John Baichtal

No, this isn't a book about joining some fringe cult. It's a book by LEGO® fans, for LEGO fans, and you and your kids will love it.In The Cult of LEGO, Wired's GeekDad blogger John Baichtal and BrickJournal founder Joe Meno take you on a magnificent, illustrated tour of the LEGO community, its people, and their creations.The Cult of LEGO introduces us to fans and builders from all walks of life. People like professional LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya; enigmatic Dutch painter Ego Leonard (who maintains that he is, in fact, a LEGO minifig); Angus MacLane, a Pixar animator who builds CubeDudes, instantly recognizable likenesses of fictional characters; Brick Testament creator Brendan Powell Smith, who uses LEGO to illustrate biblical stories; and Henry Lim, whose work includes a series of models recreating M.C. Escher lithographs and a full-scale, functioning LEGO harpsichord.Marvel at spectacular LEGO creations like: A life-sized Stegosaurus and an 80,000-brick T. Rex skeleton Detailed microscale versions of landmarks like the Acropolis and Yankee Stadium A 22-foot long, 350-pound re-creation of the World War II battleship Yamato A robotic, giant chess set that can replay historical matches or take on an opponent A three-level, remote-controlled Jawa Sandcrawler, complete with moving conveyor belt Whether you're a card-carrying LEGO fanatic or just thinking fondly about that dusty box of LEGO in storage, The Cult of LEGO will inspire you to take out your bricks and build something amazing.Praise for The Cult of LEGO"I defy you to read and admire this book and not want to doodle with some bricks by the time you're done." —Gareth Branwyn, online editor-in-chief, MAKE Magazine"This fascinating look at the world of devoted LEGO fans deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone who's ever played with LEGO bricks." —Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief, Wired"A crazy fun read, from cover to cover, this book deserves a special spot on the bookshelf of any self-respecting nerd." —Jake McKee, former global community manager, the LEGO Group"An excellent book and a must have for any LEGO enthusiast out there. The pictures are awesome!" —Ulrik Pilegaard, author of Forbidden LEGO"We're all members of the Cult of LEGO—the only membership requirement is clicking two pieces of plastic together and wanting to click more. Now we have a book that justifies our obsession." —James Floyd Kelly, blogger for GeekDad.com and TheNXTStep.com

Make amazing robots and gadgets with two of today’s hottest DIY technologies. With this easy-to-follow guide, you’ll learn how to build devices with Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0, the Arduino prototyping platform, and some add-on components to bridge the two. Mindstorms alone lets you create incredible gadgets. Bring in Arduino for some jaw-dropping functionality—and open a whole new world of possibilities.Build a drink dispenser, music synthesizer, wireless lamp, and moreEach fun and fascinating project includes step-by-step instructions and clear illustrations to guide you through the process. Learn how to set up an Arduino programming environment, download the sketches and libraries you need, and work with Arduino’s language for non-programmers. It’s a perfect book for students, teachers, hobbyists, makers, hackers, and kids of all ages.Build a Drawbot that roams around and traces its path with a marker penConstruct an analog Mindstorms clock with hands that display the correct timeCreate a machine that mixes a glass of chocolate milk at the touch of a buttonMake a Gripperbot rolling robotic arm that you control wirelessly with Arduinos mounted on your armsExplore electronic music by building a guitar-shaped Lego synthesizerBuild a Lego lamp with on/off and dimmer switches that you control with a smartphone applicationJump feet first into the world of electronics, from learning Ohm’s Law to working with basic componentsYou'll need the Bricktronics shield created for this book by Open Source Hardware kit maker Wayne and Layne, or you can build a breadboarded equivalent (see Chapter 10) for about $25 in parts.

Absolutely no experience needed!Build your drone, step-by-step, with this full-color, hands-on guide! You’ve heard about drones. You’ve seen drones. Now, build your own—it’s a lot easier than you think! Drones are the newest frontier for the DIY/maker community, and you don’t need to be a technical expert to build one. John Baichtal, the #1 author of hardware hacking books for beginners, will teach you all the skills you need. First, Baichtal shows you the amazing drones others have built. Then, he walks you through several complete quadcopters, UAVs, ROVs, and more. Not ready to start from scratch? No Baichtal helps you choose from today’s best new kits. Hundreds of full-color step-by-step photos teach you every step, every skill. When you’re ready for more advanced concepts, Baichtal explains them in plain English.

Hack This

What is a bicycle? The answer is a little trickier than you might think. More than just a form of transportation, your bike is a framework on which you can explore and display your own inventiveness.With a full history of the bicycle and information about commercial mods such as adding baby seats and fenders--as well as instruction on wheels, tires, and regular maintenance--this book gives you the tools and ideas to hack your ride your own way.You'll not only find out how to strip down your bike so that you can actually put it back together again, but you'll create a complete bike hacker's workbench, ready for any idea you might have!In Make: Bicycle Projects, you'll learn to:Add EL wire, LEDs, and NEOPixels for cool nighttime travelInstall a SpokePOV kit to see things only your bike seesAdd a DIY Smartphone Rig that keeps you connectedPaint your bike so that it stays paintedTurn your geared steed into a fixieWeld and braze your frameMake a rad chopperLet the sun power your projectsGive an audio component to your frame for alarms, horns, and just making noiseHaul cargo in a basket or mini-trailerTurn your ride into a veritable party trailer replete with color organ!

