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https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/hackaday-merit-badges-now-available-at-adafruit/ | Hackaday Merit Badges Now Available At Adafruit! | Caleb Kraft | [
"News"
] | [
"badge",
"contest"
] | The folks over at Adafruit had this idea to make “merit badges” for different achievements. One of the major achievements they mentioned was having your project posted to Hackaday. They asked our approval and got it.
The badges have finally come in, so we are happy to announce them
. You can purchase them directly from Adafruit, along with a plethora of other badges to adorn your projects.
[Phil Torrone] had a great idea though. To celebrate this, they are going to give away 10 badges to the projects that you, our readers, choose to be the top 10. Go on, dig back through the ranks and post links in the comments. We’ll dig through them and try to compile a list. We will then try to contact those people to send them a free badge. | 38 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "529402",
"author": "War_Spigot",
"timestamp": "2011-12-08T01:19:47",
"content": "http://hackaday.com/2011/11/07/do-not-build-a-fully-automatic-battery-launching-air-gun/this one is pretty awesome",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "... | 1,760,377,008.146406 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/scam-o-matic-determines-if-you-bought-fake-sd-cards/ | Scam-o-Matic Determines If You Bought Fake SD Cards | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"flash",
"memory",
"scam",
"Scam-o-Matic",
"sd"
] | [Andrew] recently got scammed on an SD card purchase
and put together a small tool that can help you determine if you’ve had the wool pulled over your eyes as well.
You see, he purchased a set of MicroSD cards, all of which had an advertised capacity of 4GiB. When he tried to use them, they all failed to write more than about 115MiB of data, so he knew something was up. He sat down with some tools that can be used to check the actual capacity of flash media, but he says they were unbelievably slow to scan the cards.
While he waited for one of the scans to complete, he decided to create a utility of his own that would do the same thing in a fraction of the time. His quick and dirty application, called “Scam-o-Matic”, writes random data to the card, double-checking the written region to ensure that data can be read back. If it finds errors your card is likely either a fake or damaged, but if not, it automatically prepares the media for use.
Obviously this sort of situation is relatively rare, but if you think that you have picked up some shady SD cards, be sure to check out [Andrew’s]
Github repository. | 37 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "529336",
"author": "deathventure",
"timestamp": "2011-12-08T00:11:57",
"content": "Only one thing to check on this and that’s if he’s trying to use them in an adapter for a full sized SD. Quite a bit of older SD card equipment won’t take SDHC cards. If it does read, it will have a s... | 1,760,377,008.222672 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/programming-the-6502-one-nibble-at-a-time/ | Programming The 6502 One Nibble At A Time | Mike Szczys | [
"computer hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"6502",
"computer",
"machine code",
"programming",
"ram"
] | [Quinn Dunki] keeps rolling with her 6502 based computer build. This time around she’s added some memory to store the programs, but needed a way to get that code into the device. Above is her solution,
a bank of hex switches used to program
the 8-bit command and 16-bit address for each line of machine code.
This is a continuation of her Veronica project. The last time we saw it
she had hardwired the logic levels for the data bus
, but that’s no fun since nothing can actually be computed. [Quinn] picked up an SRAM chip which will store the program. It’s compatible with the 6502’s memory bus, but needs a bit of extra circuitry for her to be able to hand program it with this switch bank. She used some tri-state buffers to switch between connections to the processor, and to the hex switches. This way, she disconnects the RAM from the processor using the buffers, uses the switches and push button to clock in the program, then patches the RAM back into the computer.
Seeing this process in the video after the break certainly gives you an appreciation for what an improvement the punch-card system was over this technique. Still, seeing this is a delight that we’d like to try!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsKTWK7prIA&w=470] | 36 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "529261",
"author": "Xeracy",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T23:03:12",
"content": "now, that is dedication…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "529284",
"author": "mohonri",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T23:22:53",
"content": "Shou... | 1,760,377,008.332632 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/09/lighted-fan-pull-saves-you-from-flailing-around-in-the-dark/ | Lighted Fan Pull Saves You From Flailing Around In The Dark | Mike Nathan | [
"home hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"fan",
"led",
"light",
"solar"
] | Like many people, [yardleydobon] had a hard time locating his ceiling fan’s pull chain at night when his room is completely dark. Rather than continue to flail around blindly grasping for the chain, he decided to
find a way to illuminate it instead.
He started off by disassembling a solar garden light, retaining the solar cell, photoresistor, and batteries. After paring down the electronics to the bare essentials, he mounted them inside a plastic battery storage case which he attached to the outside of the fan’s lamp. [yardleydobon] then ran a pair of wires from the electronics box down to end of the chain, where he added an LED and a translucent pull to diffuse the light.
He admits that it’s not the nicest looking modification around, but it does the job in a pinch. He has some ideas that he may put into play if he has the time to revise the design, and we bet that many of you do as well. If so, be sure to share them in the comments.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYc6dbDul_A&feature=player_embedded&w=470] | 25 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "531099",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-12-09T19:10:10",
"content": "I guess it works, and the handle itself looks pretty, but that wiring and the way it covers up the lamp is terribly ugly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id"... | 1,760,377,008.502018 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/09/buzzer-project-for-classroom-team-games/ | Buzzer Project For Classroom Team Games | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"buzzer",
"game",
"keypad"
] | Want to host a Jeopardy tournament with your friends? Looking to add a bit more fairness to your school’s knowledge bowl? Perhaps you should
build some buzz-in hardware of your own
.
Here you can see [Matt Hanson’s] take on this idea. He used one Arduino to gather not just buzzer info, but also keypad data from four satellite controllers. Each has an RJ45 jack, allowing it to connect tot he base unit with an Ethernet patch cable. We like the color coding that [Matt] chose, which matches the color of the arcade button to the keystone jack on the base. And of course the fantastic look of the water-jet cut cases isn’t lost on us either.
You may wonder why he included a key pad on each controller? It looks like he and a few others worked together to develop
a team-based math game for use in school
. | 6 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "531059",
"author": "raged",
"timestamp": "2011-12-09T18:20:13",
"content": "looks great, but I would have suggested the buzzers connect to the hub via wireless tech. Now you’ll have to bring long (tangling,tripping) wires to the class room.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,377,008.442903 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/09/tiny-audio-switcher-eliminates-repetitive-plug-swapping/ | Tiny Audio Switcher Eliminates Repetitive Plug Swapping | Mike Nathan | [
"computer hacks",
"Microcontrollers",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"ATtiny13A",
"audio",
"FT232R",
"pc",
"switch"
] | [Phil] uses both his computer’s speakers and a set of headphones while working at his desk, but he was growing tired of constantly having to remove the headset from his sound card in order to insert the speaker plug. He’s been meaning to
rig something up
to make it easier to switch outputs, but never seemed to get around to it until he recently saw
this LAN-enabled audio switcher we featured.
His USB-controlled switch features a single audio input and two audio outputs, which he mounted on a nicely done homemade double-sided PCB. The switch can be toggled using any terminal program, sending commands to the on-board ATtiny13A via an FT232R USB to serial UART chip.
The switch’s operation is really quite simple, merely requiring [Phil] to type in the desired audio channel into the terminal. The ATiny and a small relay do the rest, directing the audio to the proper output. | 30 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "530938",
"author": "Necromant",
"timestamp": "2011-12-09T17:11:36",
"content": "Nice, although I would have used vusb + 2313 =)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "531035",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"ti... | 1,760,377,008.39874 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/09/follow-up-star-wars-tree-gets-an-upgrade/ | Follow Up: Star Wars Tree Gets An Upgrade | Mike Nathan | [
"Holiday Hacks",
"LED Hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"christmas tree",
"led",
"msp430",
"piezo",
"pwm",
"star wars"
] | We asked, and [Zach] listened.
Earlier this week,
we featured a circuit he built
which allowed his tiny Star Wars Christmas tree to visually replicate the series’ theme song. Several of you, along with myself, thought it would be far cooler if the tree also played the music to accompany the light show, so [Zach] set off to add that functionality.
Worried that the music would get annoying if it played along with the lights constantly, he tweaked his circuit design to incorporate a piezo buzzer that could be easily switched on and off. After wiring it to the MSP430 driving the light show, he tweaked the program to output signals to both the light string and buzzer simultaneously.
While the light show accurately represented the song, he initially ignored flat and sharp notes as they would be indistinguishable to the eye. In audio form however, the missing notes would be glaringly obvious, so he re-transcribed the sheet music resulting in the video you see below.
If you happened to follow [Zach’s] lead and put one of these together in your own house, be sure to swing by his site and grab the latest code, complete with audio track.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd51ZOPS7jg&2=470] | 2 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "530922",
"author": "Reggie",
"timestamp": "2011-12-09T16:42:19",
"content": "nice, now what about RGB lights and each note getting it’s own colour? ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "532659",
"author": "Pete",
"timestamp... | 1,760,377,008.261818 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/09/rebuilding-dried-out-capacitors/ | Rebuilding Dried Out Capacitors | Brian Benchoff | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"capacitor",
"vintage"
] | If you’ve ever torn into very old equipment for a little refurbishment, you’ve seen ancient capacitors among tube sockets and carbon resistors. These caps are
long
past their life expectancy and are dried out. Putting a brand-new metal can cap in a piece of equipment from the 40s just seems wrong, though. Luckily, [unixslave] posted a nice
cap rebuilding tutorial
on the Hack a Day forum.
To get inside, [unixslave] melted the resin and wax plug at the base of an old cap with a soldering iron. After cleaning out 70-year-old goo with the tip of a flathead screwdriver, he drilled a hole through the core of the cap.
[unixslave] took the old wax-pressed tube of the old cap and put some modern electrolytics inside. The result reminds us of a
shady practice
happening in a cap factory somewhere, but [unixslave] is keeping everything on the level. The repaired cap has the same value as what’s on the label, just enough to get that old tube amp working. | 31 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "530867",
"author": "S",
"timestamp": "2011-12-09T14:28:21",
"content": "Electrically equivalent…..but to some of my audiophile customers, it is blasphemy bordering on the obscene.I maximize my bottom line with these individuals by keeping them happy with the older look of the parts.... | 1,760,377,008.569292 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/08/color-sensing-with-an-rgb-led-and-photoresistor/ | Color Sensing With An RGB LED And Photoresistor | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"color detector",
"color sensor",
"lamp",
"rgb"
] | [Fjord Carver] brings together
an RGB LED and CdS Photoresistor to make a color sensor
. Those Cadmium Sulfide lights sensors usually have a very wide swing of resistance when exposed to varying levels of light sensitivity. That makes for great resolution when reading them using the ADC of a microcontroller. The LED comes into play by shining known wavelengths of light on the surface being measured. Three separate readings are taken with each of the LED’s different colors, then used to extrapolate the RGB value of the test material. We saw
the very same method
used a couple of years back. This time around it’s an Arduino doing the measuring instead of a PIC.
So why isn’t that sensor shown in this picture? It’s because we appreciate the application which [Fjord] is using for this sensor. He built
a lamp that shines the same color as the surface
on which it is placed. | 11 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "530424",
"author": "Brendan Orr",
"timestamp": "2011-12-09T01:03:56",
"content": "Bah, beat me to it! Only mine uses 6 different LEDs instead of a single RGB one. Also, im using a TSL-230R Light-to-frequency IC instead of a photoresistor. Haven’t got through the calculation porti... | 1,760,377,008.898855 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/08/win-free-stuff-by-uploading-a-pic-of-your-fritzing-circuit/ | Win Free Stuff By Uploading A Pic Of Your Fritzing Circuit | Mike Szczys | [
"contests"
] | [
"fritzing"
] | Pull out your old Fritzing designs, or churn out a new one, and you might be able to win one of these prizes. Fritzing is looking for the top three designs which will receive these prizes. On the left is a Fritzing super upgrade kit with goodies like a Character LCD, DC motor and driver IC, shift register, LEDs, and buttons. In the middle is a free PCB from your design (they’ve started their own service to us Fritzing for board layout). Third prize is a motor driver breakout module for breadboard use.
You can get an idea of what others are submitting by poking around
their project pages
. You’ve got a bit more than a week to get your designs in for consideration. Their deadline is on Sunday, December 18th, 2011.
If this stuff doesn’t interest you, don’t forget to try your luck with
2012 Free Day
! | 10 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "530280",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2011-12-08T22:07:54",
"content": "Designing a PCB in Fritzing is too high a price to pay…;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "530296",
"author": "Alex Rossie",
"timestamp": "2011... | 1,760,377,008.749098 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/i2c-level-converter/ | I2C Level Converter | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"bss138",
"i2c",
"level converter",
"mosfet"
] | You’ve got several devices which communicate via the I2C protocol, but some of them can only operate at 3.3V while the rest are hungry for a 5V connection. What to do? [Linux-works]
built this I2C level converter
to solve the problem.
The circuit comes from
an NXP app note
(PDF) on the issue. You can take a quick
peek at the suggested schematic
from that document. The design uses two MOSFETS for each side of the adaptor. Perhaps a better way to explain this is that you need one for the higher voltage and one for the lower voltage on each of the two data lines for a total of four parts. This allows for both of the buses to communicate as one, while still having their own 3.3V and 5V pull-up resistors.
[Linux-works] concedes that there are chips designed to do this for you, but he was able to source the BSS138 MOSFETs locally and for about ten cents a piece. Not a bad alternative to putting in a parts order. | 23 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "529198",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T22:17:46",
"content": "Haha, I mentioned this trick in my upcoming EEWeb interview. Pretty handy, and I haven’t seen it in many places around the web.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment... | 1,760,377,009.486215 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/laser-cutting-technique-makes-plywood-bendable/ | Laser Cutting Technique Makes Plywood Bendable | Mike Szczys | [
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"bendable",
"enclosure",
"flexible",
"laser cut",
"laser cutter",
"plywood"
] | Here’s a laser cutting technique that
makes thin plywood bendable
. By cutting away elongated diamond shapes from the material, a lattice of strips connected minimally by alternating tabs is left over. The wood is then bendable, and it must be somewhat durable since the idea came from a product that uses the technique as
a hinged notebook enclosure
.
We don’t have much interest in it as an often used pivot point as surely it must be a problem with long-term use. But we love the look of it as a rounded corner on an enclosure like the Arduino project box seen above. The side walls are one continuous piece, with identical top and bottom sections which receive the alignment tabs. The whole thing is held together with just four bolt/washer/nut combinations.
But if you don’t have access to a laser cutter, we guess you’ll have to stick to
altering pre-made enclosures
for now. | 42 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "529116",
"author": "Glenn Langton",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T21:17:44",
"content": "Cutting a straight slits is all that is needed for this kerf bending technique. The “elongated diamond” shapes appear only as the material is flexed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"re... | 1,760,377,008.974096 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/periodic-table-of-swearing-would-even-make-a-sailor-blush/ | Periodic Table Of Swearing Would Even Make A Sailor Blush | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"funny"
] | If you often find yourself at a loss for words in the heat of an argument, perhaps this
Periodic Table of Swearing
is something you might be interested in. Built as a marketing tool for the British comic “Modern Toss”, the table features over 100 fruit machine (slot machine) buttons, each of which triggers an audio clip of the cheeky word or phrase listed.
The buttons were mounted on a piece of laser-cut MDF which makes up the table’s surface, while all of the wiring and the guts of the machine are neatly tucked away underneath. Clay, the company that actually built the table, doesn’t elaborate a whole heck of a lot on the details other than stating that it includes over 100 meters of wiring, 300 solder joints, and a whole lot of swearing. We imagine it could likely be replicated with a small micro, an SD card reader, and a couple of speakers – for anyone interested in having one of their own.
While it’s not a hack in the strictest sense, we’re sure it’s a great conversation
starter
ender, and we did get a chuckle out of the demo video below (Warning: Language).
[Thanks, Jack]
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/28411435 w=470] | 29 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "529041",
"author": "Michael STephens",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T20:13:12",
"content": "You should add a “censor” switch that just makes everything say beeeeep.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "529042",
"author": "Rob R.",
... | 1,760,377,009.289554 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/christmas-tree-water-sensor-gets-an-upgrade-and-a-fancy-new-box/ | Christmas Tree Water Sensor Gets An Upgrade And A Fancy New Box | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Holiday Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"christmas tree",
"proto board",
"relay",
"water sensor"
] | [Eric Ayars] has a nice cast iron Christmas tree stand at home, but the only drawback is that
the stand makes it hard to see just how much water
is available to the tree.
Last year we covered a small gadget he created
to help keep tabs on the water level, but as several of you predicted,
the system eventually failed.
His previous solution used copper plated proto board to sense how much water was in the stand, but the leads corroded in about a week’s time. With Christmas just around the corner, he decided to give things another try.
His revamped water level sensor relies on measuring capacitance changes in a copper strip board when under water rather than detecting a complete circuit like the previous model. To protect his sensor this time around he coated the board with polyurethane, which should provide a decent corrosion barrier.
Using the Arduino CapSense library, the sensor can detect the presence of water, signaling an alarm if the base needs refilling. One of our readers suggested that he use the tree itself as a low water indicator, which is just what [Eric] did this year. If the water is somewhat low, the Arduino-controlled relay powering the tree is switched off and then on again, every 5 seconds. If the base is nearly dry, the tree asks for water by blinking the word “Water” repeatedly in Morse code.
