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https://hackaday.com/2011/05/24/turn-a-logic-analyzer-into-a-signal-generator-using-only-software/
|
Turn A Logic Analyzer Into A Signal Generator Using Only Software
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Tool Hacks"
] |
[
"logic analyzer",
"saleae",
"signal generator"
] |
One thing we learned by watching [Alton Brown] on all of those Good Eats episodes is that a multitasker is way better than a unitasker. [Joost] is thinking along the same lines by taking a fantastic tool and adding a useful function to it. His software project
turns a USB Saleae Logic Analyzer into a signal generator
.
There are already a multitude of reasons to own one of
these fantastic tools
. But the ability to use it to generate up to 8 channels of PWM signals is a welcome addition. It is capable of producing frequencies from 1Hz up to 1MHz at a sample rate of 4 MHz. It uses the original SDK and doesn’t require any changes to the hardware (we would’ve thought new firmware was necessary, but happily that’s not the case). The one caveat is that right now this only works with Windows machines running the .NET version 3.5 or higher. It looks like an MSI installer package is all that’s available for download so the thoughts of easily porting this to other operating systems have been dashed unless [Joost] decides to share his source code.
Edit 7/12/2016: [Joost]’s webpage is down,
but he moved it to Github
.
| 18
| 18
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397609",
"author": "HackerK",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T19:37:35",
"content": "Very interesting indeed… How does he turns an input pin into output w/o modding the firmware?I don’t have one so I can’t tell.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397610",
"author": "Joost Haverkort",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T19:48:00",
"content": "Really cool to see my project featured on this website:) Thanks everyone for all the nice emails! This really encourages me to continue on improving PWM Logic!!To answer a few questions which I’m receiving emails about:-> I’ll release the code as open source in due time. I’m still working on the project myself, and don’t want to release it into the wild before it’s finished.-> The code is all C#, so it might work under Mono as well as M$ .NET. You might have to write a new wrapper for the Saleae SDK library though.–Joost",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397611",
"author": "qwerty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T19:51:24",
"content": "The use of .NET is not a caveat, it’s a *huge* drawback: all the bloat of a Java-like environment plus all the problems that come from using proprietary technologies.Being closed source it also cannot be used to get the knowledge useful to build a better software using native languages, other than of course being untrustworthy so that the author itself cannot guarantee the absence of malware.Form the download page:“I really hate it when applications install all sorts of unwanted bloat-, ad-, or spyware, so PwmLogic won’t! I checked it using an up-to-date major brand virus scanner prior to uploading and did my best to make sure it’s safe. However, as you might expect, I can’t give you any guarantees.”Dear author, thanks for the effort and I’m sure your intentions are the best, but beside the mere fact that .NET *is* bloatware, we already have a weapon against bloat and viruses/virii. They’re called respectively native language programming and publishing the source code.If you don’t want or cannot write that app in C or C++, at least give away a subset of your source code in order to allow the creation of a better app.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397616",
"author": "qwerty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T20:12:02",
"content": "@HackerK: The Saleae hardware has already been hacked and cloned multiple times, so there are some people out there who know its internals.It probably already contained that function.http://www.aliexpress.com, in hardware./product-gs/374389967-C19-CY7C68013A-development-board-SALEAE-USBee-AX-PRO-clone-logic-analyzer-Oscilloscope-wholesalers.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397626",
"author": "Joost Haverkort",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T20:20:57",
"content": "Dear Qwerty,As you could have read on the site, I’ve initially made this application only for my own use. I thought it would be nice to share it with others, so I cleaned it up, added a proper GUI and put it on a simple website. That’s it. no more, no less.As far as Native v.s. Managed programming… I work with both, on various platforms and personally think that they both have their strong and weak points. For this project I chose C# on a Microsoft platform. If you don’t like it, don’t use it.Your kind of post doesn’t encourage me to help you in any way. You could have just asked me for info…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397628",
"author": "anon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T20:33:15",
"content": "qwerty, don’t hate .NET framework and the author’s development choices.if the author ever releases the source code you go ahead and port it to your ‘better’ native language and support operating systems that the original author probably didn’t feel the need to support. otherwise shut up.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397633",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T20:54:58",
"content": "Dang, I got really excited then depressed when I saw it was (as of right now) PC only. I look forward to the source code!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397647",
"author": "Oliver Nash",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T21:48:29",
"content": "Just ignore the above criticisms Joost; I’m sure you realise that forums like this do not always bring out the best in people.In any case, congratulations on some nice work and thanks for sharing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397662",
"author": "brainzilla",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T22:43:54",
"content": "Sweet! Now make it run on OSX! Pretty, pretty please :-)I’m willing to do betatesting – cheers!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397673",
"author": "rusty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T23:14:07",
"content": "sorry bout random complainy aholes. but thats the internet for you",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397690",
"author": "garboui",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T00:35:02",
"content": "this is awesome. it also means that there is some hope to have the logic split 4/4 or 2/6, etc., pwm/capture to be able to capture a response based on the pwm signal.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397706",
"author": "justin case",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T01:53:29",
"content": "I bought one, I like it.… he who dies with THE MOST TOYS wins!!!“I really hate it when applications install all sorts of unwanted bloat-, ad-, or spyware, so PwmLogic won’t! I checked it using an up-to-date major brand virus scanner prior to uploading and did my best to make sure it’s safe. However, as you might expect, I can’t give you any guarantees”… but, you wroted it, and posted it, and hosted it… how could anything sneak in???I’ve been asking (read:bugging) joe to write one of these since I bought it. He’s a busy guy.Thankyou, enjoy the zah!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397724",
"author": "BiOzZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T03:45:29",
"content": "i was pissed that i got one over the cheaper open source one but now its worth it!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397753",
"author": "Pun",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T05:58:59",
"content": "http://www.jetbrains.com/decompiler/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397767",
"author": "Joost Haverkort",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T07:39:28",
"content": "For the people who are wondering about how it is done:I use the the official Saleae SDK which provides the possibility to write to the pins.As far as I know it is not possible to read the outputs while writing to others. I agree that this would be a nice thing to have;)For the people who are really eager to see the code;I strongly advice you to wait a few weeks. The current version isn’t as good as I want it to be and needs some serious cleaning up. It just doesn’t feel right to release it in its current state.When it is finished, I’ll release the PWM generator part as a library (.NET dll) and as source code, so you can port it to other platforms.About the part on spam-, bloat- and spyware on my site:It’s just there as some sort of disclaimer;) I really do my best to ensure that the installer doesn’t contain viruses or other stuff that my pc might have become infected with. But using MS Windows, this is never a certainty;)Thanks again for the great idea’s, support and emails! Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or remarks.–Joost",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "398263",
"author": "Sam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-26T17:40:08",
"content": "If he wrote it in C# and used Windows Forms instead of WPF, just decompile it and recompile with Mono. Should work with minor tweaking.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "398507",
"author": "Joost Haverkort",
"timestamp": "2011-05-27T10:07:37",
"content": "@Sam:I indeed used C# and Windows Forms, so that part should be compatible with mono. People who want to port it should implement their own wrapper for the Saleae library though. (Or use the wrapper that is provided by Saleae, but I doubt that it works with Mono out of the box)Again, for people who want to port PwmLogic:Save yourself the trouble with decompilers, because I’ll release the Generator’s nicely documented source code within a few weeks. (I’m still working on some features and bugs, thats why I don’t release it right away)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "405546",
"author": "Joost Haverkort",
"timestamp": "2011-06-14T08:37:56",
"content": "Hi all,The full version has been released onhttp://brrrbaybay.com/It holds quite some bug fixes and new functions.I expect the generator source code to be online in a few weeks.Best regards,Joost",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,185.741993
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/24/facebook-notifier-uses-some-papercraft-and-simple-electronics/
|
Facebook Notifier Uses Some Papercraft And Simple Electronics
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Arduino Hacks"
] |
[
"astroturf",
"facebook",
"mailbox",
"mechanize",
"notifier",
"python",
"servo"
] |
This weekend
project will tell you when you’ve got something new to look at on your Facebook page
(
translated
). The yellow flag on the side of the mini-mailbox automatically goes up, alerting you to your recent online popularity.
[Rocco’s] craftwork on this project is fantastic. We love the scale, the colors, and especially the artificial grass that adorns the base. Inside the mailbox an Arduino controls a small servo motor attached to the new mail flag. As with other Arduino-based notifiers (be it the
Internet Furby
, or our own
troll sniffing rat
) the USB connection makes it incredibly easy to convert online information to real-world signals. The client side of this is a Python script. It uses a package that we were previously unfamiliar with called
mechanize
. We’ve just made a cursory examination of how that package is used, but we’re going to keep it in mind as an alternative to our usual go-to package,
BeautifulSoup
, which tends to be a bit hairy when you’re just looking for some basic data.
| 4
| 4
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397605",
"author": "DevHack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T19:27:25",
"content": "Wow… :) wonderful project!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397715",
"author": "pahosler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T02:50:26",
"content": "neat, I use perl www::mechanize to pull comics off of comics.com :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "458637",
"author": "Kunstgras",
"timestamp": "2011-09-18T20:13:32",
"content": "Awesome project!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "636043",
"author": "Namgrass kunstgras",
"timestamp": "2012-04-23T13:48:29",
"content": "Crazy stuff… Any way you could post a how to manual as well?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,185.88733
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/24/generating-pink-noise/
|
Generating Pink Noise
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"digital audio hacks"
] |
[
"phantom power",
"pink noise",
"xlr"
] |
[Miceuz] just finished his first surface mount electronics project. It’s
a pink noise generator that is used for testing audio equipment
(scroll down that link for the English version of his writeup).
Pink noise is somewhere in between red noise and white noise. Didn’t realize there were more colors than just white when it comes to noise? The benefit of testing with
pink noise
is that it the power of the audio signal is stable through each octave of sound – white noise increases in power with each additional octave which can damage the tweeters in a sound system.
The goal in this design was to build a noise generator that fit into an XLR connector. [Miceuz] started with
an existing design
, and altered it to suit his needs. Much like
a condenser microphone
, the pink noise generator uses phantom power instead of a standalone power source. For instance, the design he based this on required two 9v batteries. The size, the choice of case, and the absence of a battery all spell WIN for this project.
| 9
| 9
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397532",
"author": "mess_maker",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T15:06:16",
"content": "Interesting, about ten years ago I made a microphone which fit into an XLR connector… nothing amazing, but it was fun learning to make my own stuff.Interesting project, I will have to read up on it to see if it is true pink noise. Great link, thanks.As for white noise, it is all frequencies at the same amplitude. We perceive it to sound higher pitched because it generally takes more amplitude in the lower frequencies to hear, plus our ears are naturally tuned ( think of our frequency response ) to the vocal range of 2-ish kHz – 4-ish kHz. That is why we notice babies crying, which is not by accident.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397534",
"author": "mess_maker",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T15:10:20",
"content": "Oh, and to expand slightly, Pink noise is used to tune audio systems because it more closely follows our ear’s frequency response… though not perfectly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397546",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T15:51:21",
"content": "Actually red noise is the same as pink noise. I’m a huge expert on this now because I looked it up on Wikipedia.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colors_of_noiseThere is also brown noise but a whole different thing comes to mind when I think of that.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397571",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T17:23:49",
"content": "Suddenly the song “Playing With Pink Noise” by Kaki King makes a lot more sense to me.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397597",
"author": "click",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T18:59:08",
"content": "I think you got it a bit wrong there, pink noise is Decreasing in amplitude over the spectrum whilst white noise is stable. You usually achieve this by lowpass filtering white noise.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397678",
"author": "kaoD",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T23:29:19",
"content": "@Matt laughed at the “huge expert by wikipedia” thing haha",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397694",
"author": "Jared Harley",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T00:49:28",
"content": "SimplyNoise has a noise generator on their website (as well as an iPhone app) that generates white, pink, and brown noise.http://www.simplynoise.com/I have more sensitive hearing when I’m working grave shifts (still haven’t figured that one out), and listening to pink noise with headphones helps get rid of it. I found out about pink noise through this website:http://www.hyperacusis.net/hyperacusis/4+types+of+sound+sensitivity/default.asp",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397744",
"author": "Jerry Whiting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T05:16:13",
"content": "I have reference implementations of pink, white, and brown noise available for download:http://www.jetcityorange.com/SoundFiles/noise.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397757",
"author": "jaqen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T06:14:43",
"content": "@Matt: funny, todays XKCD touches the same subject :-Dhttp://xkcd.com/903/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,185.389133
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/24/simple-bench-power-2/
|
Simple Bench Power
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"hardware"
] |
[
"power supply"
] |
When dealing with electronics you need 1 key thing, electricity. For quite a while now if I needed 5 volts I would just grab my homebrew arduino, but that is not always handy and its tethered to the pc and it does not have 3v. If I wanted 3 volts, now I am digging around looking for my UBW32 which does have 3v3 but now I have a 50$ microncontroller with very small regulators (so therefore only small loads) dangling around just for power, and its a mess.
So I need just a board that takes some DC from a wall wart and regulates it to usable voltages, and I set about to make it. This regulator board puts out +5, +3.3, variable and negative variable voltages, is pretty easy to make, and make a nice addition to the bench. (until I can get a real bench supply someday)
Now I know this is not ground breaking hackery, but I hope it helps someone out there, join us after the break to see what’s going on.
First up, parts! I started by reviewing the datasheets for the 3 regulators, and pretty much throwing most of their advice away as most of this was scavenged parts. Beggars can’t be choosers.
That works mostly okay, but due to my resistance choices on the LM317T I am loosing a bit more (about an extra volt!) than I should be in the regulator. I used 100 ohms and 1khoms for the voltage adjustment … 120 and 2k or 240 and 5k would have been a much better choice, if I had those parts on hand.
But this is what I ended up using
1*SPST toggle switch
1*LED of your choice and appropriate resistor for 5 volt operation
3*Silicon rectifier diodes (I am using 1N4001’s but most would do fine)
2*47uf capacitors with voltage ratings higher than ~16 volts (I am using 50 volt caps)
1*10uf capacitor (its for the 3.3 volt line so anything more than 3v will work)
1*4.7uf capacitor (again I am using a 50 volt)
6*100nf ceramic capacitors (code 104)
2*100 ohm resistors
1*1k ohm resistor
1*1k ohm trimpot
1*7805 in a TO220 package
1*3 volt regulator in a TO220 package (I am using a ST “LD33V” though its not common)
1*LM317T in a TO220 package
1*555 timer
4*Dual terminal/ screw blocks
1*Large 3 position heatsink or 3 normal TO220 heatsinks
Wire, solder, and a 2 position jumper
More or less voltage comes in is filtered a bit with capacitors and is fed to the 7805 and 317T, the 3v3 regulator is wired to the output of the 7805 (along with the LED) so it does not have to drop a bunch of current and not run hot with minimal loads. Keeping in mind there are 2 regulators connected to a wall wart this thing in theory could suck up to 2.5 amps out of your supply so you either need a wall wart that can handle it or be very mindful of how much current you are drawing.
Next is the schematic .. not much to say here its a schematic… (click for large version)
Update: fixed the backwards diode
Finally I have to make the thing, I choose perf board with copper pads on one side, and uninsulated 22 gauge solid tinned copper as I find this way to be pretty easy as long as the layout is not too complicated.
Construction starts by mounting the regulators to the heat sink. I got this heat sink and many of the capacitors out of an old dead PC power supply. It is pretty big and should do the trick just fine, but there is a catch. Each of the regulators mounting tabs go to different functions, so unless I want to connect the outputs of the 3v3 regulator and the LM317T to the ground of the 7805 I am going to need either separate heat sinks or some silicon pads and nylon washer isolation hardware which my power supply was gracious enough to provide. (only after I threw them away and had to dig in the garbage for 20 min)
Here is a shot of the power input and 7805 all wired up and tested working.
Another shot with the 3v3 regulator wired up and tested working.
Another shot with the 317T wired up and tested working.
And finally the 555 voltage inverter is in place and working. While they make voltage inverters and I have a 5 volt one somewhere I rather like the idea of having one that can be hooked up to the 317 because I really don’t know if I will need -12, or -5 or anything in between.
Keep in mind this is a kludgey way to make a negative voltage, and it will not be balanced with the positive output of the 317 (you loose 0.7 volts or more in the diodes). Also it takes a few seconds before it stabilizes on a voltage, so start low and stop a little short as it will continue rising for a few seconds. You might be able to minimize that by using a lower value capacitor on the 555’s output, right now I am using a 47uf but I have seen everything from 10 to 470 depending on which schematic your looking at.
Anyway here is the final product and I am ready to rock. You might notice a jumper block on there and that is to cut power going to the 317. With the losses due to my resistance choice and the 555 timers output, that part of the circuit draws about 37ma, the 7805, led, and 3v3 regulator only draws 36ma (20 for the led). So if you’re not using it why bother adding the additional load to your power supply? I may go back and tweak that.
Thanks for looking!
| 30
| 30
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397481",
"author": "Hephaix",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T11:43:29",
"content": "Very interesting.How do you calculate how much curent you can draw from the negative supply?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397484",
"author": "Tron9000",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T12:01:56",
"content": "I like it, a simple multi and variable output out of cheap and easily source components.Though is your output diode on the -ve supply the wrong way round? just I can only to get it to work in spice when the diode is that other way round.To get less voltage drop through diodes you could use schottkys.Or a trick I do is place a diode on the common or adjust led of the regulator to boost its output by the voltage drop of the diode, works with zeners too.so you can make a 5V reg output 9.7V if you put a 4V7 zener on its common pin…though it does make it a bit warmer than usual",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397487",
"author": "neorazz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T12:23:14",
"content": "there seems to be a universal need for these. but good looking ones are expensive or the pc power supply route. but i think hackaday needs this as a featured project an opensource power supply . start with line /(or regulated for novice) power . then add on to the device modularity e.g. adjustable output with digital readout , current meter ,individual displays for each voltage output as adjusted to see right where you are . maybe even buttons to adjust voltage instead of pots any other ideas ? that just the superficial stuff i would want",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397488",
"author": "GZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T12:24:34",
"content": "This gives me a nice starting point for a project I’m playing with. Thanks!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397500",
"author": "Grovenstien",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T13:01:25",
"content": "i agree with neorazz, its a good bench for learning about electricity in general.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397501",
"author": "blarghmaster",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T13:12:21",
"content": "Thirded…What might also be nice is to see if you can build the majority of it with scavenged components (dead PSU’s? we all have at least 2 lying around anyway)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397511",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T13:30:31",
"content": "In the schematic, are the 2 diodes facing the correct direction? For this to work, it seems like the diode between the 2 capacitors would need its anode, not its cathode, facing the output. I can’t quite see which direction it’s facing in the 2 photos, but I’m guessing it’s not as the schematic says?Probably the most important feature of lab bench power supplies is adjustable current limiting. That’s not a feature of this design, but hopefully someone will consider adding it?When you’re working with experimental circuitry on your bench, often mistakes are made. When that happens, if you’ve got a current limit and you’ve remembered to turn the knob relatively low, when you do make a mistake, the power supply never puts out too much current. That makes all the difference between blown parts or an “opps, glad the current limit saved me” moment.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397521",
"author": "Tron9000",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T14:15:25",
"content": "RE: PaulI believe the diode in series is with the -ve output is back to front on the schematic. the clamping diode is right though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397523",
"author": "Necromant",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T14:17:08",
"content": "Nice, I think I’ll soon have to make something like that. Since I mess mostly with digital electronics I do not need negative supply and I’m mostly happy with such a device (usb powered, usually):http://necromant.ath.cx/wp/2011/03/14/the_dropper-2/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397530",
"author": "Tweeks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T14:59:27",
"content": "This would make a really great starter electronic kit if someone were to put together a parts list at some place like mouser, etc.Tweeks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397531",
"author": "Sobachatina",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T15:05:01",
"content": "This looks like a cool project. I am genuinely curious though- why would you ever need such a power supply instead of just a PC power supply?I put a power switch, power LED, rubber feet, and banana plugs for -5, 5, 3.3, and 12V on a discarded 300W power supply. All together it cost me about 2 hours and $0.00.What is the benefit of a custom power supply?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397535",
"author": "hacknet",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T15:14:47",
"content": "what’s the benefit of anything custom? :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397537",
"author": "Sobachatina",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T15:17:49",
"content": "@hacknet- for me the reasons are:*cost,*making it specially adapted to my needs,*Proving that I can / learning.Only the third seems to fit in this case but the writeups don’t seem to be doing it just to learn how to do it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397538",
"author": "mstone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T15:18:26",
"content": "Nice work.. simple, clean, and useful.Good job documenting the design/build process as well. I always like to see someone explain why they chose the parts they did, and “this is what I had in the junk box” works for most projects.That said, you *can* set set yourself up with a decent inventory of resistors without breaking the bank. Mouser sells quarter-watt 1% metal-film resistors for $2-3 per hundred. A few $20-30 orders on an at-need basis will set you up with enough parts for years of happy tinkering.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397541",
"author": "James",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T15:36:06",
"content": "Got to admit, it’s re-inventing the wheel for me too unless I’m missing something. A Cheap PC PSU will supply multiple channels of all the common useful voltages at currents far in excess of what you might reasonably need, and you can get them out of dead machines or buy one new for £20 and mod it from there with a few banana sockets.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397556",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T16:25:46",
"content": "Consider that without an adjustable current limiter, an accident with a PC PSU can produce a boom/fire; whereas a linear reg will only produce a pop/smoke.And should you blow out one voltage rail, a homebuilt power supply like this one can be easily repaired; whereas repairing a PC PSU is beyond many hobbyists’ abilities.So there are some advantages to doing it this way.Two simple and cheap improvements:1) Add a LED & resistor to each supply rail, so that each LED receives the same current. You’ll be able to see at a glance whether something is drawing enough current to make a rail seriously sag, which may give you a chance to turn it off before something is damaged.2) There are some terminals like the ones used here, but with springs instead of screws, which are more convenient. Sparkfun sells them. If you want a bunch, take a look at the datasheet to find the manufacturer. You can order samples direct from them for much less than Sparkfun prices, even including the shipping charges from China (but be aware it takes weeks, so stock up in advance).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397558",
"author": "KanchoBlindside",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T16:30:02",
"content": "My favorite thing to make. Sure, its “easier” to find a PC PS around, but its “easy” to buy something and not hack it, also.Isnt that the point of hacking? Making it yourself, how you want, for your needs, the way you want it to look?He’s created something he likes to look at, much like the hackers in Weird Science made something most guys like to look at.Bravo!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397559",
"author": "smoketester",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T16:31:47",
"content": "I agree that an open source bench power supply project would be invaluable for beginners like me. While it’s true that a PC power supply is amply suitable as a bench supply for 3.3v, 5v, & 12v, eventually you’ll have to address power supply for projects that live away from your bench. For instance, I have a Pentax digital camera that requires 4.3v at the external power jack. In the spirit of DIY I refuse to buy a proprietary adapter and have made a project to build my own supply. My quest to learn the basics began here athttp://digital-diy.com/General-Electronics/ac-dc-power-supplies-using-wall-warts.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397560",
"author": "Sobachatina",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T16:32:43",
"content": "@chris-All linear voltage regulators that I have used/seen have thermal protection and shut down when they overheat.All PC power supplies that I have used for this purpose have over current protection and shut themselves off before I can fry anything.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397563",
"author": "Sobachatina",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T16:38:16",
"content": "@kanchoBlindside- Interesting. Aesthetics hadn’t occurred to me as a reason to design a bench top power supply.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397570",
"author": "Kevin Dady",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T17:19:03",
"content": "you guys are correct about the last diode, it needs to be flipped around … I will correct it when I get home tonight, and if you see anything else please point it outthanks!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397572",
"author": "Kevin Dady",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T17:26:00",
"content": "never mind I went ahead and fixed it!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397589",
"author": "Helgi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T18:33:32",
"content": "This is a nice build. I personally would have “hacked” a PC power supply instead of “making” a power supply from scratch. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397604",
"author": "vonskippy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T19:24:49",
"content": "Now if it only had a built in custom made clock.Just kidding – nice project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397607",
"author": "Jack Dedert",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T19:33:48",
"content": "Another cheap, ready source of 5v supplies of varying current capabilities: Thrift store cell phone wall warts. You can pick them up for a buck or two. Some supply up to an amp. While you’re there, you’ll probably find (at least I do) other warts of varying voltages/currents/connectors.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397612",
"author": "Jons",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T19:54:20",
"content": "Jack DedertIt is tempting to work with wallwarts butthey are mostly rated for a specific charge that corresponds to the device. Thus, they might not output the correct voltage for your project.Just take a DMM, measure a wallwart’s voltage with no loads and you will see that it’s a lot higher than specified. Also cheap wallwarts = cheap filtering, you might end with ripples everywhere.Jons",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397640",
"author": "jeff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T21:26:12",
"content": "i like it, very elegant and simple.if you prototype a lot (read: mess of wires) with low power digital stuff, you can benefit from a 150~250mA PTC at output. just in case :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397664",
"author": "Jack Dedert",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T22:47:56",
"content": "Jons, very true, but much more easily remedied outboard than building an entire supply. Addding a bit of regulation or filtering after the faact (even onboard the specific project) is much easier than building an entire supply. What’s more, you may get lucky and find one which works perfectly for your particular application.That said, I think the project shown is a very good exercise to understand how analog supplies work. A similar switchmode project would be interesting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397864",
"author": "James",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T16:04:45",
"content": "“My favorite thing to make. Sure, its “easier” to find a PC PS around, but its “easy” to buy something and not hack it, also.”Not quite the same though is it, the PC power supply still needs hacking to some degree and is more capable. Buying a specific accurate, ripple free PS for bench work costs hundreds to thousands.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "398055",
"author": "sojcny",
"timestamp": "2011-05-26T00:28:22",
"content": "Dear Hackaday,A perfect, thorough writeup. Nice project, but the details are all laid out, and the pictures are great. Thanks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,185.687208
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/23/sound-localization-and-a-treaded-rover/
|
Sound Localization And A Treaded Rover
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Misc Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"bluetooth",
"motoruino",
"robot",
"rover",
"sound localization"
] |
[Jad] recently wrote in to share a pair of projects that have been keeping him busy as of late.
The first is
a sound localization system
not unlike
one we showed you a few weeks ago
. The difference is that his system displays the sound source via a set of LEDs rather than by motion, making it far less prone to interference by things like servo noise. His system uses four identical circuits, each of which are wired to a separate analog input on the Arduino. Each channel is adjustable, making it easy to tweak how the system responds to a particular sound.
His second project
is a sizable robot built on the Motoruino platform
. His contraption features several stacked control boards that handle the bots locomotion as well as camera control. It connects to his computer via a Bluetooth module that boasts a 1 mile range, allowing him to control everything from his PC. [Jad] is using the robot as a prototype for a much larger scale creation, and he says that his current focus is getting the robot to track and follow objects automatically using the on-board camera.
Continue reading to see a small preview of his bot’s progress so far.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV5s_XPdzX0&w=470]
| 3
| 3
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397388",
"author": "Easton L",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T04:25:35",
"content": "Good Job!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397430",
"author": "ColinB",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T08:21:06",
"content": "Is there a schematic for the sound localization project? All I see are many photographs of the PCB.I wonder if it uses sound amplitude as the determining factor for direction. Perhaps spacing the microphones out a bit (10 cm–20 cm apart) and then using sound phase rather than amplitude would be a superior method of detecting the direction of a gunshot.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397540",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T15:27:35",
"content": "I think the phase of the sound would be more challenging for a lot of reasons (most having to do with precision timing) but I’m also going to guess it would give a lot more range.For a limited range system coarse accuracy should be quite effective.I’d like a look at the schematic but I wonder if this would benefit from faster processing enough to be worth a redesign.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,185.520488
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/23/automated-chess-set-does-it-from-below/
|
Automated Chess Set Does It From Below
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"home entertainment hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] |
[
"chess",
"magnet",
"reed switch"
] |
You can get class credit for the coolest things these days. Take for instance,
this Automatic Chessboard
that [Brian] and [James] built for the final project in one of their classes this spring. We just looked at a robotic chess setup on Monday that
used a gripper mounted on a gantry to move the pieces
. This one’s a lot more user-friendly and borders on magical. That’s because the moving parts are all located below the board and could be hidden from view if a proper case were built around the edges.
There are two main components to this build. The first is a grid of reed switches that detect the moves made by a human. This works because each piece the human player uses has a weak magnet glued to the bottom which is just strong enough to actuate the reed switch and let the computer sense what move was just made. On the robotic side of things this works like a plotter. Each of the computer’s pieces has a metallic disc glued to the base. What basically amounts to a plotter under the board uses rare-earth magnets to grab the computer’s piece and drag it to the next playing position.
The use of two separate magnetic systems provides some interesting design challenges. You can see the device in action in the video after the break, and a full writeup and source code package is available at the blog linked at the top of this feature. But for your convenience we’ve also mirrored the PDF whitepaper after the break which lays bare all of the juicy details.
[
Final_Project
]
| 12
| 12
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397305",
"author": "dup",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T22:40:16",
"content": "Sounds horrible… as in the motors…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397321",
"author": "Wil",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T23:16:53",
"content": "Gotta love engineers. Build a brilliant and clever autonomous chess set, then support it with electrical tape and wheelie chairs.On a side note, did this remind anyone else of Jumanji?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397331",
"author": "derpa",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T23:34:42",
"content": "Would be neat if all the pieces had magnets, so then the computer could play either/both sides, and detect when someone is messing with its pieces! Quieter actuators would help too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397336",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T23:55:49",
"content": "The robot arm looks cooler, but the reed switches are the way to go for sensing the players moves.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397337",
"author": "Greycode",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T00:11:33",
"content": "It sounds like they are grating some food. The noise is distracting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397341",
"author": "Title",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T00:22:13",
"content": "Better title: Automated chess set prefers bottom.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397409",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T06:53:32",
"content": "Nice idea (albeit hardly original) but rather poor execution. More like a “mee too” (not unlike the 100000001 dinky “robot arms” whose only redeeming quality is that “this one’s made by me”). It would be essential to have both sides playable by the machine (not always the black) and it is also essential to make it as noiseless as possible, or else the magic goes away real fast and one might as well use a simple chessboard-on-a-screen.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397479",
"author": "Bram",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T11:41:06",
"content": "So what happens when a horse has to pass though 2 other pieces?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397486",
"author": "Agent420",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T12:12:00",
"content": "I’ve had this idea for quite some time but never got around to implementing it… only I was going to make a Ouija board ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397491",
"author": "JamieWho",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T12:28:16",
"content": "@Bram,Why don’t you watch the video and find out. It moves one in the first minute of the 2 minute video. (spoiler: it just slides it in between them.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397539",
"author": "tekgnosis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T15:24:32",
"content": "My grandfather had one of these. I’m not sure when it was made, guessing 70’s.The noise was similar, but the pieces were correctly sized in proportion to the squares; it just moved the offending pieces to the side (then back) for a knight move.I’m not finding the device on the almighty Google(tm), which is disappointing. Despite the noise and significant weight, it worked perfectly and beat my young self two to one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397632",
"author": "bzroom",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T20:53:37",
"content": "sad that the piece always approaches the destination from the same side, rather than taking the optimum trajectory from where it came from.Also, maybe it’s using the reed switches to stop the movement? The pieces never seem to quite make it to the center.If it put a bunch of pieces of center, it may foil its clever “move in between pieces” plan.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,185.991996
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/22/serial-port-jtag-programmer/
|
Serial Port JTAG Programmer
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Tool Hacks"
] |
[
"jtag",
"programmer",
"serial port",
"voltage divider",
"zener diode"
] |
If you’re planning to do some hacking with CPLD or FPGA chips you’ll need a way to program them. JTAG is one of the options and here’s
a cheap method that uses the serial port
(
translated
).
This method requires only four signals (TDI, TMS, TCK and TDO) plus ground. But the problem is that an RS232 serial port operates with 12V logic levels and the JTAG side of the programmer needs to operate with the logic levels native to the device you’re programming. Commercial programmers use a level convert IC to take care of this for you, but that doesn’t mesh with the cheap goal of this project. Instead, [Nicholas] uses Zener diodes and voltage dividers to make the conversion. There is also an LED for each data signal to give some feedback if you’re having trouble.
You can use this along with a programming application that [Nicholas] whipped up using Visual Studio. It works well via the serial port, but he did try programming with a USB-to-Serial dongle. He found that this method slows the process down to an unbearable 5-minutes. Take a look, maybe you can help to get that sloth-like programming up to a manageable speed.
[Thanks Alex]
| 9
| 9
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397007",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:03:46",
"content": "Good if you have a hardware serial port I suppose. For USB there’s always the ubiquitous FT232 in bitbang mode.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397030",
"author": "Arao H. F.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T01:46:50",
"content": "I’ve done a very similar programmer to a dev. kit that i developed and sell, the problems and suggestions and differences on my project are:-The programmer only works with a real serial, possibly can’t run on some of these cheap chinese usb-serial adapters, because of the lack of some signals except RXD and TXD.-The TDO line doesn’t have the RS-232 level for VoL, it could be a huge problem on some PC’s-Five minutes is so much time! I’ve the same problem on my project and understand that SVF are very large files, on mine, the board have an ATTINY2313 that do some unpack on the data and the process is done on 1 minute-Another problem is about the data corruption on serial port, a CRC is very welcome, but can’t exist on this type of design without processing on the JTAG side.-To me isn’t important, but people really do care about a graphical interface",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397045",
"author": "BiOzZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T02:47:41",
"content": "i used to have to use somthing like this ALLLL the time for ARM programmingi finally got my self a nice (overpriced) TI JTAG USB programmer and debugger!than NXP sent me one for free for that “destroy your 8 bit microcontroller” thing like 2 months after spending $400 on one XD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397097",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T08:02:22",
"content": "Small note, while RS232 should be 12V, some ports go as low as 3.3V. So you are better off with a MAX232, which isn’t that expensive.The USB-Serial is a ‘problem’ with the USB-Serial drivers. Some drivers are configurable in latency. (we had problems with slow round trip times, solved it with driver configuration)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397117",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T09:39:30",
"content": "MAX3232 if your target operates at 3.3V.It is not an expensive part by any means and has been a hobby mainstay for years.When you consider the price of the target you are connecting to / devboard, it is worth spending the $1 USD to do it properly…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397118",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T09:39:52",
"content": "http://www.sparkfun.com/products/316",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397232",
"author": "DarkFader",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T17:40:24",
"content": "I expected more “good for you” replies :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397249",
"author": "KnightFire",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T19:00:34",
"content": "Just using surface mount resisters on the proto board impressed the crap out of me :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "500266",
"author": "Benson",
"timestamp": "2011-11-05T08:01:36",
"content": "could you provide the component list.It’s might help a lot.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,185.791251
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/22/its-like-i-can-tell-the-time-just-by-the-color-man/
|
It’s Like… I Can Tell The Time Just By The Color, Man
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"clock hacks"
] |
[
"clock",
"color",
"mbed",
"shiftbrite"
] |
[Alex] has reduced the resolution of his timepiece as a trade-off for speedy-readability. At least that’s what he claims
when describing his color-changing clock
. It uses a ShiftBrite to slowly alter the hue of the clock based on the current time. The concept is interesting: 12:00 starts off at white and slowly fades to green at 3:00, blue at 6:00, red at 9:00, and back to white by 12:00 to start the process over again. He has gotten to the point where he can get the time within about 15 minutes just with a quick look. But he did need to spend a few days acquiring the skill by having the color clock sit next to a traditional digital clock.
The build is pretty simple and we’d bet you already have what you need to make your own. [Alex] is really just proving a concept by using the ShiftBrite and an mBed, there’s no precision RTC involved here. So grab your microcontroller of choice, and an RGB LED of your own and see if you can’t recreate his build.
Of course you could always choose to
build a color-based timepiece that’s even harder to read
.
| 15
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396994",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T23:16:19",
"content": "oh my gosh it’s almost blue:30 o’clock, im gonna be late for work",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396996",
"author": "t&p",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T23:23:00",
"content": "YOU’RE WRONG and color blind! It’s purple o’clock! You’re already half and hour late! Explain that to the boss!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396998",
"author": "Alex McAlpine",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T23:25:34",
"content": "The mbed actually has a 32k crystal, so it will keep time as well as most other table clocks at room temperature. I cannot get 15 minute accuracy quite yet. However, for most of the cycle spectrum I can get within +- 30 minutes with only about a week of use/learning. Some color transitions are harder than others, i.e. 6 to 7",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397005",
"author": "Patrick Gnewikow",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:03:35",
"content": "This reminds me ofhttp://thecolourclock.co.uk/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397013",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:20:09",
"content": "I built a similar thing with RGB LEDs and PWM a while back, but having it pulse between two colours, a long pulse for the hour, and a short pulse for the minutes. You can tell the time to within 5 minutes with this method.Also I was using the standard colours you’d find on an HSV colour wheel you might see in Photoshop’s colour picker, so I was already familiar with the colours and their positions around the wheel.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397018",
"author": "UltimateJim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:56:28",
"content": "Awesome approach to telling time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397023",
"author": "macsboost",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T01:27:28",
"content": "I think I’m going to be late…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397025",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T01:30:15",
"content": "Forgive me, but how long does it take you people to read a clock? And the resolution is within 1 minute, as opposed to 15 minutes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397048",
"author": "Amos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T02:53:24",
"content": "I might make one of these.I like Mike’s method for having minutes and hours, but you could also splurge and get a second LED ;) I also like the idea of a standard “Roy G. Biv” color cycle.An idea: What about adding this to a standard analog clock, so that the entire face is lit? You could get the rough time at a glance, even while running or from very far away, or take a little longer and get the precise time, as usual.Another idea: Make it more of an art piece by using it to illuminate a white statue/knickknack/etc.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397058",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T03:55:17",
"content": "Next he should build a weather beacon like the one here.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Life_Building",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397089",
"author": "bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T07:43:20",
"content": "haha! Great project. You proved what i have thought to be too hard. I’ve thought of this idea but ended up using two leds which gave 12 colors each, allowing 6 minutes of precision. Didn’t make it out of the breadboard…Congrats for proving me it works.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397103",
"author": "maraz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T08:32:05",
"content": "Inspired by this post:http://maraz.be/epilepsy.htmlFeel free to build one ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397106",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T08:53:55",
"content": "Needs more orange and yellow o’clock.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397114",
"author": "MacMcMick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T09:31:56",
"content": "“traditional digital clock.” lol!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397964",
"author": "Andrew O'Malley",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T20:40:01",
"content": "Dig it; been thinkin’ of something like this for a while as well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,185.843407
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/22/bamf2011-lasersaur-is-one-big-laser-cutter/
|
BAMF2011: Lasersaur Is One BIG Laser Cutter!
|
Phil Burgess
|
[
"cnc hacks",
"Laser Hacks"
] |
[
"2011",
"bamf",
"cutter",
"engraver",
"laser",
"lasersaur",
"maker faire",
"makerfaire",
"Makers",
"open source hardware",
"oshw",
"san mateo"
] |
Psst…wanna buy a laser cutter, but not ready to sell your internal organs? Nortd Labs’
Lasersaur
project aims to create an open source large-format
laser cutter/engraver
that undercuts (
har har!
) the cost of commercial models by an order of magnitude.
A Lasersaur built strictly using componentry from the globally-available bill of materials will set you back about $5,000. But if you can source some of the parts locally…or better yet, if you have a knack for scrounging (the
stepper motors
, for example, are common in junked
inkjet printers
)…it may be possible to knock that down by a grand or more. That’s still a big chunk of change for the lone garage tinkerer…but for schools or
hackerspaces
, or anyone who can pool some labor and funding, this could make laser work a lot more practical. Entry-level commercial models can be had for similar cost, but these are tiny in comparison — Lasersaur’s cutting bed is an enormous 140 by 72 centimeters!
Aside from bringing down the cost, another goal of the project is to break from the Windows/Corel hegemony that’s been the rule with most commercial laser platforms. Lasersaur’s “brain” is
Arduino-based
and cross-platform by nature. The hardware is interfaced through a custom motor control shield, easily assembled with all through-hole components.
The Lasersaur project is currently in a closed alpha stage, with the aim of a fully documented 1.0 open source release this summer. Project contributors have early access to the design documents and software, if you’re eager to get crackin’.
| 38
| 38
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396985",
"author": "BiOzZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T22:25:20",
"content": "its large but i dont think its “one BIG lasercutter” seeing some of the professional plasma cutters XDin theory you make one small one making a big one would not be to much more expensive right?the laser is the pricey part XD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396987",
"author": "barry99705",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T22:29:10",
"content": "@BiOzZA laser cutter/engraver and a cnc plasma cutter are two entirely different things.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396992",
"author": "ducksauz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T22:49:29",
"content": "It’s about time Lasersaur popped up and showed some progress. Buildlog is kicking their ass in actually getting plans out to people.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396999",
"author": "macona",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T23:41:56",
"content": "Arduino? Meh. Arduinos are generally considered too slow for any serious stepper work. Plus adding a trajectory planner. Maybe for cutting, but I cant see it for engraving.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397003",
"author": "GBH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T23:58:18",
"content": "@barry99705“two entirely different things”are you high?the only difference is the heada good plasma cutter CNC head will run you $1200 about the same as a good 80-100w CO2 laser and driver (tho i prefer the firestar-f100)@BiOzZ true but sometimes a larger drive system can run a pretty penny depending on how you go about doing it@maconarunning at top baud a USB connection in general is to slow for live drivingusing cashed driving it can be just as fast but im not sure that an arduino can store enough data to do a proper jobI prefer using dual parallel ports for any CNCs i designits cheap, its super fast and can drive up to 8 steppers, 2 PWMs, 2 indicators, 8 bumper switchs, 2 general inputs (wonderful for probing) and with some HAL driver modifications you can stick in an IR receiver and use a remote to do manual adjustments",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397006",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:03:45",
"content": "$5k plus HOW MUCH time and frustration to put it together / tweak it / fix it / upgrade it / get it working *just right* / taunt it / have it taunt you back / dial it in again / replace the laser tube frequently because it isn’t a high quality air cooled tube / etc.I own an Epilog that cost 4 times as much. But I didn’t have to put it together. There are downsides of course – harder to truly “fix” it as it is closed source, more expensive to maintain and purchase but you buy it and it works. Nothing to install or assemble and honestly, my time is worth something.I really hate it when people quote the parts only and omit labor because it paints an inaccurate portrayal of the *ACTUAL* costs of building something.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397010",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:13:33",
"content": "Again, not trying to torpedo this project. I think the approach is great and I fully understand that things take time to be made, perfected, remade, perfected again and then finalized (for now). I would love to be able to make a unit like this for a few grand.That said – this is essentially a Chinese laser in terms of the optics (at least the ones that are currently being used). It uses a water cooled laser tube. The good news is that they are somewhat cheap. This project’s BOM has them at $200 each. They can and do die more often than commercial air cooled tubes however. That may not be much of a problem with this project – or it may – I really don’t know.Just keep in mind however that the chiller being sources (which is $400) is Chinese.http://www.cncoletech.cn/Laser%20Water%20Chiller.htmlIt boasts such amazing features as “Professioanl radiator with great volume of heat diapation that forces the wind cool.”Needless to say, I am a bit skeptical of this chiller. You can buy nice ones on ebay for the same price or less however (Neslab makes some nice ones) but the one they have picked (mostly to keep costs down) is… sketchy at best. I disclaim that I have not done a teardown on this particular chiller myself but I would personally avoid this one.Perhaps the beta version manages to integrate an air cooled laser and maybe later also allows you to swap out to a YAG laser to mark/engrave metal? One can always dream.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397012",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:19:45",
"content": "Lastly, the BOM has roughly 2000 parts. This thing will probably take at LEAST 40 – 60 hours to put everything together (and this assumes your tools are at the ready and you have ample space to spead out – not to mention time needed to tweak it and dial it in). Even if you can hire somebody at minimum wage (in the US) to assemble this (assuming the instructions are that good), it is going to “cost” an extra $300 – $465 in labor. More realistically, this thing would take a few weekends or about $1000 or so in labor.If you don’t mind it or can get free labor – fantastic. But again, I encourage people to not assume labor is “free” when they publish numbers on what things cost when it comes in the form of a project like this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397017",
"author": "barry99705",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:49:57",
"content": "@HackerspacerYou don’t understand this site do you?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397019",
"author": "Oren Beck",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T01:03:33",
"content": "TANSTAAFL?There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Laser?Being serious about the real cost factor differences between a commercial “Product” laser unit and a Hacker’s Prototype? The differences make cost factors go from under stated to simply not comparable. There’s an inherent set of parameters for a commercial product sold as plug in/begin using that are worlds apart from this excellent ProtoHack.BtW, air Vs Fluid cooling for Lasers is not a binary one good/one bad scene either. For example- in one set of designs the coolant should be DI water. Non-conductive, Not toxic or flammable etc. BUT- DI’s often a risk of becoming “hungry” and dissolving metals it contacts. Air Cooling’s a risk of airborne particle entrainment plus a quicker curve from flow stops>component DOOM. Properly set up fluid cooler systems “can” have some fail safer modes where thermosyphon is a backup. Air path systems often do not act so graceful. Cost Vs Fail Gracefully. If the Lasersaur costs enough less as cash out of pocket, we’ll see more of themWho knows, this may be to Lasercutting what Cupcake was for Hobby FDM gear.This overall is a worthy project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397020",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T01:13:24",
"content": "At the risk of offending dozens of people (or more), hobby FDM is still a joke and always will be. The concept of using a small ABS glue gun isn’t even very good in commercial units.This project however seeks to bring actual commercial level lasering into the realm of serious tinkerers. THAT is useful, nitpicking aside.This is basically an open sourced Chinese laser. Which can and do work fairly well. Generally with a bit of hacking and tinkering but they do work and they are less expensive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397021",
"author": "zing",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T01:14:24",
"content": "I’m always amazed at the price differentials based on size. I know it is mostly extracting extra profit from customers that can afford it to subsidize the base models and partly because larger beds require tighter tolerances to reduce waste(much like ICs).But really, if the commercial stuff doesn’t come down in price for basic 2/3 axis platforms, the hobby market is going to grow up to eat their lunch. And they probably can’t take refuge in 4/5 axis for much longer after that.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397024",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T01:28:30",
"content": "Yeah, I think @hackerspacer has missed the point as well. So people LIKE building stuff.It is nice to see that it’s mostly of the shelf parts, unlike the Buildlog one the popped up a few days ago that used custom made rails & bearings – awesome – critical parts that doesn’t yet exist, will probably only have a single production run, are only available from one person, and can’t really be duplicated by anyone else. The fanboi crowd thought that was perfectly ok.Linear rails are fairly cheap, go buy them!I’d ditch the Arduino. If you don’t like PC/Windows, then use Linux/EMC2. With an old PC it’s essentially free.And @Hackerspace, the laser is only 40W, most people run them without a chiller, usually cooling is a bucket of water with a fishpond pump in it. Mind you, those lasers usually have smaller beds.Also, the optics don’t appear to be Chinese – they’d be much cheaper if the were. Just the laser is.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397029",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T01:44:29",
"content": "I like building stuff too – bear in mind that my comments are directed at using things to make things to make money to buy new things :)I am perfectly comfortable with the concept of making things “for fun” but not profit. That just isn’t my perspective is all.And yes, these optics are solid. I also would prefer to see linux over arduino only because the raw power of a stock arduino may be inappropriate for this (but then again it may not – I have not tested it). Can anybody more educated than myself chime in? What about some of the newer arduino compatible boards that have more horsepower that we have seen in the last day or two here?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397032",
"author": "Queeg",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T01:58:05",
"content": "@TonyThe Makerslide linear bearing system on buildlog.net is being licensed as cc-sa attribution with no commercial restrictions.If it works well, it will have a future beyond Barton Dring, it’s creator.Having spent some time reading buildlog lately, I’ve been very impressed by the amount of time and expertise he freely shares.Queeg",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397034",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T02:03:22",
"content": "@Hackerspacer, the Arduino gives you a USB interface. Most PC-based controllers require the PC to have a parallel port.The problem with the Arduino (or rather the shield they are using) is firmware. CAM programs like EMC, Mach3 & TurboCNC are well tested, cheap or free, so why develop something new? Other USB controllers exist as well.These are odd sort of projects. Too expensive for the average hobbyist, too time consuming for the business types.They’re really aimed at start-ups, cash poor but plenty of time, this can make the difference between starting a business or not. Once you do get started though, you may find you simply don’t have the time to build a second machine to keep up with demand, so you simply buy a new one (eg Epilog).Seehttp://www.mechmate.comfor a similar project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397037",
"author": "Queeg",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T02:05:56",
"content": "@HackerspacerRe the Arduino, here’s a thread about a dual Arduino based CNC controller:http://buildlog.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=514&p=3774#p3774Currently beyond my electronics pay grade but maybe something you’d find interesting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397043",
"author": "macona",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T02:27:45",
"content": "@Queeg, I have seen that. At 30khz its slower than any of my other cnc machines. Might be fine for a low res machine. And compared to a smoothstepper that will do up to 4mhz pulses I cant see spending the time and money on a dual arduino kludge. Instead of sticking with atmega they should do it once correctly and use something with more oomph.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397049",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T02:53:48",
"content": "@Queeg, open source means squat if you can’t make it.To make the buildlog.net wheels you need a lathe, which I have.To make the v-rail extrusion I need the die and an aluminium foundry, which I certainly don’t have, and I doubt you do either. Anyone have an aluminium extruder handy? Oh good, run me up a die while you at it, ta.NASA could open source the Space Shuttle – so what?You will need to register, but here –http://www.mechmate.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=6is the way it should have been done.And that’s in steel, by comparison alloy is a piece of cake.As Barton says the off-the-shelf v-rails he was using were overkill for the laser (quite true), but going the custom extrusion route isn’t that bright an idea either.Sometimes wheels don’t need to be re-invented (poorly in this case), and that goes for the custom shield this project uses too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397051",
"author": "joedirt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T03:11:14",
"content": "Not as cool but a CNC plasma cutter might be more appropriate for some cutting needs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397057",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T03:47:02",
"content": "NASA could open source the Space Shuttle – so what?They did, actually.Space Shuttle Operator’s Manual, Revised Edition [Paperback]Ok so maybe not *exactly* but much of what NASA learns is technically available to the public.CNC plasma is nice but fails miserably at cutting details. Great for cutting large hunks of metal out of slightly larger hunks though.Even the most high def plasma with the best commercial controllers and the right software still fails. At that price, you might as well buy a 2000+ watt laser (better performance in that application) or waterjet (about the same price, more accurate although slower and more expensive to run).The arduino isn’t the only thing that can give you a USB interface though. I don’t think it is appropriate for this application given the clock speed. Can it *work* – yes. Should it? No.Maybe with this? BAMF2011: chipKIT is Arduino to the power of 32",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397062",
"author": "joedirt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T04:17:22",
"content": "@hackerspacerThere are enough companies making plasma equipment so somebody must be buying them.But it’s good to know your Epilog is the one and only tool for all your shop needs (what do you do with all the extra shop space? I heard you don’t even own a screwdriver).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397064",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T04:23:08",
"content": "I am not saying plasma is useless. I am saying it, like any tool, has its place. And that place is not replacing a 40 watt laser cutter.We own other tools as well when the need arises for them.I own a standard def (kit based) plasma table, a high def plasma table and a waterjet, among other tools. We don’t own a high powered laser for a number of reasons. Mostly because we do mostly aluminum and cutting aluminum on a laser is tricky at best unless you have a 4000+ watt laser (depending on thickness of course).140 by 72 centimeters = 55.11 inches by 28.34 inches. The largest Epilog is 24″ x 36″.This really is a decent sized laser. How quick and how accurate is it is the question. Epilogs are mighty slow but can do 1200+ dpi raster engravings.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397068",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T04:37:31",
"content": "Yeah, having plans for the Space Shuttle and actually building one are two totally different things. I doubt even NASA could build a Shuttle these days, there’s only so much you can scrounge on eBay.Adding ‘open source’ to a bad idea doesn’t help, you can say those magic words over & over and it’s still a bad idea.It’s occurred to me that this laser doesn’t have any exhaust venting. I guess they’ll figure that out eventually.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397096",
"author": "Olivier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T07:59:04",
"content": "I love comments like : why spend $5.000 and lots of time for something, when you can spend $50.000 and have something which works immediatly.Some people don’t understand why this website is called Hack a Day ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397102",
"author": "Ryan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T08:25:09",
"content": "I’m not a fan of the lasersaur project, mainly because buildlog did it cheaper, simpler and first.Tony has consistently proved himself to be misinformed when it comes to open source hardware but he is spot on in terms of the controller.An arduino is literally the worst choice of hardware to power any kind of cnc machine. It has none of the capabilities you need and is ridiculously underpowered (high speed cnc requires pulses faster than an arduinos instruction cycle).Then they reinvent the entire CAM process but worse and you don’t even save any money for your trouble.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397110",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T09:04:05",
"content": "Ah, @Ryan, but the Adruino is open source, so it should be perfect, right?So fanboi, educate me. Show me where I’m going wrong, and get me back on the true ‘open source’ path. Do I just say “Hail Open Source” ten times and we’re good?Show me how the buildlog rail system (custom manufactured, single source and currently 50% vaporware) is better than the Lasersaur setup.Note that both systems are open source.Note that we are talking lasers which are a lightweight system, similar to a pen plotter.I’m sitting in Sydney Australia, which one can I easily build?Over to you, fanboi.The Lasersaur people do admit they didn’t go out of their way to get the lowest prices, and it shows. $275 for a lens! Plenty of people will sell you the full optics setup (head, lens, mirrors & mounts) for less than that. My last buy was just over $200.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397122",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T09:59:22",
"content": "@Hackerspacer: who needs nuances? it’s just a laser xD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397172",
"author": "willow",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T14:34:46",
"content": "Why pay one-fourth the cost for a DIY/kit version of something which might take some assembly, when you can pay full price for a commercial unit which works right away?Who would, with any seriousness and following of this site, ask that?Most folks on here like assembling their own stuff, afterall half the fun is getting there. And we like saving money, and we don’t mind if it’s DIY quality (which sometimes is as good as commercial)Aside from that, one of the most famous lines of personal computers started as a PCB hobby in a garage, which then became a basic kit sold to folks who then had to buy the I/O devices and the monitor.I’m sure lots of folks said things like “Sure, but it’s no Altair”.Hate to think of what our present would be like if there were no DIYers back then.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397181",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T14:58:19",
"content": "I love comments like : why spend $5.000 and lots of time for something, when you can spend $50.000 and have something which works immediatly (sic).The thing though isn’t that it is $5000 + lots of time vs $50,000. A pre built, top of the line commercial unit is closer to $10000 – $20000, so it really isn’t an “order of magnitude”. You can go all out and spend more but not $50,000 worth.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397183",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T15:05:07",
"content": "@Hackerspacer: who needs nuances? it’s just a laser xDThings like a z axis, auto focus, exhaust, red dot homing, variable dpi engraving, bottom up raster engraving, air assist, aluminum honeycomb cutting surfaces and the like are all, in total, very nice things to have when operating a laser. Commercial units have them and again, I reiterate this project is fantastic but I would not consider one until it is as feature rich as a commercial unit.Building something and then struggling with it at length over simple, time consuming hassles is not the hallmark of a solid build, in my opinion.That all said,this project will get there. I give it about a year to a year and a half to solve most of those issues.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397187",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T15:16:57",
"content": "Ugh, such class privilege. Here’s a thought, I can’t afford a commercial laser cutter. They tend to cost more than I make in an entire year.So the “how much is my time worth formula” is pretty easy to compute. I simply can’t buy one, see how easy that was?However, as a student who has the time to maybe scrounge around for parts, these open source projects are great. Think of the little people, the ones who can’t just throw money at commercial systems.It’s also great cred too when you can show your professors that you can build DIY solutions to otherwise commercial systems.In fact, my DIY camera controller systems and sensors are really popular with my friends and profs and it’s definitely helping me with grad school portfolios, they tend to like that sort of thing.It wouldn’t exactly be special if I just said “hey look at this cool thing I bought.”So stop speaking for everyone or repeating the same crap we already know. Yes, there are busy people who don’t have the time. Get over yourself, we aren’t all like you.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397191",
"author": "willow",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T15:31:45",
"content": "I suppose I missed it somewhere, the portion of the project which said it was out to upstage commercial units and provide the exact same range of features and industrial-capable-service.I checked the project goal section which mentioned wanting to provide an open source readily-repeatable solution to personal laser cutting.I’ve seen the light now.Why have Hack a Day when you can just go to Thinkgeeks and buy cool commercial gadgets.Shoot, why have a commercial laser cutter when you can just buy the parts custom-made commercially?Why use anything Google, when you can just pay for a search engine, or pay for GPS navigation?Why spend my time building something for fun which comes in a kit form when I can just buy it?Why build a house, there’s plenty of caves which came already available from nature.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397202",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T16:00:59",
"content": "Why buy a commercial unit when eventually an open source one at least meets if not surpasses the commercial offerings? THAT is what I am personally waiting for. I don’t speak for everybody here and I never said I do. For me, it makes more sense to purchase a commercial unit at this point in time. The pendulum is swinging the other way however and before too long (1 – 1.5 years?), my Epilog will be (somewhat) matched by DIY efforts like this.That is, in my opinion, awesome.But I can’t operate a commercial venture with promises and what will come. But when it does, I will embrace it openly and warmly. I would rather my machines be open source rather than closed sourced, over priced and proprietary.Which is, why I reiterate once again, why I am very encouraged by this project.I am also following this guy very closely:http://3dhomemade.blogspot.com/He is basically making an open sourced high def 3d printer. That can be made for under $5000 that literally competes with $40,000 – $120,000+ units in terms of speed, quality and final output materials. In some ways it could even surpass it.But he too is a good 1 – 1.5 years out (or more) from being completed.So again, I am not arguing this project is crap because it can’t run with the “big dogs” of commercial or industrial units. I only stated that I am waiting for it to match the capacity of commercial units before it becomes viable for me and my usage requirements. Your mileage may vary – and that doesn’t make me all high and mighty and I never intended to come across as if it did.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397248",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T18:39:20",
"content": "Sometimes ‘buy vs build’ comes down to ‘just buy it’.Not just in the commercial sphere as @Hackerspacer is referring to, but for the rest of us as well.The small 40W lasers cost about $1,000 these days and require minimal setup, and if you price the components, well, you don’t save much money. You do gain the joy and aggravation of DIY though…It’s not the first time that’s happened, people used to build radios & TV’s too. I don’t think it’ll happened with large bed lasers though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397265",
"author": "komega",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T20:03:57",
"content": "I’m buying into this.I very much want to be able to mod/fix/hack my own laser cnc. And yes, the arduino may be a little underpowered for driving this badboy, but there are other, very affordable, multi-axis drivers that can be put in place of the arduino such as to be compatible with Mach3 etc.All in all, the lasersaur team did a bunch of work, and their design is sound, but still in progress. I applaud them for their efforts and would rather my hard-earned laser dollars go to some upstart hackers than to epilog or universal. I want my maintenance contract to be with myself, thanks, not with a for-profit company.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397285",
"author": "macona",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T21:24:11",
"content": "I understand where Hackerspacer is coming from. Just like a CNC router table. Yes, you can build one yourself for pretty cheap. About on the order of what it costs to build a laser cutter vs buy a commercial one. But for a place like that needs to have the machine operating like a school, business, or techshop like entity it is not a viable option. In these locations you need to be able to get the machine up and running in minimal time and if the machine goes down get troubleshooting help on a 9-5 basis or even get a tech to come out when it breaks down. That is the limitation of home made machines. Just like in the days before mass production many of the parts in a home made laser cutter are one offs or limited supply parts from one or two vendors.But for someone who wants to build a machine for themselves there is usually little issues here. I am slowly, I mean slowly, building my own laser cutter as well. It is a low priority project.But the lasersaur justs costs too much for what it is, even as a kit. You can buy a 1000mm x 1200mm bed , 80 watt chinese made machine for $8k, 600mm x 900mm bed, 80 watt for $6300. And this has a real control on it (chinese DSP)and comes with the chiller, exhaust fan, and after alignment it is ready to go. The software is kind of “meh”, but it works pretty well. The hardware itself seems to be really good and has a couple features that i would like to have seen on the Epilog.It comes down to this, the lasersaur should at least compete with a chinese machine of equal bed size and power, at this point it does not.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "398399",
"author": "andrea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-27T02:07:04",
"content": "@Tony- actually a 40w on ebay cost around $350-400 not 1,000$@macona- i actually don’t think the lasersaur competes with the chinese already. I saw it at MF in SF last weekend, and I have to say it competes much more with my 30k universal then the crappy chinese systems I have played with. Its a super solid system.I do not think/get the impression they were trying to make the cheapest system, I think they were trying to make a system which can be built worldwide, that is super solid and build a system which can grow with its community. Being on the alpha list, I can tell you there are tons of people actively building the lasersaur as we speak and tons of people actively working on it behind the scenes..Seriously, give it 1 year or so, with the community it has behind it, I have no doubt it will surpass/beat all the commercial systems in both performance, software and price point.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,185.475283
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/22/hacking-for-feline-enjoyment/
|
Hacking For Feline Enjoyment
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"home hacks"
] |
[
"cat",
"most useless machine",
"mouse",
"toy"
] |
[Dino] is staying true to his goal of hacking one project every week. This time around, he’s working on
a toy that will amuse and delight his cats
. The project centers around a mouse house that has two holes where mice can stick their heads out. When they do, a little LED lamp illuminates their appearance in hopes to catch the eye of your lazy kitty.
The mechanism that automates this device is quite clever and reminds us of
the most useless machine
. That is, the armature that holds a mouse on either end actuates a limiting switch in the middle of the box when it moves to expose one of the mice. Each of those mice is attached with a rod, along side a leaf switch that makes the mouse retreat when boinked on the head by the cat.
It only takes [Dino] about six minutes to walk us through the build in the video after the break. What follows is a walk through of the wiring and some playtime with the family pets. Despite the intended purpose, it looks like the dog is much more interested than the cat. Either way, it’s a winner in our book.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szOejQhKgX8&w=470]
| 12
| 12
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396977",
"author": "caleb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T21:35:51",
"content": "yay kitties! now i need to build a robot that will feed, burp, change , and carry the baby around the house so my poor back can get a break!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396978",
"author": "Steveeeee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T21:44:55",
"content": "Love this!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396979",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T21:44:59",
"content": "@caleb Hey that could be a HaW project! lol",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396980",
"author": "IceBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T22:00:52",
"content": "I love how the cat is completely uninterested. One does not simply force a cat to play!Nice build, by the way, simple and effective (and cute).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396986",
"author": "Dennis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T22:29:02",
"content": "I can see adding a motion sensor and reset timer. Keeping the mice in the house until the cat walks by. Then reset the mice after a certain amount of no activity.Vibrating motors in the mice might keep the cats attention once the mouse is out of the house.Very cool project this should be a product for retail. Cheaper then running the TV all day.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396991",
"author": "anfegori91",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T22:48:13",
"content": "Tesla Photo¡¡",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397022",
"author": "moo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T01:15:39",
"content": "I agree making the mouse shake/vibrate will get the cat’s and dog’s attention better :) I thinking I’m gonna build something similar for my dog.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397053",
"author": "caleb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T03:18:13",
"content": "@ Dinoim just gonna throw it out there, it should probably wash bottles too. and get my beer from the fridge! ill preorder mine now, thanks :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397178",
"author": "Karl Rosenqvist",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T14:55:02",
"content": "What a wonderfully wellmeaning idea gone horribly wrong!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397188",
"author": "Mark",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T15:18:30",
"content": "Very nicely done, Dino. I like that you did this entirely electromechanically: my own design aesthetic is frequently marred by an inability to find the simple solution hiding inside the complex one.I also think that you’ve discovered a universal of feature of cats: the more money (or time) you spend on a cat toy, the less likely they are to pay any attention. I’ve probably got $50 worth of cat toys scattered around, but the only one that Scrappy likes to play with is an orange shoe lace.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397221",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T17:02:01",
"content": "I was watching Dino’s uStream feed on this as he built it and vibrating motors inside the mice was a planned feature, but they got burnt up in the integration process… so maybe they can be added.Yes this is a highly modifiable design, because cats love to play with all kinds of whiz-bang things.I say ADDZ SUM LAZERZ!!!Nice job Dino!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "398579",
"author": "corp769",
"timestamp": "2011-05-27T16:38:03",
"content": "Your soldering station looks exactly like the one that is used within the US Air Force ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,185.942597
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/22/shoehorning-rs-232-into-a-minitel-terminal/
|
Shoehorning RS-232 Into A Minitel Terminal
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"classic hacks"
] |
[
"dumb terminal",
"Minitel"
] |
In the early 80s, millions of terminals were handed out to French telephone subscribers. Nearly 9 million of these Minitel dumb terminals were in use at one time, and with that degree of ubiquity, we’re surprised we haven’t heard of them before. These boxes were usually connected to the outside world through their internal 1200bps modem, but [O. Blt] came up with
this build
(Google Translate link) so he could connect to a local machine with an RS-232 port.
After digging up the pinout for the Minitel’s DIN-8 port, [O. Blt] designed a little board around a MAX232 chip scavenged from an old motherboard. Of course there was a need to get the terminal to
do
something, so [O. Blt] used the Minitel as a display and remote control for Winamp. The project was successful, but not very useful – at 1200 bps, the refresh is very, very slow.
American readers may remember connecting to the Minitel network with their Apple ][s and C64s with CommunityLink, but this service was driven out of the market by the giants of pre-web dial-up, Prodigy and Compuserve. In any case, after seeing the
AZERTY
and
alphabetic
keyboard layouts of these old boxes gives us a feeling of nostalgia for a time before everything dealing with computers was standardized.
| 30
| 29
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396900",
"author": "Flo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T16:28:16",
"content": "eh.. AZERTY is a standard.. it’s still used in france and belgium",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1007163",
"author": "loopingz",
"timestamp": "2013-05-23T06:21:50",
"content": "Yes infortunately true. I fully switch to qwerty at home (different ones us spanish portuguese and english, who was talking about stds?) but I still have one at work. Switching scks believe me!",
"parent_id": "396900",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "396903",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T16:37:33",
"content": "Reminds me of the terminals Bell Canada rented out, heres a link…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_(videotex_service)They were a ripoff though because they charged through the nose and had no content, but you could connect to a BBS with them, I still have one I found in a Goodwill too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396905",
"author": "Paul Potter",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T16:43:35",
"content": "I’m wondering if that’s how I could use a similar UK Alcatel.Also, does anybody know of any tech details for the little old Sony Videotext terminal with calculator style keyboard?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396919",
"author": "petrus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T17:36:42",
"content": "1200 bauds is the modem speed, not the serial line speed. Speed is up to 9600 bauds.Refresh is still slow at 9600, but a minitel can be used as a linux console for a headless server.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396921",
"author": "Zee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T17:42:38",
"content": "Wow. The ignorance is surprising. AZERTY is still the standard for France and Belgium. I’m also surprised that you haven’t heard of Minitel as hackers. In the late 80s it was the thing to hack even outside of france because of how cheap the terminals were.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396928",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T18:04:41",
"content": "@Flo: Yeah, it’s standardized, but no one in their right mind would use it. The French are a bit weird when it comes to adapting to standards (->octet instead of bits, which makes their megabyte a megaoctet)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396934",
"author": "biou",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T18:30:49",
"content": "@max: it seems that the French translated lots of words in IT. byte -> octet, computer -> ordinateur, and so on. French is a real language, you know :) On the keyboard layout side, there are lots of them in Europe :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyboard_layout#Switzerland_.28German.2C_French.2C_Italian.2C_Romansh.29.2C_Liechtenstein.2C_LuxembourgFor example, I am working in Luxembourg, where you can find in every office Swiss French QWERTZ, Belgian AZERTY, German QWERTZ…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396936",
"author": "AntoineC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T18:36:30",
"content": "@max:Yeah, the French are truly bizarre. Not only they use “octet” for byte, but also “ordinateur” for computer, “lune” for moon, “chaise” for chair, and so on.Actually, I have heard that they do not use English but a strange language called “French”.But, it get worse. It seems the Spanish speak Spanish and Russians speak Russian…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396937",
"author": "Echoes",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T18:42:16",
"content": "There’s an emulator of a minitel server for the atari ST. Sources avaiable. I have a videotel (italian minitel) terminal myself, but I’m too lazy to convert the sources to something more usable or to set up an emulator and com redirection.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396941",
"author": "dreamer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T19:03:43",
"content": "@ Max: no one in their right mind would use qwerty post-typewriter, but somehow it is “standard” to do so.Btw, nothing wrong with octets imho.Pretty impressive that 1/6th of the country had these terminals at the time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396942",
"author": "Paul Potter",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T19:19:34",
"content": "It just so happens that I’ve got an ST.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396944",
"author": "termm",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T19:28:51",
"content": "Thats funny, I’m typing this comment using a AZERTY keyboard.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396947",
"author": "Andrei Cociuba",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T19:46:07",
"content": "it just so happens i stumbled onto that site a week ago, when i got my hands onto a minitel terminal as well.works exactly as described, like a charm. it is currently running as a linux terminal, showing some processor statistics with htop.it lacks a backspace key, though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396950",
"author": "JyB",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T19:49:41",
"content": "There are a lot of keyboard standards besides QWERTY. French are not the only “weirdos” with locale specifics.I personally “owned” two versions of this terminal, the simple one and the one with a smart card slot. It was the standard way to access white page service. You could buy stuff from online vendors of the time like La Redoute, browse weather forecast, get your national exams results, browse business registry info, get train tickets …The most financially profitable services were adult chat rooms.Nowadays a few professional services are still available that way but Internet mostly killed any interest in this network. The number one reason for its success was that it was provided for free when you opened a phone line. The cost per minute was very high though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396952",
"author": "haltux",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T19:57:34",
"content": "@MaxNo one is using US keyboard, neither in France, nor in Germany or anywere else in continental europe, except sometimes in american companies. That makes a lot of people who do not have the right mindset.And by the way, octet is not a standard, it is a translation.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396953",
"author": "haltux",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T19:59:24",
"content": "Something is wrong in this article. Minitel were not in use, it is in use. Its end is planned in september 2011, even though most french believe it died long time ago.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396958",
"author": "Eric",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T20:54:06",
"content": "@Max8 bits being a byte, octet (coming from octo -> 8) actually makes more sense than byte.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396959",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T20:54:19",
"content": "An interesting project, but I’m a t loss to what “I” would use a dumb terminal for these days. I ques I could connect it to one of my old packet modems, and a scanner to monitor the local amateur radio APRS traffic.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396972",
"author": "Vince",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T21:19:26",
"content": "Also made my own version several years ago using different components.The post is also Google-translated because I’ve written it in french too.http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alphak.net%2Fnews%2F2008%2F08%2Fa-minitel-story%2F",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396975",
"author": "third",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T21:30:40",
"content": "@haltux“No one is using US keyboard, neither in France, nor in Germany or anywere else in continental europe”Wait, what? Then what am I typing on? As a Dutchman, I haven’t seen any other type of keyboard around here. I know Belgium and France have their AZERTY, and Germany its QWERTZ, but around here everyone is quite happy with their QWERTY. That’s US-International, mind you, with an @ above the 2, instead of an “.Anyway, back to the actual hack. It is a lovely little thing. I love it when people find new ways to use old technology, especially in such an elegant non-invasive way.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396995",
"author": "Yan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T23:20:27",
"content": "I’m french living in Spain, and qwerty keyboard has its own variant here. Azerty is just another mapping, macs are also using their own variants. US mapping is just more frequent, but not a standard, especially for accents. Anyway minitel are not so common because they were rented by France telecom for users. Most of the people handed back to France Telecom (orange now) who has probably destroyed them. I have still Mine and it is still perfectly working.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397000",
"author": "ftorama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T23:48:26",
"content": "well AZERTY or QWERTY keyboards are quite a small problem compared to that prehistoric imperial units…Now we are rich enough to buy a ruler and don’t try to measure with our toes and fingers ^^Regarding Minitel, it’s said to be the main reason why Internet took so much time to settle in France. You were able to do quite anything online with that little terminal, but don’t tell me to use one again lol",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397094",
"author": "nes",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T07:52:46",
"content": "I like the Alcatel terminal with the alphabetic keyboard. Nice piece of industrial design.We had several similar PSTN connected terminal networks in the UK at the time. Prestel was used for government stuff, worked at 1200/75 baud and had blocky colour graphics. The OU ran some of its distance learning courses over headless 300 baud terminals where the output was a line printer. Anachronistic garbage compared to Minitel sadly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397121",
"author": "CG",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T09:59:11",
"content": "Flashing back to QSD right now…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397282",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T21:13:12",
"content": "They say “octet” to make it very explicit that they’re talking about an 8-bit data object. Not all hardware always used 8-bit bytes, or single-byte characters, or word sizes of 8, 16, or 32 bits, or unsigned bytes, or five seven-bit-ASCII characters packed into a 36-bit word, or five-bit Baudot code characters.During the 1980s, it was becoming very common to use 8-bit bytes to represent a character (though ASCII was only seven bits and there were multiple standards about how to handle the 8th bit, whether to use it as parity or one of many extended character sets, and whether codes 0-31 were control codes or other things like line drawing or hearts and spades and smileys), and word sizes were mostly standardized on 8, 16, and 32, but it was hardly universal, and you’d have chips like the 68000 where the I/O bus size was 16 bits (so ints were usually 16 bits) but the address space and registers were 32 bits.And 1200 baud slow? That’s roughly 1200 words per minute, so it’s as fast as you read, and a lot faster than you can type.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397463",
"author": "churchill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T10:43:06",
"content": "And if I’m not wrong the seped of a Minitel was 1200 bauds in, and 75 bauds out.Typed on a Qwertz keyboard :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "404295",
"author": "polak",
"timestamp": "2011-06-11T07:00:44",
"content": "Poles use a US keyboard layout, even with their extra characters, which are available by a ctl-key combination.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "408108",
"author": "MikrySoft",
"timestamp": "2011-06-20T21:46:29",
"content": "not ctl-key but right alt + key",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1048944",
"author": "Papy.G",
"timestamp": "2013-08-28T12:56:26",
"content": "There had Querty Minitels too, prototypes based on the Alcatel M1B, but in black or beige, no brown, as far as I know. Those were designed to conquer Us marquet, which kinda failed.Only Minitel 2 and later were able to send 9600bps, early models were able to 4800bps max.The keyboard on the pic shows a very late one, probably with smart card reader, and graphics ability.Some have slide-inside keyboards (Philips/RTIC), some have slap and close ones (Alcatel/Telic), others have fixed one (Matra), I assume with variants and colors, a collector can get between 30 and 50 units without any double.For the refreshing rate of the screen, just get the serial rate divided by 10 (1 start bit, seven data, one parity, one stop) provided you have no special attribute (color, size, underscore, anything…) then, you have to make the result divide the number of characters in the screen, which can be 40×24 or 80×24 (ignoring the state line in the upper).Not to be annoyed by the upload slow rate of 75bauds (same as 75bps because of the internal modem’s ability/limits), there had a send buffer of 200 keys, if my memory doesn’t fail, so it is enough not to lose strokes along (especially if you consider the keyboard’s touch and feel). Anyway, there didn’t have word processors service, so it was rare to have more than 20 characters to send at once.Soon (maybe since the serial connection was available), the modems had the ability to be reversed during session, so the 1200baud speed was practically usable both ways.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,186.061454
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/22/we-know-marios-early-years-was-a-let-down-but-this-takes-it-a-bit-too-far/
|
We Know “Mario’s Early Years” Was A Let Down, But This Takes It A Bit Too Far.
|
Jesse Congdon
|
[
"home hacks",
"how-to"
] |
[
"snes",
"urine"
] |
[JJ Hendricks] wrote in to tell us about his
SNES cartridge urinal
. The fully functional urinal is constructed with 40 SNES cartridges and sealed up with polyurethane. The base of the whole operation is actually not a puddle of festering urine, but instead poured polyurethane that ensures proper flow through the drain. You heard right, this urinal actually flushes! As a bit of consolation [Hendricks] plainly states in the directions:
“
No good games were damaged in the making of this video. All the video games used in this urinal were already broken or worthless sports games”. We have featured some SNES
cartridge
readers
before, so now you have something to do with all the leftover hardware! Gross.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQlCaroTcIw&w=470]
| 27
| 27
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396875",
"author": "Karl",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T14:35:44",
"content": "Now, what do you do when you have one of these in your homeb?Install one of these:http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-01/06/sega-toylets-japan",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396878",
"author": "Capissen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:02:17",
"content": "All those little nooks and crannies…difficult to clean. Seems extremely unhygienic.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396879",
"author": "AVGN",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:14:20",
"content": "LJN games..???",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396880",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:14:50",
"content": "I agree. There is a reason surfaces you piss on tend to be made out of non porous, flat and therefore easier to clean surfaces.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396881",
"author": "ss",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:18:25",
"content": "Disgusting. The picture at the end with urine is TMI…Lots of people with poor imagination therefore plenty of time in their hands out there",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396883",
"author": "Dissy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:24:36",
"content": "Yea when they said it was sealed in polyurethane, I assumed they meant all of the cartridges were put together then one huge coat of the stuff over everything, so as the polyurethane was the only exposed surface…That at least would have been hygenic and easily cleaned.This mess will be just that. Eww, and wait until the paper labels start pealing off*Insert Mr Yuck face*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396884",
"author": "rusty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:25:04",
"content": "it says there was polyurethan involved it’s smooth. dumb people with their lack of reading abillities.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396885",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:28:55",
"content": "It wasn’t clear if the entire inside was PU treated or not. It was noted that the drain was PU and not urine however.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396889",
"author": "t&p",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:42:31",
"content": "GOD THEY USED SUPER SCOPE 6how sadI have that game. It’s fun to play with friends!and for the restAll those donor carts gone… would have been great for homebrew",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396892",
"author": "Sariel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:48:11",
"content": "some things just shouldn’t happen. for instance, bag hangers that hang your purse off the table. this is about as useless as a motorcycles ashtray. All crap aside though, from an artistic pov this would be an awesome piece to feature in a gallery with similar projects. I can just imagine an entire tub built with that shitty ET game on Atari. Bonus points if he makes a commode and makes TP out of the labels from the carts he used.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396894",
"author": "Paul Potter",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:50:36",
"content": "An interesting make.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396895",
"author": "zacdee316",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:50:47",
"content": "A little piece of me died today. And it wasn’t from an earthquake / flood.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396899",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T16:25:07",
"content": "I rewatched the video and the only part that has a urethane coating was the drain. The rest of it does not appear to or if it does, it is so thin that it only serves to protect the labels but does not cover the nooks and crannies of the cartridges, so to speak. So cleaning this means breaking out the toothbrush. Not fun.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396901",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T16:33:58",
"content": "These guys must have been pissed when they made it!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396906",
"author": "steve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T16:52:43",
"content": "This rocks! Awesome hack! Like it!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396910",
"author": "reportingsjr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T17:01:06",
"content": "I read the guide that came with this and the creator does list that he sprays polyurethane on all of the cartridges. It’s not a completely flat surface, but I doubt it would be that hard to clean like some of the people above are saying.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396923",
"author": "Piku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T17:50:22",
"content": "I’d like one that contains all the FIFA games. I’d enjoy peeing on those.Needs more Arduino and twitter. Maybe a sealed SNES that is pee controlled.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396931",
"author": "Stan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T18:21:52",
"content": "To bad they aren’t Sony games. I would great satisfaction pissing on a Sony product.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396956",
"author": "Frogz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T20:52:00",
"content": "this isnt real…hackaday is trolling us again..please tell me this is the case….please…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396974",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T21:27:48",
"content": "So this is not imaginative? Give me break. While I’m not moved to duplicate it, it’s still imaginative IMO. Me I’d hunt down one of those foot operated flush valve sometimes still seen in US government buildings. The hand of the last guy to flush may be using the hand he just held his wiener with.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396989",
"author": "anti-fanboi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T22:40:18",
"content": "Cool! I can’t wait for the toilet bowl made of Arduinos… Maybe even a sewerage plant made of ‘Duinos",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397004",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:00:22",
"content": "I would rather touch a wiener than a hand. Both are just skin but a hand touches thousands of things a day. Probably can’t say that about a wiener. Unless you are *really* talented.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397100",
"author": "Olivier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T08:16:15",
"content": "@D_ @Hackerspace: so, you don’t wash your hands after going to the toilet? It’s even more disgusting that this “toilet”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397112",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T09:15:28",
"content": "Better pissed off than pissed on, as you can see…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397259",
"author": "Tyler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T19:45:12",
"content": "This is a disgrace to SNES.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397740",
"author": "Kimura",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T04:38:42",
"content": "This belongs in The Nerd’s basement.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6145640",
"author": "Jbl",
"timestamp": "2019-04-28T21:00:52",
"content": "Perfect, plenty of sports games in there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,186.131626
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/21/bamf2011-keyboards-built-from-scratch/
|
BAMF2011: Keyboards Built From Scratch
|
Phil Burgess
|
[
"classic hacks"
] |
[
"2011",
"bamf",
"custom",
"ergonomic",
"keyboard",
"maker faire",
"makerfaire",
"Makers",
"san mateo",
"tactile",
"vim"
] |
As the most direct interface between computer and programmer, keyboards can be a deeply personal, sometimes almost
religious
thing. Some find solace in their vintage
IBM Model M
, or luxurious
leather keyboard
, but maker [Carol Chen] took things into her own hands, quite literally. [Carol]’s Maker Faire exhibit has a half dozen specimens of interesting commercial tactile and ergonomic options…but [Chen]’s personal keyboard, where she commits to her work as a full-time coder, has been made to her own exacting specifications.
