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https://hackaday.com/2012/02/10/supercap-lights-your-way-in-times-of-need/ | Supercap Lights Your Way In Times Of Need | Mike Szczys | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"flashlight",
"joule thief",
"super capacitor"
] | You won’t find [Antoine] stumbling around in the dark. He just finished working on this
LED flashlight which draws power from a super-capacitor
(
translated
). He realized that lighting a high-efficiency LED takes so little power that there are many benefits in play when deciding to move away from batteries. When compared to a super capacitor, batteries have a shorter life span, are heavier, and take up more space.
The biggest drawback of a super capacitor in this situation is the low voltage operation. The output will start at 2.7V and drop as the current is discharged. [Antoine] used one of our favorite simple circuits to overcome this issue, the
Joule Thief
. That circuit is commonly seen paired with an LED in order to boost input voltage to a usable level. That’s precisely what’s going on here.
The final hack in his circuit is the addition of that red LED which you can see in the middle of the board. This takes the place of a Zener diode and drops the charging voltage to a safe level. That indicator light will not come on until the cap is fully topped off. This way it tells you when the device is done charging. | 46 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "580172",
"author": "Jack",
"timestamp": "2012-02-10T20:08:30",
"content": "I thought batteries have much higher engergy density than caps. So its the caps that take up more space and are heavier (when comparing batteries and caps with equal energy storage).",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,376,962.292447 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/10/cockroft-walton-multiplier-can-output-positive-or-negative-voltage/ | Cockroft-Walton Multiplier Can Output Positive Or Negative Voltage | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"high voltage",
"power supply",
"voltage multiplier"
] | If you’ve already dipped your toes into high-voltage power supply pool you may be thirsty for a bit more knowledge. Here’s a neat illustration of
how to build a voltage multiplier that can output a positive or negative supply
. It is based on a design known as the Cockroft-Walton Multiplier. It’s the add-on housed in the plastic box seen in the image above. It uses diodes and capacitors in an orientation very common for generating high voltages. In fact, the same thing can be found in that
high-voltage bulletin board
. The place this differs is when it comes to connecting the multiplier to the PSU.
If you look closely you can see one red and one black banana plug jack poking out the end of the plastic container. There is also a pair of these on the other end. The multiplier has been designed so that reconfiguring the inputs and outputs changes how it works. Each jack has been labeled with one possible input and one output. Choose the desired output (DC+ or DC-) and then follow the labels for the rest of the connections.
What can you do with this setup? Check out the clip after the break that shows it powering a lifter.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p10OUADRr2M&w=470] | 16 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "580156",
"author": "Natalie",
"timestamp": "2012-02-10T19:38:09",
"content": "Like to see a photo of it in the dark to see how well the design suppresses corona at the connectors.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "580196",
"au... | 1,760,376,962.094211 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/10/jtag-dongle-pushes-code-to-fpga-after-bootup/ | JTAG Dongle Pushes Code To FPGA After Bootup | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"attiny85",
"AVR",
"fpga",
"pac-man"
] | This gnarly beast has near-magical qualities. [Sprite_TM] patched it together as a dongle which attaches to a JTAG header (we’re fairly certain this is not a standard footprint for that interface though). He uses
it to push code to an FPGA after that device boots
. Why? Well, there’s several reason, but the most generic answer is that some boards will not boot unless there is a chain of trust that validates the code which will be running.
In this case, [Sprite_TM] is using a knock-off board he acquired from a Chinese supplier. It’s a hardware network terminal (thin client), and as you can see in the video after the break, it works just fine. But that’s pretty boring and he wanted to use it for his own purposes. When he plugs in the dongle and powers up the board the network terminal is nowhere to be found, replaced with the code to play Pac-Man as if were a full arcade cabinet.
The dongle is simply a female DIL header, an ATtiny85, and a flash memory chip. The AVR has a software UART that speaks XSVF, the protocol used to push data to the FPGA. The data to be written is stored in the memory chip, and with that header in place reprogramming the AVR is just a matter of connecting an ISP programmer. Brilliant!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0boi8KJw6g&w=470] | 12 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "580127",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2012-02-10T18:22:40",
"content": "Lovely! Can the AVR talk to the fpga normally after?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "583359",
"author": "nuess0r",
"timestamp"... | 1,760,376,962.598286 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/10/using-a-cheap-accelerometer-with-arduino-comes-with-a-catch/ | Using A Cheap Accelerometer With Arduino Comes With A Catch | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"accelerometer",
"mma7455"
] | [Boris Landoni] put together a guide to
using an inexpensive 3-axis accelerometer with Arduino
. The chip that he chose for the exercise is an MMA7455L made by Freescale. It’s got a lot of nice features packed into it, using hardware to do some of the things you’d need software for with other chips like reporting in which direction the chip is moving, detecting when movement has stopped, and few others. It’s an I2C device, so the examples he provides will be super simple to port to your uC of choice.
But as the title says, there’s a catch. The chip is extremely versatile and you can get your hands on one for under $2. But check out the size of it. That’s a DFN (dual flat no-lead) package which means there are no pins on it. The package has solder contacts on the bottom which do not protrude out the sides. If you want to do some at-home prototyping with the chip
you’ll need a hot air pencil or reflow gear
as hand soldering is unlikely to be successful. We’re not saying it’s impossible, but
it is quite tricky
.
Of course, if you’ve got the secret to getting this done with a quality soldering iron
we’d like to hear about it
. | 22 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "580077",
"author": "tayken",
"timestamp": "2012-02-10T16:59:24",
"content": "I soldered one by using an electric skillet. Check out:http://dangerousprototypes.com/2012/01/18/mma7455l-accelerometer-free-pcb-build-4/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
... | 1,760,376,962.209857 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/09/make-a-wind-turbine-from-55-gallon-drums/ | Make A Wind Turbine From 55 Gallon Drums | Jeremy Cook | [
"green hacks"
] | [
"clean energy",
"power generation",
"vertical axis wind turbine",
"Wind turbine"
] | Although there are several vertical axis wind turbines listed on
greenterrafirma’s page
, the one built with 55 gallon drums was especially interesting to us. Although the spouse approval factor of any of these designs is debatable, at $100, the 55 gallon drum design could provide a very good return on investment. The tools required to make one of these are relatively simple, so this could make this experiment accessible to those without a vast arsenal of equipment.
If large blue barrels aren’t your thing,
the post
also features several other turbine designs, including one made with wood and aluminium foil, and one constructed out of PVC pipe. The video after the break does a good job of explaining the “blue barrel” construction process, but if you’d rather just see this [VAWT] in action, fast forward to 5:25.
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UPe6A_UVPc&w=470&h=315%5D
If wind turbines aren’t your thing at all, why not instead
build a heat exchanger
to harvest the waste heat that your appliances give off anyway? | 34 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "579038",
"author": "barry99705",
"timestamp": "2012-02-09T14:14:23",
"content": "Wait until he puts a load on it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "579047",
"author": "steve eh",
"timestamp": "2012-02-09T14:31:07... | 1,760,376,962.454613 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/08/attiny25-based-function-generator-causes-a-wave/ | Attiny25 Based Function Generator Causes A Wave | Kevin Dady | [
"ATtiny Hacks"
] | [
"function generator"
] | Function generators are a handy bench tool to have around, and while you can usually cobble something together that works, it is much more handy to grab a device when you need it.
Thats where this function generator sent to us by [Mohonri]comes in
. Based around a ATTiny25 and a rail to rail op amp which is able to replicate frequencies from 1Hz to about 40KHz, in square, triangle, and sinewaves simultaneously.
The function generator also features independent amplitude control on each output. And it’s all on one palm-sized, single-sided PCB. The main part of the code is split into two parts: the main loop gets the inputs and constructs a waveform table in SRAM, and then an ISR reads that table and outputs it to one of the timers, which produces a PWM output, which is low-pass-filtered and then passes through a potentiometer (for amplitude control) and then to an op-amp before landing on a set of terminals.
Though its not 100% perfect, trading speed for a 6 bit resolution, it should be more than enough for most electronic projects. You can pick it up in kit form from the on-line shop, but schematics, software and PCB layouts are also available for download. | 11 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "578632",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2012-02-08T23:24:37",
"content": "Gotta love some 8 pin ATtiny action. They have more power than you might think, and work so nicely with AVR-GCC.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "578633... | 1,760,376,962.146866 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/08/designing-a-smarter-rf-transceiver/ | Designing A Smarter RF Transceiver | Kevin Dady | [
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"atusb",
"microchip",
"mrf49xa",
"RF",
"transceiver"
] | Two months ago we featured a
transceiver based on the Microchip MRF49XA
, and a lot of feedback was sent to [hpux735] requesting that some brains be added onto the system. [hpux735] decided that if he was going to do it, might as well go the distance and make a make a
native USB transceiver.
The prototype model is designed for use with the Atmel AT90USBKey, and uses the LUFA USB framework. The protocol and packet format was revised, and a
Hamming Code implementation
was built using look-up tables to give error control. Finally once the prototype was ready to go [hpux735]
created some awesome little PCB’s
that contain the AVR, radio, antenna hookups, and blinky lights (no project is complete without blinky lights) are all ready to go when you are.
This project has come quite a long way, covers 3 blog pages, uses a fair bit of ribbon cable, but you just got to love when a plan comes together. | 3 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "579154",
"author": "Sam",
"timestamp": "2012-02-09T18:47:06",
"content": "I wish it were clearer which link takes me to the story.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "579637",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timesta... | 1,760,376,962.544387 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/08/hackaday-links-february-8-2012/ | Hackaday Links: February 8, 2012 | Mike Szczys | [
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"bone",
"cassette tape",
"hexbug",
"most useless machine",
"remote control"
] | Most useless machine
We love ’em, and we hope you do too. Here’s [Phase2plus’] take on
the most useless machine
.
Scratching like it’s 1989
[Nick] spent three bucks at the thrift store and ended up buying days worth of fun with this cassette player. He
hacked it to scratch like vinyl
.
3D printed jawbone
This lady now has
her own 3D-printed jawbone
. We’re not talking about the Bluetooth headset… it’s an actual bone replacement! And yes, the skeleton for the Terminator was 3D printed… we’re that much closer now. [Thanks Steve]
Hexbug superbowl
Why not let robots decide our sports gambling choices? [Eric]
let this slew of HexBugs battle it out
as an early indicator for who would win the Super Bowl. Seems he has no shortage of the little toys, all of which
received an MSP430 upgrade
. The firmware actually implements obstacle avoidance, but he makes a poke at the Chicago Bears who seem to have the same mission.
Foil fix for worn out remotes
[Viktor] found an interesting repair tip. If you’ve got remote controlers whose buttons are not working so well anymore you may be able to
fix them with tin foil
. He uses a single-hole punch to clip out circles which are attached to the underside of the misbehaving button. Worth a try! | 15 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "578577",
"author": "Chris Pepin",
"timestamp": "2012-02-08T21:15:34",
"content": "I’ve fixed quite a few buttons with tinfoil that had the underside of the rubber key worn out. A piece of tinfoil and some double-sided tape work great.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"re... | 1,760,376,962.654013 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/08/single-hand-keyboard-for-tablets/ | Single Hand Keyboard For Tablets | Mike Szczys | [
"Multitouch Hacks"
] | [
"keyboard",
"one handed"
] | To us it makes a lot of sense to hold the tablet in one hand and type with the other. That’s exactly how [Adam Kumpf] has
implemented this one-handed typing interface
which was originally conceived by [Doug Engelbart].
As you can see, there’s a large contextual area for each finger on your right hand. Letters and navigational keystrokes are input through this interface based on single touches, or combinations up to and including all five digits. This offers up 32 possible combinations (including all on and all off) which is enough to cover the modern English alphabet.
[Adam’s]
demo page works for most tablets
so give it a whirl. Yes, it works with iDevices too which is a surprise as we would have thought this was using Flash. If you’re not near a touch-sensitive device you can get the gist of the operation from the demo video embedded after the break.
Now, who’s going to be the first to make this into a replacement keyboard on iOS 5?
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/36395895 w=470] | 27 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "578495",
"author": "Denbo",
"timestamp": "2012-02-08T19:23:09",
"content": "“Now, who’s going to be the first to make this into a replacement keyboard on iOS 5?”Can you replace the keyboard on a non-jailbroken iPad? Android tablets allow for this but I didn’t think Apple would eve... | 1,760,376,962.719088 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/08/quadcopter-build-ready-for-first-flight/ | Quadcopter Build Ready For First Flight | Mike Szczys | [
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"quadcopter",
"wii motion plus",
"wii nunchuck"
] | [Abhimanyu Kumar] has been hard at work
building and posting about his quadcopter
. So far he’s published ten installments for this build, letting us relive the adventure vicariously. But it’s number 11 that we’re really excited about as he plans to share the first free-flight footage in that one.
The bug was planted in his brain after hearing that a quadcopter was used to shoot some of the footage in Spiderman 2. He wanted one to call his very own but the cost of a ready-made unit was out of his league. So he decided to build one instead. The first version uses aluminum bracket for the cross making up the motor mounts. He added LEDs to liven things up and even made a demo video of the thing tied to a table (no IMU yet so free flight would be fatal). After this stepping stone he decided to go with a Wii Motion Plus and Wii Nunchuck as the positioning feedback sensors. There is also a body redesign with helps lighten the load.
It’s a fun project, and we can’t wait to see where he goes from here! | 9 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "578470",
"author": "Mudit Gupta",
"timestamp": "2012-02-08T18:30:41",
"content": "Cool!! NEED to finish up mine too. Waiting for #11",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "578518",
"author": "soopergooman",
"timestamp": "2012-0... | 1,760,376,962.503625 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/08/hydroponic-strawberries-sweeten-up-winter-dolldrums/ | Hydroponic Strawberries Sweeten Up Winter Dolldrums | Mike Szczys | [
"green hacks"
] | [
"farm",
"hydroponics",
"strawberry"
] | Add some fruit to your indoor bounty with
this hydroponic strawberry farm
. [Dino] whipped this up as his 45th hack a week episode (getting pretty close to his year-long goal). He used parts you probably already have sitting around the house somewhere. But even if you bought everything and used it once you still wouldn’t be out much.
A plastic storage container serves as the base. [Dino] also grabbed four identical plastic containers (large yogurt containers would work here) to host the plants. He cut off the bottom half and inserted some netting to keep the plant from falling through. After tracing the size of the container on the enclosure’s lid he cut out holes which will host each plant. This provides a way to dangle the roots into the nutrient solution which is kept oxygen rich with an aquarium pump and two air stones. It certainly deserves a place next to
that salad farm you threw together
. Don’t miss [Dino’s] build video after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoX5pXbhMjw&w=470] | 31 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "578428",
"author": "oodain",
"timestamp": "2012-02-08T16:59:19",
"content": "me and my neighbour built a small herb garden,this seems like a perfect addon for urban farming.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "578433",
"author":... | 1,760,376,962.787756 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/09/the-ultimate-breadboard-a-prototyping-station-that-has-it-all/ | The Ultimate Breadboard – A Prototyping Station That Has It All | Mike Nathan | [
"hardware",
"Microcontrollers",
"Misc Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"power supply",
"ultimate breadboard",
"voltmeter",
"VU meter"
] | [Claudio] was working on a homebrew oscilloscope project when he started thinking about how unsuitable a standard breadboard is for a large-scale project. Rather than adding components on top of components until they became what he lovingly calls a “fragile, unforgiving crapstack”, he decided to build himself
the Ultimate Breadboard.
He packed so much into his design, that it’s honestly hard to know where to begin describing it. Aside from an appropriately large breadboarding surface embedded in the center of the console, he added a power supply to the left hand side, which sits just below an Avr-Net-IO board. The right side of the console features an Arduino NG, and a pair of level converters. He also added some LED-based VU meters, a couple of 7-segment displays, an LCD display, an analog voltmeter, along with plenty of I/O connectors.
The Ultimate Breadboard might look a bit daunting at first, but it seems like an awesome setup on which to do any sort of prototyping. Be sure to check out the video below for more details and to see [Claudio] give a tour of the device.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ7dO3iekb4&feature=player_embedded&w=470] | 27 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "579348",
"author": "mess_maker",
"timestamp": "2012-02-10T00:03:14",
"content": "That is a pretty insane setup! :)I have the PAD-234, it is a pretty sweet setup with much of what I need to do a quick breadboard. I always like a lot of proto space so I have several external boards a... | 1,760,376,963.291708 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/09/dice-gauntlet-joins-cosplay-with-dd-gaming/ | Dice Gauntlet Joins Cosplay With D&D Gaming | Mike Szczys | [
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"dd",
"dice",
"die",
"lilpad"
] | If you needed a reason to dress up for your next Dungeons & Dragons adventure this is surely it. Not only will this attractive wrist adornment go right along with your medieval theme, but
the gauntlet doubles as a multi-sided digital die
.
Sparkfun whipped up this tutorial which details the build. Yep, they’re hawking their own goods but we must say this is one of the few projects using sewable electronics which we thoroughly enjoy. It calls for several Lilypad modules, including an Arduino board, accelerometer, and slide switches. The switches let you select the number of sides for the die you are about to roll. The accelerometer starts the fun when you shake your wrist back and forth (that’s what she said). The project is powered by a rechargeable battery, which we always like to see, and uses a four-digit seven segment display located where the face of a wristwatch is normally found.
Of course, you could
get the shaking action and use no batteries
at all if you wish. | 11 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "579315",
"author": "Marco",
"timestamp": "2012-02-09T23:14:57",
"content": "Which button activates the cheat mode ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "579324",
"author": "Colecago",
"timestamp": "2012-02-09T23:32:... | 1,760,376,963.395709 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/09/suzuki-v-strom-current-gear-indicator/ | Suzuki V-Strom Current Gear Indicator | Mike Szczys | [
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"18m2",
"gear indicator",
"motorcycle",
"PICAXE"
] | [Iron Jungle] just finished
building this gear indicator for his motorcycle
. It uses a red 7-segment display to show the rider what gear is currently engaged. This hack is pretty common and makes us wonder why all motorcycles don’t come standard with the feature? But then again, if they did you wouldn’t have a reason to hack them.
The motorcycle does have a gear sensor; apparently it only lacks a way to display this data. The sensor outputs a signal between 0 and 5V which [Iron Jungle] reads using a PICAXE 18M2 microcontroller. Patching into that signal wasn’t hard at all. Once he found the correct wire he simply removed a portion of the insulation and soldered a lead to the conductor. This should stand up to the vibrations encountered in an automotive application like this one. Since the computing power is already there, he also included a DS18B20 to take ambient air temperature readings. Check out the quick demo after the break.
