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https://hackaday.com/2014/03/18/retrotechtacular-breaking-atoms-to-break-the-ice/ | Retrotechtacular: Breaking Atoms To Break The Ice | Mike Szczys | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Retrotechtacular"
] | [
"icebreaker",
"lenin",
"nuclear",
"ship",
"uranium"
] | This documentary from 1959 gives
a satisfyingly thorough look inside a nuclear powered icebreaking ship
called
Lenin
. This actually set a couple of world’s-firsts: it was the first nuclear powered surface vessel and the first civilian vessel to be powered thusly.
The ship was built to clear shipping paths to the northern ports of Russia. Testing of both ice and models of the ship design point to the ability to break ice layers that are two meters thick. This requires a lot of power as ice-breakers generally use their hull shape and gravity to break the ice by driving up onto it to bend the ice to the breaking point. The
Lenin
achieved this power using its nuclear reactor to heat steam which drove electric generators. The energy produced drove three screws to power the vessel.
Of course this was back in the day when control panels were
substantial
, which you can get a peek at starting half-way through the twenty-minute film. This includes a demonstration of the ship’s network of radiation sensors which alert the control room, and sound a local alarm when they are triggered. During it’s 30-year operational life the vessel had a couple of accidents stemming from refueling operations. You can find
more on that over at the Wikipedia page
, but stick with us after the jump to see the vintage reel.
[Thanks CNK via
EnglishRussia
(possibly NSFW)]
Retrotechtacular is a weekly column featuring hacks, technology, and kitsch from ages of yore. Help keep it fresh by
sending in your ideas for future installments
. | 20 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1278937",
"author": "Igor",
"timestamp": "2014-03-18T17:50:08",
"content": "“Errors are inadmissible, and therefore excluded!”. Gotta love Russian engineers…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1279037",
"author": "Greenau... | 1,760,376,269.569425 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/18/from-saw-dust-to-stove-fuel/ | From Saw Dust To Stove Fuel | James Hobson | [
"green hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"briquette press",
"wood briquette"
] | [Alois Schmid] is an avid woodworker, and as such, he makes
a lot
of saw dust. Unfortunately, saw dust is kind of wasteful — it doesn’t burn very well unless it is compressed… so he built his own
wood briquette press!
He originally looked at purchasing a machine designed for this, until he discovered they run upwards of 10,000 Euros. You could buy an amazing CNC mill for that! Needless to say, it was out of the question.
He started by purchasing a new more efficient dust extractor and an electric log splitter, and then he built an ingenious feeder system. He’s replaced the log splitter blade with a long metal dowel with a protrusion at the end (helps keeps the briquettes in one piece), which is slightly smaller than the compression tube he’s built.
The really cool part of this build is his home-made auger system. He’s cut out metal donuts from sheet metal and cut notches around the inside diameter — he then bent them into a semi-spiral, and welded a whole series of them onto a metal bar.
To prevent the wood chips from bridging over the auger, he’s also made wooden gears that simply follow the top of the auger — he’s really thought of everything! All in, the project cost a bit shy of 1000 Euros — still a pricey investment, but well worth it considering the amount of wood he goes through — and at 10% of the cost of a commercial offering, we think he’s done a pretty good job!
The project is definitely worth a read, and you should also check out his
drool-worthy workshop!
[Thanks Joe!] | 39 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1278543",
"author": "Dax",
"timestamp": "2014-03-18T15:18:05",
"content": "Compressing the wood takes a surprisingly large amount of energy. The barrel of briquets is worth about 200 kWh of energy when burned, or less depending on burner efficiency, so it takes nearly 10% of the ene... | 1,760,376,269.34314 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/18/listening-to-electromagnetic-interference-with-a-rtlsdr-dongle/ | Listening To Electromagnetic Interference With A RTLSDR Dongle | Mathieu Stephan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"hardware"
] | [
"emi",
"RTLSDR",
"tv tuner"
] | Being curious by nature, [Marios] decided to see
what kind of radio-frequency emissions may be generated by an Arduino connected to a simple breadboard wire
, and more importantly try to pick them up using a RTLSDR dongle. Electromagnetic interferences are disturbances that affect electrical circuits due to either
electromagnetic induction
or
electromagnetic radiation
. Before going into the market, all electrical devices are thoroughly checked for unwanted electromagnetic emissions so they usually aren’t obvious suspects when such problems arise.
Using the Arduino embedded
PWM
controller in fast PWM mode and by manipulating the duty cycle, he actually managed to create a primitive form of amplitude modulation and was able to transfer a very simple audible signal at several frequencies up to 1.75GHz. Embedded after the break here is video of the system at work.
As a side note, did you know that during the
solar storm of 1859
the EMI were so strong that the telegraph operators received several shocks? Pipelines maintenance systems also have to be aware of such events, that can lead sensors to provide inaccurate results.
[via
Dangerous Prototypes
] | 19 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1278067",
"author": "Angus",
"timestamp": "2014-03-18T11:38:36",
"content": "I experimented a bit with producing an AM radio signal using a microcontroller and a wire.http://amcinnes.info/2012/uc_am_xmit/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comme... | 1,760,376,270.095788 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/18/handheld-tetris-is-retro-and-we-love-it/ | Handheld Tetris Is Retro And We Love It | James Hobson | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"handheld tetris",
"neopixel",
"Neopixels",
"tetris"
] | [Eduardo Zola] has been playing around with Arduinos, and ever since he started, he wanted to try making a game. Having fond memories of playing Tetris back on Windows 3.1, he decided to
try giving a handheld version of it a shot.
He started with two 8×8 Neopixel Matrices due to their simplicity — not to mention the massive library of code available! To make it truly portable, he’s also included a 3.7v 4400mAh lithium ion battery which will keep him gaming for hours. He found a 5-way navigation switch on eBay which makes up the joystick. A small LED bar display tells you what level you’re on, and he’s even included a smaller speaker for music, and a vibrating motor for successfully completed lines in the game!
He borrowed the Tetris algorithm (and added some improvements) from the
source code
by [Valentin Ivanov], who completed a similar project last fall. Stick around to see a demonstration video of it in action.
We’re still pretty fond of this
Tetris playing LED necktie
though… | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1277615",
"author": "rue_mohr",
"timestamp": "2014-03-18T08:41:50",
"content": "sweet project! I love the case style, have to make that a mold for those when I build a vac former.But now I hate image stabalization AND autofocus…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies"... | 1,760,376,269.616252 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/17/cute-tilt-beam-flashlight-adds-some-fun-interaction-to-your-patio-table/ | Cute Tilt Beam Flashlight Adds Some Fun Interaction To Your Patio Table | James Hobson | [
"LED Hacks",
"Solar Hacks"
] | [
"tilt light"
] | Here’s a cute little LED hack for your next soiree, it’s a solar charged piece of wood… with
a motion controlled light in it!
[Zach DeBord] decided to try building his own version of this after seeing a commercial offering. He took a piece of oak and sliced off the top edge, and then laser cut the exact profile of the solar panel out of that slice. This allowed him to drill a nice big sloppy hole in the middle of it to fit the circuitry.
He’s using a nice big 8mm LED with a small 0.09V-5V DC boost circuit, a mercury tilt switch, a 4.5V solar cell, and a 2.7V 10MF super capacitor — plus a diode and 100ohm resistor. He’s glued the top slice of wood back in place, and sealed the entire thing with resin — you can hardly see the cut mark!
Leave the light with the solar panel facing up during the day, and when evening comes around, simply flip it on its edge to light up your table. And since it’s a super-capacitor, the circuit will likely last longer than you do. We’re not too sure how long the light lasts after a charge though.
Or if you really want to impress your guests, why not make a
solar powered remote controlled lawn mower? | 26 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "1277137",
"author": "oorspronklikhied",
"timestamp": "2014-03-18T05:51:37",
"content": "I have heard about huge 100F capacitors , but 10MF , dman…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1277427",
"author": "Greenaum",
... | 1,760,376,269.507586 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/17/mrrf-repables-the-nonprofit-3d-object-repository/ | MRRF: Repables, The Nonprofit 3D Object Repository | Brian Benchoff | [
"3d Printer hacks",
"News"
] | [
"Midwest RepRap Festival",
"MRRF",
"MRRF14",
"Object hosting",
"Repables",
"thingiverse"
] | There’s a problem with online repositories of 3D printable objects: The largest repo, Thingiverse, is generally looked down upon by the 3D printing community. Thingiverse, owned by Makerbot,
has seen protests
, and
calls for a an alternative repository
. A few people have stepped up to provide a better Thingiverse, but these alternatives are either connected to specific 3D printer manufacturers like Ultimaker’s
YouMagine
, or have done some shady things with open source licenses;
Defense Distributed’s DEFCAD
, for example.
Repables
, launched at the Midwest RepRap Festival this last weekend, hopes to change that. They are the only repository of printable objects and design files out there that’s backed by its own nonprofit LLC. It’s free for anyone to upload their parts and share, without the baggage that comes with an ‘official [company name] .STL repo’.
Just about everything can be hosted on Repables – .STL files for printable objects, .DXF files for laser cutter files, and even PCB files and Gerbers for circuit boards. Now, .STL files are able to be rendered in the browser, with support for viewing other formats coming soon.
It’s a really great idea that solves the problem of printer manufactures building their own hosting sites and the segmentation that ensues. It’s also headed up by a Hackaday alumnus, [
Gerrit Coetzee
]. We’re everywhere, it seems. | 40 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "1276637",
"author": "josiah0000gould",
"timestamp": "2014-03-18T02:24:59",
"content": "Great idea, but can’t download a thing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1276931",
"author": "Gerrit Coetzee",
"timestamp": ... | 1,760,376,269.743331 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/17/good-vibrations-giving-the-hc-sr04-a-brain-transplant/ | Good Vibrations: Giving The HC-SR04 A Brain Transplant | Adam Fabio | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"20thCentury",
"ultrasonic",
"ultrasonic distance sensor"
] | [Emil] got his hands on a dozen HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensors, but wasn’t too happy with their performance. Rather than give up,
he reverse engineered the sensor and built an improved version.
Hackers, Makers, and robotics enthusiasts have had easy access to standard sonar platforms since the early 1980’s, when Polaroid began selling their 6500 sonar modules. A number of companies have released sonar boards since then, notably
The Parallax Ping))) module
. The HC-SR04 appeared on the market a few years back as a low-cost alternative of the Ping.
[Emil] found that the HC-SR04 would work reliably on hard surfaces as far as 4 meters away from the sensor. However, he got a lot of bad data back when using soft sided targets, or when no target was present at all. [Emil] reverse engineered the schematic of the HC-SR04 and found some interesting design decisions. A Max232 RS-232 converter chip is used for its
+-12V
+-10V charge pumps. The charge pumps are connected to create
24V
20V at the ultrasonic transmitter. A mask programmed microcontroller manages the entire unit, commanding the ultrasonic transmitter to send 40Khz pulses, and listening for returns on the receive side of the system. [Emil] believes the micro is running in polled mode, due to the fact that it sometimes misses pulses. Even worse, the micro runs on an unmarked 27MHz crystal which had quite a bit of drift.
[Emil] solved these problems by creating his own PCB with an ATtiny24 and a 12MHz crystal. He increased the pin count from 4 to 6, allowing the ATtiny to be programmed in circuit, as well as opening the door to I2C and SPI operation. To build the boards up, [Emil] first solders his micro and crystal. He then uses a hot air gun to move all the components from the HC-SR04 board to his own. The new boards are still being tested, but [Emil] has posted his PCB and BOM data. He’s also promised to post his AVR code when it is available. | 23 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1276208",
"author": "tekkieneet",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T23:16:05",
"content": ">The charge pumps are connected to create 24VThe original author got it wrong. The MAX232 chip runs off 5V (minus a VCE drop), which then get boosted to 10V and inverted to -10V at no load. So at best... | 1,760,376,269.256268 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/17/mrrf-stuff-from-lulzbot/ | MRRF: Stuff From Lulzbot | Brian Benchoff | [
"3d Printer hacks",
"News"
] | [
"3d scanner",
"lulzbot",
"Ninjaflex"
] | A lot of the big names in 3D printers were at the Midwest RepRap festival showing off their wares, and one of the biggest was Lulzbot with their fabulous Taz 3 printer. This year, they were showing off a new filament, a new extruder, and tipping us off to a very cool project they’re working on.
The new products Lulzbot is carrying are
Ninjaflex filament
and
the extruder to go with it
. Ninjaflex is the stretchiest filament we’ve ever seen, with the feel of a slightly hard silicone rubber. Straight off the spool, the filament will stretch to a little less than twice its original length, and in solid, printed form its a hard yet squishy material that would be perfect for remote control tank treads, toys, and
3D printed resin molds
. With all the abuse the sample parts received over the weekend, we’re going to call Ninjaflex effectively indestructible, so long as you don’t try to pull the layers apart.
Also from Lulzbot is word on
the new 3D scanner they’re working on
. The hardware isn’t finalized yet, but the future device will use a webcam, laser, and turntable to scan an object and turn it directly into an .STL file. Yes, that means there won’t be any point clouds or messing about with Meshlab. Lulzperson [Aeva]
is working on the software
that subtracts an object from its background and turns it into voxels. The scanner will be low-cost and open source, meaning no matter what the volume of the scanner will be, someone will eventually build a person-sized 3D scanner with the same software.
Videos of [Aeva] below showing off the new stuff and talking about the scanner. | 8 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "1275895",
"author": "Aeva",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T20:44:32",
"content": "Also worth noting, the development of the scanner is also open to the public. I post updates to the project here on our forums:http://forum.lulzbot.com/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=589On that thread there are pictu... | 1,760,376,269.198656 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/17/hacking-sci-fi-contest-team-requirement/ | Hacking The Sci-Fi Contest Team Requirement | Mike Szczys | [
"contests"
] | [
"ai",
"artificial intelligence",
"eliza",
"sci-fi"
] | We saw that some readers were not entirely happy with the team requirement for our Sci-Fi contest,
which is running right now
. We figured that those who do not work well with others might commit a bit of fraud to get around the requirement. But we’re delighted that someone found a much more creative solution. Why not
enlist an AI to collaborate on your project
?
[Colabot] is a hacker profile over on
hackaday.io
which is driven by
ELIZA
, a computer program that achieves limited interaction through natural language. Supposedly you add [Colabot] to your project and as it questions. We asked one on the profile page and are still awaiting the response. We think this itself could be a qualifying entry for the Sci-Fi contest if someone can find the right thematic spin to put on it.
As far as contest entries go
there are only seven so far
. Since everyone who submits an entry gets a T-shirt, and there are 15 total prize packages, we encourage you to post your entry as soon as possible. We want to see teams from hackerspaces and we can cryptically tell you that good things come to teams who post their project with the “sci-fi-contest” tag early! | 7 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "1275496",
"author": "gregkennedy",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T18:22:45",
"content": "Twitch Plays Hackaday Sci-fi Contest?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1275574",
"author": "Mike Szczys",
"timestamp": "2014-03-... | 1,760,376,269.662839 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/17/radar-imaging-in-your-garage-synthetic-aperture-radar/ | Radar Imaging In Your Garage: Synthetic Aperture Radar | Gregory L. Charvat | [
"Featured",
"how-to",
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"coffee can",
"radar",
"sar",
"Synthetic aperture radar"
] | Learn why you were pulled over, quantify the stealthiness of your favorite model aircraft, or see what various household items look like at 10 GHz. In this post we will describe the basics of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging, beginning with a historical perspective, showing the state of the art, and describing what can be done in your garage laboratory. Lets image with microwaves!
The History of SAR
The H2S radom (antenna covering, above) and antenna (below).
Ground mapping (or imaging the ground terrain) using microwave radar was done routinely in the Second World War by the Royal Air Force for the purpose of navigation and bomb laying using the
H2S radar system
. The H2S used a large aperture rotating antenna in the belly of a bomber aircraft. This antenna would rotate in circles with its beam directed toward the ground. Range to target was plotted in a plan position indicator (PPI, or a radar screen as most would recognize it) showing what was below and around the aircraft.
The angular resolution of this radar set depends on the antenna aperture size (e.g. antenna size). The bigger the aperture the finer the angular resolution, just like the reflector on a flashlight provides a tighter light beam the larger it is (this is why spotlights shine tight beams well into the sky). A typical example of an H2S radar image is shown below recorded during s bombing raid over Berlin. In this image the river is clearly visible as well as other blob-like targets which are landmarks that a trained operator would recognize.
Radar ground image of Cologne during a bombing raid in the Second World War.
Earlier versions of the H2S were at S-band (3 GHz) and later higher resolution sets were at 10 and 24 GHz (for an interesting read on this technology,
Echos of War: The Story of H2S Radar
).
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a modern ground mapping technique where high resolution is achieved by a very large aperture that is synthesized over the flight path of an aircraft. This is done by recording reflected radar pulses at known locations along the flight path. The radar must accurately know the aircraft’s position and back-out perturbations in flight path so that all scattered pulses are aligned in time and phase. After this a SAR imaging algorithm is applied to the data to process an image.
An aircraft (or other moving vehicle) synthesizes an extremely large aperture by recording scattered radar pulses over the flight path and processing these pulses in a SAR imaging algorithm, thereby synthesizing a very large aperture which provides high angular resolution.
Developments in SAR Technology
This technique was first developed in 1957 using photographic film to record the radar data and an image processor made from lenses. Today digitizers and other data acquisition equipment can store data for offline processing or even process imagery in real-time.
State of art airborne SARs include the
MIT Lincoln Laboratory LIMIT system
(PDF), which operates at X-band (10 GHz) and is mounted on an old 707 aircraft for testing advanced SAR imaging concepts.
Another is the Sandia National Laboratory’s Ka Band SAR imaging system (
to see an amazing portfolio of airborne SAR imagery visit here
PDF), an example airborne SAR image from this system is shown below.
SAR imagery from the Sandia National Laboratory’s Ka band airborne SAR imaging system.
SAR imagery appears to be nearly photographic but it is not a photograph, it is a 2D hologram. Unlike a satellite image the radar is
not
measuring the target scene from above it is measuring from the side at a fairly significant distance. The resulting image is a birds-eye view with many shadows where each pixel is mapped directly to the aircraft’s flight path in range and cross-range.
Most recently, small and light weight airborne SAR imaging systems weighing only a few lbs have been developed for micro-UAVs, for example the
NanoSAR imaging system manufactured by IMSAR
.
Create your own SAR imaging system.
To SAR image in your garage, try making a rail SAR imaging system, where a UWB radar sensor moves down well controlled path on a linear rail.
Airborne SAR imaging is beyond the means of most hackers and hobbyists. The good news is that you can do it yourself with better resolution if you limit the scope of the problem and reduce maximum range, power, and the complexity of your radar sensor. To achieve this consider the rail SAR imaging system. In this, an ultrawideband (UWB) radar device is mounted on a long linear stage (typically 6′ to 8′ in length). The radar pulses once, moves, pulses again, each echo is recorded. This process repeats itself along the rail until a complete data set is acquired.
For the UWB radar sensor you can use one of the sensors
described in my previous post
that is either an impulse or an FMCW radar or create your own. For the linear rail stage you can use anything from a Genie garage door opener assembly (which contains a
lead screw inside of a long aluminum extrusion with a car that rides on the threads
) to one stage on a full-size CNC router table.
Make your own from junk parts
One example of a hacked-together rail SAR is the
‘backyard SAR’ imaging system
, where an X-band UWB FMCW radar front end was mounted to an 8′ long linear stage built from a Genie garage door opener, a cordless drill transmission, and a stepper motor following the block diagram shown. X-band microwave components were acquired at
hamfests
.
Block diagram of the ‘backyard SAR’ imaging system.
The ‘backyard SAR’ imaging system, deployed in my backyard.
To process data from a rail SAR like this follow the procedure outlined in the Range Migration Algorithm chapter from
Spotlight Synthetic Aperture Radar: Signal Processing Algorithms
, which follows these steps:
Cross range discrete Fourier transform (DFT).
Apply matched filter.
Perform Stolt interpolation.
2D IDFT into image domain.
When implemented correctly this will result in the imagery shown below, achieving approximately 1×1” resolution at X-band with approximately 5 GHz of chirp bandwidth.
Learn why you were pulled over, radar image of my 5.0 Mustang, apparently the headlights reflect the most microwave radiation!
Radar image of ‘GO STATE’ in thumbtacks.
Radar image of my Cannondale M300 mountain bike.
Radar image of a scale F14 model.
Build the coffee can radar kit
The MIT coffee can radar kit is capable of producing coarse SAR imagery.
To make SAR imaging accessible the MIT ‘coffee can’ radar course was developed, where you can SAR image with the coffee can radar. The goal of the SAR imaging experiment was to show students it is possible to differentiate in both rang and cross range when imaging some very large targets.
The coffee can radar does not produce the best imagery but it shows a concept to students. To acquire an image, it is placed on a linear track with a tape measurer for a position reference. This could be a length of 2×6” or a straight rail somewhere. The radar is manually moved in 2” increments where a toggle switch on the side mutes the synchronization signal output, showing the computer that the radar has moved.
Resulting in imagery comparable to that shown below.
SAR imaging with the MIT coffee can radar
SAR image of the Alexander Calder statue, La Grande Volie, 1968 (<a href="
http://www.ll.mit.edu/news/iapradarcourse.html"
;
)
SAR imagery of outdoor terrain using the MIT coffee can radar
Give it a try, but be sure to image a large target scene. The algorithm is already written and the procedure is straight forward (
scroll down to ‘Experiment 3: SAR imaging’
).
Many more examples of rail garage-made SAR imaging systems are shown here
.
Learning Curve
It is not trivial to design, build, and write a an imaging algorithm for your backyard rail SAR. Caveats to implementation and processing include having to scale to your wavelength range, the need for calibration to a point target (a large pole or similar), use of coherent background subtraction, and other processing techniques. But we can philosophize about these all day, the best way to learn is to try it yourself:
Learn by doing, build the
MIT Coffee Can Radar
and try the SAR imaging experiment.
For a quick-read technical background read Chapter 4 and for details on numerous practical examples Chapter 5 in the book
Small and Short-Range Radar Systems
(use promo code EEE24 for discount)
.
Process a SAR image right now.
Download data sets for X and S-band and their associated processing algorithms written in MATLAB
. With this you will learn how to apply calibration and coherent background subtraction.
Need help? Post your questions to the
Tin Can Radar Forum
.
With these resources, patience, perseverance, and coffee anyone can create a SAR imaging system in their garage.
