Want to get your point across? Why not say it with light? This new kit lets you create your own custom LED light board using any pattern you want. The whole thing reminds me of a modern-day Lite-Brite.

The latest Open Source creation from Evil Mad Science Labs, “Peggy” gives you the parts you need to make a pixelated grid of LEDs in any design your little heart desires. 

Peggy is named for her 25 x 25 pegboard which can hold up to 625 LEDs in place for your custom signs. It’s able to drive just about any LED you’d like, and can be run off of 3 ‘D’-cell batteries or on an optional AC adapter. The kit includes the pre-populated circuit board, battery pack and a photosensor which lets you automatically turn off the display in daylight. And yes, the whole thing is driven by a fully-programmable micro-controller, so you can create animations, blinking and flashing displays if you know what you’re doing. 

Keep in mind that you’ll need to buy your own LEDs, and will need some basic soldering skill and a soldering iron to create your own signs. The kit is available from the EMSL Shop for $80 USD. You can also pick up a batch of LEDs while you’re there. (For those more adventurous, there’s a bare-bones version of the board without the electronics already installed for $50). 

quotationweb 

Were those lightsaber laser pointers just too tiny to satisfy your man-sized Star Wars hunger? Then wrap your hands around one of these full-sized lightsaber replicas which you can actually customize to your own liking.

The Force FX Lightsaber Contstruction Kit gives you everything you need to create your own blade. These Master Replicas Lightsabers come with parts to make hundreds of different saber designs. 

The blade color can be switched between red, green or blue thanks to its tri-colored LEDs. Like other Force FX Lightsabers, it features authentic movie sound effects for power up/down, idle, swing and impact movements. The sounds even change depending on which blade color you choose.

So if you can’t decide whether you’re Jedi, Sith or something else altogether, the $99.99 kit is available in very limited quantities over on Amazon.

[via Coolest Gadgets]

Ahhhhh, the great outdoors. Just you and the sunshine, nature, fresh air, and… all your electronic gear? Well, it is truly possible to have it all with this solar powered digital survival kit. It comes with a 3800mAh rechargeable solar battery to keep your phone (or other preferred device) running and 12 different adapters (check for yours first in the photo before ordering!). Also included are a compass, a watch and, if all that isn’t enough, an LED flashlight for nighttime illumination.

All this thing needs now is a pop up dutch oven and a recorded lesson in how to discern the difference between brown bear vs. black bear attacks, and I am so buying this thing.

Available for US $33.26 at DealExtreme.

 quotationweb

With all the buzz about the new iPhone SDK, all kinds of nifty applications are starting to crawl out of the woodwork. Of all the coming programs, this LEGO construction concept application has to be one of my favorites.

Designed by Nicholas G Panas of play /, LEGO-touch will let you build virtual LEGO creations using a large catalog of basic building blocks. Using the iPhone’s multi-touch display, you can easily grab blocks and assemble them into just about any shape you can imagine. A slick user interface lets you easily zoom in and rotate your designs, and easily apply any color in the spectrum to each of your blocks.

 In addition to the basic block construction kit, Nicholas’ concept will let share your designs over the Internet. You can even create your own Mii-like avatar using those familiar LEGO block people. One of my favorite features is the ability to challenge your online friends to a LEGO “build-off”.

While you don’t get the tactile experience of holding real LEGO blocks in your hands, you do get the advantage of being able to carry all your creations in your pocket wherever you go. Plus, you never have to worry about running out of blocks.

play/ is currently working to launch the LEGO-touch concept into software production. Be sure to head on over to their website to check out their high quality Flash-based demonstration.

[via PSFK)

 quotationweb

I’m as addicted to Rock Band as the next gaming geek, but I still wish the strum bar on the game’s Fender Stratocaster felt more like a real guitar string. Now you get your hands on a mod kit which will let you swap out the plastic strum bar with an actual metal guitar string.

Originally a one-of-a-kind guitar mod designed by a guy going by the name A4AJ, it’s now available as a (patent-pending) kit you can install on your own guitar.

The kit includes everything you need to swap out the plastic bar with a playable string, special strum switch, along with several metal strings, springs and even a Fender guitar pick. Yep, with this mod in place and the tension cranked up, you can play the guitar with a pick!

Keep in mind that the kit does not include the guitar or the wood backboard, and requires that you perform some fairly significant surgery (Dremel, drilling and soldering) on your stock Stratocaster — obviously voiding your warranty.

The kit works with the PS2, PS3 or Xbox 360 versions of the guitar and is currently up for auction on eBay with a starting bid of $75. At this point A4AJ hasn’t geared up production on the kit, so you’ll have to have the top bid if you want this one.

 quotationweb