We think that this year’s solution is pretty clever, and we’re glad to see that [Eric] didn’t give up after last year’s setback! | 9 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "529000",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T19:29:04",
"content": "In his diagram, neither pin 11 or 12 is connected to ground directly. Why not? Couldn’t the capacitance sensor work if they were?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"c... | 1,760,377,009.019164 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/combine-2-non-working-sony-tvs-into-one-that-works/ | Combine 2 Non-Working Sony TVs Into One That Works | Jeremy Cook | [
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"lcd",
"sony",
"tv"
] | Have you ever wondered if you could fix your two broken LCD TVs by combining them? Neither had we, but
[Redion]
did, and the answer is yes, it can be done. Although it may sound like a serious kludge, the finished product actually looks quite nice from the view provided. On the other hand, we don’t know how the internals will hold up, but it apparently works well now.
For this hack, the working internals from a 32 inch Sony LCD TV with a broken display were combined with a 40 inch Sony LCD TV that had an undamaged display but fried internals. Although this would most likely not work for every TV out there, it’s still a pretty neat experiment. Many people would simply assume something like this would not work, and trash both TVs. We would suggest the new TV be named
“Nomad”
, just avoid wearing a red shirt around it.
Keep in mind with any TV hack, taking one apart can expose you to large capacitors that may or may not be charged and can be quite dangerous (they can stay charged for a long time). We don’t necessarily recommend duplicating anything here, but use extreme caution if attempting anything like this. | 16 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "528921",
"author": "Josh",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T18:02:52",
"content": "It’s like repairing items in Fallout 3!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "528924",
"author": "Per Jensen",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T18:12:13",
... | 1,760,377,009.073036 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/physical-computing-just-got-a-lot-easier/ | Physical Computing Just Got A Lot Easier | Brian Benchoff | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"physical computing",
"twine"
] | Putting microcontrollers in everything and tying appliances into the internet has become the DIYers’ bread and butter. There’s a ton of benefits from an Internet-enabled coffee maker, but actually
building
these projects takes a little bit of knowledge. Enter [Dave] and [John] with
Twine
– a little Internet enabled box that connects physical reality to the digital world.
The hardware inside a Twine is a small board that combines WiFi, an accelerometer and temperature sensor. The Twine is programmed ‘in the cloud’ with a simple if/then condition. A Twine will send you a text, email or tweet when the condition is met. For example, you could put a Twine on a door and program the accelerometer to text you when someone comes knocking.
Twine isn’t an entirely closed system; there’s a plug for additional sensors (moisture detection, for example), and the data from sensors can be pushed out to a server. You can pick up a twine for $100 from the Kickstarter; it’s a little rich for our blood, but we’re sure it’ll be a useful device. | 9 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "528905",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T17:36:27",
"content": "Huhm. I wonder if a PLC “ladder logic” approach would make for a better programming interface here. Writing out rules seems awfully tedious.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{... | 1,760,377,009.862625 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/hackaday-links-december-7-2011/ | Hackaday Links: December 7, 2011 | Brian Benchoff | [
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"led",
"macro",
"neurons",
"photography",
"radio scanner",
"test equipment",
"voltmeter",
"Zhu Zhu"
] | LED Neurons
[Alexandra Olivier] put up an
art installation
at Wellesley College that looks like a bunch of neurons built out of LEDs. The neurons are connected to a couple PIR sensors and ‘fire’ whenever movement is detected. The result is a lot like being inside a brain. Fitting, then, that the installation is called Social Synapses.
Last year’s big toy was always evil, though
Last year, [Andrew] had to fight the throngs of shoppers to get the
must have
toy of the season, a Zhu Zhu pet. Since these robotic hamster things have spent the last 11 months in the back of a closet, it seems reasonable to
make them evil
. They’re still not as evil as a demonic Furby….
So we call it a bifocal, right?
There’s an old photography trick for a really hacky macro setup – just turn the lens around. Well, what if you wanted automatic metering and flash control? Simple, just electrically
reverse the lens
. Bonus points for being able to use the lens regularly as well.
Control all the bands
Well here’s something cool: an
all-in-one USB 315mhz, 433mhz, and 868mhz transceiver
. What can you do with it? Well, [codeninja] can control the outdoor lights for two of his neighbors, open gates and doors, crash his weather station, and just about anything else in those bands. It’s pretty much like war driving for important stuff nobody cares about.
So this is our favorite holiday now
There’s a Dutch tradition to play Sinterklaas and make someone a present. [Jenor] decided to build an
antique-looking DC voltmeter
with a pair of vacuum tubes. The tubes don’t work anymore, but the heaters still provide a nice warm glow. It’s a bit large to be regularly used as a piece of test equipment, but it really does look awesome. Very steampunkey, and it’s the though that counts anyway. | 12 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "528856",
"author": "AZID",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T16:05:23",
"content": "No link for the usb scanner?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "528862",
"author": "John Beruebe",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T16:10:13",
... | 1,760,377,009.178721 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/05/reverse-engineering-bluetooth-using-android-and-spot-as-an-example/ | Reverse Engineering Bluetooth Using Android And SPOT As An Example | Mike Szczys | [
"Android Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"bluetooth",
"nokia n900",
"reverse engineering",
"spot",
"travis goodspeed"
] | [Travis Goodspeed] wrote in to tell us about his work
reverse engineering the Bluetooth communications on this SPOT module
. He’s targeted the post as a general guide to sniffing Bluetooth transmissions, but was inspired to use the SPOT as an example after seeing
this other SPOT hack
. We know he’s a fan of
getting things to work with his Nokia N900
, and that’s exactly where he ended up with the project.
This module was manufactured to be controlled by an Android phone. But there’s no control app available for the Nokia handset. Since Android uses the open-source Bluez package for the Bluetooth protocol, it’s actually pretty easy to get your hands on the packets. After grabbing a few test sets he shows how he deciphered the packets, then wrote a quick Python script to test out his findings. After working his way through the various commands available (grabbing the SPOT serial number, getting position data from it, etc) [Travis] wrote up a frontend in QT mobility for use on the N900. | 4 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "527367",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T20:57:45",
"content": "Neat! I have a device that uses proprietary software and I was hoping to sniff the password and write my own software. Hopefully this article will help with that!If anyone has any other ideas, I’m... | 1,760,377,009.220512 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/05/musical-blinky-candy-tin/ | Musical [Blinky] Candy Tin | Brian Benchoff | [
"ATtiny Hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"attiny",
"midi",
"pac-man"
] | Since it’s the holidays and pine trees are being cut down and installed in living rooms all around the world, [Jarv] though it would be a good idea to make a
musical Christmas ornament
. He needed to keep some of his geek cred, so [Jarv] decided to build a musical [Blinky] ghost from Pacman.
A few weeks ago, [Jarv] sent in his
musical greeting card
that uses a minimal amount of parts to play a short 8-bit tune. His project was based around an ATtiny85 and sounded
pretty good
. For his [Blinky] ornament, [Jarv] used a similar circuit along with some old-school Pacman songs that sound great.
[Jarv] found a [Blinky] candy tin and after dispensing with all that pressed sugar began work on his build. In keeping with his greeting card, everything is very minimal. Just a speaker, ATtiny85, and button make up the build. Pressing the button cycles through three songs from Ms. Pacman. The result sounds uncannily like a vintage arcade game, so be sure to check out the video after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyWlVr72n1M&w=470] | 8 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "527272",
"author": "Roger",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T19:09:41",
"content": "awesome!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "527276",
"author": "MG",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T19:16:35",
"content": "I think I would have tried... | 1,760,377,009.33615 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/05/ethernet-controlled-garage-door/ | Ethernet Controlled Garage Door | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware"
] | [
"arduino",
"ethernet"
] | [Thomas]’ garage door opener is a big old industrial unit, so he doesn’t have the convenience of a remote-controlled garage door opener. Obviously, this would get annoying after a while, so [Thomas] decided to build an
Ethernet enabled relay board
so he can open his door with his iPhone.
The build is based around an ATMega328 and a
neat little Ethernet controller from Microchip
. There are two relays on the board that connect to the Up and Down buttons on the door opener. The board receives UDP packets with instructions like, ‘RELAY 2 ON’ and the door responds accordingly.
Building just one of his boards cost [Thomas] the meager sum of $43. Considering the new
Arduino Ethernet
board costs around $60, we’re thinking he did a good job here. From the video after the break, we’re seeing that [Thomas] has to hold the button on his iPhone down for the door to go up. We see a few more pins on his AVR, so perhaps v.2 of his board could contain a few headers to attach sensors. Still, it’s a very nice build.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu6lHguMRXE&w=470] | 30 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "527245",
"author": "Roger",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T18:10:15",
"content": "Could someone explain how the iphone can communicate with through ethernet?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "527355",
"author": "Guille",
... | 1,760,377,009.700753 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/05/an-iambic-keyer-in-5-minutes/ | An Iambic Keyer In 5 Minutes | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"cw",
"iambic",
"telegraph"
] | When most people think about a telegraph key, a piece of 1890s tech with a lever that moves up and down comes to mind. These ‘straight keys’ were terrible for telegraphers and led to repetitive stress injuries like carpel tunnel syndrome..Iambic keys came along and move the contacts to a horizontal position. If you ever see a HAM playing with his CW rig, chances are they’re using an iambic key. It’s great, then, that you can build your own iambic key
in five minutes
using parts you have lying around.
The build [Dimitris] put up is dead simple – just two metal contacts with a pair of 470K pullup resistors. All this connects to three pins on an Arduino. All the micocontroller needs to do is measure the rise time a touch sensor pin when a voltage is applied. If there’s a finger on the pin, the capacitance increases and the rise time is longer. After that, just assign one sensor as ‘dit’ and the other as ‘dah’ and you’ve got an iambic key.
[Dimitris] put all the code for his project up on his blog. His iambic key seems like the perfect project after a
tiny Morse trainer
. Check out the video of the key in action after the break
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNmSSgCqDPM&w=470] | 17 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "527217",
"author": "sawo",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T17:30:33",
"content": "Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, not Carpel…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "527247",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T18:12:47",
"content":... | 1,760,377,009.613684 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/05/the-force-is-strong-with-this-christmas-tree-light-show/ | The Force Is Strong With This Christmas Tree Light Show | Mike Nathan | [
"Holiday Hacks",
"LED Hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"christmas tree",
"led",
"msp430",
"pwm",
"star wars"
] | [Zach] is a huge Star Wars fan, and in addition to the array holiday decorations that adorn his house, he says that his wife is nice enough to let him put up
a Christmas tree full of Star Wars ornaments.
For the past few years, the tree sat in the corner of the room unlit, but his wife thought that it should have some lights this year.
His wife came home with a small string of battery-operated lights, but [Zach] wanted something with a bit more geek cred. He decided to program the lights to play the Star Wars theme song, translating the tune’s pitch to light intensity.
He dug through his bin of electronics and found an MSP430 along with a small target board that would do the job nicely. He sat down with some sheet music, translating the notes to PWM values, resulting in the light show you see below.
While his wife provided a lovely violin accompaniment to the tree, we think that a small audio module would make a great addition to the tree next year.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=cDE_yXY7pxo&w=470] | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "527220",
"author": "josh trow",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T17:32:33",
"content": "“…his wife provided a lovely violin accompaniment to the tree…”You got yourself a keeper there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "527236",
"author... | 1,760,377,009.558922 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/05/dash-mounted-nook-color-is-a-perfect-head-unit-replacement/ | Dash-mounted Nook Color Is A Perfect Head Unit Replacement | Mike Nathan | [
"Tablet Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"head unit",
"Jeep",
"Nook Color"
] | XDA forum member [craigbru] wanted to beef up the audio setup in his Jeep, and thought that his
Nook Color would make a suitable replacement.
Since he jailbroke the e-reader, the head unit upgrade lets him do just about anything you can imagine, all from the comfort of the driver’s seat.
Seeing that he would continue to go off-road with the Jeep, he wanted to construct a mounting solution that was convenient and sturdy – something we think he did very well.
The dock was constructed using a Quadratec iVault stereo mount, along with a plastic tablet mount he had on hand. Because convenience was a primary goal, he put together a quick release charging solution as well as a simple audio interface using a set of touch contacts. This allows him to connect and detach the tablet from the Jeep without having to fuss with a bunch of cables each time. He also added an audio equalizer along with a Bluetooth OBDII interface to the setup, allowing him to tweak his tunes and monitor his engine with ease.
We think it’s a great-looking setup, and we’d be lying if we said we didn’t want one as well.
[Thanks, MS3FGX] | 30 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "527104",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T14:31:33",
"content": "Why not use bluetooth for audio too? No contacts needed.Oh, and First Post!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "527129",
"author": "Pup",
... | 1,760,377,009.817069 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/04/a-keyboard-for-your-fignition/ | A Keyboard For Your FIGnition | Brian Benchoff | [
"classic hacks",
"hardware"
] | [
"fignition",
"keyboard"
] | [Carl] sent in his
keyboard
he made for his FIGnition microcomputer. At least now he has more than 8 buttons.
The
FIGnition
is a tiny little microcomputer that harkens back to the 8-bit days of yore. Designed to be an educational computer like the
Altair
or
Heathkit
(sans blinkenlights), the FIGnition gives its students ‘bare metal’ access to everything in the system. It’s powered by an ATMega168, a 4 Kb SRAM and an 8Mb Flash chip for storage. Unfortunately, the FIGnition only has 8 buttons to program Forth with, so [Carl]’s project is very much desired in the community.
To expand 8 buttons into an alpha-numeric keyboard, [Carl] came up with the solution of using two tact switches per character. The switches are of different button heights, so pressing a pair of buttons actuates the two buttons in order, which is natively interpreted by the FIGnition. It’s a perfect match for the chord-keys of the FIGnition.
Check out the video of [Carl]’s bundle of wires after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=Hz6BSqYn8uc&w=470] | 13 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "526613",
"author": "Jakob",
"timestamp": "2011-12-04T20:43:50",
"content": "Cool, better keyboard than my new one I bought. Hard to find the buttons my is to small.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "526615",
"author": "lnm",
... | 1,760,377,009.749476 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/aluminum-bending-tutorial-and-a-diy-brake/ | Aluminum Bending Tutorial And A DIY Brake | Brian Benchoff | [
"classic hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"aluminium",
"brake",
"enclosure",
"fabrication",
"metalwork"
] | What makes a project really exceptional? Part of it is a, ‘gee, that’s clever’ angle with a little bit of, ‘that’s actually possible.’ One thing the Hack a Day crew really appreciates is awesome enclosures. Altoids tins will get you far, but to step up to the big leagues you’ve got to bend some aluminum. Luckily, [Rupert] sent in a
great tutorial
on bending aluminum sheets for enclosures.
To make his press brake, [Rupert] scavenged a few pieces of 38mm bamboo worktop scraps. After assembling a few of these pieces with some hinges, he was ready to bend some aluminum.
One trick [Rupert] picked up is scoring the sheet metal on the inside of a future bend. For [Rupert]’s project, he sent his 3mm aluminum sheet through a table saw set to cut 1mm deep. Of course this should only be done with a blade designed for non-ferrous metals with as many carbide teeth as possible. Judging from [Rupert]’s
homebuilt Hi-Fi
that used this construction technique, the results are phenomenal. | 10 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "528813",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T15:08:05",
"content": "I use a bench vise and a wooden bar to bend smaller pieces, but this is MUCH nicer! I’m going to make one of these.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "5288... | 1,760,377,009.903437 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/07/awesome-little-uav-flies-1-km/ | Awesome Little UAV Flies 1 Km | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"OpenPilot",
"remote control",
"uav",
"UAVTalk"
] | After going to an SMD soldering workshop at the Stuttgart hackerspace ShackSpace, [Corvus] decided to be an over achiever and build a flight controller for his very own
unmanned aerial vehicle
.
The airplane itself is a regular store-bought foam contraption, and not terribly interesting in and of itself. Autonomous flight piques some interest, though. A custom flight controller PCB was designed and built by [Corvus] to work alongside a
tiny STM32 Linux board
. These two boards, combined with the
OpenPilot project
allow the plane to keep altitude, bearing, speed, and position in check autonomously. Telemetry between the ground station and vehicle is handled by
UAVTalk
and a ThinkPad.
In the video after the break, [Corvus] piloted the plane up to altitude, then directed it to fly 500 meters North and turn around. The result was an autonomous flight of over one kilometer. The next stage of the project is implementing some
SLAM
applications with optical path finding and obstacle avoidance.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWNWuUiUTNg&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FnWNWuUiUTNg&w=470] | 14 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "528806",
"author": "steve",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T14:53:24",
"content": "Illegal here in Germany.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "528845",
"author": "Nomad",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T15:49:22",
"cont... | 1,760,377,010.114631 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/06/web-enabled-kinect/ | Web-enabled Kinect | Brian Benchoff | [
"Kinect hacks"
] | [
"ajax",
"HTTP",
"Kinect",
"web"
] | There are Kinect hacks out there for robot vision, 3D scanners, and even pseudo-LIDAR setups. Until now, one limiting factor to these builds is the requirement for a full-blown computer on the device to deal with the depth maps and do all the necessary processing and computation. This doesn’t seem like much of a problem since [wizgrav] published
Intrael
, an HTTP interface for the Kinect.
[Eleftherios] caught up to [wizgrav] at his
local hackerspace
where he did a
short tutorial
on Intrael. [wizgrav]’s project provides each frame from the Kinect over HTTP wrapped up in JSON arrays. Everything a Kinect outputs aside from sound is now easily available over the Internet.
The project is meant to put computer vision outside the realm of desktops and robotic laptops and into the web. [wizgrav] has a few ideas on what his project can be used for, such as smart security cameras and all kinds of interactive surfaces.
After the break, check out the Intrael primer [wizgrav] demonstrated (it’s Greek to us, but there are subtitles), and a few demos of what Intrael ‘sees.’