This is not the first time we’ve seen
the V-Storm get a custom gear indicator
. But if you really want to go all out, perhaps you need to
build an interface for your tablet or smart phone
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fCAQ5-_C24&w=470] | 34 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "579248",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2012-02-09T21:47:42",
"content": "So, Suzuki named a bike after Strom Thurmond?B^)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "579934",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2012-02-10T13:3... | 1,760,376,963.466289 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/09/playing-video-games-for-a-college-application/ | Playing Video Games For A College Application | Brian Benchoff | [
"ATtiny Hacks"
] | [
"attiny2313",
"nes"
] | As a senior in high school, [Owen] has been waiting to hear from the colleges he applied to for months now. Some of his applications wanted a mid-year report to see if he didn’t come down with senioritis. [Owen] realized these colleges allowed additional materials beyond a high school transcript, so he
built a tiny video game
that shows his electrical and programming skills.
The Demomite, as [Owen] calls his build, is an amazing piece of work. The entire system is based around an ATtiny2313 with a measly 2kB of program memory. Aside from a graphic
LCD from Sparkfun
and a repurposed NES controller, there isn’t much else to the build. As a study in minimalism and simplicity, [Owen] gets a big congrats from us.
The entire game fits in the 2kB of flash on the ATtiny, mostly due to coding the entire thing
in assembly
. You can check out [Owen]’s time-lapse construction video, software demo, and the video he sent to colleges after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5NU-yRJTLU&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQv1nFnKGu0&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuSIB_ByOiU&w=470] | 25 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "579198",
"author": "Conner Smith",
"timestamp": "2012-02-09T20:19:43",
"content": "This is awesome! But, let’s be honest. In my opinion some of his other projects are better. Like connecting a hard drive to a micro controller. Although, from a hackers perspective, this isn’t his coo... | 1,760,376,963.230163 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/09/midi-controlled-speak-and-spell/ | MIDI Controlled Speak-and-Spell | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"classic hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"speaknspell",
"speech synthesis"
] | We all love the Arduino, but does the Arduino love us back? There used to be a time when the Arduino couldn’t express it’s deepest emotions, but now that [Nick] hooked up a
speech synthesis chip
from a Speak & Spell, it can finally whisper sweet robotic nothings to us.
The original 1980s Speak & Spell contained a fabulously high-tech
speech synthesizer
from Texas Instruments. This innovative chip predated
[Stephen Hawking]’s voice
and went on to be featured in the numerous speech add-ons for 80s microcomputers like the Apple II, BBC Micro, and a number of Atari arcade games.
[Nick] has been working on his Speak & Spell project for several months now, and he’s getting around to testing the
PCBs he made
. By his own admission, connecting an Arduino to a Speak & Spell is a little difficult, but he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve to
get around the limitations
of the hardware. The final goal of [Nick]’s project is a MIDI-controllable Speak & Sound speech synth for the Arduino. This has been done
before
, but never from a reverse-engineered Speak & Spell.
You can check out [Nick]’s progress in interfacing the Speak & Spell speech chip after the break. There’s still work to do, but it’s still very impressive.
[soundcloud url=”
http://soundcloud.com/noizeinabox/test-the-arduino-midi-speak-1″%5D | 20 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "579160",
"author": "Keith",
"timestamp": "2012-02-09T19:04:10",
"content": "I think your Speak And Spell had a stroke",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "579188",
"author": "David",
"timestamp": "2012-02-09T19:34:11",
"c... | 1,760,376,963.346933 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/09/learning-to-use-the-v-usb-avr-usb-firmware-library/ | Learning To Use The V-USB (AVR USB Firmware) Library | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"attiny",
"AVR",
"tutorial",
"usb",
"V-USB"
] | The V-USB library is a pretty handy piece of code that lets you add USB connectivity to ATtiny microcontrollers (it was previously named tinyUSB). But if you’ve ever looked into adding the library to your own projects you may have been stymied by the complexity of the code. There are many examples, but there’s a lack of a concise quick-start for the uninitiated. [Joonas Pihlajamaa] has been working to correct that shortfall with
his four-part V-USB tutorial series
. It’s not for the absolute newbie; you should already be comfortable working with AVR chips but that’s the only real prerequisite we can see.
He starts the series with a look into the hardware considerations. USB provides a 5V power rail but the data lines expect 3.3V logic so this must be accounted for. With the test rig built on a breadboard he moves on to pick apart the code, covering various user-defined variables that you’ll need to set based on your project’s needs. We’re going to keep this on the back burner and hopefully
the Troll Sniffing Rat
will get a makeover (although we must say comments have been a lot nicer as of late… keep it up!).
We’ve embedded links to all four tutorial parts after the break.
http://codeandlife.com/2012/01/22/avr-attiny-usb-tutorial-part-1/
(primer)
http://codeandlife.com/2012/01/25/avr-attiny-usb-tutorial-part-2/
(hardware)
http://codeandlife.com/2012/01/29/avr-attiny-usb-tutorial-part-3/
(software)
http://codeandlife.com/2012/02/04/avr-attiny-usb-tutorial-part-4/
(wrapping up) | 17 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "579153",
"author": "Stan",
"timestamp": "2012-02-09T18:42:42",
"content": "V-USB is very intuitive to use, highly recommeded. There is bit of learning curve, once passed possibilities are endless.I did an example project a while back that includes SHT-11 sensor, if anyone interested... | 1,760,376,963.167876 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/09/rfid-reader-gets-user-inputs-and-smart-card-write-capability/ | RFID Reader Gets User Inputs And Smart Card Write Capability | Mike Szczys | [
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"basic stamp",
"reader",
"rfid",
"smart card"
] | [Navic] added a slew of abilities to his RFID reader. It’s now
a full-featured RFID reader and smart card writer
with extras. When we
looked at it last time
the unit was just an RFID and smart card reader in a project enclosure. You could see the RFID code of a tag displayed on the LCD screen, but there wasn’t a lot more to it than that.
The upgrade uses the same project enclosure but he’s added four buttons below the display. These allow him to access the different features that he’s implemented. The first one, which is shown in the video after the break, allows him to store up to six tags in the EEPROM of the Basic Stamp which drives the unit. He can dump these tag codes to a smart card (pictured above), but also has the option of interfacing with a PC to read from and write to that card.
We don’t think you can directly write RFID tags with the device, but we could be wrong.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwVbOHwQT44&w=470] | 4 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "601460",
"author": "miko",
"timestamp": "2012-03-12T20:59:56",
"content": "how can i get or buy this???? — for hacking my smartcity laundry card",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "635600",
"author": "alex",
"timestamp": "20... | 1,760,376,963.50764 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/08/yet-another-3d-printer/ | Yet Another 3D Printer | Brian Benchoff | [
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"3d printer",
"makerslide"
] | What would you do if you wanted to demonstrate a linear bearing system? If you’re like [Bart] the obvious solution is building a tiny
little 3D printer
. [Bart]’s Quantum ORD Bot is constructed out of a previous project of his, the
MakerSlide
linear bearing system.
The idea of a printer made out of MakerSlide materials came from [Bart]’s invitation to
ORD Camp
. The fact that this build went together in about 5 hours speaks volumes about the simplicity of the MakerSlide system. Right now, the printer is designed for NEMA 14 motors, but for larger builds there’s plenty of room for the larger NEMA 17 stepper motors. [Bart] put up a
build log
for his printer up on the buildlog.net forums.
The MakerSlide system has already been used in an open source
laser cutter project
, but [Bart] really just wanted something to demonstrate his linear bearing system. We like the bot anyway; not enough stuff is made out of aluminum extrusion these days.
[Bart] is going to be showing off his bot at the Chicago hackerspace
Pumping Station: One
tonight, February 8th. Stop by and check it out. Snap a few pictures for us and we’ll put them up.
EDIT: [gigawatts121] was kind enough to
send in a picture
of the printer at Pumping Station: One. There’s also a video of a calibration cube being printed courtesy of [David] in the comments. Check that out after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP2ebXlK3Ck&w=470] | 24 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "578352",
"author": "Eirinn",
"timestamp": "2012-02-08T15:00:51",
"content": "It seems to me like the build itself has taken 5 hours. It still need electronics, extruder and so on. Five hours for the build itself is rather impressive though and i’d love to see the quality of prints."... | 1,760,376,963.708535 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/07/diy-solid-state-tesla-coil/ | DIY Solid State Tesla Coil | Kevin Dady | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"Solid State Tesla Coil"
] | Tesla Coils are always a blast to see and are relativity simple to build. While there are plenty of sites on the subject, [Michael’s] newest instructable breaks
building a solid state Tesla Coil down to 12 easy steps.
Items that should be familiar to anyone who has even looked at a Tesla Coil include PVC pipe, Aluminum ducting, and wire … lots of wire. The PVC pipe is cut to length and a flange is attached to help form a base. From there the pipe is wound with about ¾ of a pound of 30 AWG enameled wire, which takes some time by hand to make sure you don’t overlap or get space between the coils.
Aluminum ducting is then wrapped around the outside of a second flange. Some stovepipe wire is ran though the ducting and twisted to close up the 2 ends, and hot glue is used to attach the two ends together. The assembly is screwed to the top of the pipe now containing the secondary of the massive transformer. All that is left is to attach a primary, which is made out of a few turns of 16 AWG wire, and the control circuitry.
Join us after the break for a shocking video!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K3Sm85YTck&w=470] | 15 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "577798",
"author": "Skeltorr",
"timestamp": "2012-02-07T23:53:05",
"content": "You’ll shoot your eye out.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "577912",
"author": "userfourtwenty",
"timestamp": "2012-02-08T02:37:30",
"cont... | 1,760,376,963.558595 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/07/bring-your-own-name-badge/ | Bring Your Own Name Badge | Mike Szczys | [
"cons",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"led marquee",
"led matrix",
"msp430",
"name badge"
] | It used to be that the contents of your pocket protector directly mirrored your geek level. But that just doesn’t cut it in our fast-paced digital age. We think [Jonathan] is headed down the right track though, by creating
a scrolling LED name badge
which he takes to conventions with him. With the right enclosure this could reach the same geek level as
Woz’s watch
. There’s a lot packed into the little device, but readability at close range doesn’t look like one the features so make sure you glance at the tag before you approach him for a conversation.
As you can see, the PCB for the project is the same form factor as a landscape ID card. It hosts an 8×5 LED matrix, which meshes nicely with the registers of the MSP430 chip which runs it. He admits that the hardware may not last very long as the chip is multiplexing the display directly, with no resistors or LED drivers for current protection. But there is potential in the design. It uses a rechargeable battery (which we like) and he included a QR code in the board artwork for easy exchange of contact information. We’ve embedded his description of the project after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1NqT2BIg6E&w=470] | 11 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "577747",
"author": "1000100 1000001 1010110 1000101",
"timestamp": "2012-02-07T22:45:05",
"content": "Someday my PCBs will turn out that well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "577755",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "20... | 1,760,376,963.757966 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/07/wifi-experiments-with-attiny-microcontrollers/ | WiFi Experiments With ATtiny Microcontrollers | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"arduino",
"ATmega168",
"attiny",
"wifi"
] | [Quinn Dunki] got some free stuff from Element14 to evaluate, including this Mircrochip WiFi module. It’s been used as the centerpiece of an Arduino shield in the past, and she grabbed a copy of that library to see if it would play nicely with an ATtiny chip. What follows is
a struggle to de-Arduino the code so that it’s portable
for all AVR controllers.
This module is one of the least expensive ways to add WiFi to a project, coming in at around $23. But it’s not really an all-in-one solution as there’s still a huge software hurdle to cross. The hardware provides access to to radio functions needed to communicate with the network, but you need to supply the TCP/IP stack and everything that supports it. Hence the re-use of the Arduino library.
Battling adversity [Quinn] fought the good fight with this one. Switching from an ATtiny to the ATmega168, compiling more code, and troubleshooting the process. She used a single LED as feedback, and can get some connectivity with her hotspot. But to this point she hasn’t gotten everything up and running.
We’re hot for an AVR WiFi solution that is cheap and easy to use. But as we see here, the software is complex and perhaps best left up to beefier hardware like the ARM controllers. What do you think? | 28 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "577708",
"author": "dext3r",
"timestamp": "2012-02-07T21:33:55",
"content": "I’ve been looking at modules like this one and the Gainspan GS1011.My question is…does anybody know of a way to run a ‘low-power’ web server? What I mean by that is have a device serving up web pages and th... | 1,760,376,963.822477 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/07/build-your-own-4-channel-logic-analyzer/ | Build Your Own 4-channel Logic Analyzer | Mike Szczys | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"atmega8",
"AVR",
"lcd",
"logic analyzer",
"nokia"
] | If you’re just getting into hobby electronics chances are there are lots of tools you’d like to get you hands on but can’t yet justify the purchases. Why not build some of the simpler ones? Here’s
a great example of a 4-channel logic analyzer
that can be your next project and will add to your arsenal for future endeavors.
As you can see, [Vassilis’] creation uses a cellphone-sized LCD screen as the output. It is powered by four rechargeable batteries and driven by an ATmega8 microcontroller. He’s designed the tool without power regulation, relying on the ATmega’s rather wide range of operating voltages, and a few diodes to step down that voltage for the LCD screen.
As you can see in the clip after the break, alligator leads can be used to connect the test circuit to the inputs (don’t forget the ground reference!). Thee buttons at the bottom let you navigate the captured data by panning and zooming. Perhaps the best design feature is the single-sided circuit board which should be quite easy to reproduce at home.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oep_eB51JPw&w=470]
[via
Dangerous Prototypes
] | 26 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "577677",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2012-02-07T20:40:38",
"content": "Very nice. This reminds me of the Xprotolab:http://www.gabotronics.com/development-boards/xmega-xprotolab.htm",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comm... | 1,760,376,963.882617 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/07/web-game-bot-coded-with-python/ | Web Game Bot Coded With Python | Mike Szczys | [
"Software Hacks"
] | [
"bot",
"python",
"web games"
] | We find the programming challenge of game-playing bots to be fascinating. Take a look at
this Python bot which plays Burrito Bison
all the way through (video after the break). This is a totally pedantic exercise which has no purpose, other than to hone your mastery of a certain programming problem. And to that we say Bravo!
We looked in on a similar project which used
some C# code to dominate the game Bejeweled Blitz
. We’re not fantastic at C# and that code was never made public. But [Audionatics] has released this code through Github, and it’s written in Python which is a language in which we’re well versed.
The script monitors pixel locations to use as an input, which [Audionautics] admits is very error-prone. But if everything is setup just right it works like a charm. He’s also using the PyWin package which we believe is what lets the script move the cursor and register button clicks. We think this is really fun, but it make us wonder about the black-hat possibilities. What are the chances this could be turned into a gambling bot? Scary thought, huh?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7UO53ajBc0&w=470]
[via
Reddit
] | 15 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "577620",
"author": "lamalala",
"timestamp": "2012-02-07T19:14:30",
"content": "I would love to see a bot excel at QWOPhttp://www.foddy.net/Athletics.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "578124",
"author": "pRoFlT",
... | 1,760,376,964.347759 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/07/circuit-playground-an-electronics-reference-app-from-adafruit/ | Circuit Playground – An Electronics Reference App From Adafruit | Mike Nathan | [
"iphone hacks",
"Software Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"adafruit",
"Circuit Playground",
"electronics",
"ios",
"ipad",
"iphone",
"reference",
"tools"
] | It’s not everyday that we review software around here, but the folks at Adafruit recently put together an iOS app that I figured might be of interest. Their iPad/iPhone compatible application is called
“Circuit Playground”
, and it includes all sorts of handy electronics reference tools. For the context of this review, it should be noted that I paid for the application myself, and that I have had no communication with the Adafruit team regarding my assessment of the app.
As you can see from the main screen, the app currently features eight different tools, not counting the “Deals @ Adafruit” entry, since I consider that to be more of a marketing strategy than a real tool. The rest of the items are pretty standard reference fare, in an easy to use and understand package.
The Resistor Value tool is pretty straightforward, allowing you to specify resistance in two ways. You can select the color bands of your resistor and view the resulting value, or enter the resistance to see what color resistor you should be looking for. It supports both 4 and 5 band resistors as you would expect, and features a simple “Instruction Page” (as do all the tools), accessible via the small information icon on the bottom left corner of the screen. One thing I would love to see implemented is the ability to photograph components and display their resistance. I think it would be a very helpful addition for makers whose eyesight isn’t what it used to be.
The Multiple Resistor and Multiple Capacitor tools are similar in function, showing you the resultant resistance/capacitance of various series and parallel component setups. They both support up to 9 items apiece, and let you select the capacitance and resistance values for each component one at a time. This is both good and bad, as it gets pretty tedious entering each value manually after a bit. One other item that I thought could use improvement here was the functionality of switching between series and parallel configurations or adding/removing components. Any time a change is made to the configuration, all of the values are reset – this means that if you add another resistor to your 8-resistor diagram, you must re-enter each and every value.
The LED Resistor Calculator does exactly as its name suggests, much like many online calculators that have come before it. This handy feature lets you pick your LED color from a pre-determined list, populating the forward voltage and current fields automatically, based on some common/standard values. Once you specify a supply voltage and quantity of LEDs, the application returns the exact resistance required to meet your specs, along with the value of the nearest standard resistor. While the tool is certainly helpful when calculating resistors for LEDs in series, it lacks any sort of ability to do the same for parallel configurations. If the folks at Adafruit included that functionality along with the ability to customize the default LED list, I would be thrilled. I do have to point out however, that this tool does retain the LED count and supply voltage when changing LED colors, which is something I was glad to see after playing around with the Multiple Resistor tool.
The Ohm’s Law calculator is a simple tool that is great for allowing me to carry out quick sanity checks of the math I have done in my head. Simply enter two values in the triangle, and Circuit Playground spits out the third. The Power Calculator is a similarly straightforward tool, which takes in two of four values (Power, Voltage, Current, Resistance), calculating the rest for you. Neither tool is overly complicated, but then again they don’t need to be.
The final calculator that the app provides makes number conversions dead simple. Given one number, the converter will give you its representation in binary, decimal, hexadecimal, octal, and ASCII notation. While it might not be something that I’ll use every day, it certainly is a very helpful reference tool. I personally think that this tool would benefit from the ability to convert strings of characters/numbers rather than one at a time, but perhaps that is something they are looking to add in a forthcoming release.
One of Circuit Playground’s features that is not as prominent as the others on the main menu is the built-in datasheet viewer. It uses a lightweight interface to help search through and view PDF files located in the iPhone’s document store. I don’t have anything of the sort stored on my phone so I can’t truly test this portion of the app – let us know in the comments how it works for you.
A few data persistence nitpicks aside, I think that Circuit Playground is a solid app with a lot of potential. At $2.99 it sits at the higher end of the App Store pricing structure, so whether or not these tools are worth it is ultimately up to you. Adafruit does say that anyone who purchases the app gets $3 off their next order in their online store, which essentially makes the app free if you are a regular customer.
