Tag Archives: Meter

Handy LED Salt Meter Measures How Salty Your Food Is

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There’s a reason why restaurant food usually tastes a lot better than home-cooked food: the former is usually loaded with lots of salt!

Unless you’ve got super-sensitive taste buds, you won’t be able to tell just how much salt you’re cramming into your mouth because all you can process is how good the food tastes.

LED Salt meter

While it’s definitely yummy, it’s not doing your health any favors. To help you keep out for these sodium-laden foods, there’s the Handy Salt Meter. It’s a thermometer-style stick that you’re supposed to poke into your food to determine its salt content.

Powered by four small lithium batteries, the device’s LED display lights up to indicate the food’s level of saltiness, which ranges from safe and negligible to downright too-salty and dangerous. Due to its nature, the meter only works on warm, liquid food and not on solid or cold food.

The Handy Salt Meter is available for purchase from the Raremonoshop for $19.80(USD).

[via C|Net via Dvice]

Tokyoflash Kisai OTO Watch: A VU Meter on Your Wrist

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While everyone is going a bit nutty speculating about Apple’s potential iOS smartwatch, Japanese watchmakers are pumping out their own interesting watches. This one includes a sound sensor making it work like the bar graphs on a digital VU meter.

kisai oto watch 1

Based on a design concept by Sam Jerichow, the Tokyoflash Kisai OTO Watch allows you to read the time vertically across two centrally-located lines. The four digits on the left represent hours stacked on top of minutes, while the two digits on the right display the seconds.

kisai oto watch 2a

Above and below the numeric displays, you’ll find the bars, which actually move based on ambient sounds. The bar graphs can be switched off if it’s too distracting, or you can also just switch off the time and just show the VU meter.

kisai oto watch 3

The watch comes in blue, green, red or amber LCD versions, with matching color LED  illumination. Each one is then set into a sleek black anodized aluminum case. Power is provided by a built-in USB-rechargeable battery.

kisai oto watch 2

The Kisai OTO watch is available for an introductory price of $99(USD) through Thursday 2/14 at 4pm Japan time, after which time, the price will increase.

NaNoWriMo progress meter uses Arduino to fight writer’s block, may be its own distraction (video)

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NaNoWriMo progress meter uses Arduino to overcome writer's block, may be its own distraction video

We've all had that moment where we sit in front of the keyboard and have trouble just getting started. It can be an especially dire problem when the 30-day deadline of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) looms overhead, and that was enough for inventor Steve Hoefer to craft his own USB progress meter. The Arduino-based contraption advances a real-world dial or gauge as the word count reaches the NaNoWriMo servers, giving that extra incentive to meet a daily goal or hit the ultimate 50,000-word mark on time. Hoefer characterizes it as a simple project for those who know their way around an Arduino controller; the toughest part for them may just be constructing the box that keeps the meter presentable. Full instructions are available after the break, although we'd hurry to build the meter before November starts. It could all too easily be the source of the very procrastination we're trying to avoid.

Continue reading NaNoWriMo progress meter uses Arduino to fight writer's block, may be its own distraction (video)

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NaNoWriMo progress meter uses Arduino to fight writer's block, may be its own distraction (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 14:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nixie VU Meter: How Loud’s Your Sound?

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Looking for a cool and unusual gadget to add to your media room? This unique VU meter combines old-school Nixie tube technology with modern electronic circuitry to display sound levels in a dramatic way.

nixie vu meter

The Nixie VU meter users a pair of neon gas-filled bargraph tubes, connected to a special circuit that’s designed to display the sound levels on the long, narrow glass tubes. You can either connect the meter to your audio system by daisy-chaining its 1/8″ analog stereo jacks, or you can simply set it in your room and the built-in microphone will do the work for you – though I don’t think the microphone works in stereo. Here’s a video of the meter in action – accompanied by German narration – but it’s pretty self-explanatory even if you don’t speak the language.

The thing comes in kit form, and does require soldering skills and a multimeter to assemble it. The guy who makes it says it should take about an hour to build if you know your way around electronic kits. You can get your hands on the Nixie VU meter over on eBay for $159(USD).


Cultivate a Green Habit

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There is no doubt that visual representation has a greater impact than some random numbers. So if I can see how much extra power my sub-standard air conditioner is consuming in comparison to a graded one, I’m more inclined to get it changed or restrict its usage. Likewise with other appliances and gadgets. Eco,Pulse is a great visual tool that educates you on your power consumptions and energy wastages. The goal is to help you reduce your carbon footprint and build energy efficient home. Something we should all consider, given our depleting resources.

Eco-pulse works by visualizing the electromagnetic fields as pulses on its display and thus allows the discovery of power usage that would otherwise remain hidden to consumers. It is intuitive as it amplifies the electronic pulse of appliances like a stethoscope. When appliances are in standby mode, Eco-pulse also enables the detection of vampire power that is being wasted. The pulse reading appears in different colors and amplitudes to indicate the level of power usage or wastage. The user can record the data by pressing on the capture button located on its right side. Upon capturing all the necessary power consumption data, the user can detach the strap and plug Eco-pulse into a computer to transfer the data into the Eco-pulse software. Here, the Eco-pulse system helps the user to pinpoint the main sources of power usage and wastage and thus allows him to take remedial action easily.

Designers: Lim Wan Xuan & Tang Xueling Jane

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(Cultivate a Green Habit was originally posted on Yanko Design)

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