have a cool DIY project to share, please consider sending it to us for submission. If you want to stay up to date on new projects and happenings at LucidScience, then you can also subscribe to our newsletter.

Web traffic is fuel that powers LucidScience, and we always appreciate it when our link is passed around to help expand our World Wide community.

Lazarus-64, not actually 64 bit but still blows our minds - Hack a Day

Shout out from one of our fav sites: Lazarus-64, not actually 64 bit but still blows our minds - Hack a Day

Finally getting somewhere

Ah...finally some results. Good bye old web host - hello new host. Professionals who know what they're doing. A nice change.

LucidScience videos on YouTube

The same videos on the main site are also on the LucidScience YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/LucidScience

Our first email!

Here's our very first email. Thanks, Aden!

"Hello. First of all thank you. Your detailed breakdowns of your projects are amazing. I just have a few questions if you don't mind answering them.

Your Lazarus-64 Prototype is amazing, i could only wish i could do something similar in the near future. I am currently studying computer engineering and hope to gain the knowledge of this kinda stuff. I have played around with atmega328 (i think) with video processing.

But i think i needed a setup like yours where i use ext memory buffers. as when i tried to add simple screen buffer to allow me to make simple animations. the picture became unviewable due to the processor intense code.

But i am just wondering, did you study electronics/embedded systems at college or uni or just learn on your own? (mainly self-taught well over 30 years, but also Electronics Diploma in college)

How old are you? (not trying to be creepy, i am just wondering due to the amount of knowledge you have) (40s)

Do you work in electronics/embedded system design? (yes)

Thank you again."

Yes, the site still needs lots of work, but we're getting 'er done as quickly as possible so you can post your questions and comments there very soon. We were expecting to launch in late October, but we've been fielding so many messages to get it up sooner. Patience, people! 

The electronics forum should be up and running in two days, if all goes well. Upload speed is pretty lame today. Will blog when the forum is ready. Your questions will be answered in detail in the new forum coming very soon. Stay tuned.