Cherry switches
are available in different colors corresponding to varying tactile feels. These can either be scrounged from existing keyboards (as [Chen] does for the key caps), or vendors such as
Digi-Key
can source the different colors if you want custom pressure for each finger (as on some commercial ergonomic models). A
laser-cut acrylic
backing plate holds the key switches in place, while wiring was soldered in point-to-point fashion rather than
etching a PCB
. Custom-fabbing the keyboard allows [Chen] to tailor the layout to her
vim
-heavy coding style. Note the miniature space bar, and curious placement of modifier and macro keys around the periphery. A YouTube video shows an earlier iteration of the keyboard in action:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj6LFgt_mAs&W=470]
| 35
| 33
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396710",
"author": "sneakypoo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T00:46:16",
"content": "I’m probably going to get railed for this but… She spends several weeks on getting this new keyboard together but can’t take two minutes to pick up the dirty laundry from the floor?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396711",
"author": "dext0rb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T00:52:12",
"content": "what kind of hacker gives a shit about cleaning dirty laundry? who are you…MOM?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396721",
"author": "you",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T01:33:40",
"content": "ohh my god, she didn’t even vacuum prior to filming this. they really need to be careful of the things they post, as some may be offended by irrelevant issues.I’d like to see custom key buttons, something that suites specific needs for gamers, video editing, and the likes.I mean you could just buy a gaming keyboard, but what fun is that?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396735",
"author": "hekilledmywire",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T02:14:07",
"content": "OMG, a keyboard!Now really, no real coder works in Windows, and if I was her boss I would not let her take that to the work place, its wires all over the place, one short and bam a dead usb controller or a dead computer, no thanks sir.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396736",
"author": "MOM",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T02:23:52",
"content": "@dext0rbHahaha the image of the ‘real’ hacker not picking up his/her dirty laundry.Who are you? An attarded teenager?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396737",
"author": "bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T02:28:59",
"content": "I’d like ’em more if they supported 2.1, but the price is nice.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396739",
"author": "bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T02:31:23",
"content": "Whoops.Anyway, I like this. It’s tempting to do something like an MS Natural, but fit to the individual. Could use a multitouch surface to “ghost type” a blank space and log the general pattern, then prototype a physical version with the Cherries.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396748",
"author": "hekilledmywire",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T02:58:15",
"content": "And also real programmers dont use arrows keys, they use hjkl",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396769",
"author": "fgrey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T03:55:39",
"content": "Hmm, some documentation on how she worked out what goes where would have been awesome. Most keyboard have insanely complex layouts since they use a single plastic printed matix",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396774",
"author": "RIUM+",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T04:37:01",
"content": "The all-important question… Qwerty, dvorak or colemak?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396777",
"author": "Allen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T05:01:04",
"content": "“No real coder” … Only a single minded person with knowledge of the subject would make assumptions like you have hekilledmywire. Sadly nobody has coded an “idiot filter” for the internet. If they did there is a chance it would be coded in windows ; )",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396778",
"author": "Allen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T05:01:59",
"content": "with no knowledge*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396800",
"author": "CB4",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T07:59:31",
"content": "haters :)I think it’s awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396806",
"author": "Invader",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T08:45:25",
"content": "You guys should double check you Servers… the Java virus has been relentlessly attacking me recently and this is the site i visit the most. check you %Appdata%, ALL of the server files, and your Application data Folder in your C:/ drive root! P.S. Wish I would have seen you guys at maker fair today!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396809",
"author": "Ike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T09:00:32",
"content": "@sneakypoo: Just goes to show she’s a true hacker. She’ll tidy up when she’s finished her current projects.@hekilledmywire: This is probably why you’ll probably not get the best people working for you. You tighten the reigns around creative people and they lose their will and patience to work with you. I know, I’ve seen a lot of good people leave because of poor management and overbearing bosses.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396817",
"author": "EverestX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T09:34:56",
"content": "From one keyboard fanatic to another, this is hot!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396845",
"author": "MrX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T12:37:59",
"content": "Holly sh*t!! That room is dirty as hell. I’m not impressed, all that cabling should be replaced by a custom pcb. No need for breadboarding if the controller is commercial.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2462904",
"author": "wyatt8740",
"timestamp": "2015-03-03T20:44:09",
"content": "well, I can tell several of us don’t appreciate the finer points of hacking hardware… Who cares what it looks like if it works well and you enjoy it!? (BTW, check out my basement and cable management. No one has died and no hardware has failed as a result of it.",
"parent_id": "396845",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "396867",
"author": "some gui over there",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T14:11:41",
"content": "hey neato! i JUST brought home a couple of clicketty clackers at the thrift store for a project with the same goal! neat thanks for being the first post i see after god killed all of his true followers and brought them back to heaven so he could eat them and become one with him forever and…. man… i like electronical components … my pc case is rarely closed… my clothes spend more time on the floor than they do in my closet… i don’t shower every single day unless i get really dirty every day… i prefer to sleep alone in my own bed, but i really enjoy your company and our sex… just because it takes me a long time to fish through my pockets to find whatever cash i need to pay for something doesn’t mean that i am broke… i don’t write every single post as if it were a speech, or speak every thought as poetry- does this mean i don’t know how to… communicate effectively??? so i don’t really believe that i am some kind of individual who is different from every other person out there trying to do stuff they like, or wants to like stuff they do… unconventional: after all, it only took two people about 15 minutes of actually doing some good working to make me and i have injected way more money into the economy than was ever invested in me… lol i really would be filthy rich if i knew someone who didn’t know how to spend my money better than i do when i am trying to do things that might help make the world a little better… its like 12 hours after the rapture and i am not in heaven yet. god didn’t kill me because i don’t go to church… he let me live because when the earthquakes were going on the stereo was turned up to 11 and well, i guess we all think that kind of shaking is normal… no i am not hung over all, to tell you the truth i slept for like 10 hours until two in the afternoon, then relaxed over some strong coffee while having a deep conversation with people who love me enough to tell me i’m wrong and still allow me proceed with whatever parts of my plans which aren’t open for suggestion because i managed to show how their arguments were logically invalid and their reasoning was not sound, and their past experiences were biased to environmental variables that are no longer issues, needless to say i was wrong, i still am wrong, and have every intention of being wrong in the future. if i ever did anything right the very first time it’s because i wasn’t aware that i had to learn how to do something before i did it. maybe i should. maybe i should.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396873",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T14:28:21",
"content": "Wow, that is an impressive amount of work I guess. I think that “pad shaving” and bump tip pregnating yields great results in sensitivity. Mind you this is coming from a synth keyboard repair guy, but the principles would be similar. I have repaired many dead contacts or faulty ones this way. Overclocking the keymatrix scan gives you some fudge room on synths, but I rarely mess with it. The only time I have is when some prosumer level synth promises aftertouch sensitivity which is never implemented in the midi message bytes. This can lead to “muddy” keys and can be remedied/masked by the overclocking. Dunno how much of this actually translates to typing keyboards, but I would definitely say the magic is in the rubber nipple pads/mini spring mechanism and the actual contact pad on the keyboard, which would have been far easier to implement than this marvel of spaghetti wires. Again, kudos on the build, but I’m not sure much couldn’t be done with modified stock for similar results. Finally a quick little hardware guy/coder jab: Ya have tried upping the typematic display rate in BIOS, right???i keed i keed",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396912",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T17:10:50",
"content": "I don’t care how much you program, this is entirely too much work for a custom PC keyboard.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396925",
"author": "jero32",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T17:54:36",
"content": "As noble as this is….I doubt you can make a better keyboard at home then what’s already been made commercially. I mean they have keyboards for EVERYONE practicly. The point to point wiring is also kinda messy…would’ve liked to see a custom pcb. (but if she wants her messy wiring that’s fine with me)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396926",
"author": "ENKI-][",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T17:56:00",
"content": "I’m happy to see someone fabricating a fairly standard-looking keyboard. I was considering doing something like this and adding a joybutton (i.e., a TrackPoint(TM) without the TM); if someone has done the hard part of designing a one-off keyboard and showing that it can be fabbed, I don’t have to reinvent the wheel (or hope that the designs tailored to mass-production will still be feasible for one-off).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396966",
"author": "Frogz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T20:56:05",
"content": "“No real coder” … Only a single minded person with knowledge of the subject would make assumptions like you have hekilledmywire. Sadly nobody has coded an “idiot filter” for the internet. If they did there is a chance it would be coded in windows ; )I believe hackaday has a rat that’s eyes glow red when 1 is detectedand btw, im a real coder, i use batch files in windows 7! that counts….right….?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396968",
"author": "Frogz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T21:00:01",
"content": "@Invader/isaac117bad news, it isnt hackadayi recomend using housecall.antivirus.com on your pcif it fails, also try trinity rescue kit(its a boot disk)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397011",
"author": "Silas",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:17:32",
"content": "I’m kinda doing something similar.I got this friday night and going to hook it up to an atmega168.http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5098350/IMG_20110520_214247.jpghttp://dl.dropbox.com/u/5098350/IMG_20110520_214255.jpg",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397098",
"author": "Carol Chen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T08:02:53",
"content": "ENKI – the trackpoint hack has been done.http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:11420",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397111",
"author": "capt_wheeto",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T09:13:55",
"content": "I’d really love to make my own keyboard, just for fun. It’s my favourite component and it’d be a nice exercise, can anyone give me any pointers on where to start?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397197",
"author": "Carol Chen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T15:43:00",
"content": "capt_wheeto: this project is old. It’s documented here:http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:7422you can look at the comment section or ask questions.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397211",
"author": "Zeno Arrow",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T16:22:29",
"content": "@M4CGYV3RMost hacking is ‘entirely too much work’ compared to COTS-based solutions, if you don’t enjoy seeing hacks why the frig are you here?@Carol ChenGood work. : )",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397440",
"author": "capt_wheeto",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T09:23:46",
"content": "@Carol ChenThanks a lot!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397529",
"author": "Hack Cell",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T14:57:29",
"content": "I wouldn’t use that keyboard with your fingers. And clean up your room lol!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "398722",
"author": "Mattias",
"timestamp": "2011-05-27T21:51:22",
"content": "This hack is AWESOME! A keyboard is something we use all day, every day, so making a custom one to be exactly what you want makes perfect sense. I’m too cheap & lazy, so I bought a Unicomp Spacesaver, but kudos to Carol Chen!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2462908",
"author": "wyatt8740",
"timestamp": "2015-03-03T20:44:46",
"content": "well, I can tell several of us don’t appreciate the finer points of hacking hardware… Who cares what it looks like if it works well and you enjoy it!? (BTW, check out my basement and cable management. No one has died and no hardware has failed as a result of it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2462909",
"author": "wyatt8740",
"timestamp": "2015-03-03T20:45:29",
"content": "forgot the link, silly me.http://i.imgur.com/i6Tvajn.jpg",
"parent_id": "2462908",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,186.933597
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/23/great-junk-yard-find-leads-to-a-reclaimed-control-panel-project/
|
Great Junk-yard Find Leads To A Reclaimed Control Panel Project
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"home hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"18F2550",
"darlington array",
"Halloween props",
"panel",
"pic",
"uln2803"
] |
Having the “can you believe somebody threw this away?” mentality has gotten us into some trouble through the years, but look what [Joshua] found at the scrap yard! It’s
a door from a power conversion station
and it contains fourteen indicator lights and a lot of other doodads. But since this is just the door, he needed a way to monitor the controls and drive the indicators. At the heart of the hack he used to get this up and running is a PIC 18F2550. It has no trouble driving the indicators thanks to a pair of ULN2803 darlington arrays which switch the higher 24 volt levels.
His writeup doesn’t mention the method used, but the panel also has a couple of meters at the top. In the video after the break you can clearly see that he’s got them both working. We’d bet there’s a plan for each of the buttons as well, since this will be prominently featured in their alien-invasion themed Halloween display this year.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vs8FLGzKsfU&w=470]
| 5
| 5
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397347",
"author": "someone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T00:52:56",
"content": "I am more curious as to how he got it from the scrap yard.Can just anyone go into any scrap yard and tell he owner that he/she wants to go looking around for interesting electronics, and take it at will?Also, why is it so popular for people to make a delay consisting of wasting cycles, instead of using a timer?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397412",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T07:04:46",
"content": "So – basically it’s a light show? Oh well, it certainly does light up… and I can’t really judge the impression it makes without seeing the rest of the show, but… it’s not exactly what I’d call “finding a use” for something – unless you define that as “make it do something, anything at all”. I’m more of a “I’ll stick two LEDs in my car if they show, say, the battery voltage but not if they’re just there to blink” kind of guy, sorry.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397483",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T11:53:20",
"content": "What exactly is a “power conversion station”?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397652",
"author": "leadacid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T22:04:26",
"content": "@JohnA power conversion station is usually a place that converts power from one type to another (duh). A good example would be the power station that converts the high voltage AC from the power company to the (relatively) low voltage DC that an electric train would use.A real-world example:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traction_current_converter_plant",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "398007",
"author": "Rob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T22:12:49",
"content": "Could see this being “useful” for a film set, as stage prop, if you were making a space orientated film, the panel would only have to light up not do anything useful.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,186.461806
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/23/an-odd-little-box/
|
An Odd Little Box
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"Halloween props",
"helicopter",
"ping pong",
"radio controlled",
"rc"
] |
Here’s
an odd little box
that might get those creative juices flowing for the upcoming Halloween season. [Jeremy’s] creepy glowing box has a pair of ping-pong ball eyes which diffuse the red light from a pair of LEDs. Both the lid and they eyes move, and the whole thing is set up for wireless control.
The majority of the parts came from a toy RC helicopter that [Jeremy] had sitting in his junk bin. After close inspection he found that the electronics included to motor drivers for the two rotors, as well as two servo motors which worked to steer the aircraft. One of those servos has been repurposed to aim the gaze of they eyes left and right, the other servo is used to lift and close the lid of the box. This leaves the two motor controllers, one of which switches the LEDs on and off. The other doesn’t really have a purpose yet. He tried adding one wheel to the box, but turning that on just makes the whole thing crash to the floor. Check out what he’s done so far in the clip after the fold.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW5EJm_ze98&w=470]
| 11
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397269",
"author": "Foxdie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T20:13:34",
"content": "The last bit of the vid made me laugh.. “I’m gonna get you!”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397274",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T20:42:00",
"content": "to…two…. same thing, right?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397275",
"author": "frobisher",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T20:48:31",
"content": "I like the part where it runs off the table.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397281",
"author": "andar_b",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T21:01:01",
"content": "I’d set it up with an arm and a sign saying trick or treat, much like the little coin-eater from Radio Shack my dad used to have labeled “Vacation Fund”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397414",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T07:24:20",
"content": "Really nice. :) Three things I can think of:– I think it would benefit from a dark piece of cloth or something surrounding the eyes – so when the lid opens, you see a “something with glowing eyes” emerging, not just a set of disembodied eyes.– I would consider mounting some sort (slow!) “scraping” mechanism in the box – I think being able to hear something trying to gnaw its way out of the box when it’s not open would enhance the effect.– This is a bit far fetched, but I wonder if one could mount some sort of heavy inertial mechanism inside the box, so it could roll from side to side in some sort of jerky tumbling motion. It would of course have an accelerometer/gyro to know when it is “upright”, to do the “opening” part… ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397480",
"author": "Jeremy C",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T11:41:18",
"content": "@Max – Thx for the suggestions! “The Box” isn’t quite done yet, so I’m definitely open to new ideas.Oddly enough I tried to use an inertial device to spin the head around. It was loosely based on this:http://www.jcopro.net/2011/03/07/the-angular-momentum-roller/. I don’t think the mass had enough inertia to really do what I wanted. Would be pretty awesome to “roll” it around like you’re talking about…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397492",
"author": "JamieWho",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T12:34:20",
"content": "Umm. Halloween is usually at the end of October, why have there been two posts referencing Halloween projects in May?I know I procrastinate a lot, but 5 months seems to be a little early.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397522",
"author": "qbert",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T14:17:03",
"content": "Procrastination???Did you ever think that just maybe, they finally got last years project done….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397524",
"author": "buzzkill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T14:17:41",
"content": "@ Jeremy – Instead of inertia, you could use some push solenoids through the bottom of the box corners that when activated would push the bottom of the box up. It will make the box hop around like something is thrashing around inside. Look for MIB (monster in box) on the webosphere.@JaimeWho It is never too early for Halloween posts. Never.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397889",
"author": "Procrastination",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T17:12:25",
"content": "@qbert*slow clap*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "398061",
"author": "Jeremy C",
"timestamp": "2011-05-26T01:09:11",
"content": "@buzzkill – that’s a good idea… There’s really a million directions to go with this one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,186.517078
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/23/wireless-hackerspace-status-notifier/
|
Wireless Hackerspace Status Notifier
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Hackerspaces"
] |
[
"bluetooth",
"hackerspace",
"openwrt",
"seeduino",
"status switch"
] |
Hackerspaces are always looking for novel ways to let their members know that they are open for business, and
this notifier [Angus] from Make, Hack, Void recently put together
is no exception.
While dumpster diving one day, he came across a fantastic-looking lab power supply from the ‘70s. He gutted it, saving the variable transformer for a future project, and started constructing his notifier. When someone enters the hackerspace, they simply set the dial on the “Space Probe” to the amount of time they expect to be there. The built-in Seeduino sends the data over Bluetooth to an OpenWRT-enabled router, which uses a couple of Lua scripts to notify members via email and Twitter.
Since almost all of the processing is done on the router side, it leaves the Arduino in the probe with little more to do than flash an LED and send ASCII status messages any time the knob is turned. [Angus] is well aware that this would probably make most people’s heads spin, but he hopes that other hackerspace members use that untapped potential to further enhance the notifier.
Stick around to see the Space Probe in action, and if you are interested in seeing what other hackerspaces use to keep their members in the know, check out
this status switch from Hack42
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_1P8PqnoWg&w=470]
| 5
| 5
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397260",
"author": "mlseim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T19:47:09",
"content": "You really need to have someone re-silkcreen the dial so it goes to 11. That would be cool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397276",
"author": "K!P",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T20:48:59",
"content": "concourse this implies that you know on forehand how long the quick hack takes before you go home. i found that taking a worst case time and multiply that by 4 works most times. Therefore: it must have a 11 setting!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397299",
"author": "Angus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T22:20:34",
"content": "K!P, the probe will beep and blink if you get to the time you said it’d close, and encourage you to dial in a new time and it’ll send a new message.Actually, that’s one of the reasons I built it. People would often email at 7pm or so saying “will just be here an hour or two” and send no more updates. Then it’d turn out the space was open until 1am or 2am while they were finishing something!I will try to find an eager silkscreener to add the 11, though. And some leather pants to wear while dialing it up!(Thanks HaD for posting this, btw. :D)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397335",
"author": "Zizzle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T23:48:05",
"content": "Top idea, implementation and video Gus!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397349",
"author": "MattE",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T01:07:14",
"content": "C’est rad! =)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,186.417422
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/23/building-your-own-real-time-clock/
|
Building Your Own Real Time Clock
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"clock hacks"
] |
[
"ATmega 328",
"real time clock",
"rtc"
] |
Like many electronics hobbyists, [Pete] found that he had an overwhelming desire to build a clock for himself. He didn’t want to stick a discrete real time clock IC into a box and call it a day,
so he opted to construct his own
around a microcontroller instead.
After researching the specs on a few RTC ICs, he defined some accuracy requirements for his clock, and got to building. He started out using a 32,768 Hz watch crystal, but found that the accuracy was off by about 46 ppm after only 24 hours of use. That fell well beyond his self-imposed +/- 3 ppm tolerance goal, so he purchased an oscillator with about 500 times the resolution of his previous crystal.
After writing a handful of code to ensure that the clock remains stable, he calculated that his accuracy should be about 0.18 ppm – well within his acceptable tolerance range.
[Pete] says that this is just the first part of his clock construction, and that future revisions should include plenty of additional functionality, so keep an eye out for updates.
| 20
| 20
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397207",
"author": "addidis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T16:11:31",
"content": "I think the most eye catching thing of his setup is his board. I LOVE how the ?acrylic? edges glow.I think something like that would do very well as an arduino bed, and I am extra interested in that with the new chipkits.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397210",
"author": "addidis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T16:17:08",
"content": "I cant help my self, many Uc have built in RTCC. So you can avoid the extra IC AND have a really serious RTCC that you dont have to debug quite so much, built in tuning circuitry , and tried and true registers, alarms etc etc.Though I totally support any one who openly chooses the hard way to learn first. Thats the way I learn too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397213",
"author": "DanJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T16:33:15",
"content": "Dugg for “I’m not sure why it is but, electronic hobbyists like to make clocks. We seem to be thrust towards them like electrons to a phosphor coated screen in a cathode ray tube. ”Oh wait, wrong website.Like the edge-lit plastic as well and agree with you addidis, doing is just about the best way to learn.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397218",
"author": "Hector",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T16:50:18",
"content": "Wouldn’t the stability of the AVR crystal alone be outside the +/- 3ppm output spec? A typical crystal/oscillator data sheet has a base stability number at 25C, a voltage variation stability number, a temperature variation stability number and a number associated with the ageing of the crystal. These typically add up to several tens parts per million. This to me means that if the input voltage or temperature changes, the stability of this clock will change as well. Also, crystal ageing is around +/-5ppm per year typically.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397224",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T17:15:40",
"content": "The DS3231 and similar RTCs use temperature sensors to switch a capacitor bank that tunes an internal crystal to the right frequency. It also has an aging trim register if calibration is ever needed. Works out to about 2ppm, or a minute per year. The DS3234 is a MEMs oscillator that is more resistant to aging and shock/vibration, but is slightly less accurate at 3.5ppm.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397225",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T17:17:20",
"content": "Sorry, the DS3234 is also a crystal, just SPI instead of I2C like the DS3231. The DS3231M is the MEMs option.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397284",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T21:23:21",
"content": "he owns a koenigsegg?I love him",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397296",
"author": "MoJo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T22:04:58",
"content": "I managed to get <3 seconds per day from a 32kHz crystal and a 4060. I think it was more luck than anything else, just happened to get the right resistor and capacitor values first time.To prevent long term drift I have the clock re-sync periodically with the MSF low frequency time signal. The only problem I found with that signal is that reception is terrible during the day, so the clock has to re-sync at 3AM. I also made sure that if re-sync fails after one hour it gives up so that it won't mess my morning alarm up!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397315",
"author": "Dankstar",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T22:59:55",
"content": "On an embedded system I have used a GPS PPS to adjust the timer in an embedded CPU to improve the accuracy of a 1ms system interrupt. This accounted for slight variations in the crystal temp and other tolerances in the crystal.You can use the PPS of a GPS (make sure you have a good quality GPS module and a strong GPS signal) to characterise the oscillator and maybe even attach a temperature sensor so that you can make slight adjustments based the temp. That way once it’s free running you can be sure it’ll keep it’s accuracy as much as possible",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397431",
"author": "ColinB",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T08:30:46",
"content": "You really have to consider the accuracy of the clock over a particular temperature range, since temperature is the primary influence over crystal frequency in most RTC circuits. You could probably make the clock quite accurate at one specific temperature by choosing exactly the right component values (loading capacitors), but to make it accurate over a real-world temperature range, not just at 20 °C, is a different story.I want to make my own RTC because I am driven crazy by the Y/M/D H:M:S format of most RTCs… my requirements for any good timekeeping device are:+ At least millisecond precision+ Time stored as a monotonic number (e.g., milliseconds since an epoch time) and in UTC; all computations take place in UTC, converted to local time only for input/output — no adjustments for DST needed!I have not found an off-the-shelf RTC that satisfies these goals.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397458",
"author": "Farkanoid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T10:18:59",
"content": "Ctrl+F “Arduino”… WHAT? NO ARDUINO?! Finally, some _real_ work :P/flamebait",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397466",
"author": "Garbz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T11:00:47",
"content": "@ColinBMost probably because the most common demand for a RTC is the ability to either keep real time or count at 1Hz or 0.1Hz accurately. I have yet to see an application of counting milliseconds since epoch time in a uC which in general also adds complexities on account of it being a 32bit number. Y M D H M S are used because they are easy to assign quickly to registers and do math on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397513",
"author": "ColinB",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T13:49:01",
"content": "@Garbz: For high performance data logging applications as well as other more general purpose embedded computing systems, it is useful to have subsecond timekeeping precision. By having milliseconds RTC precision, the real time clock can be used for event scheduling of low-level real-time events internally as well (e.g., sampling a sensor every 10 ms). Sure, you could settle for 0.1 Hz precision, but why? Millisecond or better precision will be much more useful for a variety of purposes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397514",
"author": "ColinB",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T13:53:35",
"content": "@Garbz:“I have yet to see an application of counting milliseconds since epoch time in a uC which in general also adds complexities on account of it being a 32bit number.”Well, I use ARM Cortex-M3 which is a 32-bit core and so this is not an issue! Also, addition, subtraction, and comparison of 32-bit integers even on an 8-bit AVR quite fast, and these are the common operations that are performed on a time value.Rarely do you have to multiply or divide a time value.“Y M D H M S are used because they are easy to assign quickly to registers and do math on.”That depends — what kind of math do you want to do on Y M D H M S values? You can add a day or a month, but you still have to worry about special cases like varying month length, leap day, etc. I find that keeping a monotonic second or millisecond counter is a much simpler and more uniform way of keeping time, and it lets you handle multiple time zones as well (including handling DST cleanly, or at least as cleanly as possible for that evil beast, the Devil’s Sinful Time).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397555",
"author": "Joe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T16:22:25",
"content": "“Real Time Clock?” As opposed to what? A fake time clock? What good would THAT be?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397569",
"author": "DarkFader",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T17:17:55",
"content": "ColinB: yeah. those RTCs suck. The first thing to do is convert to unix time and move it back to UTC. From there, continue with a timer. Occasionally read RTC again if RTC is more accurate than CPU timing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397653",
"author": "adam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T22:13:38",
"content": "@Farkanoid LOL@MoJo I used a 32k crystal and a 4060 in my senior project and i didn’t see any loss(down to the second) over several days. I used a Attiny85 and found that using interrupts to detect the pulse from the 4060 was much more accurate then polling. It was an audio sampling controller for biologist. I’m basing the no time loss on the windows file properties of the files recorded.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397699",
"author": "error404",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T00:56:37",
"content": "I really like the linked ‘NFT’ hack he used to calibrate the oscillator, it’s rather clever indeed, and useful for many things.Though I agree, the temperature stability of his oscillator will probably swamp all other factors. I’m wondering if it would have been better for him to keep his 32Khz crystal and instead of adding or subtracting 1 ms from his time value, adjusting the next timer interrupt to be one cycle early or late. Those 32K crystals should have both better ppm and better temperature stability, and due to the lower frequency the error will take longer to appear.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "400224",
"author": "Bingo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-31T19:27:07",
"content": "Thats what Peter Danegger does here (the tick adjustment)http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&sl=de&tl=en&u=http://www.mikrocontroller.net/articles/AVR_-_Die_genaue_Sekunde_/_RTC/Bingo",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "400230",
"author": "Kasper Pedersen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-31T20:00:25",
"content": "@error404:Glad you like it.Look at an XY cut (32kHz) crystal again, and this time look at the frequency vs. temperature graph.The f/T stability is far better for AT cut crystals than for XY cut. If you do not need the low current consumption for on-battery timekeeping, skip XY, they are horrible. And what the nominal frequency is does not matter, 1ppm is 1ppm.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,186.675165
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/23/wireless-4-channel-temperature-monitor-from-arduino-libraries/
|
Wireless 4 Channel Temperature Monitor From Arduino Libraries
|
Jesse Congdon
|
[
"Arduino Hacks"
] |
[
"1-wire",
"arduino",
"character lcd",
"temperature sensor"
] |
Say what you will about the Arduino platform but there certainly are a ton of libraries one can choose from. That is precisely what [Dan Julio] set out to do when building his slick looking 4 channel
temperature monitor
. The monitor consists of an Arduino
RBBB
, 2×16 character LCD and four
DS18B20
1-wire digital thermometers. [Dan] also includes a bluesmirf to interface with an OS X monitoring program. Using libraries for the Bluetooth, LCD, and temperature monitors the Arduino code is only about 200 lines, and pretty easy to follow. Check out more at [Dan]’s
site
.
If you’d like more temperature sensor projects check out this
mug
or this
PIC based
monitor or perhaps you’d like to keep it in the
Atmel
family.
| 4
| 4
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397175",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T14:45:38",
"content": "By 1-wire, I guess they mean 3.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397179",
"author": "zigzagjoe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T14:55:36",
"content": "1-wire refers to the protocol used [which uses one wire], not that they only have wire connected.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397220",
"author": "The Cheap Vegetable Gardener",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T17:00:26",
"content": "Though in parasite mode you can get away with 2 wires. I like these sensors uses them in my automated grow box.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397231",
"author": "DanJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T17:37:17",
"content": "I’m using them in the parasitic mode too VeggieGardner. The trade-off is speed but in my application it was more desirable to use minimal wiring. The fact that each device is serialized is helpful.Your computerized grow box is way cool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,186.567235
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/23/why-build-a-cnc-mill-when-you-can-have-a-chess-robot-instead/
|
Why Build A CNC Mill When You Can Have A Chess Robot Instead?
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"cnc hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino mega",
"chess",
"cnc",
"gantry",
"my robot lab",
"stepper motor"
] |
[Patrick McCabe] enjoys the challenge of playing chess against the computer but he wasn’t satisfied with the flat experience of on-screen gaming. No problem, he just built his own
gantry-style chess robot
that he can play against. Don’t be confused, he still doesn’t have to touch the pieces, but instead uses the dedicated control board seen on the left of the image above. The robotic arm that is mounted on a gantry takes care of moves for both players.
It’s a pretty normal CNC build, using four stepper motors to slide the moving bits along precision rod. An Arduino Mega drives the system, with a PC doing the heavy lifting using a program called
My Robot Lab
.
We certainly like it that [Patrick] spent a little bit of time making the cabinet and visible parts look nice. Chess is a civilized game and unfinished parts would be out-of-place. We didn’t see it in his writeup, but the one feature we’re really hoping he has implemented is the ability to have the robot automatically reset the board at the beginning of a game.
As you might have guess, you’ll find embedded video after the break.
| 9
| 9
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397150",
"author": "Monty Werthington",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T12:38:29",
"content": "Well that certainly makes for a nice piece of Interactive furniture. A nice clean Project, well done on such a great Hack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397153",
"author": "Keith",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T12:56:55",
"content": "add more sensors and then its more like real chess. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397158",
"author": "MrX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T13:17:32",
"content": "It is a really nice build but it still doesn’t solve one problem – I believe most Chess players like touching and feeling the Chess pieces. I’d put a camera on top to track your manual moves, instead of using a robotic arm for both computer and human moves.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397170",
"author": "hpux735",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T14:29:29",
"content": "This is very cool. But, in addition to the comments above, I desperately want this to look even more victorian. That would put it way over the top. This already has a very nice wooden construction, but if the plastic was replaced or covered by brass…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397194",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T15:41:27",
"content": "even slower than playing NES battlechess…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397204",
"author": "darthsynack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T16:02:03",
"content": "Great build, even better is Led Zeppelin’s Fool in the rain playing in the background :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397240",
"author": "Chunky Daddy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T18:11:50",
"content": "Great build. It might have been cooler if the pieces were controlled using a magnetic solenoid under the table. The robotic arm could be hidden under the table, and it would look like the pieces were moving themselvesvery harry-potterish",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397243",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T18:29:03",
"content": "Very nice, but I think there should be a better interface, use magnetic sensors under the board so the player can actually move the pieces himself (I know MrX said use a camera but magetnic sensors and magnets in the pieces is an age old technique for computer chess) or mabye replace the button interface with a cheap android tablet which displays a chess board.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397273",
"author": "kb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T20:39:40",
"content": "Terrific!My only question is why not have it tell you about the illegal move before it actually moves the piece?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,186.772229
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/23/bamf2011-google%e2%80%99s-skpr-bot-not-for-arachnophobes/
|
BAMF2011: Google’s SKPR Bot, Not For Arachnophobes
|
Phil Burgess
|
[
"Android Hacks",
"Arduino Hacks",
"google hacks",
"News"
] |
[
"2011",
"bamf",
"bot",
"google",
"hexapod",
"maker faire",
"makerfaire",
"Makers",
"ponoko",
"robot",
"san mateo",
"servo",
"skipper",
"skpr"
] |
Google’s Maker Faire exhibit space is swarmed with robots…er,
androids.
Amidst some cool bipeds and Segway-balancers, our inner sci-fi nerd was most smitten with this hexapod design, which they’ve dubbed
SKPR Bot
. The “Skipper” is on hand to showcase the ease of various Google technologies:
SketchUp
,
Android OS
and the
Android Open Accessory Development Kit
. The whole project came together in less than six weeks.
18
servos
are mounted to a framework designed in SketchUp and laser-cut by
Ponoko
. The low-level servo PWM control is handled by the Dev Kit (essentially a rebadged Arduino Mega, as we’ve seen), while an Android OS phone provides a slick GUI and handles all the inverse
kinematics
calculations required as the robot takes each step. The coolest bit is that it’s all up for grabs. At this moment you’ll have to scrounge around the ’net a bit to find the plans and code, but some time post-Faire they plan to bring everything together at the
SKPR Bot site
.
| 10
| 9
|
[
{
"comment_id": "397147",
"author": "turn.self.off",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T12:13:04",
"content": "Need a couple more legs to get that arachnophobia going. I just wonder how long before Google make the ANK wireless. That will make things really interesting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397155",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T13:07:53",
"content": "Our Antbots were at maker faire too… in fact we were the only platform to manage to operate remotely despite the wifi/cellphone glut… we donated a PropBridge to the Google guys to help them get their stuff going, and they were somewhat rude about it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397176",
"author": "DC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T14:46:32",
"content": "@spiritplumber Probably because Google wouldn’t want the SHAME of using a platform that wasn’t their $400 Arduino board :\\",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397198",
"author": "Grovenstien",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T15:46:35",
"content": "Its interesting to see the big cooperations getting into the hacking community, back to their roots!Although somtimes gafa tape and a glue gun can yield much more inventive results than billions of dollars!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397206",
"author": "Erik Johnson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T16:07:23",
"content": "I was setting up my table sat morning at maker faire and some random dude runs up to me, throws a tube at me and says “Here, use this to control whatever it is you’re doing there”. It was an Android Dev Kit, included the board, cables and 2 servos. Awesome!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397772",
"author": "Pin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T08:21:50",
"content": "how to control the arduino by android usb?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "398028",
"author": "Maave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T23:18:51",
"content": "@Pin: the ADK does that. Google added an API to Android to control the Ardiuno.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "401670",
"author": "Pin",
"timestamp": "2011-06-04T15:29:35",
"content": "I need to communicate to the serial port, thats why I need to usejavax.comm.Alternatively, is there any other way to establish a connection to theserial port from andriod emulator.Thanks！",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "473484",
"author": "Rob Wentworth",
"timestamp": "2011-10-06T14:32:06",
"content": "The above SKPR Bot site link:http://goo.gl/skprbottakes me to this content:The Google Account of a site owner has been disabled because of a perceived violation of the Terms of Service. The site owner needs to restore their Google Account before this site can be viewed.I guess using Google tools to discuss Google tools can get you banned. Did it contain a less-than-positive comment about one of the Google tools, or something? ;-(",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "473491",
"author": "Rob Wentworth",
"timestamp": "2011-10-06T14:37:21",
"content": "At least this related link still works:http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/2011/05/personal-fabrication-with-sketchup.htmlIt looks awesome!",
"parent_id": "473484",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,186.615766
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/21/bamf2011-bloxes-a-building-kit-with-a-nifty-pedigree/
|
BAMF2011: Bloxes, A Building Kit With A Nifty Pedigree
|
Phil Burgess
|
[
"cons",
"home hacks",
"Misc Hacks",
"News"
] |
[
"2011",
"bamf",
"bloxes",
"building",
"construction",
"kit",
"maker faire",
"makerfaire",
"Makers",
"raskin",
"san mateo"
] |
Not every cool hack needs to involve microcontrollers, LEDs or other bling. We were initially drawn to the
Bloxes
display simply because we love a good multipurpose construction set, whether it be
Lego
,
80/20 aluminum
, or in this case, a system of interlocking cubes formed from six identical pieces of corrugated cardboard, cut and scored in such a manner as to form a surprisingly sturdy little building block. They can become simple furniture, groovy
Logan’s Run
-style room decor, or the all-important kids’ forts…then later dismantled and made into something else.
A elegant concept executed in the humblest of materials…we were already infatuated. We were blown away then to learn of Bloxes’ background: they’re a 1970s brainchild of computer pioneer [
Jef Raskin
], perhaps best known as the “Father of the
Macintosh
.” [Raskin]’s son and daughter [Aza] and [Aviva] revived the Bloxes concept in 2008 and now sell kits through their
web site
. Even if you’re not at the Faire, they welcomed readers to use the discount code MAKERFAIRE2011 (good through June 12th 2011, limit one per person), which will net you a kit of five Bloxes (30 pieces, some assembly required) for $12.63 vs. the normal $15.59.
| 17
| 17
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396687",
"author": "Will",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T23:25:38",
"content": "I so want a few thousand of these to make my house with",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396688",
"author": "nah",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T23:31:39",
"content": "swastika furniture, so this is all about nowardays eh?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396689",
"author": "bill s",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T23:32:59",
"content": "Does anyone have a template for DIY Bloxes-making? This would be much in the spirit of the Maker Culture. I’m willing to cut, crease, and fold scrap cardboard. How about you?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396712",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T00:53:40",
"content": "meh.weighted companion cube ftw!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396713",
"author": "neorazz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T00:59:12",
"content": "this is a triumph !",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396745",
"author": "Drone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T02:52:38",
"content": "WTF? 8 Bloxes, $15.59 USD, 6-8 Weeks delivery. Am I missing something here? Eight pieces of cut cardboard for more than fifteen dollars and a two month wait?This thing is SCREAMING, “Hack Me!”Google: Bloxes DIYMany links. Bye Bye….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396758",
"author": "Jiang",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T03:17:52",
"content": "@Drone: Yeah, you’re missing the fact that each bloxe(?) consists of six pieces, so you’re really buying 48 pieces of cut cardboard at about 33 cents each. That’s still quite pricey, but you could always cut them yourself. That said…If you have the means of production, don’t want to wait, or think it’s too expensive,here’s my version. Enjoy ;p",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396776",
"author": "Aviva",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T04:55:20",
"content": "Thank you Phil! I had a great time talking with you! Maker Faire is such a fabulous place.On another note:I would like to add that there is a trademark on ‘Bloxes’ so, if you want to make a version yourself (please feel free, I love seeing all of the variations :-) ) I would request that you please use a different name for your creation. I would also recommend making sure that your cardboard is sound if you wish to use them as furniture.I look forward to seeing all of you at Maker Faire, come and build!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396779",
"author": "dlivr8r",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T05:29:37",
"content": "I’m waiting for the next local election to come and go so I can scoop up the thousands of corrugated plastic campaign signs. I think I can use them to make some of these that are more durable and suitable for outdoor use (i.e backyard fort building). Seems like a nobler use of the material.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396826",
"author": "Hack Cell",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T09:53:19",
"content": "A much nobler use! They make corrugated plastic in all types of thicknesses.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396831",
"author": "turn.self.off",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T11:01:30",
"content": "Raskin seems to have been the second oddball genious that Jobs was able to brain drain after having bootstrapped Apple by brain draining Woz.Anyways, i think this needs some way to use larger sheets of cardboard as surfaces so that one can make shelves and tables.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396908",
"author": "Jiang",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T16:55:13",
"content": "I’d imagine that if you were to make bigger modules, you would need thicker board or internal structure.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397014",
"author": "Jason",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:21:29",
"content": "@DroneYeah, you could totally just buy one and trace out the design, then cut it by hand, but you need six flat patterns to make a single box. I have a cutting plotter and have made mini versions of these (In RGB, so pretty!), and even that took a while to make. The reason these are ‘expensive’ is that they are die-cut and a production-grade die-cutting rig is not cheap. Not to mention all the cheap cardboard is being bought up by the Chinese and carted back on empty shipping containers heading back to the mainland.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397092",
"author": "shguro",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T07:48:18",
"content": "Hey, do someone know how i could stamping these things by own. I Realy like these Boxes but 3€ for one Box ist realy expensiv.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397120",
"author": "tom",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T09:54:59",
"content": "I’ve tried reverse engineering a template from photos but havent had a chance to run it through our laser cutter yet.We get so many old pizza boxes at our hackspace so it’d be neat to turn them into something useful :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397667",
"author": "ryalth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T22:53:40",
"content": "@shguro If you really like them you could always get someone to get them and ship them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397813",
"author": "vacum",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T13:17:13",
"content": "I used to work the floor at the chicago children’s museum, we had a ton of these hellish bloxes. They’re good fun for a few minutes, but don’t let them near children (destroyer of worlds)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,186.731773
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/21/bamf2011-chipkit-is-arduino-to-the-power-of-32/
|
BAMF2011: ChipKIT Is Arduino To The Power Of 32
|
Phil Burgess
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"2011",
"arduino",
"AVR",
"bamf",
"digilent",
"ide",
"linux",
"mac",
"maker faire",
"makerfaire",
"Makers",
"microchip",
"pic",
"pic32",
"san mateo",
"windows"
] |
If you’ve been hungry for more power for your microcontroller projects, but reluctant to dump your investment in Arduino shields or the libraries and community knowledge that go with them all, Digilent has you covered. Their new
chipKIT boards
are built around the Microchip PIC32 MCU…a powerful 32-bit chip that until recently was left out of the cross-platform scene. A majority of code and quite a number of Arduino shields will work “out of the box” with the chipKIT, and the familiar development tools are available for all three major operating systems: Windows, Mac and Linux.
We
first mentioned these a couple weeks ago
, but the software was unavailable at the time. Seeing the development tools in action was quite unexpected…
What’s really fascinating with chipKIT is that the workflow is
exactly
Arduino-like. The serial bootloader works with
avrdude
, and you can program both “real” Arduinos and Digilent’s 32-bit work-alikes using the exact same IDE; there’s no need to run two different IDEs for two different boards, as has been the case with Leaf Labs’ 32-bit
Maple
. As a demonstration, they compiled and ran code for an Arduino Mega with SparkFun LCD shield…then popped the shield off and placed it on the Max32, selected the 32-bit board in the same IDE, and repeated the process. The exact code ran on the new board/shield combo, with stunning performance — all the standard Arduino libraries have been implemented natively for the PIC32; this is not emulation.
Because Digilent didn’t just adapt the Arduino IDE to their one specific board, but rather developed a system by which the IDE can be extended to new hardware, it’s their hope that their work (not an official Arduino project) might be rolled back into the mainline code, and that other developers might jump on the bandwagon to provide Arduino IDE support for their own boards, whether they be based on AVR, PIC32 or a
completely different kind of microcontroller altogether
. The groundwork has been laid.
The chipKIT comes in two versions: Uno32 and Max32, similar in form factor to the Arduino Uno and Mega 2560, respectively. These can be ordered directly from
Digilent’s web site
, and the IDE is freely
downloadable
as of today. We have evaluation hardware in-hand and expect to be providing a proper review in the near future.
| 25
| 25
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396682",
"author": "rallen71366",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T22:46:04",
"content": "I love it. but, where are the Arduino haters?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396683",
"author": "gmcurrie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T22:47:36",
"content": "So, now I can flash an LED once a second in *32 bit-mode?*Jus kiddin – looks a great move – an upwards path, for jus bout same price – well done Diligent – I’m buying.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396684",
"author": "Dan B",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T22:52:57",
"content": "I want one. I will have to see what pins are not compatible and see if it will work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396695",
"author": "BiOzZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T23:49:24",
"content": "lame XDmake one around the arm cortex M3 lineUSB host, ethernet and usb device shields all built in XD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396706",
"author": "DanJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T00:27:19",
"content": "Now this is an excellent “hack”. Lets people leverage their existing investment. With this and the Maple, the move to 32-bit for everything has begun in earnest.@BiOzZ: Nothing’s stopping you. You want an Arduino-compatible cortex M3? Do it. Everything you need is available.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396754",
"author": "Will",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T03:11:46",
"content": "I’ve had mine since Tuesday, finally downloading the IDE. This should be fun :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396772",
"author": "zing",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T04:22:04",
"content": "are the pins 5v, 3.3v or a mix?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396790",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T06:47:53",
"content": "I bet this will not catch up just because many people threat AVR as religion…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396795",
"author": "ftorama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T07:03:14",
"content": "@BiOzZThe Maple, from Leaflabs is based on a STM32F103 yet.@therian read this and tell me who is in religion ;-) :http://old.nabble.com/Why-let-the-atmel-guys-have-all-the-fun—-PICduino—to22611991.htmlMaple doesn’t seem to sell and I don’t know what will be the success of this one. I think there’s a simple reason. Most people using Arduino don’t need more power and it’s far more powerful when used in C instead of Arduino language. Who would do the test to toggle a pin with Arduino commands and direct register access and measure the time gain?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396798",
"author": "Charles Gantt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T07:37:17",
"content": "I too have had 2 Max32 boards and 1 Uno32 board since Tuesday. If anyone is interested in some comparisons of these 2 chipKIT boards against official Arduino boards and some high resolution photos, I have a full article up on my site.http://themakersworkbench.com/?q=node/421Cant wait to read HAD’s coverage as well!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396799",
"author": "Squirrel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T07:43:09",
"content": "Bay Area Maker Faire is not the first thing that came to mind when I saw BAMF…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396848",
"author": "Beat707",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T12:44:49",
"content": "Going to keep an eye on this. ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396849",
"author": "Beat707",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T12:47:06",
"content": "From what I heard no 2-Wire Library yet? Is that true? If so, that kinda sucks, as my project uses it a lot… what about the SPI library?Will we see eBay Chinese clones soon? ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396920",
"author": "asdf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T17:40:37",
"content": "There’s a certain degree of irony here as Microchip deliberately chose the MIPS ISA over ARM in order to facilitate vendor lock-in. Maybe they’re starting to realize that being compatible has its advantages?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397083",
"author": "Pixel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T07:25:58",
"content": "But can you get just the chip with the bootloader, so that you can use it in your own projects without needing the dev board? That’s one of the things I like about the arduino platform.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397152",
"author": "Daniel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T12:54:15",
"content": "Really? MIPS for lock-in? Citation needed. I would have guessed “dramatically lower licensing costs”. MIPS has a fine heritage being used in the Playstation 2, PSP, SGI workstations, supercomputers, …",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397195",
"author": "Charles Gantt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T15:41:58",
"content": "@ Pixel, Sure you can get Atmega 8, 168, or 328 with the Arduino boot-loader from places like Adafruit, Sparkfun, etc. To my knowledge no one is selling the surface mount AVRs with the boot-loader on them, admittedly I have not really looked either. I am sure someone will begin selling these two PIC32’s with the boot-loader pre installed though.They just opened the chipKIT forumshttp://chipkit.cc/forum",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397199",
"author": "Beat707",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T15:56:15",
"content": "eBay has the ATmega328 SMD with the bootloader in it. I didn’t like the price, TBH, but heck, they got it. ;-)I wonder about those PIC32 chips with the bootloader on it, or a way to flash them easily like with the USBtinyISP programmer. ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397209",
"author": "Charles Gantt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T16:15:46",
"content": "Thanks for the heads up on the 328 SMD chips on ebay. I don’t like their price either…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397222",
"author": "Benjamin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T17:04:35",
"content": "I hate to be the guy in the forums that is new to something and asks for help but i would really like to get into Arduino based projects. I’ve been doing some research and still am unsure of where a good place to start is. I’m looking for entry level stuff that would allow me to get familiar with building projects. Thanks for any help.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397228",
"author": "Charles Gantt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T17:26:53",
"content": "I just got a reply from Microchip regarding Ethernet shields.There will be a chipKIT Ethernet shield released sometime in June. The details I have are: Ethernet PHY and transformer, USB OTG, 32 KHz oscillator, 256 Kbit I2C EEPROM, and 2 CAN interfacesThere will also be a Basic I/O shield released around the same time. Details on it are: 4 switches, 4 buttons, I2C™ temperature sensor, 256 Kbit I2C EEPROM, 128×32 OLED display, 4 open drain channels, 1 potentiometer, and 8 LEDs",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397244",
"author": "Charles Gantt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T18:35:24",
"content": "@ Benjamin how about reading the RPM of a PC fan? Or Fading some LEDs in and out using PWM to get you acquainted with the code.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397504",
"author": "Gösta",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T13:18:14",
"content": "Great with a faster controller board. But the openness of Microchip and their new 32-bit platform is open to debate.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397583",
"author": "am_i_evil",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T18:13:06",
"content": "@Benjamin –http://tronixstuff.wordpress.com/tutorials/is an awesome Tutorial site. Besides Tronixstuff, there’s the Adafruit site, Sparkfun, and a handful of others with a few tutorials each.After you’ve done a few tutorials, try to adapt them. Think of interesting “cause and effects” (like putting magnets and reed switches in toys, they having Darth Vader cause a reaction from Luke…).For starting out, get the official Uno board because more shields (and “unofficial” libraries) will work with it. The ChipKit boards would make a fine second/upgrade board (and also – there’s plenty of projects to try, making 1 arduino communicate with another..).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "399514",
"author": "asdf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-29T15:49:08",
"content": "@Daniel The specific reason they’ve given was to differentiate themselves from all the ARM MCUs. But the only reason to have a different ISA is to make it harder for customers to switch to a different vendor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.519567
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/21/making-a-3d-printer-work-wirelessly/
|
Making A 3D Printer Work Wirelessly
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"cnc hacks"
] |
[
"3d printer",
"bluetooth",
"breakout board",
"unimaker"
] |
Looking for more ways to enhance his 3D printer, [JJ]
decided to make it wireless
. He got his hands on some
$10 Bluetooth modules
and figured this would be just the thing to make the link with his laptop.
They came as surface mount modules, so the first thing he had to do was develop a breakout board that he could patch into his
Ultimaker 3D printer
. This provided a nice opportunity as he needed to do some level converting to make the 3.3V module play nicely with his 5V CNC electronics. The first version of the board turned out well but he had really a poor communications range. The second version, which is pictured above, hangs the module’s antenna off the edge of the breakout board and works a lot better.
We’ve embedded a clip after the break that walks through the development of this board. [JJ] shared the Eagle CAD files as a megaupload link, but we’ve also mirrored the file after the break for your convenience.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXpfKqx7Uhc&w=470]
[
download zip archive
]
[Thanks Kyle]
| 10
| 10
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396676",
"author": "Jelle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T21:55:03",
"content": "hmm yeah. It is a nice hack, although one should wonder how much less reliable this makes the serial connection and how much data you can pump throug it. Ultimakers are very quick to print, so need their data at a high rate.And on another not, this post of JanJaap was like 3 months ago…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396699",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T23:53:28",
"content": "i don’t understand the necessity of a wireless cnc, or even how its an improvement, but i guess everyone is just going to tell me not to be “square” and its just for fun",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396701",
"author": "bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T00:04:22",
"content": "Bluetooth data transfer is slow as crap and kind of flaky to boot. How about a nice thumb drive?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396719",
"author": "cyrozap",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T01:28:40",
"content": "I probably won’t do this with my MakerBot Cupcake, but I went ahead and bought three of those Bluetooth TTL modules (2 for $10 + 1 on the breakout board for $14). I couldn’t believe I could get them for those prices! Lowest price for a Bluetooth module on Sparkfun is $30 or so plus $7 shipping.Time to Bluetoothize EVERYTHING!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396738",
"author": "bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T02:29:21",
"content": "I’d like ‘em more if they supported 2.1, but the price is nice.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396767",
"author": "Rachel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T03:51:21",
"content": "I’d like to see someone figure out how to use the rest of the pins on the board. According to the datasheet, it has PCM, SPI, USB and a bunch of IO ports. It’s possible this module could be used for all kinds of things with the right programming.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396801",
"author": "Sam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T07:59:56",
"content": "I ordered similar bluetooth modules from DealExtreme last week. Price is the same, $9.95 but with free shipping.http://www.dealextreme.com/p/wireless-bluetooth-rs232-ttl-transceiver-module-80711~r.55976924",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396816",
"author": "MrCung",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T09:27:30",
"content": "Very funny video :p",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396832",
"author": "turn.self.off",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T11:12:27",
"content": "Bluetooth transfer rate tops out around USB 1.1 speeds, iirc.That is, unless one have access to a wifi radio on the same device. Bluetooth v3 allows for data to be carried over wifi if the hardware is set up correctly.The nice thing about bluetooth vs wifi is that it has all these profiles in the spec. File transfer, HID, audio streaming, all are specified as profiles. If both sides have implemented those profiles your up and running.In comparison, wifi only handles the network frames. One have to bring ones own protocol stack on top of it to do anything.This may have changed with wifi direct however, but the data on that is so far scarce.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396838",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T12:18:41",
"content": "If you get the right BT transceiver modules you also get an AT command set and activation pin so you can get them to talk directly to each other instead of just talking to a BT host adapter on your PC (or in your smartphone).The two I bought months ago turned out to only talk to a BT host, only recently got them working properly because I wasn’t given a vital piece of information when I bought them, the password for these modules is simply “1234” (not “0000” as I was led to beliee) when ‘installing’ the BT module on your computer/smartphone.Still don’t know what I’m going to do with the modules :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,186.986648
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/21/class-d-audio-amplifier-makes-it-from-breadboard-to-pcb/
|
Class-D Audio Amplifier Makes It From Breadboard To PCB
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"digital audio hacks"
] |
[
"amplifier",
"class-d",
"switching"
] |
[Ben Laskowski’s] been working on a Class-D audio amplifier for several months. What you see above is
the most recent version of the amp
. A class-D amplifier uses transistor switching (or in this case MOSFET switching) to generate the pulse-width-modulated signal that drives the speaker. This is different from common amplifiers as it doesn’t generate the kind of heat that traditional amplifiers do, making it much more efficient.
After the break you can hear it demonstrated. It’s operating off of a single-supply laptop brick and we do hear a bit of a hum coming through the system. Still, we’re quite pleased at the power and quality the small board can put out. Take a look at
a post from November
to get a handle on what went into development. If you still hunger for more details, [Ben’s] shared the bulk of his prototyping materials in the
github repository
.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppfeYf2zTM4&w=470]
| 17
| 17
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396669",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T20:58:01",
"content": "how are you clocking the PWM rate? Also, on most Class D amplifiers, you see 2 inductors per speaker on the output filter, one on the “+” side and one on the “-” side.What I would love to see here is an FPGA or something similar used to take a digital audio input (I2S for example), and convert it to PWM signals used to drive the MOSFET gate drivers.Add a S/PDIF to I2S converter and/or an ADC with I2S output and you’d have a really sweet (and possibly much higher fidelity) class D amplifier",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396678",
"author": "NishaKitty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T22:00:00",
"content": "Seems to have a lot of humm in the amplifier >.>",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396691",
"author": "mIK",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T23:38:48",
"content": "Use it to drive a sub with a low pass and the hum won’t be there. I’m not sure I would use class D for full range with plenty of class T digital full range chips out there.Hint — Most mono amplifiers for 12v car audio applications are class D (or better) for subwoofer applications, while most full range amps are AB or T.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396707",
"author": "bulgingcaps",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T00:28:44",
"content": "Are those giant capacitors in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?And if they are capacitors, I hope you discharged them…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396723",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T01:41:55",
"content": "Sounds like 60 or 120Hz hum… perhaps line noise isn’t adequately isolated from the DC input to the board. Not terribly surprising with the step-down transformer to rectifier to capacitors that it looks like is being used, a linear regulator after that to drop the voltage just a bit would reduce a lot of the hum I think.mIK – class T amps are just a product name for what are actually class D amplifiers. Seems that they use delta-sigma modulation and a digital feedback loop, but it’s still a class D.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396734",
"author": "Chamon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T02:11:21",
"content": "Hum like that is certainly ground loop. Eye-balling the PCB there are cut outs in the ground plane. That cannot happen! Audio PCB design must be almost as careful as RF, although not for the crappy reasons audiophile tend to feed people. But hum is a real audio design nightmare!BTW, great work! The amp looks really nice!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396740",
"author": "Ivan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T02:35:41",
"content": "I have 3 laptop bricks laying around, waiting to be used. I might use one for a quick bench supply.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396749",
"author": "Drone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T02:58:33",
"content": "Site is down. 02:55 GMT Sun. 22 May 2011.Aren’t there class-D chip-amps available these days? Class D is a pain. Not only do you have to deal with an A/D, then you have to do PWM, then volume control is a hassle (control supply voltage, Which then throws off optimum values of L and C?) Long time since I looked at a class-D discrete build from scratch.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396766",
"author": "Spence",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T03:50:18",
"content": "@drone – I’ve used a bunch of OEM class-D boards by Sure Electronics sold onhttp://www.parts-express.com/. When I get some time ill post a 6×6 amp/matrix I build with them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396854",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T13:03:48",
"content": "Volume control can be done as simply as using a dual-gang potentiometer on the signal inputs. Actually class-d has become very simple, you can buy premade modules based on Tripath Chips (fully integrated ICs) and all you have to do is hook up a suitable power supply and you’re away. If you’re building a discrete version then this one is particularly popular:http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/class-d/166214-ucd-25-watts-1200-watts-using-2-mosfets.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396856",
"author": "Diago",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T13:13:54",
"content": "@mIK Your phrase “Class D or better” sounds like we’re classifying eggs or surface continuity…that Class A is the best class. Class A was just the first type, Class B the second, etc… And extending what Matt said, Class T is just Tripath’s brand of Class D amps.@Drone Check these little beauties and their cohorts; they’re very easy to use, inexpensive and sound great:http://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/tpa3112d1.htmlhttp://focus.ti.com/docs/prod/folders/print/tpa3106d1.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396869",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T14:21:21",
"content": "@Drone: What’s the A/D and variable supply voltage for? A Class D amp is just an oscillator, comparator, and an output stage. All of which can be fulfilled (although poorly) by a single 555.I designed a Class D amp in SPICE, using only a LM339 and some discretes. Works great in simulation. I have no plans to build or publish it, I did it only to practice and learn. If I need a real Class D amp I probably will get one of those chip amps, or a pre-assembled PCB using one from Ebay since they’re so cheap.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397123",
"author": "space",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T09:59:34",
"content": "@MattThat hum comes form lack of negative feedback loop form speaker terminals to input signal terminals. This allows PSU hum to be modulated to PWM signal in output stage.It just needs one more opamp per channel and some resistors and capacitors.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397167",
"author": "hospadaruk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T14:11:57",
"content": "Class D amps are just so darn cheap as a complete package, I don’t think I could ever bring myself do build one. I recently used this guy:http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-385for a boom-box I built. I had considered building my own amp, but the cost of the amp chip alone is almost as much as the amp (amp was $15 when I bought it).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397297",
"author": "Ben",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T22:08:23",
"content": "Hi everyone, thanks for your comments!@Tim: the amp is of the self-oscillating type. On the breadboard, I measured the frequency at around 250kHz. With the decent PCB layout and much faster gate drivers in use now, I’d expect that frequency to be even higher.@Matt: right you are… If I used a laptop power brick as I suggest in the writeup, the hum should be gone. I just used the transformer/rectifier/capacitor combo as I didn’t have a sacrificial power brick on hand.@Chamon: I think it’s just a bad experimental power supply. The only ground connection is at the audio input. That’s not ideal, but the key is that there are no other direct ground connections.@Drone: The L and C values shouldn’t depend on the supply voltage. They DO depend on the load (speaker) impedance, though. Right now, they are close to ideal for an 8 ohm speaker.@space: There is negative feedback from the switching node of the output transistors. I didn’t take it from the speaker terminals due to the tendency of the RLC filter to cause instability when included in the closed-loop transfer function. You are right, though; with extra R’s and C’s I could make a compensation network and include the filter output in the feedback loop as well.It’s true that Class-D amps are readily available these days. I just wanted to see how good I could make one from scratch. It worked well on the breadboard, hence the PCB…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397592",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T18:38:06",
"content": "Somehow missed this the other day. Nice write up and execution :) Also, thanks for the great links HaD folks. Got me some ordering to do ;) Agree with most above that the hum should disappear with the power brick. I had never even heard of Class T lol.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "801851",
"author": "Miroslav",
"timestamp": "2012-10-01T06:17:16",
"content": "Hi, the project looks great. I think I’m gonna make it. But I have a few questions before that. I’ll be glad if you answer them.What is the range for the power supply? For the 2 wings and single power supply?What has better performance? The version with 2 wings ot single powerd module?Thanks,Best regards.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.102877
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/21/xoscillo-turns-arduino-in-an-oscilloscope/
|
Xoscillo Turns Arduino In An Oscilloscope
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Arduino Hacks"
] |
[
"oscilloscope",
"xoscillo"
] |
If you don’t have an oscilloscope you’d be surprised how many times you find yourself needing one. But if you have an Arduino on hand, the next time you might be able to get by with this
software suite that can use a development board as oscilloscope inputs
. The project is called xoscillo, and it allows an Arduino, or
a Parallax USB Oscilloscope
, to probe the signals while a computer does the heavy lifting.
The Arduino can be used for up to four input channels at 7 kHz. It’s possible to probe seven signals at 4 kHz as well. But the main feature that caught our eye is the ability to use several Arduino boards at one time in increase the number of channels available to you.
Granted, this is pretty slow for many digital electronic troubleshooting needs. But at least it’s something you can pull out when you just don’t have any other ideas about what is going wrong with your prototype circuit. We’re sure that sooner or later you’ll break down and buy
a proper hackable oscilloscope
. After all, your Arduino is probably already occupied as
an I2C sniffer
.
[Thanks Adam]
| 11
| 10
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396661",
"author": "steve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T19:53:02",
"content": "The guys seem to have put serious effort in this, hoewever, calling an few bit chart recorder “oscilloscope” is quite a stretch.This thing is much more likely to mislead you when trying to debug your circuit than doing any good. If you really have no money at all, go for a soundcard oscilloscope. That sports at least 48 kHz sampling rate and proper shannon nyquist filters.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3215310",
"author": "Angel Navarro",
"timestamp": "2016-09-27T17:33:30",
"content": "Sound Card Oscilloscope is a good tool",
"parent_id": "396661",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "396662",
"author": "sgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T20:00:50",
"content": "I’m one of those awful people who dislike both Arduino posts and massively-underspecced pseudo-oscilloscopes. So, this post is very special to me! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396673",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T21:19:21",
"content": "Yep, you guys are right, i wouldn’t call it an oscilloscope. Maybe a data logger.Remember the one made with an ATTiny that runs the USB asp as well ?Now, if you used an XMEGA or some PICs that support sampling rates of 1Msps at least, that could be barely called an oscilloscope as about 100KHz of bandwidth is something to work with.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396694",
"author": "qwerty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T23:47:14",
"content": "Oh Jesus F’ing Christ… C#! I hope the real work is done within the microcontroller card. For serious data sampling asm or C would be mandatory as they’re at very least 15 times faster than higher level languages such as C# or Java.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396696",
"author": "SparkyGSX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T23:49:34",
"content": "Some DSPs from TI (and others) can sample at 4.6MHz, so a 400kHz bandwidth could be within range.But the problem isn’t the ADC; fast ADCs aren’t really all that expensive.The real problem is the attenuator / amplifier / filter stage; non-linearity and phase shifts over large frequency ranges (say, DC to 100MHz) can make an oscilloscope nearly useless, even though the sampling rate is sufficient.It’s a bit like a cheap digital camera; lots and lots of pixels and a crappy lens.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396703",
"author": "cantido",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T00:16:53",
"content": "@qwerty>>15 times faster than higher level>>languages such as C# or Java.Not valid for microcontrollers.. but do you realise that modern high-level languages have JIT/runtime optimizing compilers? Java code can end up faster than anything you could code in C.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396729",
"author": "avrpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T01:51:44",
"content": "@qwerty, in practice Java code is slower than C.Yes I know there have been many special case examples where Java has beaten a C compiler, but look at real applications written in Java vs. C. Java is bloatware, slower than C in almost every case and needs a huge memory footprint.If you want performance you choose C and assembler every time. If you want “enterprise” software, you use Java.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396913",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T17:12:23",
"content": "Best use of an Arduino I’ve seen yet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396973",
"author": "E1000",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T21:25:19",
"content": "@all-the-hatersThis blog is ‘hack-a-day’, not ‘fully-functional-production-quality-project-a-day’.While it is true that a real oscilloscope would be best if you want to do serious work, I think we can all appreciate the creativity and hard work was put into this _hack_.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397245",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T18:36:52",
"content": "So when do we see the 70MHz 32-bit arduino-compatible chips used with this software? I think that could make for a decent scope.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.043566
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/21/pcb-milling-with-a-makerbot/
|
PCB Milling With A Makerbot
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Tool Hacks"
] |
[
"cnc",
"cupcake",
"makerbot",
"mill",
"pcb"
] |
[Keith] wanted to use his makerbot for some PCB milling, but he ran into a pretty big problem. The platform that his PCB would sit on was mounted with a layer of double sided foam tape and was not perfectly aligned to the head. Not only that, but it would tilt when pressure was applied. This made the result of the milling completely unacceptable. To remedy this, he
made a new platform
that is not only rigid, but he has made it so that there is the ability to adjust it for perfect alignment via adjustment screws in the 4 corners. At the beginning of each session, he can be absolutely sure that everything is aligned perfectly and his PCBs show a huge improvement. You can see a comparison of the two in the following picture.
[via
HackedGadgets
]
| 15
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396640",
"author": "Bernhard",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T18:07:24",
"content": "so how does he drill? you need some soft material of at least 0.3 mm underneath the pcb.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396642",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T18:18:50",
"content": "If only the makerbot didn’t cost >1K…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396644",
"author": "Pedro",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T18:24:23",
"content": "Did you even read the article, Caleb?“The results were not tremendously better than before (left board, top row of pads; right board from commercial mill for comparison)”His results after improvements, are on the left.I wouldn’t use that board! I wouldn’t use his mill.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396648",
"author": "Oren Beck",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T18:38:22",
"content": "We don’t get from Prototype to production by dismissing first attempts.The Makerbot is one of those tools that will never be 100% of everything to 100% of Hackerdom. Don’t slag anything Hacked from/onto the MBI gear for it’s not being factory floor ready. Here’s why:The term Rapid *PROTOTYPE* Tool is what needs to be applied properly.So whatever we do with the MBI stuff is true Hacking as we’re using a tool originally designed for IIRC- Frosting Cupcakes to do so much ..MORE.The other applicable term is Toolchain Creation.Milling a PCB makes these ‘bots a step closer to more fully self-replicating every component. The steps from Concept Proof>Production are non-trivial but lest we forget why we do some things these ways?**WE’RE HACKERS**",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396649",
"author": "Adam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T18:46:51",
"content": "The results are impressive. Given that the makerbot isn’t designed to handle any cutting forces on the carriage. Not a bad way to bang out a prototype to make sure everything works before sending the design off for manufacturing. All in all a good hack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396651",
"author": "steve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T18:53:00",
"content": "Pretty nice show. However, I would propose to etch the PCBs, milled PCBs are slow, unprecise, expensive and only suitable for THT if you don’t have some really good mill. Makerbot only qualifies as cheese mill, I guess…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396656",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T19:30:00",
"content": "his results are pretty much what i would expect a cupcake to do to a pcbbuilding cheap machine hw is always going to be challenging, i think maybe he would benefit from either not using belt and pulley system, or adding some closed loop control elementalso going to the effort of getting that plate made and then taping the pcb down is two steps forward and one back. at least its better than the foam",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396667",
"author": "Keith Neufeld",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T20:39:08",
"content": "I wish highly-visible hacker blogs weren’t picking up my PCB milling experimentation mid-stream, as I hope to have something significantly better to show for my efforts one or two more stages down the line. Please allow me to address some misconceptions.As already noted in the comments, the left PCB is the best milled by the CupCake so far; the right PCB is commercially milled. The PCB made by the CupCake is not usable and by no means do I represent it as such.The vast majority of the huge remaining backlash in the mill is due to the plastic bushings on the X-Y stage’s guide rods. Thingiverse has a better design for a bearing-based guide system that has less play *and* that isn’t overconstrained. I plan to build it soon, as it will improve both my FDM and my PCB milling. That will be the point at which I decide whether the CupCake can produce PCBs good enough to use while prototyping.This is not about building the best, or even a terribly good, PCB mill — it’s exploration whether the CupCake can support a different toolhead (milling) well enough to be worth using with the framework I (and others) already have. This is not at all how I’d go about building a mill from scratch.Regarding etching PCBs — I have done so for over two decades and I don’t particularly enjoy it. The etching process has many stages at which things can go a little bit wrong; the milling process produces results with very little deviation. Once I have a satisfactory milling setup, I would much rather fire-and-forget with the mill than tend, tend, tend to the multi-step etching process.Regarding drilling with this mill — I don’t think it takes a genius to figure out that I can mount a sacrificial MDF plate between the aluminum leveler and the PCB.And regarding the tape, if you haven’t tried it, you’d be surprised at how well-constrained a PCB is with tape on opposite edges in two axes. The proof, if any is needed, is that the PCB made with the commercial mill was held down with tape in the same fashion.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396751",
"author": "Drone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T03:02:02",
"content": "I looked at that Makerbot thing when it came out. Wayyy too much money. Not that it isn’t worth it. It’s just too much money… For me anyway; and I would venture to guess for many.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396802",
"author": "UltraApple",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T08:05:53",
"content": "A 3d plastic extruder with a milling head? Brilliant. Useable? not yet. Results are not unexpected. Taking something and making it do something else its not designed for? A true hack. Good job and with a bit of work and some more precise parts it may turn out some usable boards!Cheers",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397093",
"author": "Mikhail Bakunin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T07:49:40",
"content": "Does anyone know the long term effects of breathing in fiberglass dust? I seem to recall it being up there on the same order of bad-for-you-ness as asbestos. I guess the kind of fiberglass in insulation isn’t great for you – but the chunks are big enough that if you get some in your lungs, your body will expel it. But if you make it into a dust, that when it’s the right size to stay and cause cancer….something like that anyways.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397185",
"author": "Nathan Zadoks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T15:09:55",
"content": "I never had the tilting problem – someone at the Fablab asked me about it, turns out you get that when you use only one piece of double-sided tape.If you use two, no problemo.–Nathan",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397212",
"author": "Dosbomber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T16:25:09",
"content": "Could the plastic emitted from the Makerbot in its “normal” function be used as a resist layer for etching a PCB? How precise is the extruded plastic being laid down?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397277",
"author": "Keith Neufeld",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T20:51:23",
"content": "Dosbomber, extruding plastic onto a PCB as etch resist is an interesting idea. nophead found that ABS sticks to warm copper but pops right off as it cools and PLA sticks well to warm copper and can be removed when cool by flexing the PCB.http://hydraraptor.blogspot.com/2010/04/cu-pla.htmlThe MakerBot CupCake’s nozzle is .3mm (~12 mil) diameter, but the plastic experiences some die swell after exiting the nozzle and (more importantly) requires pressure to stick to the platform, deforming it into an oval or worse. I would estimate 16-mil traces would be the narrowest I could produce with my nozzle and 20-mil would be more likely.That’s not bad, but I comfortably hand- or hot-plate-solder TQFP, TSSOP, etc. packages and when laying out boards occasionally reduce trace size to 12-mil in the vicinity of the IC. The commercial mill to which I have occasional access has no trouble producing usable 12-mil traces with 8-mil isolation, and these are *especially* the boards I’d like to be able to rapid-prototype at home.One would likely want to use a finer nozzle (Thing-O-Matic? custom?).Riddle me this: What do you do with an etchant-soaked PLA doily in the shape of a circuit once you’re done? I suppose throw it away.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "5849621",
"author": "someguy",
"timestamp": "2019-02-07T06:50:41",
"content": "nope, Caleb has not read the article he discusses here…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.31681
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/21/arduino-i2c-sniffer/
|
Arduino I2C Sniffer
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"i2c"
] |
[Johngineer] found himself in need of an I2C sniffer, but didn’t have one available. Necessity is the mother of invention, so he put together this
I2C sniffer sketch for Arduino
. The arduino will record what is going on for a set time interval, then dump the data via serial as a .csv. You then have to plot it to see what is going on. [Johngineer] recommends
Livegraph
, since it is portable and easy. As you can see in the code, the time interval is adjustable, but you have the physical limitations of the RAM on the board to consider. This seems like a pretty handy piece of code stored around, effectively giving you a passable I2C sniffer in a pinch.
| 11
| 10
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396628",
"author": "kernelcode",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T16:44:30",
"content": "Nice and handy for folk with ArduinosI think a good way to get around RAM limitations would be set up an interrupt on the pin you’re monitoring and a timer which counts the time between edges. That way, you only need to store a byte (or two) for each edge which should give you plenty of space.(Up to 2000 edges with 2K I suppose)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396631",
"author": "Agent420",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T17:24:04",
"content": "I’m not sure why you would capture raw data instead of just monitoring the bus and reporting the commands and data?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396635",
"author": "kernelcode",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T17:27:46",
"content": "Then you have to teach the micro to ‘speak’ i2c.I’m not really familiar with Arduino libraries, but I think the i2c library is fairly regimented in its implementation (i.e. you can’t just monitor the bus).Plus the way he did it doesn’t limit him to just i2c – he can monitor any digital signal.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396639",
"author": "Johngineer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T17:48:57",
"content": "@agent420: I was working on implementing an i2c slave in software, so I needed to see the raw data on the lines so that I could get the timing right.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396666",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T20:38:55",
"content": "I wrote some I2C sniffer code for a silabs C8051F340 MCU one time. On that MCU, it has specialized I2C hardware, so you only have to peek/poke certain registers to make the I2C bus do what you want.What I did was set the I2C hardware to slave mode, so an interrupt fires when it detects activity on the bus. Normally what would happen now is the ISR would compare the received device address to the one you programmed the MCU to respond to, and send an ACK if they match. Instead, my ISR sends an ACK for EVERY device address received (I have to send an ACK instead of just being passive on the bus because of they way the I2C hardware on this device works, if I do not ACK the first byte received the hardware will ignore all further bytes received and not fire I2C interrupts until the next START). Then, it just sits passively on the bus (NOT sending an ACK, or ever transmitting data), reading every byte is sees on the bus until a STOP is detected, and adding each byte to a buffer.Then, once the stop is detected, I pull the received data off of the buffer, package it into a “packet” (basically just add the byte count as the first byte of the packet), then add each packet to a large circular buffer so I can pull the data off vis USB",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396750",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T02:58:47",
"content": "http://www.qsl.net/zl2wrw/projects/AN6311%20exp/AN6311%20exp.htmlThis page has some similar code (pllsnoop on the page) to spy on a radio’s PLL comms. Granted, it’s not specific for Arduino, but, I personally, have “adapted” it. If I recall correctly, only required some pin changes in the code.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396988",
"author": "Agent420",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T22:36:47",
"content": "I’m not saying it’s not an intertesting way to go about it, but it seems to me that there isn’t a lot of timing to account for… you are simply monitoring pin states.Wiki’s I2C entry has a decent psuedocode bitbanging example.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%C2%B2C#Example_of_bit-banging_the_I2C_Master_protocol",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397028",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T01:41:44",
"content": "@agent420: ‘timing’ was not the word I should have used — ‘signalling’ is more accurate. the problem i was having was that my slave was not ACKing after receiving a byte of data.by showing me the sequence of events, the sniffer helped me figure out why: specifically the slave wasn’t asserting a low state on the SDA line fast enough to run through a master-driven clock pulse (a standard ACK). SDA was in fact going low about 2/3rds of the way through said pulse.the problem was in the code, which i was able to re-arrange and optimize so that it forced SDA low earlier, while at the same time releasing SCL later. sniffing packet content alone wouldn’t have told me anything, i needed to look at the physical layer.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397290",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T21:43:41",
"content": "BusPirate is also super clean for this if you have one handy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "429692",
"author": "Joe",
"timestamp": "2011-08-06T22:14:09",
"content": "Would a sound card and paired MOSFET-based sampling amps work? Or would there be more to it? I just wonder if there’s a good circuit for recording the signals of an EEPROM (~10Kb/s) using a standard stereo line in jack. I recommend some kind of amplifier because of noise immunity. You don’t want a whole lot of signals going from the PC’s electronics into the other machine, not to mention ground faults!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "583181",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2012-02-16T02:00:02",
"content": "A sound card would probably not work for I2C. Most sound cards can sample at a rates up to around 96kHz. I2C typically signals around 100kHz, so you’d need a sample rate of 200kHz to capture the I2C data, which is far beyond most audio cards.",
"parent_id": "429692",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,187.203493
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/20/bay-area-maker-faire-hackaday-has-arrived/
|
Bay Area Maker Faire: Hackaday Has Arrived!
|
Phil Burgess
|
[
"cons",
"News"
] |
[
"2011",
"bamf",
"colossus",
"maker faire",
"makerfaire",
"Makers",
"san mateo"
] |
It’s a madhouse already at the 2011 Bay Area Maker Faire. Though the show doesn’t officially start until tomorrow, Friday is “Education Day”, a special preview for local schools. As makers scramble to set up their displays, a thousand impressionable young minds seek the most cacophonous mixture of taiko drumming, ArcAttack’s
musical Tesla coils
, and the
beep
ing and
boop
ing of the
R2-D2 Builder’s Club
.
Maker Faire is returning for its sixth year at the San Mateo Event Center, and is shaping up to be bigger and zanier than ever. We’ll do our best to provide some live updates through the weekend. As always,
check out the official site
for pointers on hours, admission, parking and especially public transit options.
(Photo:
Colossus,
the death-defying centerpiece of the Midway area of the Faire.)
| 16
| 16
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396433",
"author": "dm",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T20:45:24",
"content": "Anybody have a fast travel method for getting from the east coast to the west? Must say please get video.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396454",
"author": "Harvey Moon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T21:56:12",
"content": "I will be showing two Drawing Machines at the Faire. Hackaday crew, come find me!http://hackaday.com/2010/06/06/drawbot-produces-portraits-very-slowly/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396460",
"author": "Roberto",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T22:22:38",
"content": "Tampa? Hudson? Seattle? Guantanamo? Chesapeake? Prudhoe? Green? Massachussetts? San Pablo?Why must we assume/guess?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396496",
"author": "TheCreator",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T01:50:54",
"content": "@dmi heard adafruit has a build your own teleporter kit on sale for just this occasion. ;-)watch out though, it has a sticker on it that reads “arduino inside”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396498",
"author": "monster",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T01:55:19",
"content": "does HaD have a table or something at the maker faire? love to get some HaD swag",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396499",
"author": "buzzkill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T02:08:03",
"content": "W00H00! Will be there at gate opening in the AM. Where will HAD be?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396507",
"author": "Jeremy C",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T03:11:44",
"content": "I may go to the thing in Raleigh, NC on June 18th, will HAD be represented there?Here’s the link if anyone is interested:http://makerfairenc.com/journal/tag/raleigh",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396516",
"author": "blackspyder",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T04:15:14",
"content": "Awesome! Come by the hackerspace area and say hi to Ace Monster Toys and Noisebridge while you’re in town =]",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396522",
"author": "Phil Burgess",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T05:08:57",
"content": "@monster, @buzzkill: no swag table or anything, sorry…we’ll be running around looking for cool projects and stuff, not really hanging in one spot.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396523",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T05:11:44",
"content": "Finally sitting down after a really busy day setting up at Maker Faire. If you’re there, just look for Sparkfun and then find the two black tents with lots of LEDs in the ceiling. If you know Processing, I might even let you try some live coding on the array…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396577",
"author": "Jakob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T12:06:30",
"content": "That was huge…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396606",
"author": "buzzkill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T14:22:29",
"content": "Pack the truck, pack the kids, we’re heading to Makerland!I wanna see the RC ships, eepy birds, battle bots, maker shed, sparkfun, steam powered snow cone maker, and, and, and …",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396714",
"author": "Dr bob bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T01:02:27",
"content": "If the west coast is too far you could come to the Kansas city Makerfaire. It is June 24-26th. I don’t know what all will be there but it will be cool.http://www.makerfairekc.com/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396935",
"author": "buzzkill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T18:36:22",
"content": "Spent the entire day. Still only saw about 1/2. It was awesome. I really liked seeing more kid friendly exhibits, and kid makers. My kids had a blast and so did I.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397008",
"author": "Jerry Whiting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T00:05:05",
"content": "This was my first Maker Faire and boy was I overwhelmed! I’d love to go to next month’s in Detroit cuz I hear it’s a growing center of DIY hoembrew let’s rebuild this place spirit.I found the lock picking sessions a riot to watch:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZMky3y8G2Q",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397203",
"author": "Erik Johnson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T16:01:55",
"content": "This was my first time showcasing and it was BUSY! Totally doing this again next year.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.263296
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/20/send-email-receive-surveilance-picture/
|
Send Email, Receive Surveilance Picture
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Security Hacks"
] |
[
"gsm",
"surveillance"
] |
This deathstar like ball is actually an
autonomous surveillance camera
. [Basil] wrote in to tell us about it. The body is custom designed for the project, then 3d printed. It can be dropped anywhere, as it is battery powered for up to a month, and communicates via cellar networks. It checks an email folder once an hour and responds to any requests with a snapshot of what is going on. In the video, which you can see after the break, he gets an immediate response. You can download the sourcecode as well as the files for the enclosure
here
.
If you wanted to reduce costs, that case could be done away with, but we suspect it helps with some moderate weather conditioning. We would also love to see a version that rotated around that equator on command for better pictures. Great job [Basil].