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIXIGeJSuAg&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqAyovdEQTE&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwYfVjoTQXQ&w=470] | 11 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "528365",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T00:37:03",
"content": "So now we’re wrapping video in JSON in HTTP?What is the world coming to…Seriously, give the JSON a rest, folks!I don’t think your HTTP server is going to be processing video in real time, so there’s no reason... | 1,760,377,010.061601 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/06/exterior-grade-electrical-box-as-project-enclosure/ | Exterior-grade Electrical Box As Project Enclosure | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"electrical box",
"enclosure",
"exterior"
] | The quest for a project box is always a balance between cost, complexity, and style. We think [Pcmofo] really finds the mark with his exterior electrical box enclosures. He took the time to
document his fabrication process
for those that want to replicate his look.
These grey plastic boxes are meant to keep the elements away from home and commercial electrical systems. They’re easy to find and come in many different sizes (this one is 8″ square and 4″ deep). The plastic is very rigid, but still easy enough to work with simple tools.
[Pcmofo] starts by eyeballing the placement of his components. Once he has a good idea of where each should be located he grabs a caliper and uses Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape to design a template. This is attached with painter’s tape, and rough openings are made using a drill press. The holes are brought to the final size by hand using files for a nice finished edge. When it comes time to mount hardware, the plastic is strong enough to hold threads if you are careful when using the tap to cut them.
The example enclosure houses a temperature controller for fermenting beer. You can see some video of the enclosure embedded after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDRvFm7MsOg&w=470] | 14 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "528348",
"author": "Tinkering Engineer",
"timestamp": "2011-12-07T00:22:00",
"content": "If you do this a lot or want to make it easy, get yourself a round hole knockout punch from McMaster-Carr or a similar place. You drill a small pilot hole and then use the knockout to punch out ... | 1,760,377,010.163524 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/06/echo-box-shakes-itself-to-make-sound/ | Echo Box Shakes Itself To Make Sound | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"08m",
"echo box",
"knock block",
"PICAXE",
"piezo",
"vibration"
] | The echo box
performs exactly as its name implies. If you tap out a rhythm on the lid, it will tap the same thing back to you. Except it isn’t tapping to make the sound, but vibrating.
The concept is similar to
the Knock Block
. In that hack, a piezo element detected a rapping on the wooden enclosure and repeated the rhythm by striking the lid with a solenoid. This iteration also uses a piezo element as the sensor. In the image above you can see a segment of PVC pipe in the upper corner. That houses the element, sandwiched between two pieces of wine bottle cork. That cork just touches the lid of the box, transferring the vibrations to the element.
The sound is created by a motor with an offset weight on its spindle. When the motor spins, it causes vibrations. The enclosure is one wood box inside of another, so the vibrating motor cause the inner box to shake against the outer one to make noise. Hear it for yourself in the clip after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIllKsK47X0&w=470] | 6 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "528293",
"author": "jordan",
"timestamp": "2011-12-06T23:23:27",
"content": "what is up with all these videos with black bars on the side?otherwise, nice project! i have a piezo, and may try it out!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_i... | 1,760,377,010.207964 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/06/reverse-voltage-protection-with-a-p-fet/ | Reverse Voltage Protection With A P-FET | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"mosfet",
"p-fet",
"protection",
"reverse voltage"
] | [Afroman’s] latest video shows you how to
add reverse voltage protection with minimal power loss
. At some point, one of your electronic concoctions will turn out to be very useful. You want to make sure that a battery plugged in the wrong way, or a polarity mistake with your bench PSU doesn’t damage that hardware. It’s easy enough to plop in a diode for protection, but as [Afroman] points out, that wastes power in the form of heat when the circuit is working correctly. His solution is to add a P channel MOSFET which only allows power to flow when the polarity of the source voltage is correct.
The schematic above shows the P-FET on the high side of the circuit. The gate is hooked to ground, allowing current to move across the DS junction when the battery is connected. This design also uses a clamping diode to keep the gate voltage within a safe range. But there are P-FETs out there that wouldn’t need that diode or resistor. This method wastes ten times less power than a simple diode would have.
We’ve embedded the video after the break where [Afroman] shares the math and reasoning behind his component choices.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrB-FPcv1Dc&w=470] | 51 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "528250",
"author": "JoshN",
"timestamp": "2011-12-06T21:41:46",
"content": "Excellent video! Thanks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "595531",
"author": "Maria",
"timestamp": "2012-03-05T21:17:56",
"cont... | 1,760,377,010.294971 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/06/sound-treating-a-studio/ | Sound Treating A Studio | Brian Benchoff | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"sound treatment",
"soundproofing",
"studio"
] | Looks like [Dino] is getting the band back together. After a junkyard tube amp and a DIY tremolo stompbox, he’s back again, this time doing a bit of
sound treatment in his studio
.
Most rooms naturally have a bit of flutter echo. You’ll notice this when you move into an apartment or new house – rooms sound a lot more cavernous without rugs, drapes and furniture. Unfortunately, having a bunch of couches doesn’t bode well for the workflow in a studio despite what MTV Cribs may have told us. The usual solution is to put up some sound-absorbing material on the walls, and a metric ton of cardboard egg cartons don’t work.
[Dino] found a bunch of acoustic panels his neighbor threw out during a renovation (yes, we know, he’s very lucky). After doing some pre-installation tests, the panels were hung. Afterwards, the amount of echo was drastically reduced.
The good news is we finally get a look inside [Dino]’s studio. We saw the
junkyard tube amp
we covered earlier, but not the
neat tremolo pedal
he made.
Check out [Dino]’s video of sound treating a room after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=xsZUctSSDDc&w=470] | 14 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "528179",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-12-06T19:23:11",
"content": "rehearsal? yes. Also he went expensive. wrap hard fiberglass panels or fiberglass ceiling tiles in cloth and hang them on walls to do the same thing for about $5.95 each.For recording, hang blankets o... | 1,760,377,010.599957 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/06/avr-external-memory-interface-xmem-reads-input-matrix/ | AVR External Memory Interface (XMEM) Reads Input Matrix | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"74hc573",
"atmega640",
"AVR",
"input",
"multiplex",
"shift register",
"xmem"
] | Reading from a large number of inputs, like this piano keyboard, can be tedious. Even when multiplexing there’s a lot to keep track of. But if you choose the right microcontroller, you may have hardware assistance. Here’s an ATmega640 is
using it’s external memory interface to read the key matrix
.
You may remember the Open Music Labs article about
reading from a shift register using just one pin
of a microcontroller. This time around a shift register is still used, but instead of pulling in a long line of parallel inputs, the switches are multiplexed to reduce the number of I/O pins used to read them.
A 74HC573 is used to facilitate the multiplexing. We won’t go into how that part is accomplished; there’s a separate
post that explains
the process. What’s unique here is that the XMEM peripheral of the AVR microcontroller is used to grab the data. This is intended for external memory chips, but if you get the timing just right, it greatly simplifies reading in a matrix of up to 128 inputs. | 3 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "528231",
"author": "behle",
"timestamp": "2011-12-06T21:07:05",
"content": "Yay, nice work!I’ve got mine lying around somewhere with a simmilar approach.An ATMEGA32, two 8 bit registers. The first one as output, the second one as input.You shift a one through the cleared output regi... | 1,760,377,010.548579 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/06/playing-classic-60s-tunes-with-an-all-electronic-band/ | Playing Classic 60s Tunes With An All Electronic Band | Mike Nathan | [
"classic hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"music",
"oscilloscope",
"scanner"
] | If you are considering repurposing some old computer equipment to create music, be aware that
the bar has been raised just a tad
. YouTube user [BD594] spent some time sifting through his bin of used electronics and put together a 5-piece band that plays a pretty awesome rendition of The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun”.
Last week, we saw a pretty impressive hack with a floppy drive that could
bang out music using a calculator
, but this takes things to a whole new level. [BD594] used an old HP ScanJet to simulate the song’s vocals, while an Atari 800XL combined with an oscilloscope is used as an organ. A Ti-99/4a is used in conjunction with another scope to play guitar notes, while a PIC-controlled hard drive does double duty, playing both the bass drum and cymbals.
We dare you to watch the video below and NOT be thoroughly impressed with his work.
[BD594] says that once he has a bit of free time, he’ll be putting out another video – something we’ll be anxiously waiting to see.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w68qZ8JvBds&feature=player_embedded&w=470] | 16 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "528066",
"author": "SenorD",
"timestamp": "2011-12-06T16:29:05",
"content": "This guy’s youtube channel has a Marilyn Manson cover as well as one from queen, though this is his best work yet. The most hilarious part is the name of the band, the EOL band.http://www.youtube.com/user/b... | 1,760,377,010.506543 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/06/this-toy-intercom-system-is-way-better-than-a-pair-of-tin-cans-and-some-string/ | This Toy Intercom System Is Way Better Than A Pair Of Tin Cans And Some String | Mike Nathan | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"analog",
"intercom",
"telephone"
] | On his blog, [Kenneth Finnegan] recently showed off a replica of a fun toy he used to play with as a kid,
a telephone intercom system.
The setup is pretty simple, requiring little more than a pair of analog phones, a battery, and a resistor.
The phones are connected to one another using a standard telephone cable, but [Kenneth] uses a 9v battery to introduce a small bias current into the loop, allowing the speakers at either end to hear one another. He also added a small LED into the circuit so that there is a visual indication as to when both handsets are off hook.
The setup is very simple at the moment, though [Kenneth] does have some ideas in mind to enhance his intercom system. He hopes to tweak the remote phone to ring when the local phone is picked up, among other things.
Telephone technology is nothing new, but for just a few dollars (or less) your kids can be entertained for hours as [Kenneth] was way back when.
Continue reading to see a short video overview of the phone system, and be sure to share your ideas for enhancing it in the comments section.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICqRN0flJnk&feature=player_embedded&w=470] | 36 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "528032",
"author": "Thomas Wrobel",
"timestamp": "2011-12-06T15:31:30",
"content": "Ha :D finally something at my level ;)I did exactly this when I was 9 :PNot that I have got better since.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "528046... | 1,760,377,010.671078 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/06/two-telescope-improvements/ | Two Telescope Improvements | Brian Benchoff | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"auto focuser",
"off axis guider",
"telescope"
] | Despite being a college class everyone regarded as an easy ‘A,’ astronomy is very hard work. Not only do many hours go into capturing a single image, the equipment itself must be constantly monitored well into the freezing cold of night. [Jerry] sent in a few neat projects that have made his nights much more comfortable.
First up is a mod for a
focus controller
. The focus of a telescope changes constantly with temperature, atmospheric conditions, and especially what filter is being used. The stock USB-nSTEP focuser [Jerry] used required hard-to-find unipolar steppers, so he modded his USB-nSTEM to accept bipolars with a Pololu A4988 driver.
Next up is [Jerry]’s very impressive
DIY Off-axis guider
that he machined himself. An off-axis guider allows an astronomer to guide the ‘scope without having to deal with a dinky, surprisingly flexible guide scope. We’re really impressed with [Jerry]’s machine skills, but that’s what you get when you’ve got an
awesome mill
like his. | 5 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "528002",
"author": "Kris Lee",
"timestamp": "2011-12-06T15:02:22",
"content": "Does he show his astrophotos somewhere? Searched his Flickr account but did not find anything.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "528024",
"author":... | 1,760,377,010.45495 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/05/update-tiny-line-follower-and-more/ | Update: Tiny Line-follower And More | Mike Szczys | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"ATmega128",
"bluetooth",
"line follower",
"matchbox",
"PocketBot"
] | This tiny line-following robot is quite impressive. It’s [Ondrej Stanek’s] second take on the design,
which he calls PocketBot 2
. Just like
the earlier version
, this robot is small enough to fit in a matchbox, but it’s received several upgrades in this iteration.
The coin cells that ran the previous version have been replaced by a rechargeable Lithium Ion cell. The ATmega8 which controlled the first robot has been swapped out for an ATmega128 running at 32 MHz. You won’t find an IR receiver on this one either, it’s been traded for a Bluetooth module which adds a quantum leap in functionality. For instance, the graph in the upper left of this photograph shows the reflective sensor data readings used to follow the line.
There’s all kinds of great engineering in this design, which is shown off in the video after the break. One of our favorite parts is that the axles are attracted to the center of the robot by one rare-earth magnet. This keeps the rubber tires pressed against the motor spindles rather than use a gearing system.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/32406001 w=470] | 27 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "527450",
"author": "svofski",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T23:24:27",
"content": "very cool little bot, great construction and presentation. Gold medal well deserved :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "527456",
"author": "roboman... | 1,760,377,010.770694 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/05/slowing-a-bopit-so-the-littles-ones-can-play-too/ | Slowing A Bopit So The Littles Ones Can Play Too | Mike Szczys | [
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"bopit",
"potentiometer",
"resistor",
"speed"
] | [Johnny Halfmoon] wanted to help out his three-year-old who was fascinated by the Bopit electronic game. In its stock condition it’s a bit too fast for the young one, so
he cracked it opened and added the option to slow things down
.
Above you can see the Bopit Extreme with the top half of the case removed. Although not hard to get open (there’s just 12 screws to remove) the spring-loaded appendages will fly apart when you do. He warns to pay attention at how they go back together.
There’s one axial resistor which affects the running speed of the game. [Johnny] desoldered this, replacing it with a circuit that toggles between that original resistor and a potentiometer. Now, one switch position allows for normal play, the other allows for adjustable speed based on the potentiometer position. Check out the results in the clip after the break.
Looking for some other fun electronic toy hacks? Why not try out
this cursing Simon Says
?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfZzdnSJD5Q&w=470] | 11 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "527448",
"author": "Max S.",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T23:20:44",
"content": "Now this is a hack!Fantastic. This will help a lot of people,especially disabled folks. I could see thishack being used for special needs kids as well.The slow voice is funky, but who cares?",
"parent... | 1,760,377,011.020134 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/05/web-enabled-coffee-maker-over-complicates-your-break-time/ | Web-enabled Coffee Maker Over-complicates Your Break Time | Mike Szczys | [
"cooking hacks"
] | [
"adc",
"arduino",
"coffee",
"ethernet",
"pic"
] | Some think that grinding the beans and filling the coffee maker is part of the coffee-drinking ritual, but [Jamie] isn’t one of them. Instead, he’s been working to
make this coffeemaker a web-enabled device
. He built it as part of a class project, and has implemented most of what you need to make a cup of Joe automatically.
You can see a small pump attached to the back of the coffee maker. It sucks water from a pitcher (slightly visible to the left of the coffee maker) to fill the reservoir. He experimented with a couple of different water level sensing solutions. His most recent is a PCB with several traces of different length. As those traces are covered by water, a voltage can be read via ADC to establish water level.
He’s using an Arduino and Ethernet shield to add connectivity for the device. The problem is that there aren’t enough ADC pins left on the Arduino to read the water level sensor. Because of this, he added a self-build shield that uses a PIC to do the ADC measurements and push digital data across to the Arduino. A bit complicated, and it doesn’t load the grounds automatically (yet?). But that’s not to say we don’t appreciate
complicated coffee hacks
. | 18 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "527388",
"author": "Asmor",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T21:34:35",
"content": "But does it implement RFC 2324?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "527407",
"author": "ScottInNH",
"timestamp": "2011-12-05T22:05:57",
... | 1,760,377,011.117159 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/14/ultrasonic-combo-lock/ | Ultrasonic Combo Lock | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"code",
"combination",
"lock",
"ping",
"ultrasonic"
] | [John Boxall] took a different route for a single-input combination lock. This unit uses a Ping
ultrasonic range finder to input a four digit code
. It’s a hardware upgrade, but uses the same basic concept as
his button-based combo lock
. That design used an Arduino to measure how long you hold down a single button, with a one second pause between inputs, to enter the code. This one also uses timing to establish when each digit is read, but that digit is grabbed as the distance between your hand and the sensor.
There are things we like and dislike about the redesign. This is obviously much more expensive than other button-based locks like
this garage door opener we built
. If we were to run with [John’s] design, we might spring for the Ping sensor (because it’s a pretty cool input) and replace he character LCD with an LED or two. The other drawback that we see here is that it may be easy for someone to steal your code by watching from afar. Still, we love the project and think you will too after seeing the demo clip below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEh48itDV8E&w=470] | 3 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "535927",
"author": "mouse",
"timestamp": "2011-12-15T01:48:50",
"content": "It’s a lock? With Philips head screws, and sensitive bits, and isn’t hammer proof-or kick proof for that matter.It is an input device. A pretty cool input device. I want to see it become smaller, applied to ... | 1,760,377,011.587618 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/14/how-the-kindle-touch-jailbreak-was-discovered/ | How The Kindle Touch Jailbreak Was Discovered | Mike Szczys | [
"Kindle hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"jailbreak",
"kindle",
"kindle touch",
"root"
] | The Kindle Touch has been rooted
! There’s a proof video embedded after the break, but the best part about this discovery is that [Yifan Lu] wrote in-depth about how he discovered and exploited a security hole in the device.
The process begins by getting a dump of the firmware. If you remove the case it’s not hard to find the serial port on the board, which he did. But by that time someone else had already dumped the image and uploaded it. We guess you could say that [Yifan] was shocked by what he found in the disassembly. This a ground-up rewrite compared to past Kindle devices and it seems there’s a lot to be hacked. The bootloader is not locked, but messing around with that is a good way to brick the device. The Javascript, which is the language used for the UI, is not obfuscated and Amazon included many hooks for later plugins. Long story short, hacks for previous Kindles won’t work here, but it should be easy to reverse engineer the software and write new ones.