Gregory L. Charvat, is author of
Small and Short-Range Radar systems
, co-founder of Butterfly Network Inc., visiting research scientist at the Camera Culture Group MIT Media Lab, and editor of the
Gregory L. Charvat Series on Practical Approaches to Electrical Engineering
. He was a technical staff member at MIT Lincoln Laboratory from September 2007 to November 2011, where his work on through-wall radar won best paper at the 2010 MSS Tri-Services Radar Symposium and is an MIT Office of the Provost 2011 research highlight. He has taught short radar courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where his
Build a Small Radar Sensor
course was the top-ranked MIT professional education course in 2011 and has become widely adopted by other universities, laboratories, and private organizations. He has developed numerous rail SAR imaging sensors, phased array radar systems, and impulse radar systems; holds several patents; and has developed many other radar sensors and radio and audio equipment. He earned a Ph.D in electrical engineering in 2007, MSEE in 2003, and BSEE in 2002 from Michigan State University, and is a senior member of the IEEE, where he served on the steering committee for the 2010 and 2013 IEEE International Symposium on Phased Array Systems and Technology and chaired the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society Boston Chapter from 2010-2011. | 48 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "1275276",
"author": "AntennaMan",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T17:08:11",
"content": "The grayscale image above does not look like a SAR picture, because of the shadows. Looks like a grayscale photo taken with a usual camera.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
... | 1,760,376,269.443213 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/16/diy-mini-drill-would-make-mad-max-proud/ | DIY Mini-Drill Would Make Mad Max Proud | Adam Fabio | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"drill",
"pcb drill",
"Printed Circuit Board"
] | That’s not a prison tattoo gun up there, it’s
[Szabolcs] DIY mini drill
. Hackaday has been on a bit of a DIY tool kick lately – with
improvised saws
,
grinders
, and
grinders converted to saws
, among other things. We haven’t had any DIY drills yet, though. [Szabolcs] needed a drill for his home-made printed circuit boards. Usually a Dremel or similar rotary tool is pressed into service for drilling PCBs. However, for some reason he didn’t have access to one. [Szabolcs] called upon his inner MacGyver and built a drill from parts he had on hand.
Every drill needs a chuck, or at least a collet holder. This drill’s chuck is sourced from a
drafting compass
. Long ago in the dark ages before CAD, mechanical drawings were manually drawn up. Companies employed entire drafting departments to draw designs, blueprints, and schematics. These draftsmen used the compass to create accurate circles and arcs. [Szabolcs] re-used the lead holder from the compass as a chuck for his drill. A 540 or 550 brushed sealed endbell can motor, common to the R/C cars spins the drill up. We originally thought [Szabolcs] used an Erector or Meccano set piece as a shaft coupling. The truth is it’s the internals of a Euro style terminal strip. A small tactile button is used to activate the motor. Some electrical tape wrapped around the motor holds the button in place. The tape also makes sure that the user isn’t cut by the sheet metal field ring wrapped around the can. Power for the system can come from just about anywhere, though [Szabolcs] says he uses the 12v rail of an old ATX power supply. | 27 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "1271585",
"author": "Florin Fecioru",
"timestamp": "2014-03-16T14:08:13",
"content": "Beautiful in it’s simplicity.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1271635",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2014-03-16T14:27:21",
... | 1,760,376,270.263214 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/16/mrrf-3d-printed-resin-molds/ | MRRF: 3D Printed Resin Molds | Brian Benchoff | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"MRRF",
"MRRF14",
"reprap",
"resin",
"resin casting"
] | Visiting the Midwest RepRap Festival, you will, of course, find a ton of 3D printed baubles and trinkets. A slightly more interesting find at this year’s MRRF was a lot of resin cast parts from [Mark VanDiepenbos]. He’s the guy
behind the RotoMAAK
, a spinny, ‘this was in the movie
Contact
‘-like device designed for spin casting with resins. At the festival, he’s showing off his latest project,
3D printed resin molds.
With the right mold, anyone with 2-part resins can replicate dozens of identical parts in an hour. The only problem is you need a mold to cast the parts. You could print a plastic part and make a silicone mold to cast your part. The much more clever solution would be to print the mold directly and fill it with resin.
[Mark] printed the two-part rabbit mold seen above out of ABS, filled it with urethane resin, and chucked it into his RotoMAAK spin casting machine. Six minutes later the part popped right out, and the mold was ready to make another rabbit.
Video below. | 26 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1271747",
"author": "Matt Stultz",
"timestamp": "2014-03-16T15:10:45",
"content": "That’s great and it’s nice to see a kit coming out. I made a rotocaster to demo at the 2012 Pittsburgh Mini Maker Faire and to use for the same purpose (small scale mass manufacturing from 3D printed ... | 1,760,376,270.15768 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/16/stuffing-an-rfid-card-into-a-finger-ring/ | Stuffing An RFID Card Into A Finger Ring | James Hobson | [
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"RFID card hack",
"RFID hack",
"RFID ring"
] | [Benjamin Blundell] loves wearable technology — but isn’t very happy with commercial offerings — at least not yet. He wanted to take one of his personal RFID cards, and fit it into a much smaller form factor, a
3D printed RFID ring.
The cool thing with most RFID cards today is they are made of a plastic that is quite easily dis-solvable in Acetone. Simply soak the card for about 30 minutes (depends on the card) and the plastic will simply peel away, revealing the microchip and copper antenna coil. It kind of
looks alive when it’s melting…
The problem is, the antenna coil is generally the size of the card — how exactly are you going to fit that into a ring? [Benjamin] managed to find some surrogate RFID key tags, with a much smaller antenna coil. A little bit of solder later and he was able to attach his RFID microchip onto the new antenna! He mentions it is possible to wind your own antenna… but to get the frequency just right might be a bit challenging.
With his working RFID circuit complete, he quickly designed a ring in Blender and sent it off to Shapeways to be printed. It all fit together, and works perfectly!
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a clever RFID transplant, [Becky Stern] transplanted a transit pass
into her cellphone
, and [Zach Charat]
did too!
What are you waiting for? | 16 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1271140",
"author": "harlequin",
"timestamp": "2014-03-16T11:36:14",
"content": "https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mclear/nfc-ringis shipping out now to backers and taking orders for non-backers. It has two NFC inlays; one for public use and one for private use (e.g opening your ... | 1,760,376,270.314359 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/16/a-3-axis-paper-cutting-mini-laser/ | A 3-Axis Paper Cutting Mini Laser | Nick Conn | [
"Laser Hacks"
] | [
"3 axis",
"arduino",
"axis",
"cdrom",
"cnc",
"laser",
"laser cutter",
"motor",
"stepper"
] | Laser are awesome, and so are projects that use lasers. A recent Instructable by [kokpat] gives an overview of how to create a fully functional
laser paper cutter
using CDROM stepper motors and an Arduino.
What is special about this build, is that it showcases how easy it can be to build a 3-axis mechanical system used for laser cutters, CNC machines, and 3D printers. Using a stepper stage that consist of a motor screw with a nut slider based carriage, the mechanical system can be put together quite easily and cost effectively. Luckily, from an electronics and software perspective, everything is quite standardized with the proliferation of the
RepRap
and similar machines. Simply pick any three stepper drivers, find the most pertinent firmware, and voilà! You’re done! Well, almost. Don’t forget a 100mW violet laser!
We have seen a
ton
of really
cool
laser
cutters
before, but this has to be one of the cheapest. See the laser cutter in action after the break.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLgZ5ES3KbU | 29 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1270569",
"author": "Shakipu",
"timestamp": "2014-03-16T08:24:24",
"content": "Don’t try this at home… Unless you’re wearing big safety goggles !",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1270829",
"author": "Rob",
"time... | 1,760,376,270.658793 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/15/a-different-kind-of-cnc-workpiece-clamp/ | A Different Kind Of CNC Workpiece Clamp | James Hobson | [
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"cnc clamp",
"cnc workpiece clamp",
"workholding"
] | [Mike Douglas] joined the world DIY CNC machining recently with a FireBall X90 CNC router. Instead of buying an expensive aluminum T-slot bed, he decided to try something
we haven’t seen before…
His local hardware store sells aluminum bar clamps designed for clamping wood together — the best part? Only $10 each. What he’s done is added the bar clamps along the two sides of his bed, by adding plywood braces attached to the outside frame of the machine. He is losing a few inches of his usable bed area, but the added convenience of a quick clamping system is well worth it.
With the clamps in place, all he has to do is add two wooden braces (the black bars in the image above) to hold his work piece in place. This wouldn’t work very well for cutting metal, but this CNC router isn’t designed for that anyway.
Too bad he didn’t finish it sooner — it would have been a great entry for our recent
Hackaday Hackerspace Henchmen CNC contest! | 16 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1271277",
"author": "Moser Labs",
"timestamp": "2014-03-16T12:17:36",
"content": "I was wondering why ya spanned the bed with the clamps, but now I see that is wood. It’s being compressed by the clamps on the sides, and clamping the material. I’m curious how “off plane?” it becomes... | 1,760,376,270.373335 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/15/easily-silkscreen-all-the-things/ | Easily Silkscreen All The Things | Kristina Panos | [
"how-to"
] | [
"milk crate towers",
"silkscreen",
"t-shirt"
] | Silkscreening isn’t as hard as it might seem. For instance, it’s easier than block printing because you don’t have to reverse the image. [Jimmy DiResta] shows how easy it is to
put a silkscreening setup together and print on wood, metal, and, of course, t-shirts
.
Once you decide on a design, print it out on an acetate sheet which can be run through a regular household printer. You can buy ready-made meshed frames or even entire kits, but [Jimmy] shows you how to build a simple frame and staple screen mesh to it. After sealing up the edges, mix up some photo emulsion, cover the mesh, and let it dry in a dark room.
When it’s dry, place your acetate on the screen and expose the emulsion using whatever light is available. [Jimmy] built a milk crate tower up to his fluorescent work light and exposed it for about four minutes. Now you’re almost ready to make your mark. Peel off the acetate and remove excess emulsion with a squirt bottle and compressed air. Dry the whole thing with a hair dryer and you’re done. Load up a squeegee with silkscreen ink and draw it from top to bottom with nice, even pressure, and you’ve got yourself a silkscreened thing. | 33 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "1269564",
"author": "Rich Grise",
"timestamp": "2014-03-16T02:13:23",
"content": "1. Can it do halftones?2. Where do you get this “Photo Emulsion?”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1270864",
"author": "pigpenguin",
... | 1,760,376,270.45035 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/15/temperature-controller-gets-open-source-firmware-upgrade/ | Temperature Controller Gets Open Source Firmware Upgrade | Adam Fabio | [
"Beer Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"beer",
"homebrew",
"STC-1000",
"temperature controller"
] | Beer lovers rejoice! [Mats] has reverse engineered a temperature controller and
written new open source firmware for it
. This effectively gives all us homebrewers a low cost, open source software driven controller. The STC-1000 is a cheap (under $20 USD) temperature controller mass-produced in the far east. The controllers do work, but have several limitations. The programming options are somewhat limited to basic set points for heat and cool. The controller also is only programmed for temperature display in Celsius, which is a bit of an annoyance for those of us who think in Fahrenheit. Under the hood, the STC-1000 utilizes a Microchip PIC16F1828 microcontroller. Unfortunately the PIC’s protection bits were set, so the original code would have been extremely difficult to extract. Not a problem, as [Mats] reverse engineered the hardware and wrote his own firmware. A 10k
NTC thermister
acts as the temperature probe. The probe is read by the PIC’s ADC. These probes are not very linear, so a look up table is used to convert from volts to degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit.
[Mats] new firmware allows for up to 6 profiles. Each profile has up to 10 set points and a time duration to hold each of the set points. Hysteresis and temperature offset values are also programmable via the front panel. PIC software is often written in C using Microchip’s MPLAB tool chain, and programmed with the PICkit 3 In Circuit Serial Programming (ICSP) tool. [Mats] decided to buck the system and wrote his C code using
Small Device C Compiler
. To keep things simple for homebrewers who may not have Microchip tools, [Mats] used an Arduino Uno for flashing duties. Thankfully the unholy matrimony of a PIC and an AVR has not yet caused a rift in time and space. The firmware is still very much in the beta stage, so if you want to help out,
join the discussion on the homebrew talk forum
. If you see [Mats] tell him we owe him a
Haduino
which he can use to almost open his beer.
[Thanks for the tip Parker!] | 26 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "1268716",
"author": "Avel",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T21:32:51",
"content": "http://www.amazon.com/Docooler-Temperature-Controller-Thermocouple-Fahrenheit/dp/B00F05UI8O/Already displays in Fahrenheit, has an adjustable range for temperature spread, also has a timer for refrigerator c... | 1,760,376,270.588149 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/17/nfc-ring-unlocks-your-phone/ | NFC Ring Unlocks Your Phone | Eric Evenchick | [
"Android Hacks",
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"android",
"NFC",
"ring",
"wearable",
"xposed"
] | This little ring packs the guts of an NFC keyfob, allowing [Joe] to unlock his phone with a touch of his finger.
The
NFC Ring
was inspired by a
Kickstarter project
for a similar device. [Joe] backed that project, but then decided to build his own version. He took apart an NFC keyfob and desoldered the coil used for communication and power. Next, he wrapped a new coil around a tube that was matched to his ring size. With this assembly completed, epoxy was used to cast the ring shape.
After cutting the ring to size, and quite a bit of polishing, [Joe] ended up with a geeky piece of jewelry that’s actually functional. To take care of NFC unlocking, he installed
NFC LockScreenOff
. It uses
Xposed
, so a rooted Android device is required.
We’ll have to wait to see how [Joe]’s homemade solution compares to his Kickstarter ring. Until then, you can watch a quick video of unlocking a phone with the ring after the break. | 31 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1274801",
"author": "0xfred",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T14:10:55",
"content": "Nicely done. I think I have some similar fobs lying around, I might have to try making one whilst waiting for my implantable NFC tag.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
... | 1,760,376,270.521493 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/17/mrrf-arm-based-cnc-controllers/ | MRRF: ARM-Based CNC Controllers | Brian Benchoff | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"arm",
"beaglebone",
"MRRF",
"MRRF14",
"reprap",
"smoothieboard"
] | 8-bit microcontrollers are the standard for RepRap electronics, but eventually something better must come along. There has been a great deal of progress with ARM-based solutions, and of course a few of these made a showing at the Midwest RepRap Festival.
First up is [Mark Cooper], creator of
Smoothieboard
, the ultimate RepRap and CNC controller. It’s an ARM Cortex-M3 microcontroller with Ethernet, SD card, and up to five stepper drivers. It
had a Kickstarter late last year
and has just finished shipping all the rewards to the backers.
In our video interview
, [Mark] goes over the functions of Smoothieboard and tells us about some upcoming projects: the upcoming Smoothiepanel will feature a graphic LCD, SD card, rotary encoder and buttons, all controlled over USB by the Smoothieboard.
Next up is [Charles] with
a whole bunch of CNC capes for the Beaglebone.
By far the most impressive board was a huge I/O expander, motor driver, and everything controller for a Beaglebone featuring – get this – three parallel port interfaces. This was a one-off board costing thousands of dollars, but [Charles] did show off a few smaller and more practical boards for Beaglebone CNC control.
Here’s a link to [Charles]’ capes
.
Videos below. | 23 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1274477",
"author": "predielis",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T11:25:00",
"content": "Love the CNC capes for BeagleBone, the best ARM board around. If it were not for the small problem that it has been months no distributor stocks it. Shipment is estimated in July, if you can trust them.... | 1,760,376,271.427856 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/17/hacking-rolling-code-keyfobs/ | Hacking Rolling Code Keyfobs | Eric Evenchick | [
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"gnu radio",
"keyfob",
"RTL-SDR",
"sdr"
] | Most keyfobs out there that open cars, garage doors, and gates use a rolling code for security. This works by transmitting a different key every time you press the button. If the keys line up, the signal is considered legitimate and the door opens.
[Spencer] took a look into
hacking rolling code keyfobs
using low cost software-defined radio equipment. There’s two pars of this attack. The first involves jamming the frequency the keyfob transmits on while recording using a RTL-SDR dongle. The jamming signal prevents the receiver from acknowledging the request, but it can be filtered out using
GNU Radio
to recover the key.
Since the receiver hasn’t seen this key yet, it will still be valid. By replaying the key, the receiver can be tricked. To pull off the replay, GNU Radio was used to demodulate the amplitude shift keying (ASK) signal used by the transmitter. This was played out of a computer sound card into a ASK transmitter module, which sent out a valid key. | 39 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "1274218",
"author": "gajop",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T08:51:07",
"content": "brb, FBI.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1274249",
"author": "sparkygsx",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T09:08:43",
"content": "this sounds like... | 1,760,376,271.005874 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/16/clever-use-of-pvc-to-make-a-standing-desk-at-work/ | Clever Use Of PVC To Make A Standing Desk At Work | James Hobson | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"ikea hacks"
] | [Daniel] and his coworker [Chris] were interested in the concept of standing desks — unfortunately, the company wasn’t about to buy them a new desk to test it out — so they decided to modify
the tables themselves!
The IKEA tables they are using have three adjustable legs — just not
that
adjustable for standing. The challenge was to modify these tables in such a way that it can easily be reversed — they didn’t want the facilities department to get mad at them! Originally they wanted to use steel legs for structural stability, but discovered they’d have to do quite a bit of modification to the steel tubing with tools they didn’t have. So they chose PVC instead.
[Chris] had remembered seeing a hack here on heating up PVC pipe to make it malleable — try as we might we weren’t able to find what he was referring to, but a quick search on YouTube brings up lots of tutorials on how to do it.
Using a heat gun, some clamps, and a crowbar, they were able to add a divot into the pipe to replicate the original IKEA legs.
Next all they needed was to bolt on a threaded PVC pipe fitting (the ankle of the desk?) to the feet, and put it all together. Match the spray paint color and they were done. A super easy, functional, and reversible hack to let them stand up all day!
And it only cost them $23.83. | 35 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "1273958",
"author": "schobi",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T06:48:17",
"content": "This is a clever use of cheap materials – I hope it is strong enough! Would you sill lean or sit on that table? The joints could be a weak spot now.For being “adjustable”: The adjustable tables in our offi... | 1,760,376,270.933546 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/16/hacking-window-blinds-to-interface-with-home-automation-system/ | Hacking Window Blinds To Interface With Home Automation System | James Hobson | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"automated blinds"
] | Home automation is great, but what happens when you start mixing different systems around the house together? Follow [Bithead’s] journey of
interfacing with his motorized blinds!
After having his original blinds fall apart many times, [Bithead] and his wife decided to invest in some new, motorized blinds — but [Bithead] wanted to add it to his home automation setup… Unfortunately, commercial offerings for that are very expensive, so [Bithead] knew he’d have to figure out how to interface with the system manually.
The problem is, companies don’t typically advertise the kind of in depth information us hackers would love to know about products, so [Bithead] started checking out store showrooms. Salespeople didn’t quite understand his focused attention on the control boxes!
After determining a specific brand
should
work for his purposes, he bit the bullet and purchased them — no turning back now! He was in luck however, as there was in fact a control interface that the sales people didn’t know about, and all he would have to do is route in his network control.
To do so, he made use of a leftover Arduino Fio from one of his other projects, a few 3V reed relays and an Xbee S6B to allow the Arduino to communicate over the house’s WiFi. He prepared the entire system before the blinds even arrived. He even managed to convince the installer from the company to help him do the modification before they installed the blinds!
Looking for more home automation info? Take a look at our plain and simple summary of what it is, and
how you can do it yourself! | 8 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1273492",
"author": "Grayda",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T03:25:19",
"content": "I saw a post not too long ago on the Ninja Blocks forum about using a 433mhz enabled blind control to do your bidding. Sure you needed a Ninja Block (or a Raspberry Pi with their 433mhz addon), but it seem... | 1,760,376,271.076872 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/16/hackaday-links-march-16-2014/ | Hackaday Links: March 16, 2014 | Mike Szczys | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"blimp",
"cassette tape",
"drill press",
"game console",
"masshack",
"polymorph"
] | Tape decks are fertile hacking ground. In this offering from [Erich] the
speed of the motor has been turned into a MIDI instrument
. Drive it faster and the pitch rises, slower and it falls. There are all kinds of other magnetic tape hacks around here,
this tape delay
is a classic.
[Dbever] needed a reason to use a big 7-segment display module. He opened up the drill press at his Hackerspace, Pumping Station One, and added a sensor which
shows the RPM of the drill on the display
. Hackaday was lucky enough to be invited for
a tour of the space
last fall.
There’s a lot of hype about 3D printing… and rightly so since it’s the radest; which is even better than being “the most rad”. But if you don’t have access to one that shouldn’t stop you. Here’s an example of
making robot parts using polymorph
instead of 3D printing (or laser cutting) them.
If you’re living in the east-coast metroplex and are unable to travel to Maker Faire Bay Area this Spring you can still get in on some live hacking.
Check out MassHack
which takes place the same May weekend but in Boston instead of San Fran.
Blimps; not as cool as quadcopters but orders of magnitude less likely to go down in flames (as it were). Draw some
inspiration for your own build from silent_runner
. The graceful travel of these lighter-than-air-craft make for an interesting camera platform. Here’s
a POV video inside of a church
, and some
shots from the ground while in the woods
. [Thanks Oliver]
We try not to pimp crowd-funding campaigns just for the sake of getting them to the goal. But we hope you’ll agree that
the Gamebuino we saw a few months back
makes a strong argument for backers.
Their Indiegogo
for the Arduino-compatible handheld gaming rig is over half-way there after just a couple of days. | 10 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1273109",
"author": "ChalkBored",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T00:57:06",
"content": "Raddest has two Ds.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1273146",
"author": "Caleb",
"timestamp": "2014-03-17T01:15:08",
"co... | 1,760,376,271.361879 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/16/developed-on-hackaday-security-and-arduino-compatibility/ | Developed On Hackaday: Security And Arduino Compatibility | Mathieu Stephan | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"hardware"
] | [
"arduino",
"developed on hackaday",
"mooltipass",
"password",
"security"
] | Some of our readers noticed that the Hackaday community open-source offline password keeper (aka
Mooltipass
) has two incompatible characteristics: being secure
and
Arduino compatible.
Why is that? Arduino compatibility implies including a way to change the device firmware and accessing the microcontroller’s pins to connect shields. Therefore, some ill-intentioned individuals may replace the original firmware with one that would log all user’s inputs and passwords, or in another case simply sniff the uC’s signals. The ‘hackers’ would then later come to extract the recorded data. Consequently, we needed a secure tamper-proof Mooltipass version and an Arduino-compatible one, while allowing the former to become the latter.
Olivier’s design, though completely closed, will have several thinner surfaces directly above the Arduino headers. As a compromise, we therefore thought of sending a bootloader-free assembled version to the people only interested in the password keeper functionality, while sending a non-assembled version (with a pre-burnt bootloader) to the tinkerers. The Arduino enthusiasts would just need to cut the plastic at the strategic places (and perhaps solder headers to save costs). The main advantage of doing so is that
the case would be the same for both versions
. The drawback is that each board would have a different firmware depending on who it is intended for.