While it’s not designed for your seasoned Electrical Engineer, it is definitely a great resource for the part-time tinkerers out there. At the moment, it is an iOS-only offering, but Adafruit says that they will be releasing an Android version at some point in the future. In the meantime,
they suggest giving ElectroDroid a try
, as it is currently the best app on that platform. | 36 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "577580",
"author": "David",
"timestamp": "2012-02-07T18:14:22",
"content": "See also Electrodroid for Android :)It features popular pinouts too and is free.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "577581",
"author": "James",
"ti... | 1,760,376,965.280715 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/07/tweets-send-your-balls-flying-on-tv/ | Tweets Send Your Balls Flying (on TV) | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"hashtag",
"launcher",
"ping pong",
"twitter"
] | Members from the London Hackerspace recently got a little on-air time with a ping pong ball launcher. They were invited to build something for the Click show on BBC. The launcher that they built
responds to hash tags on Twitter by barraging the audience
with balls.
The hardware was built in two parts. The first is a dispenser that responds to incoming Tweets by releasing one ball onto a set of staging ramps. The other portion is the launcher itself. Building it like this makes it a rapid fire device, as the spinning wheels of the launcher make quick work of several dozen balls just waiting to be let loose. Check out some footage from the show after the jump.
We like this one just as much as
that remote controlled launcher
. We’re glad to have seen these both because we happen to have a surplus of the balls lying around since we built
that clock
and we’re not about to undertake some of
the more dangerous ping pong based projects we’ve seen
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPG-ji3zt7A&w=470] | 7 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "577559",
"author": "TheHypnotist",
"timestamp": "2012-02-07T17:36:10",
"content": ":D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "577604",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2012-02-07T18:44:51",
"content": "They should have fe... | 1,760,376,964.433902 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/07/color-sensor-gives-the-rgb-values-of-anything/ | Color Sensor Gives The RGB Values Of Anything | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"color sensor",
"led"
] | [Rick Osgood] wanted to build a color sensor that could be held up to any object to get RGB color values. He originally started with a photoresistor and a few LEDs, but couldn’t get that to work reliably. [Rick] finally completed
his color sensor
after finding a digital luminosity sensor on Adafruit, ending up with a pretty accurate piece of hardware to judge the color of something.
The idea behind the color sensor is to light up red, green, and blue LEDs and see how much light is reflected back from the object with a
luminosity sensor
. [Rick] chose an Arduino to do all the heavy lifting for the light sensor and activating the LEDs.
After a few tests [Rick] got his color sensor working, but it’s not up to par with what he had expected. This isn’t really a problem: the LEDs probably don’t have the same brightness and the luminosity sensor doesn’t respond evenly across the entire rainbow. Those things can always be fixed in software, though. It’s a nice project that could serve as part of a prototype for
this color picker pen
. | 28 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "577518",
"author": "Ben",
"timestamp": "2012-02-07T16:11:22",
"content": "This can’t be fixed in software, unfortunately. Humans don’t just see the three discrete wavelengths of light emitted by the LEDs. You could have a surface which appears yellow in natural light, for instance, ... | 1,760,376,964.499897 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/07/beer-mini-kegs-turned-into-a-cyclonic-dust-collector/ | Beer Mini-kegs Turned Into A Cyclonic Dust Collector | Mike Szczys | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"cyclonic",
"dust collection",
"dust separator",
"dyson",
"shop vac"
] | [Darrell] made his own
cyclonic dust separator which connects to a shop vac
. We’re amused by his poke at Dyson’s marketing machine where he mentions that the ads say it took years to perfect those vacuum cleaners and he managed to put his together in a few hours…. from trash/recyclables no less!
Two mini-kegs are used as the separating vessel. The only other parts are some PVC plumbing fittings which help to direct the air and give him a way to attach the collector to the shop vac. The top keg is where all of the magic happens. Air and debris is sucked in through the hose coming in the side wall. A 45 degree elbow directs it downward and to the side, which starts the cyclonic action. The shop vac is attached to the tube in the top, with a cylinder extending into the keg. The spinning air must make a sharp turn to get into that cylinder; it’s at this point the debris drops out into the lower keg. See for yourself in the clip after the break.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen dust collectors that use this concept. [Darrell] pointed out this one
made out of plastic cups
, and this other
made from a 5-gallon bucket
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeMso1qAwWs*w=470] | 19 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "577485",
"author": "Dave",
"timestamp": "2012-02-07T14:45:00",
"content": "Nice work! This was my take:http://forums.hackaday.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=419&hilit=dustThe obvious problem with mine was that it has to be vented outside- the microscopic dust left over is the worst thing ... | 1,760,376,964.599206 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/06/building-led-walls-on-the-cheap/ | Building LED Walls On The Cheap | Brian Benchoff | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"led matrix",
"RGB LED",
"serial"
] | Around this time last year, [KopfKopfKopfAffe] was enlisted as a set designer and was told to build some sort of light effects for electronic music parties. The budget for the project wasn’t much at 200 Euros, but he did manage to build decent
5×5 RGB LED matrix
that is fully controllable by a computer.
[KopfKopfKopfAffe] didn’t have the time or money to wait for manufactured PCBs, so a bunch of perfboard was placed in a CNC mill with a pen to act as a plotter. All the lines that needed soldered were drawn on by the mill, a feat that probably saved hours of looking at the design before committing solder to iron.
A total of
five boards
were constructed, each one capable of controlling five RGB LEDs. Each board can be dasiy-chained with an RS-232 serial connection for further expansion. The only thing that’s needed to control the matrix is 17 bits that includes an address and RGB color data for each LED. The system only cost about 10 Euros per node, but we think that could be significantly reduced by leaving out the Molex and DB-9 connectors. [Kopf] project turned out very nice, check it out after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMQmOK47rjc#!&w=470] | 7 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "576958",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2012-02-07T03:20:33",
"content": "Now I’ve got to make one of THESE! I’m not whining, it just sounds that way.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "577524",
"author": "Sergio",
"times... | 1,760,376,964.543971 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/06/play-hide-and-go-seek-with-infrared-leds/ | Play Hide-and-go-seek With Infrared LEDs | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"ir led",
"scavenger hunt"
] | Although we’re sure they exist, we wouldn’t want to meet anybody that can’t look back fondly on the halcyon days of youth that included playing hide-and-go-seek. Some kids never grow up and continue the tradition with geocaching or orienteering, but that sense of limitless discovery wanes over time. [Kurt] came up with a small
scavenger hunt beacon
that brings back the unending wonder that accompanies the unknown.
The beacon is just a simple ATtiny13 that flashes a message with an invisible IR LED. To receive the messages, [Kurt] made a
scavenger decoder shield
for an Arduino. The decoder includes a phototransistor and a 20×4 LCD display. All [Kurt] needs to do is hold the decoder up to the beacon for the text in the firmware of the ATtiny to be displayed. The beacon is only one inch square and powered by a watch battery, so it can be hidden
anywhere.
[Kurt] suggests that the text of one beacon should provide the clue to the next. We’re thinking this is just a great excuse for a walk in the park. You can check out [Kurt]’s IR decoder getting data from a beacon after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdi_qd3i-WM&w=470] | 16 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "576778",
"author": "HackJack",
"timestamp": "2012-02-06T22:02:44",
"content": "Since the cell phone camera can pick up infrared, IMHO, it would be much more practical and economical to come up with an Android/iPhone App as a reader.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"repl... | 1,760,376,964.293525 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/06/replacing-a-phantom-limb-with-a-kinect/ | Replacing A Phantom Limb With A Kinect | Brian Benchoff | [
"Kinect hacks",
"Medical Hacks"
] | [
"Kinect",
"phantom limb"
] | Nearly everyone has heard of phantom limb syndrome. It occurs sometimes after a limb is amputated, but the mind of the patient still thinks that the limb is attached. Generally regarded as a mix-up in the wiring of the damaged nerves, a phantom limb can be very painful. [Ben] has been working on a way to alleviate some of the pain and frustration associated with a phantom limb and fortunately for us he went for a
Kinect, VR goggles, and gyroscope build
.
Today, most therapies for phantom limb syndrome use a
Ramachandran Mirror Box
. The theory behind the mirror box is pretty simple – if someone recently lost a hand, just insert one hand in one side of the box and the arm stump on the other side. Looking into the box from the side with the good hand will trick the patient’s brain into thinking the amputated hand is still there. It’s a good therapy that has been very successful, but [Ben] thought he could do something that is a little more immersive.
[Ben]’s project uses a Kinect and VR goggles to put the patient in a virtual environment. With the help of a few gyroscopes, the patient gets a virtual representation of their whole self projected into their goggles. The technique isn’t terribly different from
VR phobia treatment
, although there’s much more electronics and math involved in [Ben]’s build. The first test subject said his pain was going down, so it looks like he might have a success on his hand (no pun intended).
Check out the demos of [Ben]’s treatment plan after the break.
[vimeo=36085689] | 6 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "576772",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2012-02-06T21:42:40",
"content": "“it looks like he might have a success on his hand (no pun intended).” – What a messed up joke…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "576773",
"author": "sa... | 1,760,376,964.388578 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/06/electronic-candle-protects-sleeping-infant/ | Electronic Candle Protects Sleeping Infant | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"12f683",
"candle",
"pic",
"SIDS",
"votive"
] | [William]
developed this temperature candle
as a tool to help keep babies safe as they sleep. It seems that ambient temperature has an effect on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). This device is meant to alert you when room temperature is outside of the recommended envelope.
The board hosts an eight-pin PIC microcontroller (12F683P), a temperature sensor, RGB LED, and a push button. The round PCB is the same size as a votive candle, which is nice except that you’re going to have to drill a hole in your candle holder to accommodate that barrel jack.
The temperature sensor is read by the microcontroller and used to determine the color of the LED. Red is hot, blue is cold, and just right is somewhere in between. But if you’d rather know the exact current temperature you can press the button and it’ll blink out the Celsius reading using blue for 10 degree increments (three blinks is 30 degrees, etc.) and red for single degrees. Don’t miss the demo of the candle in the video after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2PWzoKrSgU&w=470] | 31 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "576711",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2012-02-06T19:55:27",
"content": "This is one of those perfect uses of open source hardware…something that is valuable and might be able to help save lives, but would never be marketed because the possible profit is not worth the liability.... | 1,760,376,964.665479 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/06/speedier-hard-disk-option-for-your-mac-mini/ | Speedier Hard Disk Option For Your Mac Mini | Mike Szczys | [
"Mac Hacks"
] | [
"hard drive",
"mac mini",
"sata"
] | [Andrew] was left wanting by the slow hard drive in his 2011 Mac Mini. He set out to add a 10,000 RPM drive and we think he did a great job of pulling it off. Luckily
he also took the time to document the process
so you can try it yourself.
As with a lot of Apple products, a big part of this hack is just getting the darn thing apart without breaking something. Once that’s done, you’re got to do a little bit of interface hacking. To save space Apple uses a non-standard SATA breakout cable so [Andrew] starts by ordering a second hard drive cable from the company. He then soldered a thin wire connecting 12V from the motherboard to the 12V pin on a SATA connector. From there it’s just a matter of altering the original hard drive sled to make room for the 500 GB WD Velociraptor drive. It fits below the original and serves as additional space instead of as a replacement. | 36 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "576677",
"author": "Ivan",
"timestamp": "2012-02-06T18:56:13",
"content": "Well, I guess: welcome to the Apple world, where opening a case and replacing a hard drive is a hack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "576684",
... | 1,760,376,964.736227 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/06/robotic-etch-a-sketch-draws-grayscale-images/ | Robotic Etch-a-Sketch Draws Grayscale Images | Kevin Dady | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"News",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"etch a sketch"
] | [Patrick]
decided to make a computer controlled etch-a-sketch
. While the idea is
not that new
, there is always a different way to accomplish a goal. An Arduino is used to control a pair of stepper motors which were sourced for pretty cheap, and even came with their own driver. Next a stand was mocked up using foam board, which helps determine where all the parts should live.
Next was a way to attach the steppers to the knobs, gears would be used and a collet meant for model airplanes was sourced to make the mechanical connection between gear and shaft. With everything set in place via foam board and paper printouts, it is off to get some thin plywood. The plywood is sent though a laser cutter creating most of the stand and gears. Now its all software, a program was whipped up for OSX which converts low res pictures into squiggly lines perfect for the etch-a-sketch to draw on its screen.
The results are quite impressive, join us after the break for a quick video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2LIMYKQLXE&w=470] | 14 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "576621",
"author": "ejonesss",
"timestamp": "2012-02-06T16:23:21",
"content": "hmmmm? couldnt this be used to smuggle data?you program something you want to smuggle say a phone number or a password or something then you take the unit to where you are to reveal the message and bingo ... | 1,760,376,964.841694 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/06/diy-windows-8-tablet/ | DIY Windows 8 Tablet | Kevin Dady | [
"laptops hacks"
] | [
"WIndows 8"
] | [hackitbuildit], from instructables, has brought us a a
DIY windows 8 tablet
. To make the tablet, an old laptop is used that meets the
minimum requirements of windows 8 preview
, a touch screen conversion kit, and of course the software itself. The laptop is first prepared by removing the casing around the screen, and if you just go by the pictures it kind of looks like he is ripping it apart! Though if you look at the video screws are being removed.
The screen is flipped around and laid on the keyboard with a couple spacers between them, as many laptops use the keyboard area as heat sinking. The touch screen is installed, and some wood strips are hot-glued to the outside to fill in the gap between the screen and base. With a little paint you’re left with a large, but functional windows 8 tablet to get started developing for. | 26 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "576558",
"author": "MrX",
"timestamp": "2012-02-06T14:10:23",
"content": "Who care about a Windows tablet? Wake me up when there is a Linux tablet. Oh .. wait! In fact there is:http://hothardware.com/News/Details-Emerge-About-the-Spark-LinuxBased-Tablet/",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,376,965.488103 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/05/improving-headphones-by-voiding-warranties/ | Improving Headphones By Voiding Warranties | Brian Benchoff | [
"digital audio hacks"
] | [
"bluetooth",
"headphones",
"sennheiser"
] | [Dan] had been wanting a pair of Bluetooth headphones for quite a while. Most of the reviews for wireless headphones in the $50-$80 range complained of tinny sound and dropped bass. Nevertheless, he stumbled upon a $20 pair of headphones with similar reviews and realized that he could
switch out the driver
and make a decent pair of cans.
The donor drivers came from a pair of Sennheiser HD 540 headphones. These are very respectable headphone speakers that cost about what you would expect for pro audio gear. To to get Bluetooth working with the Sennheisers, [Dan] removed the PCB and battery enclosure and attached them to the headband with velcro.
For his build, he had to cut the cable on the Sennheisers and solder them to the Bluetooth board. There was never any danger of ruining a good pair of headphones, though. If he screwed up he was only out a headphone cable. Now [Dan] has a nice pair of Bluetooth headphones that can reproduce bass. Not a bad deal for a $20 pair of headphones. | 34 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "576187",
"author": "polossatik",
"timestamp": "2012-02-06T01:05:14",
"content": "sorry to nitpick (let another flame on negative comment roll), but he did not really switched out the drivers (speakers).He used the BT module to drive a HD 540 headphone.Aldo it seams silly, it looks a... | 1,760,376,965.426523 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/05/self-tuning-piano-can-tune-itself-cant-tuna-fish/ | Self-tuning Piano Can Tune Itself, Can’t Tuna Fish | Brian Benchoff | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"piano",
"robot guitar"
] | At Hack a Day, we don’t throw the term genius around lightly. We’re obligated to bestow that title on [Don Gilmore] for his amazingly simple
self-tuning piano
. To appreciate [Don]’s build, you need to realize that just because a piano has 88 keys, that doesn’t mean it has 88 strings. Treble notes have three strings per key while tenor and bass notes have one or two strings each. This usually comes out to more than 200 strings per piano, and [Don] can bring them all up to tune in under a minute.
[Don]’s system needs to perform two functions. The first one is sustaining the strings so the computer can ‘hear’ the strings. He does this with a magnetic sustainer that is a lot like an
E-Bow
. To bring the strings up to the right pitch, there are small heaters underneath the pin block. Running a little bit of current through these heaters allows [Don] to decrease the tension of each string and lower the pitch.
This tech reminds us of the
Gibson Robot Guitar
, a self-tuning guitar that does it’s trick with motors in the tuners. The Gibson didn’t do well on the sales floor, given that everybody and their mom can tune a guitar. Pianos, though, are another story. [Don] is looking for investors to bring his idea to market, and we hope to see it on the floor of a music shop sometime in the future.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugAxXm2SAXw&w=470]
Yes, an REO Speedwagon reference. Only slightly ashamed, if you’re wondering. | 45 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "576126",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2012-02-05T23:55:34",
"content": "First instinct is ‘well, that’s cool and all but then it requires you to burn electricity while you play to keep it in tune’.Browsing the Youtube comments, he says it is costing 7 cents ($.07) per hour to run... | 1,760,376,965.201065 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/05/printrbot-files-in-the-wild/ | Printrbot Files In The Wild | Brian Benchoff | [
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"3d printer",
"printrbot",
"reprap",
"SUMPOD",
"thingiverse"
] | After a few months of eager waiting, [Brook Drumm] has finally
released the files
for his paradigm-shifting 3D printer, the
Printrbot
. If you didn’t order one of these during the Kickstarter, you can now print your own set of parts.
[Brook] gave his Printrbot to the world
last November
with the promise of being extremely cheap, extremely easy to build, and having a relatively high print quality. The simplicity of the Printrbot was amazing, which probably led to the Printrbot getting $830k worth of funding on the initial
Kickstarter
. Although the files for the 3D printed parts are out in the wild now, there still aren’t any instructions on how to build it apart from a
Flickr slideshow
.
[Brook] promised to release the files for the Printrbot much earlier, but we’re guessing he’s been busy printing and assembling the 1200 Printrbots that were claimed in his Kickstarter. While we’re on the subject of cheap 3D printers, [Richard Sum], the English gent behind the
SUMPOD
sent in a link of one of his $600 printers
milling MDF
and extruding for
seven hours straight
. We’re on the cusp of Star Trek-style replicators here, people. | 39 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "576009",
"author": "Regulus",
"timestamp": "2012-02-05T18:17:47",
"content": "This printer is known to the RepRap community already as “Wobblebot,” and the files for a derivative have been available for a while.I hope this printer lives up the the expectations of its many users.",
... | 1,760,376,965.358139 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/05/build-your-own-self-driving-car/ | Build Your Own Self-driving Car | Brian Benchoff | [
"classic hacks",
"Robots Hacks",
"Software Development"
] | [
"robots",
"self-driving car",
"stanford",
"Udacity"
] | If you’ve ever wanted your own self-driving car,
this is your chance
. [Sebastian Thrun], co-lecturer (along with the great [Peter Norvig]) of the
Stanford AI class
is opening up a new class that will teach everyone who enrolls how to program a self-driving car in seven weeks.