Gaining access to the device is as easy as injecting some HTML code into the UI. It is then run by the device as root (no kidding!). [Yifan] grabbed an MP3 file, changed its tag information to the HTML attack code, then played the file on the device to exploit the flaw. How long before malicious data from illegally downloaded MP3 files ends up blanking the root file system on one of these?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMyv6nSAOU0&w=470]
[via
Reddit
] | 15 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "535693",
"author": "BLuRry",
"timestamp": "2011-12-14T20:17:27",
"content": "Hacking with audio. It’s like SnowCrash man… That white noise will fry your brain. :-D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "535699",
"author": "Rob We... | 1,760,377,010.970887 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/14/rudolph-toy-hacked-to-announce-incoming-email/ | Rudolph Toy Hacked To Announce Incoming Email | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"email",
"Gmail",
"phoneme",
"propeller",
"toy"
] | Tis the season for hacking, and [Nick McClanahan] at the GadgetGangster is certainly
showing off his Christmas spirit
with his most recent creation. He had an animatronic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer toy sitting around and thought it would be fun to convert him into an email reading machine.
He tore open the toy, removing its innards, disconnecting the built-in speaker and servos from the original PCB. He then extended wires from those components outside of the body before reassembling the toy. The reindeer is controlled primarily using a Propeller Platform, with an E-Net module and a small audio amp taking care of network communications and audio output, respectively.
Most of the work is done by the software [Nick] is using, which allows Rudolph to periodically check his Gmail inbox for new messages. When the message count increases, the reindeer springs into action, moving and lighting up his nose before announcing the sender’s name.
He’s using a phonemic voice synthesizer for the output, which does the job, though we would go mad if we had to listen to it all day. Since the reindeer is connected to his LAN, it might be feasible to run the data through a more robust voice synth on a PC, returning a better-sounding audio clip for playback.
Check out the video below to see a short clip of Rudolph in action.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/33248110 w=470] | 6 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "535669",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-12-14T19:22:21",
"content": "I’ll bet those e-mails that come in at 2AM are fun…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "535682",
"author": "AllThatJazz",
"timestamp": "2011-12-14T2... | 1,760,377,011.061942 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/14/adding-http-to-ikea-dioder/ | Adding HTTP To Ikea DIODER | Brian Benchoff | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"dioder",
"ethernet",
"HTTP",
"ikea",
"led",
"nanode"
] | [Alex] sent in a neat
Ikea DIODER build
that controls strings of RGB LEDs with HTTP requests.
We’ve seen Ikea DIODERs controlled
wirelessly
and over
USB
, but using the Internet with a DIODER is new to us. For his build, [Alex] used a
Nanode
, a small Arduino-like board that has built-in web connectivity.
The hardware portion of the build is very simple. A MOSFET controls each LED strip on the DIODER. The stock controller of the DIODER was ditched, meaning [Alex] needed to figure out how to convert an RGB color space to a Hue, Saturation, and Lightness color space “for super-classy fading.” Once that was figured out, [Alex] implemented a 1D Perlin noise function to blend between two colors.
Finally, the great
EtherCard library
was used to turn HTTP requests into dancing LEDs. [Alex] is thinking about building a JQuery webpage so he won’t have to muck around with entering commands like 192.168.1.25/hsl?i=0&h=135&s=90&l=50 into a browser. Without a nice web interface, it’s not as futuristic as [Alex] would like, but it’s still cool to us. | 5 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "535610",
"author": "dext3r",
"timestamp": "2011-12-14T18:41:03",
"content": "very cool!with all that work creating HSL colorspace and 1D Perlin noise functions, it would have been nice to show that off with a video or something.i have some LED strips i’m using for under-cabinet ligh... | 1,760,377,011.545435 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/14/music-synced-christmas-light-suit/ | Music-synced Christmas Light Suit | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Holiday Hacks"
] | [
"christmas lights",
"labview",
"national instruments",
"xbee"
] | Ah, the end of the 4th financial quarter – the magical time of increased sales, being at work the entire time the sun is up, and holiday parties. For [Andy] at National Instruments, though, things don’t seem too bad. He built a neat
Christmas light suit
to entertain everyone with his brilliant persona.
[Andy] always loves great Christmas light displays (he even
blogs
about them), so he figured a wearable light display synchronized with music would be very doable. The build is controlled with LabVIEW to convert .WAV files to power levels and frequency bands. This info is then piped into the Arduino that controls the lights.
[Andy] actually made two light suits, one for him and one for his friend [Richard]. Both guys have two light-up Christmas staffs to wield light mage powers on their coworkers. The lighsuits are controlled by Arduino/Xbee setups – one each for each suit and staff. The result is phenomenal, and should really get everyone in the holiday spirit. | 11 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "535522",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-12-14T16:44:29",
"content": "I wouldn’t mind wearing one of those to my finals!Just for clarification: he needs a computer to run labview which in turn gives the arduino its required data? I got really excited and thought there was a wa... | 1,760,377,011.451516 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/14/pee-light-gives-guidance-for-nocturnal-tinkles/ | Pee-light Gives Guidance For Nocturnal Tinkles | Mike Szczys | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"ez430-f2014",
"led",
"motion sensor",
"msp430",
"pir"
] | This light is a rather dim LED module whose purpose is to give you
a very small bit of illumination when using the restroom at night
. If you rely on it instead of using the overhead lighting in the bathroom, you’ll be able to find your way back to bed with your night-vision undisturbed.
[Fred] built the project as a way to learn more about using MSP430 microcontrollers. The protoboard seen above has a pair of female pin headers designed to accept an
MSP430-PIR board
, which uses the low-power microcontroller to monitor a PIR motion sensor. The chip can be reprogrammed and [Fred] did just that, using the USB dongle side of
the eZ430-F2013 dev stick
. Now when the sensor detects motion the chip first checks the light-dependent resistor on the protoboard to see if it’s dark in the bathroom. If so, it switches on the LED and sets a timer to shut if off again.
The system runs on a 9V battery, which is a bit under-powered for the 12V-spec’ed LED module. But [Fred] says the light it produces is just the right intensity.
[Thanks Jeremy] | 38 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "535461",
"author": "T.M.",
"timestamp": "2011-12-14T15:08:21",
"content": "I just bought one of those 4″ dome lights that you can press to turn on and off from the dollar store. Put a different resistor in to dim the LEDs and it runs forever off 3 AAs. You get a nice big switch to... | 1,760,377,011.33683 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/13/naughty-duck-will-be-the-end-of-secret-santa-at-your-place-of-work/ | Naughty Duck Will Be The End Of Secret Santa At Your Place Of Work | Mike Szczys | [
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"16F628",
"animatronic",
"cursing",
"duck",
"pic",
"somo-14d",
"swearing"
] | Aw, isn’t he cute? Looks are deceiving, because if you get him started,
this duck says some vulgar things
. [Gigavolt] found the little guy abandoned at the Goodwill store and decided it might have some hacking potential. Boy was he right. The stock toy can already sing a tune while flapping its beak and wings. After spending some time in [Gigavolt’s] lair, this duck is going to be on the naughty list. The best part is that this is going to end up in the hands of someone else thanks to a Secret Santa exchange.
The build article linked above is safe for you to read at work, but the video embedded after the break most certainly is not. [Gigavolt] got to work replacing the integrated circuit inside with his own PIC 16F628 microcontroller. He uses a new audio track, which is played back by a SOMO-14D audio player board. The two use different input voltage levels which is something of a bother, but it’s a standby power drain that has been vexing [Gigavolt] he rolled his own board using the DorkbotPDX order and can’t figure out why the current consumption is so high. Take a look at the cursing duck, then see if you can’t troubleshoot his electrical issues.
NSFW video:
(language)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NIt33tAatA&w=470]
[via
Build Lounge
] | 26 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "534801",
"author": "Matrixis",
"timestamp": "2011-12-14T01:11:23",
"content": "Awesome!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "534819",
"author": "Corrosion",
"timestamp": "2011-12-14T01:44:22",
"content": "XD, I love it",... | 1,760,377,011.403241 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/04/pick-up-that-can-jeri/ | Pick Up That Can, [Jeri] | Brian Benchoff | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] | [
"controller",
"half-life",
"jeri ellsworth",
"tilt switch",
"video game",
"xbox"
] | We all need an excuse to play Half-Life 2 sometimes. [Jeri Ellsworth] put together a
My First Crowbar
controller to throw a few headcrabs across the room. It’s pretty much Half-Life 2 for the Wii.
The build is very simple – just a tilt switch hot glued to the underside of a childs-size crowbar. Two leads go from the tilt switch to the contacts on a (PS3?) controller. All you need to do to attack is swing the crowbar wildly.
[Jeri] has us wondering what other awesome game controllers could be made. Of course we’ve been wanting a real-life Gravity Gun or Portal Gun for years now, but right now we’re thinking about a real Katamari. We might need more hot glue.
As far as building our own, we’re thinking about using one of the
Cheap DIY tilt switches
we saw the other day. It’s a simple build, and sure looks like a lot of fun.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW49Mjn5f0g&w=470] | 10 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "526524",
"author": "garage42",
"timestamp": "2011-12-04T18:07:35",
"content": "Anyone else see a cracked LCD screen in her future with this “crowbar joystick”?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "526562",
"author": "Jim Poehlman... | 1,760,377,011.49606 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/04/an-eeweb-interview-with-todd-harrison/ | An EEWeb Interview With Todd Harrison | Jeremy Cook | [
"Interviews",
"News"
] | [
"EEWeb",
"engineer",
"Todd Harrison"
] | Although Todd Harrison could be one of many of our readers (and most of our writers), it was nice to see one of “us” featured in [
EEWeb
]. [HAD] has featured him before in posts such as this recent one about replacing
solder tab batteries
.
What may be interesting to many is that soon after [Todd] graduated he took a job as a computer programmer, but like many other part-time makers, he still had the need to physically create and modify things. This article goes over some of his preferred tools, as well as some of the various projects that he’s done or is working on now.
In the article, [Todd] goes over what he sees as the biggest challenges to inspiring new generations of engineers. One of these is that circuitry is increasingly locked down and are not easily tinkered with. Without exploring how things work, his view is that fewer will be inspired to go into engineering. Although there is certainly some validity to his point, as some doors close, others hopefully will open. The accessible learning environment of the Internet, open source resources, and many maker-friendly materials like the Arduino should help to fill in the gaps.
For more information, [Todd] also has his own blog,
Toddfun.com
, which features his projects. | 8 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "526502",
"author": "Bob Spafford",
"timestamp": "2011-12-04T17:39:00",
"content": "It’s good to look a bit before you take this potentially damaging route. We have a store here in Olympia WA called Batteries Plus which stocks an amazing inventory of batteries at reasonable prices. ... | 1,760,377,011.757685 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/03/building-a-60s-guerilla-homebrew-square-wave-generator/ | Building A ’60s Guerilla Homebrew Square Wave Generator | Brian Benchoff | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"function generator",
"pulse generator",
"tools"
] | What do you do when you’ve got three broken function generators?
Build your own
, obviously. Since your workshop has already gone through three of these bad boys, you might find yourself repairing your build. Better not use any fancy ICs and go with a
transistor only
build.
When [Miroslav] sent in his ‘guerilla homebrew’ square wave generator, we were really impressed. With a
relatively simple schematic
that uses parts that could be salvaged from old radios, this is a real MacGyver build.
The generator is based around a simple astable multivibrator. It doesn’t provide sine waves, but it’s the easiest circuit to get working. The build started off with a quartet of 2N4401 transistors, but according to the datasheet and the venerable Tektronix 502A, these had a very bad rise time compared to 2N3904s.
[Miroslav]’s project generates square waves up to 2.22 MHz and pulses with a variable duty cycle from 1-49% and 51-99%. Output is either 5 Volt TTL levels or an adjustable 0-3.38 level. The generator is exactly what [Miroslav] needed, so that makes it a great tool in our book. | 10 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "526031",
"author": "Dax",
"timestamp": "2011-12-03T23:43:03",
"content": "The guy complains a lot about the front panel manufacturing problems.I can’t see why he didn’t just put the front plate in a scanner, drew some empty scales on that, and then printed the entire thing at one go... | 1,760,377,011.853755 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/03/reverse-engineering-a-korg-monotribe/ | Reverse Engineering A Korg Monotribe | Brian Benchoff | [
"classic hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"firmware update",
"korg",
"monotribe",
"reverse engineering"
] | Yesterday, Korg released a firmware update to their ribbon controller synth, the Monotribe. The firmware is just an audio file that needs to be played to the sync input of the box. [gravitronic] thought this was rather interesting, so he decided to
decode the monotribe firmware
. It’s the first step to custom Monotribe firmware, and on the path towards reverse engineering this neat box.
After converting the firmware update to a .wav, [gravitronic] looked at the file with a hex editor and found that each sample is two bytes, and the left and right channels are the same. That made enough sense, so after getting rid of one channel, he sent it through Python to take a look at the patterns of ones and zeros.
Of course, [gravitronic] arbitrarily chose high = 1, low = 0, and little-endianness. The first result didn’t produce a nice “KORG SYSTEM FILE” in the header, so he tried other combinations until the output file looked reasonable. The result is the actual .bin file that’s going to serve as the basis for a nice homebrew firmware. You can grab [gravitronic]’s Python script
here
and decode your own firmware. | 19 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "525988",
"author": "andar_b",
"timestamp": "2011-12-03T22:21:34",
"content": "“[gravitronic] though” missing a ‘t’ at the end there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "526022",
"author": "mjrippe",
"timestamp": "2011-12-03T... | 1,760,377,011.909888 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/03/10-meter-long-moving-light-show-is-mesmerizing/ | 10 Meter Long Moving Light Show Is Mesmerizing | Mike Nathan | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"adafruit",
"led",
"pololu",
"xmos"
] | [Marcus] was recently commissioned to put together the electronics for
a slick 10 meter long LED installation
at the Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park Exhibition Center in Taiwan. While you might assume that he was asked to construct a large LED matrix, this project is a little bit different from what you probably expected.
The display is actually a long light tunnel made up of 30 moving triangles suspended from the ceiling. The triangle movement is governed by 60 separate stepper motors, while the lighting is provided by 30
HL1606 RGB LED strips
he picked up from Adafruit. The display’s logic is handled completely by an XMOS controller, which is beefy enough to handle controlling all of the stepper motors and the LEDs simultaneously.
After he hand assembled all of the motor driver boards and tested things in his workshop, the whole lot was shipped over to Taiwan for assembly by the on-site crew. After a bit of troubleshooting, they were able to get things working properly, and the display looks great as you can see from the image above.
[Marcus] says that he doesn’t have video of the display in action just yet, though he will update his post whenever he does.
[Thanks, Paul] | 13 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "525982",
"author": "samuel",
"timestamp": "2011-12-03T22:13:40",
"content": "wheres the darned video where i look into the triangle while mesmerized?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "526029",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"times... | 1,760,377,011.807899 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/03/hackaday-links-december-3-2011/ | Hackaday Links: December 3, 2011 | Brian Benchoff | [
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"breadboard",
"cryptography",
"kitchen hacks",
"lego",
"osciloscope",
"power inverter",
"remote control"
] | Honey, would you like some cheese? WHIRRRRRRRRR
[The Timmy] broke his manual cheese grater. It would be a waste to throw away a perfectly functional tool that’s only missing a handle, so he
kicked it up a notch
with a cordless drill. Now [Tim], “can grate with incredible speed and power for even the toughest of cheeses.” Anyone have a broken pepper mill?
The most adorable oscilloscope
We’re not much for plugging products, but
this scope
is really cool. It’s designed to fit on a breadboard and is smaller than some ICs we’ve seen (68000, so yes, it is). We’re wondering why there hasn’t been a homebrew version of this yet.
Now do an R/C castle
Here’s a
minifig-sized R/C LEGO car
made by [brickmodder]. It has a custom drive train and steering mechanism that uses the smallest servos [brickmodder] could find. How about an R/C pirate ship next?
It’s probably an ad for something
Here’s
some sort of code thing
that asks the question, “Can you crack it?” Apparently, it’s for
UK cryptanalyst recruiting
. You won’t get a 00-designation, but
woo
Bletchley Park.
Inverting an inverter
[Manfred] is putting an alternative energy setup on his land. Of course he needed an inverter to charge his batteries, so he went with a highly regarded (high price) box. What he got was
anything but
. You’re going to need at least ten minutes to go through this hilariously sad teardown of a high quality Taiwanese inverter. Oh, [Manfred] is awesome. Just look at his
microhydro plant
. | 35 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "525911",
"author": "biozz",
"timestamp": "2011-12-03T19:07:09",
"content": "i think we have shown that scope beforebut anyway i love that inverter setup!and cryptography makes my brain sting O.o",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "5... | 1,760,377,014.056534 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/03/rca-dsb772we-teardown-shows-that-this-cheap-streaming-box-might-have-potential/ | RCA DSB772WE Teardown Shows That This Cheap Streaming Box Might Have Potential | Mike Nathan | [
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"mips",
"RCA DSB772WE",
"streaming video",
"tv"
] | [David Anders] wrote in to share some details of a cheap little gadget he picked up at his local Wal-Mart. He scored the RCA DSB772WE media streaming box for $48, and so far it looks like it could be a promising addition to his living room.
He started a project page for the box
, detailing some of his findings thus far. The device is MIPS based and runs the Linux kernel version 2.6.28.9 right out of the box. The networking components are based on the Broadcom BCM7615 chipset, though it looks to [David] that the Ethernet jack was removed at some point during production.