What do our reader think? For more detailed updates on the Mooltipass current status, you can always join the
official Google group
. | 56 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "1272517",
"author": "Nickcasio",
"timestamp": "2014-03-16T20:24:15",
"content": "Seems like a good project, wouldn’t it make sense to use the same hardware and re write the code in C, show how Arduino is only a very small slice of prototyping and if you want something to resemble so... | 1,760,376,271.183501 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/14/midwest-reprap-festival-3d-printed-waffles/ | Midwest RepRap Festival: 3D Printed Waffles | Brian Benchoff | [
"cons",
"Featured"
] | [
"Midwest RepRap Festival",
"MRRF",
"MRRF14"
] | Hackaday is settling in with the action at the
Midwest RepRap Festival
in Goshen, Indiana. Already it’s turning out to be a great weekend; an hour after the doors opened at 6:00 pm on Friday, with a freight train blocking traffic for half the town, there were more than 100 people through the doors. I have since stopped counting.
As far as who’s here, Lulzbot, the guy behind the
Smoothieboard
, Ultimaker, [Josh] from
MakerJuice
, [Jo Prusa], [Nicholas Seward], creator of the RepRap Wally, Gus, and Simpson, and the folks from MakerHive and Maker’s Tool Works.
Everybody is having tons of fun and I’m currently giving away Hackaday T-shirts in return for a contribution to the beer fund. The real show starts Saturday morning with a waffle breakfast, talks from famous reprappers, and hours and hours of fun.
Pics of some cool stuff below,
here are two live streams
, videos of awesome stuff up tomorrow.
Custom waffles.
A vertical H-bot
This man was on the cover of Forbes magazine
Rules for the venue. No beer kegs *on the carpet*. | 5 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "1265928",
"author": "Jeremy Cook",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T02:05:21",
"content": "So I misread the Twitter post to as the “rap festival.” That being said, I’d love to see a combined Rap/RepRap festival.Possibly N*E*R*D could perform?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"r... | 1,760,376,271.652609 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/14/your-weekend-plans-hardware-freedom-day/ | Your Weekend Plans: Hardware Freedom Day | Mike Szczys | [
"News"
] | [
"open hardware"
] | Hardware Freedom Day
is tomorrow: Saturday, March 15th 2014. This is the third year for the event, which seeks to raise awareness about what Open Hardware is, and to encourage hackers and makers to share their own work with the world.
This is a concept that we believe in strongly here at Hackaday. There are a multitude of reasons to support open hardware. We usually look at it from two angles: education and user freedom. If the design for your projects are available, others can learn from your successes and produce even cooler things that in turn should be made open. At the same time, if you have a device that’s nearly-awesome, a skilled hacker will have a much easier time getting it there if the original design can be used as a reference.
If you want to see what’s going on near you there are
events on every continent
(except Antarctica… lame!). If continental adjacency isn’t close enough consider pulling together an adhoc event, or just going through that project you finished last year and publishing the files for others to use. | 2 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "1266202",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T03:51:56",
"content": "Nothing in Antarctica!? F**king penguins! (And you’ed think the little bastards would be all into open source!)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "126... | 1,760,376,271.540731 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/14/dagu-the-standalone-cnc-controller/ | DAGU: The Standalone CNC Controller | Brian Benchoff | [
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"cnc",
"CNC controller",
"CNC router",
"DAGU"
] | In terms of user interfaces, 3D printers are far, far beyond the usual CNC machine. It’s difficult to find a new, commercial 3D printer without some sort of display, set of buttons, and an SD card slot for loading G Code and running a printer. For CNC routers, though, you’re usually dealing with a parallel port interface connected to an old computer.
DAGU hopes to change that
by providing a huge 240×128 LCD display, a bunch of buttons, and an SD card slot for loading G Code directly from an SD card. This is a fully functional controller, able to deliver 3.5 A to each stepper motor winding.
Right now DAGU is in the prototype stage, but already there are some really interesting features: the interface allows for a basic preview of the job before it begins, and should be somewhat affordable. At least as cheap as using an old computer for CNC control, anyway.
Video demo of the use and operation of DAGU below. | 29 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "1264167",
"author": "JRDM",
"timestamp": "2014-03-14T20:17:33",
"content": "For CNC routers, I think the computer is intended to be the user interface. I like the idea of running “headless”, but most 3D printers with a screen just have character LCD panels. Some have a graphical pan... | 1,760,376,271.499735 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/14/open-source-sentry-gun-plans-promise-the-next-level-of-office-warfare/ | Open-Source Sentry Gun Plans Promise The Next Level Of Office Warfare | James Hobson | [
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"nerf hacks",
"nerf sentry gun",
"project sentry gun",
"sentry gun"
] | We admit it, we were browsing Reddit when we found this beautifully hacked together
Nerf Sentry turret.
But are we ever glad we did — as it turns out, it is very similar to the totally awesome, open-source
Project Sentry Gun.
We have actually covered a
project that used that system before
, but it looks like it has evolved a bit more since then. It’s just too cool not to share.
The system itself is quite simple and easy to build. You’re going to need three servo motors, an Arduino, a webcam, and assorted wires, nuts and bolts, etc etc. Grab a
copy of the code
, slap it all together, and you’re ready for business!
Just take a look at the following video of the Gladiator II Paintball Sentry Gun — we know you’re going to want to build one now.
Though we must say… this
double barreled version
(not based off of Project Sentry Gun) is a bit more intimidating.
[via
Reddit
] | 18 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1263633",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2014-03-14T17:18:41",
"content": "Oops! the first link is to the code, not the web page…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1438593",
"author": "Fenton",
"timestamp": "2014... | 1,760,376,271.597218 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/14/old-inkjet-turned-into-an-svg-plotter/ | Old Inkjet Turned Into An SVG Plotter | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"plotter",
"printer"
] | What do you do when you have an old printer, a portable CD player, and a handful of other electronics sitting around?
Turn it into a plotter
, of course.
The frame of the plotter was taken from a ye olde Epson printer, reusing the two stepper motors to move the paper along its length and width. The pen is attached to the laser head of a junked portable CD player. With this, it’s just three stepper motors that allow the Arduino control system to move the pen across the paper and put a few markings down.
The motors on the printer are, in the spirit of reuse, still connected to the printer’s driver board, with a few leads going directly from the Arduino to the parallel port interface. The motor in the CD player is another ordeal, with a single H-bridge controlling the lifting of the pen.
On the software side of things, a Processing sketch reads an SVG file and generates a list of coordinates along a path. The precision of the coordinates is set as a variable, but from the video of the plotter below, this plotter has at least as much resolution as the tip of the pen. | 15 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1263205",
"author": "shlonkin",
"timestamp": "2014-03-14T14:34:56",
"content": "(I made this) It’s interesting that you chose to feature this version of the plotter rather than the pcb mill version which is on hackaday projects. I even gave you guys a nice picture of your logo made ... | 1,760,376,271.70917 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/14/foldscope-promises-microscopes-for-everyone/ | Foldscope Promises Microscopes For Everyone! | James Hobson | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"foldscope",
"pocket microscope"
] | The folks over at PrakashLab at Standford University have come up with an amazingly simple microscope design called the
Foldscope
, which could make microscopes feasible in even the most remote areas.
The Foldscope is an optical microscope that can be made out of paper and printed components, much like a piece of origami. It can magnify up to 2,000X, costs less than a dollar to manufacture, and can provide a sub-micron resolution of 800nm. It requires no external power, fits in a pocket, and could survive being dropped off the top of a 3 story building!
It takes advantage of new technologies that make it possible to print micro-optics, micro-electronics, micro-flexures, and even micro-fluidics. Just take a look at the following bill of materials and diagram explaining the mechanism.
The team is
looking for 10,000 beta testers
, and all you have to do is sign up and then with your Foldscope, develop a single page science experiment or protocol — the goal? To write an open-source, question-driven, biology and microscopy lab manual! Now that is cool.
[Thanks Karl!] | 70 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "1262715",
"author": "Eirinn",
"timestamp": "2014-03-14T11:23:58",
"content": "Oooh….i wouldn’t mind having one of those :3",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1262786",
"author": "chris",
"timestamp": "2014-03-14T11:58:06",
... | 1,760,376,271.830886 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/14/panning-gopro-mount-catches-bad-drivers-on-video/ | Panning GoPro Mount Catches Bad Drivers On Video | Adam Fabio | [
"Transportation Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"DashCam",
"GoPro",
"Pan Mount"
] | [Chris] must live in a neighborhood with a lot of bad drivers. He built this
motorized panning GoPro mount
so he can record and share his neighbors’ mobile misadventures with the world. He started with a custom machined aluminum frame. The frame clips onto a suction cup mount grab bar. The stock GoPro mount sits on a machined HDPE puck, which is rotated by a NEMA 11 stepper motor. [Chris] used a
Pololu A4988
stepper motor driver to handle the coils. Initially he used an Arduino to generate pulses for the stepper driver. A true Hackaday fan though, he decided that an Arduino was overkill, and broke out a
555 timer
. A DPDT switch powers up the 555 and controls the stepper driver’s direction input. The electronics all fit neatly in a small project box which doubles as a hand controller.
While setting up for a test drive [Chris] found that he could only lock down one suction cup on his car’s curved sunroof. Considering the light weight of the GoPro, one suction cup is probably enough. Just to be safe, [Chris] added a rope leash down through the sunroof.
We think the stepper motor was a good choice for this project
. Since the motor is direct drive, there are no gears to strip. The
stepper’s
holding torque also keeps the camera pointed in the right direction at highway speeds. With no wires directly connecting the
GoPro
to the car, [Chris] can spin the camera 360 degrees without worrying about tangles. Verifying the camera’s direction is just a matter of looking up through the car’s sunroof. Click past the break to see [Chris’s] camera mount in action. | 23 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "1262462",
"author": "Ian",
"timestamp": "2014-03-14T09:12:15",
"content": "He might be better served by a magnetic aerial mount.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1262511",
"author": "StinkySteve",
"timestamp": "2014-03-14... | 1,760,376,271.963789 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/15/mrrf-corexz/ | MRRF: CoreXZ | Rich Bremer | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"Midwest RepRap Festival",
"MRRF",
"MRRF14"
] | It is mid-day Saturday and the Midwest RepRap Festival is in full swing. Saying that there is a lot of 3D printers here is an extreme understatement. There must be at least 100. Out of all these, there are a couple that stand out from the rest due to their non-standard geometry. These are both creations of [Nicholas Seward], called the
Wally
and
Simpson
.
Both of these printers were designed to not use linear rails or bearings and be as reprap-able as possible. For example, the Simpson’s only non-printed custom parts are the two wooden base plates and the print bed. The rest of the parts are general hardware and standard 3D printer electronics.
[Nicholas] is showing off something new this weekend (less than 2 weeks new, actually). It is a new printer, currently code named CoreXZ. Unlike his previous designs, the CoreXZ does use linear rails and bearings. The frame is laser cut and is held together with zip ties. This new design uses an h-bot style setup for movements in the X and Z axes. The Y axis is a standard moving bed design with linear rails and bearings.
All axes are cord driven. Notice the cord pulleys, they are composed of two skate bearings. The radiused edges of the bearings provide a perfect groove for the cord to ride in. Like on the Wally and Simpson, the drive cords are tightened using guitar tuners and wrapped around drums that are powered by stepper motors.
[Nicholas] is still tweaking the design and plans to release the source files to the community soon via his
GitHub page
. We are looking forward to seeing more of this printer in the future. | 13 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1268807",
"author": "Bubba Gump",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T21:58:28",
"content": "I was there today and saw both the simpson and wally. I CANT WAIT!!!Kudos to hackaday, it was a great event! See you next year!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,376,272.162316 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/15/remembering-the-future-scifi-novel-tech-seen-at-sxsw/ | Remembering The Future – SciFi Novel Tech Seen At SXSW | Aleksandar Bradic | [
"Featured",
"Virtual Reality"
] | [] | Remember the days when the future was console cowboys running around cyberspace trying to fry each other’s brains out? MIT Media Lab remembers too. They have a class called
MAS S65: Science Fiction to Science Fabrication
in which students are trying to create hardware inspired by technology imagined in the works of legendary Speculative Fiction writers such as William Gibson, Neal Stephenson and many others. They happened to be at SXSW this year showing off some of the projects their students have been working on. Since
we were around
, we thought we should pay them a little visit. Fifteen minutes later it was clear why working at Media Lab is a dream for so many hackers/makers out there.
Jon Ferguson
from Media Lab showed us a prototype of a game called
Case and Molly
, inspired by scenes in
Neuromancer
in which Case helps Molly navigate, by observing the world through vision-enhancing lenses sealed in her eye sockets. OK, they haven’t really build surgically-attached internet-connected lenses (yet.. we’re certain
[Ben Krasnow] is working on it
), but they have built a very cool snap-on 3D vision mechanism that attaches to the built-in iPhone camera. Add a little bit of live video streaming, a person with Oculus Rift and a game controller and you can party like it’s 1984.
Another interesting project is called “Mandala : I am building E14” and it uses data collected from a sensor network in MIT E14 in order to provide a view of the universe from the standpoint of a single building. It tries to address the old “what if buildings could talk?” question by visualizing the paths of people walking around the building and providing an overall sense of activity in different areas. It is also a pretty good demonstration of all the creepy things that are yet to be built using all the ‘connected devices’ coming our way.
It gets better. The
Sensory Fiction
project is a special book that comes with a vest which enhances the reader’s experience by providing stimulation that causes the reader to experience the same kind of physiological emotions as the characters in the book. The wearable that you have to put on supports a whole bunch of outputs: light, sound, temperature, pressure and vibration that can influence your heart rate. It is very easy to imagine so many potential ‘creative’ abuses of such a device.
Another Neuromancer-inspired piece, called LIMBO (Limbs In Motion By Others) allows synchronization of hand gestures between multiple ‘users’ over a network using a special electric muscle stimulation rig. The result is a sort of ‘meat puppet’ – one person’s hand being forced to match movement of the other. Devious ideas aside, it has great potential in helping paraplegic control their muscle movement using eye tracking.
Finally, a more cheerful project called
BubbleSynth
demonstrates an open computer vision/sound synthesis platform using physical processes as input to granular synthesis. The current installation is based on a bubble generating machine and motion tracking as a trigger for a modular synthesizer resulting in beautiful ambient sounds. The audio part of the platform is based on
SuperCollider
and is completely customizable. The next iteration of the project will be using movement of a species of bacteria in order to generate the music. Why struggle learning how to play an instrument? We’ll get bacteria do all the work.
Feel like building something similar? Hackaday’s current
Sci-Fi contest
is a perfect excuse. Need inspiration? Check out the
syllabus
for the MIT SciFi2SciFab class! | 6 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1268852",
"author": "Protolamer",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T22:16:03",
"content": "Man, I see a $200+ professional noise-cancelling recorder and yet I can’t hear a thing of what they’re saying. How is that even possible?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
... | 1,760,376,272.284205 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/15/e-nableing-shea-to-build-a-prosthetic-hand-for-herself/ | E-Nable(ing) Shea To Build A Prosthetic Hand For Herself! | James Hobson | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"e-nable",
"prosthetic",
"prosthetics"
] | Here’s a heartwarming story for the day. Introducing [Shea], a little 9-year-old girl with a
prosthetic hand made possible from a community of internet strangers!
She was born with only the palm of her right hand and a two-digit thumb — no fingers. Despite this day and age, prosthetics aren’t generally that good, or affordable — especially for a quickly growing young girl. So when [Shea] asked for a new hand from Santa before Christmas, her mom, [Ranee], started doing some research online. She had seen 3D printed prosthetics through Facebook posts and managed to track down the
E-Nable group
, which is a community of maker’s dedicated to lending a hand — quite literally.
The group got her in touch with [Nick Parker], a high school student and robotics enthusiast from California eager to help, who then introduced her (online) to his local Makerspace — from there they connected with the
Milwaukee Makerspace
(closer to home), and [Frankie Flood], an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
[Flood] started work immediately, although he wasn’t quite ready for the three-day deadline little [Shea] had given just days before Christmas. He took a few of the designs already available online including the original
Robohand
, the
Talon Hand
, and the
Cyborg Beast
and started tinkering.
By
creating parts for the hands
in all of [Shea’s] favorite colors, he further refined the design, becoming more and more familiar with its function. In February, [Shea] and her family visited UWM to try out the first prototype. Within seconds of putting it on, [Shea] was already excitedly picking things up! The hand works by using wrist movement to open and close the hand — it’s relatively limited for now, but compared to not having fingers, it was an amazing new experience for [Shea].
As [Flood] puts it:
It made my year to see her pick something up with her new hand, it had to be one of the coolest feelings I’ve ever experienced.
They will continue working on refining and redesigning the hand with her, which will also be made available online for all, aptly called “Shea’s Hand”. Doesn’t this just make you want to get out there and help someone, like her?
More information about E-Nable and the project “Shea’s Hand” can be found
on their blog. | 34 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "1267428",
"author": "Jeremy Cook",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T14:37:37",
"content": "“asked for a new hand from Santa before Christmas” – wow. Glad she got a better prosthetic.That’s got to be a big challenge to get the proper prosthetic for someone in this situation. Definitely not... | 1,760,376,272.367437 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/15/the-beginnings-of-an-lcr-meter/ | The Beginnings Of An LCR Meter | Nick Conn | [
"Parts"
] | [
"capacitance",
"capacitor",
"impedance",
"inductance",
"inductor",
"LCR meter",
"measure",
"oscilloscope",
"Reactance"
] | The inductor is an often forgotten passive electrical elements used to design analog circuitry. [Charles’s] latest proof of concept demonstrates how to
measure inductance
with an oscilloscope, with the hopes of making a PIC based LCR meter.
It is not that often one needs to measure inductance, but inductors are used in switching regulators, motor circuits,
wireless
designs, analog audio circuitry, and many
other
types of
projects
. The principles of measuring inductance can be used to test
inductors
that you have made yourself, and you can even use this knowledge to measure capacitance.
[Charles] originally saw a great
guide on how to measure impedance
by [Alan], and decided to run with the idea. Why spend over $200 on an LCR meter when you can just build one? That’s the spirit! Be sure to watch [Alan’s] and [Charles’s] videos after the break. What kind of test equipment have you built in order to save money?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74fz9iwZ_sM | 12 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1267134",
"author": "Recessionista",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T11:35:47",
"content": "Yay, I’m comment No.1 ! :)Greetings from Ireland!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1267140",
"author": "Per Jensen",
"timestamp": "2014-... | 1,760,376,272.677828 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/15/an-at-atx-a-different-kind-of-power-supply/ | An AT-ATX: A Different Kind Of Power Supply | James Hobson | [
"Tool Hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"AT-AT",
"atx power supply",
"power supply",
"star wars"
] | [Jedii72] needed a power supply. A quick search online revealed many instructions for building one out of an old ATX power supply, but — he didn’t want just
any
kind of power supply — he wanted to
build an AT-ATX.
He started with a vintage AT-AT toy from the 80’s, and then began cutting it into pieces.
Hold for gasps of disbelief.
Don’t worry though — it was in poor condition to start with, so it was never really considered a collectible. After cleaning over 30 years of grime and dirt off the toy, he gave it a fresh coat of jet black paint — not exactly canon, but it does look pretty awesome. You know, it would make a pretty awesome
Sci-Fi contest
entry, don’t you agree?
He removed the original metal case of the ATX power supply, and slid it into the new hole he made for it in the AT-AT — a perfect fit! In addition to the power supply, he’s added a digital voltmeter and a USB hub for all his charging needs. A pair of blue LEDs finish off the build nicely, but our favorite part has to be his retractable alligator clip power leads — something a lot of power supplies could benefit from!
For a more conventional(?) looking ATX power supply, take a look at
this beautiful wood enclosed design! | 8 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1266865",
"author": "Joee",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T09:16:08",
"content": "Man that is a creepy looking work station",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1266915",
"author": "ajopg",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T09:43:... | 1,760,376,272.210327 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/14/measuring-poop-for-a-better-sanitation-service/ | Measuring Poop For A Better Sanitation Service | James Hobson | [
"Lifehacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"toilet hack"
] | Hacking can make a huge difference in peoples’ lives. So when the Nottingham Hackerspace was
challenged with optimizing Ugandan Toilets
, they hopped on-board.
Back in January of this year [Nicola Greene] approached the hackerspace with this real-life design problem. She represents
Water for People
, with support from a UK-based
Engineers Without Borders
organization. Water for People is involved with improving access to sanitation in Uganda and many other third world countries — to make sure everyone has access to a safe and usable toilet. The cool thing with Water for People is they don’t just want to build an infrastructure for the people and run away, they want to bring together local entrepreneurs and the community to establish a system that will actually last.
So, what is the problem anyway? Well, since Uganda doesn’t have quite the same network of sanitation businesses as we might, it’s important for the new infrastructure to know a few things — in particular, how much do we poop?
This question was summarized into a basic goal for the
Nottingham Hackerspace
:
To develop a low-cost (<$200) monitoring device to give an approximation of what volume of liquids — and in an ideal world, solids, is entering the latrine.
Before you click through, think about how you would solve this?
The system must be robust, excrement proof, operate without mains electricity, easy to make, and capable of dropping a
log
of data into a memory stick.
The team split off into three groups — one to develop an IR based sensor, one to develop a temperature sensor, and one to make a toilet (and some fake poop!). After an afternoon of hacking, the members regrouped to test their ideas. Both solutions ended up working!
Two members, [Matt] and [James], are continuing development of this project for initial testing in the UK, and later this year, in Uganda! If proven successful, it will go on to become part of an integral world-wide study of monitoring pit latrines by Water for People.
Well over 300 words… we sure can spend a lot of time on toilets. | 17 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "1266392",
"author": "UNO_Bambi",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T05:37:12",
"content": "Measuring Poop for “Sustainable Development”?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1266469",
"author": "ajopg",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T06:15:0... | 1,760,376,272.435389 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/14/cordwood-puzzle-kit-without-instructions/ | Cordwood Puzzle Kit Without Instructions | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware"
] | [
"cordwood",
"cordwood construction",
"kit",
"pcb"
] | What you see above is a cordwood circuit, an interesting circuit construction technique from before the days of integrated circuits. The circuit consists of two circuit boards arranged parallel to each other with components holding them apart. This was, for its day, the densest circuit construction technique, used in everything from late 50s aerospace tech to huge computers that filled rooms.
The folks over at Boldport have a love for interesting PCBs and are apparently aficionados of antiquated tech, leading them to
create their own cordwood circuit
. Here’s the best part: it’s a kit,
without assembly instructions.
