5 Great Gifts for the DIY Gadget Enthusiast

The Bulbdial Clock show you the time in shadows.

With Thanksgiving creeping up on us this Thursday, we are officially entering holiday gift buying territory.  If you're wondering what to get the DIY enthusiast in your life, here are some great suggestions, all made or supported by local Bay Area companies:

TV-B-GONE: Probably one of the most fun kits to put together! Invented by local Bay Area maker, Mitch Altman, this allows you to turn off any TV within range. This kit takes less than an hour to build and provides endless entertainment! Kits are under $30 and can be purchased here.

Bulbdial Clock: Sunnyvale's Evil Mad Science has put together this kit which works just like an indoor sundial, but with three shadows of different colors to represent, seconds, hours and minutes. These kits start at $65 and go up depending on the components you'll want to include. Evil Mad Science has quite a few kits and projects that are accessible for beginners as well as more experienced electronics fans. Learn more about what they offer here.

Retro Scanner: Completely new to soldering and looking for an easy kit to get started with? Look no further than Applied Platonics' Retro Scanner. Developed by San Francisco maker, Josh Myer, this kit takes roughly an hour to put together, and comes with comprehensive instructions to guide you each step of the way. When complete, you'll have a cool set of blinking lights to show off. The Retro Scanner starts at $15. Check it out!

Monkeylectric LED Bike Lighting: If there's a cyclist in your life, this gift will delight. Designed by Monkey Lectric in Berkeley, their LED Bike kit will light up the spoke of your wheels in an array of pre-programmed designs and colors. These kits are plug and play, so there's no configuration on your part. Simply use the board's interface to select a design, affix it to your wheel and ride! These lights start at $65.

LED Menora, Christmas Tree and Yule Logs: Want to get into the spirit of the season? Holiday kits are all the rage and the Makershed sells them all!

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