So far, he’s managed to get a serial console running on the device, along with an additional USB host connection. That’s about all the poking around he has done thus far, but seeing as the box can output a 1080p signal over HDMI, it could be a cheap substitute for an Apple TV or similar device.
If you happen to have one of these at home, or are planning on buying one, be sure to check out his project page and contribute any information you might be able to glean from it. We’re sure [David] would appreciate it, and we certainly look forward to seeing what else comes out of his hacking adventures. | 75 | 50 | [
{
"comment_id": "525854",
"author": "rasz",
"timestamp": "2011-12-03T17:12:44",
"content": "looks like LG ST600 Smart TV Upgraderbut since its broadcom you wont do anything beyond what binary blob lets you, and thats not a lotif you are interested look at LG TV hacking at ‘OpenLGTV Project’",
"... | 1,760,377,013.652718 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/03/62527/ | Weekly Roundup 12/3/11 | Jack Buffington | [
"News",
"Weekly Roundup"
] | [
"weekly roundup"
] | In case you missed them the first time around, here are our most popular posts from the past week.
In first place was a repeat from last week of
how you can make a privacy screen from an old LCD display
. We want to serve up fresh stuff in this post though so we’ll add one to our top five this week.
Coming in at second place is a post about
[Alex’s] real-life Star Trek door
that opens and closes pneumatically. Live long and Prosper [Alex]!
Following up in third place is a post about
a proposal to build 100 government-run hackerspaces in China
. Surely there will be bureaucracy and red tape involved involved with such a thing but maybe the U.S. could take a note about this and help us stay competitive with the rest of the world.
Next we have a post about
a project where [Brainiac27] built a 1300 lumen bike light
. For those of you who don’t follow the latest in lighting trends, that is like having a 100 Watt spot light mounted to the front of your bike!
Following that, take a look at this post about
[FXI Technologies]’ new dongle that lets you run android on any computer or HDMI television
. This thing is the size of a thumb drive and yet packs some pretty serious fire power.
Finally, if you are looking for an interesting way to work with plastic, take a look at this post where you are shown
how to make prosthetic parts using old soda (or pop if you are one of THOSE people :) ) bottles
. | 0 | 0 | [] | 1,760,377,013.542192 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/02/a-solar-clock-that-isnt-a-sundial/ | A Solar Clock That Isn’t A Sundial | Brian Benchoff | [
"clock hacks"
] | [
"cnc",
"fiber optics",
"sundial"
] | Hack a Day’s very own [Jack Buffington] is throwing his hat into the ring for the Buildlounge laser cutter giveaway with his
solar clock
that isn’t a sundial.
The theory behind [Jack]’s clock is pretty simple. The light from the sun will be captured by a camera obscura/pinhole camera. The sun’s rays shine on dozens of optical fibers that lead indoors and up to the clock. These glass fibers go to pinholes in the face of the clock which light up, showing the time.
[Jack] already cut out the face of the clock on his (awesome) home-made CNC router. He hasn’t gotten around to cutting out the mechanics of the clock face so the clock can be adjusted throughout the year. We’re okay with that, because we’re really not ready to see [Jack] fiddle with his gnomon. At least before [Jack] gets his hand on the
Buildlounge laser
.
The next major hurdle of the build is the solar collector that collects light into different optical fibers. That’s going to involve a lot of math using the equatorial coordinate system. Help
is available
, though.
Check out [Jack] cutting the clock face on his router after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=zXpC8wuXZlM&w=470] | 15 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "525140",
"author": "biozz",
"timestamp": "2011-12-02T22:23:40",
"content": "why cant we just post finished projects?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "525150",
"author": "Brad",
"timestamp": "2011-12-02T22:41:14"... | 1,760,377,013.704525 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/02/micromouse-wins-2011-maze-race-in-under-4-seconds/ | Micromouse Wins 2011 Maze Race In Under 4 Seconds | Mike Szczys | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"gyro",
"maze",
"micromouse",
"phototransistor",
"robogames",
"stm32"
] | It’s off to the races once again with the Micomouse maze solving contest at the 2011 RoboGames. This is a picture of
the winner, a bot called Min7
(
main page
) which was built by [Ng Beng Kiat]. Using four phototransistors and a flash sensor it managed to first map the contest maze, then speed run it in under four seconds. See both runs in videos after the break. He’s certainly got a leg up on
the bots we saw last year
. Min7 beats them both in time, and overall control during the speed run.
[Ng] mentions that this year is the first time he’s built a micromouse with four wheels instead of two. There’s a gyro on board which aids navigation by feeding the orientation data to the STM32 chip which controls the device. We took a moment to page through his past designs. It’s remarkable how they’ve evolved through the years.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLwICJKV4dw&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLwICJKV4dw&w=470]
[Thanks Rob via
Geek
and
Robot Dreams
] | 21 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "525072",
"author": "japkin",
"timestamp": "2011-12-02T21:12:20",
"content": "I think you meant the first video to be this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuGe_DFHpbcWell done!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "525075",
"a... | 1,760,377,014.327597 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/02/eight-dollar-airplane-for-really-bad-pilots/ | Eight-dollar Airplane For Really Bad Pilots | Mike Szczys | [
"Radio Hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"airplane",
"foamboard",
"rc"
] | Have a habit of hitting the bottle before getting into the cockpit? Find that your mind wanders mid-flight? Lack the hand-eye coordination to keep that RC creation of yours in the air? Worry not, you can
build this flyer and crash it with impunity
.
[HammyDude] built the RC aircraft out of laminated foam board. He’s had it for years and it’s survived multiple crashes. You can see the one real injury suffered, a snapped fuselage at the leading edge of the wings. He repaired it with popsicle sticks and it’s been going strong ever since.
In addition to the wooden reinforcements he’s covered the fuselage with fibrous packing tape (you know, the stuff with the strings running in it). There’s also a carbon fiber tube at the leading edge of each wing. It’s light, strong, and robust (with the exception of the propeller of which he’s broken about 10).
Check out the video after the break for an explanation of the aircraft, list of materials, and HD images of the patterns you need to make them yourself. The only thing you won’t see is flight footage.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC6-ljrSpgA&w=470] | 25 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "525012",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-12-02T20:15:24",
"content": "to make it even cheaper brush-less motor can be taken from hard-drive or cd drive",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "525020",
"author": "Jason"... | 1,760,377,014.121264 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/02/printable-solar-cells-that-can-be-folded-up-when-not-in-use/ | Printable Solar Cells That Can Be Folded Up When Not In Use | Mike Szczys | [
"green hacks"
] | [
"inkjet",
"paper",
"photovoltaic",
"solar cell",
"vacuum"
] | Here’s
a photovoltaic cell that can be printed onto paper
. The manufacturing technique is almost as simple as using an inkjet printer. The secret is in the ink itself. It takes five layers deposited on the paper in a vacuum chamber. But that’s a heck of a lot easier than current solar cell fabrication practices. In fact, is sounds like the printing process is very similar to how potato chip bags are made. This is significant, because it could mean a fast track to mass production for the technology.
It isn’t just the easy printing process that excites us. Check out the video after the break where a test cell is placed on top of a light source while being monitored by a multimeter. It’s been folded like a fan and you can see a researcher sinch up the cell into a small form for storage. It’s a little counter-intuitive; for instance, you wouldn’t want to make a window shade out of it because it would have to be down during the day to get power. Be we think there’s got to be some great use for these foldable properties.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21O0tBe-Alk&w=470]
[Thanks Rob] | 59 | 29 | [
{
"comment_id": "524942",
"author": "Doc Oct",
"timestamp": "2011-12-02T19:06:42",
"content": "Car windows might be good, though I don’t know what you’d use the energy for.Even discounting the flexible properties, if they can make these easily and cheaply enough then maybe more houses could get sola... | 1,760,377,013.795147 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/02/cheap-diy-tilt-switches-are-great-in-a-pinch/ | Cheap DIY Tilt Switches Are Great In A Pinch | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"diy",
"mercury free",
"tilt switch"
] | [fjordcarver] was looking for
some mercury-free tilt switches
that wouldn’t break the bank and that were easy to build. He also wanted something cheap, so instead of buying some tilt switches he devised his own that fit all of the criteria he set out. Now, these switches are not your typical fare, and they’re not small either. They are however, cheap, effective, and easy to manipulate/repair.
He picked up a package of metallic craft beads at the store and emptied out two bottles, saving one set of beads that happened to be conductive, i.e. not coated with paint or coloring. The beads were split between two jars, which were then sealed with corks that had a pair of straightened paperclips inserted through them. The bottles were oriented facing away from one another, then attached together with a piece of house wire. One of the leads from each jar was attached to this common wire, while the others were extended with hook up wire for use in the circuit he was building. Pictures definitely explain the mechanism far better than words can, so be sure to check out his tutorial to get a better look at them.
While they might look a bit rough, he says they work great, so give them a try if you have the need. | 46 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "524775",
"author": "Roy van Rijn",
"timestamp": "2011-12-02T15:19:36",
"content": "Nice idea!An even smaller version could IMHO easily be made with a single small metal ball per tube. If you have a small barrel in which the ball tightly fits. Even using one tube with wires on both e... | 1,760,377,014.268854 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/02/childrens-light-up-toy-is-an-easy-hand-made-gift/ | Children’s Light Up Toy Is An Easy Hand-made Gift | Mike Nathan | [
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"kids",
"lights",
"switches",
"toy"
] | While this year’s Christmas lists are dominated by electronic gadgets and other mass-produced toys, it wasn’t always like that. We’re not trying to sound like the old man yelling at the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn, but many of today’s gifts lack the personal touch found in old, hand-made toys.
[henlij’s] son is a budding electronics geek who loves playing with switches and lights, so he was
inspired to build him a fun toy
to pass the time. He constructed a simple box full of lights and switches that his son could toggle on and off to his heart’s content.
While there’s not a ton going on inside the box, we think that the idea is fantastic. With just a few dollars worth of simple components, anyone who knows their way around a soldering station can build something that will keep a child fascinated for hours.
There’s no reason to stop at buttons and lights either. If we were to build one, we would swap the bulbs out for LEDs, then add a wide variety of switches and dials along with speakers and any other components we could get our hands on.
The options are pretty limitless, so if you happen to know a child that gets a kick out of playing with buttons and switches, why not make him or her something special this year, much like [henlij] did for his son? | 31 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "524745",
"author": "Toumal",
"timestamp": "2011-12-02T14:08:04",
"content": "Raise your hand if you got a similar thing when you were a kid! ^^",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "524747",
"author": "insomartin",
"timestamp"... | 1,760,377,014.187896 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/01/trying-to-measure-the-speed-of-light-with-an-arduino/ | Trying To Measure The Speed Of Light With An Arduino | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"c++",
"led",
"speed of light"
] | We know that measuring the speed of light with an Arduino is possible. It’s just that
the implementation is hard
.
Last month we saw [Udo]’s
blinkenlight shield
that can be used as a line scan camera. It’s a neat piece of kit, but [Udo] really wants to submit something for the
Buildlounge laser cutter giveaway
, so he figured measuring the speed of light would be an easy project. If a
kid and a chocolate bar
can do it, surely it can’t be too hard.
[Udo] hit upon the idea of pulsing a laser pointer and measuring the time of the reflection. Because his blinkenlight shield can be used as a light sensor, all that’s needed is a mirror and a pretty long line of sight. There’s a few problems with the setup though: with the Arduino running at 16 MHz, a photon will travel 19 meters in one clock cycle.
Even with some very clever coding, we’re not really sure detecting an emitted photon is possible at such (relatively) slow clock speeds. We’re thinking [Udo] could source a few hundred meters of optic fiber so the entire experiment could fit on a desk, but feel free to drop a note in the comments if you’ve got a better idea. [Udo]’s demo of his blinkenlight/laser mashup is after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=YrYRM3ApAoE&w=470] | 63 | 38 | [
{
"comment_id": "524116",
"author": "brsnow",
"timestamp": "2011-12-02T00:10:30",
"content": "Use multiple mirrors. The alignments get more critical for every mirror you add but you can add a lot of distance in a small space by bouncing it several times back and forth between mirrors. That’s how t... | 1,760,377,013.986335 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/01/cheap-diy-laser-scanner-is-quite-impressive/ | Cheap DIY Laser Scanner Is Quite Impressive | Mike Nathan | [
"Laser Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"3d",
"diy",
"Kinect",
"laser scanner"
] | With the introduction of the Kinect, obtaining a 3D representation of a room or object became a much easier task than it had been in the past. If you lack the necessary cash for one however, you have to get creative. Both the techniques and technologies behind 3D scanning are somewhat complicated, though certainly still within reach
as maker [Shikai Chen] shows us.
(
Google Translation
)
He wanted to create 3D scanned images, but he didn’t have the resources to purchase a Kinect. Instead, he built his own scanner for about 1/6th the cost. Interestingly enough, the scanner resembles what you might imagine a very early Kinect prototype looked like, though it functions just a little bit differently than Microsoft’s creation. The scanner lacks any sort of IR emitter/camera combo, opting to use a laser and a USB VGA camera instead. While scanning, the laser shines across the target surface, and the reflected light is then picked up by the camera.
So how does this $25 DIY laser scanner measure up? Great, to be honest. Check out the video below to see how well his scanner works, and be sure to take a look through his
second writeup
(
Google Translation
) as well for more details on the project.
[via
Seeedstudio
]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLZ-s9KRzG8&feature=player_embedded&w=470] | 28 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "524077",
"author": "oodain",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T23:15:10",
"content": "you sir, are brilliant.have you tried it in other enviroments?how does it cope with noise or different reflectivity?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "... | 1,760,377,014.387943 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/01/multivibrator-in-theory-and-practice/ | Multivibrator In Theory And Practice | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"analog",
"multivibrator",
"oscillator",
"transistor"
] | We must admit that we’ve been guilty of using a microcontroller to make two LEDs blink alternately in the past. It’s not the worst transgression, but it stems from our discomfort with analog circuits. Luckily, [Ray] published
an illustrated guide on building multivibrator circuits
. This is a simple method of assembling a two-output oscillator. All it takes is a pair of NPN transistors, which are then switched by on and off based on a resistor-capacitor (RC) timer.
[Ray] does a good job of walking us through how the circuit works at each stage of one complete cycle. You’ll need to read carefully, but the supplementary schematics he uses to water down snap shots of the various electrical states really helped us understand.
Of course, blinking LEDs isn’t the sole purpose of a multivibrator. It is a method of producing a clean square wave which
can be used as a clock signal for TTL logic chips
. Oh, who are we kidding, see the blinky goodness for yourself in the video after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9eAKk6jo2s&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf2fAsSs7nk&w=470] | 60 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "524041",
"author": "Rob Wentworth",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T22:22:14",
"content": "A multivibrator, for those occasions when one vibrator is just not enough. ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "524042",
"author": "dbear",
... | 1,760,377,014.482746 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/01/milling-interlocking-wooden-rings/ | Milling Interlocking Wooden Rings | Mike Szczys | [
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"jig",
"rings",
"wood"
] | [Johan von Konow] wanted to make something special as a wedding gift to his wife. He decided a pair of interlocking miniature rings would be the perfect keepsake. He started
his search for a way to mill the wooden rings
from a solid piece of wood, and documented his journey for our enjoyment.
This project poses an interesting challenge. Most CNC mills offer three axes of freedom, but he only had a 2D mill meant for routing PCBs. This means the cuts can only be made from the top down at one depth. In order to fabricate the rings he needed to cut from more than one side. With more study, [Johan] discovered that it would be necessary to cut the wood stock from eight different angles before the rings would be complete.
The solution to the problem was to first mill a jig to hold the wood stock. It has positions to hold the stock at each different angle. The final step before starting the cut was to mill the stock itself to perfectly fit his custom jig. We think it turned out great, thanks in part to hand filing, sanding, and polishing to smooth the marks left from milling. | 22 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "523999",
"author": "Polymath",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T21:33:09",
"content": "Holy crap! This is awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "524005",
"author": "pinch",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T21:37:03",
"content": "W... | 1,760,377,014.628163 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/01/make-your-own-spray-paint-cans/ | Make Your Own Spray Paint Cans | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"diy",
"graffiti",
"paint",
"shrader valve",
"soda bottle",
"spray paint"
] | [Mikeasaurus] found a way to
build his own refillable spraypaint canister
. The donor vessel used here is a plastic soda bottle. It’s a great choice since it is engineered to house a pressurized liquid and you can find them for free by intercepting a satisfied soda consumer before they reach the recycling bin.
He repurposed the spray nozzle from a commercial spray paint can. By first releasing all of the pressure from the empty paint he could then use a hack saw to remove the top disk. He used
Sugru
to attach it to the bottle cap which has a hole drilled in the center to accept the feed straw. We wonder if there wouldn’t be a better way to attach this from the inside of the cap for better resistance to bottle pressure?
The final piece of hardware is a Shrader valve from a bicycle inner tube. This lets you pump up the pressure in the bottle. You’ll need to dilute the paint you use to make it sprayer-friendly. [Mikeasaurus] diluted his six to one which might have been a bit too much judging from the drips seen in the video after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXti4Z6enQ&w=470] | 48 | 29 | [
{
"comment_id": "523918",
"author": "Brian Cribbs",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T20:10:22",
"content": "The banner image looks like something else completely.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "523920",
"author": "steve eh",
"timestam... | 1,760,377,014.566762 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/01/binary-division-when-your-processor-lacks-hardware-division/ | Binary Division When Your Processor Lacks Hardware Division | Mike Szczys | [
"computer hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"amd",
"binary division",
"intel",
"raspberry pi"
] | [Hamster] wanted to take a look at division operations when the chip you’re using doesn’t have a divide instruction. He makes the point that the divide instruction takes a lot of space on the die, and that’s why it’s sometimes excluded from a chip’s instruction set. For instance, he tells us the ARM processor used on the Raspberry Pi doesn’t have a divide instruction.