The cordwood puzzle assembles into a bunch of LEDs that will light up when power is applied. Not much, but there’s a few FETs in there that allow you to control them all individually with a microcontroller. The real fun is trying to assemble the kit: both sides of the cordwood circuit are identical, meaning there’s going to be holes that aren’t meant to be filled, components that will need to be soldered, and most likely a bit of swearing.
Still, this is an exceptionally small circuit for something using this construction technique. If you know of a denser and more modern cordwood circuit out there, leave a note in the comments. If you want to know what the kit looks like when it’s built,
[Phil Wright] has your back
. | 24 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "1266000",
"author": "DainBramage1991",
"timestamp": "2014-03-15T02:30:32",
"content": "I haven’t run across a cordwood circuit in a long time, but I do remember seeing some in my younger days.I might just have to come up with a circuit to build cordwood style, just to explore the te... | 1,760,376,272.734357 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/13/the-ripper-a-different-kind-of-cnc-machine/ | The Ripper: A Different Kind Of CNC Machine | James Hobson | [
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"CNC router",
"the ripper"
] | Here’s an awesome CNC build that crosses a standard CNC router… with a CNC machine capable of milling metal with ease. Introducing
The Ripper
. No, not Jack.
[Maximilan Mali] has been reading Hack a Day since he was a kid. A few years ago, he saw a guide on a DIY CNC build which inspired him to start designing The Ripper at the young age of 16. He’s 19 now (studying mechatronics in Austria), and raised enough money last summer to finally build his first prototype. It cost approximately 4000€ to build, which is pennies compared to a commercial machine of this caliber.
The machine has a bed size of just over a meter squared, with a Z height of 225mm. It’s also rigid enough to slice through aluminum at 850mm/s with ease! Take a look at the following video — we’re very impressed. Our favorite part is when he shows off its accuracy and repeatability by plunging a tool towards the screen of his very own iPhone.
The best part? He’s documented the whole process in a very detailed
build log
.
He’s also planning on making the 3D CAD model available for a marginal fee. | 45 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "1262008",
"author": "moto233racer",
"timestamp": "2014-03-14T05:35:01",
"content": "850mm/min not 850mm/s… If he built a CNC machine that could accurately & precisely mill aluminum at 850mm/s, he would be worth 1 million dollars… err…100…billion… dollars… At any rate, AWESOME build!... | 1,760,376,272.621922 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/13/billboard-advertises-engineering-school-manufactures-potable-water/ | Billboard Advertises Engineering School, Manufactures Potable Water | Kristina Panos | [
"chemistry hacks",
"Lifehacks"
] | [
"OVER 9000",
"reverse osmosis",
"UTEC",
"waterboard"
] | It’s a remarkable thing when ad agencies manage to help people in the course of advertising. The University of Technology and Engineering Peru (UTEC) was looking for ways to increase enrollment. They went to the Peruvian offices of agency DraftFCB and came away with the idea to install
a billboard that converts Lima’s water-saturated coastal desert air into potable water
.
Perhaps the only downside is that it requires electricity, and not just for those cool neon water drops. There are five generators that capture the humidity and use reverse osmosis to purify the water. Each of these units has a tank that holds 20L. From there, the clean water is aggregated in a main tank and can be collected from a faucet at the base of the billboard. In just three months, the billboard produced over 9,000L (2500 gallons) of potable water for people who would otherwise draw polluted water from wells.
We love to see hacks that help. Use your powers for good, like re-purposing humid air and
pollution
. Make the jump to see a short video and an artist’s conception of the billboard’s innards.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWwii1dX4v8
[Thanks Mike]
[Image source:
TIME
] | 24 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1261728",
"author": "gajpo",
"timestamp": "2014-03-14T03:32:30",
"content": "Drinking water filtered by reverse osmosis is just as bad as drinking a distilled water.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1261785",
"author": ... | 1,760,376,272.807862 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/13/hackaday-68k-gluing-architecture-buffer-maps/ | Hackaday 68k: Gluing Architecture Buffer Maps | Brian Benchoff | [
"Hackaday Columns"
] | [
"68000",
"Hackaday-68k",
"hackaday-projects",
"retro"
] | It’s time for more blatant advertising for
Hackaday Projects
, the best project hosting site on the Internet. Did we tell you it’s collaborative? That you and your friends can work on projects together? Want more encouragement to join?
How about a contest
with prizes that include oscilloscopes, FPGA dev boards, soldering and rework stations, Beaglebones and Raspberries and Spark Cores? Oh my!
Oh. We’re also developing a retrocomputer to show off the features of Hackaday Projects. This is the latest update, showing off the architecture of the entire system, the memory map, and the logic glue and buffers. The plan for this project is to have it host another awesome Hackaday site,
our retro version
, a small off-shoot of the main Hackaday site that’s specifically designed to be loaded by computers built before 1993. There haven’t been many retro successes in the Hackaday tip line recently, so if you manage to get a vintage computer to pull the retro site up, snap a pic and send it in.
For those of you wanting to catch up on the Hackaday 68k project, here’s the
Hackaday Projects page
, and here’s all the
front page updates
. Click that ‘Read more…’ link for the update.
Architecture
Hackaday 68k Architecture. Click to embiggen.
The architecture is actually pretty simple; the CPU, a ton of RAM, 64k ROM, and a pair of 6850 ACIAs (yes, I know, but it’s for a good reason…) giving me two serial ports capable of 19.2 kbps. These four parts are the basic system and are probably the most boring parts of the development.
There will be two or three more cards in the backplane for video, a Compact Flash/IDE adapter, and a microcontroller that will talk to a keyboard, an Ethernet module, a cassette tape drive, and probably some other stuff I haven’t thought of yet. All of these cards are connected via four types of control signals. The address bus is unidirectional, coming out of the CPU card. The data bus is bidirectional.
There are two other groups of control signals, most of which were covered in
the last post on this project
. Note this isn’t the minimal 68000 system I described in that post. I’ll be using interrupt pins. Because I’m using the 6800 peripheral pins, this means I’ll also need to generate a
/DTACK
signal. This makes the architecture a little more advanced than the basic, “you can build a 68k system on a breadboard” computer I described in the earlier post, but not by much.
The real fun begins when I get to the video and IDE/microcontroller boards. That’s going to be a
Yamaha V9938 Video Display Processor
that will have a VGA output and also be compatible with the V9958. This has 128kB of DRAM attached to it, out of the CPU’s address space.
The IDE/Compact Flash/Microcontroller card will provide the control logic for a huge chunk of storage on a CF card, or if I’m feeling extremely adventurous, one of those old-school IBM microdrives hard drives. The IDE spec is a 16-bit wide data bus, so that connects directly to the CPU. This board will also have a PS/2 (or ADB) keyboard port, an Ethernet module, and whatever other cruft I can stuff in there.
Buffers
Data Buffers
Here’s a little thought experiment. Connect a LED to one of the address pins on the 68k,
kinda like I did in this post
. It’ll drive one LED. How about two? Sure. How many more? A dozen? How long until those LEDs stop lighting up?
That’s the problem with connecting the pins on the CPU to RAM, ROM, peripherals, address decoders, and memory logic. Eventually, the CPU won’t be able to drive all the pins. This is why we need buffers and line drivers.
In the last post where I blinked a LED, I was using a simple circuit to drive the LED using a 74HC04 inverter. To drive all the address, data, and control lines, I’ll need something a little more complex. To the surprise of no one, this was a problem solved a long time ago.
Address Buffers
For the unidirectional lines, i.e. the address bus, I’ll be using a 74HC373 octal bus driver. Three of these are dedicated to the address lines, and another two for control signals.
The data line is a little bit trickier. These lines are bidirectional, making the switching a little more difficult, but also a solved problem. The 74HC245 is a
bidirectional
transceiver, allowing me to connect the data lines from the CPU to one side, the data lines on the backplane to the other, and toggling the direction with the
R/W
line. Very easy, and a one (or two, technically)-chip solution.
Glue
There’s one last thing before the CPU can access the RAM, ROM, serial port, and all the other stuff that I’m putting in this tiny blue box of an enclosure. The memory and peripheral chips must be decoded into the correct address space. This means using a surprising variety of logic chips to enable reading and writing of everything attached to the CPU.
Before I explain this, I’m going to say yes, I could do this with a CPLD, GAL, or some other type of programmable logic. When this project comes off a wire-wrapped backplane, that’s what I’ll do. With wire-wrapped circuits, everything is extremely easy to modify and you can, theoretically, make an exact duplicate of the schematic just by looking at the wires. Programmable logic is just another point of failure, and I’m doing this the simple way, anyway.
Decoding the RAM and ROM
Generally, all the ‘big’ chips in this project – the video circuitry, RAM, ROM, communications adapters, whatever – will have three pins that need to be toggled:
Chip Select
,
Read
, and
Write
. These pins must be properly selected when the CPU accesses something. Reading and Writing are pretty easy, and selecting each chip only a little more so.
The usual 6502 et al. way of toggling the
Read
and
Write
pins on chips is simply connecting the
R/W
from the CPU to the chip. This line is high when the CPU is reading, and low when the chip is writing. The 68000 has two additional pins for controlling access to chips:
/UDS
and
/LDS.
These pins are active (low) when reading or writing to data bits 8-15 or 0-7, respectively. Luckily, the control logic is a simple two-chip solution:
That’s a quad-OR gate and a single inverter taking care of reading or writing to the high (D8-15) or low (D0-7) parts of RAM, ROM, or whatever. Easy, and easily duplicated across multiple cards in the backplane.
Now the fun stuff. Decoding. This is like a puzzle that has surprisingly strict requirements. I need to use a minimal level of gates to turn the address lines into chip select signals to minimize the delay, but I also need to make sure I’m not decoding into unused space in the memory map.
The RAM will be at the bottom of the address space from $000000 to $3FFFF – a full four megabytes. To do this I’m taking 3 to 8 line decoder and attaching the RAM chips to four of the eight outputs. I should note [lennart]
over on the Hackaday Projects page
came up with
a better circuit
for RAM decoding. Thanks.
This circuit will put my eight chips of RAM into the address space at $000000 to $3FFFFF with a minimal amount of delay, but there’s a problem: When the 68000 first boots, it looks for instructions at $000000. Since this is RAM, there won’t be any instructions at that position, the computer will halt, and the world will end. I need some sort of circuit to deselect the RAM and select the ROM for the first few clock ticks.
This means I need to generate a
/BOOT
signal, or a signal that is active (low) for the first eight clock cycles. I’m doing that with a 74HC164 serial in, parallel out shift register, with
/BOOT
generated from one of the outputs. By putting this signal on the backplane, I can deselect the RAM with some NOR gates, enable the ROM with an OR gate, and have the CPU read some instructions when it’s reset.
A Memory Map
I might as well go over the memory map in this post, so in no particular order, here we go:
$000000
to
$3FFFFF
– RAM
$FF0000
to
$FFFFFF
– ROM
6850 ACIAs are decoded from
$EF0040
to
$EF0042
. ACIA 1 is even, ACIA 2 is odd. More on that later.
V9938 is at
$DF0000
and
$DF0001
for Mode 0 and Mode 1, respectively.
Noticing a pattern with the peripherals? I’m taking the top eight bits of the address space and changing one bit for each peripheral. This simplifies the decoding, as I can use a single 74HC30 eight-input NAND gate for the RAM, and add a single inverter to an address line to decode all the peripherals. Simple, fast, and easily modified and copied across the entire system. This setup of changing one or two of the top four address bits for each part of the system also has another benefit: It’s easy to tell which peripheral is being accessed by putting LEDs on the top four address bits just like I did with the last post.
That’s it for this update, and it unfortunately describes the system well enough that there’s nothing to update until I get a ROM monitor and serial port running on this system. Good news, though: [Bil Herd], creator of the Commodore 128, the cheaper 8-bit Commodores, and generally awesome dude will be making an appearance in the next update.
This is the boring part of system construction. Don’t get me wrong; getting a minimal system running is rewarding, but the real fun in this project is going to happen when I get to the video circuitry, IDE hard drive, microcontroller, and all those crazy peripherals working. After that, it’s even more fun with getting an OS and compiler running. I actually have an idea for an OS that has never been done before, and is still only a twinkle in the eye of the BeOS and Haiku OS designers. That might take a year or two.
Updates to follow, and until then follow this on
Hackaday Projects
. | 24 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "1261107",
"author": "tekkieneet",
"timestamp": "2014-03-13T23:47:14",
"content": "I wouldn’t bother with the *slooow* 68XX peripherals as it is trival to use the 80xx peripherals. e.g. 8155, 8255 and 16×50 UART (PC16550DN in DIP) with large FIFO etc.Writing monitor and serial bootlo... | 1,760,376,272.879186 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/13/cleaning-up-smoke-with-an-electrostatic-precipitator/ | Cleaning Up Smoke With An Electrostatic Precipitator | James Hobson | [
"green hacks"
] | [
"electrostatic precipitator",
"precipitating smoke"
] | [Steve Dufresne’s] got another great project for us — a device that
effectively gets rid of smoke!
It’s called an electrostatic precipitator and it works similar to the way many cars are painted today using a process called
electrostatic coating.
Electrostatic coating works by giving the paint particles an electrostatic charge, opposite to the charge on the vehicle’s body panels — this makes the two attract and results in using around 95% of sprayed paint — barely any over-spray, and a better bond to boot!
[Steve’s] tried this experiment of creating a smoke precipitator with the eventual goal of using it on a car’s exhaust. He’s been through a few designs so far, and finally has one that works quite well. It’s not even that complicated, just take a look at the following diagram.
As the smoke enters the tube, it passes through a fine metal mesh which is negatively charged from his
homemade high voltage power supply
. This gives the smoke particles a negative charge, and as they continue to float up they get attracted to a positively charged metal tube. Low and behold — no smoke rises beyond this point. Don’t believe us? Check out the demonstration: | 56 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "1260449",
"author": "Rob",
"timestamp": "2014-03-13T20:11:54",
"content": "so how often do you have to clean it, and is the product close enough to lampblack to have any useful properties of its own?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_... | 1,760,376,272.980002 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/13/fail-of-the-week-unconnected-nets-in-kicad/ | Fail Of The Week: Unconnected Nets In KiCad | Mike Szczys | [
"Fail of the Week",
"Hackaday Columns"
] | [
"cern",
"fail of the week",
"KiCAD",
"oshpark"
] | From the title and the image above you surely have already grasped this Fail of the Week. We’ve all been there. Design a board, send it to fab or etch it yourself, and come to find out you’ve missed a connection. Automatic checks in your software should prevent this, but when making small changes it’s easy to overlook running the checks again. This is exactly what [Clint] did with this board;
leaving a net unconnected in the schematic
, which made its way through to the board layout and into the OSHPark boards.
Okay, so fix it with jumper wire which is clearly what he did (white wire in the lower left image above). But since this is rev3 of his PCB it’s pretty upsetting that it happened. The meat and potatoes of the fail is the missing software feature that led to it. KiCad doesn’t have a pin swap tool in the board layout. Really? We use KiCad frequently and didn’t realize that the feature was missing. Needing to simplify his board layout, [Clint] went back to the schematic to swap some resistor network pins by hand. He pushed the change through the netlist and into the board layout, not realizing he had left an input gate unconnected.
A bit of searching proves that pin swapping may be coming to KiCad soon. It’s on
the CERN roadmap of features they plan to add
to the open source PCB layout software. We remember hearing about CERN’s plans quite a while ago, and thought we featured it but the only reference we could find is
[Chris Gammell’s] comment on a post
from back in December. It’s worth looking at their plans, these are all features that would make KiCad a juggernaut.
EDITORIAL NOTE:
We’ll soon be out of story leads for this series. If you have enjoyed reading weekly about fails please write up your own failure and send us the link. Of course any documented fails you find around the internet should also be sent our way. Thanks!
Fail of the Week is a Hackaday column which runs every Wednesday. Help keep the fun rolling by writing about your past failures and
sending us a link to the story
— or sending in links to fail write ups you find in your Internet travels. | 15 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "1260122",
"author": "pcf11",
"timestamp": "2014-03-13T17:58:14",
"content": "I use Eagle and it can do the same thing. I use the eyeball tool to make sure pads light up. Printing boards out on plain paper isn’t a bad idea before you etch either.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth":... | 1,760,376,273.039952 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/13/manual-pick-and-place/ | Manual Pick And Place | Nick Conn | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"assembly",
"mdf",
"pcb",
"pick and place",
"smd",
"smt",
"surface mount"
] | Populating a large surface mount PCB can take forever. [craftycoder] from Freeside Atlanta has built a great looking
manual pick and place machine
, removing the need for tweezers. No more will passives stick to your tweezers while you are trying to place them on your PCB!
We have
seen
a
lot
of
pick
and
place
machines in the past few years. What makes this one stand out is its simplicity and the no-nonsense build. This pick and place is built on an MDF platform, uses bearings from Amazon, standard 12 mm rails, and has a small camera for a close-up look at your part placement. Sure it is a manual method, but it beats painstakingly placing each part with tweezers. It would be interesting to see how much this entire build cost; we expect that it was not too expensive. See this thing in action in the video after the break.
We hope this project has inspired you to go out and make something cool! If so, let us know what you have made!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ImOgzUy6QU | 13 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1259720",
"author": "AKA the A",
"timestamp": "2014-03-13T15:32:46",
"content": "Nice idea, however it needs a way to lock (or at least increase resistance for) the X and Y axis on demand, so that you don’t drag the part off the pads ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,376,273.166586 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/13/automatically-accept-membership-fees-or-donations/ | Automatically Accept Membership Fees Or Donations | Nick Conn | [
"Hackerspaces"
] | [
"donations",
"fees",
"hackerspace",
"pay"
] | Whether you run a club or a hackerspace, collecting membership fees and accepting donations can be a pain. [MRE] from TokyoHackerspace has the solution,
an automated machine that can accept cash
from anyone who is walking by.
Members can choose to either donate or pay their membership fee even when the hackerspace administrator is not around. The interface consists of two buttons, an LCD display, a place to put your cash, and a thermal printer that prints out two receipts (one for you, one which goes right back into the box). One of the coolest parts of this build is
the banknote validator
, which can work with over 100 currencies (in this case, it is programmed to accept Japanese bills). Despite the simple interface, a lot of thought went into this build. There are backup batteries for the real time clock, an EEPROM to keep track of all the accounting, and an Arduino as the brains of the operation. If you take a look at
the project page
, there is a lot of information on the Arduino code, the PCB layout, how to
interface with
the banknote validator, and more!
Check out the machine in action after the break.
We would love to see the banknote validator used in other projects. Have you used one before or built something similar?
[Thanks James] | 29 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1259261",
"author": "Tesch",
"timestamp": "2014-03-13T11:36:49",
"content": "Warning! When he pulls off the receipt in the video it gets horribly loud!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1261103",
"author": "MRE",
... | 1,760,376,273.112371 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/12/tiny-improvised-grindersaw-packs-a-punch/ | Tiny Improvised Grinder/Saw Packs A Punch | Kristina Panos | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"grinder",
"necessity",
"RC motor",
"servo tester"
] | They say necessity is the mother of invention. Sometimes the necessity is simply avoidance of unpleasant tasks such as cutting down 3500 header pins by hand. [Nixieguy] and his coworkers were faced with 50 prototype boards bearing 70 overly long pins apiece. He saved them from cutting them all down by hand by making
a tiny improvised circular saw/grinder
.
[Nixieguy] started by laser-cutting a combination tool holder and grinding platform. His laser failed before he could fashion a guard to keep the pin bits out of the motor or cut all the pieces he had in mind. The grinder is made from a 10A brushless RC motor, a motor driver, and a servo tester. [Nixieguy] machined an adapter to connect the disc to the shaft.
The transformer is there to hold the thing down during use since it’s so lightweight.
He’s wearing two pairs of gloves because the pin cuttings were hot enough to sear skin. [Nixieguy] is planning on a complete redesign including a motor guard and the ability to adjust the depth. Maybe he can
turn it into a chainsaw
, maybe not. | 29 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1256385",
"author": "Rich",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T14:16:10",
"content": "A $20 Dremel from the hardware store would do that too",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1256455",
"author": "Voltatek",
"timestamp": "2... | 1,760,376,273.448757 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/12/an-open-source-ipad-display-adapter/ | An Open Source IPad Display Adapter | Brian Benchoff | [
"Crowd Funding",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"displayport",
"ipad",
"retina display"
] | Those fancy 2048×1536 pixel resolution displays found in the iPad 3 and 4 can be used for much more than high def Candy Crush and Netflix viewing. [Freddie] over in Southampton, UK
built his own adapter
to connect these high-resolution LCD panels to anything with a DisplayPort connection. It’s called OSCAR, and it’s the open source way to add a whole lot of pixels in a second (or third, or fourth….) monitor.
The LCD panels found in the iPad 3 and 4 don’t use the usual LVDS connection found in just about every other LCD panel ever made. It uses an extension of the DisplayPort protocol, meaning any graphics card with one of these ports already does the heavy lifting for this panel. The only other thing that’s needed is an adapter to control the power and backlight, which is easily handled by an ATMega32U4. This makes OSCAR Arduino compatible, making it easy to add sensors and USB playthings.
OSCAR is available on Kickstarter
for £65 (~$100 USD) for the board itself. Adding to that, you’ll need to grab an iPad retina display through the usual channels for about $65. Not exactly cheap, but try finding another better-than-1080p display for that price. | 45 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1256155",
"author": "Garbz",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T12:16:46",
"content": "Errr really?Firstly why the hell is the display port connector at the bottom instead of the side? It makes it difficult to build a thin case for the display if you have to run a DP cable through the middle.... | 1,760,376,273.530198 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/12/prop-replica-tesseract-case-has-some-serious-tech-inside/ | Prop Replica Tesseract Case Has Some Serious Tech Inside | James Hobson | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Raspberry Pi"
] | [
"avengers",
"marvel",
"tesseract case"
] | [Dustin Evans] is a big fan of the recent Avengers movies — heck, we are too! So he decided to make this awesome
Tesseract Case prop replica!
Tesser-what? A
tesseract
, or cubic prism is a geometric shape that is technically a four-dimensional hypercube — in the Avenger’s movie, it is an incredibly powerful and unstable alien energy source.
To make the replica, [Dustin] picked up a cheap aluminum tool case from the hardware store, took some measurements and began designing the inside of it using SketchUp. He’s crammed in an Arduino with a spectrum shield, a BlueSmirf Bluetooth modem, a Raspberry Pi, a 7″ LCD, speakers and an amp, a WiFi card for the Pi, and a few strips of Neopixels. It is running Raspbian with a stand-alone version of XBMC, which means using AllCast he can wirelessly control the box from a phone or tablet — now all he’s missing is a mini-generator that can put out a few million watts!
