Have been working on the niftymitter amongst other things today - got a working prototype, laser cut in acrylic by Strathclyde Uni DMEM. Works pretty good, couple of errors in engraving, need more space in the conduit notch for the battery wires, electronics still work pretty well. Still haven't been able to test that on off switch, waiting on some resistors. Promising! Should have one or two prototypes at Lingfest next weekend.
photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zero-waste/tags/niftymitter/
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Mechnics Alive!
I went to see the Mechanics Alive! exhibition, by the Cabaret mechanical Theatre, at the Scotland Street School in Glagsow yesterday. More info here.
It's a great show, plenty of automata to have a go at, although presumably for the safety of the exhibits they are all housed in perspex and operated by push button and motor, which for me takes away some of the enjoyment. So the operator cannot enjoy that direct connection between their movement and the movement of the automaton, however needless to say, one can still enjoy the dynamics of the mechanism and the beautiful finishes. I thoroughly recommend checking it out, and there's a long video featuring the likes of Tim Hunkin as well as the 6 or so featured artists in teh exhibition (inc. my fave Paul Spooner). There are also some great books out and some posters explaining different mechanisms for the novices.
It's a great show, plenty of automata to have a go at, although presumably for the safety of the exhibits they are all housed in perspex and operated by push button and motor, which for me takes away some of the enjoyment. So the operator cannot enjoy that direct connection between their movement and the movement of the automaton, however needless to say, one can still enjoy the dynamics of the mechanism and the beautiful finishes. I thoroughly recommend checking it out, and there's a long video featuring the likes of Tim Hunkin as well as the 6 or so featured artists in teh exhibition (inc. my fave Paul Spooner). There are also some great books out and some posters explaining different mechanisms for the novices.
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