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X85ASoRxHRU&w=470]
| 31
| 31
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396399",
"author": "Oren Beck",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T17:47:44",
"content": "Rover",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396401",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T17:54:05",
"content": "I instantly thought… Death Star.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396406",
"author": "TheCitySpiders",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T18:07:40",
"content": "You could do a setup that allows it to tilt up down and turn 360°. Tilt would be obviously less than 360°.And the tilt could be done with the same method as say a weighted center balance or some type of tray that uses magnetic spheres in a bowl kinda stand or even just a kick leg that pops out of the shell.I am sure there are some other awesome ways to pull that off.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396408",
"author": "Basil",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T18:30:31",
"content": "I’d love to a add some sort of tilt/turn functionality. My only concern though is power consumption of the motors. I’d really love this camera to last as long as possible on a single charge.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396410",
"author": "Jordan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T18:33:29",
"content": "yeah, perhaps add an accelerometer to tell which way is up and automatically rotate the camera’s image",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396411",
"author": "stevo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T18:40:43",
"content": "or just simply outfitting it with a simple servo system allowing it to take a series of pictures while it travels along its rotational axis",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396412",
"author": "caleb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T18:42:44",
"content": "how about motion detection/tracking and IR. and maybe a tazer (or even smg), you know, as a crime deterrent.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396416",
"author": "Basil",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T19:09:56",
"content": "@caleb: I was planning to build in motion detection sensor in the next revision. I hope I will be able to find a solution that would not compromise battery life too much.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396420",
"author": "Steve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T19:21:51",
"content": "I imagine he didn’t include a pan/tilt/rotate feature because it would require power hungry motors. The description says up to a MONTH of operation (pretty incredible considering it’s polling an email hourly). If panoramic photos were needed I believe adding 2 more cameras with overlapping FOV would be a less power hungry solution (just have the software take/send all 3 photos which could be stitched on the receiver side).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396426",
"author": "AllThatJazz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T20:05:06",
"content": "“Cellar” networks, eh? Is this device designed for underground organizations then?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396428",
"author": "Basil",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T20:11:49",
"content": "@AllThatJazz “Cellar” networks as in “Wine Cellar”. This device could be used to see if your precious pinots are intact.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396431",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T20:41:39",
"content": "Instead of power consuming servos, add more cameras with wide-angle lenses?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396449",
"author": "BruceJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T21:38:48",
"content": "It’s Fuzzy Dunlop!(See ‘The Wire’ season 2 for the ref…)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396453",
"author": "Lee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T21:55:24",
"content": "If it checks once an hour… how did he get the email so fast? Maybe simple video editing is the answer… anyway cool project!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396466",
"author": "cadzilla",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T22:39:25",
"content": "Solar panels on geodesic dome structure for battery life as well as lipo batteries which can be obtained for free( email me and ill tell you where to get them) the PTZ feature could’ve been accomplished using flexwire , very strong , motors ,low power consumption. Mount cam on spring, tie off4 pieces muscle wire and apply current to the wire in whichdirection you want cam to go.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396467",
"author": "kelly grammar",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T23:00:47",
"content": "Why is it that everything has to be 3d printed? It is my arduino. It is so superfluous and inefficient. Somebody needs to open source a under 800 dollar injection molder. If things like this take off then instead of an hour and fifteen dollars worth of materials and machine time, the case can be made for pennies in seconds.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396471",
"author": "Basil",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T23:15:02",
"content": "@Lee You are right, this video was edited to fit into 40 second times. I guess if my name was Ingmar I could make an hour video wait exciting….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396481",
"author": "Retroplayer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T00:21:36",
"content": "Basil, with the motion detection, you could have only that section powered and only startup (and respond to email) when some activity is sensed. Battery life would probably be even longer that way.Tradeoff is that it doesn’t necessarily respond right away, but also means no boring pics wasting battery and bandwidth.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396503",
"author": "cmholm",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T02:51:44",
"content": "Complicating the design, but stretching autonomous operation time ’til the bits rot would be a rechargeable CR123A battery, a pv cell on (a flattened) top, and related circuitry. Obviously, this is more than Basil required, but would be useful in the field if there’s cell coverage.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396508",
"author": "JC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T03:12:27",
"content": "Isn’t there an app for that?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396511",
"author": "Anon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T03:43:42",
"content": "reminds me of thishttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btO9fCvEe_A00:18 mark",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396519",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T04:41:25",
"content": "That is cool, I can think of a variety of other applications for this product as well. It would be great for looking under houses or in crawl spaces or to just take cool video or pictures around the neighborhood.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396526",
"author": "wilfite",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T05:22:04",
"content": "Personally, I’m impressed they’ve finally found a way to harness the Vast, Untapped power of Cellar Networking. This could revolutionize technology as we know it. Oh yes my friend, today is a turning point to remember…the start of a New Era. Voici la puissance du réseau Cellar!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396538",
"author": "ColinB",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T07:21:10",
"content": "If I thought I left some dangerous appliance on at home, I would wish for faster than 30 minutes delay to get an image! Couldn’t it be made more real-time? e.g., SMS received, take picture, send picture, — total time less than one minute.A 30 minute delay is more like communicating with Jupiter than to a GPRS-connected camera on Earth.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396600",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T14:14:57",
"content": "Yikes. 8 cents an hour and 70 cents whenever a picture is sent could cost quite a lot over a month.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396623",
"author": "Xtremegamer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T15:56:02",
"content": "Well since it does look clean why not add the cheap ir-sensors of those air refreshners.some also have a small motor to actuate the lever …and maybe set an interval that it sends a picture to a server that processes the image and depending on what the picture sends you an alert with picture included …",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396624",
"author": "Basil Shikin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T16:06:14",
"content": "@ Xtremegamer IR-sensor is the next good idea to implement. I am a little weary of the idea about the server though. You see, to save network traffic an image would have to be lossy-compressed. Unfortunately, I am not sure I could come up with a reliable algorithm for fuzzy image comparison.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396636",
"author": "lolowski",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T17:40:27",
"content": "Reminds me of Deus Ex surveillance cameras",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396650",
"author": "IceBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T18:49:41",
"content": "There are some gadgets which claim to harvest energy from Wifi signals, maybe one could be used/made to extend the battery life?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396724",
"author": "nimitzbrood",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T01:44:10",
"content": "This plus a hexapod would be pure awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397148",
"author": "Lucia",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T12:15:03",
"content": "Are the “Cellar networks” some throwback to Jet Set Willy nostalgia? Did I miss a cheat? There were quite some secret passages in the game.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.451408
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/20/introduction-to-the-h-bridge-motor-controller/
|
Introduction To The H-bridge Motor Controller
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"how-to"
] |
[
"basics",
"drive",
"motors"
] |
[Chris] sent us this fantastic tutorial,
introducing beginners to H-bridge motor drivers
. While many of you will consider this stuff basic, those who are trying to expand from building only things the arduino board can handle to bigger more expansive (and powerful) projects will find this quite helpful. [Chris’s] tutorial is very in depth, not only going through the construction of the basic circuit but also showing you how to make your own PCB. Pop on over there and learn some theory and some practice. Then you can build that battle bot you’ve always been dreaming of!
| 22
| 22
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396364",
"author": "Ikari-Pt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T15:10:46",
"content": "My H-BRIDGE based on vnh3sp30 can hadle 30A and as corrent measure so…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396369",
"author": "ds2ktj",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T15:31:35",
"content": "Ikari,Post your link.The PCB in the article here is clearly missing a couple traces in the above link…use caution – he didn’t show his “fib” with careful photography nor does he mention it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396370",
"author": "ds2ktj",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T15:38:24",
"content": "I stand corrected – he does mention the missing trace.•Single Unrouted TraceOne yellow line still exists, and that is because it was a trace that would cut off a good ground connection to one of the power transistors. To fix this, a simple jumper wire will be used instead of a PCB trace.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396376",
"author": "PeterM",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T15:47:04",
"content": "I hate to be “that guy” but use this circuit with all due caution. Apart from running rough-as-guts due to the lack of micro-stepping, there are no diodes to protect against back EMF, no thermal protection and no active current limiting or over-current protection. When you’re running at 10A you really do want all of these things.Or in the spirit of a true hacker you could just throw caution to the wind and say hey, it’s a great tutorial, let’s build one! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396387",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T16:58:13",
"content": "Wonderful. About time we got something useful.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396388",
"author": "SparkyGSX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T17:08:27",
"content": "I don’t mean to be a hater, but that circuit really is a piece of crap. No synchronous rectification, 2 darlingtons dropping 2.8V of the power supply, and worst of all: no flyback diodes!It’s horribly inefficient, and the transistors won’t live very long. The latter can be fixed by adding some decent (fast, 10A+ rated) diodes anti-parallel to the transistors. The inefficiency is a direct consequence of the choice of the switches.The latter may not matter to some, and if at least the damn diodes are included, it would be a reasonable circuit for beginners.I understand why using all N-channel MOSFETs wouldn’t be a good choice for an introductory circuit, and using P-channel MOSFETs has its disadvantages, but bipolar darlington transistors don’t allow a lot of upscaling either, so P-channel MOSFETs would have been a better choice, I think.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396393",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T17:32:50",
"content": "I’ve salvaged a bunch of IRFZ46N’s from an old APC UPS and wish to turn them into a dual h-bridge for a tracked chassis, I have a pre-made L298N board running the motors in the chassis but it’s an awkward size so won’t fit in the chassis easily and not as efficient as a MOSFET setup.I’m still learning about properly using MOSFETs so have been scouring the web for proper information and a little breadboard testing without a load just a multimeter, I realise that because they’re n-channel I need a gate driver for them.Does anyone have any suggestions on gate drivers or more detailed information on learning about creating a MOSFET h-bridge from scratch? I did notice the lack of protection diodes in the circuit so I wondered what other corners were cut.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396405",
"author": "zing",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T18:04:10",
"content": "Perhaps he thought the tiny built-in antiparallel diodes were sufficient.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396436",
"author": "mstone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T20:47:35",
"content": "Granted the circuit is basic, but let’s remember that this is an article for the raw beginner. We can talk about synchronous rectification once people know what a push-pull output stage is.For anyone who’s new to H-bridges, yes, flyback protection diodes are important.. they’re diodes installed ‘upside down’ at each lead going into the motor.The winding in a motor is an inductor, which means it resists sudden changes in current flow. A sudden increase in current expands the magnetic field, a sudden drop in current collapses the field. In both cases, the change in magnetic field is accompanied by a spike in voltage. That means the voltage in the windings can go far higher than Vcc and far below GND.. as much as several hundred volts, which can lead to arcing and component breakdown.The upside-down diodes eliminate those spikes by passing current from the coil to Vcc when the coil voltage goes higher than Vcc, and passing current from GND into the coil when the coil voltage goes below GND.I do have one nitpick about the circuit description on the third page: he says power goes into the collectors of the PNP transistors, which is a mistake. The schematic shows the emitters going to Vcc (a PNP emitter always goes toward Vcc, an NPN emitter always goes toward GND).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396441",
"author": "mstone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T21:05:24",
"content": "@Haku: Here are a couple of good discussions of mosfet H-bridges:http://roko.ca/robotics/h-bridge-fundamentalshttp://www.cadvision.com/blanchas/hexfet/and here’s a really good discussion of BJT H-bridges:http://www.mcmanis.com/chuck/robotics/tutorial/h-bridge/If you’re trying to build an H-bridge entirely out of N-channel mosfets, you’ll end up using what’s called a ‘totem pole’ output for either half-bridge.. one mosfet sitting above the other. That works, but the voltage to the motor will max out one Vgs (the voltage required to turn the mosfet on) below Vcc, unless you do what’s called ‘high-side drive’.High-side drive basically involves building a charge pump to generate a voltage at least one Vgs above Vcc, and using that to drive the gate of your upper mosfet. It isn’t all that hard, since the current through the gate of a mosfet is measured in nanoamps, but it does make the circuit more complicated.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396456",
"author": "malone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T22:06:25",
"content": "@ Hakui too got a bunch of fets from a UPS (irf3710).i simulated (falstad.com), and read a lot about them fets.in the end i use them to sink the unipolar load, driving them with a pull up on the V rail(before chopping), and pull them down with a transistor via protected uC output, with a bunch of diodes and stuff in there.yes they do saturate very well and run 2-3 amps warm with no heatsinks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396480",
"author": "tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T00:01:52",
"content": "How is it possible that people in 2011 are still using this rotten bipolar L298 when there are so many nice mosfet hbridge around.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396482",
"author": "TheCreator",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T00:32:34",
"content": "There are several more advanced h-bridge and dual h-bridge circuits. One of which that wasn’t mentioned was the guy that created the Lawnbot 4000 he has created a 24 mosfet dual H-Bridge that is decent other than his lack of circuit protection. His site is located at:http://www.rediculouslygoodlooking.com/also for some good schematics you can check out the OSMC (open source motor controller) page at:http://www.robotpower.com/downloads/There are several designs here that range from a simple single channel H-bridge to more advance 160A continuous current applications.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396483",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T00:39:56",
"content": "It needs heatsinks. Really.(very all-inclusive tutorial, though.)The transistors specified DO have internal flyback diodes. I couldn’t tell from datasheets whether they’re “sufficient”, but since this is a bipolar part, they’re not just a byproduct of the chip process (as they are in MOSFETs), so I’d expect them to be OK.There is THIS tutorial that is a little more rigorous and results in a more professional bridge:http://www.mcmanis.com/chuck/robotics/tutorial/h-bridge/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396485",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T00:42:16",
"content": "@tim: please recommend a “nice mosfet Hbridge” widely available in hobbyist-friendly package…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396506",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T03:07:19",
"content": "@tim, the L298N board cost me $15 shipped and works out-of-the-box to easily control my RP5 tracked chassis, so I wouldn’t call it rotten by any means, but I do realise that the motors aren’t being run to their full potential (speed) from the batteries because of the voltage drop so I would like a nice (up to 2A) MOSFET h-bridge that doesn’t cost more than the chassis+other components put together.What do you reccomend?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396521",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T05:02:38",
"content": "this is a bad circuit and neither the simplest one",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396546",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T08:35:26",
"content": "The “H” doesn’t have to mean hatred, fellas.Sheesh. You’d think it was connected to your life support system and not someone’s project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397091",
"author": "jmz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T07:48:05",
"content": "Lol, in addition to everything else which has been mentioned, there’s also no protection against both legs being turned on at the same time, causing a dead short.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "420973",
"author": "Matthew",
"timestamp": "2011-07-21T23:17:30",
"content": "“an” H-Bridge not “a” H-Bridge",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "443507",
"author": "mayur",
"timestamp": "2011-08-29T07:00:26",
"content": "i want to design a moter driver circuit in following manner..:1] There are 3 signal coming from microcontrollera) pwm signal : depending upon this my moter speed is contolb) 0 or 1 bit: depending on 0 or 1 my moter run in clockwise or anticlockwise .c)0 or 1 bit: depending on 0 or 1 my moter run or stop;>>> how should i perform this????plz reply",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "443508",
"author": "mayur",
"timestamp": "2011-08-29T07:01:48",
"content": "plz someone reply on above comment….m waiting",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.382098
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/20/using-an-avr-as-an-rfid-tag/
|
Using An AVR As An RFID Tag
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"attiny",
"rfid",
"rfid tag"
] |
A few years ago, [Beth] came up with the idea of using an AVR as an RFID tag. She’s gotten sidetracked with a few other projects in the meantime but her idea has surfaced again, this time as a
duct tape RFID tag
. The build is just four components: 0.1 µF and 1 nF capacitors, an ATtiny85 microcontroller, and 100 turns of 40 AWG magnet wire, all soldered together and placed on a duct tape substrate.
Like most RFID tags, the power is drawn from the reader through the coil, but even in low power versions the ATtiny is only rated down to 1.8 Volts. Since the microcontroller is only getting about 1 Volt from the coil, the clock oscillator of the ATtiny won’t work. This isn’t a problem in this build, because the coil is connected to the the clock input – the 125 kHz coming off the reader provides the clock. Very clever.
Of course, the microcontroller is going to need some firmware to send some bits to the reader, so she used the
AVRFID firmware
(check out the comments in the source for a
great
walkthrough) to transmit under the HID protocol, itself a derivative of [Beth]’s earlier work with the EM4102 protocol.
Not only are we impressed with this hack, we’re amazed [Beth] is still perfecting her work more than two years after her
first post
on the subject. That’s dedication and unbridled cleverness.
Via
adafruit
| 11
| 10
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396331",
"author": "Gregg",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T13:16:26",
"content": "Thats also one long lasting RFID gaffer should keep it secure for years!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396335",
"author": "Henrik Pedersen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T13:40:07",
"content": "Tokenized RFID anybody?The RFID tags that can’t be spoofed, that should be a gold mine… Or well anything can be hacked but it would make it MUCH harder if the chip didn’t send out the same signal each time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396339",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T13:45:19",
"content": "put a cryptographic challenge/response protocol in it and you have a working and affordable security measure. Has been working for cars for a long time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3500611",
"author": "John w",
"timestamp": "2017-04-03T22:55:01",
"content": "cept push to start is incredibly vulnerable to relay attacks. If you dont reprocess/decode the signal just pass it over a stronger channel then back to the original the additional time added to the loop is so small its hard to detect a relay with out introducing the possibility of false positives and people pissed their car isnt turning on.",
"parent_id": "396339",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "396340",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T13:46:43",
"content": "Only 1 Volt received from the coil?Are you sure the circuit is tuned to resonate correctly? I had a similar project up and running a few years ago and could receive 5V on the receiver coil, more than enough for powering an LED at 20mA.My “reader” was just a 12V square wave generator being fed into a tuned load.Never did finish the project off, but RFID is very cool to play with.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396414",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T18:58:11",
"content": "Anyone know of an ATtiny85 firmware that would work with Casi Rusco RFID tags?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396435",
"author": "bothersaidpooh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T20:46:55",
"content": "RFID thermometer anyone? :-)Ought to work, change the six end bits in the code to read temperature and Bob’s your auntie.Wonder if you can get AVRs in a thinner package, this would work well if you laminated it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396446",
"author": "toybuilder",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T21:15:32",
"content": "How does the RFID signal get rectified to provide DC power?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396555",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T09:38:53",
"content": "@ bothersaidpooh:That would be a very VERY cool (and green) alternative to traditional battery-using wireless thermometer systems like the one I use at home.If the range is short, then I’ll just build three robots to roam around and take readings, and you know, “…take care of the forest.”http://r.b5z.net/i/u/10046557/i/louie_drone_silent_running.jpghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkF05D-NJMU",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396671",
"author": "alan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T21:14:27",
"content": "@toybuilderThe input on the processor has interval diodes to give it some protection against electrostatic discharge. There is a diode up to the +ve rail and a diode from -ve rail up to the input. So that will cover the rectification.I would highly recommend searching online if you want to do a similar project. There are many better sources of information and better designs out there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396672",
"author": "alan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T21:14:57",
"content": "internal diodes even",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.567953
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/20/diy-spectrophotometer/
|
DIY Spectrophotometer
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"Tool Hacks"
] |
[
"Spectrophotometer"
] |
[Charlie] has been making a
DIY Spectrophotometer
, and while it is a “shambling mess of information-age technology!” it is still much better than ours. Focused around an arduino, bits of lego, and a flashlight, this creative device rotates a diffraction grating (flake of compact disc) aimed at a photo resistor. As the light spectrum is passed over the sample, the photo resistor measures how much light is reflected and that data is passed back to a pc.
As nothing is as ever easy as it should be, a big problem popped up with using a servo. It was way too course, meaning the entire spectrum would be jumped over in 6 steps. A quick robbery of a gear assembly from a floppy disk drive and the motor movement was smoothed out. A little too well because 120 degrees of the servo is not quite enough to cover the entire spectrum. Oh well there is always room for improvement.
| 26
| 25
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396299",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T11:14:30",
"content": "Spelling correction: Instead of course, I think you mean coarse.Sorry to nitpick!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396300",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T11:25:33",
"content": "Use a stepper. Problem solved.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396313",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T11:55:54",
"content": "I really like the idea. I used to do spectrum measurements for physics lab in highschool but in a simpler way.The automation is super great. As @Hackius sais, a stepper is the better way to go. A very good solution is to get one from a scanner. It has gears which should provide excellent resolution. You can also use the calibration mechanism (the aligning part with the photo interrupter).There is something not mentioned…. the calibration with the photo sensor (photo resistor/diode). This has a certain response curve that needs to be known and taken account.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396323",
"author": "Shaddack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T12:32:19",
"content": "The calibration is apparently done with the run without a sample (with just the water). The system constants (the spectrum of the light source, the absorbance of the cuvette, the sensitivity curve of the sensor) are thus compensated.As of the low sensitivity of the sensor, consider amplification of the weak analog signal with an op-amp.What about using a head actuator from a hard drive, with some sort of (e.g. capacitive) position feedback sensor? The circuitry could be adapted from e.g. a homemade galvo for a laser projector.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396336",
"author": "Hack Cell",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T13:43:27",
"content": "Flake of compact disc? Wtg zerocool ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396343",
"author": "uky",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T13:53:42",
"content": "any idea of the accuracy of this compared to a real unit?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396351",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T14:10:55",
"content": "This is good. Been thinking about doing this kind of thing for a while, spectrophotometers are pretty expensive to buy (into the thousands, or tens of thousands). How easy do folks think it would be to use something like a CCD, so that, with the grating or prism or whatever you were using to get wavelength separation, many wavelengths could measured at once. It wouldn’t be nessesary to move anything about then.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396353",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T14:22:22",
"content": "@twopartepoxy is right. Still you would need some ccd that has no micro filters on the pixels( not a RGB one).There are some sensors that could be useful for this, such as the TSL202. There may be others, but this one I know off.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396354",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T14:31:25",
"content": "@bogdan: How about a sensor from an LED scanner? They have very high linear resolution, have no color filter, and are sensitive across the visible spectrum. As a bonus you get a decent stepper and other goodies.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396357",
"author": "M",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T14:45:30",
"content": "I came across this a while ago but some may find it useful. Its a cell phone based spectrophotometer.http://www.asdlib.org/onlineArticles/elabware/Scheeline_Kelly_Spectrophotometer/index.htmlFor those with access to academic journals you can find their published version of the same work here:http://www.opticsinfobase.org/as/abstract.cfm?URI=as-64-9-256A",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396366",
"author": "razor",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T15:15:00",
"content": "I used to work with Beckman Coultier spectro’s a few years back. They used off-the-shelf servos but geared them down using a pulley system that reduced their movements like 18 times. Each pulley had a tab on it so that when they all lined up (much like planets in our solar system), you knew you were “homed”. It took 3 opto sensors to look at the tabs, and if the thing was at the far end of the spectrum when it was turned off, the movement took like 45 seconds to home. :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396397",
"author": "tyco",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T17:38:29",
"content": "I really hope this person is compensating for the wildly-not-flat spectral output of the white LEDs used for the actual lighting…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396398",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T17:43:53",
"content": "@M: really useful link, some good ideas there.it should be possible to use a similar digital camera setup to get spectral data in real time, if the software processing is fast enough, although this would just be for visible wavelengths (i assume?)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396422",
"author": "Shaddack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T19:32:00",
"content": "Could something like this be used as a monochromator? It could then be used for illuminating an object with only a single wavelength (or a narrow range). By taking many photos at different wavelengths and then stacking them together a hyperspectral microphotography would be possible.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396437",
"author": "bothersaidpooh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T20:51:36",
"content": "@Shaddack Or harvest an actuator from a broken laptop CDROM or Zip drive.Ought to work, due to cost and space requirements most use a small motor with position sensor which can be repurposed for this application.Then store the data in the PIC’s memory and you have a high accuracy instrument which is very compact.Run the motor back and forth a few times and gather data on each pass to “home in” on regions of interest.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396438",
"author": "bothersaidpooh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T20:54:30",
"content": "Didn’t I read somewhere on here about a guy doing this with a surplus scanner’s linear CCD?Using a single sensor does have the advantage that it is easy to calibrate.Maybe someone should make one of these using a large area infrared LED as the pickup, and compare results.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396472",
"author": "Garbz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T23:15:36",
"content": "@MIt wouldn’t be a real spectrometer then. The digital camera has filters on each pixel in red green and blue and the resulting spectrum would be a mathematical approximation of colour based on the RGB values recorded. This is similar to colourimeters used for display calibration, and is nothing like a spectrometer which splits the spectrum and then records the brightness of each wavelength. The latter is far more accurate if calibrated properly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396505",
"author": "tantris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T03:03:01",
"content": "it isn’t refraction (light bent according to wavelength) but diffraction (different wavelengths coming from the same grate, combine at different places)@m: the thing you want is something like this:http://www.onlinesciencemall.com/Shop/Control/Product/fp/SFV/30852/vpid/2977227/vpcsid/0/rid/126318@garbz: the grates give a spectrum that is monochromatic for each point in the spectrum, and each point of the spectrum gets recorded as its own specific pixel at the camera. as long as the rgb has enough overlap to register in-between wavelengths, it can be easily calibrated with a known light source. it is a real spectrometer, it really splits the spectrum into wavelengths.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396513",
"author": "Ilk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T03:55:27",
"content": "You should look into a diffraction grating, they are cheap and should give better results than the cd.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396544",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T08:33:39",
"content": "Impressive project.Delicious discussion in the comments.THIS is good HAD.(unlike the hatefest over that poor guy’s H-bridge, sheesh)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396569",
"author": "ed3203",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T11:06:27",
"content": "I’m pretty sure this can only provide RELATIVE measurement rather than absolute. The photodiode or any ccd for that mater responds differently to different wavelengths of light. Scientific CCDs come with Quantum Efficiency (QE) plots of wavelength vs response used in calibration. You could calibrate with a laser of known power and wavelength as a baseline, then use filters and a white light source to calibrate the rest.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396603",
"author": "steve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T14:17:24",
"content": "Iam sorry to say this, but this is certainly one of the worst realizations of a spectrophotometer I have ever seen. If this would have been built using LEDs of various color I would have been way more accurate. Just look at all the stray light from the unblackened walls. Come on, this would be the first thing to do when you built a photometer- get rid of stray light.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397156",
"author": "Effigy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T13:11:44",
"content": "@tyco someones never used a spec…. google “split- beam” and “standard cuvet” sometime…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397255",
"author": "csoeder",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T19:21:40",
"content": "Thanks for the feature and for the comments. I have been looking into steppers, op amps, alternative detectors, and the like. Thanks for the advice :)Some of the questions here I’ve discussed in my FAQ:http://topologicoceans.wordpress.com/2011/01/29/diy-spectro-faq/As for stray light, I did in fact take pains to minimize it. The images I have posted thusfar were taken to illustrate the mechanism and thus have had some of the light baffles removed. With even a few of those barriers replaced, stray light reaching the sensor becomes essentially nil:http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h428/csoeder/DIY/DSCF3578.jpgThere is a further baffle, unpictured, which covers everything between the flashlight and the slit. I also tested for stray light by misaligning the grating and comparing a run with the light source on vs. off.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "415045",
"author": "robert",
"timestamp": "2011-07-09T02:43:37",
"content": "I do not know why a stepper motor is being considered. A smooth rotating DC motor whose speed can be controled by changing the voltage to it with a pot would be more desireable in my opinion. It would give a constant continuous movement across the spectrum and thus a better rendition of the spectrums relative intensities.I have always wondered if using some of the defraction grating materials from Edmund Scientific that is pretty cheap would be more desirable than a CD.Using a broadband sensor is important. In any case knowing its response characteristics is what will enable its output spectrum’s intensity to beadjusted flat. Knowing the sensors response curve allows each wavelenth measured to be multiplied by a correction factor to achieve a flat response.Great effort….keep it up, and just a few thoughts that may be considered for making improvements.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "994212",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2013-04-16T23:26:13",
"content": "Your comments reflect my thyoughts. Why not a DC motor, diffraction grating from edmund scientific, and the spects of the sensor so the rsponse curve can be normalized with coefficience or through the use of regrssion analysis to establish a correction polynominal.But nevertheless thanks for your diy spectrometer. It is a step forward for diy.",
"parent_id": "415045",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,187.635522
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/19/nes-multi-cartridge/
|
NES Multi-cartridge
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Nintendo Hacks"
] |
[
"74hc161",
"binary counter",
"eprom",
"multicartridge",
"rom"
] |
Here’s a mutlicartridge hack for the original NES that [Callan Brown] put together. He spent some time snooping around the signals on the circuit board seen above until he found the trace that maps the reset signal from the game console. This will be used to cycle through the various games stored on the cart’s memory chip. The ROM images that will be stored on this cartridge are concatenated, then burned to the EPROM. Since the donor cartridge (and the ROMs which were chosen) use memory managment, the hardware can be tricked into reading the ROM from a specific point in the EPROM.
The switching itself is handled by a 74HC161 binary counter chip. The reset signal from the on-board security chip acts as a clock trigger for the counter. Some clever wiring allows the output of the counter to select the starting address for the EPROM. Each time you press the reset button it increments the counter, thereby selecting a different ROM to load. See [Callan] demonstrate the finished hack in the video after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlYERtcknKc&w=470]
| 17
| 17
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396112",
"author": "Ron Ron Ron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T18:31:44",
"content": "Will save hours in useless cartridge blowing!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396123",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T19:05:16",
"content": "Not hard to do, use an eeprom that is far larger than the stock one and simply toggle the high address lines to enable new sections. This is really old school stuff we used to do back in the days of the TRS-80 Color Computer and the C-64.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396135",
"author": "Booker T. Worthington",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T19:30:26",
"content": "An elegant way of handling this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396138",
"author": "rusty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T19:34:25",
"content": "now install contiki",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396151",
"author": "CrashSerious",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T20:15:23",
"content": "“Sorry if I, uh, gave anybody a siezure”… CLASSIC. love it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396157",
"author": "Givemelove",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T20:35:03",
"content": "@CrashSeriousYeah, loved it too :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396160",
"author": "PoodleNoodle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T20:56:52",
"content": "OK, this is a retro dude’s dream.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396190",
"author": "rlanctot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T22:57:14",
"content": "Nicely done!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396197",
"author": "Erik Johnson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T23:47:09",
"content": "@fartface indeed. I use the same method to do animations on an LED panel where the smallest memory I could find was > 256B, so I used the extra address lines tied to a binary counter to cycle through the memory blocks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396198",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T23:48:37",
"content": "That is absolutely old school cool.Indeed, very nice. I am a bit envious.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396267",
"author": "cheap",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T07:44:09",
"content": "it is so great idea",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396318",
"author": "usedone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T12:09:26",
"content": "I used something like this when I was a kid. My neighbors brought it back from vietnam back when the nintendo was still fairly new. It was 2 cartridge segments that when put together were the size of a normal cartridge. It was like a top 50 games or something like that. I thought it was the greatest thing in the world.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396361",
"author": "Callan Brown",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T14:59:43",
"content": "Thanks for reading everyone. The real point of this project was to make use of the binary counter, obviously the idea of stacking ROM images together isn’t anything to get excited about.@usedone, that’s a Famicom multicart you had, most likely 52-in-1, attached to a NES converter. If you check my article and scroll down to the first video, you can see a Famicom game and converter on my NES console, it should look familiar!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396561",
"author": "a",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T10:21:36",
"content": "http://amazinghackingtricks.blogspot.com/2011/05/show-your-pc-pentium-5-or-more-funniest.htmlhttp://amazinghackingtricks.blogspot.com/2011/02/hide-your-hard-disc-amazing-and-simple.htmlhttp://amazinghackingtricks.blogspot.com/2011/02/lock-folder-without-any-software.htmlrelly amazingtricks are given…..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "398391",
"author": "The Best Electronic Stock",
"timestamp": "2011-05-27T00:57:11",
"content": "My neighbors brought it back from vietnam back when the nintendo was still fairly new.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "423057",
"author": "asdfhjklg",
"timestamp": "2011-07-26T12:12:58",
"content": "Would it be possible to Mod a Gameshark for n64 to be able to run roms on the console?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "889882",
"author": "steven",
"timestamp": "2012-11-24T01:06:22",
"content": "Any way to make a menu system to have specific roms load on purpose?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.693849
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/19/reverse-engineering-a-cheap-led-message-marquee/
|
Reverse Engineering A Cheap LED Message Marquee
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"LED Hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"ATmega88",
"usb"
] |
[Hugo] went all out when sharing his findings while reverse engineering this small LED marquee. He purchased the 29×7 LED matrix for under $12 but was surprised to find that the USB connector wasn’t a standard type and didn’t come with a cable. He first soldered a standard connector in place and then
set out to make the device do his bidding
(
translated
).
What he accomplished can be seen in the video after the break. He can now connect to the device via a USB cable, sending it new messages and adjusting the speed at which it scrolls. He can also adjust the spacing between letters, reverse the scrolling direction, read the on-board buttons, and write the settings to the device’s EEPROM. This is all thanks to some alternative firmware that [Hugo] wrote for the ATmega88. You can download a copy of that code from
the wiki page he put together
(
translated
). We really appreciate the time he spent putting that page together. The wealth of information he gathered during the hacking process serves as an example of the best way to share your projects with the world.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/22774505 w=470]
| 28
| 21
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396086",
"author": "Robert Ely",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T17:25:21",
"content": "From what I can tell he’s Not actually connecting over a USB cable. Just Serial. He mentions it could be possible with V-usb and i agree, with some modifications I think it would be very possible.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396104",
"author": "Philip",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T18:04:39",
"content": "Hi Guys could i ask wher i could get cheap leds? just like the matrix that he has on this article?Thanks,Philip",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396105",
"author": "Virtualmix",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T18:14:37",
"content": "@Philip ^http://www.dealextreme.com/p/programmable-scrolling-led-name-message-advertising-tag-card-badge-red-light-1-x-cr2032-55970",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396109",
"author": "Ratty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T18:24:43",
"content": "Cool, I was going to put an order into DX soon anyway, a few of these displays are getting added to it now.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396118",
"author": "Ratty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T18:49:56",
"content": "Reading further it looks like the display is Charlieplexed. Crafty.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396142",
"author": "pod",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T19:37:44",
"content": "pretty nice displayloving the refresh rate",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396186",
"author": "zunkworks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T22:44:27",
"content": "If anyone is interested I reversed 3 different but similar LED signs:http://zunkworks.com/node/8/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "831583",
"author": "Dayal",
"timestamp": "2012-10-23T16:28:54",
"content": "Hi My LED Badge is similar to your number 2, but this dosent have an IR ,instead has a USB which dosent work , please let me know how to hack and reprogram using a PC.Thanks and Best RegardsDayal",
"parent_id": "396186",
"depth": 2,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "832196",
"author": "zunkworks",
"timestamp": "2012-10-23T21:58:34",
"content": "I don’t think I can help much without having one in my hands or at least additional details. Generally the protocols are pretty simple a few command bytes followed by the message(s) and possibly a checksum and final command byte(s). Most all of them use a simple serial interface, you’ll notice that one of mine had a USB connector, but was in fact just plain serial, perhaps yours is similar.",
"parent_id": "831583",
"depth": 3,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "836896",
"author": "Dayal",
"timestamp": "2012-10-26T09:30:31",
"content": "Hi How did you modify the micro USB . Cable connection details will help me.how can i send you the photoMy Badge contains the Microcontroller U1U1NXP89LPC931FDHCT4293U2NXP74HCS95DL1D6K804Best RegardsDayal",
"parent_id": "396186",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "396200",
"author": "peter",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T00:03:44",
"content": "Very impressive reverse engineering and hackbe careful on google automatic translation (change “strongly unrecommended” in “strongly recommended”)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396219",
"author": "zzzomb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T03:26:28",
"content": "A while back I modded one to run as a winamp display:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIYkMsnWdeADid some port sniffing. Turns out the control signals are super easy to use. First send 7 (if memory serves me) characters which relate to the speed of the display, then after that just send your message in to be displayed in ordinary ascii.Mine uses a ir led on the end of a serial cable to talk to it. This made it easy to sniff. There are still wirelessly programmable ones like this available which work the same way but use usb cables instead. The led signals on these are still the same so all you need to do is add your own ir led to the tx pin and gnd pin on a serial socket.Writing your own software for it is extremely easy. Will dig up the vb source code if anyone wants it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "407154",
"author": "Kruug",
"timestamp": "2011-06-17T17:17:17",
"content": "I’m not able to get the code from the article to work, any chance I could take a look at your code?",
"parent_id": "396219",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "396283",
"author": "Alessandro",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T09:53:58",
"content": "I did something similar here, and build some very basic Xcode project for that.Not as detailed as this one though.http://www.dotdust.com/playing-with-a-mini-led-panel-715.htm",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "840505",
"author": "Dayal",
"timestamp": "2012-10-28T01:25:36",
"content": "Hi Sorry to SayYou link is broken we are unable to download the X-code or view the picture , pls help to post again.REgardsDayalSG",
"parent_id": "396283",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "396297",
"author": "Pup",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T10:56:43",
"content": "I got one of these from Tesco a while back. Massive disappointment in that it drained the CR2032 battery even when it was turned off and the disc with the software on was scuffed and not available online. (since it was an end of line clearance item there was little point or chance of a replacement)Definately going to have to take a look at this guy’s work. I might be able to salvage it after all.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396330",
"author": "Philip",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T13:13:17",
"content": "Hi thanks for the link… how many days/weeks/months does it arrive in the US? do i have to pay extra for taxes and stuff?im having a hacking fever HEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396455",
"author": "Fry-kun",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T21:59:08",
"content": "@Philip: DX usually takes 2-3 weeks. No tax and shipping is $0.01 for the whole order.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396504",
"author": "TomF",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T03:01:43",
"content": "Well I think I’ll have to get one…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "399843",
"author": "Stuart Fuller",
"timestamp": "2011-05-30T17:17:41",
"content": "I found some on eBay, bought 2 on 21-May, received on 28-May. Not exactly the same as on this article (button layout is different), but came with USB adapter/cables, extra batteries and driver CDs. About $12.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "406465",
"author": "Kruug",
"timestamp": "2011-06-16T03:32:45",
"content": "@zzzombI picked one of these up, and the source code from this article is not working. Would you be willing to share your code?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "407273",
"author": "zzzomb",
"timestamp": "2011-06-18T03:16:53",
"content": "@KruugIt will take me a day or three to dig it up, but yes I’ll search for it and get back to you on it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "407431",
"author": "rochuck",
"timestamp": "2011-06-18T18:31:44",
"content": "Did anyone have trouble programming this thing with the ISP? I’m wondering if I need a high voltage programmer, or if my current programmer is just not good enough.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "840490",
"author": "Dayal",
"timestamp": "2012-10-28T01:07:23",
"content": "Hi ZunkWorksPLease post the VB codeREgardsDayal",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "840588",
"author": "Dayal",
"timestamp": "2012-10-28T02:33:55",
"content": "Hi Guysfor more info on the LED Badge and manual .http://www.codemania.co.nz/badge.htmlBest RegardsDayal",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1069553",
"author": "nanunh",
"timestamp": "2013-10-04T22:37:25",
"content": "dayal,your link does not work. Do you have an updated link?thx!",
"parent_id": "840588",
"depth": 2,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1070137",
"author": "Dayal",
"timestamp": "2013-10-06T04:29:28",
"content": "Hi NanunhI can send you the documents etc which i downloaded from that site.how can i send it to you?Rgdsdayak",
"parent_id": "1069553",
"depth": 3,
"replies": []
}
]
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "2908199",
"author": "Marc Hannouf",
"timestamp": "2016-02-04T15:10:43",
"content": "Led name badges! WE have a vry nice models herehttp://hannoufmediagroup.com/portfolio-item/hmg-led-name-badge-display/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.762343
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/18/quick-project-hard-drive-system-meter/
|
Quick Project: Hard Drive System Meter
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Peripherals Hacks"
] |
[
"meter",
"quick"
] |
[Ginge] sent in this fun little project. He gave himself 3 hours to complete a hack (not including research time) and
managed to come up with this cool activity meter
. He handles the entire project like it is some kind of contest. Ground rules are laid out, requiring practicality of the final product, minimum investment, and almost complete use of junk pile pieces.
Using an old hard drive for the frame of the project as well as the “dial” part of the meter, he hacked together a system load/ hdd and proc activity meter. The brains of the project are an AVR and he even implemented some PWM to smoothing things out. He goes into some fair detail on the construction of the thing (was the writeup included in your build time? -50 points!). Even though he’s using a piece that he manufactures and sells (
OSIF
), you could probably figure out how to do it without.
You can see a video of it in action after the break
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iZ4gz9Omc4&w=470]
| 7
| 6
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395777",
"author": "Rick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T21:41:52",
"content": "Neat. This is a great example of the hacking spirit!I also like the idea of the 3-hour hack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395795",
"author": "Ginge",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:40:45",
"content": "“you could probably figure out how to do it without”Plans, schematic, source and everything else you might want is linked from the article.I will post the other hacks on my site in the coming weeks.-50 for the writeup? :( … Looks like I need to add a rule that sharing knowledge has no point penalty.I alost did treat it as a contest, i even had a timer set to make sure i didnt run over time. I found the deadline meant I both finished the piece and also found creative workarounds.Feel free to help me refine the rules!Peace",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "395839",
"author": "Caleb Kraft",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T00:54:56",
"content": "@Gingethe -50 was a joke, assuming that the writeup added to the overall time of the project! We weren’t insinuating that your writeup was poor.",
"parent_id": "395795",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395848",
"author": "Ginge",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T01:23:22",
"content": "@calebYeah I got the joke, it was some dry humour on my part. To be fair it did take a stupid amount of time to write up… About an hour :) … Does make it a 4 hour hack ;)Thanks for posting me up!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396009",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T12:49:28",
"content": "Ginge: Sorry for the offtopic but are you going to produce more OpenServo boards anytime soon?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396033",
"author": "ginge",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T14:38:16",
"content": "@Hackiusgood question. the previous supplier went bankrupt, so I need to find a new supplier… one that doesn’t want a MOQ of 1000 units. It took a year to shift the last 300 units, and the v3 branch is getting end of life.Hopefully we can start over with v4, but there has been little interest so far.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396175",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T21:46:12",
"content": "I think I might be able to find a local producer. Question is would it be worth it to produce v3 with v4 close?I’d like to help with v4 but I’m no good at board design.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.807419
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/18/lego-technic-super-8-movie-projector/
|
Lego Technic Super 8 Movie Projector
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Video Hacks"
] |
[
"lego",
"projector",
"super 8",
"Technic"
] |
It always blows our mind to see the things that people dream up when playing with Lego. Given enough time, you could likely replicate almost any mechanical device with the right amount and type of blocks.
[Friedemann Wachsmuth] recently wrapped up construction on
a very impressive Super-8 movie projector
with the help of his friend [Kalle]. The projector is fully functional, and is made completely from Lego aside from the reel spindles, the lens, and the lamp. As you can see in the video below the projector plays the film quite well, and even though it is only lit using an LED flashlight, it’s more than bright enough to get the job done.
The projector boasts automatic film feeding, a 24 fps framerate, as well as fast rewind capabilities – all provided by just two small Lego Technic motors.
You really need to watch the video to appreciate how much work went into this projector – it’s amazing.
[via
RetroThing
]
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/20107617 w=470]
| 17
| 17
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395723",
"author": "mlseim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:37:29",
"content": "wow … is all I can say.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395737",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:56:40",
"content": "cool but i can’t imagine you could run it for too long before some of the legos start to melt from the heat of the lamp",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395739",
"author": "Dan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:01:15",
"content": "@zoolRun from an LED flashlightAmazing construction!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395742",
"author": "ColinB",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:03:25",
"content": "@zool: really? A little LED flashlight is going to melt the blocks? I doubt it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395745",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:07:58",
"content": "hmm i skipped to the vid and it just said lamp, so i didn’t realize it was just an led flashlight",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395750",
"author": "buzzkill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:25:17",
"content": "I love lamp.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395758",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:52:40",
"content": "@zool a LED flashlight is being used as the light source. Id like to have seen more details on the shutter, and how it all was put in, and kept in sync. A interesting project in the end.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395766",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T21:08:55",
"content": "nice build.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395769",
"author": "nullset",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T21:21:31",
"content": "You mean projector, not camera, right? :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395772",
"author": "Mike Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T21:33:23",
"content": "I have no idea what you are talking about…I must have missed that one. I see this projector, my brain thinks camera…I have no idea why.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395800",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:47:47",
"content": "This has advantages over a real super-8 projector, the LED won’t melt your film if it gets stuck, and you can rebuild it to take 16mm or 35mm. But if you want to really impress us make an IMAX projector out of lego! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395847",
"author": "ferdie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T01:22:43",
"content": "@hirudinea i thik thats not to do the film is to big and must be compleet flat on a big licht to maak a big picture i think you set your house o fire from the heat or you get blind i see it 1 time on discovery how imax work the amezing part of the projector the lens off the projector is a smole 1.5cm bol lens to make the big halfround picture",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395907",
"author": "derekb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T05:46:30",
"content": "The neat thing about using an LED for the lamp is that you won’t burn through the film if your film stops moving.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395932",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T07:31:03",
"content": "Really, really nice homage to what now basically amounts to ancient tech. Extra props for making your own claw.About that melting thing – what exactly have you people been using, celluloid film or what? I never had a problem with film melting (sure, I’m not leaving it to just sit there all day if it stops, duh…) Now, film _tearing_ is a whole different beast, that used to happen all the time; you needed a gluing bench if you ever wanted to use the projector…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395998",
"author": "Decius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T11:48:29",
"content": "If I had the parts I’d build this, it looks simple enough.Not many lego projects appeal to me, but this is just awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396022",
"author": "Generic Hackaday Fan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T13:50:57",
"content": "The video was as impressive IMO. Great job on both!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396145",
"author": "Robo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T19:51:50",
"content": "Anyone who wants to learn more about how projectors actually work, here is a great explanation –http://www.movingimage.us/sprockets/filmproj.swf",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.990412
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/18/dinos-2-axis-camera-dolly/
|
Dino’s 2 Axis Camera Dolly
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"digital cameras hacks"
] |
[
"cnc",
"photography"
] |
[Dino], who has become a regular face here on hackaday, sent us one of his weekly projects that we thought was pretty cool. He wanted to
shoot some video of photographs to commemorate his late mother
. The goal was to achieve the “
Ken Burns Effect
“, but in hardware instead of just doing it in software. To do this, he built a 2 axis rig, very similar to many home made CNC machines we’ve seen. He used drawer rails and rollers and an old scanner for the parts. We admit, at first glance we weren’t too impressed with the resulting effect. It is a bit shaky as he moves the camera and the zooms and slides don’t have that perfect smoothness that we have come to expect from modern video effects. However, after a few minutes, it seemed so organic and pleasant that it won us over. This obviously isn’t what you would use for every project. This project, however, seems to fit perfectly.
If you still don’t like the effect, you could certainly find uses for this rig aside from video. You could use it (with backlight) for batch converting slides or other images to digital. It would work perfect as a 2 axis paper cutter. What other uses can you come up with for a 2 axis un-motorized frame?
You can watch the construction video after the break, and the result video on [Dino’s] page.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vusl69T-SgE&w=470]
| 6
| 6
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395830",
"author": "Kevin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T00:10:24",
"content": "Interesting…. I prefer After Effects for this sort of work, but we all use the tools we know how to use.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395836",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T00:44:59",
"content": ".. or have at hand. I don’t own After Effects. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395899",
"author": "McGuiver",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T05:27:01",
"content": "I would just scan the photos and use my AVID editing system.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395923",
"author": "pRoFlT",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T06:43:35",
"content": "yah i was going to say scan all photos use pc software.I spent a month scanning in my father in laws photos for his 60th bday. made like a 1 hour video of all his photos from birth to today.I will never do that again!p.s. i used sony vegas video for that.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396034",
"author": "stefodestructo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T14:43:18",
"content": "I think there’s alot of useful ideas demostrated on the the video, that could be used in a cnc project.Good work!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396171",
"author": "Rick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T21:34:52",
"content": "Neat. Is this setup accurate to what Ken Burns used?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,187.933496
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/18/fixing-arduinos-serial-latency-issues/
|
Fixing Arduino’s Serial Latency Issues
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"java",
"latency",
"processing",
"serial",
"Teensy"
] |
[Paul] wrote in to tell us about some interesting
Arduino latency issues
he helped nail down and fix on the Arduino.
It seems that [Michu] was having some problems with controlling his
Rainbowduino project
we featured earlier this year, and he couldn’t quite figure out why he was experiencing such huge delays when sending and receiving data.
Searching online for answers turned up very little, and since [Michu] was using Processing, the pair designed a set of tests to see what kind of latency was being introduced by Java. Pitting an Arduino Uno and an Arduino from 2009 against a Teensy 2.0, the tests gauged the latency of native data transfers versus transfers facilitated by Java via the rxtx library it uses for serial communications.
The results were pretty stunning. While both of the Arduinos lagged behind the Teensy by a long shot, their latency values under Java were always 20ms at a minimum – something didn’t add up. [Michu] poked around in the rxtx code and found a mystery 20ms delay programmed into the serial library. It made no sense to him, so he changed the delay to 2ms and saw a drastic increase in performance when transferring less than 128 bytes of data.
The pair’s fix doesn’t seem to affect latency when larger amounts of data (>1kB) are being transferred, but it makes a world of difference when manipulating smaller chunks of data.
For the sake of disclosure, it should be noted that [Paul’s] company produces the Teensy mcu.
| 42
| 40
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395675",
"author": "Anne Nonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:00:28",
"content": "It’s JAVA, it’s not meant for any sort of low level bit-banging, or anything else that requires sub – mSec response times.Rewrite it in C/ASM, and watch latency drop to uS.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395677",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:09:42",
"content": "See? Proof positive that we should all program in assembly language./s",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395681",
"author": "tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:18:01",
"content": "This could not have come at a better time. I have been fighting a serial issue that I could not track down for a a few days this week. I never thought to look into the library, since it is such a basic function I assumed it should be solved.I have mixed feelings about the “easiness” of the arduino or similar platforms. It seems like I get to a prototype faster, but the “more difficult” C or other development systems prove much easier to augment or debug and the development time ends up being a wash.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395682",
"author": "w0rl4ck",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:22:54",
"content": "thanks paul :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395684",
"author": "golddigger50",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:26:24",
"content": "So, forgive my ignorance, but I believe I am experiencing some latency issues with my MaxSonar Arduino range finder setup. could this be to blame? or is this topic limited to arduinos with a computer interface?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395687",
"author": "Wiljan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:30:51",
"content": "Very often serial recieve rutines do work with a buffer eg. like above 128bytesIf it’s fulll you will get a data recieved interupt and nobody think on this.If you recieve less than the buffer size there will be a timeout like above 20mSso if you do look for only a few bytes then reduce the buffer size or see if it’s posible to check for every RX chrIt’s the same problem when you use a USB to RS232 adaptor on a PC … the USB do typical tx when it’s buffer are full like 2k data or when a time out ocours … that’s why it stinks if you like to eg. controll a CNC or something timedependingWiljan",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395689",
"author": "Miroslav",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:37:28",
"content": "Taylor A. for president! :) MOV PRES, ACC — MOV ACC, TAYLOR :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395691",
"author": "AP",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:42:34",
"content": "Thanks, Wiljan. That was a very useful description of what’s going on and why.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395694",
"author": "signal7",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:48:53",
"content": "I would bet the delay was put there to solve a bug that may have cropped up on a different platform. Java may be cross platform, but the implementation varies significantly from one platform to the next, in my experience.For real work, I wouldn’t use the IDE anyway. I’ve crashed the serial console in the IDE dozens of times. On windows, Putty works reliably and does so for literally months at a time (only gets shutdown for patch install/reboot cycles).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395703",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T18:23:37",
"content": "Hi, Paul here… who wrote the native benchmark… Michu wrote the Java stuff and did most of the legwork on this project, so he really deserves most of the credit for all these results.Anti-Java rhetoric is really misplaced. It’s terrible native C coding in the widely used RXTX library at fault. This is been present for years, and this lib is very widely used, yet until now nobody seems to have actually tracked down the cause of the bad latency.The native tests do show a number of interesting results, probably the most shocking would be that Uno’s latency is actually a step backwards from Duemilanove.Well, of course Teensy is much faster, but that would be expected since it’s native USB emulating a USB-serial converter, not slow serial going though one. For anyone who thinks everything from the Arduino IDE is slow, the code running on Teensy in those test is built by the Arduino IDE.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395704",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T18:27:50",
"content": "These kind of delays are common in communications, and serve a useful purpose.Look up Wikipedia’s article on “Nagle’s Algorithm”, which describes a similar delay used in TCP/IP communications.Once you’ve read and understood that, realize that serial communications over USB is also packetized; and then the purpose of the delay will no longer be a mystery.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395709",
"author": "Beat707",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T18:38:19",
"content": "Did “Serial library rxtx v2.2pre3” from the link below got updated with this? How can I install it?http://neophob.com/2010/07/serial-library-rxtx-v2-2pre3/I’m having timing problems with my USB to MIDI converter, as seen here:http://arduino.cc/forum/index.php/topic,61186.0.htmlThanks! :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395713",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:00:51",
"content": "So, it’s a little unclear to me where this latency issue is happening. Is it actually on the chip? Or, in processing (which uses the JAVA libraries)? Or, what?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395719",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:23:34",
"content": "@andrew – did you see the code fragment on Michu’s blog, with this:/* FIXME: No time to test on all OS’s for production */usleep(20000);",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395722",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:36:12",
"content": "@Paul, yes. What still isn’t clear to me is where that code is ultimately running: on the arduino, in the processing IDE, or the arduino IDE?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395725",
"author": "DarkFader",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:38:37",
"content": "something here needs to be flushed…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395730",
"author": "goldscott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:47:01",
"content": "So this really has absolutely nothing to do with the arduino, and everything to do with finding a bug in the rxtx library which is used by many java apps, correct?I’ve used rxtx in some custom java apps to talk to microcontrollers, but didn’t need the speed, so didn’t notice any latency.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395731",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:48:08",
"content": "@andrew – that usleep(20000) code is inside the RXTX library, which is what Java (either Processing or Arduino IDE, or any Java program) uses when talking to serial devices.Any Java program (this testing was on Mac OS-X) using serial ports will experience that 20 ms delay, even when hardware like Teensy can respond in only 1 ms, or Arduino in 2 ms to 4 ms.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395734",
"author": "Drone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:53:41",
"content": "Ardui…NO",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "800469",
"author": "AndiKr",
"timestamp": "2012-09-29T10:13:28",
"content": "Very intelligent comment!",
"parent_id": "395734",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395735",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:55:59",
"content": "@goldscott – yes, the biggest news here is a bug in RXTX. The measurements also show (absent the RXTX bug) considerable differences in response times between Arduino Duemilanove, Arduino Uno, and Teensy. Of course Teensy is much faster, because it’s native USB.Perhaps surprising though is how Uno is actually slower than Duemilanove for small data sizes. One of the improvements in Uno is a 8u2 microcontroller which can allow for better latency. This was specifically mentioned as an advantage when Uno was released. But as it is currently implemented, it’s actually worse. Not as shocking news as a “fixme” 20ms delay lurking for many years inside a very widely used library, but perhaps still newsworthy?When you actually benchmark these things carefully, these surprising results of less-than-optimal implementations turn up.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395746",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:09:22",
"content": "Got it, thanks Paul",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395747",
"author": "Scuzz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:17:13",
"content": "Well there are lots of reasons one might put something like that in, and 20ms lies well below the usual 40ms which marks about where you’ll notice something is “laggy”. My assumption is that this was placed in to prevent over-polling on the device. A lot of USB devices will try to avoid interrupting the processor on every single byte received and instead wait until they filled (or partially/half filled) a buffer.I know that the FTDI driver in linux actually also features a 20ms time-out (I’ve forgotten the exact amount of time) but we had to change some kernel parameters when building from source to make the delay more negligible on our submarine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395762",
"author": "goldscott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T21:05:15",
"content": "@PaulThanks Paul. The serial latencies are interesting. Are all the Atmel parts running at the same frequency? Same baud rate? How are serial comms handled, interrupts or polling?I’m asking because I don’t have any experience with the arduino “engine.”Also, is the rxtx software still being actively maintained?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395775",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T21:37:13",
"content": "I ran into this a little, when setting up my Maker Faire project. I have about 460 watts of LEDs in a ceiling, configured as 128 24bit RGB pixels all controlled with realtime music visuals in Processing (thanks for the earlier post Hackaday, I’ve been getting plenty of good Processing effects). Processing serializes the pixel color data and sends it to an Arduino Uno, which manages some gamma adjustment and the actual shift register output. I had naively started by sending out individual bytes, but quickly found it to be too slow. That was the 20ms being added to each byte, apparently. Serializing everything into an char array, then using Processing’s ability to send an array out the serial port as a unit, solved the issue. I guess there’s still a 20ms delay at the beginning of the transmission, but it’s not preventing me from getting smooth performance at 25fps.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395797",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:43:38",
"content": "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AybmAoPx49o&feature=player_embeddedA bit more arduino silliness.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395827",
"author": "Phate",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:51:28",
"content": "Oh thank god somebody finally figured this out. Stupid crap has been driving me nuts for months now.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395837",
"author": "Beat707",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T00:49:15",
"content": "A question, are those numbers for sending or receiving serial data from Java?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395857",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T01:52:21",
"content": "Packaging “asynchronous” data bytes into bigger chunks (USB messages, DMA buffers, user buffers, etc) for more efficient handling (balancing throughput vs latency, and trying to keep resource contention down) turns out to be a really difficult problem. I have what I consider an ideal implementation in mind, but I haven’t seen a UART vendor implement it :-(That there is a delay is rxtx for USB-originated traffic is a bit shocking. I would have thought that the “problem” was one for the USB/Serial chip to solve.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395865",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T02:14:57",
"content": "To remove latency you need to do ‘harm’ somewhere else, like in too many interrupts that need to be handled (and require more power on low-power devices), it’s always a weighing what you need and can get away with.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395942",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T07:58:21",
"content": "The quoted code snippet is not enough to clarify the purpose of that delay (and I’m really not going to look up the actual library source right now) – but I get the feeling that it either should be there as it is (in which case you’re just making nasty unpleasantess more likely to happen by shortening it), or (more likely) it shouldn’t be there at all and it just masks some other shoddy programming?That being said, using a timeout to report received serial data IS the standard practice, as far as I know. The buffer trigger levels (and the exact timeout value) should be configurable (including the “one byte” threshold, when every single byte gets immediately reported = zero latency) in any decent serial library; but other than that, unless you really want an interrupt for every single byte – not really efficient for massive transfers – how else do you expect to handle a non-full buffer?My point: the lib should be configurable, and the user should know to optimize for the kind of traffic he expects to conduct – sparse or bulk. There’s a compromise to be made either way. And yes, hardware-to-hardware is a different beast – it doesn’t need to navigate endless message queues to deliver byte by byte, like a PC does if you set it up with zero latency.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395955",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T08:41:14",
"content": "The “ideal uart” I had in mind will terminate a buffer whenever it is full, whenever there was an appropriate termination character, whenever there was a timeout, AND WHENEVER The application layer is prepared to read it. It is this last part that is missing; apis will say hasSerialDataP(…) and the API will say NO, because its all being buffering below the API layer. But it shouldn’t. If there are partially complete buffers available, they should be passed immediately upward through the API; after all, if the higher level code is asking, it is presumably able to do something with any data that exists. Having it go off for a scheduler delay and try again is pretty inefficient if it could have done something already. This automagically throttles the process to the load of the running system. If the system is lightly loaded, it might “Pull” data from buffers quite frequentl If the system is more heavily loaded, it might only need to see data that is buffered in the normal places.SOMEONE should look at the RxTx library in more detail. My first thought is that this delay was intended for some specific serial hardware (probably no longer in existence) and might not apply to USB/Serial devices.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396349",
"author": "walt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T14:05:44",
"content": "java has no place in low level or anywhere else for that matter. it’s big, bloated and sucks!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396424",
"author": "Reggie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T19:43:31",
"content": "So what are the code changes that are actually needed? there are 3x usleep(20000); in the code snippet, they say they’re getting 20ms delay, so which one of them needs changing?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396851",
"author": "Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T12:49:36",
"content": "Where is the location of the file that needs to be modified?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397472",
"author": "michu",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T11:23:08",
"content": "reggie: replace all of them!nathan: in the rxtx library, file SerialImp.c:",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1047033",
"author": "Anon",
"timestamp": "2013-08-25T00:19:24",
"content": "But just HOW do I go about doing this? There needs to be a step by step guide or something.",
"parent_id": "397472",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "397526",
"author": "Reggie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T14:48:27",
"content": "Thanks michu :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397788",
"author": "Nathan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-25T10:10:48",
"content": "Thanks michu",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "402090",
"author": "Beat707",
"timestamp": "2011-06-05T21:47:52",
"content": "I still don’t get how to fix the Serial library, sorry, I’m a bit stupid at “simple” things… Its just that I’m learning so many things at once that my brain is nearly exploding!! ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "582630",
"author": "Rosalyn",
"timestamp": "2012-02-15T05:23:50",
"content": "Im a mac user and am having a hard time trying to open the librxtxSerial.jnilib file… any suggestions",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1437126",
"author": "Vladimir",
"timestamp": "2014-05-10T07:49:37",
"content": "Thank you very much! Your dll had drastically increased performace of my arduino-based turret",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.357394
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/18/blowing-up-capacitors/
|
Blowing Up Capacitors
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"home entertainment hacks"
] |
[
"boom",
"destruction",
"explode"
] |
[grenadier] wrote in to show us a video of some capacitors being blown up. Yup, that’s it.
Just some capacitors being blown up
. You might be wondering what there is to learn from this video. The answer is… nothing. It sure is fun to watch though. We’re all busy trying to find some nice hacks to share with you, so we figured you could watch some stuff getting destroyed while you waited. Here’s someone
using explosives to reveal art
behind a thin layer of concrete on a wall. Here’s some
high voltage destroying multimeters
. How about a
turkey being cooked with thermite
?
Thermite works on hard drives
too.
Ok, enough of that. This was a gentle reminder to send us tips to your projects.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b7mjukhTyQ&w=470]
| 45
| 42
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395646",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T15:42:26",
"content": "I enjoyed dumping my 330J 170V capacitor bank into the pencil-eraser-sized electrolytics from old computer motherboards. They went off like firecrackers. That was a lot of fun.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395647",
"author": "2000nits",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T15:44:40",
"content": "I used to do this all the time. Guess I need to do it again!! Fun after work today!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395650",
"author": "Debraj",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T15:47:39",
"content": "That proves, not all capacitors are not explosion proof..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395651",
"author": "hunternet93",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T15:53:36",
"content": "Magic smoke! That’s where it comes from!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395652",
"author": "beemer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T15:57:22",
"content": "Yes, you can learn that inverting a electrolitic cap polarity or exposing it to a highger voltage is not a good idea and you should be careful…May caps blowned in the laboraory when I was at school ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395654",
"author": "Will",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:04:15",
"content": "Ok, this just upsets me now. I have sent in a set of quality projects TWICE now and have watched it get pushed aside for crap like this. Not saying I don’t like to watch capacitors blow up, but thats not what I come to this site for.Project 1: using a microcontroller to turn old ADB tablets into usbProject 2: Making a usb Cintiq out of an old tablet pc screen",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395655",
"author": "K!P",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:08:20",
"content": "using a microcontroller to turn old ADB tablets into usbreally? last year trew a couple out :( was hoarding them for years…also: magic smoke can no longer hide!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395660",
"author": "BLuRry",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:16:29",
"content": "All hail the magic smoke! You know, you’ll never get it back in there now. First discovered magic smoke plugging in a floppy drive incorrectly on my apple //. Heard a loud BANG… and GAWD what a smell!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395661",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:17:36",
"content": "More fun was flipping off the teachers switch to all the lab desks in the EE lab, then loading a couple of the outlets with the Styrene caps (They go BOOM!) so when the TA comes in they get a nice big BANG from them flipping the switch.That and being bored and charging all the caps in the drawer for the next guy…. reach in and OW!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395665",
"author": "DudeGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:27:30",
"content": "Wow… I thought I was the only one who said that electronics ran on magic smoke. “Don’t let the smoke out”. Freakin weird. Did that come from somewhere or did we all just come up with the same idea?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2462779",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2015-03-03T18:48:31",
"content": "That definitely came from somewhere, although from where I don’t know. I first heard that in the Navy’s Basic Electricity and Electronics school (or “BEEP” school, for short) in 1978. After pestering an instructor for a while about what REALLY happens inside the solid-state monolithic electronic components of the day, I was finally informed: “Everything electronic runs on smoke. You can tell because, when you let the smoke out, they don’t work anymore!”",
"parent_id": "395665",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395666",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:33:32",
"content": "Slow news day I take it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395669",
"author": "Velifer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:37:45",
"content": "No, DudeGuy, it’s just you.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_smoke",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395670",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:39:15",
"content": "Well, I sent HaD links to my last two… ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395672",
"author": "jwstolk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:50:31",
"content": "I can still remember the smell….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395673",
"author": "SpiralBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:53:06",
"content": "Well! everyone needs to have some fun, so stop moaning!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395674",
"author": "kad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:57:20",
"content": "The video may teach you that when movie characters say “reverse the polarity”, it isn’t always a good idea to do so.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395686",
"author": "Drone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:29:14",
"content": "@Will…Wow, hacking old ADB compatible tablets (e.g., Wacom) back to life with an ADB/USB bridge and making overpriced Cintiq (Wacom again) devices out of hacked parts. Good stuff.Too bad Hack a Day isn’t really about hacking these days. Sorry to hear your submissions were sidelined. Maybe the HaD kids figured there would not be enough interest to post your work (not enough page view which equals Ad money). Hmmm…Anyway, give us the links to your work. Hopefully HaD won’t block them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395688",
"author": "Ginge",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:37:23",
"content": "I have submitted a couple of projects this year, also ignored. I’m not saying the hacks were awesome, but they beat some if the crap we see on here",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "395714",
"author": "Caleb Kraft",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:04:14",
"content": "@all complaining about sending in hacks that didn’t make it… THANKS!While there is plenty coming in, I just wanted to share this video and be goofy, I’m also going back and finding cool stuff that got lost in the shuffle.",
"parent_id": "395688",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395695",
"author": "David",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:54:26",
"content": "We did this once at a company I used to work for. We were testing non-explosive propellants for ammunition (ie – not gun powder, or volatile propellants). Our goal was to build a weapon that could travel on commercial airlines (for the government of coarse) without explosive hazards. When you put a small electrolytic to 120VAC mains, it was like a fire cracker. HAHA Bigger one just mostly fizzled. Darn you 22,000uF!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395697",
"author": "Mattster",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T18:10:51",
"content": "When I went to NE TEch, they turned off the breakers to the classrooms end of the day. One of my classmates went into the storage and put a 100 micro farad cap in every outlet (8) of every powerstrip (20)so when the breakers went on it sounded like a gun fight. We laughed but the teacher wasn’t amused",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395702",
"author": "Anon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T18:20:17",
"content": "Why?Fuck you, that’s why!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395707",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T18:37:24",
"content": "I know it says I can’t learn anything from this video, but I am going to try.Why would reversing the polarity on a capacitor make it blow up? That is something I have never understood (I only have a basic two-plate physics model for capacitors, which have no bias).Also, if you very slowly charge a capacitor up beyond its limit, does it also explode; does it cause dielectric breakdown or something?Thanks!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395716",
"author": "Will",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:13:51",
"content": "@Drone: Not my work alone, I’ve been working with a talented group of people on the Bongofish forums one member, Bernard deserves most of the credit. Here are some of the relevant links:http://forum.bongofish.co.uk/index.php?topic=1738.0(jump to page 6 for the final result)http://forum.bongofish.co.uk/index.php?topic=1870.msg13690#msg13690",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395717",
"author": "macona",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:14:44",
"content": "Tantalums are more interesting when they pop. Usually a slug of tantalum goes flying, red hot tantalum, that is.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395718",
"author": "Standard Mischief",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:14:51",
"content": "Well, one thing you can learn is if you have maybe a high voltage project with a bank of large capacitors, it’s probably a good idea to put some shielding between the user and the electronics.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395733",
"author": "Drone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T19:50:32",
"content": "@Will, thanks for the links. I’m looking now.@Caleb, Thanks for picking up on the issue of submissions not getting posted. Often the best stuff is in hidden in the rough. Knowing how to recognize it is the key.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "395749",
"author": "Caleb Kraft",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:24:02",
"content": "@drone,Thanks but I haven’t resolved it. You see, we get TONS of emails and none of us hold regular office hours. Stuff simply gets forgotten/claimed by someone who ends up not writing it/ etc. If your project doesn’t get plopped onto the site soon, hit us again and again until someone gives you a reason.",
"parent_id": "395733",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395743",
"author": "J. Peterson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:05:44",
"content": "Hmm, the axial caps seem to blow much more vigorously than the radials. Are radials safer?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395751",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:34:53",
"content": "@MattWhy would reversing the polarity on a capacitor make it blow up?It varies depending on the cap – different technologies have different failure modes. For tantalum caps, AVX says: “Under reverse voltages, experimental evidence within AVX indicates that a component of the reverse leakage current flows in very small areas of microcracks or other defects in the dielectric layer. Although the current may only be a few microamps, it represents a very high localized current density which can cause a tiny hot-spot. This can cause some conversion of amorphous tantalum pentoxide to the more conductive crystalline form. When a high current is available, this effect can avalanche and the device may become a total short.”http://www.kyocera.co.jp/prdct/electro/pdf/technical/revtant.pdfAlso, if you very slowly charge a capacitor up beyond its limit, does it also explode; does it cause dielectric breakdown or something?What do you mean exactly by “charge a cap up beyond its limit”? When you apply a voltage to a cap it charges to that voltage at a rate based on the time constant. Really the only way you can “overcharge” a cap is by applying a voltage that is significantly higher than it’s rated voltage. That’s really easy to avoid – just get a cap with a high enough voltage rating for the voltage you are applying. Generally what happens if you apply too high of a voltage is chemical reactions can occur that eat away the plates and punch holes in the dialectric, which causes a short and high current/power.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395754",
"author": "OMGLOLZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:46:02",
"content": "So wasting capacitors and filling landfills with their toxic residues is a hack?Hey, I’ve got a hack too: how about dumping mercury into a gutter? That’s hilarious too, the fish all go belly up!And if seeing things blow up makes your day, just look for Semtex or RDX on YouTube. Or get a life.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395755",
"author": "DarkFader",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:46:16",
"content": "Who needs capacitors anyways when you can have an arduino?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395757",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:51:47",
"content": "“Why would reversing the polarity on a capacitor make it blow up?” It literally says this right on the page above the video on the teravolt website.If nothing else, at least this shows that the venting slits on top of capacitors do work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395782",
"author": "Decius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:11:08",
"content": "@OMGLOLZ,I was thinking the same thing, anyone with half a brain could tell you this isn’t something very suitable for the outdoors.Here at hackaday we save electronics from going to the landfill and then we even the pollution by blowing off smoke from capacitors.I wonder why this person was doing it outside? Surely you can blow these off in a closed room with the windows closed, the smell is like brand new electronics who doesn’t like to inhale that stuff?!?! /s",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395787",
"author": "Frogz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:23:09",
"content": "there isnt many geeks who DONT like blowing up capacitors(besides 1s who have never tried it)i personally use a little butane torch on old boards directly on the caps(with a little hand shielding to prevent injury)they give a nice little pop without overloading them electrically :Dalso, they produce confetti when they go pop!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395794",
"author": "salomon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:39:07",
"content": "I learned how to build little smoke grenades! lol",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395813",
"author": "Microguy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:07:27",
"content": "Almost went to jail doing this one time. Found out it’s illegal to have “fireworks” in Georgia (back then). Hard a heck of a time convincing the cops that those little firework looking, and certainly sounding, things were NOT actually fireworks!!Then later, some kid we worked with found out that by inserting the 10uF size caps into a small plastic tube that some parts came in, you could create a “capacitor cannon”!! Loved it! Wernt through lots of caps though, hard a heck of time getting him to stop wasting parts!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395826",
"author": "Unclegummers",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:48:54",
"content": "Man I almost reached for my safety glasses just watching this video. Great vid.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395883",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T03:27:59",
"content": "Nifty",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395893",
"author": "tooth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T04:37:12",
"content": "if you do not like to see different things like cap popping or “this is not a hack” stuff then stop coming here and whining its annoying. Your not in the spirit of hacking. i would suggest for you to watch a documentary called “The History Of Hacking”Google it. if you never seen it its a grate watch.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395977",
"author": "Mex",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T09:47:23",
"content": "Am I the only one who feels nervous when they see that much magic smoke even out of context?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396006",
"author": "kabukicho2001 said,",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T12:37:29",
"content": "that smoke can be very toxic . stop that one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396080",
"author": "NormPH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T17:01:20",
"content": "Oh memories… One day, our grade 12 comp engineering prof was away and thought us responsible enough to manage without a substitute… so we proceeded to waste the time ripping caps out of old motherboards and blowing em up with large power supplies, we even made a little detonation zone and everything… Oh memories…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396216",
"author": "tripointlogic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T03:09:55",
"content": "AWWW The Smell !!!! I have done that inadvertently on a tube amp power supply…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.088291
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/17/awesome-custom-disco-basement/
|
Awesome Custom Disco Basement
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"LED Hacks"
] |
[
"led",
"leds",
"pic",
"pwm",
"rgb"
] |
[Evan] is
one of those neighbors you only wish you had
.
His neighbors were renovating their basement for use as home theater, and he stopped by to check out how things were coming along. While there, he suggested they add some LED lighting to their shelving unit to make them pop. His neighbors were game, so he sourced some cheap RGB LEDs online and began working on the circuits and firmware needed to control the lights. His neighbors wrote some custom software that interfaces with iTunes to create a neat visualization in the shelving unit whenever music is played.
Once everything was complete, his neighbors informed him that they wanted an additional 20 overhead can lights and a set of 4 wall sconces wired up as well. Needless to say he was pretty excited, so he got busy wiring up the remainder of the basement.
He pushed the installation’s PIC microcontroller about as far as he possibly could, resulting in the awesome show seen in the video below.
Needless to say, it’s pretty impressive, though we wish we could have a peek at the code used to run everything. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH9fy-JflXo&w=470]
| 14
| 14
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395362",
"author": "oodain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T22:09:20",
"content": "very cool,is there a program for maintaining a minimum light level while running virtualizations?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395370",
"author": "Jeremy C",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T22:33:39",
"content": "Wow, really nice job. Makes me want to get a basement :).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395403",
"author": "romulousprime",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T00:48:43",
"content": "That’s excellent. I’d love to see what it’s like playing some death metal!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395419",
"author": "OiD",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T01:59:04",
"content": "Absolutely fantastic! It doesn’t look like a simple frequency to color conversion, and it works on the beat…Do want!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395457",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T05:35:18",
"content": "Pretty sweet!Looks like it’s lighting up the overhead lights all at once based on sound level, and various shelves are lit up depending on the sound level as well. Would be interesting to cycle between some different modes to keep it fresh. Like one that just fades between different lights while keeping some on (don’t want it too dark in there), and one that lights up various lights in sequence to the beat (peak level detect and triggering).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395497",
"author": "kobilica",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T08:21:55",
"content": "Triiipppyyyy… I like it a lot!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395504",
"author": "phnx",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T08:42:21",
"content": "…cross this with an Ambilight clone and you have my new favorite way to watch a movie.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395519",
"author": "asdf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T09:12:15",
"content": "aaaaah seizure!awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395585",
"author": "Steve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T11:29:26",
"content": "Should “Awesome” and “Disco” be used in the same sentence? Cool project otherwise… :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395603",
"author": "caleb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T12:27:15",
"content": "romulousprime, i couldnt agree more \\m/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395629",
"author": "gdogg",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T14:23:55",
"content": "I would love something like that for parties",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395639",
"author": "Richie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T15:19:46",
"content": "I think I’ve heard that song in the game SSX Tricky..But yeah this is awesome, its just a little to dark. Maybe not have the lights turn off all the way, just dim to a certain level.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395653",
"author": "shyft",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T16:01:59",
"content": "were those stripper poles?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395811",
"author": "Microguy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:04:19",
"content": "There is NOTHING awesome about disco…..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.223253
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/17/bluetooth-super-nintendo-controller-for-android-gaming/
|
Bluetooth Super Nintendo Controller For Android Gaming
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Android Hacks",
"Arduino Hacks"
] |
[
"android",
"arduino",
"bluesmirf",
"bluetooth",
"controller",
"snes"
] |
[Rich] needed to come up with a senior design project and decided to combine two things he loved:
his Android phone and Super Nintendo
.
While touchscreen phones are great, he felt that nothing beats the tactile feedback of a physical controller when it comes to gaming. He figured out how the controller’s signaling works, then wired it up to an Arduino Pro Mini 328. The Arduino interprets the SNES controller’s signals, sending them to his Android phone via a BlueSMiRF Bluetooth module.
He originally had all of the components crammed in a cardboard box, but
much like we pointed out yesterday
, he realized that a project really comes together when housed in a proper enclosure. He managed to squeeze all of his components into the SNES controller’s shell aside from the battery pack he used to power the remote. After a little bit of Bondo and a few coats of paint were applied, the controller is looking quite sharp.
Stick around to see a quick demo video of his controller in action, and check out
this tutorial
he put together explaining some of the principles he used to construct it.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAsnLQbzRhQ&w=470]
| 21
| 21
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395372",
"author": "IceBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T22:45:12",
"content": "Nice. The BT modem is a little expensive, but you could use the much cheaper Silver module – it’s not like you could play more than 50 feet away from your phone anyway ;)An N64 version would be excellent. I wonder if you could gut a Rumble Pack to serve as the transceiver; it already has a battery enclosure and it plugs into the pad. Hmm…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395374",
"author": "tehgringe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T22:57:24",
"content": "Snap! I was looking at dropping a IOIO inside a modded SNES controller case, and work the top section to allow the Android phone to dock in landscape mode.This is pretty decent but I still think I want the screen and controller combined in a single portable unit.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395388",
"author": "bADitCH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T23:48:27",
"content": "Would work great for the PC for playing those classics from the comfort of your couch!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395393",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T00:06:48",
"content": "Gah! Bondo a proper case does not make!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395398",
"author": "GeneralSpecific",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T00:43:10",
"content": "“Gah! Bondo a proper case does not make!”have you ever been part of a senior design project? I’m amazed at some of the kludges teams get away with; given that they’re EEs and not MEs it’s understandable, but this guy made a decent enclosure here.well done!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395415",
"author": "cpmike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T01:30:13",
"content": "wow, i was planning to build one of these with almost the same hardware. using an RN41 bluetooth SPP module, a LiPo battery and an ATmega you should be able to cram it all in. havent gotten around to finishing it because i got myself a gamegripperhttp://www.game-gripper.com/… nice to see somebody build almost exact vision and finish it",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395425",
"author": "Freddo Frog",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T02:48:57",
"content": "I wish people would stop wrecking vintage video gaming hardware. Use a clone brand or something and leave the genuine stuff for us collectors. :I",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395438",
"author": "Amos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T03:50:44",
"content": "Yeah, because something that actually gets used can be sub-standard as long as the high-quality, first-party one gets to sit in a glass case in your mom’s basement :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395445",
"author": "cde",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T03:56:03",
"content": "I wish people would stop hoarding old video game hardware. Leave the stuff to those who will actually use it instead of putting it in a box to rot.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395448",
"author": "fileoffset",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T04:32:39",
"content": "Freddo, I’m pretty sure that is a clone brand controller",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395451",
"author": "DudeGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T04:41:51",
"content": "Now just fashion a docking cradle on the back of the controller to fit the phone so the screen sits just above it and that’s one awesome homebrew retro machine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395507",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T08:49:09",
"content": "How about latency?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395547",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T10:04:05",
"content": "I’m 100% sure that’s a clone. The original had different colored buttons.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395635",
"author": "mk2soldier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T14:54:37",
"content": "Awesome!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395644",
"author": "Daniel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T15:38:06",
"content": "50 million SNES consoles were sold. 100 million controllers? I don’t think anyone should feel bad about hacking a high-quality original controller.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395785",
"author": "Bruno Soares",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:20:01",
"content": "The finish was very good!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395821",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:19:21",
"content": "Anyone bitching about hacking an SNES controller should just snuggle up real tight to the one they have and leave the rest of us to hack our own stuff, thanks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395844",
"author": "Freddo Frog",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T01:14:14",
"content": "I don’t know where you guys get the idea that I don’t use my stuff, you may be right about it actually being a clone though.strider_mt2k: I’m sorry. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396068",
"author": "Glitch808",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:53:53",
"content": "At the end he states that he is not aware if the game uses the left & right buttons. This was a big disapointment for me. Every fan knows they cause the racer to hop, and that they are essential for drifting.After all that work why not test all the buttons?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397543",
"author": "dgr8ifier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T15:42:27",
"content": "Nintendo already made one of those. It’s called the Wii Remote.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "816723",
"author": "filipe ortega",
"timestamp": "2012-10-13T13:03:06",
"content": "very cool man!I’m using arduino and snes controller to control a unipolar stepper, take a look:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZKmCCr20KYthe x and y buttons controls the speed, adn buttons control the rotation.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.279999
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/19/a-computer-controlled-shutter-for-polaroid-packfilm-cameras/
|
A Computer-controlled Shutter For Polaroid Packfilm Cameras
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"digital cameras hacks"
] |
[
"camera",
"pic",
"polaroid",
"shutterspeed"
] |
[Georg] wanted to modify his old Polaroid land camera so he could have control over the exposure time.
The resulting project
is a neat hack, if we say so ourselves.
The stock electronics in Polaroid 100-series Packfilm cameras were a simple analog computer that integrates current through a light-sensitive resistor. This is a simple, low tech way to make sure the exposure time is correct. The usual mod would be to replace photoresistor with a potentiometer, but [Georg] had little success with this modification. After tearing the old hack out of the camera, [Georg] replaced the ancient electronics with a a PIC microcontroller, and is now able to control the shutter in increments down to 1/512th of a second.