This thing would go great with our very own
Thor’s Hammer!
Oh — and another fun tidbit — one of our writers, [Me actually], worked on designing and building a manufacturing cell which makes the Rimowa suitcases, which is the brand that was used in the movie! | 4 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "1256066",
"author": "Aztraph",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T11:32:06",
"content": "That’s a win",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1256168",
"author": "dustin evans (@dl_evans)",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T12:23:15",
... | 1,760,376,273.365387 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/11/a-new-version-of-energia/ | New Version Of Energia Supports Wolverine And Connected | Nick Conn | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"energia",
"ethernet",
"FRAM",
"FRAM LaunchPad",
"launchpad",
"msp430",
"msp430 launchpad",
"texas instruments",
"ti",
"tivac",
"wolverine"
] | There is something to be said about how easy it is to write Arduino code. For those of who you are big fans of the MSP430 and Texas Instrument’s LaunchPad series, an upcoming release of
Energia
brings Arduino style coding to the two newest member of the LaunchPad family: the
TivaC Connected LaunchPad EK-TM4C1294XL
and
Wolverine FRAM LaunchPad MSP-EXP430FR5969LP
.
“Energia is an open-source electronics prototyping platform … with the goal to bring the Wiring and Arduino framework to the Texas Instruments MSP430 based LaunchPad.” The newest release of Energia is exciting for the sole reason that the new TivaC Connected LaunchPad and Wolverine FRAM LaunchPad are supported. The TivaC Connected LaunchPad is a $20 development board for TI’s low-power ARM processors that
has Ethernet connectivity
. The MSP430 at the heart of the Wolverine FRAM LaunchPad uses up to 250x less power than flash based MCUs at low speeds in addition to many
other cool benefits
.
Be sure to keep an eye out for the new version of Energia, it should be arriving sometime next week. Now is a better time than ever to try out the Tiva C or the MSP430 MCUs! | 14 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1255930",
"author": "v665f6atu3",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T10:19:31",
"content": "Nick, there is no such thing as “250% less power”, as that would imply that the MSP *produces* one and a half times as much power as other MCUs *consume*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"r... | 1,760,376,273.59317 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/11/led-throwies-turn-statues-into-heart-attack-risks/ | LED Throwies Turn Statues Into Heart Attack Risks | James Hobson | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"led throwies",
"play dough",
"play-doh"
] | [Mike] has just put a new spin on LED throwies — turning innocent statues into
scary possessed demons of the night.
He calls them Statueyes, and while it’s not quite vandalism, you might still cause a public disturbance.
If you’re not familiar, magnetic
LEDs throwies
are a fun little way to add some light to the city at night. They’re a little bit wasteful (sometimes you can’t retrieve them), but so cheap to make it’s sometimes worth it. Depending on what you’re using them for they can open up a whole world of possibilities — like this
location tracking augmented reality using IR LED throwies!
Anyway, the main difference with [Mike’s] take on the project is he’s using home-made play-dough which allows him to stick these creepy eyes on non-metallic statues. The Play-Doh in question has an interesting ingredients list: flour, water, salt, vegetable oil and… cream of tartar? It’s the classic edible Play-Doh recipe, but to the unfamiliar it certainly sounds odd.
How cheap do you think we could make these with a simple dimming circuit? Imagine seeing a statues eyes light up as you’re walking by… | 42 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "1255064",
"author": "dfghgdsdg",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T02:09:13",
"content": "People, they’re not “throwies”, they’re TRASH. Of the worst kind – involving batteries with toxic chemicals.Seriously, knock it the F off.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
... | 1,760,376,273.780977 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/11/custom-mechanical-keyboards/ | Custom Mechanical Keyboards | Brian Benchoff | [
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"Cherry Blue",
"keyboard",
"mechanical keyboard",
"Teensy"
] | [Wyager] was shopping around for a mechanical keyboard, and after noticing custom PCB manufacturing had come down in price so much, he decided to build his own. The end result is
a keyboard that’s so elegant in its design
, that it could, with a little work, become a very interesting Kickstarter project.
The design had three requirements: cheap, mechanical switches, and extremely customizable. The cheap requirement was solved by splitting the keyboard into two parts with a master/slave arrangement. The boards are connected by a 1/8″ TRRS jack conveying an I2C bus. Since both boards are identical except for the code running on the Teensy dev boards, [Wyager] saved a bit of cash by using two of the three PCBs that came with his OSHPark order.
The mechanical switches – Cherry MX Blues – are rather expensive parts for a failed project. For fear of failure, [Wyager] first ordered a PCB containing the footprint of only one key. With the footprint correct, he graduated to a 2×2 matrix. Once that was verified, the 6×5 matrix was ordered. Everything worked perfectly the first time, something we can’t say about many of our projects.
The code, board files, and schematics are available
over on the github | 29 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1254877",
"author": "TheJBW",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T00:33:24",
"content": "This raises the obvious question:Why not lay the keys out like an actual keyboard?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1255177",
"author": "wyag... | 1,760,376,278.173437 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/11/soap-drama-an-interview-with-the-soap-creators/ | SOAP Drama: An Interview With The SOAP Creators | Brian Benchoff | [
"Crowd Funding",
"News"
] | [
"kickstarter",
"router",
"soap",
"SOAP router"
] | A few days ago,
we caught wind of SOAP
, a Kickstarter project for an Android-based home automation router. With a quad-core ARM, quad gigabit Ethernet ports, 802.11ac, SATA, and every radio under the sun – all for $100 (sans display, $170 with display), it seemed too good to be true. At the time, it probably was: the images from the PCB prototype were taken from [Bunnie Huang]’s open source laptop, there weren’t enough Ethernet ports for a router, and the hardware just seemed all wrong.
The guys behind SOAP have decided to respond to these accusations by posting
a huge update on their Kickstarter page
and answering a few questions from me. Interview follows below.
HaD:
There’s
a BOM/cost analysis breakdown
for the Essentials package (the SOAP sans display) that puts the total cost at about $130. This is the reward for pledging at the $100 level. How accurate is this cost analysis, and how do you plan on meeting that reward level?
SOAP:
This cost analysis that you mention is very accurate. We will not profit on the early release pricing of $60.00 we have taken the loss leader pricing to attract backers and press (and we think we have done a good job). We are working with a large router manufacturer and this is really the link that makes the pricing possible without them we couldn’t do this.
HaD:
You’re using a Quad Core Freescale i.MX processor for SOAP, and putting a four port Gigabit router in there. The
Quad core i.MX chips
only have one Gigabit port,
and that’s limited to 470 Mbps
. How are you solving this problem, and what are you using as a MAC/PHY?
SOAP:
First off let me state that we are very aware of the CPU limitations and we have done a lot of work on finding a solution and we do have a unique solution. We have support from a big player in the router industry that has offered us a unique solution that we have been working on to bypass this issue. We will post more on this after our trip to San Jose. This is our fallback method and yes its benchmarks are not as pretty as we want them but they are getting there and we feel with enough tweaks we can get this to decent level.
This is from our layout guy: We are planning I.mx processor’s gigabit port will be connected to external IC working as a switch. 1Gb ethernet -> 1 to 4 switch -> 4x Gb Ethernet ports. Possible
http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tnetx4090.pdf
. Use 4 ports from there plus put RGMII Ethernet transceiver from Marvell for each ETH port and we will have on board Ethernet switch.
HaD:
What WiFi chipset/chipsets are you using? Will that/they be able to do 802.11ac at full speed, and how are you doing this with (I think) only one antenna on the updated board images?
SOAP:
The speeds have varied greatly on the chipset and how buggy the software was for the day but we have clocked speeds over 1 gigabyte per second and we will continue to develop this further to achieve maximize speeds this is where our new Union with the guys over at Droidifi will help.
In our prototype we tested
Avastar 88W8864
, Broadcom
4360
, and a couple more that failed to actually work. We didn’t get those all functioning like we would have wanted as there is little support for android and router chipsets to date. We demo with a Broadcom chipset.
We want to use Quantenna QAC2300 but at current funding we will be using the Broadcom we have received a lot of suggestions from our backers and a new big player behind us that thinks they have the right match we are waiting to announce this after our meeting in San Jose.
We have one antenna on the most current design but we are planning on adding two more for the final design. We didn’t place them on the most recent design because we are waiting to see how much funding we get to finalize the wifi chipset. We didn’t want antenna design that worked best with a Broadcom when we switch to Marvel or Quantenna.
HaD:
What is the status of the software? Do you have a repo somewhere that people could look over?
SOAP:
We have been working with a new player from the older kickstarter project called Droidifi. We will be working with them on the software. This is a something we haven’t been able to announce till we lock it down but you are the first to know about this union. Check out our update later today.
HaD:
Finally, do you have a functional prototype with the quad-core i.MX, four Ethernet ports, and WiFi? Can we see a video?
SOAP:
If you mean a mass production ready device that can be used by an end user then no. We have a solid functioning proof of concept prototype. We have a lot of Demo videos of our POC that show what we have developed so far. We have to have the current PCB design manufactured to get down to the more rigorous testing and qualifying. All the specs listed on our kickstarter are what we currently are planning and we hope to fulfill the tech specs.
HaD:
There are some other questions in the Kickstarter comments section, but honestly I don’t care about how many Twitter followers you have.
SOAP:
Twitter was our marketing company. We thought people actually were following us but we have since found out that half of them are not real. Check
this
out though.
All in all we understand how ambitious this project looks and we also know that it technology development can run into roadblocks and things but we want to be clear we are not a scam and we are quite aware where these attacks have originated. We will continue to work hard on this project, we will not be running off to Costa Rica and we plan on seeing everyone at CES next year.
The TL;DR for everyone without an attention span:
Yes, the $100/$170 price is too good to be true. It’s called a loss leader to generate interest. This part was a success. The SOAP guys are partnering with
the DroidFi guys
for the operating system. The Gigabit Ethernet will probably work, and the WiFi is limited by *nix chipset support. No complete functional prototypes yet.
So there you go. It’s not the ideal update with the SOAP crew showing off a shipping container of units ready to be shipped, but the project isn’t in as bad a shape as I originally thought. | 59 | 31 | [
{
"comment_id": "1254678",
"author": "JJ",
"timestamp": "2014-03-11T23:05:42",
"content": "Nice! Now try and get an interview with Mu Optics…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1256001",
"author": "LK",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T1... | 1,760,376,277.987175 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/11/hackaday-gathering-shanghai/ | Hackaday Gathering: Shanghai | Mike Szczys | [
"Featured",
"Hackerspaces"
] | [
"meetup",
"shanghai",
"the gathering"
] | Does Hackaday have any readers living in Shanghai? You bet! We’re going to be in Shanghai next week so we decided to invite the Hackaday community to
a Shanghai Gathering
!
We booked a venue and want to pack the place with at least 150 people on Thursday, March 20th. We’re picking up the bar tab and bringing along a few cases of T-shirts. At some point we’ll make some formal remarks about the path on which Hackaday is traveling, and where we hope to go. Get your tickets now, and start the perplexing process of deciding which piece of portable hacked hardware you want to bring along with you to show off to all of the other Hackaday aficionados.
Still not convinced? Check out
the follow-up post from our Los Angeles Gathering
back in January to see how much fun it is to get together with other readers. The Xin Che Jian hackerspace in Shanghai is helping us get this organized; we saw
a hackerspace intro from them
a couple of years back. Thank you so much to [David] and [Paul] for their help with this! If you haven’t checked out the hackerspace, this gathering is a great way to meet some of the members.
[Background
Image Source
] | 5 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "1254861",
"author": "Timilo",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T00:26:42",
"content": "A Shenzhen meetup would be great- much better city for makers.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1255514",
"author": "sflagg7",
"times... | 1,760,376,277.825179 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/11/retrotechtacular-shedding-light-on-holograms/ | Retrotechtacular: Shedding Light On Holograms | Kristina Panos | [
"Laser Hacks",
"Retrotechtacular"
] | [
"friggin laser beams",
"holograms",
"Holography"
] | This week’s Retrotechtacular is a
1972 introduction to holography
produced by the fine folks at Encyclopædia Britannica. It details quite admirably what holograms are and how they’re made.
Holograms are quite different from photographs, though both are recorded on film. Holography is based on the additive effects of waves: two crests of equal amplitude create a larger crest, while a crest and a trough of equal amplitude cancel each other out, causing an interference effect. The video demonstrates the concept nicely with water ripples and explains that the same effect happens with sound waves and light waves.
Lasers are the key to the intense and spectrally pure light required for holography. Incandescent light consists of too many wavelengths to be effectively split into two identical light wave sources. To create a hologram, a laser is split with an optical device into two beams. One beam is focused directly on the object being recorded and is called the object beam. The second beam is directed away from the scene through a series of mirrors and shone directly onto a film emulsion.
The film records the interference between the waves of the two beams. It appears to be blank after development, but upon close inspection reveals stripes of light and dark. When the exposed film is placed in the path of only the reference beam, the interference patterns recorded on the film split the beam back into two, recreating the scene. With the aid of a screen for projection, the hologram can be seen showing the original object in 2D. Another big difference between photographs and holograms is that even a small portion of a hologram can reproduce the entire scene, but a piece of a photograph is just that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCVlSWoq-nc
Retrotechtacular is a weekly column featuring hacks, technology, and kitsch from ages of yore. Help keep it fresh by
sending in your ideas for future installments
. | 10 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1254286",
"author": "F",
"timestamp": "2014-03-11T20:22:24",
"content": "Prof. Steve Benton, inventor of the Benton white light hologram, taught a holography class at MIT. He was a pioneer in the field and a great instructor.http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-047006... | 1,760,376,277.885765 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/11/sci-fi-contest-prizes-make-you-drool-like-a-rancor/ | Sci-Fi Contest Prizes Make You Drool Like A Rancor | Mike Szczys | [
"contests",
"Featured"
] | [
"contest",
"hackaday-projects",
"sci-fi"
] | It’s been awhile since we hosted a contest, now is the time to up our game. You have a few weeks to
come up with the best Sci-Fi themed hack
. We’ve amassed a number of prizes well worth fighting for, and the challenge will be won by a combination of clever, collaborative, and open. The booty includes rad (yeah, we said it) tools like Oscilloscopes, Logic Sniffers, Solder Stations, and Dev Boards, as well as themed offerings like classic Sci-Fi films and tchotchkes from our favorite fictional universes.
Yesterday we announced that
Hackaday Projects is open for public registration
and now we’re taking the new site for a spin. Previous contests like the
Trinket
and
Fubarino
versions became unwieldy for the Hackaday crew just because of the sheer volume of entries. The new interface will make it much easier. We also want to test out the collaborative features so one of the requirements for entry is to participate as a team. The winners will be picked based on how well the project is documented, how open (as in software and hardware) it is, how it fits the theme, and on how well the team worked together.
The contest starts right now and ends at 12:00:00am Pacific time (we know a lot of you like to push deadlines) on April 29th, 2014. Head over to the contest page to see all of the details. Let the games begin!
[
Official Contest Page
]
[Background
Image Source
] | 61 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "1253972",
"author": "Ignas",
"timestamp": "2014-03-11T17:45:19",
"content": "International?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1254010",
"author": "Mike Szczys",
"timestamp": "2014-03-11T18:00:23",
"conten... | 1,760,376,278.272666 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/11/automated-light-painting-makes-it-easy/ | Automated Light Painting Makes It Easy | James Hobson | [
"LED Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"light paint",
"light painting",
"Parallax Propeller"
] | What can we say — we’re a sucker for projects that feature our favorite logo. This is the
Parallax Propeller Automated Light Painting Machine
— and no, it’s
not
a persistence of vision setup.
[Daniel], [Nathan], and the folks over at Embedded Aesthetics are big fans of Hack a Day and are very excited to share their new project. It’s a fully automated light painting setup that features an X-axis slide, a strip of RGB LEDs, a
Parallax Propeller
(microcontroller), and a DSLR — all you have to do is choose an image, and press start.
They first started light painting with their
LED Paint Brush
, an equally awesome, but slightly less automated tool. They’ve created this one to be a bit more interactive — in fact, you can actually go on their website, upload an image, and
it will paint you a picture!
But… it’s not available right now.
Need a bigger light portrait? How about one that
makes images 4 meters tall?
And this delta bot light painting machine is
just too cool. | 10 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1253839",
"author": "TommyJones",
"timestamp": "2014-03-11T16:31:18",
"content": "Nice use of the skateboard wheel although I think the chain is a bit overkill. I want to see a movie animated with this or something. Great hack!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies":... | 1,760,376,278.108218 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/11/smart-kegerator-bills-based-on-beer-consumption/ | Smart Kegerator Bills Based On Beer Consumption | Kristina Panos | [
"Beer Hacks",
"Raspberry Pi"
] | [
"bar tab",
"facial recognition",
"kegerator"
] | Kegerator ownership is awesome, but it has its downsides. It’s hard to keep track of who drank what without cans or bottles to count. [Phil] was looking for a good solution to this problem when it came to sharing beer with his roommates and friends and has just completed
the first iteration of his smart kegerator
.
He has devised a system based on a Raspberry Pi. His software recognizes the face of the person pulling a beer and adds a charge to their tab based on the price of the keg and the volume of the pour. The system also keeps track of current and historic temperature and humidity values inside the kegerator, and everything is displayed on a
Mimo 720S
touch screen.
[Phil] has a
flow meter
on each keg to detect and monitor pouring. This triggers the Pi camera module to run the facial recognition. The walk-through found after the jump might be a bit confusing; at the time it was recorded, the unit was only capable of facial
detection
. [Phil] wrote the UI in QT and C++ and used Python scripts for the flow interrupts. His plans for future iterations include weight sensors underneath the kegs, liquid probe thermometers for more accurate beer temperature readings, a
NoIR Pi camera module
for low light conditions, and a really snazzy UI that you’ll see on his build page.
If you don’t have a Pi, here’s an
Arduino-fied kegerator that reports temperature and controls beer cooling
. | 34 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "1253379",
"author": "Phil",
"timestamp": "2014-03-11T11:29:07",
"content": "Could it be fooled by wearing a mask of your room mate?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1253947",
"author": "ClayH",
"timestamp": "201... | 1,760,376,278.644229 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/11/remote-shutter-release-lets-you-be-a-hipster-from-a-distance/ | Remote Shutter Release Lets You Be A Hipster From A Distance | James Hobson | [
"Microcontrollers",
"Tech Hacks"
] | [
"shutter release"
] | So, you’re taking high resolution photos with your ancient medium format film camera — but you can’t be at the camera. Well, if you’re [curlyfry562] you build your own
remote controlled mechanical shutter release!
Due to the age of the film camera, there really aren’t many (or… any?) off the shelf solutions to this problem. Especially not with the list of project goals [curlyfry562] came up with:
It must be triggered by a remote TTL signal
The wireless range must be at least 100ft
It has to be reliable — medium format film is expensive!
It needs to be easily mountable and removable
With his goals clearly set, he began work. He’s using 2.4GHz xBee modems which have a DIO pin — if you link up two for DIO line passing, then they act as clones of each other — change the state of one, and the other one follows. Using this he’s wired up the output to a microcontroller, which than powers a servo to depress the mechanical shutter release. It’s actually quite brilliantly simple.
If you don’t need quite as much range — check out this remote shutter release
made from a wireless doorbell!
[Thanks Daniel!] | 19 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1253220",
"author": "Pirate Tom",
"timestamp": "2014-03-11T10:06:09",
"content": "Does it count as ‘hipster’ if you never stopped using a medium format film camera?Though that may end soon, seeing as how I’m running low on local film developers, and mailing them out is cost prohibit... | 1,760,376,278.048555 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/10/missing-drone-posters-are-a-hilarious-look-into-the-future/ | Missing Drone Posters Are A Hilarious Look Into The Future | James Hobson | [
"drone hacks"
] | [
"drone",
"missing drone",
"quadcopter"
] | Sure there are reward posters for missing cats, dogs, and other various pets — but now in Denver, a man named [Merrick]
makes a plea for his $2400 missing drone.
We couldn’t help but chuckle at this news story because it could be the tip of the iceberg. As drones become more and more common place, seeing missing posters for them could become pretty normal! The problem is, when you’re using a long-range drone, and flying it in a city, it is very possible to lose your line of sight and lose the device altogether. That is exactly what happened to poor [Merrick] the other day. Thinking quickly, he started making lost drone posters, and after channel 7 news reported on it, it was
discovered in an alleyway the following day
. The person who found it thought it was government related and didn’t want to mess around with it — it’s a pretty serious looking drone.
The odd thing is, this type of drone has a homing feature that will automatically return the drone to its starting position in case of something like this happening — but for whatever reason, it didn’t work.
Personally if we were flying a drone worth the same amount as a decent used car… we’d throw a GPS tracker on it.
[Thanks for the tip Chips!] | 86 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "1252659",
"author": "Genki",
"timestamp": "2014-03-11T05:07:32",
"content": "I need to create a few lost poster. Lost drones, contact NSA if found. Reward: you will live if you didn’t tamper with the drone and won’t tell anyone.:D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replie... | 1,760,376,278.408142 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/13/make-an-hd-projector-for-next-to-nothing/ | Make An HD Projector For Next To Nothing! | James Hobson | [
"Portable Video Hacks"
] | [
"diy hd projector",
"diy projector",
"homemade projector"
] | Need a high definition projector? Don’t have a thousand bucks sitting around? Then this hack is for you! [TheJinxster] threw together this
awesome HD projector,
and it cost him absolutely nothing to build!
He started by picking up an old overhead projector off of
Freecycle
. Freecycle is a great grassroots network, kind of like Kijiji or Craigslist — but
everything is free.
It’s all about reuse and keeping useful things out of the landfills. Anyway, he also had an old LCD monitor sitting around gathering dust…
Putting two and two together he took apart the LCD, laid the bare screen on top of the glass and, well, that’s it! It’s seriously that simple. The hardest part was taking apart the monitor — the overhead projector and mounted lens took care of the rest. The beauty with a system like this is you can get high definition out of a relatively small and cheap LCD panel! The only thing is it won’t last forever — LCDs (especially monitor LCDs) aren’t designed to pass through that much light.
Don’t believe us? Check out the following video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDA6Kfy_lKo
Now all he has to do is replace the expensive(?) halogen light bulb with
a high powered LED instead!
Oh and if you’re looking for a 3D HD projector…
we’ve also got you covered.