ARDUINO for BEGINNERS ESSENTIAL SKILLS EVERY MAKER NEEDS Loaded with full-color step-by-step illustrations! Absolutely no experience needed! Learn Arduino from the ground up, hands-on, in full color! Discover Arduino, join the DIY movement, and build an amazing spectrum of projects… limited only by your imagination! No “geekitude” This full-color guide assumes you know nothing about Arduino or programming with the Arduino IDE. John Baichtal is an expert on getting newcomers up to speed with DIY hardware. First, he guides you gently up the learning curve, teaching you all you need to know about Arduino boards, basic electronics, safety, tools, soldering, and a whole lot more. Then, you walk step-by-step through projects that reveal Arduino’s incredible potential for sensing and controlling the environment–projects that inspire you to create, invent, and build the future! · Use breadboards to quickly create circuits without soldering · Create a laser/infrared trip beam to protect your home from intruders · Use Bluetooth wireless connections and XBee to build doorbells and more · Write useful, reliable Arduino programs from scratch · Use Arduino’s ultrasonic, temperature, flex, and light sensors · Build projects that react to a changing environment · Create your own plant-watering robot · Control DC motors, servos, and stepper motors · Create projects that keep track of time · Safely control high-voltage circuits · Harvest useful parts from junk electronics · Build pro-quality enclosures that fit comfortably in your home

Minecraft has sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide (about 25 million of those units for the PC and Mac). According to Mojang, since the beginning of 2016 Minecraft continues to average 53,000 copies sold per day. Microsoft bought Minecraft (and Mojang) in 2014 for $2.5 billion. In 2016, Microsoft released a version of Minecraft specifically for educators called MinecraftEdu that is used by thousands of teachers around the world.Minecraft for Makers explores the intersection of this creative and beloved electronic game with the real world. It gives readers the opportunity to take familiar objects from the game - such as blocks, jack o'lanterns, and mobs - and make real-world versions of them. Begin with simple crafting projects using wood, paint, and LEGOs. Then move up to projects that involve basic electronics with LEDs. And, finally, advance to Arduino microcontroller projects that teach programming skills and basic robotics. The skills build progressively on one another, from chapter to chapter, and the emphasis is on fun all the way!Chapters Basic Projects (Item Frame with Diamond Sword, LEGO Minecraft Block, Minecraft Chess Pieces)LED Projects (Glowing Minecraft Block, Glowstone Chandelier, Minecraft Chess Board)Arduino Projects (Minecraft Jack O'Lantern, Night and Day Clock, Robot Creeper)

Robot Builder( The Beginner's Guide to Building Robots) Paperback ThomasMesserschmidt Que

Basic Robot Building with LEGO® Mindstorms® NXT 2.0 ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE NEEDED! Learn LEGO® Mindstorms® NXT 2.0 from the ground up, hands-on, in full color!Ever wanted to build a robot? Now’s the time, LEGO® Mindstorms® NXT 2.0 is the technology, and this is the book. You can do this, even if you’ve never built or programmed anything! Don’t worry about where to start right here. John Baichtal explains everything you need to know, one ridiculously simple step at a time… and shows you every key step with stunningly clear full-color photos! You won’t just learn concepts–you’ll put them to work in three start-to-finish projects, including three remarkable bots you can build right this minute, with zero knowledge of programming or robotics. It’s going to be simple–and it’s going to be fun. All you need is in thebox–and in this book!JOHN BAICHTAL is a contributor to MAKE magazine and Wired’s GeekDad blog. He is the co-author of The Cult of Lego (No Starch) and author of Hack 24 Incredible Hackerspace Projects from the DIY Movement (Que). Most recently he wrote Lego and Arduino Projects for MAKE, collaborating with Adam Wolf and Matthew Beckler. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his wife and three children.

¿Le apasionan los robots? Pues empiece a construirlos. Es mucho más fácil de lo que nunca imaginó. John Baichtal ha ayudado a miles de personas a dar sus primeros pasos en robótica. Sabe todo aquello que los principiantes deben conocer y se adelanta a sus preguntas, intuyendo dónde podría ser necesaria una ayuda extra. Ahora presenta todo ese conocimiento práctico en un solo libro increíblemente sencillo.Con cientos de fotos, guía al lector paso a paso a medida que su nivel crece. Desde la construcción de un robot básico pero funcional, hasta convertirnos en expertos en motores, configuración de sensores, construcción de chasis y en la programación de los microcontroladores Arduino. Aprenderá de forma práctica realizando numerosos proyectos y podrá asomarse a la vanguardia más reciente. ¿Tiene curiosidad por saber cuántas cosas será capaz de hacer? Baichtal le mostrará hasta treinta robots increíbles realizados por gente como usted.