Shutter timing is read by a PIC12F629 μC with a BCD encoder. [Georg] kept the shutter magnet setup, and also added a ‘BULB’ routine that holds the shutter open as long as the button is held down. The
test photos
are quite nice, even if from a 1960s Polaroid Land Camera. Check out the video of [Georg] running though the shutter settings after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlRZHvAusEo&w=470]
| 11
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396064",
"author": "rautiocination",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:37:24",
"content": "i recently discovered these old packfilm cameras (well discovered fuji still makes the film) and the lack of shutter/exposure control on them is a paaaain.i ended up buying a (fully manual) polaroid pathfinder 11A and converted it from the defunct rollfilm to packfilm. works great but this is also a great hack. if only it also had electronically controlled aperture and i would so be there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396066",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:44:19",
"content": "Very cool. I did not know you could still buy packfilm for these cameras.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396124",
"author": "veneficus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T19:05:22",
"content": "It is a good hack. Don’t get me wrong as I love photography, but what would be the reason to use one of these old machines? Just to produce nostalgic looking photos?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396150",
"author": "steve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T20:12:54",
"content": "Interesting, but my question would be what exactly one needs that for. Don’t you want to just expose right? There is no immidiate and free view of the image, takes a minute and costs money. I would rather like to have that right instead of just reproducible.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396208",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T01:55:15",
"content": "@ veneficusIf the only goal of photography was to reproduce reality then yes, I can see how there would be no point. But photography is an art form too so that means each kind of camera can be used in a way that takes advantage of their intrinsic traits.You can do a lot of cool things with instant film and there is no immediate photoshop or digital process that’s equivalent to it.@ SteveThere isn’t any sort of comprehensive zone metering on cameras like that. All they used was a photoresistor that made use of general light levels.Sometimes it’s better to do it manually as opposed to letting the light meter do it. Plus, “right” exposure is subjective. You may want to highlight a particular feature through your metering or really change the parameters of your exposure to produce some artful effect.The camera being hacked was fully automatic. So you wouldn’t be able to do anything with it really.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396385",
"author": "stunmonkey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T16:50:20",
"content": "@steve; “Don’t you want to just expose right?”of course you do, but an experienced eye and/or a handheld meter is far more accurate than the extremely coarse approximation of a simple analog electric eye device from the 1960’s.for that matter, it is often still more accurate than modern professional digital cameras metering algorithms are, which is why today a manual mode is present still on even the most expensive current cameras. auto mode is pretty good nowadays, but a computer AI still can’t think, nor do exception handling better than an experienced human.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396543",
"author": "Daniel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T08:32:20",
"content": "If you’ve ever used one of the automatic cameras you’d know that the automatic exposure is rather iffy, you always end up with bad shadows or highlights. It’s basically just a photo-resistor that closes the shutter when enough light hits it.There are manual Polaroid models like the 180/185/195 and the 600SE but they are rare and rather expensive, this design for a proper manual shutter is most welcome.I think the code needs a bit more maybe, the shutter on the pack film cameras was capable of up to 1/1200th speed and this only goes up to 1/500th, probably because it only has 9 shutter positions on the dial. Also the bulb mode should be so it opens the shutter the first time you press the button, then closes it when you press it again, this would save having to hunt down a rare and expensive Polaroid only cable release.Also wonder if it can be used on the 3 volt battery models as well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396601",
"author": "steve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T14:15:06",
"content": "Ok, I’ll buy that. Makes perfectly sense. A possible extension would include a exposure meter connected to the microcontroller and on the camera… Could be done with a cellphone camera-chip.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396614",
"author": "Daniel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T14:56:13",
"content": "Not sure why you’d hook an exposure meter to it, any cheap old handheld meter (selenium or CdS) can meter a scene better than the Polaroid auto sensor, so it’s just easier to read the meter and set it yourself.I just noticed that with the shutter now separated from the original Polaroid circuitry the film speed and scene selector switches (if you have a model with them) can now be used on all film speeds giving a greater range of apertures.Wonder if you could find a way tell which film speed/scene combo is selected and relay it to the PIC (need a PIC with more I/O ports?), and then make a row of 6 flat LED’s with labels in the top of the shutter housing to display the aperture selected.Times like this i wish i understood circuits instead of code.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "421198",
"author": "Jules",
"timestamp": "2011-07-22T10:59:13",
"content": "Awesome work! :D :D :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6570533",
"author": "Georg Holderied",
"timestamp": "2023-01-09T16:07:11",
"content": "If anyone is still interested in this project the files are here now:http://www.sx2pc.com/shutterpic/index.html– Georg",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.170598
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/19/an-alarm-for-every-day-of-the-week/
|
An Alarm For Every Day Of The Week
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"clock hacks"
] |
[
"18F2550",
"hd44780",
"lm044l",
"pic"
] |
If you don’t have a 9-to-5 type of job you might find yourself constantly resetting your alarm clock as your calendar commitments change. [Lucas] finally got fed up with the nightly ritual and decided to build his own
alarm clock which has unique settings for each day of the week
(
translated
).
The display itself is an LM044L 20×4 character display. This provides a viewing area that is about 3″x1″ and since it’s an HD44780 compliant LCD screen, writing data to it takes very little effort (and RAM) compared to a graphic LCD. A PIC 18F2550 drives the device, taking input from a half-dozen buttons, driving the display, and turning on the enclosed buzzer when it’s time to get up. There’s a backup battery which will keep the settings when power is lost. The daily alarms, current time, and back light brightness can all be adjusted from the four screens that make up the settings menus. The only thing that it’s missing is a precision timekeeper, but that should be easy to add either by measuring the frequency of the mains or by using an RTC chip.
| 27
| 27
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396040",
"author": "Joe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T15:16:11",
"content": "I have one of these already. I call it a phone!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396043",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T15:25:11",
"content": "I have one of these clocks:http://www.amazon.co.uk/PURE-Siesta-DAB-Clock-Radio/dp/B000SO0846You can set a different alarm for each day, and also multiple alarms for each day. For example if you get up at 6am and the wife needs to get up an hour later.Digital radio is very nice too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396044",
"author": "Marshkillz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T15:32:06",
"content": "The point is, that instead of using a standard customer device to use as an alarm, he built it himself.seems like quite a few visitors of HAD forget that not everything needs to be bought, you get quite a bit of enjoyment from designing and building a device of your own.on topic:That case looks awesome. It looks like its laser cut wood.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396048",
"author": "Say_what!",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T15:44:04",
"content": "Um, I’m sorry does that say screen is 3″x 1″. Dont think so. That watch in the background is a least and inch around or bigger. That screen is closer to 3″ x 6″ I like to know where got that screen.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396053",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:01:55",
"content": "@say_what! for more info about the screen :http://lmgtfy.com/?q=lm044l(It shows the part number LM044L in the schema diagram)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396054",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:05:14",
"content": "Oh, and if you can be bothered to read the first hit which is a PDF of the data sheet it’s 76*25mm which is pretty close to 3″x1″",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396058",
"author": "Darko",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:16:02",
"content": "I’m wondering if that’s a typo or if it’s a different model because if the screen is 76mmx25mm that watchband is about a quarter inch or less (not going off the above picture – going off the one where the back is off the clock and they are in the same plane.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396061",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:28:42",
"content": "A cool hack but if you just added a network connection you could have it use SNTP and you could even possibly have it interface to an iCal server so you could set the clock from the internet. Throw in a battery back up and you are good to go. If you don’t have a network cable you could use BlueTooth, or ZigBee to interface to a desktop PC or if you have a server. Throw in an MP3 chip, amp and some speakers and you have a networkable clock radio :) A bit pricey but if you are going to do the project why not?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396065",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:42:32",
"content": "http://www.amazon.com/American-Innovative-Neverlate-Executive-Alarm/dp/B0010DX8MI/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1305823286&sr=1-1Cheaper, better, and probably keeps time better as well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396087",
"author": "adam outler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T17:29:34",
"content": "Good to see my favorite writer back to work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396113",
"author": "salomon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T18:38:30",
"content": "I use a PC software called “Citrus Alarm Clock”, it works for me becasuse I never power off my PC.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396177",
"author": "Bubba Gump",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T21:51:50",
"content": "I already have an alarm clock that does this for me. It is called my girlfriend and as an added bonus, after waking me up for work, she makes my sammiches.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396184",
"author": "pablo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T22:20:58",
"content": "I’ve been building a clock coming from the opposite side – starting with a precise timekeeper (GPS receiver) and adding an LCD.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396188",
"author": "Peter",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T22:50:13",
"content": "Another nice little clock. using a pic instead of the normal arduinoI hope he publishes the code and eagle files.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396193",
"author": "Lucassiglo21",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T23:26:19",
"content": "Hi, i’m the one who made this…you are right..it’s not an LM044L, that was just the code of the display in the schematic software, i forgot to hide it..the display has a viewing area of 1.7×5 inches. it’s a very nice display..the timekeeping is made with a 32.768khz crystal and a timer interruption.. it’s pretty accurate..i didn’t need an external rtc,everything was made in software.the case is laser cut wood.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396301",
"author": "Zeno Arrow",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T11:27:13",
"content": "@fartface“Cheaper, better, and probably keeps time better as well.”Anyone who suggests on HAD that someone could have bought a product rather than making it themselves has totally missed the point of the site. Perhaps you’d fit in better to the Engadget crowd.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396309",
"author": "raidscsi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T11:50:25",
"content": "@Lucassiglo21Is there a light for the LCD? Is it readable at night?I love the look of the laser cut wood.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396311",
"author": "raidscsi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T11:52:24",
"content": "@at myself…I guess I should rephrase that, Is there a brightness control for the light on the LCD?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396316",
"author": "Lucassiglo21",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T12:02:00",
"content": "yes, there is a blue backlight, you can change the brightness via software.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396322",
"author": "Kel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T12:24:12",
"content": "this guy obviously has no smart phone. Get an android phone. one of the many time saving uses.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396342",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T13:49:51",
"content": "@Lucassiglo21 nice hack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396355",
"author": "TheKhakinator",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T14:32:54",
"content": "Mains frequency is a /terrible/ time source; other then being rather more dangerous to work with when integrating it with your LV circuitry, it’d be MUCH less accurate than a 50 cent 32.whatever crystal. Only way to get more accurate time is atomic clock references, but mains? It’s whack, it’s never exactly 60/50hz, it changes with load all the time, up and down.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396356",
"author": "Lucas",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T14:43:21",
"content": "funny my name is lucas and i was thinking the same thing",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396363",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T15:07:47",
"content": "@TheKhakinator:Sure, it’s never exactly 50/60 Hz, but it is regulated to be very accurate over the course of a day, for exactly this purpose. That’s why a majority of the off-the-shelf alarm clocks out there use it as a timebase.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396430",
"author": "Lucassiglo21",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T20:29:54",
"content": "i didn’t use the mains frequency, it has a 32.768khz crystal.i have an android phone..i just did this because i can. and i wanted to do some hacking.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396626",
"author": "Hacksaw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T16:33:58",
"content": "“i have an android phone..i just did this because i can. and i wanted to do some hacking.”No better reason needed.Good work",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397182",
"author": "pRtkL xLr8r",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T15:05:03",
"content": "Get a Chumby One, you can program any alarms you want.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.522395
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/19/1hz-timebase/
|
1Hz Timebase
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Tool Hacks"
] |
[
"basics",
"frequency"
] |
Check out this nice simple method of
achieving a 1Hz timebase
. This is basically a lesson in dividing crystal frequencies in circuits to get the desired result. In this case, they are starting with a 32.768KHz crystal and dividing it down. Instead of using an NE555 like many projects, he chose to go a direction that would yield results less prone to drifting with temperature variation. The method chosen was a CD4060 frequency divider, basically just a chain of flipflops. The divider is one step short of getting to the desired result so an additional flipflop has to be added. This is pretty basic stuff, but a great read. They go into detail as to how it all works and why you would use this method.
Pssst, hey, remember that time I told you to just use a 1Hz crystal? yeah,
we can laugh at that again
.
[via
HackedGadgets
]
| 16
| 16
|
[
{
"comment_id": "396029",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T14:17:10",
"content": "The theory and explanation are well written, the circuit presents some good working principles.But it is rather useless for a project with modern components.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396030",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T14:17:25",
"content": "I so want to see a 1Hz Crystal. That would be so cool. Just need a mountain of quartz and Hover dam to power it. But that would be something to see.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396036",
"author": "Drone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T15:07:56",
"content": "If you need 1Hz from 32,768kHz, why not hack the board out of a $2 “analog” clock and pick-off the pulses going to the stepper.Yeah, the $2 hacked clock may have a resonator instead of a crystal, but venture to guess what the Author has is really a resonator anyway. A “Real 1Hz” reference has to take into account a LOT of things, accuracy, resolution (jitter >< phase-noise) etc. etc.But anyway… nice to see HaD posting something like this instead of a deluge of Apple iPhone crap.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396041",
"author": "fotoflojoe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T15:16:25",
"content": "@Drone: Ikea sells a clock for 99 cents that uses a crystal. (32,768kHz)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396042",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T15:23:09",
"content": "We just had a sample batch of 0805 package 32.768k crystals delivered at work. Nice progression.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396059",
"author": "komradebob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:18:37",
"content": "And if you want accurate, get a $10 GPS module that puts out 1pps. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396063",
"author": "John Schuch",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:35:32",
"content": "Hi Guys, I wrote the 1Hz project.It was targeted at beginners just starting to move on from simple 555 circuits. It’s the timebase for a non-microcontroller freq counter. Interestingly, the freq counter tracks within 1 or 2 counts with my H/P bench counter from 1hz to 4MHz over a range of 50F to 100F. It’s actually more accurate than I expected, but I refuse to publish any great accuracy given the variability of clock crystals, and the lack of basic clock stabilization.@JohnS_AZ",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396099",
"author": "Tweeks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T17:49:40",
"content": "It think the term that everyone has been striving for (instead of saying 1Hz crystal) is 1Hz oscillator. Very different things.. ;)Tweeks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396119",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T18:51:55",
"content": "If you use the CMOS 4521 you’ll only need one chip apart from the crystal (4,194,304Hz) and other small parts to acheive 7 frequencies ranging from 1/4Hz to 16Hz.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396136",
"author": "mungewell",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T19:31:01",
"content": "Another cheap source of a 32KHz->1Hz is a RTC chip. Many output a 1pps pulse without even the need to config them…Simon.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396149",
"author": "fred",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T20:11:13",
"content": "@komradebobWhere do you get a $10 GPS module with a 1 hz output?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396161",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T21:03:42",
"content": "While I always appreciate analog circuits, This almost seems like “overkill” when you could program a small PIC with an internal oscillator to do it for a total parts count of 1.Then again, some may argue that using a processor to make a 1hz clock is “overkill”. Those people don’t have boxes of free samples.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396205",
"author": "Nick McClanahan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T01:18:15",
"content": "@tim – I think it depends on the application, if your circuit already has a ucontroller, then you might use that. But if your circuit doesn’t, then this approach means you don’t have to batch program IC’s.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396210",
"author": "Ben Ryves",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T02:22:58",
"content": "@Tim: The internal oscillators in the PIC and AVR chips I’ve used have been RC affairs, so not very accurate and sensitive to temperature variations, though I suppose an external crystal wouldn’t increase the part count too significantly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396228",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T04:28:22",
"content": "If you really need an accurate, temperature-compensated 1pps timebase, the DS3231 can be configured to output a 1Hz clock and stays accurate to a minute per year under varying temperature conditions.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396389",
"author": "komradebob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T17:10:37",
"content": "@fred – Weird Stuff has them for $9.http://www.weirdstuff.com/cgi-bin/item/20164If you need to see how to hook it up, I wrote it up here:http://www.correctivephrenology.com/blog/?p=14Hard to beat for 1pps accuracy. I have 4 or 5 of them running around in different applications.And, yes, you’ll need to add an antenna. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.411538
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/19/displaying-video-and-gifs-on-rgb-led-matrices/
|
Displaying Video And Gifs On RGB LED Matrices
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"LED Hacks"
] |
[
"animation",
"fpslic",
"led",
"matlap",
"matrix",
"rgb",
"webcam"
] |
[Mathieu] was on holiday in China and picked up some fun toys while perusing the numerous electronics markets there. The most interesting things he discovered
were a pair of RGB LED matrices
. They came in two different flavors, one made for indoor and one for outdoor displays, sporting a 64×32 and 32×16 resolution, respectively.
If you’ve read his blog before you know he is a big fan of LED matrices, so it’s only natural that bought a whole bunch of them and started experimenting once he got home. Using the same Atmel FPSLIC LED matrix control board
he showed off in this previous hack
, he was able to get the LED matrices up and running in no time. He adapted his webcam project to utilize the new panels, and he added a whole new feature as well. Via MatLab, he can now display any sort of animated gif on the panels, as you can see in the video below. The panels look great, and if we had a few of these around, there’s no doubt we would probably play
this video
on infinite repeat.
He says that the despite their somewhat questionable origins, the panels are of top notch quality, and he is willing to organize some sort of group buy if others are interested.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9pLGGuIy7M&w=470]
| 14
| 14
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395999",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T11:49:21",
"content": "Well done! I couldn’t get away from this image, though:http://banbillboardblight.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/blade-runner.jpg",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396005",
"author": "kshade",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T12:25:33",
"content": "Since you’re such big fans of LED displays, did you see the 60x18m one at Eurovision 2011?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF21pTGtKTw",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396010",
"author": "Chuckt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T12:54:04",
"content": "I’m interested in buying one or two displays.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396012",
"author": "limpkin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T13:03:40",
"content": "Hey guys,Thanks a lot for your compliments!If you are interested in these led matrices, just drop me an email at limpkin at limpkin dot frCheers",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396019",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T13:41:09",
"content": "I like RGB matrixes, too bad they are quite expensive.The work presented here is well done :d",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396021",
"author": "theodore",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T13:46:36",
"content": "Man those are the bee’s knees! the video was the best part. Great music too",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396026",
"author": "Tachikoma",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T14:07:10",
"content": "Been a while since I heard this tune. Brings back good memories.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396052",
"author": "xeracy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T15:52:38",
"content": "Whats the estimated price range for these if we were to go in on an order?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396057",
"author": "limpkin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:10:59",
"content": "Hey guys,In china, I paid the P4 (the 64*32 indoor one, 4mm pitch made of 8*8 elements) around 160 dollars, the p6 (32*16 outdoor one, 6mm pitch made of SMD leds) around 40 and I’m also able to get 32*32 6mm pitch SMD led matrices for around 70.This would thus be the maximum price, as I hope to get good rebates for good quantities :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396131",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T19:15:34",
"content": "cool, i think some of the gifs are running a little too fast though",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396645",
"author": "dmo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T18:28:11",
"content": "Could it be setup to continuously find animated gifs on the internet, so the show always changes?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396655",
"author": "limpkin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T19:27:33",
"content": "Of course :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2381753",
"author": "Aaron Leibowitz",
"timestamp": "2015-01-26T17:06:50",
"content": "Where can I purchase one of these?!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6159223",
"author": "taran",
"timestamp": "2019-06-25T00:06:39",
"content": "what program are you using to display the gif’s",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.459792
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/18/uber-keyboard-hides-security-tools-in-plain-sight/
|
Uber Keyboard Hides Security Tools In Plain Sight
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Security Hacks"
] |
[
"keyboard",
"penetration",
"pentesting",
"security",
"usb",
"wifi"
] |
[EverestX] works in the Security industry and is often required to recover or penetrate various systems for a variety of reasons. He wanted
to create an all-in-one tool
that he could easily carry from job to job which would provide him with several essential functions. He required that the device house a bootable operating system through which he can perform his work, have an Internet connection capable of injection, and have enough storage capacity to back up passwords, images, etc.
He decided to build the system inside an old IBM M-type keyboard, which provides a solid typing experience and plenty of real estate for his various components. After converting the keyboard from PS/2 to USB, he installed a USB hub along with his flash drive and WiFi card.
Once he gets everything reassembled, it should prove to be a pretty stealthy and useful piece of equipment. A word to the wise – if you happen to see someone sneaking around your office with a 20-year old Type-M keyboard, be wary.
| 38
| 36
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395784",
"author": "Frogz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:19:17",
"content": "2 things to improve ita: detatchable usb cable input(type b jack)and b: external hub ports for plugging MORE stuff into it",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395788",
"author": "zeke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:28:26",
"content": "Heh,I had the same idea a few months ago. Props to him for actually doing it a year+ before me. The biggest issue I found was when I looked up the power draw for a IBM Model M and found out that it’s a real pig compared to typical USB keyboards, which limits what else you can cram in.My reason for wanting to take on the project was also to get around the ‘work makes me use this crappy computer/OS’ problem. Put a usb thumb drive, a wifi card, etc, and boot your work computer off your own keyboard!Zeke",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395792",
"author": "Devin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:33:54",
"content": "“If you happen to see someone sneaking around your office with a 20-year old Type-M keyboard, be wary”Note: some people (such as me) use model M keyboards for plain old typing. We’re not all up to no good",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395798",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:44:06",
"content": "Excellent. The type-M can also be used as a melee weapon.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395803",
"author": "Mankysteve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:49:11",
"content": "“2 things to improve ita: detatchable usb cable input(type b jack)and b: external hub ports for plugging MORE stuff into it”The moment you get additional stuff like that sticking out of the board kind makes it stand out a bit more.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395804",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:49:23",
"content": "I’m using nothing but tablets from now on!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395807",
"author": "Panik",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:00:26",
"content": "Later on in the comments, the builder notes some power problems when turning on the wifi. No surprise, as the Model M draws a lot of juice. I’ve heard some USB to PS/2 adapters just can’t supply enough current to run one.Maybe drawing power from 2 or 3 USB ports would do the trick, but that would hurt portability. I wonder if there’s a way to reduce the power draw from the keyboard itself?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395817",
"author": "cde",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:12:34",
"content": "@Spirit, yea, but then you would lose the resell value.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395818",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:13:39",
"content": "Type M keyboards are only used for piracy, everybody knows that.;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395822",
"author": "Piku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:20:45",
"content": "“Security industry” … is that what the l337 hax0rz call themselves now? Ok.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395828",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:55:35",
"content": "Uh, yeah, just like today’s young hardware hackers are often tomorrow’s engineers.The security industry has hired known hackers in the past for their valuable input too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395831",
"author": "spiderwebby",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T00:16:04",
"content": "suddenly my modified keyboard seem’s less awesome:http://tinyurl.com/awesomekboardI suppose at least his is more of a chucking stuff together job. mine’s got an arduino! (sort of :D)good idea though!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395833",
"author": "injulen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T00:21:14",
"content": "My idea for an improvement – SD card slot.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395834",
"author": "Standard Mischief",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T00:30:46",
"content": "you need this for your OS on a USB stick:List of USB Flash Drives with Hardware Write Protection",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395838",
"author": "Standard Mischief",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T00:50:37",
"content": "BTW, can anyone explain “have an Internet connection capable of injection”?Is this the trick (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Packet_injection) of crafting packets such that you will see enough “interesting” ones within your lifetime?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "395855",
"author": "Quin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T01:43:38",
"content": "Some wireless cards don’t allow you to switch them into ‘monitor’ mode. When you need that feature, for listening to active attacks or crafting your own, having the wrong WiFi card is a pain.",
"parent_id": "395838",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395846",
"author": "Joseph Rissler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T01:21:29",
"content": "This reminds me of something I did in high school.The admins, for whatever reason, wouldn’t allow use to bring thumb drives to use with the portable (i.e. laptops in a rack) computer lab.They had no problem, however, with USB mice. (especially since these laptops had no touchpads, just red pointer nipples.)So to get my Linux Live USB, I combined a mouse, a thumb drive, and a USB hub.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395867",
"author": "torwag",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T02:26:48",
"content": "well put a beagle board inside and you would have a complete machine in the keyboard, ready to be attached to the network via cable or via wifi to do whatever need to be done.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395900",
"author": "Dom",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T05:30:01",
"content": "Time to upgrade that old Type-M to USB3 ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395918",
"author": "FireSokar",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T06:31:56",
"content": "Memories of typing on a Model M keyboard were just brought to mind. Good ol’ Windows 3.11 times and upgrading to 95 were experienced on that keyboard.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395928",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T07:03:28",
"content": "…Oh yeah? And what happens if booting from other sources is disabled on the targeted machine, which also happens to have a password on the BIOS…? Is he really going to take a screwdriver to it…? :)Fun aside, this could be upped a notch by including actual processing hardware (a CPU) in there. There was a thingie called “black dog” a few years ago (gone now), that looked like a bigger thumb drive and did just that: It did boot the “host” computer via the included “mass storage” drive, but only launched an X-server that proceeded to connect to the mini “computer” running inside the “thumb drive” – you were using the host’s keyboard, screen and net connection, but you were actually logged into your own portable computer.I kinda think it was neat… a shame it didn’t pan out further.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "395972",
"author": "EverestX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T09:19:37",
"content": "Generally most machines in datacenters don’t have bios passwords. This is because it makes remote reboots difficult, or require special rsa/alom cards. Disabling boot from other devices is however another issue. very few places have this as a requirement, although its a good idea. the problem comes back to the bios pass. If there is no bios pass you just enable it again.The storage also doesn’t require booting anything. You could simply plug in the keyboard for use as a thumb drive, not to mention the fun to be had with U3 hacks.General rule of thumb, if somones got physical acess to your racks/datacenter then you’ve already been pwn’d!Currently the keyboard is in the process of having a lipo battery installed to combat power issues. Using a multi port usb cable (think Y cable) I’m able to use all the internals without power issues.Someone mentioned a beagle board being included, you may like to know I’ve been considering that or a pandaboard after I get lipo’s installed :)",
"parent_id": "395928",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395931",
"author": "Anti",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T07:29:09",
"content": "There are more Model-Ms here than anything else combined,so it’s the perfect disguise.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395934",
"author": "jcg",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T07:37:35",
"content": "@strider_mt2k: Hmm you could probably use a model to take over a ship, so i think use a model M for piracy is a very real possiblity",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395939",
"author": "Tidux",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T07:46:46",
"content": "I’m disappointed. I thought there was going to be a little ARM board in there running Linux.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395950",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T08:19:59",
"content": "YAR, I hit’em with the pointy corner end.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395963",
"author": "bhtooefr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T09:08:29",
"content": "Fun fact: The Model M uses a membrane to detect switching. Therefore, you can replace the old controller with a modern controller that uses far less power, as long as it’s one that can be reflashed to use the Model M’s matrix.(This also works if you want to convert it to use protocols other than PS/2 or USB. Such as bluetooth, which has been done.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395965",
"author": "jero32",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T09:11:11",
"content": "I recently aquired a (old) IBM model m keyboard. These things are awesome for typing as the buttons provide just the right amount of pressure. If you’re stil using rubber dome switches…I suggest giving a mechnical switch keyboard a try. This guy’s hack is pretty cool but like others have said the model m takes alot of juice…and it might not be the best idea to put it and alot of other things on the same usb line.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395974",
"author": "EverestX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T09:34:44",
"content": "I’m working on a newer low power model on updated keyboards and have been working on mapping key matrix for the M to make low power pcb. Keep the ideas rolling in folks, soon enough you may find your input a reality!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396000",
"author": "George",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T11:51:25",
"content": "The Model M is the most awesome keyboard ever made, full stop. It’s always fun to see the creative mods people come up involving them.Years ago, when I realized how much better the Model M was to everything else on the market, I bought a spare, plus an extra cable, just in case. A decade later, the original is still going strong, so… maybe it’s time to modify that, myself. Hmmn…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396011",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T13:00:35",
"content": "Meh, the only thing novel is that it’s in a old clicklity clacklaticy keyboard. Otherwise it’s been done before in mice and in other keyboards.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396116",
"author": "Standard Mischief",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T18:44:14",
"content": ">The Model M is the most awesome keyboard ever made, full stop.Hmmm, ever type on an OmniKey/Ultra?I’m not saying it’s better, but it’s at least as good. The keyboard layout is slightly different. and the power cord is by default much longer.I’m not sure about the power usage. I do the “two resistors” power hack on my model-m keyboards and prefer the keyboard layout on the IBM style nowadays.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396152",
"author": "RandomReader",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T20:18:42",
"content": "nicealso im prity sure theres a couple posts about people doing this with mice, throwing in wifi and bootable thumb drives, couple posts about usb hardware you plug in that watchs for keystrokes, allways a security hole with wireless keyboards, gd hack to know of non the less ^_^",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396170",
"author": "Hitek146",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T21:27:44",
"content": "Damn, I used to love my Model M’s. I even had one that was rebranded to AT&T that had brightly colored keys for different Alt functions. I have never seen one like it again…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396173",
"author": "bhtooefr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T21:44:02",
"content": "The 122-key terminal Model F is where it’s at, though, as far as awesome. Far nicer tactility than the cheap knockoff (no, really, the Model M was meant for cost savings) that is the Model M, and the keys feel lighter despite the sharper tactility.Soarer has code to use any XT, AT, PS/2, or IBM terminal keyboard that uses “set 3” (basically, the AT and PS/2 protocol, but with different scan codes) here:http://geekhack.org/showwiki.php?title=Island:17458Add a Teensy 2.0 and a IBM Model F 122-key, and you have a USB 122-key Model F.And, there’s more room inside that case than there is in the Model M, for all of your nefarious and not-so-nefarious experiments. (Power will be an issue, though, as the Model F is even older, higher power consumption tech than the Model M.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396180",
"author": "timmah!",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T22:06:52",
"content": "Model M FTW! Best keyboard evar! Using one on my desktop at home and have a few as spares just in case…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396531",
"author": "George",
"timestamp": "2011-05-21T06:37:18",
"content": "> Hmmm, ever type on an OmniKey/Ultra?Indeed. :) I’m in Minnesota, where Northgate used to be based. Come to think of it, I might even have an Omnikey in the attic, in a pile of old early PC, Tandy, SUN, and SGI keyboards.Good keyboards, no doubt about it. For my money, though, the iconic and ubiquitous Model M is in some intangible way superior – better ergonomics, perhaps.They’re both vastly superior to any of the modern IBM/HP/Dell/Cherry keyboards I’ve used, though…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396813",
"author": "dt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T09:21:22",
"content": "check out this KeyTronic modelhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823131130I had one like that in my 386",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.771735
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/18/arduino-arcade-rom-dumper/
|
Arduino Arcade Rom Dumper
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"Arduino Hacks"
] |
[
"arcade",
"jamma",
"roms"
] |
[Vincenzo] wanted to read some 82S129 bipolar proms, and why not, they were very common in the 1980’s arcade scene. The problem is that its kind of an odd ball part now, and typically only (even) more expensive EPROM programmers can read them. An Arduino, breadboard and some quick scripting quickly takes care of that problem with this Arcade Rom Reader.
You stick the prom in your breadboard, and wire it up to the appropriate ports and pins of the Arduino, which bit bangs the prom and returns the results though the serial connection of the Arduino. Using a terminal program on the pc side you capture the text and use a script to convert the ascii values into a binary nibble format and save as hex.
This makes it much easier for us to dump roms from old arcade boards, because you never know when you might run across an old
Polybius
arcade board on your next outing to the salvage or scrap yard.
Join us after the break for all the details and as always comments!
82S129 bipolar proms are very common in '80 Arcade Jamma boards. Unluckly, only more expensive EPROM programmers can read them. I used an Arduino Duemilanove to dump 82S129 contents to PC for backup use.
I used a breadboard to connect 82S129 pins to Arduino. Please follow this schematic:
Arduino pins ------> 82S129 pin (function)
+5v 16 Vcc
GND 8 GND
Digital 2 5 A0
Digital 3 6 A1
Digital 4 7 A2
Digital 5 4 A3
Digital 6 3 A4
Digital 7 2 A5
Digital 8 1 A6
Digital 9 15 A7
Digital 10 12 O1
Digital 11 11 O2
Digital 12 10 O3
Digital 13 9 O4
GND 13 CE1
GND 14 CE2
Here is pde program to send in Arduino:
Begin pde program
------------------------------------------------
/*
82s129 Arduino reader
By Vincenzo Femia (enzofemia@gmail.com)
*/
byte indirizzo=0;//"indirizzo" is Italian for "address" :-)
boolean a0=0;//address bits
boolean a1=0;
boolean a2=0;
boolean a3=0;
boolean a4=0;
boolean a5=0;
boolean a6=0;
boolean a7=0;
//
boolean o0=0;//data bits
boolean o1=0;
boolean o2=0;
boolean o3=0;
byte output=0;
void setup()
{
//pin0 & pin1 reserved for serial communication
pinMode(2,OUTPUT);//set pins for address
pinMode(3,OUTPUT);
pinMode(4,OUTPUT);
pinMode(5,OUTPUT);
pinMode(6,OUTPUT);
pinMode(7,OUTPUT);
pinMode(8,OUTPUT);
pinMode(9,OUTPUT);
pinMode(10,INPUT);//set pins for data (it's a nibble)
pinMode(11,INPUT);
pinMode(12,INPUT);
pinMode(13,INPUT);
}
void loop()
{
for (indirizzo=0; indirizzo<256; indirizzo++)// from 00 to FF address
{
a0=bitRead(indirizzo,0);//read status bit of address...
a1=bitRead(indirizzo,1);
a2=bitRead(indirizzo,2);
a3=bitRead(indirizzo,3);
a4=bitRead(indirizzo,4);
a5=bitRead(indirizzo,5);
a6=bitRead(indirizzo,6);
a7=bitRead(indirizzo,7);
//...and set output
if (a0==1) {digitalWrite(2,HIGH);}
else {digitalWrite(2,LOW);}
if (a1==1) {digitalWrite(3,HIGH);}
else {digitalWrite(3,LOW);}
if (a2==1) {digitalWrite(4,HIGH);}
else {digitalWrite(4,LOW);}
if (a3==1) {digitalWrite(5,HIGH);}
else {digitalWrite(5,LOW);}
if (a4==1) {digitalWrite(6,HIGH);}
else {digitalWrite(6,LOW);}
if (a5==1) {digitalWrite(7,HIGH);}
else {digitalWrite(7,LOW);}
if (a6==1) {digitalWrite(8,HIGH);}
else {digitalWrite(8,LOW);}
if (a7==1) {digitalWrite(9,HIGH);}
else {digitalWrite(9,LOW);}
//Wait so outputs can be set by 82S129
delay (50);
o0=digitalRead(10);//read bit from data outputs
o1=digitalRead(11);
o2=digitalRead(12);
o3=digitalRead(13);
Serial.begin(9600);//Setting serial communication
//Write in binary ASCII address read and "->"
if (a7==0) {Serial.print("0");}
else {Serial.print("1");}
if (a6==0) {Serial.print("0");}
else {Serial.print("1");}
if (a5==0) {Serial.print("0");}
else {Serial.print("1");}
if (a4==0) {Serial.print("0");}
else {Serial.print("1");}
if (a3==0) {Serial.print("0");}
else {Serial.print("1");}
if (a2==0) {Serial.print("0");}
else {Serial.print("1");}
if (a1==0) {Serial.print("0");}
else {Serial.print("1");}
if (a0==0) {Serial.print("0 -> ");}
else {Serial.print("1 -> ");}
//Write in binary ASCII output nibble
if (o3==0) {Serial.print("0");}
else {Serial.print("1");}
if (o2==0) {Serial.print("0");}
else {Serial.print("1");}
if (o1==0) {Serial.print("0");}
else {Serial.print("1");}
if (o0==0) {Serial.println("0");}
else {Serial.println("1");}
if (indirizzo==255) {Serial.println("ROM has been read");}
Serial.end();
}
}
-----------------------------------------
END pde program
Using Minicom or similar program you can log serial data on PC.
Using an editor now correct log file so that first line is:
00000000 -> XXXX
and last line is:
11111111 -> XXXX
Please verify that file contains only 1 cicle of reads (256 lines).
Now we have to convert this ASCII .txt file in binary file.
Since I use Linux I write in Gambas programming language (
http://gambas.sourceforge.net/
) a little program to do this conversion.
However Windows user can port it in Visual Basic or other languages.
Simply it read nibble bits, build nibble value (00-0F), write binary value in output .hex file.
Here's the source:
Begin of Gambas program
--------------------------------------------------
PUBLIC SUB Main()
DIM ingresso AS Stream
DIM uscita AS Stream
DIM stringa AS String
DIM o0 AS String
DIM o1 AS String
DIM o2 AS String
DIM o3 AS String
DIM valore AS Byte
ingresso = OPEN "/home/enzo/temp/datafile.txt" FOR INPUT
uscita = OPEN "/home/enzo/temp/datafile.hex" FOR OUTPUT CREATE
WHILE NOT Eof(ingresso)
LINE INPUT #ingresso, stringa
o3 = Mid$(stringa, 13, 1)
o2 = Mid$(stringa, 14, 1)
o1 = Mid$(stringa, 15, 1)
o0 = Mid$(stringa, 16, 1)
valore = 1 * Val(o0) + 2 * Val(o1) + 4 * Val(o2) + 8 * Val(o3)
PRINT #uscita, Chr$(valore);
WEND
CLOSE ingresso
CLOSE uscita
END
-------------------------------------------------------------
End of Gambas program
For questions can contact me:
Vincenzo Femia
enzofemia@gmail.com
Reggio Calabria, ITALY.
| 12
| 8
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395778",
"author": "davisr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T21:41:56",
"content": "I did something like this a few years ago for an Atari ROM; I love the flexibility of arduino.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395783",
"author": "lostalaska",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:16:44",
"content": "That’s pretty damn sweet! I just got an Arduino UNO in the mail on Monday and started playing around with it the last couple of evenings. It seems like the only limit to these things is your imagination, time and some skillful coding… and I do love my emulation of vintage systems.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395878",
"author": "GCL",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T03:02:18",
"content": "Oh cute! Also amazing.I’ve done some other work with that family of Signetics PROM devices. (Other then using an Arduino or its relatives for reading them.)The device is a “1K BIT TTL BIPOLAR PROM” and is useful for arcade games as our friend discovered, and several other things.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395881",
"author": "GCL",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T03:17:47",
"content": "The other problem is that the method HaD uses to render each example makes it some what difficult to apply this one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396003",
"author": "zhazam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T12:21:52",
"content": "Very nice!I took the liberty of simplifying the code a bit – it can be found at (http://pastie.org/1926444).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396280",
"author": "Enzo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T09:35:15",
"content": "I appreciate Zhazam’s work about code simplify.I own Arduino from few weeks and haven’t studied much about his syntax! :-)By the way, in first istance I tried to send to PC bynary data instead of ASCII data (about this, I forgot to delete an unused “output” variable in my code), but I experienced receiving random data, so I decides to send ASCII data (serial.print instead of serial.write).Can anyone explain this strange results using serial.write?My last consideration is: but, it is so difficult to insert 82s129 read possibilities in commercial Eprom programmers? (I own Willem and GeniusG540 and none of them can do that).Greetings to all!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1180592",
"author": "Enzo",
"timestamp": "2014-02-04T18:05:31",
"content": "After long time, because I’m learning also C programming, I add now a conversion program written in C too.Usage: convert output_file.binHere is the source:#includemain(){/*Conversion from txt file to bin*/int c,n,d4,d3,d2,d1,d,j;for (j=0; j<256; ++j){n=d=d4=d3=d2=d1=0;while ((c=getchar())!='\\n'){if ((n==12) && (c=='1'))d4=8;if ((n==13) && (c=='1'))d3=4;if ((n==14) && (c=='1'))d2=2;if ((n==15) && (c=='1'))d1=1;++n;}d=d1+d2+d3+d4;printf(\"%c\",d);}}",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1180606",
"author": "Enzo",
"timestamp": "2014-02-04T18:11:07",
"content": "I dont’ know why “lesser” and “greater” signs don’t appears in post.So, usage is: convert “lesser” inputfile.txt “greater” outputfile.bin",
"parent_id": "1180592",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "1180598",
"author": "Enzo",
"timestamp": "2014-02-04T18:08:24",
"content": "About my last post:Usage is: convert outputfile.bin",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1180617",
"author": "Enzo",
"timestamp": "2014-02-04T18:15:51",
"content": "Also “” don’t appear",
"parent_id": "1180598",
"depth": 2,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2644278",
"author": "RÖB",
"timestamp": "2015-07-13T21:59:35",
"content": "It’s a HTML thing. The greater and less than are used for HTML <Tags>To get around it use < = < and > = >",
"parent_id": "1180617",
"depth": 3,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2644280",
"author": "RÖB",
"timestamp": "2015-07-13T22:00:39",
"content": "and " = \"",
"parent_id": "2644278",
"depth": 4,
"replies": []
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,188.699008
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/18/aux-in-hacking-an-04-subaru-radio/
|
Aux-in Hacking An ’04 Subaru Radio
|
Jesse Congdon
|
[
"Radio Hacks"
] |
[
"car audio",
"car stereo"
] |
[Jordan] writes in to show us his hacked up
car stereo
. [Jordan]’s 2004 Subaru, like many of our cars, does not offer any kind of auxiliary input, and aux-in/mp3 adapters tend to run on the not so cheap side of the price scale. Even a replacement head unit was too rich for his blood. So it was time to wire something to the old head unit.
On inspecting the radio’s PCB [Jordan] managed to locate the traces that carry audio from the FM receiver to the stereo’s amplifier. Most aux input hacks we have seen involve
fooling the stereo
into thinking some media is inserted, even if interfacing with the
audio lines
on the PCB. These require that the tape/CD functionality be altered, perhaps permanently. Even worse you may have to shlep around a blank CDR with a bunch of tracks on it! All just to fool the stereo into enabling audio output.
Instead [Jordan] targets the audio lines from the FM stereo, since radio is always enabled when active. Once the audio traces are located they are severed and bypassed with a 1/8″ stereo plug. This setup allows the FM audio signal to pass through the connector when disconnected, and cuts off any radio audio once your mp3 player is. We have seen this same method used on a
vintage stereo
hack as well. Nice work!
| 26
| 21
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395767",
"author": "john",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T21:10:23",
"content": "Excellent! I was thinking about if this could be done too- my only problem is my subaru impreza is an 06 and the head unit might be similar, but it is a double din. still this inspires me to take it out and have a look inside anywaysthis was a great post!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395770",
"author": "cde",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T21:23:17",
"content": "Lucky for him, everything was labeled. Good luck finding that on a Toyota or Ford.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395780",
"author": "injulen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:00:28",
"content": "Awesome hack! But I have to disagree that its expensive to find aux in adapters. I use these and they work great in just about any vehicle.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016BVDIK/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_alp_ocP0nb18C0TM0",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1020974",
"author": "soopergooman",
"timestamp": "2013-06-29T15:33:46",
"content": "I’VE HAD FOUR OF THOSE AND THEY ARE ABSOLUTE JUNK. YES CPS LOCK WAS NEEDED.",
"parent_id": "395780",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "6189858",
"author": "tertiumsquid",
"timestamp": "2019-10-25T01:38:50",
"content": "Except that those things typically sound like ass. Proper aux input sounds loads better.",
"parent_id": "395780",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395801",
"author": "Michael",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:48:25",
"content": "It’s the anti-headphone jack! Instead of muting the audio in the speakers, you inject your own! :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395812",
"author": "Mojoe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:06:51",
"content": "@cde, Radios aren’t terribly difficult to reverse. They all have the same functional blocks and the amplifier chips are easy to find. If you can power the radio on the bench and work from the amp back, injecting a signal from a generator….. No problem assuming you have the equipment and the motivation to do it. The equipment I have….. I’ve added inputs to a couple boom boxes, but I probably wouldn’t be motivated to uninstall the radio, do the work, and put the same one back in. None of my factory radios were worth the hassle.@Jordan Kudos for a job well done, the results look great and your factory radio looks well worth it :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395815",
"author": "jordan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:09:47",
"content": "@cde Just look for two same value caps coming from the FM input, these will be the left and right channels.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3117180",
"author": "Zii",
"timestamp": "2016-08-05T00:22:49",
"content": "@jordan can you please somehow give me the instructions for this hack because the link is broken :)",
"parent_id": "395815",
"depth": 2,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3188994",
"author": "Titas McStinge",
"timestamp": "2016-09-09T01:58:02",
"content": "I assume you are in the USA but if you go tohttp://www.jaycar.com.au/search?text=3.5mm+stereo&CSRFToken=799834a5-b675-4380-b785-0101c02395fbyou can see what socket you need to buy from whatever store in the US. If you look at the stereo socket from the solder tab side with the 3.5mm connection facing up, the pin connections need to be (clockwise from top) 1: Ground, 2: Left Channel to Stereo, 3: Left Channel from Radio, 4: Right Channel from Radio, 5: Right Channel to Stereo. Regarding where to connect them to the board, the picture at the top of the thread almost says it all. The two thin tracks (going to the pads where the yellow and brown wires have been soldered) have, by the look of it, been cut. I am assuming that the two left-side wires (yellow and brown) are the radio outputs which would make the violet and orange wires the stereo inputs. It could be the other way round – once having got the assembly out it would be trivially easy to try them the other way.The green ground wire is soldered to the big ground plane. I plan to do this on my 2003 Gen 4 Outback.",
"parent_id": "3117180",
"depth": 3,
"replies": []
}
]
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395816",
"author": "cde",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:11:47",
"content": "@ Mojoe, that’s what I’m referring to. While difficulty in reverse-engineering the radio is subjective, this is essentially the ikea furniture version of it. Full reverse-engineering is like building a china cabinet from scratch.Basically, a caveat emptor to others who want to do something similar to different make radios, that it won’t be soo easy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395819",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:15:01",
"content": "Soldering is meh. Almost bridged to a trace.Sorry…Sorry everyone…QC, just got home from work.Sorry",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395825",
"author": "Unclegummers",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T23:46:20",
"content": "Hey man I totally did this with my 1979 Dodge pickup truck’s radio. I lol’d when my friend who drives a civic raged when he saw it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395858",
"author": "Mojoe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T01:58:03",
"content": "@injulen I have yet to find a reasonably priced transmitter that doesn’t sound like complete garbage. I even modded one with a better antenna and quadrupled the range, but unfortunately it still sounded terrible compared to a direct connection. It was digitally tuned with presets and all. I also find the ones like you linked, to be too obtrusive. They hang way too proud out of the lighter socket. Maybe I’m just too damned picky.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395866",
"author": "Marshkillz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T02:18:00",
"content": "Awesome, this gave me the motivation to do my stereo. Soldering irons already warming up.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395868",
"author": "Hashiriya",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T02:28:05",
"content": "I remember a guy I knew in high school had a similar setup in his family’s van. His dad, an electrical engineer, rigged it up using a switched 1/8 jack, so that it would function normally until you plugged something into the jack. Pretty spiffy to have back in the 90s.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395904",
"author": "Tyler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T05:39:35",
"content": "Great minds must think alike– I just performed a similar modification to my 1999 v6 Accord LX.http://www.flickr.com/photos/tylerfixer/sets/72157626630124579/Anyone want to donate a bus pirate or Arduino to me so I can sniff the bus and figure out how to enable the audio input without a CD in the player? :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395940",
"author": "madcows",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T07:47:58",
"content": "The only problem is that those Subaru radios are the worst sounding piles of crap I’ve ever heard.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395943",
"author": "CalcProgrammer1",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T07:59:27",
"content": "I did something very similar to an old boombox stereo from the 90’s, it only had a tape deck and AM/FM radio but the sound was good, so I wanted to add AUX in. I didn’t want to damage the tape deck or radio in the process though, and other tutorials I had seen involved hacking the tape deck head’s feed. Instead, I noticed that my stereo had a ribbon connecting the main PCB and a second PCB which appeared to contain the tuner module. Luckily all the wires were labeled (L/R/GND/etc) on the PCB’s so it was a simple matter of splicing in and sticking a DPDT switch to switch between AUX in and the existing radio. This works perfectly, the radio is still functional and I can even record the AUX input to tape if I really needed to. Also one of my first successful hacks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395957",
"author": "ejonesss",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T08:53:46",
"content": "the fooling part you sometimes there is a mute pin on the pre amp or main amplifier chip.if you have a logic probe or a good multi meter it is possible to monitor each pin until you find the one that either goes 0 or 1 when the sound comes on.if it is a 0 when on you can short the pin to ground.if it ia 1 you may have to short 5 volt power to the mute pin (it is possible you may even blow the mute output on the chip that drives the mute input (that’s ok since you want the sound on possibly permanently)).yes that’s right there should be a 5 volt source for the logic maybe possibly 3.3 volt since it is a fairly late technology.if you are looking for normal line level then tap directly to the inputs on the main amplifier chip.if you are looking for phono or microphone level you will need to tap the head pre amp on the tape deck.only downside of permanently un muting the output is you may hear the tape being played at high speed (witch may be a benefit for cue’ing the tape) and static while the radio tunes and a possible pop or something if it is a cd when changing tracks and a pop or hum for a second when turning the unit on",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396046",
"author": "Joe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T15:43:30",
"content": "I did this with my 2000 Mustang. The early 2000’s Mustangs had a separate CD player from the head unit, with line level audio going between, so after some testing and researching, I isolated the required wires and put in a 1/8″ jack. After this stage, though, audio would only pass if the CD-Player was actually playing, so I had to put a CD of 78 minutes of nothing in the player.Later, I got tired of this dance, and decided to go all out. I bought the iPhone AV kit, wired it over to the left pillar of the windshield, and installed a mount. The audio got connected in the same way as before, but I added a switch negating the need for the blank CD.Then I took the USB on the AV kit and spliced the power to make a cigarette lighter behind the dash, where I plugged it in. Because the power isn’t clean, it creates a buzz, which I fixed by adding a switch for power. I’m still looking for a filter (either on the power or on the audio) that can get me cleaner sound with the power on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "414247",
"author": "fabio",
"timestamp": "2011-07-07T15:52:09",
"content": "This reminds me of a toyota yaris radio I have…Maybe someone can help me out.The radio also has that module on a kind of metal cage.It stopped tuning FM and AM, all I hear is static. It goes through all frequencies but it doesn’t tune.Perhaps I need to look into that module. Anyone knows what do I need to look into? I’ve looked into it and I’ve seen nothing melted (like capacitors or resistors). It would be cool to restore it because it mantains the car’s original look.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1020823",
"author": "nah!",
"timestamp": "2013-06-28T23:01:01",
"content": "is there a cheap usb host mp3 player one could integrate into a car that already has an aux port?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1024743",
"author": "mark F",
"timestamp": "2013-07-09T19:05:52",
"content": "I did this hack the other day, it took about 45mins in a shop that had all the necessary tools (soldering iron, drill, screw drivers) to do it. Works great without any static.In all it cost me around $3.00 for the plug with shipping and my time to install this in the radio.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1147137",
"author": "jonas",
"timestamp": "2013-12-27T14:17:48",
"content": "anyone have the instructions on how to do this to a simple AM/FM radio out of a Ford crown victoria.",
"parent_id": "1024743",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "3115174",
"author": "Zii",
"timestamp": "2016-08-03T16:54:33",
"content": "Hey guys… is it me or the link is really broken? where can i find the instructions for this hack? thanks…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.647447
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/17/rfid-smart-card-reader/
|
RFID Smart Card Reader
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Security Hacks"
] |
[
"basic",
"rfid"
] |
[Navic] wrote in to show us his latest project. This is a
portable smart card reader with a nice LCD display
. he just happened to have a Basic Stamp 2px, smart card reader, and smart card reader/writer sitting around waiting to be used. What better use than a hand held smart card reader? Tossing the bits together in a nice project enclosure, [Navic] scoured the code available to him and pieced together what he needed. Now, when you slide in a card, you get a nice readout of the data on that pretty blue screen. Unfortunately, if you pull the card before the read is finished, everything just freezes.
You can see the final video after the break, and you can also see some in-progress videos linked in youtube. He asks if he should add the ability to write, and we say YES. Store that data, then write (duplicate) to another device.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daqaMlBe2Mk&w=470]
| 9
| 9
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395381",
"author": "Hacksaw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T23:23:49",
"content": "Can you say portable identity theft machine?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395382",
"author": "Hacksaw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T23:26:23",
"content": "Ok maybe not identity theft but what would you use it for…legitimate purposes only please",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395496",
"author": "tinkermonkey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T08:21:33",
"content": "not Identity theft but useful information for a business on a shoestring. Why pay thousands of dollars for a greed filled corporation two piously claim that only they have the right to steel( dramatically over charge). when the tech is available through hacks like this. knowledge is power and it belongs to all of us. Not just the greedy rich. read Mathew 19 verse 24.This is a great hack and I for one am happy to see it published",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395502",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T08:34:40",
"content": "@tinkermonkey: You’re wasting your breath..most people here work for said corporations..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395506",
"author": "tinkermonkey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T08:45:07",
"content": "to Xorpunk:truth still needs to be heard!I’ll pay the price for for speaking it!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395517",
"author": "tinkermonkey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T09:05:48",
"content": "no-one who is sane would put the amount of money due to an account would trust the what is in an individual card as the accurate account of a customer account. The account would have to be on the business’s own data base. So any hacker could only change the account number of the card. If they could come up with an account worth hacking. the multiple levels of security requiring a account number and an individual password would make hacking an account very difficult if not impossible.So lets let people new to business have a fair chance to start their operations. With out the interference from the greedy rich!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395619",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T13:17:54",
"content": "Finally I can see if there is data on my card before I insert it into a computer!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395637",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T14:55:46",
"content": "current bank cards use crypto-bank or PKI(RFID)..OMG WE ARE ALL GOING TO GET HAX0RED TO DETH0REDcan you say dumb citizen?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396451",
"author": "Jojo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T21:39:46",
"content": "damn the man",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.815937
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/17/electro-static-see-saw/
|
Electro-static See-saw
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Toy Hacks"
] |
[
"basics",
"high voltage",
"learning"
] |
Many of you may have seen these fun little toys in museums or possibly even in school. Instructibles user [brazilero2008] takes us through the process of
constructing one on our own
.
Most of this toy are constructed from fairly household materials like foil, paper, straws etc. The fun part comes when you find the power supply. [brazilero2008] is using an air ionizer that he found at a rummage sale, though any high voltage DC source should work. He shares some tips on how to save time and effort creating the balls on the end by telling us how he did it the difficult way.
We admit this isn’t the most attention grabbing project, but we think it would be a fun educational weekend project.
| 3
| 3
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395323",
"author": "ehud42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T19:10:03",
"content": "Years ago (back when large CRT TV’s were popular – remember those?) I built a static motor based on Franklin’s bells design. I used the iron radiator in the living room for the ground sink, and a large sheet of tin-foil stretched across the front of our TV for the ‘power’ source. Worked really well. The ‘motor’ (a styrofoam cup with 2 sheets of tin foil covering slightly less than 1/2 the cup each) would spin up when the TV was turned on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395330",
"author": "NeozOne",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T19:28:35",
"content": "Nice job !",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395350",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T20:50:02",
"content": "Having seen a video of one of these things has anyone ever thought of using this as the basis of a clock? Totally unnessary I know but could be a fun weekend project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,188.959063
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/17/last-mile-wifi-over-tv-white-space/
|
Last Mile WiFi Over TV White Space
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Wireless Hacks"
] |
[
"last mile",
"tv",
"white space",
"wifi"
] |
What do you do when you can’t afford broadband and no-cost WiFi is just out of reach?
That was the problem Rice University
grad student [Ryan Guerra] was tasked with solving
. A local Houston resident could barely tap into the free service offered in her area, so [Ryan] set out to extend the signal’s range using white space previously occupied by TV signals.
Using channel 29 which operates at 563MHz, his “Super WiFi” project utilizes standard WiFi protocols and can extend the signal’s reach up to a mile. The WiFi signals at the closest tower are piped through a prototype frequency translator, shifting the signal from 2.4GHz down to 563MHz, which is far better suited for long(er)-haul transmissions. The system does not use channel bonding just yet, so it is limited to using about 25% of WiFi’s maximum bandwidth, which is far better than no signal at all.
While the widespread practical use of TV white space will take some time to come to fruition, this is definitely a step in the right direction.
[Thanks Chris]
| 26
| 24
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395285",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:16:02",
"content": "That’s quite impressive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395286",
"author": "9a3eedi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:19:30",
"content": "But what about speed?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395287",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:21:07",
"content": "what about the law? is this legal?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395289",
"author": "Doc Oct",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:22:43",
"content": "I hope he has an FCC license for that or he’s working in Part 15 somehow.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395291",
"author": "Anton Onszers",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:29:10",
"content": "Wouldn’t a good directional antenna for WiFi have done the same trick?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395294",
"author": "Xyroze",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:36:17",
"content": "I remember reading recently that the FCC had opened up some spectrum for public use.http://www.tested.com/news/fcc-opens-white-space-spectrum-for-super-wi-fi/1007/Well, I suppose that means that he is using the white space as intended?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395304",
"author": "durfdee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:59:30",
"content": "actually reading the article helps.‘Guerra is part of a Rice team led by professors Edward Knightly, Robert Stein, Lin Zhong, and William Reed that last year won a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The team’s goal is basic research on providing broadband in the TV “white spaces”—empty channels that the government recently cleared for use by unlicensed Internet providers. ‘",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395313",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T18:18:53",
"content": "A set of old Dish network dishes and bi-quad antennas as feedhorns will do the last mile very nice. I have been able to “burn” through wet trees for a 1/4 mile link with that kind of set up using 802.11b speeds. Far easier to do.If you have line of sight, I’d go laser. you can get far higher speeds.http://ronja.twibright.com/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395319",
"author": "evs",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T18:41:26",
"content": "prototype frequency translator? what’s prototype about a step-down superheterodyne? the fact that it retransmits the IF?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395320",
"author": "Luke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T18:43:24",
"content": "Like durfdee said, read the article…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395321",
"author": "evs",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T18:49:29",
"content": "yeah I read the article, my point is that the basic technology for this is about 80 years old, unless I’m mistaken about the technique being used here. not that this isn’t a good idea, but saying prototype makes it sound like brand new technology.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395325",
"author": "Marc Icelake",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T19:15:22",
"content": "Yeah, like who would still use 8bit uC? So old…Or it’s like rebranding windmills “wind turbines” to give theme some kind of 20th century twist, because, at the end, the energy generated will be use somewhere to mill. So Middle Ages.Finding new purpose to old stuff… for a second I thought I was on HaD/This was just humour.But, for the record “A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.” (Wikipedia)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395356",
"author": "zokier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T21:15:33",
"content": "@fartfaceI think Ronja uses normal LEDs instead of lasers. And iirc it pushes ethernet directly to air, which may or may not be such a great idea.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395376",
"author": "Joe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T23:03:58",
"content": "There will be a large explosion in devices using this “white space” in the near future. According to the new FCC rules, there are three classes of such devices. This particular application uses “fixed location” devices. Such devices need to have their GPS coordinates entered into a central database.In one way or another, all such devices have to interrogate a central database to assure non-interference with licensed users. Google is one of the three approved database administrators for this spectrum.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6271965",
"author": "Jovan Janevski",
"timestamp": "2020-08-19T22:11:44",
"content": "9 years later, near future, are you still right?",
"parent_id": "395376",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395380",
"author": "Ales Hakl",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T23:14:23",
"content": "Taking into account what you can actually build without complex optics, ronja’s scheme (baseband ethernet + training signal in inter-packet gaps) works as well as anything other, adding some kind of FEC might slightly help but also bring significant amount of additional complexity (which in hobbyist terms probably involves high-end FPGA).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395409",
"author": "LH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T01:08:13",
"content": "I don’t suppose there are any actual schematics and software listing so that we may build something similar?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395412",
"author": "adsf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T01:18:11",
"content": "Transverter ideas for the amateur radio bands:http://www.qsl.net/n9zia/trans",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395436",
"author": "wilson skatalloosdt, th guy across the street",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T03:26:14",
"content": "that’s pretty cool buddy!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395511",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T08:55:33",
"content": "Cool project.I’m not sure where the craziness about re-purposing hardware and techniques came from, but you can probably blame the pharmaceutical industry for that. (Go natural, man.)I like the thought of using the white spaces for stuff like this, and envy these folks for their freedom to experiment and their ability to bring us projects like this.Keep it up!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395522",
"author": "Ritul Sonania",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T09:20:11",
"content": "Doesn’t it interfere with the UHF transmissions ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "910279",
"author": "H3ll0_w0rld",
"timestamp": "2012-12-27T17:55:53",
"content": "UHF is no longer used in the USA for television broadcasts. It was phased out several years ago.",
"parent_id": "395522",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "395676",
"author": "tidux",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:04:29",
"content": "Having lived “out in the woods” with crappy, expensive ADSL for a while, I’m totally psyched for this. It lends itself to natural monopolies because hey, limited spectrum, so I can see towns jumping on this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395753",
"author": "Robert Paulson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T20:45:54",
"content": "A a wifi amp and a good antenna will beat this setup at FULL 802.11 speeds. Waste of time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396067",
"author": "CosmicVoyager",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T16:51:18",
"content": "Is the hardware the same on both ends?How much power does it use?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397038",
"author": "error404",
"timestamp": "2011-05-23T02:19:26",
"content": "I hate to be that guy, but if all you want is to run wireless Ethernet at a lower frequency, you can buy off-the-shelf 900MHz gear that will do a much better job (ie. full performance) with very little effort.What he’s done here isn’t novel or impressive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,190.765713
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/17/transforming-robot-is-more-than-meets-the-eye/
|
Transforming Robot Is More Than Meets The Eye
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Robots Hacks",
"Transportation Hacks"
] |
[
"helicopter",
"robots",
"transformer"
] |
Let’s face it – building robust robots isn’t exactly easy. When designing them, builders often focus on a single method of locomotion in attempts to create a robust, reliable means of transportation. Whether it moves on the ground or in the air, there are always compromises to be made when designing a robot with the ability to travel over variable terrain. Looking to change that, researchers at the Center for Distributed Robotics
have recently unveiled a robot
that can travel on the ground with ease, then take to the skies in a matter of seconds.
The robot is rolls along the ground on a set of wheels mounted at either end. When it is time to fly, it pushes itself up onto one end before extending its rotors. As you can see in the video below, the transition occurs pretty quickly.
The current prototype is pretty fragile and carries quite the hefty price tag . More robust revisions are already in the works, so expect to see more in the coming months.
[Thanks Sandeep]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JJzmfkufPE&w=470]
| 15
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395254",
"author": "anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T15:53:55",
"content": "awwww how cute i want one too",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395263",
"author": "DanJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:17:36",
"content": "The first transformer came to life in 2011. Its successors aligned themselves with Skynet the future became bleak for humans.So even though this may be one small step in the elimination of human beings, it’s still pretty dang cool.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395265",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:28:59",
"content": "Why can’t you put wheels on a toy helicopter? I realize this is a different design, but what are the advantages? Get a toy helicopter add a small transmission that can select between the rotor and the driving wheels. Then couple a steering rear wheel with the tail rotor.Now make one that can go under water, and then I will be impressed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395268",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:33:05",
"content": "Also, it transforms a little too much. Look at the actual flight test. It has a landing base that wasn’t there during the driving portion, probably because the actual base is too narrow for reliable stable landings.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395275",
"author": "Hackplifier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:45:08",
"content": "I see what you did there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395276",
"author": "J4grB0mb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:50:25",
"content": "Bob:it says that it has training gear on itso i think they only put those on to allow it to land easier… not because it needs it",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395279",
"author": "SOI Sentinel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:53:06",
"content": "Take a look at the renders. Their prototype doesn’t fully transform. Note that the rotors in the flight test are locked out (probably by hand). As a proof of concept, I’d say they did pretty good.If they get the bugs out, we’re looking at something that is smaller, easier to carry, requires little to no setup to deploy. A toy (or model electric) helicopter can probably do the same, and maybe even have higher payload, but I know I couldn’t simply sling one in a pack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395297",
"author": "Techno",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:37:50",
"content": "Bob: The version in the video is one of the old prototypes. The new designs now work on only two rotors instead of four, and fold up far more completely.The newest revision is being assembled this summer, and resembles the renders much more closely. The actual mechanical design of this thing up close is one of the more impressive projects I’ve had the privilege to work on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395298",
"author": "tempestion",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:37:56",
"content": "holy crap its a manhack",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395301",
"author": "Keith",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:51:47",
"content": "I’d be stepping back too. I think it would have sawn him off at the knees.Nice work!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395309",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T18:08:30",
"content": "Quadcopter with wheels > ThisJust sayin.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395317",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T18:37:15",
"content": "Not a robot, it’s a remote control toy. Call me when it flies it’s self, THEN it can be called a ROBOT.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395326",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T19:16:26",
"content": "looks like a futuristic lawn mower",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395385",
"author": "Peugas",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T23:29:28",
"content": "It’s not a robot, it’s a RC device…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395515",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T09:01:42",
"content": "I’m just blow away that they built something that quote, “transitions into flight mode”Dude, you roll out ANYTHING that you can really say THAT about and I know I’m gonna have to go for A fresh set of Aquaman underoos. Can’t speak for anyone else…Holy crap, that’s “living the future” cool.Well done folks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,190.574194
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/17/hardware-handshaking-for-avr/
|
Hardware Handshaking For AVR
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"Peripherals Hacks"
] |
[
"RTS/CTS"
] |
Serial communication is still an important part of our embedded world. Typically we use a 3 wire setup (RX TX and GROUND) and hope that everything goes according to plan. Though this works for most experimenters, sometimes its not the most ideal situation. This is where [simmonmt’s] handiwork comes in adding
hardware handshaking to a AVR
.
The hardware setup is pretty typical, an Atmega644 sits on one end of the connection, passes through a
SP3232EB
level shifter and out to a PC. 5 lines are used, again one for RX, TX and GROUND, but also RTS and CTS. When the PC is ready to transmit data it inverts the line (normally held high), the micro controller notices this it pulls CTS low and transmission can commence whenever it darn well feels like it. Handy!
| 22
| 22
|
[
{
"comment_id": "395191",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T12:21:10",
"content": "What most of you need to learn is RS485. Want to send serial data 800 feet? Rs485. Want to send it 1200feet through a lot of electrical interference generating rooms? Rs485. rs485 can be full duplex and half duplex. It’s a wonderful thing.Coupled with checksum bytes and you dont need handshaking.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395199",
"author": "saimhe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T12:35:58",
"content": "@fartfaceAnother important thing: because RS485 is differential, it doesn’t mean that two wires are enough. The third one, ground, is also important. All the advantages of RS485 go down the drain when common-mode voltage limits are exceeded.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395209",
"author": "SpeedBall",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T13:24:46",
"content": "As a 40+ year user of RS-232 (and MIL-188), I find it both sad and promising that serial port handshaking (even) rises to rate a HackADay mention. I am always astounded when I see a new design which ignores (or, worse yet, makes *no* provision for) RTS/CTS flow control (and to a lesser degree, DSR/DTR), particularly when the baud rates go so high, (non-deterministic) multi-tasking operating systems (can anyone say “Windows”?), and busy little microcontrollers are involved. I’m always happy to see a leap “back to basics”!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395210",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T13:31:20",
"content": "@SpeedBall: It makes me sad to see a multi-tasking operating system with huge amounts of memory for buffers, interrupts and DMA cannot keep up with a busy little microcontroller on RS232 speeds.We’re running linux on a 40Mhz PowerPC (PPC860) which is equiped with 5 serial lines, and no flow control, but we never have flow control issues.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395211",
"author": "John42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T13:32:33",
"content": "@SpeedBall:“particularly when the baud rates go so high, (non-deterministic) multi-tasking operating systems (can anyone say “Windows”?), and busy little microcontrollers are involved.”I think we have hardware FIFO’s since longtime, and the baud rates are not high, compared to processor speed.And Arduino uses 9600 bps as default, but even 115200 bps is nothing for a processor of today.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395218",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T13:51:21",
"content": "@SpeedBall @Daid Well from the post the author is far more worried about over flowing the MCU buffers and not the PC.It all comes down to what you are doing with the data coming in and the baud rate. But I like to fallow a simple rule. Make it always work. If you add handshaking it will never over flow the buffer so why not use it if you can?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395219",
"author": "dext3r",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T13:59:36",
"content": "It makes me sad to see people still using serial ports. Maybe we should go back to carrier pigeons?(full sarcasm here)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395221",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T14:10:52",
"content": "@ dext3r – true that. For most of my MCU projects, if it’s PCMCU communication I need, I use USB. If it’s MCUOther IC communication, I use I2C bus. Super robust with built in error checking/ACK, I2C can be very fast (up to 1 mb/s)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395223",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T14:24:46",
"content": "@lwatcdr: Yes, that’s what I’m worried about — the PC overflowing the MCU. I really want to write my code as getchar, do something with it, including writing stuff back to the pc, repeat until sun burns out. if i did that without flow control, and without any silly sleeps on the PC, incoming commands which arrived during the “do stuff” phase would routinely get dropped or corrupted. RTS/CTS seemed like the obvious fix for that.@dext3r: I used serial because it’s easy to understand, and easy to implement. As I’m still getting my toes wet in this embedded world, I wanted something that I could make work, reliably, without a need to learn a USB framework (which would’ve isolated me from the bit-banging details I wanted to learn in the first place). I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time/desire to play with raw USB at some point in the future — just not now.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395248",
"author": "cantido",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T15:38:23",
"content": "@MattNote: Nothing against hardware handshaking.. I’m thinking of doing this once I find a CP2102 board that breaks out the signals (I’m cheeeeeap).>>overflowing the MCU.Not sure about the AVR, havent used one in ages.. but the UARTs on the ARM board I have been playing around with recently have interrupts that trigger on various levels.. so the FIFO is 16 deep, interrupt triggers on 14 bytes in buffer. So you have enough head room to jump into an ISR and move the data out into a bigger buffer (I’m moving TCP/IP over SLIP and feeding it into a ring buffer and processing when there are enough bytes for a packet, it works pretty well). You could trigger sooner if you a really worried. The only issue is if the sender refuses to stop sending data so you are forever in the ISR..>>I really want to write my code as getchar,>>do something with it, including writing>> stuff back to the pc,Unless your protocol is really simple that a command can fit into a byte you should be letting the FIFO do it’s job and collect the data only when there is something worth processing..>>repeat until sun burns out.Hardware handshaking doesnt stop data corruption.. you need some sort of transport that insures the data is correct before it gets to your business code.. having that would also work around any bytes that get lost from an overflowing FIFO as long as you don’t overflow all the time.>>if i did that without flow control,>>and without any silly sleeps on the PCYou can implement handshaking in software..I.e. have your MCU send back “ok, send me more” every fifo full or something.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395251",
"author": "Ag Primatic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T15:44:00",
"content": "RTS/CTS are not request/acknowledge signals.RTS is used to meter the flow of data from the DCE (the AVR) to the DTE (the PC).CTS is used to meter the flow of data from the DTE (the PC) to the DCE (the AVR).In the example above, the PC is always ready to accept data, so RTS is always asserted. But the AVR is not always ready to accept data, so CTS will tell the PC to hold off sending data until the AVR is ready.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395257",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T15:58:00",
"content": "@cantido: I dream of buffers that large. IIRC, the ATMega buffer is one byte. Maybe two. There’s also a lot to be said for not having to write ISRs, and for not having to deal with the interaction between said ISRs and normal code. That’s not to say that the approach you’re suggesting isn’t appropriate in some situations — it certainly is. It’s just that my application is simple enough that I don’t think I need that added complication.As to corruption, I wasn’t talking about a 1 turning into a 0 as it flies across the wire. I’m talking about what happens when you miss a few bytes due to the overflow, and end up with a command that looks sane but is actually the concatenation of bits of two separate commands.The disconnect here may be in that you’re talking about applications which are orders of magnitude more complicated than what I’m going to use this for. I’m doing simple question/response stuff. Rather than “implement TCP/IP”, think “turn on pin 3” or “is pin 7 high”. The code running on the MCU can be ridiculously simple if I don’t have to worry about buffering the input. Hardware handshaking frees me from that worry.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395261",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:11:15",
"content": "@Ag Primatic: It looks like RTS/CTS can be used as request/ack or, as you described, for bidirectional metering. Seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RS-232#RTS.2FCTS_handshakingI’ll add an addendum to the post.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395264",
"author": "cantido",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:25:34",
"content": "@Matt>>IIRC, the ATMega buffer is one byte.USART0 seems to have a one byte for the incoming byte and one for a waiting byte.. that’s to give you enough time to move the waiting byte out of the way (into a bigger buffer in RAM). What I would do is 1: Wait for an interrupt to fire from the UART, 2: collect all the bytes coming in up to some byte/time limit, 3: set a flag that there is data waiting, 4: let the main loop come and get it. 3a would be check the checksum attached to the end of the “packet” to make sure I have all the bytes I’m meant to.>>said for not having to write ISRs,I’m not sure if USART0 interrupts can wake up the AVR (I’m not even sure how sleep works on the AVR). But if you are always polling stuff you are never sleeping or doing stuff you could otherwise be.. like blinking an LED.>>command that looks sane butYou could miss bytes even with handshaking.. if getting bad data might cause something bad to happen you should check it.. if your proto is only a byte per command parity is good enough I suppose.>> Rather than “implement TCP/IP”,I think the concerns are the same (the amounts of data are different, but I have 16bytes of FIFO and 75Mhz of processing power so it works out even I think).. you want your commands to get delivered to your MCU without data getting lost so you really want some sort of resend request and acking ability.. once you have that as long as you don’t drop bytes all the time you wouldn’t hardware handshaking. (Though its always nice to have).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395266",
"author": "rick2047",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:29:43",
"content": "@fartfaceI don’t know dude, if you don’t know what you are doing (with a good amount of experience) chances are RS485 would be really hard. I tried a 200Ft communication with RS485 and spend 2 days (around 18 hours) working on the thing.Even by the end of 2 days the thing was not 100% Okey. Don’t know where the problem was, but most probably it was the chip(mas458)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395278",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:52:15",
"content": "@matt your doing fine. I ran into the same problem years ago but it was with PCs. The PC was reading data dumped from a program that ran on an old CTOS machine. To get the data out we had to use the print function and the program didn’t offer anyway to set the flow control. So we had to take the data at 9600 baud. The problem was that the program needed to do a lot of processing with the data so a 40mhz 386 couldn’t keep up. And yes that was a fast machine at that time. We had to capture the data to the disk first and then process it after the dump was done.You can ack nak commands if you want but I think your solution is just fine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395290",
"author": "Ag Primatic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:28:03",
"content": "@matt–now you have me wondering how to tell a PC which mode to use.In all the times I’ve used a PC serial port, it just has a setting for Hardware Flow Control. Not a choice for request/ack mode or bidirectional metering mode.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395302",
"author": "DarkFader",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T17:52:39",
"content": "XON/XOFF should be enough unless the line is so bad that characters become XON/OFF when not intended.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395355",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T21:09:40",
"content": "@Ag: A bidi host talking to a request/ack peripheral is just a degenerate case of bidi/bidi. That is, when the request/ack peripheral waits for RTS from the host before it uses CTS to signal that it is ready to receive data, it’s taking actions that are legal under the bidi regime. That is, waiting for RTS from the host won’t mess up the bidi scheme — it’s just unnecessary. So if you have a bidi host (which I assume most/all are these days), you’ll magically work with both bidi and req/ack peripherals. Things seem like they’d get dicey if you had a request/ack host and a bidi peripheral, but I’m guessing that that’s pretty rare.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395401",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T00:46:12",
"content": "RS232 is a very widely violated specification. The use of RTS/CTS is a particular area of messiness. Originally, and per specification, the CTS/RTS handshake is about “turning around” half-duplex modems. The local DTE (eg computer) would indicate to the modem that it had data to send by asserting RTS. The DCE (modem) would (though a mechanism dependent on the type of modem, not included in the rs232 specification) negotiate with the remote modem to do whatever was necessary to switch the data direction, and then it would assert CTS to tell the DTE that it was OK to actually send the data.You’ll note that half-duplex modems have been pretty rare since, say, the mid 1970s. Meanwhile, the use of rs232 for local data connections increased. And that half-duplex was rarely an issue for local communications.So someone at some point decided that RTS/CTS could be used for “flow control” instead of modem switching. It’s a natural enough thought; if CTS untrue means “don’t transmit”, it shouldn’t really matter to equipment whether that’s “don’t transmit because the modem is doing magic” or “don’t transmit because my buffers are getting full.” The handling of RTS is different, though. For a local connection using flow control, RTS is (or can be) exactly symmetric with CTS – it gets connected to the other side’s CTS, and you assert RTS if you can receive data, and listen to CTS to see if you can send data. (which is different than the “assert RTS when you HAVE data to send” of the original spec.) (since the original devices that needed “hardware flow control” were things like printers where the reverse direction was not used, the original behavior of RTS was probably a bit … unspecified.)The implementation here is an interesting exercise, but I think it’s somewhat confused as to whether it is following the older rs232 (modem oriented) specifications or the more modern and common (and never “standardized”, AFAIK) flow-control behavior.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395680",
"author": "Miroslav",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T17:15:48",
"content": "@dext3r: try using USB over distances longer than 5 meters … And do USB at 100 meters = I owe you 20 bucks. RS232 has no problem even at several hundred meters, with reduced data rate.Also, implementing USB communication in many lower cost MCUs is a pain.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395711",
"author": "Ag Primatic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T18:53:08",
"content": "@WestW: Thank you for the concise summary of the two different RTS/CTS methods.From Matt’s pointer to the Wikipedia entry on RS-232, it does say that the bidirectional flow control behavior was standardized in ANSI/EIA/TIA-232-E. From the Wikipedia references, here’s a usenet post from 1990 describing it:http://groups.google.com/group/comp.dcom.modems/msg/39042605325cc765?dmode=source",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,190.945584
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/cheap-and-reliable-portable-face-recognition-system/
|
Cheap And Reliable Portable Face Recognition System
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Security Hacks"
] |
[
"atmega",
"face recognition",
"matlab",
"scanner"
] |
For their senior ECE 4760 project, engineering students [Brian Harding and Cat Jubinski] put together a pretty impressive
portable face recognition system called FaceAccess
. The system relies on the eigenface method to help distinguish one user from another, a process that the pair carried out using MatLab.
They say that the system only needs to be hooked up to a computer once, during the training period. It is during this period that faces are scanned and processed in MatLab to create the eigenface set, which is then uploaded to the scanner.
Once programmed, the scanner operates independently of the computer, powered by its own ATmega644 micro controller. Users enroll their face by pressing one button on the system, storing their identity as a combination of eigenfaces in the onboard flash chip. Once an individual has been enrolled, a second button can be pressed to gain access to whatever resources the face recognition system is protecting.
The students say that their system is accurate 88% of the time, with zero false positives – that’s pretty impressive considering the system’s portability and cost.
Stick around to see a quick demo video of their FaceAccess system in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfX99KSkYeM&w=470]
| 16
| 16
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394997",
"author": "bty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T23:15:19",
"content": "nice, .. but holding up a picture of the person will likely also work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395007",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T23:38:26",
"content": "LOL! bty is so right.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395008",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T23:41:37",
"content": "Do it with a kinect so you get stereo/depth data as well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395009",
"author": "Ken",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T23:46:22",
"content": "I believe bty may be right, and I’d love to see a follow up video where they try that. Some additional checks though could clear that up (but at a cost, of course). Maybe combine with a kinect and look to make sure the face is multidimensional, ir to check for tolerable heat, eventually you’re making it for real and not just a school project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395010",
"author": "french t0ast",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T23:55:16",
"content": "@M4CGYV3RWhat do you mean by stereo? I don’t know much about the kinect",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395011",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T23:57:44",
"content": "yeah they should see if holding up a picture worksor twins, or just how close you have to resemble someone to do itfor example i think mark zuckerberg could open that guy in the grey shirt’s account XD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395034",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T01:52:17",
"content": "bty, my thoughts exactly, especially as kids in Japan discovered this with vending machines that could be fooled with magazine photos to buy cigarettes:http://pinktentacle.com/2008/06/magazine-photos-fool-age-verification-cameras/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395065",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T03:38:30",
"content": "Could be fun to use this approch for log in security on a laptop with a webcam.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395077",
"author": "Hickhackerz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T04:39:55",
"content": "Toshiba and HP already have Face Recognition software for login. Tohisha requires both left and right angle face shot for perpective. Then when you try a picture, and it wants the side shots, it won’t detect.We tried it out without side shots and it would not allow a photoID or a full page print to work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395110",
"author": "pRoFlT",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T07:06:30",
"content": "@Hickhackerz, what if you had two photos? one for each perspective?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395119",
"author": "Jack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T07:53:09",
"content": "I’d like to see this used in an augmented reality system. I walk up to someone and it tells me who it is and a bunch of stuff about them from previous encounters.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395212",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T13:32:41",
"content": "@pRoFITI think you just described the future role of the “hacker” guy in heist movies.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395213",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T13:38:57",
"content": "I’m curious if could use something like a PIR sensor to fix the possible photograph issue?Identical twins would probably work, but otherwise I don’t think two ‘alike’ people would pass as each other, the vectors are pretty good.Great work though. Showing off things like this will breed lots of other ideas (see comments!)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395272",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:40:37",
"content": "@t0ast: I was under the impression the Kinect had two cameras to present a stereo image(two eyes == depth perception). I don’t own one, so there’s a possibility I’m wrong.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395318",
"author": "GameboyRMH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T18:39:17",
"content": "@Jack: Google Goggles actually does this in reverse. If you show it a person’s contact info it will show you their face and social networking info. Only a matter of time until it does facial recognition I figure…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395358",
"author": "Squirrel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T21:42:49",
"content": "@M4CGYV3RKinect doesn’t use stereo. It uses pattern projection. Basically it has three openings: IR Pattern Transmitter, IR Camera, Color Camera. The IR Transmitter/Camera are processed to generate a 3D depth map. The 3D depth map and the color image are sent along the USB connection to the XBOX/Computer. All of the processing to assign the armature to the person is taken care of by the XBOX. I don’t believe that any of the drivers for computers have that functionality. …yettl;dr: not stereo, pattern projection",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,190.703348
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/16/dimming-control-for-an-ikea-solar-desk-lamp/
|
Dimming Control For An Ikea Solar Desk Lamp
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"home hacks",
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"attiny13",
"ikea",
"lamp",
"led",
"pwm",
"solar"
] |
[Frank] decided to augment his desk lamp’s features by
adding dimming controls
(
translated
). Since the light source is a triad of LEDs the best method of dimming their intensity is to use Pulse Width Modulation. That’s the method that he went with, and luckily the
SUNNAN lamp from Ikea
which he’s using as the donor for the project has just enough room to squeeze in the parts necessary for this hack.