[Thanks Jono!] | 54 | 29 | [
{
"comment_id": "1258864",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2014-03-13T08:09:50",
"content": "hasnt that approach been around like forever?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1258893",
"author": "Kaijuu",
"timestamp": "2014-03-13T... | 1,760,376,278.498286 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/12/usb-ify-your-old-cell-phone-chargers/ | USB-ify Your Old Cell Phone Chargers | Marsh | [
"Cellphone Hacks"
] | [
"5v",
"cell phone",
"charger",
"charging",
"usb"
] | If you’re like us, you probably have a box (or more) of wall warts lurking in a closet or on a shelf somewhere. Depending on how long you’ve been collecting cell phones, that box is likely overflowing with 5V chargers: all with different connectors. Bring them back to life by doing what [Martin Melchior] did:
chop off the ends and solder on a bunch of USB jacks
.
You’ll want to use chargers rated for at least 500mA (if not 1A) for this project, or you may be wasting your time considering how much current devices pull these days. Get your polarity right, solder on a USB jack, and you’re finished. Sure, it’s a no-brainer kind of project, but it can clean out some of your closet and give you a charging station for every room of your home and the office. [Martin] glued the USB jack directly onto the adapters, so there are no tangled cords to worry about. iPhone users
will need to do the usual kungfu
if you want your Apple device to charge. | 27 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "1258576",
"author": "Figureitout",
"timestamp": "2014-03-13T05:24:46",
"content": "Yeah those are definitely European chargers lol, Belgium. Having a 5, or 9-12V USB powersupply is very handy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "... | 1,760,376,278.570008 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/12/build-your-own-elektrosluch-2-and-save-e45/ | Build Your Own Elektrosluch 2 And Save €45 | Adam Fabio | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"Elektrosluch",
"experimental audio",
"Transformers and Inductors"
] | [Jonas] over at LOM Instruments is running an Indiegogo campaign for
his newest creation, Elektrosluch 2
. Like it’s predecessor, Elektrosluch 2 is a means to listen to the electromagnetic sounds of the world around you. Fans, computers, cell phones, routers, and just about anything electronic create strange and interesting sounds when probed with Elektrosluch 2. The campaign seems to be doing well enough with its target audience of experimental music and audio folks. However at €45 ($62.37) it’s a bit pricey for our blood. Unfortunately, [Jonas] hasn’t open sourced the project. All hope is not lost though, as Elektrosluch 2 appears to be simple enough that our astute readers should be able to build their own.
The concept is easy to understand: a coil of wire placed within a magnetic field will have an induced current proportional to the strength of the field. Electric Guitar pickups operate on the same basic principles. [Jonas] appears to be using two coils – probably tuned to different frequencies. We’re talking about relatively small magnetic fields here, so the signal will need to be amplified. In the Elektrosluch 2, the amplifier is an 8 pin SOIC which we can’t quite make the label out on. A few capacitors and resistors limit the bandwidth to audio frequencies.
[Alan Yates]
created a similar circuit
to diagnose dead Christmas lights. In [Alan’s] case, he used a pin instead of a coil. Two transistors and a handful of discrete components performed the amplification duties.
[Thanks Alexander!] | 51 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "1258206",
"author": "Isny",
"timestamp": "2014-03-13T02:20:53",
"content": "Back in the day, we did the same thing with an AM radio.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1260275",
"author": "Rob",
"timestamp": "2014... | 1,760,376,278.887413 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/12/staff-update/ | Staff Update | Mike Szczys | [
"Featured"
] | [
"hiring",
"staff"
] | Has it really been three months since
our last Staff Update
? Even though you’ve been enjoying posts from these guys for quite some time now a proper introduction is in order. From left to right, please join me in welcoming [Bil Herd], [Rich Bremer], [Nick Conn], and [Abe Connelly] to the team.
[Bil] started out with
a guest post on the C128
which I absolutely loved. We got to talking and he mentioned an interest in putting out some video content. His first offering for Hackaday was
the segment on calculating component heat
. He has a few more in the pipeline and I’m sure he’d love to hear your ideas for the subjects of future videos.
I like to choose contributors who have a wide range of interests: [Rich] has a mechanical engineering background. Nick, who is working on his Ph.D., has quite a bit of experience with medical devices. This is not to be confused with the type of bio-medical hacking which [Abe] is interested in. Learn more about all of their backgrounds over on
the Hackaday Staff page
.
All of the people who have joined us over the last six months came form a pool of applications received after a September hiring announcement.
I posted another one last week
and have received numerous applications. I’m still reviewing them so don’t worry if you haven’t heard from me, you will soon! | 12 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1258086",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2014-03-13T01:31:34",
"content": "Welcome, new staff!By the way, I’m not sure who to ask so I’m just going to throw this out there… do you have a community coordinator or are you looking for someone to fill such a role? I have felt for a lon... | 1,760,376,278.800602 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/12/hacked-turntable-plays-a-trees-rings-instead-of-records/ | Hacked Turntable Plays A Tree’s Rings Instead Of Records | James Hobson | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"hacked turntable",
"turntable"
] | Here’s another one of those crazy, weird, artsy-style hacks. Somebody decided to see what
tree rings sound like
by making this rather unorthodox turntable.
All things considered, the cross-section of a tree trunk does kind of resemble a vinyl record. [Bartholomäus Traubeck] noticed this and decided to see what would happen if you could listen to it.
Of course… it’s not quite that simple. When you cut a slice of wood, you’re not leaving any grooves in the rings, so you can’t just throw it on a slightly modified record player. What [Traubeck] had to do was engineer a record player with a Playstation Eye camera strapped to the end of the arm — simple image recognition software creates a signal based on the pattern of the rings, knots, and other imperfections in the wood. This is then filtered into a program called Albeton Live, and converted into a very angst-y piano track.
Take a listen and let us know what you think!
For more information about the project there is a
full interview with [Traubeck]
over at Datagarden.org. For another cool record player hack, maybe you missed the
underwater record player
we featured a few weeks ago?
[Via
Aux.tv
, thanks Nocturnalassail!] | 54 | 27 | [
{
"comment_id": "1257642",
"author": "pcf11",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T23:03:17",
"content": "I’ve seen some pretty whatdafuq stuff but this really takes the cake.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1257677",
"author": "Aztraph",
"timestamp... | 1,760,376,278.979345 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/12/developed-on-hackaday-coding-conventions-and-github-pull-requests/ | Developed On Hackaday: Coding Conventions And GitHub Pull Requests | Mathieu Stephan | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"hardware"
] | [
"coding convention",
"developed on hackaday",
"management",
"mooltipass",
"password",
"smartcard"
] | The Hackaday community is currently very busy coding the low-level libraries of our
open-source offline password keeper project
. And when many talented contributors work together on a common concept, interesting discussions take place. In our dedicated Google Groups, some of them were about the choice of naming/coding conventions and also how/when to approve GitHub pull requests. But don’t leave already… this topic is actually more interesting than it sounds.
The age difference between the older and younger firmware contributor is guessed to be approximately 30 years… and many things can happen in such a time frame. Even though our coders are writing in C, most of them code in other programming languages at school/work. They also use different text editors on different operating systems. Understandably, each one of them therefore has its preferred
coding
/
naming
convention and
indent style
. The Mooltipass conventions were selected based on majority voting, and after many emails we settled on an Allman style convention with camelCase:
main(void)
{
if (foo)
{
functionCall();
}
else
{
foo = 0;
anotherFunctionCall();
}
}
– 79 characters line length as a soft requirement
– 4 spaces, no tabs
Most of the contributors believe that it is the best compromise between code clarity and cross-platform compatibility, but we would be curious to know our Hackaday readers’ opinions on this particular topic.
The second matter is a bit more of a management one. What is the best strategy to manage and review code changes made to a main GitHub repository, when a project is at its infancy and composed of (more or less) non-remunerated contributors?
It is perfectly understandable that interest, spare time and willingness to contribute may vary over time. Perhaps some of our readers may already be familiar with
Agile software development
, a group of software development methods based on iterative and incremental development, which promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development and encourages rapid and flexible response to change. Do you think this can be applied to the Mooltipass project?
We would be curious to hear similar experiences on these topics, as we gladly accept constructive criticism. You may also want to join our
dedicated Google group
to check out the different discussions that already happened there. On a side note, we are also currently looking for capacitive wheel / touch button footprints libraries for Kicad. | 100 | 33 | [
{
"comment_id": "1257065",
"author": "ellisgl",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T20:21:56",
"content": "Thumbs up for the Allman style. I use a slightly modify verson, where assignments are aligned per scope.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1257273",
... | 1,760,376,279.953804 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/12/the-future-doesnt-need-another-internet-connected-teddybear-hackaday-at-sxsw-create/ | The Future Doesn’t Need Another Internet-Connected Teddybear – Hackaday At SXSW Create | Aleksandar Bradic | [
"cons",
"Featured"
] | [
"#HaD_SXSW",
"sxsw",
"tour"
] | Hackaday happened to be at
South by Southwest
this year and visited
SXSW Create
– part of the festival dedicated to hackers, makers and DIY scene. While modest in size, this event serves as a great contrast to the internet-hype machine omnipresent everywhere else in the city during this time. So we thought we should drop by and show them some love.
Trey German
showed us a couple of great real-time power control demos using his C2000 Launch Pad as well as his Bluetooth Cooler which, for whatever reason, decided to fail on him just in time for the big show. The demo we have been looking forward to the most was a thermocouple-controlled barbecue using
Energia framework
but were disappointed to learn that The Man has banned grilling hotdogs in the tent. The universe was telling us we’re not here to party.
ATX Hackerspace
had a large booth featuring the full-size replica of Doctor Who’s TARDIS (who wouldn’t like to have a picture taken in one ?) and a fully-functional 1930-es vacuum tube radio with a mandatory iPad dock. We have also learned that a massive collection of working vintage vacuum tubes has been donated to the hackerspace, so if you’re in need you know who to call.
The event has also featured a long list of
industry participants
. The product launch we were most impressed with was Easel by Inventables, an in-browser app that enables easy control of their Shapeoko CNC milling machine and definitely has the potential of bringing the joys of design and fabrication to much larger masses.
However, the most interesting things we saw were the ones a bit outside of the current tech mainstream. [Dennis] from
UT Austin iGEM team
showed some of the crazy work the synthetic biologists are doing out there. They have engineered Escherichia coli so that it is addicted to caffeine, used cell growth as a measure of caffeine content in particular drinks, and used that to rank local Austin coffee shops! We have also talked with several guys working on automated gardens and soil sensors who were educating attendees about the huge potential that increased environmental data aggregation can have on the ways we grow food.
To quote the
Growerbot
guys : “We definitely have enough Internet-connected teddy bears. We need more Internet-connected tomato plants”.
Stick with us after the jump to see a gallery with all our adventures at 2014 SXSW.
ZJbG9Xu | 9 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1256766",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2014-03-12T17:30:58",
"content": "Actually the internet needs a tweeting furby with Tourette Syndrome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1256769",
"author": "wretch",
"timestam... | 1,760,376,279.083715 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/10/adding-a-manual-z-axis-to-your-laser/ | Adding A Manual Z-axis To Your Laser | James Hobson | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Laser Hacks"
] | [
"z-axis replacement"
] | [Martin Raynsford] sells lasers, and laser cuts stuff for a living — we’re kinda jealous. Anyway, laser cutters from China are great, but sometimes lack certain functionality, so he decided to add his
own z-axis feature!
The main laser cutter he uses has a very slow z-axis, and it’s also difficult to control — a job can’t be paused to adjust the height offset, the datum must be set every time manually, and you have to be in the very top level of the menu in order to do anything with it! With this in mind, [Martin] decided to add his own z-axis control, completely separate from the laser’s on board control system.
He’s using an Arduino Pro Mini to control the stepper motor with PWM. His new controller has four buttons — fast and slow, in each direction. He’s used the original end stops to protect the axis, and he’s also added a feature to set a datum by holding down both fast and slow buttons at the same time. It ended up being a very cheap upgrade to his system, and he’s also shared the source for anyone looking to recreate it.
For other useful laser cutter hacks, don’t forget to check out this super cheap method of
making your own laser mirrors!
Or how about a cheap honeycomb bed
made out of a radiator? | 3 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "1253451",
"author": "0xfred",
"timestamp": "2014-03-11T12:29:09",
"content": "A hack? That luxury, that is! I dream of a Z-axis as nice as that ;-)This is a hack… 4 coach bolts in each corner to support the Z axis. I even drew little arrows on them to make it easier to get it level.... | 1,760,376,279.024304 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/10/isse-3-we-get-signal/ | ISEE-3: We Get Signal | Brian Benchoff | [
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"Deep Space Network",
"ICE/ISEE-3",
"ISSE-3",
"you have no chance to survive make your time"
] | Out in the depths of space, more than 100 times the distance from the Earth to the moon, there’s a lonely spacecraft gracefully spinning towards an August encounter with our planet. It’s ICE/ISEE-3, a probe long-forgotten by official space agencies. Now, the team dedicated to repurposing this satellite
has made contact with this probe
using a 20-meter satellite dish in Germany.
When we first heard about the
planned communication by volunteers
, no one was certain the probe was still alive. It shouldn’t be a surprise this satellite was still functioning; it was launched in 1978, and most of the instruments were still functioning in 2008. Still, this is the first time amateurs – not NASA – had received a signal from the probe
ICEteam, the group of volunteers dedicated to reviving this spacecraft used the huge dish at Boshum observatory to detect the 5 Watt carrier signal coming from the spacecraft. That’s all the probe is sending out right now – no data was received – but this is a huge accomplishment and the first step towards directing ICE/ISEE-3 into an orbit around one of the Earth-Sun Lagrange points.
Side note: Looking at
the ephemeris data
(target -111) I *think* ICE/ISEE-3 will be above the night side of Earth at closest approach. Can anyone confirm that, and does that mean a future mission at L2?
Video from the ICEteam below. | 35 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "1252015",
"author": "Telek",
"timestamp": "2014-03-10T23:04:34",
"content": "I remember reading about this recently (thanks to xkcd, no less) and saddened that no official agency was *able* to communicate. I didn’t know the details, but it seemed ludicrous that a multi billion doll... | 1,760,376,279.223543 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/10/black-orb-just-wants-someone-to-talk-with/ | Black Orb Just Wants Someone To Talk With | Adam Fabio | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"adafruit wave shield",
"arduino",
"Space Replay"
] | A team at the Royal College of Art has created
Space Replay
, a floating black orb that records and plays back conversations from passers-by. Space Replay is a neutrally buoyant helium balloon carrying a small payload. An Arduino, an Adafruit Wave Shield, and a small speaker make up the balloons’ brain. The team used the
waverp
library to record and play back sounds through their shield. 3 lithium coin cells power the system. A small vacuum formed plastic housing keeps all the internal parts together, as well as acts as a small speaker cone to amplify sounds entering and leaving the orb.
As the video shows, the final result is rather creepy. A slight breeze in a subway station caused the orb to move slowly down the hallway. One would think that space replay would freak a few people out, or at least entice the curious to touch it. Other than one amused elevator rider, the unflappable London public paid no mind to it. Maybe if it had some tea… | 22 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "1251575",
"author": "Doctor Device",
"timestamp": "2014-03-10T20:11:24",
"content": "so, now we know what the early stages of Rover development look like… I wouldn’t think urban spaces would be good preparation for the deserts surrounding The Village.",
"parent_id": null,
"d... | 1,760,376,279.14907 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/10/hackaday-projects-open-to-the-public/ | Hackaday Projects: Open To The Public | Mike Szczys | [
"Featured"
] | [
"alpha",
"hac.io",
"hackaday-projects",
"hackaday.io",
"public"
] | We’re letting
anybody
in — now’s your chance to
lay claim to your piece of Hackaday Projects
.
We’ve been watching as a few thousand Hackadayers kick the tires and light the fires of our new hosting website: Hackaday Projects. But you can’t keep these things under wraps forever, and we’re happy to open up the service to anyone who would like an account. Join this vibrant little community by setting up your profile (real or anonymous, we don’t really care) and showing everyone what you’ve been working on in that basement lab of yours. Perhaps we should mention that
public
doesn’t mean
finished
. We’re still in Alpha with the site, but with the help of the testers over the last few months this is a very respectable alpha!
If you already had a testing account there are a few new things to note. Astute readers who hovered over the link above noticed that it’s a different URL from the one to which you’re accustomed. We registered
hackaday.io
as the main domain and also
hac.io
which will eventually be a URL shortener. We also implemented “
The Stack
” which is the complement to “The Heap” (currently unimplemented). The two serve as… well, why don’t you go and find out for yourself what they’re for? After all, hackers don’t need to be told how to do things, right? | 13 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1251271",
"author": "supershwa",
"timestamp": "2014-03-10T17:39:47",
"content": "Excuse me, but could you help me with directions to….haha nah I’m just kidding. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1251280",
"author": "Peter ... | 1,760,376,279.339232 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/10/welcome-to-droning-on/ | Welcome To Droning On | Adam Fabio | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"News"
] | [
"Droning On",
"quadcopter",
"Trappy"
] | Welcome to Droning On, Hackaday’s new column covering all things unmanned. In this column we will primarily focus on aerial vehicles, both fixed and rotary wing. Expect to see traditional R/C, as well as First Person View (FPV) models, computer controlled autopilot systems, as well as anything new that shows up on our radar.
First, a little bit of history. The earliest radio control vehicle in history was designed by a man known well to Hackaday,
Nikola Tesla
. Tesla
presented a radio controlled boat
at an electrical exhibition in New York in 1898. Tesla called the system “Teleautomaton” and said the craft utilized a borrowed mind. In addition to cruising around a man made pond, the boat could solve equations by blinking lights atop two of its masts. Tesla would encourage viewers to call out math equations, then flash the lights from the boat’s control panel.
For many years R/C as well as its cousins Free Flight and control line were hobbies occupied solely by hackers. One needed to have metal machining skills to build engine parts, draftsman skills to read plans, and carpentry skills to build airframes. Radios were built from tubes. Control, if it may be called such, was all or nothing – so-called “
bang-bang
” systems. Much like their model railroad compatriots, R/C plane modelers built with the parts they had on hand. Several early DIY R/C planes were controlled by rotary telephone dials. Dial 1 to pull up, 2 to turn left, etc. Control surfaces were moved by rubber powered
escapements
rather than the servos we’ve come to know and love. Aerodynamics also came into play. With such rudimentary control systems, planes were designed to be inherently stable. Thankfully there were numerous proven air frame designs available from the free flight arena. Slow flight, high
dihedral
, and docile stall behavior were the rule of the day. Early R/C planes could be thought of as free flight vehicles with occasional suggestions via radio control. Click past the break to find out more about drone history, and to read about the recent FAA judgement.
The burgeoning R/C industry gave rise to military drones. The
Radioplane OQ-2
was designed by actor/Hobby Shop owner Reginald Denny. The OQ-2 saw operation as a target drone, often used to improve the targeting skills of Navy gunners. Models that survived target practice were landed via parachute. The OQ-2 and its derivatives were produced in the thousands in the World War 2 era. In the height of the OQ-2’s popularity, Yank magazine ordered a photo shoot in the factory. Norma Jeane Dougherty, one of the OQ-2 Factory workers, was selected to pose with partially assembled OQ-2s for the shoot. The resulting photo helped launched her career as Marilyn Monroe.
As time went on helicopters also saw use as drones. The
Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH
was a
contra-rotating
rotary wing craft flown from WWII era Navy Destroyers. The QH-50 first flew in 1959, with a mission of finding and attacking Russian submarines. Interestingly, the DASH used rotor tip vanes to achieve yaw control, as the rotor blades were directly linked in via the turboshaft engine gearbox. 755 DASH systems were built. When shipboard service ended, they were used to tow aerial targets at White Sands and China Lake until their retirement in 2006.
The last 15 years or so has seen an explosion of smaller drones, often categorized as “Small Unmanned Aerial Systems” (sUAS). This category covers military, commercial, and personal drones, as well as R/C systems. The increase in prevalence can be traced to several technologies improving. Thanks to
MEMS technology
, gyroscopes and accelerometers are now chip scale. In the past, precision gyros were large, heavy systems. Even Radio Control helicopter gyros were 1.5” square boxes containing a power-hungry motor and a spinning brass wight.
Lithium batteries, both Li-Ion and LiPo have increased power density and maximum current over their Nickle-Cadmium (NiCAD) and Nickle Metal Hydride (NiMH) counterparts. Electric motors have advanced from the brushed motors of the past to efficient brushless motors. The move from inrunner to outrunner motors has eliminated the need for power robbing gearboxes. Frequency hopping 2.4Ghz Radios have had a huge impact on the R/C side of things. Older 72MHz radios operated on single frequencies. If two radios were transmitting on the same frequency, a flying aircraft would not be able to discern which one was from its transmitter, leading to “shoot downs” and crashes.
But it’s not all clear skies and calm winds in drone land. Media coverage often equates small drones operated by private citizens with large military drones. Public privacy concerns abound. In the USA, a long brewing fight over drone flight has come to a head.
Historically, the Federal Aviation Administration has maintained control for full scale aircraft in the United States. The semi-official governing body of model aircraft has been
The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA)
. The AMA has existed since 1936 as a voluntary organization. In June of 1981, the FAA issued an
advisory on the operation of model aircraft
(PDF link). The AMA expanded upon these rules in their
official safety code
(PDF link).
With respect to full scale aircraft, the primary takeaways from these rules are:
Fly below 400 feet above ground level (AGL)
Do not fly within 3 miles of a full scale airport without permission of the airport operator.
Yield to human carrying aircraft.
While 2 and 3 are common sense, rule 1 has always been disregarded and treated with disdain.
YouTube is filled
with
videos of planes, helicopters, and multicopters
over 400 feet. Travel to any AMA field on any given Sunday, and you’ll find models flying above 400 feet.
This was the state of affairs until the early 2000’s, when aerial photography became popular in the model aircraft crowd. As systems improved, modelers began performing for-pay photo shoots. In 2007, the FAA issued a
notice effectively banning commercial flight of small unmanned aerial systems
. While private use is still legal, An entire industry sits waiting for the governing body to set some regulations in place. This is a situation near and dear to my heart. I last wrote about it 3 years ago in
my own blog
. Between 2005 and 2013, federal foot-dragging was the name of the game. Some commercial R/C photography companies sprang up, many using the “loophole” that they were flying their R/C planes with cameras for fun, and only selling the pictures for profit. Several of these operators have received informal calls as well as
formal cease and desist letters
from the FAA.
