An EMF headache in the air

February 8, 2010

"EMF (electromagnetic waves) are everywhere, in your home, office, car - all electronic equipment radiate them. In addition, radio stations, cell phones, satellite communications also operate via EMF waves. Some products that generate EMF are computers, hair dryers, heating pads, microwave ovens, and cell phones, and many more. Some common symptoms of EMF exposure are headaches, fatigue, nausea, eyestrain, and overall lack of energy."

The paragraph above is posted on the Toolsforwellness.com website, which offers a plethora of products for EMF protection including pendants and watches. Plus they're stylish, too! In fact, plenty of websites offer devices to protect your home and office, your car, even your pet. Because you know if your pet hedgehog is acting a little weird, it just has to be the result of harmful EMF!

Continue reading "An EMF headache in the air" »

I can't believe someone makes... LED cake cutting guides

February 5, 2010

musical led cake cutter.jpgBack to good old-fashioned 'electronic landfill'1. Or am I being harsh? Do you fancy buying an LED-cake-cutter-guide?

That's the use of LEDs to help cut cakes, not a guide to cutting LED-cakes... Anyway, it plays music, too.

This innovative use of light emitting diode technology will set you back $38 from Amazon.com (not available on the .co.uk site, at time of writing).

Continue reading "I can't believe someone makes... LED cake cutting guides" »

Home-brewed electric screwdriver

February 4, 2010

diy electric screwdriver.jpgAnother contender for a Made By Students category, maybe? It makes me shudder to imagine it in action...

How not to do it yourself.

Thanks again to There, I Fixed It.com!

Continue reading "Home-brewed electric screwdriver" »

Most Read in February - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes

February 2, 2010

top ten jan.jpgAnother month has flown by, and it's time again to take stock of what your peer's have been reading, as we round up the Made By Monkeys popularity stakes for January.

We cover a wide range, beginning with Lithium-Ion Batteries and patent laws and finishing with something that never stops...

As usual, to keep suspense at a maximum, let's do it in reverse order:

10. What's Wrong With Lithium-Ion Batteries?

9. US Patent Law: Made by Monkeys?

8. Battery Eater Has a Open Circuit

Continue reading "Most Read in February - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes" »

Impossible objects #16: Piano stairs

January 25, 2010



I like this one. How could you encourage people to use the stairs, in a public building, rather than take the escalator?

Piano stairs may be the answer. Check out this video of the amended subway exit at Odenplan station in Stockholm.

Continue reading "Impossible objects #16: Piano stairs" »

I can't believe someone makes... More (food-based) USB nonsense

January 21, 2010

usb bento.jpgWhat is the connection between Universal Serial Bus-based devices and... food and drink?

I don't know, but it is easy to bite off more than you can chew with this one, as there's a feast of choice ... [Enough. We get the theme - Ed.]

How about beginning with a bento box, as Sushi lovers so often do?... Though not usually in small, plastic form, for storing files (available from USBGeek for 17 online dollars).

Continue reading "I can't believe someone makes... More (food-based) USB nonsense" »

Galvanic corrosion stills Whirlpool washine machine

January 20, 2010

Corrosion on Whirlpool washing machine.jpgSee also: Dishwasher Rack Succumbs to Corrosion

Peter D'Aloisio sent in this example of a six-year-old Whirlpool Duet front-loading washing machine with a serious case of galvanic corrosion, which sort of begs the question: What period of problem-free performance can one reasonably expect out of an appliance these days, even if its under warranty?

My mother had the same washing machine for the first thirty years of my life, and though it didn't have the sorts of bells and whistles you get on today's machines, it was perfectly serviceable and ran problem-free for three decades. She finally junked it for a new model that came in a color she liked better than white.

Continue reading "Galvanic corrosion stills Whirlpool washine machine" »

Let the latest Made By Monkeys posts come to you, with RSS

January 13, 2010

rss%20feeds%20shot.jpg The best way to get the very latest Made By Monkeys posts as soon as they are published? RSS!

And it's not just Made By Monkeys. Check out all the RSS feeds that are available for Electronics Weekly content. The feed for Latest News, for example, can be found here.


There are 12 Electronics Weekly feeds you can tap into:
News
Jobs
Products

Continue reading "Let the latest Made By Monkeys posts come to you, with RSS" »

I can't believe someone makes... YouTube microwaves

January 11, 2010

Cast Oven video microwave.jpgJust because you can, doesn't mean you should... I can't believe someone really needs to catch up on the latest "viral video" while cooking an egg.

It's not a typical scenario in my kitchen. I'd rather watch the food through the panel...

Cast Oven are apparently the people behind the consumer gadget that should be placed next to the Internet toaster and the Wi-Fi Fridge.

Continue reading "I can't believe someone makes... YouTube microwaves" »

Impossible Objects #15: The clock that draws the time

January 8, 2010



A bit of fun for a Friday. This has been described as the "coolest clock ever". That might be a bit OTT, but it makes you smile and is a clever idea.

Check out the video and just in case you don't work it out: there is not really a man inside the clock re-drawing the time each minute, with pen and ruler. It is in fact a clock video of a man drawing the time with pen and ruler... They are action packed hours!

