Page 16 - 15 Dangerously Mad Projects for the Evil Genius

Introduction

THIS IS A BOOK OF PROJECTS. They are projects weekend, and a “Large” project maybe more than
designed to appeal to the Evil Genius in everyone, one weekend. Your mileage may vary—and as is
whether those persons are new to home always the case with such things, it will depend
construction or experienced project-makers. very much on whether things go smoothly or not.
Most projects require some knowledge of The star ratings for difficulty are as follows:
electronics and the ability to solder. Two
★ Does not require any soldering or any
projects—the trebuchet and the ping-pong ball
actions more complex than measuring,
minigun—have nothing to do with electronics
cutting, drilling, and gluing.
whatsoever. A handful of the projects, like the
★★ A small amount of soldering is required,
persistence-of-vision display, require the use of an
but no circuit boards will need to be
Arduino microcontroller module. Some of the
made, and no microcontrollers must be
projects can be completed in an evening, while
programmed.
others may take several weekends to finish.
★★★ A simple design will need to be made,
What all the projects have in common is that
which may use a small stripboard. You
they are all, in some way or another, at least a little
should be reasonably proficient at
“dangerously mad” and have a certain “wow”
soldering and able to use a multimeter.
factor. So whatever your skill level, there should
be a project for you in this book. ★★★★ A complex design must be constructed,
requiring the ability to solder a
Each project includes a parts list and step-by-
stripboard. Also, some mechanical
step instructions, accompanied by numerous
construction is necessary.
diagrams and photographs. There is a “Theory”
section at the end of most chapters that gives
background information about how the projects The Web Site
work. So, even if you are new to construction, you
A web site accompanies this book
should find that if you start with some of the
(www.dangerouslymad.com), where you will find:
simpler projects, you will soon feel confident
■ Source code for the projects that use the
enough to tackle some of the more difficult ones.
Arduino microcontroller
■ A message generator for the persistence-of-
Ratings
vision display in Chapter 8
To give you a clue as to what you are in for before
■ Videos and photographs of the completed
starting a project, each project is rated according to
projects
the amount of time it will likely take and the level
■ Ways of contacting the author
of technical expertise required.
■ Errata
So it should be possible to complete a project
rated as “Small” in half a day to a day. A
“Medium” project will probably take you a

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