Things came to a head with a
2011 commercial flight made at the University of Virgnia by Raphel Pirker, aka Trappy
of Team Black Sheep. Trappy is a Swiss citizen living abroad. His plane is a 56” Styrofoam flying wing, which he often flies via First Person Video (FPV). In the past he’s made incredible non-commercial flights. One example has
Trappy flying near several famous New York City bridges
as well as The Statue of Liberty. Videos like this put Trappy squarely in the cross-hairs of the FAA. They decided to act with a $10,000 fine on the UVA video. Trappy appealed the issue to a court case, which was
decided by Judge Patrick G. Geraghty on March 6, 2014
(PDF link). Jude Geraghty’s threw out Trappy’s fine. He further ruled that the restrictions put into place by the 2007 FAA notice were not enforceable, as they were simply policy notices, not created as part of the formal rule-making process. At first blush it would seem that the skies over the USA have been opened. However, the
FAA has appealed the ruling
to the National Transportation Saftey Board. According to the FAA press release, this keeps Jude Geraghty’s decision from taking effect until the NTSB makes a decision. The FAA has also
issued a news statement “Busting Myths” about Unmanned aircraft
. Consider the source, and take this one as you may.
That about wraps it up for the first edition of Droning On!
[Images from
Wikimedia Commons
] | 15 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1251084",
"author": "scorinth",
"timestamp": "2014-03-10T16:20:09",
"content": "As far as I can tell, the FAA myths article is accurate, but depressingly one-sided. The truth is that these systems *do* fall under FAA regulation. It’s just that the FAA has always said, “Eh, fuck it, ... | 1,760,376,279.289029 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/10/a-fpga-based-bus-pirate-clone/ | A FPGA Based Bus Pirate Clone | Eric Evenchick | [
"FPGA",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"bus pirate",
"open cores",
"OpenRISC",
"tools"
] | A necessary tool for embedded development is a device that can talk common protocols such as UART, SPI, and I2C. The
XC6BP
is an open source device that can work with a variety of protocols.
As the name suggests, the XC6BP is a clone of the
Bus Pirate
, but based on a Xilinx Spartan-6 FPGA. The
AltOR32
soft CPU is loaded on the FPGA. This is a fully functional processor based on the
OpenRISC
architecture. While the FPGA is more expensive than a microcontroller, it can be fully reprogrammed. It’s also possible to build hardware on the FPGA to perform a variety of tasks.
A simple USB stack runs on the soft CPU, creating a virtual COM port. Combined with the USB transceiver, this provides communication with a host PC. The device is even compatible with the Bus Pirate case and probe connector. While it won’t replace the Bus Pirate as a low-cost tool, it is neat to see someone using an open source core to build a useful, open hardware device. | 19 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1250883",
"author": "sal0m0n",
"timestamp": "2014-03-10T13:49:18",
"content": "I do like the Zeroplus Logic Analizer, I think it is the best I cant get for that price, About 120 bucks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1250913",
... | 1,760,376,279.681539 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/10/hacking-radio-controlled-outlets/ | Hacking Radio Controlled Outlets | Eric Evenchick | [
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"cc1111",
"RFCat",
"RTL-SDR",
"sdr",
"software-defined radio"
] | It’s no surprise that there’s a lot of devices out of there that use simple RF communication with minimal security. To explore this, [Gordon] took a look at
attacking radio controlled outlets
.
He started off with a
CC1111 evaluation kit
, which supports the
RFCat
RF attack tool set. RFCat lets you interact with the CC1111 using a Python interface. After
flashing the CC1111 with the RFCat firmware
, the device was ready to use. Next up, [Gordon] goes into detail about
replaying amplitude shift keying messages
using the RFCat. He used an Arduino and the
rc-switch
library to generate signals that are compatible with the outlets.
In order to work with the outlets, the signal had to be sniffed. This was done using
RTL-SDR
and a low-cost TV tuner dongle. By exporting the sniffed signal and analyzing it, the modulation could be determined. The final step was writing a Python script to replay the messages using the RFCat.
The hack is a good combination of software defined radio techniques, ending with a successful attack. Watch a video of the replay attack after the break. | 5 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1250676",
"author": "Mo",
"timestamp": "2014-03-10T11:11:55",
"content": "Get a tripod your video make me sea sick.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1250750",
"author": "yatko",
"timestamp": "2014-03-10T12:08:59",
"co... | 1,760,376,279.500049 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/08/vintage-vertical-nixie-clock/ | Vintage Vertical Nixie Clock | Marsh | [
"clock hacks"
] | [
"nixie",
"nixie clock"
] | There’s no shortage of Nixie-related projects online, but
this vertical wall clock
is a solid build and looks pretty sleek. [andreas] actually sourced the wood from an old handrail, into which he drilled six holes for the tubes with 30mm bits, then treated it with some woodworm poison after noticing holes his drill wasn’t responsible for.
The schematic is what you’d expect for a Nixie clock, designed with
123D circuits
. [andreas] provides both top and bottom layers in a high-res PDF if you’d prefer to etch your own boards at home rather than order a PCB from the man. He took the finished board and soldered all the components in place, using tape to prevent some short circuit possibilities and mounting the result onto a pair of black plastic rails. The entire assembly mounts to the wooden case and is rounded off with glued-on end caps and a back cover. As always, be aware of the danger presented by the high voltage requirements of Nixie Tubes, and don’t go licking the components. | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1248137",
"author": "carcanhol",
"timestamp": "2014-03-09T06:09:35",
"content": "Nice project, i wonder how would it look with dekatron’s instead of numbers.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1248580",
"author": "Andy7",
"... | 1,760,376,279.729448 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/08/a-cocktail-shaker-with-android-and-arduino/ | A Cocktail Shaker With Android And Arduino | Brian Benchoff | [
"Android Hacks",
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"android",
"arduino",
"cocktail"
] | The most rewarding part of any project must be sitting down to see the fruits of your labors set in action for the first time and relaxing with a nice drink. [Tony DiCola] is really showing off his ability to think ahead, because his
smart cocktail shaker
takes care of the post-build celebration, measuring out drinks with exacting precision.
The build measures out precise amounts of any liquid with the help of a small electronic scale [Tony] picked up from Harbor Freight. Instead of trying to interface with the electronics in the scale, he instead connected a INA125 instrument amplifier to the load cell. An Arduino micro measures the weight on the load cell, and with the known densities of gin, vermouth, and Kahlua, [Tony] can get a very good idea of how much liquid is in the cocktail shaker.
The really neat part of this build is the interface: [Tony] wrote an Android app for his tablet that talks to the Arduino with an
Adafruit Bluefruit
Bluetooth adapter. The app receives the current weight on the load cell, displays the current amount of liquor in the cocktail shaker, and provides step-by-step instructions for making any cocktail.
It’s a handy little device to keep around the liquor cabinet, and with an absurd amount of pumps and valves could easily become the basis for a very cool cocktail bot. | 1 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "1845215",
"author": "Jer",
"timestamp": "2014-09-20T02:58:00",
"content": "Brian, are you sharing your Arduino and Android programs for this?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,376,279.625111 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/08/automated-phone-crackerapp-tester-steps-it-up-a-notch/ | Automated Phone Cracker/App Tester Steps It Up A Notch | James Hobson | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"delta robot",
"phone password hack",
"phone tester"
] | Delta robots like
this automated phone tester
are awesome: high speed, accuracy, and mesmerizing to watch. [Justin Engler], a security researcher from ISEC Partners (also speaks at DEFCON on occasion) needed a robot to help with repetitive testing. He contacted the folks over at
Marginally Clever
to see if they could help him out, and they came up with this slick delta robot.
Normally they build these robots out of plywood, but [Justin] requested a bit more of a modern look, and although it looks blue, it’s actually clear acrylic: they haven’t removed the protective film yet. The robot is quite functional, but [Justin] plans on upgrading it in the future to increase the top speed. It currently has a built-in camera, using OpenCV to watch the log-in screen as it tries every combination as quickly as possible.
Stick around to see it in action!
[Justin] and his robot will be at SXSW on Saturday, March 8 if you want to see it in person. Plus maybe
you’ll see us there! | 20 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1247348",
"author": "RP",
"timestamp": "2014-03-09T00:29:22",
"content": "I would think using this techniquehttp://hackaday.com/2012/05/04/reaching-out-to-a-touch-screen-with-a-microcontroller/would be much easier…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,376,280.066043 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/08/the-tannin-diy-midi-controller/ | The Tannin DIY MIDI Controller | Adam Fabio | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"midi",
"Tannin"
] | [Shantea] needed a DJ controller. While there are commercial controllers out there, none of them fit what he was looking for. He solved the problem by
building the Tannin DIY MIDI controller
. Tannin features 19 buttons, 16 potentiometers, and 4 LEDs. Buttons can send different
MIDI
messages for short presses and long presses. Pots can send 6 note on/off messages as well as MIDI control messages depending on their position. The LEDs blink in beat with the MIDI in clock. Everything is programmable and can be mapped thousands of different ways. The heart of the system is an Arduino Nano. [Shantea] used the
hairless-midi
library to convert MIDI to serial. The Arduino interfaces to a PC via serial over USB. On the host PC side, he ran
loopbe30
to create a virtual MIDI cable to
Traktor
, his DJ software.
We love a build that looks just as good on the inside as on the outside, and Tannin doesn’t fail to impress in this respect. The frame is MDF, and the control panel is laser etched plastic on 3mm of Plexiglass. We really like Tannin’s
flavone
flair. Inside the case, wiring is kept organized and neat by zip ties and strips of wood below the button grid. [Shantea] had some noise issues connecting pots to flying wires, so he used a custom printed circuit board with a ground plane to gang the pots into 2 banks of 8. The results are something any
controllerist
would be proud of. Click past the break to see Tannin in action.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh2d0BJjfGw | 11 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1246849",
"author": "Whomp Shantea",
"timestamp": "2014-03-08T21:17:22",
"content": "Thanks for featuring my project!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1248096",
"author": "TigerUp",
"timestamp": "2014-03-09T05:4... | 1,760,376,280.004226 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/08/the-lathon-dual-nozzle-3d-printer/ | The LATHON Dual Nozzle 3D Printer | Marsh | [
"3d Printer hacks",
"Crowd Funding",
"Hackerspaces"
] | [
"3d print",
"3d printer filament",
"dual extrusion",
"filament",
"filament extruder"
] | Our friends at Freeside Atlanta have been keeping busy despite the city-stopping snowstorms they’ve been suffering recently. This time it’s a 3D printer with dual extrusion:
the LATHON printer
. [Nohtal] bought his first 3D printer only two years ago, but his experiences led him to build his own to overcome some of the issues he encountered with standard printers.
The LATHON keeps the bed stable and instead moves only the nozzles, using
Bowden extrusion
to reduce the weight on the moving parts. A key feature is the addition of a second nozzle, which usually limits the print area. The LATHON, however, maintains a 12″x9″x8″ build volume thanks to the Bowden extruders. [Nohtal] documents the majority of his build process on Freeside’s blog, including using a plastic from GE called Ultem 2300 for the print bed, and running the printer through its paces with a slew of materials: ABS, PLA, HIPS, Nylon, TPE, Wood, and Carbon Fiber. You can find more information on
the Kickstarter page
or at
lathon.net
Check out some videos below! | 24 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1246304",
"author": "sparhawk817",
"timestamp": "2014-03-08T18:14:43",
"content": "now all we need is an induction heated nozzle for metals, etc…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1246380",
"author": "Liam Jackson",
"times... | 1,760,376,280.133334 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/08/emudroid-4-completed/ | EmuDroid 4: Completed! | James Hobson | [
"3d Printer hacks",
"Android Hacks"
] | [
"emudroid 4",
"gaming controller",
"modified controller"
] | [Tony Huang] is checking in with his EmuDroid 4 gaming controller. After tons of redesigns —
it is now finished!
We first started following this project back in November, when it was in an
early prototype stage.
What he has done is crammed a 4″ Android tablet, the guts of a USB SNES controller, a USB OTG adapter and inductive charging unit into a custom designed 3D printed housing.
What we really like about this project is the level of documentation [Tony] has gone into during his many… many… many iterations of the 3D printed housing. For those of you who aren’t engineers or designers, it’s a great insight into what goes into prototyping a product before release. Now just imagine what it was like when we
didn’t
have 3D printers!
He’s also apparently giving away a free tablet for a promotion for DroidBuild right now — we’re not too sure if it includes the controller. And if you’re interested in building your own, he’s shared the .STL files on
Thingiverse!
Also — what ever happened to that
Mickey-Mouse styled Steam Controller
Valve announced last fall? | 13 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "1245972",
"author": "justice099",
"timestamp": "2014-03-08T15:39:53",
"content": "This is why I can only see using a 3D printer to make prototypes. Then bondo and sand the crap out of it and make traditional molds and casts of the parts.Also, sadly the part I really wanted to learn ... | 1,760,376,280.187805 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/08/the-amazing-ping-pong-robot/ | Real Or Fake? The Amazing Ping-Pong Robot | Nick Conn | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"ping pong",
"ping pong robot",
"robot",
"table tennis",
"table tennis robot"
] | Would you like to play a
robot in ping pong
(
translated
)? We sure would. Inspired by an upcoming face-off between
man and machine
, [Jakob] wrote in to tell us about [Ulf Hoffmann’s] ping-pong playing robot. If you ever wanted to play ping-pong when no one else was around or are just sick and tired of playing against the same opponents this project is for you. Boy is this thing amazing; you simply must see the robot in action in the video after the break.
While the robot’s build is not documented all in one post, [Ulf Hoffmann’s] blog has many videos and mini posts about how he went about building the paddle wielding wonder. The build runs the range from first ideas, to hand-drawn sketches, to the technical drawings seen above. From these the parts of the arm were built, but the mechanical assembly is only one portion of the project. It also required software to track the ball and calculate how to properly return it. Be sure to browse through his past posts, there is a wealth of information there.
Also be sure to check in on March 11th to see who wins the
epic face-off
between man and machine. See the trailer (the second embedded video) after the break.
UPDATE:
Many commentators are calling this one a fake. It’s so sad to think that, because this is a
really
cool project. But we’ve changed the title and are asking you to weigh in on whether you think it is real or fake. We’ve also contacted [Ulf] and asked if it is real hardware, or a CGI enhanced video. We’ll let you know if/when we hear back from him. | 60 | 44 | [
{
"comment_id": "1245637",
"author": "Moser Labs",
"timestamp": "2014-03-08T12:05:08",
"content": "Argh!! I got plans in my head to make a ball shooter for one man ping pong (A-la trainer, like in real tennis). Fargin Germans have to one up me. Bastards!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,376,280.286937 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/09/kinect-wiper-motor-lego-3d-scanner/ | Kinect + Wiper Motor + LEGO = 3D Scanner | Rich Bremer | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"3d body scanner",
"3d scanner",
"3d scanning",
"Kinect"
] | [Christopher] from the Bamberg Germany hackerspace, [Backspace], wrote in to tell us about one of the group’s most recent projects. It’s a Kinect-based
3D scanner
(
translated
) that has been made mostly from parts lying around the shop.
There are 2 main components to the hardware-side of this build; the Kinect Stand and the Rotating Platform. The Kinect sits atop a platform made from LEGO pieces. This platform rides up and down an extruded aluminum rail, powered by an old windshield wiper motor.
The Rotating Platform went through a couple of iterations. The first was an un-powered platform supported by 5 roller blade wheels. The lack of automatic rotation didn’t work out so well for scanning so out came another windshield wiper motor which was strapped to an old office chair with the seat replaced by a piece of MDF. This setup may not be the best for the acrophobic, but the scan results speak for themselves.
[Christopher] also shares the software workflow that the group uses to complete the 3D scans and print the models; Skanect for scanning, Meshlab and Meshmixer for editing the model and KISSslicer to generate the g-code for the 3D Printer.
There have been several DIY 3D Scanners featured on Hackaday in the past, including this
webcam-based scanner
from LVL1 Hackerspace and the open source project,
OpenSkan
. | 5 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "1250218",
"author": "mustachio",
"timestamp": "2014-03-10T04:47:39",
"content": "To be honest the results aren’t actually that great",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1250681",
"author": "JustSo",
"timestamp": "2... | 1,760,376,280.332595 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/09/hackaday-links-march-9-2014/ | Hackaday Links: March 9, 2014 | Brian Benchoff | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"coupon",
"enigma",
"keyboard",
"led",
"LED pipes",
"lego",
"Misumi"
] | Thinking about starting a CNC machine, 3D printer, or laser cutter project? Misumi has you covered.
They’re offering up $150 worth of free stuff
with a coupon code. [CharlieX]
is putting together a BuildLog laser cutter
, a whole bunch of people on reddit
are building 3D printers
, and I have most of the rods for an i3 build. Just use the promotion code
First150
on your order. Actually, read the
terms and conditions
, but rest assured – this is legit.
A few months ago, we saw
this Enigma cypher machine
that combines the classic late-30s aesthetic of the original with modern hardware – including a few 16-segment displays.
Now there’s a Kickstarter
for the Open Source Enigma replica, and it looks like it’s going to end up being pretty popular.
Here’s the site
with all the deets. Check out that QWERTZ keyboard.
[Jason] has a love of LEGO and a terrible keyboard. Combine the two and he came up with
a functional LEGO keyboard
. The electronics are, sadly, an old PS/2 membrane keyboard, but the mechanicals are a work of art – all the keys are mounted on a grid of Technic parts that can be positioned over each of the membrane buttons.
Want a really cool look for your next enclosure? How about LED pipes? They’re those clear plastic bits that direct the light from LEDs around corners and can make any enclosure looks like a Star Trek set piece.
You can cut these things with a laser cutter
like the Alima team did with their indoor air quality meter. Looks pretty cool. | 4 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1249985",
"author": "SYNTRONIKS",
"timestamp": "2014-03-10T00:59:35",
"content": "We’re going to use this at the company I work for. I happened to already have an account. Their selection is not comprehensive but this seems like more of a “made to order” outfit. Very nice business. ... | 1,760,376,280.378521 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/09/building-the-mountainbeest/ | Building The Mountainbeest | Brian Benchoff | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"mountainbeest",
"robot",
"strandbeest"
] | Builder extraordinaire and Hackaday alum [Jeremy] was asked by a friend about “doing something really crazy” for his local Makerfaire this year. That Makerfaire clock is ticking down, and not wanting to build awesome from scratch, referred his friend to a few of the temporarily shelved projects from the last year. The winning incomplete build
was the Mountainbeest
, a four-legged mechanical walker inspired by [Theo Jansen]’s Strandbeest.
We’ve seen
the beginnings of the Mountainbeest before
, starting with [Jeremy] building the linkages for one leg. This build
turned into two legs
and now it’s a full-on quadruped, theoretically capable of rambling over the lush mountains in [Jeremy]’s backyard.
The plan now is for [Jeremy] to get is Beest walking with the help of windshield wiper motors left over from a failed hexapod build. He’s not ging all the details yet, but it looks like the power train will be made out of bike parts. Video of the current state of the project below. | 7 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "1249560",
"author": "dombeef",
"timestamp": "2014-03-09T20:08:50",
"content": "Hrm, I wonder how much more efficient it is over Theo Jansen’s design(didnt he use a computer to calculate the best design over many different revisions?)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"rep... | 1,760,376,280.425706 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/09/next-weekend-the-midwest-reprap-festival/ | Next Weekend: The Midwest Reprap Festival | Brian Benchoff | [
"3d Printer hacks",
"cons",
"Featured"
] | [
"festival",
"midwest",
"reprap",
"reprap festival"
] | Guess what next weekend is? It’s the
Midwest Reprap Festival, in Goshen, Indiana
. We’ll also be there keeping tabs on an absurd amount of new RepRaps and other 3D printers, new filaments, and distributing a ludicrous amount of Hackaday swag.
The highlights of the fest include the folks from
Lulzbot
and
UltiMachine
, [Prusa] showing off his i3, [Nick Seward] and the
Wally
,
Simpson
, and
Lisa
RepRaps, and hundreds of other RepRappers showing off their latest projects and printers.
Here’s the best part: it’s all free! It would be cool
if you register
before making the trip out, but any way you look at it, it’ll be an awesome weekend. It’s also the largest US gathering of 3D printer aficionados that isn’t on the east or west coast. | 1 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "1252082",
"author": "Ralph",
"timestamp": "2014-03-10T23:39:36",
"content": "Anyone going who can print me up a couple parts and I can pay/pickup at the festival?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,376,280.465051 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/09/ask-hackaday-wiping-your-bum-with-an-arduino/ | Ask Hackaday: Wiping Your Bum With An Arduino? | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Ask Hackaday"
] | [
"toilet paper",
"toilet paper alarm"
] | Over or under? Standing or sitting? Truly, toilet paper has been the focus of the most irreconcilable arguments ever. The folks on the Arduino Stack Exchange have a far more important question:
how do you trigger an alarm when your TP supply is low?
[user706837] asked the Internet this question in response to his kids never replacing an empty roll. This eliminates the most obvious means of notifying someone of an empty roll – looking at it before you sit down – and brings up a few interesting engineering challenges.
Most of the initial ideas deal with weight or some sort of light sensor that can differentiate between the white TP and the brown roll.
A much, much more interesting solution
puts a radioactive source in the TP holder’s spring-loaded rod and uses a sensor to detect how much TP is left. A quick back-of-the-wolfram calculation suggests this might be possible, and amazingly, not too dangerous.
We’re turning this one over to you, Hackaday readers. How would you design an empty toilet paper alarm? Bonus points awarded for ingenuity and cat resistance.
Image source
, and also one of the longest and most absurd Wikipedia articles ever. | 83 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "1248898",
"author": "migue",
"timestamp": "2014-03-09T14:09:52",
"content": "A device which measure weight of the roll, using an extensometer? you only have to calibrate it for differents toilet papers…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment... | 1,760,376,281.669964 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/09/fetching-etchings-for-stainless-steel/ | Fetching Etchings For Stainless Steel | Kristina Panos | [
"Beer Hacks",
"chemistry hacks",
"cooking hacks",
"how-to"
] | [
"brew kettle",
"electroetching",
"homebrew",
"kettle"
] | What do you do when you have a 10-gallon brew kettle (or any other stainless steel or aluminium thing) with no volume markings (or Hack a Day logos)? If you’re [Itsgus], you use science to
etch some markings with a few household items and a 9V
and you call it a day.
[Itsgus] used 1/4c vinegar and 1/4tsp of salt to form an electro-etchant and applied it with a Q-tip connected to the negative terminal of a 9V. He used tape to connect a wire between the positive terminal and the kettle. The vinegar dissolves the salt, creating negatively charged ions. Connected correctly to a 9V, the process removes metal where the current flows. If you were to connect it in reverse, you would add a small amount of metal.
The process only takes a few seconds. When the etchant starts to sizzle and bubble, Bob’s your uncle.
Even though the stainless steel’s natural coat re-oxidizes over the etches, you should probably wash that thing before you brew. If you prefer adding metal to removing it, try
electroplating copper on the cheap
. | 25 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "1248724",
"author": "asdf the third",
"timestamp": "2014-03-09T12:06:45",
"content": "But does it rust?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1248739",
"author": "RicoElectrico",
"timestamp": "2014-03-09T12:19:16",
... | 1,760,376,280.877228 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/09/another-awesome-electronics-lab-in-a-box/ | Another Awesome Electronics Lab In A Box | James Hobson | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"electronics lab",
"electronics lab in a box",
"portable lab",
"portable workspace"
] | We called, and [Brian Zweerink] answered! Here’s another awesome example of making an
electronics lab in a box!