EV3 without limits! Build 5 amazing robotics projects that take DIY to a whole new level! You can do way more with your LEGO Mindstorms EV3 kit than anyone ever told you! In this full-color, step-by-step tutorial, top-maker and best-selling author John Baichtal shows you how to transcend Mindstorms' limits as you build five cutting-edge robotics projects. You'll discover just how much you can do with only the parts that came with your kit-and how much farther you can go with extremely low-cost add-ons like Arduino and Raspberry Pi. You'll learn how to reprogram your Mindstorms Intelligent Brick to add additional hardware options and create more complex programs. Hundreds of full-color, step-by-step photos teach you every step, every skill. Whenever you're ready for advanced techniques, Baichtal explains them in plain English. Here's just some of what you'll learn how to do:Build a drawing Plotter Bot that gyrates to draw new patterns Hack Mindstorms' wires-and control robots without wires Create a remote-controlled crane, and operate it from your smartphone Use the EV3 brick to control third-party electronic modules of all kinds Replace the EV3 brick with smarter, more flexible Arduino, Raspberry Pi, or BeagleBone Black hardware Build a robotic flower whose petals open and close based on time of day Use third-party sensors to build robots that can sense practically anything Load an alternate operating system onto your EV3 brick 3D print, laser, and mill your own perfect LEGO parts Create ball contraptions, and extend them with your own custom parts Make a pole-climbing robot-and hook up an altimeter to track its height This book is not authorized or endorsed by the LEGO(R) Group. Register Your Book at www.quepublishing.com/register and receive 35% off your next purchase.

Virtually build any LEGO creation you can imagine—with any LEGO part ever made! This fun guide shows how to create just about anything from virtual LEGO blocks using free software. Learn how to install and customize LEGO Digital Designer, navigate the user interface, and get started on your own projects. LDraw and Mecabricks are also clearly explained. Building with Virtual LEGO: Getting Started with LEGO Digital Designer, LDraw, and Mecabricks features DIY projects that illustrate each technique and software tool. You will see how to upload and share your creations online—even modify projects that others have built! Find out how to:• Download, set up, and configure LEGO Digital Designer• Navigate the LDD user interface, menus, and tools• Identify the different Lego parts and explore brick palettes• Quickly and easily start creating your own LEGO models• Access the huge library of out-of-print LEGO bricks in LDraw, including those designed by hobbyists• Get up and running on Mecabricks and launch creative projects online• Write clear instructions and share them with other virtual LEGO enthusiasts• Create custom bricks and participate in the LDraw parts design process

It's Sorcerers Versus Thieves! Thieves, wizards, and lords plot and maneuver in Ziggur't, the City of Five Thrones. It's a difficult time: The war against the Kun lizardman goes poorly, and one of the five pentarchs who rule the city has been assassinated, leaving a power vacuum that could endanger the very city. Meanwhile, in the deepest and most miserable prison pit in the City of Tiers, Rivek the Pick, lockpicker and burglar, sits in chains, not realizing that he will soon become a pawn in the struggle going on in the shadows. On the other end of the city, Rafelda, a young sorceress destined for power, seeks to hunt down the Claw Cult that threatens the aristocracy. The Locksmith's Apprentice is an exciting and gritty adventure in the same vein as Michael Shea's Nifft the Lean, Fritz Leiber's Nehwon books, and Michael Moorcock's epic fantasies.

In “The Locksmith’s Apprentice” plucky thief Rivek the Pick was forced to join the Claw Cult, a cabal of assassins targeting the elite Stone Lords of Ziggur’t, the City of Tiers. On the run after the Cult’s defeat, the Pick is forced to infiltrate the Congress of Thieves, a gathering of his fellow rogues. The Congress takes place in a dilapidated temple, hiding in plain sight as the Tier of Oak is ransacked by the authorities. As the searchers press close, the Congress nears its conclusion: a revelation that could remake the City of Five Thrones—or even prove its destruction. As the Pick lurks in the shadows, spying on the Congress, he is faced with a critical decision—to reveal himself to the thieves and risk their wrath, or wait for his opportunity to get rich—and have revenge.

LEGO Digital Designer is amazing freeware that anyone can use to design practically anything, using practically any LEGO block ever created. Mastering LEGO Digital Designer (Unofficial Guide) is the complete, easy guide to using the newest versions of LEGO Digital perfect for everyone, of all ages, novices to experienced users alike. Best-selling author and leading LEGO/DIY expert John Baichtal reveals just how much LEGO Digital Designer can do, and teaches you how to make the most of it through a complete robot-building project that illustrate many of its most powerful tools and techniques. You'll get comfortable with LEGO Digital Designer's interface, and master its "Brick Palettes," the interface elements that store all brick shapes. Step by step, you'll move from basic techniques like inserting pegs to advanced topics like flexing elements and coloring parts. Baichtal shows how to build increasingly complex projects, publish and share them with others, and explore some of the best projects others have already created. Along the way, he helps you work around some of the software's limitations, and teaches you simple CAD concepts you can use with any design program -- even professional software like AutoCAD.

Hack 24 Incredible Hackerspace Projects from the DIY Movement-Pearson Education-john Baichtal-2014-EDN-1