Continue reading "Impossible Objects #15: The clock that draws the time" »

The (latch) spring eternally breaking

January 6, 2010

Patio_Door_Latch 100.jpgWolfhard Homma has a nagging problem that just won't go away: the patio door lock on his  house.  He writes:

"The door is locked in place by a metal knob in the jamb over which the movable slotted latch in the door slides. This pinnacle of American engineering suffers from two problems: First, bad material selection or insufficient dimensioning causes the spring holding the latch in its upper position to break. Often.

Continue reading "The (latch) spring eternally breaking" »

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Most Read in 2009 - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes

January 1, 2010

pocket light 1.jpgNot just how swiftly the months pass, but how swiftly the years pass! Let's take stock of what your peers have been reading, and use the power of HitBox to look at the most popular Made By Monkeys posts of 2009.

A series newly introduced in 2009 seems to have gone down well - the Impossible Objects. But which ones were the most read?

Taking it in reverse order:

10. I can't believe someone makes... Faceless watches

9. Impossible objects #5: Street Power

8. I can't believe someone makes... Klingon keyboards

Continue reading "Most Read in 2009 - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes" »

I can't believe someone makes... R2-D2 Christmas lights

December 15, 2009

R2-D2 lights.jpgI can't believe someone makes R2-D2 Christmas lights! Don't they know that Astromech Droids[1] should only be used for "repairs and navigational computing"?!

Christmas always brings with it a whole heap of electronic junk, so we have been really spoiled for choice for this series. I'm going to sit on some classics until the New Year, however, as this one is at least seasonal!

Continue reading "I can't believe someone makes... R2-D2 Christmas lights" »

Recall Corner: Packard Bell laptop battery

December 14, 2009

packard bell mx36.jpg
Following the Nokia and IBM chargers and adaptors, the power theme continues with our latest Recall Corner...

Packard Bell has announced a voluntary safety recall of the battery contained in certain of its Easynote laptops, due to potentially defective battery cells.

Continue reading "Recall Corner: Packard Bell laptop battery" »

The problematic case of Lex Luthor and Kryptonite Locks

December 11, 2009

bic biro.jpgThanks to reader JD for a submission to Made By Monkeys - please do keep them coming.

This is one to handle carefully, as it is about the apparent fallibility of a lock design... However, the thieves already know about this because it has long been out in the public domain. Check out this Wired article from 2004 - Twist a Pen, Open a Lock

The products in question are Kryptonite Locks. "Perhaps Lex Luthor had a hand in it...," says JD. The locks "use an axial pin tumbler, a common cylindrical design used in a wide variety of products," states Wired.

Continue reading "The problematic case of Lex Luthor and Kryptonite Locks" »

I can't believe someone makes... 12V Heated Pizza Takeaway Bags

December 8, 2009

pizza bag.jpg
Thanks to reader Mike Read for proposing this one for our I can't believe... series. Keep 'em coming.

There's a bit of a Pizza theme emerging on Made By Monkeys, what with ovens, and cutters. And now we have heated bags...

Of course, while it conjures up images of Pizza lovers who will go that extra mile - on foot if necessary - to keep their pizzas warm, it must be aimed at the retail market (though this is Maplins we are talking about).

Continue reading "I can't believe someone makes... 12V Heated Pizza Takeaway Bags" »

You Wanted What Capacitor Rating?

December 7, 2009

I recently got back from the Pack Expo Show, where I was chatting with a few engineers about China-originating knock-offs. One engineer told me that recently they had a huge problem with a prototype system, only to discover that a key electronic component was a cheap knock-off. And, worse yet, they bought the part from a reputable distributor, who apparently had been conned themselves!

So much for the theory that buying from sources you know is always safe.

Anyway, it brought to mind this little gem of a story from the past submitted by Gerry Booker about mislabeled parts, which just goes to show while the circumstances may change, engineers have been wrestling with these sorts of issues for ages!

Continue reading "You Wanted What Capacitor Rating?" »

How to Submit Lousy Designs to Made by Monkeys

December 6, 2009

made by monkeys.jpg Show us the Best of the Worst! If you've had a recent run-in with a cheaply-made, inferior product, tell us about it and you could win a limited edition, high-quality, well-engineered Made by Monkeys tshirt!

Just email us at webmaster@electronicsweekly.com a photo or video of the defective product, with any witty observations you care to make -- keep it short, simple, and fun. View a good example of what we mean.

We also welcome suggestions on news stories and topics you think merit a closer look by our jaundiced eye. And we'd be delighted to have you to weigh in on anything we present here, particularly when we touch on your particular areas of engineering expertise. Use our handy comments button at the bottom of each blog entry.


Most Read in November - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes

December 1, 2009

pocket light 1.jpgHow swiftly the months pass! It's time again to take stock of what your peer's have been reading as we round up the Made By Monkeys popularity stakes for November.

We cover a wide range, beginning with the Little Corporal - Napoleon - and finishing with a little light in the hand...

As before, to keep suspense at a maximum, let's do it in reverse order:

10. Did Tin Pest Cause Napoleon to Experience a Wardrobe Malfunction?

9. What's Wrong With Lithium-Ion Batteries?

8. Recall corner: Nokia chargers

Continue reading "Most Read in November - The Made By Monkeys popularity stakes" »

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