But first off, who the heck is [Brian Zweerink]? He’s a fellow who helped us win the
Redbull Creation Challenge of 2012
by building and programming the circuits for
The Minotaur’s Revenge Dueling Labyrinths!
We really need to do stuff like that again… What do you guys think?
Anyway, back to the hack. [Brian’s] version of the
Make Your Electronics Lab in a Box
, is similar, but also unique. What we like about his version is the electrical outlets inside the box for plugging in tools, the super-handy-stash-away-magnifying-lamp, and the size of his box; lots of room for storing components up on the top shelf! The only thing he’s missing is his oscilloscope, which was a bit too deep for the box, so it had to stay separate.
What do you guys think?
[via
Reddit
] | 20 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "1248441",
"author": "John Dow",
"timestamp": "2014-03-09T09:39:11",
"content": "Want!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1248450",
"author": "hemalchevli",
"timestamp": "2014-03-09T09:46:14",
"content": "Third hand and ... | 1,760,376,281.372421 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/08/mathematical-3d-printed-bmo-has-a-full-range-of-emotions/ | Mathematical! 3D Printed BMO Has A Full Range Of Emotions | James Hobson | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"3d printed bmo",
"adventure time",
"finn and jake"
] | Big fan of Adventure Time? Then you’re going to love this adorable
3D printed BMO robot!
Adventure-what?
Adventure Time
is a “kids” TV show about Finn (the human) and Jake (the dog), and their personal computer, BMO, a quirky little robot Game Boy. It’s one of the shows that adults can enjoy as well — sometimes wondering how it even
is
a kids show compared to other stuff on TV!
Anyway, [Noé] and [Pedro] are big fans of the show and they have decided to try making their own 3D printed BMO. It makes use of an 8×8 LED matrix to display BMO’s full range of emotions, which is controlled by a
Gemma
— a tiny 1″ diameter Attiny85 platform board programmable with the Arduino IDE over USB. They’ve even found a super handy
animation tool for the LED matrix
, which allows you to very easily add your own expressions and animations — simply copy the output code, replace anim.h, and you’re in business!
Stick around to see how it’s done!
If I push this button, you will both be dangerously transported into my main brain game frame, where it is very dangerous.
~BMO | 2 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "1245594",
"author": "Indyaner",
"timestamp": "2014-03-08T11:37:34",
"content": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEDVop64UmM",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1245784",
"author": "aetgjop",
"timestamp": "2014-03-0... | 1,760,376,280.918161 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/07/solving-endstop-woes-with-a-simple-analog-filter/ | Solving Endstop Woes With A Simple Analog Filter | Nick Conn | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"endstop",
"filter",
"low pass filter",
"reprap"
] | You know what’s cool? Using your engineering knowledge to solve problems that you have while building something. This is exactly what [Reinis] did when his 3D printer’s
endstop wasn’t working
.
Many of us automatically go to a
microcontroller
when we run into a problem with a sensor, but often a simple
analog filter
will do the trick. The endstop in [Reinis’s]
RepRap
style 3D printer was giving off an unusual amount of noise when closed. When he hooked the endstop up to his oscilloscope, he was shocked to see how much noise there really was. In comes the low-pass filter. Unhappy with the response time of his low-pass filter, [Reinis] solved the problem using a pullup resistor. Two resistors and a capacitor was all that he needed to fix the problem. A great solution!
How have you used analog filters in your projects?
Send us a tip
and let us know! | 19 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1245067",
"author": "Andy",
"timestamp": "2014-03-08T06:33:09",
"content": "Hi,another possibility is to do this “debouncing” is to use a flip flop, I think there are hundreds of schematics out there how to do that.It’s a bit better because it’s output signal has very hard and slope... | 1,760,376,280.978891 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/07/web-controlled-servo-from-a-beaglebone-black/ | Web Controlled Servo From A BeagleBone Black | Abe Connelly | [
"News"
] | [
"beaglebone black",
"hobby servo",
"node.js"
] | [Babak] created an in-depth tutorial on how he got his
BeagleBone Black to control a servo from a web browser
.
[Babak] configured a pin on his BeagleBone Black (BBB) as a PWM line and connected it to the control line on a micro hobby servo. The BBB is running a Node.js web server that displays a simple web page to control the servo. The browser sends a WebSocket request to a small WebSocket node server also running on the BBB that then writes the appropriate PWM value to the pin connected to the servo.
The code for node WebSocket server and web server can be found on his
GitHub page
. There is also a
small node library
to control PWM lines on the BBB. Though the end result is simple, controlling the servo can be done from any browser that can make a network connection to the BeagleBone Black. Check out the video after the jump for a description and demonstration.
[via
Adafruit
] | 13 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1244775",
"author": "uc",
"timestamp": "2014-03-08T03:25:01",
"content": "Meh.Other than the web 2.0 interface I don’t see anything hack worthy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1244920",
"author": "jrd_",
"time... | 1,760,376,281.827746 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/07/an-affordable-full-body-studio-grade-3d-scanner/ | An Affordable Full Body Studio Grade 3D Scanner | James Hobson | [
"digital cameras hacks"
] | [
"3d body scanner",
"3d scanner",
"artanim",
"canon a1400",
"canon powershot a1400"
] | Looking for a professional 3D scanning setup for all your animation or simulation needs? With this impressive 3D scanning setup from the folks over at [Artanim],
you’ll be doing Matrix limbos in no time!
They’ve taken 64 Canon Powershot A1400 cameras to create eight portable “scanning poles” set up in a circle to take 3D images of, well, pretty much anything you can fit in between them!
Not wanting to charge 64 sets of batteries every time they used the scanner or to pay for 64 official power adapters, they came up with a crafty solution: wooden batteries. Well, actually, wooden power adapters to be specific. This allows them to wire up all the cameras directly to a DC power supply, instead of 64 wall warts.
To capture the images they used the
Canon Hack Development Kit
, which allowed them to control the cameras with custom scripts. 3D processing is done in a program called
Agisoft Photoscan
, which only requires a few tweaks to get a good model. Check out [Artanim’s] website for some excellent examples of 3D scanned people.
Oh yeah, so that title might have been a bit of a misnomer. It is
affordable,
but only compared to industry setups. The 64 cameras used in this project will most definitely set you back a pretty penny.
A more affordable solution is probably the
39 Raspberry Pi Camera Scanner…
Still, pretty awesome. | 32 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1244442",
"author": "pcf11",
"timestamp": "2014-03-08T00:13:56",
"content": "$4,000 worth of digital cameras is pretty pricey.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1244988",
"author": "EllisGL",
"timestamp": "2014-0... | 1,760,376,281.124106 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/07/using-an-nrf24l01-for-air-bootloading/ | Using An NRF24L01 For Air Bootloading | Abe Connelly | [
"Microcontrollers",
"News"
] | [
"AVR",
"bootloader",
"nRF24L01+"
] | [Necromant] wrote a library to
flash his microcontroller over an RF link
using an NRF24L01 wireless communication module.
The NRF24L01 is a cheap RF module that can be easily integrated into many microcontroller projects. Though there are Arduino libraries for driving the NRF24L01, [Necromat] decided to make a port of one with no Arduino dependencies.
The resulting bootloader fits into 4K of
RAM
flash with packet loss and recovery along with user-configurable hardware or software SPI. Programming speeds are not the highest, but [
Necromat
Necromant] believes this to be a property of the VUSB rather than the transfer rate from the NRF24L01 or the target microcontroller.
To program the target AVR chip, [
Necromat
Necromant] used another NRF24L01 module connected to his
uISP
dongle over USB. Using a
custom tool
to interface with the uISP, the target board can be programmed in a similar fashion as avrdude. Check out the code for the ISP dongle and the AVR bootloader on his
GitHub page
. | 16 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1244195",
"author": "kennedybushnell",
"timestamp": "2014-03-07T21:31:20",
"content": "My love for HackADay just +1(ed). I started a project like this literally last night. Now I don’t have to do the dirty work myself. :D HUGE thanks to Necromant for this!",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,376,281.055656 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/07/i-can-fix-the-space-station-with-a-metronome-a-metronome-a-metronome/ | I Can Fix The Space Station With A Metronome, A Metronome, A Metronome | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware"
] | [
"iss",
"nasa",
"space station"
] | If the space station were left to its own devices, the living quarters would get incredibly hot. There are computers, hardware, and six crew members, all generating heat that must be gotten rid of. To do this, there are two heat exchangers inside the station that take warm water, dump that heat to ammonia, and send that ammonia out to panels outside the station. On December 11, 2013, Loop A of the thermal control system shut down, putting the station one failure away from evacuation. Plans for a spacewalk were tabled,
but the ground crew managed to fix this hardware failure
by telling the astronauts to push buttons, a metronome, and a software patch.
The problem with Loop A of the Internal Thermal Control System was a flow control valve that regulated the amount of ammonia flowing through the heat exchange. Too much ammonia, and the station would be far too cold. Too little, and it would be too hot. This valve is electronically controlled and takes exactly 13 seconds to move from open to closed. The first attempt at fixing the problem was having ground crew send the command to open the valve and cut the power halfway through. This involved using a metronome app on a phone to send two commands 6.5 seconds apart. It worked, but not quite well enough.
The failure of the metronome technique led [Todd Quasny] to write a script to turn the ‘on’ and ‘off’ commands from the ground to the ISS with millisecond resolution. This meant the commands to control the valve could be
sent
with the right delay, but they weren’t
received
with the right delay. This is a problem that had to be fixed from the station’s computers.
To finally solve the problem, ISS software engineer [Steve Joiner] was called in to write a software patch for the thermal control system. This is spaceflight and writing software is a long a laborious process of testing and code reviews. Nevertheless, the team managed to write and upload a patch in just two days.
This patch gave controllers the ability to control the valve with a resolution of 100 milliseconds, good enough for very fine control of the thermal system, and all without requiring the massive amount of planning that goes into a spacewalk or resupply mission.
Ups to [
Ed Van Cise
] for this tip. If you’re curious
about the headline
…. | 42 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "1243870",
"author": "CodeRed",
"timestamp": "2014-03-07T18:17:49",
"content": "Man its hot in here. Hey, somebody open a window.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1244107",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "20... | 1,760,376,281.311963 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/07/soap-the-home-automation-router-and-kickstarter-scam/ | SOAP: The Home Automation Router And Kickstarter Scam | Brian Benchoff | [
"Crowd Funding"
] | [
"kickstarter",
"router",
"scam",
"soap"
] | How would you like a 7″ tablet with a Quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor, USB 3.0, 32 GB of storage, 802.11ac, four ports of Gigabit LAN, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, SATA, HDMI, built-in Zigbee and RFID modules, a camera, speaker and microphone, all for $170? Sound too good to be true? That’s because it probably is. Meet
SOAP, the home automation router with a touchscreen
, that’s shaping up to be one of the largest scams Kickstarter has ever seen.
There have been
a few threads scattered over the web
going over some of the… “inconsistencies” about the SOAP kickstarter, mainly focusing on the possibility of fake Facebook likes and Twitter followers. There’s also the question of their development process: they started building a router with an Arduino, then moved on to a Raspberry Pi, a Beaglebone, Intel Atom-powered Minnowboard, the Gizmo Board, PandaBoard, and Wandboard. If you’re keeping track, that’s at least six completely different architectures used in their development iterations. Anyone who has ever tried to build something – not even build a product, mind you – will realize there’s something off here. This isn’t even considering
a reasonably accurate BOM breakdown
that puts the total cost of production at $131.
The most damning evidence comes from screenshots of the final board design. These pics have since been removed from the Kickstarter page,
but they’re still available on the Google cache
. The SOAP team claims they’re putting USB 3.0 ports on their board, but the pics clearly show only four pins on each of the USB ports. USB 3.0 requires nine pins. A closer inspection reveals these screenshots are from the files for
Novena
, [Bunnie Huang]’s open source laptop.
In fact, all the mainboard pictures deleted from the Kickstarter page can be reproduced by downloading a few files
from the Novena site
. For example:
There’s a fairly convincing argument to be had that the SOAP hardware doesn’t exist. At the very least, the SOAP team is trying to Kickstart hardware without a prototype, something against the Kickstarter ToS. At worst, this is a complete scam.
In the interest of fairness, I will offer the SOAP team a chance to redeem themselves. Even though
they won’t send any developmental prototypes to review sites
, I’m willing to put up $500 of my own money to
rent
the current version. The deal is simple: send me whatever custom hardware you have, I’ll send it back in two days along with a check for $500. This price includes a, ‘this is not a scam’ post.
I would be willing to try out [Bunnie]’s laptop at that price, anyway.
Update
The SOAP guys
posted an update
showing off their board. It’s not [Bunnie]’s laptop, and at first glance, appears to have all the ports they’re claiming. | 141 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "1243562",
"author": "XOIIO",
"timestamp": "2014-03-07T15:15:50",
"content": "Definitely smells like a scam, people should all get their money back though right?I’m amazed they basically used the exact screenshots of bunnies laptop to, it’s so damn obvious.",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,376,281.550178 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/07/turning-a-router-into-an-arduino-yun/ | Turning A Router Into An Arduino Yún | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"Arduino Yun",
"router",
"TP-WR703N",
"Yun"
] | The Arduino Yún was the first of a new breed of Arduinos that added a big honkin’ Linux System on Chip to the familiar ATMega microcontroller and unique pin headers. It’s a surprisingly powerful system, but also very simple: basically, it’s just an Atheros AR9331 running Linux, an ATMega32u4 doing its Arduino thing, both connected by a serial connection. The Atheros AR9931 is also found in a router popular amongst hardware hackers. It really was only a matter of time
before someone ported the Yun software to a router
, then.
[Tony] took a TL-WR703N router and put OpenWRT on it. Turning this router into the Linux side of a Yún was a simple matter of uploading the Yún software to the root directory of the router and rebooting it. The Arduino side of the Yún is handled by an Arduino Mega connected to the USB port of the router. A quick update to Arduino’s boards.txt file, and a hacked together Yún is just a strip of duct tape away.
The Yún may not be extremely popular, but it does have a few interesting use cases. Maybe not enough to drop $70 on a board, but if you already have a WR703 router, this is a great way to experiment.
Thanks [Matt] for the tip. | 13 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1243380",
"author": "Squonk42",
"timestamp": "2014-03-07T13:09:18",
"content": "The memory capacity is reduced compared to the Arduino Yun: 4 MB Flash / 32 MB RAM vs. 16 MB Flash / 64 MB RAM…It won’t be able to run most of the biggest packages built for the Yun, like NodeJS and john... | 1,760,376,282.249826 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/07/hanging-table-makes-room-for-activities/ | Hanging Table Makes Room For Activities | James Hobson | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"coffee table",
"paracord",
"paracord 550",
"space saving table"
] | [Matt Silver] usually enjoys a cup of tea in the evening. Unfortunately, this habit can be frustrating and dangerous while sitting in bed. He rectified the problem by building this awesome
space-saving table
, which can be stored on the ceiling of all places! Depending on the supplies you might already have, this could be a relatively cheap build of about $40 or less. [Matt’s] using pine board for everything, but notes you could save time and money by re-purposing an existing coffee table. You will, however, need to make the ceiling frame to support it.
At the heart of this build is our favorite rope—Paracord 550. [Matt] used a single piece to tie the whole thing together, which can cause the table to lower crooked, but [Matt] found he can keep it level by putting a hand on it while it descends. You also get mechanical advantage from the pulleys this way! If you’re not crazy about the potential unevenness, you could redesign the pulley and eyelet layout to allow for four ropes to ensure a reliably horizontal surface.
Why not pair this idea with the
portable electronics lab
we shared a few days ago? You could have a full series of drop-down tool labs in your workshop. Think of all the space saving opportunities! | 15 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1243147",
"author": "Shakipu",
"timestamp": "2014-03-07T10:03:56",
"content": "I use this :http://www.ikea.com/fr/fr/catalog/products/80196480/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1243642",
"author": "Whatnot",
"ti... | 1,760,376,281.722817 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/06/face-tanner-pcb-uv-lamp-is-so-bright-you-gotta-wear-shades/ | Face Tanner PCB UV Lamp Is So Bright, You Gotta Wear Shades | Kristina Panos | [
"Microcontrollers",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"PCB etching",
"shades",
"uv"
] | There may be nothing new under the sun when it comes to etching PCBs with UV light, but [Heliosoph] has
brought finer control to a used face tanner he bought
that now exposes his boards in ~50 seconds.
The original system allowed for exposure times from 1-99 minutes to be programmed in 1-minute increments. [Heliosoph] though it would be perfect as-is, but the lamp is so powerful that even one minute of exposure was too much. He hoped to find TTL when he opened the thing and was pleasantly surprised to discover a
COP410L
microcontroller and an MM5484 display driver. Unfortunately, the COP410L’s clock range is too small and he didn’t want to overclock it.
[Heliosoph] built a new board based on the ATMega328P with a salvaged 16×2 LCD, which he was able to easily integrate using the library that ships with the Arduino IDE. He then replaced the
BT136 triac
lamp switch with a solid state relay, conveniently isolating the electronics from mains power. He re-purposed the unit’s push buttons using the
M2tklib
, which supports a plethora of common menu functions.
If you need some help with the whole UV PCB etching process, you can’t go wrong with
this tutorial from [CNLohr]
. | 11 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "1242822",
"author": "rj",
"timestamp": "2014-03-07T06:30:52",
"content": "At first I couldn’t figure out why the comment about the COP410’s clock range was there, but then I realized the comment there meant we was hoping for a quick fix of just increasing its input clock speed to sp... | 1,760,376,281.775348 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/06/building-a-chainsaw-mill-to-make-planks/ | Building A Chainsaw Mill To Make Planks | James Hobson | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"chain saw mill",
"chainsaw mill",
"log cutting"
] | Here’s
a chainsaw hack
that makes a lot more sense than
the last one we shared…
It’s a setup you can build to help cut down logs into usable planks for your own projects!
Our guide on this tool hack is [BongoDrummer], who is the co-founder of a group in Wales called the
Flowering Elbow
, dedicated to imagining and making better futures by helping inspire people with inventions, encouraging project collaborations, and contributing to the community. We think he’s just a
wee bit
more knowledgeable than our previous grinder-chainsaw inventor…
[BongoDrummer] starts out with a proper note on safety, explaining accident statistics and offering up a refresher guide on
proper chainsaw use.
From there he gets right into the design and build of the mill. He’s chosen to use aluminum extrusion because it’s strong, light, and easy to work with—not to mention easy to assemble! Videos and more info after the jump.
The build log is very detailed and easy to follow. [BongoDrummer] presents a few clever features, like using bicycle inner tube as grip covers, making an auxiliary oiler to keep the blade running smooth, and using a skateboard wheel and bearing as a guide roller.
And of course, a demonstration: | 20 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1242541",
"author": "Scott_Tx",
"timestamp": "2014-03-07T03:29:51",
"content": "Didnt they used to sell these in the backs of magazines 20 years ago?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1242542",
"author": "Scott_Tx",
... | 1,760,376,282.338425 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/06/were-hiring-2/ | We’re Hiring | Mike Szczys | [
"Featured"
] | [
"hiring",
"jobs",
"writers"
] | The title says it all. We need more writers to keep the fresh hacks coming, now’s your chance to apply for the job.
Contributors are hired as private contractors and paid for each post. Writers should have the technical expertise to understand the projects they are writing about, and a passion for the wide range of topics we feature. If you’re interested,
please email our jobs line
and include:
Details about your background (education, employment, etc.) that make you a valuable addition to the team
Links to your blog/project posts/etc. which have been published on the Internet
One example post written in the voice of Hack a Day. Include a banner image, 150 words, the link to the project, and any in-links to related and relevant Hack a Day features.
Words of encouragement
First off, we won’t be discussing compensation publicly. Want to know what we pay? Send in a successful application and we’ll talk about it.
Secondly, don’t pass up this opportunity. I watched one of these posts go by and waited another year before I saw the next one and applied. Now I’m running the place. Our team is made up of avid readers. If you’re passionate about the stuff here and you have a few hours each week to do some writing you need to apply now!
Why are we hiring more writers?
You may have noticed that we’re starting to send people to events, and continuing our push to develop our own unique original content. Both of these take time and we need more team members to fill in the publishing schedule so that the Hackaday community gets the posts that it deserves.
So what are you waiting for? Ladies and Gentlemen, start your applications! | 75 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "1242260",
"author": "Cornpop",
"timestamp": "2014-03-07T00:48:43",
"content": "Browse reddit. Repost.Can’t believe people get paid for that.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1242295",
"author": "Geeks Anon",
"ti... | 1,760,376,282.554243 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/03/06/the-mystery-of-zombie-ram/ | The Mystery Of Zombie RAM | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"AVR",
"low power",
"ram"
] | [Josh] had a little project where he needed to keep a variable in RAM while a microcontroller was disconnected from a power source. Yes, the EEPROM on board would be able to store a variable without power, but that means writing to the EEPROM a lot, killing the lifetime of the chip. He found an ATTiny can keep the RAM alive for a variable amount of time – somewhere between 150ms and 10 minutes. Wanting to understand this variability,
he decided to solve the mystery of the zombie RAM.
The first experiment involved writing a little bit of code for an ATTiny4313 that looked for a value in RAM on power up and light up a LED if it saw the right value. The test circuit consisted of a simple switch connected to the power pin. Initial tests were astonishing; the ATTiny could hold a value in RAM for up to 10 minutes without power.
With the experiment a success, [Josh] updated his project to use this new EEPROM-saving technique. Only this time, it didn’t work. The value hidden away in RAM would die in a matter of milliseconds, not minutes. After tearing his hair out looking for something different, [Josh] rigged up an Arduino based test circuit with humidity and temperature sensors to see if that had any effect. It didn’t, and the zombie RAM was still not-undead.
The key insight
into how the RAM in an ATtiny could stay alive for so long came when [Josh] noticed his test circuit had a LED, but the actual project didn’t. Apparently this LED was functioning as a very tiny solar cell, generating a tiny bit of current that kept the RAM alive. A dark room with a flashlight confirmed this hypothesis, and once [Josh] gets his uCurrent from Kickstarter he’ll know exactly how much current this LED is supplying. | 61 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "1241678",
"author": "Angry Midget",
"timestamp": "2014-03-06T21:04:19",
"content": "That’s cool",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1241686",
"author": "Doc Oct",
"timestamp": "2014-03-06T21:11:09",
"content": "I experim... | 1,760,376,282.143546 |
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