The robotic car class is being taught alongside a CS 101
“intro to programming”
course. If you don’t know the difference between an interpreter and a compiler, this is the class for you. You’ll learn how to make a search engine from scratch in seven weeks. The “Building a Search Engine” class is taught by [Thrun] and [David Evans], a professor from the University of Virginia. The driverless car course is taught solely by [Thrun], who helped win the
2005 DARPA Grand Challenge
with his robot car.
In case you’re wondering if this is going to be another one-time deal like the online AI class, don’t worry. [Thrun]
resigned as a tenured professor
at Stanford to concentrate on teaching over the Internet. He’s still staying at Stanford as an associate professor but now he’s spending his time on his online university,
Udacity
. It looks like he might have his hands full with his new project; so far, classes on the theory of computation, operating systems, distributed systems, and computer security are all planned for 2012. | 23 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "575961",
"author": "polymath",
"timestamp": "2012-02-05T16:36:02",
"content": "This is pretty cool… And quite terrifying. I seem to remember Toyota having some programming issues with their brakes a while back.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
... | 1,760,376,965.737813 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/04/converting-transparency-sheets-to-an-lcd-monitor/ | Converting Transparency Sheets To An LCD Monitor | Brian Benchoff | [
"Peripherals Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"LCD projector",
"overhead projector",
"video projector"
] | Apparently, there’s some sort of sporting event being televised this weekend that has been historically used as an excuse to buy a big-screen TV. [Joel] wanted a huge-screen TV on the cheap, so he
converted an overhead projector
to something he can use with his XBox.
Using a bare LCD panel with an overhead projector is a decades-old hack we’ve
covered before
. The basic idea is fairly simple, but we’ve never seen anything that could be considered a semi-permanent build. [Joel] started his project by picking up a surplus overhead projector for $25 and routing a cutting board to mount the LCD in. The bulb in the projector added a lot of heat, so three small fans are used to blow air between the projector glass and the LCD display.
[Joel] started off looking at the
LumenLab DIY projector
project, but considered that to be a terrible amount of work with a fairly high initial investment. If you don’t count the few LCDs [Joel] burned through while building his project, his projector was built for under $100. We’re loving the result and are sure it will be much appreciated at [Joel]’s LAN parties. | 37 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "575481",
"author": "g. freeman",
"timestamp": "2012-02-04T21:13:37",
"content": "nice setup man! cool to see old tech reused this creatively.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "575495",
"author": "smartass",
"timestamp": "2... | 1,760,376,965.566774 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/04/reverse-engineering-an-ac-signal-protocol/ | Reverse Engineering An AC Signal Protocol | Jeremy Cook | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"home automation",
"power line signal",
"protocol",
"UPB"
] | [Arpad] has spent quite a bit of time
reverse-engineering a home automation system
, and, as he is quick to point out, presents the information learned for informational purposes only. He’s really done his homework (and documented it well), looking into the
US patent application
, and figuring out how the protocol works.
If you’re wondering how someone is able to send a signal over an AC sine wave, at least one technique is the proprietary [Universal Powerline Bus]. This works by sending precisely times pulses in conjunction with the wave that would exist normally. Given the correct software on the other end, this can then be decoded and used for whatever data transfer is necessary.
Although as engineers and technologists, we certainly don’t condone stealing patents, part of point of one is that others are allowed to learn your secrets in exchange for some legal protection. [Arpad]’s motivation in doing this is that the technology is only widely available in the US with our puny 120 VAC 60Hz power. With this knowledge, he’s been able to transfer it to work with European 230 VAC 50Hz.
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVScZVuY2ug%5D | 22 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "575462",
"author": "Joshua",
"timestamp": "2012-02-04T20:41:38",
"content": "I wouldnt call 120v puny comparing to Euro 230v. It might be 230v but the median service amperage is around 90 amps vs 200 in the usa.It’s why those damn tiny stoves and ovens in German kitchens suck so bad... | 1,760,376,965.626069 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/04/a-r-t-sorts-your-recyclables-for-you/ | A.R.T. Sorts Your Recyclables For You | Mike Szczys | [
"green hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"recycling",
"sort"
] | [Yuhin Wu] wrote in to let us know about
the Automated Recycling Sorter
that was built with a group of classmates at the University of Toronto. They entered it the school’s student design contest and we’re happy to report that it took first place.
The angled sled has been designed to separate glass, plastic, and metal containers. The first sorting happens at the intake area. A set of
moment arms
are used to weed out the glass bottles. Since there are several of them in a row, a larger and heavier plastic container will not be falsely sorted and the same goes for smaller glass bottles.
With the glass out of the mix the team goes on to separate metal and plastic. An Arduino was used for this purpose. It senses an electrical disturbance caused by a metal can passing through the chute and actuates a trap door to sort it. Plastic has no effect on this sensor and slides past the trap to its own sorting bin.
Don’t miss both demo videos which we’ve included after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6V8QCOc4pq0&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BJrog8neR4&w=470] | 21 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "575425",
"author": "polossatik",
"timestamp": "2012-02-04T19:08:13",
"content": "the hard part would be to make it usable in “real life”,but +1 for all people trying to figure out things.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "575633... | 1,760,376,966.038258 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/04/using-routers-as-displays/ | Using Routers As Displays | Brian Benchoff | [
"LED Hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"router"
] | Have you ever seen an LED display
made out of routers
? [Sean] took eight Netgear routers and made an 8×4 display out of them. Because that wasn’t cool enough, a very small version of Conway’s Game of Life was added to the build.
Each router is running a copy of
OpenWrt
, a Linux distro meant for limited hardware. Instead of an 802.11 protocol, each router runs the
B.A.T.M.A.N. advanced mesh protocol
. This protocol allows each router to communicate with all the other routers.
Instead of each router receiving data from a master, the routers calculate each step in the Game of Life independently. Once the routers communicate their initial states, each router is responsible for displaying its four LEDs for each new generation. In the video after the break, you can see [Sean]’s routers calculating random Game of Life boards. Sadly, we didn’t notice a GoL oscillator being randomly generated, but with a 4×8 play field even a
Glider
wouldn’t last very long.
[vimeo=35936030] | 18 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "575389",
"author": "polossatik",
"timestamp": "2012-02-04T17:08:30",
"content": "This is damn close to absolute zero on the scale of coolness.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "575398",
"author": "sk",
"timestamp... | 1,760,376,965.680825 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/04/weekly-roundup-2412/ | Weekly Roundup 2/4/12 | Jack Buffington | [
"Weekly Roundup"
] | [
"weekly roundup"
] | Another week has come and gone and that means that it is time for our week in review. These are the top posts that have been viewed at Hackaday in the past week.
Coming in at first place is a post about a project by [Red Jones] and [Brian Kast] of Sandia labs. Ethical issues aside, this is a pretty cool project. They have developed
a bullet that can be shot out of a smooth-bore gun that can hit within eight inches of a target one kilometer away
. That is pretty amazing. It does this magic with an 8-bit processor. This takes the microcontroller wars to a whole new level. Are they using Microchip, Atmel or (gasp) something else?
In second place is a follow up post to our post
asking how to control three LEDs with three switches, all in series
. That post, although it was posted in December 2011 came in at number three. Getting back on topic though,
this week’s post shows how he did it!
Not only that, but it shows the extent that he went to when making it. There is footage through the eyepiece of a microscope showing him building one!
Want to use LiPo batteries in your next project but are afraid to use them? Here is a post where [Paul] shows off
a circuit that he built that can charge LiPo batteries
using a MCP7813 chip from Microchip.
Finally, rounding out the five is a post about a blog that was taken down but luckily not before the IEEE made a copy of it. This blog was
made by a robot operator working at the Fukushima nuclear plant
and detailed their ongoing cleanup operations there. | 0 | 0 | [] | 1,760,376,965.774928 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/03/office-game-show-buzzer-keeps-things-fair-and-square/ | Office Game Show Buzzer Keeps Things Fair And Square | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"buzzer",
"game",
"led",
"office"
] | The sales team in [Chuck’s] office is a pretty competitive bunch as you might expect, and they decided that they wanted a system which would allow them to challenge one another during their weekly meetings. The competition involves answering questions posed by their manager, but hand raising only works for so long –
they needed a definitive way to tell who “buzzed in” to answer a question first.
Since [Chuck] only had a short bit of time and a tiny budget to work on, he opted to find the easiest solution to the problem, which was an Arduino-based game show buzzer system. The game display is built from an Arduino, some LEDs and an Altoids tin, while the buzzer pushbuttons were salvaged from an old radio broadcast console.
Now, when a question is posed, the salesman can buzz in to answer, knowing that only the quickest person’s button click will be registered. When it’s time for another question, the host simply clicks his buzzer to reset the console.
While it’s not quite as fancy as
this game buzzer system
we featured a while back, [Chuck] says it does the job perfectly and was cheap to boot.
Continue reading to see a short video of the office game buzzer system in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UfxOmglSBg&w=470] | 15 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "574750",
"author": "mip",
"timestamp": "2012-02-03T23:25:10",
"content": "Your Arduino gets bored to death with such a simple task.A 74HC573 latch would have done the same, doesn’t need programming and just costs a few cents.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [... | 1,760,376,966.087205 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/03/coffee-table-puts-on-a-show-behind-smoked-glass/ | Coffee Table Puts On A Show Behind Smoked Glass | Mike Szczys | [
"computer hacks",
"home hacks"
] | [
"coffee table",
"lcd screen"
] | This coffee table is a real show-piece. It’s got a smoky
glass surface that is hiding the LCD screen within
. But what fun would it be if it could only play video? The rest of the enclosure houses all the parts necessary to make this living room centerpiece into a computer.
After the break you can see a video showing off each step of the build process. It starts by ridding the screen of its enclosure, and using what’s left to determine the size of the wood frame for the table. With the display firmly in place [Nate] sets to work position, mounting, and developing cooling solutions for the motherboard and the rest of the bits. He does nice work and ends up with a table that we’d be proud to feature in our homes.
Now he’s got a lot of computing power and a huge display, but isn’t something missing? How hard do you think it would be to add touch sensitive input to this? We’re wondering if the overlays used to make
those Android touchscreens
could be mounted on the underside of the glass?
Build log photos:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH4QiAsTPCw&w=470]
Short demo:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhsNt4Sp97s&w=470]
[Thanks Mathew] | 17 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "574680",
"author": "Willaim",
"timestamp": "2012-02-03T21:38:21",
"content": "rather than doing touch screen which seems very expensive at that size how about just suspending a camera above it since its a stationary table and using that for input or a kinect perhaps?",
"parent_i... | 1,760,376,966.367274 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/02/kinect-for-windows-released/ | Kinect For Windows Released | Brian Benchoff | [
"Kinect hacks",
"News"
] | [
"Kinect"
] | Even though we’ve seen dozens of Kinect hacks over the years, there are a few problems with the Kinect hardware itself. The range of the Kinect sensor
starts
at three feet, a fact not conducive to 3D scanner builds. Also, it’s not possible to connect more than one Kinect to a single computer – something that would lead to builds we can barely imagine right now.
Fear not
, because Microsoft just released the Kinect for Windows. Basically, it’s designed expressly for hacking. The Kinect for Windows can reliably ‘see’ objects 40 cm (16 in) away, and supports up to four Kinects connected to the same computer.
Microsoft set the price of Kinect for Windows at $250. This is a deal breaker for us – a new Kinect for XBox sells for around half that. If you’re able to convince Microsoft you’re a student, the price of the Kinect for Windows comes down to $150. That’s not too shabby if you compare the price to that of a new XBox Kinect.
We expect most of the builders out there have already picked up a Kinect or two from their local Craigslist or Gamestop. If you haven’t (and have the all-important educational discount), this might be the one to buy. | 26 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "573466",
"author": "HackJack",
"timestamp": "2012-02-02T17:34:27",
"content": "So this one handles closer objects better? Is that a hardware change which warrants the increase in price or simply a software thing?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,376,966.148424 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/02/resurrecting-a-mac-lc-for-server-duties/ | Resurrecting A Mac LC For Server Duties | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware"
] | [
"casemod",
"intel atom",
"Macintosh LC"
] | It might just be a case mod, but we love [Eduard]’s take on a
modern Macintosh LC
(
translation
). The donor motherboard came from a disused home server, and the LC came from [Eduard]’s childhood memories of playing
Glider
and
The Incredible Machine
.
The case was donated from a venerable
Macintosh LC
, manufactured circa 1990. The original LC had a Motorola 68020 CPU, which [Eduard] upgraded to an Intel Atom board. It was a somewhat tricky build – he adapted a 90 Watt power supply from a piece of old office equipment to power the new Intel board. With a great deal of very careful Dremel work, the old-school Apple logo was modified into a power button for the new computer.
For frequent readers of Hack a Day, it’s no surprise that we’ll grab up any old Apple or Mac build. [Kevin] built a
weather station
and
analog joypad
for his Apple IIc, We’ve seen
custom Mac ROM SIMMS
, and of course [Sprite_tm]’s
amazing SE/30 emulation
. If you’ve got something that will send our 68k senses tingling, send it on
into the tip line
. | 13 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "573339",
"author": "jameswilddev",
"timestamp": "2012-02-02T15:08:39",
"content": "I love the USB ports mounted in the FDD bay.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "573400",
"author": "sp0nix",
"timestamp": "2012-02-02T15:56:... | 1,760,376,966.19545 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/01/earning-a-merit-badge-with-a-pinewood-derby-photo-finish/ | Earning A Merit Badge With A Pinewood Derby Photo Finish | Brian Benchoff | [
"digital cameras hacks"
] | [
"boy scouts",
"pinewood derby"
] | As a boy scout properly acculturated into the DIY philosophy, [Adam] really wanted to get his hands on the new Inventing merit badge. The merit badge required solving a problem, so of course a
pinewood derby instant replay system
was the obvious solution.
After thinking through a few solution paths like a radio-controlled camera that follows the cars, [Adam] settled on a system that would replay the pinewood derby cars crossing the finish line. [Adam]’s father found a cheap and readily available Playstation Eye camera that can record 60fps video for this task. [Adam] used a laser/photodiode/Arduino setup to detect when a car was crossing the finish line. A bit of Processing code supplied by his father records the relevant 60 frames of video and plays them at 5fps on a projector for the enthralled spectators.
We suspect that a similar setup could be used if [Adam]’s den wanted to try the
rain gutter regatta
or oft-forgotten
space derby
next year. Check out [Adam]’s instant replay system after the break, or join us in the comments for the inevitable argument over who had the best pinewood derby car.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVOo27f25jU&w=470] | 36 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "572691",
"author": "pt",
"timestamp": "2012-02-01T22:59:04",
"content": "this is awesome, nice work adam!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "572707",
"author": "SuperAwesomeSylvia",
"timestamp": "2012-02-01T23:21:42",
"... | 1,760,376,966.584388 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/01/last-centurys-guided-missile-steps-aside-for-this-guided-bullet/ | Last Century’s Guided Missile Steps Aside For This Guided Bullet | Mike Szczys | [
"Weapons Hacks"
] | [
"bullet",
"dart",
"laser guided"
] | Here’s an image of a bullet’s path to the target. There’s a couple of things to note. First of all, this is not a tracer round, the projectile actually has an LED incorporated which was picked up as a trail in the long (relative to bullet speed) exposure. The second – and most obvious – thing to consider is the non-liner path it took to its objective. That’s because
this is a laser guided bullet
.
The smart bullet is a about four inches long and carries with it a light sensor, 8-bit processor, and some electromagnetic actuators. The tip is searching for a laser-painted target, with an algorithm calculating course corrections along the way and using the actuators to move fins which alter its path. For us the most interesting part is that this ammo requires a non-rifled barrel. The rifling spins the bullet as it leaves the firearm, which usually results in a straighter and more dependable path. But the microcontroller wouldn’t be able reliably steer if it were spinning.
We’d bet this ends up as a special sniper tool in video games before we hear about it on the battlefield. Check out a clip of the dart-like bullet leaving the muzzle in the clip after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLwVVYV3_K4&w=470]
[Thanks Das_Coach] | 115 | 46 | [
{
"comment_id": "572632",
"author": "CampGareth",
"timestamp": "2012-02-01T21:47:55",
"content": "Wow, just wow… we are all screwed though :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "574774",
"author": "Mikey",
"timestamp": "2012-02-04T... | 1,760,376,966.512783 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/01/flexible-web-interface-makes-the-universal-remote-nearly-perfect/ | Flexible Web Interface Makes The Universal Remote Nearly Perfect | Mike Szczys | [
"home entertainment hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"boxee",
"ir",
"learning",
"remote control",
"universal remote"
] | [Fall Deaf] built an Arduino based universal remote control system. It uses a shield which has both an IR receiver and transmitter. This gives it the tools to learn codes from your existing remotes and play them back in order to control the devices. This functionality is really nothing new, but we think
the user interface he developed for the system
is absolutely fantastic!
Software is web-based. You can simply point a remote at the Arduino and push a button. The receiver will store the code which can later be assigned to a virtual button. The image above shows the channel-up option being created; it will be added to the list once confirmed. From there any web enabled device – smart phone, tablet, netbook, etc – can be used as the remote for the system. The only feature we think is missing is the ability to alter the layout of the buttons, with larger areas for the most frequently used commands.
After the break you can see a demonstration of this system, as well as the one extra feature we haven’t touched on yet. [Fall Deaf] included a Piezo element in the hardware design which lets him knock on his coffee table to use the remote if a smart-device isn’t close at hand.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3-kM5PS1TE&w=470] | 16 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "572602",
"author": "Ed H",
"timestamp": "2012-02-01T20:57:23",
"content": "The user interface makes me wonder if it would be adaptible to be used as an interface for home automation systems too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": ... | 1,760,376,969.06259 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/01/lens-adapter-from-a-plastic-soda-bottle/ | Lens Adapter From A Plastic Soda Bottle | Mike Szczys | [
"digital cameras hacks"
] | [
"adapter",
"lens",
"soda bottle"
] | This lens adapter makes a lot of sense if you’re looking to interface with cameras that don’t have an in-built mounting option. It
uses the cap and threaded neck from a soda bottle
(
translated
) to make the lens adjustable and removable.
In the past we’ve seen this hack using
a lens cap with a hole drilled in it
as the mounting bracket. But that’s only useful if the lens you’ve chosen actually has a cap to use. This method lets you cut the top off of a the soda cap and mount it on the camera. Now each lens can be affixed to the threaded neck of the bottle, allowing for some adjustment of the focal point by screwing the add-on in or out.
