Author Archive

Ernest P. Checka, a 74-year old metal detector hobby enthusiast, knows the thrill of the hunt and the pleasure of returning long lost treasures to their rightful owners. Recently while seeking a cheerleader’s lost necklace, he stumbled across a buried gift ID bracelet that had been lost for 41-years. The owner nearly fainted when the bracelet was returned to him.

Other metal detector finds include a sterling silver gift bracelet lost just after WWII, a copper penny from the Civil War era, class rings, wedding bands, pendants, coins – the older the better, knickknacks, locks, and buttons. He hasn’t documented his collection, but estimates that he’s made hundreds of metal detector finds. Mr. Checka tracks down the owners of class rings and bracelets through yearbooks from the highschool or town library. He’s considered a walking lost-and-found within his community.

The Metal Detector Hobby

Metal detecting is a hobby enjoyed by all ages, suitable as an exciting adventure for the whole family, whether at the beach, the park, a picnic or on a camping trip. You can go detecting alone, with a mate, or join a club and add the fun of making new friends. Besides the thrill of the hunt, many find detecting to be relaxing – a stress free walk in the great outdoors.

Many Treasures are Less than a Gallon Away

With fuel prices continually high, many metal detector hobby enthusiasts are re-discovering treasures within just a few miles from their home or office. Kevin Hoagland of Minelab, a leading manufacturer of metal detectors, said that he found and recovered a number of valuable items very quickly within five miles of his home, at a location that looked like it used to be a park or meeting place. The most valuable was a man’s gold ring, valued at more than $600, and at least 90-years old. His metal detector finds from that one day in that one location amounted to $800, and cost him about $1 in fuel. It’s a safe bet that there are thousands of spots to go detecting in your hometown.

To learn more about the metal detector hobby, visit Minelab’s Introduction to Detecting.

Article Sources: Telegram.com and Minelab

Photo Credit: Treasure Hunter by Elsie_esq. on flickr

Interest in launching a homemade rocket can start at any age. What’s not to love about this hobby? Launching a homemade rocket is an adrenaline rush. As you watch the rocket rise several thousand feet, it feels like your own mini-NASA launch!

“It’s exciting … It keeps your mind real active.” says Rick VanVoorhis, an electronic forklift mechanic from Pflugerville, Texas, who sent his rocket “HyperGammaSpaces” 17,300 feet with a motor he designed and built himself.

Launching a homemade rocket can be simple or technical.

Advanced rocketry requires a high degree of planning. It’s one thing to launch the rocket, but another to recover it. Some electrical and mechanical engineering skills are required to begin, but real prowess in these areas develops over time with experience. Yet simple starter rockets are easy and fun, with no special skill sets necessary to build and launch.

Many enthusiasts participate in competitive rocketry events, one example being the CanSat rocket competition, recently held in Amarillo, TX, where each launch and recovery was required to meet specific criteria. Each rocket carried an electronic payload about the size of a soda can, which determined altitude and GPS positioning during its descent. It also recorded ground temperature after landing. Teams were awarded bonus points for including an onboard camera or for using solar power.

Rocketry is a fun activity enjoyed not only by advanced hobbyists and engineers, but also grade school students and families who love the thrill and challenge of building, launching and recovering rockets of their own. Whatever your age or skill level, this hobby proves that you can have fun with math and science.

Rocket kits are available at most hobby stores. Visit your local hobby retailer this summer to learn more about the exciting hobby of homemade rocket building.

It’s short, a bit corny, but you’ve got to admit that these dancing robots are fun to watch. Enjoy!

Those of us residing in the great white north don’t think much about kite flying this time of year. But that may change … did you know you can fly kites indoors?

Indoor kite-flying national champion Paul De Bakker, 31, of Wilmington, N.C., demonstrates his skill.

In fact, indoor kite flying is a competitive endeavor with competitions held regionally and nationally. At the Camas Indoor Kite Festival in Washington last month, 300 people filled the gymnasium to watch fliers dance and move to keep colorful, ultra-light, high-tech kites in the air.

With tugs and pulls and twirls, each kite’s moves are carefully choreographed to music. Competitors are judged on choreography, execution and entertainment value.

Learn more about indoor kite flying here.

Rhodri Armour designed Jollbot as part of his PhD thesis.

The Jollbot, created by Rhodri Armour, a PhD student from the University of Bath is the first robot that can jump over obstacles AND roll over smooth terrain. The robot, designed as part of his PhD thesis, has potential for space exploration or land survey work.

Shaped like a spherical cage, the Jollbot can roll in any direction. It’s flexible and small and jumps very much like a grasshopper. This YouTube video shows it in action:

Read the full article here: Researcher designs robot that jumps like a grasshopper

Learn more about robotics at Chibots.org