You need two main bits to use PWM with a lamp like this; a microcontroller (or possibly a timer chip like the 555) and a transistor to protect that chip from the current necessary to run the LEDs at full brightness. [Frank] went with an ATtiny13 and a 2N2222 transistor, both quite common and very inexpensive (you can even
pull the microcontroller from a light bulb
if you know where to look). Two buttons were added to the top of the lamp base which allow for up and down controls. There’s even an SOS function which is triggered by pressing both buttons at the same time. [Frank’s] happy to show off the completed project in the clip after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyg1QQ1XCvo&w=470]
| 15
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394964",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:52:48",
"content": "solar led desk lampdimmingserious? is it that bright?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394966",
"author": "superlopez",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:59:17",
"content": "SUNNAN lamp are great aid in soldering, light just in the place needed and without cables.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394986",
"author": "fco",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T22:56:36",
"content": "I have a couple of these lamps,as superlopez, I use them for soldering, and drilling.Based on the performance over 2 years, I think it’s better to take the LEDs out, and use them on stable power supply.The battery pack could be a good source for a low power MCUs on a wireless sensor network.Anyway, great hack and it’s great to start seing SUNNAN hacks.Do they still cost 15€?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394988",
"author": "UltimateJim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T22:57:16",
"content": "No, I don’t know, y’know? Y’KNOW!?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395015",
"author": "H3LIO",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T00:16:22",
"content": "Why dont you just had a POT.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395017",
"author": "adam outler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T00:23:54",
"content": "Great hack to turn a cheap lamp into a high quality one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395036",
"author": "tenfingers",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T02:06:22",
"content": "Pretty cool hack.@H3LIO: I had the same question, what I learned from a bit of googling is that varying the current with a pot can cause problems at lower levels for leds such as colors not appearing correctly or one of the leds not illuminating at all. So pulsing the led is apparently the preferred method of dimming.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395069",
"author": "Nick Short",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T04:08:20",
"content": "I find it hilarious that Americans (me included) make fun of people from other countries for their accents and “poor” English.I doubt more than 20% of Americans can speak another language, while the vast majority of Europe and Asia speaks, at LEAST, two languages.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395079",
"author": "Doublet",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T04:43:26",
"content": "@Nick ShortI live in Belgium and I speak Dutch (native), English (learned myself and at school), French (learned at school) and learning German at school.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395123",
"author": "Grovenstien",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T08:17:16",
"content": "@pff: I have two of these lamps they are surprisingly bright. And also have great beam specs, projecting a perfect spot from edge to edge.I also considered adding a power supply to them all though that kind of defeats the object of the lamp being solar powered!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395144",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T09:25:45",
"content": "Adding external power would lend an alternate charging method for times of bad weather.-or the long winter that is apparently coming on Game of Thrones, but I digress…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395181",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T12:09:41",
"content": "Actually best method of diming is a switch to switch out one or more led’s. Far better at conserving the limited battery power than PWM.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395229",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T14:41:08",
"content": "kudos on the build. I’m in the old pot crowd. What are you guys doing that colors have to be so “true” and stuff? I’m sure that you all have legitimate uses outside of resistor bands (why can’t the companies all buy paint from one supplier? lol) and tanning caps or controlled growing of plants. I guess I’m lame but I’ve had the same magnifying lamp I found in a dumpster leaving work @ uni. It is a leviathan, like something Captain Nemo would have drunken sex with. Perhaps he could’ve used the braided power cord for autoerotic things whilst the leviathan sleeps. I have always felt lucky to have found it though.I also have these cheapy Orbital/Pee Wee Herman-style headlight glasses things that I switched out the lamps on to a coupla scavenged high(er) grade ones from flashlights. Because of their design, they can be used with kroger reading glasses quite awesomely for “gettin’ in there like swimwear” where the lamp fights your soldering iron lol.I’m pretty cheap though as I do electronics as one hobby of many and am cursed with a loving family with absolutely NO idea of what gear would make good gifts lol. The Orbital glasses are an exception as dad got those at a fishing shop originally and promptly dropped into the water that night lol so here fix it. Another possible exception would be the Lego Technic kit of the gocart that I got 5 xmases straight lol. So many yellow hole bars…my 2c and csbs. Anyone else have similar cheapo finds?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395951",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-19T08:23:07",
"content": "Dude.Some of us didn’t get that technic go cart kit at all.(sniff)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396332",
"author": "blue carbuncle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T13:24:25",
"content": "@strider_mt2k lol. I still have a coupla extras ;) I’ve always been thankful my parents “tried”. Sometimes I just wish we had been in a little more cosmopolitan area (didn’t have to drive 2 hrs to get to a mall or Kmart back then), but I never had a shortage of love or (bad) ideas lol. That and my friends from the trailer park a mile down the road were allowed to ride their bikes on the road and would bring me stereos and tape decks to disassemble from the dumpster. I remember making a cable car outta an old tape deck when I was eleven that used the auto logic contorls to move around the string (FFWD would launch it off the other end lol). But yeah, sometimes I get very frustrated making do with the gear I have and the anecdotal education I received in electronics thru that dumpster lol. It also keeps ya creative, like the 300th thing youve made outta that gocart set lol. Cheers and if you have been good this year, remind me at xmas and I’ll literally send you one of my old kits.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,190.516955
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/15/home-made-blinkm-units/
|
Home Made BlinkM Units
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"LED Hacks"
] |
[
"blinkm",
"display",
"matrix",
"sparkfun"
] |
[Stephen] wrote in to show us this fun
LED wall he constructed
in his house. He says he was inspired by
this project
, but found the cost of the
BlinkM
units from sparkfun to be out of his price range. He really liked how they worked though, so he downloaded the schematic and firmware and built his own. He was able to fabricate 130 of his own for roughly 250 euros as opposed to the 1,452 euro price tag his sparkfun shopping cart had. That’s not a bad deal at all if you’re willing to invest the time in making your own PCBs and assembling the units. You can follow along on his site to see the entire construction process, as well as some pictures of his glass wall in action. The videos, however, aren’t loading for us. Great job [Stephen]!
| 33
| 32
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394502",
"author": "Stephen Shaffer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T15:41:19",
"content": "the video is a 29Mb avi file, here is the link from the html source code:http://sjalbers.nl/Atmel/BlinkM/MVI_1022.AVI",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394504",
"author": "The Cageybee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T15:42:45",
"content": "Brilliant. I’ve been thinking along the very same lines.Firstly, BlinkM’s are way too expensive. Build your own and load them with the open source CYZ_RGB firmware which has 16bit colour per channel as opposed to the 8bit of the blinkM.As for the wall. I’ve been thinking of doing something similar around the shower in a wet room.You stole my idea.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394505",
"author": "Stephen Shaffer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T15:43:15",
"content": "here’s the final video:http://sjalbers.nl/Atmel/BlinkM/MVI_3034.AVI",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394510",
"author": "hubert",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T15:54:21",
"content": "that´s coolbut a own cotroller for each picxel, isn´t that too much??? since there are lots of pwm led drivers on the market like tlc5941 or others.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394529",
"author": "critic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T16:53:33",
"content": "The site is unreadable (yellow text on photo background with wood!).Run this to at least kill the background: javascript:void(document.body.style.background=”black”);",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394539",
"author": "TheCreator",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T17:19:10",
"content": "@ hubertI think what you are talking about is a chip per unit. This is used to parse I2C data from a single serial connection. Each unit has an address allowing you to control them all from a single Uc. This is done by assigning a value to the specific address of the unit you want to control.The uC on the individual “BlinkM” is also used to control the PWM output which controls the color of the attached RGB LED.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394548",
"author": "Jeremy C",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T17:37:40",
"content": "Wow, that’s really neat – too bad the video didn’t load.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394556",
"author": "cde",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T18:28:05",
"content": "So totally illegal in boston (1-31-07 Never Forget!)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394559",
"author": "tomas",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T18:59:57",
"content": "IMHO this is very exciting.as a mech. engineer I always liked blinkms but could never afford to order a useful quantity.I’m going to do an electronics workshop for kids, each kid will build a few units, then we connect them together to get a “matrix”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394564",
"author": "Cory",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T19:23:26",
"content": "Where did you get the idea that the premade cost is 1,452 euros? He says right on the page: “US $1452”. He also spent more than just the 250 euros at Mouser. Fortunately, he even totaled it up for you: 361 euros!Do you even read the page before posting? How do you know it isn’t Goatse halfway down?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394565",
"author": "Stephen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T19:28:06",
"content": "OK, so after reading the comments, I removed the background for readability and replaced the WMP with links so the page will load faster and the users can choose if they want to see the videos or not.Enjoy.Stephen",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394576",
"author": "FuzzyOne",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T19:40:13",
"content": "A cheaper option would have been the cheap led pixels coming out of china.For instance bliptronics.com does a bare 15mm pixel for half the price.http://www.bliptronics.com/item.aspx?ItemID=113",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394577",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T19:46:08",
"content": "one mcu per ledwtf am i reading?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394590",
"author": "Exxxxxxx",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T20:31:23",
"content": "I’ve ordered the LEDs from bliptronics. both the flat rgb strip and the pixels. They are both very impressive. Problem is, min 10 days to receive. Found then fir the same overall cost from adafruit and they are based in NY.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394595",
"author": "hubert",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T20:42:59",
"content": "@ the Creator, exacly thats what I mean. But a TLC 5941 has 16 PWM outputs for LEDs programmed with SPI Bus. If you hang 3 of these chips on one µC you can control 16 RGB LEDs with one µC. If you want you can use IIC for the µC and thus reduce cost by having the same functionality. I use PIC Micros and JAL v2 as programming language, and have made an ambient Light for my livigroom with those (only 4 RGB LED Stripes) one 18f23k20 one TLC5941 and a serial-bluetooth (cheap chinese)adapter for controlling it with my old windows mobile 2003 ppc. There are some better PWM controllers with lots more outputs on the market, but they come with SMD Case and i like old fashioned through hole components.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394597",
"author": "K!P",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T20:46:50",
"content": "leave it to a fellow dutchie to get something done cheaper :D nice work!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394601",
"author": "Hackplifier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T21:14:35",
"content": "This is really cool.He should make a way to play Pong on the wall.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394603",
"author": "reggie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T21:32:03",
"content": "tlc5940’s can be used for led matrix, as well as addressing individual leds. It’s nice that he managed to slash the blinkM pricing and of course these can be configured and addressed in whatever shape you like.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394610",
"author": "tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T22:00:00",
"content": "Very nice, but you should think at some “network discovery*” algorithm to define the individual adress of each chip, so you do not need a different programming for each chip.* you need a in-out link, first chip to receive the signal say i am 1, then it pass this number to next chip wich increment this adress and pass to next …",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394620",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T23:43:47",
"content": "Or you can use the GE XMAS lights, at about $1.5 unit, and it’s wired, etc. so really easy to setup like this!http://youtu.be/1RGovmV-YhEThese are controlled by one arduino, which can control upto ~30 strings, which can each have up to 63 LEDs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394638",
"author": "Dr bob bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T03:25:19",
"content": "I think this is really cool. I like the idea and most of the implementation. Why did he use an Arduino board in the final design? There was all the effort that went into the design of the individual led boards. Why is the arduino board still in the box. I don’t care if he is using the arduino bootloader, that is fine. I just don’t like the fact that he has a prototyping board in a finalized project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394652",
"author": "ed",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T04:24:36",
"content": "Am I the only one that really hopes that thing can play tetris?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394714",
"author": "Dede",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T09:12:36",
"content": "Same thing as this one.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7nRz87oCYQWith bigger pixels and less functionalities.However great idea to integrate this into a house wall !(and @Ed, yes this one can play tetris but it’s not shown in the beta vid!)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394751",
"author": "Miguel Sanchez",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T11:30:44",
"content": "I did a similar thing a while agohttp://fightpc.blogspot.com/2010/04/led-with-brain.htmlCost was around $3 ~ $4 per LED. I built 5×5 projecthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEeGCzLG0GoSerial comms were used to network them together to be controlled by an Arduino board.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394770",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T13:09:51",
"content": "Half of his costs go to the ATTiny85, I’m pretty sure the software in the ATTiny isn’t that complex for a 3 color PWM LED. So going with a smaller uC would save you a bit more (ATTiny25 seems to be atleast 30% cheaper, and an ATTiny13 is even cheaper then that)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394787",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T14:54:22",
"content": "There are so many ways he could have cut costs on this project, but I have to give him props for actually finishing it, and the end result looks great.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394816",
"author": "pooty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T16:46:37",
"content": "Wouldn’t have been a lot easier, cheaper and less time consuming to just use those GE Color Effects xmas lights.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395080",
"author": "BauBau",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T04:46:49",
"content": "OMG %19 sales tax? WTF?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395179",
"author": "tomas",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T11:49:25",
"content": "@FuzzyOne thanks for the link to bliptronics!it’s nice for projects that don’t need individual led functionality",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395765",
"author": "John Laur",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T21:07:55",
"content": "I popped in here to say that I agree with the comment left by “The Cageybee”While the schematic for BlinkM is open and the firmware is available for download, it is my opinion that it would not be lawful to use the BlinkM firmware on alternative devices. Tod from ThingM would probably have the authoritative answer on that, but the short story is that Philips has some patents on controlling RGB LED lighting over I2C that ThingM have licensed in order to sell the BlinkM and all the associated devices. I cannot imagine that this license extends ThingM the ability to offer the firmware for use on unofficial devices.That is the reason when I built a project that uses alternative hardware I chose to start with the CYZ_RGB firmware. At the time, it was not particularly mature. Since that time I have fixed a number of bugs and added a few great features such as sRGB fade curves and internal 16 bit PWM. It’s still missing some of the features of BlinkM such as full scripting, but it’s quite a bit more useful for general lighting projects due to the better color accuracy available in CYZ_RGB. I would encourage people to try it out on BlinkM or their own hardware and send me your feedback. It’s not a very active project, but I do try to be responsive to folks.I should mention that due to the patent situation, anyone using CYZ_RGB (at least in the US) should be careful to ensure they are in compliance. My own use is limited to personal noncommercial projects, but others should be aware of the potential issues.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "587949",
"author": "ScottInNH",
"timestamp": "2012-02-24T02:26:17",
"content": "Replying to an old one, but what IS the purpose of the 2 NXP I2C level shifters?There are 2… so it’s easy to attribute them to each Arduino or each “block”. Stephen hints at a firmware limitation and the need to level shift. But shift levels how.. aren’t the Arduino and BlinkM nodes both running at the same 5 volts?Or are the I2C shifters serving some other purpose, like acting as a router/repeater, or to simplify wiring?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "3067543",
"author": "Aaaassssdf",
"timestamp": "2016-06-25T03:59:55",
"content": "Oh yay, yet another interesting HaD project that now links to a squatter domain, and archive.org happily deletes their history for the new domain owners.Perhaps when the content is HAD-worthy, an archive to the linked site could be made? Otherwise the content is pretty fragile..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "3067609",
"author": "notarealemail",
"timestamp": "2016-06-25T06:29:21",
"content": "Are you complaining?https://web.archive.org/web/20110519033324/http://sjalbers.nl/Atmel/BlinkM/BlinkM.htm",
"parent_id": "3067543",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,190.648774
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/14/optimizing-code-for-pwm-efficiency/
|
Optimizing Code For PWM Efficiency
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"Microcontrollers"
] |
[
"code",
"microcontroller",
"pwm"
] |
For some projects, it’s okay to have a microcontroller twiddling it’s thumbs most of the time. When a project requires the cpu to do just one thing over and over, there’s no loss with inefficient code – it either works or it doesn’t. However, if a project requires a microcontroller to do several things at once, like reading sensors, dimming LEDs, and writing serial data out, cpu utilization can become an issue. [Robert] wasn’t happy with the code he used to control a string of LEDs, so he
rewrote his code
. With the old implementation, [Robert]’s code used 60% of the cpu time. With the new and improved code, the cpu was only busy 8% of the time.
The code works by using a hardware timer to trigger an interrupt. After calculating the next time it should run again, and changing the state of the data line, the code just sits quietly until it’s needed again.
It’s not a pretty hack, or even one you can hold in your hands, but [Robert]’s determination in getting a μC to do what he wants is admirable.
| 36
| 36
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394286",
"author": "doubleup",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T20:04:42",
"content": "Beautiful, I was looking at this exact problem, but with a PIC16f628A.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394288",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T20:13:09",
"content": "@doubleup I believe microchip have app notes on this, so check it up",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394292",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T20:23:38",
"content": "Another good (better?) write-up for people wanting to learn how to use interrupts efficiently:http://www.uchobby.com/index.php/2007/11/24/arduino-interrupts/And it’s geared for Arduino users with notes on what timers to use and what will stop working when you use those timers.Also, it covers another important aspect of using ISRs like this; namely correcting for the length of time the ISR took to run.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394302",
"author": "DanJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T21:13:13",
"content": "Thanks for that link Bill.Using ISRs vastly improves software PWM performance. It gets a little bit trickier when trying to do multiple channels (e.g. RGB).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394304",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T21:19:00",
"content": "It’s worth noting that some chips can do PWM for you internally. Set up a few registers and you’re good to go.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394312",
"author": "alan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T21:56:27",
"content": "Slow news day?“Some guy used an interrupt service routine in his project, it really saved processor cycles”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394323",
"author": "threepointone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T22:14:48",
"content": "it’s a little different than your standard PWM ISR where you call the ISR on every possible PWM edge. In this case, the correct edge is calculated and instead of wasting 256 ISR calls on each PWM cycle, you only use two.To be honest, I didn’t go through his code, but I just so happened to be writing one of these guys for the PIC16F series on Timer0 as a general purpose PWM library. Saves TONS of CPU time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394333",
"author": "spwmoni",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T23:18:56",
"content": "@alan – welcome to hackaday! you must be new here, and unaware that the term “hack” means “anything I didn’t learn from the Arduino Blinking LED tutorial.”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394335",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T23:22:52",
"content": "I read an article the other day on how to multitask with a microcontroller. You are basically writing your own processor scheduler to do so, but you really get to know all the inner workings of the uC.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394336",
"author": "Munch",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T23:28:13",
"content": "Why on Earth would you wait 256 ISR calls to toggle a PWM pin? That’s clinical insanity. Calculating when edges occur and toggling only at those times is a technique at least as old as the Commodore 64, as I distinctly remember this technique being used to emulate RS-232 at a fairly fast rate (2400bps? I forget, precisely) using the 64’s user port, documented in a Commodore magazine article.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394337",
"author": "SparkyGSX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T23:29:46",
"content": "How this is HAD worthy by itself is beyond me, but anyway.It could even be quite a bit more efficient to take the multiply and especially the devide operations out of the loop, and storing the timer values directly in the array.I’ve done it countless times that way, to control LEDs, hobby servo’s, etc. Simply build an array with X masks for the outputs and X intervals. At each interrupt, simply copy apply the mask to the outputs, write the new interval in the timer (correct for length of ISR), increment the index, wrap if the end of the array is reached.The critical observation is that, most of the time, the PWM values are updated at a rate far below the PWM frequency, so it pays to do as much as possible when updating the values, instead of every PWM cycle.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394357",
"author": "NsN",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T00:32:43",
"content": "If you can understand german, this should be the end all, be all of software pwm implementations:http://www.mikrocontroller.net/articles/Soft-PWM#Intelligenter_L.C3.B6sungsansatz",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394365",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T01:25:56",
"content": "Wow this is a pretty neat haINTERRUPTED!FTW!FTW!ck.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394380",
"author": "Michael Bradley",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T03:56:29",
"content": "I have split tasks two ways, interrupts, and slicing:Tasks:http://www.mculabs.com/snippets/ptask.htmlSlices:http://www.mculabs.com/snippets/slice.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394415",
"author": "Jakob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T07:59:02",
"content": "Great work! =)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394450",
"author": "Nippey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T10:18:31",
"content": "@NsN: U were faster, wanted to send in the same reference! ;)Im working with the Intelligent PWM code to dim 16 LEDs with 12bit PWM @ 60Hz on a ATMega8 while doing colour calculations and serial communication to daisy-chain up to 10 of them (at the moment)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394465",
"author": "zokier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T12:13:31",
"content": "I wonder how he measured the used CPU-time",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394473",
"author": "yetihehe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T12:49:43",
"content": "@nippey – just use MBI5030 or similar chips. They are a little cheaper than atmega and can drive LEDs directly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394477",
"author": "Rostov",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T12:54:09",
"content": "CPU time is usually calculated from instruction cycles and clock frequency. CPU datasheets should give the number of cycles required for each operation; add up the number of cycles in a routine and multiply by the clock interval (i.e. 1/freq).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394511",
"author": "Nippey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T15:54:40",
"content": "@yetihehe: Already switched to a TexasInstruments 24ch 12bit PWM LED driver.But for applications which do not exceed 16 LEDs, doing it on an atmega saves you some parts as some programmable intelligence is always needed ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394526",
"author": "ftorama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T16:49:50",
"content": "Doing all these calculations with an AtTiny that has no single-cycle multiply is certainly far more time-consuming than 256 ISR.Also if you drive RGB leds, with 4 bits for each color, you only handle 16 ISR and have 12 bits colors i.e. 4096 colors, most of the time far enough.So now we compare 16 ISR with maannnyyy calculations…I keep my 16 ISR method",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394543",
"author": "vtl",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T17:22:24",
"content": "You gotta be kidding me. This is not a hack. This is simply how you’re supposed to program micros. Micros have these features for a reason.I think in this world of Arduinos it has been commonplace to use terrible software looping delays. If anything, software delays are a hack not this.Anyway regarding the actual concept of doing a lot of thing at once with a micro, the tricky thing is with crappy MSP chips (eg valueline) you have a limited number of timers. So if you have a lot of things to time, you don’t want to be squadering your precious timer if you don’t need to. If you’re really desperate you might have to resort using the wachdog timer if youve used everything up.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394611",
"author": "SparkyGSX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T22:21:19",
"content": "@Nippey: you really should use a higher PWM frequency; 60Hz looks good when you’re looking directly at the LEDs, but when your eyes are moving you can see the individual pulses. Driving behind a car with LED rear lights with a low PWM frequency gives me headaches, because your eyes are moving around all the time.I don’t think 12 bit PWM is really useful, our eyes can’t see that many shades anyway. The disadvantage of, say, 8 bit PWM is that the difference between the low steps is pretty big, and clearly visible. A solution can be to make the pulsewidth non-lineair, but that’s somewhat complicated. Another solution can be to use dithering to be able to increase the PWM frequency without losing resolution. Thus, successive PWM cycles use a width of 2-2-3-2-2-3 etc. cycles, for example, to get an average width of 2.3 cycles, thus increasing the appearant resolution.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394612",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T22:33:27",
"content": "so this “great learning platform” make you exited in reinventing the wheel. now guess how much else you missing out",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394623",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T00:21:01",
"content": "If you are going to use PWM and don’t want to take up uC cycles with it, I would suggest a uC with a built in PWM controller. The PIC 18F4431 has FOUR pwm channels, as well as several other features. All you need to do is write to a few registers to set the thing up, and then it runs. It only needs attention when you want to change the duty cycle.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394641",
"author": "Dr bob bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T03:39:51",
"content": "My friend is working on a 12 servo driver board. He has implemented it using a 16-bit pic using the peripheral pin select function to move the output compare pin around. I don’t know if he has calculated the CPU usage but for ballpark figures he has an interrupt that fires every 2ms and in the interrupt he just changes a few register values.You can count cycles to tell how long code is. Microchip MPLAB provides a nice stopwatch in simulate mode so that you can jump to the beginning of a routine and then run to the end and let the computer tell you how many cycles have elapsed.If you don’t have a simulator that counts cycles for you and you still don’t want to count them manually, just use an extra I/O pin and a logic analyzer (or Oscilloscope if you have a nice digital one). Drive the line high before the timed routine and drive it low afterwards. This easily allows you to track a bunch of different events, limited only by your spare I/O and the size of your logic analizer. I don’t know how long the Arduino library takes to set / clear a pin but it should be able to be done very quickly by doing raw register writes.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394686",
"author": "ftorama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T06:18:04",
"content": "@ Chrisquite any AVR has 4 PWM through OCR registers. Who cares your fat PIC18 has PWM? If it’s not to do some ad, what’s the goal of your comment?same thing for Dr bob bobDid you ever try AVR studio before talking? What you describe (cycle counting) if of course available through any serious simulator and hopefully on AVR Studio.Servo driving is quite ideal for “next-time PWM calculation” as the pulse is below 2 or 2.5ms and repeated every 20 ms. In the worst case, and with a simple method, you can drive 8 servomotors through a single OCR register and much more with clever multiplexing",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394709",
"author": "sneakypoo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T08:23:19",
"content": "@ftorama: What’s up with the hostility?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394710",
"author": "Farkanoid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T08:36:20",
"content": "@ftoramaThat was un-called for. The guy made a suggestion to use a uC with hardware PWM, and gave an example PIC part that has the aforementioned capability; maybe he hasn’t had exposure to other micros (or is just better versed with Microchip parts).More importantly, he didn’t try to shove it down your throat or claim superiority over Atmel/AVR, like you’ve made it seem.Take your PIC vs AVR bullshit and fuck off.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394764",
"author": "ftorama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T12:28:07",
"content": "@FarkanoidThanks for the suggestion, but I think I’ll refuse…With the AVR (which is the heart of the article), if we need 4 PWM, we simply write some registers also…So why anyone would need to take a 40-pin chip (you see I didn’t say PIC) for such a simple task?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394785",
"author": "Volfram",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T14:45:08",
"content": "@Munch: my microcontroller classes only covered the inefficient method. Today is the first time I’ve ever seen the idea of calculating the next time your ISR should run and only triggering it when you need an edge, instead of running it 256 times per PWM cycle.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394803",
"author": "Wagner",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:53:38",
"content": "It doesn’t make any sense to use interruptions to produce PWM, when the average AVR has PWM by hardware, just set it up and forget. Even the AtTiny13 has two PWM that can run at clock speed. I understand the learning curve for academic dominance over microcontrollers, like do multiplication using add and shift instead of the embedded “mul” instruction, but the academic training must be very clear, if not, several novices may think this is the only way to produce PWM in an AVR.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394821",
"author": "Nippey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T17:17:19",
"content": "@SparkyGSX: Using the 16ch method on a AVR it was not possible to exceed the 60Hz, but as I already said before, I dont do this anymore.You can get very nice chips from TI for example. Those have about ~5kHz. Maybe 10bit are enough, but who cares if get so nice low-price ICs! ;)And talking about 8bit vs 12bit: 8bit is crap in low brightness, thats the reason for 12. And thats the reason for the calculations needed, too:Im converting from linear RGB to non-linear ‘Eye-vision’ by a LUT and that looks very nice then.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394957",
"author": "Farkanoid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T21:41:02",
"content": "@ftoramaThe same reason some people use an entire arduino devboard to flash a single LED perhaps? Again, there are PLENTY of chips in both classes (AVR and PIC) to do hardware PWM across one or more channels in under 14 pins; Chris just gave an example chip that he’s probably worked with before.Also, just for the sake of brevity – you did actually say PIC :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395454",
"author": "error404",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T05:07:08",
"content": "@Volfram:I do assume they taught you about timers and ISRs though. The leap isn’t a large one, and with a proper comp sci education, one you should have made yourself, should your situation have required it.If you are running into a shortage of timer hardware most of your tasks usually aren’t extremely time critical. These tasks can be handled in several ways just using a periodic tick timer and some simple code. Save the majority of the timer hardware for when you really need tight timing (or hardware PWM).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395786",
"author": "John Laur",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T22:20:15",
"content": "Anyone wanting a thorough example of how to do this on an AVR can look at my code in CYZ_RGB. The code contains an approach for doing 16 bit pwm on 3 channels using two 8 bit counters. One drawback of using such an approach is that if you need very small duty cycles you have to keep the code in the ISRs very very simple. This is difficult to do if you want to have interrupts doing other things (clock, serial, etc.)For LED lighting control the easy solution is to use inverse PWM. Because the perceived brightness is logarithmic .. ie in the scale 0..65535 there is a very visible difference between brightness levels 1 and 10, but essentially no visible difference between 65525 and 65535. So using inverse PWM you get to use long duty cycles for dim lights (where you can get the accuracy you need) and short duty cycles for bright lights (where the accuracy of the timing is less important)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,191.02151
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/14/japanese-maid-mods-a-furby/
|
Japanese Maid Mods A Furby
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Toy Hacks"
] |
[
"furby"
] |
This video
has been floating around the web recently and we thought that some of you might enjoy it. After a quick google search, we found out that this is [Julie Watai], a singer/model who also enjoys hardware modification. In this video, she’s doing a tutorial on how to circuit bend furbies. No, we have no idea why she is dressed like a maid. This immediately brought to mind that
Bjork video
we saw a few years ago. Enjoy.
| 49
| 49
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394232",
"author": "Cal",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T17:09:00",
"content": "She could mod my furby any day.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394233",
"author": "ViperMD",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T17:10:34",
"content": "I think the maid costume is called fan service. Personally distracts me from the furby. Good video though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394237",
"author": "NatureTM",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T17:15:39",
"content": "Waaaaay too technical for me!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394240",
"author": "JA",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T17:17:40",
"content": "Made in Japan. Maid in Japan.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394241",
"author": "adam outler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T17:21:51",
"content": "She fucked it up and was happy?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394242",
"author": "BiOzZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T17:21:59",
"content": "man you gota love japan",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394243",
"author": "DrF",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T17:23:08",
"content": "For some reason I was unaware there was subtitles.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394245",
"author": "tempmj",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T17:27:20",
"content": "Wow, that Furby sure appeared to like her taking his covering off… can’t say that i blame him. Although after everything’s said and done, i could do the same effects with a furby… just throw it in a bucket of water and I bet it would sound the same.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394249",
"author": "xrazorwirex",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T17:53:29",
"content": "Holy crap; that’s one of the sexiest Hako irons you can get.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394254",
"author": "Necromant",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T18:14:38",
"content": "epic win",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394259",
"author": "autylocus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T18:46:19",
"content": "Why can’t there be more girls like her in the States? Beautiful and into electronics/hacking as opposed to watching the latest episode of “Jersey Shore.” Win-win.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394260",
"author": "DarkFader",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T18:47:10",
"content": "“Don’t ask why she’s wearing a maid’s uniform — it doesn’t really matter”It seems like Gizmodo doesn’t care about the maid at all.. They’ve lost a credit there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394261",
"author": "Dennis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T18:49:14",
"content": "At 6:47 it looks & sounds like he got shocked.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394263",
"author": "Bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T19:03:33",
"content": "Why is that if this were made by a Japanese man, it probably wouldn’t have made it on hack-a-day?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394269",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T19:21:17",
"content": "@Bob: Yeah… all the projects on here are made by women… Oh wait…@Pete: Congratulations on being a racist bastard. I hope it’s working out well for you.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394275",
"author": "Ivan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T19:47:58",
"content": "Dressing like a maid is some kind of weird japanese fashion. Check this outhttp://www.kirainet.com/english/meido-kissa-メイド喫茶/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394280",
"author": "Drackar",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T19:58:37",
"content": "Guh. Will these things never die?Funny story. I went to school with Dave Hampton’s son. I had to put up with those damn things about a year before everyone else on the planet.I want them all to die. Horrible, evil, loathsome creatures.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394290",
"author": "gr00ve",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T20:15:26",
"content": "beeeeeeeeeeeeeep.And it’s a goner.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394313",
"author": "alan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T22:01:46",
"content": "1:24 – “You should penetrate without any problems”. You’re the boss love…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394322",
"author": "Gene",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T22:08:49",
"content": "@IvanFashion? Not so much. It’s a fetish. The meido kissa’s in your link are shops that cater to the fetish.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394338",
"author": "Olivier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T23:41:11",
"content": "@Ivan: yeah… it’s also a “fashion” in porn movies…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394358",
"author": "ferdie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T00:32:59",
"content": "that furby talk no speak it sound like random noice to meand why she dont take out the batery first than take it apart.thats the 1e thing whit hacking take te power off",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394361",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T00:38:52",
"content": "????????????",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394367",
"author": "UltimateJim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T01:37:15",
"content": "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaam shes cute",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394376",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T03:03:32",
"content": "Keep it clean boys, she is probably only 14. I know you are all sex starved, so maybe it’s time to move out of mom and dad’s basement.I kid ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394378",
"author": "Catur",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T03:38:23",
"content": "it’s kind of cruelty show when she is peeling furby skin while it was on and it sound wheening, why don’t she turn it off before.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394381",
"author": "Johan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T03:58:40",
"content": "Damn, some serious nerd angst going on here!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394382",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T03:59:08",
"content": "Oh My. She skinned and eviscerated that little creature while it’s heart was still beating. Mind your manners around the girl boys. Toward the end I think I heard the furbby do a Woody Woodpecker laugh Sometimes it sounded like a radio tuning across the band quickly. The subtitles, ouch! no wonder why user manuals for made in Japan, are such treat to read.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394389",
"author": "Drone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T05:28:26",
"content": "You will NEVER see this posted on the Adafruit Blog!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394394",
"author": "SaMiga",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T06:23:23",
"content": "Cute.. I think, reFurbish , stragne word though..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394406",
"author": "SaMiga",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T07:26:10",
"content": "Who is the Furbie ??",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394410",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T07:41:25",
"content": "@Drone: That’s funny because the people writing the Adafruit blog most likely read this blog. their main income is resale anyways!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394417",
"author": "tronic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T08:04:58",
"content": "despite being an interesting hack, it was quite lacking in details. The best description they gave was “I’m going to solder these electric wires to the pcb and these switches.” no explanation on any theory behind it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394419",
"author": "Squirrel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T08:20:13",
"content": "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FEQkz1AL4Y",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394420",
"author": "ChrisE99",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T08:28:41",
"content": "What?! No tentacles?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394423",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T09:03:46",
"content": "Japanese girls in a community of mostly boring white suburban guys..marketing FTW..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394453",
"author": "alexdcd",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T10:25:01",
"content": "“you should penetrate without problems”damn right!!!!!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394479",
"author": "MG",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T12:55:51",
"content": "That would be funny if it weren’t so sad.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394525",
"author": "KnightFire",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T16:49:36",
"content": "@MG Zowies! You’re right there. She’s obviously not a hacker, just some pretty thing going though the motions – tell me what hacker takes so much time to put a set of batteries it… you can almost see the cogs turning… flat end to the spring… flat end to the spring.@Anonymous No, I don’t believe she’s 14, I lived in Japan for a year, my girlfriend was 20, took me a long time to get use to the fact she was “much” older than she looked.Took six months for the rose coloured glasses to come off – I use to say it took me six months to see my first ugly Japanese woman.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394585",
"author": "the noise",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T20:17:46",
"content": "She looks like Sakuya, except with dark hair.Torturing a helpless Furby! Why would you do a thing like that?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394626",
"author": "Oliver",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T00:31:15",
"content": "@KnightFire Lived in Korea for a year myself. 6 months sounds about right. I think asian facial features are so different that it takes us a while to see past the obvious differences. Mind you, I wasn’t upset with every korean woman I saw being beautiful.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394644",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T04:06:54",
"content": "@MG: Now if the Furby were powered by a potato…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394711",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T08:38:24",
"content": "she’s a singer :)http://youtu.be/UZVpq_Z48kk",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394780",
"author": "DeadlyFoez",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T14:00:28",
"content": "The chick is hot. And she can solder too. Kind of like Carie from mythbusters. Any chick that is hot and can use tools is my dream girl.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394857",
"author": "jesse",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T18:51:54",
"content": "Why link link whoring to Gizmodo and not directly to the actual video?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu7HQWHnzp8",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395160",
"author": "swink",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T10:36:02",
"content": "I know a good dutch word for thisMJAM!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395525",
"author": "DormantPsycho",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T09:26:41",
"content": "To hell with the Furby, I wanna know more about the maid!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396890",
"author": "IJ Dee-Vo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-22T15:43:53",
"content": "epic!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "399604",
"author": "PH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-29T21:00:03",
"content": "It would be cool to make a furbie sing like a mogwai.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,190.885494
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/14/bluetooth-media-remote-in-an-n64-controller/
|
Bluetooth Media Remote In An N64 Controller
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Peripherals Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] |
[
"bluetooth",
"remote"
] |
[Phik] wrote in to share his very first microcontroller project with us. He built a
bluetooth remote in an old Nintendo 64 controller
to control an audio application on his computer. He had been building up the individual modules with the controller in mind for some time, but initially had no idea what kind of enclosure to put it in. After a failed attempt at stuffing it into an XBox controller(surely there was
enough space
), he realized he had a broken N64 controller lying around that he cold use. We think he did a fantastic job of mounting it, it looks almost like a commercial product. He documented the construction and testing of each individual module. You can find each of those broken into their own post on his site by checking out the archives. Great job [Phik], especially for your first project!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m516-0-l0ns]
| 5
| 5
|
[
{
"comment_id": "394289",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T20:14:31",
"content": "Interesting, I like it.Does anyone know what LCD screen is used for this N64 hack? the only miniature 16×2 character module I can find has 1mm pin pitch ribbon cable and the N64 one appears to have pin header holes.One of my many ongoing mini-projects is turning an old Acoms Techniplus MK.V RC remote control into a custom RC controller with two-way comms (hence the want of a small LCD screen) using an XBee or similar (the XRF module looks good), because there’s a distinct lack of ‘modern’ 2-ch RC controllers for cars etc. that have sticks instead of the popular trigger/wheel combo.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394330",
"author": "haineux",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T23:11:55",
"content": "",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394331",
"author": "haineux",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T23:12:26",
"content": "http://clint.sheer.us/download/imagedump/japan-no-further-explanation-needed.jpg",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394360",
"author": "ferdie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T00:37:36",
"content": "nice but you make the trump stick a mouse or something in your next hack or is your stick broken on the controller.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394482",
"author": "Gaige",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T13:30:46",
"content": "easy case mods never really impressed me, but you gotta begin somewhere :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,190.805544
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/13/emulating-a-marching-band-with-wearable-instruments/
|
Emulating A Marching Band With Wearable Instruments
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"glove",
"midi",
"wearable computing"
] |
[Scott] is a design and technology master’s student who just came up with
The Imaginary Marching Band
– virtual band instruments you can wear on your hand.
Taking inspiration from Minority Report and the
NES Power Glove
, the system is able to emulate 6 instruments at this point – A trumpet, trombone, tuba, snare drum, bass drum, and cymbals. The glove itself reads data
from a variety of sensors
and passes that onto an Arduino Uno which sends serial data back to a computer. This data is then parsed by a
Serial – MIDI converter
, and can then be played back through a sampler, synthesizer or piped into your sequencer of choice. Happily, [Scott] will be designing custom PCBs for his gloves to cut down on space and weight, and he’ll also be making his project open-source eventually.
[Scott] has a
kickstarter
page for his project, and so far he’s been on track towards getting this project funded. Check out a demo after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOe4y5fR8jo&w=470]
| 9
| 9
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393985",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:25:17",
"content": "hah cool, i’m working on something similari’ll have to check out that air pressure sensor",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394010",
"author": "addidis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T00:29:00",
"content": "+1 for not calling it an arduino micro controller.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394024",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T01:43:28",
"content": "“CURRENTLY DIY VIDEOS, SOURCE CODE, AND CIRCUIT DRAWINGS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE TO KICKSTARTER CONTRIBUTORS. EITHER CONTRIBUTE TO THE CAUSE OR CHECK BACK IN JULY WHEN THE PROJECT WILL BECOME OPEN TO EVERYONE.”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394048",
"author": "TheAstrogator",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T03:19:59",
"content": "Woah, you just blew my eardrums. Whats with all the capitalist yelling.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394098",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T05:43:33",
"content": "The capitals were just cut-and-pasted from their website.Interesting project but he’s not sharing anything unless you pay him.This should be filed under closedcommercialprojectsaday.com",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394192",
"author": "jeff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T13:12:33",
"content": "if i want kickstarter or instructables, i’ll get RSS from them ty very much.2cents.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394231",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T17:04:48",
"content": "This would be perfect for Teensy, not only due to the much smaller size and lower cost, but because Teensy can be a real USB MIDI device, programmed right from the Arduino IDE. (full disclosure, I’m involved with the Teensy development, so this isn’t an unbiased opinion)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394372",
"author": "Brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T02:26:55",
"content": "Too bad the lilypad was rejected as too expensive, it would have been a much nicer solution.Brad.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395021",
"author": "scottpeterman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T00:33:04",
"content": "Hey all, thanks for the comments. The other reason I used the Uno over the lilypad is that I’m hoping to use it’s native ability to run as a USB device, making the gloves a lot easier to use.Great call on the Teensy, Paul, that looks incredible and like it could totally fulfill our needs as far as USB goes. Would love to talk more.Sorry for not putting the DIYs up online right away but this stuff costs so much money and I am so broke and really need the dough to keep working on this. it’s also a cover for my mfa class that i honestly haven’t finished them ;)i’ll definitely be putting up source code on my site for everyone to see as soon as I get a chance to clean it up, just saving the snazzy (and i repeat yet to be produced) videos for the k’starter in the short term. i will however be putting them up completely for free and for all uses when I do later in the summer, so I hope you’ll excuse my two months of only-kinda-sorta-barely-capitalism! If you are interested in seeing the project progress I’d really appreciate even a tiny donation, and promise to support any kickstarter projects you’re working on!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,191.072271
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/13/stress-testing-robots-with-baseball-bats/
|
Stress Testing Robots…with Baseball Bats
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Robots Hacks"
] |
[
"awesome",
"robot",
"terminator",
"testing"
] |
When you are working on constructing
the first Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 prototype
a super-robust robotic arm, you’ve got to test it somehow, right?
You probably recognize the robot being abused in the video below, as
we have talked about the construction of its hand once once before
. The German Aerospace Center has been working on the DLR Hand Arm System for some time now, and are obviously really excited to show you how their design performs.
In case you are not familiar, the arm you see there uses 52 different motors, miniaturized control electronics, and a slew of synthetic tendons to behave like a human arm – only much better. The system’s joints not only provide for an incredible amount of articulation, they are specially designed to allow the unit to absorb and dissipate large amounts of energy without damaging the structure.
We think that any human would be hard pressed to retain their composure, let alone be able move their arm after suffering a blow from a baseball bat, yet the robot arm carries on just fine. It’s awesome technology indeed.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JT9rD5VGvQ&w=470]
| 39
| 39
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393957",
"author": "Bob D",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T21:27:51",
"content": "I hope the next step is to improve the control and sensor system to it can duck.(Beating robots with baseball bats: This is why the bots create skynet.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393958",
"author": "Kade",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T21:29:51",
"content": "I love the cheesy, pleased look on the blokes face after he whacks it, john conner eat your heart out",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393960",
"author": "kyle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T21:36:54",
"content": "sooo when the robots invade bring something bigger than a baseball bat",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393961",
"author": "Flood_of_SYNs",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T21:40:29",
"content": "When the robots take over I foresee this guy being the first to receive the robot’s wrath.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393964",
"author": "winston",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T21:53:27",
"content": "note to self: baseball bat ineffective against robotic arm. find alternate means of defense.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393967",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T22:08:48",
"content": "KYLE NO!! This thing looks pretty small, how much does it weigh, it could be used for amputees if its light enough. (Not that I would aprove beating amputees with baseball bats, we should save that for when the robots revolt.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393971",
"author": "1000100 1000001 1010110 1000101",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T22:25:01",
"content": "Cannot be good…“Hehehe…look, I made a robot that survives tanks and nuclear-fuck bombs”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393974",
"author": "Ji0",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T22:30:28",
"content": "Seems like he didn’t hit it extremely hard. In addition, he hit it at what seems like the least likely point to cause damage. I understand the idea that the joints move somewhat to redistribute the force. But I wouldn’t have expected a blow like this to damage it to begin with.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393976",
"author": "AdamDZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T22:32:26",
"content": "LOL, the next logical step would be to make the arm grab the bat and hit the dude back :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393982",
"author": "Dax",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:07:14",
"content": "Yet the problem is, that while the parts are stronger and can take more abuse, the damage is cumulative and doesn’t go away.Aluminium parts are especially vulnerable to fatigue. You make a robot leg out of aluminium parts, and unless you seriously over-engineer it, it’s going to develop fractures and then fail.That’s why airplanes are glued instead of riveted when they make them out of aluminium. The idea is to spread the load without causing hots spots like on the rivet holes, where the material would fail under repeated cyclic stress.And that’s why you can’t easily make a car chassis out of aluminium either. People have tried, but they usually end up having the wheels pop off at inconvenient times.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393987",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:31:26",
"content": "@Dax “You make a robot leg out of aluminium parts, and unless you seriously over-engineer it, it’s going to develop fractures and then fail.”While aluminum does have poor fatigue characteristics, it is still a great engineering metal. I would disagree with the assertion that you have to “seriously over-engineer it” to make parts that won’t develop fractures and fail (in a reasonable and useful lifetime).An incredible number of things are made out of aluminum that don’t fail, like mountain bikes, and even car frames. Audi has been using aluminum frames for a long time, and I’ve never heard of any Audi’s wheel popping off.There are some valid concerns with aluminum fatigue, and like you said things like airplanes may use glue instead of rivets on thin pieces like sheet metal, but for general machined parts, aluminum is great, and you could make a great robot leg out of it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393990",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:32:32",
"content": "Here is some information on Audi aluminum space frame technology:http://www.audiusa.com/us/brand/en/exp/innovation/audi_space_frame.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394006",
"author": "Skeptic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T00:25:32",
"content": "Did anyone else notice the wire attached to the bat? Maybe an accelerometer to allow the arm to respond and better absorb the impact?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394007",
"author": "anybodysguess",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T00:25:38",
"content": "Is it just me or did the bat bend?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394011",
"author": "veneficus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T00:32:59",
"content": "@Dax: Planes are made from aluminum parts. How old was the plane you flew on last time?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394015",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T01:02:48",
"content": "Wonder how it’d stand up to 20mm fire.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394033",
"author": "Philippe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T02:33:04",
"content": "@DaxI have flown 30+ year old airplanes and I am pretty sure the aluminium skin was riveted, not glued. Yet, it didn’t fall off the sky.Here’s what a 30 second Google search yields:http://www.zenithair.com/kit-data/ht-86-12.htmlI think you are talking through your hat, sir.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394034",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T02:36:55",
"content": "That guy enjoyed that way too much.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394046",
"author": "hazardousracerx",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T03:19:23",
"content": "I work on 30+ year old planes made with aluminum sheets riveted to the frame and they only fall out of the sky occasionally ;) ….and those times are usually due to pilot error/engine failure not airframe failure.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394097",
"author": "TheKhakinator",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T05:41:41",
"content": "the thing is, university materials courses in engineering degrees have a way of making everything sound very alarmist.my impression now is that it’s not even possible to build a vehicle to travel outside the atmosphere, because as soon as you get there, it’ll evaporate, or be torn to pieces my micrometeroids, or the crew will die because of solar radiation. That, and any plane I build will fall to bits because aluminium has such poor fatigue performance compared to steel, but it’s all we can use because steel’s too heavy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394102",
"author": "Shadyman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T05:56:44",
"content": "Version 2.0 will grab the bat from him and swing it right back?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394103",
"author": "critic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T06:06:15",
"content": "take the weight off the arm and do it again!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394107",
"author": "pRoFlT",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T06:18:13",
"content": "I want to see a video of the robot hitting the guy in the arm. That would be funnier.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394117",
"author": "D-Lite",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T07:53:53",
"content": "critic:>take the weight off the arm and do it again!That has been my first thought when I watched the video! The “hand” is just a metal bar and not very fragile and the weights attached to it absorb most of the energy. It’s the same principal when in shows people lay on the ground and get a stone plate laying on their stomach smashed by a sledge hammer. They don’t get hurt because the plate absorbs the energy.So – nothing special here – even a human could do it ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394127",
"author": "Solidacid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T08:47:39",
"content": "D-Lite > i agree, i’m pretty sure I could hold a metal bar and have someone strike it with a bat without me getting hurt.i’d like to see them smack the shoulder or hang it from something and let children use the arm as a swing ^^",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394158",
"author": "anonymousjoepie91",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T11:15:25",
"content": "I think the point is more that the robots joints are adjusted to take the blow. As aposed to being completely solid or simply swinging off wildly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394170",
"author": "critic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T11:47:25",
"content": "> D-Lite: it absorb most of the energyWell, the baseball bat’s kinetic energy is transferred to the robotic arm, however because of the weight, the system is slowed down. While there is less speed, the force goes up..http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momentum",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394174",
"author": "wardy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T11:55:56",
"content": "I demand that the robot be able to hit the irritating smug guy with the bat.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394221",
"author": "Isotope",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T16:30:55",
"content": "I think you’re missing the point. The robot took a significant blow and didn’t lose registration, as demonstrated by touching the ball. It shows that this robot doesn’t need recalibration after a jostle or crash.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394264",
"author": "peter",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T19:06:54",
"content": "At minute 1:03, notice that the batter does two things to minimize the force of the impact. First he relaxes and bends his wrists and arms, allowing the bat at its point of impact to slow down significantly, and he loosens his grip on the bat, further affecting the force of the bat’s impact point.Yes, the bat hit the robot, but as others also pointed out, it was not a homerun swing by any means.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394271",
"author": "jamie g",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T19:44:48",
"content": "Hits like a girl.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394305",
"author": "Philippe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T21:19:49",
"content": "@hazardousracerxDamn! Your kind always blame the pilots ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394405",
"author": "Torque",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T07:22:37",
"content": "Foul! Cyberdyne? Really? DLR is clearly German for Omni Consumer Products.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394407",
"author": "Slimplynth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T07:32:43",
"content": "@ Dax: Aluminium Rules!! :0) There are so many alloy options, that to think of anything as being made of just Aluminium is a bit crackers. It’s like saying Humans are made of just Carbon or just Water.I trust Aluminium way more than new fandangled composites, largely because Aluminium’s fatigue properties over time and it’s heat treatment/temper conditions are well documented. I won’t generalise by saying all composite materials will unpredictably shatter into a million pieces but keep your eyes peeled for the next plane to fall out of the sky and the reasons why…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394409",
"author": "Slimplynth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T07:41:20",
"content": "http://www.leeham.net/filelib/FailureAnalysisComposites.pdf",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394468",
"author": "edHead",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T12:37:52",
"content": "So, unlike Robocop whose targetting systems can become misaligned due to mistreatment, this one will still be able to accurately shoot you in the ball.I like it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394609",
"author": "Jay Stainbrook",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T21:56:32",
"content": "Rivet holes on the aluminum skin of commercial airplanes are “cold worked” to the final diameter to reduce fatigue failures.Here’s a company that sells the tech:http://www.fatiguetech.com/about_history.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394713",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T09:08:33",
"content": "This arm is probably like a child to it’s creators, one of whom is probably the guy hitting it, so it’s no wonder he doesn’t want to hit it too hard (it’s like a reflex).When an arm like this reaches mass-production it would probably have more shielding for the now-visible parts.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "405228",
"author": "Bender",
"timestamp": "2011-06-13T14:57:04",
"content": "For next round I hope the robot gets the baseball bat. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,191.149016
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/13/usb-geiger-counter-hack/
|
USB Geiger Counter Hack
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"attiny",
"geiger counter",
"usb"
] |
[Vic] bought a Kvarts DRSB-01 Geiger counter a few years ago,
and recently dug it out of his electronics stash
. The counter is a run of the mil no-frills unit. It lacks any kind of LCD display and it cannot be calibrated, so Sievert exposure ratings are out of the question. The unit essentially monitors background radiation and alerts the user to the presence of gamma and high-energy beta rays via audible clicks.
[Vic] wanted to make it a bit more useful, so he decided to interface it with his computer in order to take long-term radiation measurements. He dug up a schematic online and deadbugged a small circuit using an ATtiny44. The circuit allows him to enumerate the electrical pulses generated by ionizing particles striking the Geiger tube, passing them along to his PC over USB.
The counter seems to interface with the PC just fine, but [Vic] does say that he’s getting some odd readings. He thinks that he might have damaged the tube while messing around, but he’s all ears if you have any insight on the matter.
| 17
| 17
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393873",
"author": "Richard",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T17:20:22",
"content": "Would be a cool experiment to hook it up to an android device as an interface to the device. 3.1 has USB support and of course you know about the new support for the ADK",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393878",
"author": "kittens",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T17:25:25",
"content": "what, no arduino?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393882",
"author": "1000100 1000001 1010110 1000101",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T17:33:41",
"content": "Never disregard those odd readings.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393893",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T18:23:06",
"content": "it’s Russian… do you have to hit it with a hammer to start it up?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393896",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T18:31:37",
"content": "Try taking readings in other locations to see if those odd readings are indeed coming from the environment.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393899",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T18:41:19",
"content": "Fukushima anyone?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393903",
"author": "Lars",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T18:59:50",
"content": "I did a simpler 1-wire mod a few years ago with the same type of unit.http://karlander.net/projekt/geiger.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393905",
"author": "MAC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:04:24",
"content": "At least you can hit it with a hammer and it’ll start up…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393922",
"author": "macona",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:34:46",
"content": "Not fukushima…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393928",
"author": "Jeff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:45:57",
"content": "The spurious readings are likely high voltage discharges. Most GM tubes run >500V, so depending on the quality of the construction, HV pops can be frequent. Also, the Sievert is a measure of dose, not a unit for exposure :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393935",
"author": "zeropointmodule",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T20:24:27",
"content": "Yeah, try cleaning the casing, HV section and tube contact areas with IPA, allow to dry.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393972",
"author": "ejonesss",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T22:25:10",
"content": "a diode would prevent the power from the usb from going into the batteries though you will need to add another battery to get over the voltage drop by the diode.it may be possible to use some kind of transistor setup to detect the usb and disable the batteries.you can also use a current limiting resistor so you can use rechargeable batteries and not draw too much current from the usb port",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393996",
"author": "vic",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:53:40",
"content": "hi,Thanks for the suggestions. The manipulations during construction might well explain the strange readings. The circuit board is actually coated with a varnish that I had to remove partially to make solders (not in the HV section, though), and I probably touched the tube numerous times without thinking about it.The only other thing I could think of is that it was raining the day there was the biggest reading, and rain is known to cause radon to seep out of the ground in some places … However I live atop a 10 story building in Paris so I doubt that’s it. There’s rain forecast tomorrow so I’ll know for sure :-)@Richard: nice idea. I’m not convinced by the new ADK, maybe Bluetooth would be better.@Jeff: thanks for the correction :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394057",
"author": "synth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T04:15:54",
"content": "@Jeffwell, as long as we’re being here, the Sievert [Sv] (conventional unit: radiation equivalent man [rem]) is actually the SI unit for dose equivalent. this is like the absorbed dose, but includes a quality factor to account for different biological effects of ionizing radiations (normalized by gamma rays (~100 keV)).the Gray [Gy] (conventional: radiation absorbed dose [rad]) is the SI unit for absorbed dose.other relevant units:(radio)activity (a measure of reaction rate, or more specifically, the decay rate): Becquerel [Bq] (conventional: Curie [Ci])exposure (measures the specific charge density (charges resulting from ionization by photon interaction) in air): Coulomb per kg of air [C/kg] (conventional: Röntgen [R])get your units on lockdown, y’all",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394058",
"author": "synth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T04:17:38",
"content": "@Jeffwell, as long as we’re pedantic being here, the Sievert [Sv] (conventional unit: radiation equivalent man [rem]) is actually the SI unit for dose equivalent. this is like the absorbed dose, but includes a quality factor to account for different biological effects of ionizing radiations (normalized by gamma rays (~100 keV)).the Gray [Gy] (conventional: radiation absorbed dose [rad]) is the SI unit for absorbed dose.other relevant units:(radio)activity (a measure of reaction rate, or more specifically, the decay rate): Becquerel [Bq] (conventional: Curie [Ci])exposure (measures the specific charge density (charges resulting from ionization by photon interaction) in air): Coulomb per kg of air [C/kg] (conventional: Röntgen [R])get your units on lockdown, y’all",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394204",
"author": "Space",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T14:22:09",
"content": "The tube looks like one of low sensitivity contraptions used for hard beta and gamma detection.If anyone is interested simulators of radioactive pollution propagation is available here:http://zardoz.nilu.no/~flexpart/fpinteractive/plots/?C=M;O=DThere is more to Fukushima than meets the eye.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2795931",
"author": "Andreas",
"timestamp": "2015-11-15T10:03:22",
"content": "Hello, it’s an old thread, but i want add some information.If there are additional pulses after an ionisation (like frequency generator), then it could be that the gas in the valve is a moment longer ionisated (partly),When the main pulse has gone, the high voltage reloads, a lower voltage is needed to produce additional pulse(s).The only sure way is slower reloading after a pulse, so that the the geiger valve can neutralize itself.Have fun.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,191.203912
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/13/adding-midi-to-a-very-old-drum-machine/
|
Adding MIDI To A Very Old Drum Machine
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"Musical Hacks"
] |
[
"drum machine",
"midi",
"pic"
] |
Long before drum machines played samples from an SD card or EPROM, drum sounds were analog – just filtered waveforms and noise. To the modern eye, these are very primitive machines, but for [Andrew], they’re the inspiration for this
brilliant hack
.
[Andrew] took a
Roland CR-68
drum machine from 1978 and added MIDI input with the help of a PIC microcontroller. Not wanting to modify the look of the machine, [Andrew] programmed the PIC to watch the START/STOP button when the the unit is powered on. If the button is held down, the PIC enters it’s programming mode, where the sounds from the CR-68 can be mapped to an individual note on a MIDI controller. There’s no mention if the TRIGGER IN is queried by the PIC to modify the tempo of the preset patterns, but we assume that would be a relatively trivial implementation. Still, very impressive for a machine made 4 years before MIDI.
We love [Andrew]’s work, and we’re happy for any future owner that he documented how to use his device (and cleverly taped that to the bottom of the drum machine). It’s very nice to see old drum machines being used for more than doorstops after their samples have been recorded. Check out the video of [Andrew]’s walk through after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwjvmjWjtSY&w=470]
| 8
| 8
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393840",
"author": "ALF",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T16:05:05",
"content": "What about adding MIDI out? is that possible?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393845",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T16:26:55",
"content": "Schweet, a real hack!Kudos!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393894",
"author": "Andrew Kilpatrick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T18:27:00",
"content": "ALF: Possible, yes. But this wasn’t interesting to me since the built-in patterns on the CR-68 cannot be edited. (hence the point of adding MIDI input)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393926",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:41:55",
"content": "not bad@alf, you could do a midi out but it would just be those buttons and knobs as controllers, you wouldn’t be sending the sounds or anything like thatwhat’s useful about his hack is that you can write your own patterns and send them to the drum machine",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393995",
"author": "ALF",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:49:35",
"content": "I’m wondering about turning analog output into MIDI… lots of software plugins are capable of this, but I’d be curious how it’s done with MC’s, and not the button inputs but the actual audio.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394044",
"author": "octel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T02:54:36",
"content": "@ALFMIDI does not send raw audio. it only sends clock, note on/off, proprietary SYSEX commands, etc.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394060",
"author": "NXK",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T04:39:37",
"content": "“Long before drum machines played samples from an SD card or EPROM…”^ That isn’t entirely accurate, within 2 years of the release of the CR-68/78, drum machines were using samples. The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer was playing samples off chip in 1980, then came the Oberheim DMX in 1981, and the E-Mu Drumulator in 1983.While the iconic Roland TR-808 (released in 1980 shortly after the LM-1) used fully synthesized drum sounds, by 1984 all the Roland TR-series machines used samples for at least some of their sounds, usually the hi-hats and cymbals.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394734",
"author": "loprohack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T10:14:07",
"content": "@octel, I think @ALF is wanting to generate MIDI from audio and not send audio-by-way-of-MIDI. He is right in that these plugins exist, but you may have to settle for 1-note polyphony.I can’t think of any good reason to do this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,191.434665
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/13/using-googles-adk-on-standard-arduino-hardware/
|
Using Google’s ADK On Standard Arduino Hardware
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Android Hacks",
"News"
] |
[
"adk",
"arduino",
"firmware",
"google",
"usb shield"
] |
When we heard that Google’s open accessory development standard was forthcoming, we were pretty excited. However once we heard that the reference hardware kit was going to cost nearly $400, our thoughts changed to, “Surely you can’t be serious.”
Well, Google is dead serious (and we hear they don’t take kindly to being called Shirley either.)
With such a ridiculous asking price, it was only a matter of time before someone tried getting the ADK software running on vanilla Arduino hardware.
[Inopia] wrote in letting us know that he did just that
.
Using an Arduino Uno and a Sparkfun USB shield, he was able to get the ADK working without a lot of fuss. He tweaked the ADK firmware image in order to bypass a couple of hardcoded pin assignments Google made, and he was good to go. The image boots just fine, though he can’t necessarily guarantee that his setup works with an Android handset, as he doesn’t currently own one that supports accessory mode.
Now that just about anyone can get their hands on the ADK at a reasonable price, we look forward to seeing what you can put together!
| 27
| 27
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393770",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T13:13:20",
"content": "This is the guy who did the Microbridge, for the record. Expect a Propeller port soon.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393776",
"author": "g",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T13:23:30",
"content": "Microchip offer an $80 example board that’s less impressive and won’t be out for a whilehttp://www.microchip.com/android",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393786",
"author": "MattQ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T13:53:29",
"content": "This is awesome. Google can release open source hardware, but just covering their own cost of engineering will keep the price tag well out of the range of most hobbyists.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393787",
"author": "phisrow",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T13:54:04",
"content": "I fairly strongly suspect that(in combination with the availability of the firmware and the basis on a well-known piece of open hardware) the $400 price is basically a polite way of saying “Yes, we will provide Official Dev Hardware if the VP of something or other simply must have it; but we really don’t have the slightest interest in getting into hardware logistics any more intensive than hand-outs at dev conferences…”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393790",
"author": "Diego Spinola",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:09:56",
"content": "The beauty of OSHW ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393793",
"author": "Zilog8",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:25:29",
"content": "@ phisrowI was having the same thought, especially considering the semi-failure that Google’s direct sale of the Nexus One turned into.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393809",
"author": "Derrick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:49:44",
"content": "And here I thought I had entered the amount incorrectly into the converter….I’m surprised their cost is this high for what is essentially commodity hardware. As mentioned, I’m sure most of it is the cost of their engineering, but could it of really been that involved? Or are they just expecting to not sell many?But as previously mentioned, situations like these make me glad for OSHW.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393811",
"author": "Squirrel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:53:38",
"content": "“I am serious… and don’t call me Shirley”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393812",
"author": "Anon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:57:05",
"content": "Things are much clearer if you read the source material for the articles.Google don’t make the current standard implementation board (which includes a shield btw) and you don’t buy it from Google. They even point you to a PIC based solution.Fromhttp://developer.android.com/guide/topics/usb/adk.html:The Android Open Accessory Development Kit (ADK) provides an implementation of an Android USB accessory that is based on the Arduino open source electronics prototyping platform, the accessory’s hardware design files, code that implements the accessory’s firmware, and the Android application that interacts with the accessory. The hardware design files and code are contained in the ADK package download. You can buy the hardware components of the ADK if you do not already have them. There is also a PIC based USB microcontroller that is not based on the ADK design, but that you can still use to create your own Android open accessories. We expect more hardware distributers to create a variety of kits, so please stay tuned for further developments.The main hardware and software components of the ADK include:1) A USB micro-controller board that is based on the Arduino Mega2560 and Circuits@Home USB Host Shield designs (now referred to as the ADK board), which you will later implement as an Android USB accessory. The ADK board provides input and output pins that you can implement through the use of attachments called “shields.” Custom firmware, written in C++, is installed on the board to define the board’s functionality and interaction with the attached shield and Android-powered device. The hardware design files for the board are located in hardware/ directory.2) An Android Demo Shield (ADK shield) that affixes atop the ADK board implements the input and output points on the board. These implementations include a joystick, LED outputs, and temperature and light sensors. You can create or buy your own shields or wire your own features to the ADK board to implement custom functionality. The hardware design files for the shield are located in hardware/.A library based on the Arduino USB Host Shield library provides the logic for the USB micro-controller board to act as a USB Host. This allows the board to initiate transactions with USB devices. Describing how to use this entire library is out of the scope of this document. Where needed, this document points out important interactions with the library. For more information, see the source code for the Arduino USB Host Shield library in the firmware/arduino_libs/USB_Host_Shield directory.3) An Arduino sketch, firmware/demokit/demokit.pde, defines the firmware that runs on the ADK board and is written in C++. The sketch calls the Android accessory protocol library to interact with the Android-powered device. It also sends data from the ADK board and shield to the Android application and receives data from the Android application and outputs it to the ADK board and shield.4) The Android accessory protocol library, which is located in the firmware/arduino_libs/AndroidAccessory directory. This library defines how to enumerate the bus, find a connected Android-powered device that supports accessory mode, and how to setup communication with the device.5) Other third party libraries to support the ADK board’s functionality:CapSense libraryI2C / TWI (Two-Wire Interface) libraryServo librarySpi libraryWire library6) An Android application, DemoKit, that communicates with the ADK board and shield. The source for this project is in the app/ directory.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393823",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T15:35:04",
"content": "So what handsets support the ADK?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393832",
"author": "sayit",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T15:50:03",
"content": "The same author trash talks the ADK and says to use the IOIO instead:http://romfont.com/2011/05/11/a-closer-look-at-googles-open-accessory-development-kit/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393834",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T15:52:45",
"content": "All handsets support ADK. I also sell a $40 board that is Propeller based and works the same as the IOIO (I’d like to point out that mine went on market earlier than the IOIO).I thoroughly agree with inopia on the new standard being much worse than ADB.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393835",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T15:53:21",
"content": "ADK is supported from Android version 2.3.4 according to the ADK pages. And 3.1 supports it.The amount of handsets supporting 2.3.4 or 3.1 is very limited, I think limited to… virtually no consumer devices right now.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393836",
"author": "Oren Beck",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T15:55:10",
"content": "OSHW models tend to have a curve of time~money based on how Vanilla the components+process tech are. And a cost multiplier or divisor by if you’re making a run of one or one thousand or ten million. If you design OSHW in the older models of “ThomCat” or “Grainger’s” sourcing the replication curve factors get a lower supply chain headache aspect but at WAY higher costs.Buying a single ADK for the $400 might make sense r for a corp seeking to just use it- but NOT for us Hackers. And thus- we will clone it ASAP:>",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393838",
"author": "Noggin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T16:02:04",
"content": "2.3.4 is available as 3rd party roms, such as the fantastic CyanogenMod. This runs on dozens of different handsets.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393846",
"author": "steaky",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T16:28:38",
"content": "microchip are releasing source for their version in about 2 wks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393880",
"author": "pol51",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T17:29:27",
"content": "2.3.4 is also officially available for Nexus One and Nexus S",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393923",
"author": "WildZBill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:36:50",
"content": "The SDK has a simulator for the 3.1 Android, so a developer can at least make it work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393940",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T20:51:26",
"content": "What Noggin said is true, there are literally dozens of people with phones that support this.;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393955",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T21:21:47",
"content": "Looking at the article and documentation on google’s android site for the ADK, I don’t see anything that specifically requires you to use either of the two solutions posted. I may be wrong, but it’s looking to me like I could create my own board using whatever microcontroller I want (not just an Arduino or pic), written in any language I want, and communicate with an android device over USB. Anyone else have thoughts on this?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393989",
"author": "hekilledmywire",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:32:26",
"content": "Cloning an bog standart Atmega circuit with an USB host chip from Maxim, copy pasted from the datasheet, really black magic going on there…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394056",
"author": "romfont",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T04:13:38",
"content": "@taylor, noggin: on which phones did you verify this? I tried CM7 (2.3.4) on my Blade, but it didn’t work for me (shared library not found, and the phone also didn’t go into accessory mode).@chris: you’re right. So far people got ADK working on pic24, propeller, and others.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394160",
"author": "lokino",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T11:18:38",
"content": "Confirmed working. Look at this videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqD5-chWdDY",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394353",
"author": "Oleg Mazurov",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T00:23:28",
"content": "I added support for ADK code to the standard library ->http://www.circuitsathome.com/mcu/programming/android_adk_compatible_usb_host_library_release",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394794",
"author": "Eric",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T15:15:51",
"content": "Wow, looks like the ADK could be awesome. For hobbyists, the IOIO is a clear winner. I understand Google’s decision not to use ADB for security reasons when it comes to products that will go commercial.Now I really need to think of a cool accessory to make for my motorcycle so I can plug in my Droid X and control something or get info from it. How hard is it to interface with an ECU to get speed, RPM, and gear information?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395430",
"author": "error404",
"timestamp": "2011-05-18T03:18:38",
"content": "$400 is really not an out of the ordinary price for a professional development board, I don’t know why people are so up in arms about it.It’s well documented and will be copied, as I’m sure Google intends. The ‘product’ is for people building Android-compatible external widgets.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "406782",
"author": "Djhg2000",
"timestamp": "2011-06-16T20:24:37",
"content": "So what exactly prevents us from using the ADK interface with a PC?This should be pretty straight forward from within Linux using libusb, right?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,191.593105
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/13/monitor-your-homes-power-usage-on-the-cheap/
|
Monitor Your Home’s Power Usage On The Cheap
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"home hacks"
] |
[
"AVR",
"electricity",
"ir",
"power meter",
"whole house meter"
] |
[Paul] was pretty sure that he and his family used a lot of electricity throughout the day. Admittedly, he enjoys his creature comforts, but was wiling to try living a little greener. The problem was,
he had no idea how much electricity he was using at a given time
.
While some power companies offer devices allowing homeowners to monitor their energy usage, [Paul’s] did not. After a bit of research however, he was ready to build a power monitoring system of his own. He found that his meter emits a small infrared pulse every time a watt-hour of electricity is consumed, so his system counts how many flashes occur to measure usage.
The counting circuit is pretty simple consisting of only an AVR, a resistor, a capacitor, and a phototransistor. The data is fed to a computer where the results are graphed with gnuplot.
It’s quite a useful little hack, and undoubtedly far cheaper than purchasing a whole house power monitor.
| 56
| 50
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393725",
"author": "andy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T11:34:32",
"content": "first post, woo!now if only i could find a meter like that, Jim",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "609206",
"author": "Fernando SIlva",
"timestamp": "2012-03-21T19:52:07",
"content": "Everyone can have an easy to use power meter. Look up WattVision, it gives you second by second live graphs and readings of how much energy you are using and how much money is being spent! Look it up!!",
"parent_id": "393725",
"depth": 2,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "609692",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2012-03-22T12:35:24",
"content": "we did look it up. last year. see below. it costs $250, and has a $9/month service fee. how is that supposed to be economical?",
"parent_id": "609206",
"depth": 3,
"replies": []
}
]
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "393727",
"author": "FirefighterGeek",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T11:38:21",
"content": "I love this hack. The new “smart meters” are being deployed here and they don’t seem to (as yet) be consumer friendly.This kind of hack represents the very best of hacking nature. It’s empowering to the end user, causes no damage, destruction or interference, and exploits a previously unpublished (or at least little known) functionality in a way that others in the hacker community can build in.Bravo.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393734",
"author": "IceBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T11:45:38",
"content": "Very simple yet useful hack, I might build one of those (thankfully, my meter is inside my house).500W of “background” consumption is pretty high, though, and now that even desktop motherboards can sleep there’s usually no reason to leave them on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393738",
"author": "raidscsi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T11:52:26",
"content": "He is just lucky he has a new meter. Anyone think you can request a meter like this from the power company?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393739",
"author": "Nick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T11:52:32",
"content": "Imagine if you were able to design a sensitive system that could monitor your entire neighbourhood? There was a discussion going around the web about privacy concerns with sending consumption data off to your power company, but a hack like that could map the behaviour of many people quite easily.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393740",
"author": "Strofcon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T11:53:28",
"content": "Very cool! I’d be a little worried that the power company might be upset that I blocked the IR transmitter, though… seems like it would make them go back to manual meter readings, which most companies seem to be trying to avoid.Then again, I’m pretty ignorant of this type of stuff, and maybe he’s not actually completely blocking the signal.Either way, very cool idea, and seems nice and simple. :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1001749",
"author": "lizaoreo",
"timestamp": "2013-05-07T00:56:45",
"content": "Most of the smart meters transmit the data wirelessly via RF so they don’t generally come to the house once you have one installed. Of course, that could probably vary from one company to the next.",
"parent_id": "393740",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "393750",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T12:06:03",
"content": "I would liked to have done it this way except my meter is 3 floors down, a few hundred feet away on the flip side of my building and behind a gate. That’s why I had to use current clamps instead, and it told me a lot more about my electrical system.http://hackaday.com/2010/12/21/clamp-sensor-power-monitoring/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393752",
"author": "IceBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T12:11:23",
"content": "@Strofcon: At least in my model, the LED that blinks for every Watt-Hour consumed is not the same that allows for actual communication with a device.My company still reads the numbers, though, instead of using a reader.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393754",
"author": "vlad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T12:15:55",
"content": "Not the first time I’ve seen this:http://www.avbrand.com/projects/powermonitor/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393763",
"author": "Morgauxo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T12:51:06",
"content": "I’d be a little concerned that somebody will see it and thing you are trying to slow down or reverse your meter.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393773",
"author": "some guy.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T13:19:54",
"content": "It’s a good device. A lot of meters have some type of IR port but be careful because some meters communicate internally within its own components over the IR port, which will cause your circuit to accumulate additional pulses. Also, not all of the meters are 1 pulse every watt-hour but the one you have is. Most residential meters are.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393774",
"author": "Beef",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T13:20:38",
"content": "They do have commercial units that do this. They clip on the meter and watch the IR like this hack.This one (for about $99) uses batteries and wireless to send up the readings:http://www.bluelineinnovations.com/Products/PowerCost-MonitorI’ve worked with this one, and it’s ok. It only sends to their IHD but could be hacked to give it more useful functions.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393788",
"author": "GameboyRMH",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:02:27",
"content": "It should be possible to do something similar for the old spinning disk type with just a few hardware modifications to this system. You’d just need to add an infrared transmitter LED and have it reflect light off the edge of the disc and into a receiver LED (similar to a cell phone’s IR proximity sensor). When the IR light dips, that’s the same as an IR flash on the newer models. The aiming of the transmitter and detector could be tricky, although you could look through a digital camera to make it easier.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393789",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:04:18",
"content": "If you want more accuracy and realtime load monitoring you need to move to a different scheme. that’s putting coils around your incoming lines and monitoring the load draw…Sadly it’s cheaper to buy the device to do this than build it….http://www.theenergydetective.com/ted5000-gI love it because the data is in XML format so I can do whatever i want with it. and I dont do the google integration. the expensive one with zigbee and the remote display is nice but a useless expense.Also many meters cant do the IR function. the “smart meters” they rolled out here they disable the IR output until they come to read it, which is never as it has a RF transmitter box on it.and yes I have needle probed their wires, no data that I can glean that is constantly sent, it only transmits when it wants to.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393797",
"author": "IceBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:30:38",
"content": "@fartface; why is it more accurate? Isn’t that essentially what the meter is doing?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393807",
"author": "nes",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:48:15",
"content": "Great hack. And presumably far more accurate than the type which clips around a meter tail which my power company gave me.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393813",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:57:05",
"content": "@icebrain: reading it every second actual power draw. and I have never seen those pulse counting meters be 100% accurate as you cant completely shroud the meter to get rid of any light interference… a windy but sunny day can cause issues when the sun is at the right angle…Remember the sun is 90,000,000 more power of a IR source than the puny led in the meter.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "702467",
"author": "srobidoux",
"timestamp": "2012-07-13T21:16:48",
"content": "This thread may be too old, but…What can be done and what I intend to try is an optical filter similar to this that blocks out anything that’s not IR.http://www.amazon.com/NEEWER%C2%AE-850nm-Infrared-Filter-Canon/dp/B003U66HEEI may need two instead of one but it’s worth a shot.",
"parent_id": "393813",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "393818",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T15:22:14",
"content": "imagine if people just turned things off to save energy rather than pretend they are saving energy by using more energy to monitor how much energy they use and keep track of a meaningless number and fumble around their house turning things on and off while watching the number change while instead they could just look on the thing thats plugged in and read how much energy each thing uses and then know how much energy each things use or just turn things off after they are finished using the thing they were using.power usage monitors are a gimmick made by power companiesthese are bad and you should feel bad",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "702474",
"author": "srobidoux",
"timestamp": "2012-07-13T21:28:14",
"content": "Monitors consume negligible power compared to what is wasted by not paying attention to usage. And nothing says you have to leave the monitor on once you’ve analyzed your situation.",
"parent_id": "393818",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "5470852",
"author": "db peters",
"timestamp": "2018-11-17T23:30:06",
"content": "The power consumption of these devices is actually minimal. But regardless of that being a truthful fact, I FEEL TERRIBLY BAD. Anytime We are told that We need to FEEL BAD, We need to seriously consider the source. With all the things in this world that make people feel BAD, why would You tell anyone “YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD” ? Please consider what You are saying…",
"parent_id": "393818",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "393839",
"author": "IceBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T16:02:16",
"content": "@fartface: reading it more times doesn’t make it more accurate. You’re right about sun interference, though. Luckily mine is completely enclosed by a wooden “box” inside my house ;)@pff: this kind of monitor uses a negligible amount of energy; the chosen uP uses 0.0047kWh *per year*, probably less than what our PC, the Hackaday server and the routers in between used to post your comment.Not to mention that this is way more useful than simply saving energy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393843",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T16:19:56",
"content": "thanks for all the comments. i certainly enjoyed building the monitor.@IceBrain — i agree, 500W is high. i’m working on it. :-)@Strofcon — meters like this also have radio capabilities. there’s no one walking up to the meter — they read it from the street, from a van.@vlad — thanks!! i hadn’t seen that project before. looks like he did a better job on the UI than i have. i’ll bet getting in touch with him…@some guy — from what i’ve read about the Itron meters, the IR led is a “Test LED”. it’s highly doubtful it pulses at anything other than its specified rate. (which as you say, is 1 w-h/pulse for mine — it’s printed on the front of the meter.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393857",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T16:43:14",
"content": "btw, i think the current probe method probably is indeed more accurate for “instant” readings. having to average the pulse intervals means that there’s a 15 or more second lag until the reading catches up with reality. and of course, if you miss a pulse, you’ll be off by 1 w-h. but my installation doesn’t lose pulses due to sunlight. and certainly not wind. (“windy but sunny”???)@pff — i’m not sure i should feel bad about wanting to know how much power i’m using. i can absolutely guarantee that this device will save me power in the long run.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393902",
"author": "Nardella",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T18:52:06",
"content": "You should contact your power company before attempting anything like this.Nice hack!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393910",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:07:07",
"content": "@texas toast — i don’t know why it got deleted. i was about to reply earlier, and then saw that it was gone. i don’t know the subtleties of “hack” vs. “mod” vs. “project”. i didn’t open the meter — that would dumb, and probably cost me fines. what i did was create a detector for the IR pulses that the meter emits, and code for interpreting and logging the results.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393914",
"author": "Standard Mischief",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:17:05",
"content": "I’ve got the same meter. It was installed after I noticed my power company had been (over) “estimating” my bill for eight months in a row.The new meter is read by short-haul radio when the meter reading van comes by. The old meter was read by pressing an inductive sensor up against a port on the outside wall. My actual meter is inside my garage.since there’s no longer a wheel that turns under the glass face, there’s a lame-ass simulation using a small LCD display, and this blinking led thing. I confirmed that it blinked by using a cell-phone camera and then “tapped” into it (outside the glass) by using a photo-diode connected to a parallel port pin. Beside that, there’s just a few simple scrips to keep track of the total blinks per day.I recall someone doing something similar using a laser points that was aimed at the holes in the rotating plate, but I can no longer find the link for some reason.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393915",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:17:29",
"content": "@texas — didn’t think you were bashing. the meter does contain RF, which is how the utility reads it. detecting an IR pulse is more within my skill set than reverse engineering a probably-encrypted radio protocol. :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393917",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:23:25",
"content": "@standard — i wish my meter was inside the garage. instead, it’s on a westward-facing wall, so most of my effort was being able to detect the pulses both in darkness and full sun.for people with inside meters, the job is much easier. there’s code in my git tree for using a serial port to read the pulses — if you set the baud rate right, the pulses appear as “break” conditions, and can be read as zeros from the tty.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393939",
"author": "Andres",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T20:37:04",
"content": "Good implementation. However you should be careful with how you are touching the actual device. In Florida it is illegal to alter or mount anything permanent on the meter. You may want to make sure your solution does not violate the power company’s guidelines or your government’s rules.Because i knew i could not attach anything to my meter, i used a flexible PVC pipe to connect my IR sensor.http://andres-leon.blogspot.com/2010/02/measuring-my-electricity-consumption.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393942",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T20:54:42",
"content": "@andres — i love the servo-controlled meter! i was thinking of doing something similar with a D/A converter and an old voltmeter, but the plywood and hand-drawn gauge are perfect.my meter’s read remotely, and the detector is only bungied to the bubble, so i’m not too worried. but your cautions are well-taken.i’m surprised i didn’t find your or avbrand’s projects when i was googling…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393944",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T21:01:08",
"content": "@texasBecause “this is not a hack” is an extremely tiresome argument on this website. We *know* some people may not consider something a hack, its been said 1000 times on 1000 posts. The point of this website is not to debate the use of the word ‘hack’ over and over again, its to show off neat projects that people have made and discuss them. So I don’t really blame a mod for deleting your comment if it was off topic. I totally understand you may not have realized it, but those discussions are just really annoying here.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393983",
"author": "Wattvision",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:09:50",
"content": "We’re surprised no one has mentioned our product yet. This is how we started in September 2008 — and we’ve since expanded to an easy-to-set-up end to end system that anyone can get (including non-hackers).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393988",
"author": "n17ikh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:31:50",
"content": "Funny – I did exactly this a few months ago and was planning on writing it up for HAD. My IR photodiode is in a radio shack project box hooked up to an attiny85 plugged into my NSLU2 via USB with some custom code using google graphs to get me some pretty charts.To those talking about accuracy, this is exactly as accurate as the meter itself is. I’ve never had problems with IR noise from the sun (or the wind.. Wind causing IR? Now I’ve heard everything.) The pulse is very bright and consistent, and it is easy to filter everything else out with some simple debouncing code. The sun doesn’t cause 10ms pulses. As for being an instantaneous reading – you don’t have to average over 15 readings or anything like that, you time the interval between the last two pulses seen and you get the reading for average power over the last second, which is close enough to instantaneous for me. Accuracy using this method is as good as the timer on your microcontroller, or PC if you’re using that. Since even at very high power draws the pulse happens on the order of hundreds of milliseconds, it’s easy to time the pulse within microseconds if you want to. If you do your timing on a PC you have to deal with the fact that your operating system is probably not hard real-time but for this application the added preemption latency probably doesn’t matter.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393991",
"author": "n17ikh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:35:26",
"content": "Forgot to mention, the Black and Decker device that does this has become very cheap. If it had been its current price when I built mine, I probably wouldn’t have DIY’d.http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-EM100B-Energy-Monitor/dp/B001ELJKLE",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393992",
"author": "Jeditalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:38:14",
"content": "i would occasionally stroll up to your meter and press a few buttons on a universal remote to make you shit your pants.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394009",
"author": "cmholm",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T00:26:19",
"content": "My analog meter was recently swapped out for a digital model, so I’ll do a bit of recon to see if this hack might work for me.Allowing my imagination to go overboard for a moment: I’m wondering if a currently unused Axis webcam and remote OCR might be able to reliably pull it off? One issue would be the need for nighttime illumination (IR or visible), and preventing glare.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394023",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T01:42:54",
"content": "After testing this, my meter emits the same IR pulse every kilowatt hour. But after loading a simple IR reader on my Arduino at each pulse it sends the value on the display of the meter.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394054",
"author": "CameronSS",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T03:52:24",
"content": "I mounted a commercial version of this on my power meter — hose clamp attached it to the glass bell, and an arm reached around front and watched for the black stripe on the spinning disk. It worked brilliantly until someone from the power company spotted it and demanded removal. At that point it became a “hazard” and a “barrier” to any of their people if they needed to get to the meter. Because we trust these people with high voltage but not with a flathead screwdriver?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394059",
"author": "geeknizer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T04:24:35",
"content": "O yeah, bring it on",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394130",
"author": "jukus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T09:00:43",
"content": "@pff you can’t manage what your not measuring",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394132",
"author": "jukus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T09:06:24",
"content": "I tried this simple approach too works a treat. Phase 2 – hack a cheap wireless doorbell into it for wireless monitoring to a(eth-sheilded)arduino that runs my x10 network.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394156",
"author": "ZeUs",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T11:09:20",
"content": "Why would it send an IR signal? Weird.Neat trick though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394194",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T13:42:27",
"content": "@n17ikh — re: accuracy — there will always be some delay when using the pulses to measure consumption. that delay isn’t present with current probes. but i agree that for real-world use, using the pulses is completely accurate enough.i will say that either my meter puts out weaker pulses than normal, or my phototransistor is the wrong one — i wouldn’t call my pulse “bright” in terms of the edge levels i’m seeing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394195",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T13:44:08",
"content": "@Jeditalian – not all IR signals are created equal. your IR remote wouldn’t have any effect on this detector.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394196",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T13:47:47",
"content": "@Andrew — i’m not sure i understand what you mean.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394197",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T13:53:11",
"content": "@Wattvision — perhaps no one has mentioned it because your product costs $250, and involves a $9/month service fee. i’m planning on writing a blog post about other power monitoring alternatives, and will probably include some commercial links. i’ll be sure and mention that you spammed these comments. ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394327",
"author": "Bharath Kishore",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T22:41:11",
"content": "In India we have power meters that have a rotary disc. It has a marking to know it’s in motion and at any point of time it’s angular velocity is directly proportional to the amount of power consumed at that instant. A stop watch, pen and paper would do the trick for me.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394550",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T17:48:55",
"content": "@bharath — we have those meters in the US, too. it’s only in the last 5 or 10 years that some areas have switched to fully electronic meters. the reason is that they can be read remotely, without someone needing to walk up to the meter to read it.pen and paper would work, of course, but you’d be standing at the meter a lot in order to make logs. :-)here’s a project where someone is attemhttp://letsmakerobots.com/node/23875pting to automate reading a meter like yours:",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394552",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-15T17:49:58",
"content": "oops. pasted in the middle. that URL should be:http://letsmakerobots.com/node/23875",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394788",
"author": "pgf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T14:54:41",
"content": "i’ve added a new blog post at the irmetermon project page listing many of the similar projects mentioned here, and others i’d found earlier. please add more in the comments on that page — it’d be good to have a more complete list.-paul",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395274",
"author": "John L.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T16:43:44",
"content": "I did something similar to this for my water meter. I used a pic processor and an xbee transmitter to send the info to my pc. I used google charting software to display the data.Checkout http;//watermeter.limewebs.comI count the revolutions of the magnet inside the water meter. With an IR sensor, I should be able to use the same hardware on my XCEL energy power meter.Charts for water usage are athttp://watermeter.limewebs.com/html/may.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "997718",
"author": "Sean",
"timestamp": "2013-04-25T18:17:48",
"content": "I might go back and try the spinning disk method, didn’t even consider measuring the rate of change. Reading the dials wasn’t going well for my electricity meter, but for a better-behaved water meter in a dark cupboard, ‘reading’ the numbers worked OK:http://firtl.com/2013/04/25/read-gas-water-electricity-meter-with-webcam/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,191.773829
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/12/chipkit-max32-an-arduino-mega-upgrade-with-a-pic32-under-the-hood/
|
ChipKIT Max32, An Arduino Mega Upgrade With A PIC32 Under The Hood
|
Jesse Congdon
|
[
"Arduino Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino mega",
"max32",
"pic32"
] |
For those of you who are looking to put some power behind your Arduino shields, Digilent just released their
chipKIT Max32
prototyping platform. The board features a Pic 32 microcontroller, USB programmer and all the things you would typically expect from a development board.