Obviously this would work well for macro or fish-eye lenses. But there’s all kinds of other options out there like adding
a microscope lens adapter
, or actually attaching quality optics to your device. | 3 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "572808",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2012-02-02T01:50:49",
"content": "Man that thing is as ugly as sin, but it looks cheap and obviously works, so nice work. I might try it myself.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "573... | 1,760,376,968.17872 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/01/reading-diodes-to-create-a-thermal-imaging-system/ | Reading Diodes To Create A Thermal Imaging System | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"1n4148",
"adc",
"diode",
"forward voltage",
"thermal imaging"
] | [Udo Klein] was working with some 1N4148 transistors and was interested in the specs relating to their performance at different temperatures. The forward voltage actually changes quite a bit depending on temperature and wondered if this could be reliably measured. He hacked his own LED shield for the Arduino
to use as a 1×20 thermal imaging system
.
The screenshot above is mapping the voltage measurements from a row of diodes (see the video after the break to get the full picture). He’s holding an ice pack over the row of diodes and observing the change. The on-screen display is facilitated by a Python script which is pulling data from the Arduino. Since there aren’t enough analog inputs to read all twenty diodes separately they have been multiplexed. Four I/O pins each enable five of the diodes, readings are taken with five analog inputs before moving on to the next set.
What can this be used for? That is precisely the wrong question… sometimes you’ve just got to go where your curiosity takes you.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHH-MTriwh8&w=470] | 35 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "572551",
"author": "biged",
"timestamp": "2012-02-01T18:46:47",
"content": "1N4148 transistors! Where can I get these rare creatures!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "574391",
"author": "Tiago",
"timestamp": "20... | 1,760,376,968.28821 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/01/hackaday-links-february-1-2012/ | Hackaday Links: February 1, 2012 | Brian Benchoff | [
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"battery",
"gear motor",
"glados",
"keyboard",
"lasers",
"LiPo charger",
"window blinds"
] | The only thing he needs now is a micro and RTC
For [Dino]’s 44th Hack A Week extravaganza, he made
powered window blinds
in five minutes. It’s a simple build with a small gear motor and a bit of tubing to adapt the shaft to the control rod of the blinds. Good job [Dino].
BecauseCamelCaseWillKillYourPinkieFinger
The wonderful [Lizzie] over at
LUSTlab
realized that typing meta keys really slows down the development process. The result? Foot pedals for the Shift and Command keys. No build log for this one, but it’s just a set of
old racing pedals
and a
disused keyboard
.
So much cooler than a potato
[mdevaev] out of Russia built a
fully articulated GLaDOS replica
. Here’s the
build album
and the
relevant MLP forum post
. This GLaDOS is tiny – probably less than a foot long, but it moves around and speaks (Russian, which is weird). Somebody get us a couple of motorcycle fenders so we can build the 1:1 scale version.
Visualizing a plane of fog
[greg] was looking for a way to visualize the chaotic turbulence of air. He mounted a
laser on a computer fan
and held some dry ice above the beam. The result looks like it could make for an interesting photography project, but
check out the video
if you don’t believe us.
We were asking for it
We
asked for
battery charging circuits that don’t use specialized parts. [Petr] found
this one
that only uses few transistors, a MOSFET and a voltage regulator. In one of the Hackaday
comments
, [atomsoft] had the idea of putting a USB plug on the traces to save a bit in component costs. [mohonri] said
he designed one
, but we have yet to see it. Perhaps next links post… | 9 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "572490",
"author": "noouch",
"timestamp": "2012-02-01T16:22:04",
"content": "The smoke/fog thing has already been taken to the next level, scanning a laser through smoke and storing the data in a voxel grid:http://gl.ict.usc.edu/Research/Smoke/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": ... | 1,760,376,968.479354 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/01/a-usb-controlled-solder-reflow-oven/ | A USB-controlled Solder Reflow Oven | Jeremy Cook | [
"cooking hacks"
] | [
"hu-320",
"solder reflow oven",
"toaster oven",
"usb"
] | [Joel] of [Helion Microsystems] is at it again with his
USB controlled solder reflow oven
. You may remember him from his crazy
twitter-enabled Ewok
model. Although these two projects are quite different, they both use the
HU-320 USB breakout board
that he’s in the process of getting funding for via [Pozible], or Australian Kickstarter for Yanks.
The reflow oven works using a thermocouple-enabled RS-232 voltmeter to output the temperature to the HU-320 board. [Joel] has been nice enough to provide us with the
C# code
to interface with many multimeters if you want to implement a similar project. Temperature is controlled with a mechanical relay for what would appear to be a poor man’s PID controller.
Sadly, Fluke meters don’t seem to be listed, but your place of work probably wants their meter back anyway! For another
toaster reflow oven
implementation, check out this [HAD] article. Be sure to check out the video after the break for a video of the setup! (heat treat engineers may find the “recipe” format humorous).
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syUO3RcDsQw&w=470&h=315%5D | 3 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "572461",
"author": "Pup",
"timestamp": "2012-02-01T15:03:49",
"content": "Are you still trolling us with that ‘ewok’? It’s a jawa, dammut. D:<",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "572613",
"author": "Joel",
"timestamp": "20... | 1,760,376,968.218301 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/31/wifi-garage-door-opener-makes-forgotten-keys-a-thing-of-the-past/ | WiFi Garage Door Opener Makes Forgotten Keys A Thing Of The Past | Mike Nathan | [
"home hacks",
"iphone hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"garage door",
"iphone",
"rn-xv",
"wireless",
"xbee"
] | [Tod’s] daughter has a habit of forgetting to take a house key along with her, so he was looking for a way to
make accessing the house
easier in a pinch. He had tried wireless garage door keypads in the past, but their performance was so-so at best. After scouring the market for commercial solutions and checking out
the work of other hackers
, he decided that he needed to craft a custom solution of his own.
He started shopping around for wireless-enabled microcontrollers and settled on a Roving Networks RN-XV module, which is designed as a drop-in replacement for an XBee. Paired with a 5v to 3.3v power adapter, the RN-XV is nearly all he needed to interface his iPhone with his garage door opener.
The microcontroller has enough GPIO pins to control the garage door, while also monitoring the door’s status using a simple magnet/reed switch combo. A web server in [Tod’s] house takes input from any phone connected to his wireless LAN and relays the open/close commands to the opener. The opener in turn returns status messages to him via the web interface.
We really like the system’s simple design, and as long as [Tod] has
turned WPS off
at home, he really shouldn’t have to worry too much about unauthorized entry. | 23 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "572057",
"author": "Rick",
"timestamp": "2012-02-01T01:43:47",
"content": "That is a cool idea. Can you post or send instructions on what you used and how you made it?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "572130",
"author": "jlar... | 1,760,376,968.629708 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/31/turning-the-big-trak-into-a-turtle/ | Turning The Big Trak Into A Turtle | Brian Benchoff | [
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"beagleboard",
"Big Trak",
"logo"
] | Children of the 80s may remember the Big Trak, a six-wheeled programmable toy designed to explore distant planets on the other side of the living room and the vast expanse of a two-car garage. The Big Trak was re-released a few years ago and [Nathan] took quite a shine to this improved version. He was so enthralled he decided to
upgrade it even more
to support the LOGO programming language.
The 30-year-old version of the Big Trak had a membrane keypad where commands such as ‘drive forward 5 units’ and ‘turn 90 degrees’ can be saved and run from memory. This is very similar to the
LOGO programming language
with and turtle graphics and nearly identical to the
Roamer LOGO robot
.
To control the Big Trak, [Nathan] upgraded the electronics to a ChipKit Uno and a
BeagleBone
. A
LOGO interpreter
written in Python and uploaded to the BeagleBone. After this, [Nathan] was nearly set. He did add a
WiFi interface
to control his Big Trak wirelessly, a nice touch we think.
You can check out [Nathan]’s twenty-minute build video where he goes through the entire process of upgrading his Big Trak after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQwtnZ-aMNA&w=470] | 20 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "572011",
"author": "COREYEYE",
"timestamp": "2012-02-01T00:08:30",
"content": "Could have sworn it said Big Tank",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "572017",
"author": "Twilight Sparkle",
"timestamp": "2012-02-01T00:21:12",
... | 1,760,376,968.685795 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/31/reverse-engineering-a-1-5-inch-photoframe/ | Reverse Engineering A 1.5 Inch Photoframe | Kevin Dady | [
"how-to",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"photoframe",
"TFT LCD"
] | Little, no name, 1.5 inch LCD photo key-chains are all over the place for practically nothing. Not too surprisingly these things do not vary much in the parts that they use, some flash ram, a little lipo battery and a 16 bit color LCD. Wanting to find a way to reuse that LCD [Simon] Has an excellent tutorial on how to
reuse a FTM144D01N LCD with a ILITEK ILI9163 LCD driver for your electronic projects
.
Two units were used, one was ripped apart and soldered to a home made breakout board, the other was kept intact so its logic could be sniffed out with an oscilloscope. A pin-out was quickly determined since these things typically use a 8 or 16 bit data bus. Then a driver library was put together for AVR micro controllers, which includes some basic shape drawing and a 5×8 font.
While you may not be lucky enough to get this exact LCD screen from your local bargain store, there are a lot of pointers in here to hopefully get you up and going. We will be trying our luck on a very similar screen this afternoon as these things do have a decent picture and fairly quick response times already packaged in a hand-held case.
Join us after the break for a quick video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLn1Oz2wCJ8&w=470] | 21 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "571982",
"author": "mohonri",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T23:18:02",
"content": "Nicely done! I could definitely see this as a good replacement for HD44780-type character display–not much more expensive, and a whole lot more capable!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"repli... | 1,760,376,968.425142 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/31/weapon-of-mass-graffiti/ | Weapon Of Mass Graffiti | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"bike pump",
"dot matrix",
"fire extinguisher",
"graffiti",
"printer",
"solenoid"
] | What uses a fire extinguisher, a bike pump, and provides hours of probation, community service, and possibly jail time? If you said an automatic graffiti writer you’re correct! [Olivier van Herpt]
calls this little job the Time Writer
. We call it defacing property… but tomato, tomahto.
Details are a bit scarce, but you get a fine overview of the system from the video after the break. [Olivier] tagged the post as Arduino; it’s obviously running the dot matrix printer made up of seven solenoid valves on a metal rod. These are fed ink via a tube connected to a fire extinguisher which serves as the reservoir. The bike pump is used to pressurize the enclosure so that a pump isn’t necessary when out and about.
Obviously you shouldn’t try this at home, but let’s talk about possible improvements as an academic exercise. First off the mix of the ink/paint needs to be reigned in to get rid of the dripping. We’d also like to see the inclusion of some proper spray can nozzles to tidy up the results. That, paired with an IMU board should be able to smooth out the printed designs.
This might make an interesting add-on to
that rainbow graffiti writer
.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/35347197 w=470] | 48 | 32 | [
{
"comment_id": "571936",
"author": "Zhen",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T22:09:07",
"content": "Stupid inapproriate shit.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "571938",
"author": "xeracy",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T22:11:57",
"con... | 1,760,376,968.570348 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/31/overclocking-a-starfox-game-cartridge/ | Overclocking A Starfox Game Cartridge | Mike Szczys | [
"Nintendo Hacks"
] | [
"gsu 2",
"nes",
"overclock",
"starfox",
"super nintendo",
"superfx"
] | Some of our younger readers will never have experienced this before, but back in the day your video games would slow way down if there were too many moving objects on the screen. The original Castlevania comes to mind, but many will remember the problem while playing the fantastically three-dimensional Super Nintendo game Starfox. [Drakon] isn’t putting up with that hardware shortfall any longer, he
hacked this cartridge to run at 42 MHz
, twice as fast as the design spec.
We only occasionally look in on the cart hacking scene so it was news to us that three different versions of a pin compatible chip were used in this hardware. The first two suffer from the slowdown problem, but the final revision (SuperFX GSU 2) doesn’t. It can also be overclocked as high as 48 MHz but because of the video frame rate you won’t see added improvement with the extra 6 MHz.
[Drakon] used a Doom cartridge as a guinea pig because it offers the most RAM, and set to work rerouting the traces for the ROM chip to an EEPROM so that the hardware can be used with different games. He also took this opportunity to patch in the faster clock signal. | 22 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "571894",
"author": "Douglas Bouttell",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T21:19:51",
"content": "I remember somebody posing this idea years ago, glad to see it actually works!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "571912",
"author": "hc",
... | 1,760,376,968.368956 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/31/telegraph-key-makes-for-a-fantastic-twitter-input/ | Telegraph Key Makes For A Fantastic Twitter Input | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"ham radio",
"morse code",
"telegraph",
"twitter"
] | In the interests of interface archaeology, [Martin] sent in the
Tworse Key
, a telegraph key that posts to Twitter using Morse code. It’s a fantastic build that nearly looks like something out of the 1900s.
We’ve seen a ton of
Morse keyboards
over the years, but never one so well-engineered for a single purpose. The guts and brains of the Tworse Key is an Arduino Ethernet that connect to Twitter over the API. The Tworse Key automagically posts all the
Morse messages
to Twitter. The Tworse Key may have fallen off the table a few times in the past 24 hours, but we do see a few purposeful messages like ‘sos’ and [Bell]’s
preferred telephone salutation
.
We could say that nobody uses straight telegraph keys anymore, but outside a few hardcore CW HAM radio guys nobody uses
Morse
anymore. This isn’t meant to be used as an everyday input device, though. It’s more of an exercise in interface archaeology
.
That being said, an
iambic key
would be a far more
ergonomic solution
. Check out the video of the Tworse Key after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9KckRf_MKo&w=470]
[Martin] got bonus points for the cloth-covered Ethernet cable. Anyone have a source for this? | 21 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "571854",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T20:28:01",
"content": "I’m not a fan of Twitter, but that is awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "571863",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T20:... | 1,760,376,968.898494 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/31/using-google-documents-as-a-web-proxy/ | Using Google Documents As A Web Proxy | Mike Szczys | [
"Software Hacks"
] | [
"bookmarklet",
"google",
"google documents",
"google spreadsheet",
"proxy"
] | As weird as it might sound,
there’s a way to use Google documents as a web proxy
. The image above is a screenshot of [Antonio] demonstrating how he can view text data from any site through the web giant’s cloud applications. Certain sites may be blocked from your location, but the big G can load whatever it wants. If all you need is the text, then so can you.
The hack takes advantage of the =IMPORTDATA() function of Google Spreadsheet. We guess the command is meant to make import of XML data possible, but hey, that’s pretty much what HTML data is too, right? But what good it the raw webpage code in a spreadsheet? This is where [Antonio] made a pretty brilliant leap in putting this one together. He authored a bookmarklet that provies a navigation interface, hides the raw code which is stored in the spreasheet, and renders it in the browser. This ties together a user supplied URL, reloading data on the hidden spreadsheet and refreshing the window as necessary. See for yourself in the clip after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQUTiXmdBUU&w=470] | 12 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "571813",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T19:15:27",
"content": "Now that’s a hack!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "571833",
"author": "Shiro",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T19:53:44",
"content": "Obligatory XK... | 1,760,376,969.00736 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/31/nas-firmware-hack-synology-running-on-qnap-hardware/ | NAS Firmware Hack: Synology Running On QNAP Hardware | Mike Szczys | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"firmware",
"nas",
"qnap",
"qnology",
"synology"
] | [XVortex] pulled off a pretty incredible firmware hack. He managed to get a firmware upgrade for
Synology running on a QNAP machine
. These are both Network Attached Storage devices, but apparently the Synology firmware is better than what QNAP supplies with their offerings.
The nice thing is that this is not a one-off hack. You can download the raw image and give it a spin for yourself. A few words of warning though. It will only work on models which use the Atom and ICH9R chipset, you’re out of luck if you have one sporting an ARM processor. You will also need to format the drives once the new firmware is flashed so do this before you fill them up.
This harkens back to the days when DD-WRT was first being run on Linksys routers. We don’t remember if that started with upgrade image hacks like this one uses, or if the source code was available (Linksys was compelled to release it once it was proven they were in violation of the GPL).
See a proof video of this hack after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yg17gW40jgk&w=470]
[Thanks ZeroQI] | 22 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "571799",
"author": "Panikos",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T18:50:51",
"content": "Looks to me like that is running BSD (maybe based on FreeNAS?)So he could possibly try to run FreeNAS on his device to get more features?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{... | 1,760,376,968.956633 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/31/3d-print-in-wax-cast-in-metal/ | 3D Print In Wax, Cast In Metal | Kevin Dady | [
"cnc hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"3d printer",
"wax"
] | What does dry ice, ethonal, wax beads, and a blender have in common? It was the first attempts at making media for this
wax 3D printer that [Andreas] has been building up
. Wanting to produce 3D printed objects out of metal, and finding that
direct metal laser sintering
machines were still out of reach of reason, he set out to find a different way.
After trying a few different methods of making the powdered wax himself, he decided that it was much more time effective to just buy the stuff. Using the commercially available powered wax mixed with activated carbon, and a custom printer, the wax is blasted with a moderately high powered laser. More wax powder is applied over the freshly sintered layer, and the 3d part is built upwards. Once he has the part in wax, he can then make a mold of it and cast metal using the
Lost Wax Casting
method.
While the quality is not perfect, and you still need a roughly 2500$ laser setup (which was borrowed from his school) its surely a step into the future.
Join us after the break for a quick video.
[vimeo
http://vimeo.com/29560030
w=470] | 39 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "571603",
"author": "Brian Benchoff",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T16:15:49",
"content": "Has anyone ever attempted lost wax casting withwater soluble PVA? That could be printed on a regular rep/maker/rapbot and encased in green sand and cast in metal.Sadly, there are not enough forge or... | 1,760,376,969.497273 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/31/fractal-viewer-can-zoom-and-enhance-like-on-csi/ | Fractal Viewer Can Zoom And Enhance Like On CSI | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"fpga",
"fractal",
"mandelbrot",
"papilio",
"spartan-6"
] | This fractal viewer is a great way to get your feet wet with Field-Programmable Gate Arrays. The project will give you some experience working with video output, user input, and a whole bunch of math and memory management. [Hamster] built it using the Papilio Plus board which hosts a Spartan 6 FPGA. This continues his odyssey into the realm of hardware design;
part of which we looked at back in December
.
The arcade Megawing for the dev board gives him easy access to the controls needed to scroll and zoom on the fractal design. Calculations to generate the shape are being run at 240 MHz, with the VGA output running at 80 MHz. The device has enough horse power and SRAM to show an 800×600 pixel output with a 60 Hz refresh rate.
We really liked the logic diagram that [Hamster] drew up when planning how the calculations would be handled. It’s not overly complex, but it took us a while to conceptualize how everything fits together. It’s certainly an improvement from
his last attempt
as we couldn’t make heads or tails out of that flow chart.
