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This product has been discontinued.

Flying saucer music -- powered by the sun! With very few parts you can build a tiny solar-powered theremin enclosed in an mint tin (not included) such as our new MAKE Project Tin. So when the oil runs out, the ice caps melt, and civilization crumbles to dust, thanks to the Heliophone we will still have electronic music :-) By ClockworkRobot. Check out our build here.

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• Instructions here
  Schematic diagram is here
  
  Tools you need to make the kit:
  
• Mint tin (get a MAKE Project Tin here)
  
• Scissors
  
• Craft knife
  
• Small screwdriver
  
• Pliers or tweezers
  
• Soldering iron and solder
  
• Double-sided tape or duct tape or glue
  
  

What's a theremin? The theremin is one of the oldest electronic instruments, and the only kind known that you play without touching. You move your hands in the air around its antennas to control pitch and volume. With our solar theremin, you move your hands to cast more or less shadow on the solar panel instead. How the solar powered theremin operates: The device functions best on bright, sunny, cloudless days. Simply flip open the lid and let the light hit the solar panel, and the theremin will generate a high musical note. To play a tune, you can either cast a shadow over the panel with your hand (this allows you to play with an action very similar to the original theremin) or you can tilt and angle the theremin in relation to the sun to vary the note. With practice you can pick out notes very precisely, and in optimal weather the device will generate tones over several octaves, so it's possible to play real music on the thing, unlike some low-cost conventional theremin kits which can generate little more than squeaks and squawks.