The PIC32MX795F512 is a 32-bit MIPS processor core running at 80Mhz, 512KB flash memory and packs 128KB of SRAM data memory. Digilent also mentions utilizing the Pic’s built in USB 2 controller, 10/100 Ethernet and dual CAN controllers, but these will require shields specific to the chipKIT Max32. The board is also fully compatible with Arduino IDE and libraries as well as MPLAB and the PICKit3 in-system programmer/debugger.
With a price point just below the Arduino Mega 2560 this looks like a great resource for anyone looking to upgrade their Arduino
webserver
, or just embarrass their
Arduino Arduino shield
. Maybe it’ll just spawn some interesting
gameduino
upgrades. It can certainly cut down on
extraneous Arduino usage
. Either way we’ll be on the lookout to see what this performance bump can bring to table!
| 91
| 50
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393472",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T20:16:20",
"content": "Love me some 32bit micros.You kinda glossed over the fact that it’s compatible with Arduino IDE as does the website you link to.When you say compatible with arduino IDE, do you also mean the arduino libraries?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393475",
"author": "fred",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T20:24:39",
"content": "@Spork“The board is also fully compatible with Arduino IDE and libraries”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393478",
"author": "hekilledmywire",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T20:38:38",
"content": "I cant believe I’m designing a similar board -.-",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393485",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T20:55:27",
"content": "WOW.. this is pretty sweet.I kept hoping that the “Netduino” boards would actually become Arduino-compatible (instead of confusingly implying so).Basically, this is all I really wanted… more powerful hardware in the super friendly Arduino package.This looks powerful enough to masquerade other hardware… say, providing a SD card bridge for a Commodore 64 or Atari ST. Or maybe you can do Ethernet right off of the pins (no extra hardware necessary?).Tie this in with the Google accessory API… wow!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393489",
"author": "Adrian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:18:44",
"content": "Only negative I have to say about this is that I hate that the non-standard pin header distances are becoming “standardized”. Other than that, awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393495",
"author": "poslathian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:37:50",
"content": "dual CAN bus is nice. Has anyone played with one of these? I wonder how “fully compatible” this really is the Arduino IDE and libraries. Seems like a lot of work to port everything to pic32 no? It was certainly a ton of work to port everything over to cortex m3 for the leaflabs Maple board.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393496",
"author": "poslathian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:39:41",
"content": "also, I wonder what licensing is in play here, digilent is usually pretty bad about closed source windows only tools.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393497",
"author": "BiOzZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:40:56",
"content": "i was never a fan of pics … i always loved AVRs and ARMs XD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393507",
"author": "Taylor Cox",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:58:26",
"content": "One of my EE professors at Washington State University is the owner of Digilent. I am only a five minute drive away in Pullman WA…hope to get an internship there this next summer.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393508",
"author": "Marks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:58:46",
"content": "Please please somebody do this for the analog devices Blackfin. 400Mhz DSP – then we can do some computer vision with these boards too",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393511",
"author": "Taylor Cox",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T22:00:18",
"content": "My EE professor at Washington State University is the owner and founder of Digilent :) Only five minute drive for me to the main building…hope to get an internship their this next summer.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393514",
"author": "ftorama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T22:04:54",
"content": "Well….I’ll play with a Maple from Leaflabs instead….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393515",
"author": "Reid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T22:06:11",
"content": "Awesome! I work literally just around the corner from Digilent. I had no idea that they made non-FPGA dev boards there…very neat!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393518",
"author": "hpux735",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T22:14:19",
"content": "Awesome. I’m more excited about this because if microchip can support a arduino clone, that means that the pic development tool chain can support it. This is a win. Hopefully they mean support the arduino IDE means on all platforms (linux/mac)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393526",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T22:31:05",
"content": "@fredguess I missed that, thanks.That is really cool. I am more of an ARM fan for 32bit, but this will be nice for arduino project upgrades. Glad to see this kind of progression as the norm shifts to 32bit.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393537",
"author": "Sodor",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T23:21:19",
"content": "@hekilledmywireMe too HA!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393542",
"author": "Taylor Cox",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T23:49:34",
"content": "you too what?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393549",
"author": "Charles Gantt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T00:15:47",
"content": "I have one on the way courtesy of Microchip. Should be here in the next few days. I did not think the official launch was until next Wed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393560",
"author": "cgmark",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T00:43:29",
"content": "Some of the other features not mentioned are the Real time clock calendar so no need for external time keeping, hardware IrDA support so it can communicate with laptops and printers using IR.I can’t see it happily coexisting with the arduino IDE though if someone wants to use the full power of the chip. There are just too many functions that this chip has that the ardunio doesn’t . I would definitely look at using C on it from hitech or others . To use it like another arduino would be like only playing DVD on a bluray player, yeah it plays them and it looks good but you are missing out on some of the best things about the hardware.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393572",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T01:22:51",
"content": "“The board is also fully compatible with Arduino IDE and libraries”I didn’t see any evidence that this is actually true. I mean, theoretically PIC32 is supported by gcc so it’s not out of the question, but I didn’t see any downloads, I don’t know of any support by the Arduino IDE for alternate compilers, and a lot of people have discovered that porting libraries isn’t as simple as it would seem (even between AVR families) once you consider the rather large base of rather poorly documented libraries that exist.It still looks like a pretty sweet board for the price, though. It could certainly give some of the ARM contenders a run for their money.Did you see there is also a “small” version:http://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Detail.cfm?NavPath=2,892,893&Prod=CHIPKIT-UNO32",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393573",
"author": "MattQ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T01:26:57",
"content": "I might be in the minority, but I kind of like PICs. PIC32 bundles in a ton of communication tools, so I hope to see some sweet ethernet/usb projects. Real question, why is the alternate text perfectforLEDflashing? Isn’t that a little over kill?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393574",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T01:30:18",
"content": "Nice EAGLE schematic. I like the way that they split up the PIC32. Also interesting that it still has an FTDI for the USB/Serial converter, considering that microchip offers a competing chip. I guess this is essentially a “leak” and full details will come out closer to the “ship” date of 21-May ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393593",
"author": "Will",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T02:18:39",
"content": "I’ll have a review sample in my hand within a week, will post details on TBCS!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393601",
"author": "pt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T02:31:58",
"content": "“The board is also fully compatible with Arduino IDE and libraries”@westfW is correct, our first question was “is it actually fully compatible with Arduino IDE and libraries”. i think the answer is not yet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393605",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T02:57:21",
"content": "PIC32 is very powerful indeed. FYI the Keurig coffee makers use them, although I doubt they even use a fraction of the processing power for that application.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393660",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T07:59:14",
"content": "Shame that the ethernet is not on the main board. That would make it a real killer.But with the very high priced Arduino Mega2560, this was bound to happen. I rather had seen an AVR32, or an ARM. But it works :)They also have a smaller PIC32 on a slightly different form factor:http://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Detail.cfm?NavPath=2,719,896&Prod=CHIPKIT-UNO32But it’s much better priced (26$)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393668",
"author": "makomk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T08:46:46",
"content": "Last time I checked the PIC32 compiler and toolchain was Windows-only. Even though the compiler is just a slightly modified version of the open source GCC MIPS compiler, Microchip’s licensing conditions on the PIC32 libraries and headers forbid you from recompiling the compiler – including recompiling it to run on another OS.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393669",
"author": "makomk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T08:47:45",
"content": "So thanks, but I think I’ll pass. The licensing on AVR tools is just so much nicer.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393724",
"author": "X",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T11:34:28",
"content": "Do ppl not read the summary? IF this can be coded using the Arduino IDE and Processing language, then what does it matter if some /other/ IDE is Windows only or has bas licensing terms?It might just be that Arduino IDE is now the CPU agnostic development chain it was always intended to someday become…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393736",
"author": "JimParker",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T11:45:59",
"content": "@makomk I don’t think that will be an issue now that Microchip’s new and soon to be released MPLAB X IDE will be cross-platform.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393759",
"author": "cgimark",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T12:26:40",
"content": "@MattQNothing wrong with liking pic, I like them as well. Arduino is popular because it is easy for beginners to understand, though pic isn’t hard either. PICs really have a lot going for them in the hardware area and price points. You can get pics like the 18F13K22 that run at 64Mhz and have 18 I/O, for $2.00 each. I think the programming aspect is what scares people away. But microchip sells the pickit 3 programmer on their site for $34.95 and that works with all pics.There is also a ton of software that people can use for free like swordfish basic if they want to start with something arduino like.http://www.sfcompiler.co.uk/swordfish/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393783",
"author": "specv002",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T13:50:18",
"content": "The PIC32 7 series is the buggiest mCU i have ever worked with. I just graduated college as an EE, my senior project was a robot driven by the PIC 32. I found that it had bugs that were unexplainable. For instance i used the SPI peripheral to comm with a gyro, and a PWM to drive an H bridge circuit, sometimes the SPI would turn the PWM off. So it was a guess which peripheral would work. I dont know if it was the PIC 32 starter kit or the chip but too many bugs, I read the errata cover to cover and found nothing. None of my teachers could explain it either.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393800",
"author": "Taylor Cox",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:35:23",
"content": "@Reid. Do you live over in Pullman?? Do you know Clint Cole?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393803",
"author": "DJ JD",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:45:25",
"content": "@ftorama – I’ll play with this UNO clone if it’s $20 cheaper than Leaflabs… And much more powerful than the Arduino version.Ditto on comments about PIC toolchains – this isn’t even Microchip’s board, it’s Digilent’s. TBD on how well they make it work in the Arduino IDE but if they pull it off, that’s fricken sweet. Seems like those of us who don’t get early samples will find out May 21st…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393804",
"author": "makomk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:45:30",
"content": "X: Arduino is very muchnotCPU agnostic. The standard Arduino release compiles code to AVR binaries; whatever the chipKIT Max32 webpage might claim those aren’t going to run on a PIC32. Now, it’s possible in theory to modify it to compile code for a different platform – but that means supplying your own C compiler and libraries, and the ones for PIC32 are Windows only and have onerous licensing conditions.JimParker: ah, that’s somewhat better. Presumably it still has the lovely copy protection that disables compiler optimisations (most or all of which were actually developed by GCC contributors) after a “trial” period, ties your license to a particular machine, etc though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393805",
"author": "addidis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:45:58",
"content": "@DaidI dont think the pickit will fit onto that 25$ board while either the usb or power cable is attached.@jimparkerYou can actually use mplabx now. The links are easy.http://www.microchip.com/mplabxyou could also tryhttp://www.microchip.com/arduinohttp://www.microchip.com/androidetc etcIf you havent looked into Microchip , you probably should .",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393808",
"author": "addidis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:48:48",
"content": "I guess if you dont use 90 o headers it would work on second thought. There appears to be a coffee shortage today.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393827",
"author": "ftorama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T15:41:41",
"content": "@cgimarkThe PIC18F13K22 runs at 64MHz but each instruction needs 4 instruction cycles to excute, so it really runs at 16 MHz. Adding the poor assembler, you’ll see that an ATmega is much more powerful than this",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393842",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T16:19:19",
"content": "@makomk: “Microchip’s licensing conditions on the PIC32 libraries and headers forbid you from recompiling the compiler – including recompiling it to run on another OS.”Reference? I hadn’t heard that part before. The “missing optimization” when using the gcc-based compilers (pic24, pic32) is some sort of microchip-added global optimization, not the basic optimizations that the HiTech compiler has been dissed for not doing on pic16/pic18. I think.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393918",
"author": "makomk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:25:16",
"content": "WestfW:all -O2 and higher optimisations, apparently, unless they’ve changed it. (For those not familiar with GCC, those are all standard generic GCC optimisations as far as I can tell.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393924",
"author": "makomk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:37:53",
"content": "Hmmmm. Looks like itmightonly be the GCC-based Microchip C18 and C30 compilers that have thereally nasty anti-open source restrictions, but no-one’s dared test this yet.It’s far from clear Microchip are in a position to restrict their use – they didn’t even write the standard libraries for PIC32, instead appearing to have used the MIPS ones – but that might not stop them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393978",
"author": "cgimark",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T22:38:10",
"content": "@ftoramaYou need to look at page 280 of the data sheet. Almost all are 1 instruction cycle except compares which naturally take 2 or 3 cycles depending on the result. Hardware multiplies are 1 cycle as well. Add to that I2c that runs at 16Mbps and it is a hard chip to beat for $2",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393986",
"author": "hekilledmywire",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T23:29:10",
"content": "Well, I’m also using PIC32 in one of my classes, we are more than 260 students using them an no one as yet found an hardware bug, my professors are also using it in the MSL team, and in a lot of other classes.You can donwload MPLabX that runs under Linux, Windows and Mac, the same for the compilers.Yes the compiler as some limitations in the free/lite/student version, but you dont gain a lot using the super agressive optimizations because almost all the libs where re-written in hand-crafted assembler, so the compiler cant optimized them much more, and if you really want and you are using for personnal and non commercial use, just download the source and compile it, you are free to do it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394063",
"author": "Dave Jones",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T04:50:10",
"content": "This product release was under an embargo until May 23rd – OOPS.Guess i can mention it now on The AmpHour now the cat is out of the bag?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394066",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T05:03:25",
"content": "The digilentinc web page has been updated to say:“Program using a modified version of the Arduino IDE, available as a free download for PC, Mac OS, and Linux. (Coming 5/21)”I’m a whole lot more comfortable with that statement. Three cheers to Digilent for clarifying the situation!> this isn’t even Microchip’s board, it’s Digilent’s.I think that (one of?) Digilents target markets is to design and “manufacture” evaluation boards for semiconductor manufacturers. I have a Xilinx “starter kit” in a fancy box that says “Xilinx” all over it, purchased directly from Xilinx at a trade show, that has “DigilentInc” on the actual PCB. It sounds like a fun business; always getting to play with the newest toys… I wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being Microchip’s next PIC32 eval board.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394100",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T05:50:11",
"content": "“(Coming 5/21)”Hmm. For Maker Faire? I see Microchip is a vendor this year. oughta be a lot more interesting than a multi-hundred-dollar “sunspot.” I’ll SO be buying one if there’s a Faire Discount (and there are any left…)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394116",
"author": "ftorama",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T07:46:07",
"content": "@cgimarkLook at the product page: 16MIPS for 64MHz1 instruction cycle needs 4 clock cycles. All PICs below PIC24 work like thisPIC24 and some DsPIC (need to verify for them) work at half the clock speed.On PIC18, the PLL is here to compensate the core’s low speed.Only PIC32 seem to work at their actual clock speed",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394200",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T14:03:33",
"content": "@ftoramadont forget that 4 cycles give stability and ability to wake up exactly each time",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394911",
"author": "Roman Dulgarov",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T20:26:07",
"content": "Why is there a FTDI on it period? That entire family has built in USB-OTG. A waste of UART if it’s connected to that instead.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394914",
"author": "am_i_evil",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T20:41:11",
"content": "@Roman DulgarovDo you know for a fact that the FTDI is completely redundant, and there is absolutely -no- advantage to it?It may just be that the FTDI enables greater power savings (as little dedicated chips sometimes do vs. processors). Or maybe it’s another technical advantage (freeing up the processor to do more things or have more pins available). Or maybe it was done simply to facilitate a rush to market, by copying as much of the Arduino as possible.I would wait for a hands-on review before forming any opinion of it being “wasteful”..(Also, it seems wrong to look at any Arduino through the lens of “wasteful”. It’s a very general purpose board with a lot of stuff added on to make it easily approachable. Relax. :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,191.68119
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/12/plastic-plate-capacitors/
|
Plastic Plate Capacitors
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"HackIt"
] |
[
"diy capacitors"
] |
We have been featuring some home made capacitors this week, and [Mike] wrote in to share his with us. While rolled capacitors are nice, they can be somewhat difficult to construct and grow to unwieldy sizes as capacitance and voltages increase. His solution is to
stack the layers up using plastic plates
.
In this forum post he explains that using disposable plastic plates and tinfoil you’re able to quickly make a capacitor, that for him was valued at around 12.2nF, using eleven layers . Applying pressure to the stack capacitance grew to about 14nF, though he is having a bit of trouble holding it with just glue.
Testing was conducted with high voltages charging the capacitor up, then its leads were shorted for a nice spark and a good pop. Definitely fun for the next family cook out, though we don’t know how some left over potato salad goo would effect the end results.
| 12
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393453",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T19:14:03",
"content": "Seems like DIY capacitors should be a right of passage project (among others) for EE students.I remember building HV beer-bottle caps in High School.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393467",
"author": "Homer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T20:12:23",
"content": "I remember making capacitors with plastic drinking cups in Physics II in high school. Fun times: charge it up, throw it at a friend who isn’t in Physics (or one that is, either was hilarious)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393488",
"author": "aztraph",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:15:36",
"content": "Ok, Kudos for making capacitors. but those are a couple of microwave transformers in the background there, I pray you know what you are doing. 2,000 volts at 5 to 8 amps kills quickly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393499",
"author": "Ed",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:45:18",
"content": "Capacitor fever at hack-a-day.Next week — knit your own diodes",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393504",
"author": "Jack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:55:29",
"content": "I also did a double take with the series MOTs. He has them set apart with the box, so I think he has an idea what he is doing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393565",
"author": "jeditalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T00:57:13",
"content": "tater salad goo would convert it into an electrolytic capacitor, which would be leaking and therefore its capacity diminished.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393584",
"author": "danielmiester",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T01:51:30",
"content": "I can’t remember where I saw the pic. but At one point during the initial development and utilization of radio, they were building transmitters with HUGE HALLS and filling those halls with parallel plates to create the needed capacitance at the many kV they were running at.This pic showed a man standing at the base of one of these plates, a sheet >20ft wide and 80ft tall!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393665",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T08:39:38",
"content": "hehe potato…potato POTATO SALAD…OF COURSE!!!!(runs from the room)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393728",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T11:42:44",
"content": "The capacitor was roughly 12.2nF",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393733",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T11:44:26",
"content": "“though he is having a bit of trouble holding it with just glue.”Clamp the plates, like if you are making a laminate.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393979",
"author": "Mousefinder General",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T22:45:05",
"content": "Lookie here for an absolutely fascinating account of the construction of a radio in a WWII Japanese POW camp:http://histru.bournemouth.ac.uk/CHiDE/Oral_History_of_Defence_Electronics/r_g_wells.htmThe prisoners manufactured capacitors, resistors and an AC-DC rectifier all from things they could steal from around the camp!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "910252",
"author": "H3ll0_w0rld",
"timestamp": "2012-12-27T16:31:11",
"content": "Amazing story thanks for the tip Mousefinder!",
"parent_id": "393979",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
}
] | 1,760,377,191.827858
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/12/papercraft-flowers-teach-kids-about-batteries/
|
Papercraft Flowers Teach Kids About Batteries
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"how-to"
] |
[
"batteries",
"how-to",
"kids",
"learning",
"leds",
"workshop"
] |
[Emily Daniels] has been teaching interactive electronics workshops geared towards children for some time now, recently holding a session
that demonstrated how batteries work in a pretty novel fashion
.
She wanted to keep things safe and simple due to the class size, so she didn’t want to rely on using soldering irons for the demonstration. Instead, she showed the children how batteries function by building simple voltaic cells with paper flowers, salt water, and LEDs. The paper flowers’ absorbency was used to act as a salt bridge between the wire pairs that adorned each petal. After salt water was applied to each of the flower’s petals, the center-mounted LED came to life, much to the amazement of her class.
The concept is quite simple, and the LED flowers are pretty easy to build,
as you can see in her Instructables tutorial
.
We think it’s a great way to demonstrate these sorts of simple concepts to kids, and hope to see more like it.
[via
Adafruit blog
]
| 6
| 6
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393430",
"author": "razorconcepts",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:25:51",
"content": "We already saw more like it… one year ago right here!http://hackaday.com/2009/04/05/simple-elegant-lemon-battery/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393433",
"author": "James DeMond",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:33:13",
"content": "Two years ago chief… and a month. :)Wow! Good job!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393440",
"author": "Hunter",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:46:13",
"content": "Teachers like that are AWESOME!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393493",
"author": "Mike of England",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:30:48",
"content": "Wish I had a teacher like that :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393531",
"author": "AaronM",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T22:45:42",
"content": "Hrm were studying voltaic cells in chemistry rigt now. Gonna link this to her :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393562",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T00:50:50",
"content": "Insert portal 2 joke here",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,191.869514
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/12/macetech-is-looking-for-a-few-good-processing-programmers/
|
Macetech Is Looking For A Few Good Processing Programmers
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"cons"
] |
[
"led",
"maker faire",
"processing"
] |
[Garrett Mace] wrote to us in hopes of
finding a few good programmers to help him out
with a project he’s been working on for Maker Faire Bay Area 2011.
More specifically, he is looking for Processing programmers who are also pretty decent with graphics. Macetech’s big project for this year’s Maker Faire is a large overhead light matrix constructed from Chinese lanterns. They are using their new Satellite LED modules to light the 128-lantern array, which is laid out in a 16×8 matrix.
It seems that the Macetech crew has been so busy getting the array built and tested that they don’t have much time to program any visualizations for it – that’s where you come in. If you are so inclined, simply download his matrix simulation code, put together some cool displays, and send them his way. [Garrett] says that they will be taking video of the visualizations, so even if you can’t attend Maker Faire, we will all be able to enjoy your hard work (though it would be pretty cool if they sent contributors a Satellite LED module “sample” as well!)
Keep reading to see a quick demo video of the simulation software to get an idea of what they are looking for visualization-wise.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xCme0qkiTM&w=470]
| 7
| 7
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393400",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T17:27:09",
"content": "Nice looks like it’ll be fun",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393403",
"author": "Andrew O'Malley",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T17:30:10",
"content": "Cool, will give this a shot!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393426",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:21:15",
"content": "Thanks for posting this…looking forward to the cool animations over the next week. You don’t even have to be good at writing code, that’s why we’re using Processing :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393434",
"author": "DanJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:39:19",
"content": "I assume that there is some mechanism in the final application to take the pixellated data and shove it out to the LED controllers? You’re just going to take the algorithm from programs people come up with using your example code and port it into the final system?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393437",
"author": "DanJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:40:49",
"content": "Oh, and exactly what publicity do people get for doing this for you? :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393439",
"author": "xeracy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:45:27",
"content": "Will do!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393454",
"author": "macegr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T19:16:07",
"content": "DanJ: There is a mechanism for sending out the data, it works fine but is removed from the simulator to keep things simple.We’ll credit everyone in the code if they include their info, and release the entire code for anyone to use if they want.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,191.915287
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/12/adding-a-tachometer-to-the-sx2-mini-mill/
|
Adding A Tachometer To The SX2 Mini Mill
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"cnc hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"cnc",
"mill",
"sx2",
"tachometer"
] |
[Jeff] recently bought an SX2 mini milling machine with plans to eventually automate it for use as a CNC mill. After paying nearly $700 for the mill, he decided there was no way he was willing to pay for the $125 tachometer add on as well. Instead,
he reverse-engineered the mill and constructed a tachometer of his own
.
He opened the control box and started looking around. After identifying most of the components, he got sidetracked by a 3-pin header that didn’t seem to have any particular function. That is, until he realized that a lathe by the same manufacturer uses the same components, and figured that the header might be used for reversing the motor. Sure enough he was right, and after adding a reverse switch, he got back to business.
He probed the 7-pin socket with his logic analyzer and quickly picked out the mill’s data line. He hooked the line up to an Arduino and in no time had the RPM displayed on an LCD screen.
[Jeff] says that this little experiment is the first of many, since the mill is so hacker friendly. We definitely look forward to seeing a CNC conversion tutorial in the near future.
| 13
| 13
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393370",
"author": "BiOzZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T15:25:56",
"content": "firsties,very good job! … short and simple and saves a buck",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393371",
"author": "ProfP",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T15:27:46",
"content": "Nice Hack.BTW, it’s RPM not ‘RPMs’ – it stands for Revolutions Per Minute.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393383",
"author": "Squintz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T16:35:28",
"content": "Lame!Sike…Nice going Jeff! Hope you get rich off your kits for this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393386",
"author": "Macpod",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T16:42:28",
"content": "Oh hey, it’s my hack :)Derp, The difference between RPM vs. RPMs is now noted. I still have quite a bit to learn in the world of machining.After I figured out the protocol, I made some tachometer kits using KiCad. It has some kinks/annoyances which I hope to work out, but it’s worth a try if folks are looking for an alternative to Eagle. Just make sure you download a copy from the site vs. using the old copy that is in Ubuntu and probably other linux distros repos.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393389",
"author": "JCO",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T16:53:35",
"content": "Nice job! I bought a G0619 from Grizzly a while ago and it included a tach and a Z axis DRO. I’ve been thinking about ways to add a readout to the x and y axis. So nice to have something to do rough work on at home though.Look forward to hearing about the CNC conversion!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393452",
"author": "Fritoeata",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T19:08:52",
"content": "@ProfP…You’re correct. I’m a toolmaker and use mills all day long. That’s what I thought from initial glance at pic.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393486",
"author": "voodoo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:03:20",
"content": "SX2 at a US distributor! I had almost given up. (wallet runs and hides in corner…)How about machining a nice enclosure for that board with your fancy new machine.…and omg! it’s the forknife guy! teach him to make you dinner yet? ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393590",
"author": "error404",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T02:05:58",
"content": "Awesome job reversing the protocol. I know it would’ve been quite the leap for me to get to bits in the control protocol representing LED segments. Props for taking that guess.Wouldn’t you prefer a big-ish 7-seg LED display for this though? It seems that the tiny LCD text would be difficult to use when you’re actually machining something.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393595",
"author": "macpod",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T02:22:56",
"content": "@voodooWorking on it! Right now I’m trying to stuff all the electronics into one box for convenience sake. I don’t have much space in my kitchen.As for the robot, I tried, but they always skip to making dessert. :( They have some strange fascination with honeycombs right now…@error404YES! :)I used an arduino and LCD only for prototyping. After I reverse-engineered everything and verified it worked, I made custom pcb board kits with 0.53″ 7-Segment LEDs. These are visible from way across the room. You can see those here:http://macpod.net/misc/sx2_tachometer/sx2_tachometer_kit.php",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393671",
"author": "stunmonkey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T08:53:04",
"content": "I am liking this, but you should know that for that specific application the Arduino is completely superfluous (other than being a requirement for getting you listed here, so I guess it does do something…)If you take a $2 opto sensor, point it at any shaft or pulley, and mark the pulley with a sharpie to get a single dark line on the item you are pointing the opto at, you have a functioning tachometer.All you have to do is connect one wire from the opto to one of the input pins of the parallel port you already have anyway (as its required to run the machine), then tell the software running the machine what pin it is (and all current programs have tachometer functionality built in already).Done in one, and the display is right there with all the rest of the needed data to run and calibrate the machine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393900",
"author": "boarder2k7",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T18:42:04",
"content": "@stunmonkeyRead the post above yours where he said the Arduino was only used to prototype it, and then he made a display using a MAX 7219. The benefit of this is that you don’t have to have a computer on to measure the speed of the mill.Besides, it’s a nice hack that interfaces in a very professional manner to the stock port, thus keeping any added sensors away from moving parts where they could theoretically get caught.Also, what is with the Arduino hate from everyone? We should be happy that more people are getting in to building/hacking because of them rather than complaining about their over use. Just my $0.02",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394202",
"author": "stunmonkey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T14:11:46",
"content": "@boarder2k7I agree its a great hack to use the existing port. That was some smart hacking.However, I don’t see why it would be of value to see what the rpm is without a computer running, as if it is a CNC mill like the project envisions, it sort of requires a computer to be on to function pretty much by definition. I guess thats the part that confuses me – why have a readout separated from the screen with all the other pertinent data required to run it, especially when there is a spot for it right there onscreen already? Why make two different places you have to constantly look between to operate the mill?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394205",
"author": "Macpod",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T14:36:02",
"content": "@stunmonkeyI’m far from the richest man in the world. My plan was to buy the mill and use it as a manual mill for a while until I saved up enough funds to make it a cnc setup. It’s probably not a bad idea anyhow since I am a novice in regards to machining in general. Gotta learn how to crawl before you walk!Someone else has already probed the uC daughter board for the mill on the cnczone forms (lots of great stuff in the “benchtop mills” section), made a board using radioshack components to ttl-ify the signal, and shot it over the parallel port into mach3. I can’t remember if they are using a signal from one of the hall effect sensors or a signal that drives the motor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,191.966072
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/12/bringing-the-game-of-tag-into-the-digital-age/
|
Bringing The Game Of Tag Into The Digital Age
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"LED Hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"game",
"led",
"lumalive",
"RF",
"tag"
] |
How long has it been since you’ve played a game of tag?
[Sylvia Cheng, Kibum Kim, and Roel Vertegaal] from Queen’s University’s human media lab
have concocted a fun twist on the classic game
that just might compel you to start playing again.
Their game, called TagURIt, arms two players with Lumalive LED t-shirts which sport embedded touch sensors. A third player, known as the “chaser” attempts to touch either of the other players in order to capture the token displayed on the player’s chest-based LED matrix. The game is score-based, awarding points to the chaser for capturing tokens, while giving the other players points for avoiding capture.
If both players wearing the LED shirts are near to one another, the token will jump to the other player in an attempt to thwart the chaser. In this game, each player is a location-tagged URI, and proximity is determined by either tracking the users with cameras indoors, or via RF sensors if the game is played outside.
It is definitely an interesting way of playing tag, and we imagine it could be quite fun in large groups.
Continue reading to see a video demonstration of the TagURIt game being played.
[via
Adafruit blog
]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_7i-xGztQc&w=470]
| 8
| 8
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393326",
"author": "The Cageybee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T12:02:18",
"content": "I’m liking the matrix on it. Love to know how they did that.As for the game bit, it’ll only end in tears! :(",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393328",
"author": "brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T12:13:11",
"content": "the last thing i need is a luminous goomba to emphasize my gut.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393335",
"author": "Thor",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T12:51:10",
"content": "Brilliant!Fantastic integration of video game style technology and interaction with EXERCISE. Might be just what is needed to get children raised on video games to physically interact and play with others.Properly done, could earn millions with hope of improved health for our children.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393356",
"author": "j_jwalrus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T14:36:32",
"content": "soo where do i get one of those t-shirts? minus the mario mushrooms, ill hack my own.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393379",
"author": "kad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T16:18:30",
"content": "Wish I had that when I was a kid!Adding a “zombies” mode might be interesting too. Who ever has the token is a zombie. If they touch another, they get a token which means they are a zombie too. Last man standing wins.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393418",
"author": "Erik Johnson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:10:50",
"content": "I saw the picture and for an instant thought it was my shirt :ohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo13f5NRZJg",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "395243",
"author": "Wolf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-17T15:31:38",
"content": "I’ll second the zombies mode. I’d also like to see a “base station” instead of having one of the players having to wear the hardware.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "623017",
"author": "Boyce Morring",
"timestamp": "2012-04-07T03:28:56",
"content": "For all support questions, please visit our Cruz Support Hub!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.010414
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/11/automating-rock-band-vocals/
|
Automating Rock Band Vocals
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Musical Hacks",
"Playstation Hacks"
] |
[
"atmega644",
"playstation",
"rock band",
"vocals"
] |
When it comes to Rock Band, our friends suck at singing. No, really.
We’re cool with them beating on the drum set completely off-time, but the sound of them trying to sing “Tom Sawyer” makes us want to cut out our eardrums.
We’re willing to bet that Cornell students [Gautam Kamath and Dominick Grochowina] have friends like ours. Their Electrical and Computer Engineering final project
aims to remove the tone deaf from in front of the microphone, allowing a computer to sing vocals instead
.
Since Rock Band simply listens for the proper frequency to be sung, the pair figured it would be easy enough to monitor the game’s output and feed computer-generated signals back into the microphone. Once the game’s vocal bar is isolated via a series of filters, an ATMega644 is used to interpret the notes and generate the corresponding tone via a speaker.
While automating Rock Band gameplay is nothing new, we don’t recall seeing anyone try to cut the singer from the band. We think it’s a pretty cool concept – rock on!
Edit: Updated with video
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc-qScQR5uY&w=470]
| 22
| 22
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393080",
"author": "akeldamach",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T22:20:55",
"content": "video or it didn’t happen",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393083",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T22:33:59",
"content": "Too bad, they didn’t shoot a video…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393086",
"author": "Pedro",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T22:38:31",
"content": "Rush are awesome. That is all.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393089",
"author": "the_seamonkey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T22:41:00",
"content": "cool hack but takes the fun out of rockband imo. i just think you need to hang out w/more tone friendly pals ;)however, i know a few pals that could def use this hack for when i’m not singing. hehe",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393097",
"author": "Andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T23:06:40",
"content": "What an overly complicated project. There were a couple achievements in Rock Band 1 related to vocals. One was something like beat the game on vocals, and another was get 100% on a song on expert vocals. Well, you can play an electric keyboard and have it pass for vocals (works much better without going through airwaves first; i.e. hook up headphone output of piano to headset input of 360 controller in my case). I tried to do this, but it was rather difficult to translate the display on screen into notes on a keyboard. So instead, I ripped the game disc to my computer, extracted the iso, and opened the game archive with some program I found that searches inside container files for known file types. I searched for midi files, since I knew that was how the song data was stored (what the game uses for notes [for every instrument], not the audio you hear), and extracted those. Then I would simply edit the midi files so only the vocal track remained (got rid of all the other tracks, and also deleted extra info in the vocal track, like star power phrases). Then I hooked up my computers audio output to a 360 controllers mic input, and simply played back the game’s own files. I still had to sync them up, but that wasn’t too bad just to pass the song (to get that 100% though, that was difficult). Also, strangely I couldn’t get a song or two to work, and ended up just opening the midi in an editor and using the notes from that and playing it myself on the keyboard.Anyway, this was much easier than this project here.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393109",
"author": "Eric",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T23:29:37",
"content": "Andrew – that is a very clever solution. But I don’t think these students would have been able to use it as a final ECE project. :)I wish they had a video!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393112",
"author": "maus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T23:44:06",
"content": "“I searched for midi files, since I knew that was how the song data was stored (what the game uses for notes [for every instrument], not the audio you hear), and extracted those. Then I would simply edit the midi files so only the vocal track remained (got rid of all the other tracks, and also deleted extra info in the vocal track, like star power phrases). ”Or you could just extract the isolated vocal audio track, which is far easier than your steps.What’s your point? Your solution is dull. This is overcomplicated but interesting.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393114",
"author": "ibedazzled",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T23:56:09",
"content": "hearing anyone sing tom sawyer makes me want to cut out my eardrums",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393130",
"author": "keebler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T00:41:26",
"content": "“We’re cool with them beating on the drum set completely off-time”should be *their* not them",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393134",
"author": "DanAdamKOF",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T00:56:03",
"content": "Heh I’ve done this before, set the vocals volume to highest, all other tracks muted, vocal input track muted, and put the mic near your speakers.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393177",
"author": "John Laur",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T02:59:10",
"content": "Yeah i was gonna say the easiest thing to do is just put the mic close to the speakers — the sound of the background vocals will nearly always score really well if not 100%.. or just sing it; it’s not that hard.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393186",
"author": "Cornell Undergrad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T03:29:32",
"content": "Glad to see some more Cornell projects, keep representing ECE well guys!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393250",
"author": "drallorf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:56:01",
"content": "I recently did this for the rb3 achievement of getting all triple perfects on bohemian rhapsody. I can sing well, but its freakin impossible when all my friends are said ‘tone deaf’ ones.My method was simpler – I just go into practice mode, turn down all channels except the ‘assist tone’ which is a distorted sine wave which is correct for the required sound. Multitrack recording software is used to spit out the 3 different vocals from 3 different speakers. (In my case I used stereo from an mp3 player and a third speaker from the laptop) The only hard part was pressing play at the same time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393286",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T08:38:03",
"content": "I, my friends, can sing Tom Sawyer.-and I can.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393287",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T08:38:41",
"content": "-but I prefer Red Barchetta…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393343",
"author": "gck43",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T13:26:01",
"content": "Sorry, here are the videos:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o2Jr0fR4wMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc-qScQR5uYI had problems embedding them – I’m going to try to re-embed them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393347",
"author": "soopergooman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T14:07:51",
"content": "Hey akeldamach there’s no video of your birth, so I guess YOU didn’t happen. now stfu before they ban you for life for such stupid ass comments. I never seen anything made by you on here so just do like I said and SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!I can sing Tom Sawyer and get perfect everytime. who needs machines for that? Not Me.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393369",
"author": "notmyfault2000",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T15:19:53",
"content": "I think all this really needs is to shut up when there’s no note to sing. Otherwise, it’s pretty neat.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393378",
"author": "K.J.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T16:15:33",
"content": "Wow, this looks like a neat little project, but since when is programming an ATmega qualify as a FINAL project for an ENE degree?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393480",
"author": "tyco",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T20:42:21",
"content": "I expect they could have gotten much better tonal resolution if they used HD output from the system, instead of standard def. As it stands now, it sounds quite a bit more tone-deaf than i expected that game to allow. But it’s still a neat concept, and solid execution.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393547",
"author": "hm",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T00:14:59",
"content": "Quite sure *programming an ATmega* isn’t all they did here.Did you read the project design page?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393796",
"author": "A",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T14:29:23",
"content": "@ OP — Awesome project! :)@ K.J. — It’s a final project for a particular class (ECE 4760), not for the entire degree.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.069208
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/11/google-in-my-lightbulbs-its-more-likely-than-you-think/
|
Google? In My Lightbulbs? It’s More Likely Than You Think
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Android Hacks",
"News"
] |
[
"android",
"google",
"home automation",
"LED lighting",
"wireless"
] |
With the recent announcement and release of their ADK, it was only a matter of time before Google started invading your home in a big way. From the looks of it,
Google will be jumping into the home lighting market very shortly
, which could prove to be quite interesting.
Partnering with Florida-based Lighting Sciences, Google is planning on developing consumer-grade 60W equivalent smart LED light bulbs. The bulbs will be able to wirelessly communicate using Google’s new open-source home networking protocol. The lights will be controllable using any Android device allowing users to dim, brighten and toggle the lights on and off without ever touching a wall switch.
We think it’s an interesting idea, and we’re all for getting quality LED lighting in the home. That said, some of Google’s other utility-centric endeavors such as PowerMeter have met only mediocre success, so it remains to be seen if this concept takes off. If it does however, we can’t wait to see the flood of
ADK-based hacks the community puts together
. Since their new wireless protocol will likely be extended to all sorts of other household systems, the possibilities are endless.
| 55
| 50
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393023",
"author": "amishx64",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:06:31",
"content": "Skynet in-home integration part 1 commencing…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393029",
"author": "Anton Onszers",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:17:33",
"content": "Will these light bulbs be connected to Google Maps? In a way like Street View, maybe :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393031",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:24:03",
"content": "The biggest hurdle will be the price, people won’t want to spend ridiculous amounts on ‘everyday’ lights they don’t need or won’t save them any money in the long run because of the initial cost of the lamp.A store near me has a shelf with 11watt CFL’s for 10p each (not a price typo), LED based lighting in bricks’n’mortar stores (not online from China) still has to come down to a level that competes with CFL’s in both price and light colour/dispersal.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393033",
"author": "Sariel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:27:50",
"content": "does anyone else fear google is slowly becoming black mesa?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393035",
"author": "xeracy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:28:22",
"content": "I work for a lighting designer, and LED lamps are still not *there* yet, in terms of light quality, ascetics, and retrofit-ibility. We just got samples of the new line of Toshiba E-Core lamps (replaces PAR and MR16 bulbs), and while they are quite an improvement over the previous generations from other MFGs, they are still not a 1:1 replacements for incandescent.The idea of having heat-sink fins is quite problematic in that the fixture you place it in will be the determining factor for good heat dissipation. fixtures that were designed to only let heat dissipate from the front of the lamp (in the same direction that the light is traveling) will quickly get very hot, as the heat will be trapped near the socket. this will cause the LED to fail sooner, rather than later (and at $30+ each, its not a blown lamp you’ll jump on replacing). Now this is more of an issue for the PAR lamps, especially with older fixtures, so I can see these working well with fixtures designed with them in mind.Also, most LED lamps (if not all)are dimmed with PWM, so the lower you dim the light, the worse the stroboscopic gets. Dimmed to 10%, you can wave your hand in front of the light and REALLY notice it. If these were in my home, I’d get nauseated quite quickly.Lastly, I know this is hack-a-day and there’s a penchant for over-engineering things, but seriously, who needs to automate their household lighting? It would be fun and rewarding to do as a project, but buying a home with such automation or retrofitting an existing home, I foresee this causing more problems than it solves (does is solve anything, for that matter)…my 2c.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393036",
"author": "abobymouse",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:28:59",
"content": "Google LED lighting will be cheap; the price subsidised by advertisers. The lamps will, once an hour, scroll advertising across their LED matrix.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393044",
"author": "Haku",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:45:50",
"content": "xeracy, the PWM issue is not that it uses PWM but the speed of the PWM, I’ve got one of those 5 meter 300 LED strips in this room which uses 5050 sized LEDs, I’m controlling it with a MOSFET on a Picaxe 18m2 with a cheap 5-button Maxell iPod remote control setup (the Picaxe reads a serial signal from the receiver), I’ve set the PWM speed to 8khz and I cannot see any flicker.The light colour on the other hand… the seller sent me cool white instead of warm white, it’s bordering on being blue, ok for electronics work when at full brightness but not nice for normal lighting so I’m going to get a warm white strip to compliment it. The Picaxe 18m2 has two PWM outputs enabling control of each LED strip separately.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393058",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:52:48",
"content": "@xeracyEh, I’ve been designing some LED lamps for my workshop just to learn the circuits. The lights you can see strobing must be crap. On the cheap LED driver I used (LM3414), the PWM frequency is adjustable from 250kHz-1000Khz. That would not be visible.Heat is an issue but we will see lamp designs change accordingly. There may be some growing pains for people with fixtures that don’t work well with LED lamps, but it is worth it. The LED lights use 1/6th the power, don’t require any mercury or hazardous chemicals to make, and as long as they have proper heat dissipation they will last for 30 *years* or so (50k hours. 4 hours a day is over 30 years). By the time I have kids, they won’t understand why light bulbs ever need to be replaced. (Assuming I build my house around the time I have kids, they shouldn’t see any of our bulbs burn out until they have their own kids)Companies like CREE (I have no affiliation, just like their stuff) are really making some awesome LEDs now. You can get a single LED that puts out as much light as a 60W bulb but only draws 10W and costs $4 in bulk. Since the LEDs are more efficient at lower currents they actually use a few LEDs driven at less current to improve the life of the thing, so costs are still a little high, but they should go down. LED technology keeps improving and they project that LEDs will beat 200 lumens per watt in a few years, beating out sodium vapor lights becoming the most efficient kind of lighting we have.Honestly this stuff amazes me. If someone’s making crap LED bulbs right now, its not the fault of LEDs. Someone will make a good one and it will kick ass.One thing I think they should do is stop trying to maximize the life of the LED by using multiple LEDs at lower currents, and instead just use one and crank it up. Who cares if it only lasts 15 years if its cheaper? Though quality of light goes down too when they get driven hard.Anyway, someone will make a good bulb and they will be great. Probably within the next 6 months or year there will be good options (though still pricey). Then it will be about price but that always goes down.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393059",
"author": "Diego Spinola",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:55:07",
"content": "more like Aperture science…I can only hope that one day Android@Home will bake me…. a cake …",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393071",
"author": "Xyroze",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T22:15:59",
"content": "“…The bulbs will be able to wirelessly communicate using Google’s new open-source home networking protocol.”Did reading that sentence make anyone else’s hearts race a little? I dunno, I am an avid user of many Google services and products and am fully aware of their massive database of information on me and everyone else who has ever used the internet, but I think this might just be a step too far.Light bulbs are one thing, but once it starts inevitably including door and window locks, security systems and surveillance equipment, misc appliances, et cetera it will already be too late.I’m not trying to sound paranoid or anything, but isn’t that a whole lot of trust to be putting in one company?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393078",
"author": "Stephen Shaffer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T22:18:26",
"content": "I can see it now, the chinese “TV B Gone” version for home lights",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393081",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T22:27:05",
"content": "Just imagine someone showing this off to his friends and trying to show them how awesome these are. And how (s)he can controll them using an Android phone. Until… someone just flips the switch. Because when the lightbulbs get no power, the wireless connection will be useless.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393094",
"author": "Alan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T22:56:19",
"content": "Xyrose, it is open source, so many many eyes capable of recognising dangerous code would be giving it a serious hairy eyeballing.Further, this is real life and not the movies. A little solenoid in an electric door lock isnt really capable of confining you to your home. I never met a security camera that could stand up to 2 minutes hate.Lastly, you can choose not to use their system, even if everyone on facebook says you should.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393110",
"author": "Samp",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T23:30:20",
"content": "Hmm…. Google seems to be doing everything nowadays.And I don’t even like led lights, I just want my old bulbs back.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393123",
"author": "base",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T00:33:51",
"content": "Well at least you won’t have to worry no being able to find the bulb i guess?!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393133",
"author": "Scott",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T00:46:22",
"content": "L.E.D. Lighting still has a little ways to go but they are close, however, I want one of these “Google” bulbs the possibilities are endless.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393140",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T01:07:04",
"content": "I just want to say that this will be 10x better than the existing X10 method of home automation. X10 is complete crap and very unreliable so it would be nice to see something dethrone it. Still, I can’t see myself spending any money on home automation unless I’m doing it myself, HAD-style.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393143",
"author": "Josh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T01:24:36",
"content": "They announced these lightbulbs as part of the FIRST FRC fundraising. Google sponsored with 3 million dollars, and now we are selling these to fund our FRC teams!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393146",
"author": "Grayda",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T01:35:17",
"content": "I would love to buy a ton of these bulbs, as long as they’re not too expensive. And I haven’t decided how expensive “too expensive” is. Depends on the life of the bulb and it’s ease of use.But I’m worried that these won’t fit into my house. Our rental property has ceiling fan / light combos and existing bulbs go in sideways. They have to be short to fit in which is problematic.Also, prank, anyone? Replace a few bulbs in someone’s house with these, then set up a cheap Android phone somewhere, then start the flickering and spooky effects!Plus for those people wondering about Google trying to enter into every facet of their life, think about other companies like Mitsubishi: Cars, computers, heaters / A/C, TVs, aircraft etc.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393147",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T01:36:25",
"content": "what is obsession with leds all about ? Fluorescent light have similar lifespan when you exite it with magnetic energy and it cost a fraction of powerful leds",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393153",
"author": "Tomasito",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T01:51:51",
"content": "So now we will be able to switch the lamps of our neighbors wirelessly.Nice.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393164",
"author": "Drew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T02:22:49",
"content": "This is why I love Google – they try new things, and aren’t afraid of failure.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393165",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T02:24:25",
"content": "I can’t wait. I replaced all four of the 18w florescent light fixtures in my RV with 6w of LED lighting each. Cost about $30 and an hour each to do it (6 LEDs and 2 drivers each fixture). If I can just buy ready-made bulbs for the same or less money, I can replace all the lights in my house with them. And gain wireless control at the same time!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393167",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T02:27:00",
"content": "I don’t want Skynet in my lighting, I just want reasonably priced screw-in LED bulbs that have a color temperature comparable to current CFLs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393172",
"author": "JB",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T02:49:26",
"content": "I can’t turn on the lights to look for the stupid phone that turns on the lights! :PSeriously… Google controlled wifi lights? (you don’t really think these are free of some sort of surveillance, do you?) really? Sorry sir, but according to our anonymous data collection you’ve been using your light too long and that is a violation of one of the green commandments! Don’t worry, we’ll turn it off for you… :PJust give me an LED bulb that costs the same as a CFL and gives out the same amount of light and you have another customer.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393189",
"author": "VIPER!",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T03:36:12",
"content": "So Google really needs to team up with Aperture Science and make high tech things like computers, light bulbs, talking turrets, and lovable cubes. =D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393198",
"author": "ho0d0o",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T04:04:18",
"content": "This is really cool. I love the idea but it will take some serious engineering and invention to make these lights safe for people to use in there homes.The first (more obvious problem) is malicious people toying with the lights in peoples houses, hospitals, stores, etc. being able to control light at night could the wrong people a serious advantage. So a fail safe switch might be needed or some sort of wireless kill switch for the wireless component it’s self. (pure speculation on my part but def. possible)The second problem I see coming to ‘light’ is the light it’s self. Even the best LED lighting is amazing when used in the right environment/aesthetic but from what I’ve seen most LED bulbs worth a piss still don’t provide the “comfortable” feeling of an incandescent bulb. I myself use LED bulbs in my bedroom and I like them but I have had friends say they don’t like the intensity the light seems to give off.We will see. This is definitely an exciting prospect. I look forward to this idea coming to life.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393209",
"author": "Tyler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T04:47:40",
"content": "@JB“I can’t turn on the lights to look for the stupid phone that turns on the lights! :PSeriously… Google controlled wifi lights? (you don’t really think these are free of some sort of surveillance, do you?) really? Sorry sir, but according to our anonymous data collection you’ve been using your light too long and that is a violation of one of the green commandments! Don’t worry, we’ll turn it off for you… :PJust give me an LED bulb that costs the same as a CFL and gives out the same amount of light and you have another customer.”Sounds like Russia.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393211",
"author": "Thebes",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T04:54:12",
"content": "How is the networking component of the lamp to be powered when it is off? It would seem that you’d have to use Android to turn the light on and off, if you turned it off at the switch the networking setup would lose power. Its unlikely to have a large enough battery or whatever to meet its networking needs unless regularly powered on.I also wonder about the phantom load it would represent. Its all fine and good to save electricity by making high-use lighting more efficient, but leaving a dozen closet lights drawing a watt each for the network might increase electric usage, and the components are more resource intensive than Edison’s older invention.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393221",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T05:24:32",
"content": "having every light it own receiver seems waist-full and costly, why not use grid for communication and have single receiver&controller",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393235",
"author": "Garreth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:08:38",
"content": "Im shocked nobody has said anything about feminine centipede infestations.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393236",
"author": "Nitori",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:16:47",
"content": "@SarielNo they’re becoming Aperture Science Inc.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393237",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:18:08",
"content": "I wonder if we ever will reach the point where all these low powered RF transmissions will raise the noise floor to the point the receivers that are supposed to received those low power signal become swamped to the point they can’t? Actually I, unimpressed with this direction. More can be done by working to reduce the cost, and environmental impact from the manufacturing the newer lighting devices. Parents bellering at their kids or spouse to turn off the god damn light can still do wonders.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393240",
"author": "dudefise",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:37:11",
"content": "These bulb are pretty awesome…Google has helped FIRST teams sell the (non-smart) version and theyre diesent bulbs…so if you want to buy them, try to buy them from a local FRC team…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393242",
"author": "Otacon2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:39:37",
"content": "I don’t get people’s paranoia here. That’s no obscure internet service you can’t dissect. As soon as I get my hands on one of those bulbs, I will crack it up to look what is inside. If there’s anything looking conspicious you will notice.The software side, as somebody already commented, will be open-source, so no obscurities there, too.And I’m pretty sure the wireless connection will be safe in some way (like you can’t connect to your wireless router without the proper key). If it’s not, make it safe (hey, it’s open-source).If they really manage to get them out for a decent price, I’m in.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393245",
"author": "birkwood",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:52:18",
"content": "Search-light?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393246",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:52:35",
"content": "The idea is great, but it’s not far from the usual remote controlled switch. It’s great to have it, but lacking it is no serious drawback.I don’t see how the communication will happen. Wi-fi or bluetooth will be really expensive to integrate into each bulb (i guess) and having a low cost transciever will require some additional bridge or some sort.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393257",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T07:19:07",
"content": "A few thoughts on the issues raised here:– Google may be many things, but not stupid. I’m sure they’re well aware of people’s concerns about them controlling/monitoring their lights, so I’m also pretty sure they’ll make sure to address those when the time comes. This will probably include open-source proof that they can’t actually control your light and prominent warnings with opt-out checkbox of any potential data collecting. Just because you’re using Android it doesn’t mean your phone has to connect to THEM to switch something on or off.– The bulbs would likely be “always-powered”, but if done well, they would consume MUCH less then a watt when not in use. Your wall switch would probably be switched out to a RF transmitter looking just like the old switch, but without direct control over the bulb’s power wires. Possibly battery (good for “N” years) or push-energy operated.– The RF protocol would almost certainly be encrypted, with nobody but you having access to the encryption keys. That’s industry standard by now. Tampering would be highly unlikely.That being said, WHERE THE HECK ARE THE DETAILS on that darn RF protocol?!? NDA much or what…? I can’t even find the whole thing mentioned by Google officially (as in not in a video…)!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393265",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T07:28:33",
"content": "@Bogdan:They might want to use the new Bluetooth 4.0 feature – Bluetooth Low Energy – which is expected to start being integrated into new handset’s Bluetooth chipsets soon-ish. But it’s more likely (at least for now) they’ll just connect by WiFi to a bridge on your LAN, as you say. And you’re right, I don’t expect this to be much different from existing RF schemes (there aren’t really any major advances to be made in that field in short term I think – it’s just which compromise you choose to make), the difference is only Google being behind it this time (which may or may not be enough of a critical mass to get it rolling this time)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393275",
"author": "jcg",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T07:54:41",
"content": "hmm now a google controlled alarm clock and coffee maker. Mail my girlfriend complaining about how i have to get up at 6 tommorow. Google reads this, for advertizement offcourse, set my alarm clock and switches the lights on half an hour before i have to get up, and makes sure my coffee is ready.The massive privacy invasion aside, it would be fun to see some much easier when apa.. uhm google uses everything they could know about you to make your life easier.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393321",
"author": "google",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T11:35:22",
"content": "We noticed you dimmed your lights and ignored incoming texts for an hour.Now we’re going to target you with condom adverts.Oh, and update your facebook relationship status for you.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393327",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T12:09:46",
"content": "I’m with the bonemaster",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393345",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T13:41:39",
"content": "@Haku: that’s because CFLs are currently subsidised. The good ones with a good colour cast still cost £5, where as the cheap non-dimmable Phillips with their crappy colour and brightness are dirt cheap.I personally would spend £15 for an Android controlled table lamp.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393352",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T14:17:40",
"content": "@Everyone: I don’t think these things will talk to your router, and they should have a unique ID that’s registered to the remote…but what’s to stop the Android app from snitching on you?Ah hah! He stays up late and has moved apartment. Things only a terrorist would do. And look at this porn! Sick. It’s a good thing we can collate all these searches and patterns to a light bulb, IP address and phone number.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393358",
"author": "Hacksaw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T14:46:05",
"content": "It is all part of the so called “smart grid” that the ridiculously well connected green movement want so badly.If the choice is google light bulbs or burn whale oil for lamps I will get a whaling ship and slaughter as many whales as necessary to keep it like daylight in my house 24x7x365. This is absolutely the stupidest thing I have ever seen",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393380",
"author": "Xyroze",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T16:26:26",
"content": "@Alan/everyone else who doesn’t share apprehensionI’m not Worried about Google abusing their power and spying on everyone, they have already made it clear that they will give you full warning before/as they collect your information.What I am mainly concerned about is, as with any company, the potential for failure/compromised security. Google is fantastic for all the services they provide, but with more and more integration, that’s just more and more things that can be affected by a singular threat.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393382",
"author": ".",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T16:33:53",
"content": "@SarielMore like Blue Sun. Or Weyland-Yutani.Seriously what is this?First internet searches, then maps, then phones, then self navigating cars, and now light bulbs? What comes next? Food and drugs? Not gonna buy food from that kind of megacorp. [begin:”sarcasm”] Unless, oh man, they start selling “earth friendly” and organic food! [/sarcasm] (I’m not hating on earth friendly foods. Just buy local, buy small, that’s all.)Also, am I the fist to comment on the horrible photoshopping? Ever heard of the eyedropper tool?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393390",
"author": "NateOcean",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T16:56:14",
"content": "And while you are trying to read a book the Google Lights will flicker incessantly in order to draw your attention to the Google Ads being projected on the ceiling.Google won’t be satisfied until they have tattooed Google Ads on the inside of my eyelids.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393541",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T23:48:42",
"content": "Obviously if it’s not an Android reader, the light will go into emergency strobe mode until you read it on Google approved hardware.Yes, it knows what you’re looking at…thinking.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393621",
"author": "Grayda",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T03:40:12",
"content": "Adding to my comment above,http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/12/BU8M1JFIL8.DTL. WAKE UP SHEEPLE! (hur hur)Also, if Google was “spying” on you, it’d be to help you save money (e.g. “We noticed you have your lights on for twenty hours a day. If you’re not up at x o’clock, try turning them off to save money. Love, Google”)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.153751
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/11/gsm-to-skype-bridge-lets-you-lose-those-roaming-fees/
|
GSM-to-Skype Bridge Lets You Lose Those Roaming Fees
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Cellphone Hacks"
] |
[
"gsm",
"modem",
"skype",
"wifi"
] |
Here’s the scenario: you’re going to be traveling somewhere and you’ll be charged roaming fees if you use your cellphone. But there is free WiFi available in this place. You can save yourself money by
leaving your SIM card at home and using a GSM-to-Skype bridge to take calls on your phone via WiFi
.
[Trax] is using a USB GSM modem to take cellphone calls on a PC. He leaves his sim card in this modem so that it can make and receive calls and text messages through your normal telephone number. For some reason, the USB connection only provides control of this modem and doesn’t pass bi-directional audio. To make this happen, he built an audio interface cable using two transformers and a few passive components to connect the modem to the computer’s audio card.
On the software side of things, an application written in Delphi 7 manages the modem, the audio stream, and the Skype application. When a call is incoming it sets up a Skype connection with your handset via the Internet, passing along the caller ID data in the process. If you choose to answer the Skype session the application will pick up the GSM call and you’ll be connected. It works the same way when placing an outgoing call.
This seems easier to manage than
a rig that physically pushes a cellphone’s buttons via the Internet
.
[Thanks Mure]
| 21
| 21
|
[
{
"comment_id": "393006",
"author": "poopiebritches",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:22:47",
"content": "The reason why it can’t send audio through USB is because it probably only has a USB to UART converter and a barebones radio inside. It appears to be the same DealExtreme adapter covered earlier in a post about cheap GSM radios for Arduinos.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393019",
"author": "iHME",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:59:36",
"content": "There is nothing odd not about passing the audio via the usb port. GSM/GPRS modems don’t do that. And remember that the modem in question was featured here on hack-a-day as a easy way to add functionality to projects…The modem is also reasonably cheap ready to use solution. You dont have to dick around with powersupplies (1.8A peac current for my 14.70 eur module), level conversion, antennas and their connectors (fu MMCX) all kinds of unfun stuff does not have to be done. Should have done it like that myself.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393026",
"author": "Elias",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:09:25",
"content": "Now that’s a hack :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393037",
"author": "Tekas",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:30:33",
"content": "Actually, there are quite a few USB GSM/GPRS modems that DO pass audio through the USB port and Huawei K3715 is one of them. It is one of Vodafone’s offers (in some countries), and although the provided software does not show any signs of call support, the original Dashboard does enable call functions in some of the usb sticks, allowing voice calls, non IP obviously.Anyway, some operators also made available a computer application that will send and receive both calls and sms through Internet. (Meaning if your phone is powered off, the calls will be redirected to the computer. Calls received (even in roaming) cost nothing, and charges apply oh calls made just like if they were made nationally.Props on the hack though, nice to see it making use of skype! :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393098",
"author": "iigeniusii",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T23:14:03",
"content": "is it possible with this set up to example:in foreign country buy foreign gsm install it have it hooked up to usa skype account and foreign internet connection.then in usa dial skype number from any phone then it will on foreign pc skype setup answer then dial out using foreign gsm? correct ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393124",
"author": "John Avitable",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T00:34:44",
"content": "That’s freaking awesome!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393157",
"author": "addidis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T02:14:17",
"content": "Use google voice, give out that number. Then when your not roaming forward calls to the cell phone. Also very useful for screening your calls. And , its free.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393158",
"author": "nolo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T02:14:35",
"content": "wonder if one can use the GSM radio with prepaid sim to set up a BBS couple with some small linux distro + wifi card + optional rj11 bridge. and use it as a remote shell for auditing wherever it was dropped. Or even better… bridge it inside someones telco and passively record phone conversations, while sniffing their and their neighbors network traffic. Or drop it on a PBX and got yourself inside access on the network. Guess what I really am suggesting is a cheap and fast network tap, that is quick to implement and hard to trace.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393185",
"author": "pelrun",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T03:28:08",
"content": "@addidisAnd not available outside the US.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393201",
"author": "Maverick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T04:11:33",
"content": "Doesn’t Skype offer a $3 per month plan with unlimited calling to US and Canada? ;) Awesome hack nevertheless!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393279",
"author": "elektrophreak",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T08:22:47",
"content": "maybe to US and Canada…:-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393292",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T08:46:35",
"content": "Rather than physically looping the ausio out back into the mic socket could he not just set the recording properties to record the ‘stero mix’ channel?I do this on WIn XP, Vista and 7 (more difficult on 7) and i think this should give the desired result.Chris",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393298",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T09:25:18",
"content": "Skype is being bought by MS, what will happen to it and its pricing is completely unsure, but that MS is then seeing all your communications contacts is though..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393301",
"author": "Cartman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T09:52:38",
"content": "Sounds pretty stupid. Why not use wi-fi to make all calls from Skype?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393320",
"author": "elektrophreak",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T11:34:46",
"content": "Can you accept phone calls on Skype, with your own current GSM number? I don’t think so :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393333",
"author": "robomonkey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T12:47:41",
"content": "Well, the number isn’t available outside the US for google voice, but if I’m using wifi, would that matter? If I go to a starbucks in Germany, turn on wifi on my phone and kick up google voice it’s just bits through the cloud. I think the phone number integration is what’s not supported outside the US for Google Voice.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393340",
"author": "Sigg3",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T13:09:16",
"content": "Enter Jitsi (formerly known as SIP Communicator):http://www.jitsi.org/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393348",
"author": "torwag",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T14:07:57",
"content": "The idea might be nice…However, you can get an sip account with a landline number for free in many countries.Your smartphone should be capable to run a sip-client software.Volia….Wherever you are in the world, mummy can call you on the local town number (possibly for free) which you received from your sip client provider.And well don’t forget. Running a PC for this as a the only purpose isn’t very green and the electricity bill might eat up a good part of the money you saved on roaming fees",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393691",
"author": "Cartman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T09:53:48",
"content": "Can you accept phone calls on Skype, with your own current GSM number? I don’t think so :)Well, actually I can. I set up call transfer to SkypeIn number.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "426306",
"author": "prasrod",
"timestamp": "2011-07-31T19:15:11",
"content": "This is awesome. Just that GPRS is unreliable. Is there something that does this with ADSL?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "950728",
"author": "S",
"timestamp": "2013-01-30T12:34:18",
"content": "It’s just an idea, I also written on elektronika.ba, what about using another telephone like a modem? For ex. I have a Galaxy S – which I would use abroad with Skype and a Sony Ericsson K750i that can act as a modem (even on BT). Would that work? Or better, using MyPhoneExplorer (for the K750i)which takes control over the phone. What do you thing about this?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.211492
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/11/touch-based-synthesizer-is-a-wiring-nightmare/
|
Touch-based Synthesizer Is A Wiring Nightmare
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"digital audio hacks",
"Multitouch Hacks"
] |
[
"atmega644",
"resistive",
"touch screen"
] |
[Jane] wrote in to let us know about the
touch-based synthesizer she and her classmates just built
. They call it the ToneMatrix Touch, as it was inspired by
a flash application called ToneMatrix
. We’re familiar with that application as it’s been the
inspiration for other physical builds
as well.
A resistive touch screen in the surface glass of the device provides the ability to interact by tapping the cells you wish to turn on or off. Below the glass is a grid of LEDs which represent sound bits in the looping synthesizer track. Fifteen shift registers drive the LED matrix, with the entire system controlled by an ATmega644 microcontroller. Although the control scheme is very straight forward, the jumper wires used to connect the matrix to the shift registers make for a ratsnest of wireporn that has been hidden away inside the case. Check out the demonstration video after the break to see what this looks like and sounds like when in use.
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/23542983 w=470]
| 10
| 10
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392989",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T19:46:50",
"content": "Is it still an LED matrix if each LED gets its own driver? Also the parallax coming from the big gap between the touch panel and the array looks like it could be problematic. The software looks pretty slick tho.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393001",
"author": "evilspoons",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:13:06",
"content": "I’m surprised and happy for them that it works with that giant nest of wiring. However, my criticism is that when they’re playing with it in the demo video the actions it takes (notes it plays, whatever) don’t seem even remotely related to where the user touches the screen. Is it supposed to be random or is the touch panel just not being read accurately?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393005",
"author": "Joe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:18:45",
"content": "Umm, as stated above… Wouldn’t it be much more impressive if it actually did something in relation to the person touching it?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393013",
"author": "That's my hand.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:40:57",
"content": "The touchpad gets polled at regular intervals, toggling the grid location. If you move your hand too fast it won’t pick up on every “press”, and if you move your hand too slowly the grid location gets toggled on and then off before the next sequence. It takes a little while to get used to the timing.The yellow LEDs turn off for the corresponding coordinate so the user knows if a touch has been picked up.The mapping is a little off since we last calibrated, and the touchpad can slide underneath so the coordinates aren’t perfect, but it’s pretty accurate.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393022",
"author": "Caleb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:01:01",
"content": "From the look of the video it is responding to touch input properly, it just has a very slow update rate. Look at the LEDs around the edges, they match the position of her finger but only update and clock in the position at 1hz or so.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393025",
"author": "Elias",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:07:40",
"content": "As other said the touch interface seems to respond very badly.Also, I’m afraid it sounds like crap too so something more senseful with maybe a bit of reverb and blending between the individual notes could work for a contraption like this.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393115",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T23:58:33",
"content": "while the outside seems to correspond, the inside does not, or rather not in the way the flash version it’s based off of doesseems like something that could be fixed in softwarei don’t think the touch screen is the problem,i don’t think you really need a touch screen for this, buttons are fine,it’s like a monomeor if you want cheap, a bliptronic 5000http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/musical-instruments/c4e1/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393252",
"author": "marto",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:56:22",
"content": "This one is better IMHO:http://www.reenigne.org/blog/physical-tone-matrix/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393267",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T07:30:06",
"content": "It’s a real shame to wire those leds like that. I would rather spend 5 hours of thinking of a better solution and 1 for working than 6 for implementing the most obvious time consuming solution.But in this case… led matrices are like…. standard thing.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393314",
"author": "svofski",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T11:01:52",
"content": "Just call the mess of wires an art piece and all criticism regarding the inefficiency of solution becomes irrelevant.> i don’t think you really need a touch screen for this, buttons are finetouch screens are cheaper that buttons. besides, imagine, how would it look if they wired each button in the same manner they have wired the leds?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.313174
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/11/adding-power-trim-to-a-boat/
|
Adding Power Trim To A Boat
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Transportation Hacks"
] |
[
"actuator",
"boat",
"trim"
] |
[Matt’s] boat had a trim plate that could be adjusted by hand. The problem with this setup is that the trim angle of a boat changes as you speed up or slow down. Last year he never really went over 35 MPH because of this issue, but he set out to correct that by
adding power trim plates for the upcoming boating season
.
The original trim plate didn’t have a hinge on it, but simply flexed when tension was added to the adjustment hardware. [Matt] removed the plate and cut it into three parts; one long thin strip to serve as a mounting bracket, and two plates to independently adjust trim for the left and right side of the keel. Some aluminum strip hinges connect the three pieces, and a pair of used actuators acquired from eBay automate the trim adjustment. Each plate is strengthened by a pair of angle brackets, which also serve as a mounting point for the actuators. The final step was to add a pair of switches near the throttle lever which are used to make manual adjustments when the boat is in motion.
| 16
| 16
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392967",
"author": "Taylor Alexander",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T19:04:05",
"content": "Actually, the final final step would be to add some logic based on the speed or angle of the boat or something that automatically adjusts it. :)But I’m not clear on when it needs to be changed so maybe that wouldn’t work well.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392970",
"author": "Sllipster",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T19:12:09",
"content": "Nice DIY hack.Going to hurt when you whack your legs into the brackets getting in/out of the back of the boat. I can’t tell but I hope you deck sticks out at least farther than they do.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392976",
"author": "Andy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T19:25:46",
"content": "The desired setting will change based on what type of activity you’re pulling for, the weight of who’s being pulled, and the weight distribution of occupants in the boat, so it’s probably not something that you could automate very easily. Wakeboarding requires a very different type of wake than barefooting. Too many variables that can be directly sensed to automate it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393016",
"author": "GTech",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:44:13",
"content": "Next he could add some position feedback. My boat has a little bar graph for the trim position.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393039",
"author": "dug",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:35:48",
"content": "Nothing new. they are called trim tabs and a lot of boats have the. now if he hooked it up to a computer and some sensors then we would have something.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393122",
"author": "DOS Boss",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T00:33:20",
"content": "^^ What dug said. Not HAD material.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393181",
"author": "Loaf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T03:10:44",
"content": "Working in this industry thought I’d drop some info. Trimtabs are nothing new. This guy just decided to DIY. A complete set of stainless planes, rams, lines, pump wiring and waterproof dash controls are ~500 bucks for a boat this size.Trimtabs are a major control surface and should never be automated. A sudden change in trim could be very dangerous, especially when towing.The only computer calculated trim that I’ve seen on the recreational market is from Mercury marine.Using a proprietary CANBus style interface branded “smartcraft”A gauge polls engine rpm, trim position, speed, fuel consumption numbers and based on previous trips indicates ideal trim position for greatest fuel economy.Its great for new boaters who don’t understand how to efficiently run their vessel.For towing this same system offers a ‘cruise control’ style throttle system. Towing involves running at the same speed much of the day and this will maintain N speed automatically.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393202",
"author": "BoatMan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T04:19:45",
"content": "@AndyChallenge accepted.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393251",
"author": "Tom",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:56:03",
"content": "Dug, the point is that he did it himself not that he’s the first person to have it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393483",
"author": "Bernt Weber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T20:53:36",
"content": "A microcontroller wired to trimtab position feedback and boat speed could do surely some interesting work : imagine you have reached cruising speed. Push a button and the microcontroler does some incremental trim changes, observes speed changes and seeks for max speed (at fixed engine speed). Then put the trimtab position associated to speed in a table. The table with some interpolation can provide data for perfect trimming, including dynamically during acceleration.Could this make big fuel savings?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393619",
"author": "Flood_of_SYNs",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T03:35:32",
"content": "I would be leery of DIYing an automated power trim system on a boat, not something I would feel safe slapping an Arduino in place.Say something fails and it is trimmed out wrong and you make a tight turn, your gonna do a barrel roll, and despite what Peppy says you don’t want to do a barrel roll in a boat…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393828",
"author": "Matt K",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T15:43:19",
"content": "You know, now that you all mention it, I bet once I get some time with these things in place, I will figure out that there are maybe 2-4 positions that i use, and the rest is just travel between them. It should be fairly straightforward to wire up some pre-set buttons. I could be clever and do it with timers, or I could make it easier and do it with an arduino… That may be the future of this project.The hardest thing will be knowing where the tabs are at any given time, since they don’t have any positional feedback at the moment.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393897",
"author": "henry",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T18:32:19",
"content": "@Flood_of_SYNs A family friend built and installed trim for their boat. 10 years later its still going fine. He even built the trim ‘plates’ himself",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393913",
"author": "Flood_of_SYNs",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T19:14:47",
"content": "@HenryMy concern isn’t with manual trim, but with a poorly thought out automated trim system.Such a system would need to include safe guards to prevent the added auto trim form making the boat exceed its’ limits and roll or crash.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393931",
"author": "Loaf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T20:01:05",
"content": "You can buy trim position indicator kits for most hydraulic trim tab sets. They are installed inside the ram and protected from the salt water (or fresh in a lake)Automating any trim movement IS dangerous.If your code or hardware fails you could toss people from your boat, have the person your towing come flying into the back of the vessel, or plow the bow the boat under the water possibly sinking the vessel.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394297",
"author": "Matt K",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T20:41:45",
"content": "Well, I need to adjust the neutral position a bit, but first trials went well. While I agree that automated trim tabs are probably a bad idea, let’s not get carried away here. On a boat like mine on a lake, there is now way that any of the things you just listed are even remotely possible. The only really dangerous thing you could cause would be a general loss of good handling characteristics, leading to poor control.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.377233
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/10/open-source-linear-bearing-system/
|
Open Source Linear Bearing System
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"News",
"Tool Hacks"
] |
[
"bearing",
"cnc",
"makerslide",
"open source",
"rails"
] |
While we normally don’t make it a habit to feature Kickstarter projects, we couldn’t pass this one up. [Barton Dring] from BuildLog.net is
putting together a project called MakerSlide
that we’re sure will interest many of you out there.
Through his various CNC builds, he has found that one of the more expensive and frustrating components to obtain is a linear bearing system. He notes that commercial systems are expensive, and while an occasional eBay bargain can be found, it’s not the ideal way of going about things. He also points out that homebrew systems usually work after some tuning and adjustments, but can be time consuming to build.
He is proposing a v-groove bearing system, complete with wheels made from Delrin, as a standardized replacement for all of the aforementioned solutions. He anticipates selling the rails for about 10 cents per centimeter, putting the average cost of a 4 foot system around $20.
As a bonus, he is offering up free MakerSlide materials to anyone that sends him a “new, innovative or interesting open source design or basic idea that uses the material.” You would only have to pay shipping in order to get your new project off the ground.