Without hardware division you’re left to
implement a binary division algorithm
. Eventually [Hamster] plans to do this in an FPGA, but started researching the project by comparing division algorithms in C on an AMD processor.
His test uses all 16-bit possibilities for dividend and divisor. He was shocked to find that binary division doesn’t take much longer than using the hardware instruction for the same tests. A bit of poking around in his code and he manages to beat the AMD hardware divide instruciton by 175%. When testing with an Intel chip the hardware beats his code by about 62%.
He’s got some theories on why he’s seeing these performance differences which we’ll let you check out on your own. | 27 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "523874",
"author": "Ken O'Brien",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T19:24:21",
"content": "Does his algorithm satisfy IEEE floating point spec?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "523988",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "20... | 1,760,377,014.798657 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/01/an-introduction-to-stepper-motors/ | An Introduction To Stepper Motors | Brian Benchoff | [
"how-to"
] | [
"stepper motors",
"tutorial"
] | If you’ve been reading Hack a Day for long enough, you know about our infatuation with stepper motors. These precious little devices put the oomph into our CNC routers, 3D printers, robots, and other miscellaneous projects. Steppers aren’t your run-of-the-mill motors, though. [Steaky] posted a great
introduction to stepper motors
that lets you hit the ground running building any moving project you could imagine.
Apart from identifying a stepper and figuring out if it works, [Steaky] goes over how to make these motors turn. The theory behind an H-bridge is easy enough, but theory isn’t something often presented in schematics or stepper driver datasheets.
We’ve pulled more than our fair share of steppers from flatbed scanners and old printers. There’s nothing wrong with scavenging old parts, and whether you’re making a
robot band
to play your kid’s birthday party,
robochess
, or
one
of the
many
3D printers or CNC machines, there’s going to be a stepper motor in your future. | 17 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "523767",
"author": "Colecago",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T16:53:16",
"content": "I took apart two printers a few weekends ago and the paper and printer head control was done using brushed DC motors with optical encoders reading clear plastic with markings on it. I felt so ripped off.... | 1,760,377,014.688133 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/30/graphical-programming-with-the-arduino-ide/ | Graphical Programming With The Arduino IDE | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"ardublocks",
"arduino",
"graphical programming"
] | The Arduino is an excellent first embedded development kit, provides a great introduction to electronics, and has the potential to get children into programming. [David] thinks throwing C at non-programmers isn’t the best way to learn programming, so he developed
ArduBlock
, a graphical programming language for the Arduino.
We’ve seen a number of graphical, block-based programming languages in our time, most notably
Scratch
. [David] found a project called
OpenBlocks
that serves as the basis for
Android App Inventor
.
[David] forked the OpenBlocks project and started working on his new graphical programming language. ArduBlocks uses the Arduino IDE, so everything possible in C with an Arduino should be possible with ArduBlocks. There’s a lot of thought put into the design of the blocks – the first iteration was far too ‘busy,’ but [David] cleaned it up and made the projects understandable.
For an absolute beginner, we couldn’t imagine anything better. ArduBlocks would be great for children, and we can’t wait to see a proper implementation of ArduBlocks with a touch screen. | 46 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "523073",
"author": "Cyk",
"timestamp": "2011-11-30T20:55:00",
"content": "Well, Minibloq shoild also be mentioned here:http://blog.minibloq.org/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "523094",
"author": "Reed",
"times... | 1,760,377,015.068202 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/30/funtendo-connects-all-your-nintendo-controllers-to-a-pc/ | Funtendo Connects All Your Nintendo Controllers To A PC | Brian Benchoff | [
"Nintendo Hacks"
] | [
"emulator",
"n64",
"nintendo",
"super nintendo",
"wii classic controller"
] | For those of us who can’t be bothered to dig out or N64 whenever we want to play
Ocarina of Time
or our NES whenever we get the urge to play
Battletoads
, emulators are a godsend. There is a problem, though. A keyboard doesn’t provide the right experience as a the classic NES ‘brick’ or the N64 tritopus controllers. Enter the
Funtendo
, a breakout box that converts all your well-loved controllers to USB.
The Funtendo uses the Gadget Gangster
Propeller Platform
with a terminal block module. Putting together the electronics is fairly easy; just strip the ends of the controllers and screw them down to the terminal blocks. N64, NES and Wii Classic Controllers are supported by the Funtendo. Going for the Classic Controller over a Super Nintendo controller reduces the complexity of the build. The Classic Controller can play SNES games and uses an I2C bus, making it easier to wire.
For interfacing the controllers to the computer, the
Parallax Propeller Tool
, Parallax serial terminal, and
PPJoy
convert button mashing into readable buttons for the emulator. The build may take more time than pulling an NES out of the attic, but even with a large project box it takes up much less space.
Check out the demo of the Funtendo after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEHj2ExjhK0&w=470] | 11 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "523019",
"author": "RF",
"timestamp": "2011-11-30T19:51:47",
"content": "I’ve always that it’d be classier to salvage the controller connectors from a broken system. That way, you don’t need to destroy the controllers to use them on your computer.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth... | 1,760,377,014.984826 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/30/researchers-claim-that-hp-laser-printers-can-be-hijacked-to-steal-data-and-catch-fire/ | Researchers Claim That HP Laser Printers Can Be Hijacked To Steal Data And Catch Fire | Mike Nathan | [
"Peripherals Hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"firmware",
"HP",
"laserjet",
"security",
"vulnerability"
] | The news was abuzz yesterday with coverage of a study released by Columbia University researchers warning consumers
that HP laser printers are wide open to remote tampering and hacking.
The researchers claim that the vast majority of printers from HP’s LaserJet line accept firmware updates without checking for any sort of digital authentication, allowing malicious users to abuse the machines remotely. The researchers go so far as to claim that modified firmware can be used to overheat the printer’s fuser, causing fires, to send sensitive documents to criminals, and even force the printers to become part of a botnet.
Officials at HP were quick to counter the claims, stating that all models built in 2009 and beyond require firmware to be digitally signed. Additionally, they say that all of the brand’s laser printers are armed with a thermal cutoff switch which would mitigate the fuser attack vector before any real fire risk would present itself. Despite HP’s statements, the researchers stand by their claims, asserting that vulnerable printers are still available for purchase at major office supply stores.
While most external attacks can easily be prevented with the use of a firewall, the fact that these printers accept unsigned firmware is undoubtedly an interesting one. We are curious to see if these revelations inspire anyone to create their own homebrew LaserJet firmware with advanced capabilities (and
low toner warning overrides
), or if this all simply fizzles out after a few weeks. | 36 | 25 | [
{
"comment_id": "522923",
"author": "Tron9000",
"timestamp": "2011-11-30T18:09:17",
"content": "Interesting…….but daft. 2 words: THERMAL FUSE.To comply with CE, FCC, UL (etc.) certification, thermal cutout must be included in machines that are designed to or have heating functions.though pulling out... | 1,760,377,015.13907 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/30/openpnp-working-to-create-an-affordable-and-completely-open-pick-and-place-machine/ | OpenPnP Working To Create An Affordable And Completely Open Pick And Place Machine | Mike Nathan | [
"cnc hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"OpenPnP",
"pick and place",
"smd"
] | If you happen to do a lot of SMD work,
a pick and place machine
is an incredible time saver. The problem is that most automated pick and place solutions are well outside of the “small outfit” price range, let alone the budget of a hobbyist.
We have seen
some great
DIY
pick and place
implementations around here, though most are lacking professional features or the sort of documentation that would make it easy for others to replicate. The OpenPnP project is looking change things, with a completely open source hardware and software solution with a price target of under $1,000.
Things are already well under way, with plenty of details available in the
project’s wiki.
According to the development page, a prototype should go into construction in the near future, and development of the pick and place’s control software is coming along nicely.
While things are looking great for the OpenPnP project, they can always use some help to keep things moving. Be sure to check out the project page if you are interested in lending a hand.
To see some of the progress being made, stick around to see a short demo video of the control software and camera in action.
[via
Make
]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTWdujEdT1k&w=470] | 21 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "522914",
"author": "ChrisG",
"timestamp": "2011-11-30T17:44:02",
"content": "I wonder if it would be possible to use a syringe on the head to apply solder paste first, then place the components? I’m looking forward to seeing how this project turns out.",
"parent_id": null,
"... | 1,760,377,015.247701 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/30/network-monitoring-panel-built-from-the-it-department-junk-heap/ | Network Monitoring Panel Built From The IT Department Junk Heap | Mike Nathan | [
"laptops hacks",
"Repair Hacks"
] | [
"laptop",
"lcd",
"network monitor"
] | One of the benefits of working in IT is that there is typically a healthy supply of miscellaneous, half-functioning equipment to mess around with. [Vittore] had an old
laptop with a busted LCD sitting around
(
Google Translation
), so he figured he might as well get it to do something useful. With a spare desktop LCD panel and some software tweaking, he built himself a slick network monitoring panel that hangs in his office.
He stripped the laptop down to the bare essentials, and mounted it along with an LCD screen in a plexiglass enclosure. He has Nagios running a server in his office, and with the help of a few plugins, he created a simple web interface that show him the topology of his entire network. The panel itself runs a live version of Debian, which he configured to load up his Nagios web page each time it is started.
While having the ability to view the status of every network-connected device in an instant is great, he didn’t stop there. While browsing around online, he found diagram for a simple USB-based performance monitor that uses a PIC to drive a pair of VU meters. He hooked the meters up to a router monitored by Nagios, so he can watch office’s bandwidth usage in real time.
If you’re interested in seeing how it was built, be sure to check out
the Flickr photo set
put together by [Vittore’s] co-worker [Matthew]. | 11 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "522853",
"author": "TheRafMan",
"timestamp": "2011-11-30T15:48:05",
"content": "Now that is a cool way to resurrect equipment that is otherwise un-useable…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "522854",
"author": "tom",
"times... | 1,760,377,015.187043 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/29/pros-and-cons-of-replacing-tool-batteries-with-lithium-polymer/ | Pros And Cons Of Replacing Tool Batteries With Lithium Polymer | Mike Szczys | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"battery",
"charger",
"lithium polymer",
"makita",
"power tool"
] | [HammyDude] was tired of buying replacement batteries for his power tools. He had some Lithium Polymer batteries on hand and decided to take one of his dead drills and
swap out the dead power pack
.
The orange battery pack you see above has a deans connector on it for use with RC vehicles. By opening up the drill housing, [HammyDude] was able to add the mating deans connector. Now the replacement easily plugs into the drill, and it even fits inside the handle body.
This battery is made up of several cells, and an inexpensive charger is capable of topping off each individually for a balanced charge. In the video after the break [HammyDude] points out that the Makita charger applies voltage to all of the cells in series. It’s incapable of balance charging so when one cell dies the battery is toast. We’ve encountered
this problem with Makita tools
before.
One drawback to take note of in the end of the video: this replacement doesn’t have any low voltage cut-off. Running this battery pack down too low will permanently damage it. There must be a simple circuit that could be added as a safety measure. If you know of one,
drop us a tip
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGCUb2oHTnY&w=470] | 38 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "522392",
"author": "Jerome Demers",
"timestamp": "2011-11-30T00:33:11",
"content": "You can design a BMS ( Battery Mangement System)You can buy and IC that does the job for you.The BMS will make sure that the battery voltage does not go below or higher when decharging and charging.A... | 1,760,377,015.327375 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/29/extreme-finger-painting-with-a-router/ | Extreme Finger Painting With A Router | Brian Benchoff | [
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"android",
"cnc",
"fingerpainting",
"router",
"tablet"
] | Most of the time, CNC machines are used for very precise and exacting. There is another way that allows for a more “hands on” approach to routers and mills that allows for a lot more creativity and freedom. The touchCNC these guys whipped up allows anyone to
finger paint with a friggin router
.
From the
forum post
the guys sent in, they wrote a simple Android app for a tablet that allows for router control via a touch interface. There are three parts to the software. An Android app sends finger positions to a java server running on the CNC computer. This server dumps gcode into a text file. A vbscript inside the router software keeps reading from the specified file. With all this, finger movements are translated directly into machine movements.
The controls are fairly simple, like a real-life representation of Microsoft Paint. Of course there’s a ‘tap GOTO’ command that moves the router to a specified position. The router bit is lowered onto the work piece with a ‘long tap’ and stays lowered until the finger is released.
You can check out the
code
for touchCNC, but the guys are working on a few additional features like converting the tablets gyro output to gcode. Until then, enjoy the videos the guys posted after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGr4-Wz8b6o&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8EaDFxyYQU&w=470] | 12 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "522364",
"author": "Jeremy",
"timestamp": "2011-11-29T23:12:02",
"content": "There’s another demo video that shows off a much more refined version of the app that supports shapes, etc, found here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLpZSTjCVJE",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,377,015.374089 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/01/making-sweet-floppy-drive-music-with-a-calculator/ | Making Sweet Floppy Drive Music With A Calculator | Mike Nathan | [
"Misc Hacks",
"Musical Hacks",
"News"
] | [
"floppy",
"music",
"ti-83"
] | [Chris] says that he’s been pretty busy lately, leaving little opportunity for hacking. However he did manage to find a little time to put together a small project that has occupied his to-do list for a while –
a floppy drive music controller.
We have seen
hacks that use microcontrollers
to actuate floppy drive motors before, but we can’t remember anything that used a calculator to do the job instead. While a microcontroller gives you plenty of I/O pins to play with, [Chris’] Ti-83+ only has two.
Even with the calculator’s I/O limitations, he didn’t find the task too overly difficult as he merely needed to hold a pair of the drive’s pins low, while pulsing two others. He modified a media player written for Ti calculators to output the necessary control signals, then he cranked out some tunes.
As you can see in the video below, his simple setup works quite well – not bad for just a few hours’ work.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WePVjW98t5A&w=470] | 14 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "523726",
"author": "bob",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T16:04:10",
"content": "I wasn’t expecting this to be even slightly cool, I was wrongAlso, Comment Cherry.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "523743",
"author": "Fritoeata... | 1,760,377,015.426704 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/12/01/from-the-readers-low-battery-cutoff-solutions/ | From The Readers: Low Battery Cutoff Solutions | Mike Szczys | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"battery",
"cutoff",
"lithium",
"lithium polymer",
"tool",
"voltage"
] | We got a lot of really great feedback about low battery cutoff options
in the comments section
of Monday’s replacement battery post. To refresh your memory, some power tool batteries were replaced by Lithium Polymer units which can be damaged if drained too low before recharging. We had thought that many Lithium cells had cutoff circuitry these days. The consensus is that these batteries didn’t because they’re for RC applications where weight is an issue. But we did get a ton of people sending in commercially available drop-in solutions, mostly from RC hobby outlets, so search around for those if you’re interested.
[Christopher] sent us a link to
the cutoff circuit he built for his bike light
. You can see the schematic for it above (
direct link
). He sourced an ATtiny45 to drive a MOSFET which disconnects the battery when it gets too low. This would be easy to adapt to other uses, but note that there’s a voltage regulator involved as well as a few other passives… not a difficult solution but also not all that simple.
This same concept can be adapted. A few commentors mentioned using a transistor (or MOSFET) with the base driven by a voltage divider including a zener diode. This way the voltage rating of the diode would effectively shut off the gate when that threshold was reached.
We also enjoyed reading about [Bill’s]
human-controlled cutoff circuit
. It also uses a zener diode, but this time in series with a resistor and and LED patched into the trigger of the tool. The LED will shine brightly when the battery is in good shape. It will dim near the end, and fail to light when the critical limit has been reached. Just make sure you’re paying attention and you’re in good shape. | 26 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "523664",
"author": "Nomad",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T15:09:48",
"content": "That is actually a nice one. I will consider using this for my carpc setup to build a backup power source, because ignition seems to reset the present radio, which i think will also happen to the carpc when ... | 1,760,377,015.569299 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/30/hdcp-falls-to-fpga-based-man-in-the-middle-attack/ | HDCP Falls To FPGA-based Man-in-the-middle Attack | Mike Nathan | [
"News",
"Security Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"copyright protection",
"digilent",
"fpga",
"hdcp",
"intel",
"master key",
"spartan-6"
] | It’s been a little while since we talked about HDCP around here, but recent developments in the area of digital content protection
are proving very interesting.
You might remember that the
Master Key for HDCP encryption
was leaked last year, just a short while after Intel said that
the protection had been cracked.
While Intel admitted that HDCP had been broken, they shrugged off any suggestions that the information could be used to intercept HDCP data streams since they claimed a purpose-built processor would be required to do so. Citing that the process of creating such a component would be extremely cost-prohibitive, Intel hoped to quash interest in the subject, but things didn’t work out quite how they planned.
It seems that researchers in Germany have devised a way to build such a processor on an extremely reasonable budget. To achieve HDCP decryption on the fly, the researchers used a standard off the shelf Digilent Atlys Spartan-6 FPGA development board, which comes complete with HDMI input/output ports for easy access to the video stream in question. While not as cheap as
this HDCP workaround
we covered a few years ago, their solution should prove to be far more flexible than hard wiring an HDMI cable to your television’s mainboard.
The team claims that while their man-in-the-middle attack is effective and undetectable, it will be of little practical use to pirates. While we are aware that HDMI data streams generate a ton of data, this sort of talking in absolutes makes us laugh, as it often seems to backfire in the long run.