If you’re just interested in the pretty shapes and colors there’s a demo embedded after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR4jbX332jU&w=470] | 15 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "571591",
"author": "bty",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T15:48:21",
"content": "we we’re doing this on our 486 machines in the early nineties in borland turbo pascal and x86 assembler. It ran just a little slower than this.In indexed color mode adding a palette cycle was also trivial.I re... | 1,760,376,969.423518 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/30/a-sopa-we-still-cant-get-behind/ | A SOPA We Still Can’t Get Behind | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"productivity",
"router",
"sopa"
] | [Brad] had an extremely productive January 18th. Considering how many websites went dark to protest SOPA, we can’t blame him. While considering what he could get done if popular Internet time sinks went dark on command, [Brad] thought of the
Stop Online Productivity Avoidance box
. This build will redirect all traffic to sites like reddit, hacker news, and (gasp!) hack a day to a simple web page that asks the eternal question, “shouldn’t you be working right now?”
The box has two modes: in SOPA mode, the whole Internet is at [Brad]’s fingertips. In NOPA mode, an Arduino communicates with a Python script running on the router to pull up an Internet blacklist. A simple button would be too easy to override, so there’s a ‘nuclear mode’ that shuts off these time sinks for one hour. The only way around the blacklist is to restart the router, a process that takes 15 minutes and will kill the
entire
Internet for the duration. Not something you’d like to do if you’re slightly bored.
All the code for the SOPA box is up on
github
and you can check out [Brad]’s demo of the SOPA box after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rncAj876od0#!&w=470] | 15 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "571018",
"author": "Mojo",
"timestamp": "2012-01-30T23:54:15",
"content": "Wait, what? When he restarts his router it kills the *entire* internet? That sounds like an impressive bit of kit.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "57... | 1,760,376,969.553515 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/30/firmware-programmer-for-a-cheap-bluetooth-module/ | Firmware Programmer For A Cheap Bluetooth Module | Mike Szczys | [
"Parts"
] | [
"bluetooth module",
"firmware",
"Pogo pin",
"programmer"
] | Here’s
a nifty programmer for a cheap Bluetooth module
. So just how cheap is this part? Does
$6.60 sound like an extreme deal
?
The information on this hack is spread throughout
a series of posts
. The link above goes to the completed programmer (kind of a look back on the hack). But you might start with
this post about module firmware options
. Just because you can get the part inexpensively doesn’t mean that it’s going to work as you expected. [Byron] sourced similar devices from different suppliers and found they were not running the same firmware; the footprints were the same but he features were not. With his help you can tailor the code to your needs and reflash the device.
The programmer that he build has a nice slot for the module which interfaces with the programming lines using pogo pins (spring-loaded contacts). It connects to the CSR BC417 chip’s SPI pins in order to flash the firmware. If you’ve had any experience working with these cheap parts we’d love to hear your tale in the comment section.
[Thanks MS3FGX] | 49 | 33 | [
{
"comment_id": "570984",
"author": "trandi",
"timestamp": "2012-01-30T22:30:30",
"content": "Very nice !Here’s what I did with a similar cheap bluetooth module:http://trandi.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/spoka-night-light-controlled-from-and-android-phone/Make an Ikea night lamp remote controllable by a... | 1,760,376,969.329353 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/30/easy-tactile-controls-and-displays-for-your-flight-simulator/ | Easy Tactile Controls And Displays For Your Flight Simulator | Mike Szczys | [
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"display",
"flight simulator",
"Teensy"
] | If you’ve been thinking of adding some tactile controls and readouts for your flight simulators this guide should give you the motivation to get started with the project. [Paul] explains how to
build controls and connect them to the simulator data
. He makes it look easy, and thanks the interface examples in his code it actually is.
Here he’s built the hardware using a Teensy controller board. The controller communicates via USB and the software is cross-platform. He’s controlling the heading information of the X-Plane simulator using the rotary encoder for fine adjustments and the buttons for increments of 100. But he doesn’t stop there. He’s working on an auto-throttle design that uses a servo motor to move the throttle lever. A potentiometer can be used to vary the throttle, with the servo mapped to the position of that knob. But it works both ways, dragging the virtual throttle on-screen will do the same.
This is one way to make flight simulators more interesting without
devoting a whole room of your house
to the cause. Don’t miss [Paul’s] fantastic demo video after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVZtq7NBJOo&w=470]
[Thanks Deadly Dad] | 6 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "571121",
"author": "Coligny",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T02:22:44",
"content": "Also, stop the Undu publicity for mycockpit website, the original thread is from the XPlane forums…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "575370",
... | 1,760,376,969.370844 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/30/lamp-upgrade-makes-you-a-hot-head/ | Lamp Upgrade Makes You A Hot-head | Mike Szczys | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"cree",
"flashlight",
"head lamp",
"xlamp"
] | [Cameron] decided to give his twenty-year-old headlamp a makeover. He uses it when he’s out for a run and wanted to have more light to see where he’s going, as well as a red tail light on the back. The stock design uses an incandescent bulb on the front of the head band, and a battery pack on the back. He managed to
convert the device to output 700 lumens
without major changes to the form factor of the unit.
The first change he decided on is to use a Cree XLamp which provides the 700 lumens of light by drawing about 9.5 Watts of power. Obviously the original battery pack isn’t going to do well under that kind of load, so he also sourced a 5000 mAh Lithium battery. A bit of circuit design and PCB layout gives him two driver chips for the four-element LED module, a charging circuit for the battery, and an ATtiny13 to drive the head lamp and flash the red LED tail light. See the blinky goodness in the video after the break.
That’s a lot of light, but we wonder if he experiences a warm forehead from the heat sink used to keep that LED package cool?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08-CFQXLrmc&w=470] | 15 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "570972",
"author": "fdawg4l",
"timestamp": "2012-01-30T21:52:11",
"content": "Towelie? Is that you?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "570974",
"author": "DanJ",
"timestamp": "2012-01-30T21:58:37",
"content": "9.5 Watt... | 1,760,376,969.248142 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/30/adding-visuals-to-chiptune-performances/ | Adding Visuals To Chiptune Performances | Brian Benchoff | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"chiptune",
"genesis",
"msgeq7",
"sega",
"spectrum analyzer"
] | If you’ve never been to a chiptune show – yes, they exist – you’ve noticed the awesome visuals behind the performers that are usually displayed with a glitching NES. If it’s a really good show, that 8-bit visualization will be in sync with the music and may actually serve as a lo-fi spectrum analyzer. [Andy] came up with
his own visualization system
for a Sega Genesis or Megadrive. With 16 bits behind his build, we’ll say if far surpasses the lowly NES.
For his visualization, [Andy] feeds audio into an ATMega328 and the ever-popular
MSGEQ7
seven-band graphic equalizer IC. The output from the EQ goes straight to the second controller input of a Sega Nomad [Andy] had lying around that is running a custom ROM for his show. The ROM is programmed in tandem with the microcontroller project to serve as a spectrum analyzer for his shows.
You can check out [Andy]’s visualization with the chiptunes of
Danimal Cannon
after the break. We would prefer a demo featuring
An0vA
and the code for the microcontroller, but it’s still a very nice demo indeed.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41_Pr1iDhsY&w=470] | 4 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "570812",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2012-01-30T17:22:47",
"content": "I play the synthWe all play the synth",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "571767",
"author": "pod",
"timestamp": "2012-01-31T18:00:27",
... | 1,760,376,969.596262 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/30/paint-your-pictures-no-pc-needed/ | Paint Your Pictures, No PC Needed | Kevin Dady | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"led",
"light painting"
] | LEDs and and cameras always make a fun mixture, and its not all that hard to have quite a bit of fun as well. The
Light Painting Stick
is similar to other
long exposure camera tricks
like
LightScythe
and gets about the same reults. The difference is the Light Painting Stick is self contained meaning you don’t have to drag nearly as much stuff along with you to have fun.
Hardware used is HL1606 controlled RGB led strip commonly found at
Adafruit
, the brains are a
Leaf Labs
Maple micro controller board with an SD card and some human interfaces attached, and is powered by a 6 volt lantern battery.
Images are 64*infinity 24 bit BMP files which means there is not much fuss preparing your graphics other than doing a simple rotate. You can select which image is displayed by using a 2 way switch and the LEDs on the stick. Select your images, dial in your speed with the potentiometer, and you’re ready to hit the fire button for some photo fun. | 14 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "570773",
"author": "Ben",
"timestamp": "2012-01-30T16:15:56",
"content": "Paint your pictures, no PC neededFinally! You would not believe how much paint I have lying around waiting for my laptop to be repaired!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,376,969.710705 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/30/powering-an-ultrasonic-transducer/ | Powering An Ultrasonic Transducer | Kevin Dady | [
"hardware",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"transducer",
"ultrasonic"
] | [Lindsay] has a
wonderful writeup about a new toy in the shop, an ultrasonic transducer
. The 28kHz, 70W bolt-clamped Langevin transducer by itself is not much use, you need a power supply, a horn to focus the energy, and a way to tune it. [Lindsay] starts off by showing how to find out the resonant frequency of the transducer, designing and building a high voltage high frequency AC power supply, and how to design a horn.
Not missing the meaning of DIY [Lindsay] casts and machines a horn for the transducer with a high level of precision as this will also tune the horn to the correct frequency. Once some brackets are machined the whole setup is put through some fun experiments in water and lemonaide, but the real purpose is to
drill fine holes in glass
for his home made
Panaplex displays
.
Join us after the break for a short video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42wNDCixXpg&w=470] | 25 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "570707",
"author": "federico",
"timestamp": "2012-01-30T14:17:44",
"content": "I did not understand what type of wave used to drive the cellis square or sine or …?thank you",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "570825",
"aut... | 1,760,376,969.659144 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/29/simulated-dashboard-for-a-simulated-race/ | Simulated Dashboard For A Simulated Race | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"iRacing",
"simulation"
] | Simulators might have lost their cool for a lot of gamers, but [Fergo] is trying for a comeback. He built an
electronic dashboard
for a car racing simulator.
[Fergo] spends most of his track time on
iRacing
, an MMO racing simulator. Possibly due to a little bit of influence from
Formula 1 steering wheels
, he wanted to add to his dashboard that included Microsoft racing wheel. The dashboard includes RPM lights, a gear indicator, five general buttons, a rotary encoder, and a pit limiter, rev limiter and low fuel indicators.
The build is powered a VB.NET app that connects the iRacing API to an Arduino. To get all those buttons and LEDs talking to the Arduino, [Fergo] used an
IO expander
that communicates over an I2C bus. It’s a surprisingly simple design that should scale well if [Fergo] ever decides to expand his cockpit. We’re not sure if it could handle
controlling a 737
, but it would be more than sufficient for a Cessna 172 or Mercury capsule.
Check out [Fergo] tearing around the track with his buttonbox dashboard after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZp3mMatO1w&w=470] | 18 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "570215",
"author": "jameswilddev",
"timestamp": "2012-01-30T00:18:33",
"content": "That looks like a fun little project. I do find it a bit odd that you’d keep the dashboard on screen. I don’t know if it’s just me but whenever I play with a wheel I use bonnet cam.",
"parent_id... | 1,760,376,969.763619 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/28/lipo-charging-circuit-tutorial/ | LiPo Charging Circuit Tutorial | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware"
] | [
"battery",
"LiPo charger"
] | As far as battery technology goes, Lithium Polymer cells are the bee’s knees. They’re powerful enough to handle very demanding applications and come in a multitude of sizes for any conceivable application. There’s a problem with LiPos, though – they have the tendency to explode when charged incorrectly. Luckily, [Paul] sent in
a great tutorial
on building a LiPo charger that works over USB.
In the
original design
of [Paul]’s board, he chose a Maxim
MAX1551
Lithium battery charger. Confounded by the expense and/or unavailability of this IC (although Sparkfun
has a few
), he moved onto the similar Microchip
MCP7813
. This IC supports charging from a power source from 3.5 to 6 Volts as would be found in a USB hub.
The board [Paul] came up with is incredibly small – just barely larger than the USB plug itself. The layout is fairly simple as well. We’re thinking this could be a highly useful application of some home board fabrication. If you have a simpler way to charge LiPos that don’t require a specialized chip, send it into the
tip line
. | 86 | 29 | [
{
"comment_id": "569430",
"author": "biozz",
"timestamp": "2012-01-28T23:52:35",
"content": "Ah yes ebay is always a good reputable source for buying components that are designed to prevent something from exploding!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_i... | 1,760,376,970.230882 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/03/reclaim-the-wireless-controller-module-from-a-broken-xbox-360/ | Reclaim The Wireless Controller Module From A Broken Xbox 360 | Mike Szczys | [
"Xbox Hacks"
] | [
"red ring of death",
"rf module",
"rrod",
"wireless controller",
"xbox 360"
] | If you’re one of the hordes whose Xbox 360 died the fiery death associated with the RRoD you may be wondering what to do with that multi-hundred dollar door stop you’re left with. Why not salvage the parts for other uses? If you’ve ever wanted to use your wireless controller with a computer here’s
a way to pull out the RF module and reuse it
.
The concept is simple enough, there’s a daughter-board in the Xbox 360 which hosts the RF module for wireless controller connectivity. Once you extract it from the carcass of the beast, you just need to find a way to read and push the data to your computer. Any USB enabled microcontroller will do, in this case an Arduino nano was chosen for the task. A bit of level converting was necessary to interface with the device, but nothing too involved.
It sounds like at first there was an issue with syncing a controller with the hacked module, but as you can see in the clip after the break that problem has been solved.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_bjYME1ys8&w=470]
[via
Build Lounge
] | 35 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "574534",
"author": "peet",
"timestamp": "2012-02-03T18:13:24",
"content": "seen this a lot of times before…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "574538",
"author": "cdub",
"timestamp": "2012-02-03T18:16:58",
"content": "P... | 1,760,376,970.511373 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/03/dog-pod-grid-one-step-closer-to-reality/ | Dog Pod Grid One Step Closer To Reality | Mike Szczys | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"dog pod grid",
"neal stephenson",
"quadcopter",
"swarm",
"swarm robotics",
"the diamond age"
] | What’s better than one amazingly acrobatic quadcopter? How about
a swarm of acrobatic micro-quadcopters
? It’s not a rhetorical question, but an experimental reality. A team at the University of Pennsylvania are showing off their latest round of hovering robots which can move in formation and alter their orientation as a swarm.
You may remember us salivating over
the unbelievable stunts the team pulled off
with a single ‘copter back in 2010. That device needed a sophisticated camera installation to give provide feedback, and this uses the same framework. But we don’t that detracts from the achievement; it’s simply a future hurdle for the project.
The video after the break shows some of the stunts the slew of whirring devices are capable of. Watching them move as a grid, and even landing simultaneously, we can’t help but think of the Dog Pod Grid from Neal Stephenson’s book
The Diamond Age
. It was used as a protection system, keeping unwanted flying intruders out. Doesn’t sound so far-fetched any more, does it?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQIMGV5vtd4&w=470]
http://hackaday.com/2010/05/28/quadcopter-acrobatics-like-nothing-weve-seen/ | 38 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "574461",
"author": "Jay",
"timestamp": "2012-02-03T17:10:08",
"content": "Ooh I want 1… thousand! :DVery nice.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "574485",
"author": "Chris Muncy",
"timestamp": "2012-02-03T17:22:36",
"c... | 1,760,376,970.436442 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/03/printable-wire-stripper-lights-up-when-you-hit-the-conductor/ | Printable Wire Stripper Lights Up When You Hit The Conductor | Mike Szczys | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"printable",
"wire strippers"
] | Agonize no more over stripping the insulation off of tiny wires like those used in ribbon cables. For years we’ve used razor blades to do this, as the tiniest wires don’t have a slot on our trusty wire strippers. But often we cut all the way though the conductor (or many of the strands) when doing so. [Bjbsquared] came up with
this design that will alert you when you’ve hit the conductor
.
It uses the two metal razor blades as electrodes in the LED circuit. When anything metal connects the two, the LED will be illuminated. This way you know you’ve cut far enough, and should be able to tug the insulation off of the wire. This image only shows half of the printed unit, a second piece covers up the inner workings, and helps keep stray fingers away from the edges of the blades.
Overkill? We don’t think so, and we hope everyone will agree this is a wonderful design.
[via
Reddit
and
Gizmodo
] | 57 | 36 | [
{
"comment_id": "574397",
"author": "Atomhax",
"timestamp": "2012-02-03T16:03:45",
"content": "Wow. Thats really useful. It’s one of those things that should have been invented years ago.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "574398",
"author": "J... | 1,760,376,970.364945 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/03/kitchen-timer-makes-mario-your-sous-chef/ | Kitchen Timer Makes Mario Your Sous-chef | Mike Szczys | [
"cooking hacks"
] | [
"egg timer",
"super mario bros",
"timer"
] | [Alan] was unimpressed by the cheap ticking egg timers that grace many of our kitchens. He decided this was an execllent opportunity to ply his skills with microcontrollers. He built this kitchen
timer complete with an enclosure and audible alarm
.
The device is Arduino based, which makes driving the graphic LCD quite easy thanks the libraries associated with that platform. As you can see above, his user interface makes use of virtual buttons – three tactile switches whose function is listed at the top of the display.
But we think the alarm sound really earns this a place in his kitchen. He used the same hardware as that
that Super Mario Bros. Toilet project
to play classic video game sounds when your soufflé needs come out of the oven. We haven’t come across them ourselves, but apparently there’s a line of key chains for sale in Japan (yes,
we need to plan a trip there
!) that have the tunes programmed into them. They’re easy to crack open and it beats dealing with a speaker and amp circuit. | 9 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "574346",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2012-02-03T14:48:08",
"content": "Nice project, but he wastes much look by glueing this cheap switches with this white glue un the clear box…. Some better switches (secured e.g. by nuts) would look WAY better…",
"parent_id": null,
"dep... | 1,760,376,970.274383 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/02/measure-radiation-with-military-surplus/ | Measure Radiation With Military Surplus | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware"
] | [
"gamma rays",
"geiger counter",
"radiation"
] | It’s really amazing what you can find at military surplus shops. [David] just built a
radiation detector
out of a DT-590A scintillation probe originally made to test if Air Force bases were contaminated with Plutonium. Who says nothing good came out of massive nuclear arsenals?
DT-590A / PDR-56 Gamma ray probes were made obsolete by the US Air Force a few years ago and they’re trickling into military surplus stores around the country and the Internet. [David] found the
manual for this probe
and put together a
little circuit
to drive this x-ray sensor. The build uses an ammeter as a simple dial, and includes a piezo speaker for the prerequisite Geiger counter ‘clicks.’
[David] also threw up a post on converting this x-ray probe into a
general purpose Gamma probe
, effectively making it a Geiger counter for the
really
dangerous radiation. You could always
use your smart phone
for the same task, but recycling military hardware imparts a good bit of geek cred. | 13 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "573686",
"author": "biozz",
"timestamp": "2012-02-03T00:17:18",
"content": "i picked up a working Geiger counter from a military surplus store here for $58 about 2 years backstill works today fairly sensitive",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,376,970.613086 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/02/rapid-fire-remote-controlled-ping-pong-ball-turret/ | Rapid Fire, Remote Controlled Ping Pong Ball Turret | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"ping pong ball",
"turret"
] | [Andrew] and his brother had some time (and a lot of ping pong balls) on their hands, so they decided to have some fun and built a
remote-controlled ping pong ball turret.