Standardization is always good, and seeing this rail system go into production would definitely benefit the hacker community. Take a minute to check it out if you are so inclined.
| 53
| 50
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392448",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:03:18",
"content": "Why doesn’t 80/20 just make these?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392457",
"author": "satiagraha",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:17:26",
"content": "This looks like a great bearing system! I always wanted to find a good solution for building your own X-Y table or CNC head!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392458",
"author": "iklln6",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:25:26",
"content": "am i the only one that just bought drawer slides from lowes?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1068439",
"author": "John Public",
"timestamp": "2013-10-02T15:45:31",
"content": "No, you are not the only one to do that. Cheap square steel tube, and drawer slides are common for hot wire cutters. Plenty of other cheap XY machines have been built that way also. The problem with them is swarf. They don’t clear crap well. On my home made mill table enclosure I built a box to that allowed me to put the drawer slides on the outside of the front doors to reduce the likelihood of chips getting into them. Atleast when the doors ae closed anyway.",
"parent_id": "392458",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "392459",
"author": "Rasmus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:27:39",
"content": "Looks like it could be compatible with the makerbeam?http://www.sparkfun.com/products/10540",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392468",
"author": "JC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:42:53",
"content": "That’s a great idea. would be nice if it were compatible with 80/20. I think 80/20 does make something like this, but not for $20.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392470",
"author": "iklln6",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:44:29",
"content": "easiest solution to linear motion (imo), given you have or can find framing to bolt/screw them to —drawer slides:http://www.mcmaster.com/#drawer-slides/=c8wv01beams for a build like dude is doing, this would be a good starting point (if anything, it’ll give you some key words to google for) sliding door tracks:http://www.mcmaster.com/#door-hanging-tracks/=c8wuuu",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392471",
"author": "guest",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:44:35",
"content": "@Hackerspacer:They would be in competition with themselves. 8020 already produces teflon t-nuts which are intended to accomplish the same goal, however I have heard nothing good about them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392476",
"author": "spiderwebby",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:50:26",
"content": "@iklln makerbeam aka valuframe?:http://www.valuframe.co.uk/Series-5-Aluminium-Profiles.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392477",
"author": "Ryan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:51:25",
"content": "This system is compatible with all 20mm based extrusions (80/20, misumi etc). This project was undertaken because the large manufacturers of extrusion were not interested (the idea has been proposed before).It is far more rigid and accurate than drawer slides while being easier to mount and in a similar price range.Seriously, this product is going to be awesome and make cheap laser cutters, routers and 3d printers all the more accessible.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392482",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:10:15",
"content": "I’m not sure why this wheel –http://www.pbclinear.com/V-Guide-Roller-Bearing-Components– needs re-inventing.Rather than get a custom extrusion made, why not take flat stock, machine the V on one end and drill the holes to mount it onto the 80/20. Y’know, like how it’s done now.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392483",
"author": "Tenaja",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:17:14",
"content": "PCB Linear DOES make these. The price for enough material to make a 1 meter slide (almost 4′ x 2 pieces) is under $40…http://www.pbclinear.com/Download/WhitePaper/V-Rollers-vs-Integral-V.pdfIf you are going to make your own carriage anyway, why waste money on extrusion dies???",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392485",
"author": "Ryan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:17:32",
"content": "@tony If you are willing to machine eight feet of flat v-stock (need two rails), drill everything and bolt it together accurately for 20$ you might have a point.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392486",
"author": "bdring",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:19:00",
"content": "The PCB linear (and similar suppliers) method is very expensive and difficult to work with. I have built several systems with and it works great, but not for the average user.It also does not integrate well with standard extrusions. The large radius on the extrusions rules out most of them.This method allows you to buy already cut to size and ready to bolt together. The Misumi extrusions are amazingly cheap. The whole frame system on the 3D printer in the video cost less than $100.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392487",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:25:50",
"content": "@Ryan,Sure, plenty of shops could make those. I’ve made them from steel (albeit short) on my mill. It’s not rocket science to mill or grind a bevel onto an edge.For long lengths, check how they do it on glass.Certain cheaper than a short-run custom extrusion…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392490",
"author": "Piotr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:32:09",
"content": "Well, there is pretty easy way to make similar system: Take one standard aluminium extursion (40x40mm, with 8mm slot), and two 10mm diameter hardened shafts (avalible on ebay). Screw or glue shafts in slots of extrusion. For bearing use : use one smaller and one bigger bearing. Bigger one should have 10mm balls, smaller one should fit in bigger one. Remove outer ring and balls from bigger bearing. Glue inner ring with smaller bearing.This solution is similar but uses of-the-shelf components. Besides : hardened steel shafts are way more precise and harder to destroy during usage ( you cant even drill them with regular drill)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392496",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:36:21",
"content": "@Ryan,Seehttp://www.joescnc.com/themachines-hybrid.phpNote the 4th picture, 80/20 with a piece of angle bolted to it. There’s your V-rail, (but why bother with the V?).Next picture shows the V-bearings ride on it.What problem is being solved here?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392510",
"author": "Gene",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:11:56",
"content": "@TonyNo doubt plenty of shops could make these, but for 10cents/cm? Even I only wanted 4 feet?And for making them yourself, you dismiss this as re-inventing the wheel, and then advocate people do just that? I’d much rather purchase a well designed piece of kit that’s reasonably priced that does the job than spend time re-inventing the wheel.The problem being solved here? It’s spelled out quite clearly on the description page: existing OTS components are too expensive, and DIY solutions are too time consuming.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392517",
"author": "bdring",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:30:47",
"content": "The 2.x laser builders go through a couple hundred feet of the steel vrail a month. We know it works, but it is definitely the most expensive and stressful part of the build. And if you screw up by a millimeter, you have to start over. Several people have had to do that.The MakerSlide system is far more than just the extrusion though. It will be a full set of carriages and wheel options. Those carriages are designed to seamless integrate with the 20×20 extrusions. The bolt patterns are there for all orientations needed.The intent is to be able to build a small scale router or 3D printer of your own design without drilling a hole at less cost than if you did.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392519",
"author": "Ryan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:42:38",
"content": "Tony, I am very familiar with options for cheap linear motion, I used v-rail attached to extrusion for my laser cutter build here:http://hackaday.com/2011/04/14/save-boatloads-of-cash-by-building-your-own-laser-cutter/I assure you that attaching v-rail to extrusions is both expensive and time consuming. This is a problem many of us have been working on for quite some time.You will be hard pressed to find a solution that can compare to the MakerSlide, even if you are willing to meticulously align and attach a hacked-together solution. This system promises to be 2-3 times cheaper, more accurate and easier to use than any alternative I’m aware of.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392522",
"author": "Sergio",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:48:18",
"content": "Lots of ideas and no action !The truth is that Bart´s Open Source Linear Bearing System is an atempt to bring something better, cheaper and easy to use to us Makers.Drawer slides are a joke ….Better do it instead o criticize it !Why not just support it ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392534",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:54:25",
"content": "@Gene,It’s 10c/cm when I have it and the invoice in my hand, at the moment it doesn’t exist. Wishful thinking and reality rarely align.And where does 10c/cm come from anyway? More like $1/10cm, and that’s for the thin stuff. Seehttp://www.cadcamcadcam.com/T-slot-shapes.aspxfor pricing of stuff that currently exists.On top of that the Delrin v-groove bearings don’t exist either. That’s the real drawback of v-rail, even if you use a cheap piece of alloy angle as your v-rail, the bearing are expensive.See the link I posted earlier, same idea but DIY.Nice idea, but anyway.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392539",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:59:27",
"content": "@Ryan,So what do you think of the link I posted?How does this non-existent extrusion compare to bolting a piece of alloy angle (not even bothering to add the v) to a real-world comparable extrusion?Buy, drill, bolt, done.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392543",
"author": "jon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T22:05:43",
"content": "Umm. Doesn’t $1/10cm = 10c/cm",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392549",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T22:14:29",
"content": "@Jon,Lol, yeah, well spotted. Sheesh, I though it said 10c/10cm for some reason.Anyway, there’s no way you can get that extrusion at that price (unless subsidised or set low to drum up interest).I wonder if they’ve asked how much the die is yet…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392572",
"author": "Booker T. Worthington",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T23:05:25",
"content": "Great idea.@Tony: I think he mentioned in the videos that he’s already gotten quotes for the tooling.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392581",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T23:39:16",
"content": "Ideas are easy.Get it out there at the price you claim is a bit more difficult.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392584",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T00:01:47",
"content": "YES, a million times yes!I don’t understand the point of naysayers on here. It’s HaD, I think we are all perfectly aware that people can make things on their own instead of buying them.However, not everyone has the tools OR THE TIME to build a system from the ground up with the necessary tolerances.Have you ever eaten at a restaurant Tony? I really don’t see the point of why you would. Cooking food is easy.Grocery shop, prepare, cook, enjoy.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392585",
"author": "naPS",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T00:05:41",
"content": "So, he’s already stated that he has the quote for tooling and procuring a couple thousand feet of the extrusion for the listed price. A little bit of reading dug that up. He currently uses a version of the delrin v-wheels, and sells them on his site.Are you just crapping on this idea because you can? I’m just curious why you think the pricing is so outlandish? bdring has an impeccable reputation in the DIY CNC community, and has put together several items in kit form for complete products, why would this be any different? If you go and read the thread on his site, there’s several months worth of development here, and loads of research regarding pricing and availability.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392589",
"author": "Ryan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T00:12:21",
"content": "Bart has already proven his ability to deliver as promised many times in the past – delrin v-groove bearings are already available on his website for a mere fraction of the cost of the alternatives.I trust Bart implicitly, his work speaks for itself and there are many talented people who support this project:http://diybookscanner.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&p=10014#p10014",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392590",
"author": "Fred",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T00:14:42",
"content": "This solution does not look nearly rigid enough for a CNC router application. Rigidity costs money when building a cutting CNC machine, thats why I never built my second machine, it just wasnt worth my time and money. For applications that require no cutting forces like lasers, this is a great and relatively cheap way to do it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392607",
"author": "Jeditalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T00:53:27",
"content": "How long until i can build a nano-3dprinter that prints individual atoms using electrical charges, tiny electrodes, elemental “toner” cartridges?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392611",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T01:10:15",
"content": "I don’t believe the price since it’d be about the cheapest 80/20 extrusion out there.Amazon shows 2′ (~50cm) of 1″x1″ at $5.50. This extrusion will be $5 (10c x 50cm) for the same length…Sure it’d be a nice thing to have (even better if hardened) but seriously, is making your own that hard? What is this,http://www.Assemble-A-Kit.com?For anyone who has a great idea like this, remember that for every 100 people who think it’s fantastic, only 1 will buy it, and that’s being generous.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392624",
"author": "Renee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T01:42:31",
"content": "Seeing as how you said Delrin V wheels don’t exist despite the obvious fact that they do I’m not sure I really believe anything you say.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392627",
"author": "pff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T01:46:29",
"content": "have to agree with tony guys, this is pretty dumbif you cant make your own guide rails then in my opinion you shouldnt be allowed near a cncif you cant find stock angle for cheaper than whatever this costs then your doing it wrong, and probably lazyalso i find the rail offensive to the eye, machines are supposed to look ruggedly functional, not pansily ugly",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392635",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T02:02:29",
"content": "@Renee – The Delrin bearing don’t exist, the guy will sell you ‘sleeves’ you put over standard metal ones.In other words, they’re not a standard part, they’re another custom (expensive and/or unavailable) part.You can get all-plastic bearings, they’re used in food equipment.Metal v-groove bearings, while expensive, can be purchased easily enough.If he managed to convince the 80/20 crowd to add this to their range then that would be a better idea. You are still screwed on bearings though (one reason for their reluctance), and you can’t use steel bearing on soft alloy (well, not for long).And this stuff is really expensive. Buy a cheap welder and scrounge scrap – that’s worthy of DIY & ‘Hack-A-day’, not ‘Assemble-A-Kit’.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392637",
"author": "The Steven",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T02:04:16",
"content": "@JeditalianActually, I’m going a step further, I’m working on a printer that uses Quarks to build Atoms.You should see the printer nozzle!So far my main problem is sourcing raw materials of sufficiently pure quality.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392646",
"author": "naPS",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T02:16:10",
"content": "Wow, Tony, you really couldn’t be more wrong. Your misinformed barfing here in the comments is making you look like a fool.The delrin v-wheels do exist. They mount over standard bearings. Yes, someone in the comments slipped and said delrin bearings, but looking at the drawings, it’s an obvious slip-up.If you think buying extrusion off of Amazon is the best deal you can find, maybe YOU should be the one going to assemble-a-kit. There’s several manufacturers of the extrusion, and it’s all relatively inexpensive. Please take at least a few seconds to educate yourself before you spew off with more random nonsense and hand-waving trying to distract people from the obvious fact that you know little about what you are actually talking about.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392648",
"author": "naPS",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T02:17:23",
"content": "Oh yeah, Tony, good thing this project funded in basically 2 days. It’s *obviously* not a good idea.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392652",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T02:29:55",
"content": "@naPS, so, how much did you chip in?Now, how much should I be paying for 80/20? (and no eBay please)And while you’re at it, where exactly do I get those Delrin wheels from?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392657",
"author": "will1384",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T03:04:17",
"content": "I like the idea, it’s cheap, quick, simple,easy, and accurate.Right now I am using EMT conduit, skatebearings, and aluminum angle in my smallCNC Router, it works and is fairly cheap,but not all that accurate.I am planning to replace my DIY CNC withsomething like the “Fine Line Automation”FLA300, they seam to use flat iron stockand make an an aluminum block with whatlooks like skate bearings, that aluminumblock has skate bearings for the top,bottom and edge.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392660",
"author": "Tony",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T03:34:10",
"content": "@will1384, FLA is another variation on v-rails. Easy to make if you’ve got a mill.This design is a similar idea, but easier to build –http://www.joescnc.com/themachines-hybrid.phpGoogle ‘supported rails’, that’s the problem with a lot of the gas pipe designs – pipes flex.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392665",
"author": "anomdebus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T03:37:48",
"content": "nb – stock price for metric 25 series 8020 25mm*50mm extrusion (25-2550) is $0.116/CM",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392667",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T03:38:40",
"content": "@naPSWhere do you get those delrin wheels? I’ve only seen them from Barton, as he had them custom fabbed a couple years ago. Have they become an off the shelf part since then?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392732",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T06:48:56",
"content": "I don’t get you people. Linear bearings are 20$/piece for round rods. The effort you spend going around them is too big.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392733",
"author": "Darkfibre",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T06:50:06",
"content": "@Barton Hmm perhaps get in touch withhttp://www.microrax.com/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392772",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T09:38:19",
"content": "Yeah, an easy to mount, cheap and precise rail system would really be nice. I’m willing to believe the first, I’m just not all that convinced at all that this will satisfy the other two, specifically the last. Any (well, most) home-made rail systems can be fiddled into something resembling stiff precision (at least for a while), and I’m unconvinced this is so much different – so much more precise – or that it resists perpendicular loads all that well (sure it does, to some degree…). Staying within a 0.1mm of play is not _that_ hard, but it’s hardly usable. I’d like to see this stay within a 0.01mm play consistently along the rail though…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392926",
"author": "Kuhltwo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T17:38:48",
"content": "Interesting reading. Everyone is talking about the precision and stiffness. If you use a Dremel as your mill head, your precision is gone anyway.I think anything that will make my life easier is a step in the right direction.My son bought a mill/lathe combo for under $600 last year. Granted it wasn’t a CNC, but he can turn out parts fairly fast without having to cozy up to a computer for a few hours to program it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392953",
"author": "Brian.Holiday",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:42:48",
"content": "I am skeptical these would work for a CNC router but I think they will perfectly fine for a Laser. If anyone has details on the alignment process of V track I would like a link. I don’t understand why it would be difficult to align.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392957",
"author": "mbear",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:49:38",
"content": "To everyone who says this is a waste of time: By purchasing these, you’d be able to devote more time to building interesting stuff instead of spending it on “scaffolding” that’s not interesting. I’m sure the average HaD visitor could build their own LEGO blocks, but it’s a lot more fun to build the robot/castle/plane/car.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392961",
"author": "anonununun",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:59:40",
"content": "Looks good to me at that price…. good luck to the man!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.706764
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/10/diy-portal-turret-is-looking-pretty-good/
|
DIY Portal Turret Is… Looking Pretty Good.
|
Jesse Congdon
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"how-to"
] |
[
"molding",
"motion sensing",
"portal",
"turret"
] |
[Ryan Palser] wrote in to tell us about his
Portal Turret
. [Ryan] set about making this Portal 1 style turret by first carving a Styrofoam form, bondo and waxing then casting molds of the various components. Anyone interested in mold making (like us) should check out all the pictures and comments in the stream. The turret’s camera lens style eye has some excellent detail including a laser cut aperture with text inlay. A couple LEDs behind the eye assembly provide the signature red glow and evidently [Ryan] also fitted the little guy with a red laser. An internal Arduino (Incident Resolution Chip?) takes ques from a PIR sensor mounted in one of the turret’s arms to play one of 17 sound clips through a sparkfun
MP3 player shield
. In order to fight repetition the sound module runs through a playlist of the 17 tracks then shuffles it before playing through again. Theme music can also be spammed by pressing a button in the back of the motion sensing arm. The turret can be battery powered or plugged into a wall socket for constant operation. All that’s missing are the Aperture-Brand Resolution Pellets. We would love to see this integrated with some
similar turret projects
previously featured here.
Are you still there? We have more Aperture Science stuff including a
Sentry Turret
, Weighted
Companion Cube
, and even a portal
shirt
. If you are interested in more model making check out the spectacular Daft Punk
helmet
build
from a little while back.
| 19
| 19
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392411",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:03:27",
"content": "The only way to make this better would be to 3d print it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392414",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:09:52",
"content": "It’s huuuuge for a 3d print.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392417",
"author": "patman2700",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:15:05",
"content": "…now if only someone could hack up some spelling/grammar/syntax correction software for Hack-A-Day.Great hack, though. I’m quite jealous.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392442",
"author": "dan fruzzetti",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:50:00",
"content": "What could a weapon fire that has little tiny legs like that? A cutting laser? Any recoil at all will bounce it around and mess up its aim.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392443",
"author": "Stephen Shaffer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:58:22",
"content": "Can it move?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392444",
"author": "Me",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:58:59",
"content": "Can it shoot?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392445",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:59:01",
"content": "Last time I checked, the entire inside was full of bullets. And it fires the case and the bullet at the same time.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392449",
"author": "Nomad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:04:48",
"content": "I’d love to see some steppers or servos inside it that move the arms just like in the “real” version",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392456",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:16:58",
"content": "@dan fruzetti – It fires bullets, in fact it fires the WHOLE bullet.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i-nMWgBUp0I really want to make one of these. I am about to check out the article, but he should an accelerometer and play the “pickup” and “drop” sound affects if the turret is moved around.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392467",
"author": "Rob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:39:39",
"content": "This looks great. Good work on the skin.I really want a companion cube made in similar style. Considering doing similar style to this build, but I lack experience.Probably be willing to pay around $250 for one though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392513",
"author": "Diego Spinola",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:25:57",
"content": "The firing mechanism is supposed to take care of that…by firing the whole bullet, thats 65% more bullet per bullet!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392516",
"author": "Me",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:29:18",
"content": "How did they come up with that number 65%?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392588",
"author": "Maave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T00:10:38",
"content": "@dan fruzzettiA counter-recoil system in the gun would be able to reduce the shock of any round considerably. If you can’t get one then .22s are certainly weak enough to fire without jostling the turret.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392601",
"author": "jeditalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T00:44:00",
"content": "what’s a “sheild”?that is amazing craftsmanship.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392620",
"author": "Squirrel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T01:33:30",
"content": "@jeditalian basically the arduino hardware equivalent of an iphone app.que –> cue",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392645",
"author": "Shadyman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T02:15:51",
"content": "Requisite. NSFW Language, but totally worth it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz2_NkyTv8E",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392758",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T08:41:46",
"content": "I don’t blame them…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393425",
"author": "pascal",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:17:12",
"content": "awesome. I toyed around with some CAD software and touched up the Portal 1 model, but arrived at some problems with the impossible mechanics. (when the doors are closed there’s just 2cm of space in the middle…) They seem to have become more realistic in Portal 2, but I can’t get the models to open, without the SDK…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393865",
"author": "clb92",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T17:09:53",
"content": "I love the Portal 2 reference in the headline :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.762033
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/10/human-powered-quadcopter-flies-live-tomorrow/
|
Human-powered Quadcopter Flies Live Tomorrow
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Transportation Hacks"
] |
[
"helicopter",
"human-powered",
"quadcopter",
"sikorsky prize"
] |
A team from the University of Maryland will be
taking their human-powered helicopter to the air tomorrow
. The current flight record for this type of vehicle is just over 19 seconds of flight at a height of about 8 feet. What surprises us about this attempt is that they’re not pedaling just one main rotor. It seems that the most success in man-powered helicopter flight has come from helicopters with a total of four rotors.
The image seen above is a 2009 test of just one of the four rotor arms that will go into UMD’s finished chopper. Fully assembled it will be about 1/3 the size of a football field, dwarfing
the autonomous quadcopters
we usually see around here. Get the details about the design from the video after the break. It’s interesting to hear [Dr. Antonio Filipone] talk about the need to generate both the lift and the thrust, where human-powered fixed-wing aircraft only need the thrust. He predicts that human-powered helicopter flight is possible, but that it will only lift the aircraft, with little possibility of moving it in one direction or the other.
The team is attempting to grab the $250,000
Sikorsky Prize
with their creation. We wish them the best of luck.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT4y4xb2UYI&w=470]
[Thanks Koldfuzion via
DiscoveryNews
]
| 30
| 29
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392395",
"author": "Jason",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T17:45:23",
"content": "Wow, I wish my school (ASU) was willing to partake in challenges like this! EXCITING!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392416",
"author": "homer simpson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:12:20",
"content": "NERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRD!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392418",
"author": "David Rysdam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:15:57",
"content": "That shirt is hilarious.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392425",
"author": "giz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:21:57",
"content": "begs the question, would burning human flesh to run a steam engine be considered “human-powered?”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "741356",
"author": "icssupport",
"timestamp": "2012-08-18T17:08:35",
"content": "Now that’s what I call thinking outside the box!",
"parent_id": "392425",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "392430",
"author": "Ben R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:36:06",
"content": "That’s some awesome stuff. In high school I briefly considered studying aerospace engineering at UMD. Wish I’d had the discipline to pursue it back then.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392460",
"author": "_matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:30:47",
"content": "@JasonMe too. We seem to be stuck with boring solar power.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392478",
"author": "Robo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:55:00",
"content": "Very cool, hopefully we will see a followup article tomorrow.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392498",
"author": "ilukester",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:38:26",
"content": "8inches not feet…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392499",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:39:52",
"content": "Gamera is really neat! It is filled with human meat.(seriously, this is really neat)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392508",
"author": "nebulous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:04:43",
"content": "And for their power source, they use a small Asian grad student… Why not call in someone like Alberto Contador, who can maintain an output of over 600 Watts for quite a few minutes? (whereas I, in decent shape, would struggle at anything approaching 300W for a minute).That would at least give them more of a chance.That said: This is awesome! Although I’d still like a flying bike.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392511",
"author": "LearDriver",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:13:31",
"content": "This is all fine and dandy, but, what’s the point?I’ve been flying for over 20+ yrs (everythingfrom Learjets to Citations, to Bell 222’s, 430’s).What next ? A contest to see if we can make ahamster powered weather balloon ?I’m surprised Sikorsky is a sponsor. Then again,they commissioned that azz-hat over at orangecounty choppers to make a ‘custom’ bike for them.(even though the ‘old man’ totally disrespectedthem)… great way to spend my shareholder dollars!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392799",
"author": "INquiRY",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T12:01:41",
"content": "Here, let me do your work HaD:Project homepage:http://www.agrc.umd.edu/gamera/index.htmlLink to the video stream:http://lecture.umd.edu/detsmediasite/SilverlightPlayer/Default.aspx?peid=dae7b8b7686a4639a0faa0f58ebd08651dOh, did anyone mention M$ Silverlight is required?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392880",
"author": "Keith",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:05:06",
"content": "And here is the guy who will power it:[IMG]http://www.gamjams.net/images/2008/01/29/legs.jpg[/IMG]",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392881",
"author": "INquiRY",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:05:38",
"content": "Stream is still on, but it’s noon over there, so I guess it’s already happened!? Bunch of people in the Gym talking in smaller groups.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392887",
"author": "TanthT",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:15:09",
"content": "Just received word that they had a mechanical failure and need to re-machine a few parts. They hope to resume testing hopefully around 2-3PM today.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392893",
"author": "TanthT",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:20:50",
"content": "That is 2-3PM EST by the way.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392908",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:56:23",
"content": "@LearDriverIt is an engineering challenge.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392912",
"author": "Luke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T17:10:44",
"content": "Leardriver – the point is that discoveries made in technology at the very limits of what can be done today produce future products that are mainstream later on. The developments that came about as a result of the Gossamer Condor and Albatross human powered aircraft ended up in projects for UAVs and possible future Mars long-term flying missions. Aerovironment (the company that was started by the Gossamer designer) is a major player in UAV development.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392952",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:41:05",
"content": "For Linux users (or people who just don’t want to use Silverlight), the video file from this morning can be accessed athttp://stream.umd.edu/Mediasite/dae7b8b7-686a-4639-a0fa-a0f58ebd0865.wmv. I’ll try to post a new link when they go live again this afternoon.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392973",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T19:20:31",
"content": "According to the UMD Newsdesk (http://twitter.com/#!/UMDNews), there won’t be a live stream this afternoon.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392999",
"author": "superkuh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:01:54",
"content": "It just started. Thanks for the wmv stream, Matt.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393000",
"author": "superkuh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:06:19",
"content": "Oh. It’s just the old stream replaying. I’m sorry. Nevermind.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393028",
"author": "salomon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:15:17",
"content": "About the live streaming they said (twitter) “Bandwidth issues. We are recording attempts for posting later. Sorry!”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393368",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T15:19:10",
"content": "Today’s video feed:mms://wms.3C68.edgecastcdn.net/203C68/gamera",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393435",
"author": "INquiRY",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:40:04",
"content": "First run inhttp://lecture.umd.edu/detsmediasite/SilverlightPlayer/Default.aspx?peid=dae7b8b7686a4639a0faa0f58ebd08651dat 1h55manother one 2h7m45sso that’s boring. Why bother streaming it and then no further info?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393479",
"author": "UMD Observer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T20:41:36",
"content": "I’m sitting in the UMD gymnasium right now. I’ve been watching the attempts since yesterday, and it’s really thrilling. The mechanical difficulties are almost all worked out, and one attempt had 3 of the 4 legs off the ground. For the record, the pilot is a 20 year old named Judy (not Asian or a grad student). She’s a competitive cyclist, so she has a huge strength to weight ratio. The mechanical problem they were having is that the carbon fiber frame was flexing a lot during operation, so that put slack in the chain connecting the foot pedals and the hand crank, and the chain kept coming off the gears as a result. They have a tensioner on it now, so no more slack. They’re making small mods as we speak, then they’ll try yet again. I’ve taken a video of every attempt, which I’ll put on YouTube at some point. Feel free to ask questions if you want to know anything specific…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393876",
"author": "JRW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T17:22:45",
"content": "As a Mech/Aero Eng undergrad student at UF, it is interesting to see the design being put forth by UMD. We (myself and some friends) have started a small “exploratory” club to look at multiple designs and whether or not they are possible with current materials available.Hell, the prize has only been around for 20 odd years, someone needs to win it soon!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "579237",
"author": "Joe",
"timestamp": "2012-02-09T21:29:25",
"content": "I’m wondering the prize is still up there or we already have a winer?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "896374",
"author": "t-bone",
"timestamp": "2012-12-03T19:55:35",
"content": "The first eight feet or so of each rotor- do they provide any lift? It just seems they can only provide drag.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.831435
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/10/bit-banging-vga-from-an-sd-card-slot/
|
Bit Banging VGA From An SD Card Slot
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Linux Hacks",
"Video Hacks"
] |
[
"ben nanonote",
"bit banging",
"card slot",
"sd",
"vga"
] |
If you’ve got some favorite electronic device that includes an SD card slot but doesn’t have a video out port you may be able to
push VGA signals through the card reader conductors
. That’s exactly what’s going on above with the Ben NanoNote, a
sub-$100 Linux device
which we’ve seen
using its SD card slot as general I/O
before.
The hardware to capture the signals includes a breakout board for the card slot. Free-formed on the other end of that connector card is a gaggle of resistor which handle level conversion for the VGA color signals, with a VGA cable taking it from there to the monitor. The software that makes this happen is a dirty hack, blocking all other functions while it displays a still image. But we’re sure that it can be cleaned up somewhat. Just don’t hold out hopes for full-motion video, this little guy just doesn’t have it in him.
[via
Dangerous Prototypes
via
Slashdot
]
| 14
| 14
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392344",
"author": "Stephanie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T15:36:30",
"content": "Awesome sauce! Can’t deny though that it has the look of a system on life support! ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392352",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T16:01:24",
"content": "“this little guy just doesn’t have it in him.”A challenge, no doubt…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392365",
"author": "rusty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T16:33:32",
"content": "if there is video and audio on ti83 this can be done.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392399",
"author": "DanAdamKOF",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T17:48:16",
"content": "now THAT’s a hack!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392401",
"author": "RITredbeard",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T17:51:39",
"content": "Bit banging SD to VGA. Okay, that’s pretty awesome.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392413",
"author": "Maave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:07:36",
"content": "That’s sweet. I wonder if this can be done from USB SD readers. I bet this could be done for composite/component video also.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392431",
"author": "Werner",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:36:27",
"content": "It’s actually a mixture of big-banging (for hsync/vsync) and making the MMC controller think there’s an MMC device and sending the pixel data line by line with a block write. An earlier version did only big-bang but only got to a resolution of 320×480 (with line doubling, so it displayed 320×240).Video … hmm. It should be quite feasible to pre-decode a few frames, store them in RAM, and then stream them from there. A VGA frame is about 160 kB, the Ben has 32 MB, so if we let this take half of it, it could store a 4 seconds clip at 25 fps …USB SD reader. That might be more difficult. Maybe, if the monitor isn’t too picky about the timing, you can trick the controller into doing a block write, and you send the sync signals as part of the data stream. That would take away two color bits. Well, 2 bit grayscale wouldn’t be so bad :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392509",
"author": "Josh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:06:42",
"content": "This isn’t a hackLol @ dumbasses that always say that :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392573",
"author": "Agent420",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T23:06:46",
"content": "Might be a hack, and indeed clever, but don’t see the value…A $10 Propeller chip makes a more useful vga generator.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392579",
"author": "Hungry_Myst",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T23:34:02",
"content": "– Everyone defines “hack” a little differently, I would argue that this definitely qualifies.– Not every hack needs “value”. Some times it’s just fun, and to some people that (and the learning experience) is enough.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392587",
"author": "Werner",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T00:09:50",
"content": "Maybe I should mention how the MMC controller starts the transfer: it first sends a command to the device. Then it tri-states the CMD line and waits for a response. Now, we don’t have a real device there, so a pull-down resistor provides that start bit. Luckily, the controller doesn’t try to make sense of the rest of the response.Now, it would be a shame to lose an entire signal line (of which we only have six) just for this handshake. But as it happens, the hsync pulse has to be sent just around the time this start bit is needed.CMD is configured as a GPIO most of the time. Before the start bit, it is driven low (hsync), then the pin is configured as the device function (i.e., MMC CMD), which starts the data transfer, and goes right back to GPIO and driven high afterwards.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392602",
"author": "jeditalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T00:49:08",
"content": "i wish my phone looked somewhat like that, only thicker and more powerful. What is it with not having keyboards on the best drooooooid-powered devices?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392682",
"author": "uncool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T04:27:34",
"content": "Nice hack. Reminds me of the way the Atari VCS generates video, one line at a time. Hey, does this device run DOOM^H^H^H^HCOMBAT?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392776",
"author": "pun",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T09:57:39",
"content": "One of the best things I’ve seen on here in a while! I want my Android phone to do this!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.5274
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/10/roll-your-own-capacitors-high-voltage-edition/
|
Roll Your Own Capacitors – High Voltage Edition
|
Mike Szczys
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"acetate",
"aluminum foil",
"capacitor",
"overhead projector",
"transparency",
"zip ties"
] |
[Grenadier] tipped us off about his method for
building your own high-voltage capacitors
. He thought the
paper and foil capacitor project
was a nice introduction to the concepts, but at the same time he knew he could produce a much more powerful device.
For the dielectric he is using acetate film. This is the material from which overhead transparency sheets are made. He stuck with aluminum foil for the two plates. Just roll the foil flat with a rolling-pin, use thin wire to minimize the air that will be trapped between the dielectric layers, and make sure the foil plates are at least 4cm shorter than the acetate film on each end to prevent leakage. After rolling and securing the capacitor with zip ties you’ll be ready for the 3nF worth of fun seen in the video after the break. [Grenadier] mentions that this can be improved further if you were to vacuum impregnate the device with beeswax.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbByzlGs8V0&w=470]
| 13
| 13
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392345",
"author": "H3xx",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T15:37:07",
"content": "Any thoughts to build a coil gun with something like this? It would make it very powerful.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392358",
"author": "Anonymouse",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T16:14:39",
"content": "If you bring the foil out the ends and make the connections there you end up with substantially less parasitic inductance and resistance.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392361",
"author": "grenadier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T16:27:36",
"content": "Sure you could, you’d just need a couple thousand capacitors…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392364",
"author": "Nippey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T16:33:03",
"content": "@H3xx: …if u can switch it… (u have to cope with some current, too) ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392503",
"author": "dcroy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:48:35",
"content": "i have seen people use ordinary copper clad boards stacked together to form air capacitors, works quite well for high voltage applications",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392540",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T22:01:23",
"content": "@H3xxThis is a 3nF capacitor according to the article. That is about 1,000,000 times smaller than the ~3mF of capacitance found in coil guns.You would have to charge this 3nF capacitor to around 100,000 volts to hold the same amount of charge as a 3mF capacitor at 100 volts",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392542",
"author": "superkuh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T22:01:57",
"content": "Nice, I guess. But a more refined and useful technique is documented over at the 4HV (For High Voltage) wiki:http://wiki.4hv.org/index.php/Rolled_foil_capacitor_-_60_kV,_3.5_nFI posted this reference in the last comment thread too (http://hackaday.com/2011/05/09/roll-your-own-capacitors/#comment-391958) but I guess it went unnoticed.Also see their use in a 300kV CW multiplier:http://4hv.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?39162and how to assemble the HV diodes from 1n4007 strings in pvc tubes in oil:http://wiki.4hv.org/index.php/High_voltage_diode_-_50_kV,_30_A_peak",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392669",
"author": "peteroptional",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T03:39:06",
"content": "Why not just use two metal pipes – one large enough to fit the other inside? A thousand ways to keep them in that configuration from there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392838",
"author": "Karl",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:50:46",
"content": "What is charging the capacitor? How is it coupled? Voltage, frequency, etc? Also, why not a biggish Leyden Jar? e.g. metalized styrofoam cup Leyden jar in proximity to a Wimshurst machine. Maybe I am missing the point.My first reaction. Intersted in the beeswax improvement scheme.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "400819",
"author": "Pinky",
"timestamp": "2011-06-02T09:37:20",
"content": "Foil capacitors like this only makes sense if you need microsecond range discharges or large continuous AC currents (tesla tank circuits).For millisecond range discharges for coilguns you want to use electrolytic capacitors, they have hugely better energy density.peteroptional : the surface area of the capacitor with the rolled foil is much larger … and thus also the capacitance.Karl : energy per volume and weight both kinda suck … both the Leyden jar and the styrofoam cup are poor in that respect. The rolled foil capacitor is probably the best you can DIY for larger capacitances … ideally you’d use Mylar or BOPP foil though, and putting it in a sealable pipe with oil and then vacuum pumping the pipe to get the air out of the roll would increase it’s reliability.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "675008",
"author": "db",
"timestamp": "2012-06-08T22:10:46",
"content": "Got a whiff of ozone watching the video. Must be a conditioned response.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1692286",
"author": "Vulnavia",
"timestamp": "2014-08-06T06:52:30",
"content": "The man actually said “Positively charged electrons” — Sometimes I despair the rising generation ;-(",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2679817",
"author": "Phil Spendley",
"timestamp": "2015-08-15T23:27:59",
"content": "To achieve decent HV performance, AND decent capacitance, yet minimise the effects of leakage / corona, it’s worthwhile revisiting how capacitor HV bushings are made. Central conductor, with Kraft paper / foil outer layers, the width of which gradually reduces as the outside of the coil is approached. This has the desired effect of managing field distribution, so reduces corona effects.The central terminal may be brought out via a standard bushing (not difficult to produce for those with a 3D printer), or you can cast your own bushing using epoxy or acrylic. The outer foil is terminated to ground via the casing (steel tube), with the central conductor isolated via a polyethylene disk. Fill with oil (you’ll need a vacuum pump to ensure best penetration), and away you go.Useful resource (HV in general) –http://www.slideshare.net/piyujwr/8-ee7-hve-lab-manualCapacitor Bushings –http://www.ohio-brass.com/literature/bushings/PCO-10techpaper_overview.pdf",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.883335
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/10/dont-hit-that-switch/
|
Don’t Hit That Switch!
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Robots Hacks",
"Toy Hacks"
] |
[
"box",
"R/C car",
"robot",
"toy"
] |
Hackaday reader [Danukeru]
sent us a video featuring a box-based robot with an interesting personality
. The box is fairly simple and from the outside seems to consist only of a switch and an LED. When the switch is flipped however, the box comes to life.
When the box is activated, the lid opens, and a small arm reaches out to turn the switch off. We’ve seen that plenty of times, but this one turns out to be a little different. In the video, this process seems to repeat a couple dozen times before the robot gets angry and flips out. At first we thought that the end portion of the video was done with a bit of digital trickery, but after reviewing the creator’s blog, it looks like it could be legit. It is very hard to see the box’s innards in the video, but it does house a remote control car chassis that allows it to move around and spin out, as seen below.
It’s a pretty neat project, and if you can handle
reading the creator’s site via Google translate
, there is plenty of picture documentation of the build process for your perusal.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmQ5LsNMXZ4&w=470]
| 44
| 44
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392281",
"author": "IcYhAwK",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:07:22",
"content": "that is too cool. (if its legit)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392282",
"author": "anton",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:10:43",
"content": "The raise of the machines is nigh!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392284",
"author": "GoBO",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:20:35",
"content": "WOW, I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard at a hackaday video before. That is absolute CHAMPION!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392286",
"author": "wardy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:22:27",
"content": "I don’t know why I like this so much.A machine that throws a temper tantrum! Oh wait, is it running Windows?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392287",
"author": "DarkAnt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:23:13",
"content": "It’s Claude Shannon’s Ultimate Machine. You could at least mention that in the summary.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392288",
"author": "D Sizzler",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:23:48",
"content": "Or rise even…..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392289",
"author": "FoxxCommand",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:26:02",
"content": "It’s faces keep changing…..?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392291",
"author": "Robert Thane",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:28:15",
"content": "I love it, especially how after it flips out and finally shuts down the switch recedes into the box!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392292",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:34:07",
"content": "Most excellent!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392293",
"author": "anton",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:39:54",
"content": "Well, it may be “raise”, or it may be “rise” – whom shall I trust: the machine translation or my sense of language?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392296",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:40:19",
"content": "This is the most entertaining thing I have ever seen in quite a while. Keep up the good work.. :)I think i might build one for all those people that keep asking me about what the thinks on my desk are.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392299",
"author": "sneakypoo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:55:43",
"content": "Brilliant spin on the old classic. Love it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392301",
"author": "Henrik Pedersen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T12:01:01",
"content": "I’m in love :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392302",
"author": "Jack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T12:05:47",
"content": "That is simply adorable",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392303",
"author": "DeadlyFoez",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T12:06:10",
"content": "sweet.But it looks like the faces are just taped on and the user is changing them, not the machine itself.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392306",
"author": "rasz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T12:13:19",
"content": "the end is the best, personality reminds me Portal robots :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392309",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T12:20:17",
"content": "Been around forever. You can buy that as a kit at the “make” store for the past 3 years.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392312",
"author": "Brian.Holiday",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T12:36:46",
"content": "Answer me this, am I the only one who thinks this simulates the personality of an ex girlfriend? :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392313",
"author": "jongscx",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T13:03:46",
"content": "wait… so we’re PROGRAMMING robots to go crazy now? I thought it wasn’t stupposed to happen until a freak lightning storm or a disgruntled R&D military scientist goes crazy…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392316",
"author": "sneakypoo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T13:17:17",
"content": "jongscx: Not only robots, computers too:http://blogs.forbes.com/alexknapp/2011/05/08/scientists-create-a-schizophrenic-computer/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392321",
"author": "elektrophreak",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T13:31:00",
"content": "at first i thought: o crap, not another useless box. but then after half of video it ran away, and i was like: nice!but in the end it became way too cool!great work! :-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392323",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T13:37:01",
"content": "Cool,you can pump the robot up enough to turn into a combat robot, Mauler/Blendo/Ziggo style.Speaking of combat robots – does HAD ever cover them?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392325",
"author": "bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T13:44:44",
"content": "Awesome. Proper LOLs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392329",
"author": "Andy Goth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T14:02:27",
"content": "sneakypoo: The description given in the second-to-last paragraph reminds me of my experiences playing with MegaHAL.http://megahal.alioth.debian.org/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392331",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T14:16:17",
"content": "I’m not very taken with the spinning round and knocking things off the desk, but I LOVE the retracting switch! So much better than a simple timeout :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392346",
"author": "MG",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T15:37:24",
"content": "My 2 year old in box format.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392355",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T16:11:38",
"content": "Nice!Cool original take on a a classic project.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392359",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T16:16:41",
"content": "Cool box, it’s the stopped action in the video that I don’t like.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392374",
"author": "Tom",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T16:56:05",
"content": "At first I was like “meh… seen these before” but then I watched the video and as soon as it started driving around on that table I was like “OMG I NEED ONE OF THOSE!”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392377",
"author": "skater_j10",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T17:20:57",
"content": "Hey if anyone wants to get a head start on building one of these, you can start with the useless machine kit from Solarbotics and modify to suite.http://www.solarbotics.com/products/60005/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392412",
"author": "058606",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:06:39",
"content": "Angry box O_O Lol.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392428",
"author": "kak",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:34:01",
"content": "haha.. nice twist :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392437",
"author": "JohnBailey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:41:51",
"content": "Needs an angry whine noise just before the tantrum.The retracting switch is genius though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392497",
"author": "raithios",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T20:36:49",
"content": "Whats the deal with the changes faces? Is this just for the video?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392536",
"author": "Wolf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:55:02",
"content": "Cool, but this one’ll always be my favorite:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F_BKe-XWo4&w=360&h=270]",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392610",
"author": "cafeine",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T01:09:10",
"content": "haha….epic!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392708",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T06:01:28",
"content": "This box is epic and much cooler than the original. Nice work.@sneakypooInteresting program/study. I’d like to see their code.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392921",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T17:18:01",
"content": "Angry box is angry!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393243",
"author": "Kaijuu",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:49:41",
"content": "Does anyone see a link to the code in the thread?Very cool variation on an otherwise beaten horse.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393247",
"author": "darkest",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T06:54:39",
"content": "also doubles as a bureau-cleaner :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393417",
"author": "emerson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:09:19",
"content": "this is amazing",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393731",
"author": "ed shaw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T11:43:32",
"content": "I want one",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394114",
"author": "lurker",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T07:21:22",
"content": "That was too cool – This belongs on everyones WTF shelf right alongside the 8-ball that blinds you and some sort for button that shoots pepper-spray.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1056296",
"author": "someone",
"timestamp": "2013-09-12T00:39:11",
"content": "how do you make it",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,192.999048
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/09/avr-gameboy-dumper/
|
AVR Gameboy Dumper
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"Nintendo Game Boy Hacks"
] |
[
"cart dump"
] |
[Kevan] has been hard at work latley developing a
Gameboy cart dumper
, and while there are a few loose ends to tie up, the device is functioning fine to build up his collection. Running an AVR (mega 16?) and a FTDI chip for the usb connection, the device reads the game’s ROM and SRAM, and can also write the SRAM if you want to load your save games on to the real cart.
On the pc side of things, the device is communicated with using a generic HID protocol and can hit speeds from 16Kbps (currently) to around 64Kbps (soon). A python script currently handles the data stream, but for the rest of us there is a GUI version in the works for both *x and windows.
Also in the works is a redesigned PCB. There were a couple issues and you can see the jumpers, and though we think it adds a little character, it would be good to have fixed in the future.
| 19
| 18
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392115",
"author": "dext3r",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T02:08:36",
"content": "no source? cool pictures, i guess.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392128",
"author": "Alex",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T02:47:39",
"content": "I am pretty sure the AVR is either an ATMEGA32u4 or 16u4, probably the former. I don’t see any other usb chips atmel sells that have the tqfp44 package. As such there is also no ftdi chip on board.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392130",
"author": "Agent24",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T02:55:58",
"content": "He does say “I will also be open sourcing the project once I have everything working how I want it.”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392137",
"author": "mrasmus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T03:23:31",
"content": "I don’t think there’s an FTDI chip on there — he mentions that he tried to use the factory bootloader of the AVR, which makes me think he’s using a hardware-USB-enabled chip (AT90USB or similar). I also see no FTDI chip on the board, and I don’t know of any FTDI chips that use generic HID (AKA don’t need drivers), as this one apparently does. Looks pretty spiffy, it might be interesting to try out making a version with a software USB library (since I doubt the full speed of a USB AVR is necessary for this task). Also would be interesting to try to make it appear to be a USB Key or something; it’d make for easier ROM dumping. Very cool, though!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392145",
"author": "Kuy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T03:44:12",
"content": "I like the fact that there’s no (silly) FTDI chip, but posing as a HID device is just wrong. In fact, these blatant abuses of the USB HID profile are far too common (lookin’ at you, Arduino!) and just need to stop. This should be a vendor-specific device (class 0xFF) or perhaps CDC (like a serial port, but that’s not quite right either.) Hardware like this needs a driver, period; the right thing to do is write a good (userspace) one that can be trivially ported to various platforms and bridged to various languages.And consider using usbtiny or V-USB (as mrasmus pointed out.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392159",
"author": "error404",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T04:16:50",
"content": "I think using the mass storage class would be acceptable for a driverless and high-performance approach that’s not an abuse of purpose.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392160",
"author": "hekilledmywire",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T04:19:04",
"content": "It might be using V-USB and a plain Atmega with no hardware usb..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392169",
"author": "Kevan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T04:49:53",
"content": "It is a ATMEGA32U4, I chose to start off with just the Generic HID diver just to verify that the hardware part of the project is working correctly. I do plan on writing a custom driver for it to speed up dumping speeds considerably.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2795568",
"author": "Shushi",
"timestamp": "2015-11-15T01:50:08",
"content": "Hi Kevan,I’ve got a question about a friends gameboy projecthttps://blog.thijsalkema.de/me/blog//blog/2013/05/14/game-boy-cartridge-dumping-on-a-raspberry-pi-part-1/Shes trying to make gameboy cartridge slots compatible with raspberry pi, and her recent progress is this;“Hi Shushi,Yes, the approach should work identical between Gameboy and Gameboy Color cartridges. As far as the cartridges are concerned, they are identical.Before you get started on this, though, you should realize that my approach doesn’t come close to being able to read the cartridges in real-time. I should’ve done the math on this beforehand, but I didn’t. I2C is simply not fast enough to transfer the data in time to play in real-time. I managed to modify an emulator and launch it on the Pi reading the cartridge, but it took minutes before it showed the first splash screen. Maybe something using a couple of shift registers could be fast enough, but I haven’t looked into that.”Do you have ideas on how to solve this or do you know of someone that could help?",
"parent_id": "392169",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "392170",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T05:09:01",
"content": "Cool hack but you can buy these for under $20, fully functional.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392209",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T07:07:38",
"content": "I don’t think it’s V-USB, I don’t see a resistor from one of the data lines to the power.So it must be one of the AVRs with USB.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392219",
"author": "WeblionX",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T07:16:20",
"content": "I’d like to try something like this for N64 cartridges instead. I’d love to have an optical bay just have a cartridge slot, so you can just plug in a game and go. Maybe even with controller ports.One of the many projects I might start someday.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392251",
"author": "makomk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T09:10:05",
"content": "Kuy: unfortunately, the only practical way to write userspace drivers on older versions of Windows was to make your USB hardware a HID device. So basically, you can thank Microsoft for this widespread abuse of the HID class.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392271",
"author": "Wazzco",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T10:18:57",
"content": "REPOST…. and indeed no FTDI chip… IS HACKADAY.COM going SOFT? :Din case you were wondering:http://hackaday.com/2008/01/10/usb-transferer-aka-usb-gameboy-card-interface/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392279",
"author": "Tom",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T11:04:49",
"content": "He mentioned in his previous post (http://www.rival-corp.com/2011/03/29/usb-gameboy-rom-dumper/) that he’s using an ATMEGA32U4.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392441",
"author": "Flavor",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:48:12",
"content": "Nice work!This sounds like what we’re doing, except we’re doing it for the Neo Geo Pocket Color carts and Neo Geo SRAM Savemasta cards.http://ngpc.freeplaytech.com/We’re also including an expansion port to make it easy to extend to other systems (GameBoy, Wonderswan, NES, etc.).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392780",
"author": "Kevan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T10:25:08",
"content": "Ok I updated the project and I am now using a custom class. I am now dump a 512KB game in 4 seconds, compared to the 34 seconds from before. Using LibUSB for the driver.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392790",
"author": "Crimson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T11:33:43",
"content": "I just hacked into FBI database.It wasn’t as hard as I thought. It seems the forces who supposedly ‘captured’ Bin Ladin were not really looking for him at all. Anyone seeing the code?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392850",
"author": "Gilgamesh_Ragnar",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:17:20",
"content": "Why is this game rated M?@Tomposted at 4:04@CrimsonYour an idiot",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,193.061698
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/11/diy-hidden-bookshelf-speakers/
|
DIY Hidden Bookshelf Speakers
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Musical Hacks"
] |
[
"amplifier",
"books",
"class a",
"hidden",
"speakers"
] |
[Steve] was tired of looking at the speakers in his workshop
and began searching around for something a little more aesthetically pleasing
. Having recently received a set of hollowed out books used for hiding things as a gift, he thought that he might be able to solve his speaker issue in a similar fashion.
He grabbed a couple of books from a local thrift store and promptly removed the pages. They were replaced with cloth-covered plywood to make the device more sturdy while simulating the look of pages.
He mounted his speaker inside one of the books, and in a second installed a small 7W Class A amplifier. A third book houses a padded compartment to hold his iPod, completing the set.
[Steve] reports that the speakers are pretty much undetectable, and the sound quality is decent too. In fact, we’ve started looking for some old books to re-purpose in our workshop as well.
| 10
| 10
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392885",
"author": "Harvie.CZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:14:11",
"content": "Shakespeakre",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392895",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:23:46",
"content": "Looks like all the screen information about songs and such will also be undetectable!Awesome way to keep shop dust off the player though, and an interesting project!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392902",
"author": "Fallen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:44:05",
"content": "Class A would probably be wasted on speakers like that…But kudos for it looking good, and doing what it was designed to do.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392904",
"author": "Fallen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:48:37",
"content": "Edit…The chip amp in that kit is most likely operating in class A/B not class A. I see no reason why Velleman would bias it into class A. The TDA2003 is class A/B by default. But anywho, the choice of amp makes more sense now. Why someone would go class A for something that low fidelity was beyond me.So yeah, good project overall :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392918",
"author": "durfdee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T17:16:21",
"content": "personally, id much rather hear good quality audio vs not see the speakers making the sound.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392942",
"author": "Sariel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:10:59",
"content": "you could have also just used these,http://www.holosonics.com/products.htmlI saw the inventor talk about them on TED. I think HAD even has an article about it up somewhere.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392996",
"author": "andar_b",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T19:59:22",
"content": "Some of us still listen to the radio, with static and everything. Sound quality isn’t the most important thing in the world. :p",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393136",
"author": "vonskippy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T00:57:41",
"content": "Who worries about speaker aesthetics in a workroom?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393272",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T07:43:10",
"content": "@andar_b: …but FM radio doesn’t _get_ static… wait, are you listening to AM…? No way. Jeremy Clarkson (of “Top Gear” fame) made it pretty clear that only the Queen listens to AM any more… ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393362",
"author": "Hacksaw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T14:55:02",
"content": "@Sariel… he could have used those but then would have most likely needed a 2nd mortgage to pay for them leaving him no money left to do things in the shop…and if he moved two steps to the left he would no longer have been able to hear his lovely FM radio !",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,193.113221
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/11/i2c-101/
|
I2C 101
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"how-to"
] |
[
"i2c"
] |
Embedded Labs has come out with a very
detailed I2C 101 tutorial
, that you should check out if you have any questions on the system. I2C is a short distance serial interface that only requires 2 bus lines. Keep in mind that as wires go down complexity goes up. While there are more than a few I2C devices out there in the wild, and the 2 wire system does make wiring a breeze sometimes, the information required to make use of it often seems confusing to someone who is just starting with it.
The tutorial covers basic theory, stop / start conditions, addressing, data transfer, and acknowledgment plus illustrations. A couple of specific examples are given in the form of a 24LC512 serial eeprom, and a DS1631 digital thermometer complete with code.
| 15
| 15
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392847",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:07:57",
"content": "Yeah, I’ll just run a 3rd wire, thanks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392848",
"author": "Ikari-Pt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:14:00",
"content": "I2C is great, and really useful when you are using multiple Microcontrolers and need to share information.Using standard i2c devices (compass, eeprom etc) is easy as the slaves already are coded.In a pic the i2c Master is already done, maquing several pic´s act as slaves, that’s the tricky part.Even mode difficult is your making a network whit several masters.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392864",
"author": "wulfman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:44:32",
"content": "Having designed a system using I2C it is not just a short distance bus. There are bus extender IC’s that can extend it to meters. It is the best interface for a lot of things out there. A to D at a distance. Static code and web page storage. Data logging storage etc. The Stellaris Processor i use has a built in I2C interface for ease of use, all library’s included in the development software. Don’t be a chicken, go forth and use new things and design them into your devices.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392867",
"author": "UltraMagnus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:51:23",
"content": "Unfortunately this is for the commercial mikroC rather than the standard free C18/C30, which will make it useless to most here.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392959",
"author": "smoker_dave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:53:09",
"content": "Useless.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392994",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T19:54:41",
"content": "Meters is still ‘short distance’ IMHO. But maybe I’m spoiled :P",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392997",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:00:20",
"content": "@Texas Toast: Microchip’s AN734 spells it out pretty clearly for both SSP and MSSP both in English and in assembly. PIC I2C hardware doesn’t do you any favors since it requires your code to implement part of the state machine, but as long as you stick to the states defined in the appnote things tend to work ok.Just make sure to get document number DS00734B or later. I once spent a week trying to debug an I2C ISR because the older version required BF=0 for state 3 which isn’t always the case.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393024",
"author": "Olivier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:07:37",
"content": "@Daid : depends of the number of meters…1000000m is a lot, while 0.00000001km is quite short :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393038",
"author": "UltraMagnus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:35:30",
"content": "@Texas ToastPerhaps I over reacted, but I had just spent two hours looking for a manual to the c30 I2C library before this came in n my RSS feed. The microchip documents are fairly worthless in that none of them actually use their own library.Honestly though, if I wanted a theoretical overview of how I2C works, I would just look it up on wikipedia or something. The mikroC libraries and C30 libraries are very different in how they are used.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393042",
"author": "Alex rus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:40:04",
"content": "I like the read even though I’m just starting out with microcontrollers’s and stuff.I’d like to make my Ti Launchpad communicate with a Wii Motion Plus sensor that uses I2C.btw,long distance is 20m.short distance is 20cm.case closed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393095",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T22:59:15",
"content": "I use I2C in a ton of products and it’s a nice easy to understand protocol if you don’t have a lot of noise in your system, and if you don’t run the signals off board more than 1 meter. You can use Schmitt-Trigger inputs to improve noise immunity.This is genius right here though, using constant current pull-ups instead of resistors. Posted by TZ on the Embedded Labs thread comments:http://www.i2cchip.com/constant_current_pullup.htmlHaters … STFUWhiners … GTFOHackers … 01101000 01101001 01100111 01101000 00100000 01100110 01101001 01110110 01100101",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393391",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T17:02:39",
"content": "Don’t most desktops use I2C for health monitoring? If you can access it some how it would seem like a great way to add an LCD or even an IR Remote to your PC without using one of our USB ports. Of course I really wish that desktop PCs would bring out all the available buses and ports to headers even if they are not using them",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393436",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:40:14",
"content": "Don’t most PCs have an I2C bus for monitoring system health? You know for fans and such?Seems like an interesting way to add an LCD display or other sensors to you PC without using a USB port.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393506",
"author": "mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T21:57:54",
"content": "i believe the ram modules have an i2c eeprom on them, so the bios can properly configure the dram controlersjust solder a few thin wires to the ram module and you have a breakout board for it",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393629",
"author": "John",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T04:09:50",
"content": "@Brett — thanks for posting that. genius, indeed!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,193.16903
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/11/official-android-open-accessory-development-kit-its-an-arduino/
|
Official Android Open Accessory Development Kit – It’s An Arduino
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"Android Hacks",
"Arduino Hacks",
"News"
] |
[
"android",
"arduino",
"google"
] |
A new
development kit
for android was unveiled at the Google I/O 2011 developer conference that
officially
supports the Arduino.
It looks like Google took a cue from
Circuits@Home
, because the interesting part of this dev kit is the fact that the shield can be put into USB Host mode. That’s great for phones and tablets that can’t act as a USB host themselves. Google will also release the APIs for this Android/Arduino mashup for 3.1, but it will thankfully be backported to Gingerbread.
We covered the
IOIO breakout board
for Android last month, but the Google board will be based off of the Arduino Mega 2560, a far more capable device. Interestingly, it appears this board is
available now
for about $400 USD. We’re not so sure a hobbyist will be buying it at that price.
While this board doesn’t do anything you couldn’t do before with a bluetooth shield, it’s great to see a company supporting all the builders out there.
| 52
| 50
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392824",
"author": "mono",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:07:46",
"content": "Links is broked",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392825",
"author": "elektrophreak",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:08:27",
"content": "they are most certainly NOT supporting me with that $400 price tag :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392826",
"author": "nyder",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:12:10",
"content": "lol elektrophreak said what i was going to say.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392827",
"author": "Stephen Shaffer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:13:45",
"content": "I’d rather hack apart my phone",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392830",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:32:53",
"content": "This just goes to show that when even professional companies like Google don’t know how to do proper embedded programming, they turn to a joke called Arduino.With all the outsourced engineering required for your Nexus phones, you couldn’t spring for a nice pre-programmed PIC or ARM processor for the dev kit? And $400 for an Arduino board? Pfft.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392831",
"author": "aTOMIC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:34:05",
"content": "avaliable nowis not a link, <a href=\"http://www.rt-net.jp/products/rt-adk" is",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392836",
"author": "durfdee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:47:25",
"content": "ok who typo’d and put an extra 0….. right?!*rubs eyes*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392837",
"author": "anti-fanboi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:47:28",
"content": "OMG! PONIES!!!!!!11!!1!1!!!11!!Looks like they are going with that whole Apple white/$$$ exclusive look and feel. Good for them:/Lotta cabbage to flash a LED?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392839",
"author": "Brian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:51:22",
"content": "Personally if you have a wireless device like a phone, I don’t see why you want to add a wired external object to it. Most if not all Android phones have bluetooth which seems the logical way to talk to embedded systems until absolute throughput is the issue, which I can’t imagine being the case for a typical Ardunio based project…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392844",
"author": "addidis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:57:12",
"content": "Microchips board cost 80http://www.microchipdirect.com/ProductSearch.aspx?Keywords=DM240415",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392845",
"author": "Josh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:01:37",
"content": "I downloaded the ADK, and took a peek at the schematics. It looks like the ADK board uses a FT232 chip and a ATMEGA1280. Does this mean the ADK board is actually based on the older Arduino MEGA and NOT the newer Mega 2560?? That would suck.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392846",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:06:47",
"content": "$400 for a glorified arduino is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in a week.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392851",
"author": "Luke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:18:51",
"content": "Holy shit, $400 really? I guess they intend it to be used just for industry/business R&D.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392852",
"author": "Gregory Strike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:19:15",
"content": "$400?!?!?! Are they f%&$ing nuts?!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392854",
"author": "Randy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:23:39",
"content": "The moment I saw that the official platform was Arduino-based, I knew we were in for some good old-fashioned HaD Arduino hate.For those not so inclined,http://www.microchip.com/get/522Dis Microchip’s version, with a royalty-free licensed library (but not open source). We’ll probably see a LUFA-based version for AVR in, what, a week? Maybe two?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392860",
"author": "addidis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:35:20",
"content": "Yeah the Microchip one looks like one hell of a board for exploring pic24 too.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392866",
"author": "DanJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:48:57",
"content": "Seems like a perfect opportunity for some budding entrepreneur. Design a low-cost alternative and convince Sparkfun to sell it. Win-win.I’ve been a MFi developer in the past and I have to say that I love this open aspect of Android. From my perspective as a professional hardware developer, $400 would be nothing for a tool (compared to the budget of a real product development). It makes sense to me that Google would target the pros understanding the open nature of the interface would allow the hobbyist to hack as well.Arduino is a reasonable choice because of the broad library support and exposure. I’ve dealt with plenty of other micro-controller development systems and Arduino is a win for testing out a concept or building some in-house tool. It lets you get the job done quickly.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392868",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:52:38",
"content": "1. @Brian. Bluetooth has a lot higher latency then a direct connection and costs more.2. I am willing to bet that Sparkfun and LadyAda will have boards for cheap very soon.Come one folks this is so cool. The cost of Android phones is dropping all the time. Wait till there is a cheap phone with HD video and gyros. Can you say drone controller over the cell network?Once cheaper boards are out or even better I can get enough info to roll my own I am thinking of a bike computer that I just plug my phone into.Think about in 4 years when high schools can collect Android phones that support this and turn kids loose with it.Stop being such haters this could be so cool and frankly Google is giving it away for free. My guess is that they are hoping that some small percentage of folks manage to make something really cool out of it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392871",
"author": "redbeard",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:56:12",
"content": "hell, at least in all of this they used an FTDI. a really simple request, but one that has been lost on the arduino creators in favor of standardizing with one vendor (at the expense of turning it into an ACM device under linux).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392886",
"author": "my mind says",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:15:00",
"content": "too much expensive for a damn board…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392892",
"author": "JJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:20:38",
"content": "The hate is not entirely directed at the use of arduino. For me, it’s the lack of innovation. Seems this has been done before and they should have just partnered with Sparkfun instead of making me scan my credit card for a $400 arduino + breakout.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392898",
"author": "The Cageybee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:26:42",
"content": "Where the hell did they get $400 from?Looking at the schematics there’s only about $30 of parts, max.Luckily, I expect clones to be available on the market in 3…2…1.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392907",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:52:15",
"content": "“frankly Google is giving it away for free.”Frankly, it’s $400.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392909",
"author": "addidis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:57:18",
"content": "I thought I read the sources for it were open. Board files etc.yep… frankly they /are/ giving it away for free.quote from the link in the post.The hardware design files and code are contained in the ADK package download.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392924",
"author": "Will",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T17:24:14",
"content": "I think part of the price is just expectation. Somehow I doubt serious developers would take a $30 development board seriously. I mean thats ridiculous, but its the way some people think.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392928",
"author": "seer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T17:43:59",
"content": "$400 for an wall plug external powered board to communication with a mobile phone or tablet? A netbook should be better.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392930",
"author": "romfont",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T17:51:24",
"content": "ADK isn’t all that great. Here’s my review of it:http://romfont.com/2011/05/11/a-closer-look-at-googles-open-accessory-development-kit/tldr; it’s a really amateuristic design, get an IOIO instead.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392932",
"author": "Bunedoggle",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T17:51:47",
"content": "You can get some android phones to go into USB hostmode, and those come with a touchscreen, battery, bluetooth, WIFI and more for less than $400",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392935",
"author": "sayit",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:02:37",
"content": "“We covered the IOIO breakout board for Android last month, but the Google board will be based off of the Arduino Mega 2560, a far more capable device”False. The IOIO uses a 64-pin USB enabled PIC, a far more capable device than a mega2560. Also, with the mega2560, you will need a separate USB Host IC, which adds more cost.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392941",
"author": "sayit",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:08:11",
"content": "The ADK is far from Arduino as we all know it. To get this dev kit working, you need to program an interpreter on the mega in C++ and then write the app itself in Java. This is something a hobbyist would probably not be able to do.The IOIO is far easier to use and less expensive. There is already an interpreter on the PIC, so all you need to do is use the IOIO libraries and write your app in Java. One library, one IDE, one piece of hardware.The ADK needs an arduino, USB Host, 2 programming environments, and it costs $400.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392949",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:32:44",
"content": "http://romfont.com/2011/05/11/a-closer-look-at-googles-open-accessory-development-kit/Why use this thing where you can use a microbridge or propbridge or IOIO? The new protocol isn’t going to be on any older phones, and is a lot less flexible than ADB which has already been opened up for development.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392986",
"author": "adam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T19:42:35",
"content": "I highly doubt that its really going to cost $400. That might have been some kind of pre-order thing or something. there is no way that a development board aimed at hobbyist is going to cost more then the phones you’re developing for!If they are using the Arduino to promote it, the first places you will see it avaliable will be sparkfun/adafruit/mouser.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393012",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:38:19",
"content": "wait, ardinotard I thought you like to overpay 10x, what you problem now?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393032",
"author": "untrustworthy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:26:44",
"content": "@therian You’re going to be a terrible engineer (and you already show yourself to be a terrible person).Arduino is a perfect platform for this. Yes, this initial platform is expensive, but everything is open, allowing people (and true engineers) to design what works for them, while providing a substantial support base and community.You need to go back to grade school, where you clearly belong.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393041",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:39:44",
"content": "Yeah, way to be the bigger person. Name-calling is for children.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393043",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:45:50",
"content": "opensourse my ass, open source is its not an excuse for jacking up 10X price",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393096",
"author": "adam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T23:04:01",
"content": "@therian no opensource is not an excuse for 10x prices, the reason the arduino board cost $30 is because it is so easy to use and the relatively small number of people that use them. (small compared to the millions of other chips that are employed in mass production applications)An AVR ATmega chip is only about $3, the FTDI chip cost around $5-10, add in the cost of voltage regulators and various other components, then the cost of a board house and actual production/ burning the boot loader onto every chip/packaging/shipping/ and a small markup for places such as sparkfun or adafruit to carry them. Then add in the cost of developing new bootloaders/the IDE/new hardware and its amazing that it only cost $30.You are paying for the convenience, I’m a Senior EE student, today me and several others were talking about how Arduino’s have their place and their uses. I use one to play around with new ideas and sensors, etc. If I wanted to actually develop something out of it, I have the knowledge to embedded an atmega chip or develop code on other micros. I don’t like the idea of leaving an Uno board in a finished project. Its very easy to build an arduino chip into a project and continue to use the same code that you worked so hard to develop and it only cost about about $3.50Arduinos are perfect for prototyping, learning and exploring.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393113",
"author": "Brad",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T23:55:20",
"content": "As a senior EE student, I’d suggest you stick to industry standard platforms like ARM, PIC, and AVR. Now, I’m not telling you to ignore every other platform, but arduino is a hobbyist platform, one that’s not going to be used in any commercial product you may find yourself working on in the future. So, your time is probably better spent using AVR-GCC on an AVR, etc.. etc..C on an AVR is so simple anyways, it’s ridiculous. Do you really need arduino to give you a light blinker wrapper or servo control? Figure it out yourself, then keep it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393120",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T00:06:46",
"content": "@adam I wasnt talking about original arduino, it have the right price. Saying it 400$ but it open source sound to me – it 400$ because we save on programmers and let you fix the bugs on you own. Ant this is NOT opensource I support and like it to grow.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393121",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T00:15:26",
"content": "@adam, well, it *is* marketed as an “Open-Source electronic prototyping platform.”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393151",
"author": "charan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T01:50:10",
"content": "How much would it cost to build the exact same board from the spec roughly? $400 dollars – Google wants to make millions from this arduino board?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393154",
"author": "Tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T01:54:51",
"content": "Got the library working on my Arduino UNO+ USB Hostshield, just needed to tweak the ports in the altered USB_Host Lib.And if You want an Arduino Mega then use it, it will work out of the box…I dont know why you complain about the adk hardware pricetag, if you dont want to buy it dont buy it…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393163",
"author": "adam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T02:22:00",
"content": "@therian ?what?sorry for the rant but you did say “wait, ardinotard I thought you like to overpay 10x, what you problem now?” i figured you were complaining about the cost of an arduino board.@Anonymous that’s why i don’t understand some of the hate for the arduino, a lot of what we do is prototyping. Although i admit it does bother me when somebody leaves a full arduino board in a “completed” project. But i think they are amazing little boards..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393200",
"author": "spiritplumber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T04:09:03",
"content": "mine costs $40, email me.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393228",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T05:50:18",
"content": "From what I understand it’s not Google that has produced and is selling the board at $400 but some Japanese company that is selling the board at that price.Since it’s open source wouldn’t it just be a matter of time until others start producing the board, and at a lower cost.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393295",
"author": "makomk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T09:05:15",
"content": "Paul: that Japanese company is where Google’s website is sending everyone that wants to get a board right now, though.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393404",
"author": "adam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T17:31:58",
"content": "@Brad I did my senior project in AVR-GCC, and had a class in Assembly for the Freescale HC12’s. I’m pretty good in both and i want to get some experience with PICs and maybe the ARMs (probably during the summer), but for my own hobby fun i like the simplicity of the arduino.I love the HC12 and AVR for the debugging, watching the registers as you step through code, you really get inside the mind of the micros, but sometimes you just want to tell something to blink and have it blink for you. There is nothing wrong with an arduino when used correctly. It has its place in the world. Just like the AVR/PIC/ARM.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393431",
"author": "romfont",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T18:30:41",
"content": "here’s a writeup on how to run in on a normal Arduino:http://romfont.com/2011/05/12/google%E2%80%99s-open-accessory-development-kit-on-standard-arduino-hardware/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393655",
"author": "cornelius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T07:33:21",
"content": "I’d like to know which bandwidth and latency I could achieve with the new android library for usb accessory mode and an arduino with usb host shield?This could be a nice low latency audio input / output option for android devices!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393851",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-13T16:33:38",
"content": "“To get this dev kit working, you need to program an interpreter on the mega in C++ and then write the app itself in Java”That’s not how I read things. I thought the arduino was running firmata-like code, and the java app runs on the android machine. (Java being one of the development environments for android, right?)Sorta like (exactly-like?) all the procesing/arduino combonations that end up using the arduino as a glorified switch/knob/actuator interface for a bigger CPU.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,193.261271
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/11/machining-replacement-parts-with-hand-tools/
|
Machining Replacement Parts With Hand Tools
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"how-to"
] |
[
"hand tools"
] |
Jeff is a huge music fan, and like many of us likes old technology, so it seemed a bit silly (to him) that he did not have a turn table. His dad had a spare in the basement. A neat old Braun model from the 1970’s that was broken.
Opening the unit up he found that part of the arm mechanism was broken, and thanks to the age of the turntable and the wonders of mass production chances of finding a replacement were slim to none. Not being discouraged he
busted out the hand tools and fabricated the replacement out of some aluminum
. The end result is a perfectly functioning turntable that will serve many more hours pushing out warm jams.
Check out the fourm post above to get details and pictures, and we just wanted to tell [Jeff], awesome job!
| 18
| 18
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392805",
"author": "Mike of England",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T12:23:36",
"content": "Jeff, you the man! Not only have you fabricated a new part, but you have discovered one of the best ways to listen to music.Good on ya :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392816",
"author": "syale",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T13:31:39",
"content": "Been doing this for years! The Royal Navy taught me well…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392822",
"author": "mjrippe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:01:04",
"content": "The old part was probably “pot metal” which was unfortunately used in a lot of vintage turntable mechanisms. Surprising to see it in a ’70s Braun though. That’s a handsome table you’ve brought back to life!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392841",
"author": "Doktor Jeep",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:53:44",
"content": "I used to take old Sawzall blades and make firing pins for a gun I used to have. Good for around 1000 rounds each.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392842",
"author": "svofski",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:54:41",
"content": "It’s relieving to read that someone still uses a file and a saw while the rest of the world is too busy 3d-printing and laser cutting bathtub plugs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392849",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T15:14:12",
"content": "No 3D printer, no laser cutter, no arduino and it still works, thats the spirit!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392882",
"author": "Cricri",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:08:41",
"content": "Been doing that for years too, not because I was in the Navy, but since I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, my only alternative to fix something was not to buy a new one but fix it. And God knows how many time I had to turn/mill/sculpt metal/wood/plastic to reproduce a somewhat working part clone!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392905",
"author": "caleb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:49:53",
"content": "nice work. this is why i love my dremel. infact, i resurfaced a dvd to near perfect condition with it the other day. unfortunatly the foil had been damaged as well, so my efforts were nearly in vein. but i learned its possible!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392974",
"author": "lou eney",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T19:25:11",
"content": "Man this looks like shit, and to top it off this isn’t even a hack. Hell it might be a hack-job, but nothing more to make this a hack. Why is this on hackaday??",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392993",
"author": "caleb",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T19:54:42",
"content": "why are YOU on hackaday!?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393048",
"author": "bish",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T21:46:25",
"content": "Couldn’t resist but post…good work! i detest throwing stuff away, especially when it’s a nice as your turntable!@lou eney, he hacked the hell out of that alloy-now THAT’s hacking-fact.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393149",
"author": "jeditalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T01:40:12",
"content": "i bet the sound is better through aluminum than brittle cast parts. oh, and lou envy, douche!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393150",
"author": "Chris in NC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T01:47:40",
"content": "lou envy, serious douche!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393173",
"author": "Jeff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T02:55:29",
"content": "Thanks for the interest and support, guys. Next on the list will be restoring a tube preamp and power amp, and maybe some DIY speaker cabs after that.Mmm, tasty vintage audio.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393217",
"author": "jpa",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T05:03:21",
"content": "Making metal parts with hand tools (and simple powertools) is very satisfying. You should have polished it with Dremel though so it would look better!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393375",
"author": "Grazz256",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T16:07:43",
"content": "@CricriSounds like you were born with golden spoon in your mouth. I can afford most small parts but certainly not a mill or a lathe!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393398",
"author": "jgunn",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T17:23:36",
"content": "@jpaYou’re not wrong, but when I did it, it was a purely functional task and I wasn’t going for cosmetics; the part is all but invisible when installed. The pics I took were to show my dad (a tinkerer far beyond my talents) who gave me the turntable, rather than to immortalize the project for the HaD audience.I guess lesson learned for next time… ;)Jeff",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "545896",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-12-28T11:57:45",
"content": "Bro, just order replacement part frommachine shopin China for a couple of buks Mind you, if you are making it for fun to try out your skills – I take my hat off. Most people our days would not know how to use a grinder, mind you making something that small and functional…. Well done!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,193.315493
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/11/arduino-magnetic-core-memory-shield/
|
Arduino Magnetic Core Memory Shield
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"classic hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"magnetic core",
"non-volatile"
] |
Magnetic core memory turns 60 years old today, and
as a tribute [Ben North and Oliver Nash] have created a 32-bit magnetic core memory board for the Arduino
.
Magnetic core memory was used from the 1950s through the 1970s, and provided a non-volatile means for storing data, as each magnetic core retained its orientation, even when the power was cut. While it sounds a lot like a modern hard drive, these devices were used in the same fashion as RAM is utilized today.
While the pair used surplus ferrite cores manufactured just before magnetic memory stopped being produced, they did allow themselves to use some modern components. Items such as transistors and logic gates were not available to the first magnetic core memory manufacturers, but the use of these items helped them complete the project in a reasonable amount of time.
Their final result is a magnetic memory board which can be used by any USB-enabled device and is reliable enough to withstand billions of read/write transactions.
| 14
| 14
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392787",
"author": "Slanderer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T11:19:23",
"content": "This is really impressive, actually. Unless this inspires enough other people, surplus cores from the 70’s are still available on ebay (although, occasionally shipped only from Bulgaria).It’s a especially tricky to get this to work nowadays, because the specs on the cores themselves are hard to come by (meaning that you have to guess at their coercivity), and most of the ICs developed for their drivers and (more importantly) sense amplifiers are basically impossible to find. In order to correctly drive these, there’s only a narrow band in the hysteresis curve that the select currents have to fall into. This is further complicated that when these memories are used for serious computing, everything heats up, which changes the drive current (which necessitates temperature feedback circuitry).If you want to learn more, one of the better sources they list is hosted here:http://ed-thelen.org/comp-hist/Byte/76jul.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392797",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T11:58:08",
"content": "very, very cool.I will have to try this when I have some more free time, I’ve read through a copy of “Business Data Processing” from 1968 which I found lying around and learnt about the core memory from there (very good explanations).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392806",
"author": "Allen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T12:24:42",
"content": "A freind of mine who worked at IBM back in the day used to tell me stories about some of the things he’s seen, and one was when he was visiting one manufacturing site, and he saw hundreds of women weaving giant looms of this type of memory.It’s interesting to see it being brought back to life… Now, who’s going to do a delay line memory Arduino shield?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392812",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T13:19:53",
"content": "The apollo lander computer used this AND had weaved “ROMS” it’s amazing we were able to do anything computer wise in the 60’s.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392820",
"author": "PocketBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T13:45:30",
"content": "I thought “they” were working on vapor-deposition magnetic core memory. That would be capable of making fast, non-volatile RAM at high densities. I wonder what the roadblock was? Maybe not fast enough; SLC is getting pretty fast, but not really RAM speed yet.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392834",
"author": "Paul Potter",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:43:50",
"content": "Very impressive work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392843",
"author": "AS",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:56:10",
"content": "If you’re looking for the new version of this look at FRAM. TI just announced an MSP430 line with FRAM instead of flash. It’s about as fast as slow DRAM, lower power than flash, and has way more write lifetime.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392906",
"author": "svofski",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:51:11",
"content": "Something to dump at last!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392944",
"author": "mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:16:20",
"content": "I just bought a little can of the buggers from the Bulgarian seller a month or two back. 50,000 are in a package about the dimensions of a Gamecube memory card (for lack of a more universally accepted measurement standard), massively tiny.A note: for at least the ones I bought (package code 5221.3-3M4.53, although the M looks more like a mu or two lambdas), 36 gauge enamel wire is probably the ideal choice. Three strands of 32 gauge will fit through it, but the cores are brittle and there’s greater chance of breakage with larger gauges.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392958",
"author": "bothersaidpooh",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:50:47",
"content": "Neat project, wonder how much core memory you could fit into a pendrive sized case?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393010",
"author": "cmholm",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:35:01",
"content": "Finally, my diy Jupiter probe’s memory will gain significant radiation resistance… now to deal with the CPU.Really excellent work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393070",
"author": "mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T22:15:13",
"content": "@bothersaidpooh: probably a few dozen bytes… not particularly dense. But certainly a unique conversation piece.Is there an easy to use USB Mass Storage Device library for any common microcontroller family? A 4K USB flash drive is one of the projects I’m considering for my cores (although 4K certainly won’t fit in a standard sized drive enclosure).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393077",
"author": "amodedoma",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T22:17:51",
"content": "Back in the early 80’s when I was serving in the Navy as a Data Processing Technician the 2nd generation Univac computers they were using at the time had magnetic core memory. The matrix was encased in a brass colored cube. I often used to try to visualize the data moving around in there. Fortunately the entire front end of this refrigerator sized chasis was covered with panels of lighted switches that gave all the registers instructions and data, permited stepping through the program, and you could change anything using the indicators. As you can imagine it was really amazing to watch with the lights out.This project is cool and nostalgic, but it needs more lights and switches…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393129",
"author": "abobymouse",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T00:39:57",
"content": "One of the space shuttles used core store memory.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,193.376384
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/10/cheap-open-source-pace-clock-keeps-your-practice-on-schedule/
|
Cheap Open-source Pace Clock Keeps Your Practice On Schedule
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Android Hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"android",
"atmega",
"bluetooth",
"leds"
] |
Pace clocks are used in a variety of sports, from swimming to track. The systems are typically expensive however, often beyond the reach of smaller organizations and underfunded programs. For their electrical and computer engineering final project, Cornell students [Paul Swirhun and Shao-Yu Liang] set out to build
a much cheaper alternative to commercial pace clocks, with a far simpler wireless user interface
.
Their clock uses an ATmega32a to handle all of the processing which is paired with a RN-42 Bluetooth module for communicating with Android smartphones. Their seven-segment displays are built using custom PCBs that they designed and fabricated for the project which are controlled by TLC5940NT LED drivers. The Android software allows users to connect to the pace clock remotely, creating any sort of multi-layered swimming or running routines.
When the project was completed, the pair tallied their total hardware cost to be under $250 apiece at low production volumes. Even when taking assembly time into account, their solution is several magnitudes cheaper than similar commercial systems.
Stick around if you are interested in seeing a demo video of their final product in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUm3Ny9dtQA&w=470]
| 10
| 10
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392570",
"author": "Pedro",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T23:00:22",
"content": "Good luck using those smart phones while swimming.Just kidding, this is awesome!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392623",
"author": "Stevie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T01:40:40",
"content": "I’m liking it although I don’t know if I’d want to fork out that much for one. Saying that, I dunno how much commercial versions go for.Btw anyone know what the deal is with ‘open-source’ being stuffed into titles lately? Most projects featured here on HaD are “open-source” so no I’m curious why it’s suddenly being put in titles.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392631",
"author": "Destate9",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T01:52:37",
"content": "Man I can’t wait for ECE, this is awesome! I would think the time for the signal to be sent from the phone to the receiver would be too much lag for such delicate timing, but it looked super responsive in that video. These guys are bros.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392661",
"author": "Brett",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T03:35:10",
"content": "If cost an issue, you need simpler assemblies. WAY simpler assemblies…not ones involving 500+ LEDs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392714",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T06:06:51",
"content": "this NOT how you design if low cost is main goal",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392769",
"author": "Daid",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T09:28:28",
"content": "So, how would you design a highly visible number?So far I’ve 2 options, LEDs (not that expensive), or magnetic “flip” boards. Which are really expensive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392770",
"author": "saimhe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T09:32:07",
"content": "@StevieRight, there is no sense. It would be more useful to explicitly announce those rare projects that aren’t properly documented, as “closed-source”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392789",
"author": "dredwerker",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T11:22:52",
"content": "@saimhe would it even be on HAD if it was closed source it wouldnt be replicatable(?)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392817",
"author": "Tweeks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T13:35:30",
"content": "Very nice guys. Glad to see the open-ness of android being used in such creative ways! This gives me an idea for my own wireless android system! :)Tweeks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392835",
"author": "Paul Swirhun",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T14:44:17",
"content": "Hi Everyone,[I am one of the designers]. A few comments: 1) our project title did not include “open source”, the editors added that to this post. What is different from the Colo. Time Systems (CTS) ones, though, is that anything with bluetooth can control it, and that multiple platforms can compile to the byte-code which is uploaded to the microcontroller. That means you could make a program in any language (some coaches use excel) that uploads through your laptop’s bluetooth or bluetooth dongle. By contrast, CTS ones use a proprietary connector, special cable, and signaling protocol that you have to reverse engineer to use. See (http://www.superiorswimtiming.com/) where they did exactly that to get a CTS system to connect with a laptop.As with cost, yes they labor is intense and for a product you would need a large-volume order from China to make it competitive. However, I have not found anything as bright as 18x 1200mCD LEDs per segment (even brighter if you run them closer to absolute maximum ratings). If you’re interested, I have built two professionally-packaged ones with monolithic display boards, and the wiring is much less severe.-Paul",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,193.433263
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/10/diy-sound-localization-sensor/
|
DIY Sound Localization Sensor
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"lm324n",
"op-amp",
"sound localization"
] |
Sound localization is very popular in law enforcement circles due to its accuracy and ability to quickly separate gunshots from other similar noises. These systems don’t come cheap, and
after trying to build one himself, [Fileark] knows why
.