[via
Tom’s Hardware
] | 49 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "523209",
"author": "APE",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T01:14:38",
"content": "It won’t be useful for pirates because BD-ROMs can easily be decrypted.But for me? Infinitely useful. I have an older Dell 2405FPW which has much life left in it but no HDMI. It does have DVI-D and a HDMI->DVI... | 1,760,377,015.510042 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/30/custom-massive-led-panel-lights-up-the-party/ | Custom Massive LED Panel Lights Up The Party | Mike Nathan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"led",
"party",
"sign"
] | The guys at BuildLounge wrote us to share
a giant LED sign
they came across in the submission pile for their
“Win a Laser Cutter” contest
that’s currently under way. [Stephen Shaffer] helps run a huge party called Fantastic Planet, for which the group typically outsources the lighting arrangements. They got tired of hiring light guys several times a year and built their own mega display for the festivities instead.
The LED sign consists of 1,474 LEDs that output well over 10,000 lumens. The sign was produced for just about $800, which is very reasonable for a display of its size. The whole thing is controlled by a pair of Arduinos paired with 34 MIC5891 shift registers, all mounted on custom designed PCBs that the group produced in-house.
The display looks great, but don’t take our word for it – check out the video below to see it in action.
If you are interested in taking a closer look at how it was built, swing by the
build thread to see more details.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=P9J-kIuw6Q8&w=470] | 12 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "523287",
"author": "mosheen",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T03:26:41",
"content": "Why did it cost so much?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "523643",
"author": "Stephen",
"timestamp": "2011-12-01T14:24:36",
"... | 1,760,377,015.620038 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/30/building-a-computer-around-a-6502-processor/ | Building A Computer Around A 6502 Processor | Mike Szczys | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"6502",
"clock",
"crystal oscillator",
"quinn dunki"
] | When it came time to try out some old-school computing [Quinn Dunki]
grabbed a 6502 processor and got to work
. For those that are unfamiliar, this is the first
chip that was both powerful, affordable, and available
to the hobby computing market back in the 1970’s. They were used in Apple computers, Commodore 64, and a slew of other hardware.
The first order of business in making something with the chip is to establish a clock signal. She sourced a crystal oscillator which runs at 1 MHz, but also wanted the option to single step through code. Her solution was to build two clock signals in one. A toggle switch allows her to choose the crystal, or a 555 timer circuit which uses a push button to fire each clock pulse.
Check out the video after the break to see some single stepping action. There’s no memory on board just yet. But the input pins have been hard-wired to voltage or ground to simulate data input. We wondered what she was up to with
that HEX Out project
which stiffs the logic on the data bus. Looks like it’s extremely useful in this project!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2BQP-yU3AM&w=470] | 24 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "523153",
"author": "agtrier",
"timestamp": "2011-11-30T23:04:22",
"content": "YES! I knew that one day my early attempts of assembler on the C64 would turn out to be good for something… :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "523154... | 1,760,377,015.807947 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/30/siri-as-a-lippy-and-sometimes-profane-television-remote/ | Siri As A Lippy And Sometimes Profane Television Remote | Mike Szczys | [
"iphone hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"remote control",
"siri",
"television",
"tv"
] | If the addition of Siri to your iPhone has given you a somewhat-real life companion (and hope that you might not be forever alone) this hack is right up your alley. [Todd Treece] built a hardware fixiture for the living room which
bridges the gap between Apple’s new digital assitant and your television
.
The box itself is an Arduino with a WiFly shield and the hardware necessary to make it a universal infrared remote control. He mounted it on the underside of his end table, with the IR LED in line-of-sight for the television. Using
SiriProxy
he’s added functionality that lets you request a channel change either by the name of the network, or the channel number.
As you can see in the video after the break, Siri has some strong opinions on the quality of programming for certain channels. That and contempt for your inability to just change the channel yourself. But this setup does augment your remote control experience by giving you a synopsis of what’s playing right now for the channel you’ve requested.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/32891123 w=470]
[Thanks Dave] | 8 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "523119",
"author": "Paul Klemstine",
"timestamp": "2011-11-30T22:09:51",
"content": "I smell a lawsuit from Apple for this project. I don’t think Siri is supposed to say those words.Awesome hack!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id":... | 1,760,377,015.748214 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/30/arduino-weather-station-to-internet-bridge/ | Arduino Weather-station To Internet Bridge | Mike Szczys | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"ethernet",
"la crosse",
"rs232",
"weather station"
] | Here’s a project that looks to
eliminate the PC necessary for pushing weather station data to the Internet
. When you think about it, getting data from your own weather sensing hardware to a site like Weather Underground doesn’t require very much processing at all. The largest chunk of the puzzle is a window to the Internet, and that can be easily accomplished with a microcontroller rather than an always-on computer.
In this case, [Boris Landoni] is using an Arduino along with an RS232 shield and an Ethernet shield. The weather station, a La Crosse WS23xx series, already has an RS232 serial port for grabbing the data. The shield is necessary to step the voltage down to levels that will play nicely with Arduino. It also gives you a D-Sub connector for easy hook up. From there he hit up
the documentation for Weather Undeground API
, writing code to build the necessary string which is pushed over the Ethernet connection at regular intervals.
If your weather station only offers a USB port you’re not out of luck.
Using an embedded platform with USB host
functionality you can achieve the same results as we see here. | 10 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "523122",
"author": "asheets",
"timestamp": "2011-11-30T22:15:49",
"content": "As a weather junkie, I’m pretty impressed by this.I will note, however, that it is a PITA to get the sensors to sync properly with the La Crosse WS23xx series base station, even in hard-wire mode. I final... | 1,760,377,015.971741 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/28/new-siri-hack-controls-your-car/ | New Siri Hack Controls Your Car | Mike Nathan | [
"iphone hacks",
"News",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"car remote start",
"iPhone 4s",
"siri",
"Viper SmartStart"
] | Siri can make appointments, tell you the weather, but
now she can start your car as well!
After
we showed you how Siri could be hacked
to use a custom proxy and execute custom commands, we knew it wouldn’t be long before additional hacks would start rolling in. [Brandon Fiquett] thought it would be great if Siri could remotely control his car, so he built this functionality into Siri using [Pete’s] proxy software.
The hack relies on the Viper remote start system he had installed in his car, along with a few modules loaded into his proxy server. His proxy server tweaks allow Siri to interpret a preset list of commands such as “Vehicle Start” and “Vehicle Arm/Disarm”, relaying the commands to the Viper SmartStart module.
We imagine that the back-end functionality is not unlike the existing SmartStart iOS app, but it looks like [Brandon] beat Viper to the game since Siri has not been made available to 3rd party developers as of yet.
Check out the video below to see Siri in action, then be sure to swing by his web site for additional videos as well as the code that makes this possible.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aPCpqXyFA8U&w=470] | 7 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "521880",
"author": "elektrophreak",
"timestamp": "2011-11-29T08:24:21",
"content": "pretty cool, works like a charm from what we can see here.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "521882",
"author": "elektrophreak",
"timestam... | 1,760,377,016.102126 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/28/ant-networks-using-an-msp430-chip-and-android-phone/ | ANT+ Networks Using An MSP430 Chip And Android Phone | Mike Szczys | [
"Android Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"ant",
"nrf24ap1"
] | [Jbremnant] wanted to try his hand with ANT+ wireless networks. This protocol is designed for light-weight and low-power consumer electronics, like heart rate chest straps and bicycle computers (Garmin brand devices for example). There are already libraries out there for Arduino, but [Jbremnant] found that most of them were written as slave-only code. He set out to
use an MSP430 to drive a fully functioning ANT network
including a computer and an Android phone.
The TI Launchpad is used as the master node in the network. [Jbremnant] chose the smaller of the two MSP430 processors that came with the dev platform. After starting down this road he realized that chip didn’t have a hardware UART needed to communicate with
the SparkFun ANT board
(based on the nRF24AP1 radio chip). Rolling with the punches, he used a software UART he had previously worked with. Now he’s able to transmit test data from the Launchpad. It is picked up by both a USB dongle on his computer and the Android phone seen above. Check out his demo video after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck9I86ENKLI&w=470] | 5 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "521583",
"author": "Robot",
"timestamp": "2011-11-28T22:09:10",
"content": "Nice work.I’ve been wanting to grab data directly from my PowerTap cycling Watt meter. I’m glad for the primer, especially since I like MSP430 development.– Robot",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
... | 1,760,377,016.060474 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/28/led-sconces-spice-up-dorm-room-parties/ | LED Sconces Spice Up Dorm Room Parties | Mike Szczys | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"rs485",
"sconce",
"usb"
] | This dorm room is ready to entertain, thanks in part to
the LED wall sconces
that [Joseph] hacked together. Inside each fixture you’ll find three 3-Watt LED modules. For proper heat dissipation he mounted them on sheet metal which he cut out, including some fingers for additional surface area. The shape for the heat sink was chosen to fit behind the diffuser of the sconce, which is an incandescent light fixture with the socket removed.
[Joseph] designed his own control boards for the base station and LED modules. They communicate with each other via RS485, which lets him run CAT-5 cable to each, but the lights do require external power as well. The controller itself is a USB dongle which takes the serial commands from a computer and pushes them out over the RS485 protocol. In the video after the break you can get a good look at the hardware and the overall performance of the system.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UPqba6zZLM&w=470] | 10 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "521585",
"author": "Robot",
"timestamp": "2011-11-28T22:10:56",
"content": "What a nicely documented build and very clean to boot.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "521612",
"author": "ferm",
"timestamp": "2011-11-28T23:12... | 1,760,377,016.01731 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/28/learn-a-new-fabrication-technique-from-diy-prosthetics-builders/ | Learn A New Fabrication Technique From DIY Prosthetics Builders | Mike Szczys | [
"Medical Hacks"
] | [
"amputee",
"heat gun",
"prosthetics",
"soda bottle"
] | This is a screenshot from a video tutorial on
making your own prosthetic parts from 2-liter soda bottles
. The opaque white part is a mold made of plaster. It’s a representation of the wearer’s limb, and provides the hard, heat-resistant form necessary for this manufacturing technique. You can see the clear plastic soda bottle which fits over the form after the bottom was removed. A heat gun causes the plastic to shrink to the shape of the plaster model.
Once formed, the threaded neck is split down the middle with a band saw. This will receive a piece of 1/2″ PVC pipe to be held in place by the neck and a pipe clamp. It’s possible to stop there, but a second video details an additional bottle used to make the device more rigid. See both videos after the break.
This manufacturing process is aimed at parts of the world that don’t have access to advanced prosthetics. We think it’s a wonderful demonstration of what can be done to improve the lives of amputees. We also think it’s a technique that can be used in other projects… we just haven’t figured out what those are as of yet.
It’s amazing
how versatile this plastic waste can be
if you put your mind to it.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvev6shNvSg&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFdgrJ-kyTE*w=470]
[Thanks Chris] | 21 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "521514",
"author": "Zee",
"timestamp": "2011-11-28T20:04:53",
"content": "I’m surprised by the massive load that bottle can handle.Also the second video is broken",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "521661",
"author": "Rob... | 1,760,377,016.161021 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/28/building-a-1300-lumen-bike-light/ | Building A 1300 Lumen Bike Light | Mike Szczys | [
"LED Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"bike",
"cree",
"heat sink",
"light"
] | [Brainiac27] isn’t going to let the absence of sun prevent him from biking. He has no trouble lighting his path with
this 1300 Lumen bike light he built
.
The light source is a 3-up star by Cree. It puts off a lot of light, but also generates quite a bit of heat which is the reason for that large heat sink. It is meant to be used with a CPU but works well for this purpose thanks to the adhesive thermal paste used to unite the two parts.
The mounting bracket is a custom job, bent from 1″ by 1/8″ aluminum bar. [Brainiac27] had some issues with length the first time he tried making it. For his second attempt he started with an overly long piece, made the bends from the center out, and only made cuts once the bends were all completed. The bracket makes it easy to mount to his bike, with the battery stored in a bike bottle and a remote switch (with attaches to the jack you can see on the project box above) hidden underneath one of the brake hoods.
The intensity of this light nearly doubles
one of our other favorites
. | 48 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "521445",
"author": "B",
"timestamp": "2011-11-28T18:40:59",
"content": "Awesome, a floodlight that blinds everyone and puts light largely where you don’t need it.Check out Busch and Muller bike lights. They have focused optics so you a)don’t blind everyone else and b)get more light... | 1,760,377,016.531709 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/28/building-a-digital-camera-from-scratch/ | Building A Digital Camera From Scratch | Brian Benchoff | [
"digital cameras hacks"
] | [
"digital camera",
"dsp",
"fpga",
"rolling shutter"
] | Sure, [Stan] could have bought a nice full-frame DSLR like a Canon 5D or a Nikon D3, but where’s the fun in that when he could
build his own digital camera
? The build isn’t done yet, but [Stan] did manage to take a few
sample pics
.
The
14 Megapixel sensor
[Stan] found was originally used for benchtop applications. There isn’t any reason it can’t be used for photography, so all that needed to be done was design a camera around this sensor.
[Stan] built his
hardware
around a DSP, an FPGA and a pair of ADCs, an amazing piece of engineering. Of course building a full-frame digital camera has as much to do with mechanics as electronics, so [Stan] used a
60mm cage system
and a 3d-printed nylon enclosure.
Of course, [Stan]’s camera doesn’t look much like and off-the-shelf DSLR. There’s a reason for this; the sensor in the camera has a rolling shutter, much like
the last few iPhones
instead of a
focal plane shutter
. Not a bad piece of work, we only wish there were more build pics. | 25 | 18 | [
{
"comment_id": "521362",
"author": "Mental2k",
"timestamp": "2011-11-28T16:23:44",
"content": "The main reason it doesn’t look like an SLR is probably because it doesn’t have a viewfinder or any moving mirrors. The name SLR doesn’t really have any purpose when there is no viewfinder.",
"parent... | 1,760,377,016.222748 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/28/calculating-pi-to-10-trillion-digits-the-last-number-is-5/ | Calculating Pi To 10 Trillion Digits; The Last Number Is 5 | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware",
"Software Development"
] | [
"algorithm",
"math",
"Pi",
"supercomputer"
] | In August, 2010, [Alexander Yee] and [Shigeru Kondo] won a respectable amount of praise for calculating pi to more digits than anyone else.
They’re back again
, this time doubling the number of digits to 10 Trillion.
The
previous
calculation of 5 Trillion digits of Pi took 90 days to calculate on a beast of a workstation. The calculations were performed on 2x Xeon processors running at 3.33 GHz, 96 Gigabytes of RAM, and 32 Terabytes worth of hard drives. The 10 Trillion digit attempt used the same hardware, but needed 48 Terabytes of disk to store everything.
Unfortunately, the time needed to calculate 10 Trillion digits didn’t scale linearly. [Alex] and [Shigeru] waited
three hundred and seventy-one days
for the computer to finish the calculations. The guys used
y-cruncher
, a multithreaded pi benchmarking tool written by [Alex]. y-cruncher calculates hexadecimal digits of pi; conveniently, it’s
fairly easy
to find the nth hex digit of pi for verification.
If you’re wondering if it would be faster to calculate pi on a
top 500
supercomputer, you’d be right. Those boxes are a little busy predicting climate change, nuclear weapons yields, and curing cancer, though. Doing something nobody else has ever done is still an admirable goal, especially if it means building an awesome computer. | 44 | 26 | [
{
"comment_id": "521315",
"author": "tom",
"timestamp": "2011-11-28T15:18:16",
"content": "What kind of calculations do you think they need that much precision for? :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "521321",
"author": "sc0rch3d",
... | 1,760,377,016.30148 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/29/g-35-circuit-board-porn/ | G-35 Circuit Board Porn | Mike Szczys | [
"Holiday Hacks"
] | [
"christmas lights",
"g-35",
"reverse engineer"
] | [Todd Harrison] took a slew of pictures in his quest to
loose all the secrets of the G-35 Christmas Lights
. These are a string of 50 plastic bulbs which house individually addressable RGB LEDs. We’ve seen a ton of projects that use them, starting about a year ago with
the original reverse engineering
and most recently used to
make a 7×7 LED matrix
. But most of the time the original control board is immediately ditched for a replacement. It’s become so common that
you can now buy a drop-in board
, no hacking needed. We enjoy the hard look that [Todd] took at the electronics.
The stock controller uses a single layer, single sided board. There’s a resin-blob chip, but also an SOP-20 microcontroller. Since [Todd’s] using several strings of lights on his house, he wondered if it would be possible to improve on the controller in order to synchronize the strands. His investigation showed that the board was designed to host a crystal oscillator but it is unpopulated. Unfortunately you can’t just add those parts to improve the timing of the chip (firmware changes would also be requires). He found that there’s a spot for a push-button. Quickly shorting the pads cycles through the effects, shorting them for a longer time turns off the string of lights. There is wireless control, but it seems that the only functionality it provides is the same as the unpopulated switch.
We enjoyed the close-up circuit board photos, and we like the spacing jig he used to attach the lights to his fascia boards. We’ve embedded a lengthy video about his exploits after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7znaoj-0xA&w=470] | 13 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "522368",
"author": "cmholm",
"timestamp": "2011-11-29T23:29:18",
"content": "Unfortunately, my local big boxes aren’t carrying the G-35, so I’ve nowhere to await the post-season discounting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "52237... | 1,760,377,016.380261 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/29/lamp-fading-and-remote-control-for-the-lazy/ | Lamp Fading And Remote Control For The Lazy | Mike Szczys | [
"home hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"38kHz",
"infrared",
"ir",
"mosfet",
"pic",
"remote control"
] | [Dmitry Grinberg] has to walk all the way across his bedroom to switch the lamp on and off. The drudgery of this finally became too much, so
he built a remote control and added dimming for good measure
. Above you can see the circuitry for the remote and the receiver, as well as the finished remote housed in what he calls a ‘Chinese Altoids tin’.
