The Fiery Source » Gadgets

The Flying Car is here and for sale

Bob — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:19:08 +0000

The Terrafugia Transition is a weird-looking car that can also fly AND has approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. That’s right, the Jetson age is upon us. A while back the strange looking vehicle made itself into the media as the car that could fly. Now the headlines are the company has just announced the flying car will go into production, and that has sparked mega-searches on the Web.

According to Yahoo that short;y after the announcement, online searches for “terrafugia transition” and “terrafugia transition pictures” both, sky rocketed. The FAA’s special exemption allows the vehicle to function as both a “light aircraft” and a car. Generally, for a aircraft to meet the “light aircraft” designation, it can’t weigh more than 1,200 pounds. The Terrafugia Transition exceeds this weighing in at 1,320 pounds, mostly because of the number of car-related safety features, such as airbags and crumple zones.

The good news with the “light aircraft” designation for planes is it requires only 20 hours of flying time to be licensed. Which means less beaurocracy for potential customers to get licensed to fly, which means higher potetial for sales. Thus far, about 70 people have placed an order. Want to purchase one? This car will cost you $194,000, but you want have to wait in line at the airport. Check out the video below after the break to see this flying car in action.

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Radio Controlled Kites in Singapore: Video

Bob — Sun, 23 May 2010 15:32:11 +0000

An RC kite is pretty much what it sounds like. That is, a kite fitted with RC (radio control) receiver and flown through the air via a propeller. In structure, it has a lot in common with kites and yet it is flown around like an RC plane.

John Catanzaro who narrates the video below purchased one a while back, and highly recommends you practice with the flight simulator that comes with the kit. John says ” practice, practice, and practice is the key to an enjoyable night of flying RC Laser kites”.

I filmed these radio controlled kites with attached colored-LED lights and lasers in Singapore at Clark Quay. These kites are highly maneuverable, crash-resistant and easy for everyone including children to fly. RC Kites are capable of doing somersaults, climbing high altitudes in strong wind conditions, hover in one place, do stall turns and more.

The kites are equipped with LED lights built-in, if you are in the Clark Quay area in Singapore you can watch them race through the night skies like dancing UFO’s while you dine along the water front.

The frame and RC housing of the kites are made from carbon fiber. This means these Kites are extremely strong and very light. The sails use polyester canvas which resists scratches and tears.

Singapore is the hot-spot for these awesome RC kites and where their most popularized, but be careful of cheap knock-offs which have been circulating in the last several years. So be careful where you purchase one from, the most reputable place that I know is from GoFlyKite in Singapore.

Here’s a few basic specs on the Pro III, which is also the starter kit:

* 680mm x 540mm x 55mm in size
* kite itself weighs 45 grams
* kite ready-to-fly weighs 260 grams
* Pro III Kite comes with Lights
* Futaba 4EXA 4 Channel Transmitter
* Futaba Receiver
* GFK Aluminium Carry Case
* Propeller
* Front Bar
* Brushed Motor
* Speed Controller
* Micro Servos (1 pair)
* Kite Bag
* Push Rod Set
* Rudder
* Lipo Battery 10C 1300mah
* Lipo Battery Charger

Check out the video after the break where John gives all the details you need about these awesome flying RC Kites

Mathmatical Formula Clock for Geeks

Bob — Fri, 21 May 2010 04:52:08 +0000

We have over time feature a few clocks here at FierySource, some have been really cool and others just weird. But the Pop Quiz clock is in a category of it’s own. The numerals around the clock face have been replaced with mathematical formulas. Hmmm, might make a great gift for the kids, LOL.

The diameter of the clock is about 30 centimeters and has a mathematical graph paper print on it and would be the perfect gift for maths lovers or friends. Anyway, follow the link below if you want one for the geek in the family.

The Pop Quiz Clock is available to purchase for around $40 from gadgets.dk

via geeky-gadgets

Do it yourself Guide on How to build a HDTV Antenna, CHEAP!

Bob — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 21:10:41 +0000

If you don’t want to spend 40 to 100 dollars like my brother did on a not so good performing HD antenna. Then build one thats better for less than $20, and in most cases you will get much better results. My brother purchased one online for 80 dollars which was getting about 60-85 signal strength on most channels. The only problem with it was it would always drop the signal at the worst times making it impossible to watch Free digital HDTV.

Finally after listening to his complaining about the antenna we did some research and discovered a free do it yourself guide was available that offered claims of a reliable HD signal using their plans to build one. We built the antenna and I must say it is a much better improvement. It took about an hour to build taking out time, double checking everything to ensure it was going together right. He now gets about a 90 to 99 signal strength and no more drop outs period.

The above posted video guide by John Park who shows you how to build this HD antenna from: coat hangers, wire, scrap wood, and some misc inexpensive parts costing you less than $20 USD. So you have a better understanding whats going on here, television antennas are comprised of a series of metal rods cut to exact lengths and positioned so they receive a particular television frequency. So you will have to follow the instruction to the exact requirements for this to work.

No worries, this is so easy to build. Whats really cool about this antenna is the design was invented in the 1960s by an engineer named Doyt Hoverman. It’s very sensitive in the UHF frequency range, the same range used for the majority of digital television transmissions. Digital TV signals are strongest when the path from the transmitter to your antenna is not obstructed by buildings or trees. So putting your antenna up high as possible or in the attic will improve your reception.There is also a PDF file available for download here .

Here’s what you need to get started:

Tools

Electric drill
Screwdriver or screw shooter
Screwdriver bits
1/16” drill bit
3/32” drill bit
¼” drill bit
Scrap wood

Materials

6 each Wire hangers
Wood board, approximately 3” x 20” x ¾“
10 each #6 round head wood screws, ¾” long, and washers
2 each U-bolts, ¼” diameter, 2 ½” long, nuts washers
¾” diameter iron pipe, 24” long, one end threaded
¾” pipe floor flange
4 each #10 wood screws, flat headed, 1” long
Wood board, approximately 12” x 10” x ¾”
75 to 300 ohm matching transformer with spade clips on one end and female F connector on other

How to build a digital HDTV Antenna

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