He thought it would be neat to build a sound localization sensor based on how the human ear determines a sound’s source. Once he got started however, he realized just how hard it was to do localization just right.
He used an LM324N op-amp as a volume comparator, which he says works decently enough though he figures there are ICs out there that can do a better job. [Fileark] reports that the sound detector works well when the source is within about a foot of the sensors, but performance deteriorates at greater distances. He may consider using an ARM Cortex-M3 as his sound processor if he builds a second version, since the Arudino he used just doesn’t have enough power to sample and run calculations within the 10-50 microsecond window he requires.
Keep reading to see a video of his sound localization sensor in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHyuzKRZFUY&w=470]
| 32
| 31
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392518",
"author": "Ib",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:41:36",
"content": "Nice Idea!I loled when he started shouting in the sensor.“Hellooo”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392521",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:48:09",
"content": "“He may consider using an ARM Cortex-M3 as his sound processor if he builds a second version, since the Arudino he used just doesn’t have enough power to sample and run calculations within the 10-50 microsecond window he requires.”Why not a PC? Lots of processing power there and odds are he has one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392538",
"author": "ZeroCool42",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T21:59:12",
"content": "lwatcdr: My guess, he wants to put it on a robot…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392541",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T22:01:24",
"content": "@ZeroCool42. Ahh good point. I would still prototype it on a PC for ease of development but that is just me.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392545",
"author": "fm",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T22:08:30",
"content": "Doesn’t the Kinect have a bunch of microphones built in for a similar purpose?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392552",
"author": "obsoehollerith",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T22:19:21",
"content": "Those cheap fet mics have a fairly consistent omni response, that would seem reasonable if you’re trying to mimic the human localization scheme, but how about using tight hypercardioid dynamics that have a response peak in the part of the spectrum that you want to localize, and then measure the phase relationship to determine your direction? Sure it’d be expensive-but think of the bragging rights! lol",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392558",
"author": "Fileark",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T22:27:53",
"content": "@lwatcdr, I agree that prototyping sound localization should probably be done on a PC first before moving to a microcontroller.@fm, Wow, thanks for the Kinect tip, it looks like Microsoft included the microphones to eventually possibly use for sound localization but have not realy implemented it yet. I am looking and can’t find any hackers that have done it yet either. I always wanted an Xbox…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392567",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T22:41:42",
"content": "I wonder if one could duplicate the human outer ear well enough, this could be done with just 2 microphones? Maybe duplicating the ears of another of Earth’s creatures would better easier? I wonder if time difference of arrival techniques are easily achievable at audio? Probably not not as easy it is are RF. An entertaining application would be a robotic head at the side of the roadway, that would focus on vehicles as they approach, following them as they pass by.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392577",
"author": "Retro",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T23:26:15",
"content": "I think HaD has put an arduino in my brain. I can’t tell you how often I have started some new project or gotten some new wierd hardware, and then suddenly a few days later, HaD has a story on it.Example: Last week, a friend gave me a tranz380 credit card terminal to play with, and then *poof* a story about hacking a tranz330.And just today I was reverse engineering a phase detector circuit at work to troubleshoot it and started realizing that I could use it to build a sound locater. Drew some schematics on a napkin and everything. I come home (my work thinks HaD is about hacking and banned it. :( )and get on here, and *poof* there is a story about a sound localizer.Very odd…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392580",
"author": "Quin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T23:37:44",
"content": "@D_ on one hand, audio should be easier than RF, because the speed of sound through air is shorter. Using just peaks, like a gunshot, and ignoring echos, you need about a foot of separation and the ability to measure under 1ms difference.The problem with determining direction by phase is that A above middle C has a wave length of about 1.2 feet, so depending on how close or far apart your two sensors are you could get some bad data. And, since the peak of the phase moves at the same speed as above, with just 1 foot separating the mics, you will need a fast response time.If you treat the Arduino like just another AVR proto-board, and program low level, the interrupts might be fast enough to trigger under 100us. The Arduino language wrapper, though, will be too slow I think.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392606",
"author": "Terry",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T00:51:04",
"content": "The sound pickup device needs to remain stationary. Eliminate the center pickup. Four microphones, one on each corner, are needed for surround sensing. Place the microphones in PVC tubing for greater directionality. Add some foam to reduce wind noise.Much of your problem is from overwhelming the sensor with noise from the servo. You might want to consider increasing the gain on the preamp just a tad. What good is it if you need to scream into it’s ears as if at a loud concert. Heh? What’d you say?! Can’t hear you over the music.Implement a sample/hold circuit by adding another op-amp to the circuit between the preamp and uP. This will solve the 10-50uS timing issue by latching the analog signal until the uP has time to service it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392621",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T01:39:27",
"content": "pretty cool",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392625",
"author": "Marks",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T01:43:45",
"content": "Analog devices Blackfin DSPs 400Mhz – 4 dollars",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392675",
"author": "Justin Case",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T03:59:38",
"content": "Have you listened through head phones to what your mics hear?I wonder if the servo makes too much common noise.If the two mic signals are summed then used as cancellation feedback into each channel, perhaps that would help.Then when the sound is equal on both mics, there is no signal so the unit need not move.-?Perhaps high-pass filtering, as high freq is more directional as one decision input.Then low pass as the other decision input.Phase and echo may be misleading as data depending on the rule set.It’s strange how we can also tell above left/right or below left/right as I listen to snoring to my lower-right.Perhaps in-phase delay could be used for triangulation as the delay is the vector in the hypotenuse of a triangle???(+ve) is left, (-ve) is right?For those who know FFT (not me), would that help here??",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392713",
"author": "monster",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T06:06:12",
"content": "wonder if he thought about moving the ears further apart. that way he’d have a larger timeframe to sample",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392716",
"author": "DudeGuy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T06:20:33",
"content": "Combine this with the Portal Sentry. Unbelievable amazingness will ensue.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392728",
"author": "Hackius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T06:43:42",
"content": "I’m pretty sure this is a job for a DSP",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392759",
"author": "bacchus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T08:49:58",
"content": "I’m not sure that comparisons with gunshot locaters are helpful.Vehicle mounted ones appear to use at least 5 microphones, and they’re dealing with distinctive sounds, so are presumably optimized for this purpose. On top of this, I’ll bet they throw some hefty processing power at the problem, justified given these things are about saving lives.Interesting project though – I suspect Hackius is right about using a DSP, particularly if the end product needs to be reasonably small.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392763",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T08:59:08",
"content": "I once built a sound localization program in C# – it actually worked pretty well. All you need is 2 (decent) microphones, cross-correlate the two signals and then make a few simple calculations.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392901",
"author": "Fileark",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T16:41:05",
"content": "@Mike, Do you still have the C# program? It would be more helpful than just saying “make a few simple calculations” I would LOVE any kind of code samples from anyone as all you can find on the web are just detail-less demonstrations of university projects. You can always contact me on my websitehttp://filear.com/index.php/contact",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393004",
"author": "poslathian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:15:22",
"content": "Ive fooled around with sound triangulation (via timing) before with a Maple (cortex m3) board. The build was an X,Y tap sensitive wall. Turns out, with a fast enough proc, the timing resolution was easy. What was hard, was tuning the amplifier on the piezo sensors so that they would spike from a tap (potentially far away), but not from random talking and movement in the room.Seemed like an easy problem, but really took me a long time to get right!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393212",
"author": "Justin Case",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T04:57:07",
"content": "I see lots of people making audio spectrum anaylzers out of all sorts of microcontrollers/LCD display combinations.Nice ones too!!Can’t be that hard to learn…I would like to learn to program FFT for monkeying with audio signals.Online suggestions???",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394016",
"author": "ThePostman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-14T01:25:05",
"content": "@Justin CaseHave a look at:http://www.adrianlombard.com/physical-computing/avr-fft-code/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "394890",
"author": "Travis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-16T20:07:02",
"content": "Here’s a sound locating van I developed, used for tracking birds:http://www.flickr.com/photos/traviswiens/3388930393/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "396229",
"author": "shahidali",
"timestamp": "2011-05-20T04:37:18",
"content": "hi all,m doing a project on design and development of 3D audio in which i should be able to localize (finding location of sound source ) sound using headphones.i need this project in detail.its code,implementation of code on hrdware,hrdware/pc etcany help in this will be highly appreciatedthanks",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397453",
"author": "hans",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T09:57:38",
"content": "@shahidali, can you be more specific? What will it be used for?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "397561",
"author": "shahidali",
"timestamp": "2011-05-24T16:35:18",
"content": "hi buddies….it serves many purposes….ths can be used in collision avoidance in aircrafts (localizing th warning tone)etc…but my scope is crude as i have to make a GUI in which i should take a tone and give sme phase shift to localize the tone…m thinking of using visual studio wth XNA games studio to produce th 2D or 3D effect……..kindly suggest a suitable software wth xamples,code etc to produce the effects….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "544117",
"author": "sunwukong",
"timestamp": "2011-12-25T11:45:35",
"content": "There is an audio spectrum analysis program for ham operators that features a DSP type setup to do RDF. It would probably be feasable to re work the program to solve this problem. Its called SpecLab by Wolfgang Buescher, see link athttp://www.qsl.net/dl4yhf/spectra1.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2785554",
"author": "sunwukong",
"timestamp": "2015-11-05T22:23:20",
"content": "I remember talking to the author of SpectumLab and he said it would be dooable with his program.",
"parent_id": "544117",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "819427",
"author": "Sunwukong",
"timestamp": "2012-10-15T19:31:55",
"content": "I’ve gotten good results by taking a stereo harness and hooking up two mics (one mic reversed from the other) with small caps across the mic leads. I record a sound and move around while recording then when I play it back I can “hear” the movement.Its interesting to play a single tone over computer speakers then slowly move around between the two speakers you can “hear” where the nodes are as the sound gets stronger at a node, then fades.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "854456",
"author": "goosenoose",
"timestamp": "2012-11-03T18:12:32",
"content": "i could see this being used in wartime applications.. say, soldiers carry a portable tripod with something like this attached to the top.it would be used in defensive applications.. posted in a visible spot to soldiers and, if ambushed. set down.soldiers would have to train to be silent to allow it to detect where shots are coming from..i would invest in research for this ha..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "990214",
"author": "JB",
"timestamp": "2013-04-07T09:25:23",
"content": "could see this being used in wartime applications.. say, soldiers carry a portable tripod with something like this attached to the top.it would be used in defensive applications.. posted in a visible spot to soldiers and, if ambushed. set down.soldiers would have to train to be silent to allow it to detect where shots are coming from..i would invest in research for this ha..THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE AND IS ALREADY IN USE…. HOWEVER IT WOULD STILL BE NICE TO GET A DIRECTIONAL FIX ON A RANGE OF SOUND FREQUENCIES AND OR SPECIFIC FREQUENCIES",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,193.505967
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/08/learning-electronics-concepts-step-by-step/
|
Learning Electronics Concepts Step By Step
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Arduino Hacks",
"how-to"
] |
[
"arduino",
"basics",
"learning",
"tutorials"
] |
We realize that not everyone out there holds a degree in electrical engineering or has the ability to tell NPN transistors apart from PNP transistors by taste alone, so we occasionally like to mention things that appeal to the beginners in the crowd. While there is a clear division between Arduino supporters and detractors, it is hard to deny that the devices have their place, and can be quite useful when exploring certain electronics concepts.
For the supporters out there,
[John Boxall] has put together a site jam-packed with Arduino tutorials covering a wide array of concepts and techniques
. We have
covered his work before
in relation to specific topics, but we felt that his site deserved mention as a whole. His tutorials cover some of the most basic concepts such as lighting LEDs with the Arduino, and work their way to more advanced subjects, lesson by lesson.
He is not satisfied with simply introducing a concept and handing out a sketch that does the work. He takes the time to expand on the concepts, giving the reader enough detail to use their new-found knowledge in later projects. If you were to follow his tutorials from beginning to end, you would be exposed to LCD screen control, shift registers, real-time clocks, I2C bus communications, and more. These skills and concepts can be carried on to future projects as well as other micro controllers, making his tutorials a very valuable learning tool worth checking out.
| 38
| 38
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391593",
"author": "rocketman1001",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T16:54:49",
"content": "Whilst not wishing to detract from this work, may I recommend ‘The Art of Electronics’ by Horowitz and Hill. It provides a substantive learning curve from the basics – knowing your NPN from your PNP and your MOSFET from your JFET, through analogue design (op-amps etc) and on to microprocessor based systems. It’s got me through many a tricky design and not once does it mention the Arduino…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391601",
"author": "yetihehe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T17:50:13",
"content": "“and not once does it mention the Arduino…” Yeah, because the book predates arduino by some 20 years… But overall I recommend it too, very helpful for those analog bits and knowing your pnp’s from npn’s.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391605",
"author": "rocketman1001",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T18:06:35",
"content": "‘because the book predates arduino by some 20 years’. Yes of course. I didn’t mean to be negative about these very well done Arduino tutes – I’ll certainly bookmark them myself. I suppose a ‘top down’ learning curve is the modern norm, but I miss the days when everyone started with a single transistor and worked from there.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391606",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T18:09:09",
"content": "Contemporary Logic design by Katz is excellent.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391610",
"author": "satiagraha",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T18:23:29",
"content": "An article titled “Learning electronics concepts step by step” should NOT have a giant picture of an Arduino on the front! I’m cool with the featured page being about teaching basic microcontroller concepts, but it is very far from learning “electronics concepts”. As rocketman1001 says, go read some Horowitz and Hill.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391615",
"author": "K!P",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T18:49:25",
"content": "Satia: it is about ardiuno tuts, and for me the arduino made it interesting enough to go try electronics in my free time. Sure the basics are important but they are much more fun to learn if you get to do cool (easy) stuff!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391622",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T19:01:12",
"content": "rocketman1001 +1Best book out there by far.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391624",
"author": "1000100 1000001 1010110 1000101",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T19:08:05",
"content": "Another vote for Horowitz/Hill “Art of Electronics.”There is also an accompanying student lab manual that I used for 3 semesters of electronics which I still find very useful.Another good online tutorial in basic electronics is:http://www.bcae1.com/But, I do enjoy my Arduino and I will be going through Pok’s work.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391645",
"author": "grenadier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T20:56:40",
"content": "I’m more of an analog fan myself",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391648",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T21:08:02",
"content": "I prefer the flavor of PNP transistors personally.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391658",
"author": "jk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T21:40:03",
"content": "@Hackerspacer:I was into NPN before they were mainstream; you’ve probably never heard of them, thoughhttp://www.theamazingking.com/images/tat.JPG",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391679",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T22:50:03",
"content": "Hipster Electrical Engineer",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391703",
"author": "Oliver",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T01:59:01",
"content": "Thanks for this. I browse this site pretty often, but most of the stuff goes over my head a bit.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391722",
"author": "Nick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T03:13:54",
"content": "Thanks for posting this article guys. I read HAD every day, even though most of it goes way over my head. I love knowing what the hacking community is doing (and able to do) even though I lack the basic skills to replicate them (I was an English major). These educational articles are what keep my soldering iron fresh and keep me trying to extend my skills beyond their current capacitance (see what I did there?)Seriously, it’s great to see these kinds of things. I love it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391775",
"author": "anti-fanboi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T07:41:50",
"content": "+1 A of ESince when has dumbing down anything, that’s already as simple as is functional, been a good thing?If I use a purpose built application to “learn” eg:calculus, where all the “confusing” stuff is done by the application, have I learned calculus or only how to use “wonderous calculus app”. Would I understand any of the concepts beyond data entry? If I actually wanted to learn calculus is not “first principles” the right way to approach it?‘Duinos are great if you DON’T want to learn anything or already know, learning is NOT what they are about, it’s probably the last thing they are.But hey, if all you want is the illusion you understand something, by all means….",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391794",
"author": "K!P",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T09:20:41",
"content": "@anti fanboi: if they are NOT about learning, how come ive managed to learn so much by playing around with one? Sure its not as hardcore as making your own chip design and designing it on a piece of self made paper whiles planning to go shoveling for some extra graphite because your low on pencils, i guess we all start with some degree of pre made stuff…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391796",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T09:34:18",
"content": "Many here are right, the website is not about learning electronics, it is about learning how to do stuff with Arduino.Learning electronics top down is a way to do it, but only if you are learning down-top at the same time: you build applications that surpass your current understanding but at the same time learning the basics. At a certain point your basic knowledge and advanced knowledge will form a good whole.As an example, when i learned how a transistor worked as a kid i didn’t do it by understanding equations or electrons. Later learning about this completed my understanding about how things are.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391802",
"author": "TheFileClerk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T10:24:08",
"content": "well, arduinos are good for learning coding concepts, switching and control systems, and some audio video things, as well as many other things. You wont get anything involving basic power systems, radio systems, or alot of digital systems. You can use the simplified arduino language, but if you use C, as many other micros use, with slight modifications between companies and chips, the arduino will recognize it as well. I would suggest trying to use more C and figure out how to use the micro BY ITSELF. Hell, you can use the board itself to program other micros once you get the basic idea of which pins do what. (my wee ardueno rant)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391805",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T10:50:59",
"content": "all this arduino waist saturate useful information information making it harder to find",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391812",
"author": "anti-fanboi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T11:40:37",
"content": "@K!P, don’t take it personally as it doesn’t change the facts.For example: mathematical division. We all pretty much understand it because we were all taught the concept from first principles. If you were taught it was just a matter of pressing the “dotted minus” calculator key, what would you actually understand of the concept and how would that permiate through to your ability to understand other concepts or indeed create new ones?If your still not with me and still taking it personally then consider: why is it that the strongest advocates for the ‘Duino ONLY “know” the ‘Duino? why is it that those who do actually understand many uC platforms generally see the ‘Duino as “just another basic stamp/picaxe”?hint: when you really start understanding uCs you realise “for simple tasks I can write a comprehensive header and a utility library to take most of the fiddly stuff out, cool” and most importantly, how/what/when/why to do it. Whether you actually get around to it or not is usually based on available time :)Peace, love and mungbeans.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391813",
"author": "holly_smoke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T11:41:15",
"content": "You should re-write the original article. Forget the crap about microprocessors and just put this link in there:http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/Or alternatively change the title…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391823",
"author": "K!P",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T12:17:12",
"content": "@anti fanboi: point taken indeed :), sorry about the rash rant reply previously, dint had my morning coffee yet. I felt the urge to defend the arduino because there are some pretty strong haters out there ;)arduino works for me, it lets me recreate and adapt well explained examples on a shoestring budget. and spoark my interest now i will look into ‘The Art of Electronics’ by Horowitz and Hill. (thanks to the arduino :))*sorry for any grammatical errors, the internal dutch to English brain wires are a bit crossed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391829",
"author": "Panikos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T12:29:55",
"content": "There Are No Electrons: Electronics for Earthlingshttp://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0962781592/ref=oss_productMy favorite beginners book",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391832",
"author": "Daniel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T13:04:19",
"content": "Tsss…. im learning plenty on electronics becauseof the arduino. It goes like this:1- Think of idea2- Make circuit3- Code4- Test5- WHY DOESNT THIS WORK!!!!!!!!6- ah I didnt think about ripple voltage on thepower line….Read on subject7- GOTO 2 Fix it and restart",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391839",
"author": "Bill",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T13:33:30",
"content": "“why is it that the strongest advocates for the ‘Duino ONLY “know” the ‘Duino?”I know many platforms yet I will strongly advocate the Arduino to any beginner or even a expert who just wants something done quickly.I see the Arduino as a better alternative to just using avr-libc.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391844",
"author": "Seth",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T13:46:15",
"content": "@anti-fanboimmm…mungbeans",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391845",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T13:48:03",
"content": "why arduinohead always make it sound like prototyping with bare uC take days of time ?wiring PIC usually take me less time than 555 timer",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391866",
"author": "Dosbomber",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T14:28:50",
"content": "I agree, once you learn a few things and know what you’re doing, programming and embedding a PIC is ridiculously easy. As I’m sure it is with an Arduino.However…I look at Arduino like a modern Basic Stamp. As with all micros like this, if you want more than one project to run at the same time, you need to buy multiple units. A new PIC costs $2 to $5 for the most commonly used devices, whereas the Arduino costs a lot more. A naked Duemilanove (the cheapest one I can find) costs $25 by my price check, and you’ll probably still need to buy shields to make it useful in your project.If you want to spend $50+, for the micro and daughterboards alone, for every project you build, be my guest. For someone like me who builds dozens of projects a year, this would be ludicrous.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391872",
"author": "jdmurray",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T14:56:30",
"content": "@Dosbomber You have not quite gotten the gist of the Arduino. It’s an experimental prototyping board. Once you have created a working prototype of some design, you can buy the inexpensive parts to replicate copies for production. Web sites like Fritzing help Arduino experimenters to this.http://fritzing.org/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391887",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T15:32:19",
"content": "@jdmurrayI dont have time on rebuilding final versions of project, and I don’t like idea of taking them apart",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391922",
"author": "BP",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T17:33:15",
"content": "@Dosbomber How much extra cost is needed to make your $5 pic as functional, + cost of programmer + power supply, + bread board or soldering stationIf you have a fully stocked workshop, you probably have all the extras on hand. But to do the basic blinky with an arduino all you need to add is a usb cable, a resistor and a led.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391967",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T19:40:02",
"content": "@PB I dint knew Arduino can melt solder, does it generate its own power and oxygen for breathing also ? why dont we include cost of multimeter, work table, chair and air-conditioner and coffee.for example pickit2 cost little more than arduino and it able to program/debug, clones go as low as 20$",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392451",
"author": "BP",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:15:40",
"content": "The ardiuno doesn’t need solder that’s one of the pluses if you are learning, you can just plug the component into the socket.The pickit2 description doesn’t indicate if it can provide power or if it includes a pic.I’m assuming that if you use a pic you’d sit in the same seat and breath the same air as the lowly arduino user.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393015",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T20:42:56",
"content": "what can you plug in without soldering, an overpriced shield or a single led what else ?what you problem with power? the regulator cost less than 0.25$",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "901922",
"author": "David",
"timestamp": "2012-12-11T14:03:26",
"content": "Another good website to learn about the basics of electronics is this below:http://www.learningaboutelectronics.comIt teaches basics of transistors, capacitors, inductors, so on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1003438",
"author": "Deb",
"timestamp": "2013-05-12T16:06:00",
"content": "I recommend trying outhttp://www.DoCircuits.comfor learning a practical approach to building circuits",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "2377991",
"author": "Norl",
"timestamp": "2015-01-24T20:44:28",
"content": "The materials on site below are good and the price is very reasonable given the quantity of materialshttp://1e146czo5h56ck4t9p79ptm23h.hop.clickbank.net/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "3565618",
"author": "Sorv",
"timestamp": "2017-05-13T01:05:07",
"content": "How’s things?, sometimes I get a 500 server message when I browse your page. Just a heads up, cheers",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,193.958366
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/08/generating-music-with-credit-cards/
|
Generating Music With Credit Cards
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"digital audio hacks",
"Musical Hacks"
] |
[
"credit cards",
"magnetic stripe",
"music",
"pos terminal",
"Z-80"
] |
[Steve] was browsing around at a local electronics surplus store
when he spotted an old Tranz 330 point-of-sale terminal that seemed pretty interesting
. He took it home and after disassembling it, found that it contained a Z-80 based computer. Because the 330 shares the same processor as other hobbyist-friendly devices such as the TRS-80, he figured it would be quite fun to hack.
While the Z-80 processor is pretty common, [Steve] still had to figure out how it was interfaced in this particular device. After spending some time reverse engineering the terminal, he had free reign to run any program he desired. After thinking for a bit, he decided it would be cool to use the terminal to generate music based on whatever card was swiped through the reader – he calls his creation “Mozart’s Credit Card”.
He found that just playing sounds based on the raw contents of the mag strips didn’t produce anything coherent, so he wrote a small application for the terminal based on the
Melisma Stochastic Melody Generator
. Music is generated somewhat randomly using various card characteristics, as you can see in the video below.
We think it’s pretty cool, but [Steve] says he’s always open to suggestions, so let us know what you think in the comments.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2zW7FV_4l0&w=470]
| 19
| 19
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391561",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T13:52:43",
"content": "So it is sort of like the Bar Code Battler but for credit cards.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391569",
"author": "BiOzZ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T14:36:30",
"content": "than generate creditcards with music!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391573",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T14:49:26",
"content": "Whenever I need to pay for things, I simply belt out a power ballad to recharge my credit card and pay for common transactions.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391574",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T14:54:15",
"content": "and of course take a copy of the magstrip in case he ever runs into problems :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391575",
"author": "roy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T15:10:01",
"content": "EXACTLY",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391587",
"author": "Brian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T16:08:04",
"content": "I liked this project! Also, this is a great example of what a correctly done “project demo video” should look like. No shakey cam, good quality video, clearly spoken “to the point” words explaining what’s going on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391588",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T16:09:33",
"content": "“what a correctly done “project demo video” should look like.”You mean like a commercial, professional project demo video?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391592",
"author": "z",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T16:54:39",
"content": "So, is it possible to record the music played and reverse engineer that back into your credit card info? :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391629",
"author": "Fingerman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T19:36:04",
"content": "It’s actually pretty easy (if time-consuming) to reverse engineer the Tranz 330s. They have the ability to list code and accept new programming through the keypad and LCD in addition to code loading over serial or built-in modem. TCL (not Tcl) programming documentation is probably available from the company on their website. If you see one of thse for cheap, pick it up to play with, especially if it comes with the thermal printer. Beware that the last programmer may have changed the “admin passcode” that lets you through to the code, though. Small chance, I’d guess.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391633",
"author": "Fingerman",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T19:43:27",
"content": "That is, it’s not too difficult to reverse the Tranz 330’s high-level function by dumping and examining/rewriting its native code. Getting it to the point where you can reprogram it with Z80 assembler, they way Steve’s doing it, is much trickier.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391663",
"author": "ferdie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T21:50:00",
"content": "oke i think that the hackers that stole 77miljoen creditcard from sony not use them to make some music",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391681",
"author": "z",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T22:56:56",
"content": "I threw one of these away recently thinking I’d never have a use for it. Ok really, it was the girlfriend who said I’d never have a use for it.She’s long gone.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391731",
"author": "bob",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T04:29:20",
"content": "Zoom, Zoom, Enhance! Free credit card info… Also, in the reflection in his eye, you can see the murderer carrying the murder weapon.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391747",
"author": "civicturbo",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T05:08:09",
"content": "I’ve seen several of these at our local Savers store this last month. WIth and wo power or printers. I grabbed one term with no acc. for 5 bucks thought it may come in handy latter.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391831",
"author": "doragasu",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T12:57:18",
"content": "This is just GOREGEOUS!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391835",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T13:18:10",
"content": "Credit card swipers for “evil hackers” have been brain dead easy for decades. a credit card reader is nothing more than an audio tape head. the small circuit to set it all up to record the credit card is brain dead easy. Hell I have seen some that worked with recording walkmans from the 80’s.Why the people that know nothing at all come out of the woodwork screaming about “stealing credit cards! WOOOOO!” every time a magstripe reader is used for something cool…..Suck it ankle biters wannabees… having access to a reader/validator terminal does NOT increase any risk of anything.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391875",
"author": "tim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T15:15:49",
"content": "cha-ching",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391950",
"author": "dan fruzzetti",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T18:42:38",
"content": "Use a Square reader and voice recorder app.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "504196",
"author": "imhotep",
"timestamp": "2011-11-09T16:29:51",
"content": "how can you retrieve or back up track two information on the tranz 330",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,193.733955
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/07/photon-banner/
|
Photon Banner
|
Kevin Dady
|
[
"News",
"Peripherals Hacks"
] |
[
"led matrix"
] |
The Revision 2011 demo party that brought us” table for two” a little while ago along with some super demos for PC’s, retro, and state of the art, has also brought us the
Photon Banner
(google translate). The Photon Banner is a 96X24 led matrix that was made with (of course) 2304 5mm leds, and a atmega 644 clocked at 20MHz.
The end result is a 192cm X 48cm display area that uses the single micro controller, that has been beefed up with 2 megs of SPI flash memory, 6 driver boards, and took about a month just to construct. The software to drive the show took another 15 days, and it is pretty darn impressive.
The website above contains a bunch of photos, parts lists, and schematics. Before you go running off you should join us after the break for a couple of quick videos.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgEYBqEIDEY&w=450]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWY_jnurgo0&feature=player_embedded&w=450]
| 17
| 17
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391378",
"author": "Brett W. (FightCube.com)",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T20:57:18",
"content": "May I be the first to say HOLY CRAP THAT’S AWEXOME! I’ll take 3, built please ;-)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391379",
"author": "strider_mt2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T20:59:57",
"content": "Agreed.Win overflow.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391380",
"author": "Otacon2k",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T21:05:21",
"content": "sexy",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391384",
"author": "jon",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T21:12:49",
"content": "must have the patience of a saint for that many leds. looks amazing!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391410",
"author": "lastchancename",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T22:20:53",
"content": "Looking at the physical assembly alongside the software capabilities – I can only say this is a top-rate implementation of the highest professsional quality in development and prototyping.Excellent!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391421",
"author": "Steve Z",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T23:05:30",
"content": "That is super impressive. Nice work!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391427",
"author": "svofski",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T23:25:44",
"content": "AMIGAAAA@@!!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391457",
"author": "Chris Muncy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T00:59:46",
"content": "So, if you formated a display at 16:9 and used rgb leds…..things that make you go hmmmmmm",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391464",
"author": "Curtis",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T01:34:23",
"content": "Too bad no source published…would be great to look at how he pulled off all of that animation. From reading the description, it looks like all of the graphics processing is being done on an external PC with a C# program. Would love to see how he is exactly doing all of the software side!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391477",
"author": "adam felson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T03:04:39",
"content": "Amazing, but why are the brightness levels so uneven?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391483",
"author": "Bryson R.",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T04:13:47",
"content": "O-OH! NERDGASM!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391490",
"author": "hackersmith",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T05:22:31",
"content": "@adam,My guess is they ebayed a package of 1000 leds for cheap (didnt read the article yet) so there are going to naturally be some issues with manufacturing inconsistencies.#anyoneWonder if you could use an RS485 bus to chain these together. I realize they are using shift registers but it seems like it would take some effort to shift across 2 or more of these screens.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391503",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T07:09:35",
"content": "@adamEither as suggested cheap LEDs or they weren’t extremely careful and used directional LEDs. The dim spots are ones that are pointing slightly the wrong way.If it’s a cheap LED issue and you had brightness control on each, you could use a camera and some feedback control to keep them all at the same level. You’d probably want to store an offset table in memory and apply that brightness offset to switch on operation.That would be tricky with this beast which is probably only an on/off per LED.To fix the directional LED issue, put a diffuser in front of each LED.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391556",
"author": "BobSmith",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T13:25:42",
"content": "I don’t really get the fascination with LED arrays. This blog really seems to have a fetish for them. It’s kinda neat, I guess, but I’m not super excited by seeing yet another version of what was hanging in my elementary school cafeteria showing menus and coming school events.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391683",
"author": "moldboy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T23:40:50",
"content": "@BobSmithhere here",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391863",
"author": "Brennan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T13:51:45",
"content": "@BobSmitBecause they have a lot of visual impact, especially to people who are not really geeky and wouldn’t find DIY projects that interesting. A hack doesn’t have to be “high tech” for it to be cool. There are also a lot of projects with Nixie tubes, do you hate those too?Also, there are a lot of unique challenges when it comes to writing software for LED matrices, especially when you’re writing some kind of animation engine. I built an 8x8x8 LED cube once and the software turned out to be extremely complicated and fun. I don’t see why you have to be such a downer…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391913",
"author": "tR02",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T16:46:25",
"content": "The LEDs are cheap china made ones. They come with an opening angle of 20deg, which is crap for a matrix screen, but we used them anyway. Differences in intensity are not visible between each individual LED. However, one batch we received had widely different colors going from bright yellow to orange. We use that batch for a prototype, but not for the final Photonenbanner.Some LEDs are not fitted perfectly rectangular to the surface. This, the 20deg angle, and the fact that the camera was pretty close makes it look like the LEDs have different intensities in the video.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,193.88166
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/07/rebecca-black-running-accessory-also-promotes-running-for-everyone-within-earshot/
|
Rebecca Black Running Accessory Also Promotes Running For Everyone Within Earshot
|
Brian Benchoff
|
[
"Arduino Hacks"
] |
[
"arduino",
"running",
"wave shield"
] |
Last Friday, Friday we caught wind of [gvillenave]’s
running accessory
inspired by Rebecca Black, and we we we so excited, we so excited to bring this to you on Saturday, which comes after Friday.
[gvillenave] came up with the idea of using a song on the annoyance level of “Friday” to encourage a runner into keeping up a good pace. The concept is simple: if the wearer is running fast, the song will speed up. If the wearer is slowing down, the song will slow down and extend the agony.
The build uses an Arduino and [ladyada]’s
wave shield
coupled to an accelerometer. [gvillenave] included the code, and also wired up some LEDs to a pair of sunglasses that blink more often as the runner’s speed increases. The wave shield has a 3.5mm jack for headphones, but [gvillenave] graciously wired a speaker in, “so that you can annoy people around you, and not just yourself.” All this is packaged in a very nice 3D printed enclosure making for a great
looking
project.
There’s no word on the effectiveness of the negative reinforcement aspect of [gvillenave]’s build, but we suspect it will help her get down to the bus stop a little faster every morning.
| 23
| 23
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391310",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T15:51:33",
"content": "Erm… what’s with all the word repeating?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391313",
"author": "David S",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T15:53:44",
"content": "roflcopters.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391316",
"author": "Ray",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T16:01:40",
"content": "lulwut?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391321",
"author": "smaddox",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T16:12:16",
"content": "Wooosh!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391326",
"author": "anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T16:27:48",
"content": "This is both timely *and* timeless.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391335",
"author": "Kevin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T16:58:28",
"content": "Ah, I would have made it a bit different.If you’re running faster than 6.5 MPH or so, have it not play. If you slow down, it plays.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391343",
"author": "darkore",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T17:45:13",
"content": "This is pure genius.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391344",
"author": "chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T17:54:16",
"content": "Or maybe have volume tied to speed, the slower you go the louder it gets and vice versa",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391348",
"author": "grenadier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T18:21:56",
"content": "wat",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391359",
"author": "JeremyC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T18:59:30",
"content": "@grenadier – yes, what?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391360",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T19:04:03",
"content": "watt",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391365",
"author": "Bart",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T19:21:20",
"content": "Hmm. Maybe a better motivator would be to use volume? For instance, using merzbow – pulse demon and play at full power when standing still, but decrease the volume at zero when at speed.Warning, this “music” is “spectrally challenging”. Decrease your volume to low when attempting to play this!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlGh_okr5nI",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391366",
"author": "Bart",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T19:24:59",
"content": "Hmm. Maybe a better motivator would be to use volume? For instance, using merzbow – pulse demon and play at full power when standing still, but decrease the volume at zero when at speed.Warning, this “music” is “spectrally challenging”. Decrease your volume to almost nothing when attempting to play this! I wanted to paste the link to youtube, but hack a day has the habit to directly showing the youtube widget on the site.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391370",
"author": "Zack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T19:30:34",
"content": "This looks fun fun fun fun fun fun..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391371",
"author": "Jeditalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T19:44:56",
"content": "no video? while there may be a video, i’m not digging through an instructable to find it. I would play a loop from Black eyed peas – let’s get retarded/it started. where it’s like “runnin”, runnin'”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391373",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T19:59:09",
"content": "Because gvillenave’s project isn’t something for me I hesitate to say anything remotely critical. Hopefully she can increase her skills set, to be able reduce the size. I have carried lunch boxes int the oil fields that where smaller than that enclosure resting on her hip.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391376",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T20:38:45",
"content": "The hack was almost as lame as this post.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391401",
"author": "Ivan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T21:51:39",
"content": "I can’t believe Hack-a-Day is promoting cyber-bullying…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391432",
"author": "Squirrel",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T23:34:54",
"content": "Fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391461",
"author": "Jeffery",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T01:08:42",
"content": "@Ivan: They aren’t. I’ve seen some of the things people have written about her song, and indeed some of them are appallingly mean-spirited. That said, this is just making fun of the song itself in a relatively gentle way; just because some people have gone way too far doesn’t mean that /this/ constitutes “cyber-bullying”.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391529",
"author": "anti-fanboi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T10:40:04",
"content": "OMG!! ORSUM!Oh c’mon! this is screaming out for a twitter interface and remote monitoring on an ipad!!And some said nothing good will ever come of the ‘duino… nuf sed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391626",
"author": "Greycode",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T19:24:16",
"content": "Cyber bullying? You have got to be kidding me. I guess for you if someone behind you beeps their horn at you to go, that is road rage. Take your malnourished ego somewhere else.And for your information, people with projects who are superhuman get rankled by people who do not know how to eat their own lunches without choking. That is the Internet at both its finest and worst, and if you can not run with the other dogs, stay under the porch where you belong.My only real two beefs with this project are the size, and if this person is willing to run with a box like that, I would call it added exercise, and the speakers which would subject the innocent bystander to your own punishments. Switch it to headphones, and why not try dumb bells instead of the big box? Either way, this is a project that hopefully the user thinks does it’s job and tip of the hat to you for doing it.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391838",
"author": "legendeveryone",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T13:29:26",
"content": "Love this hack. Very neat idea, especially the attached speakers that encourage everyone around you to run. Social responsibility FTW!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,194.076553
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/07/digital-picture-frame-reverse-engineering/
|
Digital Picture Frame Reverse Engineering
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Misc Hacks"
] |
[
"coby",
"photoframe",
"reverse engineering",
"serial flash",
"spi"
] |
A few months ago [Jason] got his hands on a free Coby DP700WD digital picture frame
and thought it would be fun to hack
. After realizing that the frame did not run any sort of Linux-based OS he figured his options were pretty limited, but he gave it a shot anyways.
The frame came with a set of built in images, and his goal was to swap them out for pictures of his own. He started by trying to read data from the frame’s serial flash chip, but found that the processor was preventing him from doing so. He de-soldered the chip from the frame, mounted it on a makeshift breakout board, and started reading up on SPI.
He was eventually able to read the device’s flash chip and swapped out the built-in images with his own. After a bit of trial and error, he was able to replace the frame’s boot screen with his own custom image as well.
If you are looking to do something similar, be sure to swing by his site – all of the tools and code he used to hack his frame are available for the taking.
Continue reading to see his modified picture frame in action.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xevG0ZCW-Fo&w=470]
| 22
| 19
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391285",
"author": "Aaron",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T13:39:05",
"content": "Well, certainly, anything you do with a “Coby” product is better than leaving it how it came from the factory — hacking it, tearing it down for parts, smashing it with a sledgehammer, whatever.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391298",
"author": "uky",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T14:29:43",
"content": "do they really make frames with only preset pictures?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391299",
"author": "localroger",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T14:35:40",
"content": "So he went to all this effort to hack the photo frame into … a photo frame with different default images?Not to brag, but I hacked a photo frame recently too:http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?130116-28-lines-by-60-columns-on-a-NEW-Ativa-7-inch-photo-frame",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391301",
"author": "st2000",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T14:43:28",
"content": "Does anyone know of a hack where the picture frame is “told” what to display by a computer from power up? Preferably over the USB port. And preferably one of the cheap picture frames(<$50). Much more than that and you might as well build one from scratch:http://combattlefield.com/Forum/index.php?topic=30.0",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391303",
"author": "Tiersten",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T14:46:08",
"content": "@ukyThe preset pictures are for when you don’t have a SD card installed.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391317",
"author": "st2000",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T16:03:18",
"content": "@localrogerSo, what you have done is tap the power off the USB port to power a parallax which drives the LCD (sort of) directly. Essentially cutting out all the logic of the picture frame.Ok, but I am still looking for cheap (information only) 2nd display for an entertainment center. I want to render a JPEG in the entertainment center’s computer, load it into the picture frame and forget about it (i.e. I don’t want to continue to provide a video feed).So I guess I’m still looking for the perfect picture frame hack.BTW, the picture frame you spec’ed out is on sale until the end of today (2011.05.07) for $10 less at the store you mentioned.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391324",
"author": "Dino",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T16:19:13",
"content": "Nice work Jason. I like the reverse engineering. :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391327",
"author": "Mojoe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T16:30:31",
"content": "@uky, @localrogerThe picture frame takes images off of a USB flash drive or an sdcard which he says he did not have, so he changed the default images instead.Obviously he did it more for the purpose of honing his hacking and reverse engineering skills than to get different images on a frame he could’ve simply gotten a flash drive for.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391353",
"author": "PhilKll",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T18:39:21",
"content": "@uky These were the included demo photographs, the device still has USB and SD capabilities. Which I had neither available which kind of inspired the idea.@localroger the actual changing of the firmware was surprisingly easy, the only really hard part was building the tools to do it, which will be used on more than just this project. I wanted to learn how to download data of such chips, this was the test run basically, not really a lot of hassle. I have zero use for the gadget anyways, this was a good way to get some value out of it.@st2000 if you search the internet, this particular frame has its source code available, its a generic one I believe. DVD capabilities are built into it, but no hardware. So there is that route if you’re good with cross compiling. If you were crafty enough, you could probably force the SD into SPI mode, and then spoof the file system or something like that, or possibly share the SD card between the two. It updates every 5sec max, I’m sure you could probably change that, possibly with out a complete rebuild. This was one of my first ideas for the frame, its just learning how to download off serial flash was something I needed to do.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391400",
"author": "localroger",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T21:50:24",
"content": "@st2000 yeah, the prop mod isn’t suitable for what you want to do because it can’t display a photographic image. It’s meant for using the frame as a very cheap dense text display.@PhilKll you have the source code for this thing? From where?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391403",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T22:04:49",
"content": "First of all: WTF is all the effort in ‘protecting’ the damn thing for? They seem to be trying harder than sony does for userinfo.Second, I would like to see someone find a way to emulate a SD card and then connect that to a makeshift thingy that you put in SD card-using devices to hack them that way, a way to add data live while making the device think it’s just an SD card, a bit like that wifi-sd-card does but then done by the amateur.Since the SD system is wellknown it should be doable.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391411",
"author": "Flood_of_SYNs",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T22:25:03",
"content": "@localrogerThe source code for the photo frame is linked on the project page.http://www.hackchina.com/en/cont/129173It is also where he got the datasheet for the processor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "6409979",
"author": "Herbie",
"timestamp": "2021-12-27T14:17:16",
"content": "@Flood_of_SYNI just read your reply on hackday. I was wondering if you stil have the source code laying around?",
"parent_id": "391411",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391412",
"author": "jrspruitt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T22:25:46",
"content": "@Whatnot there was no protection on it at all, the JPEG images were there for the taking, its just they are in the firmware, which is stored on the Serial Flash chip that the processor loads its instructions from. Its just a mater of taking the chip off, downloading its contents, changing them, and reprogramming it. The protection isn’t really protection, just a matter of those images weren’t meant to be accessed or changed as a feature.As for the SD or USB stick adapter to a computer, this is something I want to do, and will give it a go someday. Just need to build up some more skills and figure out the right parts to make it happen.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391423",
"author": "st2000",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T23:13:52",
"content": "Did I mess something? I wanted to look at source code so I downloaded this:1528765 May 7 15:40 d6659a7e718a.rarBut only found this stuff inside:542720 Apr 12 2007 CT952-ROAD-WELL－VER1.2.DSN146 Apr 12 2007 CT952-road-well－VER1.2.txt1662122 Apr 12 2007 CT952-road-well－VER1.2.pcb 1514454 Apr 12 2007 CT952-road-well－VER1.2.asc60928 Apr 10 2007 CT952-Road-Well-VER1.2.xls15360 Apr 6 2007 电流.xls1309416 Apr 4 2007 DVD909.romLooks like mostly board layout stuff.Guess I’m kind of jaded. I don’t like these new Pacific rim players. I’ve been down this road buying hardware and poking around in these so called source code files. Only to find the important bits of code have been left out. I already have a pile of SigmaDesign boxes. And I really don’t want to add Amlogic boxes to the stack.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391428",
"author": "st2000",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T23:25:54",
"content": "@WhatnotYou’re not the first to think of this. And I have never found such a device for an SDCard. One problem – you might have to emulate both the 4 bit and 1 bit SDCard data bus. It depends on the device you put the SDCard-emulator into. On top of that, this does start looking like a two-port-video-ram device.Regarding USB: I believe Microchip runs a USB Client class for (I think) their PIC 18F USB evaluation board. In that class I kind-of remember the PIC emulating a USB Thumb Drive.But even if you could drop images onto a media drive to display on a picture frame:1. You probably still have to “manually” start the picture frame reading the images off the drive.2. You have hacked to a point you might as well have started from scratch. Like with a used NetBook or similar laptop. You will get something much more flexible. And it probably could do complex tasks autonomously. Like scrape the web for weather reports or stock prices.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391600",
"author": "jrspruitt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T17:47:06",
"content": "http://www.hackchina.com/dlpre.php?lang=en&id=99877This looks to be the source code, its not the exact same, I imagine the manufactures change it up as needed, as the chip is used for various things, as it is capable of a lot more than its being used for. It has DVD playing capabilities, which I did find in the firmware.Finding the toolchain to cross compile it didn’t turn up much. A bit of research turned up its eCos OS and an ARC based chip. But thats as far as I got.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "442773",
"author": "Billy Radcliffe",
"timestamp": "2011-08-27T16:59:57",
"content": "I have a very similar device and also have dumped the flash for analysis. I confirmed it’s a SPARC-based device (V8, big endian) based on tips here and a bit of disassembling.If your device is like mine (or anything else I’d expect…) the first instruction in flash should be a jmp to some address containing code needed to start copying everything into RAM. You’ll also see the IVT following this first instruction.The next bit of analysis will be identifying at what point control is transferred to the code in RAM and going from there. At that point I think it might be interesting to look at some of those source files and .o/.a files linked above to find common strings of opcodes, which I hope would be some standard libc calls.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "539971",
"author": "someone",
"timestamp": "2011-12-20T01:34:57",
"content": "jrspruitt’s website is no longer there. Where can I find the info on how he hacked it?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "573938",
"author": "ohm",
"timestamp": "2012-02-03T04:56:40",
"content": "@someonemay behttp://www.jasonpruitt.com/users/jason/projects/_c/Hacking/_p/Coby_Photoframe",
"parent_id": "539971",
"depth": 2,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "2897449",
"author": "roytoo",
"timestamp": "2016-01-26T05:28:32",
"content": "Looks like it is here now:https://jasonpruitt.com/Hacking/_PROJECTS/Coby_Photoframe/",
"parent_id": "573938",
"depth": 3,
"replies": []
}
]
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "3403587",
"author": "MUSTAFA KIRGUL",
"timestamp": "2017-02-09T02:06:00",
"content": "Link and the video do not function anymore…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,194.018256
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/miniature-pc-packs-a-big-punch/
|
Miniature PC Packs A Big Punch
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"News"
] |
[
"mini pc",
"olpc",
"raspberry pi"
] |
We are always looking out for smaller yet capable computers for our projects, and
this newest offering by [David Braben] is looking mighty nice
. [David] is the head of a UK-based games studio, but has recently been focusing on bringing small, affordable PCs to classrooms around the world.
The computer, called Raspberry Pi, is about the size of your standard USB thumb drive and contains a 700 MHz ARM 11 processor as well as 128 MB of memory. It has an HDMI port which can display 1080p video on any compatible screen, along with a USB port for input peripherals. Mass storage is provided courtesy of an on-board SD card slot, and it looks like the ability to utilize add-on modules will be available as well.
There is sure to be no shortage of willing buyers if [David] is able to bring these computers to market within a reasonable timeframe. With a projected cost of about $25, this will certainly give the OLPC and others a run for their money.
Thanks to everyone who sent this story in… all of you. You can stop now… please. (don’t stop sending us tips, we’re just joking around)
| 107
| 50
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391042",
"author": "1000100 1000001 1010110 1000101",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:00:34",
"content": "Um…wow.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391043",
"author": "jeff",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:04:42",
"content": "If he’s able to push those for 25$, I’ll buy a crate.I can’t see how Gumstix can compete with that, given that their 400MHz/16MB model is 120$.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391047",
"author": "pookie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:08:32",
"content": "Does anyone know the what CPU he is using?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391049",
"author": "Chris",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:11:31",
"content": "http://www.raspberrypi.org/it says ARM11this thing is faster than my good ol’ laptop :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391050",
"author": "RITredbeard",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:11:40",
"content": "If these are actually at this price point or at the most $50, you can see a lot of enthusiasts like the people who visit this site gobbling them up, replacing Gumstix for a lot of tasks that aren’t necessarily computationally intensive or complex.Essentially making the Gumstix the BASIC Stamp of SoC.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391051",
"author": "Foxdie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:15:20",
"content": "I’ve emailed him asking if I can buy 1.. or 10, heh :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391054",
"author": "DanJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:26:42",
"content": "Anyone know how it connects to the network?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391055",
"author": "PocketBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:28:52",
"content": "Might be the perfect candidate for a joystick-embedded MAME computer.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391056",
"author": "icebrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:28:58",
"content": "@DanJ: USB-to-Ethernet adapter, apparently.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391059",
"author": "Kevin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:37:52",
"content": "25$ sure……… but then you need a HDMI monitor that tacks on another 100$",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "391140",
"author": "Ben Wright",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T02:41:57",
"content": "The price of a hdmi to VGA adaptor is <$8 at frys but about twice the size – I would of included at least 2 more USB ports – I still like",
"parent_id": "391059",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391060",
"author": "PocketBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:38:16",
"content": "@DanJ, icebrain: Or USB WiFi adapter. I have a couple spares. Add a hub & bluetooth, you’re set.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391061",
"author": "twopartepoxy",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:41:31",
"content": "this is huge!!!!!!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391064",
"author": "zool",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:50:27",
"content": "it is rather amazingmaybe that $35 ipad may come true",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391066",
"author": "Kobukson",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:56:37",
"content": "Man, I wish there was a way to get a hand on one of these prototypes (even if they cost 2 or 3 times the goal cost); I’d love to get a few for my MEng project ^^",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391067",
"author": "Paul",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:57:14",
"content": "Much like OLPC’s $99, I suspect $25 is a bit on the optimistic side.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391068",
"author": "Metalwolf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:59:13",
"content": "I wonder how well it handles media. Since it has hdmi i would be tempted to velcro it to the back of my tv and use it as a media center.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391069",
"author": "qwerty",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T22:00:59",
"content": "Just about time that someone created a Gumstix-like system at a reasonable price.I highly doubt he’ll be able to sell it at $25, but even at say $40 it’d be much more interesting than the insanely priced Gumstix.It would also bring down, by induction, the prices of Arduino, its clones and most two digit-priced mcu boards.Well done!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391070",
"author": "Bob D",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T22:03:07",
"content": "This is fantastic to be sure, but it depends what “projected cost” means. If that’s the cost to manufacture then there’s no way it will retail for less than $65. (Even charities have to pay bills.)Still, a lot of computing power for not much money. I’m currious how much power it uses, these would be great for head and body mounted computing projects.(Note to the editors: Please link the actual project. [http://www.raspberrypi.org/] Certainly give some credit to where you found it but the majority of the credit should go to the people who do the hard work and actually make the project.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391072",
"author": "svenk91",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T22:05:51",
"content": "@MetalwolfIt says it can run 1080p, with software using hardware acceleration it might just work without to much fancy pantcy.add parralel and a usb -> seriel adapter and you have an easy cheap fpga :p",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391073",
"author": "AllThatJazz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T22:09:04",
"content": "Do Want!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391075",
"author": "helgrind",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T22:14:05",
"content": "Or just nick the DVI from the HDMI…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391076",
"author": "DrF",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T22:16:27",
"content": "I would like one of them, guess we will have to wait and see the final price.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391077",
"author": "Gene",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T22:17:38",
"content": "Count me among the dubious that this can be retailed for $25, but even at twice that cost this would be freakin’ awesome. Now all it needs is on-board wifi, which they say they’re working on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391080",
"author": "Jussi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T22:31:53",
"content": "Umm.. He says that you could plug in peripherals, but the USB connector is a device type rather than host? Not very practical?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391087",
"author": "AirTightAlibi",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T22:41:05",
"content": "Is that The David Braben of Elite fame?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391090",
"author": "nes",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T22:46:00",
"content": "According to the story on the reg today he’s planning on selling them at cost in an effort to get more kids into hardcore games hacking.As it’s similar density to a cellphone but less than half the components, $25 should be easily doable in quantities of 100k+. Most of that functionality will be in the ARM chip anyhow (CPU, Video, I/O, memory controller, USB, card reader) and given ARM11s have been used in TV decoder boxes for a few years, that part will not be expensive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391095",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T23:01:59",
"content": "I wonder if it will come with Elite installed?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391097",
"author": "adam",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T23:05:55",
"content": "Sign me up for 2 or 3",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391098",
"author": "Metiz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T23:07:35",
"content": "Any chance you could cluster these things?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "391560",
"author": "Ron Proctor",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T13:51:09",
"content": "Yeah. I’m thinking briefcase render farm…",
"parent_id": "391098",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "391107",
"author": "rasz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T23:56:24",
"content": "$25 must be BOM, add another $25 for manufacturing and another $25 for shipping/handling/profitstill seems too cheap, this is Ethernet/wifi router price range, SoCs with Video are a lot more expensive",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391108",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T00:07:56",
"content": "30 years ago this would have been a mainframe, 15 years ago a desktop, now its a computer you can stick up your butt, convergence is comming!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391109",
"author": "WestfW",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T00:08:30",
"content": "We shall see.OLPC comparisons aren’t quite valid, since OLPC tried to specifically address issues of lack of infrastructure. This requires monitor, keyboard, network interface, and perhaps other stuff, plus the electricity to run it all. A different beast.>> he’s planning on selling them at costHmm. I don’t think people in general realize how valuable it is that Arduino (for instance) supports two tiers of profitable distributors. Not the same thing as a vendor-subsidized board sold at or below cost to attract customers.The best thing for computer education would be for some appliance (eg TV, phone, MP3 player) vendor to put a programming environment of some kind on the microcontroller that is already in their box anyway…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391114",
"author": "theodore",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T00:39:24",
"content": "Can you add Arduino",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391115",
"author": "Maave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T00:41:56",
"content": "This is one of the sweetest mini computers I’ve ever seen. I bet it’d be perfect for turning into a smartphone-like device. With Linux running on it it’s just asking for Android, and USB ports means wifi. Mini WEP cracker anyone?@MetizI was thinking the same thing. 4 would be a nice start.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391132",
"author": "Welsh Mullet",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T02:13:30",
"content": "If they really are only going to be £15, then i think everyone will buy one. Apparently it does composite rgb too, so no need to buy a monitor, just find an old tv someone has thrown (thinking of the third world here)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391141",
"author": "Jak_o_Shadows",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T02:45:55",
"content": "Media center much?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391142",
"author": "LordNothing",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T02:51:55",
"content": "is this the same guy who co-developed elite?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391144",
"author": "pascal",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T03:14:23",
"content": "hopefully it will have accessible GPIO ports, this would enable teaching /every/ stage of programming, from lowest electrical to highest level dynamic web stuff on a single device. It would be like in the olden days, when there still were serial ports…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391145",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T03:15:01",
"content": "Actually I thought that it would be cool to build one of these in the Arduino form factor. For networking one could and an SPI network adaptor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391149",
"author": "Ptr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T03:26:32",
"content": "Is that a cmos camera on top or heatsink?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391150",
"author": "JediTalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T03:39:13",
"content": "i would buy like 10 for me and then some more, cluster the 10, 7ghz? i know it wouldn’t really be 7ghz, but 10 cores running at 700mhz each. looks like it would make a nice little watch. add a little keyboard and screen, keeps time, IMs..I’m assuming that big black box is a heatsink, it appears that there may be a tiny fan, making this actively cooled? Since it has a male USB connector, can i plug it in and use it for Tur(tle)bocharged Readyboost? With the specs though, it will definitely not be running any type of Winbloats. Here’s the plan: it haz HDMI out, stick it in an HDTV and voila! it’s a AIO PC, ok, more like an HDTV with a built-in C64, NES, etc.. but awesome, nonetheless. i def. plan on buying 2 or 3 at the least, because they’d make nice gifts, once a headphone jack has been hacked on, some simple controls, power source, throw in a microSD card, and it’s at least an mp3 player, also could much more easily be used as a viable replacement for DVD player, since it has HDMI and doesn’t rely on fragile optical media.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391151",
"author": "JediTalian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T03:45:56",
"content": "the kids will also get to learn how to solder, because that one USB port won’t hold up forever :D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391153",
"author": "D_",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T03:51:31",
"content": "@Kevin “Composite and HDMI video output”@zool a $35 tablet, maybe some day, a $35 ipad from Apple probably never.Negroponte is probably the biggest enemy his brain child has. The OLPC is a has been, without ever really existing. Work like this combined with the work of others is what will bring the OLPC concept to fruition. SD media is to damn cheap. Leave internet connecting for a later date. Put a rack of microSD connectors inside any OLPC, and get prerecorded digital educational content into the hands of children in developing countries.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391157",
"author": "???",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T04:07:44",
"content": "nerdgasm. *faints*",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391158",
"author": "John Bokma",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T04:14:06",
"content": "@LordNothing: yes, he co-wrote Elite, and also wrote Zarch for the Acorn Archimedes (AKA Virus on some other platforms). A cut down version of Zarch, called Lander, came with RISC OS 2. Hard to play at first, but very impressive.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391161",
"author": "LordNothing",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T04:33:48",
"content": "as cool as this is i still think going as far as calling it a pc is a little overboard. when i think pc i think x86, not arm. so long as its open source i think it would be pretty cool to have one, but i wouldn’t call it a pc.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391169",
"author": "Eric",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T05:07:20",
"content": "@anyone that asked;that is a 12 megapixel camera on top.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391174",
"author": "Matt",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T05:44:26",
"content": "It’s nice to see ARM platforms getting more powerful for lower price points. Now letsnsee if someone takes on the challenges preventing ARM based solutions from becoming a real challenger to the x86 PC.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391181",
"author": "Dr.Fun",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T06:15:44",
"content": "Seriously? This was all over 4Chan last night, now hack a day. I really want to believe, but it whiffs of too-good-to-be-true.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391183",
"author": "helgrind",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T06:23:45",
"content": "@pascal you mean parallel ports :PMy PC is covered in serial ports…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,194.204294
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/06/advanced-robotic-arm-control-using-kinect/
|
Advanced Robotic Arm Control Using Kinect
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Kinect hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] |
[
"arm",
"Kinect",
"openni",
"primesense",
"robot"
] |
[Ryan Lloyd], [Sandeep Dhull], and [Ruben D’Sa] wrote in to share a robotics project they have been keeping busy with lately. The three University of Minnesota students
are using a Kinect sensor to remotely control a robotic arm
, but it’s not as simple as it sounds.
Using OpenNI alongside PrimeSense, the team started out by doing some simple skeleton tracking before working with their robotic arm. The arm has five degrees of freedom, making the task of controlling it a bit tricky. The robot has quite a few joints to play with, so the trio not only tracks shoulder, elbow, and wrist movements, but they also monitor the status of the user’s hand to actuate the robot’s gripper.
When everything was said and done, the results were pretty impressive as you can see in the video below, but the team definitely sees room for improvement. Using inverse kinematics, they plan on filtering out some of the joint tracking inaccuracies that occur when the shoulders are moved in a certain way. They also plan on using a robotic arm with even more degrees of freedom to see just how well their software can perform.
Be sure to check out their site to see more details and videos.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB8WmU0oFFA&w=470]
| 10
| 10
|
[
{
"comment_id": "390994",
"author": "wheresTheLink",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T17:58:08",
"content": "So… Where is the link to their site?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391028",
"author": "PocketBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T19:43:30",
"content": "Nice proof of concept; perhaps now they can get a grant for a more serious (non-toy) robotic arm. And then… GUNDAM!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391065",
"author": "tapius",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T21:53:52",
"content": "Doesn’t this slightly defeat the purpose of the robotic arm?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391100",
"author": "Maverick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-06T23:35:24",
"content": "@tapius … i don’t think so. you can perform tasks in a hazardous environment using a robotic arm, with the operator safe in a far-away room, using such a system!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391121",
"author": "M@",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T01:31:19",
"content": "Left arm can be used as the gripper/rotate/firin’tehlazer.And tapius, isn’t hacking about creating new purposes?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391176",
"author": "Amos",
"timestamp": "2011-05-07T05:50:54",
"content": "@taipus: look up “telepresence,” “teleoperation,” or “telerobotics” some time. See also: the Lost in Space movie ;)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391668",
"author": "Obadiah Stane",
"timestamp": "2011-05-08T22:08:22",
"content": "Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392177",
"author": "Maverick",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T05:30:42",
"content": "@Obadiah Stane … come out of fantasy land kid :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "421869",
"author": "Ursu Adrian",
"timestamp": "2011-07-23T20:15:21",
"content": "Here is a little project of my own. A robotic arm ( made by myself ) controlled via a data glove )",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "421870",
"author": "Ursu Adrian",
"timestamp": "2011-07-23T20:16:11",
"content": "sorry, I forgot to post the link :http://www.4shared.com/video/ghSO3QxJ/SAM_1575.html",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,194.122114
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/09/juggling-with-kinect/
|
Juggling With Kinect
|
Mike Nathan
|
[
"Kinect hacks",
"News"
] |
[
"Kinect",
"openni",
"xbox"
] |
Some of the Kinect hacks we have featured here are quite useful in the realm of assisted living, others showcase what can be done with the clever application of video filters. Some…are just plain fun.
This pair of Kinect hacks are not necessarily going to win any awards for usefulness, but they are big on fun.
[Tom] put together a neat juggling application
that watches for your hands to disappear behind your back, generating a glowing ball once they return to the camera’s field of vision. The balls can be tossed away or juggled as you can see in the video below. It looks like it could be pretty fun and most definitely easier than chasing balls around while learning to juggle.
[Tom’s] hack was based off code he saw demonstrated in a video by YouTube user [hogehoge335]. His application for the Kinect
allows him to replicate the Kamehameha attack
from Dragonball Z, flowing hair and all.
Check out the videos below for a demonstration of both Kinect hacks, and swing by the respective Google Code sites if you want to give them a try.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AXpnlkqPCI&w=470]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lajP7HO7ZyE&w=470]
| 3
| 3
|
[
{
"comment_id": "392025",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:30:22",
"content": "The DBZ one is awesome. Just need someone with graphics skills and you’d have a 15 minutes of fame hit game.. like angry birds.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392067",
"author": "Kevin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T23:44:50",
"content": "Only 150%? Pthh, I can get over 9000",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392142",
"author": "fotoflojoe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T03:37:29",
"content": "Kinnect juggling ranks right up there with “Most useless machine” as my most favorite thing ever.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,194.245886
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/09/fbi-tracking-device-found-disassembled/
|
FBI Tracking Device Found; Disassembled
|
Jeff Katz
|
[
"gps hacks",
"Teardown"
] |
[
"carmen sandiego",
"fbi",
"gps",
"ifixit",
"teardown",
"waldo",
"wireless"
] |
[
ifixit
] has apparently grown tired of
tearing apart
Apple’s latest gizmos, and their latest display of un-engineering has a decidedly more federal flair. You may have heard about
Yasir Afifi’s discovery
of a FBI-installed tracking device on his car back in October of last year. Apparently, the feds
abandoned a similar device
with activist Kathy Thomas. Wired magazine managed to get their hands on it, and gave it to ifixit to take apart. There’ve even
posted a video
.
The hardware itself isn’t that remarkable, it’s essentially a GPS receiver designed before the turn of the century paired with a short range wireless transceiver. The whole device is powered by a set of D-sized
lithium-thionyl chloride
batteries which should be enough juice to run the whole setup for another few decades–long enough to outlast any reasonable expectations of privacy, with freedom and justice for all.
| 46
| 45
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391992",
"author": "Pin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:17:37",
"content": "The gps is not that old it just uses a active antina and will use difrant satellites to send it corrections so it can be more accurate If u can get a part number on the single chip gps receiver it’s the big shielded package on the gps board I was playing with a gps from Ubox u give it 5 volts and it gives u USB are rs 232 nema data",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391995",
"author": "Scuzz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:20:55",
"content": "I’m a bit confused at his statement that it looks like a very complicated antenna. I whole-heartedly disagree! I think it looks like a cheap GPS unit in a housing that keeps it waterproof and in a good location:http://www.sparkfun.com/products/465I assume that the cable was more than a two-wire connection so that power was getting up there somehow, but I could be completely off-base here.Anyway, mildly interesting breakdown, but no real surprises.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391997",
"author": "alaska",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:25:57",
"content": "it isn’t powered by alien technology?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392000",
"author": "Charlie",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:30:43",
"content": "Wow. What a massively offensive story. Not the technical aspect of it; that is mildly interesting. But the social implications of the U.S. spying on its own citizens really sucks.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392001",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:32:30",
"content": "Charlie, this news to you?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392004",
"author": "error404",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T21:40:31",
"content": "@Scuzz: Power for GPS antennas is typically provided as a DC bias on the signal lines, which will be AC coupled to the receive circuitry and amplifier. So standard RF connectors and cables are the norm, as here.I’d be interested to see someone try to reverse engineer it and better characterize its capabilities.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392017",
"author": "Zack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:03:28",
"content": "@error404, I’d agree; but I’m mostly curious as to how Wired / ifixit are going to handle the legal ramifications of tampering with US “spy” equipment; and what the law says about PI’s or SO’s doing the same thing for anyone who has $$.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392019",
"author": "Mike",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:13:46",
"content": "@Scuzz: active GPS antennas still use two wires, they are powered via DC bias in the same way electret microphones are powered from a 3.5mm jack – the signal wire is hooked up to a power supply (usually via an LC filter to avoid noise from the power supply getting into the receiver), and there is a capacitor just before the receiver itself.Some GPS modules have an internal antenna supply, and can automatically switch between active and passive antennas without needing an external decoupling capacitor.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392020",
"author": "Alex Parting",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:14:56",
"content": "Looks too big to attach to a stray cat",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392021",
"author": "Jake H",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:17:11",
"content": "Why is a high-profile environmental activist driving a car?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392022",
"author": "jim",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:21:06",
"content": "It might have got nearly 200w in its battery pack, but that doesn’t mean it can power the device for twenty years, just that if the drain is low enough it could potentially remain in standby for that long. I’d be interested to see how long these things last, and I guess they power down if they’re stationary for long enough.How she resisted attaching this to a migrating bison, I do not know.“We have identified the target. Oh my God, she’s coming right at me. Aaaah!”",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392023",
"author": "Leonard",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:21:24",
"content": "“paired with a short range wireless transceiver”How short range, and who is listening? or are there more than one tranceiver points this device can dump its data to?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392028",
"author": "adsf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:39:00",
"content": "@Jake HBecause she isn’t an “activist.”She’s a domestic terrorist and just pissed she was caught…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392029",
"author": "Luke",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:42:01",
"content": "@Zack, not like they are sharing any secrets here. You could build an equivalent device from off the shelf components for a couple hundred bucks and a weekend. There are plenty of tutorials online for creating “tracking devices” that people have used on balloons, bicycles, etc.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392036",
"author": "Nave",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:57:56",
"content": "ummmmm, what frequency does it transmit on????",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392049",
"author": "Oren Beck",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T23:11:16",
"content": "First- The concept of what’s “Legal” is not a stasis frozen, eternal writ! The way to literally “Hack Society” is found in becoming educated as to how our government *really* works. Then, if you have an informed dislike of what’s being done? Become an Agent of Change.Posting articles just like this OP is part of showing truth where it might have been ambushed.Make no mistake about this situation. EVERYTHING in your life CAN be somehow used against you. Even if you’re Innocent, that concept of no Ex Post Facto laws may not remain so.That above statement is all about things like tracking us or creating Dossiers either overt or covert. See, we are often Naive enough to presume that our society will “never” change. And what’s quite legal today, can be Retconned to make us _all_ guilty of even discussing such things. If you really do not want that becoming a scary reality?WE can change it quite ethically and legally thru “Social Hacking” and simple exposures of whats really being done to us. It starts with a GPS tracker under a car. Or a Pocket Phone betraying us. Does “Airplane Mode” always *REALLY* power down all the RF emissions from a phone? Getting scared yet?Envision that GPS found by the OP having a covert BT link to..your phone. Naah, not here, can’t happen eh?We used to consider Jello Biafra paranoid. Was he?Bugs in our teeth may be..already there?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392055",
"author": "grenadier",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T23:23:37",
"content": "Yay for the bill of rights…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392058",
"author": "Scuzz",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T23:29:39",
"content": "@error404 and @Mike:Yeah, makes sense, I guess I was just a bit surprised to not see the connectors in any of those ifixit pictures, and I thought it seemed more plausible that it was a multipin.Looking more closely at the sparkfun module it looks like it may use a similar antenna on top of the actual GPS module, packaged nicely and small-ly. I’ve never actually worked with an AC transfer mechanism like that, though that definitely seems straightforward enough.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392061",
"author": "Lowkey",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T23:36:28",
"content": "A fun project would be to see if one could listen to these signals and then put up a webpage with an interactive map of who the FBI is listening to. I assume that the signal is encrypted, but if the devices can be obtained (like they obviously can), then the ROM may be dump-able and encryption keys found.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392063",
"author": "John Avitable",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T23:39:32",
"content": "So when did his tracker go to ifixit? According to the wired article, the feds confiscated the device.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392073",
"author": "HackJack",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T00:04:43",
"content": "I would love to get a battery that can power a GPS receiver for 10 years. My cell phone can hardly stay up for 12 hours on full charge.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392075",
"author": "Grayda",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T00:14:24",
"content": "Built with alien technology?Hack-a-day: GPS module built from velcro and microwaves, accurate to < 1cm",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392076",
"author": "Michael Chen",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T00:22:20",
"content": "I wonder if a fake signal can be generated to tell the FBI your car suddenly moved to the middle of the Atlantic Sea?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392078",
"author": "Brian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T00:27:40",
"content": "@Michael Chen — You don’t need a fake signal to do that – my cheap POS gps does that semi frequently.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "4785719",
"author": "John blackthorn",
"timestamp": "2018-07-28T08:41:24",
"content": "As does my sat nav.",
"parent_id": "392078",
"depth": 2,
"replies": []
}
]
},
{
"comment_id": "392085",
"author": "Charlie H",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T00:39:13",
"content": "Are they sure this is FBI related? I used to install similar looking devices in used cars for a dealership. They were used for repossession and the dealer could even disable the starter from an office computer so once the car was turned off it couldn’t be started. We usually hid them behind the stereo and would parasite off the stereo power.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392088",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T00:45:21",
"content": "is that a 1990 FBI device? it’s looks so huge..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392090",
"author": "dbear",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T00:49:44",
"content": "Next time they’ll just give him a free android or iphone.Congratulations! You’ve just won Verizon’s Spring Giveaway! A free Iphone and 1 year free service!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392091",
"author": "Mckee",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T00:54:41",
"content": "Honestly, I’d have been tempted to place it either on the nearest cop car or a few helium baloons (if it wasnt too heavy). Nice to know the police really have our safety at heart, not political policing and privacy invasion.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392097",
"author": "lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T01:06:40",
"content": "you can buy these off the shelf. Nothing too super unusual. Makes me wonder why they didn’t demand it back. Maybe it wasn’t the FBIs.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392116",
"author": "t&p",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T02:09:26",
"content": "If I cough someone doing this I would call the police and national/local news and say someone set me up the bomb!The paranoia can go 2 ways for my entertainment!There would be such a story later on.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392119",
"author": "andrew",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T02:12:03",
"content": "Not going to lie, this video kinda aggravates me, especially when he says things in awe like “I’ve never seen an antenna like this before” when opening a standard, everyday, run-of-the-mill active GPS antenna.Then again, maybe they’re just targeting a more naive audience than us. I just feel the host should have been more knowledgeable.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392151",
"author": "M4CGYV3R",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T03:54:52",
"content": "So now being tracked by the FBI is more insidious than someone planting a Pipe Bomb under your car? Let’s ease up on the hyperbole a little, please?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392175",
"author": "mjrippe",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T05:25:44",
"content": "@John Avitable – The device sent to ifixit was an earlier one (2006?), not the one that Yasir returned to the FBI. Too bad, as his was a more recent version of what they are using.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392238",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T08:32:32",
"content": "looks dated even by consumer manufacturing standards.want to find a new one? do something government and uneducated citizens don’t like on a noticeable scale xD",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392248",
"author": "Max",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T08:59:09",
"content": "The one that has been torn down seemed to use a 433MHz short-range radio to “upload” the data to a nearby agent. Quick tip: buy a 10$ 433MHz RF TX module and keep it powered in your lighter socket (I hope you don’t use a RF car alarm though). They’d have to pull and replace the device to read it. See how often they like to do that…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392252",
"author": "dredwerker",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T09:19:58",
"content": "You could put exploding dye in the case of it and a really loud siren and you could tell who was following you, when they come to get the device read the locations.You could record the movements of a taxi and put those same recording on to the device every day. Just to confuse them.Also thinking about it you could just put a PIR and IR camera on your car and photo the people concerned coming to change the device. Make sure it sent the pics somewhere so they don’t take your camera. Lights, Camera, FBI :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392253",
"author": "iHME",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T09:30:50",
"content": "As stated before, it might be interesting to tinker with the said device, like feeding it spoofed gps data instead of the one from its own module.Sniff the 433Mhz trafic for it and reverse engineer the protocol used, spoof transmissions with a off the self 433Mhz module or a 40eur/60usd ham tranceiver with opened tx.Or use the said tranceiver with a high gain antenna to see if you can grab cordinates of other people.All kinds of interesting stuff could be done.It would also be amusing to feed the data to arps.fi or just build your own arps tracker.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392270",
"author": "bacchus",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T10:14:08",
"content": "The device is probably replaced on a regular basis, hence her curious comment about it having not been there long, judging by its cleanliness.If she can ID “covert” surveillance, and evidently has no problems about confronting them, why doesn’t she just ask them for a lift? It would be environmentally sound, and they couldn’t argue she wasn’t cooperating.I’d like a government-supplied car and chauffeur. I wonder how much you should tip a spook?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392343",
"author": "DoktorJ",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T15:34:51",
"content": "Well, if anyone remembers Bernie S, he managed to piss of the Secret Service by distributing surveillance pictures he made of them picking their noses, literally. That’s more than likely why he was targeted at the RNC protest and spent several years, broken bones, and other damage paying for that move. While it might seem fun, it’s seldom a good idea to purposefully piss of the Secret Service or FBI. Also, as far as spoofing the signals, it seems that with a short range transmitter, it should be pretty easy for them to pick up on this, since they have to be tailing you from a fairly short distance to get the data.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392360",
"author": "Ren",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T16:26:22",
"content": "Okay, so the GPS antenna works when it is stuck underneath the car? Why have I been putting mine on the roof? or in the front windshield?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392379",
"author": "therian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T17:27:40",
"content": "so what can I do to obtain this free parts ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392394",
"author": "xorpunk",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T17:45:10",
"content": "@therian: hobbyist grade gps or licensed band modules can be had over the net. There is nothing special about this besides the manufacturing which is only slightly better than consumer, but wasteful all the same. The cells are just uncommon doping but buy-able over the net as well..Put it with a propeller in a water proof casing with a cell like they used..donelet me know when they find something that is a resin-cased and looks like an ASIC die with no obvious power supply ^^",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392464",
"author": "Marcin",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T19:35:09",
"content": "It must be old device. Now it would be cheaper to write FBI app for android and iphone. In this case suspect will take care of charging device. For sure they must have it by now.Revelation will be WOG (wake up on GPS or GSM signal) or PoG (power over GSM) in case suspect takes out battery.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392950",
"author": "Whatnot",
"timestamp": "2011-05-11T18:32:48",
"content": "Maybe it was meant to be found, as a form of intimidation.Best thing to do is get some flower and put a noticeable amount in it, then send it back >:)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "393516",
"author": "electrosthetics",
"timestamp": "2011-05-12T22:08:18",
"content": "Observations from video: That thing is super old from the looks of the smt components. Late 90’s early 2000’s even. Now they are much smaller and would use a cellular data uplink. They would still use u-blox gps modules though, they are pretty versatile.Related: You will soon see your insurance company offering or requiring the same type of device (but cellular) to track speed/mileage/usage for prorated insurance premiums.Please report to room 101..",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,194.369048
|
||
https://hackaday.com/2011/05/09/double-barreled-air-cannon/
|
Double Barreled Air Cannon
|
Caleb Kraft
|
[
"Weapons Hacks"
] |
[
"potato",
"spud"
] |
[Jeremy] wrote in to show off his latest creation. he has built a
two barrel pneumatic air cannon
. Eschewing the traditional approach of having a single barrel and pressure chamber for his spud gun, [Jeremy] wanted to have a double barreled version. Since he was doing this pneumatically, he had to rig up a way to maintain pressure in each barrel independently of each other, as well as trigger them independently. While we can all agree that one way valves and sprinkler valves aren’t ground breaking, it is nice to see it all laid out and tested. We now have the blueprints if we were so inclined to create our own version. You can see him testing it out by filling the chambers with water and sploooshing that all over the place after the break.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4qWmWmc4hV0&w=470]
| 11
| 11
|
[
{
"comment_id": "391975",
"author": "JC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T20:27:47",
"content": "Thx for the writeup. How ’bout a link to the site?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391982",
"author": "Brian",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T20:50:29",
"content": "Looks like it needs some sort or apparatus to hold the barrels together towards the end, all that shaking and wobbling cant be good on the joint!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391984",
"author": "PocketBrain",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T20:58:33",
"content": "Needs more creme fraiche.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "391986",
"author": "JC",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T20:59:59",
"content": "Here’s the article if you’d like to see it:http://www.jcopro.net/2011/05/08/the-double-barrel-pneumatic-air-cannon/",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392015",
"author": "Ryan",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:01:08",
"content": "LolPressurizing PVC pipe and not even suggesting to use schedule 40 or 80.At least with thicker PVC pipe you lower the chance of blasting shrapnel into your face. These kinds of projects are one of the few where I genuinely believe there should be a mention of safety.Considering the number of people who read these sites, I’m sure there have been at least a few cases of a kid going to home depot and blowing his face off with the cheapest tubing he can find.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392016",
"author": "Metalwolf",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:01:30",
"content": "The link is there. Look at the second sentence closely. It was nice when HaD put actual links at the bottom.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392030",
"author": "Hackerspacer",
"timestamp": "2011-05-09T22:45:45",
"content": "Please DO NOT put pressurized air into PVC pipe. Don’t do it. Use a more suitable material.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392077",
"author": "Anonymous",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T00:27:10",
"content": "@Metalwolf, how… Orwellian.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392092",
"author": "me",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T00:59:15",
"content": "Ok, look people:What _percentage_ of kids who make things in garages have made a pressurized PVC cannon. I know I did.How many People have blown themselves up/ or embedded shrapnel in themselves?How come I can find a dozen anecdotes of people maiming themselves with a hair spray spud guns, and not one involving a PVC pressure vessel rupture?YES, PVC is brittle and makes sharp shrapnel; this is a poor failure state, especially for something you hold close to your body.That said: The limits are written right on the tube, and anyone patient enough and willing to spend the extra money on a Air cannon(over hairspray) project is probably smart/conservative enough to pay attention to limits, and be wary of stressing out their new project. Add the conservative ratings, and you would have to intentionally be dumb to pop it.And you KNOW that the media would have made a fuss about it if kids were spraying themselves with shrapnel. I Remember they made a fuss about traditional spud guns.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392327",
"author": "Hacksaw",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T13:48:30",
"content": "@me Well Said! I have built many pneumatic air cannons (working on plans for a pneumatic Gatling gun presently) and have NEVER had a failure involving the pipe itself…I have had joints pop but never a tube. If you are that concerned you could drill the pressure vessel and put in a relief valve with a slightly lower rating than what the tube is rated for.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "392423",
"author": "willow",
"timestamp": "2011-05-10T18:21:37",
"content": "The pressure on the tube is the rated static pressure of water at a given temperature, not air. You have to use a pressure derating calculation to make the best determination for your maximum operating pressure given temperature figures.That doesn’t take into acocunt for any sudden shock from dropping it, which stresses glue joints.And it’s good to have a gauge and a blow-off valve.Regardless of any of this he’s using two non-pressure-rated DWV fittings. Borrowed time would be the appropriate phrase.Aside from the lacking safety, it’s really neat. Cannons like these are fun as hell.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
}
] | 1,760,377,194.29455
|
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