After the break you’ll find [Dmitry’s] demo video. The remote control is quite responsive, and the dimming has great resolution. That’s thanks to a power N-channel MOSFET which switches the AC with the help of a full wave rectifier. The PIC 12F617 that controls the MOSFET is powered separately, and [Dmitry] mentions that you must use a transformer and not a switch-mode power supply to avoid a fire. We’d like to know more about this, so leave a comment if you are able to explain further.
The remote and receiver communicate via Infrared. The protocol is operating with 38 kHz signals using an easily sourced receiver tuned to that frequency. [Dmitry] shares all the details about the encoding scheme that he uses. Recreating this communications pairing is a great way to test your understanding of this technique. But if you need a refresher,
here’s a tutorial
to push you in the right direction.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSn-VRLPo5I&w=470] | 16 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "522288",
"author": "fai",
"timestamp": "2011-11-29T21:17:19",
"content": "a properly designed isolated switching power supply will work. the transformer is used to isolate the tin case from the power line so that any inadvertent grounds cannot be accidentally shorted.",
"parent_... | 1,760,377,016.44707 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/29/desktop-coilgun-lets-you-play-scorched-earth-in-your-living-room/ | Desktop Coilgun Lets You Play Scorched Earth In Your Living Room | Mike Nathan | [
"Weapons Hacks"
] | [
"CoilGun",
"games",
"rabbit 2000",
"Scorched Earth",
"stepper motors"
] | A few years ago when [Dr. West] was wrapping up his collegiate studies, he put together
a pretty cool coilgun for his senior project.
The gun was built to simulate the Scorched Earth computer game in real life, but due to time constraints he was only able to build one turret instead of two.
The turret was constructed using mainly salvaged components, most of which came from old laser printers and desktop computers. The turret sits atop a computer PSU, which also happens to be the source of the coilgun’s charging power. A Rabbit 2000 microcontroller is used to drive the gun, which is something we’re familiar with from
[Dr. West’s] past projects.
The gun can be aimed manually via the attached keypad, but we prefer the more authentic route, allowing the turret to aim itself after being fed X and Y coordinates. As you can see in the demo video, the coilgun works nicely, allowing [Dr. West] to hit a target from across the room.
We love the concept, and think it would be tons of fun to play a real life game of Scorched Earth with a pair of these turrets. If you are interested in making one of your own, you can find the writeup for his final project
here in his public Dropbox. | 7 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "522240",
"author": "Dan O'Brien",
"timestamp": "2011-11-29T20:13:16",
"content": "Scorched Earth had mini-nukes and napalm rounds. I’m not sure I’d want to play a real life Scorched Earth if we had live rounds….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,377,016.758838 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/29/adding-sound-and-light-to-your-radio-controlled-vehicles/ | Adding Sound And Light To Your Radio Controlled Vehicles | Mike Szczys | [
"Microcontrollers",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"dukes of hazzard",
"lm386",
"propeller",
"servo"
] | [Nicholas] wanted to add some flair to his RC car. In addition to the headlights that you see above, there’s brake lights, and a horn that plays “Dixie” like the General Lee in the Dukes of Hazard. All of this is triggered by the wireless controller, but he figured out a way to
monitor the servo signals in order to add the additional features
.
The hack is driven by a Propeller chip. [Nicholas] patches into the servo lines by adding a servo-in and servo-out header to his prototyping shield. With that in place he’s able to tap into the voltage and ground pins to power the microcontroller. By attaching a 4k7 resistor to the control line, he can listen in on the servo signals using the Propeller.
This RC car has a throttle servo. So when the throttle is opened all the way up the Propeller chip flashes some white LEDs in the headlights, and uses an LM386 audio amplifier to play a tune. When the throttle is pulled all the way back the brake lights are activated. Don’t miss the test footage of this which is embedded after the break.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/32290612 w=470] | 8 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "522210",
"author": "Slipster",
"timestamp": "2011-11-29T19:16:19",
"content": "Since it’s a nitro vehicle I don’t think you are going to the ‘horn’ over the engine sound. However, nice upgrade to your RC.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comm... | 1,760,377,016.811301 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/29/for-the-trade-show-booth-that-has-everything-a-blimp/ | For The Trade Show Booth That Has Everything, A Blimp! | Jeremy Cook | [
"Nintendo Wii Hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"blimp",
"LeetZeppelin",
"remote control",
"wiimote",
"xbee",
"zeppelin"
] | Trade shows are all about attracting attention and getting people to learn about your product, so what could be better than
a custom-built RC blimp
? Sure, you could just buy one, but what’s the fun in that? After several design iterations, [Tretton37] came up with a blimp known as the [LeetZeppelin] controlled by an Arduino, an XBee module, as well as a Wiimote controller connected to a computer.
The hack itself is a great example of repurposing off-the-shelf materials into something more interesting and unique. In addition to the components listed above, hobby servos were modded to allow for thrust motor control in conjunction with Legos for the gearing and “pillow-block bearings.” A list of the “important” parts used in this hack is furnished on their site as well as a video of it in action, which is also after the break.
As for the results of this hack as a trade-show attention grabber, Fredrik Leijon had this to say: “We think that all the gazing at the sky and half opened mouths proves that it was a huge success!”
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geMrAmBJsls&w=470&h=315%5D | 9 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "522076",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-11-29T15:48:55",
"content": ".net + agile huh… something I like and something I hate… wish that added up to “love it” ;-)Cool blimp though!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"co... | 1,760,377,016.710397 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/29/fabbing-a-guitar-tremolo-stompbox/ | Fabbing A Guitar Tremolo Stompbox | Brian Benchoff | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"effects",
"guitar effects",
"stompbox",
"tremolo"
] | There’s a lot of builders around whose first foray in electron manipulation was building effects pedals for guitars. It looks like [Dino] might be getting back to his roots with his
tremolo effects box
how-to.
Last week, [Dino] found an
old 5-watt tube amp
in someone’s trash and decided to bring it back to a functional state. With his new trem effect, it looks like [Dino] might be getting the band back together.
Apart from tiny boost circuits, a tremolo is generally the simplest effect pedal you can make. All you’ll need to do is vary the amplitude of the guitar’s signal at regular intervals. After that, it’s only a matter of pretending you’re playing through a rotating
Leslie speaker
.
To get his trem working, [Dino] set up a 555 circuit to flash a LED at regular intervals. This LED is encased in heat-shrink tubing along with a photocell. This setup controls an LM386 amplifier. The build is really simple, but from the video after the break we can tell it sounds great.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NHu0szLyr9U&w=470] | 20 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "522041",
"author": "Victor",
"timestamp": "2011-11-29T14:32:59",
"content": "I must say I find the circuit peculiar; the input of the opamp is not shifted to half the supply, which probably clips most negative signals.Also, the high-impedance output of the guitar is used without buf... | 1,760,377,017.076583 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/28/diy-car-lighting-illuminates-areas-the-designers-overlooked/ | DIY Car Lighting Illuminates Areas The Designers Overlooked | Mike Nathan | [
"LED Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] | [
"capacitive touch",
"juke",
"led",
"nissan"
] | [Dave] just can’t seem to get enough of
modifying his new car.
Where he lives, it’s typically dark on his ride home from work and he finds himself dropping things on the floor of his car all too often. Nissan decided not to include lighting in the Juke’s foot well or glove box, so [Dave] decided that he needed to rectify the situation.
As you might have noticed by
his previous tinkering,
[Dave] is a big fan of LEDs and ATTiny microcontrollers. He added some Lego-supported LEDs to the driver and passenger side foot wells, installing an additional light in the glove box while he was at it.
The Juke had a couple of usable blank spots on the dashboard, so [Dave] installed a pair of capacitive touch sensors and a small switch into one of the open slots. When touched, the top-most capacitive pin pair ramps up the foot well lights, while the lower pair turns on the LEDs in the glove box. The switch at the bottom is used to toggle on a light in the back seat which he installed a while back.
It’s a simple addition, but it makes all the difference when he is hunting around on the floor in the dark. We are a bit surprised by how many amenities are missing from the Juke, but tweaking them to his liking seems to keep [Dave] happily occupied.
Continue reading to see a short demo video of his interior lights in action. | 26 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "521684",
"author": "Steve",
"timestamp": "2011-11-29T00:58:12",
"content": "Ummm…. if you drop something while driving, shouldn’t you PULL OVER before taking your eyes off the road to try to pick it up? What could you possibly have in your hands anyway, that you _need_ while drivin... | 1,760,377,016.922724 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/27/earthquake-detector-could-have-helped-during-quakepocalypse/ | Earthquake Detector Could Have Helped During Quakepocalypse | Brian Benchoff | [
"classic hacks",
"home hacks"
] | [
"earthquake",
"earthquake detector",
"seismograph"
] | [Andrea] built a
seismic wave detector
that warns of a possible impending earthquake. Because
P waves
travel much faster than the “make everything shake” S waves, building a device that detects P waves serves as an early warning system that alerts building occupants to go under a door frame. [Andrea]’s build detects these fast-moving P waves and only took an hour to make.
Last August, those of us on the east coast of the US had to live through
Quakepocalypse
, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake centered around Middle of Nowhere, Virginia. For those of us who have decided to stay, rebuild, and put our garden chairs upright again (so brave…), [Andrea]’s build could have been very useful.
The mechanics
of the build is very simple: a pair of springs and levers are electrically wired together so that whenever there’s a sudden shock, a buzzer goes off. It’s very similar to
an ancient Chinese earthquake detector
that detects P waves by dropping a ball into a frog’s mouth.
While we’re not sure if a few of [Andrea]’s devices would be needed to detect P waves coming in off-axis, the build is simple enough to build dozens of them. Check out the video of the build in action
after the break
here
. | 13 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "520771",
"author": "chris",
"timestamp": "2011-11-27T22:20:28",
"content": "this video is private?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "520787",
"author": "Th3badwolf",
"timestamp": "2011-11-27T22:43:33",
"c... | 1,760,377,016.863584 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/27/chinese-hackerspaces-or-what-happens-when-a-government-is-run-by-engineers/ | Chinese Hackerspaces, Or, What Happens When A Government Is Run By Engineers | Brian Benchoff | [
"Hackerspaces"
] | [
"china",
"hackerspaces"
] | Government leadership in Shanghai wants to build
100 community hackerspaces
funded by the Chinese government. Each space will be at least 100 square meters, open 200 days a year, and come equipped with wood and metal lathes, saws, drills, grinders, mills, and more electronics than we can imagine.
The
official government statement
(
translated here
) says the Shanghai Science and Technology Network wants to build a few dozen ‘innovation houses,’ ostensibly to create a breeding ground for new, innovative ideas and to nurture young builders.
The first Chinese hackerspace,
Xin Che Jian
, opened last year and they’re doing some
pretty cool stuff
. A RepRap Mendel is already on the build roster (pictured above) along with a few quadrocopters and small racing robots.
As far as what this means for western countries, we’re going to editorialize a little bit and say that government-funded hackerspaces would increase innovation a little bit more than watching our representatives argue about homosexuals or taxes. Who knows, if this Chinese experiment proves successful, it may move out of Asia and onto the Americas and Europe.
via
reddit | 89 | 44 | [
{
"comment_id": "520728",
"author": "JSN",
"timestamp": "2011-11-27T21:08:51",
"content": "What a great hack. Oh wait, never mind.Can we stop it with the highly charged political posts, please?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "521534",
... | 1,760,377,017.233029 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/27/kitchen-hacks-improving-an-espresso-machine/ | Kitchen Hacks: Improving An Espresso Machine | Brian Benchoff | [
"cooking hacks"
] | [
"espresso",
"kitchen hacks",
"pid control"
] | The heat sensor in [Cameron]’s espresso machine doesn’t work very well. He sees some pretty crazy variations in temperature when pulling an espresso shot, and when the boiler is just sitting there the heater element will heat the water full-bore then shut off for a while. Since this is a pretty low bar from a control theory standpoint, [Cameron] decided on a
PID makeover
on his espresso machine.
Instead of going with a commercial PID controller like we’ve seen on a
few
kitchen hacks
, [Cameron] decided to roll his own Arduino derivative based on an ATMega328 microcontroller. The newly designed board reads the state of the ‘Steam’ button, a few relays for controlling the heater and the pump, and of course an LCD display.
[Cameron] still has to do a little tweaking to get his PID algorithm down, but already the new control board keeps a much more stable temperature than the old thermostat. The fancy new bezel and LCD display adds a lot of techy class to his espresso machine, to boot. | 0 | 0 | [] | 1,760,377,017.10915 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/27/star-trek-style-pneumatic-doors-that-dont-require-a-stagehand/ | Star Trek Style Pneumatic Doors That Don’t Require A Stagehand | Brian Benchoff | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"automatic door",
"door",
"pneumatic",
"star trek"
] | In 1966, [Gene Roddenberry] introduced fully manual doors powered by a stagehand on
Star Trek
. The
fwoosh
sound of the door was later dubbed into each show, but progress marches on, and now [Alex] created his own
Star Trek-style automatic doors
for his house.
The build includes a ‘control panel’, and [Alex]’s door operates in three modes: Open, and stay open; Close, and stay closed; and Automatic. The control panel itself is fairly remarkable. A small
puck
interacts with a magnetometer underneath [Alex]’s counter. If the puck is pointed towards ‘Open’, the door stays open. If the door is pointed towards ‘Closed’, the door stays closed. If the puck isn’t near the magnetometer, the door operates in automatic mode with the help of a few IR sensors to detect someone trying to get in or out of [Alex]’s kitchen.
For the mechanical portion of the build, [Alex] used a
One meter long piston
with the
quietest air compressor he could find
. We can’t tell from the video after the break if the compressor ever kicks in, but [Alex] says it’s about the same volume as his fridge. As a small added bonus, the new automatic door does have a
fwoosh
sound, just like [Gene] would have wanted.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=otYAm6OXnH8&w=470] | 63 | 30 | [
{
"comment_id": "520645",
"author": "bty",
"timestamp": "2011-11-27T18:30:43",
"content": "lol @ mumbling when he’s at the other side of the closed door.I sure hope you included some safety features so it doesn’t close on your pet or kids when they’re in the opening.",
"parent_id": null,
"de... | 1,760,377,017.380749 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/27/adorable-and-small-portable-nes/ | Adorable And Small Portable NES | Brian Benchoff | [
"Nintendo Hacks"
] | [
"Case mod",
"console modding",
"nes"
] | The Queen of Bondo is back again, this time with an
adorably small NES portable
, the HandyNES.
When last saw [lovablechevy], she had just finished up her build of a
Nintenduo
, a build that stuffed an NES and SNES into a single box. The Nintenduo was such a clean build it would be a crime to let her talents go to waste, so [Lovablechevy] finished up one of the smallest NES portables we’ve seen.
The build is based on a top-loading NES with a 3.5″ screen. [rekarp]’s
NES2 composite mod
was used to get the NES and screen working together. Two LiIon batteries provide 3 hours of play time (with a
low battery indicator
, natch).
[lovablechevy] also included an AV out so she can connect her HandyNES to a larger CRT screen. Like our old
Sega Nomad
, this allows for a little two-player action – player one using the HandyNES and player two using an extra controller. Support for the Zapper was also included after modding the Zapper connection to a USB port.
Check out the video walkthrough after the break. To prove that her build isn’t a clone, [lovablechevy] also include a video of herself playing
Battletoads
past the point where the clones crash. Excellent work from the Queen of Bondo.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBQk3E_tEWc&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI_iek6mNfk&w=470] | 14 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "520654",
"author": "Colin",
"timestamp": "2011-11-27T18:52:15",
"content": "USB Zapper what? Last thing I heard about the zapper and USB was from ZeroSoft and he hasn’t updated that for years…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "52... | 1,760,377,017.282179 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2011/11/27/two-ways-to-convert-an-electric-cooler-to-a-humidor/ | Two Ways To Convert An Electric Cooler To A Humidor | Mike Szczys | [
"home hacks"
] | [
"cigar",
"colemand",
"cooler",
"humidor",
"peltier"
] | It’s not a proper humidor in the technical sense (there isn’t any specific way to moderate the humidity) but [Dzzie] came up with a couple of ways to keep his cigars cool in the summer heat.
Both versions use a Coleman electric cooler as the enclosure. This hardware uses a Peltier device to keep it cool inside. The first attempt at use a thermostat with this worked by
adding an external relay to switch mains power
. A thermostat dial hangs out inside the cooler to give feedback to the relay board. This worked, but it’s a really roundabout approach since the cooler operates on 12V, and this method uses a mains-to-12V adapter. If [Dzzie] decides to hit the road the relay won’t work when the cooler is powered from a 12V cigarette lighter in the car.
The second rendition
fixes that issue. He moved to a 12V relay, and used a car cellphone charger to supply the 5V of regulated power his control circuitry needs to operate. | 6 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "520702",
"author": "Vonskippy",
"timestamp": "2011-11-27T19:57:23",
"content": "“It’s not a proper humidor in the technical sense”It’s not a proper humidor in the real-world sense either.Nothing sucks the life out of a good cigar like dryness. Put a ultrasonic humidifier and a humi... | 1,760,377,017.514511 |
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