Arduino aside, the turret is cheap and easy to build as [Andrew’s] writeup explains. The firing mechanism was constructed using a pair of foam wheels and motors, which is used to launch the ping pong balls much like a baseball pitching machine. The balls are stored above the wheels in a cardboard tube and released by a mechanical flap when triggered.
When [Andrew] is ready to release the turret’s payload, he sends a command to his computer over VNC, which relays the command to the Arduino over a serial connection, triggering the flap. While the control scheme could certainly benefit from direct, wireless phone-to-Arduino communications, it seems to work well enough for [Andrew’s] needs.
Check out the video dramatization below to see [Andrew] “surprise” his brother with a hail of ping pong balls after the jump.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QR5ErY772eM&w=470] | 15 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "573643",
"author": "Arnuschky",
"timestamp": "2012-02-02T22:31:54",
"content": "Like the video! Reminds me of this unfortunate remake of “The Jackal” with Bruce Willis. What a crap movie…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "573644",... | 1,760,376,970.559877 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/02/02/creating-a-game-for-the-coco/ | Creating A Game For The CoCo | Kevin Dady | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"Retrochallenge",
"tandy"
] | Retro is in the air today as [John] has tipped us off
about a new game he has written for the Tandy Color Computer (CoCo),
The game, inspired by the homebrew game DOWNFALL for the Atari Jaguar, features what looks like snappy game play, lots of bright colorful animation and has just entered the Alpha stages. The blog page above sheds some insight on what it takes to make a game for these old 8 bit wonders, cause no matter how easy it sounds, you do have to do some dancing to get even the simplest of things working correctly on such limited resources.
The game was part of this years
Retrochallenge
which is typically held in January, which we recommend checking out if you want your fill of random projects for old computers. From building an Apple I replica kit, to making a soccer game for a SGI system, getting a 5160 XT online or just noodling with a KIM, there is plenty of interesting projects to keep you occupied during the afternoon.
Join us after the break for a quick video of Fahrfall, the fun looking CoCo Game.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5HUpxJnO4Y&w=470] | 8 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "573585",
"author": "CrashSerious",
"timestamp": "2012-02-02T20:27:43",
"content": "Awesome!!!! I simply will HAVE to try this on my port of xRoar (a CoCo/Dragon emulator) for the Sony PS3. (named PS3Roar if you want to google it)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies... | 1,760,376,970.668 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/28/the-fukushima-robot-diaries/ | The Fukushima Robot Diaries | Jeremy Cook | [
"Repair Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"cleanup",
"Fukushima",
"nuclear"
] | After the terrible tragedy in Fukushima, the cleanup and damage assessment has begun. A robot operator, known only as [S.H.] has decided to write
a blog about their efforts
. As pictured above, they are using iRobot models, including the [510 Packbot], and the [710 Warrior].
Since cleanup efforts started, [S.H.] was posting on his or her blog daily. After word of this blog started getting out via various social media outlets, the blog was mysteriously taken down. The blog was at times critical of elements of the cleanup effort, but it’s unknown why the disappearance happened. Efforts to reach [S.H.] were unsuccessfull according to [IEEE].
Fortunately, before the takedown, [IEEE]’s [Erico Guizzo] decided to make a copy of the posts. These have been translated into English and portions are now available at the link listed above. Be sure to check out robot training video after the break. | 22 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "569429",
"author": "Francis Felix",
"timestamp": "2012-01-28T23:50:22",
"content": "Ninja bots: never seen…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "569503",
"author": "theodore",
"timestamp": "2012-01-29T02:33:37",
... | 1,760,376,970.729973 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/28/petition-for-dmca-exemptions-regarding-rootingunlocking-gadgets/ | Petition For DMCA Exemptions Regarding Rooting/unlocking Gadgets | Mike Szczys | [
"Rants"
] | [
"dmca",
"jailbreak",
"root",
"rooting"
] | So you’ve been rooting devices eh? If you get caught you’re headed for the big house, the lockup, the pen, the joint, they’ll send you up the river, you better be careful! Seriously though, if you buy a device and circumvent the security features should that in itself be breaking the law? We’re not talking about stealing intellectual property, like playing copied games on a chipped system (yeah, that’s stealing). We mean unlocking a device so that you can use it for what you wish. Be it your own prototyping, or running open-source applications. Unfortunately if the current Digital Millennium Copyright Act exemptions expire it
will
be a crime.
Thankfully, [Bunnie] is doing something about this. You may remember him as the guy that found most of the ridiculous security holes in the original Xbox, or the brain behind the Chumby. Now’s he’s got an online petition where your voice can be heard.
Speak up and let the US politicians know why unlocking a device isn’t a crime
.
[via
Twitter
] | 71 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "569129",
"author": "danman1453",
"timestamp": "2012-01-28T17:00:05",
"content": "When it comes down to it, unlocking a device is like taking a toyota prius offroading. Using hardware for somethnig other than which it was designed for, but is ‘capable’ of doing. Is mudding with a pri... | 1,760,376,971.429141 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/28/weekly-roundup-12812/ | Weekly Roundup 1/28/12 | Jack Buffington | [
"Weekly Roundup"
] | [
"weekly roundup"
] | Another week has passed and it is time to review the best of what hit our blog in the past week.
In first place is a repeat from last week showing how you can
turn an Android device with a CMOS camera into a radiation detector
.
In first place if we ignore repeats is a post about how
the Raspberry Pi board can decode 1080p video
! We’re just itching to get our grubbly little hands on some of these guys when they are finally released.
Up next is a project from one of our own. This week
[Brian Benchoff] put up a post about how he built a manifold clock
after seeing
a similar project on Kickstarter
.
Following that is a post showing how you can
overlay video onto an encrypted HDMI signal
. The MPAA would probably like to crack [bunnie] over the knuckles with a ruler for this one but he actually isn’t decrypting anything. Instead, he is encrypting the overlay and just replacing the normal video with it.
We like this next one a lot because it not only is a nice hack but it allows you to subtly control what can and cannot happen around you. Specifically,
you can jam remote control helicopters with this device
. It probably wouldn’t be too hard to pair this up with a
TV B Gone
to keep people from turning the TV back on once you have wrought your mischief.
Finally, another really neat one for you. In this post, we show
[Sprite_tm’s] radio transmitter
that is composed out of two button cell batteries, two lengths of wire and an ATtiny processor. It is amazing that this even works but with the right tools, a good hacker can do just about anything. | 1 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "569671",
"author": "beef",
"timestamp": "2012-01-29T07:14:28",
"content": "sorry I dont get the big hoopla of the PI doing 1080P video, its been a common demonstration of theirs since day onehttp://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/284",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replie... | 1,760,376,970.771394 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/27/followup-troll-physics-solved/ | Followup: Troll Physics Solved | Brian Benchoff | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"led hacks",
"parallel",
"series",
"troll physics"
] | A month ago, we saw a marvelous demonstration of
troll physics
from YouTube user [Fredzislaw100]. In his video, we saw a circuit of three switches and three LEDs wired in series and but not acting like the should. A lot of the
comments
for this post elicited reasonable explanations like modifying the battery or pure camera wizardry via After Effects. Thankfully, [Alan] stepped in and showed us
how it was done
. The solution uses two AC power sources with diodes in two of the switches and LEDs and inductors in the third pair. [Alan]’s build was rather large compared to the original video, so we were wondering how this circuit could be made invisible.
[Fredzislaw100] just posted a video on
how he did it
. Like [Alan]’s build, it uses two AC power sources, diodes, and inductors. In contrast to every single guess about where the circuit is hidden,
the majority of the build is inside the battery connector
. [Fredzislaw] did some amazing work hiding a 74LV132 quad NAND Schmitt trigger inside the battery connector. The diodes were easily hidden on LEDs 1 and 3 with some red nail polish, but we’re amazed by the inductor built into the LED seen in the title pic.
So there you go. With a ton of electronics know-how and an extremely steady hand (and a microscope), you too can build your own troll circuit. Check out the video after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzDTZuFJYX4&w=470] | 48 | 37 | [
{
"comment_id": "568674",
"author": "jameswilddev",
"timestamp": "2012-01-28T00:36:59",
"content": "ONE DOES NOT MERELY DEAD BUG SMD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "568685",
"author": "anybodysguess",
"timestamp": "2012-01-28T0... | 1,760,376,971.091521 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/27/dslr-performance-measured-with-audio-editing-software/ | DSLR Performance Measured With Audio Editing Software | Mike Szczys | [
"digital cameras hacks"
] | [
"audacity",
"canon",
"dslr",
"eos600d",
"sd",
"sound",
"speed"
] | [Jaroslav’s] camera didn’t have a feature to measure the speed of its response in different modes so he figured out his own method. Using the microphone on his webcam he recorded the sound made by the mirror and shutter movements, then
used Audacity to analyze the camera’s performance
.
When you get right down to it, this is a fantastic idea. Audacity, the open source audio editing suite, has the ability to show each captured audio track next to each other. That makes it easy for you to precisely align the clips, and has in-build time measuring features with fantastic resolution.
He tested a whole bunch of different settings on a Canon EOS600D DSLR camera. In the image above you can see him comparing performance between different ISO settings. He also looks into different brands and sizes of SD storage cards, as well as the time difference when storing raw image data versus JPEG encoded data. | 16 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "568640",
"author": "Ivan",
"timestamp": "2012-01-27T23:46:34",
"content": "Doesn’t sound to me as it’s quite the DSLR performance, rather the SD performance. I’m guessing as he gets the fastest SD card, we’ll start testing for the data transfer performance.But I got confused with th... | 1,760,376,971.200876 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/27/jackson-pollock-is-now-a-robot/ | [Jackson Pollock] Is Now A Robot | Brian Benchoff | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"art",
"painting"
] | Even though abstract expressionism died out several decades ago,
robots are still chugging along
dripping nihilistic pigment onto a cold, uncaring canvas. [Liat] and [Assaf] created a robot named The Originals Factory to create paintings in the style of abstract expressionism, a style of painting that is arguably best represented by [Jackson Pollock] and his ‘drip paintings.’
The build is surprisingly simple – there are four containers filled with C,M,Y, and K pigments. Pumps transport these paints to a print head mounted on an aluminum rail above a canvas. The software portion of the build is rather interesting. Instead of pixels, the image is rendered in ‘vixels’ – vertical lines of a specific length and color. Although we don’t see any examples of more precise work, [Liat] tells us The Originals Factory can be used to plot graphs on the canvas.
Check out a video of The Originals Factory squirting paint down a canvas after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OuaBr8Rn8c&w=470] | 20 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "568611",
"author": "Adam",
"timestamp": "2012-01-27T22:54:47",
"content": "A Jackson Pollack robot was done a while ago:http://www.zdnet.com/blog/emergingtech/a-robot-that-paints-like-jackson-pollock/521",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"commen... | 1,760,376,971.148218 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/27/how-to-add-flair-to-a-webpage-that-shows-your-project-data/ | How To Add Flair To A Webpage That Shows Your Project Data | Mike Szczys | [
"Software Hacks"
] | [
"inkscape",
"svg",
"vector graphics"
] | This temperature display may not knock your socks off, but it’s a simple demonstration of
how you can used vector graphics as a web readout for data
(
translated
). [Luca] wrote this four page tutorial to help others, he makes it look really easy, and the sky’s the limit on eye candy once you get he basics in place.
The first step is to create the dynamic SVG (vector graphic) file using Inkscape that will be used by the webpage. This starts with a static background, in this case the grey parts of the thermometer which will not change. Over the top the blue parts were added, with just a bit of XML editing to give those parts a hook which will be used in the next step. The demo above will have a moving blue bar and changing numeric output to match data coming in from a temperature sensor.
An SVG file is just a text file that is rendered as a graphic when loaded. [Luca] shows you how to used the identifiers set up when making the graphic to dynamically change the size and value of the blue parts with server-side PHP before sending the graphic to the browser. With that in place you just need to give the PHP file access to the data. He shows how to use the Pachube API but you could just as easily get this via serial or otherwise. | 17 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "568492",
"author": "Colecago",
"timestamp": "2012-01-27T19:05:17",
"content": "Pretty cool. I did something similar with the WiFly module, I have a php page toss it into a mysql db, then use PChart to graph some thermistor valueshttp://www.pchart.net/features-chartingnot too hard t... | 1,760,376,971.483178 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/25/real-time-depth-smoothing-for-the-kinect/ | Real-time Depth Smoothing For The Kinect | Mike Szczys | [
"Software Hacks"
] | [
"Kinect",
"noise",
"noise reduction",
"process",
"smooth"
] | [Karl] set out to improve the depth image that the Kinect camera is able to feed into a computer. He’s come up with a pre-processing
package which smooths the depth data in real-time
.
There are a few problems here, one is that the Kinect has a fairly low resolution, it is also depth limited to a range of about 8 meters from the device (an issue we hadn’t considered when looking at
Kinect-based mapping solutions
). But the drawbacks of those shortcomings can be mitigated by improving the data that it does collect. [Karl’s] approach is twofold: pixel filtering, and averaging of movement.
The pixel filtering works with the depth data to help clarify the outlines of objects. Weighted moving average is used to help reduce the amount of flickering areas rendered from frame to frame. [Karl] included a nice GUI with the code which lets you tweak the filter settings until they’re just right. See a demo of that interface in the clip after the break and let us know what you might use this for by leaving a comment.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ64kJ–aeg&w=470] | 5 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "568008",
"author": "Roger Wilco",
"timestamp": "2012-01-26T22:06:38",
"content": "there were so many kinect post that people just say next when they see one now. This been the only comment is proof of that.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"com... | 1,760,376,971.678441 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/25/rotary-phone-light-amp-could-be-filed-under-bizarre/ | Rotary Phone-light-amp Could Be Filed Under Bizarre | Mike Szczys | [
"digital audio hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"amplifier",
"audio",
"light",
"rotary phone"
] | [Samimy’s] latest project is a little strange, but one man’s weird is another man’s wonderful so we’re not about to start criticizing his work. Nope, we’re here to praise the fact that
his rotary phone turned reading light and audio amp
is very well constructed.
He started by removing the phone housing. Those old enough to have used one of these devices will remember their bulk, and there’s a lot of unused space in both the handset and body housing. [Samimy] started by removing the speaker and microphone from the handset, and drilling a ring of holes to receive white LEDs. The circuit was wired so that lifting the handset turns on the lights.
But he didn’t stop there. A set of speakers and the audio amplifier circuitry from an old tape deck are also hiding inside the base of the phone. If you look closely in the image above you can see that he’s connected his cellphone and is listening to some tunes through the antique hardware. Take a gander at the video after the break to see construction and use of the project.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1XcINgS9sA&w=470] | 18 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "567446",
"author": "aztraph",
"timestamp": "2012-01-25T23:46:53",
"content": "Nice, I wonder if i could do that with my old snoopy phone?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "567451",
"author": "Guest",
"timestamp": "2012-01-... | 1,760,376,971.53882 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/25/very-accurate-clock-cant-be-read-accurately/ | Very Accurate Clock Can’t Be Read Accurately | Mike Szczys | [
"clock hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"ds1307",
"led",
"rgb",
"rtc",
"tlc5"
] | [Martijn] is showing off his new clock which he calls
a Light Spectrum Clock
. We like to look of it, using RGB LEDs in five squares that remind us of some of those LED coffee table builds. From left to right this shows the week, day, hour, minute, and second. Simple, right?
We had to smile a little bit when looking through his write up. He chose an Arduino nano as a controller, using a TLC5940 chip to drive the LEDs. But it is the inclusion of a DS1307 real-time clock that we find amusing. It will keep quite accurate time (not quite as well as
the DS3232
but still respectable) but the fuzzy display technique makes telling the time accurately an impossibility. But like
other color-based clocks
, that’s part of the fun. The real reason for using an RTC chip is that they usually include battery-backed operation so that you can shut off the LEDs when you’re not around and the clock will continue to tick.
You can watch the seconds pass by as fading colors in the clip after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C92FkK1RlwM&w=470] | 10 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "567411",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2012-01-25T22:43:03",
"content": "Interesting. I find this very difficult to read, but perhaps a grayscale clock would not be so bad. Imagine four grayscale e-ink squares, the leftmost changes throughout the entire day, the next one does two ... | 1,760,376,971.585605 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/25/modular-controllers-you-cant-wait-to-show-off-to-your-friends/ | Modular Controllers You Can’t Wait To Show Off To Your Friends | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"controller",
"midi",
"Teensy",
"usb"
] | Let’s get this straight, [Alex] is going to show us how to make controllers like this one? Where do we sign up? Even without seeing it in action we want one, but the urge to build is even greater after he shows it off (check the clip after the break). He’s a design student who made an open source project aimed at making it easier to
build hardware controllers that pair with just about any software application
.
The need for external controllers is on the rise, starting with music-based applications like DJ tools, and Midi controllers for musicians (we’re thinking
Monome clones
). But anything that can take input from a USB HID can be controlled with something like this. That’s because [Alex] is using the Teensy controller board as an interface. Just select the input types you want – sliders, potentiometers, buttons, switches – then wire them up to the microcontroller pins. If you start to run out of inputs he also discusses some add-on chips to use as port expanders.
Of course there’s a lot to be said for the physical appearance as well. Even though he used point-to-point connections for all of the controls, that wiring is hidden behind the aesthetically pleasing laser-cut dashboard. Follow his advice for layout and
find a friend with access to a sweet laser cutter
and you’re in business.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf-4HYM94_M&w=470] | 12 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "567403",
"author": "Christoferjh",
"timestamp": "2012-01-25T22:31:14",
"content": "Nice indeed!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "567416",
"author": "Henré",
"timestamp": "2012-01-25T22:55:28",
"content": "<3 Sanwa but... | 1,760,376,971.635362 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/25/tutorial-build-a-manifold-clock-for-10/ | Tutorial: Build A Manifold Clock For $10 | Brian Benchoff | [
"clock hacks",
"Featured",
"how-to"
] | [
"clock",
"how-to",
"manifold clock"
] | Every once in a while, the Hack a Day tip line gets a submission that is cool, but screams to be built in a few hours, possibly while consuming adult beverages. When [Shay] and [Ben] sent in their
Manifold Clock Kickstarter
, I knew what I had to do. To make a long story short, there’s a manifold clock hanging on my wall right now. Check out my manifold clock how-to guide after the break.
As designed by [Shay] and [Ben] at Studio Ve, the Manifold Clock tells time in three dimensions and is based on the
log z Riemann surface
. Here’s the video the guys put up on their Kickstarter campaign:
[vimeo=33896599]
As you can see, it’s not a terribly complicated build. There are three basic components for this build. First, the clock drive: these can be had for about $5 from any arts and crafts store. Secondly, the clock hands: not many clock drives come with a six-inch long minute hand, but I can make something work. Lastly, the webbing that goes between the hands. The official version of the Manifold Clock uses Tyvek for its tear resistance, but I came up with something just as cool.
