Ever want to drink from two different drinks, simultaneously? Shouldn’t be too hard with a constructable drinking straw kit. The rubber connector pieces come in several leak-proof designs so you can construct all sorts of abstract drinking mechanisms. At $14, much fun is to be had constructing a gas tank to gas tank siphoning kit. Who says you need to breathe in toxic fumes to get free gas!?

So I got one and tried out two different drinks simultaneously. One glass of Sunny D and one glass of Yoo-Hoo, finished off at the same time. It was not looking good for me that following morning.

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The description of the Voice of Saturn Synth Kit is making me very excited:

This is a 10 step analog sequencer, which basically steps through 10 different voltage levels that are set by the black knobs. The output control voltage and trigger signals are typically used to control pitch, filters, drum triggers and an endless number of other parameters on other synths.

It’s based on a decade counter chip (CD4017) driven by a 555 timer (clock), although it can also use an external clock signal. The sequence can be shortened by connecting an eigth-inch audio cable from the reset jack on top to one of the step’s jacks. It features both a gate output and a S-trigger output for Moog synths.

This is THE must-have board if you’re looking to form the next Atari Teenage Riot. Circuit-bending meshed with sequencing guarantees you’ll have a fun time even if you don’t know much about music or electronics. I guarantee you you’ll create wacky, fun sounds with a kit like this.

The best news is that the Voice of Saturn is available as a bare-bones kit for $70, an “everything kit” for $125 and you can even get a fully-assembled (and tested) version for $250. Not bad!

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Before you pop enough wood to start a paper mill, you should know that these are scale models of roller coasters. At 1:48 scale, they’re no tiny LEGO bricks. This is a real, working roller coaster that uses gravity to fling it left and right, up and down. Shown above is the Dragon, a $500 model that has an electric geared lift and enough seats to make all your Mighty Max action figures barf.

Each kit comes with extra parts and is expandable, meaning you could spend some serious time and money building a bunch of tiny coasters in your living room. Anyone wanna guess why the above photo was taken on a beach? I’m clueless and my head hurts.

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Ever eye over a Chumby and think to yourself, “That’s one cool gadget, but I’m not looking to spend the cash on a widget machine.” That we have and I’m sure the creators of the YBox 2 Kit have as well. This DIY kit allows you to build and create your own machine that displays customizable content. Think Chumby meets inner-city Detroit.

Based on the Parallax Propeller chip, this little kit runs WAY faster than your old 486DX ever did. You can output video via a composite jack, network via DHCP with your broadband connection, use a remote with the built-in IR sensor and so much more. Lady Ada is selling the kit for a measly $75 and very few are left. Hit the link to grab one while you still can.

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This project kit is only meant to help get you started but it’s not short on features. If you’ve wanted to create your own SynthAxe-like percussion instrument, just like Futureman from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones did, then this is a great place to start. You’ll need to add your own piezo sensors to use as triggers and can even use audio input to control it.

How does it all work? Glad you asked:

The Tapdrum kit coverts 8 analog inputs to assignable MIDI notes via an Atmel 89S8252. The inputs are intended to be used with piezo sensors (optional with kit) but could foreseeably use a number of different sensor input types, even audio as Deviantsynth suggests.

From the video, this looks like an absolute blast. Don’t feel like building your own? Use a software-based drum machine.

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Here’s an extremely awesome DIY kit for the exhaust system on your car.  Shoot up to 20 feet of flame right out of the tailpipe with the push of a button. Is this even legal? Arsonists everywhere would be drooling if it was legal. Tailgaters will surely learn their lesson from tailing someone with one of these installed. Getting away from the feds after you just pulled a bank heist will never be easier, but shooting flames out the rear-end of your car could help. Of course, it’ll just melt your trunk.

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Wow, who would have known that designing your own sound card would have been this cheap and easy? A low amount of parts, easy-to-read schematic and no need for drivers make this USB-based sound card a steal. The card is powered via a 16-bit Stereo Digital-to-Analog Converter. I have a subtle understanding of what that actually does, but if you can solder, who cares.

After a few hours at Radio Shack and a few more spent at the workbench, you’ll emerge a new man with a new sound card. Go ahead and try it out in XP or Vista as it’s driverless just like many M-Audio and Griffin products. It might not hurt to throw your finished product in a case though.

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While the product is designed with RC model airplanes in mind, the Pilot View Realtime First Person Video system is an all-inclusive kit for the hobbyist that wants to take their project to the next level. You attach the kit to your plane, throw on the goggles and let loose. In turn, you can experience a view from the skies as if you were really flying around inside your aircraft.

Due out May 30th, the FPV doesn’t come cheap. Be prepared to dish out $550 for the ability to get a view from above. It shouldn’t be an issue if you’re already spending the cash on $1000+ RC airplanes. Broke? You could always give this RC spy kit a go.

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I really have to give it to designer Toby McInnes for his “Bedu” concept emergency kit. It comes in a beautiful orange canister that resembles a propane tank. According to product renderings, the kit can apparently hold enough shit to provide shelter for the entire starting lineup of the New York Giants. I spy, with my eye, a tent, stove, a medkit, cooking utensils and pots, luggage, a thermos and a generator. Who knows, there’s probably a keg in there somewhere too.

All humor aside, if this concept became a reality it would prove extremely useful in both emergency humanitarian situations and military setups. There’s also an Annex for those of you who need a, erm…private moment?

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