To create the long clock hands, I repurposed the clock hands that came with the clock drive. By cutting of the largest part of the hour and minute hand, I was left with a small sliver of brass that can be attached to the hub of the clock. I bought a few pieces of brass tubing while I was in the hobby shop, as well. The hands of the clock were extended by soldering on brass tubing with 0.1″ or 2.5mm OD brass tubing:
Pardon the terrible picture. If anyone would like to donate a macro lens for a D40, I would graciously accept.
After cutting the clock hands to length, everything’s gravy. Now onto building the webbing that goes in between the clock hands.
The next two paragraphs are rather boring. Fair warning.
If you’d like to create your own manifold, just fire up your favorite CAD package and get to work. For my manifold, I first drew a circle with
the same radius as the minute hand
, and two more for the
hour hand and center
. I used a circle with a diameter of half and inch for the center – just enough to clear the hub of the clock drive.
Inscribe a 12-gon
in the hour hand’s circle, and draw the
hour hand
. I drew mine at 5 o’ clock, although this is just a rough guesstimate from watching the video for the Manifold Clock
The next step may be a little difficult if you don’t know your drawing package very well, but luckily it can be done very easily with a compass and straight-edge construction. I’ll let you Euclid that one out for yourself.
Bisect
the hour and minute hands, then
draw a circle
with a radius that is the average of the minute and hour hands.
Draw an arc
from the tip of the minute hand through the intersection of the bisection and circle you just drew, ending at the tip of the hour hand.
Erase a few lines
,
put some tabs on
for gluing, and you’re done.
To save everyone from having to replicate my work, I’ve created a
PDF file
of the template for my clock’s membrane. This template is sized for a minute hand that is 5.5 inches long and an hour hand that is 3 inches long. Do with it what you will.
The Manifold Clock uses a piece of
Tyvek
for the web between the hour and minute hands. Tyvek can be had for free if you care enough to drive around to a new development and dumpster-dive for a piece of housewrap, but I wanted to make my clock a little classier. My webbing is made out of mylar (from an “emergency camping blanket” or alternatively a mylar balloon) with a layer of
Kapton
tape stuck to one side. The Kapton tape was originally purchased for the heated bed and hot end of my RepRap, but once I realized the gold foil on the
Apollo LEM
were a lamination of mylar and Kapton, I had to try this out. The result is a fairly tear-resistant film in a wonderful silver and gold:
Oh yeah, you also have to bend the minute hand higher than the hour hand.
After cutting my gold and silver film according to the template, the only thing left to do is assemble the clock. Wrap the tabs on the web around the hands of the clock, making sure the hands can rotate freely around the foil. Assemble the hands onto the clock mechanism according to the directions and mount it in some sort of enclosure. I used a fifty-cent round clock face:
So far the clock has been up on my wall for 38 hours and it’s still keeping the right time. I’m going to call this a success. Here’s a time-lapse of the clock in action:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsgbDECkpHM&w=470]
The expenses for this build were a clock mechanism for $5.99, a small brass tube for $2.99, and an unfinished clock face for $0.50, totaling $9.49. Of course I haven’t figured in the cost of the mylar, Kapton, solder, paint, and soldering iron, but you get the point.
Sadly my clock doesn’t have a second hand and doesn’t tick very loudly so a
Vetinari Clock
is out of the question. If anyone is brave enough to build a Manifold Clock with a second hand,
send it in
. We’ll put it up. | 35 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "567347",
"author": "Thopter",
"timestamp": "2012-01-25T20:26:04",
"content": "The kapton tape you put on, was it a single sheet, or several strips, like cello-tape?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "567397",
"author": "B... | 1,760,376,971.757349 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/25/control-android-with-a-projector-and-kinect/ | Control Android With A Projector And Kinect | Brian Benchoff | [
"Android Hacks",
"Kinect hacks"
] | [
"android",
"Kinect",
"multitouch"
] | If you’re going to build a giant touch screen, why not use an OS that is designed for touch interfaces, like Android? [Colin] had the same idea, so he
connected his phone
to a projector and a Kinect.
Video is carried from [Colin]’s Galaxy Nexus to the projector via an
MHL
connection. Getting the Kinect to work was a little more challenging, though. The Kinect is connected to a PC running
Simple Kinect Touch
. The PC converts the data from the Kinect into
TUIO commands
that are received using
TUIO for Android
.
In order for the TUIO commands to be recognized as user input, [Colin] had to
compile his own version of Android
. It was a lot of work, but using an OS designed for touch interface seems much better than
all
the
other
touch screen hacks that start from the ground up.
You can check out [Colin]’s demo after the break. Sadly, there are no Angry Birds.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHB2Fwbf-ck&w=470] | 5 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "567414",
"author": "Rob R.",
"timestamp": "2012-01-25T22:47:09",
"content": "MHL, huh? never heard of it before, but it seems like HDMI + charging which is pretty cool.Definitely better then mini-HDMI -> HDMI, plus a microUSB to USB for charging. Well ok just 1 less cable but still... | 1,760,376,971.922144 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/25/challenge-figure-out-how-this-logic-based-chaser-works/ | Challenge: Figure Out How This Logic-based Chaser Works | Mike Szczys | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"cd4017",
"chaser",
"larson scanner",
"logic"
] | [Andrea]
built this LED chaser
using one logic chip. It illuminates all but one of the six LEDs, with the dim bit moving back and forth along the row in a chase sequence. This is something like an inverse
Larson Scanner
without the fading tail. But doing it with a logic chip instead of a microcontroller is a fun challenge.
Which brings us to the point of this feature. [Andrea] didn’t really post an explanation of how the circuit works. Usually missing details mean that we archive the tip and move on to the next one, but we think this provides a fun activity. Can you figure out how the circuit works? We already know that it’s using a CD4017 decade counter/divider chip. This gets its clock signal from a 555 timer circuit. [Andrea’s] schematic is a bit hard to read, but grab a copy, blow it up a bit (or use your browser zoom) and study the
CD4017 datasheet
(PDF) if you need to.
Want proof that it does actually work? It’s embedded after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXmFH5tPrCA&w=470] | 37 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "567235",
"author": "YT2095",
"timestamp": "2012-01-25T17:11:57",
"content": "quite easy really, it Should count to higher than the leds shown, the other half is folded back on itself to simulate a count Down, drive half with resistor, the other half with diodes that will overide the... | 1,760,376,971.878268 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/27/synthesize-with-a-hard-drive/ | Synthesize With A Hard Drive | Brian Benchoff | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"hard drive",
"spindle motor",
"synthesizer"
] | If you’d like a pseudo-mechanical way of producing a droning synthesizer sound, [gijs] is your man. He made a
small synthesizer
out of nothing but an old hard drive and a few components.
Whenever a disk platter is spun manually, the spindle motor inside the drive produces a few out of phase sine waves on its connections. [gijs]’ synthesizer compares and amplifies these sine waves and sends them out to a speaker. The result is a strange droning chiptune-esque arpeggio.
The circuit for the build is soldered directly to the hard drive enclosure
Manhattan style
. Because the output of the spindle motor produces out of phase sine waves, [gijs] thought it would be a good idea if he could capitalize on some phase interference to alter the timbre of his synth. The entire build is mounted to a wall with hinges to one side so the speaker can be moved around. It isn’t much of a change, but we can here some wave forms cancelling each other out.
Check out the video of the build after the break. There’s also a few audio samples available on the project page.
[vimeo=35652098] | 14 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "568504",
"author": "Waterbury",
"timestamp": "2012-01-27T19:26:41",
"content": "Does this guy not believe in Perfboard? My god, that wiring makes me want to applaud and cry at the same time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "568... | 1,760,376,971.805523 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/27/publictextbox-is-a-twitter-enabled-phone-booth/ | @publictextbox Is A Twitter Enabled Phone Booth | Brian Benchoff | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"phone booth",
"processing",
"twitter"
] | In the interests of open communication in shared spaces, [dan] made a
public text box
that serves as a terminal to the @publictextbox twitter account. We could see something like this being useful in a hackerspace or other hang out to announce to the world the happenings of the resident makers and builders.
The software setup is very simple and can run on just about any old computer you might have lying disused in a corner. The app is built with Processing, and
the code
is extremely simple and easily modifiable. Even though the case is a lovely cardboard number, the Twitter Box can be dressed up as any imaginable form. We’d love to see a nice TARDIS blue, but we’ll leave that up to [dan].
You can check out the demo of the Twitter phone box after the break. Alternatively, you could re-tweet this post and take part in a load test for the @publictextbox.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqaeLUrTFps&w=470] | 7 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "568423",
"author": "jduhls",
"timestamp": "2012-01-27T16:16:38",
"content": "This would be awesome except twitter is now working for big brother:http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-01-twitter-censor-tweets-individual-countries.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies"... | 1,760,376,972.169555 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/27/sixty4racer-an-8x8-game/ | Sixty4Racer An 8×8 Game | Kevin Dady | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"netduino",
"PIX-6T4"
] | [Pete] has a cool new
tutorial creating a re-imagining of the Atari classic “River Raid”
for the
PIX-6T4
micro controller based game system. The PIX is a netduino on a larger board featuring 2 analog controllers, a speaker, an sd card and an 8×8 monochrome LED display. With a resolution that low, it may make the good ole VCS look like a 360, but there is still a lot to learn about making a game at this low of a level.
The tutorial [Pete] has put together covers concept, gameplay, progression goals, screen handling and a boat load of code to show how it all goes together. Though this is for a C# based system many of the basics apply to just about any system you can imagine. So if you’re looking to learn how to handle graphics in C, sprite animation, collision, or randomly putting levels together out of tile blocks then you should take a look.
Join us after the break for a quick video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10FzxWQTzzM&w=450] | 2 | 1 | [
{
"comment_id": "568579",
"author": "Jason Knight",
"timestamp": "2012-01-27T21:46:20",
"content": "… every time I see these 8×8’s I think “and I thought I was pushing it with the undocumented 160×100 CGA mode”Though it reminds me of some of the games I wrote for the TRS-80 PC-4… where all you had t... | 1,760,376,972.124588 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/26/analog-joypad-for-your-retro-pc/ | Analog Joypad For Your Retro PC | Kevin Dady | [
"Featured",
"how-to",
"News",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"analog joystick",
"retro computer"
] | Part of the fun with old computers is playing some old school games, and while you could play them with a keyboard it is much more fun with a joystick. You can get old joysticks all day long on auction sites, but you have to watch out. Some are digital, which wont work for many games on many systems. Some were cheap to begin with and probably worn out, and many are flight sticks … ever play pac-man with a giant flight stick?
What I really wanted was a game pad like device for my 1986 Apple //c , using one of the modern thumbstick analog controllers. Using a thumbstick out of an old XBOX(1) controller, some generic parts from Radio Shack, and a little bit of effort , I ended up with exactly what I wanted.
Join us after the break and I will show you how to get there!
First some basics, most computers that have analog controllers implement it in a pretty simple method. In a nutshell there is a 555 timer wired up for single shot mode, the computer triggers the 555 and counts how many cycles pass before the 555’s output changes. One of the potentiometers inside the joystick is hooked up to this circuit and controls the rate that a capacitor charges. Once filled the 555 changes output. Swing the joystick one way, resistance increases and the capacitor takes longer to charge. Swing it the other way resistance lowers, cap charges faster. Simple right?
Now just multiply 555’s for how many axis you need and you have a simple analog joystick. Apple //s, and IBMs work like this, and use a 556 dual timer (one, two axis joystick) or a 558 quad timer (two, two axis joysticks). Below is an example circuit from the
Apple //c Technical Reference Manual
.
Other computers like the 8 bit Commodore’s and Atari’s used this setup for their paddle controllers which were often in joystick or flightstick format. About the only one I know of that does not handle analog joysticks in this manner is the Tandy TRS series, but I am sure there are others. Check with your computers nerd club before proceeding.
Next thing to consider is the values of the potentiometers inside of your joystick. the most standard value for old computers is 100K ohm. Apple used 150K ohm. Why? I don’t know but with Apple stuff, if its hard to source, they will use it. Thumbsticks themselves come in all varieties of resistance, from places like Digikey. If you don’t mind spending a couple bucks + postage, that might be the best way for you.
Since I am using scavenged thumbstick from an XBOX controller I don’t have a choice of what value it is. The thumbsticks that come stock with that controller is 10K ohm. In order to compensate for the difference in resistance,we just need to add more capacitance.
Before I go bothering myself with math, I need to find out exactly where my joystick “tops out” while its in its enclosure. I went out an purchased a
4x2x1 inch enclosure
from Radio Shack, and while I was there I also picked up a couple
panel mount normally open pushbutton switches
.
With these radio shack project boxes, they give 2 choices of a lid, a nice molded plastic lid that sits on top of the box, and an aluminum panel that sits a bit recessed in the box. I just had to have that aluminium panel for looks, but it ended up causing a bunch of problems.
First I had to cut the lip of the box off where the panel would not be recessed anymore. That was accomplished using some 90 degree flush cut wire trimmers and a file. Because I lost about a quarter of an inch in height, the thumbstick would not fit anymore using the screw mounts inside the box. I had to snap off the screw mounts, then flatten the area where they broke off with a chisel. Then I surface mounted everything to a piece of pad-per-hole perfboard flipped upside down, since the only way the thumbstick would fit is if the board was flat against the bottom.
With all of that sorted out, I went to drill holes into the aluminum panel. I drew the outline of the panel on some paper, and I was measuring everything out. I didn’t like how the holes were sitting, so in the end I just simply eyeballed them on paper. Then I taped the paper to the aluminum plate and made divots for the hole centers with a hammer and nail.
The aluminum plate was then screwed to a scrap chunk of 2×4 wood, and drilled. I used a 1 inch hole saw for the joystick (which is a bit too large) and quarter inch holes for the switches. I used a jewelers file to quickly deburr the holes, but the large joystick hole was still a little rough. To give a more finished appearance I decided that it needed a grommet.
I went to the local hardware store, and when I asked for a grommet with about a 1 inch inside diameter, they looked at me like I just stabbed a baby. I ended up at Lowes where I found a grommet in one of the “hard to find” bins in the screw section with a 1&1/8th outside diameter, and a 23/32nds inch (18.25 ish mm) inside diameter, which is good enough. The grommet was much too tall to fit both inside and outside of the box, so I just simply chopped its top off and glued it down with some goop (super strong and thick glue).
Now that the box is in order I can see where my thumbstick tops out at. I bent the leads of the thumbstick out to a 90 degree angle so I could surface mount them to the perfboard. Then I soldered it down and added some test leads, ran the wires out of a hole I drilled in the back of the box for the joysticks cable, and popped on the lid.
Using a multimeter I found out that it the furthest I could push the thumbstick came out to about 8.5K ohm on both axis. My meter is overkill for most of what I do, so I could have used the 5 digits of accuracy, but its not needed. I will add some trimpots later for fine tuning.
Now that I know 8.5K is my max resistance, its time to figure out how much capacitance I need to add so that the circuit internal to the computer will behave the same with this 10K pot as it did with a 150K. The formula to calculate the capacitance is pretty simple:
((original_potentiometer_value * internal_timing_capacitor) / new_potentiometer_value) – internal_timing_capacitor
Most of the time the internal timing capacitor is 0.022 uf, though you might want to check before assuming for your machine. The original potentiometer value of the Apple // is 150K ohm so…
((150,000 * 0.022) / 8500) – 0.022 = 0.366235294
Therefore we need to add about 0.36uf in parallel to the joystick so that a 10K pot works the same as a 150K pot in the timing circuit. My capacitor selection pretty much stinks so I ended up using 3, 0.1uf capacitors in parallel and 2, 0.1uf in series per axis, giving me about 0.35uf. It does not have to be exact because I also added a 10K trimpot in series with the capacitors which will allow me to control how fast the extra caps charge, giving a fine tuning mechanism. Below you will see the schematic I ended up with for my Apple //c.
Now it is just a matter of wiring everything up, connecting buttons and a cable, and then using a test program to calibrate the thumbstick. The Apple //c has a nice diagnostic program which also test’s joysticks, but you could just as easily write one up in basic. For example, in Applesoft:
10 X=PDL(0): FOR I=1 TO 10: NEXT: Y=PDL(1)
20 PRINT X " " Y " " PEEK(49249) , PEEK (49250)
30 GOTO 10
To calibrate I just need to adjust the trimpots until its about center, the program above shows value from 0-255, and we can give ourselves about 5% in error, from there its just a matter of making sure the thumbstick maxes the readouts when in its most extreme up/down/left/right positions. Some error is ok, and a little jitteryness in center is fine as well.
Anyone who has programmed for analog controllers quickly figure out a little dead space for middle and a little room for error on the extremes is needed whether it be a 26+ year old computer, or a brand new Sony PSP, nothing is 100% perfect.
Once the thumbstick is calibrated to the computer its time to button it up and play some retro games. How well does it work? Pretty darn good, I may go back and drill a couple small holes so I can fiddle with the trimpots without having to take it apart, but other than that it plays good and looks nice (IMO) .
Thanks for reading!
(Reference:
The Computer Controller Cookbook
)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=eG-qxqkmekc&w=470] | 31 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "568051",
"author": "MarkyB86",
"timestamp": "2012-01-26T23:06:06",
"content": "looks good. I am impressed",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "568107",
"author": "Skitchin",
"timestamp": "2012-01-27T01:21:30",
"content": ... | 1,760,376,972.426965 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2012/01/26/program-a-microcontroller-over-the-internet/ | Program A Microcontroller Over The Internet | Brian Benchoff | [
"Software Development"
] | [
"ide",
"msp430"
] | If you’ve ever wanted to program a microcontroller “in the cloud,” you might want to head over to
Inventor Town
, an online IDE that allows you to write and compile firmware for the MSP430 series of microcontrollers.
After logging in with your Google account, you’re presented with a ‘My Projects’ page. From there, you can make as many projects as you like for the MSP430x2231 or ~x2211 microcontrollers. The online editor has the vital keyword highlighting feature, but sadly not many of the more advanced text editor features, like a red underlined syntax errors. After you’ve written your code, press the compile button, download your .HEX file and upload to your board.
We’re surprised we haven’t seen something like this before. To us, this seems like the ideal basis for a github-style microcontroller code-sharing website. Any enterprising ATtiny fans want to take a crack at this one?
Thanks [Rob] for sending this one in. | 43 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "567957",
"author": "Michael",
"timestamp": "2012-01-26T20:46:46",
"content": "I’ve had this sort idea in the back of my head for awhile now.The arduino IDE is so primitive it could easily be converted to a web app.I think it would be even cooler to build a connector tray icon that s... | 1,760,376,972.357846 |
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